‘Speed Racer’ Preview Shots Get First Airing – Trailer Premieres Tonight

We found out a couple of weeks ago that the Wachowski brothers Speed Racer movie had been filmed almost entirely against green screen backdrops. This meant that the vast majority of scenery, and action shots were going to be computer generated, and have a completely stylized look.

We now know this to be true, proven by the first airing of publicity shots for the film, as procured by USA Today.

In the one above, we see Emile Hirsch as the titular Speed Racer, in a shot very reminiscent of the old Japanese cartoon series. In the others, which you can see at USA Today, we get a better idea of what the effects are going to look like on screen: in a word, AWESOME.

It was always going to be a struggle to match up the needs of a 21st century audience used to spectacular special effects, and a group of older people who wanted to remember their youth, and for the film to stay true to it’s animated origins.

On first glance, it seems that the Wachowskis may actually have managed to bridge that gap.

Joel Silver, the executive producer spoke about the effects, and the work the Wachowskis put in to make it look just right:

“The effects are beyond belief. We called it ‘car fu,’ because it was like kung fu with the cars,” Silver says. “We couldn’t have made this movie until right now.”

“It obviously has a present-day aesthetic to it. But it’s still a great yarn about family and not selling out. That’s an important message to the (Wachowskis) and why we all connected to the show.”

I’m already super excited about this film, and am likely to get even more pant wettingly thrilled once I can view the trailer, which is set to première on Entertainment Tonight. As soon as it’s also available online, I’ll make sure I direct Snarkerati readers to it.