One thing I'm very curious about is what people feel the environment in the movie needs in order to feel like Mega-City One. Since it's a mid-budget movie shot exclusively in Cape Town I was slightly worried that the environment would come across as too mundane. Then again, we've hardly seen anything yet.
I've composed a list of things that may or may not be neccessary. What do you think? Are all important? None of them? Something else?
1. Scenes establishing the size of the city, size of a block, the freeway.
2. Weird and futuristic architecture resembling what we see in 2000AD.
3. Level of technology comparable to comic books.
4. Robots. Call-Me-Kenneth, Walter, ABC units etc.
5. Weird and colorful Mega-City fashion.
6. Sub-cultures of the city. The League of Fatties for example.
7. Imagery or lore references to other locations like Mega-City 2, East-Meg 1, Cursed Earth, Luna etc.
8. Imagery or lore references to other Dredd stories. Umpty Bars, Boing Spray etc.
...and probably many more I didn't think of off the top of my head.
It has to be huge and look futuristic (but not fantastically so - Bladerunner-esque, as opposed to big tall gleaming spires of meatl and glass). But the main draw for me has always been its society - the strangeness of the citizens, and the bizarre crazes that spring up.
So I guess 1, 2, 5 & 6.
Yeah, I suspect they have to use CGI quite extensively in several instances. And I agree with you, the culture of the city should be really bizarre.
I forgot a pretty important one: The Grand Hall of Justice
The Munce & the Hotties.
I want a crowd scene that contains Blobs, Uglies & Fatties.
Concrete, tall buildings, lots of people.
oppressive judical system?
I was actually thinking mostly in terms of visuals and environment, Mega-City One and it's people. I'm pretty sure they've nailed the dark and oppressive themes of Dredd's world.
New York has got tall concrete buildings and lots of people. Would that suffice? ;)
Quote from: HunterZolomon on 25 May, 2012, 04:26:32 PM
I was actually thinking mostly in terms of visuals and environment, Mega-City One and it's people. I'm pretty sure they've nailed the dark and oppressive themes of Dredd's world.
New York has got tall concrete buildings and lots of people. Would that suffice? ;)
Johannesburg's probably more like MC1 than Cape Town is (well, more skyscrapers and freeways anyway) - maybe they did some filming there?
If it doesnt have Pete Wells Block front and center from frame one, it aint mega city one.
SBT
Points 1 & 2 are pretty important to me! The one thing the Stallone film got right was the first five minutes where the truly appalling Rob Schneider was taken in a trip across MC-1. I'd like to see something similar in the opening for the new Dredd. That's obviously the only aspect of the new film that I'd like to be akin to that monstrosity. As Pyroxian mentioned before, I also expect the city to have a look more akin to Blade Runner -which would be no bad thing either!
As much as I enjoy some of the bizarre crazes / fashions / groups that feature in the comics, I'd be surprised to see much evidence of these in the films. From the few descriptions we have about the film, I'm expecting the new Dredd movie to be going for the feel of the recent Nolan Batman films, ie to make MC-1 feel as real as possible (similar to our world) and reign in some of the more outlandish elements of the comic.
But really so long as they can get the character of Dredd right this time, I'll be a very happy man!
Cityblocks that dwarf downtown New York. Save the robots for the sequel when (with any luck) they have the budget for them.
1. Statue of Judgement towering over statue of liberty
2. Mega-U educated Cits as shop window dummies illustrating the ridiculous levels of unemployment :lol: :lol: :lol:
Quote from: Waltev on 27 May, 2012, 07:53:13 AM
1. Statue of Judgement towering over statue of liberty
2. Mega-U educated Cits as shop window dummies illustrating the ridiculous levels of unemployment :lol: :lol: :lol:
Both of those are actually very good ideas. Neither would be very expensive and they both convey Dredd's world really well.
For me its a sense of chaos trying to be restrained. Mega-City One grew out of a desperate struggle and hence in my mind never had the chance to have a plan. That's echo'd 'today' in the crazy variety seen in the citizens, the almost organic curves of the city blocks and the height of it all, layer built upon layer, all trying to get it right, all just adding to the confusion.
The Statue of Justice standing over the Statue of Liberty is a great symbol to be seen, but rather for the desperate failure it represents. The Justice Department does indeed tower over the city and all that lives in it. But its a show of impotence strength, for all its might The Statue of Liberty still stands, as a symbol of the choices and craziness that the city offers. The Justice Department intimidates but never quite crushes the people who squirm out of its iron grip in all sorts of crazy ways.
Skysurfers and Fatties and lots of concrete.
I doubt you'de recognize cape town in the film. The fact that it was shot on south african roads will have little bearing on what you'll eventually see, because, quite simply, if you're driving a practical vehicle, you need a road. The rest I can only assume would have been left to the VFX department. The last thing anyone wants is a movie that looks like every second commercial on tv.
It's in the future.
...Cape town isn't.. Nor is Joburg for that matter.. Pretty though. Cape town.. Not Joburg.. Joburg's a shithole..
If they can get a fair few raised roads, I'll be happy.
2 or 3 times the height of this would do.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__APCzEFEiDk/SXMLDIllVcI/AAAAAAAAAO8/r-0M05-uWcw/s1600/untitled.JPG)
Bladerunner is always sighted and for good reason and MC1 could be a Bladerunner type environ ....but the unique elements for me are the distinct block shapes and the block footprint. The way the structures narrow toward the top makes a certain sense in that it would allow more light down into the canyons below. And for a city that seems so oppressively crowded the sheer scale of the blocks means there are often very wide open spaces between blocks. The deep shadows and the wide-open spaces create a deeply creepy isolation. I'm thinking of Mike Macmahon and Cam Kennedy here. Those are signature elements for me that make it unique...not so many boxes.
http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/frank-lloyd-wrights-war-boxes
"For me its a sense of chaos trying to be restrained. Mega-City One grew out of a desperate struggle and hence in my mind never had the chance to have a plan. That's echo'd 'today' in the crazy variety seen in the citizens, the almost organic curves of the city blocks and the height of it all, layer built upon layer, all trying to get it right, all just adding to the confusion."
"The Statue of Justice standing over the Statue of Liberty is a great symbol to be seen, but rather for the desperate failure it represents. The Justice Department does indeed tower over the city and all that lives in it. But its a show of impotence strength, for all its might The Statue of Liberty still stands, as a symbol of the choices and craziness that the city offers. The Justice Department intimidates but never quite crushes the people who squirm out of its iron grip in all sorts of crazy ways."
Just had to say- superb. Could not have put it better. So wont try.
Quote from: BOODA on 03 June, 2012, 07:06:51 PM
Bladerunner is always sighted and for good reason and MC1 could be a Bladerunner type environ ....but the unique elements for me are the distinct block shapes and the block footprint. The way the structures narrow toward the top makes a certain sense in that it would allow more light down into the canyons below. And for a city that seems so oppressively crowded the sheer scale of the blocks means there are often very wide open spaces between blocks. The deep shadows and the wide-open spaces create a deeply creepy isolation. I'm thinking of Mike Macmahon and Cam Kennedy here. Those are signature elements for me that make it unique...not so many boxes.
http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/frank-lloyd-wrights-war-boxes
Mega City One in my head is also like this.
Of course anything goes in MC1. Last night I looked for some Kennedy and McMahon drawings that would illustrate what I mean as key signature images. At a glance I'd know a corner of Bespin, Bladerunner's Los Angeles, The Emerald City. Same with MC1, it has its unique signature...as well as everything else. Bit of a digressive boast but when I was a little boy my father took me on one of his deliveries to ride the elevators of The Bradbury, this was 4 or so years before Bladerunner. A beautifully kept antique even then. We also visited the Bonaventure (again to ride elevators, these on the outside of the building), the newest building on the skyline at that time - this one would fit well in MC1, but it's a signature LA building, one shot in a film and you know where you are. The Bradbury, as beautiful as it is, could be any city in the US or London, Glasgow or Liverpool.
The Bradbury
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradbury_Building
Bonaventure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westin_Bonaventure_Hotel
Quote from: BOODA on 04 June, 2012, 10:55:19 AM
The Bradbury
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradbury_Building
That one looks more like something I'd see in Downlode than Megacity One.
I agree that the shere size of Megacity One allows a lot of room for different styles though.
But such a memorable setting in Bladerunner....when dressed down. ;
For me the main draw that kept JD as my favourite strip through years of subscribing to 2000ad was Mega City One itself.
The sheer size and levels of the city. It's capacity to be really busy, yet still have dark scary back streets with juves who wouldn't think twice about a GBH or worse.
This is my wallpaper:
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/Sharedvortex101/mc1window.jpg)
My window over MC-1, it's great to imagine what craziness would be going on, the Judges dispensing judgement, the fatties with their belly wheels, the biters, the futsies, the wreckers planning their next job, the muties fresh in from the cursed earth and the skysurfers buzzing the eye in the sky, the list could go on and on.
I do however appreciate the movie won't be attempting anything like this picture, but that's the beauty of the comic strip, right?
Nice thread by the way.
Quote from: Stu101 on 07 June, 2012, 11:43:24 PM
For me the main draw that kept JD as my favourite strip through years of subscribing to 2000ad was Mega City One itself.
The sheer size and levels of the city. It's capacity to be really busy, yet still have dark scary back streets with juves who wouldn't think twice about a GBH or worse.
This is my wallpaper:
(http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj605/Sharedvortex101/mc1window.jpg)
My window over MC-1, it's great to imagine what craziness would be going on, the Judges dispensing judgement, the fatties with their belly wheels, the biters, the futsies, the wreckers planning their next job, the muties fresh in from the cursed earth and the skysurfers buzzing the eye in the sky, the list could go on and on.
I do however appreciate the movie won't be attempting anything like this picture, but that's the beauty of the comic strip, right?
Nice thread by the way.
Cool picture. I'd like to see it looking like that in the film.
Yep, fingers crossed it looks like that in the sequel! That would be magnificent!
Quote from: The Bissler on 12 June, 2012, 12:59:34 AM
Yep, fingers crossed it looks like that in the sequel! That would be magnificent!
For better or worse, MC-1 won't look like that in Dredd, I think we've been given a pretty representative view of the city from that new shot just released, and Andrew McDonald, one of the producers on Dredd, stated in the
Empire article last July that he always wanted Dredd to be "more real", and besides, that MC-1 depicted in the drawing posted above would require a substantially larger budget than the $45m they have, and would be completely CGI in it's creation, something the Dredd people neither have the budget nor the inclination to do, judging by what they've said and what we've seen thus far... my personal opinion is I'm glad they're going for the the more grounded decade-after-next look in Dredd, that MC-1 drawing may look fine on the page, but I don't think it would work onscreen, it looks too out-there for the general audience to buy into...
Quote from: Beaky Smoochies on 12 June, 2012, 02:40:40 AM
Quote from: The Bissler on 12 June, 2012, 12:59:34 AM
Yep, fingers crossed it looks like that in the sequel! That would be magnificent!
I'm glad they're going for the the more grounded decade-after-next look
Me too. I'm looking forward to the restrained take on the future. We've seen this...and as someone else said - the rampant -flying car-future city is getting a bit dated looking. We know that's MC1...but let's just see what they can do with so little money, they may out manoeuvre some of these bigger budget films.
One thing the city needs to be MC1 is ironic block names...and we have that in 'Prometheus' and even 'Elysium' (in the released image).