WONDERCON ‘08: WARNER’s 10,000 B.C./GET SMART PANEL - NEWSARAMA

February 24th, 2008 | by admin |

Original Post here: Tales from the Longbox

WONDERCON ‘08: WARNER’s 10,000 B.C./GET SMART PANEL

Report by Blake Morse
Saturday afternoon a Q&A panel was held for two upcoming Warner Brother’s films, 10,000 B.C. and Get Smart. The panel started with an introduction from Director of Programming for WonderCon, Eddie Ibrahim.

Ibrahim explained how delighted WonderCon was to be able to get such major coverage from Hollywood on the weekend of the Oscars. He then went on to quickly introduce Jeff Wattley. Wattley was only out momentarily to show a trailer for 10,000 B.C. and then introduce the film’s director Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day).

Emmerich thanked the crowd for coming and explained how pleased he was to be at WonderCon, telling the audience, ”You are the kind of guys who watch my movies.”

The audience was than treated to a special, never-before-seen trailer for 10,000 B.C. that featured a Wooly Mammoth hunt and a few brief glimpses of what appeared to be a dinosaur. The trailer also revealed some new information on the plot of the film which follows one primitive man, played by Steven Strait, whose life is changed when his village is attacked by slave traders who kidnap his love-interest, played by Camilla Belle. She is taken to what appears to be Egypt and the epic journey of our hero’s journey begins.

After the trailer Emmerich invited the stars Belle and Strait to join him on stage for a question and answer session.
Emmerich was first asked how difficult this movie was to film. He said it was the hardest movie he ever made. Since it was shot in both New Zealand and Africa balancing the complexities of shooting on two continents was a hardship.

When asked of his influences for the film he remarked that he had watched a documentary on the history channel about primitive man and a book entitled, Fingerprints of God, which is book on the theory of lost civilizations. He also stated he was big fan of The Quest for Fire and has always been inspired by ancient Egypt. He also stated, “My Mother always said I had a vivid imagination.”
One fan noted how similar Emmerich’s world was to that of Conan the Barbarian’s. Emmerich admitted to being a big fan of the Conan world and said his world had a lot to do with Conan’s in a weird way, since no one knows what happened in prehistory. He felt it gave him chance to be creative in the same way.

Emmerich also responded to rumors that his next film was indeed going to be 2012. He simply said that it was, “true” and he could discuss nothing about it.
The actors discussed what type of preparation work was done before filming. Strait said he spent time getting comfortable with the dialect which was a mix of English and Arabic as well as extensive physical training for the action scenes of the film. The actor did most of his own stunts for the film but was not too worried or afraid of which he accredited to having a great, well organized team, saying, ”I got nothing more than some cuts and bruises.”

Belle said that she prepared for the film by “Trying to simplify mannerisms” such as the way she walked and used facial expressions. She also said that the make-up and shooting on location was a great way for her to get into character.
Next they were questioned as to the difficulty of working with CGI. Both described it as awkward at first. Belle said, “You always feel stupid with stuntmen in jumpsuits running around trying to scare you.”
Finally the entire panel was asked who their favorite super heroes were, since this was, after all, a comic book convention.
Emmerich replied, ”Batman. He has no super powers”

Strait said he loved the Punisher when he was growing up. And Belle stated she liked Batman for the same reasons Roland did.
Next the audience was treated to a surprise sneak peek at the upcoming animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, which comes out August 15th.
The film continues the story of what happened in between episodes 2 and 3 during clone wars. It will also leads into a new animated series which, “will be unlike anything you’ve seen before” according to the director.
It was a brief trailer and quickly the panel was back on track to the next topic, the upcoming film Get Smart.

Get Smart is based off the TV series from the late 60s/early 70s of the same name. It is directed by Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Naked Gun 33 1/3) and stars Steve Carell (The Office, 40-Year-Old Virgin) as lead character, Maxwell Smart. The film also stars Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries, Brokeback Mountain) as Agent 99, Max’s partner.
The audience was shown an exclusive trailer that was put together just days before the event. It was full of slap-stick humor and included some of the trademark catch phrases from the original TV series such as, ”Missed it by that much”

You could tell Segal was a big fan of the original calling it, ”one of greatest shows of all time” and said he was really trying to embrace its spirit. He also said that having a great cast to work with helped a lot in trying to capture essence of the original while adding the sensibilities of a modern generation.
Most of the questions were directed to Steve Carell or were about working with him. Hathaway and Segal both said they loved working with Steve.
Segal remarked that it was the most fun he’d had making a film and that sometimes him and Carell even hung out in real life.

Hathaway called Carell,” one of the great comedic masters of our time.” And, “Just a nice person.” She also said she was nervous about the amount of improvisation that would be involved working with him.
Steve Carell in turn described Hathaway as, “In person funny, kind and goofy, but once camera rolls her demure and sophistication brought another side that was riveting.”
Carell was then asked questions about his hit show, The Office. He said a recent experience serving on jury duty had inspired him to perhaps write an episode in which his character went through the same experience. He also told everyone that they start shooting in two weeks, now that the writer’s strike is over.

When asked why he had originally gone into improv Carell said, ”I didn’t want to learn lines”, which drew a laugh from the audience.
When asked if he would be taking on anything different from his comedic roles Carell said he said, “As long as I get paid, I’m fine.”
Carell was then asked if he tried to emulate the voice of the original Maxwell Smart, Don Adams or use his own voice. The actor said he tried to use his own voice but found it difficult to deliver catch phrases without reverting to the classic Don Adams.

The final question went to Segal who was asked about how trying to make a Shazam movie was going. He stated that there had been delays due to the writer’s strike and that they were trying to get a first draft for the script as we speak. He also stated that as previously announced they were still in talks to get The Rock, who has a supporting role in Get Smart, to play Black Adam.