Starship Troopers - Big, Big Bugs at The Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette

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Starship Troopers - United States release November 7, 1997 - Sony Pictures

Bugs and Dinosaurs

Did you know that Jon Davison, the Producer of Starship Troopers, and Phil Tippett, who did the special effects, were once going to make a dinosaur movie? Yep! They were! But that was before Jurassic Park and executives at movie studios said: "Huh? Dinosaurs? Who wants to see a dinosaur movie?"

So, having nothing else to do, Jon decided to make a bug movie. Not just a bug movie, but the ultimate, extreme bug movie. And Starship Troopers is it! We have never seen so many big bugs all in one place ever in our life, not even when the Roach Motels in the basement are full!

Phil Tippett made these bugs using the same techniques that were used to make a dinosaur move in JP. They are created using CG (Computer Graphics). There are your three basic kinds of bugs: infantry bugs, flying bugs, and the humongous tanker bugs! The tankers are the biggest and nastiest, and they could probably give T. rex a little trouble.

From a technical point of view, the computer has a bigger job computing how six feet move than it does with a dinosaur's four (or two) feet, but the computations for weight and general body movement are very similar. If prehistoric insects had really evolved this big, this is probably how they would move.

People around here have seen this movie two or three times and it was the top-grossing film on its opening weekend (November 8, 1997).

Take some mosquito nets when you go to see this movie. And maybe a fly swatter. Actually, a sledge hammer would be better.

Bug Pictures

Okay. Okay. You asked for 'em. We got 'em. Bug pictures. These are frame enlargements right from the film's producers! Wow!
[They are (c)1997 TriStar Pictures and all that good stuff, okay?

]

A tanker bug comes after Johnny! Yipes! (c) 1997 Tri-Star Pictures
Johnny Rico warning the Mobile Infantry of the surprise Tanker Bug attack.

A whole big bunch of bugs battling. (c)1997 Tri-Star Pictures
The Bug horde assault on Whisky Compound at Planet P.

Old Articles

3 August 1997

What's bigger than a dinosaur? Bugs! Big Bugs! Way Big Bugs!

Hah! Not the bugs in my house. Raid gets rid of those.

These bugs live on another planet, Dantana, deep inside the Arachnid Quarantine Zone and unless they are stopped, all the Raid in the universe isn't going to help!

Based on the famous novel by Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers has the biggest bugs ever seen on the screen! Not even Them! has bugs this big. We're not even sure if Godzilla has a big enough mouth to eat them for dinner.

If you go to see Men In Black or Spawn, you might get to see a special movie trailer that will give you a sneak peek at these yucky thingies.

Producer Jon Davison says that there are 600 special effects shots! Yipes! Director Paul Verhoeven made Robocop which is way kewl ( and one other science fiction movie the name of which I can't remember right this second that starred Der Arnold and I know somebody is gonna send me an e-mail and tell me how dumb I am, but hey, it's Saturday morning and the coffee hasn't taken effect yet so whaddya want?)

Stay tuned for some super pictures of the Biggest Bugs in the Universe!

Links

Check out the Sony Pictures Starship Troopers Website. Requires Shockwave Flash! We think this reproduction of the Federal Network is tha bomb! Awesome. Click here.

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