TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2 (2016) ● Directed by Dave Green ● Distributed by Paramount Pictures ● 112 minutes ● PG­13 ● 135 million dollar budget (180 with promotion) QUICK THOUGHTS ● Phil Svitek ● Demetri Panos DEVELOPMENT ● After the 2014 film exceeded box office expectations, Paramount and Nickelodeon officially announced a sequel was greenlit, and set to be released in theatres on June 3, 2016 ○ The sequel was announced two days after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) was ​ ​ released ● They planned to incorporate Bebop, Rocksteady and Casey Jones ● Jonathan Liebesman and Brad Fuller were also interested in doing a storyline that involved ​ ​ ​ Dimension X and Krang ​ ​ ● In December 2014, it was revealed Paramount was in early negotiations with Earth to Echo director ​ ​ Dave Green to helm the sequel, also revealing Jonathan Liebesman was no longer a part of the ​ project ● Known briefly as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell, Paramount revealed in December 2015 ​ ​ that the title had officially been changed to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ​ WRITING ● Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, the writers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ​ Shadows, have inked a two­year, first­look feature deal with Paramount Pictures ​ ○ The duo have become go­to scribes for the studio, having worked on the Paramount franchise pic Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, which earned nearly $700 million ​ ​ worldwide, and the initial Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, which grossed almost $500 ​ ​ million. They also are working on a remake of Beverly Hills Cop for the studio ​ ​ ● Appelbaum and Nemec, who have been friends since third grade, are part of a writing collective that also includes writer­producers Jeff Pinkner (The Dark Tower) and Scott Rosenberg (Con Air) ​ ​ ​ STORY/CAST ● Discussion point: shift in tone from first to second ​ ○ “The director Dave Green has a lighter touch than his predecessor Jonathan Liebesman, ​ and compared to the pomposity of most recent comic­book movies his frank silliness is refreshing.” ­ SMH ● Discussion point: giving fans what they wanted (more turtles, Krang, Bebop & Rocksteady) ​ ● Discussion point: Action scenes ​ ● Discussion point: Comedy of turtles ​ ● Discussion point: Plotlines ­ Dimension X, Shredder back, Casey Jones, Vern taking credit, ​ division of turtles ● Megan Fox and Will Arnett were confirmed to be returning as April O'Neil and Vern Fenwick ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ respectively ● In an interview, William Fichtner stated that he would be returning as Eric Sacks. However, for ​ ​ ​ ​ unknown reasons, he was not in a trailer for the film or a TV spot, and ultimately did not appear in the final film ○ However, he could return in the third installment, considering he (along with the turtle actors, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Alan Ritchson and Pete Ploszek) signed on for a few more TMNT films ● On March 31, Stephen Amell was cast as Casey Jones, after test reading alongside several ​ ​ different actors ● On April 23, Tyler Perry was cast as scientist Baxter Stockman, replacing K. Todd Freeman, who ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ played the role in the 2014 film ● On April 27, Brian Tee joined the cast as the Shredder, replacing Tohoru Masamune from the first ​ ​ film ● On April 30, Laura Linney was cast in an unspecified role ​ ​ ● On May 14, Gary Anthony Williams was cast as Bebop while on May 28, WWE wrestler Stephen ​ ​ ​ "Sheamus" Farrelly was confirmed to play Rocksteady ​ ○ In August 2015, former WWE superstar CM Punk revealed that he lost the role of ​ ​ ​ ​ Rocksteady to Sheamus ● On May 27, Minae Noji was replaced with Brittany Ishibashi in the role of Karai ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ● In March 2016, it was announced that Fred Armisen would voice Krang in the film ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ However, in May 2016, shortly before the film's release, it was revealed that Brad Garrett ​ would voice Krang instead due to Armisen having schedule conflicts ● In April 2016, while promoting Elvis & Nixon, Johnny Knoxville revealed that he was not asked to ​ ​ ​ ​ return for the sequel as the voice of Leonardo ● The producers tried to get cameo roles from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) actors Elias ​ ​ ​ Koteas (the first cinematic Casey Jones) and Sam Rockwell (a Foot Clan member). However, both ​ ​ ​ declined to appear ● Megan Fox as April O'Neil ​ ​ ○ Known for Transformers, New Girl, Jennifer’s Body, This is 40, The Dictator ○ Trademarks: ■ Often dresses in red and black ■ Seductive voice ■ Her many tattoos ■ Long brown hair ■ Sparkling blue eyes ○ Her favorite movies are The Wizard of Oz (1939), the Lord of the Rings trilogy, How to Train ​ ​ ​ Your Dragon (2010), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ​ ​ ​ trilogy ○ Returned to work 7 weeks after giving birth to her son Bodhi in order to complete filming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) ​ ○ “People assume that I'm really promiscuous. There's a difference between being very sexual and being promiscuous. I'm not promiscuous. I'm extraordinarily sexual within a monogamous relationship. Nothing's off­limits. But that has nothing to do with experiencing a lot of people. I've only had two boyfriends my whole life.” ○ “I don't trust male intentions, usually, because they don't approach me for intellectual conversation.” ○ “Hollywood is the most superficial thing you could possibly be a part of and if I weren't attractive, I wouldn't be working at all.” ○ “I'm definitely labelled in the pin­up category. I haven't given people a reason to take my work seriously yet, which is my responsibility. I think the expectation for me, as far as my ability as an actress goes, is very low. I feel like that means I can only ever be an overachiever when people expect so little from me.” ○ Paraphrase ­ Always a blessing to do a sequel… April’s not looking for acceptance in this one. ○ Is a turtles fan herself ○ April O’Neil has always been a damsel in distress ■ In “The Catwoman From Channel Six,” April investigates what is clearly a dangerous matter transporter (she says so herself), and idiotically steps right on it, thereby turning herself part­cat. Bad guy Shredder finds April, and forces her to obey his commands, which she does until the turtles save her, for the umpteenth time. ■ When April is safe and back to her human form, she says she feels “awful,” because “my nails are absolutely ruined from walking around on all fours.” Raphael retorts, “Yep, she’s back to being a woman all right.” ○ “I love being the only girl on set — that’s the way my personal life is as well, I’m surrounded by boys. I have two sons and Brian ... I’m used to being the matriarch or the queen bee — I function really well in that role. Not that I’m not a girl’s girl, but I’m also not afraid to be the only girl amongst a bunch of boys.” ● Stephen Amell as Casey Jones ​ ​ ○ Known for Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow ○ Amell acknowledged the character bore similarities to his Oliver Queen from Arrow ​ ​ ​ ○ He stated the characters are "fundamentally different" from one another, but that Casey did resemble Oliver from older versions ○ Casey Jones's equipment is taken from his appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ​ (2012): hockey pucks, roller skates and an Eastman hockey stick (the name on the stick is a tribute to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" creator Kevin Eastman) ​ ​ ○ This is the first TMNT story where Casey Jones does not have long hair, when traditionally he wears a mullet; similarly, this is the first TMNT story where the Shredder has a beard, when traditionally he is clean­shaven ○ “When I first broke into the acting industry, I taught spinning classes to support myself.” ○ “Yeah. I started watching the cartoons and I can’t remember Casey Jones as much as the turtles because I was young, watching the original animated series. But then obviously the live­action movies came out and Casey Jones was a big part of them. As a kid, watching the turtles, if someone asked me which character I’d want to play, I actually think it might’ve been Casey Jones subconsciously in my very young brain, because he was a hockey player and he wasn’t a turtle, and I couldn’t totally conceptualize being a turtle. So I’ve been a big fan for a while.” ○ “I had a meeting with some of the producers, but it wasn’t really about Casey Jones because there wasn’t any chance at all with my ‘Arrow’ schedule that I’d be able to film a movie like this. So when we found out that I was actually going to be able to do it and got the go­ahead from Warner Brothers about finishing and start dates for ‘Arrow,’ I did a tape that afternoon. That was a Tuesday, and that Friday afternoon I was testing with Megan [Fox]. Monday morning I got a phone call from my agents and manager, which is always a good phone call to get when it’s a joint call, and they were like, ‘You are to be expecting Michael Bay’s phone call.’ And that was it.” ○ “It was fun! Will Arnett’s a funny guy, and Megan has a cool relationship with the boys who play the turtles, and the boys who play the turtles have to spend a lot of time together, from coming in the mornings and having dots put on their face, to wearing outfits that make them look ridiculous. They bust on each other all the time and they’re always making fun of each other. They started making fun of me by hour four of the first time I filmed with them. I was like, ‘Good. I’m being accepted here.’ If they were super quiet and standoffish, I would’ve been worried.” ○ “I had to slide under a pole that had fallen.