Update [by Editor Peter Sciretta]: Variety has confirmed this earlier report. Fusco issued the following statement: “It is always exciting when you can come aboard a project that bridges the worlds of what you do with what you love.” No other new information has been revealed.
A TMNT fan blog noticed the other day that the official TMNT site had released details of the Turtles’ panel at Comic Con, and the page (since deleted) had some new info. Among the guests listed for the panel was John Fusco, noted in the listing as the writer for the live-action movie due in 2011. That’s an interesting choice for the project, and suggests that the aim is to create more than a simple cash-in that preys on fan nostalgia.
Fusco wrote the two Young Guns movies, Hidalgo with Viggo Mortensen, the recent Jet Li picture The Forbidden Kingdom and may be writing the latest attempt to remake Seven Samurai. None of them cinema classics by any means (not talking about the Kurosawa Seven Samurai, obviously) but it’s a resume that has a strong western/martial arts bent. And what is TMNT (also no cinema classic) really but a cheeky urban version of Western and wuxia tropes? Read More »
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird confirms to MTV that the current idea for the just announced live-action TMNT reboot is to do it “Batman Begins-style”, retelling the Turtles’ origin story. The film would probably include Shredder, April O’Neil and Casey Jones, but might even include other characters from the Turtles universe.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Co-creator Peter Laird posted a blog post talking about the big announcement last night regarding Mirage Studios making a new live-action TMNT movie. Laird confirms that the inital discussions involve using “hybrid” ninja turtles:
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Wow, I feel old. Tomorrow is the 25th birthday of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To celebrate, a 25th Anniversary “Shell-ebration” is schedules in association with the Tribeca Film Festival. The World Financial Center Plaza will be transformed into a drive-in pizza party screening of the 1990 live-action film complete with glow-in-the-dark manhole covers, a turtle-green colored Empire State Building, an all-new Party Wagon replica, and an appearance by the turles themselves. Click here for details . But the bigger news is that The Mirage Group has officially announced that they will be making a new live-action film for 2011.
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Yes, the Kevin Eastman report was inaccurate, but it appears there was some truth behind the rumors after all. TMNT co-creator Peter Laird confirmed to MTV that he has had “several meetings with very interested people” for a live-action / hybrid Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film.
Like Alvin and the Chipmunks or Scooby-Doo, the idea of a hybrid movie is to shoot the film with live action humans on practical locations. Computer Animated Ninja Turtles (and possibly cg villains as well) would be inserted into the shots. I actually think CG turtles could allow for some really crazy action sequences. The two major problems I had with the computer animated film was that it was geared towards young children and that the story was so fantastical and unrealistic. Sticking the computer animated turtles in the real world seen in the first lie action film might be just what is needed.
When asked about the rumor that Steve Barron, the filmmaker who directed the first Ninja Turtle film, would return to the franchise, Laird said “I would be very pleased if he ended up directing the next TMNT movie.” Lets hope this doesn’t happen. I think the project needs someone with a new vision.
The story is in the very early stages, and Laird admits that they haven’t even nailed down a villain yet: “It would be fun to do something with the Shredder, but I am also excited about the possibility of creating some new characters for the movie.”
