sisslethecat
As we finally enter the release month for the newest Resident Evil film, Welcome to Raccoon City, marketing is finally starting to genuinely ramp up after months of basically nothing. With two trailers and five character vignette teasers, WTRC has been flaunting the degree of accuracy that it’s following in terms of moment-to-moment story beats and set design. I for one am hype beyond all reason for this film and adding to the official marketing Richard Aiken actor Chad Rook has been sharing behind-the-scenes photos taken during shooting last year. There’s a bunch of really great ones, such as this shot of Jill nailing Wesker in the forehead with her toy luger from a different angle, but there’s one specifically that I wanted to talk about.
Rook shared a number of images showing off the S.T.A.R.S. office (or at least the section of R.P.D. offices being used by S.T.A.R.S.), showcasing clearer looks at the details of the set design. Notable things like the WEL COME LEON sign (complete with missing second L gag from Resident Evil 2 Remake) and Wesker’s original 1996 aviators on top of his monitor, and more. The most interesting thing here, however, are close-ups of post-it notes on what looks to be Richard’s monitor based on the footage from Chris’ character vignette teaser. The notes are clearly not meant to be visible in the actual film, simply meant to have something written on them so they aren’t just blank, and are thus all jokes. “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck? Would a woodchuck chuck? — Follow up with Joe” stands out as one of the goofier ones (although maybe a reference to Joseph Frost?), but there’s a specific and partially hidden note that’s caught fans’ attention.
As this film is completely disconnected from the Paul W.S. Anderson films, this is a shout-out to (and partial dig at) that series. Alice Abernathy, an original character who has never once appeared in the games, effectively replaced the entire core cast of the games and even outlived all but Claire Redfield over the course of all six of the previous Resident Evil films. “Who is Alice?” is a cute way of referencing both those films (which, while fans hate, were a massive success financially) and the fact that WTRC is detaching itself completely from those. I’m curious if these notes were written by Rook himself (who has gone out of his way to express how much of a fan he is) or if they were written by the set dresser/s who wanted to take a shot knowing nobody would ever see it in the film.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City releases in just 24 days on, well, November 24th exclusively in theaters.
