Speed Racer 3-D Movie Poster

Alex at First Showing ran into a nice find at their local movie theater. It's the lenticular Speed Racer poster. Lenticular posters have a "pop" to them that make objects stand out and Alex can explain it better than I can.

I like the tagline: "...a world built for Speed."

Speed Racer Trailer in HD

Moviefone has the addition of the HD Trailers for Speed Racer. Watch the 480, 720, or 1080 versions to get the highly detailed race scenes and sets that were shot in the new full-focus digital style.

By going through and seeing the detailed frames you can get great shots of Chim Chim, Racer X (Matthew Fox), and the individual race cars. A few of the Speed Racer photos are below and you can view the entire collection as a slideshow.

Speed Racer Trailer Now Online !!

The first Speed Racer trailer is online and it looks fantastic! The Wachowski's held true to their word and kept the "Anime" look of the original cartoon series. With bright lights and even brighter colors we get a chance to step into the world of Speed Racer and finally see the race scenes and characters in their outfits.

First Speed Racer Images Released

Emile Hirsch in the Speed Racer outfit

USA Today has released the first images from the highly anticipated "Speed Racer" movie. The Wachowski's have gone technology and gadget crazy creating this all-green screen update of the famous Japanese '60's cartoon.

We get our first look at Emile Hirsch behind the wheel of the Mach 5 as well as in his racing gear. Racer X (Matthew Fox) and Trixie (Christina Ricci) make an appearance along with Pops (John Goodman) and Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon). However, it's nice to see they went with a real chimp for Chim Chim instead of a CG one.

Matthew Fox (in black) is Racer X, who looks after Speed.

Emile Hirsch behind the wheel of the Mach 5, Speed's car.

Emile Hirsch behind the wheel of the Mach 5, Speed's car.

Christina Ricci, who plays faithful girlfriend Trixie.

Sprittle and Chim Chim.

Emile Hirsch Talks Speed Racer - It's going to be all green screen

Empire Movie News spoke to Emile Hirsch recently and they were under the impression that Speed Racer, the Wachowski brothers' adaptation of the cult cartoon about a boy who wants to be the best racing driver in the world, was going to be using green screen elements for its reportedly groundbreaking racing sequences, but using old fashioned sets and props for much of the rest of movie. We'd heard rumours that much of it would be filled in later (John Mathieson, who was Director of Photography on Gladiator, apparently turned down the chance to shoot this because of the glut of green), but no concrete confirmation that it was taking the full 300 approach.

"Nope, it's all green screen," Hirsch told us. "There were no sets, just us and the green background. I haven't seen anything of it finished yet, there was a lot of trust [in the Wachowskis] involved. It's going to be crazy. Was the monkey real? Yes."

So, what does this mean for the look of Speed Racer? Are the Wachowski brothers going to try to stylize this to look just like the cartoon – though presumably without the characters mouths continuing to move after they've finished speaking?

• Emile Hirsch Talks Speed Racer - It's going to be all green screen >

First Pic John Goodman In Speed Racer

In the movie, Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line.

The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) — to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

The film hits theaters on May 9th, 2008.

• First Pic John Goodman In Speed Racer >
  

Tarnished by past, Babelsberg looks to brighter future

The Wachowski Brothers are busy finishing up the final touches to Speed Racer after shooting the movie in front of green screens at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam. This legendary studio flourished during the early part of the 20th Century thanks to a vibrant film production and stars like Marlene Dietrich.

It didn't take long to rocket Dietrich to international stardom, and she soon left for Hollywood. But the Potsdam studio she left behind soon lost its glitter. When Adolf Hitler came on the scene, Babelsberg devolved into his personal propaganda machine. Under communist East Germany, the studio had flashes of brilliance, but when the Berlin Wall fell and the studio came under private ownership, the losses mounted.

But in less than a year, Studio Babelsberg has made a comeback worthy of its star-studded past. With new management - and generous government subsidies that cover up to 20 percent of a filmmaker's costs - the studio is confidently looking ahead as it celebrates its 95th anniversary.

By the end of December, the studio will have hosted 11 films, including two big-budget Hollywood films shot simultaneously: Tom Cruise's Valkyrie, the World War II biopic of Count Claus von Stauffenberg's 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler, and the Wachowski brothers' star-packed flick Speed Racer. (...continue article)

Joel Silver Explains Speed Racer Technology

Joel Silver is sort of the unofficial spokesman for the Wachowski Brothers. They never do press, even when their own movies are coming out, let alone during production. But producer Silver ushered the visionaries into Hollywood and explains their process whenever he can. With Speed Racer wrapping principal photography and onto the visual effects stage, Silver previewed the next new vision from the Matrix boys.

"The Wachowski Brothers really can't do anything easy," said Silver. "They want to make it as hard as they possibly can. So [Speed Racer is] has a look that you have never seen before. It's really a vast panorama of the story. There's going to be a trailer out at Christmas, and it's pretty spectacular. So you'll see it pretty soon."

Shot entirely on green screen, Speed Racer borrows less from the landmark 300 than it does from the Wachowskis' own previous effort. "There were a lot of green screen elements in the Matrix movies. There were a lot of things that were done in those films that were done in a very serious CGI format. This is even more advanced than that."

Specifically, getting the details of a general race track involves more elements than any bullet time scene or burly brawl they've done before. "Look at a movie like Ben-Hur. They took nine months to shoot that chariot race and they had to deal with the horses and the chariots and the crowds. Here's a movie that's made not even 50 years later, these big huge car races, huge crowds. And there are no cars, anyplace. It's all on the computer."

Via Rotten Tomatoes

Speed Racer Trailer This Christmas

Producer Joel Silver told reporters to expect a trailer for the Wachowski brothers' upcoming film adaptation of the anime classic Speed Racer sometime around Christmas. Speaking at a news conference to promote Fred Claus, Silver said the live-action movie is "a wild ride," adding: "There's going to be a trailer out at Christmas, and it's pretty spectacular. So you'll see it pretty soon."

Talking about his longtime collaborators, Silver said: "The Wachowski brothers can't do anything easy. You know, they want to make it as hard as they possibly can. So it's a movie that has a look that you have never seen before, and it's really a vast panorama for the story."

Speed Racer stars Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) as the title character, a young race-car driver with a mysterious past and an unstoppable car, the Mach 5.

The movie will advance the visual effects seen in the Wachowskis' Matrix movies, Silver promised. "There were a lot of things [in] those films that were done in a very serious CGI format," he said. "And this is even more advanced than that. You look at a movie like Ben-Hur. I mean, they took nine months to shoot that chariot race. And they had to deal with the horses and the chariots and the crowds. And here's a movie that's made not even 50 years later, with these big, huge car races, huge crowds, and there's no [real] cars anyplace. It's all on the computer. Speed Racer is due in theaters May 9, 2008.

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Emile Hirsch on Speed Racer

To shoot Into the Wild, Emile Hirsch trimmed down, got healthy, went outdoors and literally had to rough it in the bush, from the scorching desert scrublands of California's Salton Sea to the wilderness of Alaska.

To shoot his next movie, Hirsch is now strapped into a harness inside a studio. He is starring in Speed Racer, a live-action version of the 1960s Japanese anime, for the Wachowski Brothers of The Matrix fame. [...more]

Speed Racer Toys To Be Licensed By Mattel

Collect.com reports Mattel has won the licensing contest for Warner Bros. Speed Racer. The license includes "virtually all product lines, including vehicles, action figures, remote-control vehicles and more." [more]

"Mattel will tap into the action, characters and storyline to bring the film to life across a broad number of their product lines. With Speed’s Mach 5 leading the way, Hot Wheels will feature a wide assortment of die-cast vehicles, race sets and track sets based on the film. Tyco, the leading remote control vehicle brand, will put kids behind the wheel of the Mach 5 with r/c vehicles and racing sets. "

Wachowskis To Use Original ‘Speed Racer’ Theme

It has been revealed that the Wachowski Brothers have purchased the rights to the sound effects used in the Speed Racer cartoon, and confirmed that they will be using the trademark theme song. [details]

It’s all part of their attempt to reproduce the cartoon in reality which includes a new, full-focus camera technique (see Speed Racer Using Revolutionary Full Focus Cameras )

Speed Racer Using Revolutionary Full Focus Cameras

The choice of making Speed Racer into a full-length feature film seems like an odd choice by the Wachowski Brothers.

The Brothers have quite the resume when it comes to bringing the new and exciting films to the screen. Their subject matter is always enriched with detail and struggles and they have a talent when it comes to creating digital effects.

So, what will the Brothers bring to the table for Speed Racer, a Japanese anime from the 1960's?

Seems like the guys are hard at work at utilizing a state-of-the-art camera system to replicate the anime-style of the world of Speed Racer.

Susan Sarandon confirmed that the camera system they are using will have layered film so that both the front and back are in focus like a cartoon. Holy shit, yep that's what she just said!

"They're using some high def thing that comes with guards and it's beyond anything I've ever…. I saw 10 minutes before I left, they did a special thing for me cause they're just wrapping and having a party tonight, they were still working after I left.

They're doing something where they're layering film so that the front and the back are in focus like a cartoon and they're also doing two dimensional and three dimensional stuff and mixing and everything is very, very saturated with some new kind of film, so they actually have to treat the actors in some way so we can hold our own with the background.

So it's every color that wasn't in The Matrix is seriously in this film. "

Supposedly they (The Wachowski's) were going to make the entire frame always in focus… like a cartoon. I had heard that the reason for the long filming process was not due to the extensive blue screen work, but due to this new look that they were going for. [ ...more]

Speed Racer News Conference

A more detailed clip of the news conference for the Speed Racer movie. The cast gets introduced along with their characters as well as the emphasis of CG animation for the production of the film.

Speed Racer - First Look At The Cast

The June 2007 news conference that unveils the cast and Mach 5 of the movie. Joel Silver, Producer, explains the need for the Wachowskis to make a more 'family' oriented film.