This week sees the release of James Cameron's long-in-development adaptation of ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, helmed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by AVATAR's Jon Landau. Based on Yukito Kishiro's Manga series, the film required an effects house that could make the dystopian, cybernetic world of ALITA come to life and what better place to turn to than WETA Digital? Founded by director Peter Jackson in 1993, the visual effects studio has gone on to create worlds, creatures, machines and more for a slew of films, including The Lord of The Rings trilogy, KING KONG, AVATAR, DISTRICT 9, THE AVENGERS, GODZILLA, MAN OF STEEL, FURIOUS 7, DEADPOOL, THE JUNGLE BOOK, AQUAMAN and many, many more, including upcoming releases like AVENGERS: ENDGAME, GEMINI MAN and a handful of AVATAR sequels.
I traveled to Wellington, New Zealand to visit the effects house where I not only talked with Producer Jon Landau and Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri, as well as stars Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz, but suited up in a mo-cap suit and recreated a sequence from the film, while Robert Rodriguez directed me and supplied a live soundtrack with his guitar. A surreal moment to be sure and one I won't likely forget. I also take a look at some of the technology they used to shoot the film with, including a "virtual camera" that allows you to see your mo-capped performances recorded and rendered in real time. Thankfully, I really enjoyed the film as well and you can check out my review here (as well as Chris Bumbray's take here for a second opinion). We'll have more interviews with the cast and crew up this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL opens on February 14th.