Pacific Rim Information

Pacific Rim is an upcoming science fiction film directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by Travis Beacham and del Toro. The film is set in a near future where soldiers piloting giant robots battle against invading giant monsters who have mysteriously risen from beneath the ocean. Del Toro has said the film will be "a beautiful poem to giant monsters".

The film will be released in 3-D and IMAX 3D on July 12, 2013.

Plot

Giant monsters identified as "Kaiju" arise from a crevice in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a war which takes millions of lives and quickly consumes humanity's resources. To combat this new threat, a special type of weapon is designed: massive robots, known as Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. As time passes, even the powerful Jaegers prove almost defenseless in the face of a relentless enemy. On its last stand and on the verge of defeat, the remaining defending forces of mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes"?a former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)"?who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the early trials of the mechanical titans. Together, they must stand as the human race's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Cast

• Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket
• Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost
• Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori
• Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geizler
• Burn Gorman as Dr. Hermann Gottlieb
• Robert Kazinsky as Chuck Hansen
• Max Martini as Herc Hansen
• Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau
• Clifton Collins Jr. as Tendo Choi
• Diego Klattenhoff as Yancy Becket
• Ellen McLain as Jaeger AI. Del Toro secured permission from Valve Corporation to cast McLain in homage to GLaDOS, her homicidal AI character in the Portal video games.
• Robert Maillet as Aleksis Kaldanovsky
• Heather Doerksen as Sasha Kaidanovsky

Production

Development

On May 28, 2010, it was reported that Legendary Pictures had purchased Pacific Rim, a detailed 25-page film treatment by American screenwriter Travis Beacham. When Guillermo del Toro met with Legendary Pictures to discuss the possibility of collaborating with them on a film, he was intrigued by Beacham's treatment " still a "very small pitch" at this point. Del Toro guided the development of the screenplay, intending to produce " but not direct " the film.

In June 2011, del Toro was set to begin production on a live-action adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. Tom Cruise and James Cameron had signed to star and produce respectively. However, Universal closed down the project, as del Toro was unwilling to compromise on the $150 million budget and R rating. He then switched his attention to Pacific Rim, agreeing to direct the film. Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi were cast in the lead roles. Tom Cruise was considered for a key part in the film, but was replaced by Idris Elba. Ron Perlman, who has worked with del Toro on several occasions, was confirmed to have joined the cast on November 17, 2011.

Principal photography

Filming began on November 14, 2011 and is scheduled to continue filming in Toronto into April 2012. Del Toro gave an update after the second week on filming finished.

The film was shot using Red Epic cameras. At first Guillermo del Toro decided not to shoot or convert the film to 3D, as the effect would not work due to the sheer size of the films robots and monsters, explaining; "I didn't want to make the movie 3D because when you have things that big? the thing that happens naturally, you're looking at two buildings lets say at 300 feet [away], if you move there is no parallax. They're so big that, in 3D, you barely notice anything no matter how fast you move... To force the 3D effects for robots and monsters that are supposed to be big you are making their [perspective] miniaturized, making them human scale". But it was later announced it would be converted to 3D, with the conversion taking 40 weeks longer than most and Del Toro saying "What can I tell you? I changed my mind. I'm not running for office. I can do a Romney."

Visual effects

Industrial Light and Magic was chosen to do the visual effects for Pacific Rim. Guillermo del Toro hired Oscar winners John Knoll and Hal T. Hickel, both known for their work on the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Legacy Effects was hired to do the special and practical effects on the film. Shane Mahan, known for creating the armoured suits for Iron Man, was hired on as effects supervisor. John Rosengrant was also brought in for his work on Real Steel. Oscar winner Clay Pinney, known for his work on Independence Day and Star Trek, was also brought on board.

Music

Based on his work on Iron Man and Game of Thrones, Ramin Djawadi was chosen to compose the film's score. In an interview with Collider.com, Guillermo Del Toro also indicated that audiences can expect some Russian rap.

Marketing

On November 28, 2012, the official film website premiered alongside two viral videos " one depicting the initial Kaiju attack as captured by a handheld camera. Blueprints depicting the designs for the Jaeger machines were also released online. A prequel graphic novel has been announced; other merchandise is also in development.

Release

Pacific Rim was initially expected to reach theaters in July 2012. However, Warner Bros. decided to move the film's release date back to May 10, 2013. In March 2012, it was announced that the film would be released on July 12, 2013.

Potential sequel

In July 2012, del Toro discussed the possibility of making a Pacific Rim sequel. "We always leave ideas that were in the first draft as you go along. You know, either a set piece that was great but too expensive, an idea that was really bright, but it couldn't quite fit the structure... so we have a little stash of stuff we wanted to do that we didn't get to do. So if that's a possibility, A) I would be very happy to do a sequel, but B) a lot of these ideas, set pieces and all that, actually have in them a really good seed for a sequel."

On December 4, 2012, Legendary Pictures announced that it had selected Travis Beacham to write the sequel to Pacific Rim, with del Toro as co-writer, though there was no comment as to whether he would return to direct the second film.