THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN pre-release discussion (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

[Phil Florian]

I am not bothered that the PLOT differs from the books but I do get upset when the characters are different. Not in that they added Tom Sawyer or Dorian Grey..those are actually cool additions. It is changing Mina into a vampire and Quartermain into the de facto leader (not the opium addicted sot that had to be pulled into action by the non-powered Mina, darn it!). All the pre-show hype about the terrible shooting, the director that may or may not have quit, the major character re-interpretations...all spells worry. I will still see it. I liked the director's previous comic book adapation, Blade. That was a fine piece of work. Just my expectations aren't very high. I wonder how much the change in Quartermain is Connery's doing or how much was done to ATTACT Connery to the part. The overweight Connery doesn't fit the nearly emaciated Quarermain in the comic. Had Richard Harris been with us and healthy, he would have been PERFECT for that role. Oh well. We will see (goes back to comics).


Phil

 

[Seth Paxton]

Being familiar with who Tino's source is, that ain't a good sign at all. I'm sure the source is quite frustrated.
Man, it will be too bad if they can't salvage this since the concept itself is so good.
My only concern up till now was the rather dreadful and abundent CGI in the trailers, like Nemo's ship. Sometimes practicals or tighter shots can be more effective for atmosphere than going for a money shot with CGI, especially when the CGI doesn't quite pan out.
So the question regarding Connery's input is this - is he making the film look more or less like Avengers, ie, did he "learn his lesson" or were the worst parts of that film due to his own input.
I guess we will know if AQ is ever in a giant bear suit during the film.

but if he's still in charge, so is Norrington.

Err, not according to Tino's source. But then this is E! we are talking about and not 60 Minutes.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

But then this is E! we are talking about and not 60 Minutes.

Very good point.

Either way it's all "damage control" at this point.

I do have my fingers crossed tho. Flick looks like it could be a fun time.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I wonder how much the change in Quartermain is Connery's doing or how much was done to ATTACT Connery to the part.

I do remember reading a rumor about this a good while back. Basically, Connery was intrigued by the idea of playing Quartermain but wasn't interested in the part if he was going to have to spend the movie taking orders from a female. So instead of simply going with someone who would be cool with it, they reworked the story so Quartermain is back to being an action hero and Mina gets to be whatever it is they turned her into.

 

[Seth Paxton]

A much better idea would have been to mimic X2's trailers, by showing the different characters and printing/saying their names. Much more effective IMO

No sooner said than done. In a trailer I saw during the Yanks/Mets game on ESPN they at least covered 3 other characters beside AQ, though they named them as what they were rather than by name. I forget the descriptions but it was done in print on the screen followed by a brief clip of them in action, stressing the team concept a LOT more.

And, as predicted by Tino's source some time ago, we might also note the shift toward billing the film as LEAGUE rather than LXG. If anything it seems like the marketing effort is being honed and tweeked toward audiences better.

The emphasis on Connery is a smart one too I think. I know of a couple of women who plan to see the film because of him in an action film period.


Of course its obvious to all of us that this is a moot point if the film just stinks. It's just interesting to see them work out how they are trying to sell the film.

 

[TheLongshot]

It is changing Mina into a vampire and Quartermain into the de facto leader (not the opium addicted sot that had to be pulled into action by the non-powered Mina, darn it!).

To be honest, it doesn't surprise me. I expected that they would feel the need to do more with Mina, since in a lot of ways she seems to be the oddball of the group, being more or less a normal person, and the leader.

Also, once you sign a big name like Sean Connery, almost by default he has to become the main character, otherwise, he just distracts.

Would it have been better to sign a "name" actress to the role of Mina, rather than Peta Wilson? Maybe, but could you find one that looks enough the part, who is the right age? Don't know.

Would it have been better to just go with 2nd tier names and just work it as an ensemble? Maybe for us, but that would be a risk for the studio, which doesn't have a whole lot to bank on with the property. Not the comic, not the director, so you need a star.

As for the stories, I don't know if you can judge a film based on that. "Trouble" stories can go either way, since both good movies ("Titanic", "X-Men 2") and bad films ("Rollerball") have had stories like that. We won't know until we see the final product.

Jason

 

[BrianMagog]

I hope this movie is successful for Peta Wilson. I thought she did a great job with LFN, and I'm surprised she hasn't had more big screen opportunities.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Wasn't Monica Bellucci originally supposed to play Mina, but had to drop out because shooting on another movie went over?

 

[Dominik Droscher]

Wasn't Monica Bellucci originally supposed to play Mina, but had to drop out because shooting on another movie went over?

I think this was mentioned earlier in this thread, yes. But Jason is right, not having a big name for Mina would make Connery just a distraction. And not having Connery would mean no widely known actors in the league which would be a great risk for the studio. *sigh*, studio politics suck.

 

[Seth Paxton]

From what I hear it now sounds like they were able to pull everyone, including Norrington, back together and continue on finishing the film. So I guess he wasn't fired, just pissed off. It wouldn't be the first time people squabbled while making a film, that's for sure.

 

[Tino]

Well guys, the world premiere for The Leaugue Of Extraordinary Gentlemen is tonight in Las Vegas. I was graciously invited but can't make it because of scheduling difficulties, but my brother is going and will give me a full report tomorrow.
I trust him to give me a fair unbiased review of he evening. Hoping for the best.:b

 

[Seth Paxton]

Chris Dugger just raved about both it and Pirates of the Caribbean. Could be that things are looking up for this film.
I'm very interested to hear what Tino's brother has to say.

 

[Dominik Droscher]

There are also 3 pretty good reviews over at aintitcoolnews.

 

[Phil Florian]

I expected that they would feel the need to do more with Mina, since in a lot of ways she seems to be the oddball of the group, being more or less a normal person, and the leader

Exactly. This is the very point of the character in the comic and it, oddly enough, makes the same point in today's film. The film, by changing Mina into a superpowered monster, shows the same fear of strong women that Victorian men felt. A non-superpowred, capable woman who is intelligent and quick witted leading a troop of superpowered men...feh, how is that possible? By changing the character, the studio is making the point that while many things have changed since the Victorian era, still many things remain the same. The point: women aren't as capable as men, period. Give them vampire powers and the ability to turn into a swarm of bats, well...now you have something.

I do agree that by adding Connery they did force the issue, though. What they should have done was cast a woman movie star as the focus and built it around her like that. Belucci, though big with the fanboys, isn't a big blockbuster draw. I am not sure who it could have been, but this would have made more sense to the story at any rate. I am sure the studios didn't get the joke when they no doubt saw an early draft that had a woman being the lead in a movie with "Gentlemen" in the title. Went right over their heads, no doubt. Oh well, only so much Mina stumping I can do. The votes have already been cast and now she breaks apart into bats and sucks blood.



Phil

 

[Anthony Neilson]

I hope this one turns out good. I can understand that people are pissed off that it's taken liberties with the comic book, but it's a little naive to ever have thought otherwise. Which comic book movie hasn't ? The process of actually sitting down and working out an adaptation practically is a totally different thing from imagining a movie in your head. Yes there were major ructions on the set but that doesn't necessarily make for a bad movie, any more than everyone having a nice time makes for a good one.
Personally, I've liked the trailers I've seen (though Fox's marketing people are obviously nervous) and think it looks like fun. The film it most reminds me of is that old George Pal version of DOC SAVAGE, which was b******t but still pretty entertaining.
It seems that people have chosen LXG as their whipping boy somewhat prematurely. The fact is, imho, we've already had the big turkey of summer and it was called THE MATRIX RELOADED.

 

[Tino]

I was told that pleasing the 20,000 or so comic fans wasn't a priority and reaching a much larger audience was, hence the changes. I never read the comic and thought the screenplay was very enteraining, especially Minas Character.
Early word is very positive so maybe the changes do work. Ya never know, those of you complaining about the changes may actually enjoy the film once you have actually seen it!
BTW, LXG was dropped months ago and the short title is now The League

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I saw it hyped as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen just this week.

Whatever, as long as it's fun.

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Tino]

So did I Chuck, I was just saying that the LXG tag was dropped, that's all. You're right though, as long as it's good.
.....and speaking of that, with Seth's prodding () I just woke my brother up out of a drunken stupor in Vegas for his review and amid profanities for waking him up, he said sleepily that it was "good, very good..three stars" and promptly hung up. He is usually tough on films so I expect it to be at least a three star film.
I'll know more in an hour or so once he wakes up and sobers up a bit!:b

 

[Seth Paxton]

Yes, every TV Spot I see now is of the "Connery must assemble a team of...An Invisible Man, Dracula's Bride, Dr. Jeckle, Dorian Gray..." variety.

I've noticed a dramatic change in how the film is being marketed, especially in getting the not-so-hot CGI for the Nautilaus rising out of the trailers. They've taken the edge off that CGI-fest appearance that the early trailers had which is for the better.

Could be that we still have the best to come this summer - T3, Pirates, League and Seabiscuit could all be the less hyped or anticipated films that step up and deliver. In the end, that's what matters most - does the film play. Forget hype, forget being true to the comic or not (I do prefer staying close to the source though), make what's on the screen good, period.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Wow, reading the 3 mini-reviews at AICN has me more excited. I typically hate the approach over there but skimming through it I see them saying pretty much everything Tino said was in the script - stuff like "sort of like an Indiana Jones film". I also liked hearing "X-Men set in 1899".

This film is brewing, could be building up for a nice leggy run rather than a supernova to black hole like a lot of other films lately.