Beowulf

Brian in Mesa

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Robert Zemeckis to Direct Beowulf

Source: Roger Avary
January 21, 2005


Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman have joined forces with Steve Bing and Robert Zemeckis to bring the oldest written English language myth, Beowulf, to the big screen through the magic of performance capture. Zemeckis will direct from the screenplay by Avary and Gaiman. The project will be financed by Shangri-La Entertainment, which is currently in discussions with Sony Pictures Entertainment to distribute all of its feature films. The film will be produced by Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke. Martin Shafer will serve as executive producer along with Avary and Gaiman.

Zemeckis is the acclaimed Academy Award-winning director of Forrest Gump as well as such major hit films as Cast Away, What Lies Beneath, Contact, the "Back to the Future" trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Romancing the Stone and Death Becomes Her.

Avary, who is an actual Viking descendant, won an Academy Award for his collaboration with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction, and is the writer/director of such acclaimed films as Killing Zoe and The Rules of Attraction. Avary is currently finishing the screenplay adaptation of the hit Konami videogame, Silent Hill, for Producer Samuel Hadida and Tristar Pictures.

Gaiman is the Hugo and Nebula-Award winning author of such novels as "American Gods" and "Coraline," and is best known as the creator of DC Comics' legendary "Sandman". He wrote the English Language Script for the Miyazaki film Princess Mononoke. His first feature, MirrorMask, directed by Dave McKean, premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. His short film A Short Film About John Bolton was just released on DVD. Projects in development based on work by Gaiman include Coraline, which Henry Selick is writing and directing, and Stardust, with director Matthew Vaughn. Gaiman is writing and will be directing Death and Me, based on his DC Comics graphic novel "Death: The High Cost of Living" for New Line Cinema.

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Very cool. :thumbup:
 

Chaplin

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"Performance capture"--sounds like it's going to be like what they did for Polar Express.
 

Stout

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Chaplin said:
"Performance capture"--sounds like it's going to be like what they did for Polar Express.

Wait...would that be just for the parts that need to be digitized (like Grendel), or for the whole movie? If it's for the whole movie, then BOOOOO! The technology is amazing and incredible, granted, but for a nice epic like this, give me a REAL movie, please.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Found this old info at NeilGaiman.com:

Beowulf: Neil describes his and Rodger Avary's take on the classic heroic saga as "Trainspotting in 4th century England." They've decided to take a page from movies such as Jabberwocky, adding a grittier texture to it, but keeping it more serious. It was bought by Image Movers, which is Robert Zemeckis' company. Originally it went all the way into pre-production, calling in special effects artists, then someone read the script, didn't like it, and it was stopped. Recently, with the amazing reviews garnered by Rodger Avary's Rules of Attraction, Avary has declared that he wants Beowulf to be his next movie. Avary's increasing popularity might not be enough -- the studio is hoping for a PG version, something along The Lord of the Rings. The writers refuse to do this, and Avary mentioned in his journal that he was working with a computer program to prove that the script is not nearly as violently bloody as it sounds.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Columbia Lines Up Four for Beowulf
Source: Variety
June 15, 2005


Columbia Pictures is in talks with Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson and Robin Wright Penn to star in director Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf, reports Variety.

The performance capture film is based on the Old English epic poem about a knight who slays a monster and becomes king.
 
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Brian in Mesa

Brian in Mesa

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Crispin Glover is Grendel in Beowulf
Source: Fangoria
August 4, 2005


Fangoria reports that Crispin Glover (Willard) is in talks to play the flamboyant, over-the-top role of Grendel in Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf. Glover and Zemeckis previously teamed-up for 1985's Back to the Future.

The film is based on the Old English epic poem about a knight who slays a monster and becomes king. Zemeckis will direct using performance capture, which he used for The Polar Express and the upcoming Monster House.

Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson and Robin Wright Penn also star. The screenplay was written by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman.
 

vince56

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There was a Beowulf movie about 10 years ago. What's funny, is that they cast Christopher Lambert in the role as the immortal.

I honestly am beginning to believe Lambert is immortal, it's the only hollywood role he ever gets :D
 

Ryanwb

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If this is anything like Scott Baiowolf, I'm totally boycotting :mad:

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Brian in Mesa

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From Yahoo: Angelina Jolie will reportedly play an evil queen in the epic "Beowulf."
 

Chaplin

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Well, I saw the trailer, and it looks awesome! Also looks live-action, though. Might just be the lousy picture on my computer, but it does look live-action with a lot of digital work.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808728058/video/3545590/standardformat/

Again, and I've mentioned this before, it is exactly the same type of CGI that was used for Polar Express. You can really tell when Anthony Hopkins is on screen and whenever there is a lot of motion.

So in essence, it is definitely animation, but the motion capture if leaps and bounds better than anything seen before.

I have a friend that actually appears in the movie and had to wear one of those suits with all the computer sensors on it.
 

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Again, and I've mentioned this before, it is exactly the same type of CGI that was used for Polar Express. You can really tell when Anthony Hopkins is on screen and whenever there is a lot of motion.

So in essence, it is definitely animation, but the motion capture if leaps and bounds better than anything seen before.

I have a friend that actually appears in the movie and had to wear one of those suits with all the computer sensors on it.

Cool. Then my computer picture just isn't good enough. Definitely looks like the technology, if still the same, is loads better than when they did Polar Express.
 

Chaplin

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Cool. Then my computer picture just isn't good enough. Definitely looks like the technology, if still the same, is loads better than when they did Polar Express.

Definitely agree, although Polar Express I think wasn't supposed to look "real" most of the time. I mean, all the adult characters were Tom Hanks! :D
 

Chris_Sanders

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Just a strange side note...

Knotts Scary Farm will have a halloween maze based on this movie this year. I will let you guys know if it is cool or not :)
 

ajcardfan

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This is the movie I'm now most excited about seeing.
 
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Brian in Mesa

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Beowulf

Release Date: November 16, 2007 (conventional theaters & IMAX 3D)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Screenwriter: Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary
Genre: Action, Animated, War
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity)
Website: Beowulf | MySpace.com/Beowulfmovie

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Dominic Keating, Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn

Plot Summary: In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf slays the demon Grendel and incurs the wrath of its monstrous yet seductive mother, in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend.

Groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a vision of the Beowulf saga that has never been told before. Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Shangri-la Entertainment present "Beowulf," starring Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother, Anthony Hopkins as the corrupt King Hrothgar, and Ray Winstone as Beowulf. The film also stars John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Dominic Keating, Alison Lohman and Robin Wright Penn.

Neil Gaiman ("MirrorMask," the graphic novel Sandman) and Roger Avary ("Pulp Fiction") adapted the legend for the screen.

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Bada0Bing

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Recently watched it. I just couldn't get myself interested in it. The fancy CGI was pretty cool, but I thought the movie was sort of lame. I should have passed.
 

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