david carradine Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Actor David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room, according to multiple news reports. BBC News says that he was in Thailand filming his latest movie, Stretch. He was 72.

The eldest son of character actor John Carradine made more than 200 appearances in films and television shows, first rising to prominence with his starring role as Caine in the TV series Kung Fu. At the time, me and my friends thought he was the coolest thing on the planet: he sought peace with everyone he encountered, yet could quickly put down any opposition that arose simply by using his hands and feet (and head). Later I caught up with his 70s film work: a union leader in Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha, laconic race car driver Frankenstein in Paul Bartel's Death Race 2000, and, especially, his embodiment of folk singer Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory.

More recently he starred with Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies, which were widely viewed as a "comeback" for him, but, really, he never went away. He had a trio of very solid performances in the early 80s: as Paul Gaugin in the TV movie Gaugin the Savage; as Cole Younger, an outlaw trying to hold his family together in Walter Hill's The Long Riders; and as a police detective tracking down a flying serpent run amuck in Manhattan in Larry Cohen's Q.

Hell Ride is a deliberate, calculated throwback, referencing and recycling the cheapie bike-sploitation flicks of the '60s and early '70s as a band of burly brothers roar, rage and ride their way through the American Southwest on a rampage of revenge. Written by, directed by and starring Larry Bishop, Hell Ride thrums and roars with attitude; problem is, the drive shaft components of plot and character and logic just aren't there, meaning that even when Bishop hits the throttle, the roar and rattle can't hide the fact nothing's really happening.

Hell Ride revolves around a cycle gang known as The Victors, led by Pistolero (Bishop), with the tuxedo-shirt clad The Gent (Michael Madsen) riding on his right and recent inductee Comanche (Eric Balfour) an up-and-coming lieutenant in the organization, on his left. The Victors are trying to take care of business -- although what business it is they're in is never quite explained -- and the only thing interfering with that is Pistolero's obsession with righting the wrong done decades ago to Cherokee Kisum (Julia Jones), slain on the 4th of July in 1976. The Gent and Comanche are rubbed the wrong way by Pistolero's campaign of retribution, especially with the Six-Six-Six'ers and their kill-crazy leader Billy Wings (Vinnie Jones) edging in on Victors turf. ...

It's a show-too-much trailer, which is missing some of the original's goodness, but I have to admit: My interest was piqued by the Death Race trailer that Erik shared last week. There were three things that got me: Joan Allen, Ian McShane, and "Welcome to the Jungle." Mixed together, they're enough to get me into the theater on a rainy day, hoping that it's an '80s rock fest of driving action. But now there's an official, tasty fourth reason. MTV has confirmed that David Carradine has a cameo.

Paul W.S. Anderson said that he didn't want the film "to become a cheesy cameo-fest," but one main player is coming back to the fold. Or, at least, I hope so. "There's obviously been, 'Oh, where's the David Carradine cameo?' It's there, and I think it's a nice thing for fans." Bring on Frankenstein!

However, I'm sure it can't be as cool as his Kwai Chang Caine-like cameo in Lizzie Maguire. Penned by the lovely sister/brother writing pair of Nina and Jeremy Bargiel, Carradine gets back into kung-fu fighting to help the wee Maguire become Jet Li's sidekick. (Go here to see the cameo, which starts at about 4:30.) Okay, I kid, but I still love that cameo.

The world needs more mainstream David Carradine (that's not a cameo in Epic Movie.)

Yes, grasshopper, it may be true: the movie adaptation of the 1970s Kung Fu television series appears to be moving forward. Christopher Campbell reported last November that Allen and Albert Hughes (Dead Presidents, From Hell) were slated to direct the movie. Production was to start some time this year in anticipation of a 2008 theatrical release to tie in with the Beijing Olympics. Cory Goodman was signed to do a rewrite of the original script by Howard Friedlander and Ed Spielman. Now ComingSoon.net is reporting that Max Makowski has been hired to direct.

Does that mean that Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures liked the rewrite, but the Hughes Brothers did not? Did the Hughes Brothers jump ship in favor of another gig? More than likely, the official answer would be "creative differences" or "scheduling conflicts." If the report is true, what will Max Makowski bring to the project? Born in Brazil, Makowski now lives in Hong Kong, according to an indieWIRE profile that ran when his crime film One Last Dance screened at Sundance in 2006. The plans are to film Kung Fu in China, so his background would be a plus. Makowski has also directed episodes of the TV spy show The Agency.

Bruce Lee came up with the original idea and wanted auditioned * to star as a Shaolin monk wandering the American West. Instead, David Carradine got the part of "Caine." Carradine was fine; the show itself never transcended the episodic formulas of its time, but was distinguished by solemn philosophical touches and a message that martial arts were not primarily about beating people up -- Caine always restrained himself. ComingSoon.net says a new casting call has gone out, looking for "a handsome mix of East (Chinese/Asian) meets West (American)," which is discouraging to read. Thirty years after Bruce Lee was denied, a Chinese actor is still not preferred for the part?

* UPDATED: Without specifically citing a source, commenter "pvitari" says that Ed Spielman came up with the original idea. (Perhaps this is supported by the DVD that "pvitari" mentions, which I don't have.) I should have indicated that my source was IMDB, which lists Lee as co-creator and cites Lee's widow as their source. Wikipedia has more information and two more sources. To avoid confusion -- and pending further investigation -- I've modified the article.-- PM.

It's taken quite some time for me to wrap my head around a remake of the Roger Corman classic Death Race 2000. But, now that the Hollywood Reporter tells us that action stud Jason Statham is in negotiations to star, I can kind of see where they're going with this. Though it was originally being called Death Race 3000, it seems they've since shortened it to Death Race and, instead of Paramount overseeing the project with Tom Cruise (imagine that one!) in the starring role, pic has since moved to Universal (following the Par/Cruise fallout) with Paul W.S. Anderson attached to write and direct.

For those not familiar with the original (and I don't blame you), Death Race 2000 starred David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone as two guys who race across the country in their heavily armed cars, scoring points by mowing down innocent bystanders. In true Corman fashion, it was classic B-movie, drive-in type fare -- and, seeing how well Grindhouse did at the box office, something tells me Death Race will make a killing (pun intended). Will it be The Transporter meets Alien vs. Predator? Ya know, part of me really hopes so. I've always been a fan of those warped futuristic gaming movies (remember The Running Man?), and so I do think the project has potential. Will it resemble Corman's 1975 version in any way, shape or form? Probably not. After all, they do want some people to show up and buy tickets for this thing. Studio is currently eying a late summer/early fall production start and, though no one else has been cast, is it wrong of me to suggest The Rock to star alongside Statham?

It's been five long years since Albert and Allen Hughes gave us Hell -- From Hell that is -- and though they have been busy with television projects, it is time they got back to the big screen. Well, their next project has now been confirmed as the long-awaited adaptation of the TV-series Kung Fu. For those unfamiliar with the show (I admit, I've never seen one episode), it featured David Carradine as a Shaolin monk who is forced to flee China and ends up in the American wild west.

A script was written for the movie version by Howard Friedlander and Ed Spielman, both of whom worked on the show, but it will be rewritten by Cory Goodman, who also wrote the upcoming Andrew Douglas film Priest. There is no word on casting yet, though Carradine will have to be involved somehow, but Warner Bros. is planning for a 2008 release to coincide, and hopefully garner a promotional tie-in with, the Beijing Olympics.

Considering The Hughes Brothers had been trying to get this job for past two years, they hopefully know what to do with it. Though we don't know who the other filmmakers were who wanted the gigs, I have to wonder if Quentin Tarantino was interested, at least as a writer or producer. After all, he has paid homage to the series through dialogue (Pulp Fiction) and casting (Kill Bill's title character is played by Carradine).

The tie-in part of the story makes me wonder if Hollywood will be putting together any other martial arts films around the same time. We still haven't heard the full stories on the Bruce Lee biopic Martha wrote about last summer, or the mysterious Rob Cohen-directed, Bruce Lee-starring film that Erik mentioned last month. And maybe Kung Fu Hustle 2 is on hold for this very same reason. Okay, I doubt it. The Olympics and cinema may already be linked enough by the promotional videos being shot by Oliver Stone, Giuseppe Tornatore and Majid Majidi.

Any fans of the show care to chime in with your opinion?

Thanks to Samuel L. Jackson, even those of us who never watched the show are familiar with at least one character from the 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. What's surprising, really, is that it wasn't made into a movie right after Pulp Fiction came out -- if they would have hired a flashy, name director, you know the theaters would have been packed, at least on opening weekend. Instead, the series has been sitting around ever since the rights reverted to story creator Ed Spielman more than five years ago (when they still owned the property, Warner Brothers briefly thought about a movie, but nothing ever came of it).

Now, finally, the movie is coming. Legendary Pictures (a newish, WB-based company that has a first-look deal with the studio) recently optioned a screenplay written by Spielman himself, along with series writer Howard Friedlander, and has revealed that the film's content will be very familiar to fans of the series: According to a Legendary exec, the movie will "explore the events on which the TV show was based and the origins of the main characters." Though there's no information available on how soon this might be in theaters, casting is bound to cause a minor internet frenzy -- I can't wait for the "WHAT?! That guy can't hold David Carradine's proverbial jock!" forum posts.