In six months, Dreamworks is scheduled to release Real Steel, a film from Hugh Jackman and the director of Night at the Museum about robots with mohawks who
I’m told the studio has commissioned John Gatins, who scripted the first film, to start on the second installment. It’s unusual to see that occur so early, but I can recall it happening when Warner Bros commissioned a Hangover sequel after early tests showed the movie was going to be a big hit.
DreamWorks has gotten strong response to internal screenings of the film, and at a CinemaCon presentation of footage in Las Vegas. The film is a Rocky-meets-Transformers tale of a prize fighter whose pugilistic skills are rendered obsolete when human boxers are replaced by robots. The fighter (Jackman) becomes a boxing promoter and finds a discarded robot that wins and wins. The fighter also discovers he has a 13-year old son, who comes along for the ride as the robot heads toward the top against scary competition. [Deadline]
Rocky meets Transformers. Do not nut-punch your robot, you indeed read that correctly. Though if you ask me, it sounds like another Stallone classic, Over the Top. Specifically the old Norm MacDonald car crash sketch from SNL (included below), where he’s ripping on Stallone for making Over the Top. “Did you actually read the script for Over the Top and say ‘gee, that’s a good one.’ You combined the the drama of a child custody hearing with, uh… arm wrestling.”
I can’t wait until Real Steel comes out, combining all the touching drama of male-abandonment issues with… uh… robot boxing.