Green Hornet news... (1 Viewer)

[Don Solosan]

"It's an oxymoron to refer to such a person as a "hero"."


Such a person who rises above his limitations to do right is a hero.

"a Hollywood mindset that wants to tell us there aren't any heroes."


And yet Hollywood manages to turn out film after film with protagonists who perform heroically. Hmm... What it probably is, is a producer who has looked at the recent successes of Batman and Iron Man; both are highly flawed characters who occasionally act like idiotic doofuses, but are trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances.

 

[RobertR]

Originally Posted by Don Solosan

"What it probably is, is a producer who has looked at the recent successes of Batman and Iron Man; both are highly flawed characters who occasionally act like idiotic doofuses, but are trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances.

I saw nothing like the level of bumbling, moronic cluelessness depicted in this trailer in those movies. Christian Bale and Robert Downey Jr. aren't frickin standup comics.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

so dumb....just stupid. I'll redbox it.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

I think somebody got their scripts mixed up.


The sidekick is named Kato so the "hero" is supposed to be a bumbling fool (like Clouseau).

 

[Don Solosan]

"I saw nothing like the level of bumbling, moronic cluelessness depicted in this trailer in those movies."


So it's just a matter of degree, and we differ on the amount.


"Christian Bale and Robert Downey Jr. aren't frickin standup comics."


Yeah, those comics--who do they think they are?! Jamie Foxx getting a Best Actor award for "Ray," nominated for "Collateral." Whoopi Goldberg nominated for "The Color Purple," won best supporting for "Ghost." Robin Williams nominated for "The Dead Poets Society," won best supporting for "Good Will Hunting." Dan Ackroyd nominated for "Driving Miss Daisy." Bill Murray nominated for "Lost in Translation." Who do these *beeps* think they are, appearing in serious roles?!!!!!

 

[RobertR]

Originally Posted by Don Solosan "I saw nothing like the level of bumbling, moronic cluelessness depicted in this trailer in those movies." So it's just a matter of degree, and we differ on the amount. "Christian Bale and Robert Downey Jr. aren't frickin standup comics." Yeah, those comics--who do they think they are?!

It isn’t a matter of “degree”, but of nature. Batman and Iron Man are serious movies with moments of comic relief. It’s obvious that this movie is one big campy bumblefest a la Inspect Clouseau, as was pointed out in another post. By “not a standup comic”, I meant that Bale and Downey didn’t play their movies as two hour comedy routines, as this movie is shown to be. Feel free to stand in line to get your chuckles seeing Seth Rogen yuck it up deconstructing a serious character into a bumbling, clueless schmuck; I and many others will pass.

 

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by Don Solosan

"Britt Reid is a traditional hero, a crusading journalist by day and the Green Hornet by night. When he steps outside the law, he is still honest. He is a role model youngsters can look up to."


Unfortunately, we've had decades of that hero, and apparently the audience is tired of it. Right now they seem to want to see heroes who are as flawed as they are. That opens up superhero stories for more depth and complexity.

Audiences want to see action, and studios know that a lot of action works like a spoonful of sugar. It helps the message go down.


You're not a dramatist, are you? It isn't necessary to deconstruct a character in order to motivate and conflict him. Or her. One can be flawed without being deconstructed. A deconstruction is a rejection of the building blocks of a character, a denial of the originating concept, a value judgment, a stripping away of dignity and of worth. If you take the trouble to examine the original characters of Carl Denham, Don Diego De LaVega, Tony Stark, Larry Talbot and his father Sir John, Clark Kent / Superman, and even James Bond, among countless others, you will see that their virtues went hand in hand with their flaws. They had depth and complexity along with a stoicism and inner decency that their new incarnations don't have. The best way to facilitate the deconstruction of a male hero is to cast the wrong actor in the part, and then adjust the character's traits to suit the wrong actor. This emphasis on flaws and nothing but flaws pushes male roles into deconstruction, particularly when they are contrasted with female characters who are all flawless. A statement is made by such equations, and not just about superheroes but about all male roles in current films.


The new stereotypes for male roles in the age of political correctness are combinations of deadbeat dads, sons who don't measure up, egomaniacs, whiners, chronic liars, cowards, playboys, womanizers, slobs, nerds and dorks, buffoons, corrupt bureaucrats, rapists and potential rapists, serial killers, child molestors, childish men and men who don't listen, and I don't know what else. Flaws compounded by more flaws. Flaws for the sake of flaws. The latest incarnation of Bruce Wayne staggers under the weight of all his flaws. Guilt trips the size of the national debt. Pile them on. He is flawed beyond believability, and we know more about him than we should. It isn't necessary to develop character flaws to the infinite power. The negative traits that used to be attributed to villains are now attributed to male leads and male heroes. There are no admirable male characters in contemporary films; every facet of the male character is deconstructed into only the bad. Studios no longer make movies about a man's virtues, they make movies about his flaws. This is as true of ordinary male characters as of superheroes. And always there is a virtuous, flawless, persevering female to lend counterpoint.


Again, Britt Reid is a crusading newspaper editor who becomes a vigilante at night to fight crime more effectively than a newspaper editor can from behind a desk. The Green Hornet walks a fine line. How far does he go pretending to be a gangster in the criminal underworld, and when does he pull back. There is tension in the fact that he does illegal things as the Green Hornet, but he must stop short of committing a crime. Nor is he a bumbling, slobbering idiot. Nor does Kato have to tell him off all the time; they are partners and colleagues with a mutual respect. The original Britt Reid was occasionally conflicted, vulnerable, troubled, challenged, gullible, overwhelmed, etc etc etc. but he never lost sight of doing the right thing and of being confident in fighting crime. His only superpower is his moral compass. This new trailer shows us a complete reversal --- a line-item deconstruction -- of the building blocks of Britt Reid. The new Britt Reid, from the look of the trailer, has no virtues. He doesn't want to run the newspaper or fight crime; he's being pressured into it. He can't tell one end of the gas pellet gun from another. He is a caricature of Britt Reid, a buffoon. Again, it is not necessary to deconstruct a male role in order to open him up to depth and complexity.


Telling a story about a character's flaws and only his flaws doesn't open him up to depth and complexity, it narrows his depth, diminishes his complexity, and makes him hard to like.

 

[Don Solosan]

RobertR: "It’s obvious that this movie is one big campy bumblefest" "two hour comedy routines, as this movie is shown to be." "deconstructing a serious character into a bumbling, clueless schmuck;" Wow, you read a lot into a 2 minute trailer! RichardW: "Audiences want to see action, and studios know that a lot of action helps the message go down." What they want to see are characters they connect with in action. The context is everything. "This new trailer shows us a complete reversal --- a line-item deconstruction -- of the character of Britt Reid." No, it shows you Britt Reid -- before he becomes the Britt Reid that you know. Maybe you didn't notice in this trailer, but his father was the editor. It looks like Reid steps into his shoes. There's also a suggestion that his father was already fighting crime with Kato. "You're not a dramatist, are you?" I've published fiction, had scripts optioned, and written scripts on assignment. Green Hornet is an origin story, and for an origin story to work, you have to show the character change from one thing into another (like Batman and Iron Man). Britt Reid goes from being a moral man to a moral man in a mask? Not much room for growth there. Funny, those characters you named... audiences haven't exactly been burning up to see them... Bond is the most popular of them, and he isn't exactly a well-rounded character. As for your description of male roles in movies these days... what the hell have you been going to see?

 

[Andy Sheets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Solosan
audiences haven't exactly been burning up to see them... Bond is the most popular of them, and he isn't exactly a well-rounded character.

Based on box office receipts, audiences aren't going to see much of anything these days except Twilight...


Bond is actually a very well-rounded character...if you go by what Ian Fleming wrote.

 

[Gary Seven]

Speaking as one who is pretty familiar with the 60's Green Hornet character (as opposed to the radio show), Don is partially correct that the Britt Reid before he becomes the Green Hornet is different than the one after. His father was a crusading editor/owner of the Tribune and fought against crime editorially. He did not work with Kato. I believe he was killed because of it and Britt Reid inherits the Tribune. Britt Reid is kind of like Bruce Wayne, a socialite Playboy who doesn't seem to take things too seriously. His approach to the Tribune is different than his father's and this occassionally puts him at odds with the veteran reporter Mike (forget his last name) who worked with his father and appreciated his style and ethic in regards to how the paper was run. In the show, Britt Reid retains that aloofness and playboy style as part of his disguise.


I imagine that something similar will take place here, but being this is a Seth Rogan vehicle now, has been infused with the comedy that his fans expect from his movies. So instead of being an aloof playboy, he looks to be more of an aloof goofball. I assume this will help build the dichotomy between Britt and the Green Hornet as he will probably retain that Britt Reid persona.


In any event, Seth Rogan was totally miscast but I will withhold final judgement until I know more of this movie before it is seen, either theatrically, or via blu ray by me. Being a long time Green Hornet fan, I will see it either way.

 

[Sam Favate]

Tell you what: If the new movie somehow unearths the old show and it gets released on DVD, I'll go see the movie. Anything to get the old show on DVD where it belongs.

 

[Sumnernor]

I have always been a Green Hornet fan but because of the radio show. Does anyone know any of the background in the RADIO show in regards to the music?


The GH and the Lone Ranger were both done by station WXYZ in Detroit. I became a big classical music fans for those two radio shows, in particular the Green Hornet whose music I liked better.


I have 2 DVDs of the TV shows. They were issued because of the guy playing Kato. I always felt that I was about the only person buying the DVDs because of the Green Hornet

 

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by Gary Seven

Speaking as one who is pretty familiar with the 60's Green Hornet character (as opposed to the radio show), Don is partially correct that the Britt Reid before he becomes the Green Hornet is different than the one after. His father was a crusading editor/owner of the Tribune and fought against crime editorially. He did not work with Kato. I believe he was killed because of it and Britt Reid inherits the Tribune. Britt Reid is kind of like Bruce Wayne, a socialite Playboy who doesn't seem to take things too seriously. His approach to the Tribune is different than his father's and this occassionally puts him at odds with the veteran reporter Mike (forget his last name) who worked with his father and appreciated his style and ethic in regards to how the paper was run. In the show, Britt Reid retains that aloofness and playboy style as part of his disguise.


I imagine that something similar will take place here, but being this is a Seth Rogan vehicle now, has been infused with the comedy that his fans expect from his movies. So instead of being an aloof playboy, he looks to be more of an aloof goofball. I assume this will help build the dichotomy between Britt and the Green Hornet as he will probably retain that Britt Reid persona.


In any event, Seth Rogan was totally miscast but I will withhold final judgement until I know more of this movie before it is seen, either theatrically, or via blu ray by me. Being a long time Green Hornet fan, I will see it either way.

That's basically how I read it too. I had some doubts when Rogan was cast, and the trailer gets me about halfway there. I will have to see how Rogan grows into the Green Hornet and see if he's believable in doing that. There wasn't much in the trailer that spoke to that.

 

[popoketel]

I'm gonna give it a chance, as I've heard the trailer was edited to make it look nothing like the movie actually is. Fingers crossed

 

[James 'Tiger' Lee]

Originally Posted by Richard--W


The new stereotypes for male roles in the age of political correctness are combinations of deadbeat dads, sons who don't measure up, egomaniacs, whiners, chronic liars, cowards, playboys, womanizers, slobs, nerds and dorks, buffoons, corrupt bureaucrats, rapists and potential rapists, serial killers, child molestors, childish men and men who don't listen, and I don't know what else. Flaws compounded by more flaws. Flaws for the sake of flaws. The latest incarnation of Bruce Wayne staggers under the weight of all his flaws. Guilt trips the size of the national debt. Pile them on. He is flawed beyond believability, and we know more about him than we should. It isn't necessary to develop character flaws to the infinite power. The negative traits that used to be attributed to villains are now attributed to male leads and male heroes. There are no admirable male characters in contemporary films; every facet of the male character is deconstructed into only the bad. Studios no longer make movies about a man's virtues, they make movies about his flaws. This is as true of ordinary male characters as of superheroes. And always there is a virtuous, flawless, persevering female to lend counterpoint.

I agree to a point. Too much deconstruction can break the fourth wall or spoil the flow of the story. But it certainly isn't limited to male leads, and really, I think it works fine for Batman, and I'd argue he IS an admirable male character, I just don't care for how Christian Bale plays him. On the other hand, the James Bond one, as much as I enjoyed it in Casino Royale as a one-off, is in danger of tying itself in a knot, especially since Quantam of Solace failed to follow through in an efficient manner.