Tarsem Says His Greek Gods Epic Is More “Hardcore” Than The Trailers Suggest
Playlist scribe Kimber Myers down at Comic-Con 2011 sounds both confounded and dazzled from the footage of filmmaker Tarsem Singh‘s “Immortals” that she and countless other fans saw this afternoon at the convention’s hallowed Hall H. To wit: “The footage is fucking insane and gorgeous,” she writes. “It might be a mess, but it could be the best use of 3D you’ve seen.”
While the trailers we’ve seen so far are “300“-esque, swords-and-sandals-like chest puffing heroics, the director believes what you’ve seen up until now has been watered down and the film itself, part of what was shown today, is much more intense. “It’s a little darker than I think what the trailers lead you to believe,” he said. “So right now the trailers that you’re seeing have been for everybody, but it’s more hardcore than that.”
“We’re looking for originality, we’re looking for cutting edge, we’re trying to stay away from the bullshit of the past,” producer Mark Canton said, he being one of the creative team behind Zack Snyder‘s “300.” Of course with Henry Cavill and a Snyder cohort in the house, the conversation naturally had to turn to “Man of Steel,” Cavill’s next starmaking lead turn.
But if the Comic-Con crowd were expecting any major Superman revelations they would be disappointed as Cavill stayed not only quiet through most of the panel, but very mum on his upcoming super hero role. “There’s really nothing I can say apart from the fact that it’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever read,” he said, giving only a small tease of the screenplay written by David S. Goyer and based off a story by Goyer and executive producer Christopher Nolan. “I’m humbled by the experience. I can’t wait to get started.”
While our writer on the floor said the footage was both a “mess” and “insane,” this might just be part of Tarsem’s creative approach.
“You just vomit it all out and hope it turns out,” he said of his process, noting that he tried to use the new technology in a way audiences have yet to experience. “I tried to use the 3D in a creative way and hopefully you’ll like it.”
While one can argue the narrative lapses in Tarsem films can be wide, he is without a doubt a peerless visualist and therefore perhaps one of the best choices in filmmakers to try on the stereoscopic milieu of 3D. More from this panel soon. “Immortals,” which also stars Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto, Mickey Rourke, Kellan Lutz, Luke Evans, John Hurt and Isabel Lucas, arrives in theaters this fall on 11.11.11 — Reporting by Kimber Myers