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Sci-Fi Media Movies

Disney Plans Tron Remake 434

blkmagic writes "Sci Fi Wire is reporting that Disney will remake Tron. The original article was in Variety, but requires a pay subscription, unless you want to sign up for a 14-day free trial. The article didn't mention what stage they're at, but sounds like they're changing the story a bit (surprise). I loved the original when I was younger (and still watch it again once in a while), so I don't know how I feel about this one!"
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Disney Plans Tron Remake

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  • by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:32PM (#11349770) Homepage Journal
    I loved the original when I was younger (and still watch it again once in a while), so I don't know how I feel about this one!"

    I don't like to think of myself as a snob, but I was tech savvy enough back at that time that the dumbing of computer terms (and the preposterous fantasy) tried my patience. The graphic effects were good, but that was about all there was for me to enjoy about the flik. So let's speculate about what could be put into such a remake of the film...

    Worms and Virii infest the computer and are blasted with some McAfee ray

    An evil spam king is sentenced to /dev/null until 0>1

    The conceptual depiction of Microsoft Windows security is a hole Rama could pass through with a defaced tin sign by the entrance saying [UNAuthorized Proceses Only Beyond This Point]

    Dee Arrum is a cute, cuddly Pooh-bearish creature who befriends the intrepid party and only wants what is best for everyone

    Bugs will only be the result of users installing unathorised software

    The central processor will have a huge ice pack on its head and complain of constant overclocking pains

    Plugs for Disney partners will be throughout (i.e. Intel Inside)

    • by Short Circuit ( 52384 ) * <mikemol@gmail.com> on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:41PM (#11349885) Homepage Journal
      It's a great film to have a running commentary on. For instance, when Clu is about to kiss Yori, a friend of mine pointed out, "He better check his permissions."
    • by Erioll ( 229536 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:44PM (#11349932)
      Reboot [reboot.com] was a more "fun" idea of computers. Should just make THAT into a movie, rather than spoiling an old classic.

      I liked tron, but I can't see how they'll retain the "feel" of the original. I won't say it's impossible, but it just seems like they're setting people up for disappointment.

      Erioll
    • When the credits list Clippy as a co-star you know we're in trouble:

      "It looks like you're trying to stop the evil chess program, would you like to..."

      I wonder if he'll be voiced by the same guy that did Jar-Jar.

      -Matt
    • plugs (Score:4, Informative)

      by phyruxus ( 72649 ) <jumpandlink@yaho[ ]om ['o.c' in gap]> on Thursday January 13, 2005 @01:00PM (#11350152) Homepage Journal
      >>Plugs for Disney partners will be throughout

      You know the scene where Tron is on that boat-like thing that rides the laser? if you watch the landscape you can see a GIANT mickey mouse head outlined. It's bigger than the screen; it moves from right to left and it's a lighter blue than the ground. It's just a big circle with two smaller circles but it's definitely mickey's profile.

      • Re:plugs (Score:3, Informative)

        by Andrewkov ( 140579 )
        On the Tron DVD, the director mentions this in the commentatry, he did it on his own as a thank-you to Disney for making the movie, it's not like Disney told him to do it.
    • I watched and loved TRON as a kid. I actually tried to make a Halloween costume with glow in the dark paint that would look similar at one point. I looked back on it with fond memories for a long time, until one day in college when I decided to rent it for old times sake...

      What a piece of crap!

      The plot was total jibberish. The techno was all babble. All it had going for it was the look, and the look had become pretty dated. If they're going to redo TRON, they're going to have do a pretty extensive re
      • by Marxist Hacker 42 ( 638312 ) * <seebert42@gmail.com> on Thursday January 13, 2005 @01:57PM (#11350953) Homepage Journal
        I hope they rename the damned thing. The title was a pretty good geek pun when the movie was relased, but NOBODY programs in GW Basic anymore. (For those of you who never had the pleasure, TRON was "Trace On" in Microsoft's GW Basic interpreter, which printed line numbers to the screen as programs were being executed. In the movie, TRON was a debugging program attempting to debug the central mainframe kernal. Neat pun, but VERY dated.)
        • by Pxtl ( 151020 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @02:23PM (#11351327) Homepage
          Was not the pun. Tron was short for "electronic" - the people who first created the tron character weren't computer people... the glowing-overlay-clothes technique was the root of the project, not the 3d graphics.

          Watch the 20th anniversary DVD for the story.

          Personally, I watch Tron and I still find it visually impressive - the artwork doesn't date that badly because its so abstract. Still, its a shame that it didn't recieve an award for the visual effects (using computers and post-prod stuff for effects was considered "cheating").

          Yes, the plot is a joke and the technical details are absolutely monstrous to geeks like us, but the movie is still visually neato, and the acting is passable.
  • by slusich ( 684826 ) * <slusichNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:33PM (#11349773)
    In my opinion, a lot of the appeal of the first movie was in the "Wow" factor of it. Computers were not nearly as ubiquitous as they are today. Video games were a huge rage, but still mostly confined to the arcade.
    With all of the CGI enhanced movies being done today, great special effects won't have the same impact.
    There will certainly be some draw based on nostalgia, however I think that will lead mostly to disappointment.
    • You're right, Tron is too simplistic. Instead they need to make a movie based on much newer games like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil and Doom. Those movie will ROCK!

      Seriously though, how often are remakes not big huge disappointments? Hollywood will only stop making them when people stop going to see them. I think people who go and see a movie that is a remake or a sequel for nostalgic purposes are the reason we have so many bad movies in the theater right now.

      BTW, I'm guilty. I went to see Ocean's Twel
      • Ocean's Twelve is AFAIK not a remake, but a followup (which doesn't mean it can't be just as bad, of course).

        For remakes, the name is often the same as the original film, so I can imagine that quite a few people just see the title of the original film in the cinema programme, think that's what they'll get, and only find out the mistake after the film started.
      • BTW, I'm guilty. I went to see Ocean's Twelve recently. Oh why did I do that?

        Don't beat yourself up too much, 12 was not really a remake but a sequel. Ocean's 12 was a sequel to Ocean's 11, which was a poor remake of the original Ocean's 11, which was a pretty lousy movie. Although the 11 remake did capture well the concept of "bunch of popular older actors with little screen chemistry and random scenes with little plot to tie them together."

    • Not only that, but I find a lot of things in the original movie much more forgivable given that it was made in the '80s when people were much more naive about these magical boxes we call 'computers'. Now, since computers are so ubiquitous and people have a better understanding of what they really are, it seems like, without a *severe* rewrite, the story just wouldn't fly.
    • by Dogtanian ( 588974 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:48PM (#11349971) Homepage
      In my opinion, a lot of the appeal of the first movie was in the "Wow" factor of it.

      You put your finger on it. I remember hearing on the Tron DVD that they were wanting to do "Tron 2" (as a movie) and thinking "what is the point?"

      Tron was never a great movie; visually it was outstanding (I don't want to repeat myself, so click here [slashdot.org]), but if they were to do a sequel it would have to replicate the visual impact. The still images of the proposed "Tron 2" looked like pretty computer graphics that could have been done anywhere.

      A remake or a sequel would have to try very hard to do justice to the original and be fresh and innovative; the best way to do that would be to do some great visuals, combine it with a more sophisticated (for todays' audiences) computer-based plot, and create something like.... 'The Matrix'. Oops.

      I agree 100%. Tron was a landmark movie in some ways, but things have moved on, and I'm not sure what they want to get out of this. People *will* be disappointed, and kids will wonder what the deal is.
      • in videogame form, which is slightly ironic. Its one of the best games I've played (although a tad difficult) on the PC and easily the best looking game I've played. [ign.com]

        The game is over a year old, so new video cards can easily handle it 1600x800.

        The game has a decent story and lots of Tron nostalgia. To me, the sequel will have to compare to the game more than the first movie.
    • Yah, they should do Logan's Run
      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074812/
      Did APC samples images for one their videos?
      http://www.aperfectcircle.com/
      Peace.
      - Yoshimi (employee 0)
      http://www.downhillbattle.org/
    • I'm surprised some of these movie makers don't realize that a remake like this is going to get most of its support from the nostalgia (IMHO).



      The Doom movie had always interested me because I would throw my $7 at someone showing a Doom movie in a microsecond. Then I heard that they were bastardizing the plot, from fighting demons from hell on Mars to fighting mutants from Earth on Earth. Needless to say I don't have any interest in the project anymore.

  • ...hm (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JaffaKREE ( 766802 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:33PM (#11349775)
    You know what'd be crazy ?

    A new movie. Like with new ideas. That'd be crazy.
    • Re:...hm (Score:3, Insightful)

      by potus98 ( 741836 )

      You know what'd be crazy ? A new movie. Like with new ideas. That'd be crazy.

      Well sure, but Disney's not talking to Pixar anymore... :-(

    • Re:...hm (Score:3, Informative)

      Like...

      this? [imdb.com]
      or this? [imdb.com]
      possibly even this? [imdb.com]

      And those are just the good movies. But you're right.. generalizations are fun.

      • Re:...hm (Score:3, Insightful)

        by TrippTDF ( 513419 )
        First and foremost, You've got good taste in film. I like that.

        however, I think the parent is getting at lack of original sci-fi in film, which there is a lack of. The only thing jumping out at me right now as original is Sky Captain, which wasn't a juge hit.

        I'll get flamed for saying this I'm sure, but Sci-fi does not have the same wide appeal as any of the movies, for example, you just named... You need something to hook people, something they can relate to based on something they have already se
        • Good point. I'd argue that it comes down to the fact that Hollywood writers don't have the scientific knowledge necessary to write good sci-fi scripts, which is why we're seeing a lot of books made into film (War of the Worlds, LoTR, HGTTG, Clark's Rama series).

          It makes sense... take a book with an established fanbase that's exciting and well thought out, and make it into a movie. That way the studio doesn't have to worry about the story being plausible, since the original author did that. They just nee
        • I consider "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" to be science fiction. Not all science fiction is about spaceships and aliens, afterall. If you read much science fiction, you'll find a lot of good stuff where relationships or other emotional themes overwelm the aspects people tend to associate with science fiction. Some people liked "Code 46" which has some similar themes as ESOFTSM but is more obviously SF. "Code 46" came out this year or last, I think.

          Sure, most of the science fiction that hollyw

    • You know what'd be crazy? A new movie. Like with new ideas. That'd be crazy.

      But, the comic-book genre hasn't been milked to depletion yet! The sheep are busy grazing on Daredevil and Elektra at the moment, and there are dollars that need to be extracted before any other marketing efforts can be coordinated... please try again later.
    • Re:...hm (Score:3, Funny)

      by hunterx11 ( 778171 )
      "We need some original ideas. Get out your TVs."

      Sure, this is a movie, but you get the point.

    • Re:...hm (Score:2, Insightful)

      by freshman_a ( 136603 )
      Disney? New ideas? HAH! We're talking about the company that takes classic stories by Victor Hugo, Hans Christian Anderson, etc., turns them into dumbed-down kiddie versions, and then beats them to death with sequels.
    • Hey hey, that's dangerous talk around Hollywood. It's much cheaper, and easier, to milk previous successes for more money.

      I'm wating for "Wargames 2" next.
    • In October of 1989, the screenwriter's guild sent out a secret memo stating that the last new movie idea had been written and used in a low budget action comedy starring Rick James and Abe Vigoda. Once the internet craze took off in the mid-90s, a scanned copy of it was posted on usenet, and from there, the world read about it. I suppose they could be wrong, but even so, they're the ones writing our movies, and if they believe it's true, well, then it is.
    • Nah. It's been done before.
    • cartoons, and children books?

      Looks at what hollywood is churning out:

      - fat albert
      - fantastic four
      - electra
      - charly and the choclet factory
      - harry potter
      - flight of the phoenix
      - lord of the rings (?)
      - starwars (okay, prequel)
      - another spiderman
      - another batman
      - another blade
      - meet the fockers
      - polar express
      - lemony snickets
      - ocean's twelve
      - I Robot (?)

      Hardly a new idea anywhere. I guess there are a few original ideas, but there does seem to be a lot of re-hashing of old ideas.
  • Tron was such a classic. I always thought the movie aged "pretty" well considering. It would be interesting to see who they get to play Tron. Anybody but Orlando Bloom.

    Oh yeah, and f/p
  • by coupland ( 160334 ) * <dchase@ho[ ]il.com ['tma' in gap]> on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:34PM (#11349793) Journal

    I think this is an excellent idea, another example of Disney's new groundbreaking philosophy. A groundbreaking... sequel. Get Eddie Murhpy in to do some voices, add a breakfast cereal tie-in, a trailer that only airs in front of one of their other loser movies, a McDonald's meal toy, and you're well on your way to a Disney classic!

    Almost forgot, better hire Pixar to do the actual movie itself, Disney only does cross-promotional advertising now...

    • Also, see other posts about "new movies" with "new ideas".

      And yeah, Pixar. But these intelligent chimps already decided not to keep distributing Pixar's product. I'll bet the re-sign bonus would break Disney's reserves.

      cheers...ank
    • Disney has long remade its movies, even those movies that are considered classics in the original version. The Parent Trap. The Love Bug. The Shaggy Dog. 101 Dalmations. And they've made schlocky sequels to many more. This doesn't really come as much of a surprise to me. I don't think anybody's had an original idea at Walt Disney for the last twenty years or so.
  • And CGI? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fisheye1969 ( 842355 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:35PM (#11349804) Homepage
    I guess the graphics will be updated so much so that they won't look as fantastically "false" as they did originally. It was a subject so well suited to early CGI, that the new stuff doesn't cut it. Maybe this is one case where better CGI is actually worse?

    Will Jeff Bridges be in it?
    • Maybe this time they will actually use CGI to make the movie. Due to the fact that the computers were not up to the job, 90% of the effects in the original that are passed off as CGI were actually hand done by illustrators and animators called in to cover the asses of the CGI crew. An animator associate of mine worked night shifts for months on Tron's animation, one frame at a time, using non-CGI techniques.

  • On one hand Disney is part of the Evil Trinity (Disney, Microsoft and the Roman Catholic Church).

    On the other hand Tron is still a great movie to watch. A decent storyline, very good graphics (even by todays standards), action, mystery, the works.

    I'm so confused.

  • "Hey, this Frisbee brand disc really gives me the game I need to win! All kids should have one of these!"

    "This re-engergizing river takes just like crisp refreshing Sprite!"

    "Back home, I had a game on my Microsoft X-Box 2 that was just like this Tron bike race!"

    Hey, Disney, lay off for a while, so our kids can grow up!
  • by OmegaBlac ( 752432 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:38PM (#11349841)
    Why don't they make a sequel? There is no reason to go back and muck around with a film that doesn't need mucking around with.
  • Tron (Score:5, Funny)

    by Skiron ( 735617 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:38PM (#11349847)
    For those that don't know, the film was named after the computer command 'Trace on' (as opposed to Troff).

    Looking at the current situation, will Disney call it Pr0n?
  • For any tron fans out there, buena vista interactive and disney partnered to make the game "Tron 2.0". The game not only beautiful, it has multiplayer/net lightcycles that're a total hoot. It's totally worth the $40, especially if you've always been a tron fan. The game is available for Mac OS as well as windows.

    Although the 3D engine is the HL engine (not sure though), they spent a *lot* of time on the solo-play story line, a very unique gameplay feel, and visual detail. If you look at some of the scr
    • > It's totally worth the $40

      It's even more worth the $10 or $15 you can find it for online these days. Check it out.
    • The quality of this game is the _only_ thing that doesn't make me abandon all hope for this project.

      I liked how the game incorporated newer technology ideas that weren't around back then, yet stayed truthful to the Tron universe.

      The bit that does worry me is the mention of wanting to appeal to a younger audience. I really hope they don't dumb it down, or add some goofy sidekick product-tie in character.
      I wish Disney could make animated films without demanding that at least one character is there to hold
  • by tinrobot ( 314936 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:40PM (#11349869)
    I loved Tron because they used really good design to overcome the extremely low-tech tools they had at their disposal. The result was a "inside the computer" world that looked computer-like.

    Now we have movies like The Matrix, where they go inside a computer and it looks like San Francisco.

    I hope the new Tron remake doesn't got too overboard and make things look too 'realistic.' I'm kind of sick of CGI that looks real. I have real every day.
  • New plot (Score:5, Funny)

    by brandonY ( 575282 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:41PM (#11349880)
    The evil Computer P1R473Z are downloading the system's IP. Now, the brave and bold hero must digitize himself and take on the P1R473Z on their own turf. Without his lawyers, armed with only spam and pluck, our hero must contend with giant P2P tanks which shoot torrets of bits. Can our hero stop them before innocent set-builders and writers lose their jobs due to IP theft?
  • by scotay ( 195240 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:43PM (#11349916)
    These days, it may seem that Disney is nothing but crap merchants, but they used to have a quality period. Back in the days of The Black Hole, and The Barefoot Executive, Disney was known for quality dialog and compelling drama. A remake of Tron promises to rekindle the spirit of Disney quality in a whole new generation.
  • For open source. Linus should play Tron.

    Hey if the Hollywood mincemeat machine has it's way, a game would come out and it would probably look just like Armagetron.

    Bill Gates should play MCP. "MCP" sounds alarmingly like a Microsoft "Cert" doesn't it?
  • I know at one point I remember reading that this was being considered, and that Pixar might be involved. I recall that one of the high-up designers at Pixar said that Tron is the reason he got into the business, and that he'd love an opportunity to remake it.

    I dunno if that'll happen, but I think there's a good chance it would end up a much better flick if Pixar ran with it. I'd be very curious to see what they could do.
  • There are some movies where, ok, it's such a work of art, or the story is such a classic, you can almost understand some director wanting to try his hand at it. It's like going to see Romeo and Juliet done by a different director: same story, different treatment.

    But, c'mon, Tron stands just fine on its own. Watch the 20th Anniversary DVD and tell me, really, is it so out of date? Does it make you cringe? Or is it a perfectly fine movie?

    So why remake it? Why not do a sequel instead? Is that so far-fetched?
  • Syd Mead (Score:3, Interesting)

    by payndz ( 589033 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:45PM (#11349940)
    Just hope they keep Syd Mead's designs for all the original vehicles, or better yet, just hire the man himself to do updates. Mead's stuff rocks.

    It won't be Tron without light cycles, Recognizers and those nifty asymetric tanks!

  • Considering the quality (other slashdotters chuckle) of Pirates of the Carribiean, i oculd see this movie working. If anything, the Tron 2.0 video game did a good job of demonstrating that the core concepts and elements of the movie can still work in the present day.

    A few thoughts on how the update could work.

    • Kevin Flynn (or the equivilent character) is a programmer in the Open Source community since he left/was terminated from the company. He still runs the arcade, as in the original.
    • MCP remains an Arti
  • Tron 2.0 the MOVIE (Score:5, Interesting)

    by darkCanuck ( 751748 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:50PM (#11350000)

    I'm confused. Hollywood Stock Exchange has been selling Tron 2.0 stock [hsx.com] since September '99.

    That's 2.0, not a remake.

    They claim the director of Tron is writing the screenplay.

    I really hope the HSX is right. Especially since I bought 50,000 shares @ $4.29.

  • by fr2asbury ( 462941 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:50PM (#11350006)
    Tron Reloaded?
  • by TheFlyingGoat ( 161967 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @12:53PM (#11350058) Homepage Journal
    I look at this a little differently than most of the posters so far. This could be absolutely terrible, which is a definite possibility given that Disney is doing it (without Pixar, for that matter :).

    However, if it does end up being good and have a halfway decent story, it will bring a story that many of us have enjoyed for a long time to a new generation of fans. How many kids out there do you know of that have watched Tron? What about Cloak and Dagger? D.A.R.Y.L? These are classic movies that most people won't see unless they're redone and released again in theaters.

    I'm looking forward to taking my niece to the movie, and having another 'geek' movie to watch with my wife (she LOVES LoTR). It's going to be tough to make it as good as the original, but I think that's fine as long as it's not completely awful.
  • If i recall correctly the main problem faced by Tron was to defeat the dreaded MCP(Master Control Program). In Tron 2 or Tron "reloaded" as i will call it, tron will be faced with a new evil... The MCP(Microsoft Certified Professional). with his minimum salary being 60k + a year with no exp. he will be tough to stop!
  • Sometimes nostalgia is crap.

    Tron was a really sh1te movie with a few nifty ideas - that was it. It was a sign of it's times, but was in no ways "revolutionary" - it was lame.
    • The trouble with your opinion is that you didn't really understand Tron. Tron was a movie about religion and just used the setting of inside a computer as a device to tell the story. It can basically be described as a tale of the coming of Jesus. Flint entering the computer is basically the birth of christ and his exploits including miracles end up freeing the minds of the programs.

      What made it truly interesting is that it hit on the idea that the creators don't have a uniformed plan, they were just do

      • Re:Tron was crap. (Score:3, Interesting)

        by DLWormwood ( 154934 )
        Tron was a movie about religion and just used the setting of inside a computer as a device to tell the story. It can basically be described as a tale of the coming of Jesus.

        You've nailed the underlying metaphor of the movie (the champion or messiah myth) almost spot on. There was a novelization of the movie released at that time that included more explict content related to the programs' religion. The only real difference between the user/program relationship and the god/worshipper relationship in Christi

  • Ouch! (Score:5, Funny)

    by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @01:00PM (#11350153) Journal
    The possibility for product placements is unimaginable.

    "Doc, I've been having big headaches ever since my computer tried to suck me in and I smacked into ZoneAlarm. I immediately turned around, phoned a Gateway rep, and while very helpful, said I should talk to Verizon about the rogue worm that sucks people into mainframes. I mean, you can only imagine if I'd ended up in a Windows 2003 cluster. Thank goodness Cisco routers stand as a line of defense between me and the electroworld, dominated by evil Open Source communists."
  • the then-vs-now for computer graphics animation than it will be as a movie per se. [it was hard to swallow then as a story] When I went to SigGraph in Boston in '82, it was more like a sci-fi con than a computing conference or trade show: young comp. graphics geeks all had tron on the brain and were very impressed withourselves despite how crude the technology was.
    in Pixar was pretty much a gleam in Ed Catmull's eye [pixar.com] back then. Tron [osu.edu] was a technicolor collage of animation from a whole zoo of hacked grap
  • the other mouse (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @01:08PM (#11350266) Homepage Journal
    I was at the biggest computer graphics lab in the world (NYIT/Westbury) at the time Tron was announced, instantly making us #2. Though Disney produced only a few cumulative minutes of digital FX for the movie, they launched the "CGI" industry which has served them so well since. I'd love to see them repeat that watershed event. Let's see them do something in distributed rendering that puts Toy Story back in its box. Or a revolution in the front end for animators communicating with the machines, HCI that makes the mouse, and even the stylus/tablet, look like a 20th Century relic. C'mon, Mickey, let's get it on!
  • by GMFTatsujin ( 239569 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @01:11PM (#11350301) Homepage
    The plot of Tron revolved around a monolithic corporate entity that absorbed intellectual property from sources all over the world, protected itself with a restrive and overpowered security model subject to hackers, destroyed the creative spirit of individuals, and twisted the vision of its creators to suit its own ends.

    If there's a studio more qualified than Disney to write that story, I don't know who it is.
    • I thought for sure you were going to say Microsoft. I think it would be more apropos. Besides, ENCOM is pretty close spelling-wise to ENRON.
  • Have homer in 3d space instead of whoever plays the game. but that wouldn't be too serious would it? well at least i have tried.
    2c
  • "Fetch the Logic Probe!" - Sark
  • A sequal would be MUCH better than a remake. If the original guy who did Tron 1 is not involved I would imagine we'll see a cheap rip off.

  • Wasn't there a move about people entering a computer called The Matrix or something?

    Now when they make "Old Yeller and the Black Hole" then I'll get excited.

  • How dazzlingly creative. Someone else decides to twist an 80's classic (Battlestar Galactica) into cheap, 15 year old D&D addict eye candy, so now Disney feels envious and does the same. We're not talking about making the MCP throw the frisbee first here, like the typical George Lucas devilry. We're talking about having Ben Affleck play Flynn. I never thought Tron was a great movie, and the stupid nerd humor is annoying, but there's no chance at all that Disney can fix the past by letting some new scree
  • I think TRON looks perfect the way it is. The old-school hand-shaded computer graphics look awesome. It's the first thing I think of when someone says "CGI." If they are smart they'll keep the look just as they kept it with the new video game.

    My favorite scene is at the end when the helicopter takes off above the lit-up city and the whole thing turns into a circuit-board looking schematic. I still have a thing for looking at cities at night out of tall buildings :)

    (Best view: Bathroom at the Signature Lou
  • by acb ( 2797 ) on Thursday January 13, 2005 @01:27PM (#11350529) Homepage
    In the new Tron, the Master Control Program is the good guy, and is besieged by shadowy terrorist pirates who wish to destroy it and replace its rights-management regime with open-source communism.
  • I saw the names of the two writers credited with getting the screenplay gig, and figured I would look them up in IMDB to see what else they have written. That ought to be a pretty good predictor of what to expect, right?

    Well, here's the results:

    • Brian Klugman [imdb.com] is an actor with mostly TV credits. He has exactly one screenplay credit: "Warrior [imdb.com]", a perfectly awful-sounding historical war movie which isn't even due to be released until next year.
    • Lee Sternthal [imdb.com] has no credits at all -- writing, acting, nothing. Oh wait, except for "Warrior", which he co-wrote with Klugman. So that's a big total of one.

    So Disney is hiring two writers with practically no experience to work on a property that has been dead for 20+ years. My guess is that you should not expect the finished product to rival the LoTR trilogy :-)

  • Just like you can't "remake" the mona lisa into something better, just because acrylic paint came out, you can't "remake" TRON just because technology got better.

    "Sternthal told the trade paper that the new conceit is that the computer programmer gets trapped in a cyberworld, so that the film can utilize the Internet."

    That's not TRON. That has nothing to do with the movie TRON. If they call it TRON, they're retarded.

"If there isn't a population problem, why is the government putting cancer in the cigarettes?" -- the elder Steptoe, c. 1970

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