August 2012
1 post
Blog #13 On Blu-ray & DVD!
The day has finally come. It has been a long 3 years of hard work by hundreds of people involved in the project, and it’s literally brimming with the blood, sweat, and tears of so many staff members. So, I hope you all enjoy what we created and can see all that passion packed into the finished product. The movie was given the same treatment as a big CG theatrical release so trust me when I say...
July 2012
1 post
Marauder MKII
As I described in a previous blog post, the full power suit array is comprised of 3 independent but cooperative components. The inner garment, the main body power suit, and the Marauder MKII. Marauder appeared in the 3rd film so we wanted Mr. Aramaki – the master of powered exoskeleton design – to create a badass yet realistic update. The MKII is a mech/vehicle “worn” over the regular power suit...
June 2012
1 post
L-6 Base
In the first movie, there was a huge lunar base orbiting the moon to serve as a supply center and staging point for varying starships and missions. You may recall a similar battlestation called Ticonderoga that was the staging point for the attack on Klendathu. In the 3rd film (like the novel), the fleet’s headquarters were located at a base at Sanctuary. Since this movie takes place quite a...
May 2012
2 posts
THE REUNION
I guess it’s about time we reveal some fun facts. As you may remember from the original film, the friendship of Johnny, Carmen, and Carl was a central story element. We watched them graduate high school together and then put their lives on the line in service of the Federation. Now, we are going to have the 3 friends get together…but in a way that they would have not expected.
Carmen Ibanez, who...
BUGS!!
As I mentioned in a previous post, we made the decision upfront to stay within the movie’s universe despite all being huge fans of the original Heinlein novel. It just made sense to bring back the sinister hordes of bugs from the original film. We obviously kept the iconic Warrior bug as our main enemy, but we also wanted to have new and fresh approaches to the bugs. Our first challenge was...
April 2012
1 post
Power Suits
It goes without saying that the power suits were essential to the original Heinlein novel. From what I’ve heard, the first movie did not have the power suits due to a “creative decision” made at the time. Later on, Ed decided to have the Marauder suits appear in the third movie as an homage to the novel.
For our movie, we definitely wanted to have fun with the power suits since we have the...
March 2012
1 post
Mo-cap
Sorry for the radio silence for the last month. I was fighting off zombies and Plagas, helping mutants and comic book heroes, and battling against Word War II German tanks. Well, you probably have already seen the announcement of the new mobile game. It will be the prequel to our movie and you will be defending Fort Casey with the K-12 team under the command of Hero. Hope you all are excited as...
February 2012
1 post
Troopers
As already mentioned, camaraderie is just as integral to the new movie as it was to the original. The story for our film is not focused on just one main character but rather a journey with an ensemble cast of Roughnecks fighting against the bugs. It was essential to us to add some diversity in order to create an interesting dynamic between familiar characters and some that are brand new to the ST...
January 2012
1 post
Starship John A. Warden
Some people may be wondering about the origin of this ship’s name. It’s derived from Mr. John A. Warden III, a retired US Air Force colonel. He changed the course of history during his days at Pentagon, especially the first Gulf War. I cannot fully explain all of his accomplishments and career so I asked our friend Flint Dille who came up with the idea. Here is his unedited comment: Ed...
December 2011
1 post
Starships
As the title implies, the ships are an integral part of the Starship Troopers universe. Likewise, political commentary was a key element of both the original Heinlein novel and the original Starship Troopers movies we all know and love. The starship name Rodger Young, used in both the novel and the movie, is homage to a WWII Medal of Honor recipient. Fittingly, the creative wizards of the first...
November 2011
2 posts
Story & Script
So I can’t completely spoil the story/details yet but I would like to share the process we went through.
We got together with the producers and production executives as well as the director to discuss various ideas for the story. In the course of discussion, a heated debate broke out on how the bugs are able to travel. They can obviously walk; some can fly…but with wings…and thus not likely to...
Greenlight
After 3 movies by legendary creative minds, I wanted the Starship Troopers franchise to continue on but with a new direction. Luckily, the former movies did not fully decrypt the power suits from the original novel by Robert A Heinlein. When I realized this, it gave me a spark of idea. The gentleman I met at Comicon, Mr. Shinji Aramaki, is known for his realistic yet stylish mechanical designs,...
September 2011
1 post
Trooper's blog #1 - Prologue
17:00 July 25th, 2009. I was swimming through the crowded floor of the San Diego convention center to find my next rendezvous. I finally found my friend and producer Joseph Chou escorting another gentleman. The gentleman (which is the perfect word for it) had a very calm demeanor but with a hint of charisma and he bowed to me in a casual yet formal Japanese style. After the formal greetings (the...
