From ComingSoon.net:
"[DreamWorks Pictures] has released the first trailer for director Shawn Levy's Real Steel, starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo, Kevin Durand and Anthony Mackie.
In the film, opening in conventional and IMAX theaters on October 7, 2011, Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.
Showing posts with label Real Steel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Steel. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Shawn Levy talks DATE NIGHT
From ComingSoon.net:
"Shawn Levy has directed some of the biggest blockbuster comedies such as Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. His new comedy, Date Night, stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey as a normal everyday married couple who are suddenly being chased by the mob when their identity has been mistaken for another couple who stole something from the ring leader.
We chatted with Mr. Levy in a private room at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, where he invited ComingSoon.net to talk exclusively about the film that hits theatres April 9th.
ComingSoon.net: 'When you first heard you were going to work with Steve Carell and Tina Fey what was your reaction?'
Shawn Levy: 'Super excited. I just felt like they were so well-matched together to each other and they're so well-matched for a movie about a married couple, so it just felt like this great coalesces of good fortune.'
CS: 'What was the hardest scene in this movie for you to shoot?'
Levy: 'I guess the only scene that was really, really hard was the car sequence and it was because I wanted to do a car sequence that nobody had seen before. We had to come up with engineering for a car chase that had never been done. We were starting from scratch and figuring out how to rig it, how to drive it and how to do it all safely. It was just dozens and dozens of people - probably several million dollars on engineering and RND and vehicles until we could figure out a rig that could pull it off.'
CS: 'Where did the idea for the car chase come from?'
Levy: 'The idea came from my head and my memory because when I was 16, the day after I got my license I was going to the library. I pulled in to park and I clipped the car next to me. I backed up and I somehow hit it more. So I pulled forward and I was dragging it with me. I went forward back forward back trying to free myself from this car, but somehow I had gotten our bumpers hooked and the car ended up on top of my rear end of my car. It always stuck with me because it was such a weird random thing. That's where the idea came from - that these cars would hit and get hooked at the bumpers and you'd have this car chase through the streets of Manhattan.'
CS: 'Did you get in so much trouble for that accident?'
Levy: 'So much trouble! Yes.'
CS: 'In this movie, the characters Steve and Tina play aren't in a marriage crisis. They're just an average everyday married couple who I think a lot of people can relate to. Why did you decide to focus on that aspect of a relationship?'
Levy: 'I just feel like we've seen a lot of movies about newlyweds and couples who hate each other, but the truth more often than not is couples love each other but are just worn down by the get things done of everyday life. I hadn't seen a realistic portrait of a couple who is not in crisis but is not vibrant anymore. They need to kind of wake up and see each other afresh and appreciate what they have. That was very important to me and to Steve and Tina. The fact that that comes through in the midst of all the comedy is one of the most ratifying things that I'm hearing from people who have seen it.'
CS: 'I know the idea of Date Night came about because you and your wife go out on weekly dates, but what about the twist of Steve and Tina's characters being chased by the mob?'
Levy: 'That was while working with the writer. The idea of taking someone else's [dinner] reservation was the first idea we had. In trying to come through for his wife and trying to make this night different, they are responsible for everything that happens to them. They are responsible for the case of mistaken identity. I wanted them to kind of me on the hook for that. Then it just evolved over months and months of script talks and rewrites and development.'
CS: 'Was it your idea for Mark Wahlberg to never wear a shirt in the film or was that his?'
Levy: 'Oh no, no that was in the script and always my idea. I just always knew the character never put his shirt on. It just stuck me as really funny. Eventually the only swear word in the movie - the only 'F' word would be in the joke that has to do with the fact that Wahlberg never puts a frigging shirt on. When I went to Mark for the part I said, 'You understand this is you without a shirt on?' He showed it off for the first time in a decade. He was up for it and got shredded for me and he looked damn good. He makes the rest of his men feel scrawny and pathetic.'
CS: 'Another great couple in the film besides Steve and Tina are James Franco and Mila Kunis. Can you talk about casting them?'
Levy: 'I think I had seen a short that they had done before together on the Internet. I don't remember what it was about, but Mila and James had done this short and I thought they looked amazing together. They felt real and I just thought they could play sleazy but passionate. And that's exactly what they do. On one hand they're a nightmare couple. Steve and Tina would be like, 'I don't ever want to be like them.' Yet, they have more alive passion than Steve and Tina's characters do at that moment. I think Steve and Tina end up learning something from this dirtbag couple that they think they have nothing in common with. That scene with the four of them is such a strong scene and it's really credited to the actors.'
CS: 'I understand you like to take a break in between your projects, but this time you couldn't because of scheduling conflicts so you were editing Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian while working on this film. What was that like for you?'
Levy: 'Yes. Super crazed. I was working seven days a week and ended up doing the same thing now. While I was finishing up Date Night I was prepping for this movie called Real Steel for DreamWorks. Now I'm kinda hooked on the double duty, but Steve and Tina became available in a specific window that was not going to resurface for a year. I was not going to miss that opportunity. I sucked it up and worked really, really hard and took it all on.'"
"Shawn Levy has directed some of the biggest blockbuster comedies such as Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. His new comedy, Date Night, stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey as a normal everyday married couple who are suddenly being chased by the mob when their identity has been mistaken for another couple who stole something from the ring leader.
We chatted with Mr. Levy in a private room at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, where he invited ComingSoon.net to talk exclusively about the film that hits theatres April 9th.
ComingSoon.net: 'When you first heard you were going to work with Steve Carell and Tina Fey what was your reaction?'
Shawn Levy: 'Super excited. I just felt like they were so well-matched together to each other and they're so well-matched for a movie about a married couple, so it just felt like this great coalesces of good fortune.'
CS: 'What was the hardest scene in this movie for you to shoot?'
Levy: 'I guess the only scene that was really, really hard was the car sequence and it was because I wanted to do a car sequence that nobody had seen before. We had to come up with engineering for a car chase that had never been done. We were starting from scratch and figuring out how to rig it, how to drive it and how to do it all safely. It was just dozens and dozens of people - probably several million dollars on engineering and RND and vehicles until we could figure out a rig that could pull it off.'
CS: 'Where did the idea for the car chase come from?'
Levy: 'The idea came from my head and my memory because when I was 16, the day after I got my license I was going to the library. I pulled in to park and I clipped the car next to me. I backed up and I somehow hit it more. So I pulled forward and I was dragging it with me. I went forward back forward back trying to free myself from this car, but somehow I had gotten our bumpers hooked and the car ended up on top of my rear end of my car. It always stuck with me because it was such a weird random thing. That's where the idea came from - that these cars would hit and get hooked at the bumpers and you'd have this car chase through the streets of Manhattan.'
CS: 'Did you get in so much trouble for that accident?'
Levy: 'So much trouble! Yes.'
CS: 'In this movie, the characters Steve and Tina play aren't in a marriage crisis. They're just an average everyday married couple who I think a lot of people can relate to. Why did you decide to focus on that aspect of a relationship?'
Levy: 'I just feel like we've seen a lot of movies about newlyweds and couples who hate each other, but the truth more often than not is couples love each other but are just worn down by the get things done of everyday life. I hadn't seen a realistic portrait of a couple who is not in crisis but is not vibrant anymore. They need to kind of wake up and see each other afresh and appreciate what they have. That was very important to me and to Steve and Tina. The fact that that comes through in the midst of all the comedy is one of the most ratifying things that I'm hearing from people who have seen it.'
CS: 'I know the idea of Date Night came about because you and your wife go out on weekly dates, but what about the twist of Steve and Tina's characters being chased by the mob?'
Levy: 'That was while working with the writer. The idea of taking someone else's [dinner] reservation was the first idea we had. In trying to come through for his wife and trying to make this night different, they are responsible for everything that happens to them. They are responsible for the case of mistaken identity. I wanted them to kind of me on the hook for that. Then it just evolved over months and months of script talks and rewrites and development.'
CS: 'Was it your idea for Mark Wahlberg to never wear a shirt in the film or was that his?'
Levy: 'Oh no, no that was in the script and always my idea. I just always knew the character never put his shirt on. It just stuck me as really funny. Eventually the only swear word in the movie - the only 'F' word would be in the joke that has to do with the fact that Wahlberg never puts a frigging shirt on. When I went to Mark for the part I said, 'You understand this is you without a shirt on?' He showed it off for the first time in a decade. He was up for it and got shredded for me and he looked damn good. He makes the rest of his men feel scrawny and pathetic.'
CS: 'Another great couple in the film besides Steve and Tina are James Franco and Mila Kunis. Can you talk about casting them?'
Levy: 'I think I had seen a short that they had done before together on the Internet. I don't remember what it was about, but Mila and James had done this short and I thought they looked amazing together. They felt real and I just thought they could play sleazy but passionate. And that's exactly what they do. On one hand they're a nightmare couple. Steve and Tina would be like, 'I don't ever want to be like them.' Yet, they have more alive passion than Steve and Tina's characters do at that moment. I think Steve and Tina end up learning something from this dirtbag couple that they think they have nothing in common with. That scene with the four of them is such a strong scene and it's really credited to the actors.'
CS: 'I understand you like to take a break in between your projects, but this time you couldn't because of scheduling conflicts so you were editing Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian while working on this film. What was that like for you?'
Levy: 'Yes. Super crazed. I was working seven days a week and ended up doing the same thing now. While I was finishing up Date Night I was prepping for this movie called Real Steel for DreamWorks. Now I'm kinda hooked on the double duty, but Steve and Tina became available in a specific window that was not going to resurface for a year. I was not going to miss that opportunity. I sucked it up and worked really, really hard and took it all on.'"
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Shawn Levy talks more on REAL STEEL
From ComingSoon.net:
"While speaking exclusively to Shawn Levy about his new comedy Date Night, which stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey, the director told ComingSoon.net about his next project, Real Steel, the futuristic action movie he's directing for DreamWorks, scheduled for release on November 2011.
Based on a short story by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend), it stars Hugh Jackman as an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter in a new form of Robot Boxing involving 2,000 pound cyborgs, but we haven't really learned too many other details for the look or feel of the movie. In our exclusive interview, we learned that the robots would be motion-captured, that boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard would be involved in the fight choreography and more.
ComingSoon.net: 'What's the vibe of the movie going to be? Will it be like the original Rollerball?'
Shawn Levy: It's like Rocky. It's basically a father/son drama set in the future. Hugh Jackman is a boxer, but in the 2020s, people have gotten bored with watching human fighters fight each other so they built robots to basically whale on each other for human spectacle. Hugh is a boxer. He can't do the only thing he was ever good at anymore. So he travels the United States buying and selling these robots looking for fights. Into his life comes the son he walked out on at birth. It's about a return to grace. It's about father, son and this robot they find in the junkyard getting a shot at redemption. It's my first non-comedy. It's big special effects. We're creating this pantheon of robots not based on toys, not based on comic books--based on nothing but our own animation. Steven Spielberg is executive producer, me directing and producing and it's really cool doing my first drama. It's very different. It's with Hugh Jackman who is an awesome guy.'
CS: 'Who else besides Hugh Jackman is in the film?'
Levy: 'Right now it's just Hugh and this kid we discovered out of Toronto named Dakota Goyo.'
CS: 'So the story is mostly centered on Hugh, Dakota and the robots?'
Levy: 'That's right. It's in the landscape of America and it's in the fight venues some of which are gritty underground robot fight clubs others are Madison Square Garden. It literally shows the journey from underground --no rules, everything is allowed vicious fights--and as they rise through the ranks they get a shot at a big time fight at a major venue.'
CS: 'Have you brought anyone in to consult or appear in the movie from the boxing world?'
Levy: 'Sugar Ray Leonard is our boxing consultant and he's done a lot with the choreography so I've been working a lot with Ray on these fights. It's been incredible because you work all day and then at lunch he tells you awesome stories of the glory years. Me and all the fighters are around the lunch table with our jaws on the table just listening to this legend share his stories.'
CS: 'What's the look of the movie going to be like?'
Levy: 'The look is gritty naturalistic. The robots are motion-captured, but the look of the movie is Training Day. It's gritty, natural, beautiful, but unvarnished.'
CS: 'You have such an extensive background in comedy so what's it like for you to transition into a movie like this?'
Levy: 'Honestly, I've kinda been loving it. I will be right back [in comedy]. I'm just stepping away from the table for a second. In all my movies, there's always a kind of heartfelt element, to be able to do a drama and to be able to spend more time in the emotional stuff with no pressure to get back to the funny that's very liberating for me. I'm also giving the movie a much grittier edgier look than I could ever give a comedy so I'm finding it really interesting. It's using muscles I haven't used ever as a professional. I'm finding it very, very stimulating.'
CS: 'Since Hugh Jackman is playing a boxer, does that mean he's getting into shape for the part?'
Levy: 'Yes, he's not in Wolverine shape because in the movie he hasn't boxed in 10 years. Hugh got super-shredded two months ago and we took a bunch of black and white vintage looking pictures of him fighting other fighters and those will be like vintage newspapers showing a sport that no longer exists. In the movie, he'll still be awesome looking and big, but not quite his Wolverine six pack and not quite in the shape he could be because this is a guy who lives out of his truck traveling the American landscape working out a living.'"
"While speaking exclusively to Shawn Levy about his new comedy Date Night, which stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey, the director told ComingSoon.net about his next project, Real Steel, the futuristic action movie he's directing for DreamWorks, scheduled for release on November 2011.
Based on a short story by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend), it stars Hugh Jackman as an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter in a new form of Robot Boxing involving 2,000 pound cyborgs, but we haven't really learned too many other details for the look or feel of the movie. In our exclusive interview, we learned that the robots would be motion-captured, that boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard would be involved in the fight choreography and more.
ComingSoon.net: 'What's the vibe of the movie going to be? Will it be like the original Rollerball?'
Shawn Levy: It's like Rocky. It's basically a father/son drama set in the future. Hugh Jackman is a boxer, but in the 2020s, people have gotten bored with watching human fighters fight each other so they built robots to basically whale on each other for human spectacle. Hugh is a boxer. He can't do the only thing he was ever good at anymore. So he travels the United States buying and selling these robots looking for fights. Into his life comes the son he walked out on at birth. It's about a return to grace. It's about father, son and this robot they find in the junkyard getting a shot at redemption. It's my first non-comedy. It's big special effects. We're creating this pantheon of robots not based on toys, not based on comic books--based on nothing but our own animation. Steven Spielberg is executive producer, me directing and producing and it's really cool doing my first drama. It's very different. It's with Hugh Jackman who is an awesome guy.'
CS: 'Who else besides Hugh Jackman is in the film?'
Levy: 'Right now it's just Hugh and this kid we discovered out of Toronto named Dakota Goyo.'
CS: 'So the story is mostly centered on Hugh, Dakota and the robots?'
Levy: 'That's right. It's in the landscape of America and it's in the fight venues some of which are gritty underground robot fight clubs others are Madison Square Garden. It literally shows the journey from underground --no rules, everything is allowed vicious fights--and as they rise through the ranks they get a shot at a big time fight at a major venue.'
CS: 'Have you brought anyone in to consult or appear in the movie from the boxing world?'
Levy: 'Sugar Ray Leonard is our boxing consultant and he's done a lot with the choreography so I've been working a lot with Ray on these fights. It's been incredible because you work all day and then at lunch he tells you awesome stories of the glory years. Me and all the fighters are around the lunch table with our jaws on the table just listening to this legend share his stories.'
CS: 'What's the look of the movie going to be like?'
Levy: 'The look is gritty naturalistic. The robots are motion-captured, but the look of the movie is Training Day. It's gritty, natural, beautiful, but unvarnished.'
CS: 'You have such an extensive background in comedy so what's it like for you to transition into a movie like this?'
Levy: 'Honestly, I've kinda been loving it. I will be right back [in comedy]. I'm just stepping away from the table for a second. In all my movies, there's always a kind of heartfelt element, to be able to do a drama and to be able to spend more time in the emotional stuff with no pressure to get back to the funny that's very liberating for me. I'm also giving the movie a much grittier edgier look than I could ever give a comedy so I'm finding it really interesting. It's using muscles I haven't used ever as a professional. I'm finding it very, very stimulating.'
CS: 'Since Hugh Jackman is playing a boxer, does that mean he's getting into shape for the part?'
Levy: 'Yes, he's not in Wolverine shape because in the movie he hasn't boxed in 10 years. Hugh got super-shredded two months ago and we took a bunch of black and white vintage looking pictures of him fighting other fighters and those will be like vintage newspapers showing a sport that no longer exists. In the movie, he'll still be awesome looking and big, but not quite his Wolverine six pack and not quite in the shape he could be because this is a guy who lives out of his truck traveling the American landscape working out a living.'"
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Hugh Jackman gets some STEEL
From ComingSoon.net:
"DreamWorks Pictures principals Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider have greenlit the Rocky-esque robot tale Real Steel starring Hugh Jackman. Filming will start in June.
The Shawn Levy-directed futuristic film, budgeted at about $80 million, is based on a short story by Richard Matheson that was adapted into an original 'Twilight Zone' episode.
Jackman will play an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter when human boxing is outlawed for being too violent. The new gladiators are 2,000-pound robots with human qualities. The ex-fighter's access to sub-standard robot parts hampers his hopes for glory in Robot Boxing, until he discovers a discarded robot that always seems to win. The ex-fighter has also discovered he's the father of a 13-year old son, and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top.
Levy describes the film as a 'rousing sports movie' with Jackman's character 'a former boxer who can no longer do the only job he's good at, and one particular robot that may be his return to grace.'"
"DreamWorks Pictures principals Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider have greenlit the Rocky-esque robot tale Real Steel starring Hugh Jackman. Filming will start in June.
The Shawn Levy-directed futuristic film, budgeted at about $80 million, is based on a short story by Richard Matheson that was adapted into an original 'Twilight Zone' episode.
Jackman will play an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter when human boxing is outlawed for being too violent. The new gladiators are 2,000-pound robots with human qualities. The ex-fighter's access to sub-standard robot parts hampers his hopes for glory in Robot Boxing, until he discovers a discarded robot that always seems to win. The ex-fighter has also discovered he's the father of a 13-year old son, and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top.
Levy describes the film as a 'rousing sports movie' with Jackman's character 'a former boxer who can no longer do the only job he's good at, and one particular robot that may be his return to grace.'"
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Shawn Levy updates on REAL STEEL
From SciFiWire.com:
"Director Shawn Levy confirmed that Wolverine star Hugh Jackman is a front-runner to star in Real Steel, a sci-fi movie based on a story by Richard Matheson, which Levy describes as 'a father/son action drama set in the near future, surrounding the sport of robot boxing.'
"Director Shawn Levy confirmed that Wolverine star Hugh Jackman is a front-runner to star in Real Steel, a sci-fi movie based on a story by Richard Matheson, which Levy describes as 'a father/son action drama set in the near future, surrounding the sport of robot boxing.'
In a world where robot boxing has replaced the human version, Jackman would play a Rocky-esque character looking for one last shot. 'Hugh Jackman plays a former boxer who can therefore no longer do the only thing he was ever good at and has to make his way in this new world,' Levy said in an exclusive interview Tuesday in Los Angeles....'It's faithful to the story in that that story was very much about a down-on-his-luck, slightly desperate journeyman who works in this robot boxing sport and who is desperately needing redemption and one last shot. The movie is more Rocky than Transformers.'
Levy has not cast the main character's son yet but has a good idea about the robots. 'They are most definitely not Transformers, not Terminators, definitely not WALL-Es, either,' Levy said. 'Unlike a lot of these others, these are human-built, human-scale fighting machines. They are built for human spectacle. People in this movie have gotten bored with human carnage and human violence. So in the quest for more, more, more, this sport has evolved to this.'
Producer Steven Spielberg offered the project to Levy, the director of such family fantasies and comedies as Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther and Cheaper by the Dozen. Levy saw Real Steel as an opportunity to stretch his muscles.
'When I sat down with Steven, I had a very, very specific vision of this movie, one that really puts the emphasis on the story and the sports-movie aspect as much as on the machinery,' Levy said. 'Real Steel is my first non-comedy. I will likely come back to comedy. It's certainly been very, very good to me. But like anyone who does anything, freshness and new experience is what keeps you interested. So when Steven called and said, 'Hey, you want to do this thing?' I was like, '[Heck] yeah, I'm looking for a different experience.'
Real Steel is due in 2011."
WON'T THERE AT LEAST BE SOME HUMOR?! Come on, Shawn, it's what you do best!! Anyways, still sounds good. If Steven Spielberg offers you a project, you'd best take it!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Hugh Jackman to kick some STEEL
From ComingSoon.net:
"Hugh Jackman is in talks to star in the Shawn Levy-directed Real Steel for DreamWorks.
Jackman is to play an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter when human boxing is outlawed for being too violent. The new gladiators are 2,000-pound robots with human qualities. The ex-fighter's access to sub-standard robot parts hampers his hopes for glory in Robot Boxing, until he discovers a discarded robot that always seems to win. The ex-fighter has also discovered he's the father of a 13-year old son, and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top.
The premise is based on a short story by Richard Matheson that was adapted into an original 'Twilight Zone' episode that starred Lee Marvin.
John Gatins is rewriting the current draft with Levy, and the studio is eyeing a May production start.
Angry Films' Don Murphy and Susan Montford are producing. Executive producers are Steven Spielberg and ImageMovers troika Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey. Levy also is a producer."
AWESOME!! Now more of my favorite people are stepping onto the movie!!
How about Ben Stiller as the son? Since performance-capture can make anyone look younger or older.
"Hugh Jackman is in talks to star in the Shawn Levy-directed Real Steel for DreamWorks.
Jackman is to play an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter when human boxing is outlawed for being too violent. The new gladiators are 2,000-pound robots with human qualities. The ex-fighter's access to sub-standard robot parts hampers his hopes for glory in Robot Boxing, until he discovers a discarded robot that always seems to win. The ex-fighter has also discovered he's the father of a 13-year old son, and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top.
The premise is based on a short story by Richard Matheson that was adapted into an original 'Twilight Zone' episode that starred Lee Marvin.
John Gatins is rewriting the current draft with Levy, and the studio is eyeing a May production start.
Angry Films' Don Murphy and Susan Montford are producing. Executive producers are Steven Spielberg and ImageMovers troika Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey. Levy also is a producer."
AWESOME!! Now more of my favorite people are stepping onto the movie!!
How about Ben Stiller as the son? Since performance-capture can make anyone look younger or older.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Shawn Levy is the man of STEEL
From ComingSoon.net:
"Action director Peter Berg, who had been talking with DreamWorks about taking on the studio's futuristic robot boxing movie Real Steel, has moved on, opening up the gig to Shawn Levy.
"Action director Peter Berg, who had been talking with DreamWorks about taking on the studio's futuristic robot boxing movie Real Steel, has moved on, opening up the gig to Shawn Levy.
Levy is known for directing and producing broad, hit comedies such as the two Night at the Museum movies, which have grossed nearly $1 billion in worldwide box office. But the Steel story line takes place in a near future where human boxing has been outlawed, and heavy, humanoid robots slug it out in the ring instead. Into this world step a father and his estranged teenage son, who train an extraordinary fighter.Levy's participation could mean a change in tone for the adventure project and/or a stretching of the creative muscles for the director, who has signed on with DreamWorks to take a swing at it.
'I'm thrilled to be working with Shawn on this project,' DreamWorks CEO and co-chair Stacey Snider said. 'He's a master of combining heart and human stories with fantastic visuals. I'm sure that in his capable hands, Real Steel will be a film that touches and excites all audiences."
John Gatins (Dreamer) is writing the most recent draft of the Real Steel screenplay.
Angry Films' Don Murphy and Susan Montford are producing. Steven Spielberg will exec produce along with ImageMovers' Jack Rapke, Robert Zemeckis and Steve Starkey. Levy also will serve in a producing capacity.
DreamWorks originally purchased the Dan Gilroy-penned spec in 2003 for ImageMovers to produce, and new Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman developed it there as production president. Screenwriters Jeremy Leven (The Notebook) and Les Bohem (The Alamo) worked on the script as well.
The project was then among those that DreamWorks purchased from Paramount when it split from the studio last fall. In recent months, DreamWorks has been bustling with activity as it completed its multistrand financing deals with India's Reliance ADA and a syndication of banks.
Steel would be distributed by Disney.
The project began generating heat this summer when Berg (Hancock) started circling it. The director ultimately decided to concentrate on two Universal projects -- an adaptation of the Hasbro game Battleship and the Afghan war story Lone Survivor -- so Spielberg called Levy last week to ask if he were interested.
'Steven's passion for this project was absolutely infectious and I'm so excited to bring this story to life,' Levy said. 'In a movie filled with these mechanical warriors, at its core Real Steel is an incredibly human story.'
Levy is finishing up his latest comedy, Date Night, which Fox will release in April. He has a dozen other projects in development as a director and producer through his 21 Laps Entertainment banner."
Awesome!! The first major Disney movie from both Steven Spielberg and Shawn Levy, two of my directing heroes!! YAY!!
So is this like Rocky but with robots?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
