Survivalist Pro
Photo by Uriel Mont Pexels Logo Photo: Uriel Mont

How did Free Guy get a lightsaber?

“We wrote a letter to Disney: 'Dear Disney, this is Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds, could we use a lightsaber, or Cap's shield or Hulk's fist? ' I recollect that they said yes to all of them. Ryan recollected that maybe they said pick one or two? And we just decided to use all of them,” Levy said.

Can bulletproof glass stop 50 cal?
Can bulletproof glass stop 50 cal?

Bullet Resistant Glass would withstand up to a . 50 Caliber round from a high powered rifle. A . 50 Caliber round is most closely associated with...

Read More »
Will cost of living ever go down?
Will cost of living ever go down?

Caldwell estimates that the inflation rate will average around 1.5% between 2023 and 2025. “While consensus has largely given up on the...

Read More »

In the best visual effects Oscar race, the underdog is Shawn Levy’s “Free Guy.” Despite being set in a virtual world, the film was made for $100 million with an even smaller budget for VFX. But that didn’t prevent the film’s visual effects supervisor Swen Gillberg from delivering some of the best VFX sequences this year, as Ryan Reynold’s character Guy is thrust into the world of Free City, a “Grand Theft Auto”-inspired gaming world. “Free Guy” is an easter egg treasure trove, but perhaps the biggest is the nod to Captain America, Star Wars and the Hulk. Levy explains that the idea behind the final fight, between Guy and his monstrous doppelgänger Dude, was that Guy would have access to weapons and upgrades as the characters level up. “We wrote a letter to Disney: ‘Dear Disney, this is Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds, could we use a lightsaber, or Cap’s shield or Hulk’s fist?’ I recollect that they said yes to all of them. Ryan recollected that maybe they said pick one or two? And we just decided to use all of them,” Levy said. Adds Reynolds, “This is where it did get borderline lawless. I said, ‘I think this is the perfect opportunity to ask for forgiveness.’ I interpreted this as using all of them.” Reynolds says, “I do regret that we didn’t do something with Thor’s hammer.” Disney loved what the pair did. Adds Reynolds, “At that point, they had already made a tiny little purchase of Fox Studios, so we were technically a Disney movie anyway.”

Courtesy of Disney Plus

To keep the Captain America surprise a secret, Gilberg says Cap’s shield was made of cardboard and painted gray. When Reynolds held it up in the movie, the iconic red, white and blue were digitally added in after the fact. Levy points out that “Free Guy” is not a VFX action movie, but a humanist comedy. That meant Gilberg would have to accommodate changes made by Reynolds and Levy at a moment’s notice.

How long does it take for the heart to stop beating after death?
How long does it take for the heart to stop beating after death?

The longest that the heart stopped before restarting on its own was four minutes and 20 seconds. The longest time that heart activity continued...

Read More »
What 3 things would you bring in a zombie apocalypse?
What 3 things would you bring in a zombie apocalypse?

Here's what you'll want in your zombie apocalypse kit Water (1 gallon per person per day) Food (stock up on non-perishable items) Medications...

Read More »

Says Reynolds, “Shawn and I tend to pivot quite quickly on an idea or a look of something or the context of a scene will completely change. The domino effect is that Sven, who is running the show VFX-wise, will have to adapt. We would always ask, ‘Is this possible?’ and he would say yes. I know now much more than I knew about this world and how this particular aspect of it works.” Gilberg saying yes would mean in some instances, he and his crew would have to start from scratch on a piece of visual effects or redraft what had already been done. The scene at the beginning of the film where Guy gets hit by a car was planned as a multi-stunt sequence where the stuntman would get hit. Says Gilberg, “Ryan shows up that morning and says, ‘Let’s do it as a oner. That automatically makes it CG. I scrambled around and found car references. I went back to Ryan with three car crashes. One was the ‘Meet Joe Black’ car crash. Ryan said, ‘I always wanted to meet Joe Black, and that’s what we did.” Gilberg points out he didn’t have the luxury to do the big changes in post. “We had a pretty solid edit two weeks after principle. We had a locked cut six weeks after principle, and that is unheard of.” Adds Levy, “Visual effects is a category where you can throw money at the issue, or you can throw a lot of creativity and problem solving and inventiveness, Sven and his team truly did the latter.”

What skills have humans lost?
What skills have humans lost?

Tracking and Hunting Animals. Knowing What to Eat and How to Medicate. Navigational Skills. Making Clothes from Scratch. Group Survival. The Real...

Read More »
Is it too late to start reading at 30?
Is it too late to start reading at 30?

Moral of the story: It's never too late to become a reader. If it's one book a year or 100, being a reader is something you get to define for...

Read More »
Why are men attracted to hips?
Why are men attracted to hips?

Men find wider hips more attractive because once again, they signal fertility and good genes for mating. Psychologist Devendra Singh conducted a...

Read More »
What is the best dinner for weight loss?
What is the best dinner for weight loss?

18 of the Best Foods for Your Healthy Weight Journey Whole eggs. Once feared for being high in cholesterol, whole eggs have been making a comeback....

Read More »