As if making your first movie wasn’t daunting enough, Joseph Kosinski took on the added challenge of trying to satisfy millions of fanboys when he agreed to direct the highly-anticipated TRON: Legacy.
“The original TRON was a completely unique vision, it looked like nothing else out there,” said Kosinski about his film’s 1982 sci-fi predecessor. “It pushed boundaries in terms of technology in a way that hadn’t been done before, and I just think conceptually it was 10 years ahead of its time.”
The tale of a son rescuing his computer-genius father (Jeff Bridges) two decades after he disappears into the digital game world he designed not only allowed the award-winning commercial director to explore an original vision, it also gave Kosinski the unique opportunity to work on the absolute latest technologies in moviemaking.
“Our production was pretty adaptive and we were always keeping up, changing methodologies in the visual effects,” said Kosinski. “You can’t really change the script or the story, but in terms of your technique and technology, you have to just be mobile because it’s a three-year project and things change.”
That technological mobility gives TRON: Legacy an incredibly modern 3D look which complements the film’s subject matter. As with the 1982 original, the thriller features cool gadgets like the deadly discs and Lightcycles, but it’s the additions of new vehicles like Light Runners (a sort of digital off-roader) that should make those fanboys even more excited.
“I was a Pole Position kind of (guy),” said Kosinski about his favorite video game growing up. “(So) it’s no secret that the vehicles were a favourite part of mine in this movie.”
