Speed Racer

Interview: Directors Mark Osborne, John Stevenson Create Balance Between Action, Zen in ‘Kung Fu Panda’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – In this summer movie season of old men with whips, gals in stilettos and superheroes a go-go, you may ask: “Where’s the cartoon?” (“Speed Racer” doesn’t count.) Indeed, the most highly anticipated animation event of the summer is “Kung Fu Panda”.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Filled with the voices of “A”-list Hollywood stars and featuring a classic combination of well-choreographed action, laugh-out-loud comedy and feel-good philosophy, “Panda” doesn’t pander and works on all levels.

HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed “Kung Fu Panda” co-directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson about putting together a major animated project for the first time and how their lead actor, Jack Black, helped shaped the destiny of the final product.

After having spent 20 years in the inescapable Chorh-Gom Prison, Tai Lung (Ian McShane) makes his daring escape in DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda”.
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

“There was a general desire to return to that classic, timeless sense of story that Mark and I remembered as we were growing up,” Stevenson said. “We just wanted to make a story and a world that would endure and would be its own, self-contained universe.”

Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy and train in the art of kung fu, giant panda Po (Jack Black, above) begins his study under Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman, below) in DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda”.
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

“As for the films that inspired us most with animated action, there is no higher bar than ‘The Incredibles,’” Osborne said. “That was a film we looked at not necessarily as a template but for the level of quality and sophistication of the action.”

Jack Black is cast perfectly as the voice of Po: a lumpy panda bear working at his father’s noodle shop in China’s Valley of Peace. Po is an advocate of the fighting cult of kung fu and has kept up with the heroics of the “Furious Five” – Monkey, Mantis, Crane, Viper and Tigress – animals based on the fighting style.

They have been trained to protect the valley by Master Shifu (the voice of Dustin Hoffman) against the rages of evil, avenge-seeking tiger Tai Lung (Ian McShane). One of the five is about to be crowned the top warrior, which is also known as the “Dragon Master”.

Osborne praises the lead voice actor: “We rewrote and rebuilt the original story around Jack Black. That was one of the great things that happened in the genesis of the project. It is perfect casting.”

He added: “There was a lot of inspiration from Jack as a person, Jack’s movie characters and what we knew of Jack especially in association with Tenacious D. We took a lot of inspiration from all that in creating this ultimate fanboy character.”

Seth Rogen voices the fast and quick-tempered Mantis (one of the legendary Furious Five) in DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda”.
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

“Jack gave a huge gift really early on about bending the concept to make it work,” Stevenson said. “There were interesting choices to be made and it all came from Jack.”

He added: “When he started doing his first sessions as Po, we all imagined that it might be Tenacious D Jack or something more cocky and abrasive. But Jack himself started to do these more vulnerable and ‘self aware of your failings’ kind of readings.”

Through a series of misadventures, Po becomes the Dragon Master and must endure the rejection and jealously of the Furious Five along with Shifu’s reluctant training. When Tai Lung escapes from prison, it’s up to Po to put into practice the teachings of his master and trust what he has learned to defeat the foe.

The story evolved through several renderings before Osborne and Stevenson found the right tenor.

Stevenson explained: “While we knew Po would eventually have to go one on one with Tai Lung, we didn’t want him to cheat, use magic, turn into Bruce Lee all of a sudden or have him do things you hadn’t seen him do before.”

He continued: “In the Tao Te Ching, there was this stanza in there: ‘The sapling that bends in the breeze is greater than the mighty oak that is rigid.’ It ends with this couplet: ‘The hard and strong will fall. The soft and weak will overcome.’ When we read that, we said ‘hurrah’! We found our overall philosophy.”

“Also, the philosophical underpinning of the story is that Master Shifu and Po are a balance of opposites,” Osborne expressed. “Villain Tai Lung and Po are a balance of opposites. We thought to build everything on that and we started to discover things.”

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our huge, high-resolution “Kung Fu Panda” image gallery.

RELATED READING
Read more film reviews from critic Patrick McDonald.

The fluid nature and the excitement of the action sequences – epic without being cartoony – are the centerpiece of the film’s legitimacy.

“One of the big conceits of the film was to use the five original animal fighting styles,” Stevenson said. “The Furious Five in the film actually personify them. It was kung fu in such a way that honored its source, but it also did it in a way you’ve never seen before because it was animals doing it instead of human beings.”

Bring the kids and line up for the popcorn as the result is a fundamental balance and a perfect summer animated classic. Osborne concluded: “It had to be authentic and still feel like kung fu, but at the same time, we knew we had to find our own path and our own way of doing things.”

In all, “Kung Fu Panda” features the voice talent of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Dan Fogler and Michael Clarke Duncan.

“Kung Fu Panda” opened everywhere on June 6, 2008.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Speed Racer’ Condemns Franchise Dignity, Delivers Sensorial Explosion

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:45:52 -0700

CHICAGO – While Hollywood slapped “PG” on the hotly anticipated “Speed Racer” to line its pocketbooks with the widest hodgepodge of people (ahem: kids) everywhere, those same kids will leave the theater with that lollipop nearly sucked to the stick but then yanked away with confusion.

Rather than the “go!” marketing hype, this is a stop-and-go proposition. Chicago brothers Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are ultimately wrangling with a clear identity crisis of who this film is meant for.

Is it the 1967 crowd who adored the American anime version following the Japanese manga creation? Is it for today’s children who didn’t grow up with the franchise but will magically identify with it from scratch because it’s on the big screen? Perhaps it’s for “The Matrix” crowd who slobber over the Wachowski’s sensory orgy?

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Speed Racer” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Speed Racer” image gallery.

A slathering of all of the above will be influenced by the omnipresent advertising and power of the Wachowski name, which has been catapulted to stardom with the trail-blazing triumph of “The Matrix” films.

But with summer blockbuster season in full effect for 2008, moviegoers won’t spend in droves the way they recently did with “Iron Man,” which is so far the best-reviewed film of the year.

With a production budget of $140 million, “Iron Man” has already earned $220 million in worldwide box-office receipts in its first six days of release, according to Box Office Mojo. With a production budget of $100 million, “Speed Racer” won’t compare.

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Despite its bevy of blemishes, you can’t deny its color. There’s an intense vibrancy to the environment that – while unrealistic in the real world – is beautifully charming in Hollywood’s CGIville.

Knowing they had to hop beyond another planet in the solar system following 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions,” the Wachowskis don’t disappoint in the “Speed Racer” special effects department.

The brothers continue to break new ground, and in doing so, they play an important role in inspiring other visionaries to forge new lines of thinking.

Just as “The Matrix” in 1999 had sequences that have been among the most emulated in Hollywood today over the past decade, the Wachowskis continue to up their own bar.

Emile Hirsch in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Matthew Fox (middle) in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full “Speed Racer” review…

High-Quality Lenticular ‘Speed Racer’ Poster Surfaces Online

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:35:11 -0700

On Dec. 14, we posted the new lenticular “Speed Racer” poster as captured by a camera phone. On Monday, JoBlo published a high-quality version of the 3D poster.

The trailer for the film, which stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman, can be found here. The film is directed by “The Matrix” phenoms Andy and Larry Wachowski. Both are natives of Chicago. “Speed Racer” is slated to open on May 9, 2008.

First-Look Production Stills: New ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Get Smart,’ ‘10,000 B.C.’; ‘Speed Racer’ Poster

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:00:16 -0700

Following our Dec. 11 post, which featured a slew of new production stills from 2008 Warner Bros. films, even more have just been released by the studio. We now see the first stills from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “10,000 B.C.” and “Get Smart”.

Steven Strait as D’Leh in the epic adventure “10,000 B.C.”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”.
Photo credit: Jaap Buitendijk

Anne Hathaway stars as Agent 99 and Steve Carell stars
as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett

Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett
Also, I’m adding a sweet “Speed Racer” production still from Dec. 11. Below it, we see a new lenticular “Speed Racer” poster that – in person – is literally in 3D. /Film says: “The helmet under [Speed Racer’s] arms pops out at you and the background is also in 3D.”

Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer in the Mach 5 in the film “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Lenticular “Speed Racer” poster in 3D.
Image credit: FirstShowing.net

Picture Picks: ‘Body of Lies,’ ‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘Speed Racer,’ ‘RocknRolla,’ ‘Whiteout,’ ‘Fool’s Gold’

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:25:17 -0700

Warner Bros. on Monday released the mother lode of new production stills for films slated for release between Jan. 2008 and Dec. 2008. These are our top selections from the batch.

Kate Beckinsale in the 2008 film “Whiteout”.
Photo credit: Rafy

Heath Ledger as the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” which is slated to open on July 18, 2008.
Photo credit: Stephen Vaughan

Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2008 film “Body of Lies”.
Photo credit: Francois Duhamel

Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer in “Speed Racer,” which is slated to open on May 9, 2008.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Christina Ricci in “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson in “Fool’s Gold,” which is slated to open on Feb. 8, 2008.
Photo credit: Vince Valitutti

Thandie Newton and Gerard Butler in the 2008 film “RocknRolla”.
Photo credit: Alex Bailey

Shannyn Sossamon and Ed Burns in “One Missed Call,” which is slated to open on Jan. 4, 2008.
Photo credit: Guy D’Alema

Clockwise from top: Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively, America Ferrera and Amber Tamblyn in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” which is slated to open on Aug. 8, 2008.
Photo credit: Phil Caruso

Richard Gere and Diane Lane in “Nights in Rodanthe,” which is slated to open on June 6, 2008.
Photo credit: Michael Tackett