Over on HissTank.com poster TheGabrielAngel has posted some updates in regards to the G.I. Joe: Retaliation reshoots, specifically information regarding the vehicles. I do think some of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, because he doesn’t list any specific sources. The images certainly look authentic, I just wish he would state where this information came from.
First and foremost, the following information was revealed about the film in relation to the vehicles:
“To satisfy the cravings of the toy enthusiasts and action-genre fans, the film is chock full of souped-up vehicles that the G.I. JOE brand is known for and an elaborate cache of diverse weaponry sure to be fun for fans. For Luke Freeborn, the vehicles art director, it brings out the kid in everyone. “Creating these giant toys and making them come to life is like being a kid all over again. We were all giddy with anticipation to see them actually put to work,” he says.
The film features a wide array of weapons and vehicles that included two different kinds of tanks, three different helicopters, two different kinds of planes, a souped-up motorcycle, swords, knives, sais and other weapons. Said di Bonaventura, “Bringing these toys to life makes you feel like a kid again and I think people are going to be thrilled seeing something they’ve never seen before.”
When first creating the vehicles, the team was very mindful to push the envelope while still honoring the G.I. JOE legacy. “The directive has always been to make the vehicles as real and formidable as possible with dynamic silhouettes,” says Freeborn. “We strove to incorporate some of the toy language that we’re familiar with and hope to see.”
One such toy incorporated into the film is the COBRA AIR BOAT. This massive and ominous looking boat is loosely based on the water moccasin toy with added elements that included twin engines, counter-rotating blades and enough horsepower to push it across dry land.
Inspired by another classic G.I. JOE/Hasbro toy and sure to excite fans from every age group, the film features a new version of the iconic COBRA HISS TANK. To create this massive vehicle the production team started with a M548 base that took 12 weeks to build before adding the outer shell and flourish of a cockpit and extra weaponry. Vehicles art director Luke Freeborn explains that, “our biggest challenge was figuring out exactly how all of it would go together, how the base would work with the top and how it would be shaped together. We thought about the aesthetics of it and how to make it look scary and formidable. It was a true team effort to then make sure that the guns, tracks and steering all work and perform on camera.”
A significantly smaller but faster tank seen in the film is the Joe Colton tank that ROADBLOCK uses to mow down his enemies. Although seemingly less formidable than the HISS TANK, the Joe Colton tank’s power comes in its speed and agility. Considered to go as fast as a ZR1 Corvette in the grass, the Colton tank has 750 horse power and can go up to 65 mph. In addition, the tank is outfitted with rocket launchers as well as a 100 lbs. 50 cal mounted on top that the ROADBLOCK character utilizes in a show of his great ingenuity and physical strength.
The production team made a great effort to design each character’s weapons to compliment their individual fighting styles and strengths. Not one to shy away from hand-to-hand combat, ROADBLOCK was given special accessories that were incorporated into his wardrobe. “ROADBLOCK has specially designed brass knuckles attached to the vest that could split your skull and have the ability to attach onto different weapons. With the combination of the weaponry and fighting style you’re really able to see his raw brutality,” explains Dwayne Johnson.
To differentiate the ninjas and their skills, each character was outfitted with a specific sword and way in which they were incorporated into their costumes. “The weapons of the ninjas were especially fun because we tried to define how each of them is different,” explains Jon M. Chu. “JINX has 2 swords on one side, STORM SHADOW has two swords on two sides and SNAKE EYES has 1 sword which helped distinguish which ninja was who from the profile.”
Even more challenging, however, may be creating an action figure that lives up to the characters seen in the film. “I don’t know if they have enough plastic to fill out how cut the real ROADBLOCK is,” jokes Chu. “I’m not sure they’ll be able to give it enough action movements because Kung-Fu grip is not enough for this one. They’ll need to up the ante with the capability to body slam as well as a neck breaker and sleeper hold.”
Along with the text, a handful of images were posted as well, featuring vehicles and characters, some images that we’ve seen before. Still, I’ll take any excuse to get talking about G.I. Joe: Retaliation again! Check out the original HissTank thread here, and the mirrored images below.
In what has been a relatively barren month or two for G.I. Joe: Retaliation news, Celebuzz spoke to actor Byung-Hun Lee, who of course plays Storm Shadow about his upcoming film Masquerade. Among the discussion points, the G.I. Joe: Retaliation topic came up and Lee explained that he was pulled from shooting Masquerade to come back to the states and film more scenes for G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
This does fit alongside previously revealed details explaining that not only was the film being post-converted to 3D, but that Paramount was actually filming some additional scenes to make the 3D all that much better.
Throughout the conversation, the Korean actor also expressed a deep respect for director Jon Chu.
It’s a very interesting interview that also reveals some of the difficulties Byung-Hun Lee had in filming The Rise of Cobra, especially considering he could not speak English at the time. Check it out over on Celebuzz.com and thanks to Skywarp for the info.
Coil Con is over and Gary has some editing time again, so here is episode 66 of What’s on Joe Mind, the foremost G.I. Joe podcast on the ‘net! The guys give a little run down of what’s been going on in our pesky “real lives” to delay episode releases, and we also have the immense pleasure to speak with Hasbro designers Andrew and Trina about the work they’ve done for Hasbro in general and on the G.I. Joe brand specifically. Some awesome insight about the modern Joes design philosophy and the infamous Dollar Store figures! Hit up our Podbean page or check out the Embedded players below. Show notes as always are after the jump.
I for one have been pestering all of my buddies at Coil Con for some info about G.I. Joe: Initiate, which was shown there for the first time earlier today, but nobody was biting. Well, now Episode 1 can be seen by all. Action packed and in High Definition, I strongly recommend you find a way to view this on the big screen.
YouTube apps are available for Playstation 3, X-Box 360, Apple TV, etc… and I think watching this on a television screen only made it even cooler.
With Beachhead, Chuckles, and Major Bludd taking up most of the screen time of this first six minute episode, I find my mouth watering to see some more action. Looks like Episode Two will make me VERY happy.
Check out the first episode embedded below, I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. This is GREAT stuff. Again, check it out on your TV screen if you can. It’s worth it. Great work by everyone involved. As always, stay up to date on future episodes at GIJoeInitiate.com and on Facebook. I suspect they’ll be getting a lot of traffic starting now!
We’ve been talking about the G.I. Joe: Initiate fanfilm for a while now, throughout the entire Kickstarter campaign, up through their various character reveals, and now it would appear that production on Episode 1 is complete, and G.I. Joe: Initiate launches for the first time at Coil Con 2012 September 8th!
The film should hit YouTube very shortly thereafter, so hopefully for all of us, by this time next week we’ll have seen G.I. Joe: Initiate. Directed by Fred Doss, who has the distinction of being the victim of both Cobra (in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) and the Decepticons (in the 2007 Transformers live action film) has a long and storied film background, and I’m excited to see him translate that into a high quality G.I. Joe fanfilm. Lots of military folks were involved in the making of this production, I cannot wait to see it.
To stay up to date and get all the skinny behind the film, check out the links and info below:
It’s running a few weeks late due to those pesky real life issues, but Gary was able to muddle through events of his high-paying IT career over the past few weeks and dedicate his valuable time to editing the latest episode of What’s on Joe Mind, and it is now online in it’s month-late glory!
Rejoice to the latest news from July…look forward (back?) to Canadian JoeCon, and celebrate a raucous Arbor Day with IDW G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero artist SL Gallant! As always, you can listen to the latest episode on Podbean.com, or hit up the embedded players below. Show notes are posted after the jump.
