As posted about a while ago, Immortals went to Comic Con about two weeks ago, where new footage was shown and some of the cast and crew took part in a panel discussion. Isabel was not in attendance (if she was, you would obviously have known about it here!), but I thought you might be interested in some tidbits from the event anyway. Below are snippets from and links to articles written about the panel.

If you want to see more from the cast’s appearance at Comic Con then I recommend visiting our wonderful family site MrCavill.com for photos, videos and interviews with him and the cast.

A new poster for the film was also released, and you can enjoy that in our Gallery. Look closely for Athena – can you see her?

2. Freida Pinto greatly enjoyed watching her buff and often shirtless male co-stars in action
Not unlike “300,” the film appears to be heavy on testosterone, with an ensemble of chiseled male actors wearing very little as they go through the motions of making war. Pinto said it was a refreshing change of pace to be the least exposed actor on set. “My favorite part was watching the men,” she said. “I think it’s very rare that you get to be a part of a film where the men have to bare it all and the women can keep everything covered. Tarsem has an amazing vision, and he has the imagination of a three year old – only he can bring it out.”

Meanwhile, Luke Evans explained that there was actually a good reason why he and his fellow actors were chosen instead of older actors for their mythical roles. “We left the ‘ancient voice’ to John Hurt,” he said of his character Zeus’ necessary gravitas. “It was difficult – we’re used to seeing Zeus as an old man. So this was a new slant on the role. But as Tarsem said, if you were a god, you would want to be in the prime of your life.” Cavill agreed: “That’s a tricky thing, because you don’t want to make it sound too stuffy, but stay true to the age of the character. So it’s about finding a balance.”

3. The “Immortals” footage screened in San Diego is even more intense than what you saw in the trailer
Singh explained that they want to bring in as many viewers as possible, but the movie itself promises to be slightly more sinister than its promotional materials make it seem. “It’s a little darker than what the trailers lead you to believe,” he said. “The trailers have been for everybody, but the movie has a slightly darker tone.”

In the clip Singh showed, several gods descend upon a cavernous lair where they are quickly attacked by a group of homicidal monsters. The gods move almost twice as fast as their adversaries, and dispatch them with ruthless, violent efficiency. But when two of the gods are struck down and Zeus’ female companion is injured, he uses a pair of giant gold chains to literally bring down the entire chamber, in the process reducing an entire mountain to rumble. As he holds his companion in his arms and starts to transport her to safety, more of the creatures descend upon him from all sides.

4. Singh approached the film from a philosophical point of view, and then constructed it from a visual one.
Singh admitted he was a longtime atheist but was fascinated by the idea of gods, after his mother offered an observation about their role in his life. “I just wanted to address the idea of gods,” he said. “My mom said to me, ‘How do you think you are as successful as you are if it wasn’t for my praying?’ So I started with [that idea] in the script, and there’s a little bit less now. But there’s enough of my DNA for me to feel like it’s my film.”

Meanwhile, Singh is well known for his visual sense – so much so that he’s sometimes criticized for prioritizing that over storytelling. But he said that the way he directs works counterintuitive to conventional wisdom, but nevertheless works well on film. “I have certain images in my head, and I usually don’t start with [a script]. I usually start with an image, a good visual story. Fortunately it works in the medium I’m in.”

5. The film’s use of 3D enhances its storytelling, even if Tarsem isn’t completely sold on the technology’s longevity.
Discussing the subjective importance of 3D in the storytelling process, Singh said, “I think it’s an aesthetic call. Maybe in 30 or 40 years we’ll see it differently. But there’s lots of inherent problems and I don’t think that current 3D will age well.”

Producer Mark Canton, meanwhile, indicated that the decision to make the movie in 3D was as much a commercial opportunity as a creative choice. “I think you have to look at this in the perspective of moviegoing audiences all around the world,” Canton said. “If you look at the numbers, they’re quite extraordinary. If it fits, and the filmmaker like Tarsem feels it can enhance the audience’s experience, we want more of it. But it’s still about good stories well-told.”

- blogs.indiewire.com

Singh says the tone of the movie is darker than what the trailers have shown and the footage we’re about to see prove that.

- Collider.com

Playlist scribe Kimber Myers down at Comic-Con 2011 sounds both confounded and dazzled from the footage of filmmaker Tarsem Singh‘s “Immortals” that she and countless other fans saw this afternoon at the convention’s hallowed Hall H. To wit: “The footage is fucking insane and gorgeous,” she writes. “It might be a mess, but it could be the best use of 3D you’ve seen.”

While the trailers we’ve seen so far are “300”-esque, swords-and-sandals-like chest puffing heroics, the director believes what you’ve seen up until now has been watered down and the film itself, part of what was shown today, is much more intense. “It’s a little darker than I think what the trailers lead you to believe,” he said. “So right now the trailers that you’re seeing have been for everybody, but it’s more hardcore than that.”

“We’re looking for originality, we’re looking for cutting edge, we’re trying to stay away from the bullshit of the past,” producer Mark Canton said, he being one of the creative team behind Zack Snyder‘s “300.” Of course with Henry Cavill and a Snyder cohort in the house, the conversation naturally had to turn to “Man of Steel,” Cavill’s next starmaking lead turn.

While our writer on the floor said the footage was both a “mess” and “insane,” this might just be part of Tarsem’s creative approach.

“You just vomit it all out and hope it turns out,” he said of his process, noting that he tried to use the new technology in a way audiences have yet to experience. “I tried to use the 3D in a creative way and hopefully you’ll like it.”

- blogs.indiewire.com