Olivia Wilde as revealed that her two latest movie experiences have been ‘life changing’.

The actress is all set to star alongside Garrett Hedlund and Jeff bridges in the highly anticipated Tron: Legacy and is currently working on Cowboys & Aliens, which is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig.

The actress was in San Diego last weekend as the first trailer for Tron: Legacy was revealed to the fans, the movie comes twenty eight years after the original.

Dark Horizons caught up with her at Comic Con in San Diego to talk about her current movie projects. “It’s an entirely different experience. Both of them have been life changing and I’m very proud of both.

“Tron just felt like a revolution. It was born here [at Comic-Con]. We talked about it in the panel the other day. There would be no ‘Tron Legacy’ if not for Hall H three years ago when Joe Kosinski brought a tiny bit of test footage and the response was so wildly positive that the studio green-lit the film. We owe Tron to Comic-Con, so it’s a big deal for us.”

She is now filming Cowboys and Aliens and admits that she felt like she had to do a Western at some point in her career.

“Doing a western is kind of a right of passage as an actor and especially as an American actor. It feels really interesting to be doing something that represents everything about this country and American cinema.

“And being able to do it with people that really understand that genre; [we’ve got] Steven Spielberg, who knows Sci-Fi; Ron Howard, who knows the Western; Jon Favreau, who knows how to make a kick-ass movie and communicate with actors. And we’ve got this amazing cast. Doing Cowboys Vs. Aliens has been breaking a lot of boundaries for me.”

As well as Tron: legacy and Cowboys & Aliens, Wilde has also completed work on The Next Three Days, which also stars Liam Neeson and Russell Crowe, and Butter which sees her work alongside Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman.

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Moviefone has an article about being on set of “Tron: Legacy”…

Last summer I was lucky enough to join a small group of journalists in Vancouver to visit the set of ‘Tron: Legacy.’ It’s hard to say exactly how excited I am for the long-awaited follow-up to its groundbreaking but box office-deficient 1982 predecessor – perhaps it will suffice to reveal that I’m currently stretching out a pair of childhood ‘Tron’ Underoos to wear on opening day.

But even if being on this particular set weren’t personally fulfilling, it would no doubt be a professional highlight of the career of virtually any film journalist. An extensive exhibition of the production offices and department designs, followed by interviews with cast and crew members and, finally, a tour of the set itself, offered some of the most comprehensive and revealing behind-the-scenes looks in recent memory. And then there was meeting Daft Punk, although sadly there’s no photographic or audio evidence to confirm that particular personal moment of fulfillment.

While a list could probably climb into triple digits were I to parse out the secrets and slip-ups of the filmmakers (not to mention see the finished film), we’ve assembled a collection of 10 essential details we discovered on the set of ‘Tron: Legacy.’

1. ‘Tron: Legacy’ earns its subtitle precisely because it pays tribute to the landscape and mythology of the original film.
Producer Sean Bailey explained that any follow-up owed an enormous debt to the characters and universe writer-director Steven Lisberger created decades ago. “We felt like we owed, at least in my opinion, a few things: light cycles, Jeff Bridges, lit suits; and most important, I felt like when I went into that movie in 1982, as a kid I just remember the movie screen looking unlike any movie screen I’d ever seen before.”

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Olivia Wilde, who plays Quorra, was also on hand during the shooting, and while she was not as agitated by the costume, she also happened to not be in hers at the moment, appearing in her street clothes and looking very at-ease.

“I won’t complain ’cause we’re really lucky to get to wear them,” she said, “but they’re not easy. So whenever we’re sitting there straining or, you know, figuring out how to move in them, Jeff says, ‘Well, you know, in the first film, we wore basically white, you know, white leotards.’ Not easy for any man or woman.”

Apparently her character does more than her fair share of ass-whupping in the film, which required a lot of acrobatics and martial arts training. She also trained on a flight simulator at the U.S. Air Force base in Arizona for the A-10.

“I play Quorra,” she continued. “I’m a close confidant of Jeff Bridges’ character Flynn. Close, personal confidant. I don’t think it will give anything away to say that Joan of Arc was a major inspiration for my character. As far as other films I think there’s something to be said for Natalie Portman’s character in ‘The Professional.’ So I don’t know if you can imagine a mixture between that little girl and Joan of Arc…”

The camera glides through the crowd and around the set on a long crane running on an electric track hanging from the ceiling. A Sony F-35 dual lens camera is contained inside a single metal box on the end of the crane, to enable the 3D shooting. Unlike many recent films that have opted to cheat and post-convert to 3D, Kosinski is shooting with the same Cameron-Pace system used to shoot “Avatar.” It is actually on a motion control rig, the first time its been used, which was mainly installed for a big fight sequence so they could get clean plates.

As each take happens, Kosinski watches the realtime footage on a polarized 3D monitor set up in video village. We got to try out the glasses ourselves, and all agreed the 3D delineates the levels of foreground, middle ground, and background in a way that adds depth and realism. The 3D will only be used in the Tron World, the transition to which will be very similar to the transition from black & white to color in “The Wizard of Oz.” When the director is not there he casually talks shop with his actors and crew, a very calm, assured presence on the set. Occasionally he will consult with Lisberger, who in his costume is enthusiastic, smiling, clearly enjoying himself and in his element.

This is a fully populated sequence, giving the appearance of a speakeasy. You will get to see a cross-section of different inhabitants/programs. Just from the few shots we see, the elegance and restraint of Kosinski’s style is evident. “Lots of energy on this one, lots of crosses… lights on!” he bellows. The lights are controlled by radio, and it is fun to watch everyone’s costume turn on at once.

After the debut of the trailer, and what we saw on set, there is no longer any doubt Tron Legacy will be a milestone visual achievement. Whether this film will ultimately have the emotional impact on audiences the original missed the mark on remains to be seen, but Wilde is very hopeful.

“The first one was more of a cautionary tale,” she says. “So this one is sort of what happens when that cautionary tale has not been heeded. When there’s been 30 years of technology becoming increasingly powerful, where are you left at that point?

“Just in the three months I’ve been working on this, I feel what I’ve learned is like I was saying to Jeff, you have to treat it like it’s a character piece, like it’s any other film. And that it’s fun. I mean this movie should feel like a ride. It should feel like an adventure, and that’s what I think what we’re making, something that people will want to see again and again because it’s enjoyable. It does have emotional weight to it, but it should still feel like a fantastic ride. So I think that’s what we’re doing. And I think — God I’m just so excited!”

Tron Legacy opens in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D theaters on December 17. You can watch the trailer below!

You can read the whole article at ComingSoon.net

Olivia Wilde is getting ready to escape the shadow of her breakout role in “House.” She’s already shooting Jon Favreau’s upcoming “Cowboys and Aliens” alongside Daniel Craig, but she was well aware of her new standing in Hollywood almost a year ago when she spoke to HitFix on the set of “Tron Legacy” in Vancouver. The 26-year-old New Yorker has done action before – sort of – in the horror-thriller “Turistas,” but wielding futuristic weapons is a far cry from engaging with the crotchety Dr. Gregory House on Fox’s venerable drama.

“I use the sword. I’m the only one who uses the sword and then we have the disc and shields as well as weapons,” Wilde reveals excitedly. “So, it’s kind of cool.”

And then, of course realizing it’s a Disney movie, Wilde smiles and adds, “You will be able to buy them soon.”

Stopping by with co-star Garrett Hedlund in skintight black suits highlighted by electric and glowing looking accents before shooting a major action scene, Wilde says she was “amazed” at how the original “Tron” filmmakers were able to be so forward thinking way back in 1984.

“It’s really amazing to me that they didn’t know what they were talking about when they said programs or bits, bits or anything like that,” Wilde insists. “It was all gobbledy-gook for them. And they were able to make it sound fluid. So, that’s pretty impressive to me even when they’re using the desk, the flat computer with the touch screen thing. That to them must have just been so insane and implausible and to us now, it sort of holds up as well. I’d still like a desk that could do that.”

Not much is known about Quorra, Wilde’s character in the long awaited sequel except that she’s connected to the missing Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) and teams up with Flynn’s son, Sam (Garrett Hedlund), to take down an out of control Master Control Program.

Secrecy is important even on an embargoed set visit and Hedlund admitted its easier to keep his lid shut than he expected, “I find it’s a little more therapeutic not being able to talk about it. Cause it’s harder always trying to– like we’d love to share everything. But when you’re constantly– you got the mouse behind you.”

That “mouse” is Disney of course, the studio that was willing to take a big chance that a return to the virtual world of “Tron” could work over a quarter century after the first film became a cult phenomenon. Luckily, director Joseph Kosinski’s vision is aligning for exactly the sort of experience audiences are looking for after James Cameron’s immersive “Avatar.” That’s made “Legacy” one of the most anticipated films this holiday season, but even pre-“Avatar,” Wilde was awed by the 3-D technology the production was using.

“I think what’s cool is that we’re going so far beyond the 3-D,” Wilde says. “[They are] really utilizing all the new technology, technology people haven’t heard of yet so it won’t just be the 3-D that makes it special. I think that’s kind of exciting. We’ve been saying that the movie should– the movie will feel like a ride, which is what people expect now from a film. I mean, people’s home entertainment systems are now so advance why do go to the movies? But ‘Tron’ will be a great reason to go. And I think that’s really fun.”

Audiences will have to judge for themselves with “Tron Legacy” opens nationwide and in IMAX on Dec. 17.

From Hit Fix

As the plane landed in Port au Prince, I pressed my face to the window and my heart thumped against my seat. The last time I stood on Haitian soil was in late December, 2009, a few weeks before what locals now gravely refer to as “the Thing.” When I arrived at Port au Prince airport that time, I met Molly, a 23 year old volunteer caretaker for special needs children at an orphanage, and together we braved the hilarious chaos of Haitian baggage claim. Only days later, she was dead, along with roughly 300,000 others. I thought of her long strawberry blond hair as I stepped onto the hot tarmac and my eyes shot to the large jagged cracks in the airport walls.

Riding through town in the back of a pickup truck, I felt a stab in my gut each time we passed a mangled heap of concrete and rebar, which was so often that any building left standing appeared exceptionally strong. There is no order to the destruction, no obvious reason why one structure stood but not the nursing school next door, where all the students and instructors were buried. I couldn’t look into the pancaked layers of heavy concrete without holding my breath and wincing. It’s no wonder so many died. They had no time to run before the world came down in giant, solid, sheets of rock. Here and there, climbing amidst the mountainous crumble, children flew kites made from plastic bags on pieces of string. Life must go on.

As the plane landed in Port au Prince, I pressed my face to the window and my heart thumped against my seat. The last time I stood on Haitian soil was in late December, 2009, a few weeks before what locals now gravely refer to as “the Thing.” When I arrived at Port au Prince airport that time, I met Molly, a 23 year old volunteer caretaker for special needs children at an orphanage, and together we braved the hilarious chaos of Haitian baggage claim. Only days later, she was dead, along with roughly 300,000 others. I thought of her long strawberry blond hair as I stepped onto the hot tarmac and my eyes shot to the large jagged cracks in the airport walls.

Riding through town in the back of a pickup truck, I felt a stab in my gut each time we passed a mangled heap of concrete and rebar, which was so often that any building left standing appeared exceptionally strong. There is no order to the destruction, no obvious reason why one structure stood but not the nursing school next door, where all the students and instructors were buried. I couldn’t look into the pancaked layers of heavy concrete without holding my breath and wincing. It’s no wonder so many died. They had no time to run before the world came down in giant, solid, sheets of rock. Here and there, climbing amidst the mountainous crumble, children flew kites made from plastic bags on pieces of string. Life must go on.

I go to Haiti as a member of an organization, Artists For Peace and Justice, which supports the work of a Doctor and community organizer in Port au Prince named Father Rick Frechette, who has devoted the last 22 years of his life to serving the forgotten people of Haiti. He runs the only free pediatric hospital in Port au Prince, along with an orphanage, several elementary schools, and a center for children with special needs. He also distributes the only clean water to residents of the sprawling slum of Cité Soleil. In response to the catastrophe on January 12th, APJ immediately sent surgeons, medical equipment and emergency supplies to Father Rick’s hospital. Our board member Dr Reza Nabavian flew to Haiti days after the quake to perform emergency amputations, after which he set up a rehabilitation clinic to fit injured children for prosthetics, some so tiny they look like doll parts.

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