47 Ronin

[enoajnin]

I think I'm scared. I just saw a production listing for 47 Ronin. I was very excited about a remake because this was one of my first introductions to japanese culture. This excitement turned to dismay when I saw that Keanu Reeves has been attached to star in this picture. I guess I'm in the wait and see mode. Why do they keep giving him movie roles?

[GeneChing]

The Day the Media Forum Stood Still....

Keanu Reeves to lead '47 Ronin'
Chris Morgan to write Universal feature
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Keanu Reeves will star in "47 Ronin," an epic period film for Universal Pictures based on the true tale of a band of samurai swordsmen who avenged the death of their master in 18th century Japan.

Chris Morgan, who co-wrote "Wanted" and penned the upcoming "Fast and Furious" for Universal, is writing the script. Scott Stuber will produce through his Stuber Prods. banner.

Reeves stars in sci-fi remake "The Day the Earth Stood Still," which Fox bows Friday.

In "47 Ronin," he will play one of the swordsmen; the group and their master are revered in Japan for their revenge attack on Dec. 14, 1702.

The film will tell a stylized version of the story, mixing fantasy elements of the sort seen in "The Lord of the Rings" pics, with gritty battle scenes akin to those in films such as "Gladiator."

Morgan is writing the script and tailoring it so that Reeves -- who's half-Asian -- can fit the role as one of the swordsmen. The intention is to begin shooting next year after a director is hired.

Walter Hamada and Chris Fenton will be exec producers.

Under his U-based shingle, Stuber is shooting the Vince Vaughn starrer "Couples Retreat" and is preparing for the release of the Joe Johnston-directed "The Wolfman," the Jennifer Aniston starrer "Traveling" and "Repossession Mambo." Stuber is prepping "Your Highness," with David Gordon Green to direct and Danny McBride to star.

[Kansuke]

What a mess that is gonna be.

[Lucas]

hmmm...

not too sure about keanu....the upside, his roll may not involve too much speaking.

wait, is he going to be speaking japanese then?

or will this be one of those things where all the feudal japanese for some reason speak american english....

[doug maverick]

so bad, it'll probably be in english which doesnt bother me at all. what should bother people is bad screen writer+horrible actor will probably equal blockbuster. i dont get what people see in reeves, noy one bit. and yea he's half asian but looks as much asian as i do. holywood must loves ****ing off the japs, i mean last samurai memoirs of a geisha and now this.

[Lucas]

so bad, it'll probably be in english which doesnt bother me at all. what should bother people is bad screen writer+horrible actor will probably equal blockbuster. i dont get what people see in reeves, noy one bit. and yea he's half asian but looks as much asian as i do. holywood must loves ****ing off the japs, i mean last samurai memoirs of a geisha and now this.

agree completely. actually i didnt know he was half asian till this release. thats how asian he looks.

they may as well just cast cruise again

[GeneChing]

...who here has seen Inagaki's Chusingura? It's a brilliant chanbara flick - a true classic - and one of my favs.

[Lucas]

a friend had me watch that years ago. i dont really remember much but he was a huge toshiro mifune fan and had everything he was ever in.

i dont think mifune had a major roll but i cant really remember.

except my buddy told me it was a true story, and that its a pretty big historical event in japan.

now ill need to netflix it in light of this new film.

[GeneChing]

Chusingura is based on a historic event. My kendo group made a pilgrimage to the shrine that honors the 47 Ronin in Japan.

Inagaki's Chusingura is epic and stars many of the leading chanbara actors of the period including Takashi Shimura and Mifune. Mifune's role is pivotal, but small. He's not one of the 47. Quite the opposite. It's a long film and convoluted, so it's hard to keep track of the characters, especially when several of them look similar. There are two love subplots and I had to see it a second time to get that straightened out. Now I don't know how many times I've seen it. It's mythic drama, and the action choreography is magnificent but you have to wait for it. The final siege is glorious.

There's an older B&W version of Chusingura that's awful. All the action is off screen, except one scene where this dog walks into shot for no apparent reason and the ronin kicks him out of shot. It's a shocking scene because the dog is tiny and kicked for real. It goes flying. It's even more shocking because the rest of the film is people talking at each other in long, almost Kubrick-like still portrait shots. It's painfully boring, especially if you're wanting to see some swordplay, since it never happens.

[enoajnin]

I wonder who took me . .. .

I enjoyed it and I am dismayed at the whole Reeves thing. But if you haven't seen it, maybe you won't care. I'm Keanu Hater, I know it.

[Kansuke]

holywood must loves ****ing off the japs.

FYI, that term is not cool.

[doug maverick]

not there to offend my japanese friends(to which their are several) dont have a problem with it and i wasnt aware that it was an offensive word. considering its just short for japanese, its not like i said some crazy racial epiteth. but thats not what this thread is about and lets not go there.

[Jimbo]

Just so you know... calling Japanese 'Japs' is equivalent to calling Chinese '*****s' or Koreans and Vietnamese 'gooks'. Growing up in the '60s and '70s, Japanese-Americans were called 'Japs' as a slur meant as an insult, at least me, my brother, cousins, and many friends I knew feel that way. Younger Japanese or many from Japan now may not have the same concept.
Okay, back to keanu...
Once in some magazine (I think it was Time Magazine) they showed a photo of Keanu's father, who it said was Hawaiian/Chinese. I think he was in prison. He did not look like Keanu at all, and up 'til now, Keanu and/or Hollywood has done everything possible to hide or de-emphasize his 'Asian-ness'. Now all of a sudden he's Asian enough to play a Japanese samurai in a historical account. But this always happens when Hollywood 'attempts' to make movies about Asians. I won't be surprised if they say the guy Keanu plays is the half-Japanese son of a Portuguese missionary or English sea captain or whatever.

[doug maverick]

dude you know that exactly what they're going to do. and again i was not aware of the japanese comment.

[Kansuke]

not there to offend my japanese friends(to which their are several) dont have a problem with it and i wasnt aware that it was an offensive word. considering its just short for japanese, its not like i said some crazy racial epiteth. but thats not what this thread is about and lets not go there.

Don't use the term again and there will be no place to 'go.'