Speed Racer car at ShoWest 2008.
(Photo by Bonnie Burton)

Our Starwars.com ShoWest coverage of the Warner Bros. “Big Picture” presentation started off in high gear with the introduction of the upcoming action film Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski brothers — who brought us such past hits as the Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta.

Producer Joel Silver and Speed Racer actors Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox presented the new footage from the film, as well as offering their own reasons for why they can’t wait to see the film on the big screen.

Joel Silver comments on the film’s origin and unique look: “When the Wachowski brothers were working on The Matrix they brought up the idea to me of doing Speed Racer. They wanted to make a movie for their nephews and nieces to enjoy. Instead of their usual grey, dark worlds, they wanted a bright, beautiful, colorful world. They also wanted a new focal plane and change the concept of where the focus is placed. They wanted to make everything in focus!”

Trying to describe in detail the technical approach to how Speed Racer is filmed seemed a bit difficult to describe, so Silver asked that the preview reel be shown so the audience could see for themselves. A flood of color and action-packed CGI race scenes straight out of an anime-fueled psyche filled the screen.

Afterwards, the actors, who hadn’t seen a lot of the completed footage, were excited to share in the experience.

Emile Hirsch: “I saw a minute of that I was blown away! I’m a huge movie lover. I grew up on ‘Speed Racer’ and it was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, so I got to live out a childhood dream by working on this movie. And getting to chase a monkey on the set all day was fun, except when it attacked Christina Ricci.” [laughs]

Christina Ricci: “Yeah, that wasn’t so much fun.”

Check out the trailer and more on Speed Racer official site. The film opens May 9, 2008.

Be sure to check out our photo set of more images from the convention here: ShoWest 2008

This entry was posted on March 14, 2008 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Movie News, conventions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.