Photo by John Shearer

At a press conference last week at Comic-Con in San Diego, the cast and crew of "Tron: Legacy" gathered to discuss the heavily anticipated 3-D sequel to the 1982 Disney film. Oscar winner Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart"), who originated the role of Kevin Flynn in the first film, had all but given up on a sequel until a script showed up two years ago.

"Disney had kind of had it on their back burner," Bridges explained. "They were not satisfied with the script. So they waited, and I'm so happy they did, because we got a good script, and also they held out to find the right guy to be at the helm." Referring to director Joseph Kosinski, who has a background in architecture, Bridges said, "I think they really found a terrific leader.... It's always interesting where a director comes from, whether he's a writer or an actor. To have an architect being at the helm of this one was terrific. He was really up to date with all of the modern techniques that they have in special effects and everything, so he was a great leader. He's terrific with actors, so we got that entire package together and they presented it to me, and I said, 'I would love to do it.' "

Bridges continued, "Also, just like the first one, it tickled the kid in me to be sucked inside a computer, and you can play with all the new toys that we had available to us, and to be involved with something so cutting-edge was very exciting." Joining Bridges on the sequel are Bruce Boxleitner, who reprises the roles of Alan Bradley and Tron, and producer Steve Lisberger, who wrote and directed the original. Lisberger calls that film, which was made before the Internet existed in its present form, a modern myth for an entire generation.

"It's almost like it's been held back. Now you can feel all the energy you missed over the last 27 years," said Lisberger. "Technology is all about bringing people together, supposedly, and now there's a sense that technology may have a dark side where it keeps us from connecting with each other, and I think this film examines that problem."

21st-Century Advances

Back in 1982, all the live action that took place inside the computer was filmed in black and white and colorized later using photographic and rotoscopic techniques. The crew draped the set with black velvet and fastened it with duct tape, and artists would manually draw light beams on every frame of the film.

"Even though the computer graphics are simple compared to what we're able to do now, the design work is so strong and the imagination is so vivid and vibrant, it just transcends time," said Kosinski, a first-time feature director. "I had a great time assembling people from the automotive industry, the world of architecture—people outside the film world—to all come in and collaborate on this project. There was such a great foundation in there for us to build on. It was a lot of fun evolving those designs, making it feel more real and visceral. I wanted the film to look like you had been pulled into a computer and we shot it with cameras on the inside. As far as 3-D goes, we used the Fusion camera system developed by James Cameron. We actually used a newer-generation camera than the camera used on 'Avatar.' It was a lot more work. It's a really tedious process, but it pays off in the end. Ultimately, our story is a father-son story. It's a story about Sam in search of his father, who disappeared in the Encom mainframe 20 years before."

"Isn't 3-D without glasses coming next?" Bridges interjected. "Holograms can be next, or maybe you'll just take a pill. Tron: The Pill." Actor Michael Sheen ("Twilight"), who plays Castor in the new film, joked, "I believe 'Tron: The Musical' is coming up before that."

"Tron: Legacy" is the first 3-D movie to integrate a fully digital head and body based upon an existing actor, creating the younger version of Jeff Bridges' character, who serves as his avatar, Clue. It was a very different acting challenge for Bridges, and he marveled at how with technology an actor can now play a character at any age from infant to elderly.

Revolutionary Outerwear

Another first for "Tron: Legacy" is that it's the first movie to make extensive use of self-illuminated costumes molded to the actors' bodies, using digital sculpture from computer files with CNC (computer numerical cutting) technology. In other words, the wardrobe budget was $13 million. By itself, one custom suit for the racers cost $60,000.

"It was totally revolutionary," said Olivia Wilde ("Year One"), who plays Quorra, a mysterious warrior and companion to Kevin Flynn. "We were wearing electroluminescent lamps woven through layers of neoprene and all these other amazing materials. It was an honor to be able to wear something like that, which was changing the way that every other department was working on the film. It would change the way the scene was lit and opened us up to all these kind of interesting possibilities. And it was really beautiful. We would get really excited every time the suits would turn on, because you'd look around and just be like, 'Gosh, this is really amazing.' And then they made this little sound, 'neeeee,' which the sound department loved."

Sheen joked that the costumes were so cool, the actors would forget to act. "There's a great moment before every take, where just before they say action they go, 'And light 'em up, and action!' Suddenly the whole room would go 'Bing' and you'd forget to act. 'That's so cool…oh shit!' " The actors went through rigorous martial-arts training and motorcycle training and performed as many stunts as they could for the fight scenes. Actor Garrett Hedlund ("Four Brothers"), who plays Flynn's 27-year-old son Sam, remarked that the key was to stand as straight as possible so as not to bend and damage the expensive suits, which would only slow down production.

Kosinski selected Grammy Award-winning French techno duo Daft Punk to compose the score. Wilde found listening to their music on set really helpful and inspiring. "They were integral in the process of shooting," she said. "When you need to find tone in the scene, you listen to a Daft track and you really understand where you are in the movie."

This was not the film's first Comic-Con visit. In fact, as Bridges recalled, the effects tests that were unveiled at the convention two years ago were absolutely integral to getting the whole movie rolling. To repay the fans, Kosinski showed the latest trailer, eight minutes of footage, and even had the roaring Comic-Con crowd record lines of background dialogue, which will be included in the final cut.

"Tron: Legacy" opens Dec. 17. Watch the latest trailer here.