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X-Men Origins: Wolverine

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine
File:Wolverineteaserposter a.jpg
Teaser poster
Directed byGavin Hood
Written byDavid Benioff
Produced byHugh Jackman
Lauren Shuler Donner
Ralph Winter
Avi Arad
StarringHugh Jackman
Liev Schreiber
Danny Huston
CinematographyDonald McAlpine
Edited byNicolas De Toth
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
Australia &
New Zealand:
April 30, 2009
North America
May 1, 2009
United Kingdom:
April 29, 2009[1]
Countries United States
 New Zealand
 Australia
LanguageEnglish

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an upcoming superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Wolverine, due for release on April 30, 2009 in Australia, and May 1, 2009 in the United States. The film is directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as the title character. It is a prequel to the X-Men film trilogy, focusing on the mutant Wolverine and his time with Team X, before Wolverine's skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal adamantium. The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand.

Premise

Set roughly twenty years before X-Men, the film will focus on Wolverine's violent past,[2] and his early encounters with William Stryker (Danny Huston). The Weapon X program and his interactions with other mutants will be explored,[3] including his relationship with half-brother Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber).[4]

Cast

  • Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: The mutant and future X-Man. Jackman, who played Wolverine in the previous films, has also become producer of the film via his company Seed Productions, and earned $20 million for the film.[5] Jackman underwent a high intensity weight training regimen to bulk up for his role. He changed the program to shock the body into change and also performed cardiovascular workouts.[6] He woke up each morning at 4 am to eat one of the small number of protein-based meals he was allowed each day. He wanted to portray Wolverine exactly as he did in the character's cage match entrance in X-Men, stating his inspiration was Robert De Niro in Cape Fear.[4] Jackman worked out in a Queenstown gym where he would arrive daily at 6 am. He stayed in character and made noises while exercising.[7] Jackman noted no digital touches were applied to his physique in a shot of him rising from the tank within which Wolverine has his bones coated in adamantium.[8]
  • Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed / Sabretooth: Logan's half-brother and fellow soldier. Jackman and Hood compared Wolverine and Sabretooth's relationship to the Borg-McEnroe rivalry in the world of tennis: Sabretooth hates him because he loved and needed his half-brother, but is too proud to admit he needs him back.[4] Tyler Mane, who played him in X-Men, had hoped to reprise the role.[12] Jackman worked with Schreiber before, and described him as having a competitive streak necessary to portray Sabretooth. They "egged" each other on set to perform more and more stunts. Schreiber put on 40 lb (18 kg) of muscle for the part,[4] and described Sabretooth as the most monstrous role he ever played. As a child, he loved the Wolverine comics because of their unique "urban sensibility". Schreiber had studied to be a fight choreographer and wanted to be a dancer like Jackman, so he enjoyed working out their fight scenes.[13]
  • Danny Huston as William Stryker: Schreiber was originally in negotiations for the part,[3] while Brian Cox, who played the character in X2, wanted to reprise the role. He believed computer-generated imagery, similar to the program applied to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in the opening flashback of X-Men: The Last Stand, would allow him to appear as the younger Stryker.[14] Huston liked the complex Stryker, who "both loves and hates mutants because his son was a mutant and [drove] his wife [to suicide]. So he understands what they're going through, but despises their [destructive] force." He compared the character to a racehorse breeder, who rears his mutant experiments like children but abandons them when something goes wrong.[4]
  • Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool: A wisecracking mercenary who can heal like Wolverine. Reynolds had been interested in playing the character in his own film since 2003.[16] Computer-generated imagery is being used to create his scarred up visage, which will end up being a departure from the comic book appearance.[17][18]
  • Will.i.am as John Wraith / Kestrel: A teleporting mutant who becomes a Weapon X test subject. It is Will.i.am's film debut. Although he initially did not get on with the casting director, he got the role because he wanted to play a mutant with the same power as Nightcrawler. He enrolled in boot camp to get into shape for the part.[19] When filming a fight, he scarred his knuckles after accidentally punching and breaking the camera.[20]
  • Scott Adkins as Weapon XI: Weapon XI will feature in the end sequence fight scene against Wolverine. Adkins was also Reynolds' stunt double.[4]

The film includes numerous cameo appearances of younger versions of characters from the previous films, including Cyclops (Tim Pocock), a Weapon X captive;[22] and Jason Stryker, William's lobotomized telepathic son who he keeps on ice. New characters include Banshee, who is a Weapon X captive.[23] There was a cameo for a young Storm, which can be seen in the trailer, but it was cut out.[24]

Asher Keddie is in the film, but did not state who exactly she played.[25][26] Poker player Daniel Negreanu has a cameo. Phil Hellmuth wanted to join him but was unable because he committed to an event in Toronto.[27] X-Men co-creator Stan Lee said he would cameo,[28] but he was not in Australia during filming, so this will have to be a pick-up conducted during January 2009.[29]

Production

Development

David Benioff, a comic book fan, pursued the project for almost three years before he was hired to write the script in October 2004.[30][31] In preparing to write the script, he reread Barry Windsor-Smith's "Weapon X" story (1991), as well as Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's 1982 limited series on the character (his favorite storyline).[32][30] Jackman collaborated on the script, which he wanted to be more of a character piece compared with the previous X-Men films.[33] Benioff aimed for a "darker and a bit more brutal" story, writing it with an R rating in mind, although he acknowledged the film's final tone would rest with the producers and director.[30] Jackman did not see the need to make the film R.[34]

Deadpool had been developed for his own film by Reynolds and David S. Goyer at New Line Cinema in 2003, but the project fell apart as they focused on Blade: Trinity and an aborted spin-off.[16] Benioff wrote the character into the script in a manner Jackman described as fun, but would also deviate from some of his traits. Similarly, Gambit was a character who the filmmakers had tried to put in the previous X-Men films. Jackman liked Gambit because he is a "loose cannon" like Wolverine, stating their relationship echoes that of Wolverine and Pyro in the original trilogy.[8] David Ayer contributed to the script.[35] Benioff finished his draft in October 2006, and Jackman stated there would be a year before shooting,[36] as he was scheduled to start filming Australia (2008) during 2007.[37] Before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike began, James Vanderbilt and Scott Silver were hired for a last-minute rewrite.[38]

Gavin Hood was announced as director of the project in July 2007 for a 2008 release.[39] Previously, X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer and X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner were interested in returning to the franchise,[40][41] while Alexandre Aja and Len Wiseman also wanted the job.[42][43] Zack Snyder, who was approached for The Last Stand, turned down this film because he was directing Watchmen.[44] Jackman saw parallels between Logan and the main character in Tsotsi.[4] Hood explained that while he was not a comic book fan, he "realized that the character of Wolverine, I think his great appeal lies in the fact that he's someone who in some ways, is filled with a great deal of self-loathing by his own nature and he's constantly at war with his own nature".[45] The director described the film's themes as focusing on Wolverine's inner struggle between his animalistic savagery and noble human qualities. Hood enjoyed the previous films, but set out to give the spin-off a different feel.[46] In October, Fox announced a May 1, 2009 release date and the X-Men Origins prefix.[3]

Filming

Preliminary shooting took place at Fox Studios Australia (in Sydney) during late 2007.[47] Principal photography began on January 18, 2008[48] in New Zealand. Locations included Dunedin.[49] Controversy arose as the Queenstown Lakes District Council disputed the Department of Labour's decision to allow Fox to store explosives in the local ice skating rink. Fox moved some of the explosives to another area.[50] The explosives were used for a shot of the exploding Hudson Farm, a scene which required four cameras.[51] Jackman and Palermo's Woz Productions reached an agreement with the council to allow recycling specialists on set to advise the production on being environmentally friendly.[52]

Filming continued at Fox (where most of the shooting was done) and New Orleans, Louisiana.[3] Cockatoo Island was used for Stryker's facility; the enormous buildings there saved money on digitally expanding a set.[4] Production of the film was predicted to generate $60 million in Sydney's economy.[53] Principal photography ended by May 23. The second unit continued filming in New Zealand until March 23, and were schedule to continue filming for two weeks following the first unit's wrap.[54] This included a flashback to Logan during the Normandy Landings, which was shot at Blacksmiths, New South Wales.[55]

Hood and Fox disputed on the film's direction. The studio had two replacements lined up before Richard Donner, husband of producer Lauren Shuler Donner, flew to Australia to ease on-set tensions.[56] Hood remarked, "Out of healthy and sometimes very rigorous debate, things get better. [...] I hope the film's better because of the debates. If nobody were talking about us, we'd be in trouble!"[4] Two weeks of pick-ups began on January 12, 2009, in Vancouver.[57] Shots were filmed at the University of British Columbia.[58]

Video game

Main article: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)

Raven Software is developing a video game based on the film with the same name, which Activision Blizzard will publish.[59] Marc Guggenheim wrote the script.[60]

Sequel

Hood speculated that there could be a sequel, which may be set in Japan.[45] Such a location was the subject of Claremont and Miller's series, which was not in the first film as Jackman felt “what we need to do is establish who [Logan] is and find out how he became Wolverine".[36] Jackman stated the Claremont-Miller series is his favorite Wolverine story.[61] He added another Wolverine film would be a follow-up rather than continuing on from X-Men: The Last Stand.[62] The inclusion of Deadpool and Gambit also leads to the possibilities of their own spin-offs.[63]

References

  1. ^ Official Website
  2. ^ "Fox Sets New Avatar, Museum 2 Dates". Comingsoon.net. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2007-12-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d Pamela McClintock (2007-10-17). "Wolverine claws on May '09 date". Variety. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Helen O'Hara (January 2009). "Weapon X". Empire. pp. 85–90.
  5. ^ Steven Galloway (2007-07-10). "Studios are hunting the next big property". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  6. ^ "Hugh Jackman bulks up for Wolverine". Aussie Bodies. 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  7. ^ Kristian South (2008-04-06). "Kiwi stunner Kate's got the X-Men factor". Sunday News. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  8. ^ a b Sam Ashurst (2008-12-10). "Hugh Jackman's First Full Wolverine Interview". Total Film. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  9. ^ Shannon Harvey (2008-02-29). "Perth boy to play young Hugh Jackman in Wolverine movie". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  10. ^ "Smit-McPhee is Young Logan in Wolverine". Superhero Hype!. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  11. ^ Leslie Simmons (2008-02-06). "Smit-McPhee takes 'Road' less traveled". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  12. ^ Shawn Adler (2007-03-21). "Movie File: Chris Brown, Ocean's Thirteen, Michelle Trachtenberg & More". MTV. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  13. ^ Fred Topel (2008-12-08). "Wolverine's Schreiber Is Feral". SCI FI Wire. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  14. ^ Harry Knowles (2007-02-02). "Brian Cox to be CG Young-ified in Wolverine movie?". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  15. ^ Heather Newgen (2008-01-19). "Michelle Monaghan Talks Wolverine". Superhero Hype!. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  16. ^ a b Rick Marshall (2008-12-11). "Deadpool And Gambit: The Long Road To 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'... And Beyond?". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  17. ^ "Hasbro toy image". Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  18. ^ Stephanie Sanchez (2008-10-15). "IESB Exclusive: Fox Chairman Tom Rothman Goes On the Record Part 3". IESB. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
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  20. ^ Larry Carroll (2008-06-19). "Will.I.Am Reveals Details About His Big-Screen Debut In X-Men Origins: Wolverine". MTV. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  21. ^ Yahoomovies.com. X-Men Origins: Wolverine. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808665084/cast
  22. ^ "Actor Cast As Scott Summers In Wolverine!?". X-Men Films.net. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  23. ^ "A Shot-By-Shot Analysis Of The New Wolverine Trailer". Empire Online. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  24. ^ "Producer talks X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE - Storm not in the movie". Widescreenvision.de. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  25. ^ Emily Dunn, Josephine Tovey (2008-04-21). "A little offstage bonding". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  26. ^ "Tahyna Tozzi back in Sydney with Koby Abberton". PerthNow. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
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  28. ^ Sandy Cohen (2008-07-25). "Stan Lee to make a cameo in new 'X-Men' movie". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  29. ^ Scott Huver (2008-10-08). "Producer Lauren Shuler Donner Teases Wolverine... and Deadpool?". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  30. ^ a b c Matt Brady (2005-04-15). "Wolverine screenwriter keeps it real". Newsarama. Retrieved 2007-10-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Michael Fleming (2004-10-04). "'X' marks spinoff spot". Variety. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
  32. ^ Daniel Robert Epstein (2004-12-28). "David Benioff". SuicideGirls. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  33. ^ "Interview - Hugh Jackman". CanMag. 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
  34. ^ "Hugh Jackman on The Prestige!" (Quicktime video). Latino Review. 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  35. ^ "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Script Review". FilmBuffOnLine. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  36. ^ a b Heather Newgen (2006-10-15). "Jackman says Wolverine script is ready". Superhero Hype!. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
  37. ^ Marilyn Beck (2006-08-13). "Major renegotiations possible stumbling block for new X-Men". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Michael Fleming, Pamela McClintock (2007-10-30). "Studios prep back-up plan". Variety. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  39. ^ Michael Fleming, Peter Gilstrap (2007-07-19). "Fox says Hood good for Wolverine". Variety. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  40. ^ Michael Tsai (2006-11-08). "Sequel to Superman Returns due in 2009". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  41. ^ "Ratner To Direct Wolverine Film?". Internet Movie Database. 2006-03-20. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
  42. ^ Sean Elliott (2006-03-11). "The Hills Have Eyes Director Alexandre Aja gets grisly". iF Magazine. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  43. ^ Edward Douglas (2007-07-22). "Len Wiseman on Wolverine". Superhero Hype!. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  44. ^ Robert Sanchez (2007-02-13). "Exclusive Interview: Zack Snyder Is Kickin' Ass With 300 and Watchmen!". IESB. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  45. ^ a b Edward Douglas (2007-09-29). "Exclusive: "Gavin Hood, Why Wolverine?"". Superhero Hype!. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  46. ^ Larry Carroll (2007-10-03). "Wolverine Director, Hugh Jackman Digging Their Claws Into X-Men Spinoff". MTV. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  47. ^ "X-Men cameras set to roll down south". The Dominion Post. 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  48. ^ "Domestic film: In production". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  49. ^ "Shooting for Wolverine set to commence in South Island". TV3. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  50. ^ Katie Button (2008-01-24). "X-Men production team upsets local council". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  51. ^ David Williams (2007-11-03). "Explosive end for SI blockbuster". The Press. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  52. ^ Chris Morris (2008-01-29). "Film crew commits to green ethic". Otago Daily Times.
  53. ^ "Jackman's 'Wolverine' starts shooting in Sydney". ABC News. 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  54. ^ Robert Sanchez (2008-05-23). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Wraps Principal Photography!". IESB.net. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  55. ^ David Bentley (2008-06-12). "Hugh Jackman films war scenes for Wolverine". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
  56. ^ Tatiana Siegel (2008-09-05). "Fox's not-so-hot summer at the movies". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  57. ^ "New X-Men Origins: Wolverine Updates!". Superhero Hype!. 2008-12-14. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  58. ^ "New X-Men Origins: Wolverine Set Photos". Superhero Hype!. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  59. ^ César A. Berardini (2008-07-15). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Tie-ins Announced". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  60. ^ Scott Rosenberg (2008-04-07). "Cursed to Write: TV & Comics Scribe Marc Guggenheim". ReadExpress. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  61. ^ "SDCC 08: Hugh Jackman" (Video). IGN. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  62. ^ Stephanie Sanchez (2008-11-21). "Hugh Jackman on Australia and Wolverine!". IESB. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  63. ^ Graser, Marc, and Tatiana Siegel (2008-02-19). "Reynolds, will.i.am join 'Wolverine'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-02-19.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links


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