Written By: Ken Hulsey Sources: 24 Frames Per Second / Avery Guerra
No country outside of the US has embraced the digital movie revolution like China. Proof of this new found desire to produce fantasy films in line with their western counterparts seem to be popping up on a regular basis now as the willingness of Chinese film makers take on bigger, and more expensive projects has taken fire. Over the past couple of years we here at MIN have reported on two ambitious CGI effect laden sci fi epics from China, namely the undersea creature feature “Empires of the Deep” and the giant robo film “Future Fighters.”
Now the Chinese have caught on to yet another American movie trend, which they now want to mold into their own image. I am, of course, talking about the Sasquatch movie craze.
Oh sure, they have Bigfoot over there too, in fact, if you follow cryptozoology at all then you probably already know that the big harry guy has distant relatives that once roamed China a couple of million years back in the form of Gigantopithecus. In China today sightings of the Yeren (Giganto still with us) or Mountain Wildman, are still very common and several government funded expeditions have been undertaken to hunt for the elusive creature.
In the upcoming film “Primary Zone” the Yeren and CGI are going to be blended together to create a 3D movie experience that the Chinese hope will rival “Avatar.”
Details out of the east are a bit sketchy as the film is still in the early stages of development, but what has leaked out, and has been translated into English, reveals that the plot will revolve around a group of scientists who venture out in search of the monster.
Also according to reports “Primary Zone” will have a budget of $15 million, which seems rather small compared to Hollywood movies, but as fans of Asian cinema know film makers in China, Japan and Korea have been able to make some rather impressive fantasy films with minimal money.
Do you believe with the existence of UFO? Indeed, the emerging of UFO becomes hot news today. Moreover, it also becomes a big homework for the researchers whether it is truly UFO or not. UFO or we usually called as “Unidentified Flying Object” believed as alien’s plane that can disappear fast. However, it becomes a hot news and big question to the researchers, further people around the world; some of people believe that there is UFO in this earth. In contrast, there some people do not believe with that Unidentified Flying Object. Now, you have heard about the hot news in China. Actually, in October 6, 2010, UFO reported emerges in Chinese airport. UFO over China is not new news anymore. The reason is that it has emerged in China for eight times since June 2010.
The early emerging on September 11, 2010, UFO also emerged in the airport at Baotou in Inner Mongolia. This emerging reported that has duration of appearance for about an hour. If you use your logic, you are able to see the real UFO because an hour is long enough to someone or somebody to see and analyze whether the UFO is real or not. In addition, the Chinese government add by claimed that the emerging of UFO over Chinese airport on September 11, 2010 as UFO’s military exercises, but those exercises have no incident.
STRANGE LIGHTS OVER THE SKIES OF TEXAS Similar to daylight sighting in Manhattan recently Sky Valley Chronicle
Visitors from outer space? A prank perhaps? A news photographer for a local El Paso, Texas TV station took this footage of some mysterious lights in the skies over east Texas in mid October.
The event caused a big buzz in the UFO community because the lights are eerily similar to the pattern of strange lights seen in broad daylight in Manhattan in New York City not long before this incident.
Below is the TV news report in Texas that first broadcast the story:
World leaders briefed on UFO battle near Earth Allnewsweb.com
World leaders have been briefed on a devastating UFO battle between Zetan 'Grey' And Sirian aliens on the fringes of the Zeta Reticuli around 39 light years away that has claimed the lives of over for hundred thousand alien beings. Most of the casualties were Zetan Aliens known colloquially on Earth as 'Greys'. A few hundred casualties were of the highly advanced Sirians whose consciousnesses are able to be placed in new bodies.
Frantic communications between the US President and alien groups such as Andromedans who are friendly to Earth, have assured our leaders that the incident poses no threat to Earth.
The conflict began when bandit Greys threatened Sirian power in the region which includes our solar system. Greys are seen by many as a potential threat to Earth and hostile to humanity. The 'Grey' bandit leader, Ru-Illiar was killed in the event which saw seven hundred mostly Zetan UFO craft destroyed in a dramatic space battle and a Zetan lunar colony in Zeta Reticuli obliterated.
California driver reports triangle UFO at 300 feet Examiner.com
I was driving from santa barbara to my home in santa maria i was at a friends house and left his house around 3:30 am nov 3 2010 taking the 101 highway heading north just past the highway that leads to san marcos pass and the michael jackson neverland ranch i hit a stretch of highway where it was pitch black and i was thinking i hope i dont hit a dear at that moment something in the sky to my right caught my eye hovering in the sky very low maybe a hundred yards up was a triangular craft making no sound i slowed and blinked to double check my vision and it was still there i kept my eyes on it as much as i could to be safe maybe after around two minutes it rotating clockwise very slowly then it climbed and made a gradule right turn and got smaller and smaller until it left my sight. when i was positive i was witnessing this i felt a chill from the tips of my fingers to my toes one last strange detail i made out was it looked liquidy i could see little ripples like wakes on water.kind of like it was transparent.
UFO Over New Jersey: Boomerang UFO Sighting Reported By Witnesses NYNewsPost
UFO Over New Jersey: Boomerang UFO Sighting Reported By Witnesses. The reports of UFO were aplenty in the month of October and they came rushing in from all quarters of the United States of America. And it was not just the US of A that had been in the vigilant eyes of some alien planets either; apparently, they had a close eye on China as well as far as the rest of the world were concerned.
But as the last month bid adieu to us, we were expecting that the reports of the sightings of the unidentified flying objects would dwindle away into the depths of oblivion with the passing of the month. However, now we see that it was not to be as new UFO stories climb the mountain of fame and attract our attention.
If previously it was the places like Richmond, Illinois or Louisiana that were reporting such stories only to be nullified at a later stage, they now have got back up and support in the form of New Jersey. Previously, most of the sightings that were made were linked to some flickering lights that formed together to take any or every geometric shape.
Archeology Team Digs for UFO Evidence in New Mexico Knowelty
Every UFO true believer has their own theory about the 1947 Roswell UFO incident. This month an archeology team from the University of New Mexico is using modern technology to find solid evidence to prove what really happened.
“We engaged in a highly credible standard archeological investigation of a piece of landscape that has been warranted to be the location of a flying-saucer event,” said Dick Chapman, director of UNM’s Office of Contract Archeology.
Sponsored by the Sci-Fi Channel, his team has so far spent $26,000 digging up a nine acre area of ground northwest of Roswell. Their bid to investigate the alleged Roswell UFO crash is being filmed by Sci-Fi for an upcoming documentary.
“The summed evidence from the hearsay-level knowledge really points to this [nine-acre sector] as being a recognized potential crash site (of) a UFO,” he added.
Strange Light Seen in Virginia Night Sky MyFox Detroit
A light that was lurking in the Virginia night sky has grabbed some attention. Some people who saw it think it was a UFO.
"The lights – it was so bring at nighttime," said Brian Fains. "I thought it was a UFO."
It was in the night sky just above Lee Highway when shoppers looked up and saw something weird in Centreville, Virginia on Wednesday night.
Fains quickly grabbed his phone, turned on the camera and recorded the erratic blue light in the night sky. He said it flew around for about ten minutes.
"It was just a distinct blue light, it never like flashed or blinked or (anything)," Fains said.
"It's weird," he added. "You normally see this type of stuff in movies, but just as long as we're here, I'm pretty sure there (are) other people or other things somewhere."
Articles Collected By: Ken Hulsey Sources: Various
UFO sighting in St Albans Herts Advertiser
More than 10 orange glows were seen by a London Colney resident at around 10.15pm the Sunday before last (August 29) and appeared to be following the route of the Thameslink line between St Albans and London.
The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it took the objects about 10 seconds to travel between horizons and he claimed they were going too fast to have been Chinese lanterns, which have explained various other similar sightings in the area in the past.
About 15 minutes earlier, the man also claims that he and his wife heard a loud bang which sounded like fireworks.
He said: “I obviously can’t say what they were, all I’m saying is that they were unidentifiable. I’ve taken photographs and everyone I’ve shown them to has no idea what they are either. I’d just like to know if anybody else has an explanation for it.”
Do The Fabulous Las Vegas Area 51 Tours Boosh News (Press Release)
You’ll find nothing like a Las Vegas Area 51 Tour for the UFO enthusiast. The curious hear of it from around the globe, many of them traveling the Mohave Desert hoping to find something unexplainable in the mysterious skies all around.
Area 51 is an ideal meeting place for any type of enthusiast, although it is a highly guarded military facility. We’re not permitted beyond the fence, or along the perimeter of this area. It is a very mysterious site, and yet the world knows about it. However, with all its security and privacy you’ll be please to know that there is an excursion that gingerly goes about bringing you very near to it.
The next time you are in the Las Vegas location, give some thought to going on a journey to this mysterious location. But it is probably a smart choice to schedule the tour guide complete with an escort, by way of one their excursion vans. Here is why. It is not a place to hang around, walk around, peek inside, or even explore a little. You will be monitored at every minute, with the officials ready to halt those who trespass. This is why they call it an extreme tour.
When you think of Las Vegas you think of the lights, showgirls, casinos and the nightlife, but there is another side of Las Vegas that are never seen by the typical visitor. Surrounding Las Vegas are communities like any other city with growing residential neighborhoods and shopping. And it is all in the middle of the Mohave Desert. Outside of the city is plenty of land untouched by modern civilization. And this desert has some stories to reveal.
The Area 51 Tour includes a visit on Groom Lake. There is no way of getting nearer without the military guards taking forceful involvement. The route to the area is desolate. It is a lonely desert, after all, with Area 51 only adding to the mystery to it. It will seem mysterious, yet still beautiful.
Traveling on Extraterrestrial Highway will bring you to the closest location possible to the site. The fascinating Petroglyphs are carved in the stone near to this site. Once sketched by native Americans in ancient times. And the carvings outline foreign creatures appearing on the edge of the dry lake bed.
You will have lunch at the famous A’le’Inn Restaurant, which has been filmed in many documentaries and movies. Alien burgers are served here with French fries and a drink, and you can also buy souvenirs. Then off to Black Mailbox, which is a gathering place for other UFO buffs alike.
Signs are posted all over Area 51, which give the impression that the military are rather impolite, and you will feel like you are not welcome. The signs say things like Top Secret Military Facility, and Keep Out, as well as Use of Deadly Force Authorized. None of which is very inviting so its obvious you will not feel very welcome.
This exhilarating excursion of the Mojave Desert operates on Wednesdays, although other days may also be available with prior notice. You will leave Las Vegas via a deluxe 4×4. The duration of the excursion is about 9 1/2 hours, beginning at 7am. Your Alien Burger lunch includes a drink. You will also have access to bottled water and snack foods.
Vegas Area 51 Tours can sell out, so book online for a guaranteed seat. Find more about those that you can take by looking online. Or find the many to make that trip great. Head online today and learn more.
Streaks of light in night sky pose mystery Winnipeg Free Press
A group of Winnipeg photographers got a long-weekend thrill, when an unexpected -- and unidentified -- visitor invaded an otherwise perfect photograph.
Just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, Brad Korponay and a couple of friends were setting up to take some nighttime snaps in Steep Rock, about 240 kilometres north of Winnipeg, when they saw a stunning object sailing through the sky.
The bright orange glow flew across the sky from the east, streaking over Lake Manitoba and descending as it moved westward on a wobbly path. Then it disappeared behind the clouds. "We thought perhaps it was a hot-air balloon, as its flickering colour looked like fire," Korponay said. "It was also moving rather quickly, and the 'flame' burned and flickered constantly as it moved."
Beyond that guess, Korponay and friends were at a loss to explain the light that flashed across the sky for under a minute on a calm and silent night. Even the clouds barely moved during the 273-second photo exposure. Then, to make things even wilder, a short time later a second, similar object flew across the sky, this time coming from the north.
The result: one beautiful picture and one big question: Could one local expert in unidentified flying objects come to the rescue?
Monitoring network to scan skies for meteors, UFOs Global Times
A meteor-monitoring network to be completed this year may provide more solid evidence to confirm or debunk UFO sighting claims.
The city will establish six monitoring stations to observe flying objects that cross the sky, the first of their kind in the country.
With 3 million yuan ($441,897.78) in government funding, the network will mainly be used to track falling stars, comets and meteors of a certain brightness, said Kou Wen, the Beijing Planetarium expert in charge of the project.
The station can observe and record almost anything that flies overhead, including meteor showers and UFOs, Kou said, providing a chance to supply more accurate documentation that can be used to verify or dismiss UFO witness reports.
Beijing UFO Research Organization chief Zhou Xiaoqiang welcomed the new system. "It's often difficult to determine what the flying object is based solely on experience, when there's only a picture or a witness' recollection," he said.
Alleged alien filmed at secret UFO base, video Allnewsweb.com
Last week we posted an article and video regarding recent footage from Argentina that some are claiming shows an alien creeping up behind a women being interviewed on a news program. The footage was allegedly broadcast live on TV. Some readers were convinced that this image was just computer generated and a hoax while others, aware of the UFO activity that goes in in the region, felt it showed a genuine extraterrestrial being.
Honestly that last video looked like some kid dressed as a Jawa goofing around to me. Maybe some South American member of the KKK (Yikes!) stumpling around drunk?
Articles Collected By: Ken Hulsey Sources: Various
French town builds UFO landing pad Telegraph.co.uk
Arès, near Bordeaux, southwestern France, has decided to try and attract Martians to its triangular "UFOport" with its very own fake Martian craft.
Made by a local artist, the man-made UFO "landed" on the strip yesterday and, it is hoped, will entice any hesitant extraterrestrials in search of a runway. A plaque reads: "Reserved for voyagers of the universe".
The operation has been dubbed: "'Allo Arès, ici UFO." Arès built the pad in 1976 after a local airport electrician and UFO nut complained to local authorities that France had no alien craft strips.
UFO PILGRIMS could soon be flocking to Darwin after the idea to hold a UFO conference in the Top End attracted the attention of a popular tourism website.
Embraceaustralia.com raised the question of whether Darwin could be the UFO hotspot of the world only days after the latest sighting of a "hamburger-shaped" light.
Earlier this week MIX FM radio presenter Pete Davies said he would welcome UFO spotters from around the world for a UFO convention.
He pondered if the Top End should "challenge Roswell and Wycliffe Well" and make Darwin the UFO capital of the world.
He said "once we get all the federal stuff out of the road" he was looking into plans for a convention.
ALIEN BASE REVEALED ON BLACKPOOLS GOLDEN MILE Prfire (press release)
Alien Base housing Aliens, a full size UFO and the secrets of the universe has been found on Blackpool's famous Golden Mile.
An Alien Base has appeared along Blackpools famous Golden Mile, housing extra-terrestrial beings from across the universe. You can even step inside a flying saucer and take a tour of the universe. No this isnt a long awaited visit from other dimensions, Alien Base - The Exhibition of the Universe is the latest creation of inventor, researcher and author David Boyle.
David is no stranger to the Golden Mile. He has housed exhibitions on conspiracies, aliens & Ufos and the internationally acclaimed Doctor Who Museum until its departure from Blackpool last year. Davids exhibitions have attracted visitors to Blackpool from all over the world for the past 15 years.
David said My team and I have been working around the clock ensuring that this large exhibition site was not left empty following the departure of Doctor Who. This exhibition houses fantastic displays, dioramas and interactive features that will leave the whole family speechless. This really is the most advanced exhibition of the paranormal and unexplained in the world.
Davids amazing and extra-ordinary claims that his exhibition proves beyond doubt the existence of extra-terrestrial life on other planets have yet to be disproved as holiday makers walk alongside fellow researchers and scientists through this spellbinding exhibition.
UFO Appeared in China ffog.net
A bright flying object appeared for three hours. UFO was moving slowly westward, in the southwestern sky Haiyan, Zhejiang Province of China last few days ago. This has happened for so many times in the world.
These unidentified flying objects are constantly flickering at a height that is not too high and bigger and brighter than the surrounding stars. Many people witnessed the UFO that night. “I do not know what it is,” said a witness reported. They found that not only was a shining object in the sky, but its reflections in the river are also very interesting.
UFO sighted in sky over Selby, North Yorkshire The Press, York
THERE’S something out there – and it's flying over Selby.
A local man has reported how he saw a UFO in the sky over the district.
Writing on the forum of website abovetopsecret.com, a resident of Whitley has told how he saw something in the sky on Tuesday night.
Calling himself Darkjedig, the man, who used to live in Florida, said on the forum: “I am just wanting to see if anyone in the North Yorkshire area in England, has seen a UFO tonight.
“I have been seeing a lot lately and have tried to film them on my phone camera, but they don’t show up.
Lights in sky 'too fast' to be lanterns Halifax Evening Courier
The debate over the mysterious orange UFOs that has divided Calderdale is raging on. Many readers have contacted the Courier saying they have seen people across the area releasing Chinese lanterns and these are behind the sightings.
But Brian Senior is not convinced. He says he saw three bright objects, which were joined by a further three UFOs, over Pellon near the Halfway House pub as he looked over the valley from his house.
He said: "I can't explain what they were but they were not Chinese lanterns. "They all lined up in a perfectly straight line then shot off towards Withens Road near Wainstalls.
IT was the historic UFO sighting dubbed the “Welsh Roswell”.
Locals heard a huge bang and saw a brilliant light in the sky, but Ministry of Defence files say the incident in 1974 was just a combination of an earthquake and a meteor.
Now a new book claims a key element of the events remains unexplained.
In UFO Down? The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash, author Andy Roberts claims the authorities still cannot account for nurse Pat Evans’ description of a glowing object she saw in the North Wales mountain range.
Mrs Evans broke her long-standing silence on the issue earlier this month, when she called the official account “rubbish”.
The retired nurse, 72, told how on January 23, 1974, she and her two daughters, then aged 14 and 15, saw a “huge ball glowing and pulsating on the mountain” with “some lights scattered around it”.
The illuminations scattered around the main object were like fairy or torch lights, she said.
Mr Roberts, who has written widely about UFOs, said: “It was too big to have been a meteor and if it had been a meteor that had landed, it then becomes a meteorite.
Alien filmed live on TV in UFO hot spot Allnewsweb.com
UFO researchers have been taken by surprise by recent UFO/alien event that took place in South America.
What might well be an alien was filmed by a camera crew doing a news item and broadcast live on TV (see video below). The event took place in Santa Cruz, Argentina and the image of the alien was broadcast on that nation's channel two. The alien is seen stalking towards the person who is being interviewed. The filming and broadcast took place on August 8 of this year.
Brisbane man finally spots 'UFO' after 30yrs of waiting Sify
A man from Brisbane has finally spotted 'UFO', after spending 30 years on searching for one.
Erik Black, 49, who has been interested in UFOs since he was a child, revealed that he had only heard or read about them and had never seen a "real one" until 2010 election night.
"I have been researching UFOs for almost all my life and every time I came to the Northern Territory for holidays I read a UFO story in the newspaper, so I thought the NT was the place to be," the Courier Mail quoted him as telling the NT News.
As expected Hong Kong based Agog Films Productions to advantage of all the media attention of the San Diego Comic Con to announce that they had chosen two directors for their giant robot epic, "Future Fighters". The multi-national production will now be under the direction of Korean film maker Nelson Shin, who served as director/producer of the 1986 animated "Transformers" movie, and Hong Kong director Ken Siu, who is best known for his work on "The Forbidden Kingdom", "Fearless" and "Rush Hour".
Here is some background info on Nelson Shin from Wikipedia:
Nelson Shin (b. 1939; Korean name: Shin Neung-kyun(신능균)) is the founder and president of Akom Production Co., Ltd., in Seoul, South Korea. He founded Akom in 1985.
In the 1970s, Shin worked as an animator at the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, where he worked on the Pink Panther films. He is also credited with creating the glowing lightsaber blade used by Jedi Knights in the first Star Wars movie released and other subsequent Star Wars films.
Much of the animation Shin's studio has produced has been for American television series. Some of Akom's credits are: The Simpsons, Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, Invasion America and Arthur. Shin's most well-known accomplishment is his direction of the television series The Transformers and Transformers: The Movie. Akom's lead animator is Kim Jun-bok.
Beginning in 1999, Shin worked on the animated feature film Empress Chung. The film was largely animated in North Korea, and in August 2005 became the first movie ever to open simultaneously in North and South Korea.
In 2009 he was elected president of the International Animated Film Association, a post he is to hold until 2012.
It was also announced that Japanese action star Rina Takeda has joined the international cast along with Ray Park (The Phantom Menace), Eriko Satô (Cutie Honey), Lisa Sa (Lisa Cheng)(Chinese model, athlete and gymnast) and Yasaki “David” Kurata (Blood: The Last Vampire).
The 3D effects for "Future Fighters" will be handled by New Zealand based WETA Digital, who also handled the effects for Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "King Kong", "District 9", the Korean monster film "The Host", "Avatar" and the upcoming "Planet of the Apes" reboot "Rise of the Apes".
The film is heavily inspired by the two Japanese animated series "Macross" (Robotech) and "Patlabor" as producer Guy Orlebar explains, "This Macross story is basically a love‐triangle between the main three characters set against a war between humans and big green aliens who battle in these fantastic robotic fighters. The robots, or mecha — the Japanese word for mechanical designs — are treated as little more than part of the background, and instead it’s the human drama between the three characters that takes centre stage — something which is also very similar to the Japanese TV show, and two of Mamoru Oshii’s animated feature films, Patlabor, where the robots in that show are really nothing more than fancy police patrol cars but still looked so cool and made the show so distinctive."
Sounds like my kind of movie!
You can view a copy of the press release that Agog Films Productions let fly at Comic Con - Here
And here are a few stills along with some concept art from "Future Fighters":
For centuries the forests and mountains of Hubei Province in a remote area of central China has been rumored to be the home of the Yeren (sometimes known as the Yiren) a legendary wild man that may be a distant cousin of the American Bigfoot.
Earlier this month 33-year-old Ding Fei returned from a trek into Hubei wilderness with a large number of mysterious think, dark, curly hairs the he believes came from the creature.
Local researchers in Shennongjia examined the hairs and determined that they did not belong to any known local livestock or humans for that matter, but they also needed more tests to determine if they belonged to bears which also inhabit the area.
Spurned by the hair discovery the researchers returned to an area known as Shallow Hole, where the initial discovery was found, and discovered yet more hairs and 30-centimeter-long (11.8 inches) suspected Yeren footprint.
The Hubei area is of great interest to those who study cryptozoology, or the study of yet undiscovered animals, due to the fossil remains of the Gigantopithecus also being discovered there.
For those of you who don't know, the Gigantopithecus was a giant bi-pedal ape that died out some three-hundred thousand years ago. So far, these fossils are the only hard scientific evidence that a animal like the Yeren, or Bigfoot, ever existed.
It is easy to extrapolate that if the Yeren does exist, it would be a relative of the Gigantopithecus, likewise it would stand to reason that Bigfoot could also be from the same blood-line since the animal could have migrated from Asia to North America via Beringia.
For the second time in two weeks a spectacular diamond-shaped UFO has caused quite a stir in China.
On July 7th, the sighting of an unidentified celestial object, that left an impressive looking vapor trail, shut down all flights in or out of Xiaoshan Airport in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for about an hour.
At about 9pm, the airport's radar system began tracking the object, which was dangerously close to to the facility. After determining that the object was a threat to air travel, the airport was closed and incoming flights were diverted to other airports.
Now, reportedly, the same object has made a second appearance, this time in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing.
According to witnesses, a diamond shaped UFO hovered over Shaping Park for about an hour before it climbed to a high altitude and disappeared from site.
"I stared at it and it did not move," exclaimed Chen, an eyewitness to the sighting Wednesday night. "After hovering for an hour, the thing started to fly higher and finally out of people's sight."
Many UFO investigators have inquired about the July 7th sighting, but have run into a wall put up by the Chinese government. One source from within China commented that the radar at Xiaoshan Airport had not picked up the UFO, and a second declined to comment because the incident had a "military connection."
After viewing the video (below) I have to admit that it looks a lot like a missile test that went off course. I have personally seen a similar vapor trail from such tests launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. That, of course, doesn't mean that this is the case here, and it doesn't explain away what was witnessed in Chongqing, which sounds more like a genuine UFO event.
Here is the video taken of the July 7th UFO event over Xiaoshan Airport:
Over the past five years Asian cinema has become a hot bed of creativity with each new film aspiring to push the envelope in regards to special effects and action. In China, particularly, film makers have taken every opportunity to try and match the level of production seen in Japan and especially here in Hollywood.
To do this, Chinese film companies have lured in outside talent, both in front of, and behind the camera, to try and play 'catch-up' with the 'big boys' in the fantasy film biz.
A prime example of this is the effects heavy, "Empires of the Deep", which boasts both cast and crew from Europe, America, and of course, China.
Now, producer Guy Orlebar is following in the same footsteps to produce his 3D giant robot epic, "Future Fighters", signing big name talent from the United States, Japan, and let us not forget, China as well.
On a side note, EikoSato (photo above) has made our "Top Ten Hottest Women" list both in 2008 and 2009!
So far, the film's cast boasts Ray Park (The Phantom Menace), ErikoSatô (Cutie Honey), Lisa Sa (Lisa Cheng)(Chinese model, athlete and gymnast) and Yasaki “David” Kurata (Blood: The Last Vampire).
Like most of us, Orlebar grew up watching Japanese robot cartoons like, "Macross" and "Transformers" and these shows heavily influenced the development of "Future Fighters".
The film maker explains, "I’m an Eighties kid, and a huge fan of the animated Transformers show and all the fantastic mecha, particularly giant robot, shows that were being shown in Japan at that time. Shows like Macross (known as Robotech in the US), Patlabor, GUNDAM, of course — loads more. But we’d never really seen any of these types of stories coming out of Hollywood before. Okay there’d been a few. I’m not sure how many people remember Robot Jox [directed by Stuart Gordon] or the English language live‐action Gundam G‐Saviour. But it wasn’t until Steven Spielberg, against all conventional Hollywood wisdom, decided to big‐up his live action Transformers with director Michael Bay, that Hollywood finally sat up and took notice, especially because as we all know Transformers as well as Transformers 2 did phenomenally well. Personally, I preferred Korean director Nelson Shin’s 1986 animated theatrical version of Transformers in terms of style and emotion and coolness… but I was only 8 at the time which probably helped! (laughs)"
"Anyway, I totally respect Misters Spielberg and Bay for reviving the franchise and making Transformers go mainstream. It may not be the Transformers I grew up with, but it’s great that it’s going strong, and has ushered in an entire new generation of Transformer fans. So Future Fighters is our contribution to expanding the giant robot genre. Other examples that this genre is now taking off include Spiderman Tobey Maguire’s recently announced Robotech live‐action adaptation, and the live‐action adaptation of Voltron, another Eighties anime shown also in the West."
Which of the numerous Japanese giant robot anime shows impressed the film maker the most?
"One of the strongest influences to the story of Future Fighters is the original Japanese animated TV show, Macross, which as I mentioned earlier US readers will probably know as the first Robotech installment." Orlebar adds. "And which Transformers fans will know from the original Jet Fire toy, which I did have as a kid. This Macross story is basically a love‐triangle between the main three characters set against a war between humans and big green aliens who battle in these fantastic robotic fighters. The robots, or mecha — the Japanese word for mechanical designs — are treated as little more than part of the background, and instead it’s the human drama between the three characters that takes centre stage — something which is also very similar to the Japanese TV show, and two of MamoruOshii’s animated feature films, Patlabor, where the robots in that show are really nothing more than fancy police patrol cars but still looked so cool and made the show so distinctive."
"So, apart from the big green aliens in Macross, I really liked this concept of putting human relationships first and keeping the mecha secondary. But, and this is true for all Japanese mecha shows, the mechanical designs have to be unique and original, and utterly distinctive. I read in an article by Spielberg how all his best characters are instantly recognizable from their silhouette only… just think of Jaws, ET, Indiana Jones. Very good advice for designing memorable characters or imagery."
Though giant robot anime is the basis for "Future Fighter", Orlebar also drew inspiration from the work of classic sci fi novelists.
"In my teens I read Arthur C. Clarke’s sequels to 2001: A Space Odyssey: 2010, 2061 and, er, what was the most recent one? 3001. In 2010, or maybe 2061, Clarke writes about some of the fantastic moons around Jupiter. I don’t want to give too much away here, but anyway they’re not just rocks, and they definitely both feature in some of the key visuals for Future Fighters. And there’s a whole bunch of other stuff out there too which I learned about and which have been discovered only in the past few years. Really fascinating."
"… One of the great things about [Clarke's] novels is they are all steeped in science and realism. That’s also something I want to achieve with Future Fighters: bringing the science back to science fiction. Honestly, there’s no sound in space, and (unless you’re spinning around) there’s no such thing as artificial gravity in a spaceship. The challenge, and what we’re aiming to achieve with Future Fighters, is to keep it real without losing any of the great action, pace and excitement of a fabulous sci‐fi adventure. Imagine like a cross between the first Star Wars film and Stanley Kubrik’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey. That’s what we’re aiming for."
Looks like Orlebar's head is in the right place. So, I suppose your wondering how the film maker is going to tie all this together for "Future Fighter"? Well, maybe this plot synopsis will shed some light on the subject?:
It is the 22nd Century. After bringing irreversible destruction to our planet’s habitable environment in their relentless plunder of resources, the Earth’s leading mega-conglomerates lead humanity into space to colonise the night skies and forge a new future, leaving behind the barren Earth as a ruined, radioactive wasteland, with humankind seemingly destined never to return. For the past fifty years the colonies living amongst the planets of our solar system have been at peace.
But now, out of the ashes of the scorched Earth a new evil emerges, threatening to engulf the entire free solar system into a terrible darkness. Now, never before has the fate of all humankind lain in the hands of so few — a small clutch of brave mercantile militia soldiers, and their sophisticated interstellar fighting machines, stationed at a military garrison outpost orbiting the planet Jupiter and its moons. Pitted against impossible odds, they must fight… for the future. But they will soon unwittingly and devastatingly discover that, in space, the blackest darkness is in the hearts of men.
Countless fighter craft explode, battleships are ripped apart, moons shatter, love is lost and found, and whole atmospheres ignite in huge planet-sized fireballs in this exciting new, big-budget, CG-heavy, sci-fi epic [...], which features never-before-imagined non-stop zero-G action stretching from the serene azure Neptune-filled skies of the exotic, geyser-filled moon Triton, to the heights of the colossal Olympus Mons on Mars, through the volcanic, hellish landscape of Jupiter’s Io and icy depths of the subterranean oceans on Europa, crashing through the rings of Saturn and methane rain and lakes of its moon Titan, and down into the ubiquitous, ravaging Giant Red Eye storm of Jupiter itself!
Also on board for "Future Fighter" are action director Dee Dee Ku (Matrix 2&3, Kill Bill 1&2, The Mummy 3), 3D cinematographer Henry Chung, composer Robert Ellis-Geiger, and actors Reuben Langdon (Avatar, Spiderman 2, Pirates Of The Caribbean 3) and KazuyaShimizu (Azumi, Big Man Japan, Returner).
Amazingly, the film has been moving forward, quite effectively, without a director, which according to Orlebar, will be announced before this years San Diego Comic Con.
We will have to wait and see if "Future Fighter" can stand out among all of the giant robot films due to be released over the next few years including "Gaiking", "Robotech", "Voltron", "Battletech", "Transformers 3" and the Korean produced "Taekwon V".
Here is the teaser trailer and some production/behind-the-scenes images from "Future Fighters":
Written By: Ken Hulsey
