The film: Red Scorpion (1988)
Why It’s an Inessential Essential: Co-scripted and produced by Jack Abramoff, Red Scorpion is a starring vehicle for Sweden’s own living action hero, Dolph Lundgren. Being the modest gentle giant that he is, Lundgren has nothing but good things to say about the film during the interview segment he shot for Synapse Films new release of the movie. But that says more about Lundgren’s personality than it does the crackerjack B-movie. As self-styled Lundgren expert Jeremie Damoiseau remarks in his annotated(!) liner notes, Red Scorpion nearly ruined Lundgren’s career (more on this shortly).
Lundgren plays Lieutenant Nikolai Rachenko, a Russian “killing machine” that is tasked with murdering the leader of a group of rebel insurgents leading a coup in Africa. The Russians want the rebels stopped so they hire Rachenko to cozy up to the rebel leader’s advisor, now imprisoned by the Russians. In spite of repeated warnings from a smug, four-letter-word prone American journalist (M. Emmett Walsh, scowling up a storm), the rebel leader’s advisor grows to trust Rachenko, who in turn starts to see the murder and destruction caused by his comrades. Rachenko inevitably changes sides and becomes a hero, but only after being tortured by needles, attacked by scorpions, shot at, assaulted by a tank, thrown onto a moving motorcycle and berated repeatedly by the inimitable Walsh.
How the DVD/Blu Ray Makes the Case for the Film: In his liner note, Damoiseu gives a stirring and comprehensive history of Red Scorpion that reveals how the film’s freaky production history helped to make it a memorable role for the charismatic–look at him pout!–athletic–thighs as big as a Rob Liefeld comic book character!–and smart–has a master’s degree in chemical engineering!–Swede.
According to Damoiseau, Red Scorpion was a vanity project for Abramoff,…
Full Story »Given Mark Ruffalo’s reported six-picture deal with Marvel Studios to portray mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner and his rage monster alter ego The Hulk in multiple movies after this week’s The Avengers – and considering how well his take on the iconic comic book character plays, both as Banner and the beast — it seems safe to say that the indie veteran’s first superhero outing won’t be his last. But before The Avengers director Joss Whedon came calling, Ruffalo admits he wasn’t so sure he could pull off such a task. “I didn’t have the confidence to do it,” he told Movieline, “and no one was coming to me with those kinds of parts.”
Making Ruffalo’s task even more Herculean in the superhero super-team up The Avengers is the fact that two entirely different recent attempts at a Hulk movie precede his (Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk and Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk). But Ruffalo’s approach was two-fold: First, he saw his Hulk as a progression from predecessors Eric Bana and Edward Norton, one who’s recruited into Nick Fury’s Avengers Initiative (alongside Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye) after years spent harnessing the monster within. And second: Thanks to motion capture technology, he got to actually play The Hulk.
Ruffalo spoke with Movieline about the potentially life-changing decision to take on The Avengers, how far his Banner has come in accepting his gift/curse, why he coined the phrase “boy soup” in relation to co-star Scarlett Johansson, and which of his superhero co-stars possess the greatest skills… in Dance Dance Revolution.
It’s neat to see you all together, and it seems like whenever any of the cast is asked to name their favorite moment…
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This just in from Variety: “Ben Kingsley is in final talks to play the villain in Iron Man 3, but fans of the comic book character will be disappointed to learn he won’t take on original Tony Stark archenemy the Mandarin.” Well, good. I for one am glad that Ben Kingsley will not be playing a Chinese guy. Instead, the Oscar-winning actor will reportedly play a baddie “involved in the spread of a virus through nanobots.”
Variety’s intel comes not officially from Marvel Studios but through “insiders”:
Though insiders acknowledged Kingsley’s involvement to Variety, Marvel declined to comment on the deal, and insiders denied that the character would be the Mandarin, a wealthy Chinese scientist and martial arts expert who, by backing the warlord who imprisoned Stark, was indirectly responsible for the creation of Iron Man.
If Iron Man 3 does follow Warren Ellis’s comic book series “Extremis,” Kingsley might be playing one of the scientists who lets loose the nanotech serum. And if Iron Man nemesis the Mandarin is somehow involved, it wouldn’t be beyond reason to cast an actor who is half Caucasian, like the character. But Kingsley, who famously played Gandhi in his career-making role, is half English and half Indian (on his father’s side) — and those are not interchangeable ethnicities, people.
Back when Jon Favreau was still attached to Iron Man 3 he was very vocal about wanting to include The Mandarin as the threequel’s villain, but it’s not been officially suggested that The Mandarin’s ethnicity might be changed for any reason. (In 2009 Iron Man actor Faran Tahrir alluded to a possible connection between his character and the supervillain, sparking wild speculation that they could be one and…
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It’s fitting that on the weekend of Comic-Con, a comic book character took the top spot at the box office. In what could be considered a bit of an upset — though not really a huge upset — Captain America: First Avenger easily defeated Harry Potter to win the weekend crown. It wasn’t all bad news for the Boy Who Lived: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 grabbed runner-up honors, and continued to plow forward on its way to becoming the biggest hit of 2011. And, hey: Friends with Benefits didn’t do too bad either! Your weekend receipts have arrived.
1. Captain America: First Avenger
Gross: $65,827,000 (new)
Screens: 3,715 (PSA: $17,719)
Weeks: 1
Based on Sunday estimates, Captain America: First Avenger enjoyed the most lucrative opening weekend of any superhero movie released this summer; First Avenger earned roughly $100,000 more than the Marvel Studios production of Thor did back in May. Whether or not that number holds up is a matter for final box office results on Monday morning, but even if Thor retains the superhero crown, don’t sleep on Captain America’s success. In a more competitive frame, the Joe Johnston-directed film played on 240 less screens and still had a per screen average of nearly $1,000 more. Plus, 3-D was less of a factor in its success than it was for Thor — 60 percent for the God of Thunder to 40 percent for Cap. Not bad! Also in the film’s favor: First Avenger is the last superhero film of the summer, meaning positive word-of-mouth could…
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Riiiiiight: “Zac Efron could become the latest actor to play a superhero in a movie based on a Marvel comic book character. […] There’s just one tiny little problem — he’s been offered a role playing Namor the Sub-Mariner. The Sub-Mariner is one of Marvel’s earliest superheroes, debuting in 1939. He’s the mutant son of a princess from Atlantis and a human sea captain with a variety of superpowers, including strength, speed, flight, and the ability to breathe underwater (he’s like a merman with legs).” [Gather via ONTD]
Isaiah Mustafa is many things — mostly the Man Your Man Could Smell Like — but does he have what it takes to play a superhero? That’s what the Old Spice pitchman (and Tyler Perry co-star) is hoping based on his homemade trailer for Luke Cage which debuted online late last week. Should Marvel take up Mustafa’s suggestion and push Cage into development? Let’s take a look at the video and discuss.
On the one hand — by virtue of being the Old Spice Guy — Mustafa doesn’t have the gravitas that someone like Idris Elba might have in the lead role. (Elba said he was interested in playing Cage last October.) On the other hand, does Luke Cage really need gravitas? He’s a comic book character, after all! Maybe Mustafa’s playful mugging amid the torture and anger is just what Cage would need — don’t forget, that worked for Iron Man and Thor.
What say you, comic fans? Do you support Isaiah Mustafa for Luke Cage?
[via The Playlist]
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Today, we are all Asgardians. With $66 million in ticket sales, Thor dropped its hammer on the box office competition over the weekend, helping get summertime in Hollywood off to a rousing start. What did you think of the Thor’s transition from second-tier comic book character to big screen superhero? Let’s discuss ahead.
Among the many topics up for debate:
· Are we really living in a world where $66 million is a soft opening?
· How did you think Kenneth Branagh did in his first stab at tentpole filmmaking?
· Was Chris Hemsworth charming enough as Thor that you could imagine him being a legitimate movie star going forward?
· Did Natalie Portman mail Thor in like it was Attack of the Clones, or did her presence lend a certain gravitas to the earthly scenes?
· Did you prefer the intrigue and set pieces on Asgard to those on Earth?
· How were the visual effects? Put another way: How unnecessary was the 3-D?
· Does Thor make you more excited for Captain America and The Avengers or less so?
Hammer away at these and more in the comments!
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