Speed Racer (film): Difference between revisions
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*[[Christian Oliver]] as Snake Oiler.(see IMDb cast & crew)<ref>{{cite news | author=Stacy Dodd | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117968204.html?categoryid=28&cs=1 | title=Christian Oliver | publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=[[2007-07-08]] | accessdate=2007-07-09 }}</ref> |
*[[Christian Oliver]] as Snake Oiler.(see IMDb cast & crew)<ref>{{cite news | author=Stacy Dodd | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117968204.html?categoryid=28&cs=1 | title=Christian Oliver | publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=[[2007-07-08]] | accessdate=2007-07-09 }}</ref> |
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*[[Milka Duno]] as Gearbox.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.milkaduno.com/news/070809.html | title=INDYCAR’S MILKA DUNO HEADS TO BERLIN FOR ROLE IN WARNER BROS.’ “SPEED RACER” MOVIE | publisher=MilkaDuno.com | date=[[2007-08-09]] | accessdate=2007-08-10 }}</ref> |
*[[Milka Duno]] as Gearbox.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.milkaduno.com/news/070809.html | title=INDYCAR’S MILKA DUNO HEADS TO BERLIN FOR ROLE IN WARNER BROS.’ “SPEED RACER” MOVIE | publisher=MilkaDuno.com | date=[[2007-08-09]] | accessdate=2007-08-10 }}</ref> |
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*[[Michael Wolff]] as Daniel, Speed's Zookeeper Uncle. |
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*[[Alex Wolff]] as Lenny, Speed's Zookeeper cousin. |
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*[[Nat Wolff]] as Toad, Lenny's pet has escape from the zoo to raise the army of [[frog]] (CGI Frog Army) to destroy the Lowe Motor Speedway to throw frog virus on the ground and tell him to stay away from Speed's girlfriend and Racer X's girlfriend. |
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== Project history == |
== Project history == |
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Revision as of 20:09, 26 January 2008
| Speed Racer | |
|---|---|
| File:Speedracerposter.jpg Teaser poster | |
| Directed by | Wachowski brothers |
| Written by | Wachowski brothers |
| Produced by | Joel Silver Wachowski brothers Grant Hill |
| Starring | Emile Hirsch Christina Ricci John Goodman Susan Sarandon Matthew Fox Ji Hoon Jung |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Edited by | Roger Barton Zach Staenberg |
| Music by | Michael Giacchino |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date | May 9 2008 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Speed Racer is an upcoming 2008 American family film that is a live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese animated series Speed Racer. The film is written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. The film had been in development since 1992, changing writers and directors until producer Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers collaborated to begin production on Speed Racer as a family film so the directors could reach a wider audience. Actor Emile Hirsch was cast as Speed, the hero of the animated series, and Christina Ricci portrayed Speed's girlfriend, Trixie. Speed Racer was produced in Germany at Babelsberg Studios, where filming took place entirely against greenscreen. The Wachowski brothers also filmed in high-definition video for the first time, using a layering method to put both the foreground and the background of scenes in focus to have a real-life anime appearance. In anticipation of the film's release, marketers have prepared toys and video games to appeal to audiences. Speed Racer is scheduled to be released on May 9 2008.
Synopsis
Lenny's pet, Toad (Nat Wolff) has escape from the zoo and he raise the army of frogs to destroy the Lowe Motor Speedway to throw frog virus on the ground and stay away from his girlfriend. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a young man who has natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible, a cross-country rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer (Scott Porter). Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Sarandon), with Pops responsible for designing Speed's vehicle, Mach 5. The owner of Royalton Industries (Roger Allam) makes Speed a lucrative offer, and Speed rejects it, angering the owner. Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing some of the biggest races to gain profit. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton seeks to ensure that Speed won't win any major races. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X (Matthew Fox), seeking to rescue his family's business and the sport itself.[1]
Cast
- Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer. Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shia LaBeouf were previously considered for the role.[2] To prepare for the role, Hirsch watched every Speed Racer episode and visited Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he met with driver Jimmie Johnson.[3]
- John Goodman as Pops Racer, Speed's father.[4]
- Susan Sarandon as Mom Racer, Speed's mother.[4]
- Christina Ricci as Trixie, Speed's girlfriend. Ricci was chosen over Elisha Cuthbert and Kate Mara.[2]
- Scott Porter as Rex Racer, Speed's older brother.[5]
- Matthew Fox as Racer X, Speed's rival [4]
- Nayo Wallace as Minx, Racer X's girlfriend.[6]
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Mr. Musha, a businessman.[4]
- Rain as Taejo Togokhan,[4] a rookie racer. Rain is a South Korean pop singer who is making his first appearance in a Hollywood film with Speed Racer.[7]
- Yu Nan as the sister of Taejo Togokhan.[8]
- Richard Roundtree as Ben Burns, a commentator who was formerly a racer.[9]
- Benno Fürmann as Inspector Detector.[4]
- Roger Allam as Royalton, the corrupt owner of Royalton Industries.[1]
- Kick Gurry as Sparky, Speed's mechanic.[4]
- Paulie Litt as Spritle, Speed's younger brother.[4]
- A chimpanzee as Chim Chim, Spritle's pet.[10] Two chimpanzees were used to portray Chim Chim: Kenzie and Willy.[11] In July 2007, PETA contacted Speed Racer producer Joel Silver about reports that the chimpanzee had been beaten and had also bitten one of the actors and encouraged production to switch to animatronics. A studio spokesperson confirmed that an actor had been bitten, but the actor was treated and the chimpanzee was given a rest. The studio denied to PETA that the chimpanzee had been mistreated, saying that the decision would remain to use live animals in production.[12]
- Melvil Poupaud as a race commentator.[13]
- Christian Oliver as Snake Oiler.(see IMDb cast & crew)[14]
- Milka Duno as Gearbox.[15]
- Michael Wolff as Daniel, Speed's Zookeeper Uncle.
- Alex Wolff as Lenny, Speed's Zookeeper cousin.
- Nat Wolff as Toad, Lenny's pet has escape from the zoo to raise the army of frog (CGI Frog Army) to destroy the Lowe Motor Speedway to throw frog virus on the ground and tell him to stay away from Speed's girlfriend and Racer X's girlfriend.
Project history
In September 1992, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it held the option to create a live action film adaptation of Speed Racer, in development at Silver Pictures.[16] In October 1994, singer Henry Rollins was offered the role of Racer X in the film.[17] In June 1995, actor Johnny Depp was cast into the lead role for Speed Racer, with production slated to begin the coming October,[18] with filming to take place in California and Arizona.[19] The following August, Depp requested time off to the studio for personal business, delaying production.[20] However, due to a high budget,[21] the same August, director Julien Temple, who was attached to direct Speed Racer, left the project. Depp, without a director, also departed from the project. The studio considered director Gus Van Sant as a replacement for Temple,[22] though it would not grant writing privileges to Van Sant.[23] In December 1997, the studio briefly hired director Alfonso Cuarón for Speed Racer.[24] In the various incarnations of the project, screenwriters Marc Levin, Jennifer Flackett, J. J. Abrams, and Patrick Read Johnson had been hired to write scripts.[25]
In September 2000, Warner Bros. Pictures and producer Lauren Shuler Donner hired writer-director Hype Williams to take the helm of Speed Racer.[26] In October 2001, the studio hired screenwriters Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring for $1.2 million split between them to write a script for the film.[25] Eventually, without production going underway, the director and the writers left the project. In June 2004, actor Vince Vaughn spearheaded a revival of the project by presenting a take for the film that would develop the characters more strongly. Vaughn was cast as Racer X and was also attached to the project as an executive producer.[21] With production never becoming active, Vaughn was eventually detached from the project.[27]
Production
In October 2006, directors Larry and Andy Wachowski were brought on board by the studio to write and direct Speed Racer. Producer Joel Silver, who had collaborated with the Wachowski brothers for V for Vendetta and The Matrix Trilogy, explained that the brothers were hoping to reach a broader audience with a film that would not be rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. Visual effects designer John Gaeta, who won an Academy Award for Visual Effects for the Wachowski brothers' The Matrix, was brought in to help conceive making Speed Racer into a live-action adaptation. Production was set to begin in summer 2007 in European locations for a summer 2008 release.[28] In November 2006, the release date for Speed Racer was set for May 23 2008.[29] Producer Joel Silver described Speed Racer as a family film in line with the Wachowski brothers' goal to reach a wider audience.[30]
In February 2007, the Wachowski brothers selected Babelsberg Studios in Germany to film Speed Racer.[31] In the following March, Warner Bros. moved the release date of Speed Racer two weeks earlier to May 9 2008.[32] The studio received a grant of $12.3 million from Germany's new Federal Film Fund, the largest yet from the organization, for production of Speed Racer in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.[33] The amount was later increased to $13 million.[34] Filming commenced on June 5 2007 in Berlin,[30] and was shot entirely against greenscreen,[35] lasting 60 days.[11] The Wachowski brothers filmed in high-definition video for the first time.[36] With the camera, the Wachowskis used a layering approach that would put both the foreground and the background in focus to give it the appearance of real-life anime.[37] The film will have a "retro future" look, according to Silver. The Mach 5, the vehicle driven by the protagonist Speed, was an actual vehicle. [10] The film wrapped by August 25 2007.[38] The Wachowskis purchased the rights to the sound effects and theme song from the television series for use in the film.[37]
Marketing
Mattel will produce toys based on the film through several divisions. Hot Wheels will produce die-cast vehicles, race sets, and track sets. Tyco will produce remote-controlled Mach 5s and racing sets. Radica Games will produce video games in which customers can use a car wheel. The products will become available in March 2008.[39] Also, The LEGO Company will be producing 4 LEGO sets based on the movie.[40]
Warner Bros. will also self-publish a video game based on Speed Racer to be released on the Nintendo DS, Wii and PlayStation 2. The game will be released on the Nintendo DS and Wii in May with the film's theatrical release, and the game will be released on the PS2 in the following fall to accompany the film's DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray release. Due to a short development schedule, the studio chose not to develop games for the high-powered consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[41]
References
- ^ a b "Speed Racer Details Released". Sci Fi Wire. 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Ben Lyons (2007-05-11). "Extreme Sneak Peek: Speed Racer Is Cast, Gassed Up and Ready to Go Go Go!". E!. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Filip Vukcevic (2007-09-17). "Exclusive: Hirsch Talks Speed Racer". IGN. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h "Speed Racer - Bios". Warner Bros. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ Stacy Dodd (2007-06-03). "Scott Porter". Variety. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Stacy Dodd (2007-07-11). "Nayo Wallace". Variety. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Rain to star in Hollywood film". Korea Times. 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Tuya' actress to join Hollywood action film". East Day. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Borys Kit (2007-07-02). "Roundtree is fast friend of 'Speed'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Scott Bowles (2007-05-31). "First look: 'Speed Racer's' demon on wheels". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Josh Horowitz (2007-10-24). "Emile Hirsch Talks About Singing Karaoke With Lindsay Lohan, Heading 'Into The Wild' With Sean Penn". MTV. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jeannette Walls (2007-07-02). "PETA not monkeying around with 'Speed Racer'". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Edward Douglas (2007-06-19). "Melvil Poupaud on His Speed Racer Role". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Stacy Dodd (2007-07-08). "Christian Oliver". Variety. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "INDYCAR'S MILKA DUNO HEADS TO BERLIN FOR ROLE IN WARNER BROS.' "SPEED RACER" MOVIE". MilkaDuno.com. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ BPI Communications (1992-09-03). "'Speed Racer' to become a film". Chicago Tribune.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Matthew Gilbert (1994-10-09). "Workman's got the beats". The Boston Globe.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Pacino, Depp To Star in Film On FBI Agent". Chicago Sun-Times. 1995-06-20.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jane Sumner (1995-07-28). "Old commish now the new commish". The Dallas Morning News.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ W. Speers (1995-08-23). "R.E.M. is far from sweet on Hershey - it's suing". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Michael Fleming (2004-06-23). "WB 'Racer' is back on right track". Variety. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Column: NEWS AND NOTES". The Record. 1995-08-28.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wesley Morris (2005-07-31). "The Minimalist". The Boston Globe.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Renee Graham (1997-12-28). "Stipe gets in on the producing act". The Boston Globe.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Charles Lyons (2001-10-17). "Warners hooked on 'Speed'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
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{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Borys Kit (2007-04-02). "Goodman, Sarandon on 'Speed'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Michael Fleming (2006-10-31). "Sibs built for 'Speed'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "2008 is Slowly Filling Up". ComingSoon.net. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Eric Moro (2007-03-03). "WonderCon 07: Wonder Woman, Speed Racer Status". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Scott Roxborough (2007-02-14). "Babelsberg feels need for 'Speed'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dave McNary (2007-03-11). "WB speeds up 'Racer'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ed Metzger (2007-04-29). "New film funds gets up to 'Speed'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Christian Koehl (2007-12-14). "Germans to H'w'd: Look past Berlin". Variety. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Olly Richards (2007-11-22). "Emile Hirsch Talks Speed Racer". Empire. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Rebecca Murray (2007-04-03). "Producer Joel Silver Talks "Speed Racer" and "Whiteout"". About.com. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Larry Carroll (2007-08-27). "Wachowskis Go With Original 'Speed Racer' Theme". MTV. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Steve Chupnick (2007-08-25). "Susan Sarandon on Speed Racer". SuperHeroHype.com. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Warner Bros. Consumer Products (2007-06-19). "Mattel on Board for Speed Racer & The Dark Knight". SuperHeroHype.com. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Official 'Speed Racer' Liscense in 2008". Eurobricks. 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ben Fritz (2007-08-07). "WB gears up ' Speed Racer' game". Variety. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
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