What DO you want, then?

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

Okay, in all of the other threads on this board, I've seen the bashing, the fighting, the hate and venom fly in every direction either for or against the 2014 TMNT film. I personally think it was a movie with a LOT of stuff wrong with it, had a few tiny things that I liked, and just passed it off as a mediocre popcorn summer flick- I don't love it, but I don't hate it, either.

But the question I pose in this thread is; what DO you want in a good TMNT movie, first in it's series? What characters, setting, tone, etc., are you looking for? This isn't a thread to just pick up arguing over the movie we got- rather, this is the place to talk about what we would have gotten had Bay just say back, put his name on the picture, and raked in the cash from a film with a director who knew what he was doing? I want to know what you'd would have wanted to see, and what you'd hate seeing. No fighting or yelling about other versions or other people's tastes. Discuss the ideas, fine... but don't fight over em!

Now, I'd personally have loved to see a fell done origin, with 4kids in tone, and characters from the OT; Yoshi becomes Splinter, Shredder as the main villain, human rocksteady and bebop as his henchman, setting up their transformation in the sequel. Cycle of vengeance story kept in the form of shredder destroying Yoshi's life as a human. Ninja action and violence on the level of most PG-13 Hollywood action flicks where the good guys can hack, chop and slash their way through the grunts and kill them.

What I would not go see is a full-blown Mirage tale, with the gore, blood, and grit of 300. It personally holds no interest for me, I've seen enough frank miller angst-ridden bloodfests to last me a lifetime. But that's just my tastes, I know many others would love to see that. Also, I'd expect a good story, and good characters. I'd hate another summer popcorn flick without any sense of direction or tone.

So, what would all of you like to see in a TMNT movie? If you're opinion is different that everyone else- great! We all have different ideas on what we'd prefer. But I hope we can all agree that we'd rather have a coherent, quality movie, regardless of supporting characters and tone.

Oh, and no bringing up the film we got, except as an example of what you do or do not want! I don't want the fight in the other threads to spill over to here!

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

how about some turtles..

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

how about some turtles..

:lol: Okay, how about some ideas beyond those that are a given?

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Give the turtles, you know, actual personalities.

And I'm not saying, like, "Raph is the angry one, Don is smart, Leo is leader, Mikey is funny". No. I want the characters to have reasons to like or dislike each other. Reasons to do what they do.

[TigerClaw]

Give the turtles, you know, actual personalities.

And I'm not saying, like, "Raph is the angry one, Don is smart, Leo is leader, Mikey is funny". No. I want the characters to have reasons to like or dislike each other. Reasons to do what they do.
Hopefully with the sequel, We can see Raph bonding more with Casey Jones, The reality is, Both Alan Ritchson and Stephen Amell know each other in RL, They used to work together on a TV show, So there's the potential for Raph developing more as a character, When he meets someone kind of like him.

[Amaranthus]

More ass-shots.

[Foombamaroom]

"What do you want, then?"

A NEW REBOOT WITH DIFFERENT DIRECTORS, WRITERS, PRODUCERS AND ACTORS. Well, keep Pete, Jeremy, Noel, and Alan, and possibly Stephen.

Everyone else: get out.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

Hopefully with the sequel, We can see Raph bonding more with Casey Jones, The reality is, Both Alan Ritchson and Stephen Amell know each other in RL, They used to work together on a TV show, So there's the potential for Raph developing more as a character, When he meets someone kind of like him.

yea right..they can bro fest in 1 minute and be best bros for life bro bro

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

"What do you want, then?"

A NEW REBOOT WITH DIFFERENT DIRECTORS, WRITERS, PRODUCERS AND ACTORS. Well, keep Pete, Jeremy, Noel, and Alan, and possibly Stephen.

Everyone else: get out.

Not arguing with your stance; but again, these are all a given, mentioned in my first post. What are you looking for, story, plot, and character-wise?

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

yea right..they can bro fest in 1 minute and be best bros for life bro bro

*Sigh* Please, both of you, stop this... :ohwell: I didn't ask about a sequel, I asked about a hypothetical moive made instead of this one.

[Warhorse]

What do I want, something that was more like the first Transformers, that had a decent story, good characters, and a good balance of comedy and seriousness. I thought the first Transformers was the way to go in bringing cartoon characters to life.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

Not arguing with your stance; but again, these are all a given, mentioned in my first post. What are you looking for, story, plot, and character-wise?

but it shouldnt be our job to write it for them..we should be vague and tell them the basics...especially since this team doesnt get it.fnot to pat lyself on the back but the first post shouldnt have been we want turtles..fans shouldnt baby a studio....we want turtles and a good story..thats the bones of it...its not my job to write the story for them to tell me...if it was i should get paid for it

[Warhorse]

But truth, I'd love it if they went along the grounds of the first Kick Ass movie, but I knew we would never get something like that.

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

but it shouldnt be our job to write it for them..we should be vague and tell them the basics...especially since this team doesnt get it.fnot to pat lyself on the back but the first post shouldnt have been we want turtles..fans shouldnt baby a studio....we want turtles and a good story..thats the bones of it...its not my job to write the story for them to tell me...if it was i should get paid for it

But this has nothing to do with the movie we got, or writing the story for them. It was a question about what people personally want to see in a tmnt movie.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

and i told you want i wanted...the turtles...as ninjas

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

and i told you want i wanted...the turtles...as ninjas

Ok, fair enough

[IndigoErth]

Turtle focus and perspective (why is that hard for the film makers to grasp). April's perspective: do not want. As been mentioned - ninjas. (Cutting ninja stuff out is like cutting out the fact that the Turtles are, you know, green.)

A really good well written, solid story. (That does not include stupid short cuts like ninja books or complicating some details in unnecessary ways because you're trying to be creative, while the parts that could use more creativity didn't get it.) As for the story itself, hell, I'd be perfectly fine if they told NEW stories (and in their case maybe that would be easier and less likely to get as much grief) just as long as they start out with a well told 96% intact classic origin, then move on to a new story once that is in place.

As for new ideas: I'd still love to see those horrid looking "alien" turtle design concepts repurposed and show up as alien enemies that our Turtles fight against. (Keeping our Turtles as born Earthlings.) That could be cool. They can show me something new like this, I'm OK with that - but (too late) do not screw with the foundation.

[Foombamaroom]

Not arguing with your stance; but again, these are all a given, mentioned in my first post. What are you looking for, story, plot, and character-wise?

For starters, I don't want choppy stories with plotholes. I would've liked the first movie much more if they kept Caucasian Shredder, due to the fact that they had so many plotholes in the version we got.

But storywise? Give Shredder a rest. Don't use him as the main antagonist for the first movie unless you're using him to introduce him to someone else, such as Krang, and have the series build up towards him. Use villains like Baxter Stockman, Slash, Rat King, Krang, Lord Dregg, Triceratons, BISHOP, etc. as main antagonists. And then, once the dust settles, give us Shredder in the 2nd or 3rd movie.

[pennydreadful]

What I would like:

- no Bay attached to the project at all, or Nemec/Applebaum. They're not the right people for this property.
- ninja fighting and focus on the Turtles at least equal to the 1990 film
- no sexist treatment of April
- coherent, cohesive story and original plot which doesn't retread the exact same ground as previous films; we know the origin, we don't need another "set up" movie to explain who everybody is
- a strong, fun soundtrack with some memorable songs
- well shot with no use of the current aggravating trends like shaky jump cuts and lens flares
- emphasis on practical effects where possible, using CG to complement
- good production design (inc. Turtle design)
- casting of people with strong acting/stunt/VA chops
- more mature tone; not necessarily UltraGrittyDark with gore and f-bombs a-flyin', but less kiddified than say, SoTO.

[Commenter 42]

This has been done so many damn times around here, and the results are always the same.

NOBODY WANTS THE SAME THING. We all have our wish list's of head cannon and flights of fancy.

The Turtles are essentially a Rorschach test. It's like asking a room full of mothers which of their children is the most attractive.

They were never going to satisfy everyone.

Agreeing that we don't want PDMT is simple. Agreeing on what we do want...

LOL. Have fun with that.

[Shark_Blade]

I'm fine if they want to go the bloody, gory Mirage route. But for now, I'm very pleased with the OT route they are taking. :D:tlove:

[Commenter 42]

I'm fine if they want to go the bloody, gory Mirage route. But for now, I'm very pleased with the OT route they are taking. :D:tlove:

^^ point proven. Thanks Sharkie.

[Bry]

We've been through this a few times already, but what the hell. I posted out a fan-casting/plot pitch kinda thing here (http://brykotyk.tumblr.com/post/59113017653/fan-casting-a-better-tmnt-movie) a while back. Gimme an excuse to repost it and I'll repost it. :trazz:

And I wrote out a brief trilogy outline in this thread (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=48809) last year, which I mostly kinda stand by? Anyway:

At its core, Mirage. Play out the Yoshi/Saki backstory to give emotional weight to everything. Maybe make Yoshi and Splinter the same character to simplify that, and then let the basic Mirage plot play out with some aspects of 4Kids and IDW peppered in - Karai as the Foot's second-in-command with a conflicted sense of honour like in 4Kids, Baxter as a schemer working for TCRI, connecting him to the ooze, and April as an intern a la IDW, and Casey meets a runaway Raph like in the Mirage comics and the 1990 movie.

The second movie could have Baxter as the lead villain, trying to kill April after she discovers his true nature, which of course draws the Turtles into it. It'd also reveal the truth about TCRI and the Turtles' origins (whoo Utroms!).

The third/final movie would be City at War. The Turtles and Karai are forced into a truce to bring order to the city after the Shredder's death leaves a power vacuum in the NYC underworld. Sticking really close to the Mirage original. Tackle the whole "cycle of vengeance" theme in a really thoughtful and action-packed way.

That's how I'd do it.

Basically... don't mess with what works. The Mirage comics made a great outline for the 1990 movie, and they still work as a rock-solid story. Update some stuff, take in some elements from more contemporary versions like the 4Kids show, the Nick show, the IDW comics, but keep the focus where it should be - the themes and the characters are laid out very well in the original material, and that should be absorbed and considered first of all.

[Walkabout]

What I would like:

- no Bay attached to the project at all, or Nemec/Applebaum. They're not the right people for this property.
- ninja fighting and focus on the Turtles at least equal to the 1990 film
- no sexist treatment of April
- coherent, cohesive story and original plot which doesn't retread the exact same ground as previous films; we know the origin, we don't need another "set up" movie to explain who everybody is
- a strong, fun soundtrack with some memorable songs
- well shot with no use of the current aggravating trends like shaky jump cuts and lens flares
- emphasis on practical effects where possible, using CG to complement
- good production design (inc. Turtle design)
- casting of people with strong acting/stunt/VA chops
- more mature tone; not necessarily UltraGrittyDark with gore and f-bombs a-flyin', but less kiddified than say, SoTO.

This sounds pretty good to me.

Platinum Dunes just took TMNT and put it through the Transformers grinder machine...TMNT isn't hot cars, hot women and explosions.

[plastroncafe]

A good script written by a single screen writer
a director with a solid vision
a passing mark on the Bechdel, Sexy Lamp, and Mako Mori tests

[Commenter 42]

A good script written by a single screen writer
a director with a solid vision
a passing mark on the Bechdel, Sexy Lamp, and Mako Mori tests

I googled the last two, but didn't come across concise examples of them. Care to elaborate?

[neatoman]

Well it's simple what I want, a story that makes sense and decently developed characters. That's the ticket to make sure any movie is at least passable.

Oh and this just my own gripe, no reporter crap with April. I didn't think it made sense to have her be a reporter back in the FW cartoon, it amounted to nothing in the Archie series and I only accept it in the first movie because the budget could not allow for Mousers. I know a lot of people disagree with me but I don't think April should be a reporter, there's a reason why both Nickelodeon and IDW both ignore like 4Kids did before them.

[TrickOrTreater]

I googled the last two, but didn't come across concise examples of them. Care to elaborate?

The sexy lamp test is a test of female presence in media. If a female character can be removed from the story and replaced by a sexy lamp—if, that is, the female character does nothing and says nothing that is relevant to the story, with the possible exception of existing as a motivating factor or quest object—then the story fails the test. If that is the case, in the words of Kelly Sue DeConnick (who originated the test), the story creator is "a ****ing hack".

EX: Pretty much Megan Fox's character in the Transformers movies. She was a sexy lamp. Stood around and looked pretty. That's it. Also was a "conquest item" for Shia.

The Mako Mori test is a media test which analyzes films along the following lines:

a) at least one female character;

b) who gets her own narrative arc;

c) that is not about supporting a man’s story.

EX: Basically also Megan Fox's character in the Transformers movies, the opposite of Mako Mori.

Funnily enough, she kinda sorta passes these two tests in the TMNT movie though, despite her character being written as SO GODDAMN DUMB AND AWFUL AT HER JOB.

Because the Ninja Turtles movie was basically her story, beginning to end. She's responsible for the Turtle's and Splinter's survival as a kid, her father is the one killed(sorta) by White Shredder, she's investigating them(poorly but still doing it), gets fired, she gets the final blow on the villain, saving the day.

Although...not too sure that it counts as a narrative arc, as she didn't really grow or change as a person. She lost her job though and didn't get it back, so maybe that counts.

Don't think she passed the Bechdel test though. If you count the Turtles as the characters she's talking about as "men" when she discusses them with Whoopi Goldberg and her roommate. If not, she passed that too.

Despite being terribly written and acted.

[Commenter 42]

Funnily enough, she kinda sorta passes these two tests in the TMNT movie though, despite her character being written as SO GODDAMN DUMB AND AWFUL AT HER JOB.

Although...not too sure that it counts as a narrative arc, as she didn't really grow or change as a person. She lost her job though and didn't get it back, so maybe that counts.



Seems reasonable enough.

[Kanon]

Although...not too sure that it counts as a narrative arc, as she didn't really grow or change as a person. She lost her job though and didn't get it back, so maybe that counts.

I watched the extra scene on the blu-ray and she made a reportage with Vernon about the destruction. The turtles even drive with their car around the scene.
So she did got her job back.

[Candy Kappa]

I watched the extra scene on the blu-ray and she made a reportage with Vernon about the destruction. The turtles even drive with their car around the scene.
So she did got her job back.

That's not in the cut, though.

She might be back into her job in Half-Shell, but the first movie ended as far as the finished cut is concerned; unemployed.

[IndigoErth]

Putting that one to the Bechdel test almost gives me a headache.

Requires at least two women characters: Uh... sorta? Two were in it for like three minutes. One to give the plot a small push forward, while the other could have been that lamp.

Talk to each other: In a very basic sense... Plot reasons. Room mate never really said much.

About something other than men: Er, yes and no? Heavily human-like humanoid characters that can interact equally as any other person; prob count as men. But suppose it passes because the discussion wasn't from that angle. However, only way a second or third film won't fail it is if the Turtles never have another female friend and/or she never knows April.

[Coola Yagami]

What I would not go see is a full-blown Mirage tale, with the gore, blood, and grit of 300. It personally holds no interest for me, I've seen enough frank miller angst-ridden bloodfests to last me a lifetime.


lmao sorry but..... lmao. There is no more or less gore, blood and grit in the Mirage comics than any other comic nowadays. Comparing Mirage to 300 is a gross exxageration. It's just you guys are so used to cutesey wutesey turtles that rarely cause so much as a bruise to the bad guys that seeing them actually draw a drop of blood in the comic is suddenly considered a bloodfest.

[plastroncafe]

Wow. Seriously? Comparing 300 to Mirage Vol 1?
That's uh...that's special right there, is what that is.

[pennydreadful]

You know what this thread title makes me think of?

http://i.imgur.com/bxGqU0R.jpg?1

[Leo656]

Wow. Seriously? Comparing 300 to Mirage Vol 1?
That's uh...that's special right there, is what that is.

Half the people who draw a thick line between Mirage and their TMNT of choice, never even read the damn thing.

I mean *I'm* not in love with it, but it's fine. It's just not my kinda comic book. But at least I've read most of it. I notice a lot of people haven't.

[plastroncafe]

Half the people who draw a thick line between Mirage and their TMNT of choice, never even read the damn thing.

I mean *I'm* not in love with it, but it's fine. It's just not my kinda comic book. But at least I've read most of it. I notice a lot of people haven't.

OH it's certainly not for everyone. Hell, it's my canon of choice and even I will willingly admit that it's far from perfect.

But...seriously...300?
Not on its darkest day could it ever come close to the pornography that is"We will fight in the shade."

Well, maybe this one:
gNqiSkd1M6k

[Leo656]

What it kind of is, is I grew up reading super-heroes and I like my comic books as completely over-the-top and dense with that type of stuff as possible, and for other types of stories I read other things. I think TMNT works just fine as a comic book, but the comic books aren't my favorite way to experience TMNT. If that makes any sense.

It feels like, in comics, they kind of limit the types of stories they can tell with TMNT, in a strong attempt to completely avoid being like a "traditional super-hero comic". There's times reading Mirage where you can almost feel the reigns being pulled hard when stories start to "creep" into that territory. Whereas in the cartoons and other media, they're more like "Eh, just do whatever", like there's fewer "rules" involved.

[plastroncafe]

I'm in it for the Slice of Life stuff, personally.
And that goes for pretty much most of my comic enjoyment. It's great and all that these characters can destroy a city with a thought, but...what do they do on a stray Monday night when it's cold and rainy?

Characters should be more than a list of stats, and stories should be more than body counts and property damage calculations.

My favorite Mirage stories, heck my favorite stories regardless of publisher, gave me characters to root for. Not just...pecs and pouches.

I want my turtles to be hideous freaks of nature, in the shadows because...they have absolutely no idea how to interact with people...unless it's hurting them. Because they've been trained to hurt them.

[Wildcat]

I've always wanted a continuation where the turtles are older and Shredder stayed defeated. Maybe have Karai be the new Shredder or some other threat rises.

I don't think this will happen though. Not for a really long time. The movies and cartoon are meant to appeal to everyone. Keeping the same villains and plotlines is what's most memorable to the public.

Even if Nick gave up the franchise or a new studio made separate movies they'd most likely start over from the beginning again...turtles meet April, rise from the sewer, mutagen origin etc...

[Leo656]

It's great and all that these characters can destroy a city with a thought, but...what do they do on a stray Monday night when it's cold and rainy?


And here's where it's just "Diff'rent Strokes". Because frankly, I personally can't think of anything more banal and boring than what super-heroes do the other 4.6 hours a day when they're not "on". :lol: If a guy can fly or punch out a sun, I wanna see him do That, not read the want-ads or water-seal his deck. :P

But that's fine, everybody wants different things out of fiction. Me, if I want something to think on, I'll read an actual book. I read comics when I want something fantastical and impossible, that's not going to constantly point out how badly it contradicts itself. :lol: There's stuff that can only happen in that specific medium of storytelling, so that's what I prefer when I personally read comics.

But again, diff'rent strokes. :)

[plastroncafe]

Yeah, but you've seen one punched sun, and you've seen them all!

But yeah, pretty much what you've just said.
It takes all kinds to make a world.

Lest you think that all I read are Slice of Life, I do so enjoy a really good gratuitous book or three.
"Uncanny X-Force: Sex and Violence" is what got me back to reading Marvel books after a long ass hiatus. Like, I hadn't picked one of those things up since "Age of Apocalypse" ended.

I've almost got as many "Hellblazer" trades as I do TMNT. Doesn't get much darker than John bloody Constantine.

Which brings us back to the topic:
I don't need the next TMNT movie to be entirely a quiet character driven piece, but it'd be freakin' nice if there was some actual family stuff in it.

What sold me on the 2007 cgi movie wasn't the plot, ye gawds was it sure as hell not the plot, but the fact that it nailed the characters cold. I will watch/read just about anything that gets the characters right.

The Platinum Dunes movie...couldn't even do that.
And I don't hold out much hope for the next one doing it either.
It'll just be buildings punching the sun...where there could be characters.

[Gunpowder]

Give the turtles, you know, actual personalities.

And I'm not saying, like, "Raph is the angry one, Don is smart, Leo is leader, Mikey is funny". No. I want the characters to have reasons to like or dislike each other. Reasons to do what they do.

What I would like:

- no Bay attached to the project at all, or Nemec/Applebaum. They're not the right people for this property.
- ninja fighting and focus on the Turtles at least equal to the 1990 film
- no sexist treatment of April
- coherent, cohesive story and original plot which doesn't retread the exact same ground as previous films; we know the origin, we don't need another "set up" movie to explain who everybody is
- a strong, fun soundtrack with some memorable songs
- well shot with no use of the current aggravating trends like shaky jump cuts and lens flares
- emphasis on practical effects where possible, using CG to complement
- good production design (inc. Turtle design)
- casting of people with strong acting/stunt/VA chops
- more mature tone; not necessarily UltraGrittyDark with gore and f-bombs a-flyin', but less kiddified than say, SoTO.

All of this. Though, I think this thread could be a lot more effective in bringing forth constructive criticisms, were the title not so disdainful.

NOBODY WANTS THE SAME THING. We all have our wish list's of head cannon and flights of fancy.

I was JUST about to mention Sharkie upon reading this...then I click "Next Page" and, lo & behold, there he is, one step ahead of me. :tlol: Hilarious. But seriously, aside from him, generally speaking I think most of us here have a similar list of improvements we'd like to see next time around. More screen time & development for the Turtles, for example. The REALLY basic stuff that (one would think) should have been taken care of in the first movie.

[TrickOrTreater]

And here's where it's just "Diff'rent Strokes". Because frankly, I personally can't think of anything more banal and boring than what super-heroes do the other 4.6 hours a day when they're not "on". :lol: If a guy can fly or punch out a sun, I wanna see him do That, not read the want-ads or water-seal his deck. :P

But that's fine, everybody wants different things out of fiction. Me, if I want something to think on, I'll read an actual book. I read comics when I want something fantastical and impossible, that's not going to constantly point out how badly it contradicts itself. :lol: There's stuff that can only happen in that specific medium of storytelling, so that's what I prefer when I personally read comics.

But again, diff'rent strokes. :)

Yeah, but you've seen one punched sun, and you've seen them all!

But yeah, pretty much what you've just said.
It takes all kinds to make a world.

Lest you think that all I read are Slice of Life, I do so enjoy a really good gratuitous book or three.
"Uncanny X-Force: Sex and Violence" is what got me back to reading Marvel books after a long ass hiatus. Like, I hadn't picked one of those things up since "Age of Apocalypse" ended.

I've almost got as many "Hellblazer" trades as I do TMNT. Doesn't get much darker than John bloody Constantine.

Which brings us back to the topic:
I don't need the next TMNT movie to be entirely a quiet character driven piece, but it'd be freakin' nice if there was some actual family stuff in it.

What sold me on the 2007 cgi movie wasn't the plot, ye gawds was it sure as hell not the plot, but the fact that it nailed the characters cold. I will watch/read just about anything that gets the characters right.

The Platinum Dunes movie...couldn't even do that.
And I don't hold out much hope for the next one doing it either.
It'll just be buildings punching the sun...where there could be characters.

http://i.imgur.com/pyu6tnA.png?1

I want both. I want the quiet character moments with the badass modern effects ninja action(actual ninja action, not hulk turtles punching robots).

It's possible. I know it is. Obviously not from THIS production studio. But...yeah.

[Commenter 42]

All of this. Though, I think this thread could be a lot more effective in bringing forth constructive criticisms, were the title not so disdainful.



I was JUST about to mention Sharkie upon reading this...then I click "Next Page" and, lo & behold, there he is, one step ahead of me. :tlol: Hilarious. But seriously, aside from him, generally speaking I think most of us here have a similar list of improvements we'd like to see next time around. More screen time & development for the Turtles, for example. The REALLY basic stuff that (one would think) should have been taken care of in the first movie.

I disagree.

On the surface, we all seem to agree on what we want, but scratch deeper, and it's as diverse as any fandom out there.

Cute turtles or bloody killers? Human Shredder or Utrom Shredder? Reporter or Scientist April? Are they tall or short? Is it film noir, or family friendly? Which arc to use? Mirage, 1987, TNM, 2k3 or 2012? None of the above? Realistic or cartoon faces? Hell even the question of (shudder) T-cest and shipping get's thrown in, and if deviant art is any indication, might be the MOST popular TMNT there is. Should they make that movie?

And that's just a splash of the cross talk going on.

[IndigoErth]

Which brings us back to the topic:
I don't need the next TMNT movie to be entirely a quiet character driven piece, but it'd be freakin' nice if there was some actual family stuff in it.
So much this. So much. Likewise I love the slice of life stuff; down time for the films and whatnot.

On the occasion I get the urge or inspiration to write a little, that's primary what I write.. slice of life stuff. Probably incredibly boring to some, but I love the depth and subtle meaning that can exist in normal, commonly relateable things.

I want the Turtles badass out on the streets; kicking ass and taking names, sending evil grown men home crying to their mothers.

Then I want them to go home, be around the very limited amount of people who are fortunate enough to know them off the clock where...under all that badassery, blood and sweat... they're unexpectedly a bunch of good loveable guys just doing their thing and living life best they can like anyone else.


Because frankly, I personally can't think of anything more banal and boring than what super-heroes do the other 4.6 hours a day when they're not "on".
No matter, they probably sleep the heck out of those 4.6 hours. :lol: Superheroing must be exhausting work.

[darthwahl56]

More ass-shots.

Of the turtles:D

[IndigoErth]

:lol:

I'm just going to assume they wear clothing for good reason. :lol: There are some angles on people that are better off unseen, and, being "realistic" and all, I don't doubt it may be equally true for them; reptile configuration or not. :tlol:

[Andrew NDB]

But the question I pose in this thread is; what DO you want in a good TMNT movie, first in it's series?

Knowing you, I know what you want... and it almost sounds a baited question, no disrespect intended.

That said, what I would want, knowing its entirely impossible under the current situation... and this isn't anything those who know me know I haven't stated quite a bit over the past umpteen years....

Ingredients: A proven director, with enough pull to make his movie and not the studio's/Playmates' movie. Someone high enough in the echelons of Hollywood that even if he doesn't wholly deep-throat the source material, at least he respects it and has a clear and unique vision that might diverge from that at some point but still remains faithful in spirit in the truest sense. Followed up with a script written by fellows that DO get and love the source material. PG-13 pushed to the fullest. All that "The Raid" style action Eastman promised but never happened in the last "film," that. Regular, non-Hulk or overly caricature-ized Turtles... Daredevil Netflix-style. Realistic martial arts fights, with some injection of humor (with a minimal of the slapstick variety), but they get hurt. A lot. And bleed. But they get up, and still kick ass. And kill. Because they're ****ing ninja and that's what ninjas do.

That is what will work.

[TrickOrTreater]

Dear god I would punch so many babies for a Daredevil style Netflix Turtle series.

So perfect.

And it matches perfectly

Leo-Lawyer Matt Murdock
Raph-black suit vigilante devil of Hell's kitchen
Mikey-Foggy
Donny-...okay it ALMOST matches perfectly, but of course he's in there
April-Karen
Splinter-Stick
Shredder-Kingpin

Could you imagine? The entire first series is The Turtles leaving the sewers, meeting April, the Foot infiltrating New York, major crimewaves all over the city, Shredder at the top of it all(similar to 2003 Shredder but NOT AN UTROM). And the entire season 1 is The Turtles trying to take down the Foot and Shredder.

Plenty of room to breath, plenty of room to explore character motivations and see depth and development. Plenty of awesome badass fight scenes with ninjas that actually might be tense because the Turtles are vulnerable to, you know, death.

Still room for fun, still room for their personalities that aren't cookie cutter, base level crap. Still room for pizza.

Oh man how good would that be.

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

See? This is what I expected, everyone has different wants for a TMNT, everyone has different ideas. So far, I haven't see any that take TMNT into what it shouldn't be. Everyone here- yes everyone- has good ideas that would make an entertaining moves. The one thing these ideas all have in common? The turtles in each one are characters, not CGI setpieces.

I almost feel sorry for a good director who wants to make a good tMNT movie- he'll never be able to please everyone. Do a dark blood bath, and you piss off the OT fans, do a silly OT-esque movie, and you'll make the mirage fans angry. Do a 4kids/Idw/middle of the road, and you'll end up with people on both sides grumbling it's ethier 'watered down' or 'not lighthearted enough'.

But what everyone does agree on, is we all want better than what we got. Even those who love this movie have said it could have used some improvement. I thought the turtles designs could've been better, I thought the 'learn ninjitsu from a book' was lame. A lame comedy stitched together from bad movie scripts is just a bad idea.

I just wanted to see what was said about what people wanted for tmnt, in the face of all this crazy arguing in every thread on this board. In a perfect world, we'd have a gritty and dark Netflix series based purely on mirage for those fans, and an anime series that was a colorful and comedic take for the OT. As for the movies, I still really think IDW would be the best compromise all around, but almost anything would be better than what we got!

(Oh, and I meant no disrespect to anyone else, I don't loathe mirage, I just don't enjoy reading it at all. For those that do, enjoy! :) )

[Powder]

Just because everyone has their own ideal vision doesn't mean there couldn't be multiple takes that are unanimously enjoyed. You asked for people's exact desires, not for a general idea that we the masses could agree upon. The first film accomplished it, Nick & IDW are more or less pleasing everybody, & it can be be done again, in the right hands. The only thing that has ever had the fandom so divided is Bayturtles.

[Candy Kappa]

I find it extremely hilarious that people associate Mirage with "dark blood bath", many seems to do it. Either they've never actually read the Mirage comics, or the only comic they've been exposed to was Bodycount.

Seriously, Mirage's "blood bath" level is on par with any street level Marvel hero comic ala Daredevil.

[Walkabout]

Just because everyone has their own ideal vision doesn't mean there couldn't be multiple takes that are unanimously enjoyed. You asked for people's exact desires, not for a general idea that we the masses could agree upon. The first film accomplished it, Nick & IDW are more or less pleasing everybody, & it can be be done again, in the right hands. The only thing that has ever had the fandom so divided is Bayturtles.

Exactly.
While I do of course prefer certain incarnations over others, I've always been pretty amiable when it comes to the TMNT...until Bayturtles.

[TheCollector]

No Splinter doing a ridiculously over the top Italian accent about a pizza that in no way actually exists.

[IndigoErth]

*cough*
A pizza world champion made this 99-cheese pizza and it tastes fantastic

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/a-pizza-world-champion-made-this-99-cheese-pizza-and-it-1673110557

"According to The Guardian, Di Francesco carefully blended 94 cheeses from all around the world for the base, a mix he calls the "supercheese." After the blend is properly melted, he then added five more cheese to the top: Fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta and shaved raspadura."

Note Turtles box...

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--LyLzJETM--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/egwslz8yvydtaizcjm0l.jpg

The ingredients list on the other hand... pizza boxes don't come with those, so how does Splinter even know what kind of cheese is in there. lol Ok, you're a rat man, but this isn't wine tasting.



Can't say I've seen a whole lot of Mirage, but the amount I have... yeah, not nearly as gory or anything as I'd heard suggested.

[Jester]

Something of the same QUALITY (key word...different story, new designs, and maybe even new characters....BUT) as this:
FMJPwRWaZBI

[Wolfie65]

Comics and cartoons CAN be very good - excellent, even - without giant robots, superheroes punching out suns, the Battle For The Fate Of The Universe (OF DOOM!!!!), etc.
Examples: Gaston Lagaffe, Jakers - The Adventures of Pigglywinks
If I'm making the first in what promises to be the first in a series of Turtle movies, I'm starting by having a guy carrying a jar of baby turtles get hit by a truck. No other 'car chases' in the entire movie....(America wept).
A former pet rat from Japan (who somewhat mysteriously slipped through the otherwise extremely stringent US quarantine regulations for the import of pets) who is now living in the sewers mysteriously does not attempt to eat the baby turtles covered in strange green goo, but adopts them.
They all start to mutate.
At some point, he finds a discarded book on Ninjitsu and teaches himself, then his 'sons'.
If someone tells me that Megan Fox would like to play April O'Neil, I'll find a way to fit her in.
All production staff will be told that under no circumstances is Whoopi Goldberg allowed on set.

[Amaranthus]

What's wrong with Whoopi Goldberg?

[Commenter 42]

Dear god I would punch so many babies for a Daredevil style Netflix Turtle series.

So perfect.

And it matches perfectly

Leo-Lawyer Matt Murdock
Raph-black suit vigilante devil of Hell's kitchen
Mikey-Foggy
Donny-...okay it ALMOST matches perfectly, but of course he's in there
April-Karen
Splinter-Stick
Shredder-Kingpin

Could you imagine? The entire first series is The Turtles leaving the sewers, meeting April, the Foot infiltrating New York, major crimewaves all over the city, Shredder at the top of it all(similar to 2003 Shredder but NOT AN UTROM). And the entire season 1 is The Turtles trying to take down the Foot and Shredder.

Plenty of room to breath, plenty of room to explore character motivations and see depth and development. Plenty of awesome badass fight scenes with ninjas that actually might be tense because the Turtles are vulnerable to, you know, death.

Still room for fun, still room for their personalities that aren't cookie cutter, base level crap. Still room for pizza.

Oh man how good would that be.

I agree, though I would add some of the fantastical qualities of GOT (The creature designs for the most part, are on point, as far as I'm concerned), and some of the harder, cynical elements of Breaking Bad (thematicly, not specific scenes; nothing to do with meth, more to do with the grey morality of Waler White, and the dark humour of the cast of characters.) Matt Murdoch was a little two dimensional, never questioning himself or his actions. He's a self righteous vigilante, which while interesting, is not a characteristic I would want included in the turtles personalities.




I almost feel sorry for a good director who wants to make a good tMNT movie- he'll never be able to please everyone....

In a perfect world, we'd have a gritty and dark Netflix series based purely on mirage for those fans, and an anime series that was a colorful and comedic take for the OT.
)

YES.


If I'm making the first in what promises to be the first in a series of Turtle movies, I'm starting by having a guy carrying a jar of baby turtles get hit by a truck. No other 'car chases' in the entire movie....(America wept).



YES.

[Candy Kappa]

Whoopie was hands down one of the best things about the 2014 movie.

[graphic_content]

Whoopie was hands down one of the best things about the 2014 movie.

Sarcasm?

I still wonder why they took the time to cast her. That role was so inconsequential, "the angry disbelieving boss", that ANYBODY could have played that part, but they elected to go with her? ::scratches head::

[Yabuturtle]

Sarcasm?

I still wonder why they took the time to cast her. That role was so inconsequential, "the angry disbelieving boss", that ANYBODY could have played that part, but they elected to go with her? ::scratches head::

You know, I could see John Goodman playing that role as Burne Thompson. Vernon wasn't really Vernon, he was just a guy who happened to have the same name. He was supposed to be April's rival anyway.

[TigerClaw]

Sarcasm?

I still wonder why they took the time to cast her. That role was so inconsequential, "the angry disbelieving boss", that ANYBODY could have played that part, but they elected to go with her? ::scratches head::
Well, Woopi Goldberg heard they were gonna film the TMNT movie, And she wanted to be in it, Cause her nieces and nephews are TMNT fans.

Most Celebrities wants to be in these movies, Because they have a relative who are fans.

[graphic_content]

Well, Woopi Goldberg heard they were gonna film the TMNT movie, And she wanted to be in it, Cause her nieces and nephews are TMNT fans.

Most Celebrities wants to be in these movies, Because they have a relative who are fans.

well that i dont mind because Whoopi is a comedian, and competent actress.

but did you hear that their is an NFL player lobbying for a role in this sequel:

http://i.imgur.com/LIvEzzF.jpg

...just because he is a fan. I guess this guy doesnt realize that there are plenty of fans out there, much of whom, have actual acting skills, but of course he deserves the role because...he plays professional football???

[TigerClaw]

It makes you wonder how Laura Linney got a role in the sequel. She normally doesnt do these big budget movies, But the fact she happens to be in one, could be some sign, that she could either be a TMNT fan, or have relatives who are fans and she decides to be in it, Just cause of that.

[plastroncafe]

Maybe she needs a new boat?

[Candy Kappa]

Sarcasm?

I still wonder why they took the time to cast her. That role was so inconsequential, "the angry disbelieving boss", that ANYBODY could have played that part, but they elected to go with her? ::scratches head::

I liked it, it added another female character with proper smearing lines, a character in a boss role. And Whoopie just perfectly nailed Berandette's reaction to April's insane claims, albeit true claims, she still presented them in the worst fashion ever.

Bernadette having enough off April's insanity and fires her is, hands down the funniest scene in the entire movie. Her delivery is perfect.

[IndigoErth]

I like Whoopi, but I'd rather have seen her in a different kind of role then or at some other point in this set of films.

(Edit: Now I'm imagining some reboot that cuts April out and has Whoopi playing their main human friend, maybe even as herself... :lol: Someone please make this.)

but did you hear that their is an NFL player lobbying for a role in this sequel:

http://i.imgur.com/LIvEzzF.jpg

...just because he is a fan. I guess this guy doesnt realize that there are plenty of fans out there, much of whom, have actual acting skills, but of course he deserves the role because...he plays professional football???
Saw some article about that, his apparent attitude annoyed me. :ohwell:

Hell, in that case I think all disappointed or very skeptical fans are more deserving of getting a role just to play nice and make it up to us. :roll:

[Commenter 42]

I call shotgun on Pigeon Pete!

[IndigoErth]

Well that isn't very nice. lol

[Bry]

It makes you wonder how Laura Linney got a role in the sequel. She normally doesnt do these big budget movies, But the fact she happens to be in one, could be some sign, that she could either be a TMNT fan, or have relatives who are fans and she decides to be in it, Just cause of that.

Probably the same reason Whoopi Goldberg was in BayTurtles, and shocking number of respected, award-winning actors took smaller/supporting roles in the Transformers movies - it's a big paycheck for a relatively quick and easy job. It's no secret that actors take on some crummy, high-paying roles to pay the bills in between lower-paying passion projects.

And sure, maybe "my kids/nephews/etc will think this is cool" factors in a bit, but putting in a few weeks' work and making more money than most people see in years is absolutely what signs those contracts.

[TrickOrTreater]

Maybe she needs a new boat?

Probably the same reason Whoopi Goldberg was in BayTurtles, and shocking number of respected, award-winning actors took smaller/supporting roles in the Transformers movies - it's a big paycheck for a relatively quick and easy job. It's no secret that actors take on some crummy, high-paying roles to pay the bills in between lower-paying passion projects.

And sure, maybe "my kids/nephews/etc will think this is cool" factors in a bit, but putting in a few weeks' work and making more money than most people see in years is absolutely what signs those contracts.

Yep.

Stanley Tucci didn't sign on to TF4 because he respects Michael Bay as an artist or was just really blown away by the emotional depth of the script.

He did it because money. And when you're talented, that's pretty okay.

[Wolfie65]

In order to preserve peace on Earth and goodwill to all (not to mention my supper), I will ignore all pro-WG comments.
Anyway, my Turtle Movie # 1 would show a (slowly) mutating Splinter raising these 4 also (slowly) mutating orphlings, their martial arts training, the shaping of their different characters, which would be somewhat similar to what Nick is doing with the current cartoon.
I would get some real martial artists on board for motion capture and as advisors, as well as at least one person who speaks Japanese and knows about Japanese history, culture, mythology, and even Ninjitsu.
Despite this being first and foremost a fun superhero movie, I would want it to be as realistic and authentic as possible, so that if an Asian Karate master was watching it, he might think something like, "Yes, if someone was actually agile, powerful and crazy enough to vault from one skyscraper to another, split-kicking 3 robot warriors in mid-air, that's how he'd do it."
The climactic final battle might take place in an abandoned warehouse, for example, where the Turtles run into some Foot clan and barely escape by the scales on their shelly-shell-shell (being 'green' and new to all this), primarily thanks to the shock factor. Imagine the Foot guys seeing them for the first time.......
Shredder might not even appear at all, or, if he does, it'll be as a sort of shadowy future menace in the closing credits.

[Leo656]

Not for nothin', but the NEXT time TigerClaw puts a comma where it belongs will be the FIRST time.

There's your homework for today: Work on that, guy. :lol:

OHH! "To the topic": What I want, is for people to prevent piss-poor punctuation. Please. :tgrin:

[Warboss74]

I've brought up my ideas in past threads, but I'll expand a bit more on my version of the turtles. First thing I need that the first Bay Turtles film didn't have, a 2-2.5 hour run time like a majority of the comic book films produced today. It gives a heck of a lot more time to develop the characters on screen than a 90 min film. The second thing I want to do in this film franchise is include as many elements from the different TMNT universes that have existed. At the very least I want elements and characters acknowledged to exist at certain points even if they don't get full attention in future films. For example in my opening scene/sequence, I have Yoshi leaving his daughter Miwa with his friend/employer Aska for a date night or anniversary type night with Shen. We get a little background to how Yoshi helped keep the dojo afloat when her grandfather died and other things before Yoshi and his pet rat Splinter return home to be confronted by the Shredder with Shen hostage. We get a showdown between Yoshi and the Shredder before the deaths of both Yoshi and Shen. Splinter is freed from his cage, whether you'd add the bit from the first film or not, before the Shredder sets fire to the apartment on his escape. From there I'd enter a Watchmen-style opening montage that shows the mutation and growing up to present day turtles. Plenty of information can be dumped by showing important things without having to just dump dialogue. Mutated Splinter returns to the destroyed apartment to find a tattered kimono of his master explaining why he wears clothing and the Turtles do not. We see the interests of the turtles and other things. I like the Image origin to the turtles wearing masks, so we can see Mikey discovering comics and plenty of easter eggs could dropped here and throughout the film to the Justice Force, Silver Sentry, and even kid Mikey dressed as Turtle Titan. My point is a lot can be done in a 5 min sequence like Watchmen had.

The core of the present day story is the search for the mysterious Shredder. Splinter, being an escaped lab rat in New York, has no prior knowledge to the Nagi-Yoshi rivalry and why the Shredder would kill his family. Some tortured backstory that will only be hinted at throughout the first film. Gives us plenty of opportunities to just have down time to be with the turtles in between following clues to find the Foot. There big break comes when we adapt the Gosei Hattori initial meeting from the Mirage comics. This does two things for us. The first is it establishes some grounds to magic being present in this particular universe that doesn't seem to come out of the blue later. The second is introducing a human ally that isn't April or Casey and thus something new for the general audience. Obviously the ninjas that attempt to assassinate Hattori and his father are members of the Foot. This provides the first solid lead for Splinter and the Turtles to track them down. I have the Shredder as kind of mastermind that has his hands in all sorts of things. He helped a young Hun overthrow Dragonface for control of the Purple Dragons in exchange for loyalty to him. This is going to be the connection to the Shredder that will be the final battle/confrontation of the first film. Turtles v. the Purple Dragons where Splinter reveals what the Turtles have been training for in the end.

I have more to elaborate on it, but I shortened the second half up quite a bit as I have to head out.