Hugh Jackman’s futuristic flick Real Steel has had its first image released via USA Today .
In a sign of the times, Touchstone Pictures released the pic even though the flick – directed by Shawn Levy – only started principal photography today. Talk about clamping down on set leaks.
Not that we’re complaining, this still unveiling one mean-looking boxer robot alongside coach Hugh Jackman.
Set in 2020, Jackman plays a jobless former fighter who renews his relationship with his estranged son when they hit a junkyard and discover Atom, a potential World Robot Boxing champion.
It’s great to see Levy going the old school route and using animatronic ‘bots instead of CGI – the production apparently have 19 of the robots for use in the scenes with actors.
Jackman’s a fan: “The moment of walking in and seeing these robots, my jaw was on the floor.”
Meanwhile, Levy added: “There are some things only visual effects can pull off. But when you give an actor a real thing, in this case a real 8-foot-tall machine, to interact with and do dialogue opposite, you get a more grounded reality to the performance.”
Filming on Real Steel is currently taking place in Michigan, with the film set for release on 18 November, 2011.
Source: [ USA Today ]