jaden smith Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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]

This past weekend at the box office brought us the fairly mediocre Push, in which Dakota Fanning (roughly 14 at the time of filming) played a snappy psychic 13-year-old with rebel streaks in her hair, whiny quips at every turn, and an unfortunate penchant for short skirts and shots.

The weekend before that gave us the fairly entertaining Taken, in which Maggie Grace (24 or 25 at the time of filming, by our best guess) played a seemingly psychotic 17-year-old with a U2 fascination, a disturbingly giddy run not unlike the one at the 5:20 mark here, and a fortunate (for us) habit of getting snapped up by European human traffickers and thus not proving to be a distraction while Liam Neeson goes all out of bubble gum on the streets of France.

So, among those of you who saw both films, which teen did you find to be more aggravating with their respective performance: Fanning or Grace? (Or, for the real saints out there, were you irritated by neither?)

As the season marches on, 'for your consideration' ads litter the trades and various awards analysis websites. However, there aren't nearly enough campaigns for the year's worst performances.

You have your obnoxious kids (Jaden Smith in The Day The Earth Stood Still, Logan Lerman in Meet Bill). You have your touched individuals who straddle the line between functional and, ahem, 'full retard' (Sophie Okonedo in The Secret Life of Bees, Omar Benson Miller in Miracle at St. Anna, David Morse in Hounddog). You've got your guys that give 'insane' a bad name (Jason Butler Harner in Changeling, Donny Osmond in College Road Trip), and you've got your girls that give English a bad name (Ahney Her in Gran Torino, Natalya Rudakova in Transporter 3).

Oh, and then there's just about the entire cast of The Happening. (If I had to pick just one person, though, I'd go with the gardener who babbles on about hot dogs. The man's priceless.)

So, unless we're about to let Witless Protection sweep the Razzies, what were some of your least favorite performances of the year?

This may sound silly, but there's no way that The Day The Earth Stood Still would exist today in any sort of proverbial vacuum. To get the most obvious reason out of the way, we wouldn't have the 1951 original to lift from, in which an extraterrestrial visitor advises Earthlings to knock off their paranoid Cold War aggression, or else. Secondly, this incarnation is so transparently indebted to the likes of Twentieth Century Fox's other PG-13 sci-fi actioners, Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, that it's hard to imagine the same studio putting out this film first. Better yet, try seeing this particular re-imagining come about without the success of Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds bolstering the profile of other '50s sci-fi efforts (new variations on Forbidden Planet and When Worlds Collide loom still on the horizon).

No, I'm afraid that it was fated to be that the Earth would stand still once more, albeit in Manhattan instead of Washington D.C., because that's how Roland Emmerich would've done it, and with a robotic threat adjusted from the height of Yao Ming to something several stories taller. Who needs flying saucers when giant orbs will do? And why bother with a pesky still-relevant message against the tolls of war when environmental concerns are all the rage? If anything, TDTESS '08 shares most characteristics with the aforementioned metallic menace: it's sleek, loud and incapable of expressing emotion beyond some big booms.

Look, the original Karate Kid is one of those films that stays close to my heart at all times, and I totally see how you all would feel disgruntled after hearing the news that Jaden Smith (aka Will Smith's kid) will be starring in a remake. Good news is they're changing it up and setting the flick abroad, however the central concept (of a bullied boy who learns life lessons from an eccentric karate mentor) will remain the same. If Smith's kid has half the charm and charisma of his pop in a leading performance, this could turn out to be a reasonably successful re-launching for the younger tweens.

Right now, we're not sure whether they'll be using the name Mr. Miyagi (as played by Pat Morita in the original Karate Kid franchise) for this new film. Assuming they are, though, who do you think should play him? Defamer threw up a pretty funny list of suggestions today that includes Nicolas Cage, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson ("I want this motherf**king wax ON and OFF my motherf**king CAR"). Of course, most will also throw Jackie Chan's name in, though Miyagi was always a great character because he looked so unassuming and weak. Chan could play eccentric, but would he look the part?

I'm completely up in the air on this one. What do you think: Who could play Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid remake?

Will Smith is certainly prepping his son for superstardom. Jaden Smith starred with dad in The Pursuit of Happyness, grabbed an Amulet, signed on for The Day the Earth Stood Still, and is now definitely taking on the world of the Karate Kid. At this rate, he'll hit the big leagues a good decade before his pop did, although nothing quite compares with starting your career as the Fresh Prince.

Just over a year ago, there was a rumor that the project was coming together, and all these months later, it's now been confirmed by Variety. The untitled remake is being penned by Chris Murphy, with plans to shoot next year in Beijing and other cities. Not much is being said about the plot, but it looks like this is merely taking the theme of the film, rather than the story. It's leaving the confines of the US, has got a much younger star, and "will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor."

Are you into a 10-year-old karate kid standing up for himself in Beijing? Weigh in below!

While it doesn't arrive in theaters until December, Fox feels pretty confident in their The Day the Earth Stood Still remake -- so much so that they aired roughly seven and a half minutes of footage last night during a repeat of the Fringe pilot. Seems a bit odd to show that much footage this far in advance of the film's release date, but apparently Fox wants to build good buzz now ... and, thankfully, it would appear the film warrants it.

The footage (which you can see after the jump) is not comprised of one, long extended scene. Instead, we're taken through a whole bunch of scenes from what would appear to be the first half of the film, with some playing out a bit longer than others. Essentially, The Day the Earth Stood Still tells of an alien visitor (Keanu Reeves) and a giant robot who land on earth and turn the place upside down. Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, Kathy Bates and John Cleese also star. Check out the seven-minute clip after the jump.

The Day the Earth Stood Still hits theaters on December 12.

Having one little Smith in a film already amps up the cuteness, but now Variety reports that we're going to get a double serving. Willow and Jaden Smith, the little offspring of Will and Jada, are going to star in an adaptation of Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet. Of course, Will Smith is producing with Overbrook Entertainment. Right now, there's no word on a screenwriter or director.

Amulet is a graphic novel that focuses on a brother and sister who move into their late great-grandfather's house with their mother after their father dies. It's not a particularly safe move, because they have to "use his amulet to rescue their widowed mother from a beast who lures her into an underground world."

Should this adaptation be successful, I'd get ready to see a lot more of the Smith offspring. This could, potentially, be a series of kiddie adventures, since it's a Scholastic series with 5 books planned (#2 will be released this year). Personally, I'm glad to see a new children's adaptation that doesn't seem to be jumping on the boy wizard bandwagon. And really, how can you resist those tykes?

You better start getting used to a new Smith family member showing up in huge, big-budgeted flicks. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Jaden Smith (who plays Will Smith's son in real life) has signed on to co-star in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still for 20th Century Fox. And yes, he'll be doing so without Pops in the scenes with him, as we saw last year when both Smith family members starred opposite one another in The Pursuit of Happyness. This time, Jaden Smith will play the 8-year-old stepson of scientist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly). HR confirms that Kathy Bates and Jon Hamm will also star off a script written by David Scarpa, while Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) directs.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a remake of the 1951 flick carrying the same name, and it revolves around an alien who arrives on Earth with a giant robot to learn about the planet and spread a message. In a part that suits him more than perfectly, Keanu Reeves will be playing the alien (who goes by the name of Klaatu), while Connelly will play the woman who first comes into contact with the extraterrestrial. As HR points out, "Smith's Jacob and stepmother Helen get caught up in Klaatu's mission, coming to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described "friend to the Earth." Fox will shovel this one out on December 12, making it this year's big flick to see while struggling to afford Christmas presents. Anyone else think Keanu Reeves is actually an alien in real life? Dude is so ... odd. Perfect role for him, and I'm looking forward to this one.

When am I gonna learn how to punch?

AICN is posting a nutty rumor today with regards to the new Justice League flick. Remember how director George Miller had said recently during the AFI Awards that when it goes before cameras, Justice League would have a different name? Well, according to a tipster, that name may have already been leaked by Batman. No, not the rumored-to-be-playing-Batman, Armie Hammer, but the other Batman, Christian Bale. Here's what they claim: "Christian Bale was on Nova (FM) today in an interview (pre-recorded I assume) for "Yuma" and said he has "nothing to do with AMERICAN HEROES, and their Batman will be different to our Batman." Wait, so are they calling it American Heroes? WTF? Personally, not only do I think it's a horrible title, but there's no way Warner Bros. will go with a title that could potentially hinder box office sales worldwide. This is the same issue G.I. Joe was having; how they're apparently going out of their way to include a wide array of characters from different countries in order to make it less American and more world-friendly. I doubt this is the title, but if it was, what do you think?

Remember that Karate Kid remake? The one that was supposedly being handled by Will Smith, starring his son Jaden? Well, MoviesOnline claims that according to "production notes," Will Smith will indeed direct the Karate Kid remake and son Jaden will indeed star. Yes, Will Smith will make his feature directorial debut with a remake of a film that no one in their right mind wanted remade in the first place. Why, Will? Why? Can't you just get jiggy with something else and save us the pain? Additionally, Moviehole reports that actor Stephen Chow has confirmed internet rumors that he is considering playing Mr. Miyagi in the remake. According to Chow, he'd love to take on the role, but it depends on whether his schedule can handle it. I can't even think of something funny to write here. I'm at a loss. A loss. My childhood is officially lost. [via The Movie Blog]

Finally, new photos from this month's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem have arrived online, and they appear to show the Predators' home planet. Ya know, in case you were wondering if the Predator's had TIVO and/or watched American Idol in their spare time. Alongside the home planet pic, Yahoo also has a bunch more for you peruse through. There's a shot of an Alien. And a Predator. And both. And they're fighting each other. What's this film about again?