Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson have been cast for the upcoming remake (yes, another remake from Hollywood, who could have imagined such a thing?) of fantasy flick Clash of the Titans, with Neeson down to play king of the Olympian god Zeus (a role filled by heavyweight thesp Sir Laurence Olivier in the original) while Fiennes will play Hades, god of the Underworld; Sam Worthington, who will be seen soon in the Terminator: Salvation movie opposite Christian Bale, stars as Perseus.The film is being directed by Louis Leterrier, who brought us The Incredible Hulk, and also stars Bond girl Gemma Arterton (as Io) and Alexa Davelos as Andromeda; genre fans will remember Alexa from her appearances in various SF&F productions such as The Chronicles of Riddick, The Mist and as semi-recurring character Gwen, the thief with the electrical powers in Joss Whedon’s Angel series.
(Ray Harryhausen working on the Kraken for a pivotal scene in Clash of the Titans, (c) MGM)
The original Clash of the Titans back in 1981 featured the intricate stop-motion effects of the great wizard of the screen Ray Harryhausen, who retired not long after the film’s release; many fans of fantastic films tend to regard the original as the swansong of that hugely imaginative sub-genre of fantasy films which took Classical and Arabian myths as their inspiration and which pushed the combination of stop-motion animation and live action actors about as far as the technology of the times would allow. Perhaps not as slick as modern CGI effects, but for those of us who grew up with them they retain a huge amount of magic and charm and the tales themselves were simple but hugely enjoyable, family friendly affairs that could delight a youngster’s imagination; I wonder what the new version will be like and if it will stand out as much as the original now we are so spoiled for seamless digital effects. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
April 11th, 2009 at 12:59 am
The great difference with stop motion is not just our sentimentality for it but the fact it was nuanced, balanced and kept in context. The CGI free-for-all is best described as a “just because we can do something, we will” philosophy. Observe Jar Jar’s quadruple dive into the sea in Phantom Menace for an excellent example of pointlessness and the bankruptcy of believable mass.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:39 am
But … with all the emotion and depth they typically bring to their roles, I always thought Fiennes and Neeson WERE stop-motion creations!