Ike Eisenmann Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This was a real accidental panel for me to have attended. The lines proved impossible to navigate for Fox and Summit, and I lacked the studio credentials to bypass the Hall H morass -- so I ducked in as soon as it was quiet and prepared to relax to Disney. But the Race to Witch Mountain panel was anything but relaxing. It wasn't full, but those who were there were serious diehards of the original, so the questions thrown at director Andy Fickman, and stars Carla Gugino and Dwayne Johnson were a little intense. Here's the key points, gleaned from the Q&A:

-- Race is not a sequel or a remake, but a re-imagining. They went back to the original book for inspiration, and tried to incorporate everything, but while writing a new mythology.
-- All were huge fans of the original, which drew them to the project. Johnson is particularly fond of Disney projects due to his young daughter, Gugino jumped at the chance to do a departure from the original.
-- Delving deeply into the UFO movement, essentially a UFO story.
-- More action packed to keep with the book, and also to keep up with the likes of the Harry Potter movies. Fans of the original will find Winnebagos to delight them, new fans won't have to have seen the old ones to get the story.
-- Gugino plays a "discredited astrophysicist" and Johnson a cab driver. The kids are aliens. Much ass is kicked by all the characters.
-- The original kids, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, are in it. People went absolutely crazy at this, and it's hinted their part is large, but no other details were forthcoming.
-- Fickman said the closest comparison to the movie was 48 Hrs or the Bourne movies. Seriously.

Tron is back ... and after the jump ...