By Jason Apuzzo. We know that actor Josh Hutcherson is in the forthcoming remake of Red Dawn … but has Hutcherson also been just cast as Spider-Man, for Sony’s forthcoming reboot of that franchise? Blue Sky Disney is reporting that Hutcherson has already accepted an offer from Sony to take the role.
Meanwhile, in an interview today with ComingSoon.net, Hutcherson had a few interesting things to say about Red Dawn:
“I don’t know when it’s coming out, but it was such an amazing shoot and the action is so good, but MGM is just making sure they have everything set and ready before they release it, which is good actually. They really care about this movie, which is nice to see, and they want to make sure they have all their ducks in a row before they just throw it out there. They want to make sure they have the right marketing campaign set up and everything.”
“It’s definitely more modern,” he said of the remake, which is following the current summer trend for ’80s remakes. “It has the same idea about a group of teens fighting against an entire army, which is hard and definitely fictional, but they have the same characters and the same heart that the original had. This time, the Chinese are invading instead of the Russians to modernize it a little bit, so yeah, it’s just a modernized version of the original.”
This certainly confirms what we’ve been told about the project by an executive at MGM. Spider-Man and Tom Cruise’s son Connor fighting Chinese communists in the Pacific Northwest(!). This really should be something – at least it will be more interesting than The Last Airbender, right? We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
Anyone who’s ever met Ray or worked with him knows what a consummate gentleman he is, and also how warm and generous he is in giving of his time and knowledge to younger generations of filmmakers and movie fans. Ray’s place in the history of cinema is special: he is, in effect, the creator of the modern fantasy genre – a genre he needed to create almost single-handedly in order to bring his unique vision to the world. The technical sophistication of Ray’s work is matched only by the breadth of his vision, which encompasses not only ancient mythology but modern science fiction. He’s one of the absolutely essential figures in cinema history.
Tributes to Ray are pouring in today, and you can see them collected at MUBI. Congratulations, Ray!
• The “Christopher Nolan’s Inception is the ‘smart’ alternative to summer pap” meme is gaining steam in advance of the film’s likely-to-be disappointing performance at the summer box office. What a farce. Once again audiences will be insulted by critics in order to protect a director’s reputation. Btw, what’s Inception done exactly to so swiftly merit this ‘smart’ sobriquet? All the ads actually show of the film are explosions. Maybe they should market this film as ‘The Thinking Man’s A-Team.’
• M. Night Shyamalan is taking heat over the racially insensitive casting of his Last Airbender, and the reality is that Hollywood filmmakers are going to continue taking heat on this until they stop second-guessing who the American audience will ‘accept’ in major roles. Have any of these guys noticed how multi-ethnic America is right now? Do we really still need white people to ‘sell’ films domestically?
By Jason Apuzzo. Over at Hollywood Elsewhere, Jeffrey Wells is reporting that the People’s Republic of China is currently refusing distribution for the upcoming Angelina Jolie/Phillip Noyce/Sony actioner, Salt. As Wells puts it, this is:
… [n]ot one of those “scenes must be removed before your film is allowed to play in China” problems, but a “sorry, but no amount of edits will satisfy us” problem. Meaning that Salt is apparently cinema non grata in that country until further notice – no theatrical bookings, no DVDs, no Blurays. Which, of course, means a huge opportunity for Chinese video pirates and a huge potential loss for Sony Pictures.
As I recall, Wells is tight with Salt director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger), so I’m assuming this story is kosher.
I’m laughing at all this because Sony just did a gigantic co-production with China on Karate Kid – and went so far as to grant the Chinese communists limited editorial control of that film’s content. Presumably Sony agreed to this in order to grease the rails for future Sony products making their way into China … and now the Chinese have predictably stabbed Sony in the back, now that their travelogue-propaganda piece Karate Kid is already out in theaters.
This is why American filmmakers should never give in to the Chinese communist regime, or to any tyrannical regime when they demand editorial control. Tough luck, Sony! You can always film in Tehran, Pyongyang – or maybe just West LA.
Btw, Jolie’s doing an anodyne interview in Vanity Fair right now. She’s still one of the sexiest women in Hollywood, but a decade of weirdness has taken its toll and frankly she’s looking a little hard …
By Jason Apuzzo. IndieWIRE is reporting today that North American rights to Duane Baughman’s 2010 Sundance documentary Bhutto have been picked up by First Run Features. A November theatrical release is planned for North America, with home video, internet platforms, and television to follow. According to IndieWIRE:
“Bhutto” follows the epic story of Benazir Bhutto, the first woman in history to lead a Muslim nation. She was born into a wealthy family that has become Pakistan’s dominant political dynasty. Often referred to as the “Kennedys of Pakistan,” the Bhuttos share a painful history of triumph and tragedy, played out on an international stage. Educated at Harvard and Oxford, Benazir’s life changed forever when her father, Pakistan’s first democratically elected president, chose Benazir, instead of his eldest son, to carry his political mantle. After her father was overthrown and executed by his handpicked Army Chief, Benazir swore to avenge him and to restore democracy – or die trying.
We’ve embedded the film’s trailer above. We’re pleased to see this film get picked up. Benazir Bhutto was a fascinating and complex woman whose shocking assassination in 2007 ended the hope of many people that the current Pakistani regime could be effectively reformed. Bhutto’s story, and that of her family, is very much the story of modern Pakistan. We will keep an eye on this film, and report down the line on screenings.
I’m not surprised by this, given the audience’s overwhelmingly positive reaction in the screening I attended – but at the same time I’m thrilled to learn that the film won this important award. This will certainly boost the film’s chances for securing a distribution deal here in the U.S.
Best wishes to whole team behind Four Lions, and we’ll keep everyone here at LFM updated on when and where you can see this extraordinary film.
