Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom Of Doom

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Martial Media and Popular Culture
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The new characters

‘Kung Fu Panda 2: Meet the New Characters
Feb 10, 2011 by Paul Young

We have the first images and descriptions of all the new characters in ‘Kung Fu Panda 2, including our first look at the dreaded and feared Lord Shen (Gary Oldman).

Kung Fu Panda is one of those rare movies that audiences of all ages can’t help but enjoy watching. By combining slapstick humor, talking animals, plenty of Kung Fu and some awesomeness tossed in for good measure, Kung Fu Panda was well received. So well, in fact, that it spawned a sequel and an upcoming TV show.

The first film was filled with lovable characters like Shifu, the Furious Five, Oogway and Mr. Ping. In Kung Fu Panda 2 a new cast of Kung Fu masters are introduced and each will play a role in Po’s life. Today, thanks to Dreamworks’ official Kung Fu Panda website, we have the first pictures of all six new characters, including their background stories and unique fighting styles. We also get our first look at the villain of the film, the albino pea**** Lord Shen.

The story of an out of shape and out of place affable panda named Po (Jack Black) who finds that being himself is “the secret ingredient” to becoming the legendary Dragon Warrior resonated with audiences back in 2008 and in May they will get a chance to watch Po continue his journey of self-discovery.

Read through the official synopsis for Kung Fu Panda 2 then take a look at each of the new characters:

Po is now living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five. But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

–
Kung Fu Panda 2 New Characters

The Wolf Boss in Kung Fu Panda 2

Wolf Boss (Voice Unknown)

Story

The Wolf Boss, along with his wolf brothers and sisters, were once guards in the Gongmen City’s royal palace. The only member of the royal family ever to befriend the wolves was Shen, the frail albino heir to Gongmen City’s throne. Shen fed them, played with them and treated them like family. The Wolf Boss is Shen’s most loyal servant, military strategist and trusted right hand.

Fighting Style

The Wolf Boss makes up for lack of a singular Kung Fu style with resourcefulness and clever cunning. Fast, sneaky and always accompanied by plenty of bandit partners, Wolf Boss is a formidable foe for Kung Fu Masters like the Furious Five and Po. Able to take a beating and still keep coming, the Wolf Boss is a loyal defender of Lord Shen and his plan for the domination of China.

Meet The Soothsayer…

The Soothsayer in Kung Fu Panda 2

The Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh)

Story

Blessed with second sight and a generous heart, the Soothsayer is a prisoner of both. Once nanny to a sickly pea****, she found herself giving him what his parents withheld – love. She found that her love tempered the young pea****’s growing ambition – until twenty years ago, when a fortune she told him lead to a horrific chain of events. For years she has lived with the burden of her guilt, tempered by a finely honed fatalistic sense of humor that comforts her as she awaits the events she foretold – events that she hopes will redeem both her adopted child and herself.

Fighting Style

Like Mr. Ping, the Soothsayer doesn’t fight. She wins over opponents with love and a good sense of humor. Her extraordinary gift of second sight gives her insight into the true nature of any and all that she encounters.

Meet Master Croc…

–~~~~~~~~~~~~–

Master Croc in Kung Fu Panda 2

Master Croc (Jean-Claude Van Damme)

Story

Master Croc was once the head of the infamous Wool Stealing Crocodile Bandits of Crocodile Island – a gang of criminals unmatched in their mischief. Anyone foolish enough to stand in a Croc’s way was dispatched with his Legendary Lashing Tail of Terror technique – until the day Croc crossed paths with master Thundering Rhino, whose Kung Fu was proven superior in their epic battle on the shores of the Wa Su Li River.  Beaten, Master Croc prepared himself for death, but the fatal blow never came. Master Rhino asked Croc to use his Kung Fu excellence for good. Croc was so moved by master Rhino’s compassion that he quit his criminal ways then and there. He roamed China, righting wrongs and protecting the weak – and eventually came to sit at Rhino’s side as a member of the Kung Fu Council. Croc, as strong as an ox and as wily as a fox, is famous for his many victories, not the least of which was his silencing of the Badger Bandits who talked about his Mom.

Fighting Style

The legend of Master Croc was established with his devastating use of the Lashing Tail of Terror Technique, which no opponent was able to withstand. Master Croc was unbeaten, until he challenged Master Thundering Rhino and lost. Still renowned for his many victories, Master Croc turned to the path of good, using his Kung Fu to help the weak. As a member of the Kung Fu Council Master Croc is a revered and respected Kung Fu master.

The Wool Stealing Crocodile Bandits of Crocodile Island in Kung Fu Panda 2

The Wool Stealing Crocodile Bandits of Crocodile Island

Meet Master Thundering Rhino…

–~~~~~~~~~~~~–

Master Thundering Rhino in Kung Fu Panda 2

Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber)

Story

Master Thundering Rhino, wielder of the legendary Cloud Hammer, is the benevolent leader of the Kung Fu Council, which protects the vast metropolis of Gongmen City. Thundering Rhino is descended from a long line of masters. He trained under his father, Master Flying Rhino, and become legendary in his own right by slaying the Ten Thousands Serpents in the Valley of Woe. As head of the Kung Fu Council, he is revered for his wisdom, kind humor and good deeds.

Fighting Style

Master Thundering Rhino is the most revered amongst all of the masters on the Kung Fu Council. Using the unbeatable attack of the legendary Cloud Hammer, Master Thundering Rhino is able to take on huge numbers of attackers and emerge victorious. When not engaged in battle or leading the Kung Fu Council, Master Thundering Rhino can be humorous and a great resource of wisdom.

Meet Master Storming Ox…

–~~~~~~~~~~~~–

Master Storming Ox in Kung Fu Panda 2

Master Storming Ox (Voice Unknown)

Story

Master Storming Ox is Master Thundering Rhino’s greatest pupil. As a youngster he skipped his chores, sneaking through Gongmen City into the palace to watch Master Rhino spar. Master Rhino rewarded the young Ox’s enthusiasm by training him in kung fu. Master Ox went on to prove his skill and bravery by taking on the seventy-two bandits of the Wing Cho province with naught but his bare horns. Often hotheaded, favoring action over contemplation, Ox is a constant challenge for the old Master. But he is also a loyal friend and trusted member of the Kung Fu Council, which protects the citizens of peaceful Gongmen City.

Fighting Style

The horns of Master Storming Ox are his most deadly weapons, and he wields them with skill and bravery, able to handle dozens of attackers at once. Often quick to action, Master Storming Ox balances his impulsiveness with loyalty to his teacher Master Thundering Rhino. Together they sit on the Kung Fu Council, using their deadly kung fu to protect the weak.

Meet Lord Shen…

–~~~~~~~~~~~~–

Lord Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2

Lord Shen (Gary Oldman)

Story

Lord Shen has come a long way from the sickly albino pea**** whose parents deemed him too weak and pitiful to deserve attention. Vowing to accomplish something so great that the world would never ignore him again, Shen relentlessly pursued his lust for power. Through his devious cleverness and the sheer force of his will, he has, after many years, created the most devastating weapon the world has ever known. Now on the verge of his greatest triumph, he is about to find out that something stands in his way, something he thought he dealt with twenty years ago.

Fighting Style

Even thought Lord Shen is a skilled kung fu fighter, he is more likely to use his cunning or his cannons than his physical prowess. His Funnel Cloud Attack and Feather Attack are daunting and deadly. Lord Shen also has a lethal-looking metal talon.

–

Be sure to check out the teaser trailer and TV spot for Kung Fu Panda 2 that aired before Super Bowl XLV. What do you think about the new characters designs and are you looking forward to seeing this epically awesome sequel?

Kung Fu Panda 2 chops its way into theaters May 27th, 2011.

That was a lot of image pasting…

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Lord Shen looks super cool. Also… funny that the sensor gets pea****!

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Meet the real Po

Meet Po, a giant panda with a very short name
Name of third cub born to Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda Lun Lun is revealed
Say hello to Po, Zoo Atlanta’s newest giant panda cub. Po, a male, was born Nov. 3, 2010.
By Brett Israel
updated 2/15/2011 12:56:20 PM ET 2011-02-15T17:56:20


Say hello to Zoo Atlanta’s newest giant panda cub — Po.

The cub’s name was announced for the first time Tuesday during a ceremony at Zoo Atlanta. In a break from years past, the name was not chosen by a contest, but rather with the help of actor Jack Black of the film “Kung Fu Panda II,” in hopes of drawing attention to plight of giant pandas. Po is the name of the panda in the movie and is voiced by Black.

“Today’s announcement is the beginning of an amazing alliance between Zoo Atlanta and DreamWorks Animation. Our organizations share a commitment to giant panda conservation, particularly at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding,” said Raymond B. King, president and chief executive officer of Zoo Atlanta. “We are proud and honored to share this moment with Jack Black, who has already helped to bring the importance of saving this species to a new generation of conservationists.”

Ancient tradition
Following ancient Chinese tradition, panda cubs are not named until they have been alive for 100 days. Po, a boy, was born Nov. 3, 2010, and was the only giant panda born in the United States in 2010.

The 100-day tradition began in ancient China with human babies. Because the infants were so fragile, parents often waited 100 days to make sure they would survive before naming them. That tradition was carried over to giant panda cubs because their early survival was uncertain as well. They are tiny at birth and heavily dependent on the mothers, said Rebecca Snyder, the curator of mammals at Zoo Atlanta.

Po is the third cub born to Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda female, Lun Lun. Her first cub, Mei Lan, a female, is now 5 years old and living in China. Lun Lun’s second cub, Xi Lan, is still in Atlanta, where he turned 2 years old in August 2010.

The names of those cubs were chosen by a contest. Mei Lan, roughly translated, means “Atlanta beauty” and Xi Lan means “Atlanta’s joy.”

Growing up
The cub of honor wasn’t present at the ceremony, but he did get to meet Black backstage. Po is still learning to walk behind the scenes. Cubs usually begin walking around 4 months of old, and so far Po is growing up right on schedule, Snyder said.

Once Lun Lun began leaving him alone, the zoo’s veterinarian staff began their examinations. Po weighed just over 11 ounces at his first exam in November. Today he’s a healthy 11 pounds, Snyder said.

“He’s been pretty much right on track,” Snyder told OurAmazingPlanet.

One difference between Po and his siblings is that he is quieter. This could be something unique to him, or it could be because Lun Lun is now a more experienced mother and can address his needs more quickly, Snyder said.

“He’s been supereasy because his mom is taking great care of him,” Snyder said. “We’ve really been able to sit back and watch.”

Panda cubs talk to their moms by either grunting or making high-pitched squeals, similar to human babies, Snyder said. They speak up when they need to eat, urinate or when they get cold.

Zoo Atlanta
Learning to walk is hard work for a young giant panda. So for Po, a nap sounds better.

Po will be a cub until he is weaned, which typically happens between 1.5 to 2.5 years of age. At this stage, he’ll be called a subadult — he’ll no longer need mommy, but he won’t be able to yet make babies of his own. That skill develops in females between 3 and 4 years old and in males between 4 and 6 years old.

Slowly but surely
Po has a lot of growing to do before he’s ready to mate. First things first: learning to walk.

“He can’t really get his rear legs under him right now, but he’s normal,” Snyder said. But when he finally does summon that strength, the zoo’s newest star will really shine.

“His personality will become more noticeable once he begins walking and starts moving around,” Snyder said.

Zoo officials hope he will be ready in the spring to walk out from behind the scenes and greet his fans.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :slight_smile:

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[QUOTE=GeneChing;1079064]If Gordon wins, can Dunn sue him too?[/QUOTE]

Thankfully they dropped “power” from the title, because that automatically sucks.

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I’m usually not much of a cartoon/Pixar fan but was pleasantly surprised by KFP 1, and from what I’ve seen from this one film, it may actually be better than the first. Fingers crossed…

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THIS Terrence Dunn?

http://www.plumpub.com/sales/chikung/vd_TCruler.htm

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Heavy stuff

Heavy stuff like getting sued for plagiary? :rolleyes:

Kung Fu Panda’ Po Deals With Tough Issues in Sequel
2:06 AM 2/27/2011 by Carolyn Giardina

The movie’s producer warns of heavy stuff in the sequel due out in May.

Po the Panda will deal with some “tough emotional issues,” in Kung Fu Panda 2, according to producer Melissa Cobb.

Saturday at Campanile, during a DreamWorks Animation hosted animation and VFX nominees brunch, she said of the sequel: “The movie deals with pretty tough, emotional issues that he goes through, as well as a huge adventure. This movie is on a much bigger scale then the first movie. It’s been much more ambitious and hard to make from a filmmaking standpoint…It really builds on what was set up in the first movie, and has Po struggling with bigger issues than he did the first time.”

As the May 26 release data approaches, she said that at this point in production, “we are focusing on little things that we think we can do better. …If we think something can be a little more emotional, we are going in and tweaking it. Those little moments make a difference.”

When the first Panda film was in production, a single scene from the film—Tai Lung’s prison escape—was created in 3D as an early test of what was possible in the emerging digital format. The sequel therefore will be the first time Panda will come to theatres in 3D.

“We looked for places where the 3D could really enhance the storytelling,” Cobb said. “Some are emotional places where we used it to connect you more to the character."

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Imax!

KFP is gonna be huge! :wink:

DreamWorks 3D Pics to Imax Screens
7:55 AM 3/1/2011 by Etan Vlessing


‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ and ‘Puss in Boots’ to unspool on giant screens simultaneous with Paramount Pictures releases.

TORONTO – DreamWorks Animation SKG’S Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots will unspool in 3D in Imax digital theatres later this year.

The distribution agreement, unveiled Tuesday, will see the Kung Fu Panda sequel released to Imax theatres in select international territories simultaneous with a territory’s release date. And Puss in Boots will have a two-week domestic release in Imax theatres day-and-date with the Paramount Pictures release.

Both films are produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Looking forward to Puss too.

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New trailer

Click below for link to trailer

New Kung Fu Panda 2 Trailer and Poster
Source: iTunes Movie Trailers
March 5, 2011

DreamWorks Animation has revealed the new trailer and poster for Kung Fu Panda 2, hitting 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D theaters on May 26. You can watch the trailer using the player below or in High Definition QuickTime here. You can also click on the poster below for a bigger version.

Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five - Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is voiced by Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Victor Garber.

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Po’s gonna be huge!

Just got this press release from our local film promotional company.

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION AND MACYS LAUNCH KUNG FU PANDAS PO ON FIRST-EVER NATIONAL BALLOON TOUR BEGINNING APRIL 15th

KUNG FU PANDA 2 OPENS NATIONWIDE ON MAY 26th

HOLLYWOOD, CA (April 15, 2011) DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) and Macys today announced that KUNG FU PANDAs Po will embark on the first-ever U.S. tour of an official Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade® balloon, beginning this Friday, April 15th. Po is scheduled to make a six-city, cross-country tour of awesomeness, culminating in his debut visit to Los Angeles to mark the opening of KUNG FU PANDA 2 this Memorial Day weekend.

Po is scheduled to visit the following cities: Miami, FL on April 16th; St. Louis, MO on April 22nd; Dallas, TX on April 30th; Chicago, IL on May 6th; Phoenix, AZ on May 14th; and Los Angeles, CA on Memorial Day weekend. At 42-feet tall, 46-feet long and 34-feet wide, the Po balloon is truly larger-than-life and is posed in one of Pos signature martial arts moves from the DreamWorks Animation feature film. Pos appearance in each city will coincide with a day of family-friendly festivities, all open to the public, which will include an opportunity to take a picture with Po, as well as see an official KUNG FU PANDA martial arts presentation. The day will also feature coloring, airbrush tattoos and face painting stations, as well as special prize giveaways.

Said Anne Globe, head of Worldwide Marketing for DreamWorks Animation, We are thrilled to join forces once again with our friends at Macys, who have done an incredible job of bringing our character of Po to life as a giant balloon for audiences to enjoy at the annual Macy’s parade and now in cities across the country. This first-ever premiere event is an exciting way to help kick off the summer movie season.

With his debut at last years Macys Parade, DreamWorks Animations giant Po balloon became an instant spectator favorite, said Amy Kule, executive producer of Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. This special tour will bring Po closer to fans nationwide and is a great way to launch the highly anticipated sequel, KUNG FU PANDA 2.

In KUNG FU PANDA 2, Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Pos new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

KUNG FU PANDA 2 will be distributed by Paramount Pictures nationwide on May 26th and features the voice talents of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Victor Garber, Dennis Heysbert and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

About DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and online virtual worlds, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE® Magazine for three consecutive years. In 2011, DreamWorks Animation ranks #10 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animations feature films are now being produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 21 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company’s labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.

About Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade

With more than 50 million viewers across the country and more than 3.5 million spectators that line up along the streets of New York City each year, the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national icon that has grown into a world-famous holiday event. For more than 80 years, the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season. Growing in size and scale, the Parade proudly marches down a more than 2-mile route in New York City with more than 8,000 participants in tow including Macys employees, their families, celebrities, athletes, clowns and dance groups spreading holiday cheer. The Parade also features Americas best marching bands, fabulous floats and Macys signature giant helium character balloons. For more information on the Macys Parade please visit www.macysparade.com.

****, not coming to SF. :frowning:

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Po Tofu

For Immediate Release
[URL=“http://www.house-foods.com/Tofu/pdf/KFP2.pdf”]HOUSE FOODS AMERICA TEAMS UP WITH DREAMWORKS ANIMATIONS KUNG
FU PANDA 2 TO LAUNCH FAMILY FRIENDLY PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN
Alliance Brings Kung Fu Panda Branded Tofu to Supermarkets Nationwide
Garden Grove, California, April 12, 2011 House Foods America, tofu specialists since 1983, announces the launch of a new family friendly promotional campaign in conjunction with DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.s (Nasdaq: DWA) upcoming theatrical release of Kung Fu Panda 2 on March 26, 2011. This alliance allows Americas leading tofu producer to feature Po and the Furious Five in promotions for its product line. Kung Fu Panda 2 and Po are a natural, organic fit for the House Foods product line. The film, featuring the foodloving panda, is a great way to introduce families and kids to tofu and its myriad health benefits, said Yoko Difrancia, marketing supervisor at House Foods America Corporation. With the help of Po, the Panda Warrior as our latest ambassador, we are excited to share Asia’s two thousand yearold tofu tradition with a new audience.
In DreamWorks Animations Kung Fu Panda movies, Po grew up working in his familys tofu and noodle shop, where he is now a legend. We are thrilled to partner with House Foods America on such an innovative program that allows parents to bring Kung Fu Panda home to the kitchen through this great product line of tofu and other food items, said Susan Spencer, Head of National Promotions and Marketing Services for DreamWorks Animation.
The House Foods Kung Fu Panda 2 campaign kicks off on April 17 with a nationwide FSI newspaper coupon ad and the launch of a microsite (www.kungfutofu2.com) that is inspired by the world of Kung Fu Panda 2, while promoting the benefits of tofu. The site will feature a sweepstakes to win a trip for four to China, tofupedia, tofu advice from a registered dietician, cooking tips, and recipes for the entire family.
House Foods plans to release limited edition packaging of Kung Fu Panda 2 branded Premium and Organic Tofu, featuring Po, the main character in the film. Print and online ads scheduled to run in April and May include CookingLight.com, Supermarket News, Chopsticks, Edible SF, Edible East Bay, and Edible Sacramento.
Outdoor ads will run the week of April 18 for four weeks on the New Jersey Lincoln
Tunnel billboard, Manhattan Grayline buses, the San Francisco Bay Bridge and the Oakland/East Bay Highway 880. Phase two of the campaign is scheduled to take place in the fall during the DVD release of Kung Fu Panda 2. During this phase, House Foods Mabo Tofu Sauce mix will also have special Kung Fu Panda 2 packaging.
By positioning tofu as a nutritious, powerful food that keeps warriors such as Po and the Furious Five kung fu ready for any adventure that comes their way, we hope families and kids nationwide discover tofus potential as a superfood, said Ms. Difrancia.

About House Foods America
Tofu specialists since 1983, House Foods America Corporation (HFAC) is dedicated to bringing you the most affordable, highest quality and widest range of the freshest Tofu products. House Foods America uses only nongenetically modified (nonGMO) soybeans grown in North America. In a taste test conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle, House Foods Tofu was rated #1 and described as creamy, tender and freshtasting. For more information visit www.housefoods.com

About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation creates highquality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and online virtual worlds, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has worldclass creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE® Magazine for three consecutive years. In 2011, DreamWorks Animation ranks #10
on the list. All of DreamWorks Animations feature films are now being produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 21 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

I’ve been passing that billboard on 880 for a few weeks now. Love the campaign. I eat a lot of mabo tofu. If I walk into most of the Chinese restaurants around the office, the waitresses all know me as ‘mabo tofu’. :cool:

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The buzz machine is moving…

Beyond the tofu promotion, I hear there’s a raisin one too. And there’s surely more. Big promo on this. It’s set to be the big summer rush opener.

That being said, this article has a great angle on the film.

Jolie, Black perfect for ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES With an Oscar, Brad Pitt as a beau and a face as recognizable as any on the planet, Angelina Jolie doesn’t fluster easily.

The personalities of Jack Black (kinetic energy) and Angelina Jolie (reserved tenor) have worked their way into the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

Stick her in a recording studio with her kids, though, and she’s a jangle of nerves.

“They know when Mommy’s funny and when Mommy’s not funny,” she says over tea at Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel.

Jolie, who stars opposite Jack Black in Kung Fu Panda 2 (in theaters May 26), says her six children Maddox, 9, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 4, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 2 were fixtures on the set and became “part agents, part managers.”

"They’ll sit in a room and say, ‘That’s just not funny,’ " Jolie, 35, says of the brood, half of whom are adopted and half who are biologically hers and Pitt’s. Young scrutiny, she says, “will keep you competitive, even if they think Jack Black is always cooler than Mom.”

The movie, a follow-up to the 2008 animated hit, reunites Jolie, Black and stars including Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan. Analysts expect it to eclipse $200 million and to help redeem Hollywood’s substandard spring at the box office.

But for Jolie and Black, the movie provided some unexpected parental moments.

Jolie and Pitt worried whether the sequel, which addresses adoption and non-traditional families, would create tension in the household, particularly among the adopted children. They braced for a sit-down that never came.

Black, 41, used the film to connect with his sons Thomas, 4, and Samuel, 2, who still don’t know he’s the title character, panda bear Po.

DreamWorks Animation

Angelina Jolie voices kung fu master Tigress. Daughter Zahara, 6, loves tigers.

“The kids just think Kung Fu Panda is an actual bear,” he says. “But we act out our own scenes, go on our own adventures. The story gets a little disjointed; we usually forget our mission by the time we get in the living room. But we don’t care. I’m learning my kids are funnier than I am.”
Big shoes to fill

Creating a funnier film than the predecessor will be a tall order for director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who served as an artist on the original film. That movie raked in $632 million domestically and overseas, making it the third-biggest movie worldwide in 2008.

If Jolie and Black are nervous about reaching those numbers again, it doesn’t show.

Both say the decision to do a sequel was a no-brainer. Like a lot of Hollywood parents, stars are flocking to animated movies to not only have something to see with their children but also to impress them.

The original film “was one of the kids’ favorite movies,” Jolie says.

On a movie like Panda 2, “it’s about the children,” she says. “If you look at your own children, you want to do something you know will be better than the first one. You want to make sure it’s what they want and that you’re good enough.”

She may have an Oscar (for 1999’s Girl, Interrupted), but Jolie asked herself regularly during filming whether she was good enough. Men might like her voice. Jolie hates it.

DreamWorks Animation

Po the panda (voiced by Jack Black) and Monkey (Jackie Chan) are poised to pounce on a villain who is out to conquer China.

“You know, when you hear your own voice, you can find it quite boring and uninteresting,” she says. “Suddenly, you get very shy that your voice is not enough, because I’m not musical and I don’t know my voice.”

Black’s ears perk up as Jolie talks about her early auditions for voice-over work. She says she was so nervous about getting jobs that she brought dozens of zany voices she plucked from thin air, including a crude Mae West imitation.

"You mean like, ‘Come up and see me sometime?’ " Black asks in a husky breath.

“That sounds more like Bogart doing Mae West,” Jolie says. Black rolls his eyes. “Uh, that was Bogart in drag.”
Mutual admiration

Though they didn’t share the soundstage once in filming Panda 2, the movie marks the third animated movie they’ve done together. Before the original Panda, the two paired on 2004’s Shark Tale.

The years have created a rapport between the two, one they say began on their introduction at Cannes seven years ago for Shark Tale.

“I was crazy about him,” Jolie says. “I had seen him in everything he’d done, but what I really knew him for was music.” Black is half of the mock-rock duo Tenacious D, whose tunes include Wonderboy, Rock Your Socks and Kyle Quit the Band.

“I don’t have musical talent, so I always thought it was really cool that he could be an actor to a lot of us but equally a rock star,” she says.

Black, who is usually quick with a retort, is clearly shaken by the fandom.

How can you tell? When Black is nervous, he gets sincere.

“When I first met Angie, I was clearly taken aback by her beauty,” he says. “She has a powerful presence.”

And a photo-friendly one. During their introduction, Black and Shark Tale co-star Will Smith persuaded her to join them on a ride along the Mediterranean in a boat shaped like a shark to hawk the film.

“You were stuck in a sandwich between me and Will,” Black recalls. “We wanted to do it, but you were the only one who said, ‘Uh, guys, I’m not sure about this.’ But we convinced you.”

“I don’t think I could have let you guys go alone,” she says. “That would have just looked too weird.”

Black nods. “Yeah, that could have definitely changed the dynamic of the photo shoot.”

With that, their yin and yang personalities became an element of the franchise.
‘Close to the subject matter’

Black is all kinetic energy, on the screen and behind the mike.

“Jack works it all out,” director Nelson says, recalling days when Black would attempt all the kung fu moves of his cartoon doppelgänger. “He’d leave the session covered in sweat.”

Jolie, meanwhile, provided a reserved tenor for the warrior Tigress while providing behind-the-scenes counsel to Nelson. The director says that she knew the story of Po’s search for his biological father would strike a chord with Jolie.

“She is so close to the subject matter, we had to treat it with a good deal of respect,” Nelson says. “Actually, a lot of the crew who had experiences with adoption had a positive response to what we were doing.”

Inside, though, Jolie was nervous, especially when she and Pitt took the children to the DreamWorks studios to see an unfinished print of the movie.

“I wondered how they’d respond to the themes of the film,” she says, adding that she and Pitt were “sensitive to see if there was going to be a big discussion that night about adoption and orphanages.”
‘Our own focus group’

There wasn’t. “But that’s because we talk about those issues at my house all the time, very openly. We’ve had those discussions so often, they’re such happy, wonderful discussions.”

It made Jolie grateful that she regularly brought the children to recording sessions.

“We’ve got kids of all ages,” Jolie says. “So we joked that we had our own focus group.”

An unflinching one, apparently. Jolie says she was prepared during early sessions for her kids to grow impatient watching her speak into a microphone.

But it became live-action theater. “When they’re there and they hear you making kung fu sounds and jumping around, you can see them giggling through the glass,” she says. “It makes you go that much further.”

And occasionally compete more fiercely. While Jolie says the cast of Kung Fu Panda has formed its own ragtag family, sibling rivalry occasionally surfaces at home. “The little ones don’t understand yet,” she says. “They like Tigress, though they might not know why. The older kids get it. Zahara loves tigers.”

Pandas, too. Jolie concedes that she has tried to sway kids from Team Po to Team Tigress.

“Oh, there’s a little competition in our house,” she says. "I tell them, ‘I know you like Po. But come on. Mom’s cool too, right?’ "

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KFP at Cannes

I just got this press release and am posting this photo from it.

Photo credit: Lucian Capellaro / Paramount

34

Chewing up Cannes like bamboo canes…

Over 1K articles on the newsfeeds this morning about KFP.

Jolie, Black seek “inner peace” in Kung Fu Panda 2
Thu May 12, 2011 10:41am EDT

At a sometimes surreal press conference to promote the movie at the Cannes film festival on Thursday, the topics of discussion ranged from violence in film to China to adoption, although Black never allowed proceedings to get too serious.

“My inner peace is in pieces at the moment,” he quipped to a large crowd of reporters in a plush hotel ballroom.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is the sequel to the successful 2008 original which earned $632 million at the international box office, and Black said there would be further sequels should the movies continue to succeed commercially.

In Kung Fu Panda 2, portly panda hero Po, voiced by Black, must find inner calm to defeat his nemesis Lord Shen, an evil pea**** played by Gary Oldman who sets out to conquer China with an “unstoppable” weapon and to destroy kung fu once and for all.

He also discovers that he is adopted – not a major surprise to movie goers considering his “father” is a goose.

Oscar-winner Jolie provides the voice for Tigress, while Dustin Hoffman portrays Master Shifu, Po’s mentor in a story set in ancient China against backdrops of lush forests, towering temples and crowded cities.

Although Kung Fu Panda 2 is not in the main Cannes line-up, the festival welcomes such blockbusters because they attract A-list stars like Jolie and generate the kind of buzz among media and fans on which the annual event thrives.

Jolie is in France with her family, and partner Brad Pitt is expected on the red carpet later in the festival for his part in Terrence Malick’s in-competition “The Tree of Life”.

ADOPTION A “HAPPY WORD”

The actress said the fact that Po discovers he is adopted in the movie meant her three adopted children felt closer to the character. She also has three biological children.

"I brought my children to see the movie and they absolutely love the movie … and I wondered whether they’d ask me questions about it.

“But because ‘adoption’ and ‘birth mothers’ and ‘orphanage’ and all that in our home these are happy words, they’re used to these discussions and they just felt that much more proud that they were a little more like Po.”

Asked about the violence in the film, Black replied: “It (the film) discourages weaponry. I don’t like guns. I don’t own one. I like laser blasters. That’s where I draw the line.”

Hoffman said the first movie he ever saw was the cartoon “Bambi”, which contained surprisingly disturbing scenes.

“You can connect Bambi and Pinocchio to violence,” said the 73-year-old Oscar winner. “In Bambi there was a big fire in the woods. I literally remember bursting out crying and leaving because all the animals were being killed by fire.”

Asked whether he thought pandas had “existential moments”, Black replied:

“Maybe they do for brief moments, gnawing on a bamboo shoot they think what is life all about? What is the point in this meaningless universe that goes on forever? May be all life forms have fleeting moments of existentiality. You can print that.” (Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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There’s a lot of buzz

I liked this article because Black comments on his kung fu training.

Jack Black knows kung fu!
By ANNIE S. ALEJO
May 18, 2011, 11:37am

MANILA, Philippines - In the book “Kung Fu (I): An Elementary Chinese Text” (Jamieson, Lao, Zhao/Chinese University Press), it is said that kung fu is now also used in context unrelated to martial arts. In fact, colloquially, it is said to also refer to any individual accomplishment or skill cultivated through long and hard work. If this is truly the case, then Jack Black is practically an expert at kung fu.

From a career start on television, appearing in shows like “Northern Exposure” and even “The X-Files,” he slowly made his way around Hollywood with another series of small roles in such movies as Sylvester Stallone’s “Demolition Man” and Tim Robbins’ “Dead Man Walking.”

By 2000, he would play a wild record store employee alongside John Cusack in “High Fidelity” in what many consider to be his breakout role. Since then, the “Jack Black comedy” has become known to moviegoers around the world. For kids, though, Black is the voice behind Po, the once lumbering, lazy eating machine of a panda who later transforms into a Kung fu fighter.

Black’s own amazing journey of late is also tied in with the journey of Po, the panda. Black recalls, “When I finally saw the whole thing put together (“Kung Fu Panda”) it was one of the proudest moments of my career. It takes many years to make one of these movies—a lot longer than a regular live-action film.”

More than voice acting, though, Black reveals his work on the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise allowed him to gain a much deeper appreciation of martial arts. “Yes, I did some training in kung fu, for both films,” he says, just as “Kung Fu Panda 2” nears its theatrical release date.

“It wasn’t just for research purposes,” Black insists, if a little seriously. “It was also to kind of get in shape. What really drew me is that there’s a combination of exercise and self-defense, along with a third, sort of unseen, component: a spiritual one. When you’re really practicing kung fu, living it and feeling it, there’s a meditative quality that seeps in. It feels almost religious. It’s an art form, really. Oh, well, duh, it’s called martial arts.”

Black welcomes the opportunity to revisit his character to give viewers a chance to delve deeper into Po’s background. “Now, Po is having flashbacks of his childhood, before he lived with his father, who’s a goose. So he comes to realize that he’s actually adopted, and he doesn’t know where his birth parents are or what happened to the other pandas. Why did they give him up?

“So in addition to this being a hero’s journey to save the day, it’s also a journey of self-discovery,” Black relates. And as he begins to look into his real identity, “it just so happens that these questions arise at the same time that a new villain, Lord Shen, the pea****, arrives on the scene. Mysterious, no?”

Appearing in the first “Kung Fu Panda” has also given Black a lot of interesting experiences. “I got to go to the Atlanta Zoo, and see the latest panda born in captivity… and they named him Po,” Black shares recently. “Wow. I’d say that’s a pretty big deal. He’s not ready for a throw-down yet, but give him time. He’s gonna be one heck of a panda, I just know it.”

And another offshoot of working on the “Kung Fu Panda” movies is a forged friendship with his co-star Angelina Jolie, who plays Tigress.

Jolie—who loved making the “Panda” movies because, “You get to come to work in your pajamas,” she jokes—described the films as “fun and cool and hip” bit with “a sense history and culture” and “how to behave, how to treat your friends.” But she adds, “But mostly, it has Jack Black, which I feel is the main reason people went to see it—it would be my reason! He’s so funny, and the dynamic between him and the Five, it’s almost a classic dysfunctional family.”

A mutual fondness between Black and Jolie was also evident when, in 2008, back at Cannes where “Kung Fu Panda” first screened, it was the former that inadvertently spilled the beans on the latter’s pregnancy with twins. Prior to that time, Jolie and partner Brad Pitt had been mum on the subject but the expectant mom, while caught off-guard, did not seem to mind.

Speaking to OK! Magazine in the US, Black told the story what he considers as a gesture from Jolie. As published online on May 11, Black shared, “You [Jolie] were preggers, and I spilled the beans. And my wife, Tanya, was like, `That is the most amazing maternity dress I’ve ever seen…'" Black’s wife was also pregnant at that time.

“And then, what do we get in the mail like the next week? That gown. You sent it over. It was one of the sweetest gifts of all time,” Black gushed to Jolie.

Black and Jolie also came back out to Cannes this year to promote the “Kung Fu Panda 2,” this time with Dustin Hoffman (who voices Master Shifu). Jolie was accompanied by Pitt.

This would be Black and Jolie’s third trip together to the festival. Aside from 2008’s “Kung Fu Panda” premiere, they had shared the Cannes red carpet back in 2004 when they did voice for the animated movie “Shark Tale,” with Will Smith.

“That float on the ‘Shark’ was the beginning of a blossoming friendship,” Jolie told OK! “That was our bonding moment.”

“Kung Fu Panda 2” opens locally on May 24.

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Opens this weekend

The big Memorial Day weekend! I’m slated to see a screener tomorrow.

‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ director puts emotions in action
Michael Ordoña, Special to the Chronicle
Sunday, May 22, 2011

Jennifer Yuh Nelson speaks softly and carries a big Sharpie.

“The nice thing about being able to draw is it’s less open to interpretation, so people can look at it and say, ‘Yeah, that’s what we all agreed on.’ They can have ideas in their heads that end up all being different from each other, so it’s a good consensus tool,” the director of “Kung Fu Panda 2” says with a laugh.

Glen Berger, who with Jonathan Aibel wrote both animated “Panda” movies, says, “We’re talking and talking about what the movie’s about; she pulls out a piece of paper and a Sharpie and draws one of the central images: the point of view of baby Po seeing his mother’s face. In just a few lines of black and white, Jen conveyed all the emotion and sincerity of what we were trying to express.”

The sequel finds Po settled in nicely to his role as Dragon Warrior side by side with the Furious Five - until a new threat that could mean curtains for kung fu itself dredges up buried memories. To meet the challenge, the panda must uncover the truth of who he really is … and why, for instance, his father is a goose.

“At the end of the first movie, all of Po’s dreams have come true,” Aibel says. “So there’s the pressure of, what do you do next? The answer was not an ever-increasing series of bigger, badder villains; it’s what’s harder for Po emotionally - the inner enemy, not these outer villains.”

With all the key voice cast returning (including Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Shifu and Angelina Jolie as Tigress), continuity was further assured with the choice of Nelson to ascend to the director’s chair. Among her duties on the first film: head of story, action sequences director and dream sequence director. Although she’s often described as “quiet” and “unassuming” by those who know her, Nelson’s enthusiasm for action movies served her well in this, her directorial debut.

“I’m not a martial artist; I’ve just been drooling over action scenes my whole life,” she says, laughing. “I could never actually do it myself because I’m simply not that fit. But it’s something I think a lot about, and I could draw what I was thinking.”

The new film features sly references to classics of the martial-arts genre, such as the Bruce Lee freeze-and-shake after a strike, a cart chase reminiscent of a famous Jackie Chan bicycle sequence, and a signature move by new character Master Croc, voiced by Jean-Claude Van Damme.

“If you have Jean-Claude, you gotta have the splits,” Nelson says with delight. “We tried not to do exactly what was done (in those iconic movies); we tried to make it our own. It was just a conglomeration of things people have seen in their entire lives.”

The sequel also enjoys technical upgrades. The textures, such as Tigress’ fur and the intense detail in the feathers of the villainous pea**** Shen, are remarkable. Nelson says the design team from the first movie “got to go even more detailed with this film because the computer can take it. The first film, we couldn’t actually do more than a city block before the computer would start spewing chunks of its guts out. Here, we could do an entire city and render it all. We got away with a lot in the first film; the second one, we actually get to touch everything.”

Saying Shen might not have been possible to accomplish visually in the original (“He is insanely complicated. His rig is, it’s like looking at an utterly crazy, scaffolded, insane thing”), Nelson was likewise impressed with the complexity the pea****'s voice actor - Gary Oldman - brought to the character.

“Interestingly, his process was not about, ‘We’ll make it sound like this villain’; it was more about what made Shen tick,” the director says. “When I spoke with him about how Shen’s really hurt by that moment when his parents looked at him not with support but actually real fear of him, that created who he was - Gary Oldman said, ‘Ah, damaged!’ I think he sort of latched onto that and that’s where his rage came from. And (Oldman) is such a sweet guy in real life.”

Among the other examples of yeoman’s work in the voice cast is James Hong’s endearing reprise of panda Po’s goose father, Mr. Ping - whom the actor has described as “sort of a Jewish mother and a Chinese father combined.”

“He is, a bit,” Nelson says of the noodle-obsessed waterfowl whose ever-present hat, on closer inspection, is actually a knitting basket. “He has a kind of fussy, feed-your-child parent’s kind of feeling. He’s not squishy or anything. He really just loves his son passionately, but he’s extremely practical. (Hong) brings a sweetness to that dad. It’s wonderful. You know everything he does comes out of love.”

Those more subtle character touches seem to support the writers’ contention that Nelson’s fighting-fu is matched only by her feeling-fu.

“Jen, as great as she is at the action stuff, it’s the quiet, emotional scenes, her storyboarding of them - focusing on the emotion of the characters’ faces. … You understand what they’re thinking or feeling,” says Berger, adding that the director excels at showing the panda saying “humorous things while he’s covering for a lot. … She’s just really able to capture both sides of Po.”

Nelson confesses that those scenes are closest to her heart.

“I think my favorite is when Po has his personal awakening. It’s the emotional core of the movie. That particular sequence makes me cry every single time I watch it. Considering I’ve watched this movie a couple of hundred times,” she says, laughing, “it gets a little emotionally exhausting after a while.”

Kung Fu Panda 2 (PG) opens Friday at Bay Area theaters.

To see a trailer, go to www.kungfupanda.com.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Personal: Grew up in Lakewood, “a sleepy suburb of L.A. near Long Beach.” Received a bachelor’s degree in illustration from California State University Long Beach.

Resume builders: Was a director, story artist and character designer for “Spawn” on HBO. Has worked in Korea, Japan and Australia. Was a story artist for “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” head of story for “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas,” story artist for “Madagascar” and head of story for “Kung Fu Panda.”

What does an animator and illustrator do for fun? “I play video games. Last game I finished was ‘Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.’ Right now I’m trying to figure out what to play. I like hack-and-slash games; I don’t tend to go for first-person shooters. I like seeing the characters do crazy cool stuff. It’s like watching a movie for me. The more filmic it is, the more I enjoy it.”

Quotable: “I love the weapon sound effects (in ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’). We wanted to keep it away from sounding like conventional, modern weaponry, so they made it based off fireworks. It has a hissing, popping quality that isn’t like a howitzer or a Civil War cannon. I think it came out sounding really exotic. The look, too, it had blue sparkles to it.”

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I love that the board censors pea****. :smiley:

38

peas should be censored…dirty peas!!

I saw the screener last night. It’s a solid sequel. Stunning 3D. I’ll have a full ‘official’ review tomorrow for the opening day.

Tat Wong’s school gave a little demo before the show. It was amusing, especially for anyone seated in the front row, as there wasn’t really enough space for a spear form.

39

I’ve been looking forward to this movie for like a year. I loved the first one and I still watch it all the time.

Can’t wait to read your review.

40

Opens today!

Putting the finishing touches on my review now. It’ll be up by this afternoon.

May 26, 2011, 12:00 PM ET
Jennifer Yuh Nelson On Directing ‘Kung Fu Panda 2
By Julie Steinberg


The first “Kung Fu Panda” movie, which was released in 2008, made north of $631 million dollars worldwide and became an instant gem in the DreamWorks canon that begged for a sequel. That sequel, “Kung Fu Panda 2,” will be released tomorrow and was helmed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who migrated to a director role after serving as head of story on the first. Speakeasy chatted with Nelson about how 3-D will enhance the viewer experience this time around, how to make it in a male-dominated industry and why feathers are so challenging to draw.

The Wall Street Journal: What was it like going from head of story on the first film to director on the second?

Jennifer Yuh Nelson: It was surprisingly easy because I’ve had the same crew for close to five years. We all work well together so the support system was strong. When you’re head of story, you’re more involved in the front half of the film, as far as the production pipeline. When you’re directing, you’re involved with every piece of the movie that comes through. It was cool because the kind of steps they’re taking so late in the process were really inspiring.

You come from a Korean-American background and have mentioned your love of martial arts films. How did that influence you in the making of this film?

I grew up watching martial arts movies — I gravitated toward them when I was younger. I enjoyed them because of the action, but they also tend to have characters who are larger-than-life and have layers. When I had the opportunity to do something like “Kung Fu Panda” I just wanted to be on it. That’s why I’ve spent seven and a half years on this.

Was there added pressure because the first movie did so well?

I did feel pressure but not because of a box office. I loved the first film. The crew I worked with loved the characters so much, they came back. That’s where the pressure comes from — you have all your friends working on something and you don’t want to waste anyone’s time. We made a movie that we and our kids wanted to watch.

You are one of the few females to solo direct an animated feature. Have you encountered any gender issues as you’ve risen through the industry?

In my career, I have never run into a gender problem. I’ve been very fortunate to have so much support. A lot of the time people forget that I’m a woman. That’s where we should be going. We should get to the point where it’s not about a woman or a man; it’s just a director. The industry has to become gender-invisible. I haven’t experienced it so I wish I could understand the causes. A way to fix it would be to have more role models at the top so we can get to where it’s less of a surprise that a woman is the director. We have a lot of female animators on the crew — it’s not a 50-50 situation, but there are many.

This movie, unlike the first, was crafted in 3-D. What was your approach to ensure it didn’t feel too gimmicky or conspicuous?

I’m a very visual person and tried to replicate what human eye sees. It’s not a technical thing for us, it’s more like we perceive 3-D in real life. That’s why a lot of the point of focus is on the screen, it’s not in front popping out so you have to cross your eyes. It’s a comfortable spot. Everything else that goes out behind or in front is slightly in the periphery or has a sense of depth, while everything that you’re watching is utterly clear. That allowed us to have dynamic filmmaking and fast cutting without it being gimmicky. We wanted the scale to be vast, which is what the the 3-D adds.

Tell me more about the vast scale.

Because Po is leaving his comfort zone and leaving the Valley of Peace, we had to create large-scale scenery and huge designs. We wanted vast landscapes to match his challenge. In the first film, it was hard to make a square block practical. In a sequel like this, we can build an entire city and the characters can run through it.

The villain Lord Shen has a set of very intricate-looking feathers. Were they hard to do?

Feathers can be more complicated because they have a structure that disappears into itself. There are different types of feathers that have their own arrangements. Shen had different layers of rigidity that made for a very complicated texture. Most people don’t do it because it’s hard but we wanted to do something different. It took us well over a year to get him in shape to animate.

3-D has come a long way, but is there some technology that isn’t developed yet that you wish existed?

Anything that makes the experience more like our experience in real life. We interact with film because we’re used to having it a certain way, but we need to have much more immersion. 3-d is a step. We need to make less of a curtain between us and the reality of a movie.

How about those moving seats?

I just tried that for the first time the other day. I think you have to do it well, but you certainly can’t get that at home.