Movies
SD Comic-Con ’10: ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ Press Conference
Over the past few days you saw all of the new visual goodies from the San Diego Comic-Con, now it’s time to overload your senses with interview after after interview. Yesterday afternoon Bloody Disgusting was on hand at the Battle: Los Angeles press conference with producer Neal H. Mortiz, director Jonathan Liebesman, and the film’s stars Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez, who talked about the forthcoming alien war beginning on March 11, 2011.
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Liebesman, who directed The Texaschainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Darkness Falls, discussed why Battle: Los Angeles will hit today’s audiences in the right spot.
“There is definitely a feeling of a loss of security these days for people everywhere,” Liebesman said. “Battle: Los Angeles is a very black and white protagonist/antagonist type of film, and I think audiences are very receptive to that kind of story right now. Our aliens represent the unknown we all face every day.”
Eckhart, who plays a Marine Staff Sergeant in the film, discusses his characters purpose. “I think what makes Battle: Los Angeles so powerful is that our alien invasion ends up unifying not only the Los Angeles people, but also the human race. We have a Staff Sergeant ready to retire in the film and a platoon of young Marines where everything is not simpatico between the two. So when it comes time to pull together and fight the aliens, you see us become unified so that we can take them on.”
Rodriguez, who has be making a comeback as a badass chick in both Avatar and Machete, portrays an Air Force Tech Sergeant. The actress described how she adjusted to playing a different type of badass.
“I actually felt relieved that I didn’t have to be one of the brute force characters,” said Rodriguez. “Battle: Los Angeles was a little bit different experience for me as an actress because my character is a little more delicate than I am used to playing. I think my character has to rely more on her survival instincts to survive the invasion so it was a breath of fresh air. I get to kick some ass but definitely in a geeky way.”
The best news was that Liebesman promised fans that Battle: Los Angeles wouldn’t become Independence Day 2, which focuses solely on the aliens taking down Hollywood landmarks.
“Since I’m not from here, I wouldn’t even have known what landmarks to blow up,” joked Liebesman. “I wanted the movie to be more about urban combat and what you’d see happening in the LA area sprawl of communities. That’s how I really think it would go down if a hostile alien invasion were to happen. It’s not about the landmarks. It’s about the realism for me.”
Producer Neal H. Moritz concluded the conference by praising Liebesman’s work.
“Jonathan is the hardest working director I have ever worked with. With the amount of visual effects shots that a movie of this size requires, he’s been working non-stop to keep everything about this project to feel as real as you can get inside a movie theater. This has been one of the best experiences as a producer that I could ever hope for,” Moritz said.
Battle: Los Angeles invades theaters on March 11, 2011.
Director Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks, V/H/S/Halloween) is back with another twisted vision this year, with his new movie Buddy coming to theaters from Saban on August 28.
Buddy centers on the titular unicorn mascot — a beloved children’s TV host with a squeaky-clean persona that belies his true nature as a dark and violent force of nature.
Watch the brand new official teaser trailer below to begin the nightmare.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Inside the colorful world of It’s Buddy!, a group of children spend their days singing, dancing, and helping Buddy spread happiness. But when one child refuses to play along, Buddy is not pleased and cracks begin to appear in this seemingly perfect world.”
Cristin Milioti stars as Grace, a suburban mother inadvertently drawn into Buddy’s nightmare world, with Delaney Quinn as Freddy, a brave girl who begins to fight back against Buddy when he shows his true self. Keegan-Michael Key voices Buddy. The horror movie’s cast also includes Topher Grace, Michael Shannon, and Patton Oswalt.
Casper Kelly co-wrote the movie with Jamie King (“Jessica Jones”).
“It’s an honor to be partnering with Roadside Attractions and Saban Films, two companies that have built reputations for championing bold films,” commented Kelly. “The theatrical experience means so much to me personally, and I made Buddy to be experienced in a theater. I’m thrilled that audiences will get the chance to see the movie in theaters everywhere.”
“Casper Kelly is one of the most wildly inventive and audacious filmmakers working today, and Buddy is a testament to his singular genius,” said Saban co-presidents Jonathan Saba and Shanan Becker. “He possesses a rare aptitude for taking the wholesome nostalgia of our childhoods and flipping it into a brilliantly unhinged, laugh-out-loud nightmare.”
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review, “Casper Kelly drops viewers straight into the world of a kids’ show with a high-concept horror comedy that dials up the absurdities of kids’ television programming to a lethal degree. Those on board with an experimental structure and Kelly’s darkly playful sense of humor will find this raucous midnighter highly entertaining.”
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