Evolution in Studio
Bulma.nl found new photos online that apparently came from a Fox employee who was working on Evolution in studio at the time. Thanks to their mistake we get to see some scenes in action.

March Shonen Jump
DBMB has high quality scans of the March issue of the American Shonen Jump magazine, which contains 2 pages of advertising for Dragonball: Evolution.

The Action of Evolution



Badtaste.it posted a preview on what you can expect from the action scenes of Dragonball: Evolution. In it are quotes from the director, cinematographer, Justin Chatwin and the stunt team. We’ve translated the article (to the best of our abilities) from Italian.

“How do you make sequences of action different from what the public has seen so far?” This was the first question that [director] James Wong placed on his team when he started to reflect on what people expect from a movie like Dragonball.

The answers arrived from acclaimed stunt team 87Eleven, as the director of photography Robert McLachlan and the visual effects supervisor, Ariel Shaw, have certainly pleased Wong and they promise to delight not only fans of the series, but also fans of action films.

The visual effects supervisor (Ariel Shaw) took what Wong defines as “fist-cams” using the renowned company Iconix, cameras so small that they can be linked to the hand of an actor and that allows the stroke of a character’s [fist] to go directly to the [audience].

“It’s kind of a point of view of the fist,” says Wong. McLachlan [the director of photography] suggested that the use of new digital cameras (the high-speed Phantoms) to create super-speed in major action sequences. “We have done a lot of research and development tests with chambers Phantom,” says McLachlan, who discovered this system of photography, then experimental, on YouTube.

Indeed, in a video that appeared on the famous site, a balloon filled with water is blown up, while the action is taken at 1000 frames per second. McLachlan and Wong were impressed by the results. “The most spectacular [thing] was that the water retained the shape of the balloon as it came out,” recalls Wong.

Less advanced from a technological point of view, but equally important to the action scenes, have been training and supervision by stunt company 87Eleven, as well as from the stunt coordinators Jonathan Eusebio, Julian Bucio Montemayor and Jared Eddo.

Their first task was to bring in the cast, and then work with them in an intensive program of action choreography and, finally, make the players feel at ease in working with major wire and acrobatic sequences. It was definitely a rigorous program, which, as revealed by Eusebio, “when the actors did not work, [they] trained.”

The young cast had to each follow specific training, because there weren’t any cast members with an identical style of combat. They also had special diets to maintain their strength and energy during production.

In the history of Dragonball, Goku is the greatest warrior on the planet. And so Justin Chatwin took very seriously the responsibility to capture the qualities of the character. Before the start of filming, he faced six weeks of nutrition guide, as well as training for the stunt and martial arts with 87Eleven and continuing this challenging regime during shooting. “The adrenaline is still flowing,” says the actor, who also appears to have eliminated sugar, wheat and pasta for the film. Chatwin spent every day at least five hours to train, studying karate, kung fu and a form known as Brazilian capoeira, encoding the movement of martial arts and dance.

For more extreme acrobatic movements, Jackson Spidell was the stunt double of the actor. The main move characteristic of Spidell was jumping in the air, making a half turn and, during the spin, hitting an opponent.

Music News
20 seconds of Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Rule,” the theme song for Dragonball: Evolution, has made its way online. The single is set to officially release February 25th.




Brian Anthony also sent us an email letting us know that a version of his song “Worked UP!” will be used in the movie.

The mix in the movie is the CHRIS NOXX DOWNTEMPO REMIX at iTunes:
Click here to listen.

I would really appreciate everyone’s support on this song and the video. Hope everyone likes this mix in the club scene.

Been reading the blog comments and - trust me, this movie will be AMAZING!

The Beginnings of Evolution



Bloodtrail sent us the official pressbook for Dragonball: Evolution. The “first” part of the kit, “The Action of Evolution,” was posted by Badtaste.it on Wednesday (although they left out information), and now we’ll be posting the rest of it in parts. Enjoy the “second” part (it’s actually the first), in which a detailed synopsis of the film is given, as well as history on how it all got started.

Dragonball Teaser
Our source in Japan sent us this old teaser trailer for Dragonball that was shown in select theaters in Japan around the summer and fall of 2008. There’s no new footage, but it’s certainly epic.

The Design of Evolution



We continue our reveal of the pressbook with part 3, “Designing Dragonball: Evolution.” In this addition, insight is given into the look and feel of the film.

The unique look of the film’s action scenes complements its art direction and cinematography. Production designer Bruton Jones, along with visual consultants Richard Holland and Bruce Crone, referenced the Dragonball manga and anime, as well as a melting pot of styles reflecting the film’s multicultural, past/future reference points. The Dragon Temple, for example has Russian, Japanese and Chinese architectural influences.

Before production started, director of photography Robert McLachlan tested various film stocks before going with Fuji, which helped provide the heavily color-saturated look he was after. The color saturation adds to the intensity of the film’s solar eclipse, which in the story signals a potentially cataclysmic event. “We wanted our eclipse to be much more surreal [than a typical solar eclipse], with weird, intense, reddish colors,” says McLachlan.

Ariel Velasco Shaw oversaw the film’s many and varied visual effects, including the energy force known as Ki. Harnessing the power of Ki is one of the central tenants of Eastern philosophy – and connects the incredible goings-on of Dragonball to our real world. In the “air bending” technique of Ki, the practitioner pushes out from his or her chest, causing the air around them to ripple with distortion – and the ensuing energy force to impact their opponent. Ki is so strong that it draws the power of the universe as it is channeled through the practitioner skilled in its technique. Its ultimate manifestation is Goku’s “Kame-Hame-Ha” move.

Velasco Shaw and his team created various, character-appropriate forms of Ki. For example, a human character would possess a different Ki than an alien or a human-alien hybrid. Moreover, there’s a “younger” Ki for the more youthful characters, and an “older,” more developed Ki for Roshi.

The iconic and mystical Dragonballs were largely the creation of the visual effects team. “Everybody had an idea about what they should look like and what they needed to do,” Velasco Shaw says. The Dragonballs, courtesy of some intensive CG magic, have an otherworldly luminescence befitting their numinous properties.

Velaco Shaw also oversaw the two fully-realized CG creations: the monstrous creature Oozaru, as well as the Fu Lum, demon assassins, who regenerate when dismembered.

Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., principals of one of the industry’s top special makeup and prosthetics houses, Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. (ADI), designed and created the prosthetic makeup for Lord Piccolo. The sophisticated prosthetics for Lord Piccolo, designed by Gillis and Woodruff, were applied by prosthetic makeup artist Edward French

Rule
“Rule” by Ayumi Hamasaki is now available online in its entirety. Listen to it at Tokyo Nights

The Locations of Evolution
The pressbook comes to a conclusion with part 4, “About the locations.” Hope you enjoy.

“DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION” began production in Mexico City, where a private, ultra-modern school stood in for Goku’s high school. More than one hundred students were used as extras filling in the classrooms, parking lots and hallways. A sprawling private mansion in an exclusive residential area with English Tudor and Asian architectural elements was utilized for a high school party scene. An area within the city limits became Paozu City, where Roshi lives in a shack situated amidst towering skyscrapers.

After six days of filming in Mexico City, the production moved to Durango, Mexico, where the rest of the filming took place. “Durango has the spectacular outdoor locations including the high mountains, rock formations and deserts we required,” says executive producer Tim Van Rellim, who had worked on a film production in Durango a decade earlier. The production transformed an abandoned jeans factory with a million square feet into a working studio production facility with office, storage and mill spaces, along with a wardrobe warehouse, practical soundstages, and a ten-acre outdoor area that was turned into a backlot for outdoor sets.

High mountain desolate rock formations at Mexiquillo became the secret Toi San training facility.  Over 200 local Durango martial artists and their instructors were recruited and transported to the remote location for a big martial arts training scene. The cast and crew faced daily extremes in temperatures from chilly early morning lows of 30 degrees (Fahrenheit) to hot afternoon highs of 80 degrees (F.), as well as occasional dust storms fanned by windy conditions. Later in the shoot, the filmmakers utilized a major recreation facility in Durango as the location for the Toi San Tournament competition arena. One thousand extras filled the structure, cheering the action.

Los Organos State Park, with its spectacular rock formations that resemble church organ pipes, became the setting and inspiration for the story’s Dragon Temple, where pivotal action set pieces where captured. Towering desert sand dunes, called “Las Dunas De Bilbao,” north of Durango, were used for traveling scenes and as the exterior of a desert cavern in Yamcha’s habitat.

The Toi San marketplace was realized out of a grain storage facility from the 1800s that was found just outside of Durango. New architectural elements were added and then enhanced by set decorations mixing Middle Eastern elements with a flea market atmosphere.

Interior sets constructed and housed at the Jeans factory production facility, included the two-story interior of Roshi’s shack, a 20 foot high cavern interior, the Toi San Temple courtyard and corresponding interiors, Lord Piccolo’s Genesis Chamber and dirigible, as well as the green screen sets.

First Bandai Toy Images
Here’s our first look at Bandai’s upcoming line of action figures for Dragonball: Evolution.

4-inch:


6-inch:


The current release date for all of them is March.

The Japanese Dub Cast
The cast for the Japanese dub of Dragonball: Evoution has been revealed. The all-star voice talent includes Kappei Yamaguchi (InuYasha) as Goku, Hochu Ôtsuka (Jiraiya from Naruto) as Piccolo, Tsutomu Isobe (Vincent Volaju from Cowboy Bebop) as Master Roshi, Aya Harino (Misa Amane from Death Note) as Bulma, Hiroya Ishimaru (Hot Rod from Transformers) as Grandpa Gohan, Hisao Egawa (Android 14 from DBZ) as Yamcha, Yuko Kaida as Mai, Ami Koshimizu as Chi-Chi, and Mami Koyama (Lunch from DragonBall) as the narrator.

French DB:E Spot
Fox france has quietly added a new Dragonball: Evolution spot to their page. Check it out here!

New Japanese Footage
New footage of Dragonball: Evolution from Japan is now online! It features a lot of new exciting scenes from an upcoming trailer.

New Teaser Trailer
We have obtained the full trailer that we were shown glimpses of yesterday on a Japanese news program.

Hopefully an HD version will show up soon.

New Poster
Live Action Anime took a photo of a very cool new Dragonball: Evolution poster.

PSP Game Demo
The New York Comic Con is demoing Dragonball: Evolution for the Sony PSP this weekend. Take a look courtesy of GameSpot


DBMB also took some photos of the Oozaru from the game.



In the game I played at New York Comic Con he fights Roshi, and then he fights Goku in his mind. It’s also mentioned in some of the game dialog that he kicks around Yamcha and Bulma. Also, he’s about 10-12 feet tall and pounds his chest a lot.


In Dragon Ball: Evolution for the PSP system, ultimate powers collide as players match up against their favorite characters from the film release and battle for control of the seven sacred Dragon Balls that have the power to grant any wish. Dragon Ball: Evolution employs an easy-to-learn yet difficult to master fighting system which provides everyone the power to pull off stylish and dynamic attacks. Ki (energy) management will be essential to gain the upper hand and unleash a devastating attack on their unsuspecting opponents.

Releases April 7th.

Akira Toriyama Comments on Evolution
Akira Toriyama left a comment on Dragonball: Evolution before the newest Japanese trailer for the film. ANN translates:
As the original creator, I had a feeling of “Huh?” upon seeing the screenplay and the character designs, but the director, all the actors, the staff, and the rest are nothing but “ultra” high-caliber people. Maybe the right way for me and all the fans to appreciate it is as a New Dragonball of a different dimension. Perhaps, this might become a great masterpiece of power! Hey, I look forward to it!!

New Bulma & Piccolo Stills
Movie-infos posted a new still of Bulma (Emmy Rossum).


Civilized James also posted a new still of Piccolo (James Marsters).

Justin and Emmy Japanese Interview
Justin Chatwin (Goku) and Emmy Rossum (Bulma) were both interviewed by a Japanese TV show. Their responses are in English, so definitely check it out.

‘Dragonball Evolution’ Movie Toys At Toy Fair 2009: Goku, Roshi, Piccolo And Oozaru Build-A-Figure

Earlier today, we brought you a sneak peek at Hasbro’s upcoming line of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” movie toys, and now we have your first look at another line of action figures based on a much-anticipated 2009 film and making their debut at Toy Fair 2009: Bandai’s line of “Dragonball Evolution” movie toys.

Not only did we get a peek at all seven characters in their 4-inch line of figures and a few of their 6-inch “Fast-Acting” figures (which punch and/or kick at super-fast speed), we also received a nice look at the 7-part build-a-figure Oozaru (Big Monkey) — a character appearing in the film that, until now, has only been hinted at in interviews with the “Dragonball” cast.



Read on for more shots of the “Dragonball Evolution” movie toys from Bandai debuting at this year’s Toy Fair International.

First up is a 6-inch figure based on the villainous Lord Piccolo, as played by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” alum James Marsters.



All seven of the 4-inch “Dragonball Evolution” figures come with a piece of the giant Oozaru figure, one of the Dragonballs and a piece of the Dragonball altar. Collect all seven, and you can assemble the figure and altar o’ Dragonballs shown here. Nifty, eh?



It’s Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi — complete with an excellent Hawaiian shirt.



Last, but certainly not least, is the figure based on Bulma — the “ass-kicking” hero played by Emmy Rossum. (For more on Rossum’s character, check out our video interview with Rossum on her “Dragonball” role.)



What do you think about the “Dragonball Evolution” movie toys? Any characters you’d still like to see make the jump to action figures? Let us know in the comment section!

Exclusive: Dragonball 2 to go to an “interesting place”



Dragonball: Evolution, the first live-action adaptation of the popular manga, hasn’t even hit our screens yet, but the script for a proposed sequel has already been written, according to Justin Chatwin, who plays Goku in the upcoming film.

Speaking to SciFiNow last month, the 26-year-old actor said that he was signed on for potential sequels, and that he was excited about the prospect: “If there were to be a sequel I think it… well, I know that it would go to a really interesting place, because they already have the second script written.” When pressed for details, Chatwin revealed a little more about the direction of the celluloid version of the franchise. “It’s really, really cool. The second one goes more into the whole legacy and the genealogy of Dragonball. It goes more in-depth into a real Dragonball series, the kind of intergalactic world of Dragonball.”

Dragonball: Evolution stars Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, and Chow Yun-Fat. The film is released in the Japan on 13 March 2009, the United Kingdom on 3 April 2009, and the United States on 8 April 2009.

MPAA Rating
The wait is finally over. Rope of Silicon has revealed the MPAA rating for Dragonball: Evolution.



Rated PG For intense sequences of action/violence and brief mild language.

Dragonball: Evolution
By Brian Tyler



List Price: $17.98
Our Price: $16.98
You Save: $1.00 (6%) 

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Pre-orders are now being accepted. This CD will ship on or after 3/17/09.

Dragonball: Evolution is based on the popular Japanese manga created by Akira Toriyama, whose work spawned best selling graphic novels, video games and a phenomenally successful television series. The live action adventure centers on a team of warriors, each of whom possesses a special power. Together, they protect Earth from an evil rogue bent on dominating the Universe and controlling the mystical objects from which the film takes its name.

The film features an epic fantasy score by composer Brian Tyler.

20th Century Fox opens DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION on April 10, 2009.

Varèse Sarabande Catalog #: 302 066 954 2
Release Date: 03/17/09

1. The Legend (1:13)
2. Dragonball Evolution (3:26)
3. Fulums (5:14)
4. Kaiou Samma (2:34)
5. Goku (3:09)
6. Gohan’s Special Gift (:57)
7. Master Roshi (3:45)
8. The Journey Begins (:58)
9. Lighting The Torches (2:44)
10. Vengeance (5:55)
11. Chasing Dragonballs (2:41)
12. Lord Piccolo (2:51)
13. Mai Vs Chi Chi (3:55)
14. A Higher Calling (2:03)
15. Body Work (1:26)
16. I Dream Of Chi Chi (:54)
17. Grime Vinyl (1:52)
18. Unwelcome Strangers (2:12)
19. Bulma And Yamcha (1:51)
20. Things To Come (1:42)
21. The Final Battle (6:20)
22. End Game (1:32)
23. Dragonball Evolution Main Titles (1:32)