Outpost Productions caters to a wide audience of Geek Pop Culture in Malaysia recognising that geeky fans are often passionate on not just one but multiple fandoms. In our ideal world, Star Wars fans and Trekkies peacefully co-exist. Same with comic book geeks who love both Marvel and DC. We publish geeky content here and support local pop culture events with fan engagements and coverage. MTFBWY and Live Long & Prosper!
With the proliferation of geek pop culture in media and merchandising, indulging our geeky passions can certainly be an expensive endeavour. For Malaysian geeks collecting life-size statues and replicas, or venturing half-a-world away to attend San Diego Comic-Con, these indulgences easily amount to five-digit figures in MYR. Besides, geeks still need basic life necessities that equate to bringing food to the table and bills to be paid lest we go extinct like dinosaurs; at least until replicator technology as seen on Star Trek becomes real, or Jurassic Park opens in Isla Nublar.
To fund such livelihood with geeky garnishes, we could readily accept mundane employment working 9-to-5 and live only for the brief respite of public holidays. But instead we prefer to tap into our professed geekiness to bring forth events for geek pop culture to the Malaysian audience. Outpost Management Sdn Bhd was established in 2006 for such purpose, launching as a hobby centre in Cineleisure Damansara (now known as eCurve) for geeky endeavours like cosplay, fan gatherings, toy collectors, scale modelling workshops, and more. Concurrently Outpost began participating in events from requests to engage fan communities for engagements associated with movies, carnivals, and charity as well as projects for marketing brands.
Outpost Productions was subsequently formed as our dedicated team to create thematic engagements and support our clients' events. Now with over a decade of events experience, our Principal Services today encompass:
1. Thematic Events
As geeks ourselves, we understand what fans want and enable us to create thematic events appealing to their fandoms. This allows us to craft experiential elements of geek pop culture into events that fans can appreciate whilst also presenting the opportunity for non-fans to be more deeply assimilated into the fandom.
Captain America Civil War Roadshow; client GSC Cinemas.
Marvel movies have certainly been a BIG hit bringing geeky comic books to mainstream audiences. Outpost had the opportunity to bring this Marvel geekiness to GSC Cinemas with a thematic Captain America Civil War roadshow leading up this movie release in April 2016. Cinema patrons were challenged on a series of activities inspired by superheroes like Iron Man and Ant-Man for the chance to win movie premiums.
The inaugural live-action movie for popular video game franchise Assassin's Creed was released in December 2016. That month in Comic Fiesta, Malaysia's largest Anime, Comics & Games (ACG) convention, we deployed a team of “Templars” versus an “Assassin” to perform sword fights in the event halls.
Assassin's Creed combat performance; client 20th Century Fox.
For sci-fi horror movie Alien Covenant in May 2017, we served cinema-goers a slice of “terror” from the movie with a Xenomorph Facehugger attacking a crewmember. Some of their reactions were captured on video for social media.
#FacehuggerAttack in Malaysia!
Posted by 20th Century Fox on Friday, 5 May 2017
2. Fan Engagements
Over the last decade, popular entertainment franchises have been and continue to be adapted for movies and television, such as HBO's Game of Thrones based on fantasy novels by G.R.R. Martin. In cinemas, successful movies are often lined-up for sequels so much that often the Hollywood summer blockbuster season is padded with them such as Avengers Infinity War (19th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom (5th in the Jurassic Park saga), and Mission Impossible Fallout (6th in the series since 1996). Geeky franchises often have an avid fan-base and therefore every sequel movie or new season on television are occasions for fans to come together.
Heroes Homecoming Fan Gathering; client TGV Cinemas.
TGV Cinemas have come to recognise these fandom and recently collaboration with Outpost to invite cosplayers to their Heroes Homecoming Fan Gatherings for Justice League, Avengers Infinity War, and Ant-Man & The Wasp. This year, Outpost also managed the Cosplay Competitions for their most recent event in Sunway Putra Mall and the Deadpool 2 Party at Sunway Pyramid.
Deadpool 2 Fan Party; client 20th Century Fox
Recognising that fans are often passionate to discuss their fandom, we have arranged Fan Panels sessions for Assassin's Creed at Comic Fiesta 2016 and Ghost in the Shell in March 2017.
3. Mascot Management
Outpost has over 10 years of handling official mascots as an agency for corporate clients. These mascots for franchise movies and toy brands are often deployed for meet & greet appearance on roadshows at cinemas and stores. Mascots we have managed include Transformers, The Smurfs, Spider-man, Angry Birds, Hotel Transylvania, Madagascar, The Minions, Despicable Me, Monster Hunt, LINE Friends, Bananas in Pajamas, etc.
Angry Birds; client Sony Pictures.
Despicable Me 3; client United International Pictures.
Hotel Transylvania 3 Monster Vacation; client Sony Pictures.
Mascots are usually associated with new movie release or licensed merchandise and collaborative events. We may assist to facilitate brand partnerships with the respective licensors.
4. Marketing Roadshows
Outpost Productions also extends event agency services for on-ground marketing by brands. We have conducted in-store brand marketing for toys like NERF, Transformers, My Little Pony and Monopoly for Hasbro. This year we undertook roadshow for 7-Eleven promoting their Minions Da Da Da! redemption programme at Klang Valley shopping malls.
Minions Da Da Da!; client 7-Eleven.
For movie marketing, we recently setup thematic activities at Comic Fiesta 2017 for Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle and Maze Runner The Death Cure.
Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle; client Sony Pictures.
Maze Runner The Death Cure; client 20th Century Fox.
5. Geek Pop Culture Consulting
Our resident “Vulcan” on assignment to study human Geek Pop Culture is a valuable resource that may be tapped to provide valuable insight on how to engage various fandoms. By knowing what fans want, Outpost is able to offering consulting services to corporate clients, event organisers and NGOs on how to effectively engage the growing fan audience and leverage on potential opportunities.
Late 2017 in conjunction with Publika's Comic-Play, we organised a mini-conference titled “The Growing Influence of Geek Pop Culture and How to Profit from It” with panels featuring geeks sharing what they want, and industry reps from film entertainment.
Other ancillary services:
Blaster sports activities & tournaments (using NERF or other equivalent); see here.
Costumes & props sourcing / rental.
Talent & promoter outsourcing for on-ground events or video shoots.
To stay tuned on local geek pop culture happenings as well as the latest geeky news, follow us by social media as OutpostMY on Facebook / Instagram / Twitter as well as subscribe to this blog (submit your email on the lower right panel).
Comic-Con International San Diego, or better known as San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), takes place this weekend from 19 to 22 July 2018. At this annual event swarmed by over 130,000 attendees, the world of geek pop culture braces of the latest reveals in entertainment media and collectible merchandise.
Outpost Productions was unable to send an Away Team to SDCC this year so instead we scanned the Holonet for major announcements and reveals from the convention floor that would of interest to our geeky followers and friends. Our resident Vulcan cultural officer Mr Smock conducted two Facebook Live panels to share on the most relevant news to our principally Malaysian audiences. Joining him were human geeks Nick Ho, fanboy costumer, and Jovy Low, from Amenic Film Space.
Mr Smock salutes Malaysia: Live Long & Prosper! #LLAP
Just over a decade ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched with the release of Iron Man. It was Marvel Studios first direct foray into film production using what was perceived at that time a second-tier comic book superhero; the first-tier titles like Spider-man and X-men were licensed out to other film studios. Financed as a blockbuster movie with a budget of USD140 million (almost RM550 million), Iron Man in 2008 would either make or break the new studio. As history would tell, Iron Man won over the cinema audience across the world, in no small part owing to Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark. Watch to this featurette where Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Director Joe Russo, and the stars of the MCU reflect on their 10-years of the MCU:
After eighteen movies in three phases setting up this shared universe of superheroes, everything (and everyone) comes together in Avengers Infinity War opening in Malaysian cinemas today. Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo (Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War), Avenger Infinity War looks to be the ultimate superhero team-up movie against a supervillain so powerful that no single hero, or even a team of heroes like the Avengers, could hope to challenge.
Official Synopsis
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
Featuring an all-star cast (which probably cost half the movie's purportedly USD300 million / RM1.173 billion!), our attempt at a headcount racked almost forty Marvel characters, of which around thirty-five have previously featured in at least one of the preceding movies. Here is our attempt at the featured cast list grouped according to "factions" of some relevance:
Avengers post-civil war, Team Iron Man (7):
Iron Man / Tony Star, Robert Downey Jr
Pepper Potts, Gwyneth Paltrow
War Machine / Rhodey, Don Cheadle
Black Widow / Natasha Ramanov, Scarlett Johansson
Vision, Paul Bettany
Spider-man / Peter Parker, Tom Holland
Happy Hogan, Jon Favreau
Avengers post-civil war, Team Captain America (4):
Captain America / Steve Rogers, Chris Evans
Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff, Elizabeth Olsen
Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf, Sebastian Stan
Falcon / Sam Wilson, Anthony Mackie
“Lost” in Space (4):
Hulk / Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo
Thor, Chris Hemsworth
Heimdall, Idris Elba
Loki, Tom Hiddleston
Guardians of the Galaxy (8):
Star-lord / Peter Quill, Chris Pratt
Gamora, Zoe Saldana
Nebula, Karen Gillan
Groot (voice), Vin Diesel
Rocket (voice), Bradley Cooper
Drax, Dave Bautista
Mantis, Pom Klementieff*
The Collector / Taneleer Tivan, Benicio Del Toro
Wakanda (5):
Black Panther / T'Challa, Chadwick Boseman
Okoye, Danai Gurira
Shuri, Letitia Wright
M'Baku, Winston Duke
Ramonda, Angela Bassett
Others (4):
Dr. Stephen Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Wong, Wong
Maria Hill, Cobie Smulders
Stan Lee!
Villains, The Black Order (5):
Thanos, Josh Brolin
Proxima Midnight, Carrie Coon
Ebony Maw, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Cull Obsidian, Terry Notary
Corvus Glaive, Michael James Shaw
Plus Peter Dinklage in undisclosed role.
Surely it would be a monumental challenge to fit all these characters together in the same scene, so we expect much of the movie to comprise grouping of our heroes on separate adventures to stop Thanos. For anyone who has watched the movie trailers and many promos, it would be non-spoilery to expect the following team-ups hinted by these exclusive posters from Odeon Cinemas of UK:
No more "science bros", Tony Stark is now teaming up with Dr. Strange. "Facial hair bros"?
Thor teams up with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Steve Rogers ever loyal to Bucky was in Wakanda at the end of Civil War.
Black Panther with many of the former Avengers.
All banding together to save the universe from this BIG BAD, Thanos.
A decade of movies is way to much to recap, so let's just simplify to major events of the Avengers relevant to Infinity War as summarised by the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki:
The Avengers, also known as the Heroes of New York, were a team of extraordinary individuals, either with superpowers or other special characteristics. Its purpose is to protect world stability from inner or extraterrestrial threats, and to work with the peaceful interests of the whole world rather than a specific country or organization. The Avengers were first assembled by S.H.I.E.L.D. when Loki invaded Earth with his Chitauri army to conquer the planet. The team defeated him and went to their separate ways. After S.H.I.E.L.D. became a defunct agency, Stark Industries remodeled Stark Tower into Avengers Tower and the team joined the fight against HYDRA. After they finished the war, Tony Stark built Ultron hoping that the AI would be able to defend the world from any threats necessary. The plan backfired and Ultron started a war against humanity, ending with Ultron's defeat. When Ultron was defeated, the team gained new recruits and relocated to the New Avengers Facility. Under Captain America's leadership, the team successfully completed some missions, though the collateral damage caused during their conflicts made the United Nations pass a document, known as the Sokovia Accords, to regulate their actions. The different opinions regarding this oversight made the Avengers disband as a team, and it split into two different factions, with its members and other heroes gathering around Iron Man and Captain America, respectively. After Captain America stopped Helmut Zemo, the instigator of their fight, the team disbanded.
Behind-the-scenes of Avengers Infinity War
The major binding element between many of the MCU movies has been the Infinity Stones, featuring since the Captain America: The First Avenger (2001). So before stepping in the Infinity War, it is worthwhile relook into what are these powerful artifacts. As explained by Taneleer Tivan, The Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), "Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots... Infinity Stones."
The six Infinity Stones as seen on Thanos Gauntlet, although he has yet to possess the stones at the onset of Avengers Infinity War. Photo: Replica Infinity Gauntlet by Hot Toys.
Here's our intel on the six Infinity Stones:
Space (blue): During World War 2, the Tesseract was obtained by the Red Skull used its unlimited energy as a power source for Hydra weapons. When Captain America defeated Red Skull, the Tesseract was retrieved by Howard Stark and kept by SHIELD. In 2012 it was used by Loki to allow the Chitauri invasion but was repelled by the Avengers. The Tesseract has since be stored in the Asgard Vault until destruction of this world from the events of Ragnarok.
Loki with the Tesseract housing the Infinity Space Stone retrieved form Asgard Vault.
Mind (yellow): Formerly part of Loki's Spectre used in the Chitauri invasion, it was kept by SHIELD until it's collapse fell into the hands of Hydra. In addition to mind control, it granted super powers to the Maximoff twins, Pietro and Wanda, during experiments by Hydra. Ultron obtained the stone intended for its nefarious rebirth but was thwarted by the Avengers leading to the creation of the andriod Vision. It now resides on Vision's forehead.
The Infinity Mind Stone is embedded in Vision's forehead like a fashion accessory.
Reality (red): As the Aether, the dark elf Malekith attempted to use its reality bending powers to bring the Nine Realms into darkness. Foiled by Thor, the Aether has since been handed to The Collector by the Asgardians for safekeeping.
The Asgardians left the Infinity Reality Stone with The Collector for safekeeping (seriously why him lah?)
Power (purple): Sought by the Ronan the Accuser on behalf of Thanos, the Power stone grants its user the destructive power to obliterate planets. Ronan was stopped by the combined resilence of the Guardians of the Galaxy using the stone to obliterate him. The stone is present safeguarded by the Nova Corps on Xander.
The orb containing the Infinity Power Stone stored by the Nova Corps.
Time (green): The time stone is able to control the flow of time. In is contained in the Eye of Agamotto, an mystic necklace used by with Dr. Strange to fend out Dormammu's invasion from the Dark Dimension. Dr. Strange remains current bearer of the Eye of Agamotto.
Dr Strange wields the Eye of Agamotto which houses the Infinity Time Stone.
Soul (orange): Abilities and whereabouts unknown, although Director Joe Russo hinted it is in Singapore during the Marvel Avengers Infinity War Red Carpet event!?
Alright so now that we are all up to speed with the MCU, let's get going to Avengers Infinity War! And remember this is a Marvel movie so stay back for post-credit scene(s); at least one confirmed so far.
Leading up to this movie release, Marvelites in Southeast-Asia were treated to a special Avengers Infinity War Red Carpet event at Marina Bay Sands Singapore attended by stars of the MCU: Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Stephen Strange), and Karen Gillan (Nebula). Also present were Director Joe Russo and Executive Producer Trinh Tran, offering autographs and selfies with some of the most ardent fans of the region. Watch this video of the highlights from this special event on 16 April 2018:
Thanks to Petron Malaysia, the largest contingent of fans outside Singapore were sixty Malaysians selected from an online contest. Our Commander was lucky to be chosen for this roadtrip and provided coverage from ground zero at the red carpet fan box:
Some of the Malaysian Marvel cosplayers in front of the red carpet stage at Marina Bay Sands.
Don't mind the "intruder" into the MCU.
Benedict Cumberbatch / Dr. Strange offers a selfie on the red carpet.
The human form of Nebula as Karen Gillan.
Director Joe Russo on the red (actually purple) carpet.
When Robert Downey Jr makes an entrance like his alter ego Tony Stark at last night's Avengers Infinity War Red Carpet.
#Marvel #IronMan #TonyStark #RobertDowneyJr
#PetronFuelHappy
#PoweredByPetron
#AvengersMY
#InfinityWar
Posted by Outpost Productions on Tuesday, 17 April 2018
Whilst the Avengers themselves are not coming to our local shores, it does seem that Earth's Mightiest Heroes might have setup a branch in Menara TM, Kuala Lumpur.
Secretly, Menara TM is Stark Tower 😎 Marvel
#MenaraTM #InfinityWar #WeAreAllSuperheroes
Posted by unifi on Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Our intel did not find any shopping mall concourse events promoting Avengers Infinity War, although retail product promos are plenty. For a bit of local thrill, the iconic Petronas Twin Towers at KLCC is having thematic Avengers light show projections onto its shopping mall walls every night until 29 April 2018 at 8.15pm, 8.45pm, 9.15pm and 9.45pm.
As a special treat for Marvel fans, TGV Cinemas is conducting their Heroes Homecoming Fan Party on Saturday 28 April from 6pm to 8pm simultaneously at four of their cineplexes across the country: Sunway Velocity in Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Indah in Johor Bahru, Gurney Paragon in Penang, and Vivacity Megamall in Kuching.
The event is FREE to attend with goodies bags offered to the first 100 fans to register on-site. Follow what's happening on TGV's Facebook Page and Event Listing for Heroes Homecoming.
Disclaimer: Avengers and associated trademarks are copyright to Marvel Entertainment, referenced here for fan service purposes only without intent to infringe.
The ultimate video game inspired movie of the year is about to be uploaded into cinemas worldwide this week. From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the action adventure READY PLAYER ONE based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.
Movie Synopsis:
In the year 2045, the real world is a harsh place. The only time Wade Watts truly feels alive is when he escapes to the OASIS, an immersive virtual universe where most of humanity spends their days. In the OASIS, you can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone—the only limits are your own imagination. The OASIS was created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday, who left his immense fortune and total control of the Oasis to the winner of a three-part contest he designed to find a worthy heir. When Wade conquers the first challenge of the reality-bending treasure hunt, he and his friends—aka the High Five—are hurled into a fantastical universe of discovery and danger to save the OASIS.
Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Wade Watts. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Three-time Oscar winner Spielberg (Schindler’s List [director & picture], and Saving Private Ryan [director]) directed the film from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on the novel by Cline, which has spent more than 100 weeks on the The New York Times Best Sellers list and recently shot to #1. READY PLAYER ONE stars Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) as lead protagonist Wade Watts with Olivia Cooke as Art3mis, Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One – A Star Wars Story) as main antagonist Sorrento, T.J. Miller (Deadpool) as I-R0k, Simon Pegg (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible) as Ogden Morrow and Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Dunkirk) as James Halliday.
Wade Watts alter-ego Parzival in The OASIS. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Hear from Steven Spielberg himself and the cast of READY PLAYER ONE in this behind-the-scenes IMAX featurette:
It is certainly no secret that geek pop culture references are aplenty in this movie, drawn from classic video games over the last 30 years like Streetfighter and Overwatch as well as cult movies of like Back to the Future and The Shining. In the movie this is explained as OASIS creator's James Halliday's fascination with the 1980's when video games were born and conception of the internet. Find out more about Halliday and the dystopian future of READY PLAYER ONE at www.jointhequest.io as well as play some retro video games via the web.
Yes, that's the DeLorean time-machine from Back To The Future serving as Parzival's ride in The OASIS. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Outpost Productions managed to catch an early screening of READY PLAYER ONE in Malaysia. Here are reactions immediately after the movie:
Also thanks to the nice folks at Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia, we are giving away Preview Tickets for Ready Player One screening at GSC Mid Valley on Tuesday 27 March, 8.45pm. Check at the bottom of this post for instructions on how to win a pair of tickets.
For the first time ever, Outpost Productions is posting here trilingualmovie reviews thanks to contributing writers Carolyn Hai (English), Ezli Qamari (Malay) and Micho Teh (Chinese):
MOVIE REVIEW by Carolyn Hai ( StarFyr3z )
Are you a fan of hunting for easter eggs in movies? Not literally the chocolate ones, the Easter egg in this context can be an intentional inside joke, hidden message or image, or secret feature of a movie or video game. Whether or not you are a fan of easter egg hunting, READY PLAYER ONE is the movie for you!
Anorak's Quest for all players to find the ultimate prize: an Easter Egg that would bequeath the winner control of the OASIS and immense wealth.
Wade Watts (Gamer Tag, Parzival) is one of many Gunters, gamer slang for egg hunters, caught in an extremely dangerous adventure, one that might even cost him his life in the real world when competing against the “evil” mega-corporation Innovative Online Industries, or IOI of short (not to be confused with Malaysia's IOI Corporation).
That's NOT a Xenomorph egg in the background! it's the ultimate Easter Egg.
I went in without expectations much from the movie. I wasn’t attracted the trailer, the poster (above) gave me the impression that I wouldn’t like the movie and the name wasn’t even catchy. So when I got the opportunity to watch READY PLAYER ONE, I was treated to an endless stream of adventure through the various virtual realms and enjoyed nearly every moment of it (except for the slightly horror part lah, since I am terrified of anything to do with horror in general). The poster (especially) didn’t do much justice for the movie at all!
The moment they introduced us to the OASIS, I was quickly enchanted by the beauty and the endless possibilities of that virtual reality universe, something I wish that we will definitely be getting by the time we reach 2045. The Possibilities. Are. Endless. From fully customized avatars to traveling through different worlds of various themes, I really felt like I belonged there. The contrast between reality and virtual was very clearly distinguished, and it made a lot of sense why the people in the movie would treat the OASIS as a sanctuary from reality.
Ben Mendelsohn swaps his Imperial uniform for a corporate suit as Nolan Sorrento, CEO of Innovation Online Industries. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
The cast were also fantastic, especially the main antagonist Nolan Sorrento, CEO of IOI. To simply put it without spoiling anything, every action and every decision made by the characters felt like they have been carefully analyzed, all the way up to the flaws of being human.
If you have not watched the movies or played the games featured in this movie, like me, fear not! You will still be able to follow the main story line as they made sure to include helpful scenes, conversations and characters to help you stay on track.
The movie also subtly highlighted the dos and don’ts of dealing with people in virtual reality, sending a very strong message across to create awareness to the audience about the dangers of virtual reality. As a casual gamer, I could relate to some of the things mentioned, having experienced it first hand before (and guilty for some).
The Iron Giant stomps into action in The OASIS battlegrounds. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
For a movie focusing on a global scale easter egg hunt, they included many characters and references from games and movies for your hunting pleasure, especially if you are a hardcore gamer or movie enthusiast. According to an interview, the production team spent three years getting all the legal rights for all the characters featured so I am pretty sure you will at least find some that you know in here. Amongst some that were spotted were Tracer from Overwatch, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider (ED: catch her prequel movie still in showing in cinemas), Chun Li & Ryu from Street Fighter, King Kong and the T-rex of Jurassic Park. I swear that there was a laugh that came from Plant vs Zombies in the last leg of the film. Maybe you could help me confirm that easter egg when you check it out in cinemas ;)
Happy Easter egg hunting and may the force be with you *wink*
== / ==
ULASAN FILEM oleh Ezli Qamari
Sinopsis:
Pada tahun 2045, akibat kesempitan hidup ramai yang memilih hidup dalam dunia virtual dari dunia sebenar. OASIS adalah tempat untuk melarikan diri dari realiti yang dicipta oleh James Halliday (Mark Rylance). Setelah kematiannya, Halliday meninggalkan seluruh harta melalui pertandingan dunia virtual untuk mencari 'Easter Egg'. Apabila Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) menjadi juara pada pertandingan pertama, dia diburu Nolan Sorrento yang tamak mahu menjadi juara dan merampas harta Halliday.
Berapa kali kita keluar pawagam selepas menonton filem berdasarkan game/komik/novel/sejarah dan mendengar hujah “Kau kena baca/main dulu baru faham cerita ni”. Persoalan timbul, kenapa perlu reference tambahan untuk menguatkan cerita sedia ada? Kenapa filem itu tidak boleh berdiri dengan sendiri?
Persoalan itu dijawab dengan baik oleh Steven Spielberg dalam satu babak dalam filem, watak Aech (Lena Waithe) memasuki dunia filem yang dia langsung tak tahu sebelum ini tetapi apa yang dihadapi, walaupun pengalamannya menakutkan, dia menempuhinya dan membantu rakannya mencari klu penting. Anda tak perlu jadi ulat buku, kaki game atau pakar sejarah untuk menghargai READY PLAYER ONE.
Spielberg kembali kepada root asal dalam pengarahan seperti filem-filemnya awalnya seperti Jaws, Indiana Jones dan Back To The Future. Bukan mengarah untuk memenangi Oscar, bukan untuk pecah kutipan Box-office, tetapi mengarah sekadar menjadi penglipulara menghiburkan penonton sambil berseronok dalam proses pembikinannya. Secara bijaknya dalam filem ini Spielberg berjaya membahagi masa secara seimbang dunia virtual dan dunia realiti supaya penonton tidak rasa bosan.
Penulis novel asal Ernest Cline bertugas sebagai Penulis Layar untuk filem.
Satu lagi aspek penting kejayaan filem ini ialah penglibatan penulis novel asalnya, Ernest Cline bersama Zak Penn sebagai Penulis Layar. Jika mahu dibandingkan dengan novel, banyak elemen berat yang susah difahami oleh penonton 30 tahun ke bawah seperti lagu Discovery (1976) oleh kumpulan Rush atau pun reference filem Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). Ia telah diganti dengan reference baru dan lebih dikenali ramai sebagai contoh karakter dari game Overwatch.
Pemilihan pelakon terbahagi kepada 2 kategori: pelakon baru Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Lena Waithe, Philip Zhao dan Win Morisaki dan pelakon veteran Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg dan Ben Mendelsohn. Kemudian mereka perlu dibahagikan kepada 2 lagi kategori, sebagai watak dunia realiti dan watak dunia maya. Identiti seimbang dalam 2 dunia dibawa dengan baik oleh setiap karakter walaupun menggunakan motion capture sehinggakan watak yang mempunyai screentime sedikit seperti Shoto, Daito dan Aech sangat memorable. Hanya watak F'Nale lakonan Hannah John-Kamen saja yang agak mengecewakan.
Watak Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) dalam dunia virtual OASIS. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Akhir kata, READY PLAYER ONE adalah salah satu karya terbaik Spielberg setelah sekian lama yang bukan sahaja bersandar pada easter egg, reference dan nostalgia semata-mata tetapi mempunyai elemen perjuangan, kesaksaman, cinta, kekeluargaan dan persahabatan diselang-seli dengan visual dan muzik yang memukau.
Rating:
== / ==
《头号玩家》影评 (by Micho Teh 咪啾)
作为大导演史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格(Steven Spielberg)的粉丝，本来就会期待他的任何新作。更何况数月前《头号玩家》(READY PLAYER ONE)发表的预告片里我们看见男女主角穿梭在众多叫人怀念的电影及游戏名作的角色人海里，立刻让大家对这个充满彩蛋文化的虚拟世界设定眼前一亮。虽然我没看过小说原著，却不受控制地幻想其电影里无限的好玩和可能性：究竟还有什么不一样却叫人熟悉的经典角色会出现？电影原创和异空间的角色们又要如何在这个虚拟环境里共处并交流甚至比赛打斗？就这样抱着各种期待踏入了电影院想要理个清楚，观后果真没失望，整个人好想立刻抓着谁来讨论刚才看到的画面与其后的背景，内涵，情绪。
Here are a few more opinions about READY PLAYER ONE from gamers and geeks from the local ACG community and movie fans during a Special Screening with Outpost Productions thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia:
Now for a chance to win a pair of tickets to our READY PLAYER ONE movie preview screening, just follow these steps:
1. SHARE our post for this blog article on our Facebook Page here.
2. COMMENT in the Facebook post why you want to watch READY PLAYER ONE.
3. TAG a Facebook friend in your comment and include the hashtags #ReadyPlayerOneMY and #OutpostGiveaway.
4. Fill-up the Google Form below with your contact details so we can quickly notify you upon selection of winners.
Contest closes on Monday 26 March 2018 at 3.00pm and subject to the Terms and Conditions below.
Terms and Conditions for Movie Preview Screening contest:
Participation only for residents in Malaysia able to attend the Movie Preview Screening on Tuesday 27 March 2018, 8.45pm at GSC Mid Valley Megamall.
Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries after the first entry will be automatically rejected.
Qualified entries must fulfill the participation requirements as indicated above.
Selection of winners from qualified submissions will be solely at our discretion.
Winners will be contacted by Monday 26 March, 11.59pm to RSVP attendance. It is the winners' own responsibility to respond accordingly to redemption instructions given.
We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.
GUNDAM
TRACER
DELOREAN
KING KONG
THE IRON GIANT
SO many Geek-Gasm moments!
READY PLAYER ONE
is in our
Top Ten MUST-WATCH Geek Pop Culture movies
for this year.
Enter the OASIS from 29 March 2018.
#ReadyPlayerOneMY
Disclaimer: READY PLAYER ONE and associated trademarks are copyright to Ernest Cline and/or Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., referenced here for fan service announcements only without intent to infringe.
