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Lisberger off making a TRON sequel, now Disney set to just... remake it...

Hey folks, Harry here. I love TRON. It's a primal film. It was the movie that made me fall in love with computers. It made me dream about what they could be. I've long dreamt of having that desk system of David Warners. I just think it's the coolest thing around.

I bought a scope 16mm print of the original, and it is still one of my happiest movies to watch. After the TRON video game did well, the word was that Lisberger was going to get to do his long awaited TRON sequel. Well now, it seems that they've taken the project and put it into the hands of Brian Klugman & Lee Sternthal. Here's an excerpt from the Variety article:

"Sternthal said the new conceit is that the computer programmer gets trapped in a cyberworld, so that the film can utilize the Internet."

Ah, because... ya see... um, the internet didn't exist during the original TRON. Remember, back then, the MCP had to hire thugs to kidnap the actual Pentagon computers and bring them to directly hook up via hard-wiring. I mean... sigh... Lisberger is a visionary and an artist that envisioned the future of what computers would be. These guys, their only qualifications were that they plunked a lot of quarters into the stand up version of the video game... I just don't have faith in them. Oh sure, let them do their thing, but I'm watching this project with a high degree of... "THEY BETTER NOT FUCK IT UP!" and the genuine feeling that the original filmmaker and creator of the TRON universe had compelling and wonderful ideas and directions that he was wishing to take this into, that would again be visionary, and having it just be REGURGITATED by people that apparently think the internet is a recent thing that ... wasn't around at the time of the original film... well... that's just 'tarded as hell and shows a complete and utter lack of knowledge about the history of computers, the internet and how systems work. And if that's the case, they sure as hell need to back the fuck off TRON!

Readers Talkback
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  • Jan. 13, 2005, 5:13 a.m. CST

    I liked it better when it was called The Matrix.

    by Rant Breath

    No thanks Disney, its been done to death, the whole "man trapped in a machine world" thing.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 5:16 a.m. CST

    I agree Harry...

    by Lujho

    It doesn't need to be a remake, a sequel would work just as well. And Liserger deserves to do it - it's his freaking baby. *********** It would be the kind of sequel that would almost be a kind of remake anyway, like say the second Evil Dead. Slightly different story, updated effects, new ideas and characters, but basically the same humans trapped in a computer world premise. *********** It doesn't need Boxleitner or Bridges as main characters (though small roles would be nice), and it can be its own entirely separate story, and hell, update the effects all you want but it doesn't need to pretend that the original movie never happenned, that this universe doesn't already exist in a perfectly well done form. It would be much easier ti create an interesting film if they build upon what has come before.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 5:19 a.m. CST

    Every 2 years...

    by Heckles

    talk of a Tron sequel is kicked around Hollywood. I'll believe it when I see those neon bikes.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 5:30 a.m. CST

    Have to agree with Setion_Pirate

    by Preacher_mg

    Harry, you were probably tired or something, I dunno... but this whole article is completely unreadable. As for Tron, I don't see any justification to remake it or make a sequel. Yes, it was visionary back in the early eighties, but do we need another computer generated, trapped-in-the-matrix movie? because this is what it's gonna be, no matter who is going to helm it. Please Disney, let the fans retain their fond memories from the original and COME UP WITH AN ORIGINAL IDEA for chrissake.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 5:52 a.m. CST

    Hollywood Screws Itself

    by AtomicHyperbole

    It's true. The money's in the hands of the least creative people on earth making creative decisions. The results speak for themselves... I mean, they even give scripts for films like Tron or Doom to people who either don't know or don't care for the original material. Jobsworths. And the end result is nearly always rubbish. Sometimes they get lucky, as Spiderman proved, but as Hulk proved, sometimes they don't. Hollywood = luck not judgement. It's waiting for all the elements to drop into place and nothing more.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 6:01 a.m. CST

    Actually...

    by AtomicHyperbole

    Someone tell us more about Appleseed please... http://www.appleseedthemovie.com/ I've been waiting for it for years.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 7:30 a.m. CST

    Tron story

    by c4andmore

    The recent Tron PC game could be used as a sequel, it had a decent enough story, didn't retread old ideas, and had some fabulous set-pieces that would be great on the big screen. Plus it used some of the old characters so it had connections to the original.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:14 a.m. CST

    Um, Harry...

    by Sledgeh101

    the computer programmer gets trapped in a cyberworld, so that the film can utilize the Internet. Doesn't that sound a BIT too much like Lawnmower Man 2 to you?

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:21 a.m. CST

    squirrels

    by stvnhthr

    I could never buy into the world of TRON, even as a kid I knew too much about computers to suspend my disbelief. It is like making a movie about the squirrels running in treadmills that power the family car.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:42 a.m. CST

    I agree, Harry, and no offense, Rant Breath...

    by The PimpDragon

    But saying that The Matrix did it first is just ridiculous. My thought about The Matrix was this: I liked it better when it was Dark City, Tron, Dune and The Terminator. Tron did the "Man inside Computer" thing 17 YEARS before The Matrix hit the big screen. I'm with you, Harry. I am very nervous of people taking a well-established world and soiling it with MTV ideas. Lisberger has many designs and ideas for the future of that world and it's a shame that Disney won't let the creator of this bankable universe have any say in its future development. To those that bash Tron - go right ahead. I happen to absolutely love the film and always have. It's more interesting than many films that have come out since dealing with similar issues or themes. Harry, check out www.tron-sector.com for more info on the Tron universe and other developments towards the sequel. It's a great site and very well-designed and maintained.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:53 a.m. CST

    Damn!

    by Lord_Soth

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 9:35 a.m. CST

    Don't need a remake...

    by Southpaw Samurai

    I have to agree that a sequel (which easily can be a standalone sequel) would be infinitely better than just doing a mindless remake and that Lisberger should be involved given that it is his passion and vision that help make Tron watchable today despite its relative overall quality. I do have to disagree with the rejection of newer technology that Harry almost seems to profess. If one listen's to how Alan describes Tron's functions, you almost get a description of Firewall software and the MPC gathering and connecting all the various systems easily lays the foundation for the Internet. So, Tron's world could very easily be upgraded and still fit in to the original. If you're going to name the movie Tron, though, you sort of have to include Tron and unless it's a later version programmed by someone else, it sort of requires Boxleitner for at least an extended cameo. Come to think of it...if all programs look like their makers, could you imagine their appearances? An unappealing world of Harry look-alikes, obnoxious thirteen year olds, and every sort of character in between...and what about those programs written by committee?

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 9:54 a.m. CST

    Who Cares, the Matrix movies sucked ass!

    by BigTuna

    The first one was ok, but yikes those last two were sleep inducing turds.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 10:16 a.m. CST

    I still prefer to think that Tron, The Matrix, The Terminator, a

    by rev_skarekroe

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 10:36 a.m. CST

    Will Captain Panaka be in it?

    by BNITT

    I hope so. He rocks!!! Long live his cynical ass and wedged out eye!!!

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 10:44 a.m. CST

    Tron sucks balls like a new Missy Elliot song on MTV.

    by Brian_De_Man

    Tron has to be the worst pile of shit that any director could make up in his head. It's worse than Dungeon and Dragons and Star Wars put together in a suck fest. If any movie could suck more than Tron.. I have never seen it but before the first 5 minutes.. you will be in a little land called YAWNville.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 10:47 a.m. CST

    Steven Lisburger is the only man that should write/direct a sequ

    by MachinaMan

    I am a bit confused here. Didn't Steven Lisburger already have Tron 2.0 ready to go at least a year ago? Why is Disney taking it out of his hands? As much as I like Tron I don't know if I will have anything to do with it if Steven Lisburger is n't at the helm (because if he isn't doing the screenplay I can't imagine that he would direct it as well, though I have received no confirmation on that end of it).

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 11:01 a.m. CST

    they already did the remake- it was called the matrix.

    by dr.bulber

    i got it-lets remake the matrix.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 11:34 a.m. CST

    Stop Rewarding Disney for regurgitating their library with your

    by Oompa_Radar

    I think somehow they might get the message to stop recycling if people actually stopped paying to see it.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 11:46 a.m. CST

    Hell, I don't know what you guys are worried about...

    by DocPazuzu

    ...movies about the Internet are usually GREAT! Just watch Lawnmower Man 2 and Hackers and The Net to see what I... I... Oh God.... What did I just say? BLAM! (thud)

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 12:19 p.m. CST

    The Seven Stages of Harry's Remake Grief

    by soylentphil

    Stage 1: Anger at the initial announcement; Stage 2: Grumpy doubt at the first casting; Stage 3: Guarded skepticism at the first press release/statement from director; Stage 4: Guarded optimism upon the release of the first stills; Stage 5: "Kinda looking forward" upon seeing the first trailer; Stage 6: "Geeked up" after reading the first (plant) reviews; Stage 7: Full on hyperbole at the "absolute marvel" the film really is.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 12:21 p.m. CST

    that's mighty disapointing stranger

    by Mr Brownstone

    prediction: I never see you or your fucking mouse again.

  • ...is in the use of computer graphics to create abstract beauty. The focus on nearly every CGI special effect of the last 20 years has been realism, realism, realism. Every ounce of effort has been to improve the specularity on Gollum's eyes, the particle animation in tidal waves, the movement of soldiers two miles from the camera. If TRON eschewed the drive for photorealism and embraced a fantastically abstract and NONrealistic environment, powered by the amazing speed and capability of today's renderfarms, it could do what the original did: show people something they had never seen before.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 1:08 p.m. CST

    What they need to make it work

    by Kentucky Colonel

    1) Lightcycles 2)Jumpsuits made of light patterns 3) Jeff Bridges in a cameo role 4) A boppin' tune by Journey (perhaps Lights?) 5) a real freakin' story, not a re-hash. Seriously, more Journey.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 1:13 p.m. CST

    Tron and Matrix both ripped off Doctor Who

    by Media_Gold

    Not that I don't like the first Matrix movie and Tron, but there was a story in the mid 70's called The Deadly Assassin where the Doctor was sucked into a computer-fantasy land known as "The Matrix" where he engaged a bad guy in imaginary battles. I think that Steve-o, the Wach Bros and Dean Devlin (Stargate=Pyramids of Mars) are closet Who fans.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 1:17 p.m. CST

    Tron 2.0 computer game **IS** Tron for today, baby!

    by CKnightShift

    Doesn't Disney keep tabs on what their own corporate divisions are up to?! Yeah Tron 2.0 made a buttload of money but didn't the Mouse House see ANYTHING but money? Like ummm I dunno how it was a FANTASTIC update to the world of Tron? They integrated the Internet, PDAs, multi-authored softwared, everything was accounted for. No need to re-create the wheel here... or improve on perfection: no remake!!

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 1:28 p.m. CST

    "the history of computers, the internet and how systems work"

    by ScienceMan

    Yes, Harry, we better get up in arms that the new writers have their facts straight about the real-world working of computers and the internet, otherwise it might be hard to suspend disbelief when HUMANS ARE DIGITIZED AND MADE INTO ANTHROPOMORPHIC DATA PACKETS. It's fantasy, enjoy it and let the hard tech facts slide. Don't worry about the "science" in this one. I for one hope they don't even attempt to dress it up with any fancy dialogue. "Flynn is trapped in a DNS router! 404 Error! File not found... we're doomed! No wait... I think this pop-up ad is trying to communicate with us!" Tron was a great film. First person to market a life-size working lightcycle will be a bajillionaire overnight.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 1:35 p.m. CST

    Attn. Media_Gold, re: Doctor Who "The Deadly Assassin"

    by CKnightShift

    Some knowledgable sources on the subject have noted that "The Deadly Assassin" story on Doctor Who was in all likelihood THE very first time that virtual reality was used in TV/movies and possibly the first time ANYWHERE that the concept was ever introduced. Wonder who would have won between the Fourth Doctor and Agent Smith :-P It's prolly the most torn-up Doctor Who ever (and that's saying something: the "clown in the ground" haunted me for years for some reason.). But it's one of the best in of the show's history: first real look at Gallifrey, the most *gruesome* Master ever, plenty of action and humor. Great arc, though whatever sex appeal Lala Ward saw in Tom Baker after he showed off his clean-shaven legs like that, I've no idea...

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 1:45 p.m. CST

    to the haters

    by Seelbach

    to those who trashed harry's writing.. what is this a school paper? to those who trashed tron. why? it's a pretty cool movie really. if it's not your thing, shut up already. you people think that by insulting everything and everyone, we will see how clever you are?

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 2:02 p.m. CST

    The original Tron was just a novelty...

    by Rupee88

    ...and it's hook was the computer graphics effects. At this point, CGI is obviously common, so why remake a crappy movie that had no story? I suspect if they do remake it, it will be a relatively low-budget affair and they will revamp the story almost completely. I never liked the first one, so I don't care about a sequel at all. I bet it will be a kids movie like Spy Kids.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 2:06 p.m. CST

    Why make a sequel to a 1982 bomb?

    by BigTuna

    I don't see why so many here and Harry think a sequel is the way to go. With a remake, you can now update the special effects and tell the story again. No one saw Tron when it first came out so I don't see how in this case, a sequel is a good idea.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 2:25 p.m. CST

    The Tron Guy

    by DocPazuzu

    When Tron-love goes bad: http://www.tronguy.net/TRONcostume/

  • They haven't built a circuit that could hold you, Brother!

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 4 p.m. CST

    Just like Wonka, another remake will suck

    by Jeditemple

    Why is Hollywood out to remake everything? Geez...there's even a new "Poseidon Adventure" being re-made with terrorists causing the ship to turn over! @#$%!!!!!

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 7:11 p.m. CST

    No, Tron is not a GREAT movie but...

    by DoctorWho?

    ...it does have a vibe about it. Most films should try for THAT much. Very cool music too, though I imagine it's been ingrained into my skull from playing the video game more so than seeing the movie. This was bound to happen. Computers are SO much more a part of our daily lives than at the time they made the original. There are far more parallels to draw on. TRON was ahead of its time...maybe this will be THE definitive version. And oh yes...THE DEADLY ASSASSIN was the prototype of Tron and The Matrix. I am after all...The Doctor.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 7:15 p.m. CST

    And who wants to bet the terrorists in the new Poseiden Adventur

    by DoctorWho?

    NO WAY will they be of the Islamofacist type. That would just be too in-thensitve.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:02 p.m. CST

    The Tron 2.0 game that CKnightShift mentioned had two cool secti

    by FrankDrebin

    The first had a guy in the machine world helping a guy in the real world infiltrate a high security area. The other section had the machine world infected with a virus--towers of light were turning a sickly green and decaying. Here are some screenshots (scroll down for links to 8 other pages of screens): http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/tron20/screenindex.html

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:48 p.m. CST

    So...

    by Setion_Pirate

    Was it the comparison between Harry's writing and that of a 14 year old girl, or "uncontrolled fanboy orgasms" or the question of the total lack comprehensible syntax in on of the first sentences that got my post deleted. Take the heat, baby.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 8:50 p.m. CST

    This only proves (yet again) that Roy Disney is right that Eisne

    by Commando Cody

    Disney is truly fucked up in the film department, a core backbone to the corporation. If it hadn't been for Pixar saving their year yet again with the INCREDIBLES, Disney would once again have a shit filled year. So what's the brain trust to do? Take a movie like TRON and rather than advance it, move it in a new direction, as Harry says they have to REGURGITATE it, thus demonstrating yet again how much the House of the Mouse has dried up creatively. Though I'm sure the suits will argue "We needed to start it over again to get a franchise out of it." Which, of course, leads to brain dead suit decision 2: namely decide that you have in your hands a creative property that soooooo GREAT...that the first person you fire is the guy who CREATED it. Shit for brains, that's the Disney management style. Roy Disney and Stanley Gold can't get Eisner and a few other execs fired fast enough.

  • Jan. 13, 2005, 10:21 p.m. CST

    Freakazoid?

    by kdoc13

    Sorry, but isn't this essentially how Dexter Douglas, nerd computer ace surfed on the internet and got sent to cyberspace? I think the cartoon was probably better than this will be. Oh well, at least I have the original.

  • Jan. 14, 2005, 5:31 a.m. CST

    Tron 2.0 was an involving experience with a shallow and silly st

    by SalvatoreGravano

    In other words, it was, essentially, not unlike the film. "Fight the resource hogs!" Oh, yeah... a movie sequel - not to mention any remacrap - will be a painful experience with a moronic story. Filled with "gangsta" (c)rap and Marilyn Moronson "music", no doubt, because the only Carlos the MTVidiots would know about is probably some jackass from a "reality TV" series somewhere (Judging by statistics, I assume *a* Carlos has made it to one of these somewhere, with so many of them infecting every channel in every country)

  • Jan. 14, 2005, 5:33 a.m. CST

    another remake?

    by CuervoJones

    ...

  • While it isn't accurate to say that the internet wasn't around at the time that Tron was made (it was, but it wasn't accessible to Joe Public - who wouldn't have had a means of seeing it anyway)the point here I think is that the march of IT progress is such that they could remake Tron every...say...20 years or so. 1982 - home computers weren't really commonplace, and wouldn't be for another 15 years. In that time, we've seen the growth and acceptance as norm of home computers, e-mail, the internet, call phones, satellite & cable, VHS, DVD, CD, digital cameras...all of these things (okay some of which were in their infancy, like VHS). Just think of the leaps we'll have taken by 2025 - when they can quite feasably make a THIRD vesrion of Tron, with the prevailing technology serving as a backdrop.

  • Jan. 17, 2005, 3:08 p.m. CST

    Don't know how they can do this without making it look like a ba

    by minderbinder

    Or knowing disney, a bad Spy Kids 3 ripoff.

  • Aug. 11, 2007, 1:01 a.m. CST

    Alas, it is 2.5 years Later

    by kevinwillis.net

    An no closer there to being any Tron sequel, ever. The bastards.