Speed Racer (The Wachowskis, 2008)

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Antoine Doinel · #1 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:46 pm

I was fairly ambivalent about their next film, but details concerning their filming process for the film have leaked and it's pretty intriguing. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Susan Sarandon wrote:They're using some high def thing that comes with guards and it's beyond anything I've everâ€¦. I saw 10 minutes before I left, they did a special thing for me cause they're just wrapping and having a party tonight, they were still working after I left. They're doing something where they're layering film so that the front and the back are in focus like a cartoon and they're also doing two dimensional and three dimensional stuff and mixing and everything is very, very saturated with some new kind of film, so they actually have to treat the actors in some way so we can hold our own with the background. So it's every color that wasn't in The Matrix is seriously in this film.

flyonthewall2983 · #2 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:12 pm

She's in this?

lord_clyde · #3 Post by **lord_clyde** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:24 pm

As in "He's a demon on wheels" Speed Racer?

#4 Post by **Jeff** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:39 am

This set of stills has given me a headache already.

Cold Bishop · #5 Post by **Cold Bishop** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:49 am

Wow... this looks The Son of Mask bad. And nothing will ever top the acting performances of the original Spritle and Chim-Chim.

Robotron · #6 Post by **Robotron** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:01 am

I guess I'm alone in thinking this, but it sounds to me like the the most interesting film they've ever made. It will certainly be more palatable than the pandering propaganda that was V for Vendetta.

Cold Bishop · #7 Post by **Cold Bishop** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:03 am

Robotron wrote:I guess I'm alone in thinking this, but it sounds to me like the the most interesting film they've ever made. It will certainly be more palatable than the pandering propaganda that was V for Vendetta.

V for Vendetta could have been a great film if they didn't turn in into a dumbed down Matrix-y action film.

DrewReiber · #8 Post by **DrewReiber** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:50 am

Cold Bishop wrote:Wow... this looks The Son of Mask bad.

Yes. And to think that for all my problems with their films, I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt when I heard they were attempting something closer to the aesthetic of the show. Egad, I can't wait to see the Race Through Candyland tie-in products.

mogwai · #9 Post by **mogwai** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:26 am

Jeff, your headache may become a migraine after viewing this, the first trailer.

THX1378 · #10 Post by **THX1378** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:13 am

Being a fan of the cartoon when I was a kid the casting looks dead on which is good. But then again the CGI from the trailer looks so bad it started to make my eyes hurt. Selling this is going to be hard because if the racing F/X look that bad as they do in the trailer, this has flop writen all over it.

Cde. · #11 Post by **Cde.** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:44 am

When I heard about this project I was expecting bright colours and fast pacing and outlandish costumes, and that sounded fine, but never did I think we'd see...this. So much for a live action version of the cartoon; it looks like Sharkboy and Lavagirl Redux. In other words: a nightmare. And when will someone tell Hollywood that these agressively fake CG driven chase scenes don't actually connect?

Dylan · #12 Post by **Dylan** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:59 am

Yikes! I'll take The Pineapple Express over this.

#13 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:09 am

How can something that ridiculous take itself so seriously

Antoine Doinel · #14 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:27 am

Well, if anything, this confirms the Wachowskis can't direct actors to save their lives. The visuals actually look impressive but every time an actor spoke it was like nails on a chalkboard.

portnoy · #15 Post by **portnoy** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:02 am

I actually loved the hell out of this trailer - yeah, the acting is insane, but I'm pretty sure the outsized performances match up well to what look like the Wachowski's formal interests with this film. Yeah, it's basically a CG-ed-to-death sensory-overload intensified-continuity cartoon - what, did we actually want/expect a realistic SPEED RACER? Are you guys familiar with the original?

And oh man - every time John Goodman shows up as Pops Racer, I want to cheer.

malcolm1980 · #16 Post by **malcolm1980** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:05 am

Could be really good or really bad.

No middleground.

DrewReiber · #17 Post by **DrewReiber** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:46 am

portnoy wrote:Are you guys familiar with the original?

Yes, I am very familiar with the original. That does not excuse this.

Stepping away from reality, they had a perfect opportunity to use the palette of the series. They didn't. However, I do see lots of poorly rendered, brightly lit, candy-stylized race sequences that look about as serious as PIXAR's Cars and a number of contemporary anime-inspired tableaux's. They're using the fact that it was a cartoon to peddle "it's made just like 300" marketing and the Wachowski's incorporation of a number of designs that have *nothing* to do at all with the original series.

What a waste.

Steven H · #18 Post by **Steven H** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:48 am

Cons: acting, production, characters, audio, and visuals.

Pros: a chimp named "Chim Chim" who bites and attacks actors.

Nihonophile · #19 Post by **Nihonophile** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:05 am

After seeing the trailer, I certainly did not get the feeling of fun like seeing a clip of the show. It seemed more like seriously cool action that was supposed to titillate you. How is that really like the show then?

Plus John Goodman was not nearly over the top enough.

Magic Hate Ball · #20 Post by **Magic Hate Ball** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 1:34 am

This looks really cool. I expect every ticket will come with an insulin shot for your eyeballs.

Antoine Doinel · #21 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:06 pm

International trailer 1 and 2.

New North American trailer.

Robotron · #22 Post by **Robotron** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:05 pm

Looks to be a visual masterpiece. I particularly loved the gag where one car froze in place and Speed Racer kept going.

Antoine Doinel · #23 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:34 am

It looks like Mario Kart: The Movie.

Robotron · #24 Post by **Robotron** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:34 pm

I suppose it just reminds me a lot of Dick Tracy for some reason.

Barmy · #25 Post by **Barmy** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:31 pm

yippee