Posted on 11/25/2011 7:52:42 AM PST by Iron Munro
The long stagnating Red Dawn remake looks set to finally see the light of day, with a designated release date on the horizon. According to Box Office Mojo, the film will hit screens on November 2, 2012 – three years after filming wrapped.
A big black cloud has been hanging over Red Dawn in the form of the MGM bankruptcy saga, but, as reported here in September, independent distributor FilmDistrict struck a deal to finally get the film into cinemas, not matter how long it takes.
The film is the first foray into directing by former stuntman Dan Bradley, who once donned the hockey mask to play Jason Voorhees in Jason Lives: Friday The 13th: Part VI.
The movie is, of course, a remake of that cult classic from 1984 starring the late, great Patrick Swayze and a more innocent-looking Charlie Sheen (in his film debut) as the leaders of a bunch of teenagers who fight back when their small town in Colorado is taken over by Communist troops from the Soviet Union and Cuba.
It was made when the world braced for all-out warfare between the US and the USSR, at the height of the Cold War – when such an invasion on American soil didn’t seem that ludicrous. Nowadays it is a different story.
While the Red Dawn remake will follow very closely in the footsteps of the original, this time around it is the North Koreans doing the invading of the only genuine superpower left on the planet – after filmmakers had originally slated the Chinese as the villains of the piece, but changed their minds in order to give the movie more appeal in the increasingly lucrative market of China.
The likes of Thor himself Chris Hemsworth (taking on Swayze’s role), Adrianne Palicki (briefly, Wonder Woman), Josh Peck, Isabel Lucas and Josh Hutcherson will be doing the retaliating as the American teens.
Upon release on November 2, 2012, Red Dawn will be pitted against the comedy My Mother’s Curse and Pixar’s animated Wreck-It Ralph.
Time will tell if Red Dawn is worth the wait. But at least it’s not yet another alien invasion movie. Right?
Why use the North Koreans as villains when Hollywood could have just used the Real Mexican Invasion that is occurring right now???
They could have called it Roja Dawn...
Three words that would have made the original Red Dawn not only plausible, but inevitable: President Ted Kennedy.
I don’t know if someone went around and made corrections for this photo or not... But if not, I give kudos to these actors for at least keeping their fingers outside of the trigger guards of their weapons. That is normally considered a “muscle memory” position learned from having been properly taught on the range. No one is being “swept” with a muzzle, either. It’s nice to see a photo in which getting the gun up in front of the camera (that is why you used to see the star put his handgun up next to his/her face in the close-ups - it had nothing to do with tactics) was less important than demonstrating proper safety and technique...
At least they had the dorks keep their fingers off the triggers. I wonder who got to them and told them that?
This is a mis-characterization. China has an annual quota of 20 American movies a year. Red Dawn will not make that quota - its villain, North Korea, is an ally the party characterizes as being as close to China as lips and teeth (in the quaint Chinese phraseology). I'd say MGM is recasting the villain so that its other movies (including the James Bond franchise) aren't permanently excluded from China's annual quota of American movies.
Why not make the movie 100% Hollywood politically-correct, totally ridiculous, and a total box-office failure by making the invaders a group of Christian-fundamentalist survivalists hiding out in the back woods of Idaho?
Two comments.
First, the original was one of the most moving motion pictures I've ever seen. I walked a mile back from the theater to my house, with my grown daughter who had seen it with me. Neither of us could say a word.
Second, in my experience remakes are never as good as the original. I'll probably not bother to see this one, unless I see some really spectacular reviews. The mere fact that the producers would avoid a real adversary, like China, in the interests of making money, tells me all I need to know about them and the movie.
WOLVERINES!
...I.'m sure the North Korean Army is well fed and well equipped.
...Sleep tight!
The NorKs invading? Riiiiight.
If this one is anything like the original, it’s going to make the liberals’ heads explode.
My eyes! Myyy eeeyyyeeesss!!!
Oh wait, sorry...that's a news item, not a movie plot. :)
Your evil knows no bounds...
As if the invasion by the Soviets in the first awful flick wasn’t much of a stretch ...
Yes, but at least the logistics were there - The Russians poured across the Bering Strait by the millions & it was several latin american communist countries that flooded into South USA via Mexico.
North Korea?? Now THATS a joke
The executive discussion probably went along these lines:
“Who should the enemy be? Muslim hordes?”
“No, can’t afford to put our lives at risk”
“Red Chinese?”
“No, can’t afford to write off the Chinese market. Too much money there.”
“I know? How about Tea Party Patriots?”
“Yeah! That’s the ticket.”
I’m wondering why it didn’t play out like that.
In 1984 the premise was at least plausible as Americans perceived the Soviets were stronger than they were. But the NOKOs? Really?
How about this. Teenage children of investment bankers from the Manhattan are forced to use Krugerrands to buy toothbrushes as Chine.. err.. Asian bankers take over Wall Street in the new blockbuster: Red Debt.
At least the writers could have made a more plausible script than this piece of crap.
You folks here are right though this movie will be in the discount bin quick.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.