Pop Star Rain Up for 'Enter the Dragon' Remake?
Filed under: Action, Casting, Warner Independent Pictures, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
Every once in a while you come across a piece of movie news that leaves you feeling a little conflicted. On one hand, the mind reels at the thought of somebody trying to replace Bruce Lee in a remake of the legendary martial arts flick, Enter the Dragon. But on the other hand, I'm not about to turn down the chance to stare at Korean pop star Rain for two hours -- I mean, have you seen the abs on this guy? So lustful thoughts aside, it's about time I got to the news, isn't it? Latino Review is reporting that their sources have confirmed that the singer/actor is the front-runner to star in an update of the 1973 classic.
The original film was the first kung fu flick to be produced by a major studio, and starred Lee as a Shaolin martial artist sent undercover to a hidden island in a fight to the death. The film is infamous for being Lee's last before his untimely death at the age of 33, but was also a passion project for Lee who wanted to celebrate Chinese culture and make a kick-ass action flick. I think we can all agree that he succeeded.
It was about two years ago that Warner Independent first announced they were mounting a "noir" remake of the film with The Shield's executive producer, Kurt Sutter, making his directorial debut. According to earlier reports, Sutter's Awaken the Dragon would focus on an FBI agent who is hot on the trail of a "rogue Shaolin monk" in the world of underground martial arts fight clubs. According to Latino's sources, Rain would be playing the monk, but there was no word on who WB might be considering as the FBI agent.
Granted, I'm sure Rain has had plenty of fight training for his role in James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin, and judging by what we've seen so far, the guy has been getting the full 'Matrix treatment' when it comes to his training. According to Latino Review, it was only after WB execs got a look at what Rain could do that they put him at the top of the list for their Dragon remake. Even though the film is more of a 're-imagining' than a remake, there is still one very big difference between Rain and Bruce Lee: Lee was a martial arts master and an actor, whereas Rain is a pop star with a little bit of fight training -- not exactly the same thing, is it?
So what do you think, could Rain pull this off, or is messing with a classic like Enter the Dragon a recipe for failure? Sound off below...
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-06-2009 @ 3:29PM
Robin said...
Michael Bolton: That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life, Tom.
Samir: Yes, this is horrible, this idea.
Reply
8-06-2009 @ 4:18PM
vegimorph said...
ok I have not really seen any of Bruce Lee's movies but this just feels like sacrilage/ a sin. Bruce Lee was a kung fu legend and his work shouldn't be remade. Somebody's got to stop all these remakes because a remake is pretty much pointless, except to open awareness about older movies, but still and its kind of like the directors of the remakes are trying to rip off the original director's work and they're doing their own version of the director's work instead of their own. the remake movies should just make their own original movie and that will prove how much talent they have
Reply
8-06-2009 @ 4:46PM
Wexler said...
Didn't they already remake this?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424823/
Reply
8-07-2009 @ 4:28PM
Josh said...
Honestly I'm a huge Bruce Lee fan and I'm torn as well, but there has already been atleast one remake of a Bruce Lee film. Fist of Legend which was based on Fist of Fury, Jet Li was in it back in 94, and it was pretty good. So if they treat it with respect who knows it could be good.
Reply
8-06-2009 @ 4:58PM
TJ said...
If you read the article he's up for the VILLAIN, not Bruce Lee...
Reply
8-06-2009 @ 5:37PM
Scott K. said...
The article said "Sutter will look to discover a fight star in the role of the monk and cast an established American actor to play the FBI agent."
If there's is an established American (likely not Asian) actor and a 'fight star' in a Bruce Lee remake, who do you think will be identified as the playing the Bruce Lee character? Of course, them hiring an established Asian-American actor could change that dynamic.
8-06-2009 @ 5:44PM
Scott K. said...
As long as they treat it as a re-imagining (different movie with similar themes) and not a remake (same movie, redone). To try to recapture what made Enter the Dragon special would be impossible.
What I really want is for some very ambitious actors/writers/directors to try to re-make The Game of Death as Bruce Lee might have envisioned it if he had completed it. What was done to his partial footage is a joke and I believe that, if he had completed it, it could have matched or even surpassed Enter the Dragon.
Reply
8-09-2009 @ 10:39PM
Lena H. said...
Um...if Lee wanted to showcase Chinese culture, shouldn't someone Chinese be the star in the film? Rain's Korean...I guess it doesn't matter since pretty much Hollywood sees all races as interchangeable...um were there no Japanese actors available for Memoirs of a Geisha, a novel about Japanese geishas during WWII ring any bells? The movie starred a majority of well-known Chinese actors instead.
Reply
8-10-2009 @ 8:15AM
face said...
there are certainly some different views. because a lot of Bruce Lee's fans in this world. but the WB have their own reasons, for an actor, even he is not know martial arts, but there is another charm. he knows how to show the inner world of characters. not just show of "martial arts." therefore, the "recur" is not a remake of the significance of this film, but go beyond the old film.
Rain is not only a pop star, meanwhile, he was an actor. producers, designers, dancers, idol, in South Korea. so,please discard the narrow, try to see some new elements in a film remake.
Reply
8-10-2009 @ 10:42AM
Blu-Sam said...
Here is the problem that not every next-gen kids willing watch old movie. That's why there is remake for,
Reply
8-17-2009 @ 1:45AM
cloudy said...
Rain is too talented an actor to be in another martial arts movie. I know he can pull it off because he is so talented on screen. But boy will he bring in an audience. Rain will be more popular than bruce Lee...but even rain knows he's no bruce lee and no one can be bruce lee. Those of us who have seen Rain's acting in dramas know he's a talented actor with a lot of charisma. he just also happens to be a singer/dancer.
Reply
8-19-2009 @ 9:54PM
karmicbaggage said...
This, like 90% of Hollywood remakes, will be a poor effort to capture a new audience and a clear sign that originality has left Hollywood. My biggest gripe is that during their "re-imagining" the characters are "re-imagined" as Caucasian leads, despite the original source material. Hollywood is completely whitewashed and it's tiring. I have no problem with Caucasian actors but the world is a lot more diverse than what Hollywood portrays.
Please Mr. Sutter, leave this project alone and come up with a new idea. Make a movie about the underground world of robot fighting where the makers are drug addict geniuses that plan a world take over but must be stopped by only one man. Give it explosions scene after scene. Just please leave your unoriginal idea of "Awaken the Dragon" alone. Move on.
Kudos to Wexler for pointing out "Balls of Fury".
Reply