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m_talon
Veteran
Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 142
[SPOILER]Production notes online...here's the spoilers DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW Ok, I'm not going to mask this text, so STOP FRACKING READING if you don't want details about the movie.
The production notes have been all over now since being broken here:
http://www.jjabrams.net/showthread.php?t=190
I just wanted to sum up in a list all the goodness we get from them. Last warning...no masking here. GO AWAY if that bothers you. I tagged the title, so you know it's spoilerific. Here we go in no particular order.
1) The monster is invulnerable. The army can't kill it, they just annoy the heck out of it. No cheap jet or plane takedown like King Kong or Zilla for this guy. YAY!
2) We WILL NOT GET AN ORIGIN for the monster. To quote:
where is he from? "We don't say – deliberately," notes Goddard. "Our movie doesn't have the scientist in the white lab coat who shows up and explains things like that. We don't have that scene." So the online story will be all the lead up we get involving the monster.
3) It's -new- to this world (the term "baby" keeps coming up), so its behavior and motivation are purely reactionary. It doesn't seem to be after Slusho or SBN. He's scared and confused and throwing a Godzilla sized tantrum. He's been underwater for thousands of years and something woke him up.
4) WE WILL SEE THE MONSTER IN ALL ITS GLORY. He's 25 stories tall and on a rampage.
5) The monster has a tail, and it is his tail that demolishes the Brooklyn Bridge as seen in the trailer.
6) Hud is our POV for most of the film. He is heard often but rarely seen as he is behind the camera. HOWEVER, it appears Hud doesn't die in the tunnels. He gets an altogether too close view of the inside of the monster's mouth. The camera survives, though, after it's spit out by the monster.
7) The mini monsters are dog-sized parasites that come off of the monster when he scrubs up against a building. They aren't mutated critters or people. They are fast, can climb walls, and totally vicious. They were added to give a more "intimate" challenge to our heroes.
#8 Rob and Beth are our romantic leads, and the end of the film IS the scene at Central Park. We will get more of their early relationship scattered through the movie, as it was originally on the the tape before Hud grabbed it.
9) The building collapse was carefully modelled and was definitely inspired by the WTC. The notes said what I have been saying all along.
A few years ago, few people had any idea of what a building looked like when it collapsed. "Now," says Michael Ellis, "when a building collapses in a particular way and throws off a huge amount of dust, it's recognizable to everybody." "Again," notes Leven, "YouTube has changed the game in terms of visual effects references."
That's the biggies folks. I might have missed a couple, so feel free to add them and to discuss. All in all, this looks like it's going to be EXACTLY the kind of movie I was hoping for all along. I'M SO EXCITED I THINK I MIGHT BURST! -calls for the hazmat guys-
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:47 pm
SLUSHO!
Boot
Joined: 10 Jul 2007 Posts: 43
I definitely don't buy the 25 stories tall crap. I'd be pissed if it was that small.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:56 pm
m_talon
Veteran
Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 142
SLUSHO! wrote:
I definitely don't buy the 25 stories tall crap. I'd be pissed if it was that small.
From note #5 "Crushing the Big Apple"
Difficult as it was to give a fictional 25-story monster a sense of authenticity (which for Reeves was crucial to the success of the film), Tippett Studio and Double Negative were further challenged to create scenes of destruction that had to look real to an audience for whom scenes of falling buildings in New York are all too well-etched in their minds.
It's not stated by one of the movie makers, but it's there. Still, you're looking at a critter that's anywhere from 250-280 feet tall. For comparison:
1954 Original Godzilla - 167'
1984, 2000 - present Godzilla - 267'
1991-1995 Godzilla - 334'
So the monster is Godzilla sized, no worries. Probably closer to the present Godzilla height, and much taller than the original.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:46 pm
Fignut the Elder
Unfettered
Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 330
That's still a big ass mutha. I just love the fact that a lot of the people here can now stand down on a whole lotta speculative nonsense. Yet we still don't know exactly what the damn thing looks like(a description seems to not give it justice.)
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:15 pm
SLUSHO!
Boot
Joined: 10 Jul 2007 Posts: 43
I was just hoping for more. I want to be able to stand at the base of it's feet and look up and not be able to see the head.
I want it's head in the clouds, so to speak.
I just thought upwards of 500' would have been awesome. Maybe make the creature a little thinner and make it taller.
Personal opinion, of course. When I want to be scared (which is what I want from this movie a bit), I'm scared of things on a massive scale, and 25 stories doesn't cut it for me.
I don't know, again. It's personal opinion, and maybe a bit drastic, but it's how I feel about the movie.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:37 pm
Seibon
Kilroy
Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 2
SLUSHO! wrote:
I was just hoping for more. I want to be able to stand at the base of it's feet and look up and not be able to see the head.
I want it's head in the clouds, so to speak.
I just thought upwards of 500' would have been awesome. Maybe make the creature a little thinner and make it taller.
Personal opinion, of course. When I want to be scared (which is what I want from this movie a bit), I'm scared of things on a massive scale, and 25 stories doesn't cut it for me.
I don't know, again. It's personal opinion, and maybe a bit drastic, but it's how I feel about the movie.
I know its a science fiction movie, but animals of that magnitude won't be able to support itself on land if it lives in the ocean.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:55 pm
SLUSHO!
Boot
Joined: 10 Jul 2007 Posts: 43
Seibon wrote:
SLUSHO! wrote:
I was just hoping for more. I want to be able to stand at the base of it's feet and look up and not be able to see the head.
I want it's head in the clouds, so to speak.
I just thought upwards of 500' would have been awesome. Maybe make the creature a little thinner and make it taller.
Personal opinion, of course. When I want to be scared (which is what I want from this movie a bit), I'm scared of things on a massive scale, and 25 stories doesn't cut it for me.
I don't know, again. It's personal opinion, and maybe a bit drastic, but it's how I feel about the movie.
I know its a science fiction movie, but animals of that magnitude won't be able to support itself on land if it lives in the ocean.
Back to what you said, though. It's a Science Fiction movie. Any thing is possible.
Have you ever seen an animal 500' long? I'll answer that for you with a resounding, "No." Then I ask, have you ever seen an animal that can live both in the ocean, AND on land that's 300' long? I'll answer for you again with a big ole' "No".
You can't argue semantics with a science fiction movie when the beast is already 250' tall and can live in the ocean and on the ground.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:07 pm
Seibon
Kilroy
Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 2
Hmm...good point. Even though I like monster movies, I still don't see how Godzilla and other monster creatures can support itself on land. I read an article a few weeks ago about how some dinosaurs have trouble supporting its own weight, which lead to some of them move to the water to relieve the weight.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:22 pm
SLUSHO!
Boot
Joined: 10 Jul 2007 Posts: 43
Seibon wrote:
Hmm...good point. Even though I like monster movies, I still don't see how Godzilla and other monster creatures can support itself on land. I read an article a few weeks ago about how some dinosaurs have trouble supporting its own weight, which lead to some of them move to the water to relieve the weight.
Oh, absolutely. None of it really makes sense. My guess is that they work out a lot and do tons of squats and benches.
You've got to think, they probably have a really kick ass weightlifting program at MGP University.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:25 pm
m_talon
Veteran
Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 142
Awesome article on the subject of large (and small) animals, movie monsters, and the laws of physics.
http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/2/21701757/
In short, physics and gravity have wildly different effects on larger animals and structures than smaller ones. As height increases linearly, mass increases cubicly. Higher mass means gravity has a much stronger effect.
With movie monsters (or any oversized/undersized person or critter) you just have to suspend logic on that one. Happily, that means we won't have to worry about MGP stomping us in real life.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:06 pm
Nighthawk
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee
Joined: 14 Jul 2007 Posts: 4751 Location: Miami, Florida, USA, Earth
SLUSHO! wrote:
Seibon wrote:
Hmm...good point. Even though I like monster movies, I still don't see how Godzilla and other monster creatures can support itself on land. I read an article a few weeks ago about how some dinosaurs have trouble supporting its own weight, which lead to some of them move to the water to relieve the weight.
Oh, absolutely. None of it really makes sense. My guess is that they work out a lot and do tons of squats and benches.
You've got to think, they probably have a really kick ass weightlifting program at MGP University.
So that's why he destroyed Chuai: he was using the support columns like a chest expander.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:10 pm
SLUSHO!
Boot
Joined: 10 Jul 2007 Posts: 43
Nighthawk wrote:
SLUSHO! wrote:
Seibon wrote:
Hmm...good point. Even though I like monster movies, I still don't see how Godzilla and other monster creatures can support itself on land. I read an article a few weeks ago about how some dinosaurs have trouble supporting its own weight, which lead to some of them move to the water to relieve the weight.
Oh, absolutely. None of it really makes sense. My guess is that they work out a lot and do tons of squats and benches.
You've got to think, they probably have a really kick ass weightlifting program at MGP University.
So that's why he destroyed Chuai: he was using the support columns like a chest expander.
Mister Grumpy Pants has to attract some Miss Grumpy Pants somehow.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:17 pm
dalphx
Entrenched
Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 801 Location: Partying in Batcave with Lily & Beth!
what was that old movie with 2 brother monsters were like cracked out gorillas with seaweed on their heads..red one and other was green. One of them was bad and the other brother went into ocean and fought his brother. damn...keep thinkin "Gargantuan"...but didnt see anything in IMDB. Anyone saw this, How tall were those things?
This review reminded me of these creatures..lol
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:31 pm
deadtotheworld564
Decorated
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 Posts: 200
Its called Frankenstein's Monster's: Sanda Versus Gaira and the US title was The War Of The Gargantuas starring Russ Tamblyn from West Side Story and Kumi Mizuno from various Togo monster movies. The Gargamtuas wer areound 280 ft tall says my Japanese mosnter refrence book from Japan.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:39 pm
dalphx
Entrenched
Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 801 Location: Partying in Batcave with Lily & Beth!
deadtotheworld564 wrote:
Its called Frankenstein's Monster's: Sanda Versus Gaira and the US title was The War Of The Gargantuas starring Russ Tamblyn from West Side Story and Kumi Mizuno from various Togo monster movies. The Gargamtuas wer areound 280 ft tall says my Japanese mosnter refrence book from Japan.
that was it I think "War of gargantuas" 280 kool, so almost as tall
Thanks for the help deadtotheworld!
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:04 pm
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