You might have noticed that just a few hours ago, the Resident Evil: Retribution trailer made its big debut, but for some lucky fans in New York City, the experience entailed much more than an Internet viewing. ScreenCrush.comâs Jordan Hoffman moderated an event that featured a showing of the new trailer on the big screen as well as a clip from the film and a Q&A session with none other than Alice herself, Milla Jovovich.When youâve got a franchise rocking five installments, itâs undoubtedly a monumental success. While directors Paul W.S. Anderson, Alexander Witt and Russell Mulcahy have all effectively maintained the world created by Anderson in the first film back in 2002, inspired by the Capcom video games, now itâs time to push the envelope more so than ever. Alice is turning her battle against the Umbrella Corporation into an international effort, traveling from Tokyo to New York to Washington D.C. and Moscow during which sheâll uncover information that sheds new light on her expansive endeavor. Â Hit the jump to read all about the exclusive footage and Jovovichâs experience working on the film.After a brief introduction, the event rolled right into a viewing of a never before seen 3D clip from the film showing Alice taking down zombie after zombie in what Jovovich called âThe Corridor of Light,â a hallway entirely comprised of white walls. As in the Resident Evil: Retribution posters, Alice is rocking her skintight black suit adorned with silver buckles down her boots, back and on her arms with her gun and a more elegant morning star-type weapon in hand. At the onset, Alice appears to be more than equipped to take on the sole female Japanese zombie standing before her, but after taking her down, another comes and they donât stop until sheâs standing in the middle of a room full of bodies.A great deal of the action is clearly designed for the third dimension, bullets flying directly into the lens, Aliceâs chain weapon whipping out into the audience and, the most striking visual of them all, a splatter effect during which zombie blood is sprayed all over the lens. Anderson captures ever bit of action from multiple angles, something thatâs quite effective in giving the audience a multidimensional view of the contained space. The scene is also packed with slow motion, allowing for detailed views of zombie carnage and time to take in the rather picturesque imagery of the action and gore popping off the white walls.For an additional sense of what the Corridor of Light looks like in this film, check out the snippets included in the filmâs trailer.After the showing of relentless action, Jovovich took the stage to the tune of a room full of cheering fans. For nearly 40 minutes Jovovich fielded questions from Hoffman, fans in the audience and from around the world and weâve got all the highlights from the conversation for you right here.The Trailer is Only the Beginning: Isnât it a drag when a trailer entices you to catch a movie only to find out that all the best material was what was in the trailer? Jovovich thinks so, too! âOne thing I donât like is when you see a trailer and all the best stuff is there and then you go see the movie and then itâs like, âOh, okay, might as well have just watched the trailer again.ââ Well, while you might want to watch the RE:R trailer again and again, when the full feature finally hits theaters, Jovovich made a point to assure everyone, âThereâs so much crazy stuff in the movie but itâs not in the trailer.â And itâs not just because the RE team doesnât want to spoil everything; the movie is still being finished.Borrowing Glass from a Skyscraper: When discussing what could be one of the most iconic scenes in the fifth film, Jovovich recalled a production challenge in putting together that Corridor of Light scene. âLiterally we built about 15 feet of corridor and we actually stopped them building a skyscraper in Toronto because we needed glass and we needed it like, yesterday.âHot Sets: However, itâs not just about getting the materials necessary to build the scene. The team needed 14 generators to actually power it! Cool right? Perhaps for the viewer, but thatâs literally a hot set for the actors working on it. âIf you were a zombie that got killed in the beginning of the scene, you really hated life.â Jovovich noted. The set was so hot, it burned. âWhen I slide under the guyâs legs,â Jovovich recalled, âI put my hand down and it was burning so hard, but that poor chick was likely totally lying on the ground stoic and Iâm like, âNo! I must be honorable! I must also put my skin on the glass!ââ Jovovich laughed, âAnd then like after two seconds Iâm like, âEh, Iâm just gonna wrap the chain over here.ââGoing Global: âThe really amazing thing in this movie I think is how global it really is.â Jovovich continued, âWe are annihilating many major cities around the world, including New York!â Naturally the New York-based audience cheered because who wouldnât want to see their hometown destroyed Resident Evil-style? When the noise subsided, Jovovich added, âI think whatâs really gonna stand out in this movie is the epic scope of it.âA Special Treat for New York: While discussing the global expanse of the fifth installment, Jovovich noted how incredible it will be to see cities like Moscow overrun with zombies, but before saying the same about New York, Jovovich slipped in, âYou see New York overrun by creatures that will not be named.âJovovich the Costume Designer: Interesting fact, Jovovich actually had a hand in designing Aliceâs costume. âMe and my friend designed it and we think this is kind of the epitome of Alice for the moment. I canât even imagine, if we did do another one, what I could possibly dream up.â Jovovich joked, âMaybe a bikini, Hawaii, zombies on the beach!âOpening in Reverse: While there was absolutely no chance of convincing Jovovich to spill where RE:R kicks off, Jovovich was generous enough to drop an incredibly intriguing bit of information about the opening sequence, âItâs all played backwards.â She continued, âItâs actually one of the first ever opening sequences, action sequences, full on explosions, full on combat, but all played backwards.â How could something like that possibly work in a forward moving narrative? According to Jovovich, âYouâll see when you watch the movie why it is and how we do it.âResident Evil is a Family Movie: No, not in the sense that itâs appropriate for little ones, but this franchise is very much a part of Jovovichâs personal life. Her husband, Anderson, directed the first film, where they first met, as well as the fourth and the fifth and her daughter now plays with zombies on set. Jovovich joked, âSheâs actually more scared of My Little Ponies.â Of working with her husband, Jovovich explained, âWe actually have fun together. We make fun movies. Itâs not serious, super dramatic roles that suck the life out of you.â Having done some of those more dramatic roles before, Jovovich jokingly admitted, âIf I was going home with those directors Iâd probably kill them.âMichelle Rodriguez, An Intense Gamer: While remembering how having played Resident Evil 3 with her little brother made her so eager to audition for Alice in the first film, Jovovich noted that her Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Retribution co-star, Michelle Rodriguez, is still a very intense gamer. âI think she actually almost missed a day of work on this shoot because she had some Belgium Call of Duty online gaming contest.âAliceâs Sense of Humor: Jovovich remembered back to the franchiseâs first film when Alice is basically experiencing everything from the audienceâs perspective. âShe doesnât know whatâs going on. We donât know whatâs going on and youâre watching it through her eyes.â But, of course, Alice eventually remembers her former employer and that leads to a great deal of resentment and bitterness. However, one of Jovovichâs favorite parts about Alice in the fifth film is that she realizes, âWeâre living in this post-apocalyptic society for a couple of years now, in the movie time, and sheâs used to it. This is life. Youâve gotta kind of laugh sometimes.â Then again, donât expect Resident Evil: The Comedy. When asked about the humor in the film, Jovovich noted, âI smile a couple of times. Thatâs about as funny as it gets.âThe Challenge of 3D for Action Actors: âI was trained in the 2D world,â Jovovich began. â3D has kind of created lots of problems for action actors because itâs really hard to fake a punch.â Up until now, Jovovich had always been told to fake land her punches. However, on RE:R she was required to actually hit the stunt performers. She recalled someone actually telling her, âJust kick him in the head!â She continued, âThereâs an incredible action sequence at the end with Alice and Jill Valentine and pretty much sheâs killing me.â Some of the material in that sequence is so brutal, it requires special effects, so Jovovich explained that at one point, they had five cameras around her in attempt to cover all of her facial expressions from various angles in case they need to replace a face in post. âThe 1st AD would be calling out, âAll right, now sheâs got you in a headlock! Now sheâs kneeing you in the face!ââ After demonstrating a few reactions of being kneed in the face and head-butted, Jovovich remembered that, all of a sudden, after an hour of this reaction work, the AD called out, âKnee to the womb!â How do you react to that? Luckily Jovovich was onto his joke. âAt that point I just stop and realize, youâre F-ing with me man.âJovovich vs. Zombie Dreams: Well, after making five Resident Evil movies itâd make sense for Jovovich to suffer from zombie nightmares, right? On the bright side, these dreams actually wound up inspiring one of Jovovichâs favorite scenes in the franchise, the clone sequence during which Alice jumps through the glass in Resident Evil: Afterlife. âThe needle dive was based on a dream that I had.â She went on, âI had a dream that I dove off this building and so Paul just put it into the movie.âMore RE to Come?: When youâve got a franchise, the question of whether or not itâll continue is inevitable. When it came up in this Q&A, Jovovich responded, âThe great thing about Resident Evil is itâs not something that comes out every year. Itâs not a machine made franchise.â She went on to note, âIt really always depends on if Paul is inspired.â So, at this point, is Anderson inspired? She revealed, âWe were taking our week break last year after this one and I said, âWhat happens next?â She said that Anderson told her, âYou know, I do have an idea for a sixth one. I havenât written it or anything like that, but this is, in a way, how I would want it to end.â Should Resident Evil: Retribution be a hit, Jovovich said, âWe would love to make another one, which would be the end of this iteration of the franchise.â The keyword there is iteration. Referring to herself and Anderson, Jovovich added, âSaying that, Resident Evil will go on without me, you know, maybe without us.âClick here for all our previous Resident Evil: Retribution coverage which includes our set visit on plenty of on set interviews.
RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION Trailer Debut and Milla Jovovich Q&A Recap: Footage Description and Violent, Gory and Action-Packed Details from Jovovich
RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION Milla Jovovich Q&A and Trailer Debut Recap. Our recap of the Jovovich Q&A and footage event for Resident Evil: Retribution