Los Angeles Times guest correspondent Jay West provides this transcript from a Q&A session with "Tron: Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski and co-writer Steven Lisberger (who also directed the original "Tron" film). This Q&A session took place at the Bridge screening of the new trailer last week.
The questions were asked by the audience. Here are just a few.....
Q: We know Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) is in the movie, but is "Tron" coming back from the first movie?
Kosinski: Yes.
Q: What was your working relationship? The two of you?
Lisberger: We're 30 years apart. [Audience laughs.] We get along real well. Joe is gonna bring his new baby over tomorrow so Peggy and I can meet him. We are neighbors. As it turns out, the new producer, Sean Bailey, Joe and myself all live within a half a mile of each other. It was a complete accident. So, I guess we are "supposed" to be together.
Q: How do you do the effects in 3-D?
Kosinski: Well, all the footage that was shot live action with Cameron Pace's 3-D fusion system is basically two cameras offset about an inch that shoots two slightly different views. You have to track each eye separately and then composite your effects in each of those two views, which is a lot of effort. The full CG stuff is done with two virtual cameras offset the same amount.
Q: What inspired to go with a more minimalistic look for the character's suits?
Kosinski: Ah, I would say that is a combination of things. Mainly, I was really interested in rather than doing the kind of rotoscoping process and backlighting in post, I wanted to build physical suits that actually emit light which you saw a glimpse of. The technology that is available with illuminated fabric kind of resulted in that minimalistic design.
Q: Was Jeff Bridges involved in the story at all?
Kosinski: Yeah, yep, we worked with Jeff from the very beginning in sort of crafting the story.
Q: How long did it take you to shoot the principal photography for this?
Kosinski: I think we shot it in 70 days.
Q: Were you ever worried that a younger generation wouldn't know enough about "Tron"?
Lisberger: I almost worry that the younger generation knows too much. I'm not worried about that.
Kosinski: It's one of those things that for whatever reason has stuck in the social consciousness and it's a tribute to Steve and the work his team did back in the '80s that even today -- I saw last night on the Olympics they were calling an Australian speedskater's outfits Tron-like suits.
Lisberger: I think the younger the audience the more they care whether something is hip. And you know, obviously, it's very hip.
There is much more to the session. Click on the link to read it in it's entirety. It's worth checking out.