Tron: Legacy Second Screen

Remember when I said that I was disappointed at the lack of bonus features on the Tron: Legacy blu-ray?  I was actually wrong about that.  To access many more bonus features and images you have to use the Disney Second Screen function which plays additional material on an iPad while the movie plays on your TV.

I've done some screencaps of images that were of particular interest to me.  I'm planning on doing some recreations of props and costumes so these will be helpful as reference material.  Hopefully they will help some of you as well!

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Profiles in History Hollywood Auction 44

Profiles in History is gearing up for their 44th Hollywood Auction which takes place on May 14 and 15, 2011.  There are several Tron lots in the auction (lots 1103 through 1116).

The highlight is lot 1105 which is an original gladiator costume complete with outer coat.

There's also an original identity disc, several pieces of concept art, storyboards and some crew items.

Most of the estimates for these pieces are far out of the range that I would consider for them but maybe the recent Tron fever will cause them to sell high.

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Tron: Legacy Reconfigured

On Tuesday, along with the release of Tron and Tron: Legacy on blu-ray, Disney released a second Tron: Legacy soundtrack called Tron: Legacy Reconfigured.  This album features remixes of Daft Punk's original score by a slew of international music producers who specialize in electronica.

At first I was sort of worried that this album might be a hot mess of mixed up styles and random sounds and, though it's true that each artist has their own very individual style, each piece retains enough of Daft Punk's original work to make the album fairly cohesive.  It's sort of like a love letter to Daft Punk from their peers.  It's not all like an album of dancehall mixes.  It's more like further explorations of the original material with the artists trying to mine the original tracks for more gold.


For me, the highlights are "Arena" remixed by The Japanese Popstars, "C.L.U." remixed by Paul Oakenfold and "Fall" remixed by M83 VS Big Black Delta.

I would love to see Disney give the same treatment to Wendy Carlos' original Tron score.  I think it would be great fun to play with her work using the technology of today.

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Tron: Legacy on Blu-ray

Tron: Legacy was released on blu-ray on Tuesday.  Several different versions are available including one that's packaged with a new blu-ray edition of the original Tron.  I elected to get the two-disc DVD/blu-ray combo in 2D.  There's a 3D version as well but, frankly, I sort of think 3D TV is a dumb idea.  For the amount of content that's available it's not something I'm willing to invest in.

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of bonus features.  Most of what's on the disc has already been leaked online.  I was hoping for many more interviews and featurettes about the design elements and visual effects of the film.  Disney has always been a little wary about revealing too many secrets about their productions.  I think it's unfortunate.  I like when the filmmaking process is totally transparent.

Lack of features aside, the film looks fantastic on blu-ray.  In order to maintain the original aspect ratio of the scenes shot for IMAX, the ratio sometimes changes.  I thought this would be really distracting but I actually barely noticed and most people probably wouldn't at all.

As a little added bonus from the Disney Movie Club this month, I received this sheet of Tron: Legacy stickers.  I'm not sure what I'll do with them but they're kind of cool!

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The Next Day

This week, one of the blu-ray features for Tron: Legacy was released online.  It's a ten minute film called The Next Day.  Presumably, it deals with events occurring just after Tron: Legacy and it's sort of a fun teaser for what might come next.

Large parts of the film feature "news footage" giving the audience a brief history of the Tron universe from 1989 to present.  It features performances by Bruce Boxleitner, Garrett Hedlund and Dan Shor who reprises his role as Ram from the original film.

The final shots are of a strong, silent Sam Flynn as he flashes the "Flynn Lives" slogan for the world to see.

This is a must-see for Tron fans and a pretty clever way to keep up interest until the Tron: Legacy blu-ray is released next month.

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Tron: Uprising Teaser

I've been eagerly awaiting images from the new animated series, Tron: Uprising, since it was announced and now we finally have some!  A teaser trailer has been leaked online.

The series will begin airing on the Disney XD network in 2012 and it takes place after the events of Tron but before Tron: Legacy.

From the teaser it looks like it will be a combination of classical and CG animation which is great!  I was really hoping it wouldn't be fully CG.

The series stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Lance Henrikson, Mandy Moore, Paul Reubens and Bruce Boxleitner.  With direction from Steven Lisberger, Charlie Bean and Joseph Kosinski it sounds like the makings of a great addition to the Tron universe!

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Mercury Figure

As strange as it is for a Tron fan, I'm not a gamer.  I've never played Tron 2.0 but I really like the designs from the game.  Most fans don't consider it "canon" but I think it's still a neat alternate reality.  In 2003, NECA released a series of four 8 inch action figures based on Tron 2.0 characters.

Mercury is a female program voiced by Rebecca Romijn in the game.

Her costume design draws a lot of inspiration from sports pads which is appropriate since the costumes from the original Tron were made of pieces of motocross armour!

Mercury has 11 points of articulation.  She comes with a Tron 2.0 display base and a staff weapon accessory.  The staff is really cool!  It's a transparent rod with really detailed circuitry designs painted on it.

Any Tron enthusiast should definitely take a look at these figures.  

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