Spy Kids 3-D - Once Upon A Time In Mexico

[MacGuffin]

Sly Kids

Stallone will play villain in next ''Spy Kids.'' The third installment will be in 3-D

Sylvester Stallone will face off against his smallest opponents yet in his next movie, and he's likely to get his ass kicked. Still, it'll probably be a hit for the actor, whose career is badly in need of one. It's the third installment in the ''Spy Kids'' franchise, in which, Variety reports, Stallone will play a villain called the Toymaker.

In "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over," Stallone's baddie traps young heroine Carmen (Alexa Vega) in a virtual-reality game, and the rest of her secret agent family -- brother Juni (Daryl Sabara), their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino), and their grandfather (Ricardo Montalban) -- must come to the rescue. Director Robert Rodriguez, who shot the first two action spectacles on a budget and reaped a total of $196 million at the U.S. box office, only just started filming, but he expects to get the movie into theaters on July 25. ''I've always been a big fan of Sylvester Stallone,'' he tells Variety. ''His larger-than-life persona will be a great addition to the 'Spy Kids 3-D' universe.''

As the title indicates, the movie will be in 3-D, but it won't look cheesy, Rodriguez promises. ''The technology has advanced significantly, thanks to the advent of high-definition digital moviemaking,'' he said last week in a statement. The 3-D effects are an outgrowth of the virtual-reality plotline, he said. ''Once the characters go into the videogame, the audience puts on the glasses, and it's in 3-D,'' Rodriguez said. In the game's universe, ''anything is possible. In fact, Ricardo Montalban, at 82 years old, gets to lava surf and ride an ultra-cool motorbike.''

[Xixax]

YES!

[RegularKarate]

They are, of course, shooting that here, in Austin.

Maybe I'll catch Rocky on 6th street sometime.

[Duck Sauce]

This is jumping the shark even for the Spy Kids trilogy.

[Xixax]

Shooting in Austin?

That can only mean a return of MIKE JUDGE!

Who, I believe (along with Christopher Guest perhaps) is the funniest guy in film today.

[bonanzataz]

It's been too long since the last big 3D movie (Jaws 3-D?).

[BonBon85]

I'm oddly curious just because it's in 3D and I'm a sucker for gimmicks.

[RegularKarate]

It's been too long since the last big 3D movie (Jaws 3-D?).

Last one I remember in the actual theater (you know, not counting Captain Eo and all those Six Flags movies) was the tail end of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.  It was in 3-D, but oddly enough, it wasn't the final nightmare.  Wes Craven had a new one.

[bonanzataz]

Oh yeah. Final Nightmare is one of my favorites, how could I have forgotten that? Love how the 3D glasses are in the DVD boxed set and you can watch the original 3D ending.

[Victor]

anyone ever seen the Terminator 3-D show at Universal? that thing is friggin amazing.

[Xixax]

anyone ever seen the Terminator 3-D show at Universal? that thing is friggin amazing.

Not as amazing as that underwater 3d ride in Vegas. That blew away every ride of its kind I had ever been on. 3d, motion, surround sound... It was amazing.

[MacGuffin]

[Gold Trumpet]

Finally, a series of super hero movies I really admire that is getting only more creative and interesting as it goes along. Fuck Spiderman and LOTR and the Matrix.

~rougerum

[bonanzataz]

Ghosts of the Abyss? What the fuck, did somebody slip acid into my snapple or something?

[MacGuffin]

Robert Rodriguez - Spy Kids 3 preview


So, who's back in Spy Kids 3?
Everybody who's ever been a Spy Kids movie is back. Everybody, even people from the first movie show up again.

How will the 3-D work in regular movie theaters?
It'll play in all theaters because I'm using an anaglyph system. This [Ghosts Of The Abyss] is a polarized system where you can only see it in a special theater. I'm using the same cameras but I'm outputting it so it'll be in digital theaters, it'll be in regular movie theaters, you'll have colored glasses that you get when you buy a ticket and you'll see it in red and cyan.

Was Tron an influence here?
Tron, Escape from New York, it's kind of a mix of all these time limit type movies. It's a lot of those sci-fi ideas mixed together. Very Matrix.

How is the tone different from the first two Spy Kids films?
The first movie was very like Willy Wonka, James Bond. The second one was a very Ray Harryhausen type movie. This one, I don't know. It's a different thing. It's in that family of pictures, that sort of humor, but the level of imagination is really great because since they're in a game, anything can happen. They do unbelievable things in there, and in 3-D, so that's what's really fun. I'm having the most fun on this movie than on the other two. I think it'll be the best of the three by far.

I take it lots of stuff comes out at you?
All the time. It's one thing after another. Cleverly thinking of another way to throw stuff at the audience. My kids, I show it to them as we're making it. they're reaching for the screen all the time. That's all people want is eye candy, and then it's got a really good story.

Will it still be in 3-D on video and DVD?
On DVD. On VHS it won't work because it's just such a low-res medium, it just wouldn't look good. It would just be so frustrating, so I'm going to put it out in 2-D. But on DVD, yes. We did some tests. It looks great.

Are there any sets or is it all digital?
Before they enter the video game, we have some sets, but mostly it's all digital sets. All digital props because they're in the game. They're surfing lava, walking on top of a huge rope. They do unbelievable crazy things. Very Sci-fi. They're in a game, but they're in the game. You're like, 'Wow, I wish I could go do that.' My kids flipped out on it. I'm having a great time.

Is this really the last one?
Yeah, I couldn't think of a way to top it. This is like the ultimate third movie.

What's next for you then?
I have Once Upon a Time in Mexico coming out. I have several other ideas of things I might do.

I thought that was done. Why was it delayed?
I shot it early because I had a window to shoot it, but I told them I wasn't going to be able to actually finish editing it. Then I had to learn how to score so I could score it. I did the score. 85 piece orchestra score. I had to learn orchestration. They were originally going to put it out in March but then they liked it so much they wanted to really sell it in front of their big summer movies, so the trailers are going to go up in front of Bad Boys 2, Charlie's Angels and I'll put it out at the end of the summer. I just finished the mix this weekend.

What is one big action set piece from that?
There's a bunch. There was one cool one where Antonio and Salma are handcuffed together and they have to scale down the side of a six story building by swinging each other down while people are shooting at them. That's really cool.