Tron: Legacy Updates: Flynn's Arcade Mystery and IMAX Extras
Posted 03.04.10 by BrentJS
Disney's ingenious viral marketing campaign for director
Joseph Kosinski's Tron: Legacy generated quite a bit of buzz on the Internet thanks to the binary countdown that had many amateur code-breakers guessing at its meaning. When the countdown ended, Tron: Legacy "operatives" in 27 cities around the world set out on a scavenger hunt that resulted in the revealing of a new still from the movie, several "alternate reality" websites containing a forum and concept art, and the announcement of a special event at five IMAX theaters around the world, during which the Tron: Legacy trailer premiered.
Now, Disney is continuing to tease the mystery of whether or not Kevin Flynn, the character played by Jeff Bridges in the original Tron movie, is still alive, as the "Flynn Lives" devotees of the viral campaign theorize. The two new stills that have been released show Kevin Flynn's son, Sam Flynn (played by Garrett Hedlund), returning to the site of his father's arcade after receiving a mysterious phone call from a number that has long been out of service.
While some on the Internet have already complained about the lackluster quality of the new stills, they do fit in with the unfolding mystery surrounding Kevin Flynn that is being told through the viral campaign. They also offer a first look at how the gritty, sepia-tinted "real world," will look in comparison to the glowing, blue-tinted "Tron world" already glimpsed in previous stills. Die-hard Tron fans will appreciate the reference to Kevin Flynn's video game from the first movie, Space Paranoids, seen on the dilapidated billboard of one of the stills.
In other Tron: Legacy news, popular movie site SlashFilm has reported that Kosinski has revealed that five of the major action sequences in Tron: Legacy will be shown at an aspect ratio designed specifically for IMAX theaters. SlashFilm included a graphic depiction of the difference in aspect ratios, as well as the following explanation:
The IMAX presentation will not be zoomed in or cropped. Kosinski was very clear to me in saying that IMAX moviegoers would see more of the movie at the top and bottom of the frame. No, the movie was not shot on IMAX cameras — it was shot using Sony CineAlta Fusion 3D cameras. I know that camera has a native 16:9 frame, which is close to the 1.7:1 frame of the IMAX presentation. So its very possible that the extra hieght was captured in camera during the shoot, and cropped out for the theatrical presentation.