(Video Available below)
Among rather heavy clouds of doubt surrounding the Michael Bay produced film Ninja Turtles, one of the latest additions to the crew actually has some positive things to say about the movie. Alan Ritchson, set to play Raphael in the film, gave THR the scoop recently at the MTV Movie Awards, going so far as to say that “everything you read online is wrong.” Considering that a lot of people closely attached to the franchise have said some rather negative things about the project, you might be thinking that the words of a relative rookie to the Turtle-verse probably don’t mean as much as something like Peter Laird’s recent words about Megan Fox. However, the truth about this interview with Ritchson is that it is very revealing, giving us insight into exactly how the film is being produced.
While it was once speculation, we can now pretty much confirm that the actors hired on to play our beloved Turtles will not just be voices, they will be motion capture animated CGI characters. Ritchson explains the process as such:
“It’s been an interesting process with the kind of technology we’re working with, this live action motion capture thing. There’s just a lot of technology involved, so there’s some kinks to work out. We’ve had some trial runs and we’ve actually started shooting some. We’re also in this phase right now that is sort of developmental. We’ve gotta be ninjas, unfortunately for me, who can barely walk and talk at the same time, so we’re learning a lot of the fight choreography and that kind of thing, so we’ve got these unbelievable stunt trainers that work us every day to the bone. It’s been a great process.”
Some reputable sources had been reporting that this production was moving forward with motion capture technology, but until now we hadn’t really had confirmation of this information. Thanks to this interesting interview, we can now develop a better idea of what to expect from this film. After all, it seemed an odd choice to bring on four relatively unknown actors to play everyone’s favorite heroes in a half shell, didn’t it? Well, now that we know that they are there to run around in motion capture suits and try to perform some interesting choreography, it’s easier to see why they were chosen for the roles. When it comes right down to it, you don’t hire a well known actor to play a part where their face won’t even be a prominent fixture in the film. Ritchson had more to say about the process later in the interview:
“It’s live action motion capture, so like, we’re running around Manhattan, me and Megan Fox; her looking wonderful and me looking like some kind of ant with cameras all over my face and dots. It’s ridiculous and it sucks running around with that kind of stuff on in public, but it’s what we must do.”
Whether or not this is a good thing will be left up to the fans to decide. Sadly, Ritchson didn’t have many positive things to say about the fans during this interview:
“The frustrating thing for me, since I’ve signed on, is that you hear that it’s already got a reputation – this movie that hasn’t come out yet. I think people assume that they know what it’s going to be about, and those people are wrong. The assumptions, all – everything you read online is wrong. It’s frustrating, because you want to tell everybody how great it is and you can’t really say why, but it is. It’s so much better than people think. I promise that. It’s going to look way better than anybody could imagine. I can’t wait for people to see this. I think it’s going to live up to and exceed everybody’s boyhood dreams of being a Ninja Turtle.”
Well, TMNT fans? What do you think? Check out the full interview and let us know what you think in the comments below.
6 comments
I am taking the “wait and see approach.” I remember a backlash when the last movie came out. Fans complained about the turtles being animated. Worked fine in my eyes. I have never thought any of the incarnations of the turtles was bad with the exception of “The Next Mutation.” I ask true TMNT fans just to relax and see what happens. If it is a stinker…then its a stinker and we have the right to say so. Preconceived notions hurt the Star Wars Prequels (along with Jar Jar) so don’t let it happen to TMNT. Please.
wow i’m pump for this new movie!!!
LET’S DO THIS!!!!
Imagine how pumped you’ll be once the first preview comes out 🙂
I want to be excited for this movie so bad, but the whole Megan Fox thing has really put a damper on it. Of course the actor is not going to say it’s crap, it’s his paycheck. Also, seeing the guys who are to be the TMNT kinda stank too because they look like a boy band rather than martial artists. I was expecting guys with muscles. I guess in the words of Rob Paulsen (who’s now my favorite Donatello) “It’s his dime.. it’ll either be really good and they’ll make another one or it’ll suck and go to dvd and that’s up to the public.”
William Fichtner good actor but he doesn’t belong in the Shredder role. I and alot of other people just don’t think he would fit the role, if that’s what you were going for. If anything he could be Casey Jones.
My firm opinion is to get Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa to play as Shredder. Afterall the original Shredder’s name was in fact Oroku Saki. So it’s only right that The Shredder be Asian.
Jason,
We agree that Master Shredder’s character should be of Asian decent and William Fichtner should would be more fitting for Casey Jones. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa did a good job as Shang Tsung but the new Shredder has to be fast, strong, and fairly young. We are talking about an evil warlord.
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