Judge Dredd Movie

phil1nj

Pretty cool motion poster posted over on the totalfilm website:

http://www.totalfilm.com/news/new-motion-poster-for-dredd

dr gonzo

I really hadnt been following this film in any way but IMDB had a playlist of upcoming film trailers and caught this in the bunch. Wow, looks great!

al28283

the 3d in this looks ****ing amazing

Mickeroo

Here's some stuff from Alex Garland on possible direction for sequels if this is a success: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/08/the-judge-dredd-movie-trilogy-as-loosely-planned-by-writer-alex-garland/

We’ll see a sequel if the gross is above $50 million in the US. It’s a simple financial equation. We’re an independent movie… In terms of Dark Judges, I wrote Death into this script, but it didn’t feel right for the first film. I thought it felt right but after about 16 drafts and it really didn’t work out.

I needed to have set up the city and Dredd first before taking on what is essentially a riff on the Judges. You need to know what the Judges are before you can subvert them.

I wrote a second script which was about Dredd going out to the Cursed Earth. That was rejected for similar reasons.

If they want to make sequels, I’ve got a story that goes from this one into the origins of Dredd and the city. Then the third one has would have a strange, existential attack from the Dark Judges.

Kinski

I thought it felt right but after about 16 drafts and it really didn’t work out.

I wrote a second script which was about Dredd going out to the Cursed Earth. That was rejected for similar reasons.

That does not sound promising.

Meesared

Kinski wrote: »

That does not sound promising.

Youd be surprised how many drafts some movies go through before going into production

norrie rugger

Kinski wrote: »

That does not sound promising.

I would be happier that they take their time and get it right and, also, that they are not forcing storylines into the first film

pixelburp

Meesared wrote: »

Youd be surprised how many drafts some movies go through before going into production

Exactly; scriptwriting is an evolution, 16 drafts doesn't sound that surprising tbh.

Worth noting as a cautionary tale that George Lucas filmed his first draft for The Phantom Menace and we all know how that turned out as a cinematic experience.

Corkfeen

Mickeroo wrote: »

Here's some stuff from Alex Garland on possible direction for sequels if this is a success: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/08/the-judge-dredd-movie-trilogy-as-loosely-planned-by-writer-alex-garland/

Never realised Alex Garland was writing the script. I loved the novel, 'The Beach', not the crappy Leonardo Dicaprio film. The screenplays that he's written in the past are rather strong which would make me more confident in this.

Kinski

Meesared wrote: »

Youd be surprised how many drafts some movies go through before going into production

norrie rugger wrote: »

I would be happier that they take their time and get it right and, also, that they are not forcing storylines into the first film

True, but the way he describes it sounds a little less like evolution than like being led by commercial conservatism. They've already wound up with a film that apparently bears more than a passing resemblance to a recent popular martial arts flick. Had they gone down the route of Dark Judges etc., that wouldn't have been a problem.

Hopefully it's been done for the right reasons, but the world of Dredd will already be familiar to many non-comics fans from that crappy Stallone adaptation. Ok, you may want people to forget that one, but I think they could have played on that being a bastardisation of the source material, presenting this as the real deal, Dark Judges and all. I'm disappointed to discover they didn't use a villain from the comics; how many comic book adaptations have felt the need to actually invent a new character for the bad guy rather drawing on the source?

On a side note, was The Phantom Menance really the first draft? Bad as it was, I can't imagine even Lucas being that far up his own hole to think the first draft was good enough.

Meesared

Kinski wrote: »

True, but the way he describes it sounds a little less like evolution than like being led by commercial conservatism. They've already wound up with a film that apparently bears more than a passing resemblance to a recent popular martial arts flick. Had they gone down the route of Dark Judges etc., that wouldn't have been a problem.

Hopefully it's been done for the right reasons, but the world of Dredd will already be familiar to many non-comics fans from that crappy Stallone adaptation. Ok, you may want people to forget that one, but I think they could have played on that being a bastardisation of the source material, presenting this as the real deal, Dark Judges and all. I'm disappointed to discover they didn't use a villain from the comics; how many comic book adaptations have felt the need to actually invent a new character for the bad guy rather drawing on the source?

On a side note, was The Phantom Menance really the first draft? Bad as it was, I can't imagine even Lucas being that far up his own hole to think the first draft was good enough.

He is right though the Universe needs to be established before you can bring in people like the Dark Judges. They are perfect sequel material, given they would have an entire film to explore them rather than having to split time between them and the Judges.

norrie rugger

Remember that The Raid will not have been seen by the majority of Americans, so that will not be an issue. Also this was in planning before the Raid and should have been released before it.

Fysh

Kinski wrote: »

True, but the way he describes it sounds a little less like evolution than like being led by commercial conservatism. They've already wound up with a film that apparently bears more than a passing resemblance to a recent popular martial arts flick. Had they gone down the route of Dark Judges etc., that wouldn't have been a problem.

There's a limit to how original any film's premise or setup can be, and in fairness to the Dredd production it was already under way when The Raid was made. I don't think anyone sane is going to accuse a new attempt at adapting a darkly-comic satirical comic of stealing ideas from a recent foreign martial arts film when there are several decades of comics material that can serve as source material - at least not until we've all seen the film.

Kinski wrote: »

On a side note, was The Phantom Menance really the first draft? Bad as it was, I can't imagine even Lucas being that far up his own hole to think the first draft was good enough.

From memory, it was certainly cack-handed enough to be a first draft. And bear in mind that Lucas has known for about 20 years now that Star Wars is basically an excuse for him to print money. He could probably take a dump in a plastic container and successfully sell it as an exclusive limited edition action figure/collectible for thousands of dollars...

johnny_ultimate

Multiple drafts can be both positive and negative. A good writer will refine and refine their script, no doubt. Yet in the reality of production good ideas may he hacked away over the course of increasing drafts. Especially when multiple writers are called in, which is usually a warning sign. The new Spiderman could have either been a second or twentieth draft, for example - where individual subplots werent developed nearly enough, or where there are only mere leftovers of once promising material.

norrie rugger

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Multiple drafts can be both positive and negative. A good writer will refine and refine their script, no doubt. Yet in the reality of production good ideas may he hacked away over the course of increasing drafts. Especially when multiple writers are called in, which is usually a warning sign. The new Spiderman could have either been a second or twentieth draft, for example - where individual subplots werent developed nearly enough, or where there are only mere leftovers of once promising material.

Yeah Parker and

Flash

was not examined at all enough.
Spidey was cut to keep its running time down, I feel

Mickeroo

norrie rugger wrote: »

Yeah Parker and

Flash

was not examined at all enough.
Spidey was cut to keep its running time down, I feel

Big time, some of the trailers allude to plotlines that aren't even addressed in the film. I saw a tv-spot on Sky a couple of days ago made up of footage and dialogue that didn't even make it into the film.

senor incognito

Kinski wrote: »

[... I think they could have played on that being a bastardisation of the source material, presenting this as the real deal, Dark Judges and all. I'm disappointed to discover they didn't use a villain from the comics...

Personally speaking, I'm delighted they didn't. The Hero/ Villain set-up has almost always been a central component to DC and Marvel comics, but for me, Dredd has always had something else going on; he's too much of a bastard to be a hero in the first place, and the Dark Judges in the comics may be the most graphically-iconic antagonists Dredd has ever faced,— but, in terms of character or depth, they weren't ever really much more than an interesting riff on the Judge uniform.

To include them in this film would have been very difficult to make work: by the time Death was introduced in the comic, ( back in the day, 150 progs in, after a robot revolution,a Caligulan epic, and an interstellar odyssey as well as the usual crime-stopping), it made some to bring in a character like Judge Death and change the whole game. The city, the planet, the galaxy ( and even plot dependant elements like BOING ) had all already been established, and Dredd himself was a familiar character: in this film very little is established, we're in one location for most of it.

Too soon for Death and the boys: 'Dredd vs standard-criminals' works way better, for me, as an opening story.

senor incognito

Nice interview with John Wagner and Alex Garland:

http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1530

Kinski

Fysh wrote: »

There's a limit to how original any film's premise or setup can be, and in fairness to the Dredd production it was already under way when The Raid was made. I don't think anyone sane is going to accuse a new attempt at adapting a darkly-comic satirical comic of stealing ideas from a recent foreign martial arts film when there are several decades of comics material that can serve as source material - at least not until we've all seen the film.

No way is it possible it's a rip-off, but it's a shame that it's turned out this way. However, I can accept Judge Death might be a bridge too far for the first one.

senor incognito wrote: »

The Hero/ Villain set-up has almost always been a central component to DC and Marvel comics, but for me, Dredd has always had something else going on; he's too much of a bastard to be a hero in the first place, and the Dark Judges in the comics may be the most graphically-iconic antagonists Dredd has ever faced,— but, in terms of character or depth, they weren't ever really much more than an interesting riff on the Judge uniform.

I suppose one problem with villains from the comics is that - Dark Judges aside - they often end up dead at the end of the story arcs they're introduced for, so rarely (never?) become iconic like The Joker or Lex Luther (that whole "Dredd being a bastard" thing!)

Anyone know if Cassandra is a Psi in this? Doesn't look like it.

senor incognito

Yes. Yes she is.

paddy kerins

Footage description

Taking place near the start of the film, the scene in question was filmed as part of last December’s reshoots and serves as an introduction to the character of Judge Dredd and his methods. Having chased down a criminal into a shopping mall, Dredd finds himself in a stand-off with the perp who has taken a woman hostage. If he let’s the hostage go, the sentence is life without the possibility of parole… if he doesn’t comply, then it’s death. Obviously it ends with the latter, as Dredd dispatches a ‘hot shot’ from his lawmaker, the round implanting itself in the perp’s face and frying his head from the inside out. The scene in question wasn’t too shabby, and if it’s any indication of the rest of the film, then Jock’s statement that Dredd is “tough, brutal, violent and exciting” may actually ring true.

al28283

Kinski wrote: »

Anyone know if Cassandra is a Psi in this? Doesn't look like it.

yep

paddy kerins

Initial reactions from an advanced screening seem positive

Total Film

Empire

Professey Chin

Ign seem happy in their review aswell
http://ie.ign.com/articles/2012/07/12/dredd-review

paddy kerins

I gotta say, this is a thing of beauty NSFW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8lMmRe6Z44

RDM_83 again

I know this would be a project that wouldn't really make much sense to do for a franchise type film (especially for a 1st film) as you'd have to be familiar with Judge Dredd previously as a protagonist, .....But I'd real love if they'd make the America story into a film, its got a good plot, real characters and its very very dark and cynical its been a fair few years since I read it but as I remember there's no 'good guys' but it does have 'feeling' in a way I don't get from example from Garth Ennis's stuff which is just cynical and nasty. Also hate to use the phrase 'in the post 9/11 world' but with the right director it could make some pretty meaty points about terrorism and the reduction of civil liberties

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(Judge_Dredd_story)

The writer did the graphic novel A History of Violence (which the film was based on)

FlashD

I don't understand why its getting first screenings so far ahead of the release date. Early September as I remember which is ages away. That's not normal is it?

Meesared

Eh its a comic book based movie, it would make sense to have preview screenings at SDCC

FlashD

Meesared wrote: »

Eh its a comic book based movie, it would make sense to have preview screenings at SDCC

So far ahead of schedule, why don't they just frikkin release it then?

norrie rugger

FlashD wrote: »

So far ahead of schedule, why don't they just frikkin release it then?

Up against Avengers, Spiderman and Batman?? Are you mad?