The Nerd Signal

SDCC News – GREEN HORNET Panel Makes The Movie Seem Good Again

Written by Skott Stoland on 07/24/2010 – 1:07 PM -

I really do wish the Green Hornet movie would make up its mind on whether it wants to be good or not. Because it seems like it goes back and forth with every other thing we see. But according to Deadline, the film’s panel at Comic Con did a lot to alleviate some of the worry.

Straight off the presentation started with Seth Rogen introducing the first of two rounds footage to be shown. This clip

expands on the trailer we’ve seen, where Rogen plays a drunken newspaper heir whose father dies suddenly, and becomes a hero when his father’s Asian chauffeur Kato (Jay Chou, stepping in for Bruce Lee) turns out to be an expert in combat.

New scenes include Kato removing a beer bottle cap in such a way that it flies like a bommerang… Rogen saying  that Kato’s autobiography should be called ‘Balls Deep In Shit-Kickin’ Dudes,’… Kato insisting on “no tights” … Rogen deciding his hero identity should be “the green bee,” which a room full of friends agree is lame (they prefer “hornet” though he still tries to put it to a vote and get “bee”)… Christoph Waltz yelling “Nothing green should survive the night!”… Rogen accidentally shooting himself with gas gun (next thing he knows, he’s out for 31 days)…

Of the two clips, this one is not in 3D.

The panel was asked why the Green Hornet?

Rogen’s reason is that he and Goldberg enjoy writing relationship movies, “especially between two dudes.” He also thinks it’s cool that the sidekick is better known than the hero. “This guy’s dual identity is a subservient one.” He liked that idea, that Kato has all the strength in the partnership.

As for Gondry, he too was attracted by the relationship of the characters. But there were some things he wanted to try that he could only do with a big budget. 3D was part of the draw for him, he’d been a fan since he was a kid and his grandfather (inventor Constant Martin) was doing it with split screen VHS. Yes, the 3D in Green Hornet is post-converted, they admitted, but the release was pushed back so they could take their time and do it right.

Then to prove the point, a 3D clip.

First, the old hornet logo, which looks scary coming out of the screen, even in retro style. The action starts in a graveyard (I think), where a drunken Rogen is using a blowtorch to cut the head off a statue of his late father in retaliation for when dad ripped the head off one of his son’s action figures. He then sees a gang of muggers assaulting a woman, and calls them out. They chase him, while Kato, sitting in the car, simply says “shit.”

And then: Kato-vision. The camera zooms in close on his eyes, as we go into Robocop mode, and he starts targeting his foes’ weak points with red lines. Then he starts kicking ass in sorta bullet time – different characters move at different frame rates – and some scenes start stretching, i.e. one car will suddenly become multiple cars stretching to infinity as a bad guy flies over it. Hard to explain, but it’s cool. This is Gondry getting artsy.

This apparently went over well.

During the audience Q&A a fan told Rogen that how badass he looks in the movie and asked if  he did his own stunts. Rogen’s reply was, “I think you answered your own question, kid. I look really badass because I did NOT do many of my own stunts.”

Someone wanted how they managed to get Christoph Waltz. Waltz said, “I wanted to work with them, and they wanted to work with me. Perfect!” Rogen added, “He hadn’t won the Oscar yet when we got him; that’s how we tricked him.”

Gondry told the crowd that he was a fan of the Green Hornet, going back to old radio shows, and that he didn’t find it a burden adapting the character to today’s styles. Regarding the Green Hornet’s famous car, they got lots of designs for new versions for the car from various companies (half of which have since gone bankrupt). None of the designs were as cool as the classic 65 Chrysler. Gondry thinks they might be the first superhero movie that didn’t change the car.

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