RED DAWN remake slated for a September 2010 release
June 17th, 2009 by Scott Marks
The cast of John Milius’ “Red Dawn”
Here is another title to add to my list of 40 Remakes Coming Soon to a Theater Near You.
John Milius’ “Red Dawn” is a fine, fun fascist romp. The startling image of schoolkids watching commie paratroopers touch down outside their classroom hearkened back to simpler times when kindergartners practiced hiding beneath their desks in case of a nuclear assault. Rehearsing how to exit a burning building is one thing. Those grade school air raid drills used to spook the hell out of me.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki have been cast in MGM/UA’s remake of ‘Red Dawn,’ set to begin filming in September. They join the already cast Chris Hemsworth in the story of a group of teenagers who form an impromptu insurgency when their town is invaded by Chinese and Russian soldiers.”
Not unlike “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” it’s a story that could probably withstand a retelling every other decade. Wish the technical specs were more impressive. Dan Bradley, a stunt coordinator and second-unit director on “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Quantum of Solace,” will direct. Carl Ellsworth (”Disturbia”) and Jeremy Passmore (”Special”) will write the updated screenplay.
“Red Dawn” will descend upon theaters on September 24, 2010.
Tags: adrianne palicki, Hollywood, Josh Peck, M.G.M., Movie remakes, Movies, red dawn, red dawn remake, reddawn, Upcoming remakesFiled Under Rants
Two Days In Another Town
April 18th, 2009 by Scott Marks
Traveling north, I found myself in sunny Malibu meeting with commcinema.com, California’s premier provider of outdoor cinema systems. Say hello to their new San Diego rep, but more on that in future columns.
From Malibu, I sailed east to the lovely city of Burbank to spend the night at brother Rick’s conclave celebrating with pizza from Casa Bianca (as good a thin crust pie as any in Chicago) and watching educational DVDs. Rick could not make it through more than thirty minutes of Emilio before his George C. Scott impulse kicked in and he began to scream, “TURN IT OFF!” Besides, with a suitcase filled with The Munsters and latter day Buster Keaton shorts directed by Jules White, who needed contemporary art house drivel?
En route to Casa Bianca, we made our loyal pilgrimage to Ledge & Riverside to visit the Toluca lake Branch of Planet Hope. As always, Rick’s car radio instantly turned to AM 1620, Bob Hope Airport Radio. Where else on earth (except my house) can you hear Bob Hope’s name mentioned at least once every minute?
There was a lot more I heard coming from Radio Free Hope. Things I dare not tell you.
Herman’s Sorority Caper was a revelation on Rick’s Hi-Def monitor. The cameo by Mike Ross (he prays for Fat Jack’s death in The Disorderly Orderly) looked so crisp that one could actually smell the wine on Grandpa’s breath. The image was was so lifelike, when Grandpa cast a spell on Herman to cure him of hiccups, I wound up in a trance!
Grandpa lays it on Herman!
The Jules White touch is unmistakable. Say what you will about the end results, the man was an auteur. I can spot a Jules White cutaway shot a mile away. The same goes for one of his lazy, trademarked cut-ins. (Begin a scene by placing the camera twelve-feet away from the action. Stop, move the camera in six-feet and resume filming.) Using the Stooge template, White directed ten Buster Keaton shorts for Columbia between 1939 - 41. The credit design, and many of those credited, are identical to the opening passages used in Stooge shorts from the same period. The shorts were scripted by longtime Keaton co-writer (Sherlock, Jr., The General) and then-current Stooge scribe (I’ll Never Heil Again, Brideless Groom) Clyde Bruckman. In one form or another you have seen every gag these shorts have to offer.
That doesn’t mean I failed to study ever foot of them, particularly the sound effects. The penultimate Stooge sound effect is the “UHH!” It’s the funniest god damned thing.The first recorded evidence that I have been able to track down occurred in the dance class scene in Hoi Polloi. It’s the same guy, who sounds nothing like any of the Stooges, saying “UHH!” a hundred times. They appear in literally dozens if not hundreds of Columbia shorts and features throughout the 30s and 40s. Each time I hear one I laugh, especially when they arrive unexpected.Next time a Blondie film is on, stick around for the inevitable scene where Dagwood collides with the postman. UHH!
By comparing shorts, you can actually see the methods to the sound effects editor’s madness. The “UHH!” is only brought out when the punishment fits the crime. Bumping into someone, having a door open in your face, or even falling off a horse is cause for an “Eeep,” not an “UHH!” Getting head butted in the stomach is immediate cause for an “UHH!” The same goes for when characters fall on top of each other, although in this instance it is almost impossible to determine just who emitted the sound. I am revealing too much information from my upcoming 7,000 page doctoral thesis on the semiotic use and application of sound effects at Columbia Pictures, 1935 - 1958.
The next morning I had to hop two Metros and one Big Blue Bus to travel from Burbank to Santa Monica. The #222 (Lloyd Haines wasn’t my driver) picked me up on the corner of Magnolia and Hollywood Way. Taking up all three handicapped seats at the front of the bus were a couple from Nashville whom your grandmother would describe as “good eaters.” There was some sleazy guy in his late 30s seated opposite them trying to sell them on taking one of his personalized tours of Hollywood. Here’s a red flag: If a guy has his own fleet of limos to chauffeur tourists around the city, what the hell is he doing on a public bus?
The young couple, in town for the weekend in order to attend a religious convention, had never before ventured into this part of the world. They were actually very nice people and everybody instantly got in on the conversation. I am always nice to tourists and will go out of my way to make sure they know how to arrive at their intended destination. Let them go back to Tennessee and tell everyone how nice Southern Californians are and entice their friends to come west and spend their vacation dollars.
“So where do you think the best place is for us to see some movie stars,” he asked in his best Jethro Bodine. I told them either The Ivy or the Von’s in Burbank where I saw Bob Hope. Others had better suggestions. I pointed out the seven little houses on Hollywood Way that Uncle Walt built for the seven lead animators that worked on Snow White. Even the so-called tour guide never heard that one before. He quickly pointed at the building with the name Warner Bros. writ large across it’s side and said, “that’s Warner Bros. Clint Eastwood has an office there.” Rounding Alameda he announced, “that’s NBC where they tape the ‘Leno’ show. It starts taping at five, but people line up for hours before.”
Continue reading Two Days In Another Town
Tags: Al Lewis, bus, Buster Keaton, California, Hollywood, hollywood blvd., hollywood boulevard, jules white, los angeles, Metro, The 3 Stooges, THE MUNSTERS, The Three StoogesFiled Under Rants
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