Category: Movies

Who Should Play Snake Plissken?

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There’s been a lot of talk lately about rebooting Snake Plissken from Escape to New York fame.  The new plan calls for a trilogy of films with a new actor playing Snake Plissken.

Although I like the idea, I’m not lining up for ticket just yet.  Way back in 2006, it was reported that John Carpenter and Kurt Russell were meeting with studio execs about making a third Snake Plissken movie to be titled Escape from Earth.

The movie never materialized.

Then in 2007, it was announced that Gerard Butler [star of the fan favorite and record setting “300”] was set to take on the role of Snake Plissken and Ken Nolan [“Black Hawk Down”] was on board to produce the screenplay which would have updated the 1981 John Carpenter script.

Again, nada.

When Kurt Russell was asked his thoughts about a remake of Escape from New York with Gerard Butler as Snake, Russell responded, “I am Snake Plissken… I do think that character was quintessentially one thing. And that is, American.  I have nothing against Gerard Butler. I think he was great in 300 and I expect him to do other cool projects.”

Of course neither Butler nor Russell got a chance to play Snake in a remake because it never happened.

Three years later we were told, Escape from New York was being prepped for a reboot. The Plissken role made famous by [Kurt] Russell would be re-cast with a yet-to-be named actor.

That resulted in… nothing.

So a little over a week ago when the news broke that there had been movement on a trilogy of Snake Plissken movies, I didn’t hold my breath.  I did suggest that Guy Pearce would be my choice to play Snake.

Of course that goes against Kurt Russell’s thoughts that not only should Snake be an American, but the actor playing him should be as well.  As Russell told Empire in a recent interview:

When it comes to Snake, I can tell you one thing… he’s American. It’s really important that he’s American. There’s a reason why that great fight in the arena [in Escape From New York] is with a baseball bat. That’s American, OK? He knows what he’s doing with that bat in his hand!

It’s also interesting to note that Russell no longer feels he should be the one to play Snake.  As he told John Carpenter in this exchange from the same interview in Empire:

“Could I do it again?” asks Russell, shaking his head. “No.”. Carpenter interjects: “He could do Old Snake.” Russell sighs. “I never wanted to do Snake old.” “Why not?” asks Carpenter. “If you’re going to do him,” expands Russell, “do him young. He’s one of those guys.”

Since Guy Pearce is Australian, who should play Snake?  I’ll have to get back to you on that… when the remake is a little closer to reality.

“White House Down” or “Olympus Has Fallen” Again

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I always find it a bit odd when similar movies are theatrically released at close to the same time.  You know, like when Armageddon went up against Deep Impact or Antz duked it out with A Bug’s Life or when Tombstone drew down on Wyatt Earp.

Now we have Olympus Has Fallen vs White House Down.  I saw Olympus Has Fallen, liked it a lot and think it will be hard to beat.   Of course, if White House Down is as good or better, then everyone wins.  Here’s the just-released trailer.

 

 

“Expendables 3” – If Sly Asked Me…

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  • I would suggest something big on US soil for the Expendables’ mission. Go easy on the wisecracks and humor.
  • Olympus Has Fallen opened this weekend with over $30 million in receipts and an A- CinemaScore. Audiences will still show up for action movies.
  • Expendables members need to die. I love the characters, but let’s lose some on to shock the audience and raise the stakes.
  • Perhaps the team accepts a mission from Bruce Willis’ character. Since the CIA can’t operate on US soil, he brings in the Expendables to take down a home-grown terrorist group. Although way outgunned the Expendables accomplish their goal. Unfortunately several of the Expendables are killed during the mission.
  • Perhaps even have Couture’s character killed after the Expendables have stopped the terrorists. The terrorists know they can’t obtain their goal, so as payback to the Expendables they torture and kill Couture (perhaps Barney and the remaining Expendables are watching on live video feed). Once they kill Couture the terrorists make their getaway. Barney and the remaining team members call in new recruits and go after the terrorists.
  • This would show the Expendables are expendable. It would also show how good they are since they accomplish their mission against greater odds. This set-up would start the movie with a bang and give reason to bring in the young guns. It would also make the second part of the movie’s mission very personal.

Casting: “Escape from New York” Remake

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It seems that there may be movement on a remake of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. Reports indicate that Joel Silver and his Silver Pictures are teaming with StudioCanal to make it happen and current plans are for a trilogy of films.

Like most fans, I really liked Escape from New York.  Although I was happy to see the return of Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), Escape from L.A. just wasn’t as good.

Which of course begs the question, would a remake (or a trio of Snake Plissken films) work?  The correct answer is, of course, with the right script, actors and director.

So… let’s take a look at who should fill the roles in Escape from New York Remake:

  • Snake Plissken was originally played by Kurt Russell should now be played by Guy Pearce.
  • Hauk was originally played by Lee Van Cleef should now be played by Stephen Lang.
  • Cabbie was originally played by Ernest Borgnine should now be played by Brian Cox.
  • The President was originally played by Donald Pleasence should now be played by James Gandolfini.
  • The Duke was originally played by Isaac Hayes should now be played by Terry Crews.
  • Brain was originally played by Harry Dean Stanton should now be played by Michael Emerson.
  • Maggie was originally played by Adrienne Barbeau should now be played by Rosario Dawson.
  • Romero was originally played by Frank Doubleday should now be played by Walton Goggins.
  • Slag was originally played by Ox Baker should now be played by  Ryan Hurst.

So, what do you think?  Inspired casting or did I miss the mark?

What the “Wizard of Oz” is Really About!

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I got kick out of 7 Theories of What the Wizard of Oz is Really About by Bilge Ebiri for Venture.com.  Hopefully you will too.

Here are tidbits from my three favorite theories in the article…

Religious Allegory

In this theory, The Wizard of Oz is seen… as an allegory of faith…The Yellow Brick Road is the path to enlightenment, with the characters encountering a variety of emblems of sin and temptation along the way toward the Emerald City, which is a kind of a heaven… the Wicked Witch is killed with water, suggesting baptism…

Atheist Allegory

Hilariously, this theory I.D.’s almost all the same elements as the religious allegory, but then interprets them in the opposite direction — that is, God, a.k.a. the Wizard, isn’t real, there’s a mortal behind the curtain, and all that spiritual mumbo jumbo is illusory…

The Glinda Conspiracy Theory

…Glinda the Good Witch might actually be the true villain of Oz…  Glinda gloats a bit too morbidly over the death of the Wicked Witch of the East, calling for celebrations and then actually taunting the witch’s sister… that Glinda… knows the ruby slippers will send Dorothy home, hides this fact from Dorothy and sends the unwitting girl off to do her dirty work for her, all so she herself can finally rule over the land of Oz…

Check out the article to read these three complete theories as well as the other four.