action man Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Sorry, Jason Statham fans. He's not going to be your "Real American Hero." Statham had been rumored as the likely choice to play Action Man in the upcoming G.I. Joe flick, but Statham insists he has nothing to do with the film. "The old Internet can be quite misleading at times," he tell MTV Movies Blog. "I don't know where that came from." Statham is keeping busy without Joe though, bro. The Bank Job is due out in 2008, and he's currently on the set of Death Race with a surprisingly excellent cast that includes Ian McShane and Joan Allen. That film is being directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (the terrible Soldier and the almost-terrible Alien Vs. Predator). I always wondered why that guy didn't change his name. You'd think years of people being disappointed when he's not Paul Thomas Anderson would get to the guy.

In addition to those projects, the ass-kicking Statham is lining up some sequels that will bring him back to some of his more popular roles. For starters, there's Crank 2, which Statham promises will be "effing ridiculous." "If you thought the first one was crazy, this is ridiculous. It's mad," he says. "I couldn't resist working with those chaps again. It gives me a chance to go wild in the aisles." For more on the Crank sequel, check Scott's report here. And yet another Statham sequel is in the works -- Transporter 3. "I have a massive yearning to do Part 3 with Luc (Besson). I think it will happen (soon)," says Statham. I haven't seen the Transporter films, though I hear great things. I do happen to think Crank is one of the finest pure action films in years. I'm dying for a sequel, if only to see how they make up for the fact that it sure looked like Statham's character -- spoiler warning -- died in the original. Oh, and bring Dwight Yoakam back! Man, I love that guy.

I don't really know a whole lot about the history of the G.I. Joe toy line, but apparently there was a British equivalent to the action figure known as "Action Man," and according to IESB.net, the producers of the (eventually) upcoming G.I. Joe movie are intent on including Action Man in the equation so as not to alienate international moviegoers who really have no freakin' idea who "G.I. Joe" is. (That make sense?)

Well it doesn't really have to. According to IESB, Paramount is looking at Jason Statham to play the part of the heroic Action Man -- and considering that Jason Statham kicks all kinds of butt and remains ultra-cool while doing it, I'm all for his inclusion in any ol' action flick. Word is that Stephen Sommers will be helming the project for Paramount, and that Mark Wahlberg is the (longtime) first choice to play a character known as Duke.

If you're a diehard G.I. Joe enthusiast, keep your browser positioned on this site, because they seem to have the inside track on this highly-fanticipated adaptation. Me, I just love action movies -- so the sooner this flick actually arrives, the better.

Variety is reporting that Hasbro is switching agencies -- from CAA to William Morris -- just as Transformers (based on a line of one of Hasbro's most successful toys) gears up to arrive in theaters on July 3. The article, which goes on to say that William Morris will "work on contemporizing" Hasbro brands like Monopoly, Ouija, Candy Land, Clue and Trivial Pursuit, also includes one juicy nugget regarding a live-action G.I. Joe movie. According to Variety, "[WMA] reupped Hasbro's deal with Paramount Pictures to turn G.I. Joe into a live-action feature with Lorenzo di Bonaventura to produce. An initial pact had expired."

Based on a recent script review over at Latino Review, it may have been best for all parties to let that sucker expire. The draft they reviewed was apparently one penned by Skip Woods (Swordfish) and, without going into too much detail, lets just say the main villain in the film is a guy named Cool Dude. Seriously. Way back when it was reported that di Bonaventura wanted to make a buddy flick featuring Action Man (based on the British toy) and G.I. Joe -- I believe the reasoning here was to make it so the film appealed to international audiences. We're not sure if this is still the route they're leaning toward, whether or not Woods is still attached, or if an entirely new script (and writer) is currently being sought. Rarely have I seen LR bash a script like this ("I hated what Skip Woods did to G.I. JOE so passionately that I burned the script in my barbecue over the weekend. I am trying to erase the memory that I wasted two hours reading the biggest and most disrespectful piece of sh*t script I have ever reviewed for this column), and so I'm hoping Paramount and di Bonaventura do a little bit more homework before messing with these iconic characters in a way that could completely ruin the brand. Fingers crossed.