comment #1

George Prager says ...

Can they find room for a Tom Atkins cameo?
Dogs of War is great. Would make a great double bill with Southern Comfort. I have to see Extreme Predjudice one of these days.

comment #2

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

sounds like a lame movie, another "God Bless America!" gung-ho film where the dark-skinned baddies are killed off.

I'll pass.

comment #3

p.Vice says ...

I think this is looking more Delta Force than Dogs of War.

comment #4

Rich S. says ...

I think Stallone found his voice with Rocky Balboa and Rambo, or at least re-found his audience. I imagine that The Expendables will be in this same vein. Hell, it has Dolph Lundgren in it. How could they be serious?

comment #5

actionman says ...

The Expendables will be rated PG-13, so there goes the notion that it'll be an asininely violent laugh-fest like the most recent Rambo flick.

I luuuuuuve Southern Comfort. Now that's a flick that is ripe for a remake. But they'd have to keep it small, intimate, and scarily visceral like the original.

comment #6

Josh Massey says ...

By "Ceasar Chavez" I think you mean "Cesar Chavez." And by "Cesar Chavez" I think you mean "Hugo Chavez."

The modern liberal love of Hugo Chavez continues to baffle me. Even moreso than the Che love, I think - because the evidence against him is right here, right now and clear as day.

Of course, I can't f'in' wait for this movie.

comment #7

storymark says ...

This is the first I've heard of the film being some "symbolic" tear-down of Chavez. Seems a rather silly presumption.

Looks like a throwback to cheesy 80's action flicks, and some are taking it waaaay too seriously.

comment #8

Josh Massey says ...

Also, I'm not sure that Rourke is doing this film as any sort of payback. I mean, look at him. As good as he was in The Wrestler (my favorite film of the year), how many more parts like that are out there?

comment #9

btwnproductions says ...

Hugo Chavez is no hero of the revolution.

comment #10

Scott Mendelson says ...

Agreeing with Massey... this sounds like Stallone doing two favors for Rourke, rather than Rourke repaying Stallone by 'gracing the movie with his presence'.

As for Hugo Chavez, many a liberal (like myself) liked him because he was a genuine left-winger who came to power during the height of the Bush years (re- the coup and reinstatement in 2002, which the Bush adm may have been involved in). But, once the nature of his reign became apparent (more Cuba, less Canada), the liberal-worship was every bit as embarrassing as their embrace of Che.

comment #11

Mark says ...

Have Tony Scott plus everyone under the Tarantino tree stopped making movies? i think Rourke has at least some career momentum and has choices.

comment #12

Gnome de Guerre says ...

Greenlit clearly to cash in on buzz from Inglorious Basterds. It's cool though, in the same vein as those adolescent conversations I'd overhear my brother having "wouldn't it be cool if we got Stallone, and Arnold, and [every action star ever] together and they faced off [or teamed up]?" It's a neat lineup they've got.

comment #13

actionman says ...

Mark -- you'll be happy to know that the new Tony Scott drops on 6/12 -- his remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

comment #14

Big Black says ...

Why on earth would you wish for a remake of a film you supposedly love? That is madness, dude. So, you hate Walter Hill or something?? Was there a bunch of un-mined gold in the script that he just fucked-up and ignored..?

comment #15

Floyd Thursby says ...

Forest Whitaker is also supposedly in talks to join this project, giving yet more credibility to the Oscar jinx myth.

comment #16

actionman says ...

Big Black -- Walter Hill is the shit. I have enjoyed much of his work and meeting him and chilling out with him and his wife in their living room for about an hour was one of the highlights of my LA experience.

It's just that Southern Comfort is a timeless genre piece that might be well served by a remake. It's not an important film or something of extreme quality; it was a fun action flick. So, a remake wouldn't piss me off.

Now, remaking something like Let the Right One In or Oldboy -- that's fucking lunacy.

comment #17

Mark says ...

Aren't Statham and Rourke already filming a different remake full of similar bruisers?

My question regarding The Expendables is why Wesley Snipes couldn't get bonded during his tax-evasion appeal.

comment #18

actionman says ...

Mark -- yes. The film is called 13 and is a remake of the crazy French movie 13 Tzameti. The remake is being directed by the guy who did the original.

And Snipes was, apparently, offered a role, but had to turn it down. Why exactly I'm not sure; have to assume it's because of his criminal activity.

comment #19

Joel says ...

I think that this movie will be ridiculously awesome.

comment #20

Josh Massey says ...

"I think that this movie will be ridiculously awesome."

Damn straight. A bunch of guys circling the direct-to-video drain, getting possibly one last shot at a decently budgeted, hyped action flick - and with a very capable director in tow (Stallone's direction of both Rocky Balboa and Rambo was excellent). I'd be surprised if everybody wasn't on top of their game. Plus, a reunion of Balboa and Drago? I mean, COME ON.

Actionman: Where did you hear that PG-13 thing? That just can't be.

comment #21

iamwhoiam says ...

"Bad News Jews"? You really wrote it, Jeff? How disappointing. While i agree that Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson and Danny Dumbort are responsible to some of the worst films ever, it's got nothing to do with their religion or ethnicity. As a Jew, i'm deeply offended and as a big fan of your blog, it makes me utterly sad to have to leave it, but this is really the last place i expected to read something so offensive and downright racist.

Goodbye.

comment #22

actionman says ...

Massey -- I either read it in Variety or on Joblo or one of the movie sites. I remember it was a quote directly from Stallone where he stated the film would be PG-13.

comment #23

actionman says ...

Massey -- here you go:

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=23813

comment #24

D.Z. says ...

Since industry people occasionally lurk on sites like this, some fanboys on a different site asked if Sly can add Michael Dudikoff and/or Sho Kosugi.

Gnome: "Greenlit clearly to cash in on buzz from Inglorious Basterds."

I thought IG was trying to cash in on Saving Private Ryan myself...

comment #25

BurmaShave says ...

As bad as it is, Mickey was pretty good in GET CARTER, and it was the first glimmer of the self-awareness that came into bloom in SIN CITY and THE WRESTLER. "Still pretty?"

comment #26

BurmaShave says ...

iamwhoiam are you joking? What a pussy. First of all, as a Jew you must be aware that the Jews are not a race, and second, using an ethnic descriptor to quantify people is not racist. Everyone knows exactly what he's talking about when he says Bad News Jews. The guy worked for Cannon for christ sakes.

And Wells, I honestly think if you did your homework on Chavez you would not be a fan of him. The man is retarded.

comment #27

luca says ...

So Chavez is a dictator? How many of the coup plotters did he jail? Most of the media is anti-Chavez. Righties support some of the worst elements in Latin America and then wonder why the people rally behind nationalist leaders. Castro and Chavez may not be ideal but they're not sending their death squad goons(armed & funded by the CIA)to disappear people by the thousands.

comment #28

BurmaShave says ...

Also this seems like an ideal vehicle for Michael Dudikoff complete in character as Joe Armstrong. He's probably been waiting in the jungle for this movie to come around since 1994.

comment #29

Human Rights Foundation says ...

Dear Mr. Wells,

I write to invite you to learn more about the human rights violations that have occurred during the government of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The Human Rights Foundation represents numerous journalists, students, politicians, and dissidents who have suffered persecution that range from torture and false imprisonment to harassment and assassination.

It was shocking to read that you would join the Chavez "defenders" in "beating back" an "Israeli paycheck movie" from the "Bad News Jews" and "scumbag" producers. Although the Human Rights Foundation has no position on the film projects Mr. Stallone chooses to involve himself with, we are profoundly concerned by your sympathies for the government of Mr. Chavez.

Mr. Wells, the record of president Chavez on human rights is probably not something you would want to defend. Surely, as a journalist, you value freedom of expression and would hesitate to defend a president who shut down a television station, frequently calls for the use of violence against journalists, and has imprisoned opponents for comments they have made during television interviews. (See Mr. Chavez's numerous remarks at freeRCTV.com)

Our contention regarding the appalling human rights record of the Chavez government is shared by the European Parliament, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the U.S. Department of State, Amnesty International, the World Press Freedom Committee, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, and dozens of other human rights organizations, freedom of expression groups, and democratic government agencies.

You do your readers, your reputation, and the cause of human freedom a great disservice by stating that you would become a Chavez "defender."

I hope you reconsider your remarks. Among the reports the Human Rights Foundation has created there is also a short documentary film you may want to see. You can find all of the material at CaracasNine.com

Sincerely yours,

Thor Halvorssen
President
Human Rights Foundation
New York, NY