Beowulf, Robert Zemeckis' digital adaptation of the classic 9th-century Anglo-Saxon poem is set to hit theaters November 16, 2007, debuting day-and-date in over 1000 Real D theaters as well as other large-format 3D screens (i.e. IMAX), making it the largest 3D release ever, says the Hollywood Reporter.
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited for this film. To be honest, I haven't been a big fan of Zemeckis since his Back to the Future days, but I do like his "damn the torpedoes" approach to digital filmmaking. Plus, it will give me a chance to actually see what I should have read in high school, but didn't. I expect that Zemeckis' motion capture technique, will really be able to bring this story to life in a way that the Cliff's Notes never could. I mean, I know the basic gist... Beowulf, the great hero, chops off a monster's arm and then kills the mother. It SOUNDS exciting, but reading Old English just isn't my cup of tea. Wasn't that what the Canterbury Tales was written in? Although I remember some of the boys in my class laughing that Chaucer talked about farting. Who knew?
The script is from Roger Avary and Neil Gaman, so how can you go wrong there? Plus, there will be NO digital Tom Hanks, with his dead, soulless eyes, like in Zemeckis' CGI Polar Express. In fact, apparently this film will use a technique called "electrooculography," or EOG, where the performance capture involves placing tiny sensors around the actor's eyes to catch tiny eye movements.
AND I'm excited to see Angelina Jolie show off her monstrous and vicious motherly instincts as well. You just KNOW she has them...
Oh, and if you're curious to know if you live near a Real D theater, check the map.
