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SDCC08: Hasbro - G.I. Joe Panel Coverage....LIVE
Posted by Curto on July 24, 2008 at 01:21 PM CST:
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008
Time: 11:30am ? 12:30pm
Location: Room 7AB
As Hasbro ramps up for the summer 2009 blockbuster movie release of G.I. Joe from Paramount Pictures, film producers Lorenzo Di Bonventura and Brian Goldner, also Hasbro?s CEO, will be joined by writer Stuart Beattie and creative consultant Larry Hama to discuss how they are bringing the legendary G.I. Joe vs. Cobra saga and its characters to life for fans around the world. Also, Aaron Archer (Hasbro Design), Michelino Paolino (Hasbro Design), Michael Ritchie (Hasbro Marketing), and producer Joaquim Dos Santos discuss the recently announced ?G.I. Joe: Resolute,? animated online series.
The crowd is just getting in for Hasbro's G.I. Joe panel, which and there are photographers, videographers, reporters galore filling in the seats. It's an organized chaos, but everyone is getting warmed up. Outside in the hallway, several costumed fans posed for photos, which I'll post later.
Here we go...
Mikael Ritchie greets the crowd, and talks about what the future holds for G.I. Joe.
G.I. Joe Resolute
This will be an animated series published online will be a new series that will be aimed at kids, but this is a PG-13 type of animation...leading up to the movie. Joaquim Dos Santos introduced.
- Showing a clip of the show now...hmmm, some technical difficulties....missing DVD has been found.
- The clip was amazing! Duke and Heavy Duty was pinned down by Cobra Troopers and Snake Eyes leaps in and saves the day. Action-packed, and lots of great mild violence. Note that the animation is not the finalized form...just an example of what they have in mind.
- character designs for Snake Eyes, Stalker, Storm Shadow, Destro, Baroness, Flagg, very cool. The designs are imagining what the military technology would be like 10 years from now
- Warren Ellis is writing the show....he has a message : he is sitting in his living room, naked, writing the show...collecting all of Hasbro's money.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Brian Goldner talks about the upcoming live-action movie....introduces Larry Hama, who talks about the origins of the G.I. Joe comic book. Larry tried to keep the comics as in touch with the fans as possible...if they liked something, he wrote more of it. If they didn't, he didn't. Now with the internet, the feedback is instantaneous...and he can write the stories that the fans want.
With this in mind, Hasbro found Lorenzo Di Bonventura to produce the movie....who had a problem choosing from all of the great characters that Larry had created. They chose a core group of characters from the comics, and tried to put together a new storyline that encompassed all of them, exploring the relationships between them. Rather than tell the story from a human point of view, like in last year's Transformers, they are telling several stories, since they are all human.
Larry was a consultant and insisted that Snake Eyes never spoke, even though they wanted him to say one line. The audience applauds showing their approval for this move.
The movie will introduce Cobra....choosing Duke and Ripcord as the central characters that introduce the audience to the world of G.I.Joe. The members are in their battle armor....there will be lots of fights.
- Now showing publicity photos and describing the backgrounds of the characters of Hawk, Duke, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Heavy Duty, Breaker, Destro, Storm Shadow, Baroness, (these are the same photos that has been circulating for months now)
Relationships in the movie are Baronness & Duke (who were once engaged), Scarlett & Ripcord (a love-hate relationship), Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow (they have a history going back to when they were 10 years old)
More shots of Snake Eyes, Duke, Heavy Duty, and an arctic base. The movie takes place around the world. Snake Eyes live-action version of the battle from the animated series....very cool. The movie has 4 action sequences in it, and they are very long and filled with great fighting scenes.
Still talking about the movie's plot and characters in the film, without giving away the story details. It's interesting to hear how they are also fans of the G.I. Joe franchise. With any luck, this will transfer on screen for the audience.
Q&A
Q: Why have Heavy Duty instead of Roadblock?
A: They just picked him because that felt right.
Q: Any concern that G.I. Joe is now a national force, instead of an American force?
A: There is a mix of the cast, to have a combination of the chemistry between the characters. They wanted to make it as accurate as it would be today, with characters regardless of their nationality.
Q: Why the relationships? Why not the relationship between Snake Eyes and Scarlett?
A: There will be a relationship there, but it's hard to have Snake Eyes react because he doesn't talk. Snake Eyes will be blocking Roadblock's efforts to swoon Scarlett. There will be lots of action, so the romances will not take the center stage.
Q: Will there be a balance between the animated/live-action merchandise?
A: Next spring, there will be more animated style designs, but by summer, the live-action will take the center stage. By 2010, they will thrive to find a balance between the two. Tomorrow, there will be more G.I. Joe toys shown at the booth.
Q: Will the movie toys be like the 25th anniversary line?
A: that will be the format, because fans have shown their support. Safe to say that there are similar styles, but they will add in as much kid-oriented stuff as they can. Bright colors may be brought in on a limited basis.
Q: How did Warren Ellis get involved in the series? He's not an obvious choice.
A: There's no cursing or blood spurting scenes, but the action is very Ellis.
Q: Why the release date change?
A: Because of Transformers 2...they want to have them 6 weeks apart.
Q: Will Cobra Commander be in the move?
A: Yes, he will be.
Q: Will the show be watered down if they get picked up by a network?
A: No, they would keep it and it would be a later show.
Q: New comic book license?
A: IDW is the new comic partner. Trying to establish a new fan base. They will be creating a new jumping on point for the franchise for new fans brought in from the movie's release.
Q: The fight sequences are action-packed and long, how was the fight coordinated? How much did they have to train?
A: Ari Rindell was the stunt coordinator (he worked on The Matrix) but both men were in top form training-wise.
Q: What sort of vehicles will we see in both Resolute and the movie?
A: There will be lots of vehicles in both, although they don't want to reveal them yet. What about the USS Flagg? What about it?
They are now showing the video again....and now you know! |
  
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