In theaters on February 18th, 2005
as 'Stick'{@IMG:Id7PeITiEvQj05comtBTBIXzkrwYNV|Movie Picture@}Kirsten Prout
as 'Kirigi'ON THE SET
On June 17th, MovieWeb was invited to spend the day in the realm of Elektra which is now finishing up principal photography in a remote location near the Cleveland Dam in Vancouver, Canada.
It's a cool, clear morning in Vancouver as we are ushered into the mountainside of Capilano Regional Park where the Marvel / 20th Century Fox production of the famed superhero comic, Elektra, is making it's big screen translation.
Lead through the backwoods of the forest we ended up in a location lush with green trees and small opening where the crew was setup and filming was commencing. It's the half way point of a 60 day shoot and all the stars are on hand this day to complete the sequence we were about to experience.
A look overhead revealed an intricate wire system tucked into the trees which was being used for various stunt sequences in the forest surroundings, none of which we witnessed that day.
Upon our arrival we are greeted by producer Gary Foster (Daredevil, The Score) who fills us in on bits and pieces of the story that have lead up to the sequence of events in the plotline we were watching take place.
We bore witness to a scene which takes place on Harbor Island, about half way through the film's story. The setup follows Elektra (Jennifer Garner) helping to route Mike Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter Abby Miller (Kirsten Prout) to a safe house on the edge of the woods. During their attempt of escape from the clutches of the order of The Hand, the villianess Typhoid Mary (Natassia Malthe) managed to track down Elektra and her entourage in the forest. Haven fallen ill to a paralyzing kiss from Typhoid, Elektra lay motionless on the ground while Typhoid threatens the safety of Abby as she pushes towards her.
In the sequence, we watched Typhoid get off of Elektra who is laying on the ground, stand up, and walk towards Abby in a very threatening manner. Just before Typhoid could attack the young girl, Kirigi (Will Yun Lee), complete with katana blades at his side, stands in front of Typhoid to stop the attack. Right at this moment we see Abby make a whipping motion over Kirigi's right shoulder, which Kirigi in turn catches in mid thrust.
(NOTE: No actual whip or weapon was seen here during filming which only lead me to believe that we'll be seeing some supernatural CGI based, or other variable post-production element here.)
The setup for the second shot we experienced that day showcased Terence Stamp, best known to comic fans as 'General Zod' in Superman 2, playing the role of Elektra's former mentor, Stick.
As cameras continued to roll, Stick steps into the scene to protect both Abby and Elektra by using his staff to break through the weapon set in motion by Abby, which is now being held by Kirigi. Once the weapon is broken through, Kirigi turns towards Stick. Stick calmly states, "the war is over." "The war has just begun," Kirigi refutes. At this moment a swarm of ninjas come from the trees surrounding the group and in an instant all members of The Hand disappear, leaving Mike and Stick to tend to Elektra who has been lying motionless on the ground during the events.
(NOTE: While we didn't get to see any of the ninjas come from the trees or vanish into thin air, all of the actions were implied by the actors. I'm also assuming that these elements will be added later via post-production.)
Take upon take ensued as director Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, The X-Files) helmed the production. Clean slate passes as well as various angles of the same shot were produced ensuring the footage was captured for the film's editors as we watched for over 2 hours.
Elements to note, which are a bit vague in their role in the actual plot are things like Typhoid Mary's eye color changing from a solid black to her natural blue after the kiss with Elektra. As well, it was unclear why the order of The Hand, having all of the protagonists surrounded, did not make any further attempts to put an end to Elektra and her friends.
PART 2: ON THE SET - THE KISS OF DEATH
PART 3: THE PRODUCTION OF ELEKTRA
PART 4: THE CAST AND CREW SPEAK
Dont't forget to also check out: Elektra