CON: Beowulf

Before I could even stop my head
from spinning on the Con floor I found myself sitting in a theater
next to three other worn out JoBlo.com staffers and a free pair of
snazzy 3-D glasses. We, along with a bunch of other press folk, were
there to view about 10-15 minutes of BEOWULF, a new
live-action/animation hybrid from Director, Robert Zemeckis and
writers, Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. This was to be
the world premiere of the footage, which made all that much cooler
to check out.

First, we were shown the film’s
trailer in 3D, following by the footage, a Q&A session with
Gaiman and Avary, and finally, the film’s teaser. The
film stars Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn,
Crispin Glover, and Ray Winston (as the huge sexy blonde lead),
the story re-tells the ancient tale of man vs. monster. You can
check out all our VIDEO thoughts on what we saw below. As
for what we learned…

– The film has been in the works
since 1987 and has always been planned for a 3-D release.

– Gaiman met Avary after the latter
was hired and fired by Warner Brothers to direct a SANDMAN movie,
Gaiman’s critically loved comic book.

– Avary and Gaiman wrote the first
draft together in Mexico in two weeks, and joked about drinking
margueritas and cheap beer.

– Avary was initially supposed to
direct the film, and Zemeckis as backing him on that, but the
studio wouldn’t have it, considering that he was the man behind
KILLING ZOE, apparently. After a while, Zemeckis took the helm and
Avary said that he felt like “Z” had taken the ideas
from his brain and made them look about as great as he had ever
imagined.

– The footage we saw was all that
exists of the movie to date but is filled with tons of action.
There’s dragons, epic battles, flying, and even some hot animated
loving.

– All characters eerily resemble
their actors using 100% motion capture except Winston’s and
Glover’s, who plays the main baddie, Grendel.

– Avary referred to the project as
“the oldest story in the English language told with the most
modern technology.

– The makers are aiming for a PG-13
rating and edited out foul language and changed the color of
spraying blood from the original script to do so. There is a
possibility of an unrated DVD though.

– Avary used inspiration from films
such as EXCALIBUR and LEGEND to get the look and feel he wanted.

– Gaiman says this “is the
closest you can get to walking around in a graphic novel”.

– The film will be widest 3D
release of all-time and be released in three formats including 3D,
2D and IMAX.

Co-writer Roger Avary playing bunnie rabbits with
Johnny Moreno and JoBlo

– Somehow the animators have found
a way to make Jolie look even hotter. A lift here, a tuck there.
Possibly the greatest animated boobs I’ve ever seen by the way.

– Gaiman and Avary are currently
working together again, in this same format, on Charles Burns’
BLACKHOLE.

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