Official thread for TMNT: IMMORTAL 2007

[TheSaintofKillers]

New posters for the new movie!!

Oh my god, it's even better than I was hoping for!

And here's a summary of all we know so far.
First poster:

And here's the first interview with the director:

Kevin Munroe (the film's director; an animation master and long-time fan of the franchise) was kind enough to answer a few of our burning questions regarding his movie.


Mean and Green

Gamerz-Edge: The Turtles have seen some drastically different artistic portrayals throughout their existence; for example, everything was quite a bit darker in the classic comic, and then more lighthearted come the cartoon television series. With this in mind, what approach do you intend to take with your portrayal of the Turtles in this film?

Kevin Munroe: After story, this is one of the biggest priorities for me. This movie is really going to be a throwback to the tone of the first comics. So much so that when I first met with Peter Laird, I brought my personal TMNT issue #1 from ’84 for him to sign – I was a big fan before Imagi even knew who I was. I love that book and just the raw energy of it – both in terms of the action but also the visual vibe. The question then becomes “Hey Mr. Smarty Pants Director, how does that seed translate into a cgi feature in 2007”? Well, we’re going after a moodier and darker grit that will give us a lot of negative/black areas on screen. The color palate is going to be rich, but we won’t be throwing every color under the sun on frame at once. The animation and boarding will be heavily influenced by our collective love of comic book style. The tests we’ve done so far are looking amazing – like a hand-painted dark graphic novel. As for the Turtles themselves, well, you’ll just have to stay tuned for that one. We’ve been working very closely with Peter and Mirage to develop the look. But rest assured that these are not bubbly turtles in a half shell from the first TV series…

Gamerz-Edge: CGI is fairly new, and we’ve seen how far you’ve taken the technology with Father of the Pride. Regardless, there have been some concerns within the TMNT fanbase that it might be difficult to translate the franchise to CGI. What can you say to the fans to put their minds at ease?

KM: Yeah, it seems like that’s the million-dollar question these days, isn’t it? I understand the concern… sort of. To me, the story is still the #1 priority for this film. If we nail that the way we think we will, then the medium could really be anything we want it to be. Imagi’s OEM work for Dreamworks on Father of the Pride is a great show in its own right, but it’s not even close to the quality that the studio is pumping out for TMNT. Seeing the tests we’ve done so far, I’d rank Imagi at the level of any major animation studio in the business…and I’m one of the biggest critics out there. As for the medium of CGI, here are some of what it means to me for this film as an animation guy who has seen both sides of the coin:

Freedom of camera – imagine following Ninja Tag along 30 rooftops at any angle.
Ability to have 4 TMNT fighting 60 enemies at once, and in incredible locations, without worrying about camera set ups or stunt men (no stunt man could handle the level of fighting we’re going to have in this movie)
Believable creatures and non-human characters that would normally stick out a lot more in a live action feature if they were cg or suits
Great controllable lip sync as compared to a live action suit
Although we’ll be stylized, it means a heightened sense of the Turtles’ reality… which is enjoyably challenging.
An astounding amount of lighting and mood options
I don’t know what else to say except that CGI is a medium – it’s another way of putting a good story on screen. As such, it’s silly to think that the medium dictates the quality of a movie. This could be a great 2D movie, flash animated movie or even live action… as long as the story works. I appreciate the concern, but know that we and Mirage wouldn’t venture into this as a CGI project if it couldn’t be done well with a great script.


Where it all began...

Gamerz-Edge: Will this be an origin movie; will you redefine the franchise, or are you going to start somewhere in the middle of the timeline?

None of us are interested in making another origin story. I think that one’s been well established by this point, don’t you? Nor are we out to redefine the franchise. I want this movie to celebrate the coolness of the Turtles – the action, the humor, the characters, acknowledging the stories that have been told already, etc. We’re working really closely with Mirage on the script. It’s very much in the vein of the timeline of the new Superman movie – i.e. we’re saying the events in the first movie have happened, and to a lesser extent, the second movie as well. (Insert your Vanilla Ice joke here… go ahead… I know you want to…) The Turtles are such rich characters to begin with, and knowing the villains and challenges they’ve faced in the past just makes them even moreso in this movie.

Gamerz-Edge: What voice talent do you have in mind, if any as of yet?

KM: Actually, that one’s a little early to tell. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a wipe board up on the wall to write down names as we think of them, but there are so many bigger issues on the table right now. However I’ll leave you with this: we will cast the right voice for the right character… whether that person is a known actor or not. If there has even been an animated film that didn’t need stunt casting, it’s this one.

Gamerz-Edge: Is there anything else you can tell us about the film, or anything you’d like to say to Turtles fans worldwide?

KM: Um… we care about you. Honestly. I entered into this as a fan and will remain so throughout the movie – that’s where the spark of this movie will come from. Everyone who is going to work on it loves the Turtles and loves the genre. The action is going to be on 11, and hopefully wrapped around a great (and very funny) core story about this family of brothers. We want to set up a forum for feedback and communication with the fans and those following the production. I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’re working on, so stay tuned!


Gamerz-Edge would like to thank Mr. Munroe for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Stay tuned for all the latest on the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film!

http://www.gamerz-edge.com/news/articles/040705Turtles.html

And the official site of everything that is TMNT:

http://www.ninjaturtles.com/

Visit it, and learn everything there is about them, and especially their comic books.

 

[Orko Is King]

Holy ****

 

[patrickbateman]

arent these like concept art ?

 

[TheSaintofKillers]

arent these like concept art ?

Yep, but concepts art are, well, the art they are going for. And that is some badass and gritty looking turtles, exactly what we all wished for.

Plus, the second one looks more like a 3D art than anything else, and it looks beyond great.

 

[Dark Carnage]

2007?

 

[TheSaintofKillers]

2007?

Far away, I know.

 

[Dr.Fear]

Yep, but concepts art are, well, the art they are going for. And that is some badass and gritty looking turtles, exactly what we all wished for.

Plus, the second one looks more like a 3D art than anything else, and it looks beyond great.

dude calm ur ass down. wow concept art great, but ur acting like uve seen the flick already.

 

[TheSaintofKillers]

dude calm ur ass down. wow concept art great, but ur acting like uve seen the flick already.

The TMNT are my favorite franchise. Here's two posters showcasing what the movie will look like, and it looks beyond awesome to me, and you want me to calm down ?

Of course i'm excited!

This is like the second coming of Christ to me, except, well, greenier.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

I´m totally hyped for this movie.
I always thought that TMNT should be a CGI movie, and not live action.
Why?
Because, like Kevin Munroe, "Believable creatures and non-human characters that would normally stick out a lot more in a live action feature if they were cg or suits", and we can´t forget that it´s a movie about 4 humanoid turtles and a rat.
But, what makes me very hyped for it.....the return to the dark roots of the original comics.

My only problem so far, the fact that they are not going to start from scratch
You could have well make the origin in flashback, but they should restart the damn thing.
I just hope that they make a serious movie of how 4 humanoid turtles can live with the urge of teenage years and being...well.....turtles.

 

[TheSaintofKillers]

I´m totally hyped for this movie.
I always thought that TMNT should be a CGI movie, and not live action.
Why?
Because, like Kevin Munroe, "Believable creatures and non-human characters that would normally stick out a lot more in a live action feature if they were cg or suits", and we can´t forget that it´s a movie about 4 humanoid turtles and a rat.
But, what makes me very hyped for it.....the return to the dark roots of the original comics.

My only problem so far, the fact that they are not going to start from scratch
You could have well make the origin in flashback, but they should restart the damn thing.
I just hope that they make a serious movie of how 4 humanoid turtles can live with the urge of teenage years and being...well.....turtles.

We already got the perfect origin movie with the first one. Why remake it ?

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

We already got the perfect origin movie with the first one. Why remake it ?

Because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was made 15 years ago..and all the sequels sucked.
Besides, the first one is not that good either to being with, IMO.

In my opinion, there is no point in making a sequel to a franchise when the last one was made 12 years ago.
Only if the first movie, or the all franchise, is perfect...which, IMO, it´s not the case.
If you can make it better, you should always go with a restart, even more when the first movie was made 15 years ago.

 

[Dr.Fear]

Because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was made 15 years ago..and all the sequels sucked.
Besides, the first one is not that good either to being with, IMO.

In my opinion, there is no point in making a sequel to a franchise when the last one was made 12 years ago.
Only if the first movie, or the all franchise, is perfect...which, IMO, it´s not the case.
If you can make it better, you should always go with a restart, even more when the first movie was made 15 years ago.

ugh fanboys!! theres no point in watching a restart when its basically gonna be the same story. might as well do just the sequels.

 

[TheSaintofKillers]

Because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was made 15 years ago..and all the sequels sucked.
Besides, the first one is not that good either to being with, IMO.

In my opinion, there is no point in making a sequel to a franchise when the last one was made 12 years ago.
Only if the first movie, or the all franchise, is perfect...which, IMO, it´s not the case.
If you can make it better, you should always go with a restart, even more when the first movie was made 15 years ago.

The first movie had the same origin and nearly same story as in the comics. Why not make a best of all TMNT movie, instead of telling ONCE AGAIN the same story ?

You already know the TMNT's origin, and backstory. Do YOU really want to see once again all of that ? Or would you not rather see them in a stand alone movie, with all out action, drama, and NEW stuff ?

I hate origins.... they are everywhere, and while they may sometimes be necessary, too often they are repeated to the point of wasting movies on them.

Is the TMNT origin their BEST storyline ? Which movie has the biggest potential, the one telling once again the same thing we all already know, or the one telling an all new storyline, shockfull of new action and plotlines ?

edit: Oh, and btw, going by your logic, Lucas should have remade his original trilogy of Star wars instead of making new stuff, since well, the first movie was made 25 years ago.

Sounds like a waste of movies ? Of course it does, just like remaking the first TMNT movie would be.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

The first movie had the same origin and nearly same story as in the comics. Why not make a best of all TMNT movie, instead of telling ONCE AGAIN the same story ?

You already know the TMNT's origin, and backstory. Do YOU really want to see once again all of that ? Or would you not rather see them in a stand alone movie, with all out action, drama, and NEW stuff ?

I hate origins.... they are everywhere, and while they may sometimes be necessary, too often they are repeated to the point of wasting movies on them.

Is the TMNT origin their BEST storyline ? Which movie has the biggest potential, the one telling once again the same thing we all already know, or the one telling an all new storyline, shockfull of new action and plotlines ?

edit: Oh, and btw, going by your logic, Lucas should have remade his original trilogy of Star wars instead of making new stuff, since well, the first movie was made 25 years ago.

Sounds like a waste of movies ? Of course it does, just like remaking the first TMNT movie would be.

It´s your call and i respect it, and i never said anything about an origin movie, look at my first post again.
What i said was, they should forget the previous movies, and start over, as for the origin, you might as well tell it as flshbacks, so you don´t have an all movie dedicated on that.

As for the Lucas remark....i´m sorry, but Star Wars is a series, not sequels...so, it doesn´t apply here.
Besides, like i said, the only way i can see braking that rule is when a movie is so perfect and so amazing, that you will never top that.
In that case, don´t restart, because it would be stupid to do so.
I said that in my second post!

ugh fanboys!! theres no point in watching a restart when its basically gonna be the same story. might as well do just the sequels.

Fanboy....hardly.
I never read a TMNT comic in my life, i don´t like the movies (besides the first, which as it´s moments) and i don´t watch the cartoon.
But i do like the all idea behind the TMNT, the fact that they are humanoid turtles trying to blend in a world that as no place for them, the teenage year of those humanoid turtles, the Shredder....

The thing is, when you like/love something, and you want it to go right, the right place to start is at the begining (that´s the origin) and not at the middle.
If you can´t make people understand or care for the story and the characters at hand, what´s the point?
The only way to understand where people are going, is to know from where they came from...by other words, the origin, and that it´s not just in this case, but in comic books making a come back (coff....Superman...coff)
The only way to forget that and jump to the middle is, like i say above, if the first movie is perfect.......and this is not the case.

 

[TheSaintofKillers]

The first TMNT movie is the definition of the word perfect, imo. It is by and far my favorite movie of all time, so you'll understand if I don't want it ignore, especially since it might be the second most faithful comic book adaptation of all time (the lines are even right out of the comics). It's that faithful. Except the comics were more violent. Still, I doubt they could make something as much faithful, and if they could, really, it wouldn't matter enough (the changes are too few to matter).

But the violence level can be rectify in this new sequel (which will forget the third movie, and most of all that happened in the second one).

 

[HighVoltage]

New posters for the new movie!!

Wow The Turtles are Back!!!! I´m a Big Fan of Raphael & Casey Jones.

So Vanilla Ice is doing a cameo??

 

[Mentok]

sweet.

 

[Mentok]

So Vanilla Ice is doing a cameo??

He's dead

 

[NYCfilmfan120#]

GO GO POWER RANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oops wrog thread...

GO GO NINJA TURTLES!!!!!!!

Oops wrong line...

* Said in fast pace * I WANT TO SEE THE UPCOMING NINJA TURTLES MOVIE BUT HOW COULD THERE BE A POSTER ALREADY????!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, that's it

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

He's dead

no he's not he was on one of the many crappy british reality tv shows a while ago

 

[Lethal Venom]

New posters for the new movie!!

Oh my god, it's even better than I was hoping for!

And here's a summary of all we know so far.
First poster:

And here's the first interview with the director:

Kevin Munroe (the film's director; an animation master and long-time fan of the franchise) was kind enough to answer a few of our burning questions regarding his movie.


Mean and Green

Gamerz-Edge: The Turtles have seen some drastically different artistic portrayals throughout their existence; for example, everything was quite a bit darker in the classic comic, and then more lighthearted come the cartoon television series. With this in mind, what approach do you intend to take with your portrayal of the Turtles in this film?

Kevin Munroe: After story, this is one of the biggest priorities for me. This movie is really going to be a throwback to the tone of the first comics. So much so that when I first met with Peter Laird, I brought my personal TMNT issue #1 from ’84 for him to sign – I was a big fan before Imagi even knew who I was. I love that book and just the raw energy of it – both in terms of the action but also the visual vibe. The question then becomes “Hey Mr. Smarty Pants Director, how does that seed translate into a cgi feature in 2007”? Well, we’re going after a moodier and darker grit that will give us a lot of negative/black areas on screen. The color palate is going to be rich, but we won’t be throwing every color under the sun on frame at once. The animation and boarding will be heavily influenced by our collective love of comic book style. The tests we’ve done so far are looking amazing – like a hand-painted dark graphic novel. As for the Turtles themselves, well, you’ll just have to stay tuned for that one. We’ve been working very closely with Peter and Mirage to develop the look. But rest assured that these are not bubbly turtles in a half shell from the first TV series…

Gamerz-Edge: CGI is fairly new, and we’ve seen how far you’ve taken the technology with Father of the Pride. Regardless, there have been some concerns within the TMNT fanbase that it might be difficult to translate the franchise to CGI. What can you say to the fans to put their minds at ease?

KM: Yeah, it seems like that’s the million-dollar question these days, isn’t it? I understand the concern… sort of. To me, the story is still the #1 priority for this film. If we nail that the way we think we will, then the medium could really be anything we want it to be. Imagi’s OEM work for Dreamworks on Father of the Pride is a great show in its own right, but it’s not even close to the quality that the studio is pumping out for TMNT. Seeing the tests we’ve done so far, I’d rank Imagi at the level of any major animation studio in the business…and I’m one of the biggest critics out there. As for the medium of CGI, here are some of what it means to me for this film as an animation guy who has seen both sides of the coin:

Freedom of camera – imagine following Ninja Tag along 30 rooftops at any angle.
Ability to have 4 TMNT fighting 60 enemies at once, and in incredible locations, without worrying about camera set ups or stunt men (no stunt man could handle the level of fighting we’re going to have in this movie)
Believable creatures and non-human characters that would normally stick out a lot more in a live action feature if they were cg or suits
Great controllable lip sync as compared to a live action suit
Although we’ll be stylized, it means a heightened sense of the Turtles’ reality… which is enjoyably challenging.
An astounding amount of lighting and mood options
I don’t know what else to say except that CGI is a medium – it’s another way of putting a good story on screen. As such, it’s silly to think that the medium dictates the quality of a movie. This could be a great 2D movie, flash animated movie or even live action… as long as the story works. I appreciate the concern, but know that we and Mirage wouldn’t venture into this as a CGI project if it couldn’t be done well with a great script.


Where it all began...

Gamerz-Edge: Will this be an origin movie; will you redefine the franchise, or are you going to start somewhere in the middle of the timeline?

None of us are interested in making another origin story. I think that one’s been well established by this point, don’t you? Nor are we out to redefine the franchise. I want this movie to celebrate the coolness of the Turtles – the action, the humor, the characters, acknowledging the stories that have been told already, etc. We’re working really closely with Mirage on the script. It’s very much in the vein of the timeline of the new Superman movie – i.e. we’re saying the events in the first movie have happened, and to a lesser extent, the second movie as well. (Insert your Vanilla Ice joke here… go ahead… I know you want to…) The Turtles are such rich characters to begin with, and knowing the villains and challenges they’ve faced in the past just makes them even moreso in this movie.

Gamerz-Edge: What voice talent do you have in mind, if any as of yet?

KM: Actually, that one’s a little early to tell. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a wipe board up on the wall to write down names as we think of them, but there are so many bigger issues on the table right now. However I’ll leave you with this: we will cast the right voice for the right character… whether that person is a known actor or not. If there has even been an animated film that didn’t need stunt casting, it’s this one.

Gamerz-Edge: Is there anything else you can tell us about the film, or anything you’d like to say to Turtles fans worldwide?

KM: Um… we care about you. Honestly. I entered into this as a fan and will remain so throughout the movie – that’s where the spark of this movie will come from. Everyone who is going to work on it loves the Turtles and loves the genre. The action is going to be on 11, and hopefully wrapped around a great (and very funny) core story about this family of brothers. We want to set up a forum for feedback and communication with the fans and those following the production. I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’re working on, so stay tuned!


Gamerz-Edge would like to thank Mr. Munroe for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Stay tuned for all the latest on the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film!

http://www.gamerz-edge.com/news/articles/040705Turtles.html

And the official site of everything that is TMNT:

http://www.ninjaturtles.com/

Visit it, and learn everything there is about them, and especially their comic books.

this makes me want to squeal with delight like a litle piggy...eeekeke! yay I can't wait

 

[mdc305]

I

i don´t watch the cartoon.

Yeah Right

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Yeah Right

Dude, i´m not american...
I catched the cartoon once, and i don´t even know when it airs.

Besides, to be honest, i don´t give a crap if you believe me or not, but it would be a little stupid of me to say that i didn´t watched it if i did.

 

[mdc305]

Dude, i´m not american...
I catched the cartoon once, and i don´t even know when it airs.

Besides, to be honest, i don´t give a crap if you believe me or not, but it would be a little stupid of me to say that i didn´t watched it if i did.

 

[Duneboy]

ya, those new pix look really good! Totally looking foward to it!