The Live Action Movie!

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It's Out!

Here is a look at some of the rumors and information that proceeded the release of the film!

"It's going to be rated PG, but as producer Richard Suckle says, "We're going to push the PG as far as we can." And, it looks like it's going to have a lot of fun humor that people of all ages can appreciate"

(This page was done prior to the release of the movie)

From Zap2it: Lots of funny cameos are planned for a scene where the gang thinks everyone is wearing a fake face. They take off a series of masks. Get ready to be surprised  VERY surprised! Scooby is going to look just like the dog in the cartoon, but computer generated 95 percent of the time. There will be some animatronix Scooby scenes, as well. To help the actors keep the line of site for the big Great Dane that isn't there, a dwarf named Chris played the part of the dog, but will be screened out. From Smilin' Jack Down Under: When we first arrived at the set, we first saw the little person who was Scooby's stand-in walking around carrying his dog costume. Not Scooby. Scooby is going to be totally CG. The next pseudo-Scoob we saw was a "stuffy" they used on set to put in scenes to get eye-lines and use as a prop. .......... They spent a long time developing the look even before they knew it was going to be a fully CGI character (except for a couple of shots where his tail or paw will come into play as a practical) because they knew they had to get it right. When I looked around on the walls in the art department scanning for a shot of Scooby and finally saw the face, I was actually relieved. It's a three-dimensional version of Scooby-Doo, that's it. It's not the "real dog" Brain from Inspector Gadget, it wasn't the real-life CG of Babe or Cats & Dogs, it was Scooby in 3-D like Homer in the 3-D episode of The Simpsons or something out of Shrek. Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, they are going to just fully-CG the Great Dane into the movie as a character and there you have it. As far as the "look" of Scooby goes, they nailed it. It's straight out of the cartoon for those of you who thought it would be a radical re-design.

Later in the day, we did get to meet the Scooby heads-on-a-stick, the little puppets they use to make eye-lines and placement pieces for the CG to be filled in later (after every shot, the effects guys rush over and take careful measurements of everything to know where to put the dog later, just like they did with AMEE in Red Planet). The Scooby heads and the face on the stuffy (bag-removed) look like Scooby Doo, there's no question. It is slightly modified to be more rounded and a little more life-like, but if I snuck up behind you with one of the heads and asked you to identify who was on the end, you'd know it was Scooby. As that was one of the main reasons I wanted to hit this set, that's why I wrote all about that, first.

The Studio: Movie World Studios Production Company: Gold Coast Producer: Chuck Roven Director: James Gunn (The Specials; cowriter of Tromeo and Juliet;

he's also rewritten 13 Ghosts)

Raja Gosnell (Confirmed) (Big Momma's House, Never Been Kissed, Home Alone 3) Who's writing it: Craig Titley, DOP David Eggby. Filming: Filming has started (February, 12th 2001) in Australia, in Queensland and the Gold Coast. Release Date: June 14th 2002 Distributor: Warner / Roadshow

NEW! Click Here for the Full Movie Credits List

Pictures from the set! Click Here!

Based upon: The various Saturday morning animated TV shows that started in 1969 with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Here's a bit of trivia... Scooby-Doo's cast was loosely based upon the characters in the Beatnik teen sitcom, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. (well, not Scooby)

Plot Line: (Changed!) Will be a scary movie, as in real fright! "One thing Gunn and Roven don't want Scooby-Doo to be is in the footsteps of the recent Viva Rock Vegas Flintstones picture." [Gunn] didn't feel that worked and for Scooby-Doo that's not what they're going for as they're not making an animated pic," writes Smilin' Jack. "He said that his goal was to keep the integrity of the show and not have it be all 'winking at the camera'."

NEW! Synopsis: The Mystery Ink team break up Beatles-style after solving yet another baffling mystery. The famous five go their separate ways and loose contact, each pursuing their own tentative dreams. Two years later Shaggy and Scooby-Doo instigate a reunion to help solve the mystery of a spooky theme park haunted by real-life demons.

James Gunn talks about the project! Click Here "The problem with most cartoons-to-movies is that they attempt to be exact replicas of the cartoons, people speaking like cartoons, etc. I never wanted to simply watch a couple hundred episodes of Scooby-Doo cartoons and then vomit them out in a different order, longer and with real people. Instead, I wanted to say what don't we see on the show? In essence, if they are real, who are they?" (Dark Horizons, Daily Radar)

Locations: Warner Roadshow Movie World theme park and various locations around South East Queensland.

Progress: Almost all field footage has been completed!

Now they are working in the studio on blue-screen shots and post-production has begun!

Casting:

Our first peek at the cast! (Pics from other films.)

Scooby Doo: The latest casting news concerns the character most important to this entire production, the snacktacular wonder dog Scooby-Doo. Well, you can stop training your canines to solve crimes in hopes of an audition because, according to director Raja Gosnell, Scooby will grace the silver screen entirely through the magic of CGI. (see above)

Shaggy: Matthew Lillard

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scream star Matthew Lillard is playing Shaggy... Though Lillard's self-mocking, frenzied style could easily work with the cartoonish story line, the actor doesn't quite have the drawing power of another leading man recommended to play Shaggy, crass comedian Tom Green. Looks like Mat beat him out tho!! Note: Lillard teamed up with Freddie Prinze Jr. on Catch, She's All That, and Wing Commander. Freddy: Freddie Prinze Jr.

Freddie Prinze Jr. solves the Scooby-Doo mystery that has haunted cartoon fans for years: Which way does Fred swing? "Everybody makes jokes about him because he wears an ascot, but he's big into Daphne," says Prinze, who's currently shooting the live-action film of the '70s cartoon in Queensland, Australia. But the dark-haired heartthrob, blond for the role, is having his own image issues these days. "I get my roots done now," Prinze says. "It's not very manly." He's having better luck with Fred's psyche, because he's also big into Daphne, or at least the actress who plays her, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The two have been a couple "for a while," he says, making their time Down Under  his first visit  fairly uplifting. "It couldn't be better," Prinze says. "It's pretty much the easiest job I ever had to do: I don't have to be away from my girl, and our days off are well-spent." "She's a genius," Prinze says about Gellar. Director Raja Gosnell "put his hands together and bowed to her because she was so awesome. He does that pretty much after every take she does. He hasn't bowed to me, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but she's absolutely phenomenal." If that weren't enough, Prinze is a lifelong Scooby fan: "I have every episode made on tape in my basement at my mother's house. I watch Scooby-Doo every day. I don't watch regular TV, just cartoons."

From USA Today Daphne: Sarah Michelle Gellar On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah plays the leader of the ragtag ghoul and vamp hunting team known as the "Scooby gang" Too good for Scooby? Sarah insists there's no truth to the reports that she's starring. She told January's issue of Seventeen, "When doing a film such as Harvard Man, with that high of content and level, I doubt any actor would then stoop to do a Disney genre-type movie. Freddie [Prinze Jr.] has signed on to it, but I haven't even looked over the script."

OH Really????...... (See shots from the set!)

Wonder how crow tastes! Velma: Linda Cardellini Just add glasses! Linda Cardellini (Legally Blonde)(Freaks & Geeks) is playing Velma. From what I can see of the test footage, she does quite well! Even the voice! It takes a special person to play Velma. Having seen a recent interview, I think they have that person! Mondavarious: Rowan Atkinson Sounds cool! The Villain! (or is he ...?) Every show needs one! Looks like Scooby and the gang will be facing the one and only Mr. Bean! Before the movie, Mr Bean was a TV show with a series of sketches with this odd man. In every episode he gets up to strange nonsense. It is going to be very interesting to see how he fills out the roll.

Rowan Atkinson will indeed be playing Mondavarious, "the mysterious owner of Spooky Island and procurer of the Mystery Inc. group's services." Mary Jane: (Shaggy's Girlfriend) Isla Fisher Shaggy's Girlfriend ?? Australian actress Isla Fisher has been cast in Scooby-Doo. The 25-year-old redhead has done a number of TV shows including Home and Away and Oliver Twist. Fisher will be playing the role of Mary Jane, a girl that Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) falls head over heels for! (Thanks for the info! CA Website)

Update! Notes: Fresh from the CA Website...

January 5, 2001... "Heard that Sarah Michelle Gellar is using her February 'Buffy' hiatus to film Scooby in Australia. She will then put the finishing touches on the film over the summer before going onto the 6th season of 'Buffy'. Hummmm..... (Past tense now!)

And here's an interesting bit: Warner Bros. Feature Animation is planning to re-open their CG dept at full force after "Osmosis Jones" to work on a digital version of Scooby-Doo. At the moment "Osmosis Jones" is their main priority. In November they were desperately looking for a CG effects animator to finish up some work on the film.

(Shown at right) This photo was taken outside the Tennyson Power station in Brisbane, where the movie is indeed filming at the current time. The van was spotted on this flatbed just outside the power station's entrance.

BURBANK, CA, March 5, 2001  Zoinks! "Scooby Doo" is going live in 02! The first-ever live-action adaptation of the beloved and long-running animated series "Scooby Doo," starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson, began production on February 12, 2001 at the Warner Roadshow Studios in Queensland, Australia, it was announced today by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, President of Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Raja Gosnell ("Big Mommas House," "Never Been Kissed,") is directing the comedy, which catches up with Scooby Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang as they meddle their way into a bona fide mystery that leads them into murky and possibly supernatural waters. Though Scoobys whereabouts are currently unknown, his clever crime-solving cohorts are, as always, on the case. The gang, seen here for the first time in character: Freddie Prinze Jr. ("Shes All That") as ringleader Fred; Sarah Michelle Gellar ("Cruel Intentions," TVs "Buffy The Vampire Slayer") as Daphne; Matthew Lillard ("Scream") as Shaggy; and Linda Cardellini (TVs "Freaks and Geeks") as Velma. The film also features international comedy star Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean") as Mondavarious, the mysterious owner of Spooky Island and procurer of the Mystery Inc. groups services. "Scooby Doo" will film entirely on location in Queensland, Australia, with the support and assistance of the Queensland state governments Pacific Film and Television Commission. Queenslands Minister for the Arts, Mr. Matt Foley, said that he was delighted to welcome the "Scooby Doo" cast and crew to Queensland. "The production team couldnt have picked a better place to shoot this feature," Mr. Foley said. "The Gold Coast region of Queensland is vibrant, friendly and full of colorful characters, just like the original Scooby Doo series. Our talented local crew and state of the art facilities will ensure that filming will be hassle free for the Scooby Doo production, just as it has been for the countless international crews that have shot here in the past."

Based on the classic Hanna-Barbera characters, "Scooby Doo," a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation of an Atlas Entertainment production of a Raja Gosnell film, is produced by Charles Roven ("Three Kings," "City Of Angels") from a screenplay written by James Gunn ("The Specials"). Richard Suckle, Robert Engelman ("Little Nicky"), Kelley Smith-Wait ("Three Kings"), Andrew Mason ("Red Planet") and William Hanna and Joseph Barbera are the executive producers. Freddie Prinze Jr. first came to worldwide attention with his starring turn in the hit thriller "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and he reprised his role in the sequel "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer." His previous starring roles include the romantic comedy "Head Over Heels" and the Miramax releases "Boys and Girls," "Down to You" and "She's All That," for which Prinze and his co-star Rachel Leigh Cook earned a 1999 MTV Movie Award nomination for Best On-Screen Duo. Prinze made his screen debut in "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday," followed by a role in the critically acclaimed ensemble drama "The House of Yes." Sarah Michelle Gellar is known to television audiences worldwide as the eponymous star of The WB television networks hit series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." A working actor since she was six years old, Gellar was discovered at the age of four while eating in a restaurant. She went on to play the role of Kendall Hart Lang on ABCs long-running daytime drama "All My Children" from 1993-95. Gellar has also guest-starred on HBOs hit series "Sex and the City," the "Buffy" spin-off series "Angel," and Foxs animated TV series "King of the Hill." Gellars feature film credits include the blockbuster horror films "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream 2," as well as the romantic drama "Cruel Intentions." She also voiced a role in the Disney animated feature "Hercules." Her upcoming film projects include "Harvard Man" with Eric Stoltz and Joey Lauren Adams and "The It Girl."

Rowan Atkinson first appeared onscreen in 1977, in "Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe," which he followed up with a three-year stint on the British television comedy "Not the Nine OClock News." Atkinson went on to star in the celebrated "Blackadder" series, including "Blackadder: The Cavalier Years," "Blackadders Christmas Carol," "Blackadder Goes Forth" and most recently, "Blackadder Back and Forth." In 1988, Atkinson starred in his own comedy special, "Live! From London," with the "Absolutely Fabulous" team of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. A second special, "Rowan Atkinson Live," was released in 1992. He went on to play "Mr. Bean" on the television series of the same name, and starred in the international hit feature film "Bean" in 1997. Atkinsons additional film roles include his memorable turn in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," and "Hot Shots! Part Deux." He also provided the voice of Zazu in Disneys animated blockbuster "The Lion King." He will next be seen in "Rat Race."

Matthew Lillard made a major impression on audiences with his role as the manic killer Stuart in the 1996 mega-hit "Scream." Previously, Lillard appeared opposite Kathleen Turner in the horror comedy "Serial Mom." He went on to play roles in the critically lauded film "Without Limits," the comedy-drama "SLC Punk," as well as "Spanish Judges," "Wing Commander" and "Loves Labours Lost." Lillard has several movies opening in 2001, including two films from Warner Bros. Pictures: the romantic comedy "Summer Catch," with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel, and the remake of the classic 1960 horror film "13 Ghosts," with F. Murray Abraham.

Linda Cardellini is best known for her starring role in the widely acclaimed TV series "Freaks and Geeks." She has appeared on numerous television shows, including starring roles in "Bone Chillers" and "Guys Like Us"; recurring roles on "Pacific Palisades" and "Boy Meets World"; and guest spots on "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Step by Step" and "Promised Land." She has also been seen in the telefilms "Dying to Live" and "The Lot." Cardellinis work in feature films include roles in "Dee Sniders StrangeLand" and "Dead Man on Campus." Cardellini will next be seen onscreen in "Legally Blonde" with Reese Witherspoon and "Sins of the Father."

"Scooby Doo" will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company.

February 26, 2001.... VIP TV star Pamela Anderson landed in the Gold Coast on last Thursday specifically to film a cameo role for the movie. Anderson stayed at Brisbane's Marriott hotel.

And the Critics Have Started !! After a small segment on Access Hollywood, showing shots from the set, as well as announcing the budget ( $80 million!), the critics have already started screaming that the movie is a bomb! I saw the segment and found it quite interesting. I think these people (critics) are having trouble reconciling the memory of a sixties bubblegum cartoon series, and anything that would work in today's society. Truth is, it should work just fine! This is a story about four teenagers (and their dog) on a frightening mission, it just happens to be Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby, whom we all know and love! The footage I saw left me with the impression that our gang did just fine in the new millennium, without having to break character!



My thanks go to Kathryn Lucas, who's website tracks Australian Made Movies!

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