Hey folks, Harry here.... sounds like TRON 2.0 is going to end up being in the hands of consumers... specifically the consumers of the upcoming video game. So buy one for each platform and then buy them as gifts for friends or people you admire. Yup, it seems that's the only way the film will get made. Apparently they have a script they like, but Disney doesn't yet have the nerve. Sigh... I really want to see a second TRON movie. I really do. I love the original and believe with the innovation and advancement of the computer world, some of the theories in the first film can be greatly expanded upon.
Hey, Harry. It was an honor tonight for me to meet Richard Taylor, one of the visual effects supervisors/art directors behind a little movie called Tron. He was visiting the University of Utah, whom he is an alumni of, and spoke to my Animation Survey class for a few hours.
Besides his involvement in the film, he is also assisting Monolith with the Tron 2.0 video game (to be released on multiple platforms). What will really excite all the Tronnies out there, however, was his confirmation that a script has been approved for a Tron 2.0 movie (maybe this is old news, I don't know). Whether or not it is greenlit depends heavily on the success of the video game, he says, which will be released this August. Syd Mead is working on the designs for the video game, so maybe he'll be actively involved in the movie, too? Makes sense.
Of course, I asked for any plot details on the possible sequel, but Richard could not divulge any information (to much groaning and hissing from my class).
Aside from that announcement, Richard also talked about how horribly Disney marketed the film, moving it up from Christmas to the Summer of '82, forcing it to compete with such art-house films as E.T. and Poltergeist... perhaps you've heard of them? Richard groaned that Disney moved the release date to Summer to coincide with the release of Don Bluth's The Secret of NIMH, hoping to steal some of its box-office (yeah, I guess they were still a bit sore at that guy).
Richard also commented that Steve Lisberger's original idea was to have the scenes in the computer world completely animated, including the human actors (he didn't specify, but I'm thinking hand-drawn animation). It was only after Richard lobbied for processing live-action photography and showed Steve some examples that they decided to go with that idea. Smart move, guys.
I wish I could tell you more, but a lot of what he had to say had to do with the incredibly complex, expensive, and time-consuming photography. It was more techie-talk than I could handle, so I apologize if you were interested in hearing more about that part of his discussion (Richard says to check out the 2nd disc of the 20th Anniversary Edition of Tron if you want to know more).
But anywho, everyone go out and buy the Tron 2.0 video game this August so we can get a new Tron movie (spoken like a true Monolith plant... JK)!
- Wilco
