UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING (John Hyams, 2012)

[Jox]

So the first 10 mins were screened today at the ActionFest festival, details and spoilers reported on vandammefan.net

[Jox]

Read at your own peril (SPOILERS)
http://www.craveonline.com/film/article ... -reckoning

[Jox]

eddie_lummox from VDF also saw it and said:

It's probably the most disturbing opening scene I've watched since Irreversible, and I'm the kind of guy who seeks out disturbing movies.

The whole hero-has-to-watch-his-wife-and-child-die thing is pretty normal in action movies, but the first-person perspective really drives home the horror of what you're seeing. There's this prolonged sequence where you're basically being beaten in the face with a crowbar for a couple of minutes. The whole thing is incredibly effective.

For me, this is a hundred times better than what I was expecting, and my hopes were already high. I already know that the action is going to be good, but I had no idea that the movie would be this fucking intense. This is now my #1 most anticipated movie of the year.

[whiteandblank]

...........and mine too

[lilbandit]

Does anyone have any more info on what Dolph's role will be in this film? I'm hearing some interesting stuff about Luc's character, but nothing about Andrew...
I like the concept they took with him as a clone in Regeneration, but kinda hoping he'll revert back to his old crazy (er) self from the original film.

[shooby]

I'd love to saw that they evolved his character so that Scott understand that he was in the wrong way,

[Ringy]

http://eiga.com/movie/58150/

Japan theatrical opening date:
November, 2012

Distributors: Nikkatsu
http://www.nikkatsu.com/

Please wait follow-up reports

[Jox]

Awesome! Domo arigato, Ringy-San!

[Ringy]

Je vous en prie

[MFS]

eddie_lummox from VDF also saw it and said:

It's probably the most disturbing opening scene I've watched since Irreversible, and I'm the kind of guy who seeks out disturbing movies.

That's an ... unexpected comparison, though I have to admit, I am intrigued . I just wished they would show this in theaters around here, so that I didn't have to wait for it until fall ...

[Geoff]

Christ this is shaping up to be something really special

[Jox]

Director John Hyams:

VDF.com - You did a great job in "Universal Soldier: Regeneration", what can you tell us about "Universal Soldier: A New Dimension"?

John Hyams - The title is actually, “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.” It’s a much different story than any of the other chapters in the series. It’s much more sci-fi noir, with horror elements, as well as action. In the general sense, it’s darker, more mysterious and ultimately more challenging to the viewer. I’m extremely proud of the finished product.

VDF.com - How was shooting with Scott Adkins, Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren?

John Hyams - I’ve now worked with JC three times and Dolph twice, so I feel like we’ve developed a comfortable rapport. As for Scott, he was a tremendous collaborator. I’ve never worked with somebody more prepared and more serious about what he was doing. I think he’s turned in a beautiful performance, and will soon make a big name for himself in the States.

VDF.com - Will Van Damme have less presence than in “Regeneration”, less screen time?

John Hyams - Yes, his role is smaller than his role in Regeneration, however extremely pivotal to the story. But Scott Adkins is undeniably the lead in this movie.

http://thevandammefans.vandammefan.net/ ... -Interview

[Jox]

Another Hyams interview all on UNISOL 4
http://www.moviehole.net/201254134exclu ... -questions

Exclusive : Hyams answers those Universal Soldier 4 questions!
By : JONATHAN URBAN (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 3:11 am)

John Hyams is on the action short-list of directors that can work within a modest budget, yet present a finely crafted action film that will be enjoyed even by the biggest of action aficionados. Hyams’s “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” was a break out hit that displayed excellently choreographed fights (owing a lot to the MMA sport) and a setting and mood, not unlike an old John Carpenter movie. Now, he returns to the franchise with not only an action fans’ wish list of action stars such as Van Damme, Adkins, Lundgren, but the movie is shot completely in 3D. Without a doubt, this hard-R movie is one to be on the lookout for this fall.

Jonathan Urban: John, thank you from taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions. Universal Soldier: Regeneration was a no-holds-barred action fest that many fans felt brought the Universal Soldier series back into relevance. How will “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” build upon that and is this a sequel or standalone film?
John Hyams: USDOR [Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning] works as both a sequel and a stand-alone — the idea was to follow the mythology where we thought it should go after the conclusion of Regeneration. It answers the question of what became of Luc Deveraux.

JU: At Action Fest 2012 in Asheville, NC, I was part of a large crowd that got to preview the first 5-8 minutes of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. It appeared to switch back and forth through first person (audience looking out through Scott Adkins’s character John’s eyes) and third person. Is this basically how the movie will function, with the 3D elements being in the first person shots?
JH: The scene that played at Action Fest was strictly first person — the only third person elements come as mirror reflections, letting the viewer know who’s POV we are occupying. However, the movie follows traditional third person storytelling, with certain first person elements that are there for a reason. And it’s all shot in 3D.

JU: The opening is not your standard action movie and in many ways seemed to invoke the feeling of a horror movie, with the voice of the girl calling out for her dad and talking about “monsters.” Is this movie going to take the audience through multiple genres and shock them?
JH: Yes, that was definitely the intention. To me, USDOR is sci-fi, action, horror, noir thriller. I was inspired by filmmakers like David Cronenberg, David Lynch and Gaspar Noe, as well as amnesia stories like “Memento.” It deals very much with the subjectivity of experience — unlike the other Universal Soldier movies, this one comes from a much more limited, intimate point of view. The viewer often does not know anything more than the protagonist. The idea was to give the viewer a different kind of experience than they’ve had with the other
movies — to challenge them in different ways, and hopefully fulfill them in different ways.

JU: Scott Adkins is the main star, with Van Damme and Lundgren as co-stars. Would you say that Van Damme and Lundgren have as much time as they did in “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” or more time and how did you envision their roles this time, as it is clear Luc is not a good guy this time around, and when we left him at the end of “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” he was running off and treading the gray area between hero and indifferent?
JH: Van Damme has less screen time than he did in US:R [Universal Soldier: Regeneration] however his role is no less pivotal. Dolph’s role is similar in size to the last one. The point was to introduce a different protagonist and tell the story through his eyes. However, it certainly, as you say, plays off the question of what kind of individual Luc has become since we last saw him running off.

JU: On this one, you co-wrote the script, so what was your goal for this film?
JH: As I said earlier, I think my goal was to try to make a different kind of movie — in order to provide myself and the audience a different set of challenges.

JU: You teamed again with Larnell Stovall (Undisputed III), who is an excellent fight choreographer. What kinds of fights are we going to see in this film—MMA-based like in US:R or more traditional fights, showing off Adkins high level of kicking prowess?
JH: Larnell and I had a chance to get to know each other on Dragon Eyes, however Cung Le was the choreographer on that one, Larnell the stunt coordinator. This time I got a chance to see first-hand why Larnell will soon be considered one of the best choreographers in the business. What I loved most about working with him was how much he focused on narrative — the story of each given fight and how they relate to the others and the rest of the movie. I think that these fights have a little bit of everything, but always in the service of the story. We didn’t want this to be an MMA movie or a trickster movie — we wanted the fights to be appropriate to what is happening within the story, and to be grounded in a real and honest place. One thing I can tell you is that it’s brutal as hell.

JU: Like I mentioned earlier, this film is in 3D, which eludes to some sort of theatrical release. What was it like framing shots and filming in 3D with the same cameras they were shooting the new Spiderman movie with and what challenges did you have to overcome?
JH: The challenges with 3D are twofold — technical and aesthetic. Technically, it requires more time, more people, and provides you with less coverage for any given moment. So, preparation was key. DP [Director of Photography] Yaron Levy and myself had [to] break down the entire movie beforehand so we knew exactly how many set-ups would be required to get through each day. Preparation was key, and he did a great job and I’m very pleased with the result. Aesthetically, the idea was not to use 3D as a gimmick. Instead of going for the “comin at ya” bullshit, we opted for an approach that created an immersive experience that played into the subjectivity of our storytelling.

JU: You and others have mentioned that this will be a hard R movie. Was there any reluctance on behalf of the studio to shoot it in a hard R manner, considering all of the noise the PG-13 rating of “The Expendables 2” received and then it was switched back to R and what are your thoughts on PG-13 vs. R?
JH: There was no reluctance on behalf of the studio to go hard R. It was there on the page and everyone was on board. As for my thoughts on PG-13, I’m not a fan of it. All it does is tell me what I’m not going to see. R ratings leave open the possibilities of what you might see, which is a better way to go into watching a movie.

JU: Will there be any king of behind the scenes footage or making of on the eventual home video release, as it appears outside financing was needed to finish it and was that the case of the studio not wanting to fund that aspect?
JH: There will be extensive behind the scenes material, produced and directed by co-writer Doug Magnuson. It’ll be some of the best behind the scenes material you’ll ever find about the filmmaking process, and gives the viewers an unbelievably intimate look into everything that goes into shooting this kind of movie. I think fans are going to love it.

JU: You also re-teamed with composer, Michael Krassner. What kind of score can we expect in this one as the last one had a very moody, barely there score which helped heighten the sense of claustrophobia in that movie?
JH: This score goes even further into this territory than Regeneration. While there’s still plenty of synth work, it’s less of the Carpenter, Tangerine Dream variety. It’s a beautiful, elegant score — minimal, dark, haunting… the goal was to explore the blurred line between sound and music.

JU: Well, John, I want to thank you again for your time and say that most action fans have “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” at the top of their must see list.
(Note: ”Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” does not have an official release date yet, but John seems to think it will be post- ”The Expendables 2” to capitalize on the star power of Van Damme, Lundgren and Adkins.)

[Jox]

John Hyams on Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning and Dragon Eyes

CraveOnline: Did Dragon Eyes take you away from Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning for a bit?

John Hyams: Yes, it did. Basically, I pitched the idea for Universal Soldier. I pitched an idea to them which I then wrote a screenplay for. When the time came to sit down and discuss how we were going to go forward with that, the idea I had come up with was a rather challenging idea in that it was quite different from the other movies. It was almost a different kind of genre. It almost merged into a horror, much more of a horror/sci-fi thriller. Being that the idea and concept was so challenging, it was necessary to take more time to really develop the script. So Dragon Eyes came along at that time and in some ways, rather than taking me away from Universal Soldier, it kind of just pushed principal photography. But in another way it was actually kind of a blessing in disguise because the most important thing in making any movie is developing the script and the structure. That really is what makes or breaks your final product. So Universal Soldier was one experience where we were able to spend a long time in developing an idea and really planning out. We had to plan every setup of the movie beforehand because it’s a 3D movie and it invited a lot of different kinds of challenges. Conversely, Dragon Eyes was a movie that came up and I just jumped into the fire and called upon some of my episodic TV experience of working with very tight budgets, tight schedules and working on the fly and by the seat of your pants. So it was actually a great challenging year to have both these experiences, being very different experiences. As a result, I think with Dragon Eyes, the aesthetic was more or less dictated by that because it was almost like well, let’s take this opportunity to be a little more expressionistic stylistically and let’s try something out that we want to try out. Whereas Universal Soldier has a much more rigid aesthetic to it.

I feel like the point of the movie to me is where we left off after Regeneration and imagining what would become of these characters? What is the direction that these characters would go from this point forward. It really was taking into account where the last movie left off, specifically where we left off with Luc Deveraux. So we’re not re-imagining this character at all. To me it’s actually staying faithful to the idea of what I believe could become of the main character after we [last] met him.



Do you have Scott Adkins, Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren all fight each other?

Well, certainly everyone gets a chance to fight. All together? Not necessarily but when you see the movie you’ll understand why. Every fight in that movie is very intentional and very much a part of the hero’s journey. That story, unlike Dragon Eyes, to me I really wanted to make a movie that was really very much about plot and very much about the story. We spent a lot of time, not just me, but myself, the writers, Jon Greenhalgh and Doug Magnuson, and Moshe Diamant who I share story credit with because he and I developed this story. So the story was incredibly important. I know this doesn’t answer your question about Van Damme fighting with Adkins and Lundgren at the same time, but what it does say is that every fight in the movie, there’s no action scene just for action scene’s sake. There are steps along the way that our protagonist takes on his journey to discover not only the answers of the movie but also who he is.



Could Day of Reckoning be the end of the Lux Deveraux story?

Not necessarily. Not necessarily. I mean, you’ll see it leaves open, or I think it raises a lot more possibilities for all of these stories to continue. So I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily the end of the Luc Deveraux story.



Are there more point of view sequences in the movie like the opening we saw from Scott Adkins’ point of view?

Well, there are some more but that was not just a stylistic choice. When you watch the movie, when you get to the end of the movie, there’s a reason why that scene is playing in POV. It’s not like the whole movie plays that way at all. There are a few selected moments that do but again, there’s also a reason for it. That movie’s a tough one to talk about without revealing too much so I’m going to have to stay cryptic about it. When ActionFest was asking for a sizzle reel or a scene to show from the movie, there was a number of different scenes, different fight scenes and big action scenes that they wanted, but to me every one of those contains a spoiler one way or another, so I just felt like the best tease you could give the audience even though it’s not a traditional action scene is that opening scene because I think it raises all these necessary questions you want the viewer to come into the movie with.



Well, that’s a spoiler too, the reveal of Van Damme.

Right, but again it’s a spoiler, but it’s a spoiler in the first five minutes of the movie. That scene is the question that the rest of the movie answers. The question is why are we seeing this character do this thing? It’s the kind of spoiler that I wouldn’t shy away from because that’s kind of the setup for the whole story.



And they might play this one in theaters?

Yeah, we hope so. We’ll see how that all plays out but we hope so. I’m very proud of the movie and what we accomplished with it. I wanted to challenge myself with the movie and challenge the fans of the movie too, with hopes that they will appreciate the effort that we didn’t just try to go the usual way with it.

http://www.craveonline.com/film/intervi ... ragon-eyes

[Jox]

A member of the VD forum says it's coming out in Turkey theatrically August 3.