Rock-em Sock-em Robots!

[droverswoman]

A short but adorable, funny video of Hugh playing "Rock-em Sock-em Robots with an interviewer during publicity for Real Steel. Hugh's FB page just posted this link and this photo. I love how he gets so competitive!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYMbvASHj3E&feature=youtu.be&t=25s

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[rmtndew]

I love his hair in that video. Perfect length.

- Alicia

[nevaeh777]

I love when he's so goofy. He's so lovable when he's goofy...well...he's really quite lovable all the time LOL. Here's another funny little video with him robot boxing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1AW3SLhwg

[droverswoman]

I agree - totally loveable, adorable in so many ways!

[jo]

REAL STEEL has been on cable TV in our region for the past week - and by coincidence I have come across it three times. So, I have watched it three more times ;D

Hugh is such a natural playing a father, I would not be surprised if his potrayal of Valjean with little Cosette will have some of the most memorable scenes from the movie!

Back to REAL STEEL -- all three stars were worthy of applause! Blonde, blue-eyed, boy named Max, Grey-hued, blue-eyed, bot named Atom, and Grey-track suit(ed), not blue- but hazel-eyed, badass Dad named Charlie :-* :-* :-*

Jo

[nevaeh777]

And oh how I cried when Charlie fought for Max. :'(



Come on. Admit it. How many of you wanted to soothe poor Charlie when he got the snot beat out of him?

[jo]

Watching the movie a few times again made me notice some more details --

*His flying leap to reach the imaginary opponent in the fifth round of the fight
*Max calling him "Dad!" after the fight - I did not notice that particularly when I first saw the movie - I guess that was really a poignant moment for Charlie
*Remember when he announced to the ComicCon crowd that he was going to be Valjean and sing/shout " 2-4-6-0-1" ?!! That was from the same truck platform he used all throughout Real Steel
*My favorite scenes now are the fifth round and the two early morning rounds at the Motel grounds.
*Question - Will his aunt allow Max to live with Charlie eventually?

Jo

[birchie]

Oct 27, 2012 8:41:56 GMT -5 jo said:

Watching the movie a few times again made me notice some more details --

*His flying leap to reach the imaginary opponent in the fifth round of the fight
*Max calling him "Dad!" after the fight - I did not notice that particularly when I first saw the movie - I guess that was really a poignant moment for Charlie
*Remember when he announced to the ComicCon crowd that he was going to be Valjean and sing/shout " 2-4-6-0-1" ?!! That was from the same truck platform he used all throughout Real Steel
*My favorite scenes now are the fifth round and the two early morning rounds at the Motel grounds.
*Question - Will his aunt allow Max to live with Charlie eventually?

Jo

I seem to recall that there was some discussion, I think by Spielberg and Hugh in separate articles, that a sequel was possible. Hugh is very booked up for a couple of years so I'm not sure how they would work it since Dakota would be well into his teens by the time they get around to it (he's 13 now). Maybe they would just pick up with them living together and make a mention of how long he's been living there? I can't imagine that Max would have continued to live with his aunt once Charlie was making a steady income. I think Hugh alluded to more of the romance being looked at in a sequel so maybe Charlie and Bailey went on to run the gym, or whatever it is, together and Max moved in with them since that would be more of a family environment than Charlie's previous existence. Of course sequels don't always happen but it would be nice to see how these characters have evolved after a few years.
Sue

[Jamie]

There was that hanging question as to whether or not Max was actually his son because of his age. There is a story there if they choose to pursue that angle.

[jo]

I did not know that there was a question on whether Max was really his son or not.

But how they bonded ( and fully understanding the motivations and actuations of each other) seems to draw out the emotional link that bonds father and son.

Shawn Levy mentioned that a sequel may be in the works and that Dreamworks has already commissioned a screenplay. This was a $ 300 million movie worldwide and the replays on cable seems to draw more appeal - many regretting that they never saw it on the big screen. It's possible...but is it probable, unless they clone Hugh!

Jo

[nevaeh777]

For me, there were a few scenes that alluded to something that wasn't really answered in the film. This was...the mystery of Atom. At one point, Charlie and Max leave him in a room and we see him looking at his reflection in a mirror. Levy holds on this shot for a moment making us believe there is more to Atom than we realize. Max also alludes to this in his, "Your secret is safe with me". Atom is portrayed as having some kind of "soul" and I'd like to see where a Real Steel 2 would take us in that area as well. Because of this sad looking, blue eyed, discarded robot, father and son have reunited and realized the importance of love and family. I really hope a second film is in the works. I know Shawn Levy had mentioned they had starting working on it before Real Steel was even released. Maybe in the second they could explain where Atom came from; maybe even have the original owner trying to claim him back. Either way, I think it can still be done tuning in to their lives several years later.

Did anyone see the Twilight Zone episode this film was based on?

[jo]

I saw the original Twilight Zone episode with Lee Marvin. But it was a slightly different tale. He had a robot boxer which could not be repaired, so he assumed the personality and entered the boxing ring himself. That is what I recall - hope my mind has not been cluttered by seeing Real Steel a few more times in the last week or so - LOL!

It is hinted in the movie that Atom made have some sort of AI ( artificial intelligence), which only a small boy could probably discern instinctively. It is quite uncanny, that all the other robots had repulsive or fierce faces, but Atom is such a gentle-looking creation. Is it the aquamarine eyes that seemed to look straight into people's faces? I think it is usually when someone looks you in the face, directly with the eyes, that you seem to be able to connect with that person. Hence, they created a robot that had distinctive feature.

Just me, being whimsical


Jo

[jo]

I found the Twilight Zone episode online (Thank goodness for the miracle called YouTube) -- although it is not complete

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYTcKk4gwyA

But read the feedback - it seems that the robot called Max eventually became Atom.

There's another longer YT episode but someone put a songover it --

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcfsFVQ3ho&feature=related

It shows that the robots looked like more like androids.



Jo

[nevaeh777]

It was indeed very different from the Twilight Zone episode! The robot was called Battling Maxo,(I think) and they were humanoid in appearance which is why Lee Marvin's character (Steele) is able to pretend he's the robot. The robot was not very "sweet" either, but creepy and kind of terrifying to look at. I was little when I first saw this and it scared the death out of me LOL. It is a very dark episode and later on I found it quite boring actually when I saw it again. Steele is cold hearted in it and doesn't change at all by the end of the episode. He doesn't have a son in it either. I didn't care for the character and I didn't care much for the episode. Be prepared for something very different when you watch it!

[nevaeh777]

Actually, when I went to see REAL STEEL for the first time I thought they were going to follow the same route as the TZ episode. I thought Atom was going to reach the top of his game and finally break down, and Charlie was going to have to go "inside" Atom in order to fight Zeus. I also thought that they would keep in it that Hugh's character had the same last name...Steele! This way, "Real Steele" implied that Steele would eventually be the one really fighting, not Atom.

[jo]

When they were making Real Steel, it was a blessing that Shawn Levy had decided to grant set visits to a few of the film sites. They were showing glimpses of filming, what the story was all about, and were even shown some of the modern-day robots.

I do remember reading the very detailed report from COLLIDER which was very reassuring, because we were being inundated with disdainful references to the rock-em-sock-em robots --- and rarely to the Twilight Zone origin. But it was quite obvious that it was not going to channel the Twilight Zone episode except for presenting the era of boxing robots!

There were also a lot of interviews with Hugh later on -- which reassured us that the father/son relationship will be the focus, together with how the robots were going to be featured in the movie. He even brought one or two of the robots at ComicCon! I remember that Hugh and Sugar Ray Robinson were guests at a huge radio convention and also at one of the major sports events - and they did talk a lot about the movie. Sugar Ray also helped humanize the story of boxing robots by telling us that he taught Hugh how to apply proper boxing techniques!

So, I was happily prepared when I finally saw the movie ;D

Jo

[birchie]

Oct 27, 2012 13:20:05 GMT -5 Jamie said:

There was that hanging question as to whether or not Max was actually his son because of his age. There is a story there if they choose to pursue that angle.

I don't remember there being a question about the paternity. Charlie is a bit of a jerk in the beginning and doesn't know how old Max is but other than that I don't think there was any confusion. I could be wrong though. Sue

[jo]

When I was rewatching the movie in the past week, I kept thinking how good Hugh is with portraying a father, a Dad!

Can't wait to see him as Papa Valjean to young Cosette ( that escape to the convent thing is a departure from the musical - and derived directly from the book)...And " SUDDENLY" - what a bonus!

And his Dear Papa to grown-up Cosette -- will he show the early concern, with a bit of jealousy, over Cosette's growing affection for Marius? The last scene when he says Goodbye to his daughter, that must be heartwrenching!

Two very different movies - REAL STEEL and LES MISERABLES - but certainly a showcase for Hugh's natural affinity with children!

Jo

[broadwaygal]

Jo, in your earlier post, you wrote Sugar Ray Robinson, instead of Sugar Ray Leonard. The major sporting event they attended was the Super Bowl.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned about the TZ episode was that it was based on a short story
by the great science-fiction writer, Richard Mathieson.

There is something I think was missing in REAL STEEL - since they went to all the expense of
hiring Sugar Ray Leonard to teach Hugh boxing skills - Shawn Levy should have included
scenes of Charlie when he was a boxer. I don't have a blu-ray DVD player, is it included
in the DVD extras?

Cheryl

[jo]

Cheryl,

First, how have you been? Hope your part of Brooklyn has not been badly battered by Sandy! Keep safe!

LOL - sorry for the name error *embarrassed icon*

There have been mentions that it was based on the Twilight episode by Richard Mathieson and that was why it had some initial good vibes because Mathieson is regarded highly. But when some movie nerds started talking about the rock-em-sock-em robots, the origin became lost in the discussions.

I thought it was the Super Bowl, but I wasn't too sure and I was too lazy to check ;D...so, thanks, Cheryl.

I haven't really checked my Blu-Ray. Will come back with info.

Jo

[broadwaygal]

Thanks, Jo! I've been just lurking lately. Actually, my part of Brooklyn is very near the ocean and
a bay. We are several blocks from the bay, and a mile from the beach, however, our entire area
was severely flooded and we had no power for 3 days. But everything is back up and running now.

Cheryl

[jo]

That's good to hear! Hope your immediate neighborhood does not find it too difficult to get back to normal.

Jo