↠ 35 Easter eggs, facts and trivia the Mortal Engines movie

Saturday, December 7, 2019
trivia about mortal engines

Mortal Engines film facts and trivia


Everyone loves nuggets of gold about how movies are made, the secrets that are well hidden until the movie is made and some good old trivia. Just look at Star Wars trivia, everyone loves that!

Here's what we've learned about the making of the first Mortal Engines feature movie, including a few well placed Easter Eggs that IMDB may have missed...
  1. Mortal Engines is the first feature film directed by Christian Rivers. At one point he was going to direct the remake of The Dambusters however that project was put on the back burner.
  2. The first of Philip Reeve's novels to be turned into a movie. Railhead next?
  3. Filming took mostly place at Weta Studios in Wellington's suburb of Miramar in New Zealand. This is where Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor and co have based themselves for 20 years making films such as Braindead, King Kong and The Frighteners.
  4. Peter Jackson purchased the film rights from Philip Reeve in 2001 and has quietly worked on the movie ever since.
  5. This is the first film written by Peter Jackson (with his usual partners Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyle) that he has not directed. First-time helmer (and Jackson protege) Christian Rivers has the directing duties.
  6. Produced by WingNut Films, the same company Jackson uses everytime he makes a movie.
  7. Katherine Valentine is seen holding a book about the Sixty Minute War written by Nimrod Pennyroyal. This is a great Easter Egg as Pennyroyal is actually a pivotal character in the series that enters the fray in the first sequel Predators' Gold. Given Pennyroyals books are usually works of fiction though marketed as nonfiction, it's quite likely this book is a complete nonsense.
  8. Actress Hera Hilmar has been cast as Hester Shaw.
  9. The trailer made its debut with The Last Jedi. 
  10. The name of the movie comes from a line in William Shakespeare's Othello
  11. Mark Hadlow has a role in the movie. His first acting connection with Peter Jackson was in the Hobbit trilogy so it's clear Hadlow is a trusted and respect actor within that circle. He plays Orme Wreyland.
  12. The pin Chudleigh Pomeroy wears is the one that Bilbo Baggins wore in The Fellowship of the Rings.
  13. Rivers deliberately steered away from the movie looking like Mad Max. "We didn't want it to be post-apocalyptic dystopia so, we didn't want it to be 'Mad Max.' We didn't want it to be 'Hunger Games' or 'Divergent.' That's kind of a bleak, dystopian sort of film, you know? It needed to tie to our world." Funnily enough most reviews seemed to compare it to Fury Road!
  14. Look carefully for modern artifacts in the Museum and keep an eye out for the Despicable Me - Minions! They are in a section called "Deities of Lost America". In the novel the humans have mistaken Mickey Mouse for a god. Due to ownership rights, the Minions have been subbed in.
  15. 63 sets were built in Jackson's studio at Miramar, Wellington. These included the London GUT (Great Under Tier), Shrike’s workshop, Pomeroy’s museum, the slave market, and St. Paul’s Cathedral (in which MEDUSA is housed).
  16. The production received a rebate from the New Zealand government to recognise it had created a lot of employment opportunities and training for New Zealanders.
  17. Hester Shaw has two eyes in the film whereas in the book she only has one due to being sliced with a sword by Valentine prior to the start of the novel. The book made Hester face very ugly with a grotesque scar which was toned down for the movie.
  18. Author Philip Reeve and his son were cameo extras in the film. They filmed their parts when Reeve made a secret trip to New Zealand in May 2017.
  19. Singer Jihae is playing Anna Fang, a key figure of the Anti Traction League. The theme song Jihae sings is a cover of Vera Lynn's 'There'll Always Be An England.'
  20. Hester and Tom shared a Twinkie between - the joke beign Twinkies can last forever. 
  21. The opening scene is striking similar to the opening of Star Wars: A New Hope.
  22. Jackson first started trying to make Mortal Engines in 2008 and would have directed it had the saga of The Hobbit's production being held in limbo not got in the way. 
  23. Liam Vogel was the official second unit director, however, Peter Jackson jumped in every so often. 
  24. Noted Lord of the Rings concept designer John Howe worked on the movie. 
  25. The legal entity of the production was a company called 'Squeaky Wheels'. 
  26. 'Squeaky Wheels' was also the working name of the movie and it was shipped to theatres as such. 
  27. The novel originally started out as a short story called Urbivore. The concept of moving cities came directly from that.  The story was notable for having a male aviator called Fang - the name clearly carried over to the Anna Fang character. The word urbivore stuck with Reeve as he used in to describe a giant city in A Darkling Plain
  28. The Shrike character name was inspired by Max Shreck from the Nosferatu film. When Reeve learned the film 'Shrek' was coming out, he amended the name. Shrike is so named for the bird that kills its insect prey by spiking it on thorns and other sharp plants.
  29. The opening chase of Salthook and London is closely modeled in concept on the opening of Star Wars.
  30. Salthook has been renamed Saltzhaken for the movie.
  31. The electronic screens around London show wanted posters that features Peter Jackson’s face. This is presumably his cameo. 
  32. Completely non related but still interesting, Darth Maul says 33 words in The Phantom Menace.
  33. The film has a different ending from the novel. Surprise!
  34. Tom Holkenborg who wrote the score said of it "I think I found a balance between the brutality of Mad Max while honoring the orchestral writing that made the 50s great."
  35. When London's public address system warns "Be aware, children may be temporarily separated from parents.". This is a deliberate real world reference to American politics where immigrant families where separated as a matter of policy under the Trump administration.
  36. Peter Jackson brought the rights to the film in 2009 meaning it took nearly 10 years to get the film on screen - you can thank The Hobbit for being turned into 3 films for that!
  37. Just chipping some of the greatest Darth Vader quotes from Star Wars here!

Will there be a Mortal Engines movie sequel?

Thursday, November 21, 2019
mortal engines concept art nik henderson

Is there going to be a Predator's Gold sequel to Mortal Engines?


While Peter Jackson and company are keen on doing Mortal Engines sequels and the movie has had a fair bit of praise, there has been no formal announcement of sequel plans. 

Star Wars on the other hand...

Making a Hollywood movie blockbuster is no mean feat. Just ask the quotable Sith Lord Darth Vader.

If it were easy to do so, every good story about space aliens driving trains would be turned into a film. So, to convince a studio executive to plump up some cash for an untested 'Intellectual Property' is a mission and a half.

It's why sequels are so popular, they are cash cows with less risk than something untested. Look at Marvel's Ironman, it's had like 169 sequels already...

So, when it comes to the Philip Reeve novel, Mortal Engines, no studio exec is going to take a punt on a book about giant cities driving around eating each other.

Unless Peter Jackson is attached to write and produce it.

So, that's the angle the studios are taking. Jackson and his NAME have been tasked to get Mortal Engines across the line.

Given the novel has three sequels and three prequels, there's a mapped out path that a movie sequel can take (Predator's Gold etc) but will ME get one?

Film producer Peter Jackson said:

“As for whether we go ahead or not with the others, it’s not in our hands,” said Jackson. All we can do is to make the very best film for Mortal Engines that we can. And I’m certainly confident that we’ve done that. I don’t know how we could made anything better than to be made to be honest, you know, based on that book. So we’ve done our job and now it’s really a case of making the film and seeing the audiences show up.”

SO GO SEE IT AGAIN ;)

Oscar-winning scriptwriter and longtime Jackson associate, Philipa Boyens had this to say when asked about the possibility of a second film:

"I certainly never sat down and I know Pete did sat down and thought of this in terms of a sequel–you know, sequels. I mean, we’re just, like, get this thing working first. And then think about what may happen."

"But, mostly, this has to work as a film. This may be the only one. Who knows? I hope not because I think it’s a–I think the story just keeps getting better and better. And I want to see the other traction engines now that I’ve seen in this one.

I want to see Panzerstadt. I want to see Arkangel. I want to see these ones that are bigger and meaner."

Boyen's 'has to work' as a film comment is telling and I think it almost has a double meaning. Obviously, ME needs to be a good film, one that viewers enjoy watching. But it also has to work for it's success. It needs to perform at the box office.

Big time.

I don't think ME will get a second sequel if it just does OK. It will need to perform all around the world, especially and obviously in the United States. Shame it has bombed and not covered costs.

So will Mortal Engines be a success and earn a sequel? This author is personally worried.

While we gave it a fairly enthusiastic review, some critics have savaged the film. Honestly, it makes me cry into my pH tested kombucha.

If you've seen the film and read the book, you'll know that a key plot point of the final book will have to be resolved in a clever way, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and hope we get to see the Predator's Gold novel developed for the big screen.

The Netflix Option for Mortal Engines



Mortal Engines is such a sprawling saga, there is no reason why it cannot be turned into a television series that is featured on a medium such as Netflix. There's plenty of ways to scale back the CGI and make it more of a story about the people rather than a CGI gorefest.

Having the Mortal Engines show on Netflix would allow for the story to develop at a longer pace, offer more room for character development and allow for many side stories as well.

You could even start with a prequel show about Anna Fang, yes, that would be excellent - you could base the character arc on the story points in the novels and the Night Flights short story collection.

If we are lucky, Thunder City will be adapted into a stand-alone film.

-

The glorious concept art above is by the talented Nik Henderson.


Roky Erickson Of 'The 13th Floor Elevators' has died

Saturday, June 1, 2019
rock ericson

Why do we care about the death of a singer of a band that not many people actually remember, let alone have heard of?

There's a certain ship in Mortal Engines that is named after the band for author Philip Reeve sure remembers them!

13th elevator mortal engines

The design above is the '13th Floor Elevator' which is the ship of Historian and explorer, Thadeus Valentine. He's the protagonist of the film. The ship itself was designed by Nick Keller.

Philip Reeve just loves to reference modern pop culture in his novels and Mortal Engines is littered with references to music and famous people. 

Listen to the 13th Floor Elevator's most popular single "You're gonna miss me":


It feels a little Van Morrison...


Amazing drawings of Hester Shaw

Wednesday, April 3, 2019
not_very_ladylike  - hester shaw drawing

Some handy sketches and drawings of Hester Shaw from Mortal Engines. The imagination shown by the designers is incredible! It's quite clear that Hester is a fan favourite (and of course Shrike!)

hester shaw with knife pencil drawing

hester shaw sketch

graphic design of hester shaw

pencil drawing of hester's face




pastel hester shaw

hester shaw drawing designs

I must confess I neglected to keep track of who drew what. If you know, please sound out in the comments!

This one was by magpiey

fan art of hester shaw

Philip Reeve has announced a sequel to "Naughty Nimrods!"

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Philip Reeve has announced a sequel to "Naughty Nimrods!"


Last year's release of Naughty Nimrods by Philip Reeve was a welcome return to the realm of Mortal Engines.

Naughty Nimords was a tour de force of literary discourse from Reeve as he opened up the Mortal Engines world a bit more by showing us the fabulous life and times of Professor Nimrod Pennyroyal.

Now, Reeve has announced that a sequel will be released next April called 'Naughty Nimrods Go Bananas'.

"I was delighted to go back and have another crack at a beloved character and his family. Nimrod is such a naughty yet fun kind of character - the kind of joker (with a Folie a deux on the side) you want at a dinner party and you don't mind when he drinks all your wine. Yet, underneath his waistcoat is a seriously sharp mind but one poisoned by years of cashing cheques his own ego cannot cash."

Reeve also added:

"Naughty Nimrods Go Bananas is intended to be a simply bonkers mad kind of a name. I was thinking about Herbie goes to Montecarlo and I just knew I had to get some kind of reference to one of the greatest film series ever into the title."

This makes a lot of sense as Reeve often uses pop culture references in the Mortal Engines books.

This is a delightful bookend to the news that came earlier today that Stephen Fry is to play Pennyroyal in the film sequel to Mortal Engines! Fry would be great as Pennyroyal!

Naughty Nimrods Go Bananas is to be published on 1 April 2020.

Mortal Engines film sequel confirmed! Stephen Fry to star as Pennyroyal


Seeing as this has stayed popular, let's be clear that this was an April Fool's Day joke for 2019.

Peter Jackson has confirmed that the Mortal Engines film is to get a sequel after all!


It will be called Mortal Engines: Fool's Gold

Which is a play on the book sequel: Predator's Gold.

This is fantastic news as, given the failure of the original film to fully fire on all Traction Wheels at the box office, no one was expecting it.

Jackson is quoted from the announcement press release:

"I'm bloody excited to say we have managed to secure funding from the New Zealand Film Commission to do a low budget version of the sequel to Mortal Engines.

We will be focussing on using local Kiwi talent, props over CGI and best of all, we are using a script developed by Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve.

I'm delighted to say that Hera and Robbie are back for a second turn at their characters and Christian Rivers is back in the director's chair"

Veteran actor Stephen Fry is set to star as Professor Pennyroyal.

stephen fry
Mr Stephen Fry as Professor Pennyroyal?


Filming starts 1 April 2020.

We cannot be more excited!

Seeing as this has stayed popular, let's be clear that this was an April Fool's Day joke for 2019.




Mortal Engines is out today on digital!

Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Mortal Engines film run has ended and now the home release dates are out:
  • Digital February 19 
  • 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD media March 12
You can pre-order your copy of Shrike and Hester now via Amazon.


Here's our pitch for a Mortal Engines Netflix series - featuring @jihae as Anna Fang

Sunday, February 10, 2019
anna fang netflix show



Why Mortal Engines should be turned into a Netflix show


We've had the Mortal Engines movie and it bombed at the box office, yet it's a good watch, and probably will become a cult film over time.

There's plenty of stories to be told in the Mortal Engines realm - so what if, it was re-born as a Netflix television series?

Given the movie has told the first part of the story of Tom and Hester, a new approach could be to do a series which focuses on the story of Anna Fang and how she came to be a leader of the Anti Traction League. 

This kind of approach would be a fresh lens to attract new viewers to the franchise.

Author Philip Reeve has crafted such a wonderful character in Anna Fang, she's really a fan favorite. Night Flights rounded off some really good plot origins that were merely hinted at in the novels and this could provide the grounds for a really good origin story that sets up the franchise afresh.

Let's say that's season one, the Anna Fang story. You could tell her origin and then cut to her death at the end of the season.

Season two could be a soft reboot of sorts that tells the story of Tom and Hester but perhaps it doesn't need to focus on the story of the first novel. It could be covered pretty quickly and then they could move onto new adventures, the kind perhaps found in Predator's Gold.

Indeed, one doesn't have to focus on Tom and Hester at all really - you could indeed skip to book three of the Mortal Engines series, Infernal Devices and tell the tale of Wren, the daughter of Tom and Hester. T&H could then play more supporting roles.

Given how the character of Anna Fang is resurrected and turned into a Stalker in Wren's story, Anna Fang's 'bad guy' arc could be wound really epically into a central storyline, which sort of bounces off the season one story points so the conflicted character could come out to play.

Naturally, Jihae should play the adult Anna again.

anna fang netflix show

The full set of new Mortal Engines covers by Ian McQue including prequels

Friday, February 8, 2019

Scholastic have revealed the full set of new cover designs for the Mortal Engines quartet - and also the first look at the cover for Night Flights, the short stories collection that features Anna Fang.

The illustration of the art has been done by the pretty ace Ian McQue and was designed by Jamie Gregory.


The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines was co-written with Jeremy Levett - he did a Reddit AMA on the book and the collaboration with Reeve.


mortal engines ian mvque covers


The prequel novels, Fever Crumb, A Web of Air and Scrivener's Moon have also had a make over:




Here's the cover for Night Flights:

night flights book cover

Here's our review of Night Flights. It's a quick read but we kinda liked it.

Here's a quick doodle sketch Ian did of a traction city:

ian mcque traction city sketch

Fan art of a traction city by Galactic Patrick

Monday, January 28, 2019
drawing of a traction city

As spied on Reddit, this is a great drawing of a traction city by Galactic Patrick.

Fever Crumb series has new covers by Ian McQue

Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Philip Reeve announced today that his prequel series to Mortal Engines, will be re-released with new covers.

Ian McQue who designed the new covers for the original series, has done the same for Fever Crumb, A Web of Air and Scrivener's Moon:

fever crumb book covers

These books are fairly different from Mortal Engines though fit nicely into the world Reeve created.

Check out our review of Fever Crumb!

Stephen Lang's thoughts on the future of Shrike

Saturday, January 5, 2019
Stephen Lang recently dropped into the Mortal Engines is a Work of Genuius Facebook page and left a surprise comment on our review of the Mortal Engines film.

Lang spoke about his character Shrike:

"I don't know what the future holds for Shrike, or if there is a future. I sure hope so because I love this role, and I'm not finished with it..."


It was very clear during the promotion of the film that Lang had totally bought into the riole.

He knew the history of the character and I think he said he watched ballet videos on Youtube to help him get the feel of movement for Shrike so no surprise he feels invested in it.

We would love to see a sequel that features Shrike!
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