Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Short description
Hellboy II: The Golden Army continues the story of the red-skinned demon who works for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. An ancient truce between humanity and the invisible world of magical beings has been broken by Prince Nuada, an elven leader who believes his people have submitted to humans for too long. He sets out to wake the Golden Army, a force of indestructible mechanical soldiers, so that the creatures of myth can reclaim the Earth. Hellboy, his fire-starting girlfriend Liz Sherman and the amphibious Abe Sapien are sent to stop him, though Hellboy must also weigh the human world that fears him against the magical one he belongs to. Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, with Selma Blair as Liz, Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, Luke Goss as Prince Nuada and Seth MacFarlane providing the voice of Johann Krauss.
Guillermo del Toro directed and wrote the screenplay, working from the comic books by Mike Mignola. It was his seventh film as director, following Pan's Labyrinth and preceding Pacific Rim. The production, mounted by Universal Pictures with Relativity Media and other partners, cost 85 million USD and took about 160 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from roughly 298,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 from about 5,700 votes; critics rated it 7.3 from 247 reviews, placing it above the audience scores on both sites.
What's left behind the scenes
- The project's working title was "Hellboy 2."
- Ron Perlman had to turn down the role of Piccolo in "Dragonball" in order to participate in the "Hellboy" sequel.
- While playing the Angel of Death, actor Doug Jones could barely see anything from under the mask. The mechanical wings, which were part of the image, weighed 18 kg. Initially, it was planned that the Angel of Death would walk around the set, but it turned out that the actor in the costume could barely stay on his feet, so he was suspended on a cable, and the Angel of Death floats in the film.
- Filming took place from June 8 to November 21, 2007.
- Doug Jones, who played the Angel of Death, delivered the Angel's lines twice – in falsetto and bass, which were later combined.
- Vink's costume weighed almost 60 kg. In addition, the stilts that Brian Steele, the performer of this role, walked on increased the actor's height from a normal 199 cm to 220 cm. He lost more than 5 kg of weight during the work on the film.
- Rupert Evans (Agent John Myers from the first film) declined to appear in the film in favor of the production of "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (2007).
- Peter Jackson offered Guillermo del Toro the chance to direct "Halo", but he declined in favor of a sequel. For the same reason, he turned down "I Am Legend", "One Missed Call", and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".
- Initially, the film was to be produced by Revolution Studios, but Sony decided to stop investing in the studio and did not see much benefit in continuing "Hellboy," so the film rights were sold to Universal, who held a different opinion.
- Before filming, actor Luke Goss studied martial arts for seven months at the request of Guillermo del Toro.
- Christopher Lee was offered the role of King Balor, but he declined.
- The start of filming was delayed by two months due to the pregnancy of actress Anna Walton. She auditioned while nine months pregnant.
- Thomas Kretschmann auditioned for the voice of Johann Krause.
- This is the first film shot in the newly built Korda Studios in Budapest (Hungary).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
