Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim'

[fifbeat]

I think Macross fans will get a kick out of this:

Check out the plot. It involves piloted-giant robots fighting alien forces, supposedly the size of monsters like Godzilla.

http://www.cityonfir...new-sci-fi-pic/

In other live-action Japanese Robot news, check out the trailer to a Hong Kong film called Let's Go: (trailer at link below)

http://www.cityonfir...g-kong-blu-ray/

EDIT: Mods, sorry, I meant to post this in "Anime or Science Fiction" please move. Thanks!

Edited April 29, 2013 by azrael

[Keith]

Called this one months ago.

[azrael]

Isn't this film more for the Kaiju/Daikaiju genre? Giant monsters and giant robots. Sounds like Godzilla vs Mecha-Godzilla.

[fifbeat]

Called this one months ago.

Sorry about that. My bad. =D

[EXO]

Definitely interested

[PetarB]

Some one on this forum is actually working on this movie - designing some of the hardware!

Hopefully he will drop by and share his experiences soon...

Could we get some, ahem, concept art? Or any other production art would be fantastic if possible, although I know the strict conditions you have to work under. You know who you are!

Edited February 15, 2012 by PetarB

[PetarB]

"Pacific Rim is Guillermo del Toro's new movie," said Patrick Melton of working on the film, "which is coming out in 2013. It is going to kick major ass. It's giant monsters versus giant robots, and Guillermo del Toro is the only person who could bring it to you. That was an amazing experience, because we read the script, and so we went in knowing what the producers and studio wanted us to do; and we went in and met Guillermo, and he started showing us the tests by ILM. They were just mind-blowing. I think they'll probably show something at Comic-Con 2012. Because they should be done by then, or close to done by then. I'm telling you, it's gonna rule Hall H when Guillermo, the king of geeks, comes out and shows some of the stuff he's shot. People are gonna be blow away."

It's not much, but you can read the rest here: FEARNET

[Dynaman]

If it's Del Toro in charge then I have high hopes for it. Hellboy was excellent (one of my favorite Super Hero adaptations, even though his creator would not call him such), and Pan's Labyrinth was excellent as well. It is refreshing to have someone that can mix genre and first class characterization.

[soul.assassin]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663662/

Honestly, I'm very quite intrigued with this movie's potential that has some kaiju elements written in. And I'm just as intrigued with the inclusion of an Oscar nominee in the mix.

Gonna wait for it.

[PetarB]

This is not Japan...

I have a feeling Tokyo's in for a bit of a hammering in this movie.

More at Collider. Wish we could see some hardware pics!

Edited April 11, 2012 by PetarB

[PetarB]

From Warner Bros:

From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ epic sci-fi action adventure “Pacific Rim.”

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Oscar® nominee Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) is directing “Pacific Rim” from a script by Travis Beacham (“Clash of the Titans”). Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Mary Parent are producing, with Callum Greene serving as executive producer.

The film stars Charlie Hunnam (TV’s “Sons of Anarchy”), Idris Elba (“Thor”), Rinko Kikuchi (“The Brothers Bloom”), Charlie Day (“Horrible Bosses”), and Ron Perlman (the “Hellboy” films). The ensemble cast also includes Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins, Jr., Burn Gorman, Larry Joe Campbell, Diego Klattenhoff, and Brad William Henke.

Del Toro’s behind-the-scenes team includes Academy Award®-winning director of photography Guillermo Navarro, production designer Andrew Neskoromny, editor Peter Amundson, and costume designer Kate Hawley.

Slated for release in Summer 2013, “Pacific Rim” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures. The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

[renegadeleader1]

Oh dear god its Godannar the live action film!

[PetarB]

I must admit, the plot does sound like it's cribbed from everything from Evangelion to Escaflowne. I'm sure it will be awesome though!

[Keith]

Will this movie succeed or fail? At this point, it rests on how awesom their super robot looks.

Edited May 24, 2012 by Keith

[Black Valkyrie]

This one might work, who knows ?

[wm cheng]

Yes, I designed the robot (Jaeger Conn-Pods) head interiors - the physical sets. Do look for Macross references! I tried to inject as much Japanese Anime sensibilities as I could get away with anyways! Unfortunately, the exteriors were already conceptualized before production started and all the LA concept artists seem to come out of the same school of rendering so everything looks like every other American designed robot. Plus its ILM doing the visual effects, so we've got a bit of that "Transformers" vibe going on - but much better ;-)

From an Art Dept. point of view it "looks" amazing! I have some of the concept art, but I am bound by NDAs that will take away my children if I release them! Maybe after the film is released - the new date is July 12, 2013 (on my B-Day!).

Everyone go see it - support a fellow MWer...

I love iO9's discriptor; "Godzilla + Voltron - Cats = Pacific Rim"

Edited May 25, 2012 by wm cheng

[BeyondTheGrave]

Sounds like sym bionic titan.

[anime52k8]

Yes, I designed the robot (Jaeger Conn-Pods) head interiors - the physical sets. Do look for Macross references! I tried to inject as much Japanese Anime sensibilities as I could get away with anyways! Unfortunately, the exteriors were already conceptualized before production started and all the LA concept artists seem to come out of the same school of rendering so everything looks like every other American designed robot. Plus its ILM doing the visual effects, so we've got a bit of that "Transformers" vibe going on - but much better ;-)

why is it that Americans can't figure out how to design cool robots?

Edited May 26, 2012 by anime52k8

[Lobizon]

First Image Of Idris Elba In Costume For Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim

Edited June 9, 2012 by Lobizon

[EXO]

That's not a bad looking armor. I just finished up another production with futuristic armors and weapons and I hated the way they looked. I hate it when big movies use sports gear to pass them off as space armor... fortunately I got to work on 2 other productions where the designers rocked. Can't say which ones but one, but one of them had stunning designs... musta had the phasers set that way.

[wm cheng]

Well, I find everything from Legacy kind of looks like IronMan... (Synths from Total Recall, Suits from Pacific Rim and now the new RoboCop)

[Mr March]

Put Idris Elba in anything and there's a good chance I'll watch it. Put him in a giant monsters movie with mecha/anime overtones and Del Toro directing, I'll be there opening day

[PetarB]

Stringer Bell is ready to rock and roll!

This looks better and better. I do like that armour.

....and now the new RoboCop

I guess you've seen something I haven't. Figures!

[EXO]

Well, I find everything from Legacy kind of looks like IronMan... (Synths from Total Recall, Suits from Pacific Rim and now the new RoboCop)

That hip part does kinda look like Iron man...

Stringer Bell is ready to rock and roll!

This looks better and better. I do like that armour.

I guess you've seen something I haven't. Figures!

LOL! that's what I told myself too... Stringer Bell in Space.

[BeyondTheGrave]

why is it that Americans can't figure out how to design cool robots?

define cool.

[s001]

Guillermo Del Toro should be working on a Hellsing live action trilogy. I know he's the only one who can do it.

Edited June 9, 2012 by s001

[Kanedas Bike]

Am I the only one that got a Mass Effect vibe from that armor??? I can't be alone in that.

*off to customize a set in ME3 to look like Idris

-b.

PS - can't wait for the movie, really hope it's good and worth the inevitable hype

[wm cheng]

define cool.

Robots that don't look like Chevy Camaros with thousands of useless parts that just float in thin air and disappear when transforming!

[anime52k8]

movie transformers don't count, they're not robots, they're aliens that turn into cars.

Shitty American robots are things like the power suits from Avatar or the boxing robots from Real Steel.

[Vespaeda]

On the topic of "..why Americans can't design cool robots?"- - reading the Yamato design art interview w/artist Tenjin linked from the "Yamato" thread gave me a possible avenue of understanding.

I have an impression of aesthetic expediency and form following an under-developed sense of function, as the weakness of 'American' robot concepts. Also, these being the 'loudest', ergo '..only..' school-of-thought seeing the light of day possibly because of hack Hollywood art direction & producers.

Not because '...N. Americans CAN'T do it...'.

As I understood this portion of the interview w/Starblazers.com, Tenjin talked about the elder 'statesmen' of mecha anime, the lore of anime production houses from the 70's & 80's and how the specialist artists & designers all got rolled in w/generic 'filler cell' artists to meet deadlines.

He opined this became an art enviroment where depictions of mecha, their proportions, details & motion could evolve; how the famous designers could mature and 'trademark' styles furthered a studio team's consistency. Now CGI rapid production has eliminated slavish manhours of human skill reinforcement; thus while character design w/less demanding curves thrives, mecha artists get less opportunities & no skills dev.

As I see it, American animators don't have this cultural legacy of mecha designers in animation studios, let alone transformable robot ideology. American art houses like Pixar emphasize character texturing and mass media cartoons celebrate G. Tartovsky, 'Phineas & Ferb' and 'Ben 10' sensibilities. The only contemporary 'test proven'[read that =$$$ makers] school of design for cinema mechs in America is, unfortunately "Bay-formers" and the teraflops of CGI data that supported it. As evidenced by all the studios borrowing its mechanics: "Battle: Los Angeles", "Battleship" & what was that other, dreadful alien invasion movie from 1.5yrs ago..."Sky-something", where people were snatched by blue lights from downtown LA to feed the alien, 'greeblie'/mish-mash ships???

I wouldn't be surprised if the 50ish - 60ish-yr old, purse-string holders for 'green-lighting' contemporary SF films erroneously believe "Robot-Jox" and "G-Savior" still represent what you get for trying to depict giant mechs on screen, short of the "Bay-formers" CGI aesthetic. "District 9" & Blomkamp's achievements be damned.

But, then again...HE is South African.

My endangered, Canadian $ 0.02.

[Twoducks]

Ok... so live action really giant robots punching monsters... FINALLY!!!

I'll be there on opening day.

[Noriko Takaya]

We can live! We can both live!

[wm cheng]

On the topic of "..why Americans can't design cool robots?"- - reading the Yamato design art interview w/artist Tenjin linked from the "Yamato" thread gave me a possible avenue of understanding.

I have an impression of aesthetic expediency and form following an under-developed sense of function, as the weakness of 'American' robot concepts. Also, these being the 'loudest', ergo '..only..' school-of-thought seeing the light of day possibly because of hack Hollywood art direction & producers.

Not because '...N. Americans CAN'T do it...'.

As I understood this portion of the interview w/Starblazers.com, Tenjin talked about the elder 'statesmen' of mecha anime, the lore of anime production houses from the 70's & 80's and how the specialist artists & designers all got rolled in w/generic 'filler cell' artists to meet deadlines.

He opined this became an art enviroment where depictions of mecha, their proportions, details & motion could evolve; how the famous designers could mature and 'trademark' styles furthered a studio team's consistency. Now CGI rapid production has eliminated slavish manhours of human skill reinforcement; thus while character design w/less demanding curves thrives, mecha artists get less opportunities & no skills dev.

As I see it, American animators don't have this cultural legacy of mecha designers in animation studios, let alone transformable robot ideology. American art houses like Pixar emphasize character texturing and mass media cartoons celebrate G. Tartovsky, 'Phineas & Ferb' and 'Ben 10' sensibilities. The only contemporary 'test proven'[read that =$$$ makers] school of design for cinema mechs in America is, unfortunately "Bay-formers" and the teraflops of CGI data that supported it. As evidenced by all the studios borrowing its mechanics: "Battle: Los Angeles", "Battleship" & what was that other, dreadful alien invasion movie from 1.5yrs ago..."Sky-something", where people were snatched by blue lights from downtown LA to feed the alien, 'greeblie'/mish-mash ships???

I wouldn't be surprised if the 50ish - 60ish-yr old, purse-string holders for 'green-lighting' contemporary SF films erroneously believe "Robot-Jox" and "G-Savior" still represent what you get for trying to depict giant mechs on screen, short of the "Bay-formers" CGI aesthetic. "District 9" & Blomkamp's achievements be damned.

But, then again...HE is South African.

My endangered, Canadian $ 0.02.

Wow! Being on the inside and privy to some of these producer/director meetings - he's hit the nail right on the head!! (unfortunately). One of the best explanations I've read - its so true (thanks for bring that to my attention). Also I blame SoCal School of Design churning out concept illustrators that all paint in the same technique - while beautiful, all looks the same.

Also being Canadian, that's my 0.97cdn cents

[BeyondTheGrave]

snip

snip

So let me get this straight. A mech shouldn't be unique and memorable. But a rehash or repaint of something that's been done before.

snip

But they have evolved. Look no further than macross. the transformation for the vf-1 is simplistic compared to the yf-19 or the vf-25.

Cgi hasn't elimeinated anything. it still takes several manhours to get the design on paper then sent to animation. where issues that weren't foreseen arise. I wonder how long it took to get alto's princess pose correct so that the gun rest on the should and not in it.

the purse holders don't care as long as they make their money back or have a nice write off.

[Keith]

I'd actually love to see some enterprising production studio hire retired aerospace engineers to help them design well...anything. I wonder if Pixar would consider it if they ever take a shot at any kind of mecha/super robot movie.

So let me get this straight. A mech shouldn't be unique and memorable. But a rehash or repaint of something that's been done before.

But they have evolved. Look no further than macross. the transformation for the vf-1 is simplistic compared to the yf-19 or the vf-25.

Cgi hasn't elimeinated anything. it still takes several manhours to get the design on paper then sent to animation. where issues that weren't foreseen arise. I wonder how long it took to get alto's princess pose correct so that the gun rest on the should and not in it.

the purse holders don't care as long as they make their money back or have a nice write off.

And this is because Kawamori is still a product of the old guard. He studied aerospace design before he even started on anime, and to this day plans out al lhis transformations in lego long before anything is modeled.