SEGA News Bits: Sonic Movie Design REVEALED

This is not a drill! The news we have been waiting for has hit and on this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry put the movie design of Sonic under the microscope. How does it compare to the teasers? How does it compare to the games? Do we feel better about the upcoming film?

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Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie character design leaks!

Thanks to an overly enthusiastic staffer at Hagami/Carroll Inc. who wanted to update the company’s online portfolio, we now have an advance look at how Sonic will appear in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie from Paramount. The company had been tasked with creating a brand guidelines book and package design for the movie, as the images show off brand elements including graphics, character poses and the brand personality. The elephant in the room of course is the newly designed cinematic take on Sonic in all its glory. Fan reaction has been mixed, with comments ranging from “better than I expected” to “okay” to gifs of people jumping from windows.

Personally, I think it looks awful and cannot wait for the SEGA News Bits video where George and I pick apart the blue little guy. In the meantime, check out the gallery of images below and share your own opinions in the comments.

SEGA News Bits: Junkie XL Scoring Sonic the Hedgehog Movie

Hear that? It’s the sound of Sonic the Hedgehog movie news! We recently learned that composer Junkie XL, of Max Max: Fury Road and Deadpool fame, will be making the music for the Sonic movie. On this News Bits, we discuss the news and whether we think this improves our outlook on the movie or not.

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SEGA in the Media: Sonic the Hedgehog movie gets a mention at the Golden Globes

The Golden Globes happened over the weekend, and surprisingly the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie got a mention in a short back and forth between the hosts and Jim Carrey. In the clip, Jim is told by the hosts that because he is nominated for television that he needs to move from the film seating section. Carrey counters, pointing out that he will be in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in November. However, host Andy Samberg counters that Jim can sit in the film section next year noting “I’m sure it will be nominated.” Of course, the joke is that the Sonic movie will not be nominated for a Golden Globe and everybody has a laugh at the expense of the movie.

Look, I’ve seen several fans and fan sites defend the clip saying the joke wasn’t about the Sonic movie looking like it will be awful but about Jim sitting in the wrong section. I personally don’t care if people make fun of the upcoming Sonic movie, because I think it looks terrible and Paramount and SEGA deserves the blowback. But to think that the above clip isn’t making fun of the movie is just silly.

SEGA News Bits: New Sonic Movie Posters & Cast List Leak Reaction

Hooray! More Sonic movie news! On this SEGA News Bits, Barry works his hairy blue legs out and runs from story to story talking everything from a new poster, a leaked old concept for a poster, a leaked cast list, the official Sonic movie Twitter account and Ian Flynn’s take on this whole thing.

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SEGA News Bits: Sonic Movie Teaser Reaction

You knew this video was coming. On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry discuss the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer. What do we think of Sonic’s new design? How about those shoes? What do Japanese fans think of the teaser?

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Sonic the Hedgehog movie teaser and poster revealed – “Mr. SEGA, are you serious?”

I think the reaction from a Japanese Sonic fan sums up my feelings on today’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie reveal: “Mr. SEGA, are you serious?”

Revealed as a motion poster by IGN, the video features a blue blur not unlike what we saw in the old Sonic 4 teasers. The blur eats through a path of rings which don’t quite make the correct sound we’ve known for the past 25+ years. Finally, the movie Sonic stops, hidden and shadow, and he looks… oh god. So, instead of opting for the tried and true design that has suited the character since 1998 (if we’re going by the modern design), Paramount opted for a bizarre hyper realistic design. Sonic is very hairy, has human proportions, weird little eyes and shoes that are in no way his signature sneakers. This looks bad. Very bad.

IGN’s has a lengthy interview with the filmmakers, and this bit jumped out at me:

The most challenging part of Sonic’s updated design isn’t revealed in this teaser: his eyes. The filmmakers struggled with how best to depict Sonic’s eyes because often he’s only seen with one, and that wouldn’t translate well to the live-action movie.

“I don’t think SEGA was entirely happy with the eye decision, but these sorts of things you go, ‘It’s going to look weird if we don’t do this.’ But everything is a discussion, and that’s kind of the goal, which is to only change what’s necessary and stay true to the rest of it,” said Miller. “He’s not going to feel like a Pixar character would because I don’t think that’s the right aesthetic to make it feel like part of our world.”

Really? Sonic’s eyes would not translate to live action? Have the seen the countless CG cutscenes? The many times a 3D Sonic has appeared in real world settings (Sonic Boom adverts, Progressive Auto Insurance adverts)? How does a real world setting change how you’d depict a 3D model of an iconic character like Sonic? He could easily appear in his traditional design and nobody would complain. I also like how they ignore SEGA’s feelings towards their design. Smart move, right? Ignore notes from SEGA on Sonic’s design.

Dear god, this movie…

SEGA News Bits: Ben Schwartz to voice Sonic the Hedgehog in upcoming movie from Paramount

The upcoming Sonic movie from Paramount just keeps getting better and better! On this SEGA News Bits, Barry shows his excitement for recent casting announcements and set photos, and speculates on what sort of plot the movie might have.

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Ben Schwartz to voice Sonic in upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog Paramount movie


It seems that Roger Craig Smith will not be voicing the blue blur in the upcoming Paramount Pictures movie, Variety has reported that the studio has hired Ben Schwartz. The biggest role I recall Ben in has been he’s role in Parks and Recreation. But he has also done some really good voice over work, recently landing the role of Dewey in the DuckTales animated show and plays Leo in the upcoming Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show.

Sonic the Hedgehog movie is set to debut in November 15, 2019. What are your thoughts on Paramount Pictures changing up the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog voice cast for new actors? Do you think Ben Schwartz can deliver a good performance as Sonic the Hedgehog?

New Sonic the Hedgehog movie details revealed – filming location, possible title and logo

Via Twitter user KyroDRX and the Sonic Stadium comes some new details about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie from Paramount. A friend of KyroDRX received a notice for an upcoming filming on their streets of the movie. The scene will take place in a residential area and will feature a car pulling up to a house, scenes will then take place inside the house. The scenes will be taking place during the day and night, so it is possible that this is a home of a main character and will be featured at various points throughout the movie.

There will be no action or special effects scenes films, only atmospheric smoke will be used. The home address given is a lovely little home just off of an inlet from the Pacific Ocean and the area has a very “Californian” vibe. You can see the home after the break.

Also worth noting is that the movie logo and title might be revealed in the image above. The title is a simple “SONIC” in italics. If you want my graphic designer expert opinion, I don’t like it. Dropping “the Hedgehog” and using italics makes it read like Sonic Drive-In, and the addition of Sonic’s silhouette in the C looks clunky. Sonic already has a logo, so why not use that one?

SEGA News Bits: Sonic movie director & producers revealed discussion

Welcome to another installment of our SEGA News Bits series, this time we will be discussing the news about the Sonic movie getting its director and producers announced. We will look at what this means, how we feel about the slow moving project and if we even trust Sony Pictures with a Sonic movie. Yes, we discuss the addition of Tim Miller, famous Deadpool director, joining the Sonic movie as a executive producer as well. Give it a listen and like always you can tell us what you think about all this Sonic movie news by leaving us a comment below.

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Producers for Sony’s Sonic the Hedgehog Movie revealed, Deadpool director Tim Miller involved as executive producer

Miller

The Sonic the Hedgehog Movie (Not to be confused with the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog OVA) is still in production, and we’ve recently learned new information about the movie. Probably the most notable detail is that Tim Miller, director of the critically and commercially successful Deadpool movie, is involved with the Sonic the Hedgehog movie as an executive producer. Joining him is long time Blur Studio collaborator Jeff Fowler, and Neal H. Moritz of Fast and Furious fame as a producer.

Millar’s comments about his cohort Jeff:

“Jeff is an incredible director with strong story instincts. The world of Sonic presents the perfect opportunity for him to leverage his experience in animation to bring new dimension to this iconic character.”

On top of Blue Studio and Sony Picture Entertainment being involved, SEGA animation subsidiary Marza Animation Planet will help with production, with staff Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi also joining as producers. For context, Marza Animation Planet being the animation studio behind the CGI cutscenes in varies SEGA titles such as the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva series and Sonic the Hedgehog, and helped with 3D artwork illustrations for some Nintendo titles such as Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon.

While there’s nothing on the production itself, it’s slated to be “a hybrid CG-animated/live-action family film”, still with a tentative 2018 release.

[Source: Hollywood Reporter]

Leaked Sony Pictures e-mails show excitement for SEGA’s “SONIC – THE HEDGE DOG”

sonicmovie

You probably remember when Sony Pictures had thousands of emails leaked last year following controversy over their movie The Interview. Despite Sony’s best efforts to pull the emails from the internet, once they were out there the damage was done. The emails revealed a ton of strange and fascinating behind-the-scenes information, from a Men In Black crossover with 21 Jump Street to silly salary disputes. Given Sony’s dealings with SEGA in regards to an upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie, it was only a matter of time before some emails related to the upcoming movie leaked out. One such email from Senior Vice President of Sony Pictures Releasing International, Noriaki “Dick” Sano, features a funny typo and some details about the upcoming film. Dick writes:

SONIC – THE HEDGE DOG
Dear All,

Hannah Minghella just called to give me an early heads up that a very popular video game for years from Sega game maker
named SONIC – THE HEDGE DOG will be made into a Live Action film.

Script is not yet completed but it would be financed 50-50 by SPE and Sega. Ms. Mie Ohnishi from Sega ( actually now called Sega/Sammy)
would be stationed to Burbank until the completion of the film. She will be coming to my office for a courtesy visit this afternoon,
so Hannah’s phone call was very timely and appreciated.

According to Hannah, the release date in the US would hopefully be in 2016.

I hope this would be another franchise like RESIDENT EVIL for our Japanese market.

Sincerely,
Dick

Aside from the funny typo of “SONIC – THE HEDGE DOG”, we now know the film will be financed 50/50 by Sony Pictures Entertainment and SEGA. Also, SEGA’s Mie Ohnishi who serves as a Producer/Development Executive at Marza Animation Planet Inc. will be stationed in Burbank, CA working on the film with Sony. It is also noted that as of June 2014 a script was not written and the goal is to release the movie in 2016. Dick ends his email with hope that a Sonic movie would be a good fit for the Japanese market like Sony’s Resident Evil movies. Nobody show him Sonic‘s Japanese sales numbers!

After the break check out a few more SEGA related details from Sony that have surfaced.

Yuji Naka spills the beans on a Sonic movie?

It has been revealed by Naka himself recently that he visited the Mazra Animation studios. The animators behind the Sonic Unleashed CGI scenes and Generations CGI ads. On both Twitter and Facebook he makes comments that sound along the lines that there may be a Sonic animated movie in the works.

Marza Animation Planet is made up of members from VE R&D (http://sega.jp/corp/saiyo/csjob/ve.shtml), which is a division he had a hand in creating. It looks like they’re working on a Sonic movie. Their offices seem nice, and they have a screening room / theatre there.

Whether it may just be some CGI for an upcoming game or a full blown movie remains to be seen. Sega has not made any comment on the matter so far.