Chronicles of Riddick

[Dragonlily]

To me one of the most memorable elements of the movie was the art direction. Vin Diesel being part of the art.

[dANdeLION]

LOL! I liked it enough to get the dvd, and I'll definitely see the next film.

[Loredoctor]

There is a sequel planned?

[dANdeLION]

Well, the ending certainly screamed out sequel.

[Dragonlily]

News on Chronicles of Riddick from ComingSoon.net:

the new Unrated Director's Cut DVD which comes out Tuesday has some important scenes put back in that were edited out of the theatrical release.

This from an article dated today.

[dANdeLION]

That sounds like good news! So they're put where they belong in the movie as opposed to being on a 2nd disc, right? I wish all dvd's had an option to run the movie with all the deleted scenes in place......

[[Syl]]

I wish all dvd's had an option to run the movie with all the deleted scenes in place......

No kidding. It gets annoying watching them out of context.

[Dragonlily]

Unfortunately, the picures didn't copy over. (mmmm)

The Further Chronicles of Riddick
Source: Edward Douglas November 16, 2004

Actor Vin Diesel has become a bonafide action star in recent years, yet despite the success of his movies, he never appeared in anything resembling a sequel until earlier this year, when he starred in David Twohy's follow-up to the 2000 cult science fiction film Pitch Black. Since the first movie, Diesel starred in a number of big action movies like The Fast and the Furious and XXX, but reprising his role of the serial killer Riddick was such a labor of love that the actor made plans to make a trilogy of films starring the character with Twohy.

The Chronicles of Riddick was not the big summer blockbuster many expected, earning under $60 million, but it should have a new life on DVD as it takes full advantage of the medium, adding the usual commentaries and such, but also adding deleted scenes which introduces a new character played by Kristin Lehman that was never seen in the theatrical release. The DVD also includes a playable chapter from the X-Box game "Escape from Butcher Bay".

Although Diesel was busy shooting his latest film, he talked to ComingSoon.net about Riddick and the DVD release of the first movie in what he hopes will be a successful sci-fi trilogy.

CS!: When you were first introduced to the character of Riddick, did you always feel this passionately about the character and did you always think he was going to have this extended life?
Diesel: When I first did Pitch Black, I was drawn to this intense character arc, which was the first one I had seen that was that interesting. He starts out as this serial killer and then he's the only guy you want to save you. I thought that was really an attractive element to doing the first film. Once I was actually shooting in Australia and we were nearing the end of production--it might have been while we were shooting some of the shots leaving the planet--that's when I started to think how cool it would be if we could follow Riddick off of this planet and allow him to introduce us to this whole universe and mythology. That concept started while we were nearing the end of our production shoot in Australia for Pitch Black.

CS!: How pleased were you with the theatrical cut of Chronicles of Riddick, and what did you want to go back into the Director's Cut?
Diesel: I was pleased with the theatrical cut, but I was excited about the DVD director's cut because of the idea of adding other story elements to the film that we weren't able to incorporate into the theatrical experience. I think what we're finding is that the DVD medium is defining itself as a separate medium, unlike the VHS copies of movies we used to get that were just an opportunity to see the movies at home. The DVD experience is an opportunity to fully explore the Chronicles of Riddick universe and an opportunity to go behind the scenes in an interesting way. The director usually gets an opportunity to tell the full story and not be limited to theatrical running times.

CS!: How important did you feel the footage was that was put back into the movie and what does it add to the film?
Diesel: I think it starts to flesh out a sense of origin for Riddick, our enigmatic protagonist, in a cool way. The Shirah character (as played by Kristin Lehman) shows up in important moments. In creating this story, she was designed to introduce Riddick to his Furian nature, so on the runway, she unleashes this burst of Furian energy that actually repels his negative energy, for which you'll see a longer explanation in future Chronicles of Riddick pictures. When we were creating this story, we were creating a story that would be told over three films, and the Shirah character plays to that. She's introduced in this film, but is paid off in the third film. The way that it's designed-and I hope that I'm not giving too much away-is that in Chronicles of Riddick 2, we go into the Underverse, and then C3, if you will, is that final return home to Furia.

CS!: Are the next two films a lock? Are they definitely happening?
Diesel: Nothing's a lock in this world. I guess we'll see what happens with the DVD.

CS!: Do you think that the DVD will bring a whole new life to the film? Do you think that a lot of people will wait for the DVD since it will be unrated and have more footage?
Diesel: Yeah, I think people wait for the DVD. Pitch Black was really introduced to the world via DVD. I don't know how many people actually saw the movie in the theatre, but when Pitch Black came out, it was introduced in the DVD format. I always thought that The Chronicles of Riddick is this intense ball of energy that hasn't really exploded yet and will continue on throughout the DVD release. There's a sequel to the video game being made. There is constantly work being put into the franchise. I think there will be a follow-up, because you'll have to see Riddick go to the Underverse and ultimately, you'll have to see him go back to Furia.

CS!: How much of that is riding on the success of the DVD in terms of the future of the franchise?
Diesel: Good question, but it depends on whom you ask. For me, we made Pitch Black with 20 million dollars, and I think that you can continue this character regardless of the film budget. You follow me? Will the next film be a PG-13 $100 and something million dollar movie? I don't know. By virtue of the fact that it takes place in the Underverse, which is obviously going to be a lot more gruesome than New Mecca, the sequel to this would be Rated R like Pitch Black.

CS!: Is it possible that the story can continue in animation or the video games?
Diesel: That was the whole idea of having the other formats. That was the idea behind doing the Peter Chung homage to Riddick. (Note: The animated Riddick film Dark Fury came out on DVD in June.) That was the motivating force in Tygon creating the video game "Escape from Butcher Bay" with Starbreeze, because it would give us the opportunity to explain the back stories of Riddick. In the video game, you learn how he got his eyes, and you learn what he's been doing [since the first movie]. The video game does a lot to flesh out the universe and the mythology, and that was what was so much fun.

CS!: Do you consider this to be your Lord of the Rings?
Diesel: Yes. This is only partially fantasy obviously. The expertise of David Twohy is that sci-fi world, so this was a fusion of fantasy and science fiction or at least that was the objective.

CS!: What are your thoughts on the gamble of coming up with this mythology with no assurance that it will ever pay off?
Diesel: Yeah, it's thrilling and it's frightening, because you're going for a story that isn't done in a reactionary way. It isn't like you do a film and then you make a lot of money and put something else together. I think we're being responsible in our storytelling by thinking of all three stories before making the first one. There is that level of anxiety, because you get questions like, "Is the future film dependent on that?" because it's a realistic question. If you're enjoying the creative process, then it's never life threatening to be creative.

CS!: Did you feel that you had to make this movie as concise and independent of the other two as possible even knowing that this is only the first chapter?
Diesel: I don't, because the whole objective in my mind is to try to introduce characters in this first film that don't payoff in a very George Lucas '70s way until later films, but that speaks to a very well thought out trilogy. The film business is so arbitrary…I mean we made Pitch Black for a company called Polygram. (Note: That company was merged into Universal shortly after.)

"The Chronicles of Riddick - Unrated Directors Cut" DVD comes out today.

Notice that Diesel can use "whom" correctly in conversation.

[Loredoctor]

I can't believe he talks about Riddick being an interesting character. He's just like a computer game character - all image and action.

[dANdeLION]

I think Riddick is a very interesting character.

[Dragonlily]

Yes, there's a good deal of suspense to the character. To what degree will he be redeemed? and will it last in the face of circumstances? In Pitch Black, he was an absolutely fascinating character, because of the detours in the character arc.

[Cail]

Finally saw this last night. I enjoyed PB, but would in no way call it an "intelligent Alien". PB was visually very cool with some interesting characters and twists.

So TCoR was a bit disappointing to me. I thought it lacked PB's visual style. Sure, there was a ton of cgi, but so what? The story seemed to ramble and take a long, wayward path to its conclusion. And I couldn't help giggling everytime someone said, "Necromonger".

It wasn't bad, but I think it relied a lot more on the standard formula, and the premise that Riddick is the ultimate badass than PB.

[Dragonlily]

Got my copy yesterday. *licks chops in anticipation*

[dANdeLION]

Well, tell us what you think.

[Dragonlily]

I think I need time to watch it. I have too much going on.

Besides, I saw it in the theater.

[Dragonlily]

I watched C of Riddick 3 times last week, once the straight movie, once with pop-ups, and once with the director's commentary (Twohy talking with the Kyra and Vacco actors.)

I think the huge sets need the huge screen to be fully appreciated. For me the effects don't work as well on a TV. Not just the throne room scenes, either. Imagine being chased across a planet by that deadly sunrise, with a huge corona and then with a small one. It feels incomplete when I'm not dwarfed by it.

But I do have some intriguing questions from the movie. Of course we wonder what Riddick is going to do with his horde of fanatical followers. Twohy says the Elementals wanted Riddick to take out the Necromongers so they could make their own power push. What about that?

Also, now that Dame Vacco has failed to make her husband Warlord, is she just going to give up? I don't think so -- she isn't made that way. Having been disappointed in her husband, maybe she will make a push to become Warlady. Trying to seduce Riddick would be the expected course, but I'd like to see her try to kill him and hold the position herself. That would be an interesting intrigue!

[Nav]

It's a shame Vin Diesel isn't on the commentary, he and Twohy were a great double act on the one for Pitch Black:

DT: "This is a great shot here. We only shot this scene once, because Vin kept going on about it and I just didn't see what he was getting at. In the end I shot it just to shut him up, so that's why there's a little camera bounce on it."

VD (great initials, Vin): "This here is the hokiest shot in the whole film. He cuts the hair, he feels it, he sniffs it then he blows it away. Why does he blow it away? There's absolutely no reason for him to do that."

[dANdeLION]

Joy, I agree that the big screen is the way to go on this film. You can get real close to your TV, but it's just not the same.

[kevinswatch]

I enjoyed Chronicles of Riddick. I kept my expectations low and didn't expect it to be much more then a lame sci-fi action movie. And that's sort of what it turned out to be, so at least I wasn't dissapointed, heh. But I remember it was a lot of fun to watch, and had some cool action scenes.

I saw Pitch Black after I saw Chronicles. I was sort of disappointed, since I'm a big Aliens fan, and it for some reason I kept thinking "Aliens" when I was watching it, heh. But it was interesting, and it was pretty good, so I won't complain.

But yeah, Riddick as a character is pretty cool.

Of course, I'm secretly a Vin Diesel fan, heh. I'm the kind of person who thought XXX was awesome.

So yeah, basically, I'm an easy sell when it comes to movies. As long as they entertain, it's good enough for me usually. So I liked both Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick.-jay