Comic-Con: Shane Acker’s “9″ Panel

One of the most original films hitting theaters this fall is Shane Acker’s 9. There has been a lot of buzz about the project, and from the information garnered at the panel, the buzz has been correctly given. The audience was presented with a relevant and insightful panel of the director Shane Acker, executive producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, and stars Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connolly. With some exclusive footage, interesting discussions, and a deeper understanding into the back story of the film, I left the panel hardly able to wait till September 9th.

The story follows the creation of 9 rag dolls that have been given the spark of life. After mankind created intelligent and efficient robots, they turned on their creators and wiped out the human race. 9, the films protagonist, stumbles upon others living in the area and soon after watches helplessly as a friend is taken off by a machine. He convinces some others to join him in his hunt for the machine, but the curiosity 9 has been imbued with leads to him awakening something sinister. After a look at the trailer and a scene involving the rescue of one of the rag dolls, it is abundantly clear not only did this film have to be CG for it to realistically get these characters to look good on film, but also this is no children’s Disney film. As stated by Acker, the studio wanted a PG film, but instead he went with a Pg-13 cut in order to fully tell the story and not have to worry about how much the action and dark tones would effect the rating.

9 is one of those projects that has an excellent assembly of involved members, from cast to director to executive producers. Directed by Shane Acker, who is making his major directorial debut, was perfect to handle this project because he is the one who created it. He made the short film that was developed by himself and Pamela Pettier, after he was nominated and won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2005. To add their unique and stylistic vision to the project, Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov both contributed to the film. Tim, who is well rehearsed in dealing with dark tones and messages in film, gave enough of his artistic eye to show he had his hand in the project. Timur, who directed films such as Day Watch and Wanted, has shown he has the ability to make action sequences more then just shooting and explosions, but give them a sophisticated and creative depth that rarely is seen in film, especially in American projects. Lastly, the cast consisting of such heavyweights as Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connolly propel the story beyond the normal spectrum of animated film. When features are animated movies that are geared towards an older audience, we do not usually get a high quality of acting talent. But with co-stars including John C. Reilly, Christopher Glover, Martin Landau and Crispin Glover, there is depth in all aspects of this project. 9 is sure to continue to get buzz as we reach closer to September. Focus Features is heavily promoting this film, so keep your eyes out for specially tagged posters and advertisements that allow access to exclusive material online.