News

Leigh Whannell and Logan Marshall-Green Talk ‘Upgrade’

Published

6 years ago

May 23, 2018

Upgrade, the sci-fi thriller from writer/director Leigh Whannell and starring Logan Marshall-Green, is headed to theaters June 1, 2018.

Set in the not-so-distant future, Marshall-Green stars as Grey Trace, a technophobic man who becomes a quadriplegic after a horrific accident. Grey is offered a new chance at a normal life when an experimental computer chip called Stem is implanted in his neck, but that’s really only the beginning of his new adventure.

The film, produced by the geniuses at Blumhouse, is already garnering a lot of online buzz, and Whannell and Marshall-Green recently spoke with iHorror about the experience of creating this exciting and dangerous new world.

“It’s funny to think about how long ago it was that I started writing the script,” Whannell laughed, “and it makes me reflect on how long it takes to get a film made.”

The story started for Whannell when he was sitting in his back yard. The idea of a quadriplegic man being given a new lease on life through technology excited the writer, and he began researching what others had written about bridging the gap between technology and humans.

“There are a lot of books by Ray Kurzwell where he talks about the future and the singularity when humans merge with technology,” the writer/director explained. “I was so excited by that idea because it was exactly what I was going for in the script.”

As the project came together, and it was time to look for someone to take on that rather daunting task of playing Grey, Logan Marshall-Green quickly moved to the top of the list. Once he was cast in the role, he quickly went to work playing with different ways of moving and using his body so that he could portray a man who in many ways becomes a passenger in the active aspects of his life.

Original Poster for Upgrade from Blumhouse Productions

“I started sending Leigh videos of myself doing very pedestrian movements. Sitting down, drinking water, taking a bit of an apple,” the actor said. “I would do them as Grey, and then I would do them a second time as Grey and Stem together.”

Neither the director nor the actor wanted the movements to seem robotic in the ways we’ve seen before on film. Instead, they focused on more efficient ways of moving that could potentially come from the tech component.

“Ultimately, it took a lot of work with a brilliant stunt team and movement coaches to make it seem as though Grey was a passenger with Stem,” Marshall-Green pointed out. “We were working our butts off from the neck down while trying to stay as neutral as possible and tell an emotional story from the neck up.”

“There were so many roles that Logan had to take on,” Whannell explained further. “He would train with a movement coach, then do fight choreography, and he also had to learn to use the wheelchair and play a quadriplegic.”

The role is full of obstacles, but for Marshall-Green, that’s really what acting is all about, and it was all about getting the small details correct to make the Grey/Stem performance work.

“I got to spend some time with someone who is quadriplegic, and I knew I had to be true to him and to his experience when we were telling that part of the story,” the actor said. “Little things like, I’m a nail biter. I can’t do that in this character, and while I was in it, I didn’t do it. It’s funny, though, because I do now. It came back as soon as the role was over.”

More importantly for the actor, Whannell’s script and direction allowed him to act with his full body and embrace the physicality of movement and body language in a way that many films roles can’t offer.

“I came up in the theater,” he said. “I love the ability to act from head to toe which is something you don’t get in film. You generally isolate your performance to your face and shoulders mostly, and I was grateful that Leigh gave me the opportunity to tell this story with my whole body.”

As filming began, Whannell had one more surprise up his sleeve to help make the performance as real as possible.

In the film, Stem has a voice that only Grey can hear and they can communicate internally. So, Whannell placed Simon Maiden, the actor voicing Stem, out of sight, but allowed the two actors to communicate via an earpiece and mic.

“I wanted them to be able to interrupt each other and interact,” Whannell said. “I wanted them to play those scenes together like any two actors would.”

“It was another ball to juggle in the middle of those fight scenes,” Marshall-Green added, “but we got a really positive effect from it.”

The actor worked hard to pull double duty in those fight scenes, but also really focused on Grey’s evolution with Stem throughout the film, and it’s fascinating as Grey goes from a bystander to an active participant in what’s going on around him. In the final stages of the film, Stem may be doing the fighting, but Grey is actively watching for danger and working with the implant confidently.

Upgrade is set to hit theaters nationwide on June 1, 2018. Check out the trailer below!

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

2 Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

You must be logged in to post a comment.

News

Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

Published

17 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

Published

20 hours ago

April 22, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2024

Cameron McFarland

Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.

This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.

However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.

Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”

At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.

The full statement made by the cast can be found below.

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:

As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello