Animated Beowulf also in the works?

[Alatar]

Hopkins Animated About Beowulf

Anthony Hopkins told SCI FI Wire that he recently completed work on Robert Zemeckis' upcoming computer-animated version of Beowulf, based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, and added that he found the entire process fascinating. "I play Hrothgar, king of the Danes," Hopkins said in an interview while promoting his latest film, The World's Fastest Indian. "Beowulf comes to slay the evil monster, and ... I can't even remember now! See, that's how ... I learn all my lines, and I forget them as soon as it's over."

In the movie, Ray Winstone plays the title character, a warrior who must face down the troll Grendel (Crispin Glover) in order to save the Danish people. Zemeckis is making Beowulf—which also stars Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn and Brendan Gleeson—with the same motion-capture animation technique he pioneered in The Polar Express.

Hopkins said that he found the process of acting in such a film fascinating if, at the end of the day, perhaps a bit unnecessary. "It was pretty strange, but it's fun," he said. "It's odd, but I enjoyed it. People say you have a lot of freedom. Well, you don't, actually. You don't wear any clothes. You wear sort of a wetsuit. You're covered in dots and all these little markers all over you. Before each scene you have to say, 'T-pose,' and you stand like [a letter T]. They photograph you for the computer, and you're taken into the computer."

Hopkins added: "You've got dots all over your eyes, [too], so they can now actually make the eye movements real. [They're] these little pearls. You know the reflectives on road signs? They're made of the same material, these little pearls, these ball bearings, whatever they are, and they're coated in this reflective thing. And, of course, they come off every so often, so you have to have a checkup. They put an infrared on you, and they say, 'A-94 is missing,' so they stick it [back] on your head. You've got about 80 or maybe 90 of these things all over your face. You have to take them off at night, and they're all sticky. Big deal. But, no, it's interesting. I don't know why they bother to do it that way. Why not just do a blue screen and photograph the actors? But this is almost photorealism. It was interesting, and I like Zemeckis very much."

Beowulf will be released on Nov. 21, 2007. The film is not to be confused with Beowulf & Grendel, the as-yet-unreleased live-action epic starring Phantom of the Opera's Gerard Butler as Beowulf.

[Túrin Turambar]

That's interesting. I wonder when it'll come out - and more importantly, if it'll be any good. The story and lines being so unmemorable that the actors forgot them straight after doesn't sound promising, though

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Beowulf will be released on Nov. 21, 2007.