On being a fan of Dredd and appreciating Stallone's take:
I would consider myself a long-term fan of Dredd. I started reading it when I was about 15 or 16 and so I was quite excited to go to the 1995 version of the movie. It wasn’t quite what I imagined, there were a few missed opportunities there but I still appreciated it.
On not removing his helmet throughout the film:
Entering into a film is a challenge and this one was an extraordinary challenge, knowing that I wasn’t going to have the benefit and use of my eyes which is such a valuable asset and tool for an actor. [But] that’s the way that it should be done. I wouldn’t be having this meeting if I read the script and he took the helmet off.
Before the Q&A, a clip was shown at the convention from Dredd. Warning: It contains SPOILERS. The footage from the film was described as follows (via Flickering Myth).
Taking place near the start of the film, the scene in question was filmed as part of last December’s reshoots and serves as an introduction to the character of Judge Dredd and his methods. Having chased down a criminal into a shopping mall, Dredd finds himself in a stand-off with the perp who has taken a woman hostage. If he let’s the hostage go, the sentence is life without the possibility of parole… if he doesn’t comply, then it’s death. Obviously it ends with the latter, as Dredd dispatches a ‘hot shot’ from his lawmaker, the round implanting itself in the perp’s face and frying his head from the inside out. The scene in question wasn’t too shabby, and if it’s any indication of the rest of the film, then Jock’s statement that Dredd is “tough, brutal, violent and exciting” may actually ring true.
Dredd takes place on a fictional Earth created as a result of the Atomic Wars. Survivors of this period are living in Mega-Cities, which protects its citizens from the Cursed Earth, a radioactive desert environment populated by mutants. The main story takes place in Mega-City One, where the police who are now called judges have the power to use police brutality to some extent to fight extreme murders. One man, Judge Dredd (Karl Urban), a senior law enforcement officer, teams up with a cadet called Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) to track down a terrorist organization lead by Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), who is responsible for selling a reality-altering drug called Slo-Mo.
Dredd 3D stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey and is directed by Pete Travis. The film is set to hit theaters September 21st.