John Cho Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Those attending VegasCon '08 saw four new character posters for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, which give us our first look at the reborn versions of Sulu, Chekov, Scotty and McCoy. The image above shows Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy and Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov; you'll have to go to TrekMovie.com, which had the first photo of the posters, to see Simon Pegg as Scotty and John Cho as Sulu. It should surprise no one that these Starfleet officers are much more photogenic than their original counterparts, and not, I think, merely because they're younger. (I mean, look at this guy.)

This comes on the heels of the first screening of the complete film for Paramount execs, which apparently went very well, though since the source for that could really only be from inside Paramount, I'd take that with a huge grain of salt.

I came to Star Trek late, which led to oddball results like my liking Star Trek: Voyager. (I think that asking "What would Janeway do?" is a good way to lead your life.) So I'm likely to be less offended by canon alterations than die-hard fans of the original series. Thoughts on the new versions of these characters?

Some news bites for your Friday:

• There's a new drama that's begun production called Saint John of Las Vegas, and Variety reports that it has collected a pretty sweet cast -- Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, Emily Mortimer, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Peter Dinklage. Said to be loosely based on Dante's Inferno, of all things, and written by new scribe Hue Rhodes, Buscemi stars as "an ex-gambler who's under the tutelage of a maverick insurance fraud investigator (Malco)." I'm not quite sure how that works, but you can be sure that there'll be a lot of struggle and vice. And John Cho in a drama? Will he finally be breaking out of his usual comedic gigs?
• In other news, that untitled parkour pic that I mentioned back in February of 2007, starring Channing Tatum, is still in the works. Variety reports that New Line is finally shooing the project into production early next year, with Richie Smyth making his feature directorial debut. The film is said to be about a NYC cop who has to infiltrate a group of parkour-loving bank robbers. Does this mean Tatum has to learn himself some parkour? And I still want to know: Will David Belle be involved?

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, the sequel to the modern stoner classic Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, hit theaters last Friday. I sat down with the film's writer/directors -- Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg -- a few days after the release of their film. In the interest of journalistic integrity (and shameless name-dropping), I should tell you that the gentlemen are friends of mine, and all around great dudes.

Cinematical: How did the Hurwitz/Schlossberg magic begin?

Jon Hurwitz: Hayden and I became friends on the Randolph High School debate team and connected over a common love of comedy. We were both obsessed with the movies of the Farrelly Brothers and the Zucker Brothers. We loved Howard Stern. We thought it would be amazing if we could actually make movies one day. But it felt like it was the most unrealistic goal of all time for a couple of dudes hanging out in a basement in New Jersey. What changed everything for us was that in high school we were known for coming up with really funny "Would you rather?" scenarios. We came up with a list of 250 that we were going to try to get published.

Cinematical: What was the best one?

JH: "If you had to be sexually abused, would you rather it be by an android or a Muppet?"

Cinematical: Muppet. It's softer.

Hayden Schlossberg: Exactly. Plain and simple. It would hurt less. That is the correct answer.

(We're re-posting our SXSW review of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay to coincide with the film's theatrical release this weekend.)

"Is it as good as the first one?" That's the question I've been asked most since watching Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay last night. Short answer: Yes ... and no. The HIGHly-anticipated sequel to 2004's Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle comes just how you'd expect it: raunchy, wild, disgusting and completely absurd. This isn't -- and has never been -- a real-life comedy (all that went out the window after the boys rode a cheetah in the first installment); it's a fantasy/comedy, the kind you'd dream up while stoned out of your mind on a Saturday night. I tend to think that's how writer-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg came up with this idea in the first place.

The Harold and Kumar films have always been about three things: drugs, sex and racial differences. Like with any sequel, all three of those are upped significantly. Instead of traveling across the state of New Jersey, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are now traveling across the United States. The stakes are also higher; this time, the boys are mistaken for terrorists while on a plane heading for Amsterdam after Kumar rigs up a bong that holds in the smoke -- a bong that looks and sounds like "bomb." After they're taken down to Guantanamo Bay, the first ridiculous homosexual joke plays itself out and the boys manage to escape. But where do they go and how do they clear their name? And, most importantly, will we care ... at all?

Star Trek news is so rare that I have actually been asked by a few people "Oh wow, if you hear anything -- anything, you must pass it on." So I am trying. No snippet is too small, no evasive response too bland. I even know of one Trek fan that was sold on the new movie by just the Simon Pegg story, so there you go -- even the smallest story can change the course of the future.

This one is in a very similar vein. John Cho was interviewed over at AICN for Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay and though he tried very hard, a few Star Trek snippets leaked out. Don't punish him, Mr. Abrams -- how can you resist both Quint and Neil Patrick Harris?

Cho was quick to defend the secrecy surrounding the film. "The reason J.J. [Abrams] wants to keep that under wraps is he just thinks that that the surprise -- he really is looking out for the audience. He feels like it's a good move, so that the audience really experiences it in a fresh way. But what I can say about it is the spirit of it feels like it's honoring what has come before it, just visually, and the script, and all of the actors he has chosen. And it just feels like it is honoring what has come before and I feel like, fingers crossed, we will garner some new fans as well."

Saturday was a very busy day here at SXSW. We were up absurdly late on Friday night, and then awakened at 8AM by a car alarm going off outside our window, followed by all four of my kids' soccer coaches calling me from OKC to let me know that today's games were canceled due to cold weather. Thanks, guys, but I'm in Austin. After the panel this morning, I grabbed lunch with filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son), who also writes a very excellent blog called All These Wonderful Things.

We gabbed about documentaries, traveling for film fests, balancing work and family, and lots of other stuff; he's a supremely nice guy and it's always fun chatting with someone who's as big a dork for documentary films as I am. Our lunch ran long due to crowds at all the area restaurants, so I missed the screening of We Are Wizards and had to bump it out to a later day in the fest.

When I went to see Cloverfield over the weekend, the crowd was pretty lively through the trailers. It was not in an excited fan way, but in that last-minute rush of chatter during something that holds little interest. That being said, conversations wrapped up pretty quickly when the Star Trek teaser popped up. At first, when the Bad Robot emblem appeared, people kept talking. I waited. It got a bit more silent as J.J. Abrams' name hit the screen with John F. Kennedy's words bellowing from the speakers. But then, a split second later when the Enterprise came into view, the crowd went wild.

While theater-goers got to see the first teaser in all its glory on Friday, it didn't make it's official appearance on the net until today. Now you can head over to Yahoo and check it out for yourself. Personally, I dug the connections the teaser made between the creation of the ship and America's first forays into space. It made the whole thing seem more real. But maybe all you need is the sight of the Enterprise, and Leonard Nimoy's gravelly voice.

For me, unfortunately, it was a bit ruined when the credits showed up -- I just can't take the idea of John Cho as Sulu seriously. But whatever happens, Star Trek is on its way. What do you think?

Oh yes, that's exactly what you think it is. Moviefone snatched the first Star Trek photo, and though it's a tad dark, you can clearly see the new Enterprise ship coming together. Ever since it was announced that J.J. Abrams would be directing a brand new take on the Star Trek franchise, folks have been itching to see what he's come up with. Starring Zachary Quinto (as a young Spock), Chris Pine (as a young Kirk), Karl Urban (as Bones), Simon Pegg (as Scotty), John Cho (as Sulu), Anton Yelchin (as Checkov) and Zoe Saldana (as Uhuru), this latest Star Trek installment apparently follows the original crew during their early days at Starfleet Academy up through their first mission together. Eric Bana will be playing a villain named Nero, while Bruce Greenwood will also make an appearance as the original Captain, Christopher Pike. And for those longing for some old school Trek, you'll be happy to know that Leonard Nimoy will also be showing up as his old Spock self. Head to Moviefone to see a larger Star Trek photo, as well as a gallery of the cast. Star Trek is set to touch down on December 25.

Additionally, you can spot the first trailer for Star Trek this weekend in front of Cloverfield, and the film's official site has now gone live.

"And then people will ask why I have a picture of President Garfield on my wall, and I'll tell them it's because I like lasagna, of course!"

I've been watching all the buzz surrounding Smiley Face for some time now, following two positive reviews from both Monika (at Toronto) and Jette (at SXSW), and yet the film still couldn't find its way to theaters (with the exception of a limited run at New York's IFC Center). Part of the reason why I wanted to review the DVD was because, after all the wonderful feedback, I needed to see for myself why, in fact, Smiley Face was not worthy of a theatrical run. Aside from a great, marketable cast (including Anna Faris, Adam Brody, John Krasinski, Danny Masterson, Jane Lynch, John Cho, Danny Trejo, Brian Posehn and friggin' Carrot Top), the flick comes with a very funny script, some great edge-of-your-seat set pieces and plenty of memorable quotes (see above). So what gives? Why is this one heading straight to DVD (tomorrow), instead of enjoying some theatrical face time?

Well, the problem probably lies in the fact that it's a straight-up, unapologetic stoner comedy ... with the words 'cult following' written all over it. With its R rating (for foul language and massive amounts of drug use), Smiley Face would've been near impossible to market to a mass audience. That said, they could've cut together a "safe" trailer, and I imagine the critics would've liked this one -- so either the money wasn't there or First Look just didn't have enough faith in their product (it is a female-driven stoner comedy after all -- and those are rare). Dazed and Confused grossed only $7 million when it was first released in 1993, but the film has gone on to reach cult status among teenagers (that DVD was passed around like a joint back when I was in college). It's my belief that, while Smiley Face will probably not reach Dazed and Confused status, it will definitely find an audience on DVD and perhaps go down as the first great stoner comedy of the new millennium ... or at least give Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle a run for its money.

I'm still holding out for the surprise announcement that William Shatner will indeed appear in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. In the meantime, though, I expect to hear another complaint from the original Captain Kirk after reading this juicy bit of goodness: George Takei has a cameo in the upcoming movie*, which will be a prequel-ish reboot of the TV and movie franchise. According to a Starburst magazine interview with the actor, Takei will feature in a flash-forward scene that will also showcase original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. From the sound of it, he will be returning to his iconic role as an older version of Sulu. Best guess is that Takei and Nimoy will be sitting in futuristic rocking chairs reminiscing about their beginnings at the Starfleet Academy, and this scene will be the prologue to the rest of the movie. Playing the younger versions of Sulu and Spock throughout the rest of the film are John Cho and Zachary Quinto, respectively.

Well, if Shatner doesn't put up more of a fuss, the fans should. After all, as long as we're getting two of the surviving original cast members, why can't we get the rest? Sure, it would be a sad scene, considering DeForest Kelley (Bones) and James Doohan (Scotty) aren't around to be a part of such a reunion, but the Trekkies would certainly appreciate seeing Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru), Walter Koenig and of course Shatner together again. Am I right? They could all have a few laughs while yelling at the kids to get off their damn lawns. And we could all feel better about having to accept all new actors as these beloved characters. So, who is going to start the online petition? Oh wait, that's already been done.

*UPDATE: Apparently this is just another rumor, one that has been debunked. According to TrekMovie.com, Takei will not have a cameo in the new Star Trek.