TMNT 2011 Movie Gets A Writer

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TMNT25.com has released some details about the events they will be hosting at Comic-Con, coming up in San Diego in two weeks, and by doing so has inadvertently disclosed some information not previously announced (to my knowledge).

According to the TMNT25.com site, John Fusco will be writing the new movie, slated for release in 2011, and will be on a TMNT panel scheduled for Friday of the convention.

According to IMDB, Mr. Fusco's previous screenwriting credits include the Young Guns movies, The Babe, and Hidalgo. He is also writer of a novel, Paradise Salvage.

Unfortunately, I don't believe I've seen any of his credited films, so I really can't comment as to what this actually means for the upcoming TMNT film. It does seem that Mr. Fusco likes horses, though.

Ninja Pizza will be covering San Diego Comic-Con extensively leading up to, and during the show, so stay tuned for many more updates and details to come. Watch for information on TMNT-related programming and events coming up within the next few days.

Looking Back at TMNT 2007 to look forward to TMNT 2011

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Earlier today I spent some time considering all the different variables that are preventing me from jumping for joy over the new TMNT movie project. The list got quite long and long-winded, so I'm going to try to tackle the bigger ideas in a series of posts.

To start, I've pulled out a series of interviews published before the release of TMNT 2007 from my personal archives. The point of bringing these out is to illustrate how similar the attitude and direction was for TMNT 2007 compared to what (granted, very) little has been said so far of the new project. And in some cases, how the exact opposite of the ideas sold to us for the 2007 movie are now being moved forward.

You can download a PDF of these interviews here.

Before I go any further, I'd just like to make it clear that I really, truly love TMNT. Kevin Munroe gets the characters and I would have no problem were they ever entrusted to him again. I think he did a fantastic job working within all the limitations he was given. TMNT wasn't a bad movie, but it seemed to scratch the surface on what could have been a reallyreally great and more-successful movie.

But anywho, moving forward...


Comics used as the source
One of the big talking points for TMNT 2007 was that it was going back to the comic books for inpiration. Now, almost as if that's been completely forgotten, the new movie is going back to the comic books once again. And in TMNT 2007, where both the Turtles' origin and Shredder were left out of the picture because, "Been there, done that," now the new movie will be not just be revisiting both those points, but will seemingly be built upon them as a foundation.

How this can work
The TMNT, particularly in the last 10 years, have struggled emensely to escape the first 11 issues of the comic book. It seems that each adaptation isn't good enough so then we have to do it all again... it's become tiresome and boring. The comic books should be used as inspiration, but straight adaptation should be kept to a bare minimum. Change things up while maintaining all the elements that have kept fans around through thick and thin (A LOT of thin) for 25 years.


Live action vs. CGI
There were two key reasons for the 2007 movie to be done in CGI. The first, and apparently biggest factor, was cost. A live action film was predicted to cost at least three times as much as a CGI film. The second reason was to avoid the limitations presented by having guys in rubber suits do ninja moves. Makes sense, but now we have this new movie apparently ready to once again put live action guys in rubber suits.

How this can work
So long as all parties involved are willing to spend the money needed to make the rubber suits and CGI combine seamlessly to look believable and not cheesy, this could work out fantastically. But they have to be willing to spend the money. Up 'til now, the most expensive TMNT movie was 2007's at around $35 million. Before that was 1993's TMNT 3, at around $26 million (and we all know how that turned out).


The Batman Begins analogy
Batman Begins has become the ultimate point of comparison when it comes to reinventing an old franchise into something new, exciting, and extremely successful. Rightfully so? Perhaps, although I think it's become overused to the point of cliché. To what extent does the comparison exist with the TMNT? Well, not only was this instantly discussed when news of the new movie broke last week, but - wait for it - it was discussed with the 2007 movie as well.

Click the pic below to compare words from Animation Magazine in April 2007 to an MTV interview with Peter Laird released just today.


What is the point of all this? Well, just because all the creative minds have their hearts and intentions in the right place doesn't mean the project is going to come out and be embraced as they anticipated it would be. By the sounds of it, TMNT 2007 started out in the very much the same place that TMNT 2011 seems to be now.

New Live Action Ninja Turtles Movie Announced!

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Variety is reporting tonight the announcement of a new live action TMNT film to be produced with a target release date of sometime in 2011. Details on the project are few at this point, but the film will apparently focus on the characters' origins.

You can read the full release here.

Thanks to Will Tupper for the heads-up!

Tribeca Film Festival Movie Screening Details

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Here's the low-down on how to see the free screening of the first TMNT movie for free at the Tribeca Film Festival, courtesy of TMNT25.com.

Free TMNT Movie Screenings @ Tribeca Film Festival

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To celebrate the TMNT's 25th anniversary there will be free screenings of the debut Turtles film during the Tribeca Film Festival, April 23-25 in New York City. The screenings will be held as part of the Tribeca Drive-In at the World Financial Center.

How to acquire tickets is still unconfirmed, but it's probably a good idea to stay tuned to the official Tribeca Film Festival Web site. If any other news comes of the events I'll post the info here.

(I think this is the "Big News" TMNT25.com was planning on breaking tomorrow - Oops.)

First TMNT Movie Screenings in Oakland, April 3-5

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This upcoming weekend, April 3-5, the Piedmont Theater in Oakland, CA will be having screenings of the original TMNT movie. Friday and Saturday night the show starts at midnight, but if that's a wee bit too late for you, there's a 10am screening on Sunday.

You can check here for info on the screening (ignore the picture from TMNT2, it's the first movie they're playing).

And you can click here to purchase tickets.

To get you pumped for the screening, here's a look at the original theatrical trailer for the movie:

Interviews with "Michaelangelo"

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European TMNT fan Rutger has posted brand new interviews he conducted with two men who can each claim to be Michaelangelo.

Check out his chats with Michelan Sisti (Michaelangelo body actor in the first two live-action films) and Robbie Rist (Michaelangelo voice actor in all three live-action films)!

And if you haven't already, be sure to check out Rutger's massive TMNT autograph collection!

First TMNT Movie Screening in LA January 23

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The Nuart Theater in LA will be screening the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie Friday, January 23 at midnight (Saturday morning).

Click here for details.

Thanks to Archon_Turtle for the heads-up!

Foot Soldier Mask Movie Prop

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Ryan writes in showing off a very exciting acquisition he's made:

Like many of you I grew up a big TMNT fan. I was 10 years old when I saw the first action figure commercials in 1988 and remember looking everywhere for them before they finally arrived in stores. I actually still have most all my toys, over 65 + some still in package. I was so into the cartoons and definitely loved the first 2 films along with the CG release of TMNT last year which was great to see the 4 heroes in green back in theaters.

I was so taken back by the first movie being 12 years old. When the opening scene came up I'll never forget seeing for the first time those real-life Foot Soldiers packing up the truck with stolen goods. Who would have thought that 18 years later I would get an opportunity to own a piece of that movie magic.

I found this through the Prop Store of London posted one morning back in June I believe. Perhaps it came from a former owner or production crew member? I honestly don't know how it happend upon the site being available. I really don't know how long it was up that morning, but without blinking I placed a layaway on it and paid for it over a few months time until my last payment and shortly arriving finally in September. I was a bit unimpressed by how they presented it on their site, but I was certain I could improve how it displayed. The initial photo shows what the mask looked like as received.

I finally got around to working on it this past week and now it looks a lot more presentable. The only minor thing I did was fix up the few broken seams along the sides and removal of all the fuzz in the hook loop velcro. Other than that, this mask is maintained as it was received and think that the usage gives it personality. I wanted to maintain the overall integrity of the piece, but those seams didn't look good. It's amazing to see in person how different it looks than how it showed on screen. I thought the BUG EYES were metal wire mesh... its actually a plastic grid and painted! And the mask itself you'd think is black... no! Silvery gray spandex and then coated with a black fabric spray paint of some sort, giving it that weathered look. I would have never guessed as well as the metal gromets on the mouth that look to have originally been painted black, but has since worn through. This mask has definitely seen a lot of action looking at how worn it is.

To finish off the bust I sewed a chest piece to cover over the shoulders/bust to make it look more complete. I still want to get a display case and darken the bottom base, but overall am very happy with the result compared to before.

Unfortunately this kinda dwarfs my entire TMNT toy collection, so I don't know what I'll be doing with the toys! It is overall a very impressive piece and I do feel extremely lucky to own a true piece of my childhood from that day I first saw those Foot Soldiers on screen. That was a big deal then, it's a huge deal to own one of those masks.

Ryan also adds:

I'd like to add one more bit of importance to this piece for me. I believe this was the last project that Jim Henson worked on before he died. Owning a piece of something he was involved in is a real treat and I have always loved the work he has done with puppetry and creatures. I remembered crying the day of hearing of his death. He was so ahead of his time.

I REALLY HOPE they are working on a BluRay edition of the live action films. They desperately need the HD treatment and I'd sure be one of the first to buy a set. Come on, New Line! Get with the program!

I think those are words all Turtle fans can agree with - Hear, hear!

DVD Update ... Or Not

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The above DVD covers caused quite a stir when they appeared on Amazon.com out of the blue yesterday. Not just with fans, but at Mirage itself where they first learned of these new DVD covers at the same time.

What does this mean? Are these DVDs with brand new content? Or just repackaging of the old content? Unfortunately, it's just repackaging of the old content.

Does this mean that there's no chance of a Special Edition and/or Blu-Ray release of one or all of the movies? NO. I can report that there is still hope in both regards, although it is also far from being a certain thing. Hopefully I can provide a more specific update within the next couple of months.

Michael Turney Autograph

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This showed up in my mailbox today:

     

This is the storybook based on the first TMNT movie (an item I read a billion times during the long months between the theatrical release of the movie and the VHS release). The title page is signed to me by Michael Turney, who played Danny Pennington in the movie.

Thanks, Michael!

Kazoo With the TMNT

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In the near-25 year history of the TMNT, there have been a lot of high points and a good fair share of low points. A lot of awesome merchandise and some... not so much. "Kazoo with [the] TMNT" would fit into that last category. Or, perhaps even more accurately, into the, "We're willing to approve anything you'll give us money for," category.

Before I go any further I should put forth the disclaimer that I absolutely love the entire musical history of the TMNT. Seriously. Even the stuff that's cheesy as hell is, at worst, a guilty pleasure for me. Even though my sincerity behind any positive words for "Kazoo with [the] TMNT" would be weak, I couldn't deny that it fills me full of giddy laughter.

Here's the premise of "Kazoo with [the] TMNT":
You get a book with very basic sheet music for eight songs from the soundtrack of the first live action movie. You also get four kazoos (bonus points if you can guess the colors of the kazoos). You are meant to kazoo the sheet music. Ok, sure. Why not? Kids like kazoos and Ninja Turtles, it can't be that bad. Right?

Wrong. This perfectly innocent package becomes the stuff of legend with the inclusion of a simple cassette tape. A cassette tape that features all of the songs in the book played by an electronic orchestra and... someone playing the kazoo!! This may be the only example in history of a dedicated kazoo recording. And there's a reason for that.

It's just hard to take the kazoo seriously as a solo instrument. The novelty of it wears off in about 10 seconds, but here it supports eight songs that are 3-5 minutes long. It also, by design, produces a lot of spit, and the producers of this product really didn't make any effort to try to hide that. But then again, did the producers of this product really think they were releasing something stellar? Nah, it was all for the quick buck.

To experience "Kazoo with [the] TMNT" for yourself, you can download the contents of the cassette tape, for a limited time, here.

Peter Laird Comments on TMNT Movie Rumors

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MTV today posted an interview with TMNT co-creator Peter Laird to set the record straight on the current status of a potential new TMNT movie. You can read the interview in its entirety here.

There really isn't any new information revealed. Everything is the same as it was before people went and freaked out over comments made by Kevin Eastman. However, I would like to make note of these comments:

MTV: Which elements of the original live-action film do you think could benefit from another treatment?
PL: I don’t think the first film needs to be remade, if that’s what you mean. But I would love to see a “Director’s Cut” or special edition of that movie, with some things that were cut out put back in. And although I think it HIGHLY unlikely, I would love to see the first film given a “digital touch-up,” if you will. By that I mean it would be very cool to go through it very carefully and digitally tweak all of the mistakes and goofs — for example, scenes where you can see an actor’s face inside a Turtle’s open mouth, wires hanging off the shell of a Turtle, and so forth.
Here’s one that always bugged me: As Leonardo is exiting April’s apartment, one of his sword hilts rubs against the wall… and it BENDS like rubber (which, in fact, it was, being a “stunt sword”). And taking it a step further, it would be fantastic to utilize digital technology to go back in and tweak and enhance the expressions on the animatronic faces of the Turtles, which in some scenes just don’t work too well.

Concerning his desire to give the 1990 film a "digital touch-up": For the love of pizza, Peter Laird will you just freaking stop trying to fix things that aren't broken. You've already ripped the heart and soul out of the original TMNT 1 comic book, leave the damn movie alone.

The problem with this idiotic statement isn't even the likelihood that it would actually happen, because Peter Laird thankfully doesn't have any power to make it happen, but now we're going to have to deal with stupid people discussing this possibility for the rest of eternity. Please find something better to do with your time people and forget this statement ever happened.

Why the TMNT Fail at the Internets

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It probably wouldn't take too much effort to find a person still convinced that Johnny Woo was, at one point in time, signed and secured to make a TMNT movie. About five years ago I tried to convince a friend of mine that there was absolutely no truth to this, but I don't think he ever fully believed me. Someone asked Kevin Munroe, director of 2007's TMNT movie, the same question at San Diego Comic-Con in 2006. Really, it's the damnedest rumor that just refuses to die. He essentially said it'd be a neat thing to do, but there was nothing more to it than that. No different from me saying that it'd be neat to race Michael Phelps on a big wheel.

But this prevailing rumor also punctuates a key problem with TMNT fandom. Try as some of us may, there is no definitive "Go To" site for a person with a casual interest in TMNT to go to and quickly catch up on the latest news. Those of us who follow it closely know that Steve Murphy's word via The 5th Turtle is good as gold, but from an outsider's perspective, it's just a simple Blogger blog using a default template (same as this site). There is no TheForce.Net or TheOneRing.Net or The-Leaky-Cauldron.Org equivalent.

But sites that report on everything related to movies need to be at the top of the rumor mill, so if there's going to be a new TMNT film, they can't miss out on reporting it. It usually happens like this: Murphy or some other source drops a tidbit of information, discussion on said information partakes at TheTechnodrome.com, some lame lurker emails a dozen movie sites with the "tip," and these sites post the information as if it's some big scoop that they have personally discovered. Oooh, impressive.

Over the past several months there have been several hints dropped about the on-going talks for the next TMNT movie from both Steve Murphy and TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Did any of these statements reach sites like IGN.com? No. But a few days ago discussion starts on The Technodrome regarding a comment TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman made on the HeavyMetal.com message boards regarding the possibilities being discussed for the next movie (which is pretty much in line with everything he stated here, and which is also all in line with what has been hinted at by Steve Murphy and Peter Laird). Now some morons are spreading the comments, to the point where Perez Hilton (you're kidding me, right?) is reporting it as FACT that a new TMNT movie is coming and THIS IS HOW IT IS.

FOR THE RECORD:

1. Movie discussions are still in progress and nothing has been finalized.
2. A live action movie is being discussed as a possibility but, again, nothing has been finalized. According to Murphy, live action is apparently NOT being discussed, so there you go.
3. When something has been finalized, the information will be released officially by Mirage Studios and their partners, not a message board, no matter who is making the comment.

Oh, and all of you non-TMNT sites: Please stop pretending you know anything about Ninja Turtles, because you don't and it just makes you suck more. If you really want to do something useful, try to convince your readers to convince Warner Brothers to release a Special Edition of the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on DVD. Thank you.

TMNT: The Original 1990 Press Kit

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In case it's not already obvious, a Press Kit gets constructed and released - to the press - as part of the marketing effort for a film. These days they're all done digitally, compiled onto DVDs. Back in 1990 it was a simple folder loaded with some 8x10 black and white photos and some photocopied production notes.

Instead of focusing on a deleted scene today, I thought I would give typing a break and scan the contents of the press kit for the original movie. After I did that, I ended up typing 20 pages of production notes, so I really didn't save myself from anything.

Below you'll find all of the photos included with the kit as well as an excerpt from the production notes. If you download the complete .zip file, you'll have more production notes to read. One of the reasons I went through with typing 20 pages of these things was that all of the information is really, really unique and interesting, and I'm not sure that there's anywhere else that you can read something similar to this. There are quotes from all of the major players who had a hand in making the movie, including the late and great Jim Henson.

It's really all quite fantastic and I think it will also give you extra appreciation for all of the hard work that people put into this movie to make it the classic it ended up being.

A classic that should receive proper DVD treatment! *ahem*

You can download the complete .zip file here.

TMNT Deleted Scene: Training on the Farm - UPDATE!

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I've updated the original post with the "Training on the Farm" deleted scene with two more pictures that I just found. You can check them out fully here.

TMNT Movie Mistakes

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This isn't a new video, but I thought it'd be a good supplement to the TMNT Special Edition DVD effort.



All movies are full of little mistakes that their makers hope the movie viewers won't spot, but if you watch something enough times and pay close enough attention, something's bound to stand out as not quite right. My long-time pal and fellow TMNT fan Karen put this video together last year in the wake of the excitement over the release of the 2007 CGI movie.

With well over 600,00 views, it has become one of the most-viewed TMNT videos on YouTube and spent a weekend as one of Digg.com's top videos. While the video may highlight the mistakes in the film, I believe its popularity is a reflection of the general overall continued popularity of the movie. Surely enough popularity to warrant a Special Edition DVD release.

TMNT Deleted Scene: Training on the Farm

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Here is the second deleted scene from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film that I am highlighting in support of the TMNT Special Edition project. Warner Brothers isn't yet convinced that this is a good idea - But they ARE watching us! - so be sure to let them know personally that you want this Special Edition DVD!

This scene is also pretty well documented, and bits and pieces of it can be seen in the actual movie. I've scanned a few stickers, trading cards, and pics taken from a book and magazine from this part, but the lengthy bit from the script might be more interesting to you.

This scene comes immediately after April yells at Casey, "I wouldn't ask for your help if you were the last... "thing" on the face of the planet!" and Casey follows with, "Coming along 'nicely' ..."

TMNT Deleted Scene: Alternate Ending

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This is the first entry in a series to highlight all of the deleted scenes from the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. While all of the deleted scenes from the movie are fairly well documented throughout books and comics, we still have yet to see any of these scenes in their entirety. This is a key reason why releasing a Special Edition DVD of this movie is a necessity!

While the movie ended with our heroes triumphant on the rooftop of a building, there was one final scene in the script. This scene had April and Danny in the office of a comic book publisher, trying to pitch the idea of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Here are some photos from that scene, as well as the actual script that was used for filming!

It's Time For a TMNT 1 Special Edition

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Fans have made half-hazard efforts to get New Line Cinema (and now, Warner Brothers) to release a special edition of, at least, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film - if not all three - for many years. The response has consistently been, "We are not interested in that project."

Today, Steve Murphy of Mirage Studios posted the following, a quote of an email sent by Steve Barron, director of the first TMNT film, to a Warner Brothers representative:

"...there has been quite a lot of blogging about a director's special edition of the first movie, particularly in the light of its impending 25th anniversary. I would be very keen to contribute to this idea if you thought it a good one. I have lots of original artwork and even a rough cut with a few extra scenes on tape. I think it would be nice to do a definitive release as the extras have always been very limited."

This is not the first time Barron has made such a comment. In fact, a very similar comment was quoted in a Peter Laird, "Blast From the Past" Web site feature back in late 2001.

With this new spark of inspiration from Murphy and Mr. Barron collectively, perhaps it's time to take the effort to make this project happen seriously. Next year is the 25th anniversary celebration of the TMNT - What better way to celebrate than with a special edition of one of the greatest highlights of that 25 year history? Emails from the same handful of fanboys/fangirls to Warner Brothers aren't going to convince them to change their minds about this project. It's time to get bigger and more visual.

Watch this space for more information coming soon.

If you have graphic design skills or video editing skills, please email me if you're willing to provide hands-on help with this effort.