Emile Hirsch

‘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