Nicolas Cage is crawling on the ground.  There are three RED 3D cameras covering the scene and he's crawling towards the one in the middle while Billy Burke - who is dressed like a rock star with black nail polish - is screaming at him.  I'm standing with the crew and a few other online reporters and we're watching take after take of Cage crawling while director Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine 3D) is trying to get the shot.  Finally, Lussier is happy and the crew moves the camera for another set up of the same scene.

But let me back up as second.

Back in early May, I got to visit the set of Drive Angry 3D while the production was filming in Shreveport, Louisiana.  While the movie doesn't get released until February 11, 2011, Summit is going to be promoting the film this week at Comic-Con and they've decided to let us post all our on set interviews and our set report now.  So hit the jump for why you should be excited for Drive Angry and you can also check out some concept art from the film.

Drive Angry teaser poster movie Nicolas Cage

Before we go any further, while Summit Entertainment has lifted the embargo for everything I saw on the set of Drive Angry, since the movie doesn't get released until February of 2011, I've decided to write a different kind of set report.

While I usually do a full recap of what I saw and learned while on set, I've decided to save that one till closer to release.  Instead, I've put together why I'm excited for Drive Angry 3D, some things you should know about the film, and a few choice quotes from some of the interviews on set.

I think this is the better thing to do, and I also think after you read what I've put together you'll be very interested in the panel Summit is doing at Comic-Con later this week, and you'll be a lot more excited about the movie.  Also, this way I'll have more to write about Drive Angry closer to release rather than just linking back to an article from 7 months ago...

Finally, even though my set report is a bit different, I'm still posting all the interviews now and all the links are at the bottom of this article. Here's what I learned on set and some choice quotes:

  • They're filming in 3D...this is NOT a post converter film!
  • It's going to be a Hard R.  And I mean HARD R
  • Nic Cage plays someone who has returned from Hell to get revenge on the people that killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby
  • William Fichtner plays an agent from Hell after him
  • Billy Burke plays the leader of a cult
  • Amber Heard plays a woman named Piper who Cage meets along the way and she teams up with him
  • They are using some bad ass late 60's and early 70's cars like a '68 Mustang and a Dodge Charger and a Chevelle in the film
  • Director Patrick Lussier and screenwriter Todd Farmer compared Drive Angry to a 1970's road movie
  • De Luca said the movie is about 40% driving and of that 40%...about 30-40% features action including shootouts and chases
  • The third act features a very long action scene

Something that really excited me was when producer Mike De Luca talked about the car chases.  He said:

"We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, but we wanted to be the anti-CGI enhanced car chase movie. So a little bit of what Tarantino tried to do with Death Proof. We went in that direction."

Unlike some films that suffer from heavy studio notes and a lack of creative freedom, screenwriter Todd Farmer told us that has not been the case on Drive Angry:

"It was fast mainly because of De Luca. We came in with De Luca. Nic I think had a deal with Millennium and so we ended up with Millennium quickly and they said, 'Go make the movie that you want to make. Basically, here are the ground rules; stay within the budget, stay within the time and go make your movie.'"

Nic Cage said during his interview that one of the reasons he wanted to make the film was when they gave him the script and he saw:

"They were going to shoot my eye out with a gun and I thought, 'yeah I’m going to make that movie.'"

Cage also said:

"There’s so many different sides to this one because it is a car movie but it also has the action of an old Charles Bronson movie and then you add the supernatural component to it and on top of that you have 3D, so it’s not like anything else that I’ve done before or really seen before."

Producer Mike De Luca said:

"Even though Drive Angry is set in modern times, it’s being shot like a ‘70s  movie to the extent that we let scenes play out. It’s not quick-cutting. Quick-cutting is the enemy of 3-D. But our movie is being put together like a Friedkin movie from the ‘70s, or like something that lets a scene play, so it actually works for us. Cause you wanna avoid anything too “cutsy” with 3-D.

As a big fan of My Bloody Valentine 3D, we asked director Patrick Lussier how does the gore in Drive Angry compare with Valentine:

"It’s a little different. There is some extreme stuff in it.  It’s a very different kind of story so it’s not about ripping people’s jaws off and things like that. It’s not a horror movie. It’s much more of an action thriller. So by virtue of that there are extreme violence things. A lot of them though is gun violence and things like that. There’s a lot more of that kind of thing than some of the mayhem we got up to in Valentine.

Final Thoughts and Concept Art

So if you're a fan of 70's car chase films, real 3D, and a ton of blood and guts, you're going to love Drive Angry 3D.  Also, I was a huge fan of My Bloody Valentine, and I think director Patrick Lussier is going to deliver another really fun movie.  Finally, they're filming in 3D and they're taking advantage of it...meaning blood and guts are going to fly at the camera and they're not going to apologize for it.  I am super excited.

Also, while I can't confirm it, I'd be shocked if they don't show the trailer or some awesome footage from Drive Angry at Comic-Con on Friday in Hall H from 2:15 – 3:15pm.  Here's what the studio says about the panel:

DRIVE ANGRY 3D – In a Comic-Con exclusive, stars of the film including Nicolas Cage, William Fichtner, Amber Heard as well as director Patrick Lussier will debut footage from the high-octane, blood-spattered road trip through hell.  In this newest action horror shot in 3D, a vengeful father hunts down the people who brutally killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby.

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Drive Angry gets released February 11, 2011.  Here's the concept art Summit provided us and look for a much more detailed set visit closer to release.

For more Drive Angry 3D coverage:

Nicolas Cage On Set Interview DRIVE ANGRY 3D

Amber Heard On Set Interview DRIVE ANGRY 3D

Billy Burke On Set Interview DRIVE ANGRY 3D

William Fichtner On Set Interview DRIVE ANGRY 3D

Screenwriter Todd Farmer On Set Interview DRIVE ANGRY 3D