Kung Fu Kid Tagged Articles at Cinematical
That 'Karate Kid' Reboot Gets a New Scribe Full of Happyness
Filed under: Sports », Scripts », Remakes and Sequels »
Like it or not, the Karate Kid reboot continues to fight its way forward. First came Jaden Smith, then Jackie Chan, and then a spanky new name in The Kung Fu Kid. Now The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Biz Blog reports that the the film is getting some Happyness in the form of screenwriter Steven Conrad. Yes, the same man who wrote little Jaden and Papa Will's Pursuit of Happyness.Chris Murphy was originally slipped into the screenwriter gig, but now Conrad has taken over the story. Instead of fightin' in the U.S. of A., the action travels overseas to Beijing, where a young kid named Dre (Smith) moves with his single mom (Taraji P. Henson ofHustle & Flow and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Beyond the culture shock, this tyke must deal with jerky little bullies -- ones who will probably get a taste of justice after the kid finds a fighting mentor in a man named Mr. Han (Jackie Chan).
Conrad must be working fast, because the project will start filming next month. Now the only question that remains: what tone will this have? Feel-good teen fare? Sappy melodrama mixed with tormented tykes finding inner strength? Could it possibly have a whiff of humor a la The Promotion?
Poll: Does Jaden Smith, "Kung Fu Kid" Sound Better?
Filed under: Action », Sports », RumorMonger », Fandom », Remakes and Sequels »
From the get-go, the new Karate Kid film was going to be different. Ralph Macchio was traded in for Jaden Smith. Then Mr. Miyagi was traded in for Jackie Chan, thrusting the project into a more kung fu state of mind. And now, well, it sounds like Columbia Pictures is listening.
According to an interview with 3 News (toward the end of the interview), the film is no longer called Karate Kid -- Chan says it's now Kung Fu Kid. I'm thinking they should've decided this from the get-go and saved us all some energy. While the idea still doesn't appeal to me, it's a lot more palatable to say that you're taking the basic idea and going in a totally different direction, rather than throw fans of Daniel Larusso and Mr. Miyagi into aggravated hissy fits. Then again, there's a good possibility that this only came about because the legions seemed quite unthrilled with the news (even if it's insanely obvious to most of us that no one can replace Mr. Miyagi).
But there you have it -- the themes will be the same, but it won't be anything like the film we remember, and presumably, it won't step on the toes of the classic that many love.
But, what say you?
[via First Showing]
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