TheGreenHornet Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Nic Cage Ditches 'Green Hornet' Because It Lacked Humanity
Filed under: Action », Casting », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Nicolas Cage told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival that he decided to drop out of Michel Gondry's adaptation of The Green Hornet because he wasn't satisfied by the way his character, the Green Hornet's nemesis Chudnofsky, was written. According to Cage, the character lacked "humanity" and any sort of background as to why he was a bad guy, and that he "wasn't interested in just being just a straight-up bad guy who was killing people willy-nilly."It's a bit hard to take Cage's explanation seriously, since he was at the festival to promote his new movie, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, directed by Werner Herzog. As Eugene Novikov wrote in his review of the movie, Cage's character is the self-serious yet off-the-wall type we've come to expect from the actor.
Bad Lieutenant has several of the year's highlights, including a tour de force in which Lieutenant McDonagh stops a pair of youngsters on their way home from a club, confiscates their drugs, snorts them, and has sex with the girl while forcing the guy to watch. (You have to imagine this performed in a full-on Nic Cage-ean fury for the full effect.) He's one bad Lieutenant indeed, though the movie makes clear that he has an honest streak: he'll pocket all the dope he can, but -- unlike his partner, played by Val Kilmer -- he stops short at, say, murdering a drug dealer in "self-defense" to pocket his money.He also points a gun at a grandmother, smokes crack, and hallucinates an iguana. Let's not forget his tour de force of beating up women in the absolutely unnecessary remake of The Wicker Man. But a comic book character bad guy -- no way!
Instead, Christoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds will be taking over. Ironically enough, Waltz's ability to bring an eerie humanity to his character Col. Hans Landa (aka the Jew Hunter) won him the Best Actor award at Cannes and has Oscar watchers already placing bets on a Supporting Actor nomination. Although I'll miss Nic Cage's hysterical outbursts in The Green Hornet, chances are good that Waltz will be a better baddie.
'Basterds' Baddie to Replace Nic Cage in 'Green Hornet'?
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Casting », Sony », RumorMonger », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
When Nicolas Cage stepped down as the villain of Michel Gondry's The Green Hornet, we and others started kicking around names of those actors that we'd most like to see become the bad guy opposite Seth Rogen's masked crime-fighter, and if Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke is to be believed -- and for once, I hope that she is -- the vacancy left by Cage will be filled by none other than the AICN-suggested Christoph Waltz.The 52-year-old Austrian actor is best known for his scene-stealing turn as Col. Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival and for which he's a likely contender for this year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar. That was a villainous performance both fierce and playful, which sounds like just the thing that a Michel Gondry-helmed serial-based action-comedy. (And at this moment, isn't it fitting how much more interesting he and we might find this rumor to be over facts?)
If this is true and the shoot goes according to schedule, we should be looking to see The Green Hornet in theaters around December of 2010.
Quick List: Five Guys to Replace Nic Cage in 'The Green Hornet'
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Casting », Sony », Fandom », Lists »
It really seems like Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen's Green Hornet is cursed, doesn't it? We've all followed the ups and downs of the production and just when it seemed like we were out of the woods, now we're short one villain. Earlier reports had Nicolas Cage making an appearance as an unnamed villain in the action comedy, but according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heatvision blog, Cage has officially left the production. I can only assume that Cage left hornet to work on the recently announced Drive Angry and the Hungry Rabbit Jumps.
Not much was known about what Goldberg and Rogen had planned for their Hornet's baddie, and over the years The Green Hornet has fought everyone from bootleggers to the Axis of Evil and communists. But in some of the earlier incarnations of the Hornet, his major villains were Mr. X, a shadowy crime figure, and Oliver Perry, a sleazy P.I. who was constantly threatening to 'unmask' our hero. No one knew for sure who Cage was going to play, and frankly I think he could have pulled off either role, but it's not like he's the only actor who could. Luckily for Columbia, Gondry had yet to shoot any footage with Cage, so when they find his replacement, they can start from scratch.
That said, I thought it would be fun to engage in a little casting wish-fulfillment and I've got five actors who I think can pick up where Cage left off. Now, some of the actors might not be who you would expect to show up in a Seth Rogen movie, but hey, this is my fantasy casting pool, so why not aim for the top?
After the jump: my picks for a brand new bad guy...
Sneak Your First Peek at 'Green Hornet'
Filed under: Comic/Superhero/Geek », Images »
It's been such a long, winding battlefield of a road for this millennium's take on The Green Hornet that it's surprising that the project has gone anywhere at all. Nevertheless, after all the pre-production fuss, getting our official Kato, a new Christmas-season release date, and a big Tron battle, we're finally getting photos from the set, courtesy of Just Jared. Yes, that photo to the right of Cameron Diaz and a parasol isn't the most exciting of shots, but the rest might be quite spoilerific. So, of course, quit reading if you want to stay in the dark about Hornet goings-on. Anyhow, Diaz's Lenore Case and Seth Rogen's Britt Reid are holding an outdoor press conference when things take a turn for the bloody -- someone shoots Reid in the left shoulder. As things become chaotic, Case tries to get him in the nearby car, whilst Reid grimaces and the camera people go nuts to get the best shot. (There's a ton of shots over at JJ.)
Oh, how will this all turn out? It should help that the release date moved farther away from Iron Man, because good or bad, it's hard to release a second millionaire business man/tough crime fighter only a few months after everyone descends upon Iron Man. But will it be enough?
'Tron Legacy' Vs 'The Green Hornet' -- It's On!
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Sony », Box Office », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
The gloves are off, the gauntlet is thrown, the charge has sounded, and the battle for December 17, 2010 is on. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tron Legacy has planted its release flag on December 17, 2010. The news comes just days after Columbia pushed The Green Hornet back from July 2010 to the very same date of December.
So, will one film blink and reschedule? The Green Hornet has already moved its release date twice, though that had little to do with marketing and everything to do with its public pre-production woes. To do so a third time could be very bad publicity and begin sowing the seeds of doubt, as silly as that seems. Right now, the moviegoing public barely knows The Green Hornet started filming this week, let alone that it's done a release date dance.
Of course, the same could be said for the public and Tron Legacy. But if online buzz equaled box office, Tron Legacy would be the sure thing thanks to its Comic-Con buzz and a bigger nostalgia punch. This is the film I predict will stay on December 17, though I'd honestly like to see Tron Legacy be rescheduled for the summer. But that's only because I like my sci-fi when it's warm outside, and prefer event movies to keep to the pattern set in 1977.
But now it's time for you to play studio executives on this slow news day. Which film will blink, and find itself a new release date to call home? If Tron Legacy and The Green Hornet both keep to the date, and December 17, 2010 was tomorrow (perish the thought), which one would take #1?
So, will one film blink and reschedule? The Green Hornet has already moved its release date twice, though that had little to do with marketing and everything to do with its public pre-production woes. To do so a third time could be very bad publicity and begin sowing the seeds of doubt, as silly as that seems. Right now, the moviegoing public barely knows The Green Hornet started filming this week, let alone that it's done a release date dance.
Of course, the same could be said for the public and Tron Legacy. But if online buzz equaled box office, Tron Legacy would be the sure thing thanks to its Comic-Con buzz and a bigger nostalgia punch. This is the film I predict will stay on December 17, though I'd honestly like to see Tron Legacy be rescheduled for the summer. But that's only because I like my sci-fi when it's warm outside, and prefer event movies to keep to the pattern set in 1977.
But now it's time for you to play studio executives on this slow news day. Which film will blink, and find itself a new release date to call home? If Tron Legacy and The Green Hornet both keep to the date, and December 17, 2010 was tomorrow (perish the thought), which one would take #1?
Release Date Shuffle: 'Hornet' Moves to Next December, 'Lying' to This October
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Sony », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Distribution », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
There are always a couple of titles that get pushed at Comic-Con, only to have those first impressions fade from memory as their opening gets shoved further and further back. Case in point: Whiteout, which showed up at San Diego in 2007, only to find itself a home next month -- over two years after.Now, if Box Office Mojo is to be believed (and they're pretty reliable), Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry's The Green Hornet will now debut over a year after making a modest presentation at this past Comic-Con, having been bumped back from next July to the following December for reasons unknown.
Sure, it could be more time for effects work (the alibi given for 2012's similar shift this year), or maybe Sony didn't relish the chance to open a crime-fighting action-comedy opposite a Predator(s) reboot and a mere week before the already anticipated Inception. At any rate (or date, rather), let's just hope that it doesn't turn out to be nearly as goofy and stylized as last winter's The Spirit first revealed itself to be at -- you guessed it -- Comic-Con.
'The Green Hornet' Has a New Kato
Filed under: Action », Casting », Sony », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
It looks like the cast for The Green Hornet is complete once more, and the masked man has a new Kato. Columbia Pictures announced that Jay Chou has been cast as the Hornet's trusty mechanic / ass kicker, replacing Stephen Chow . This will be his first American film, though audiences might remember him from The Curse of the Golden Flower or Kung Fu Dunk. Chou is a superstar in Taiwan, and has an exhaustive resume as a singer, producer, actor, director, and writer. There's not much he hasn't done ... except martial arts. Unless his biography is wrong, he has no martial art experience, putting him right in line with that open casting call that was so widely reported. Will this mean Kato will take a bit of a backseat to the Hornet, and not be a powerhouse like Bruce Lee?
His acting has received very poor reviews from Asian critics, but his performance in Curse was complimented by American critics, so Hornet will be quite a test for him. I honestly can't remember a single thing about Golden Flower other than its epic and blinding color scheme, so I can't judge whether or not he'll be a good Kato. Nothing about the pre-production of Seth Rogen's Hornet has met expectations good or bad (Nicolas Cage as the villain?), and the project continues to feel like one giant exercise in Wait and See.
SDCC: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg Unveil 'The Green Hornet's' Car
Filed under: Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
Cinematical was on hand last night to watch the unveiling of the car that Seth Rogen will be driving as he plays the Green Hornet in Sony Picture's 2010 summer film, The Green Hornet. According to Rogen, they looked at a lot of updated cars in presentations from different manufacturers, but in the end it didn't feel right. So they're bringing back the original Black Beauty: a 1966 Chrysler Crown Imperial. Of course this one has been upgraded with Gatling guns, missiles, and other hidden devices.
Head on beyond the jump to see the car being unveiled (and how celebs have to stand around and primp for a billion cameras at these things), and to watch Seth Rogen talk about the car and how campy the movie will be, while his co-writer and best buddy Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express, The Green Hornet) tells us what his life is like, post two big movies, and how he'd like to die on-screen.
SDCC: Michel Gondry Raps About The Green Hornet
Filed under: Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
This might be one of the strangest videos you'll ever see on Cinematical. Over my several short years of movie coverage, I've witnessed some strange things: I actually saw Crispin Glover's "What in the hell is this" film experience What Is It?, watched Kevin Smith double over in pain from a leg cramp during an interview, and kicked Jim Carrey in the foot.
However, nothing beats Michel Gondry free-form rapping to the sounds of his son Paul beatboxing. Oh, and he's rapping about the Green Hornet's car, Black Beauty, which Sony had just unveiled after Preview Night at Comic-Con. Truly bizarre. Plus he gives us a short preview of the movie's opening scene ... and maybe the theme song?
Head after the jump to watch the video, and you'll probably understand a little bit better why this guy was so qualified to direct Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Nic Cage is 'The Green Hornet' Baddie?
Filed under: Casting », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
If ever a project knew how to bounce between apprehension and possible joy, I'd say it's the upcoming The Green Hornet. We've had Stephen Chow as director and Kato, Seth Rogen as the Hornet, Michel Gondry as director, a hunt for a new Kato with word that the actor wouldn't need martial arts experience, and then rumors that Cameron Diaz is in talks for the female lead.Now Variety confirms that Diaz is negotiating to play a reporter and love interest to Rogen, while Nicolas Cage is in talks to play the gangster villain. Johnny Dollar perhaps? Someone entirely new? With the exception of his brief stint as Fu Mancho in Grindhouse's Werewolf Women of the SS, I haven't been pulled to a Cage film since Adaptation, so let's hope it's something good, and I hope, reminiscent of his grittier early days.
Then again, maybe it would be a waste. I've wavered back and forth on this whole idea of this project, and as neat as it sounds to have a comic-turned-movie at the hands of Gondry, he's got a whole heck of a lot of apprehension to beat.
Does The Green Hornet have any chance for greatness (or even goodness)? Or, is it destined to flail like The Spirit?
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