Message From Krista @ VX



Last night when my AIM was turned on, I had a very interesting conversation with a nice guy named Bryan. He messaged me asking about a website I used to do updates in the past, and at the end it turned out that his job was related to the movie industry - and he has read the The Chronicles of Riddick script. The following very spoilery text is the summary of the conversation we had. Please beware of the tidbits, and only read if you want to know more than the press release and up-to-today posted articles say.

If you do not want to get spoiled, all I can say: Bryan says the script lives up all expectations and is better than the original Matrix.

Because of the circumstances; the spoilers, which noone likes to read without proper warning; and the fact I consider this article as a VX extra, I have to ask you all who like to copy+paste various articles, not to add the following lines to your site/board, but post up a link to VinXperience's main page only.

Click Here for the Article

(Will open into a New Window )

    Production Notes that Krista from Vin Ex That she translated for http://www.moziplussz.hu

    VIN DIESEL reprises his star-making Pitch Black role of enigmatic anti-hero Richard B. Riddick in the new science fiction action-adventure epic, The Chronicles of Riddick.

    Riddick has spent the last five years in self-imposed exile among the forgotten worlds on the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding mercenaries bent on collecting the price on his head. Now, the fugitive finds himself on planet Helion, home to a progressive multicultural society, which has been invaded by the Lord Marshal (COLM FEORE), a zealot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of warriors known as Necromongers.

    Captured and taken to a subterranean prison where extremes of temperature range from arctic nights to volcanic days, Riddick encounters Kyra (ALEXA DAVALOS), one of the lone survivors from an earlier chapter in his life. His efforts to free himself and Kyra lead him to the Necromonger command ship, where he is pitted against the Lord Marshal in an apocalyptic battle with possibly the fate of all beings-both living and dead-hanging in the balance.

    Universal Pictures, in association with Radar Pictures and One Race Productions, presents the science fiction action-adventure epic The Chronicles of Riddick, starring Vin Diesel and co-starring Colm Feore, Alexa Davalos, KARL URBAN, LINUS ROACHE, THANDIE NEWTON and DAME JUDI DENCH. It is written and directed by DAVID N. TWOHY. The Chronicles of Riddick is produced by SCOTT KROOPF and Vin Diesel. TED FIELD, GEORGE ZAKK and DAVID WOMARK serve as executive producers.

    The filmmakers have assembled a talented production team for The Chronicles of Riddick: cinematographer HUGH JOHNSON (G.I. Jane, White Squall), production designer HOLGER GROSS (Windtalkers, Stargate), visual effects supervisor PETER CHIANG (Below, Pitch Black), costume designer ELLEN MIROJNICK (It Runs in the Family, Unfaithful), three time Academy Award -winning makeup effects designer VE NEILL (Ed Wood, Mrs. Doubtfire, Beetlejuice) and editor MARTIN HUNTER (Underworld, Below).
About the production

    Returning in his role as Richard B. Riddick, Vin Diesel and his One Race Productions partner, George Zakk, re-team with Pitch Black screenwriter/director, David N. Twohy, and producers Scott Kroopf and Ted Field, to bring to moviegoing audiences The Chronicles of Riddick.

    Five years ago, the imaginative science fiction film Pitch Black introduced the world to the complicated, reclusive Riddick. This "least likely of heroes took on a cult status in the science fiction community," remarks Vin Diesel and David Twohy, and thus inspired this new chapter in Riddick's journey, a story rich in mythology and complex characters.

    Compelling and seductive, Riddick's world is a planetary array of warring races and competing agendas. Most dangerous of all are the Necromongers, led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), high priest The Purifier (Linus Roache), top commander Vaako (Karl Urban) and Vaako's devious wife, Dame Vaako (Thandie Newton). Determined to eradicate all life from every known universe, the Necromongers have proven a devastating force.

    Working to thwart disaster are the Meccans, led by Iman (KEITH DAVID, reprising his role from Pitch Black), and Aereon (Dame Judi Dench), a mysterious, ethereal Elemental who tells Riddick of a prophecy that will pit him against Lord Marshal. Aereon relays the prophecy, not to save the universe, but to set into motion a war that will see the Elementals ruling over a perfect "Etherworld."

    In the middle of it all is the fugitive Riddick, hunted down and eventually caught by Toombs (NICK CHINLUND), an inter-planetary bounty hunter (known as a Merc). Captivity brings Riddick face to face with his past in the character of Kyra (Alexa Davalos), the young woman who survived by masquerading as a boy, 13-year-old Jack from Pitch Black. Riddick escapes from custody, but Kyra's fate falls into the hands of the Necros.

 

    The Chronicles of Riddick brings together a unique ensemble of gifted actors-major stars, distinguished veterans and exciting newcomers-whose own international flavor reflects the multi-nationalism of the film's characters: Colm Feore hails from Canada; Dame Judy Dench, Thandie Newton and Linus Roache are British; Karl Urban is from New Zealand; while Alexa Davalos and Vin Diesel are both American.Supporting cast members hail from countries such as Russia, Sweden, Croatia and Iran.

    Principal photography began on June 9th, 2003. Filming is taking place at the aptly named Mammoth Studios in Burnaby, near Vancouver, British Columbia. Shot entirely on stage, the sets for Riddick are the largest in Canada to date. Unlike a number of films in this genre which rely heavily on CGI to create their worlds, the Chronicles filmmakers chose to create real, physical sets. The results encompass 300,000 square feet over six stages.

    To put it in perspective, says writer/director David Twohy, "If you took all of Universal's stages and added up the square footage, it's almost the same as what we are building in Vancouver."

    "The style right now in filmmaking is build a little set and a lot of CGI extensions," explains producer Scott Kroopf. "We're building big sets for one significant reason: it gives the actors an enormous environment to really grasp the reality of the thing. So it's a little bit of harkening back to the old days of enormous sets."

    Four distinctive worlds dominate the film: Planet Helion Prime, Crematoria, Planet UV, and the amazing Necromonger fleet with its massive mother ship, the Basilica. The spiritual center of the Necromongers and home of Lord Marshall, the Basilica is a "titanic place," its first two floors are built on stages and the additional 300 feet on top will be built in the computer. Using the Baroque style as a starting point both architecturally and philosophically, production designer Holger Gross imagined a space where "everything is melting together. Everything is curved. So as you move through it, the room changes with you." A harsh, metal cross between a church, a palace and an opera house, Gross describes the Basilica as "a very elegant, yet strange atmosphere."

    Darker still is the volcanic world of Crematoria, a planet of 700 degree days and minus 300 degree nights, a place "so hostile to life," explains David Twohy, that "if you owned hell and Crematoria, you would live in hell and rent out Crematoria. That's how bad this world is."

The planet is so unfit for habitation that its prison, the soul-destroying Slam, has to be located underground. A vertically-oriented structure situated inside a volcanic formation, the Slam "looks like years ago lava punched out and burned a lot of the cells and then solidified" and is formidable, impenetrable and allegedly inescapable.

    In contrast is Helion Prime, populated by the Meccans. Awash in a sandstone and copper palate, Helion Prime-and its inhabitants-is as warm as its name suggests. Vast, undulating sand dunes surround its Capital Dome, seat of government for the Meccans.

    Helion Prime sits the closest to the sun in its solar system; its main industry is harvesting sunlight and beaming it out to colder sister worlds.

    The Planet UV is a dim planet of white ice and snow; it glows unnaturally under the feeble ultra-violet light cast by its sun.

    Preparation and design on these magnificent sets commenced in the fall of 2002, led by Gross, illustrator David Chow and visual effects supervisor Peter Chiang. With countless illustrations and drawings, it took over 700 crew members from both Canada and the U.S. to bring Riddick's worlds to life: scenic carpenters, metal fabricators, sculptors, scenic artists and painters, plasterers, wardrobe, props, set decorators, hair and make-up designers, and special effects.

    Construction coordinator, Jan Kobylka, found himself on perhaps his most challenging project to date. "It's very complicated," he says, "because it's in the future, so we had to introduce an element of sophistication that doesn't exist in today's world. We're not buying anything at the hardware store-everything is made from scratch. It is very interesting work and people have gravitated toward the project. We have a huge number of very skilled craftspeople helping to create these sets with devastating elegance."

    The Chronicles of Riddick is proving to be a testament to the talents of some of filmmaking's greatest artisans, a project of epic proportions. But unlike most epic films, which are based upon source materials such as novels, comics or games, Riddick is also a testament to original storytelling. A completely original written work of unique science fiction, The Chronicles of Riddick promises audiences a spellbinding journey into manifold dimensions.