Time to revisit the Destroyer/Remo Williams series? (1 Viewer)

[Stephen Orr]

With the advances in CG, and how great films like Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer look (in their cheesy way), it may be time to bring Sinanju back to the big screen. I received this today in my email from the Warren Murphy forum.

At least someone is talking about it....

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I would love to see a Remo Williams sequel.

 

[Kevin M]

Perhaps this time they can get an actual asian actor to play Chiun, rather than a another white man in makeup....no offence against Mr. Grey, he did a fine job but I thought it was rather an insult, what with all of the great asian actors out there, that they might have at least tried to hire one...I hear asian actors have a hard time getting leading work in hollywood films sometimes...you would think a roll as an asian might have been a shoe in.

 

[rob-h]

Yeah cause when other races play white roles its an insult. That honeymooners remake was an insult to white people!

See how stupid that looks Kevin M? It was just as stupid as what you said.

 

[Kevin M]

No..if they had white people in black prosthetic doing a re-make of Goodtimes....now that would be pretty insulting...wouldn't it?

Rob-h, do you understand anything that I just said?
Let me spell it out for you: Asian actors have a hard enough time getting leading roles in major hollywood films as it is...so here is a leading asian character role in a major motion picture...and they put a white guy in asian makeup. I remember the asian acting community at the time was a bit ticked off over it and I don't blame them.

Were they "stupid" for feeling that way Rob?


BTW, in case you don't believe me here is just one example of a modern asian look at it:Yellowworld , I had originally read about it in Starlog back in 1985 where the producers had said something along the lines of not being able to find a competent korean actor who could also do the physical tasks required by the role....oh, really?

Enough, I'll not take the thread off topic anymore then I have already, just do a google & you will find other articles about this old story. If a new film get's made I seriously doubt that the same acting choices will be made.

That's what I was trying to say to begin with, but obviously I didn't do a very good job, my apologies.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Joel Grey kicked complete ass as Chiun. He's largely the reason people love the movie, even though many Destroyer fans aren't too thrilled with it (including Warren Murphy) because of deviations from the books. There's little chance a Korean won't play the role this time, which is fine, but I'm glad we have Grey's take on film.

I'll probably get in trouble for this, but it's definitely in the spirit of Chiun and is a little joke I'd like to see in the movie:

Remo: "You're always in front of that TV. What are you watching this time?"
Chiun: "It is a documentary on the Korean people. The Amazing Race."

So, are there any known candidates to inhabit the role, or should it be an unknown? Do you think they'll get a Korean, or just go with any Asian they can find? I understand from a brief look at the Memoirs of a Geisha thread that they did that with that movie, and it's causing quite a controversy.

 

[Kevin M]

Oh I think Joel was great in it, I just think the original producers reasons for not hiring an asian actor were a bit bogus. Grey did a fine job.


As far as Korean or just Asian....hard to say, knowing hollywood they would probably get Jacki Chan and have Owen Wilson play Remo.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I think it would be best with Fred Ward & Joel Grey again.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I think, as politically incorrect as it was, Joel Grey was able to provide substantial charm to the role. His replacement will certainly have his work cut out for him.

One thing to consider is that we've kind of evolved action movie-wise. When Remo came out, wire work for Domestic movies was practically unheard of, so the tricks and stunts in it stood in good contrast to the traditional gun toting/karate action flicks you'd run across. Nowadays, we're pretty comfortable with wire work, so a guy running across the water or on cement doesn't have the unique nature it would otherwise.

How would you present Remo/The Destroyer in such a way that it's distinguished against the action content of The Transporter or the Bulletproof Monk?

 

[Greg_S_H]

Don't even say it! They need to get a real hardass to play Remo. As much as I enjoy Fred Ward in the role, he was far from being close to the source material. And, as old as Jackie is getting, they need someone who looks even older but moves even faster.

 

[Stephen Orr]

Time to resurrect this thread. Ain't It Cool News posted a story today that Robert Evans has secured the rights to Remo Williams .

This was posted on Warren Murphy's website yesterday:
"News from Warren
Contributed by Freya on Monday, April 03 @ 12:08:38 PDT
Topic: News
This just in from Warren Murphy's website:

Warren Murphy announced today that he had signed a Destroyer film production deal with Robert Evans independent production company in Hollywood. The deal covers film and television, as well as computer games and merchandising, and the old man says "after quite a few years in the Destroyer doldrums, we've got a chance here of seeing something good happen."

For those who don't know, Robert Evans is a one-time actor who took over the running of Paramount Studios when the company was down the drain and on the verge of bankruptcy. In just a handful of years, Evans produced The Odd Couple, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Love Story and The Godfather, and turned Paramount into the hottest studio in town."


Link can be found here.

 

[JoSAN]

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