Thanks MTV! Click the Pic to be directly linked to their interview thingie… or read below:
That sound you heard last week? That was millions of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” fans yelling “Cowabunga!” at the news that the famous Heroes in a Half Shell would be returning to the big screen in a new movie scheduled to hit theaters in 2011.
While rumors of a new TMNT movie have been circulating for a while now, last week’s official announcement kicked off a nationwide celebration of the characters’ 25th Anniversary.
Back in September, I spoke with “Ninja Turtles” co-creator Peter Laird to clear up some of the initial rumors surrounding the film, and now that it’s official, he was able to offer a few more details about the return of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo to the big screen.
“I can say that at this point there are a lot of positive feelings about a ‘Batman Begins’-style ‘reboot,’ which would, of necessity, include a retelling of the Turtles’ origin story,” Laird told MTV News of early plot discussions regarding the film. “Having said that, I would also be into an all-new story, if it was decided that that was a more desirable direction. Either way is fine with me, to be honest!”
Laird went so far as to share some specific story points that TMNT fans hold near and dear to their hearts as potential elements in the upcoming film.
“Simply telling the story of what happened in the first issue of the ‘TMNT’ comic book would be a pretty short movie, so I suspect other things from the Turtles’ history in the comics might be brought into it,” continued Laird. “I would not be unhappy to somehow see the tale of Baxter Stockman and the robotic ‘mousers’ folded into this movie, as well as some elements possibly setting up the TCRI connection for a possible sixth (or seventh) movie. But I think I’m getting a little ahead of myself there.”
As for other characters we’re likely to see in the film, the “Ninja Turtles” co-creator said the villainous Shredder would be a necessity for any TMNT origin story, and also mentioned that both intrepid reporter April O’Neil and vigilante Casey Jones came up during recent creative discussions.
Finally, Laird also offered a few more details regarding the way in which the live-action filming and computer-generated effects will blend to bring the Turtles to the screen in the upcoming film.
“The basic idea, as I understand it, is to do an all live action shoot, with actors and stuntmen in full Turtle suits,” said Laird. “To add expressiveness to the Turtles’ faces which would be difficult if not impossible to get with animatronics and/or puppetry, there would be ‘face replacement,’ with CGI Turtle faces superimposed on the live action performers’ heads.”
“This technology has been proven to be incredibly effective if done correctly,” added Laird. “Look at the character of Davey Jones in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies, with his mass of writhing tentacles… an incredible effect.”
What do you think of Laird’s take on the film? What stories from TMNT history do you still want to see on the big screen? Any characters you want to see brought to life? Sound off!
They should include Bebop and Rocksteady!