Alex Garland has hired Pete Travis and made a new Judge Dredd film, named simply
Dredd. This one sees Karl Urban as Dredd, Olivia Thrilby as Psi-Judge Anderson and Lena Headey as the mob boss Ma-ma in a more gritty and down to earth Mega City One.
The most important part here is to notice what Garland has said:
Urban won’t be removing his helmet at any point
:D
The story: Judges Dredd (Karl Urban) and Anderson (Olivia Thrilby) are deployed to investigate homicide in the apartment high-rise named Peach Trees, a violent area ruled by Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal (Lena Headey), a sadistic drug dealer who has put a new substance in the market: Slow-Mo, a drug that alters its user's brain's chemics, making it appear as if time is in slow-motion.
They capture one of Ma-Ma's men in the process but in order to prevent him from being taken to the Judges' headquarters, where he'll surely crack under interrogation, she has her skilled team of Hackers cut Peach Trees of the grid and activate the Nuclear Attack continency program locking down the building inside a titanium dome. Ma-Ma then puts a bounty on Dredd's and Anderson's heads: Either they die, or the dome doesn't get lifted.
Pics: (They are large, so I'll put them in spoilers as to not ruin the forum layout hehe)
So, what do you think about this project? I myself is psyched as hell! Urban looks really badass and I think setting it in a closed environment is the best thing to do with this kind of concept - it keeps it action focused and also saves a lot of money as opposed to if they were going to show the whole of MC1 and risk it looking awful and cheap.
Comments
I agree with that it will look very cheap if they dont change the enviroments enoguh. But I think that will be difficult considering the majority of the movie will take place in an apartment complex hehe :P
@haserot ; Dredd has looked a bit different from comic to comic. Depending on who's drawing, Dredd could be a guy with a small chin and be a bit leaner, and in some comics he'd be like Stallone with a big ole chin pointing out under the helmet.
It does really depend on who's drawing Dredd and at which particular point a story's meant to take place, since unlike other comic characters, the guys at 2000AD have made the decision to actively let Dredd age; Which is a great move if they've the guts to kill him eventually.
As for Urban.. This does look a little bit closer to the stories in some respects, and at the same time looks almost like a Nolan take on the character, especially in the armour; The uber-fascist leather isn't there, but at the same time, a visored hulk in heavy-SWAT-looking armour has some of it's own connotations and resonance in the modern day. To me, it looks better than the Stallone take, which tried to invoke visually similar stuff, but didn't have the guts to follow through entirely.
I also like that they're bringing in a character like Anderson, which.. Could be a clever move. Cassandra Anderson's a big character in her own right in the 2000AD stories, so if this is big, it could be interesting to see her in her own films and the like. The old film naturally brought Hershey in, which was a nice move to give Dredd a female foil, but she was employed entirely wrong, as were some of the other nods to the existing stories, such as Rico, Fargo, and Fergie. It was a little too cluttered and a little too.. Well, superheroey, what with the origin being dumped in the middle of the film.
This is to say nothing of bringing in a character from an entirely different 2000AD series with the ABC Warrior robot.
So I think starting out with what's basically a standard issue Dredd story with some blok-war going on, and hopefully keeping it simple and relegated to Dredd and Anderson is a good idea. They've already suggested bringing Judge Death in for a sequel (having originally wanted him in this movie), which is never a bad idea if he's employed right.
But.. Yeah. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. It doesn't have a huge star like Stallone attached to it (which kind of made the original reek of a vanity project, or Stallone was trying to claw back his credibility after Stop or my Mom Will Shoot!), and although I don't particularly like Nolan's Batman, there's a kind of edge to Urban's Dredd, at least visually, that seems to fit in with the kind of hyper-real comic book movie Nolan's brought to prominence.
Thats some mighty fine fascism right there! Mussolini would have been proud :D
If it's from the new movie, then goddangit! That looks like the Dredd I know. Fascism at it's best. (meaning in the comics... other way fascism is a no no)
I think it has to be from a trailer, a teaser trailer at least. I feel we should get one any week now.
Yeah, obviously real fascism is wrong (although I am very intrigued by the whole utopian dream of "Everyone should per default think the same and work for a common goal") hehe.
Anyways, that gif sort of removes all of the Sly-movies feel in an instant! I just wish it was a better quality so we could make out what the judge is saying?
And also, all the qualms about the helmet being too big seems moot now, it looks perfect in motion imo.
Having had reservations about the images up till now, I'm very happy to see that clip. It's cool - the look, the background, the overall feel. Certainly restored some faith in the film. I've read the leaked screenplay and it's a tad dimensional, not much depth and no satire, but the action scenes read well.
On the subject of fascism, the screenplay establishes the fact early on that Mega-City 1 is a fascist state and the Judges have absolute control. You know straight away that the Judges are the law and Dredd enforces it with iron discipline. However, it's very much an action screenplay in the traditional sense. This isn't a V for Vendetta or 1984 type Judge Dredd storyline. It's basically Dredd vs perps in a huge block.
Dredd 2012 has the potential to be a very strong, hard action film. I think the teaser trailer could be within a month or so. Let's hope it rocks!
I havent read the screenplay but can you tell me if Dredd is portrayd as a pure hero (like he was in the Slyfilm) or as a person doing and believing in the fascist cause as he is in the comics (which makes him alot more interesting than the ordinary runof the mill antihero)
There's a major development in the story which makes you root for Dredd and you know he's an (anti)hero. I won't reveal what happens but the screenplay does make you think "this Dredd is not that nice" and then later on as the plot progesses you think "this guy is the hero." I think it gets the balance right between hero and antihero. At the end of the story you know Dredd is trying to maintain law and order, to make Mega-City 1 a better safer place.
And you'll be happy to know Dredd does not have touchy feelings for other people. He doesn't take off his helmet - Karl Urban said he won't remove the helmet - and Dredd won't be kissing any other Judges. ;)
The bike can be seen turning the corner - left side of the screen - during the daylight road scene. :)
Oh well, that's the way it goes. :( Perhaps Skyfall will be better.
"20 years in the cube"
"Sometimes I have to kill to preserve the law"
Urban has the perfect pitch on the voice!
"20 years in the cube"
"Sometimes I have to kill to preserve the law"
Urban has the perfect pitch on the voice!"
That's not his voice. It's actor Toby Longworth. The music and dialogue is not from the film.
Wikipedia:
'Toby Longworth - He has also appeared in many audio dramas by Big Finish Productions including their Doctor Who spin-off range and taking the lead role as Judge Dredd in their line of audio plays based upon the 2000 AD series.'
http://www.bigfinish.com/2000-AD
The full Judge Dredd song:
;)
http://www.deadline.com/2012/05/cloud-atlas-dredd-looper-magic-mike-cannes-screenings/
Dirty Harry were good films, District 9 was awesome, this sounds very promising!
Bad cgi aside, it looks pretty badass!
The last try at Judge Dredd wasn't bad, it wasn't good either, but definetely had its moments.
I´m not a comic book reader, but the ambience reminds me somehow a bit of Escape from NY. Would be cool if that were all throughout the film.