Ninja Turtles back in (...live) action
 

HOLLYWOOD -- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are making their way back to the bigscreen.

The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic crime fighters. Project, targeted for release in 2011, would mark the fifth bigscreen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter.

News coincides with the Turtles' 25th anniversary celebration, which kicks off Thursday in New York as the first "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" film unspools at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Legendary Pictures former chief marketing officer Scott Mednick is producing the new pic alongside Galen Walker, who produced the 2007 computer-animated "TMNT" pic, the most recent installment in the franchise. Peter Laird, Gary Richardson, Frederick Fierst, Eric Crown and Napoleon Smith III are exec producing the film, which is based on the characters created by Laird and Kevin Eastman.

The characters first appeared in a May 1984 comicbook before spawning a lucrative line of toys, cartoons and three films released in the early 1990s. In 2003, the Turtles were reintroduced to a new generation via a TV series, the "TMNT" film and a revamped merchandising program.

The latest project is being financed by Lightbox Prods.

"The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for," said Mednick, whose exec producing credits include the upcoming "Where the Wild Things Are." Laird, who bought out Eastman's share of the property several years ago, said the film will remain true to the spirit of the original comicbooks. He added that the pic may employ face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive.

Today's 25th anniversary "Shell-ebration" will also include lighting the Empire State Building in "turtle green."

Hooray!!!!

So the 5th movie is actually a go? This is real?

Is this a re-boot?

TMNT Part 5 announced in Variety... live-action
 

But they probably mean live-action, with CGI Turtles and Splinter like we've been hearing rumblings about for a while now.

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Ninja Turtles back in (live) action
2011 film will focus on characters' origins

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=13&cs=1

HOLLYWOOD -- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are making their way back to the bigscreen.

The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic crime fighters. Project, targeted for release in 2011, would mark the fifth bigscreen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter.

News coincides with the Turtles' 25th anniversary celebration, which kicks off Thursday in New York as the first "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" film unspools at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Legendary Pictures former chief marketing officer Scott Mednick is producing the new pic alongside Galen Walker, who produced the 2007 computer-animated "TMNT" pic, the most recent installment in the franchise. Peter Laird, Gary Richardson, Frederick Fierst, Eric Crown and Napoleon Smith III are exec producing the film, which is based on the characters created by Laird and Kevin Eastman.

The characters first appeared in a May 1984 comicbook before spawning a lucrative line of toys, cartoons and three films released in the early 1990s. In 2003, the Turtles were reintroduced to a new generation via a TV series, the "TMNT" film and a revamped merchandising program.

The latest project is being financed by Lightbox Prods.

"The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for," said Mednick, whose exec producing credits include the upcoming "Where the Wild Things Are." Laird, who bought out Eastman's share of the property several years ago, said the film will remain true to the spirit of the original comicbooks. He added that the pic may employ face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive.

Today's 25th anniversary "Shell-ebration" will also include lighting the Empire State Building in "turtle green."

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The way this Scott Mednick is talking about the source material and his reverence for it is a good way to start.

God I hope so.

Sounds like it. I'm just glad it's live action, not CGI.

Looks like a reboot to me. Considering it'll have been 21 years since the last "origin" movie, I won't mind seeing their origin done in a new movie.

If by original comics they mean issues #1-11, I feel the first movie already more or less covered that.

Sans the Triceraton space stuff, but I doubt they'd use that.

I hope this is a City at War movie.

I wonder if they'll get the same voices from the 4th movie to reprise their roles, I thought they did pretty well, although Splinter would obviously be re-casted.

I hope this winds up being something like City at War.

Ditto on that

WOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, it's a miracle!!!!!!!!! Let's see if I have enough money by then to stop by Hollywood and gaze at awesomeness!!! (I don't know what that means either, but sure as hell am excited!!!

hey maybe a live-action Krang? rofl! :D

I hope they get a Mako sound-alike. I liked that voice for Splinter.

Looks like it'll focus on the origins, though. Not CaW.

This is great!
You can read more over @ Peter Lairds Blog as well!
http://plairdblog.blogspot.com/

Legendary Pictures had a hand in Hellboy so that gives me some faith. Though the all CGI turtles thing could either be a blessing or torture.

Didn't Legendary also do Superman Returns? Just saying...:P

I posted in the other topic but if this movie does well there's a possibility of another show following. Granted 4Kids makes profit off it.

True :lol: My point is though they've done CGI heavy pictures before so that's why I have some faith. That guy should know how much money the movie needs and if he's a marketing chief he should be able to handle it. Never heard of this production company though.

If it's not PG-13, I don't give a damn.

This a huge opportunity, and they'd better push for it.

Sounds like a reboot though, and that is good news.

I say woo hoo too! I really like reading the talks of of a hybrid film, full turtle suits with some CGI. It's seriously sounds like it could be potential amazing if they keep on this track. I can't wait to hear more when they pick a director and get it written.

I call for a combonation of threads, who's with me?

I posted in the other topic too but this deserves an extra response. I am soo excited about this news! A new Live action TMNT movie would be a dream come true

This is great, I'm glad they're it in live action.

hmm so Scott is producer on Where the Wild Things Are.
This makes me wonder if Henson will be involved with the new TMNT movie!?:)

:o That would be great! We know what Henson and TMNT can be together. :D

We can only hope! :tthumbsu:

Still, we've been here before.

That this isn't a director-driven production (they're assembling the movie and then looking for a director... rather than a name director picking this as a labor of love) and we don't have any director named yet is worriesome.

I dearly do want to see the true Mirage TMNT on the big screen... but unless they nab a name director (that won't get bullied by the toy/toddler dervishes) that either has or quickly acquires an affinity for the source material comics I have no confidence whatsoever it will be one bit better than the camp/toddler/shlockfest of the past big screen endeavors.

"Woo hoo! So here we go -- another live action film! As you may recall from some of my previous comments, our initial discussions regarding the next film had to do with what we were calling a "hybrid" -- live action with realistic Turtles rendered in CGI and blended in. This new idea -- which, frankly, I am VERY pumped about -- will have actors and stunt performers in full Turtle suits for filming in live action. As of right now, there is talk of using CGI to do "face replacement" for the suits so that we can get those great, expressive faces possible with CGI."
- Peter Laird


Wow... so it's actually my ideal scenario -- live action, TMNT in suits, but with CGI lip-movement.

Fantastic.

That pretty much sums up how I feel...

Plus I'm discouraged that this sounds like it could be yet another rehash of existing material. I am sooooo tired of reliving the first 11 issues of Vol. 1 over and over again.

Maybe Baxter will finally be in a movie.

Or they could save that stuff for possible sequels.

I'd like to see them face Shredder and Baxter Stockman. That way they have a villain everyone wants to see, and one that hasn't been in a movie yet.

Starting over from the beginning is probably the best way to go. The first movie was good, but at this point it's kind of hard to follow up on, without being vague about it like the 2007 movie. Going back to the beginning is the best way to reintroduce a mainstream audience to the turtles.

Ah dammit.

I'm sure the film will turn out decently, but the CG film was so well realized anything different will feel like a step backwards.

A another new TMNT film. Cool. But I don't like the idea of rehashing thier origins. I hope it briefly tells the origins and moves on to some new story. Or even if it adapts the old Eastman & Laird stuff. We've never seen it fully adapted properly. But I'd imagine they'd get rid of the space travels bits. I don't know I'm ok with the news about it, but ain't really sure what story they'll be using. Just hope its worthy of it the new movie. The TMNT turtles suits are coming back though. Thought this was too expensive? As long as its in tone of the first films feel hopefully it'll be good. I wouldn't mid if they adapted Return to NY or City at War. Its time to show the Foot in the TMNT movie world have closure. The first movie just sort let them fade away after the police show up, once Shredder was gone.

By the time this movie comes out it will have been twenty-one years since their origins have been seen on the big screen, though.

Now we're seeing eye-to-eye.

To reiterate my posts elsewhere:

PG-13 or no deal.

At the very least I expect a hodge podge style storyline similar to the first movie, this time focusing on issues 1 and 2, have both Shredder(origin) and Baxter Stockman(April and Mousers) in play.

And the movie definitely needs to be PG-13, if they hope to put people in the seats.

I can't wait!! And a live action film to boot! :D

Yep. If they even have to fight to get a PG-13 rating... it's going to be sh*t.

This thing needs to be grown properly from the roots up. It can't be done halfway.

Agreed. If just about every other successful comic book movie that has stuff for kids in the toy aisle at the store has a PG-13 movie, TMNT should, too!

It makes me sad/happy. I would have loved another TMNT movie with the 07 designs/cg, they were awesome and deserved another movie. However a new live action movie is so awesome that it makes you not feel sad about it.

I hope SMG reprises her role as April, I remember Laird saying he would like that.

Also 2011 is not THAT far away. We're already almost halfway through the year and it'll be 2010 which would only make it one year till the movie. TMNT seemed so much far off, especially since Imagi didn't really showed any sings of the movie existing besides the poster until the teaser came out less than a year before the premier showed up.


At first I was going to dismiss it being PG-13 however, with the success of Transformers, hype for Gi-Joe etc. All these 80s revivals are doing well pleasing both audiences. Especially since this one is live action it'll get more respect from the casual audience and people being nostalgic for TMNT. Not counting that animation/cgi is more tolerant on "action" before being hit with a PG-13.