Thursday

Evangeline Lilly Gears Up For Real Steel

Alberta-born, Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly (Lost), is gearing up to join lead Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) in the upcoming sci fi feature Real Steel @ DreamWorks Pictures.The feature will be the first film for DreamWorks since raising $650 million production funding from J.P. Morgan Securities and India-based Reliance Big Pictures.Disney also contributed $175 million to the studio, for the exclusive distribution of new DreamWorks titles.Real Steel is set in the future, where human ‘blood-sport’ boxing has been outlawed for being ultra violent and high-tech ‘rock ‘em sock ‘em ‘ robots pound each other out in the ring instead.In the 1963 Twilight Zone TV episode Steel, adapted by Rod Serling, based on author Richard Matheson’s short story, in the future, boxing involving human fighters has been criminalized, with the field now dominated by ‘fighting robots’.Former boxer ‘Steel Kelly’ manages an older model ‘B2-model’ robot called ‘Battling Maxo’. When another robot gets damaged on the way to a fight event, Kelly is contacted to see if Maxo can fight in his place. Kelly assures the promoter Maxo is up to the task, as he and his partner use the last of their money to get to the venue, for one last shot at the big time.But Kelly soon realizes Maxo’s functions are broken down from years of wear and tear and disguises himself as the robot to continue with the fight, almost getting himself killed in the ring by a battling ‘B7 robot’.Maxo is awarded half the prize money for an amusingly ‘poor’ performance and loyal Kelly promises to buy parts to fix up the real Maxo, good as new.Real Steel is one of 17 feature projects Spielberg and Snider retained as part of DreamWorks’ split from Paramount. The studio will finance the film entirely, though not opposed to Paramount wanting to finance half, as part of a ‘first-look’ deal.Spielberg has always been fond of robot projects, devouring “Famous Monsters Of Filmland” magazines and thrilling to “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” TV commercials as a kid, with “He knocked his block off!” becoming a catch-phrase in every schoolyard.DreamWorks initially acquired the project in 2005 for a reported $850,000, with writer John Gatins handing in the most recent draft screenplay. Production starts June 2010.