1. The Expendables Gets a Poster
The Expendables unveiled a solid poster, it would be hard not be excited about this project. Please consider the following:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Bruce Willis
Sylvester Stallone
Jason Statham
Jet Li
The synopsis?
THE EXPENDABLES is a hard-hitting action/thriller about a group of mercenaries hired to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator.
This can’t possibly go wrong. It’s the ultimate guy film. It feels like it will be seven kinds of awesome. I didn’t even mention Dolph Lundgren or Mickey Rourke, two more tough guys on the roster. The rumor on the street is that the new trailer for The Expendables will play before Kick-Ass. Talk about knowing your market. But we should all be giving thanks, two non-franchise actioners in the same summer. Glory be.
Bonus Random Thought: Even the title is great. The Expendables. I pondered for an hour to come up with a better title and the best I could do was “Instant and Persuasive Death.” You’d see a movie called that, right? I know I would.
Young Rose has signed on to play an evil half-human/half-witch in Conan. Again, an idea whose time has come, although I’m dubious on the project as a whole. They may want to consider a DVD treatment that features only the McGowan witch scenes. That could work.
Bonus Random Thought: I was driving around Austin, TX a few years ago when I spotted Rose coming out of a hotel. She’s hard to miss, and I very nearly came to regret not purchasing the liability insurance for the rental car.
3. Karate Kid Screens!
The film that should be called Kung Fu Kid, starring Jaden Smith, has been screened. I watched the opinions pile in, and I’d say they were about what I’d expect. The film looks great, with majestic shots of China throughout. Jaden Smith is a capable young actor. The movie is a little derivative. And the script is a bit aimless, and 20 minutes too long.
Bonus Random Thought: Personally, I’m not enthused. I get making a movie with Jaden Smith and martial arts, and I’m on board there. But why sully the memory of the original just for the sake of today’s children? They’d like it no matter what you called it, so you get nothing by disappointing the adults. Just a strange move all the way around.
4. Separating Art from Artist
A fascinating article from Hollywood.com’s Brian Salisbury this week about the effect public scorn has on box office. The case studies examined were Roman Polanski, Robert Downey Jr., and Mel Gibson. Brian rightly notes that Polanski’s prior rape conviction will have no effect whatsoever on Ghost Writer, though I’d add in a caveat or two, with my final verdict coming down on the “It’s all about the art” side.
People will see Transformers no matter what Michael Bay does (and no, he hasn’t done anything). Same with Iron Man. These are projects that eclipse, in scope, any particular individual involved. But Passion of the Christ? Dicier, because it’s a far more personal work. Had Mel Gibson’s “issues” been reported before that film was released he probably would have made less at the box office. Similarly, if Sly Stallone murdered someone right before The Expendables was released you would expect parents to keep the kids far away. So it’s probably a case by case thing, and by and large the general public is mostly oblivious of the directors and writers involved. Top-line onscreen talent, a la Tom Cruise? Yeah, public perception does sway box office there, no doubt about it.
5. MGM is Getting Sold, But Sony Still Loves Bond
I think it’s too late for you to get a bid in for the MGM catalogue at this point, but Sony wisely mentioned this week that they’d still love to be in the James Bond business. And why not? The James Bond business is booming, salvaged from years of neglect. Sony’s dream scenario is a smaller mid-major studio footing the bill for the entire MGM library, then asking them to help out with financing on a new Bond project. When that day comes, they’ll certainly have the checkbook open, and without the initial burden of bidding on MGM.
Bonus Random Thought: The bad news? If Lionsgate or Time Warner wins the rights to the MGM catalogue they aren’t going to want to share the top- grossing franchise. At that point Sony’s martini will be very stirred.
On that note, I hope you all have a solid weekend.
Check out last week’s Movie Musings here
Laremy is the lead critic and senior producer for a website named Film.com. He’s also available on Twitter.
