Wondercon 2011 - Priest
http://www.rarityguide.com/articles/articles/656/1/Wondercon-2011---Priest/Page1.html
By Douglas Shepard (Editor in Chief, RarityGuide.com)
Published on 04/7/2011
Based on the manhwa (a korean comic done in the same style as japanese manga) series "Priest", we see the continuation of the story. Set long into the future of the world people saw in the novels, we find humanity safe in walled cities while vampires are restricted to numerous underground reservations across the world. The fallen angels originally battled in the series have had the time to evolve into something else, vampires. Present at the panel we had Scott Stewart, the director, Ming-woo Hyung, the creator of the series, Lily Collins, Paul Bettany and Cam Gidadet, the performers who hold many of the main roles.
Scott explained, for everyone unfamiliar with the series, that it was 16 books long, without a true ending in it. They brought in the creator, Ming-Woo, to help them see if what they had was in canon for the series. Surprisingly, it was something that matched with the eventual plans he had for the comic. Ming-woo wanted something fresh for the movie. The main character of the manhwa, Ivan Issac, is thought of as the "First Priest" for the order in the movie. That the journals that he left behind became the foundation for the order of priest who would help suppress the vampire threat.
The first questions encountered on the panel was the training they had to deal with for their roles. Cam explained that just holding his 70 pound gun was training enough! He still got his butt handed to him in a number of fight scenes. Paul went next, joking about being British setting him back as he was "Butch Deficient". The eight months of training he went through brought him to normal. He apparently combat training and acrobatics to learn about wire work. He felt it was one of the greater experiences in his career thus far.
The next question was about the influences on the film itself. Scott fielded it explaining that he wanted the familiar to blend with something new. It shows influences from Blade Runner, 1994 and something from Technocracy. The creator explained something of the back story the world held. That it started from the story in the manhwa. From there, it got its own futuristic treatment and developed some parts that had only been vague in the series. The whole thing is set a generation after the battle has ended between the humans and a vampires. He explained some of the motivations behind particular characters, that they did things to maintain control and it was a politically disadvantageous to acknowledge anything but what he was saying. This helps set the conflict as the Priest played by Paul "goes rogue" to find Lucy and defend the human race.
The following question was for Lily Collins. She, the night prior, had found out she was picked for the Snow White. She felt her role in "Priest" was a fair departure from most other parts she had played. Her role, Lucy, starts as a damsel in distress but she still has some Priest Blood in her. This allowed her to grow and become a more powerful combatant than one would expect at the start of the movie. She told us that it was a role she enjoyed very much.
This was probably the shortest panel attended. They all focused on just getting information out about the movie and showed us several amazing action sequences from the movie. While a lot was said, the movie still seemed to hold a bit of promise as a good, simple action movie.
An article about the panel on the upcoming movie "Priest". It features the original series creator, the director and a number of the stars from the movie itself.
Based on the manhwa (a korean comic done in the same style as japanese manga) series "Priest", we see the continuation of the story. Set long into the future of the world people saw in the novels, we find humanity safe in walled cities while vampires are restricted to numerous underground reservations across the world. The fallen angels originally battled in the series have had the time to evolve into something else, vampires. Present at the panel we had Scott Stewart, the director, Ming-woo Hyung, the creator of the series, Lily Collins, Paul Bettany and Cam Gidadet, the performers who hold many of the main roles.
Scott explained, for everyone unfamiliar with the series, that it was 16 books long, without a true ending in it. They brought in the creator, Ming-Woo, to help them see if what they had was in canon for the series. Surprisingly, it was something that matched with the eventual plans he had for the comic. Ming-woo wanted something fresh for the movie. The main character of the manhwa, Ivan Issac, is thought of as the "First Priest" for the order in the movie. That the journals that he left behind became the foundation for the order of priest who would help suppress the vampire threat.
The first questions encountered on the panel was the training they had to deal with for their roles. Cam explained that just holding his 70 pound gun was training enough! He still got his butt handed to him in a number of fight scenes. Paul went next, joking about being British setting him back as he was "Butch Deficient". The eight months of training he went through brought him to normal. He apparently combat training and acrobatics to learn about wire work. He felt it was one of the greater experiences in his career thus far.
The next question was about the influences on the film itself. Scott fielded it explaining that he wanted the familiar to blend with something new. It shows influences from Blade Runner, 1994 and something from Technocracy. The creator explained something of the back story the world held. That it started from the story in the manhwa. From there, it got its own futuristic treatment and developed some parts that had only been vague in the series. The whole thing is set a generation after the battle has ended between the humans and a vampires. He explained some of the motivations behind particular characters, that they did things to maintain control and it was a politically disadvantageous to acknowledge anything but what he was saying. This helps set the conflict as the Priest played by Paul "goes rogue" to find Lucy and defend the human race.
The following question was for Lily Collins. She, the night prior, had found out she was picked for the Snow White. She felt her role in "Priest" was a fair departure from most other parts she had played. Her role, Lucy, starts as a damsel in distress but she still has some Priest Blood in her. This allowed her to grow and become a more powerful combatant than one would expect at the start of the movie. She told us that it was a role she enjoyed very much.
This was probably the shortest panel attended. They all focused on just getting information out about the movie and showed us several amazing action sequences from the movie. While a lot was said, the movie still seemed to hold a bit of promise as a good, simple action movie.