New Line brought in Clive Owen and writer/director Michael Davis to show off footage from Shoot ‘Em Up at the San Diego Comic-Con today. The presentation began with a clip from the film. They actually showed the opening five minutes or so from the movie. We see Clive Owen sitting at the bus stop when a pregnant woman walks by. She’s followed by a gun toting maniac who intends to kill her. Reluctantly, Owen’s character Smith intervenes. What ensues is an insane gun battle featuring Owen blowing away a dozen bad guys, flying through the air with guns blazing, and delivering the woman’s baby. (Believe it or not, he cuts the umbilical cord with his pistol.) Smith also finds new ways to kill people with carrots. The footage was slightly toned down for the Comic-Con audience, but it was no less insane and over the top.
First out was Michael Davis who told the audience his geek credentials. He talked about recording James Bond at the theaters as a child, dressing up as Indiana Jones, and writing Bond fan fiction. He then talked about how he almost got out of the film business just as the script for Shoot ‘Em Up was accepted. Davis then told how his storyboard and animation background helped him get the job directing the film from New Line. This storyboard footage was shown to the audience and compared to the final footage. It was actually shot by shot (no pun intended) very close to the movie. He also spoke about how Clive Owen was his top choice for the film. Owen then joined the panel to the sheers of the crowd. Clive Owen talked about getting the script and agreeing to work on the film.
A second scene from the movie was shown. It featured the bad guys raiding Smith’s apartment. The gun battle is crazy and is more of the over the top action seen throughout the movie. The best moment shows Smith rappelling down a stairway blowing away guys as he goes down.
The Q&A then began. They discussed old James Bond rumors surrounding Clive Owen, other casting rumors, and details about shooting the movie. Davis joked about doing a prequel featuring a young Smith just as a young fan praised the movie at the microphone. Another fan asked about the stunt babies. By shooting in Canada, Davis admitted that they could shoot babies even longer during the day than in the US. Davis joked about not feeding the baby to get it to cry in the movie.
Shoot ‘Em Up was a real crowd pleaser at the convention and David and Owen charmed the audience as they ran one final clip showing a car chase between Smith and the goons.
