The Wolverine
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Re: Wolverine 2
Don't you mean... Adamantium? HAhaHAhaHAhaHA
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Don't you mean... Adamantium? HAhaHAhaHAhaHA
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Re: Wolverine 2
The Wolverine: A New Kind of Comic Book Movie
IGN visits The Wolverine's Sydney set to get the scoop on Logan's reinvention.
May 28, 2013
by Lucy O'Brien
Director James Mangold isn't really interested in making a comic book movie. Not in the traditional sense. He’s not really interested in explosions or bombastic action sequences or 3D. He’s not interested in quip-spouting super heroes or nudging his audience in the ribs with a sly wink.
What he is interested in, is character. Mangold, whose previous works include Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma, is an actor’s director. He’s the man responsible for Angelina Jolie’s Lisa Rowe, Joaquin Phoenix’s Johnny Cash and Christian Bale’s Dan Evans. Mangold is unequivocally sincere in his approach and his actors have the Oscars to prove it.
It might seem odd, then, for a director who cut his teeth on character-driven drama to be turning his attention to a comic book franchise, particularly one so established in the pop culture consciousness as The Wolverine. But Mangold is approaching the Marvel poster boy as he would with any of his sociopaths and his addicts; with a confidence that here is a multi-faceted, flawed human, waiting to be probed and exposed.
He just happens to be a mutant.
"One of the most interesting things about Logan is his immortality,” says Mangold on a sunny Thursday at The Wolverine set in Sydney’s Chinese gardens, near the production’s central home at Fox Studios. “The fact that there’s a kind of exhaustion that sets in when you’re here forever. And I wrote these lines on the back of my script when I first met with Fox: ‘everyone I love will die.’ I felt that the saga I wanted to tell was the story about a man who in a way felt cursed. And everyone he’d ever cared about in the world, whether it be the people he fought with – the X-Men, his wife, or others – had perished.”
It’s a point Mangold returns to many times, this idea of finding Logan not at his iconic yellow and black high but at his most defeated low, with his “tank empty,” as he puts it. “There’s this idea of the ‘ronin’. Which in a sense is exactly what Logan is. A hero without a purpose. A hero without a mission. Does he even have interest in a mission any more? Or is he so bored with them because mankind keeps *****ing up. What’s the point?
“I think that’s a really interesting place to start a film. And a really interesting place for this character to go on a journey.”
....sit, sit...
Logan's New Era
The Wolverine doesn't lend itself easily to an elevator pitch. It’s not an origin story; X-Men Origins: Wolverine already trod that ground. It’s not part of any existing narrative chronology in the Marvel film universe. It’s a reboot where the central star remains the same as the previous films. In fact, the only definitive thing you can say about The Wolverine is that it is a standalone film. While Hollywood’s ruthlessness cannot be discounted in the future, this is not a movie made to birth a ‘The Wolverine’ trilogy. And for Mangold, that’s liberating.
“The Wolverine doesn't deny the world, but it also is its own film. And in that way, the liberating aspect of the journey to another country, has freed us from the shackles of a lot of standard sequel making. It’s just a movie. A movie on its one from the moment it fades in to the moment it fades out. The aspect that I think we've gained from that is we don’t have the burden of doing the origin story. We can start in media res. We can start in action. We can just start telling you a story.”
That story, of course, is based on the classic 1982 Claremont/Miller Wolverine comic book mini-series, which famously took the common portrayal of Wolverine as a bruiser and brawler and turned him into that aforementioned ronin, the Samurai without a master. These days it is widely regarded as one of the most influential Wolverine story-lines, redefining the character as someone grounded by a strong moral code who struggles with his animal nature. The movie adaptation will take the bones of the character arc but update it for a contemporary audience; not least by stripping it of its rampant ‘80s look.
Broadly – and if you don’t want to know anything about the film’s storyline please stop reading now - The Wolverine sees Logan, isolated and in despair, travel to Japan in pursuit of an heiress named Miriko with whom he has fallen in love. There, he must contend with her murderous father Shingen and a female mercenary called Yukio, who is deeply attracted to Logan’s wild nature. The emotional through-line is grounded in Logan’s inner-conflict between his base instincts and his purer self, reflected in the honourable Miriko and the chaotic Yukio. Throw in the yakuza, the seductive villainess Viper and Shingen’s illegitimate son The Silver Samurai, and you've got yourself a film that still fits nicely into the ‘comic book movie’ mould but houses a character drama at its heart.
“To me, the idea of exploring the idea of gods,” explains Mangold, “which is what superheroes really are – mutants, superheroes, are all in a sense touched people, bigger-than-people, more than people, immortal people, what’s interesting is to explore that but still be rooting for who they are and what they are and give a *****. Because to me, any sequence in the kind of arms race between movies of spectacle; the one way you’re going to be more spectacular is if your audience gives a *****. If you’re not just bludgeoning them over the head with sound and fast cuts but if they’re actually emotionally invested in the outcome of the sequence they’re watching.”
Building Japan
While spirits are high on the day we visit The Wolverine’s Sydney set, it’s not been an easy journey towards principal photography. Darren Aronofsky was originally attached to direct an initial draft by The Usual Suspects scribe Christopher McQuarrie, but dropped out due to family commitments. Then the tsunami in Japan – where the majority of the film was meant to be shot – caused further delays. The project seemed to be imploding in development hell until Mangold came on board in June 2011 and Live Free or Die Hard screenwriter Mark Bomback took on rewriting duties in September. Shooting officially began in Sydney, Australia in July 2012, which, as many of the cast and crew are eager to discuss, seems an unlikely stand-in for contemporary Japan.
Suit fury.
“They wanted to make the best possible film for the money,” shrugs Production Designer Francois Audouy. “I don’t think there was ever a time where we thought we were going to make all of the film in Japan. We did consider it because it’s... an experiment. But it’s such a complicated visual effects movie with complicated sequences that it requires a certain amount of studio technology and craftsmanship, so you need a worldwide hub, like a London or a Sydney or a Los Angeles.”
While the crew were able to spend a couple of weeks shooting in Japan for key scenes, a lot of effort must still go into making sunny Down Under look like Japan’s moody neon playground for the rest of the 17-week shoot; Sydney’s central city is no Shinjuku. Indeed, one might raise an eyebrow upon hearing our Chinese Gardens shooting location today; surely they’re not tarring the two aesthetics with the same brush? Not at all, explains Audouy. The team have an utterly fastidious when it comes to authenticity, an approach aided by a cast that is nine-tenths Japanese.
“The cast members like Rila (***ushima, who plays Yukio) have been extremely helpful with calling attention to the details of certain sets,” he explains. “They’ve been great with telling Jim or me this is what it would be like in Japan, or we wouldn’t eat in this way, or what have you. There are so many layers of culture and detail. You could study this for a decade and still not know everything.”
Today we’re watching a funeral procession at a Japanese pavilion, dressed in banners featuring the Yashida family crest. We see Tao Okamoto’s Mariko, head bowed, dressed in an intricately detailed black kimono; Hugh Jackman’s Logan, dressed with equal somberness in a uniformly black suit, hangs behind. Suddenly, the scene explodes as a clutch of shirtless, tattooed Japanese extras playing yakuza clan members start firing into the crowd. Yukio, whose bright fuchsia hair, knee high boots and otherwordly features make her look like a Harajuku girl wandered into a My Chemical Romance concert, holds court. The blaring Sydney sun aside, today’s set looks impressively authentic, at least to my untrained eye.
“You can see that Chinse ceramic art we’ve had to cover up with false plants, bamboo – just so you can’t see it,” explains Art Director Ian Gracie. “But we’ve also added the main structure around there, we constructed and built that in situ. We’re avoiding all the (Chinese) architecture we can.
“Because unless you do it correctly, you can be looked upon as a fool, or not knowing what you’re doing. I did a couple of Star Wars films (Gracie worked on the prequels) and every time you make the wrong mistake – put the moon in the wrong quarter of the sky, there are a million people who’ll jump online and tell you that you’re wrong.”
The Jackman Effect
For some of the cast, working on The Wolverine is the first time they’ve been involved with an American production, or indeed, a film production at all; both Tao Okamoto and Rila ***ushima had only modelled before. For the seasoned Hiroyuki Sanada – who plays major antagonist Shingen Yasada – the project is a chance to prove to the Japanese industry that the gap between American and Japanese blockbuster entertainment can indeed be bridged.
“I think (my Japanese fans) are happy I’ve made some American films,” explains Sanada. “Of course some of them don’t think so. But I think this is the time to open the door to the world. A lot of Japanese industry people think the western culture is too far, too hard to get into. But for me, I had a lot of experience with working with a foreign culture. So when I’ve done Shakespeare in London and Stratford-Upon-Avon, I found out how important it was to mix culture and learn about one another and make something new.
"So for me, the movie business is not only for the money. There’s some sort of feeling of a more... deeper... diplomatic thing, for me. So that’s why I decided to start working here. I believe a lot of fans understand about my dream and what is important for the Japanese film industry in the future. It suggests a beginning.”
“Oh my god. Hugh!” squeals ***ushima, who doesn’t seem to be imbuing the project with quite the same gravitas as Sanada; in fact, she appears to very earnestly be having the time of her life. “Hugh is wonderful. Super wonderful to work with. Super professional. Super nice to everybody. A super gentleman."
This enthusiasm for Jackman is by no means isolated to the acting newcomers. The cast and crew talk of him with a ubiquitous fondness, bursting with anecdotes of Jackman distributing sunscreen or pulling pranks or giving blocking tips. And why not? This is his film, undoubtedly. And despite X-Men Origins: Wolverine - somewhat of an elephant in the room, it must be said - it’s an unprecedented opportunity for the actor, and Jackman knows it.
“With the X-Men movies,” Jackman explains, “it’s a movie called ‘X-Men.’ And you have to serve as many different storylines as one, and keep the world of X-Men and mutants in play. And I think Bryan Singer did a brilliant job there. And they were also setting a tone that didn’t exist before. There was no Chris Nolan’s Batman. Comic book movies were as cold as ice. The idea that you could have a comic book movie where you cared about the characters didn’t exist.”
Jackman pauses, considering how to phrase his thoughts on Gavin Hood’s ’09 origin story. “And I think for whatever reason there were a lot of things working against us at the time with Origins Wolverine – we all put our heart and soul into it – but honestly when I watched it... I still didn’t feel like we’d really delivered on what my vision of this character is, or the fan’s vision either. So I’m happy we’ve got another chance.”
“Certainly I saw the opportunity here,” continues Mangold, “for a great actor in one of the roles of his life who maybe hasn’t done the one that hits it out. So that’s a huge opportunity for me, and as a friend (of Jackman's), not having to deal with nine other members of the X-Men.”
Making a Japan Noir
With this commitment to character comes a certain earthiness to The Wolverine; this is a gritty, grimy movie. Mangold is drawing principally from film noir and westerns, but cites films as diverse as the hardboiled Chinatown to the classic drama Black Narcissus as influences. He wants The Wolverine to have romance and sensuality and danger and not just live on the bombast of its action sequences; although those will be there too.
“Wolverine does get bloody. Things have repercussions. You get cut, you bleed. The instantaneous nature of healing is something that I think got carried to such an extent, there were almost no stakes for the character. I want to carry across this idea that it hurts to be Logan. Just because your leg might heal, doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel broken."
“Just a few things about the action in general,” elaborates Audouy. “It’s very visceral and real and realistic. It’s very believable and raw and dangerous. There’s a real-time immediacy that adds a dynamic element to the story. And one of the sequences – the first sequence that we did – happens in the Yashida Compound between Shingen and Logan. It’s 99% in-camera with Logan’s claws vs Shingen’s sword. It’s mind-blowing, what they’re able to get for real. Without blue screen and visual effects, or CG claws.”
The Wolverine’s effects will be mostly practical, handled by master craftsman Gracie, a firm believer of keeping things in-camera (“it’s just better - you’ve already achieved something before you go into post-production”). The aforementioned Yoshida Estate was built on the enormous Fox Studios sound stage complete with functional weather effects, while a whole mountain village is being built for the film’s climax. Once again there’s that focus on authenticity, that refusal to lacquer things up with CG or action-for-action’s-sake. Even the mention of The Wolverine's 3D post-conversion is met with a somewhat low-key (well, less than sanguine at any rate) response from Mangold.
“The studio is very excited about (the 3D). I’m excited about it from a martial arts perspective. Again though – my own sense and taste in 3D films – I don’t really like it when it feels like it’s flying at me. I’m curious about it.”
If there’s a fundamental attitude I took away from my day on The Wolverine set, it was an unwavering faith in the film’s source material and Mangold’s ability to handle it. While the screenplay has gone through a number of changes, the foundations of the story have by all accounts remained untouched, and those foundations are, as producer Hutch Parker, puts it, “much deeper and richer” than the usual comic book character arc.
“In general it’s a really ambitious piece," explains Parker, "when someone attempts to take on all facets of a person’s psyche and all facets of a world to make sure every character is fully realized and complete with their own arc and relationship to the core conflict... if we held (that ideal) up to most films, I don’t think there would be many that fulfil that expectation.
“To Jim’s credit, everyone on the movie is blessed to have him. He’s such a skilled actor’s director, and performance-based director. And that allows you in part to tackle these richer themes. He's such an accomplished thematic story teller and you need someone who can sculpt and shape that vision at the helm, in order for those elements to all pay off and connect.”
For Hugh Jackman, approaching 45 now, this is his shot. If The Wolverine delivers on its promises, it will be the defining film of his 13-year tenure as the iconic X-Man, the character who shaped his career. And while he’s grateful for the level of support he’s received from fans thus far, this is one he’s really swinging for. This is the one, as Mangold put it, Jackman could hit out of the park.
“You always look at the pedigree of anything,” says Jackman. “The character itself in the comic book series is really popular. I could never take sole credit for that. I’m so pleased the fans embraced me for this long, (because) for a guy who can’t age, there’s a shelf-life on this role. But it’s also been slightly frustrating that we’ve never really delivered on what I would say is the 'core' of the character.
"In this story, you get to see the ultimate Wolverine. You get to see who he really is. That he’s vulnerable both physically and emotionally. We’ve had the time, so we’re in really great shape. I feel really blessed to have had this opportunity.”
Lucy O'Brien is Assistant Editor at IGN AU. Follow her ramblings on IGN at Luce_IGN_AU,or @Luceobrien on Twitter. If you like what you're reading, follow the whole Aussie team at the IGN Australia Facebook community.
The Wolverine: A New Kind of Comic Book Movie
IGN visits The Wolverine's Sydney set to get the scoop on Logan's reinvention.
May 28, 2013
by Lucy O'Brien
Director James Mangold isn't really interested in making a comic book movie. Not in the traditional sense. He’s not really interested in explosions or bombastic action sequences or 3D. He’s not interested in quip-spouting super heroes or nudging his audience in the ribs with a sly wink.
What he is interested in, is character. Mangold, whose previous works include Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma, is an actor’s director. He’s the man responsible for Angelina Jolie’s Lisa Rowe, Joaquin Phoenix’s Johnny Cash and Christian Bale’s Dan Evans. Mangold is unequivocally sincere in his approach and his actors have the Oscars to prove it.
It might seem odd, then, for a director who cut his teeth on character-driven drama to be turning his attention to a comic book franchise, particularly one so established in the pop culture consciousness as The Wolverine. But Mangold is approaching the Marvel poster boy as he would with any of his sociopaths and his addicts; with a confidence that here is a multi-faceted, flawed human, waiting to be probed and exposed.
He just happens to be a mutant.
"One of the most interesting things about Logan is his immortality,” says Mangold on a sunny Thursday at The Wolverine set in Sydney’s Chinese gardens, near the production’s central home at Fox Studios. “The fact that there’s a kind of exhaustion that sets in when you’re here forever. And I wrote these lines on the back of my script when I first met with Fox: ‘everyone I love will die.’ I felt that the saga I wanted to tell was the story about a man who in a way felt cursed. And everyone he’d ever cared about in the world, whether it be the people he fought with – the X-Men, his wife, or others – had perished.”
It’s a point Mangold returns to many times, this idea of finding Logan not at his iconic yellow and black high but at his most defeated low, with his “tank empty,” as he puts it. “There’s this idea of the ‘ronin’. Which in a sense is exactly what Logan is. A hero without a purpose. A hero without a mission. Does he even have interest in a mission any more? Or is he so bored with them because mankind keeps *****ing up. What’s the point?
“I think that’s a really interesting place to start a film. And a really interesting place for this character to go on a journey.”
....sit, sit...
Logan's New Era
The Wolverine doesn't lend itself easily to an elevator pitch. It’s not an origin story; X-Men Origins: Wolverine already trod that ground. It’s not part of any existing narrative chronology in the Marvel film universe. It’s a reboot where the central star remains the same as the previous films. In fact, the only definitive thing you can say about The Wolverine is that it is a standalone film. While Hollywood’s ruthlessness cannot be discounted in the future, this is not a movie made to birth a ‘The Wolverine’ trilogy. And for Mangold, that’s liberating.
“The Wolverine doesn't deny the world, but it also is its own film. And in that way, the liberating aspect of the journey to another country, has freed us from the shackles of a lot of standard sequel making. It’s just a movie. A movie on its one from the moment it fades in to the moment it fades out. The aspect that I think we've gained from that is we don’t have the burden of doing the origin story. We can start in media res. We can start in action. We can just start telling you a story.”
That story, of course, is based on the classic 1982 Claremont/Miller Wolverine comic book mini-series, which famously took the common portrayal of Wolverine as a bruiser and brawler and turned him into that aforementioned ronin, the Samurai without a master. These days it is widely regarded as one of the most influential Wolverine story-lines, redefining the character as someone grounded by a strong moral code who struggles with his animal nature. The movie adaptation will take the bones of the character arc but update it for a contemporary audience; not least by stripping it of its rampant ‘80s look.
Broadly – and if you don’t want to know anything about the film’s storyline please stop reading now - The Wolverine sees Logan, isolated and in despair, travel to Japan in pursuit of an heiress named Miriko with whom he has fallen in love. There, he must contend with her murderous father Shingen and a female mercenary called Yukio, who is deeply attracted to Logan’s wild nature. The emotional through-line is grounded in Logan’s inner-conflict between his base instincts and his purer self, reflected in the honourable Miriko and the chaotic Yukio. Throw in the yakuza, the seductive villainess Viper and Shingen’s illegitimate son The Silver Samurai, and you've got yourself a film that still fits nicely into the ‘comic book movie’ mould but houses a character drama at its heart.
“To me, the idea of exploring the idea of gods,” explains Mangold, “which is what superheroes really are – mutants, superheroes, are all in a sense touched people, bigger-than-people, more than people, immortal people, what’s interesting is to explore that but still be rooting for who they are and what they are and give a *****. Because to me, any sequence in the kind of arms race between movies of spectacle; the one way you’re going to be more spectacular is if your audience gives a *****. If you’re not just bludgeoning them over the head with sound and fast cuts but if they’re actually emotionally invested in the outcome of the sequence they’re watching.”
Building Japan
While spirits are high on the day we visit The Wolverine’s Sydney set, it’s not been an easy journey towards principal photography. Darren Aronofsky was originally attached to direct an initial draft by The Usual Suspects scribe Christopher McQuarrie, but dropped out due to family commitments. Then the tsunami in Japan – where the majority of the film was meant to be shot – caused further delays. The project seemed to be imploding in development hell until Mangold came on board in June 2011 and Live Free or Die Hard screenwriter Mark Bomback took on rewriting duties in September. Shooting officially began in Sydney, Australia in July 2012, which, as many of the cast and crew are eager to discuss, seems an unlikely stand-in for contemporary Japan.
Suit fury.
“They wanted to make the best possible film for the money,” shrugs Production Designer Francois Audouy. “I don’t think there was ever a time where we thought we were going to make all of the film in Japan. We did consider it because it’s... an experiment. But it’s such a complicated visual effects movie with complicated sequences that it requires a certain amount of studio technology and craftsmanship, so you need a worldwide hub, like a London or a Sydney or a Los Angeles.”
While the crew were able to spend a couple of weeks shooting in Japan for key scenes, a lot of effort must still go into making sunny Down Under look like Japan’s moody neon playground for the rest of the 17-week shoot; Sydney’s central city is no Shinjuku. Indeed, one might raise an eyebrow upon hearing our Chinese Gardens shooting location today; surely they’re not tarring the two aesthetics with the same brush? Not at all, explains Audouy. The team have an utterly fastidious when it comes to authenticity, an approach aided by a cast that is nine-tenths Japanese.
“The cast members like Rila (***ushima, who plays Yukio) have been extremely helpful with calling attention to the details of certain sets,” he explains. “They’ve been great with telling Jim or me this is what it would be like in Japan, or we wouldn’t eat in this way, or what have you. There are so many layers of culture and detail. You could study this for a decade and still not know everything.”
Today we’re watching a funeral procession at a Japanese pavilion, dressed in banners featuring the Yashida family crest. We see Tao Okamoto’s Mariko, head bowed, dressed in an intricately detailed black kimono; Hugh Jackman’s Logan, dressed with equal somberness in a uniformly black suit, hangs behind. Suddenly, the scene explodes as a clutch of shirtless, tattooed Japanese extras playing yakuza clan members start firing into the crowd. Yukio, whose bright fuchsia hair, knee high boots and otherwordly features make her look like a Harajuku girl wandered into a My Chemical Romance concert, holds court. The blaring Sydney sun aside, today’s set looks impressively authentic, at least to my untrained eye.
“You can see that Chinse ceramic art we’ve had to cover up with false plants, bamboo – just so you can’t see it,” explains Art Director Ian Gracie. “But we’ve also added the main structure around there, we constructed and built that in situ. We’re avoiding all the (Chinese) architecture we can.
“Because unless you do it correctly, you can be looked upon as a fool, or not knowing what you’re doing. I did a couple of Star Wars films (Gracie worked on the prequels) and every time you make the wrong mistake – put the moon in the wrong quarter of the sky, there are a million people who’ll jump online and tell you that you’re wrong.”
The Jackman Effect
For some of the cast, working on The Wolverine is the first time they’ve been involved with an American production, or indeed, a film production at all; both Tao Okamoto and Rila ***ushima had only modelled before. For the seasoned Hiroyuki Sanada – who plays major antagonist Shingen Yasada – the project is a chance to prove to the Japanese industry that the gap between American and Japanese blockbuster entertainment can indeed be bridged.
“I think (my Japanese fans) are happy I’ve made some American films,” explains Sanada. “Of course some of them don’t think so. But I think this is the time to open the door to the world. A lot of Japanese industry people think the western culture is too far, too hard to get into. But for me, I had a lot of experience with working with a foreign culture. So when I’ve done Shakespeare in London and Stratford-Upon-Avon, I found out how important it was to mix culture and learn about one another and make something new.
"So for me, the movie business is not only for the money. There’s some sort of feeling of a more... deeper... diplomatic thing, for me. So that’s why I decided to start working here. I believe a lot of fans understand about my dream and what is important for the Japanese film industry in the future. It suggests a beginning.”
“Oh my god. Hugh!” squeals ***ushima, who doesn’t seem to be imbuing the project with quite the same gravitas as Sanada; in fact, she appears to very earnestly be having the time of her life. “Hugh is wonderful. Super wonderful to work with. Super professional. Super nice to everybody. A super gentleman."
This enthusiasm for Jackman is by no means isolated to the acting newcomers. The cast and crew talk of him with a ubiquitous fondness, bursting with anecdotes of Jackman distributing sunscreen or pulling pranks or giving blocking tips. And why not? This is his film, undoubtedly. And despite X-Men Origins: Wolverine - somewhat of an elephant in the room, it must be said - it’s an unprecedented opportunity for the actor, and Jackman knows it.
“With the X-Men movies,” Jackman explains, “it’s a movie called ‘X-Men.’ And you have to serve as many different storylines as one, and keep the world of X-Men and mutants in play. And I think Bryan Singer did a brilliant job there. And they were also setting a tone that didn’t exist before. There was no Chris Nolan’s Batman. Comic book movies were as cold as ice. The idea that you could have a comic book movie where you cared about the characters didn’t exist.”
Jackman pauses, considering how to phrase his thoughts on Gavin Hood’s ’09 origin story. “And I think for whatever reason there were a lot of things working against us at the time with Origins Wolverine – we all put our heart and soul into it – but honestly when I watched it... I still didn’t feel like we’d really delivered on what my vision of this character is, or the fan’s vision either. So I’m happy we’ve got another chance.”
“Certainly I saw the opportunity here,” continues Mangold, “for a great actor in one of the roles of his life who maybe hasn’t done the one that hits it out. So that’s a huge opportunity for me, and as a friend (of Jackman's), not having to deal with nine other members of the X-Men.”
Making a Japan Noir
With this commitment to character comes a certain earthiness to The Wolverine; this is a gritty, grimy movie. Mangold is drawing principally from film noir and westerns, but cites films as diverse as the hardboiled Chinatown to the classic drama Black Narcissus as influences. He wants The Wolverine to have romance and sensuality and danger and not just live on the bombast of its action sequences; although those will be there too.
“Wolverine does get bloody. Things have repercussions. You get cut, you bleed. The instantaneous nature of healing is something that I think got carried to such an extent, there were almost no stakes for the character. I want to carry across this idea that it hurts to be Logan. Just because your leg might heal, doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel broken."
“Just a few things about the action in general,” elaborates Audouy. “It’s very visceral and real and realistic. It’s very believable and raw and dangerous. There’s a real-time immediacy that adds a dynamic element to the story. And one of the sequences – the first sequence that we did – happens in the Yashida Compound between Shingen and Logan. It’s 99% in-camera with Logan’s claws vs Shingen’s sword. It’s mind-blowing, what they’re able to get for real. Without blue screen and visual effects, or CG claws.”
The Wolverine’s effects will be mostly practical, handled by master craftsman Gracie, a firm believer of keeping things in-camera (“it’s just better - you’ve already achieved something before you go into post-production”). The aforementioned Yoshida Estate was built on the enormous Fox Studios sound stage complete with functional weather effects, while a whole mountain village is being built for the film’s climax. Once again there’s that focus on authenticity, that refusal to lacquer things up with CG or action-for-action’s-sake. Even the mention of The Wolverine's 3D post-conversion is met with a somewhat low-key (well, less than sanguine at any rate) response from Mangold.
“The studio is very excited about (the 3D). I’m excited about it from a martial arts perspective. Again though – my own sense and taste in 3D films – I don’t really like it when it feels like it’s flying at me. I’m curious about it.”
If there’s a fundamental attitude I took away from my day on The Wolverine set, it was an unwavering faith in the film’s source material and Mangold’s ability to handle it. While the screenplay has gone through a number of changes, the foundations of the story have by all accounts remained untouched, and those foundations are, as producer Hutch Parker, puts it, “much deeper and richer” than the usual comic book character arc.
“In general it’s a really ambitious piece," explains Parker, "when someone attempts to take on all facets of a person’s psyche and all facets of a world to make sure every character is fully realized and complete with their own arc and relationship to the core conflict... if we held (that ideal) up to most films, I don’t think there would be many that fulfil that expectation.
“To Jim’s credit, everyone on the movie is blessed to have him. He’s such a skilled actor’s director, and performance-based director. And that allows you in part to tackle these richer themes. He's such an accomplished thematic story teller and you need someone who can sculpt and shape that vision at the helm, in order for those elements to all pay off and connect.”
For Hugh Jackman, approaching 45 now, this is his shot. If The Wolverine delivers on its promises, it will be the defining film of his 13-year tenure as the iconic X-Man, the character who shaped his career. And while he’s grateful for the level of support he’s received from fans thus far, this is one he’s really swinging for. This is the one, as Mangold put it, Jackman could hit out of the park.
“You always look at the pedigree of anything,” says Jackman. “The character itself in the comic book series is really popular. I could never take sole credit for that. I’m so pleased the fans embraced me for this long, (because) for a guy who can’t age, there’s a shelf-life on this role. But it’s also been slightly frustrating that we’ve never really delivered on what I would say is the 'core' of the character.
"In this story, you get to see the ultimate Wolverine. You get to see who he really is. That he’s vulnerable both physically and emotionally. We’ve had the time, so we’re in really great shape. I feel really blessed to have had this opportunity.”
Lucy O'Brien is Assistant Editor at IGN AU. Follow her ramblings on IGN at Luce_IGN_AU,or @Luceobrien on Twitter. If you like what you're reading, follow the whole Aussie team at the IGN Australia Facebook community.
lerath666
Super Freak
Re: Wolverine 2
... for the first time since it was revealed to be a weird future story....
I REALLY want to see this.
this.... This is WHY people like marvel. becuase at it's core, their characters HAVE character. they have depth, they seem to be believeable people under the spandex, when you strip away the powers and costume.
Ok, I'm onboard now.
now lets see if he can deliver.
... for the first time since it was revealed to be a weird future story....
I REALLY want to see this.
this.... This is WHY people like marvel. becuase at it's core, their characters HAVE character. they have depth, they seem to be believeable people under the spandex, when you strip away the powers and costume.
Ok, I'm onboard now.
now lets see if he can deliver.
Re: Wolverine 2
Mangold is a good director. I have no doubt he can "deliver", but what I'm worried about is the studio. Mangold may have had a great plan for this movie but lets see how much of it he was actually able to accomplish after Fox's intervention. I have lots of hope for this movie...but the trailers are not promising. I hope they're just poor trailers...
Mangold is a good director. I have no doubt he can "deliver", but what I'm worried about is the studio. Mangold may have had a great plan for this movie but lets see how much of it he was actually able to accomplish after Fox's intervention. I have lots of hope for this movie...but the trailers are not promising. I hope they're just poor trailers...
lerath666
Super Freak
Uncanny Web-Slinger
Super Freak
Re: Wolverine 2
Sounds like he's really into the movie and is making a good character-driven story. Hope it delivers.
Sounds like he's really into the movie and is making a good character-driven story. Hope it delivers.
Re: Wolverine 2
I hope the film shuts certain elements of this forum up and their self appointed film expertise. if not, I am certain to enjoy it which is all that matters
I hope the film shuts certain elements of this forum up and their self appointed film expertise. if not, I am certain to enjoy it which is all that matters
- Joined
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Re: Wolverine 2
Curse everyone who wants something watchable!
Curse everyone who wants something watchable!
Darth Zangetsu
Super Freak
Re: Wolverine 2
As the paying audience we really need to demand better than watchable.
As the paying audience we really need to demand better than watchable.
BaxterStockman
Freaked Out
Re: Wolverine 2
I thought they were going to start going down the line making movies for most of the characters. Now we're getting another Wolverine?
I thought they were going to start going down the line making movies for most of the characters. Now we're getting another Wolverine?
Biojex
Super Freak
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Re: Wolverine 2
That was a long time ago. There was supposed to be a Magneto origin too, but they folded it into X-men First Class. Now it seems they've scrapped that idea altogether.
That was a long time ago. There was supposed to be a Magneto origin too, but they folded it into X-men First Class. Now it seems they've scrapped that idea altogether.
Uncanny Web-Slinger
Super Freak
Re: Wolverine 2
Some people expect perfection so of course they'll be left disapointed.
I'm personally looking forward to most upcoming comic book movies with a positive mindset
Some people expect perfection so of course they'll be left disapointed.
I'm personally looking forward to most upcoming comic book movies with a positive mindset
Re: Wolverine 2
I don't know about perfection but some hold their opinions in high esteem when they shouldn't. A bunch of negative Nancy's,
I tend to think like you. Positive intent until a reason not to be positive. Being Wolverine is my favorite Marvel character, I'd love for the film to be an instant classic. I am realistic and I am just excited to be seeing the character again on the big screen
Some people expect perfection so of course they'll be left disapointed.
I'm personally looking forward to most upcoming comic book movies with a positive mindset
I don't know about perfection but some hold their opinions in high esteem when they shouldn't. A bunch of negative Nancy's,
I tend to think like you. Positive intent until a reason not to be positive. Being Wolverine is my favorite Marvel character, I'd love for the film to be an instant classic. I am realistic and I am just excited to be seeing the character again on the big screen
- Joined
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Re: Wolverine 2
No one is after perfection. Just hoping the film is at least competent.
No one is after perfection. Just hoping the film is at least competent.
Uncanny Web-Slinger
Super Freak
Re: Wolverine 2
Was googling Wolverine and got to thinking.
The two most common Marvel movie characters are Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and RDJ as Tony Stark.
Both have distinctive beards they go hand in had with their comic counterparts.
So who has the cooler Beard?
BEARD OFF!!!!!!
Was googling Wolverine and got to thinking.
The two most common Marvel movie characters are Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and RDJ as Tony Stark.
Both have distinctive beards they go hand in had with their comic counterparts.
So who has the cooler Beard?
BEARD OFF!!!!!!
- Joined
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Re: Wolverine 2
John Beard has the coolest beard.
John Beard has the coolest beard.
jye4ever
Broke and happy
Re: Wolverine 2
Wolverine on film has got nothing on Iron Man on film.
Not even from X2.
Lets see what July brings.
Wolverine on film has got nothing on Iron Man on film.
Not even from X2.
Lets see what July brings.
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