Alan Ritchson says new movie "honors the origin story"

[sethmartin]

"Having grown up with it myself, I think we’ve honored the origin story and those diehard fans that want to see the best of what the turtles have to offer."



http://www.blankmaninc.com/alan-ritchson-interview/



Nice!

[SwiftNinjaFox]

This? This **** right here?

This is what I'm talking about.

I think I've made it clear I don't like the way they look, but here's one of the actors at least talking about it, being up front and talking about the why behind it. And while I will always be a little skeptical of anything someone on the project says before release, this made me think "alright, I hear what you're saying...I can give you a chance with this."

It's like right at 3 months to release. Get these guys in the interviews. I liked what Ritchson had to say here. GIMME MORE.

Only two questions of a 3 page interview, but it's something. It's some insight from an actor's perspective on the project. Some of it is a little "typical actor talk," but you always should expect that from every film.

Nice find seth. Thanks for sharing

[sethmartin]

The design of the turtles is different but I think once emerged into the film, people will get use to it. It's the story, plot, origin, and characters that are the most important to me. Make the turtles look however you want but keep their personalities intact.

Evan Daugherty also did an interview several months back where he stated that his draft of the script honors the origin as well. Although I think they've mixed in the IDW origin with it.

[TigerClaw]

Here's the part he talks about TMNT.

BMi: Speaking of huge movies… you are starring as Raphael in the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. The Turtles fanbase is rabid and they’ve been skeptical of the film ever since it was first announced. What can you tell fans to let them know everything is going to be alright?

AR: From the early leaked scripts, where it’s like an alien generation of this story less true to the origin story, and people thinking the entire time that that’s what this film is going to be about…has sort of been on the forefront of my mind while we’re working on this. The internet’s a dangerous place because people believe what they read and they cling to it as truth and they can assault you with that as if it were real. It’s been frustrating in the sense that people are already dogging the movie and they’ve been dogging it before it was in production. They’ve already written it off as a Michael Bay failure but what people don’t know is that this story is actually really great. Having grown up with it myself, I think we’ve honored the origin story and those diehard fans that want to see the best of what the turtles have to offer. It has been incredible to see the attention this film has been getting. I think we set a record for trailer views the first week the trailer was released. Thirty one million views in a week just for the trailer. People want to see the turtles, they want to see what they look like and they want to see that world.

Another thing, once that trailer was released a lot of people were unhappy with the way that they looked, complaining that they didn’t look like the turtles in the tmnt 2014(1990) film or from the comics. They’re more kind of a humanized version. I can say that I’m pretty certain that there’s a really good reason that they look the way they do and in order for us to really bring the turtles to life with the technology that we have in a way that’s never been done before, which is trying to capture the nuances of a human performance, and copy and paste that onto a turtle there was no other way than to humanize their face a little bit because a traditional turtle’s mouth couldn’t be translated into that human DNA. There’s no way to make that performance translate and what we’re trying to do is to create a truer more real life performance. The look has to do with the fact that we’re trying to get the most nuanced human performance possible which is what somebody is going to relate to when they feel like these guys are a living, breathing thing. I think people, once they connect with these characters and they see how real that experience is, I think all will be forgiven. Honestly, I’m proud of the product that’s being put out there. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and I think a lot of people are really going to enjoy it.

BMi: Raphael was a huge part of the original 1990 film’s plot because he really did have the most character development in that film. What do you think has been the biggest difference between that character and your portrayal?

AR: In a lot of ways it’s still the same character. He’s still the angry hothead who’d rather take action than think about the implications of that action so in a lot of ways we’re still telling a lot of the same story. I think what we tried to do was to reach deeper and find other layers to these characters so they’re not so “one note”. I think in the past everybody sort of plays a caricature, like one dimension of humanity in a sense. I just think that the individuality and the depth of Raph and the turtles in this story is much, much richer. That’s something that we as actors focused on and I think it’s supported by the technology that’s helping to bring that story to life and the script that we ended up working with ultimately. It’s still a fun action/adventure movie but there’s a lot of heart and truth to the character that I think hasn’t really been expressed on film before.

[MastahShredder]

Raph had some of the most emotional scenes in 1990. I'll believe it when I see it.

Hopefully he is right.

[TurtleTitan97]

You'll pardon me if I don't really take his word for it. Because it's gonna take some major convincing for me to support this movie.

[sethmartin]

"It’s still a fun action/adventure movie but there’s a lot of heart and truth to the character that I think hasn’t really been expressed on film before."

I like hearing things like this. Keeping the turtles personalities consistent with what we grew up with has always been the most important thing to me about this movie. I can let a lot of other things slide as long as I feel like I'm watching those same characters that I know and love.

[DioLeo451]

I'm glad he was able to address this it really makes me happy and gives me hope on what to expect two more months man so pumped

[Shark_Blade]

I have nothing to worry about, very optimistic since the start.

[Galactus]

I'm certain he wholeheartedly believes what he's saying...but I think previous interviews have given away he's not so knowledgeable or has a faulty memory when it comes to TMNT to accurately gauge whether it really honors it or whether fans will come around to it.

I even see it in this interview. I never really thought the turtles from the 1990 movie were really one note. They pretty much run the whole gamut of emotions at appropriate times but I'm not going to fault him for not remembering a movie from over two decades ago.

I've suspected for a while that the fear of over-blowing their characters (and lack of screen time) means that the turtles will generally be characterized more or less the same - presumably like what they think "real" teenagers act like same save for a few moments to remind us "oh he's the smart one"...well that and their accessories may as well be permanent neon signs to remind us of their characters.

[sethmartin]

From Evan Daugherty who was hired in early 2013 to do rewrites to the script-

" ...these projects stay in development for a long time. Therefore different drafts are written, where people (writers) go in different directions and sometimes stray from the source material. I'm a massive fan of the Ninja Turtles: I had all the toys, I watched all the cartoons all the time when I was a kid. So when I came onboard, I wanted to make sure that the core things of the mythology remained."

He goes onto say...

(Continuing) "so in terms of pleasing the fans and remaining faithful to the source material of the Ninja Turtles, I think people will not be disappointed at all. All I can say is that it will be a Ninja Turtles movie. It's going to be a really GREAT Ninja Turtles movie!"


Several people involved with this film have stated that this movie remains true to the source material but so many people insist that they are all lying. I guess we will know for sure on August 8. I trust the people involved. Not saying that this film will be a masterpiece but from everything I've seen and heard from the ACTUAL production seems to stay consistent to the turtles, incorporates the things we love, and looks like it will at least be a fun entertaining movie.

[Fjaj]

Originally Posted by Galactus

I even see it in this interview. I never really thought the turtles from the 1990 movie were really one note. They pretty much run the whole gamut of emotions at appropriate times but I'm not going to fault him for not remembering a movie from over two decades ago.

I, personally, do not really like the 1990 movie. It's fun if you're a TMNT fan, but it's still not a very good movie. And I also thought that they lacked a lot of personality and emotion, and when they did display any it seemed very forced. And the majority of the voice acting sucked, too, which didn't help things. They're probably the least characterized incarnation of the turtles.

This is all, of course, in my opinion and I am stating it because it's similar to Ritchson's, so that people could understand if he has similar thoughts.

[GrapeSoda]

Meh. I think his defense of the awful faces is pretty weak. It would totally be possible to convey emotion with CGI without Shrek monsters. Just look at what DreamWorks and Pixar are capable of.

The whole 2 questions he answered about TMNT just sounded like PR damage control...the second answer even more so. i wonder how this is testing with screenings.

[sethmartin]

Originally Posted by Fjaj

I, personally, do not really like the 1990 movie. It's fun if you're a TMNT fan, but it's still not a very good movie. And I also thought that they lacked a lot of personality and emotion, and when they did display any it seemed very forced. And the majority of the voice acting sucked, too, which didn't help things. They're probably the least characterized incarnation of the turtles.

I like the 1990 movie but I can understand what you are saying here. It certainly isn't a masterpiece. You can even go back and read the critic reviews for it or watch the Siskel and Ebert episode where they talk about it and all of those critics even though they bash it make really good points. However, a lot of us have been life long fans of the turtles and remember that movie as part of our childhood so when we think about it, we incorporate all of that stuff into it which makes the movie seem to be much better than it actually is. There ARE some great emotional scenes most of which involving Splinter like the campfire scene or the scenes where Splinter talks to Danny. Raphael isn't really THAT emotional, it just seems like it because he's more emotional than the other turtles.

"They're probably the least characterized incarnation of the turtles."

I don't know about that. It's certainly the most characterized incarnation as far as the live action films go. Turtles 2 and Turtles 3 pretty much turned them into goofballs. Raph had barely any anger, and Leo sounded like a whiney little boy going through puberty. TMNT was good with Raph and Leo but not so much on Don or Mikey.

[NoName999]

Originally Posted by sethmartin

TMNT was good with Raph and Leo but not so much on Don or Mikey.

That seems to be the problem with most of the incarnations.

Hell, if this movie focuses more on Don and Mikey, I'll give it props for doing that.

[GrapeSoda]

Originally Posted by Fjaj

I, personally, do not really like the 1990 movie. It's fun if you're a TMNT fan, but it's still not a very good movie. And I also thought that they lacked a lot of personality and emotion, and when they did display any it seemed very forced. And the majority of the voice acting sucked, too, which didn't help things. They're probably the least characterized incarnation of the turtles.

Ouch.

I'm not intending this to be disrespectful, but this reads like what a 20 something would say about the original Star Wars trilogy verses the prequels. "The fights are boring, and they just stand there" or "The space battles look cheesy, like models" and "Yoda looks so stupid, he is just a puppet, not like in Episode 3."

As a jerk who loves dissecting bad and good films, the only gripe I have with TMNT 1990 is the pacing...which particularly drags at the farm house.

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Originally Posted by sethmartin

I like the 1990 movie but I can understand what you are saying here. It certainly isn't a masterpiece. You can even go back and read the critic reviews for it or watch the Siskel and Ebert episode where they talk about it and all of those critics even though they bash it make really good points. However, a lot of us have been life long fans of the turtles and remember that movie as part of our childhood so when we think about it, we incorporate all of that stuff into it which makes the movie seem to be much better than it actually is.

Siskel & Ebert also gave Speed 2: Cruise Control Two Thumbs Up, but not Aliens or Die Hard or Predator Two Thumbs Up.

And yet I think many people consider Die Hard, Aliens, and Predator masterpieces...and Speed 2? Not so much.

My point? It doesn't matter what critics say. It's up to the individual person.

And speaking for myself, I guess I'm just not part of that 'remembering the movie as part of our childhood so when we think about it, we incorporate all of that stuff into it which makes the movie seem to be much better than it actually is.'

I still think it's one of the best comic book movies hands down. And yeah, I honestly do think it's That Good.

And I don't mean to be rude, but that other guy saying that the voice acting in the 1990 film sucked?

Granted, it's his opinion (just like all you said is your opinion, sethmartin). I just don't understand it one bit.

[MastahShredder]

Originally Posted by Fjaj

I, personally, do not really like the 1990 movie. It's fun if you're a TMNT fan, but it's still not a very good movie. And I also thought that they lacked a lot of personality and emotion, and when they did display any it seemed very forced. And the majority of the voice acting sucked, too, which didn't help things. They're probably the least characterized incarnation of the turtles.

*joke.


I thought 1990 was an amazing comic adaptation. For it's time, I think it's a very well balanced film.

[chrisdude]

In Fjaj's defense, I think calling the 1990 Turtles the least characterized is fair, at least in terms of TV and movies. And their displays of emotion are the definition of forced. That's why they emote with their bodies like stage actors, because their faces are only capable of so much.

I love it as much as everyone else here, but I think nostalgia has done that movie a lot of favors.

[AlphaAF]

Ritchson ETHERS you hating clowns again. This movie is going to be a sleeper hit.