Ninja Assassin Details Revealed
Warner Bros has released new details on The Wachowski Brothers-produced Ninja Assassin. As you probably already know, Ninja Assassin is directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) from a screenplay by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski. The film stars stars Korean pop star Rain (Speed Racer) as Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world.
“Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them… and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.
In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Defying the orders of her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target, and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers, but he knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated. Now, entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the streets of Europe, Raizo and Mika must trust one another if they hope to survive… and finally bring down the elusive Ozunu Clan.”
The film also stars legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi (Revenge of the Ninja) as the ruthless leader of the Ozunu Clan. Sounds like it could be a very cool Ninja action film. I was really impressed with McTeigue’s V for Vendetta, but The Invasion was a disaster, although I’m not sure McTeigue can really be blamed for not being able to fix the mess that was handed to him.
he behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Karl Walter Lindenlaub (Independence Day, Prince Caspian), production designer Graham “Grace” Walker (Pitch Black, Gothika), costume designer Carlo Poggioli (Cold Mountain) and editor Giancarlo Ganziano. The Wachowski brothers’ longtime stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are also on board as second unit co-directors. Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are producing, with Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and William Fay serving as executive producers.
Principal photography has started at Babelsberg Studios and on location in various parts of Berlin.
Wanted Featurette Will Actually Make You Excited to See The Movie
Empire has posted a very cool featurette for the upcoming big screen adaptation of Mark Millar’s Wanted. The behind-the-scenes look might actually make you excited to the the film. Intercuting panels from the comic book with sequences from the film, the cast and crew from the film explain why this movie might actually be worth looking forward to.
Some of the visuals are nothing less than insane. Like the sequence when the camera follows a bullet through a glass window reminded me of The Wachowski Brothers. Or the sequence in the office when James McAvoy attacks someone with a keyboard. Or how about when the guy kills a fly with a bullet from his gun. If anything, this movie will have some fantastically insane original action sequences. Before I saw this new featurette I had very little interest at all in seeing this movie, but all of a sudden can’t wait to see Wanted. What do you guys think?
Wanted hits theaters on June 27th 2008.
Speed Racer: 7 Minutes in HD and My First Thoughts
You can now watch the first seven minutes of Speed Racer in High Definition over on Yahoo! Movies.
Speed Racer is sure to polarize audiences. I saw the film with a group of five people, and the resulting opinions were across the board. One of the guys expected to hate it and ended up loving it. And for another one of my friends, it was the complete opposite. Speaking for myself, I was expecting very little going into the screening, and I had a lot more fun than I ever could have expected. The Wachowski Brothers have created a live action anime that is bright, and sometimes visually assaulting. A nudge over two hours, you will leave the theater extremely exhausted from ADD overload. The Wachowski Brothers have created a film unlike anything that has ever been seen before. You have to respect this film from a pure filmmaking perspective. I would even go as far as saying that Speed Racer is a great movie. But at the end of the day, it’s still just a great movie about Speed Racer. And yes, it could have been 25 minutes shorter.
Anatomy of a Car Crash: Speed Racer Still Struggling; Paramount sees “Blood in the Water”
What is wrong with Speed Racer (Warner Bros)? A studio exec just filled me in on the latest industry tracking for the Wachowski Brothers’ update of the late 1960’s anime cartoon classic, and this picture has real problems in the marketplace.
The tracking has improved a bit, especially since Iron Man moved from Opening This Week to Currently in Release in audience surveys. Un-Aided Awareness has popped to 11% and the Total Aware is at a solid 83%. Definite Interest, however, is a concern at just 26%, trailing Fox’s What Happens in Vegas also set for Friday.
Warner Bros execs have to be relieved that the First Choice for this candy-colored Emile Hirsch thrill-ride is at 13%, an identical number to the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz comedy also at 13%. A decent 14% of Males Under 25 and the same number of Males 25 Plus say Speed Racer is their First Choice this weekend, and Moms seem open to bringing the kids with 17% of Females 25 Plus saying it is their top choice.
There is a nostalgia factor with Speed Racer, but for it to succeed, it needs to play as an all-out family film. December’s Alvin & the Chipmunks (Fox) might be a good benchmark. It went off with 36% Definite Interest and a 24% First Choice, much stronger numbers than Speed, en route to a $44.3M opening.
Complicating things for both new releases is the fact that, according to one studio exec without a dog in the fight this weekend, “Paramount knows that there’s blood in the water here. They have been watching Speed Racer tracking, and they see an opportunity. They have been ramping up media buys for Iron Man.” Look for Paramount to remind people that this Robert Downey, Jr. mega-hit is rated PG-13 and appropriate for the whole family.
I will not go online with my final weekend prediction for Speed Racer until Thursday, but as of Tuesday morning, it is hard to imagine it getting past $35M in its first 3 days. What Happens in Vegas looks like it is headed for $18M-$22M. I am expecting Iron Man to win a 2nd consecutive weekend, not unlike 2007’s Spider-Man 3 and 2006’s, which both started the lucrative summer blockbuster season and held strong for 2 weekend wins.
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