"Southpaw! Pain revolution! Shogun trinity!" Shawn Levy, director of DreamWorks' robot boxing movie Real Steel, is demonstrating, with gusto, the voice commands that the film's protagonist, Charlie Kenton, uses to control a piston-powered pugilist.
Kenton, played by Hugh Jackman, is a former boxer forced out of the ring by the rise of mechanised fighting. In 2020, he wins an unexpected second chance for glory at the controls of this robotic underdog.
However, Kenton's arcane phrases weren't thought up by Levy or screenwriter John Gatins, but by Five33, a UK-based creative agency commissioned to put together a background document about the world of Real Steel. "I described the lore of the movie," explains Levy, who is 42. "And they went away and came back a few months later with this 200-page bible. Some of the new material was badass. What we intended to only be supporting information for toy manufacturers, T-shirt designers and video games was so impressive, it became content in the movie itself."
The "studio bible" was kept top secret -- a single print copy was kept in Levy's office.
Cast and crew could use it to read up on the robots' past bouts, the arenas where they fight, and fictional fan merchandise. The bible tells Kenton's life story, from his rootless childhood on air-force bases to his ignominious retirement in 2012, as audiences deserted the flesh-and-blood game. The film picks up his story while he is promoting underground robot brawls, far from the glamour of the World Robot Boxing (WRB) championship. To tell Kenton's tale, Five33 mocked up newspaper articles, blogs and even a Wired cover starring Zeus, the WRB's robotic champion. These details helped Levy to keep a consistent vision as he built his world. "Most 'tentpole' movies are based on existing franchises -- a comic book, a TV series, even a board game," he says. "With Real Steel, we were creating something new."
Audiences will see just a fraction of the backstory directly in the film, and some more of it at viral website wrb.com. Still, Levy is philosophical. "The site has been a fun outlet for the mythology, but it would be obnoxious to put all this stuff overtly in the movie." Even the Wired cover?
THE STATS: The "studio bible" holds background info on the robots.
Here's the skinny on the two main contenders.
ATOM - THE CHALLENGER Height: 229cm
Weight: 318kg
Signature moves: His "shadow chip" imitates the fighting style of other boxers
Record: 0-0-0
Noteworthy wins: None at the start of Real Steel
Creators: Built as a sparring partner by Kizu, Tak Mashido's greatest rival
Owner: Charlie Kenton
Smaller and weaker than his opponents, Atom has one key advantage: Charlie Kenton at the controls.
ZEUS - THE CHAMPION Height: 251cm
Weight: 587kg
Punch speed: 68kph
Punch force: 9,674kg
Signature move: Nuke Fist
Record: 32-0-0 (32 KOs)
Noteworthy wins: KO'd 12 former WRB champions on consecutive nights
Creator: Tak Mashido Owners: Sergei and Farra Lemkova
Origin: Russia
The progeny of robot builder Tak Mashido, Zeus reigns as undisputed champion. Can anyone stop him?
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
