Red Dawn

[GeneChing]

It's another 80's reboot like Karate Kid (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48261)due out in 2010. It's of interest as the Red menace in the 2010 version will be China. It's due out for this Thanksgiving.

Here's the official site, (http://www.mgm.com/view/Movie/2394/Red%20Dawn%20%282010%29/)which is unimpressive so far.

Here's an unofficial site (http://www.reddawn2010.com/), which includes such gems as the Australian Red Dawn. I'm told the villains will be Asian there too. Check it out.
Tomorrow When The War Began (2010) Official Trailer (with cast info) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwABuCZYFVA)

[GeneChing]

Anti-Chollywood (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57225). William Yun Lee is an old friend of Tiger Claw (http://www.tigerclaw.com/home.php).

"Red Dawn" remake irks Beijing (Reuters)
Source: Reuters Thu Jun 03, 2010, 2:03 am EDT

BEIJING (Hollywood Reporter) - An MGM remake of the 1984 film "Red Dawn" -- this time, with the Chinese and the Russians as the enemies -- has drawn sharp criticism from one of the leading Chinese state-run newspapers two days in a row.

"U.S. reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China" and "American movie plants hostile seeds against China," read the Monday and Tuesday editorials in the Beijing-based Global Times, whose daily circulation, in Chinese and English editions, is about 1.5 million.

Coming on the heels of secretary of state Hilary Clinton's China visit, the commentaries said the $42 million film, directed by Dan Bradley and starring Connor Cruise (son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman), "is deeply rooted in Americans' fear of China's rise."

"Despite the world's focus on U.S.-China relations in the strategic and economic dialogue and their increasing economic connections, China can still feel U.S. distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans' suspicions about China are the best ground for the hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie 'Red Dawn,'" one commentary said.

Excerpts of the new "Red Dawn" script, by Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore, leaked last weekend on the Web site The Awl. The excerpts appear to reflect a story in which China's People's Liberation Army -- led by Korean-American actor Will Yun Lee as the chief baddie, Captain Lo -- invade the U.S., with a group of resisters fighting back.

Posters online for the film, which MGM plans to release in November, show a cracked red, white and blue U.S. map stamped with the PLA star and the slogan "Rebuilding Your Reputation," according to The Awl.

MGM spokesman Grey Munford said the posters were made by fans, not by the filmmakers. "There isn't a one-sheet for the film at this time," he said.

China's media regulators long have bristled at politics in the movies and recently censored all mentions of Russia and Russians as villains from the Chinese theatrical version of "Iron Man 2."

[Jimbo]

Chinese movies demonize other nationalities all the time.

However, I personally have no interest in seeing Red Dawn. I do believe these kinds of films tend to stir up racist paranoia in the U.S. There's already a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment on some internet sites, what with so many U.S. companies relocating manufacturing facilities and jobs to China. And since most Americans who aren't Asian can't differentiate, all Asians are often seen as guilty by 'resemblance.' When in fact the problem is corporations, rather than races. I can see in some areas Asian kids in schools getting singled out by idiots whose families are easily influenced by this type of 'yellow peril' film.

[doug maverick]

the chinese do demonize other races, especially blacks and whites, we are always seen as grunting apes.. i mean you gotta go back to the eighties to actually see westerners prtrayed in any other light then bad. and even then its only a hand full of movies.

[Dragonzbane76]

However, I personally have no interest in seeing Red Dawn. I do believe these kinds of films tend to stir up racist paranoia in the U.S. There's already a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment on some internet sites, what with so many U.S. companies relocating manufacturing facilities and jobs to China. And since most Americans who aren't Asian can't differentiate, all Asians are often seen as guilty by 'resemblance.' When in fact the problem is corporations, rather than races. I can see in some areas Asian kids in schools getting singled out by idiots whose families are easily influenced by this type of 'yellow peril' film.

pretty much my opinion as well. Leave the past well alone and lets move on. I liked red dawn back in the day, but making another with china as the "commy" bad guy would not be a very good idea in my opinion.

[GeneChing]

Westerners are depicted poorly in several new Chinese films - notably Ip Man 2 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56421) and True Legend (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52398), both in the wake of Fearless (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=671). Such racist depictions really have no place in any cinema. Heck we got space aliens now. Can't we just use them as metaphors? Look at District 9. That was brilliant.

Red Dawn should be remade with martian commies.

[doug maverick]

Westerners are depicted poorly in several new Chinese films - notably Ip Man 2 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56421) and True Legend (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52398), both in the wake of Fearless (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=671). Such racist depictions really have no place in any cinema. Heck we got space aliens now. Can't we just use them as metaphors? Look at District 9. That was brilliant.

Red Dawn should be remade with martian commies.

gene you should write a ****ing script...that would be marvelous

[GeneChing]

After all, I just wrote a book <insert shameless plug here>BUY SHAOLIN TRIPS (http://www.tigerclaw.com/shaolin-trips-by-gene-ching-martial-arts-c-440-p-1-pr-8451.html)<end shameless plug>. Then again, I'm still writing the mag (http://www.martialartsmart.com/19341.html). And there's that tournament this week (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56385). Lawd, no rest for the wicked. ;)

[doug maverick]

your gene "mutha f ucking" ching you can write anything.lol seriously thou that was a great idea. red dawn with aliens i could see it too. the earth discovers a secret underground society on mars, we automatically treat them hostilely and vice versa, a sorta new cold war develops between us and then boom they start dropping down in our towns...would be awesome...

[GeneChing]

The original was so brainlessly violent. And it just jumped right into the action with the first scene. The commies attack within minutes - no real explanation needed - and and hour and a half of gunplay and explosions ensue. It was honest filmmaking, never mind the stupid politics and xenophobia.

I'll be into the new Red Dawn if there's wushu. :p

Here's a column from Pravda - the Russian take on this.

The Dangerous US Movie Industry (http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/07-06-2010/113697-dangerous_movie-0)
07.06.2010 Source: Pravda.Ru

The US movie industry is dangerous. It creates xenophobic national or cultural stereotypes creating images of an external threat, the “them” which justifies the “us”, in this case the U.S. The latest outrage against Russia is MGM’s remake of Red Dawn.

Red Dawn was an infantile, jingoistic, gung-ho flick catering to provide an adrenalin rush for culturally challenged simpletons, made in 1984 (predictably), portraying the USSR and Cuba as the villain and the United States of America as the hero. This time around, the villains are the People’s Republic of China, and of course the eternal threat, Russia.

In the remake, which comes out in November, the US pulls out of Iraq, and concentrates in the island of their dear ally, Taiwan, facing a threat from mainland China while welcoming Georgia into NATO.

What the movie does, within the space of a couple of hours, is inject deep into the psyche of the movie-goers an updated Cold War scenario, through the recreation of foes that never existed, providing the justification of control mechanisms through the manipulation of fear. It is the incarnation of a powerful “them” which justifies the “us”, or the actions of the U.S.

While it would not be beyond the realms of fantasy to envisage a Washington engaged against two such monumental military colossuses, while the acceptance of Georgia into NATO would indeed be a decision made by Washington and not the NATO membership and while such a move would surprise nobody after NATO lied it would not spread eastwards, then promptly did, Washington knows very well that it is only ever partially successful in campaigns against scantily-armed lesser fry, beaten into submission through massive aerial bombardment. Russia and China have the muscle and the might to fight back. Mightily.

While a military confrontation with Russia would result in the total liquidation of any concentration of NATO troops anywhere near Russia’s frontiers in a salvo of missiles so dense that it would blot out the Sun, a simultaneous campaign against Russia and China would defy logic.

Science fiction.

Yet it does not matter whether the film is plausible. The demonization of Russia and, now, China, is a mainstay of American political and cultural output, just as the denigration of the Iraqi Government under Saddam Hussein, upon accusations just as idiotic and flimsy, was a justification for a military campaign.

Instead of making movies which build cultural bridges, instead of educating the American public as to what goes on in the real world overseas, instead of making friends and defusing tensions, what does MGM do? It insults Russia and China.

Figures. The question is posed, why?

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

[ngokfei]

kind of a political time bomb coming out with this movie at this junction of time.

But hell it should be interesting say the least.


The return of the Red Scare!!!!

http://reddawn2010.com/index.php?option=com_ccboard&view=recentlist&Itemid=5&limitstart=140

[David Jamieson]

kind of a political time bomb coming out with this movie at this junction of time.

But hell it should be interesting say the least.


The return of the Red Scare!!!!

http://reddawn2010.com/index.php?option=com_ccboard&view=recentlist&Itemid=5&limitstart=140

I wonder when they'll make a movie about some afghan friends who decide to take up arms against an occupying force in their country....

[ngokfei]

here's a better site

but warning it contains spoilers!!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234719/synopsis

[ngokfei]

david

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/2010610175052249978.html

[sanjuro_ronin]

Why would anyone invade the US?
It has very little to offer China.

Most countries have learned that occupying another country is costly, pointless and never lasts anyways.

[ngokfei]

you got that right.

China needs us just as we are in order to buy all their stuff.:D

The movie remake doesn't work against Russia as they are now #3 with the US & China the big 1 &2

Hoep the put some MA in it.:p

[bawang]

they hired 30 koreans and hmong to play 10 thousand man army cuz no one will do it
lol

[David Jamieson]

Why would anyone invade the US?
It has very little to offer China.

Most countries have learned that occupying another country is costly, pointless and never lasts anyways.

Yeah. It's unfortunate that you and me and bawang there are puking up the tax dollars to pay our gov to send our guys into those crap holes so that everyone else can learn the lesson of how stupid it is to try an occupy a country without a game plan going in or a game plan on how to get out. :mad:

reckless idiots is the term I use to describe our governments on this matter.

If I have to listen to one more fool talk about iraq blowing up the wtc i'm going explode! lol

dang!

[doug maverick]

they hired 30 koreans and hmong to play 10 thousand man army cuz no one will do it
lol

yea thats a lie

[Lee Chiang Po]

Why would anyone invade the US?
It has very little to offer China.

Most countries have learned that occupying another country is costly, pointless and never lasts anyways.

Oh, I don't know about that. Mexico and Canada seem to like the US pretty much. They have been envading for years and years, and the living is free and good. Don't know why a hungry Chinaman wouldn't like it too.

[David Jamieson]

Oh, I don't know about that. Mexico and Canada seem to like the US pretty much. They have been envading for years and years, and the living is free and good. Don't know why a hungry Chinaman wouldn't like it too.

so you don't think there's a lot of americans in mexico and canada, living there?
think again.

there are literally 100s of thousands of US citizens who live and work here in Canada. and millions who come for a visit annually.

Mexicans? We got those too! In the thousands!

Personally I think it's because of our social services and medical aid which has been provided by the people of canada. :) we've been doing that for decades.

Go Canada! :D

[SPJ]

actually, many chinese and asia neighbors of china will love to see the movie.

august 1st or eight one was the day some of the nationalist troops with communist political leaders rose up and rebelled, since the news of removing communists from nationalists troops/army was coming. that was also the first split between cpc and kmt cooperation and the start of civil war in 1927 and continueig today.

taiwan is always busy in preparing for red dawn, spent unpropionate funds for defense since 1949.

Japan and south korea, vietnam--- all have dreams or planning for red dawn if not russian (since last hundred of years) then chinese invasion (since some thousand year ago).

being china's satelite countries or borderning countries has some blessing, too--

at the age of nuclear weapon, china started and had a successful nuclear program in the 1960s, prevented Taiwan's plan to return to the mainland

and also limited vietnam conflict

--

in short a large scale conventional warfare is no longer likely among china, russia and us without nuclear exchange first

actually space war on killing the communication and spy satellites first

--

so the movie or tale of paratroopers landing in a us town may not be likely

but it can be very much real in taiwan, south korea, japan, vietnam etc etc

so the movie will have huge audience in the countries mentioned above since they do not have nuclear program or A-bomb.

---

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUslg9_o4Xo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtoAvnoFtqM&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNwWgpXPz9M&feature=related

battle at ku ning tou in 1949 that stemmed or stopped the red tide flowing toward taiwan.

:cool:

[David Jamieson]

This one from...uh, the other angle..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGk2TojOd-4

[GeneChing]

Four Lions looked interesting but the reviews haven't been that good. Meanwhile, back to RD.

Detroit-filmed 'Red Dawn' remake prompts Chinese outcry, delayed due to MGM bankruptcy (http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/detroit/index.ssf/2010/11/detroit-filmed_red_dawn_prompt.html)
Published: Monday, November 15, 2010, 11:54 AM Updated: Monday, November 15, 2010, 12:23 PM
Jonathan Oosting |
Don't expect to see the Detroit-filmed "Red Dawn" remake on the big screen anytime soon.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, confirming reports the struggling company will be unable to release the film in the near future despite an original release date of Nov. 24.

While that may be a disappointment for Metro Detroiters hoping to spot local locations, it should come as good news to some in China who fear the film could spur anti-Chinese sentiment.

The remake largely follows the Soviet-invasion plot of the original 1984 film starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen, except this time around the main characters are fighting off the Chinese (and apparently rocking out to Toby Keith).

Beijing's largest newspaper, the state-run Global Times, in June ran two editorials on the film, suggesting "U.S. reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China" and "American movie plants hostile seeds against China."

While conspiracy theorists have suggested the U.S. government attempted to block the "Red Dawn" in the face of Chinese pressure, former Mount Clemens resident George Joseph, who runs the unofficial Red Dawn 2010 website, tells the Daily Tribune he thinks that idea is laughable.

"The delay is very much a result of the MGM bankruptcy," he told the newspaper. "They are holding back other films too. It looks like once this deal and bankruptcy finalize they will look for a partner to distribute the films they have had on hold, including Red Dawn."

"Red Dawn" started filming in Metro Detroit in August of last year, with crews shooting scenes in Mount Clemens, Royal Oak, Harper Woods and downtown Detroit. As the Guardian put in a potentially-offensive description, Detroit's "emptying streets and many abandoned factories were seen as the perfect real-life backdrop for the city's war scenes."

[GeneChing]

...but it's in the can so the premiere is imminent.

New Cast Photo & Release Info for RED DAWN Starring Chris Hemsworth & Jeffrey Dean Morgan (http://www.dailyblam.com/news/2011/01/03/new-cast-photo-release-info-for-red-dawn-remake-starring-chris-hemsworth-jeffrey-dea)
By Pietro Filipponi
Published: January 3, 2011 - 9:40pm

The upcoming war film directed by Dan Bradley is based on the 1984 film of the same name, which starred Patrick Swayze as the leader of the "Wolverines."
http://www.dailyblam.com/sites/all/files/news/images/temp24742.jpg

The storyline is simple: A group of teenagers look to save their town from an invasion of foreign soldiers by taking refuge in the woods and going on the offensive. Actors Chris Hemsworth and Josh Peck will portray the brothers Jed and Matt Eckert, roles originally played by Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. Unlike the 1984 film which pitted the teens against the Russians, the new band of "Wolverines" (the nickname the group calls themselves) will face of against Chinese invaders.

In June 2010, the theatrical release of the film was delayed due to MGM’s financial difficulties. The delay was worsened by growing controversy in China after excerpts of the script were leaked, and caused the film to draw sharp criticism from one of the leading Chinese state-run newspapers; which ran headlines such as "U.S. reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China" and "American movie plants hostile seeds against China". Problems aside, thought, it appears audiences are now closer to seeing Red Dawn in theaters than planned. Once their current Chapter 11 restructuring is complete, MGM will set it's sights on the remake. The film is one of three already completed projects that will be released in 2011.

Featured in the picture above is the core Red Dawn cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Edwin Hodge and Alyssa Diaz.

[GeneChing]

Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316,0,995726.story)
Without Beijing even uttering a critical word, MGM is changing the villains in its 'Red Dawn' remake from Chinese to North Korean. It's all about maintaining access to the Asian superpower's lucrative box office.
"Red Dawn"
By Ben Fritz and John Horn, Los Angeles Times
March 16, 2011

China has become such an important market for U.S. entertainment companies that one studio has taken the extraordinary step of digitally altering a film to excise bad guys from the Communist nation lest the leadership in Beijing be offended.

When MGM decided a few years ago to remake "Red Dawn," a 1984 Cold War drama about a bunch of American farm kids repelling a Soviet invasion, the studio needed new villains, since the U.S.S.R. had collapsed in 1991. The producers substituted Chinese aggressors for the Soviets and filmed the movie in Michigan in 2009.

But potential distributors are nervous about becoming associated with the finished film, concerned that doing so would harm their ability to do business with the rising Asian superpower, one of the fastest-growing and potentially most lucrative markets for American movies, not to mention other U.S. products.

As a result, the filmmakers now are digitally erasing Chinese flags and military symbols from "Red Dawn," substituting dialogue and altering the film to depict much of the invading force as being from North Korea, an isolated country where American media companies have no dollars at stake.

The changes illustrate just how much sway China's government has in the global entertainment industry, even without uttering a word of official protest. Although it's unclear if anyone in China has seen "Red Dawn," a leaked version of the script last year resulted in critical editorials in the Global Times, a communist party-controlled paper.

That followed postings of pictures on China's popular Web portals Sina and Tiexue in late 2009 of the "Red Dawn" set showing actors posing as Chinese troops and mock propaganda posters of the U.S. Capitol building smashed by a hammer. The posts received tens of the thousands of views. "When does it come out?" read one Chinese comment. "There is no hope for theatrical screening [censorship], wait for pirated version."

An MGM spokesman said that no one at the studio has had discussions with Chinese government officials about "Red Dawn."

Hollywood has learned the hard way that besmirching China's image on-screen can have long-running implications for the many arms of a modern media conglomerate. In the late 1990s, Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures and MGM all faced a temporary halt in their business dealings in the country after releasing the movies "Kundun," "Seven Years in Tibet" and "Red Corner," respectively, which were critical of the communist government.

Today, China is far more important to the Hollywood studios, despite the government's policy of allowing only about 20 non-Chinese films into theaters each year. In 2010, China was the fifth-biggest box office market outside of the United States, with $1.5 billion in revenue.

A number of Hollywood studios are deepening their business ties to the world's most populous nation. Disney is building a theme park outside Shanghai, Sony Pictures co-produced the recent "Karate Kid" remake with the government-affiliated China Film Group, and News Corp.'s Fox International Productions recently made the Chinese-language hit "Hot Summer Days" there. Even independent studios like Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment will release their films "Killers" and "Red" in China in coming months.

Dan Mintz, whose DMG Entertainment is a leading producer and distributor of movies in China, said the "Red Dawn" story dramatizes how Western companies can fundamentally misunderstand how the nation works. If the picture had gone out without redacting the Chinese invaders, he said, "there would have been a real backlash. It's like being invited to a dinner party and insulting the host all night long. There's no way to look good.... The film itself was not a smart move."

Mintz, who met with the producers of "Red Dawn" to offer some suggestions on how they could proceed, said that doing business in China requires a partnership approach. "The more you reach out, the better your relationships will be," Mintz said. "This is bigger than a single film."

The "Red Dawn" remake follows several teenagers in Spokane, Wash., who fight invading Chinese forces allied with Russia in the near future (in the original film, the Soviets partnered with Cubans). The roughly $60-million production stars Chris Hemsworth, who will become much better known to moviegoers this May when he plays the title role in the superhero event picture "Thor."

MGM had been set to release "Red Dawn" in November, but the debt-laden studio filed for bankruptcy the month before and emerged under new leadership at the end of the year. New chief executives Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are seeking to sell both "Red Dawn" and the horror film "The Cabin in the Woods," the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company.

China will be an important market for the studio as it goes ahead with plans to produce two movies based on "The Hobbit" and James Bond sequels. The last Bond movie, 2008's "Quantum of Solace," grossed $21 million in China.

In the last few weeks, MGM has begun showing "Red Dawn" to potential buyers at other studios. Several people who have seen the movie but requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record said they couldn't risk distributing it given the potential blowback in China.

The feedback led to MGM's decision to make the highly unusual changes. Although it's common to reshape movies in the editing room, there's no known precedent for changing the nationality of an entire group of characters.

People close to the picture said the changes will cost less than $1 million and involve changing an opening sequence summarizing the story's fictional backdrop, re-editing two scenes and using digital technology to transform many Chinese symbols to Korean. It's impossible to eliminate all references to China, the people said, though the changes will give North Korea a much larger role in the coalition that invades the U.S.

"We were initially very reluctant to make any changes," said Tripp Vinson, one of the movie's producers. "But after careful consideration we constructed a way to make a scarier, smarter and more dangerous 'Red Dawn' that we believe improves the movie."

Representatives for director Dan Bradley did not respond to requests for comment.

If MGM is unable to find a distributor for the movie, it could end up going direct-to-DVD or could even be shelved, never to be seen by the public.

"Red Dawn" is not the only piece of entertainment to swap out Chinese villains for North Koreans recently. The video game "Homefront," which was released this week and features a script by John Milius, writer of the original "Red Dawn," was also originally intended to feature a Chinese invasion. For business reasons, publisher THQ changed the occupying forces to North Korea.

A representative for MGM said it's hopeful the unusual changes will have a simple result: turning "Red Dawn" from a complete write-off into a movie that can find an audience and make money.

"MGM has been working with the film 'Red Dawn's' director and producers to make the most commercially viable version of the film for audiences worldwide," said Mike Vollman, executive vice president of worldwide marketing. "We want to ensure the most people possible are able to experience it."
Does this mean the villains will be doing taekwondo instead of wushu? awwwww. :rolleyes:

[ngokfei]

ah - no matter what they do the public and china will always know that it is about China.

Common now North Korea - ridiculous

Its become so obvious lately how the USA should really be written "U$A"

But thats okay, I'd say in less then 50 years China will be the #1 power in the world when it comes to $$ and acquisition of natural resources. (you don't see China getting involved in the middle east.


ah politics at the best.

Can bet that the original film will leak out YEAH!!

enough of my rant - back to KF.

thnaks gene

[Zenshiite]

Isn't that new video game Homefront about North Korea invading and occupying the US? Talk about improbable and jumping the shark...

[CLFNole]

Yeah but it is okay for every new kung fu pic to have the evil westerner that is a bad guy and fights and losses to the hero. They always make westerners look stupid and take shots at us but they can't be a bad guy in one of our movies. I mean common on it is a movie have some thicker skin from god sake.

[Jimbo]

I thought they actually made the evil Westerner in Ip Man 2 into a near-invincible machine. They let him make the other kung fu sifus seem a bit helpless, and even Ip Man was barely able to beat him (okay, the Westerners kind of biased the match in their favor near the end, but still).

But yeah, I agree that many Chinese movies make Westerners look bad; not only Westerners but other Asians, too.

Although in a couple of the Thai movies, there's Chinese villains: Tom Yum Goong (a.k.a.,The Protector) and Raging Phoenix (the Chinese drunken kung fu guy).

Sorry, a bit off-topic...

[CLFNole]

I am cool with either being bad guys but you have to have it both ways and not cause the movie maker go back and change the movie.

[SPJ]

it is just a movie.

but PR China did learn from first gulf war in early 1990's.

such as smart bombs, cruise missiles, precision bombing, ---

and then stealth and no man flying crafts from 2nd gulf war 2000's.

--

north korea is so poor, may be invade south korea, or Japan

invade US nah--

:)

[Zenshiite]

Yeah but it is okay for every new kung fu pic to have the evil westerner that is a bad guy and fights and losses to the hero. They always make westerners look stupid and take shots at us but they can't be a bad guy in one of our movies. I mean common on it is a movie have some thicker skin from god sake.

Let's be fair about those films though, they are set in a time period when Westerners were being ****s over there.

A movie depicting the Chinese invading the United States a whole other ball of wax. You're trying to compare a movie with a contemporary setting showing China invading the US, when there's not even a remote likelihood of that happening, to movies set in an era when Western wrestlers and boxers were going to China and saying they were the "sick men of Asia" and beating the tar out of kung fu men with biased fight rules that favored whatever fighting the European/American guys were doing. Certain figures in the kung fu world did step up and put a beat down on such people after their race and fighting styles were humiliated by these guys. Ip Man, and Huo Yuan Jia are just two such historical figures.

It makes one wonder, too, what the difference is between then and now in the martial arts world. We've got MMA commentators saying kung fu specifically and traditional martial arts generally are worthless in fights.

It's a curious little paranoia that Hollywood latches onto with movies like Red Dawn. The US, in this day an age, is the most militarily adventurous nation state on the planet and has been since the USSR fell, and even before then we probably garnered that distinction. The US is terrified of someone else doing to us just exactly what we do best. No matter how unrealistic or sensationalist it is. Juxtapose that with actual historical cases of the US and Europeans going to foreign lands and working tirelessly to humiliate them ethnically and culturally.

White people largely get their panties in a twist because we hate being confronted with our own sins and prefer to view history in a completely ahistorical way. Basing kung fu movies off of things that actually happen bothers me far less than a stupid paranoid sensationalist and outright ridiculous move like the original Red Dawn and this one. A handful of redneck teenagers are going to put a viable resistance to an occupying army my butt.

[Jimbo]

There is quite a bit of fear/anger in the U.S. about China these days. The vast majority of it is due to U.S. manufacturing transferring to China, copyright infringements, etc., etc. In that sense, a movie about an invading Chinese army could be symbolic.

One thing I do see, and I think I mentioned this way earlier in this thread(?), is that American movies of this type can often incite paranoia that may inspire already-stupid people to single out anyone they think is Chinese (i.e., anyone of Asian heritage) for racist rants or even hate crimes. America is multi-cultural, but the heroes in these films are overwhelmingly white, usually with an African-American or two for "racial balance" and maybe a token 'good Asian' (usually a sexy female in love with the white hero).

[CLFNole]

Jimbo: you raise a good point. If a movie raises anger against a race even if it is just an ignorant person that isn't good. I am a gwai lo and my wife is from Hong Kong so I am not necessarily on the side of the US film makers per say. I just don't like to see political pressure of any kind force a change to a movie. That being said movie makers do need to be sensitive to the political climate.

[SPJ]

so I was playing x-box with home front

---

single player mode has to follow the story line

kpa korea people army--

so i bought the game book to follow the story line, hidden history--

--

multi player mode is much better, with actions all the time, not so much story telling

--

it was quite a script about how KPA invaded US

--

[GeneChing]

U.S. business self-censors to keep China satisfied (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/25/EDO21IISNS.DTL)
David Sirota, 2011 Creators.com
March 24, 2011 04:00 AM
03/25/11

"Red Dawn," a '80s movie about Russians invading, is being remade with a few characters stripped out.

The 1984 film "Red Dawn" fantasized about a group of American teenagers called the Wolverines who repelled an invasion of foreign communists. For its mix of dystopia and hope, the movie became such an enduring cultural touchstone that U.S. military leaders honored it by naming their 2003 effort to apprehend Saddam Hussein "Operation Red Dawn." Amid the triumphalism, however, the invaders started winning - a fact that none other than "Red Dawn's" 2011 remake underscores.

That's the subtext of this week's Los Angeles Times report about MGM taking "the extraordinary step" of digitally removing fictional Chinese villains from the $60 million film "lest the leadership in Beijing be offended." Why the fear of upsetting such an odiously anti-democratic government? Because movie executives worry that a film involving a negative message about China "would harm their ability to do business" with a nation that is among the "most lucrative markets for American movies."

The studio suits are right to be concerned. China's government only allows about 20 non-Chinese movies per year into its theaters, and in the 1990s, the regime halted Walt Disney, Sony and MGM business in the country after those companies produced films deemed critical of China. Seeking to avoid a similar fate, the film industry now regularly shapes products to appease the Chinese regime. In that sense, the only thing newsworthy about the "Red Dawn" tiff is the public nature of the content revision.

Whether you are a "Red Dawn" fan or not, the episode shows that for all the theories about American cultural exports aiding democratic ferment and challenging autocracy, the dynamic is working the other way as autocracy gives orders to American culture. Indeed, China is now creating a pervasive ethos of what Times reporter Ben Fritz calls "self-censorship" - the kind in which America's media industries pre-emptively shape content to keep China's dictators happy.

The consequences are more far-reaching than just a change of bad guys in a campy '80s retread. Just ask Rupert Murdoch. In 1993, the media baron removed the BBC from his Star TV channel so as to satisfy Beijing and thus secure the station's access to China's audience. Then came Google's move in 2006 to censor its search engine in exchange for a pass through China's Great Firewall. And though Google recently said it was ending that censorship, Microsoft's Bill Gates - another powerful content gatekeeper with business in China - publicly slammed companies for questioning Beijing's demands.

In an interview this week, Fritz explained the cumulative effect: "If you think the rules and restrictions of the authoritarian government in China are a bad thing and amount to censorship, then in a global economy where products made in America are seen and consumed in China, those rules and that censorship is affecting what we here in America see."

And unfortunately, no band of Wolverines can stop it.

David Sirota is the author of "Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now."I'm intrigued by Sirota's book now. Has anyone here read it?

[ngokfei]

this only proves that the USA needs to adopt the same business practices as China.

Start banning their "inferior" products on a larger scale and then we'll see what happens. ex: If china only allows a set number of foreign films into their country then we can do the same. yeah Yeah I know bad for us Kung fuers.

As an American I see how my country is slowly being eroded away by big business. In general terms its amount to Treasonous Practices that is causing us to follow the path of lets say the Roman Empire.

What China needs is a War in their own back yard. okay now I'm a hater:D

[GeneChing]

ngokfei, you do realize that half of the Chinese films we review on this forum have no U.S release, right? We're watching them on Chinatown discs or downloads. Chinese films have plenty of negative Western images - in fact, I've addressed that in several of my print columns and in this forum. They don't care if it makes it in America. It's us. We care. We want to sell to the Chinese.


'Red Dawn' remake to come out next year from FilmDistrict (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/09/red-dawn-remake-to-come-out-next-year-from-filmdistrict.html)
September 26, 2011 | 12:28 pm

The new version of the Reagan-era classic will be released in the U.S. by independent studio FilmDistrict, according to people familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly. FilmDistrict is finalizing a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio that produced the movie in 2009.

In the original "Red Dawn," a group of teenagers in a Washington town battle invading Soviet forces; in the remake, the invaders were changed to Chinese. But that decision turned the film into a hot potato.

After MGM emerged from bankruptcy in late 2009 and decided it wouldn’t release the movie, no other studio wanted to touch “Red Dawn” for fear of offending the government of China, a hugely important market in the increasingly global film business.

As a result, the movie’s producers last winter used digital technology and creative editing to change most of the invaders to North Koreans. (Staunchly communist North Korea is economically isolated and not a market for any American products.) Still, it took most of the year to find a distributor willing to take the movie on.

FilmDistrict Chief Executive Peter Schlessel declined to discuss “Red Dawn.” Given that final details are still being worked out, however, it likely won’t hit theaters until 2012.

The new “Red Dawn” cost about $60 million to produce. It stars Chris Hemsworth, who played the title character in “Thor,” and was directed by Dan Bradley, second unit director on the last two “Bourne” movies and the upcoming “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.”

FilmDistrict, which is backed by finance and production company GK Films, launched in April with the horror hit “Insidious." Its most recent release is the Ryan Gosling L.A. noir film, “Drive.”

[ngokfei]

wow took you 6 months to reply gene LOL

yep still can't wait to see it. I've been able to see some early promoclips when it was still us vs china.

all we have to do is get the war started between Taiwan and China to solve our economic problems.:eek:

[GeneChing]

I discussed this a little with RZA when I interviewed him a little while ago (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1184253#post1184253). It was off the record though. Only a little of it got into the interview.

Movie makers seek to please Chinese (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-08/29/content_15714256.htm)
Updated: 2012-08-29 07:28
By Li Xiaokun and Liu Wei in Beijing and Kelly Chung Dawson in New York (China Daily)

Not too long ago, Western movie audiences' idea of a Chinese character was Fu Manchu - an evil mastermind who plotted to take over the world in the 1969 film The Castle of Fu Manchu.

But eight decades later, Hollywood and the silver screens of the West are acknowledging the growing importance of the film market in a country that is also rising in influence on the global stage.

Most recently, the American action film Red Dawn, directed by Dan Bradley and scheduled for a November release, changed its villains in post-production from an invading Chinese army to one from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Western film industry is now aggressively pushing beyond the negative portrayals of Chinese people - and even the iconic kung fu roles of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li - to tap what promises to be one of the world's most lucrative movie markets.

"True, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li have freed the industry from some preconceptions, but they have made a new one - Chinese can (only) fight," said film critic Luo Jin.

But things are changing, given that Hollywood is always interested in expanding its market, said Ken Jurkiewicz, associate professor at the School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts at Central Michigan University.

"In general, Chinese characters were either inscrutably intelligent, or they were treated like comic relief. Something mysterious and exotic, and that would be true of the female characters too," Jurkiewicz said.

But the Western film industry is now aware that "there's this sort of virgin territory in China, millions of people could be exposed to the Hollywood product. So they can't really denigrate or demean people using those old stereotypes.

"Hollywood is being very careful about how Chinese people are portrayed because they don't want to lose a potential audience", Jurkiewicz said.

Guy Aoki, founding president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans, an organization that monitors how Asian Americans are portrayed in US movies, TV and the media, said movie roles are actually being altered to avoid provoking or angering Chinese audiences.

"The most recent example is Red Dawn, where they changed the villains to be North Korean. I think that's a very big sign of how much they want to make money off of China. They don't want to offend China or Chinese audiences," Aoki said.

In June 2010, release of Red Dawn was delayed because of financial difficulties and amid growing controversy in China after excerpts of the script were leaked onto the Internet. Chinese media sharply criticized the film, with headlines such as "US reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China".

"They had to digitally alter everything after the fact. So many American movies do not make back their budget on domestic box office, and they have to rely on overseas markets. China is becoming bigger and bigger, so they really need China now," Aoki said.

"It's positive in the sense that they're less likely to cast Chinese villains ... The reality is that when they have villains from China and Japan, it still affects Asian Americans. It's positive to have less Chinese villains in Hollywood movies."

A promising market

These are indeed wise moves for an increasingly important Chinese movie-going market.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, US domestic box office takings in 2011 fell to a 16-year low.

Ticket revenue in the world's largest movie market fell 3.5 percent to $10.2 billion, while the estimated number of tickets sold dropped 4.4 percent to 1.28 billion, the lowest figure since 1995's 1.26 billion.

On the other hand, overseas revenues of US films surged 7 percent to $22.4 billion in 2011.

In 2011, China's box-office revenue was 13.1 billion yuan ($2.06 billion), double what it was in 2009, according to China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Domestic ticket sales in 2012 reached 10 billion yuan as of Aug 16, raising expectations for the final annual figure to hit 18 billion yuan and surpass Japan to become the world's second-largest movie market.

Japanese media also noted the trend. The Tokyo Shinbun newspaper on Aug 11 quoted a local movie reporter saying that Japanese roles in US movies were prettified after the 1980s as the Japanese market rapidly expanded and became a major destination of American exports.

"Now, the same situation falls on Chinese roles in US movies," he said.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

Cloud Atlas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s) looks cool. Should be great for Zhou Xun as she's just conquered China w/PS2 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57724).

Investment on the rise

Hollywood roles are also being taken up by Chinese actresses popular in China to lure this lucrative market.

The trailer of Cloud Atlas, a science-fiction movie directed by Lana Wachowski, was released worldwide on July 28, and Zhou Xun portrayed three roles in it.

In June, Fan Bingbing's name also appeared in the cast of The Moon and the Sun released by Bliss Media, a production company in Hollywood.

Last year, Xu Qing was invited to join Looper, a Hollywood science-fiction movie. She portrayed the wife of the protagonist, played by Bruce Willis.

Later, Yu Nan announced she will join The Expendables 2, while Li Bingbing confirmed in October that she was shooting Resident Evil: Retribution as character Ada Wong and fights zombies alongside Milla Jovovich.

"In the era of globalization, Hollywood cannot ignore Chinese actors just as major US companies cannot ignore small Chinese companies," said Wu Yulan, deputy dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Media under the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. The school is in Wuhan, capital city of Central China's Hubei province.

US film company DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc on Aug 7 announced plans to build a $3.14 billion theme park in Shanghai and open it in 2016.

The studio's newly formed China joint venture, Oriental DreamWorks, also announced it will make the next Kung Fu Panda movie, the third installment in the series, in China for release in 2016.

One day later, Cameron Pace Group, co-founded by Avatar director James Cameron and long-time business partner Vince Pace, set up a division in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin and launched its first film project, a 3-D documentary on Beijing.

"I am making a big investment and forming partnerships here in China," Cameron told a news conference on Aug 8. "We are very excited to be part of the historic transformation of media and entertainment from 2-D to 3-D. We believe the future of entertainment is in 3-D, and the future of 3-D is in China."

Cameron's Titanic and its 3-D version both swept China's box office. When the original version was screened in 1998, it grossed 360 million yuan and was the highest-grossing film in China for 11 years until Transformers 2 broke the record in 2009. Titanic 3-D raked in an amazing 900 million yuan.

In 2010, 3-D epic Avatar brought in 1.2 billion yuan and was the best-performing film at China's box office so far.

With the box office soaring 30 percent every year since 2003, China has become the new land of temptation for Hollywood studios.

China has been making moves to further open its market. A deal hammered out in February has increased the annual quota for foreign films in theaters to 34 from the original 20, and raised the foreign share of ticket sales from 13 to 25 percent.

A long way to go

But experts say there is still some way to go before Hollywood and Western audiences are able to fully - and accurately - integrate Chinese aspects and depictions of the country and its people into their offerings.

"There is a growing awareness that things might be more complicated. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Americans are exposed to other cultures more and more," said Jurkiewicz, from Central Michigan University.

"What I'd like to see happen is more Chinese films coming to this country, that portray contemporary Chinese life and culture. Those films are being made and shown in Asia, but very few of those films make it into the American market," he said.

Beijing-based film critic Bi Chenggong noted the golden period for Chinese films and performers in Hollywood was from 2000 to 2007.

"It was definitely related to the performance of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Bi said.

An American-Chinese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi.

It grossed $128 million in the US, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. The film won more than 40 major international awards, including the Oscar for best foreign-language film.

"At that time, Chinese culture was popular in Hollywood. China had just become a new economic engine, while the 'China Threat Theory' was not talked about that much. We had just entered the World Trade Organization and were scheduled to host the Beijing Olympics ... All these left an open-minded image of China on the world," Bi said.

But now China is no longer a fresh subject, and Bi said Chinese stars have to realize the fact that movies featuring Asian stars as the core roles usually account for only 3 percent of Hollywood products.

"Besides, the Hollywood only picks up those with excellent performing skills who can speak good English. And many Chinese stars lack the motivation to explore Hollywood, given the prosperous market at home," Bi said.

"I expect to see more Chinese players in Hollywood, the most developed movie-industry system, to show our faces and have our voice heard there."

Contact the writers at lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn, liuwei@chinadaily.com.cn and kdawson@chinadailyusa.com

[Jimbo]

It's been my observation that a high percentage of Asians in the U.S.who emigrated here, along with the ones in their home countries, operate under the assumption that (non-Asian) Americans are aware of the differences between the different Asian groups/nationalities. When in fact, most are not, or they couldn't care less. If you "look Chinese" (for example), then to them, you're Chinese, or whatever other group is the current target. Reminds me of when that Cho Seung-Hui shot up VA Tech, on some sites, I read posts written by some Chinese-Americans saying, "Whew! I was soooo glad when I heard he was Korean and not Chinese! I was afraid of possible anti-Chinese backlash". Well, if there had been any, it wouldn't have mattered to a racist.

In the same way, a number of Sikhs have been targeted because many Americans cannot tell the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim. Not that any group should be scapegoated.

Right now, a lot of people politically walk on eggshells when it comes to China. Whether it's due to greater cultural awareness or not wanting to upset the financial apple cart, I don't know, but I suspect the latter.

[GeneChing]

I was tempted to post this on our GIJ2 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62615) or WW threads, but this opens tomorrow (besides I couldn't find our WW thread :o ).

Adrianne Palicki Talks RED DAWN, G.I. JOE 2, the WONDER WOMAN Experience & Possible FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Movie (http://collider.com/adrianne-palicki-red-dawn-gi-joe-2-interview/211386/)
by Christina Radish Posted: November 19th, 2012 at 4:44 pm

The long-delayed re-imagining of Red Dawn is finally hitting theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday. When the citizens of a city in Washington state find themselves the prisoners under enemy occupation by North Korea, a group of young patriots become determined to fight back, and band together to protect one another and take back their freedom. From director Dan Bradley, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

At the film’s press day, actress Adrianne Palicki – who plays the tough, no-nonsense Toni – spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how excited she is that audiences will finally have a chance to see the film, going through a similar delay with the G.I. Joe sequel, how her Red Dawn training compared to her G.I. Joe: Retaliation training, how devastating the whole Wonder Woman experience was for her (with the TV show getting ordered to series and then having the plug pulled), working with co-star Chris Hemsworth, how she related to her character, and her thoughts on the possible Friday Night Lights movie. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

Collider: Has it been frustrating for you, to have this film be so delayed, or is it just exciting that people will finally get the chance to see it?

http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/red-dawn-adrianne-palicki-407x600.jpg
ADRIANNE PALICKI: It’s very exciting that people are finally going to get the chance to see the film. But, as an actor, I realize that it really doesn’t come down to it being bad. It’s comes down to so many different factors that you have no control over. I’ve had a lot of things that have been delayed, in the recent past, so you’ve just gotta give it up and say, “Okay, whatever. I have no control over this. There’s a reason for it.” But, I’m so excited because there was a point in which they were talking about shelving this movie, and I’m so glad that that didn’t happen. I think it’s a really fun, good movie that people are seemingly to really enjoy.

You’re also going through the same thing with the delay for the G.I. Joe sequel. Are you just like, “Enough already!”?

PALICKI: I was like, “Really?! Oh, my god!” I felt like, “Am I a bad luck charm? I don’t understand!” But again, that movie really came down to the fact that they didn’t want to be sandwiched in between two huge blockbuster movies and get trampled. I don’t think it would have, but I understand them being safe. And they also wanted to make it 3D, genuinely. So, I was like, “Okay, I get it.” There’s a reason for everything, I guess.

Did your physical training on Red Dawn help prepare you for G.I. Joe: Retaliation and give you a better sense of what to expect?

PALICKI: For G.I. Joe, I had much more physical action because I’m playing a Navy SEAL. So, it’s not only about holding a gun. I had to do everything 100% correctly. We had Harry Humphries, who’s one of the best of the best. He’s a retired Navy SEAL, who’s one of the original Navy SEALs, and he trained us. I loved him, but that was a lot of work. But, I felt like I was two steps ahead of the game, having done all the work on Red Dawn. And then, I also did Wonder Woman and had hand-to-hand combat training for that. I felt like I was ready.

How difficult was it for you to go through what you did with the Wonder Woman TV show? Did you have one of those self-doubt moments about being in this business?

http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/adrianne-palicki-wonder-woman-costume-image-01-253x600.jpg
PALICKI: I have that, every day. I’m not going to lie. I’m serious. And then, I have to remind myself that I love what I do. If I get to do one job a year, or if I get to just do my job, even if people don’t get to see it, I’m doing my job and it’s making me happy. I’ve got to just keep fighting through it and do it, and hope that eventually people see what I’m doing. But, I was devastated. Believe me, I was inconsolable for a good two months. And then, I had to realize that I had a Wonder Woman costume fitted for my body. I got to play that part on film. Not many people get to say that, and that’s cool. Maybe I’ll get to do it again, in a bigger arena. Who knows?

Was part of the appeal of Red Dawn the fact that the girls really have to get in on the action with the boys?

PALICKI: I think that’s a realistic version of it. If that were actually happening, people wouldn’t slow down to be like, “Are you going to be okay handling that gun?” It’s a boy’s club, so you have to be a boy in the club, ultimately. You have to handle yourself. If you don’t, you’re going to die. I like that (director) Dan [Bradley] was totally about not making it about sexes. Everybody was the same.

Going into the training for this, did you think that you’d be able to do it with no problem and it just totally whipped your ass?

PALICKI: Yes, totally! I was like, “I’m athletic. I work out. I can do this. I’ve shot a gun.” No, it didn’t prepare me for what was there. Thankfully, I have a lot of willpower, so I was fine. I just had to keep going. Thankfully, we had a really great group of people training us, but it was hard. There were a lot of sore nights, getting into bathtubs.

Did the whole boot camp experience bond all of you guys together?

PALICKI: Yeah, because a lot of us hadn’t met each other before. We really were like the Wolverines, in real life. We were a bunch of people coming together who didn’t know each other. At that point, Chris [Hemsworth] had been through a month of training, so he was really our leader. They made it such that he had to lead us. By the end, he had to make the calls. So, we had this amazing bond, by the time we got to set, that shows in the movie.

What was it like to work with Chris Hemsworth and have the challenge of establishing a connection without much time to build a relationship?
continued next post

[GeneChing]

PALICKI: It was hard because you really had to walk a thin line. You don’t want it to be a cheesy situation because it’s not the important thing. The importance of it is to humanize all the characters. That way, when somebody blows up, you cry because you actually care about them. It’s important to do that. But, with the romantic part, we were both very much about making that relationship work without making it ridiculous, and Dan was, too. We weren’t going to stop and look at each other longingly, in the midst of all this warfare. I think the few moments that are in the movie hopefully earn the ending that happens between the two of them.

What kind of audition process did you have to go through for this film?

PALICKI: I actually met with Dan Bradley before I went in, and we talked very in-depth. And then, I went in and tested with Chris, and I had the job. It was one of the easier processes I’ve ever gone through.

When you hear “remake” or “reboot,” do you immediately get weary of the project, or do you keep an open mind about it until you read the script?

PALICKI: For me, it’s like, “Okay, it’s a job.” Then, I look at it and go, “Is it good?” Also, I ask, “Is it a remake or a reboot?” They’re different. Also, a lot of what’s being made right now are remakes, let’s be honest. But, with this, we had to really go in and pay tribute to the original, but make it our own, as much as possible. They’re two very different movies. I don’t think you could do a ton of comparisons between the two.

Were there changes made to the characters, once you all were cast in the roles?

PALICKI: Yeah. We would sit down and have massive collaboration meetings where we would really wade through the script. Thankfully, Dan was very much about us knowing our place and what we wanted to do with the characters. He had so much faith in what we were doing. I’d say, “Toni would never say this line,” or “Toni would say this instead.” It was very open, and there were definitely changes made. There weren’t substantial changes, but there definitely changes made, once the cast came in.

Did you find Toni to be someone who you could pretty well relate to? Did it feel like you might deal with a situation like this, in the same way that she did?

PALICKI: Yeah, absolutely! I would hope so. I’d hope that’s how I would deal with it. Going in, to be honest with you, I thought of her a lot like Tyra with a gun. She’s this bad girl who, all of a sudden, has to choose what she has to do and she’s totally like, “Let’s ****in’ do this! I’m going to make sure everybody is okay, and we’re going to lead this pack.” I would hope that I would do that! But, I don’t know, and I really don’t ever want to know!

What was it like to work with Dan Bradley, on set?

PALICKI: The acting stuff was new for him, but it was really fun to watch him in his element with all the action. He became this beast. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and he knows exactly what needs to go where. When you watch the movie, for me, I couldn’t breathe during some of those action sequences. During that first car sequence, I really forgot to breathe. He just does a phenomenal job of that.

Are you hoping that the Friday Night Lights movie will eventually happen, and that you’ll be a part of it?

PALICKI: I’m really in the middle. I want it to happen, but at the same time, I’m like, “Leave well enough alone.” Selfishly, I want it to happen. But, for the show’s sake, I don’t want it to happen. I don’t know. We’ll see. There’s still talks, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.

Red Dawn opens in theaters on November 21st.

Now, as you'll see tomorrow, I got the opportunity to interview one of the stars of RED DAWN. Was it Adrianne Palicki? Oh hell no. :mad:

[GeneChing]

Josh Peck on RED DAWN (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1072) by Gene Ching

[GeneChing]

This is a little ironic when you consider that there are dozens of Chinese-made films with entirely Chinese casts and they have Chinese villains. :rolleyes:


China Film Official Insists There’s No Ban on Hollywood Movies With Chinese Villains (http://www.thewrap.com/china-film-official-no-ban-chinese-villains/)
It’s been difficult to spot a Chinese bad guy in a recent Hollywood blockbuster
Matt Pressberg | November 1, 2016 @ 3:10 PM

http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/3d-imax-china.jpg

A top Chinese film official said Tuesday that there’s no official policy to bar Hollywood movies featuring Chinese bad guys from playing in the country — which is expected to surpass the U.S. as the world’s biggest box office market in the next few years.

“As for villains or heroes, I don’t think there is any restriction,” Miao Xiaotian, the president of the China Film Co-Production Corporation, a state-run body that oversees co-productions, said at the Asia Society’s U.S.-China Film Summit at the University of California Los Angeles. “I cannot say that the villain cannot be played by Chinese actors. I don’t think there’s any restriction on that.”

The 2012 film “Red Dawn” famously swapped out its Chinese villains for North Koreans during postproduction to ensure it would get a theatrical run in China’s multiplexes. And since then, the number of big-screen bad guys from the Middle Kingdom has dwindled to basically zero, while the Chinese box office has become an increasingly important source of revenue for Hollywood.

Miao also shed light on China’s motives behind its policy of pursuing co-productions between U.S and Chinese firms. Official Chinese co-productions require a minimum 15 percent financial investment from Chinese partners — more with certain countries that have signed official treaties, and also substantial local representation in the cast.

“For casting, we request that there will be Chinese actors for main characters,” he said. “Our requirement is that there should not be less than one-third.”

Miao also reassured Hollywood execs about the content of films they hope to import into his country. “Don’t worry,” he said noting that most significant Hollywood films end up winning approval from China’s state censors.

This year, “Suicide Squad” and “Ghostbusters” failed to win approval — and Miao noted the war movie “300” as another example.

“I think that film didn’t go to China because of violence,” he said.

Currently, China allows 34 imported films per year on a revenue-sharing basis. Miao wouldn’t speculate on whether that quota might be raised, although there have been a flurry of Hollywood films that have recently landed China release dates, including Paramount’s “Allied,” Lionsgate’s “Deepwater Horizon” and Disney-Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” — as China’s box office has had an uncharacteristically sluggish run.

“In the future if the quota will increase or not, I’m not sure about that,” he said. “It’s hard to speculate. But I think co-production is a very good way to make it up.”

[GeneChing]

Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Peck Break Into Top Actors Social Media Ranking Top 10 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/vanessa-hudgens-josh-peck-break-top-actors-social-media-ranking-top-10-1034646/item/sabrina-carpenter-mvp-9-6-1034615)
10:00 AM 9/2/2017 by Kevin Rutherford

Dwayne Johnson, meanwhile, rules the chart, which ranks the most popular actors based on data from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus, for a ninth week.

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/list_landscape_960x541/2017/08/vanessa.jpg
Getty Images
Dwayne Johnson rules The Hollywood Reporter's Top Actors chart (dated Sept. 6) for a second straight week and ninth week overall, while Vanessa Hudgens jumps into the top 10 for the first time.

The Top Actors chart is a ranking of the most popular actors on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus, with global data provided by social media analytics company MVPindex. The chart's methodology blends social engagement on the platforms along with weekly additions of followers/subscribers. The latest tracking week ended Aug. 29.

In all, six of the top 10 on the Top Actors chart are new to the region compared to the previous week, led by Hudgensand followed by Kevin Hart, Josh Peck, Priyanka Chopra, Nina Dobrev and Lucy Hale. Hudgens and Peck had never charted within the top 10 before.

See the full top 10 below (and see the full 25-position list in The Hollywood Reporter's issue dated Sept. 6), and for more charts from The Hollywood Reporter, check out the Top Comedians and Top TV Personalities charts.


10. Sabrina Carpenter
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Getty Images
Last week: 10


9. Lucy Hale
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Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images
Last week: 20


8. Nina Dobrev
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Getty Images
Last week: 13

The star of the upcoming sci-fi flick Flatliners (Sept. 29) looks to be a fan of Taylor Swift's new single; the actress tweeted a screenshot of her listening to "Look What You Made Me Do" on Spotify, writing simply, "Um… YES." The tweet was easily her most retweeted and favorited in a week that saw her boost 65 percent in Twitter likes, according to MVPindex.



7. Priyanka Chopra
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Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images
Last week: 11


6. Jennifer Lopez
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Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Last week: 2


continued next post

[GeneChing]

5. Josh Peck
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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Last week: -

Peck reunited with former Drake & Josh co-star Drake Bell at the Aug. 27 MTV Video Music Awards following the pair's public spat, which stemmed from Bell not being invited to Peck's June wedding. Peck leaps by 968 percent in social media engagement, driven mainly by a photo of the duo hugging.


4. Kevin Hart
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Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Last week: 12


3. Gal Gadot
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Getty Images
Last week: 8


2. Vanessa Hudgens
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Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images
Last week: -

After trying out a hairstyle that recalled Cher for the previous week's So You Think You Can Dance, Hudgens made waves with a blonde look that was at least partially inspired by Taylor Swift, per a video posted to her Instagram of Hudgens singing along to the singer's new single. It earned her 11 million Instagram favorites, up 205 percent.



1. Dwayne Johnson
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Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
Last week: 1

And to think...I knew him when (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1072)... ;)

[GeneChing]

‘Wolverines’ graffiti straight out of ‘Red Dawn’ showing up all over battlefields in Ukraine (https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/red-dawn-wolverines-russian-vehicles-ukraine/)
Avenge me!

BY MAX HAUPTMAN | PUBLISHED APR 16, 2022 8:29 AM

CULTURE

https://taskandpurpose.com/uploads/2022/04/15/wolverines-feature-1536x864.jpg
Photos and screenshots showing various Russian military vehicles that were tagged with "Wolverines" in Ukraine, in an apparent reference to the 1980s Cold War action movie "Red Dawn." (Screenshots via Twitter).


The message seems to be spreading.

A photo posted to Twitter on Friday morning by journalist Nolan Peterson showed a burned-out Russian T-72 tank on a roadside supposedly near western Kyiv. Along the barrel, scrawled in white spray paint, was the word “Wolverines,” another seeming homage to the 1984 Cold War-era movie “Red Dawn.

Other videos showed civilians walking around the same tank, along with other charred wreckage.

Last week, a photo surfaced on Twitter showing a disabled Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle marked with the “Wolverines” tag. And now, much like the insurgency carried out by Patrick Swayze, Thomas Howell, and a collection of high school students from the town of Calumet, Colorado against a fictional Soviet invasion of the United States, the Wolverines tag is showing up more and more.

There is what looks like a burned-out BTR-80 armored personnel carrier, supposedly destroyed near Brovary, a suburb of Kyiv.

And then there is this photo of another destroyed T-72 with “Wolverines” painted in white on the side of the turret which, in this case, had not blown off.

And from Thursday, the wreckage of another BTR-82 seen by a French journalist in Nova Basan, again with “Wolverines” spray-painted across the front of the armored personnel carrier.

As we saw in the original movie — and we won’t be talking about the critically panned 2012 remake — the occupation of Colorado ends in disaster for the Soviet and Cuban occupiers. Taking their name from their old high school football team, the teenaged insurgents, among them Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey, are soon waging a guerilla campaign, leaving behind the “Wolverines” tag whenever they strike.

The invasion of Ukraine has seen an impressive proliferation of information warfare. There have been the memes. There have been tales of bravery that have ranged from muddled to almost certainly apocryphal, such as the “Ghost of Kyiv.”

How a 1980s movie reference made its way to the battlefields of Ukraine is unclear. But it certainly seems as if there will be plenty of more tanks and armored vehicles bearing the tag: “Wolverines.”


Max Hauptman
Max Hauptman has been covering breaking news at Task & Purpose since December 2021. He previously worked at The Washington Post as a Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow, as well as covering local news in New England. Contact the author here.

Ukraine (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?72272-Ukraine)
Red-Dawn (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57164-Red-Dawn)