The director of the upcoming reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Jonathan Liebesman (that’s right folks, Bay’s filthy hands are stuck in the Producer position!), has finally given his two cents on the massive controversy regarding the upcoming movie, due to a comment from Bay saying that the Turtles would be from an alien race. At the press junket for Wrath Of The Titans (which Liebesman is directing), Steve from Collider got a chance to talk things over with the director about the movie. Read the best bits below:
Regarding the ‘Alien Race’ comments:
Look, it’s so funny—if everyone was such a die-hard fan, they would know that the TCRI canisters where the ooze comes from. That is alien ooze. Now I’m not saying what Michael said is exactly what the movie is, because we’re sitting in a room now figuring everything out. So we don’t know, but we are like Michael said: we’re expanding it, and the expansion will be true to the mythology. I promise you: fans will love it.
On the mythology:
Whatever mythology we’re building on or expanding is coming from that guy, Kevin Eastman’s head, who created the Turtles in the first place. And so everything will tie in with the mythology; fans will be extremely excited with what we’re coming up with. A lot of it is stuff he’s wanted to do for a long time, but just hasn’t had the opportunity because now we have the budget and things on this film to expand it in the right way. And so, I’m happy that everyone is extremely passionate, and they will not be disappointed. It’s all coming from the best possible place for this franchise.
On whether the Turtles will be wearing rubber suits or fully CGI:
All I’ll say is that I love how they did Rise of the Planet of the Apes. That was exceptional.
On how much action the movie will have:
We’re definitely into the action, but for me what’s more important than that is that it’s a story about brotherhood and friendship and responsibility. Right now, I’m with the characters because those are what attracted me to the movie. They’re the best characters I’ll have had a chance to deal with.
Additionally, Liebesman revealed that they’re thinking of shooting this year, around September and maybe in Canada. Watch the TMNT portion of the interview below:
S#!T Talking Central