KurtRussell Tagged Articles at Cinematical

After reading Peter Hall's post on Kevin Spacey's stunning impersonations, I had to reacquaint myself with the old SNL sketch he mentioned and get as much Spacey as I could. (Check it out if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) From there, well, the handy site called YouTube suggested something else for me -- Kurt Russell's Star Wars audition.

If you didn't already know, he was one of the many actors vying for the role of Han Solo (according to IMDb, a list including Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, and even -- egads -- Steve Martin). What's funny about the clip (after the jump) is how completely earnest and goodie Russell was playing it -- almost like the good-natured Disney fare from his youth. There was none of the true cockiness, ego, or charisma that made the character so memorable. No, no one could have done what Harrison Ford did with the role, but we all know that Russell had the charisma necessary for Mr. Solo. Or rather, that he would soon enough. Somewhere hidden inside that actor was the toughness, alluring machismo, and heroic wonder that thrived soon after in Escape from New York. My best guess: He didn't take this weird little flick seriously, at all.

Man, I'm so glad that "it" came out in Snake rather than Han, aren't you?

Yesterday I had the absolute privilege of watching Escape From New York on the big screen and with a great crowd, courtesy of the Castro Theatre and San Francisco's long-running and uniformly fantastic Midnites for Maniacs program (with an assist from the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow). This was awesome. What a great movie to watch with an audience that gets it. Because let's face it: seen today (and maybe even seen in 1981 -- I wouldn't really know), Escape from New York is weird. You need a bunch of people who are "in on the joke" -- and who are at the same time aware that it's actually not a joke at all.

Nothing illustrates that seeming paradox -- John Carpenter's patented way of blending borderline kitsch with undeniable badassitude -- better than this wonderful scene from Escape from New York. Having enlisted Ernest Borgnine's Cabbie, Harry Dean Stanton's Brain, and Brain's squeeze Maggie (Andrienne Barbeau), Snake gets ready to make a run for it when Cabbie announces that the Duke (Isaac Hayes) and his entourage are rolling into the neighborhood. And roll in they do, in a Lincoln outfitted with four exterior chandeliers and a disco ball, set to Carpenter's trademark techno, pulsating score.

That this turns out awesome instead of ludicrous -- that it makes us grin and dig in for the rest of the flick instead of laugh derisively and turn on it -- is one of the miracles of the modern cinema. I'm not sure Escape from New York is Carpenter's best film, but it's probably his most virtuosic accomplishment. That the bleak, moralistic ending manages to pack an emotional punch despite the utter insanity of the preceding 100 minutes is all the more impressive.

Watch the scene after the jump -- and then pop in the DVD.

I hate it when remake projects challenge your stringent loyalty and anti-remake stance. Since word first broke about a remake of John Carpenter's Escape From New York, I've been disinterested. Maybe if I ignored it, it would go away? Not quite. Gerard Butler certainly wasn't the right man for the job -- assuming that anyone could ever replace, or continue the work of Kurt Russell. But what about Josh Brolin?

Spielberg News says they have the scoop that Brolin is in the running to play Plissken. It doesn't completely turn me off for two reasons: 1. Josh has got a similar look, but can bring his own brand of tough snark to the table. 2. Brolin has been picking some diverse, interesting, and good roles lately, so if he was involved, I'd assume there was something in there worth his time. And hey, Josh can certainly pull off an eye patch.

Or, if that's still not enough for you, what if he was Snake's brother? Maybe it's time for Lizard Plissken to beat down some baddies.

What happens when men in blue, sworn to protect and to serve, fly out of control? If we're lucky, we get a good movie out of it. If we're really lucky, we get a larger than life character to cheer and to fear. Are you feeling lucky, punk?

Keanu Reaves, of all people, will follow in the steel-toed shoes of some of cinema's finest as a cop who goes on an avenging rampage in David Ayer's Street Kings, which opens tomorrow. That made me reflect on my favorite out of control cinematic cops, men in blue who break free from the laws of god and man. Let us know who we missed in the comments section. But be nice, or we'll track you down and crack you over the head with a night stick.

1. Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry

Clint is so cool as Harry Callahan that he can just glare at bad guys and they give themselves up. Dirty Harry never met a criminal he couldn't beat up, a sergeant he couldn't hate, or a partner he couldn't get killed. He can't help it: he married justice a long time ago and the blind old bat won't leave him alone until he takes out the garbage. Don't even think about getting in his way: he solved the Zodiac killings in 102 minutes! Dirty Harry paved the way for several sequels and countless gruff, lone wolf outlaw police detectives.

Once again, I'm going to pretend like I made something happen. Two days ago, on this very Cinematical program, I declared that there can be only one Snake Plissken in movieland, and he shall be forever played by Kurt Russell. Well, perhaps Gerard Butler agrees with me, because he's now dropped out of the remake of Escape from New York, according to Variety. The trade says the decision was due to creative differences, which could very well mean that New Line wants to go with the Snake Plissken name, while Butler sided with me in saying that was a bad idea. Of course, I don't want to be responsible for Butler quitting a gig; after all, I implied that it was okay for the 300 star to do the remake, just that he needed another, less-iconic character name. Regardless, though, Butler's departure follows news that Brett Ratner is no longer or was never attached to direct the movie, which had followed news that Len Wiseman was also not involved. And suddenly the project is empty of talent. But for those three of you who are looking forward to it, the remake is not dead yet. New Line has hired Jonathan Mostow to script a rewrite and has apparently offered him the option to direct as well.

Mostow, who interestingly enough directed Russell in Breakdown, will be revising the current script penned by Ken Nolan. Back in July, Aint it Cool News posted a review of the earlier draft; revealing that it was relatively faithful to John Carpenter's original while also being modernized with timely relevance to the Middle East conflicts. The script also was said to feature flashbacks to Snake's military career in order to show background for his imprisonment. We'll have to wait and see if Mostow changes much of the details from that version, but I think we can trust the project in his hands. Sure, he's been known to play with history, substituting Americans for British in significant WWII plots, and he seemed to piss off a lot of fans with his direction of Terminator 3: Rise o the Machines (not me, though; I enjoyed it), but Mostow is a heck of a lot better than Wiseman and Ratner. So, should he direct? Is it like choosing the lesser of evils? Do you wish New Line would just scrap the whole thing altogether (they won't -- they paid too much for it)? And most importantly, who should play Snake, or "guy who isn't called Snake" as I suggested the character to be named, now that Butler is out?

Fire up the flame war, because I'm about to admit to another crazy opinion: John Carpenter's Escape from New York is boring. It's a great concept -- that of Manhattan being a maximum security prison in which a military prisoner must seek and rescue the President of the United States in order to receive a pardon. The movie is even relatively impressive considering its low budget, regardless of how dated it now looks. But it just doesn't have enough going on to garner as much praise as it receives. Maybe if I'd seen it 25 years ago I would have the same fondness that its fans have, but I saw it this year and was seriously disappointed; and yes, I was extremely bored. Because of this crazy opinion, I actually wouldn't mind seeing a well-done remake. Unfortunately, I don't believe I will get to see such a thing considering the directors so far linked to the job. First there was Len Wiseman (I still haven't seen Live Free or Die Hard, so I can't judge him completely). Then there was the much worse news that Brett Ratner was taking the helm. Fortunately, we can count him out too, as Aint it Cool News has relayed an email claiming Ratner himself denied his involvement.

I'll admit one other thing, that may save me from too many flames: Kurt Russell is the only Snake Plissken. No matter who New Line gets to direct the EFNY redo, the studio might as well save themselves some pain by changing the main character's name. Technically there's no reason to do this, but for those of us who associate Russell with Snake, it would be a wonderful, narratively insignificant change (I even have a suggestion for a "new" name: Ben Richards). Yeah, I know I just saw the movie for the first time within twelve months, but even without sitting through the thing, I spent the last 25 years with the image of Russell with the eyepatch in my head. That means he's a part of the pop-cultural consciousness. Giving us a new Snake, at least by name, is like trying to re-introduce Mickey Mouse as a rat. Or Ronald McDonald as a bearded lady. Or Willy Wonka as Michael Jackson. Anyway, that is my invitation for scrutiny for the day, and I'm sticking by it. The Escape from New York remake, hopefully starring Gerard Butler as "some other dude with an eye patch," is due in 2009.

You know how people try and make you feel better by saying things could always be worse? Well, if Ain't it Cool News is right, then things have officially gotten worse with regards to the remake of Escape From New York. According to AICN's Merrick (via one of their ultra hip scoopers), a rumor has been making the rounds that claims Brett Ratner in in talks (or in the running) to take over directing duties on the remake of John Carpenter's classic. Now, to be fair, AICN is not confirming the news to be true, but you could probably already hear the collective groans from fans of the original film at the thought of Ratner ruining a cult favorite. Len Wiseman was officially attached to the project back in August, but according to AICN's source, Wiseman is off the project for good.

Released in 1981, the original film starred Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken; a mercenary soldier turned convict who is forced into service to rescue the daughter of the president in the apocalyptic wasteland formerly known as New York. Ryan had reported back in May that Gerard Butler (300) would be taking over the lead -- much to the dismay of the original Snake Plissken . Changes seem to be the order of the day when it comes to the remake, since there had been talk that the script would be getting an update as well. Since the original film was a comment on Watergate and political corruption, it has been assumed that the new film would be working in some Iraq war commentary. Although if Ratner does take over, this will probably be some pretty ham-fisted discourse. But before anyone gets too upset; just remember that so far this is all just speculation. So keep your fingers crossed that this is all just someone's idea of a cruel joke.

UPDATE: IESB claims this rumor is 100% true, and that Brett Ratner has indeed replaced Len Wiseman as director of the Escape from New York remake.

There are films that fall from our view -- after the initial heat-rush of their release, they quickly cool and fade, their flash of incandescence dimming like a dying ember until they disappear. There are other films, however, that do not fall from view, or fade, but rather shine constantly, unceasing and unwavering in their quality. These enduring films are not all high art; some of them (indeed, many of them) are excellent trash, casual masterpieces. Their enduring glow is like the sickly undimming light of radioactivity; their tenacity is like that of the cockroach. Many of these films were made on a shoestring with a legion of low-level actors and without a single original bone in their bodies -- and yet, something in them reaches us, resonates, tapping -- deliberately or accidentally -- into some primal aspect of our psyches to endure as dreams or visions or, in some cases, nightmares. John Carpenter's The Thing, released in 1982, endures even though we might not want it to, much the same way we'd try to shake off a bad dream -- it's a remake of a d-grade b-movie that rises head and shoulders above the source material and still sends both wet, visceral disgust and cold, clinical terror keening through you 25 years later. As Stephen King points out in his genre study Danse Macabre, there's a difference between revulsion and fear, between shock and suspense. But The Thing has all of those: the bloody terrors of sudden death, the terrible quiet in the icy halls as our heroes are eliminated one by one; the existential nightmare of the other replacing you and the more immediate concern of the other in the room with you, snarling and slashing and hungry.

And you'd be hard-pressed to imagine The Thing enduring at the time of its release; it was conceived as a mid-level moneymaker, with a $10 million budget and (with the exception of Kurt Russell and director Carpenter) completely devoid of marquee value. Screenwriter Bill Lancaster's previous credits were for the Bad News Bears films -- which hardly suggest that sci-fi horror was his forte or his passion. The Thing was a flop at the box office; in a cruel twist of fate, Steven Spielberg's E.T. opened two weeks before The Thing made its debut, and Spielberg's kinder, gentler visitor from beyond went on to rake in money hand over fist. And yet, there's a reason why we remember bitter nightmares more fiercely than sweet dreams. ...

Len Wiseman did the nearly unthinkable this summer and made me like (not love, mind you, but certainly enjoy) a fourth Die Hard film. I was mighty concerned going in that the guy would dump all over one of the greatest movie series ever made, but instead Wiseman made a solid flick with some very cool action scenes (loved that tunnel "lights out" sequence in particular). Miraculously, the movie didn't make me cringe once. Live Free or Die Hard won't join "The Thrillogy" in my DVD collection, but it impressed me with all the mistakes it didn't make. I never saw Wiseman's Underworld films, but now there's a much greater chance I'll queue the suckers up. And Wiseman must be feeling pretty cocky these days, (being married to Kate Beckinsale probably helps) because he's following up LFODH with another project that could potentially tick off action fans.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Wiseman is in negotiations to direct the remake of Escape From New York. 300's abbed-up hero Gerard Butler is attached to star as Snake Plissken, a role memorably played by Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's original film and the dreary sequel Escape From LA. Ken Nolan (writer of Black Hawk Down) wrote the script for the remake, which "will combine an origin story for Plissken merged with the story of the 1981 movie." That story, for those of you who've never seen the Carpenter classic, envisions a futuristic (the original was set in 1997) New York City as one big maximum security prison. When the president's plane crashes, inmate Plissken is sent on a mission to rescue him. Carpenter will executive produce the new film. For some past Escape news, here's a script review, Kurt Russell's angry response to Butler's casting and the project in general, and his later, friendlier response to the film, What say you, Cinematical readers? Wiseman and Butler -- can they pull this thing off?

Ah, Elvis Presley. Having been born the year he died, I always find my big birthday years to be saturated with Elvis. This year is no exception, as we're almost to the 30th anniversary of the hip-shaker's death (August 16). As I told you last month, the cinematic loves of Elvis' life will soon descend on Memphis to dish the Presley dirt and sign autographs. As the big anniversary gets even closer, The Telegraph has put up a little photo feature about the actors who dared to become Elvis on the big screen.

Of course, when we think of those who embody The King, Nicolas Cage is usually the first to come to mind. While Christian Slater (who donned the sequins in 3000 Miles to Graceland) is the guy who always brings to mind Jack Nicholson, Cage is our modern-day Elvis. He worshiped the guy in Wild at Heart, sky-dived with impersonators in Honeymoon in Vegas and even married Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie. What you might not remember: Kurt Russell was actually one of the first with Elvis: The Movie in 1979, and as you might remember, was alongside Slater in 3000 Miles. Heck, even Joe Strummer of The Clash had a stint as Elvis in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train. But my personal favorite will always be the mummy-fighting Elvis, whose best friend is a black JFK. Of course, I'm talking about Bruce Campbell as an aged Elvis in an old folks' home in Bubba Ho-tep. Even if you remove all the over-the-top elements, the guy just has that Presley thing.