Just a few hours ago I got to interview Battle: Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman as Sony is doing a big press junket for the film today and tomorrow. During the week of release (March 11th) I’ll be posting our full conversation, but with Liebesman directing the sequel to Clash of the Titans, I did get an update on how pre-production has been going and what can people expect in the sequel.
While you can read a full transcript or watch the video after the jump, he told me that the shoot is scheduled for 78 days (which is a sign that it’s a big movie), he’s not filming in 3D but the entire production has been conceived as a 3D picture (unlike the first film). He went on to say they’ll have a 3D stereographer on set and he’s shooting on film in a 1.8:5 ratio. And for those wondering about the look of the film, here’s a choice quote:
“For me, taking Greek mythology and all that fantasy and putting it in a real world that’s epic, like Gladiator, like a big Ridley Scott movie, and taking all that fantasy and putting it in, grounding it, making it feel real, that’s the movie that I wanted to see when I walked into Clash 1 and that’s the movie that Clash 2 is gonna be. That’s what I was looking for, I was looking to come in and have a real, intense, visceral kick-ass experience with spectacle but grounded, with great actors, and that’s what the second one will be.”
Hit the jump for more:
Here’s the video. Further down is the transcript. And for those wondering, I thought Battle: Los Angeles was great.
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What’s it like to get the keys to the Titans franchise?
Well it’s exciting because I think—again Louis Letterier is one of my mentors from NYU, so I’d never say anything bad about him ‘cause he has taught me a ton of shit—I think the first Clash was a missed opportunity. I think the second one…we’ve got a great cast, the same cast, and I want to ground it in a similar reality to say Battle: LA, like have that real grit to it. And within that, you have the fantastical creatures. So really bring it down to something recognizable, realistic in the costume and the way it’s shot and the lighting, lots of atmosphere like what Ridley Scott does, and put fantasy into that. ‘Cause I haven’t seen that in this genre, I haven’t seen fantasy in something that looks like Gladiator.
So basically you’re going for a Battle:LA kind of shoot?
I’m gonna tone it down from Battle:LA. ‘Cause Battle: LA is much more like Iraq war footage. Again I think this is more something in line with say Gladiator, where there are aspects of that grounded filmmaking but I don’t wanna take it too far.
Are you filming in 3D?
From the start, Clash 2 has been conceived as a 3D picture. The sets, the way I’m going to shoot the choreography of the shots, because what we’re gonna instead of say 4 shots we’re gonna do 1, I’m even gonna shoot it in a 1.8:5 aspect ratio. Sam Worthington put me in touch with Jim Cameron, we spoke a lot about aspect ratios and 3D. He said something that really stuck with me which was, 2D scope is 2.3:5. That feels scope in 2D, for 3D he felt like 1.8.5. And we have a lot of big creatures so I want that vertical space so I don’t have to cut so I’m also gonna shoot in 1.8:5. I did a bunch of test with different digital cameras…and the one thing that was very difficult for me was, I felt for a Greek epic I wanted to shoot on film to get that texture that I was looking for with that motion blur. The clincher for me was Warner Bros. showed me how far conversion had come. They showed me Chris Nolan Inception converting for the DVD, they showed me Harry Potter being converted. So now what we’re doing is, I wanna shoot film, we’re gonna have what are called stereographers on set who are guys who are sitting there advising you. It’s a completely different situation to Clash 1…Look I would always prefer to shoot native, I just feel like film is the way to go with a Greek epic. Especially the way I wanna shoot it, which is more old school.
What can you tell fans to excite them after they were maybe burned by the first film?
For me, taking Greek mythology and all that fantasy and putting it in a real world that’s epic, like Gladiator, like a big Ridley Scott movie, and taking all that fantasy and putting it in, grounding it, making it feel real, that’s the movie that I wanted to see when I walked into Clash 1 and that’s the movie that Clash 2 is gonna be. That’s what I was looking for, I was looking to come in and have a real, intense, visceral kick-ass experience with spectacle but grounded, with great actors, and that’s what the second one will be.
How long is the shoot?
The shoot’s 78 days. It ends in like late June.
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Yeah, that’s not what I want from a Greek mythology film. That’s the reason I love the original: because I want a pure fantasy story. Try checking out some God of War 3 footage and then how about you go from there??
I’m really rooting that they have some good stereographers on set to make sure Clash 2 gets converted well.
Filming 2D for 3D needs serious consideration that is a bit too involved for todays VFX supervisors. I mean look at Alice etc, they were filmed 2D-for-3D and you can see the 2D “mindset” that shows through in the framing etc…(heads chopped of at the forehead, semi-blur foreground flowers and more).
Take the picture in this very article above, if thats the way it is shot for 3D.. guaranteed some eye strain will occur with people if they happen to “want” to look at the actor in the background who is half out of focus.
Tron was a great case study on how to remove all ambiguity when framing for stereo 3D narratives.
http://realvision.ae/blog/2011/01/stereo-3d-depth-study-of-the-movie-tron-legacy/
and paraphrasing Andromeda: “…but have the other’s even bothered to look?”
http://realvision.ae/blog/2010/05/have-you-seen-whats-happening-out-there-bad-3d-have-you-even-bothered-to-look/
Regards,
I agree who wants to see a “gritty” fantasy film? I doubt this will be anything like Gladiator but I admire his vision.
If anything Clash 1 wasnt fantastical enough. They should have spent more time with the Gods and Olympus as well and grown the feud between the Gods and Humans.
I loved Pete Postalwaithe but him spitting exposition hardly set the tone for the movie.
Lovely vision! I liked Clash of the Titans, was way better than I thought it’ll end up, but Wrath… gonna be a lot better it seems
I beg to differ, they did all of this talk about the Kraken and you saw him more on the commercials than in the movie. They spoke of this epic batle as to why the kraken was created to defeat the Titans, they even showed us where the battle took place, but they showed us nothing. I prefer the original in all of its cheeezy clay models as oppose to this mess
I have every faith in Liebesman and this cast. It sounds amazing and I like his direction ideas. I was expecting a Gladiator-type fantasy in the first film too.
I have every faith in Liebesman and this cast. It sounds amazing, and I’d been expecting a Gladiator-type fantasy in the first film too. I enjoyed the first film but he can take it up a notch with this and it should be great!
There was fantasy in Pan’s Labyrinth??
This is just another attempt at getting a few extra bucks out the consumer. 3D is nothing but a monkey see monkey do business.
If it stars that terrible guy as Perseus again, it will be horrible. It was like he was in a different movie than everyone else-what was with the accent??
This movie is designed to do one thing – steal money from people hoping to see a good mythology movie.
This guy says he wants to “make it real.” Yet he can’t articulate his vision for this film except to say he wants to copy Ridley Scott. And while emulating R.S. is a worthy goal, his lack of details is telling.
You make something real by having a story with characters who we care about, not by “taking Greek mythology and all that fantasy putting in a real world that’s epic.” Does no one else find that sentence entirely out of sorts? Who says something like that? What does it even mean?
A director who can’t articulate his thoughts any better than that certainly isn’t going to help craft a good script or pull good performance from actors. This is all about putting the sugar coating on chemicals and calling it a nutritious breakfast cereal.
first set shots on Ciao Tenerife:
http://www.ciaotenerife.it/portal/index.php/notizie/114-eclusiva-in-anteprima-le-prime-immagini-degli-scenari-di-qscontro-di-titani-2q
I beg to differ, they did all of this talk about the Kraken and you saw him more on the commercials than in the movie. They spoke of this epic batle as to why the kraken was created to defeat the Titans, they even showed us where the battle took place, but they showed us nothing. I prefer the original in all of its cheeezy clay models as oppose to this mess
Is it me or can Sam Worthington not act. What is this fascination with foreign actors all of a sudden? Bill from True Blood, Worthington, and dude who plays wolverine (can’t think of his name been up for 20 hours straight). Are american actors no longer good enough for these american style roles. Oh and The guy playing thor
And most definitely take something from the God of War series