Post by jo on Nov 8, 2016 16:55:57 GMT -5
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Shawn Levy Comments on ‘Real Steel 2’ and Reveals a Deleted Scene from the Original
by Dave Trumbore 2 hours ago
During Collider’s recent IMAX screening of Real Steel, hosted by our own Steven Weintraub and featuring guest director/producer Shawn Levy, the rock ‘em, sock ‘em fighting robots took to the biggest screen since their 2011 debut. After the epic screening, Levy participated in a lengthy Q&A which included updates, status reports, and teases for both his upcoming video game adaptation Uncharted, and the highly anticipated second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. You can read about what he had to say on those projects here and here, but for more on Real Steel and its possible sequel, you’ll want to stay right where you are.
Fans of the 2011 robot boxing movie have no doubt been clamoring for a sequel since the film’s nearly $300 million worldwide box office performance five years ago. You’re in good company. Levy, his Real Steel star Hugh Jackman, and executive producer Steven Spielberg have been in various stages of development on a possible sequel since before the first film even hit the screens. Levy explains why that hasn’t come to pass. He also offers up an intriguing bonus: a deleted scene from the original film that’s never been revealed until now. Check it all out below!
On the topic of social media, which Steve helped Levy get into during his set visit to Real Steel years ago, the prolific producer/director reveals that Real Steel 2 remains his most asked-about project:
A question that a lot of Real Steel fans have been asking about since its 2011 debut revolved around a specific scene from the film. Levy reveals a deleted scene that confirms what many have suspected about Atom’s sentience for years:
A Real Steel sequel is definitely still on Levy’s mind, but the stars just have not aligned yet. Perhaps they never will. For Levy, going ahead with a sequel is going to require a perfect storm of storytelling, support from his star and producing team, and scheduling availability. Still, there’s definitely more story to explore:
One area that I still would love to explore is that notion of how was Atom built? What is it about his design that might have embedded some artificial or organic intelligence and consciousness, such that he is self-aware to some extent? So all I’ll say is, we’ve attempted it a few times with a number of writers, and no draft got me, Hugh, and Steven all there to a yes in the same moment. It all felt like it wasn’t quite enough to promise a new story and a new movie. I have to tell you, I had a weird experience watching it tonight because on one hand it felt really good to revisit an old friend, but it also weirdly cemented my conviction that I just shouldn’t make a sequel unless I’m sure it will be better.
Would you like to see Real Steel 2 if Levy feels confident in bringing it to the screen? Or do you think the movie’s better off left alone? Let us know in the comments below!
by Dave Trumbore 2 hours ago
During Collider’s recent IMAX screening of Real Steel, hosted by our own Steven Weintraub and featuring guest director/producer Shawn Levy, the rock ‘em, sock ‘em fighting robots took to the biggest screen since their 2011 debut. After the epic screening, Levy participated in a lengthy Q&A which included updates, status reports, and teases for both his upcoming video game adaptation Uncharted, and the highly anticipated second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. You can read about what he had to say on those projects here and here, but for more on Real Steel and its possible sequel, you’ll want to stay right where you are.
Fans of the 2011 robot boxing movie have no doubt been clamoring for a sequel since the film’s nearly $300 million worldwide box office performance five years ago. You’re in good company. Levy, his Real Steel star Hugh Jackman, and executive producer Steven Spielberg have been in various stages of development on a possible sequel since before the first film even hit the screens. Levy explains why that hasn’t come to pass. He also offers up an intriguing bonus: a deleted scene from the original film that’s never been revealed until now. Check it all out below!
On the topic of social media, which Steve helped Levy get into during his set visit to Real Steel years ago, the prolific producer/director reveals that Real Steel 2 remains his most asked-about project:
The most frequent tweet I get is about the sequel to Real Steel. I wish I had a conclusive answer. Here’s the truth: We started developing a sequel like six months before the movie came out. We knew as soon as we started previewing this movie and it was getting mid to high 90s at every test screening. It happens really rarely, but the movie had something that audiences responded to and so we started coming up with ideas for the sequel. The simple truth, the most concise truth I can express, is that it proved, and it has proven, really hard to come up with a sequel that doesn’t feel like a re-hash of the first movie. Yeah, people wanted to see Atom beat Zeus, I would love to see Atom beat Zeus, but you don’t want to retell the story of kind of an alienation between Charlie and Max because that is really the plot of the first movie.
A question that a lot of Real Steel fans have been asking about since its 2011 debut revolved around a specific scene from the film. Levy reveals a deleted scene that confirms what many have suspected about Atom’s sentience for years:
There’s one aspect to this movie that got cut out; it was in the movie and Steven always loved it. You know that scene where it’s pre-fight with the Twin Cities and Atom sees himself in the mirror? There was … my God, I’ve never actually shared this … but when the movie first came out, people were like, “I saw Atom move! Atom moved! He definitely moved, right? He has consciousness?” And I kind of fell back into this stock answer of, “I don’t know. It’s whatever you want to decide for yourself.” But when we shot that scene, he absolutely moved. He recognizes himself. There was a whole moment—I think it’s okay to say all this now that it’s been five years—but there’s a moment where, before the fifth round of the final fight, they’re like, “We’re throwin’ in the towel, it’s over,” and Max and Charlie are arguing, and we see Atom in the background raise his finger and give like a “one more time” gesture. In script, you’re like, “That’s fucking awesome! That’s gonna be goosebumps! It confirms the sentient nature of Atom.” But when we put the movie together, it felt like, as warm-hearted as the movie was, that was one degree too fairy tale for that movie.
A Real Steel sequel is definitely still on Levy’s mind, but the stars just have not aligned yet. Perhaps they never will. For Levy, going ahead with a sequel is going to require a perfect storm of storytelling, support from his star and producing team, and scheduling availability. Still, there’s definitely more story to explore:
One area that I still would love to explore is that notion of how was Atom built? What is it about his design that might have embedded some artificial or organic intelligence and consciousness, such that he is self-aware to some extent? So all I’ll say is, we’ve attempted it a few times with a number of writers, and no draft got me, Hugh, and Steven all there to a yes in the same moment. It all felt like it wasn’t quite enough to promise a new story and a new movie. I have to tell you, I had a weird experience watching it tonight because on one hand it felt really good to revisit an old friend, but it also weirdly cemented my conviction that I just shouldn’t make a sequel unless I’m sure it will be better.
Would you like to see Real Steel 2 if Levy feels confident in bringing it to the screen? Or do you think the movie’s better off left alone? Let us know in the comments below!
