G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

[MacGuffin]

Stephen Sommers to direct 'G.I. Joe'
Paramount sets summer 2009 release date
Source: Variety

Paramount Pictures has set Stephen Sommers to direct "G.I. Joe," the live-action feature based on Hasbro's line of action figures.

The studio is hiring a writer immediately, and has set a February production start for a summer 2009 release.

The accelerated production schedule began right after Sommers pitched his version of the film to Par chairman-CEO Brad Grey and production prexy Brad Weston on Wednesday evening. He was hired in the room.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce with Hasbro chief operating officer Brian Goldner. Sommers and his Sommers Co. partner Bob Ducsay will also be involved as producers.

While "G.I. Joe" served several futile tours of duty as a movie property, its momentum has been helped by "Transformers," the movie transfer of another Hasbro brand. That di Bonaventura-produced film has grossed $667 million worldwide for studio partners DreamWorks and Paramount.

Hasbro's Goldner said that the mythology of G.I Joe was fleshed out during the 1980s through 155 issues of Marvel Comics, as well as an animated TV series. There are about 30 core characters, good and evil, that can be exploited in films.

"Marrying Steve's vision with 25 years of this brand mythology feels like a great way to go forward," Goldner said.

While some remember the character from its gung-ho fighting man '60s incarnation, he's evolved. G.I. Joe is now a Brussels-based outfit that stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, an international co-ed force of operatives who use hi-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil organization headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer. The property is closer in tone to "X-Men" and James Bond than a war film.

"Our vision (for "The Mummy") was clear the time the first trailer played during the Super Bowl, and by the time this one plays a Super Bowl, you'll see the coolest characters and visuals you can imagine, and beyond-state-of-the-art equipment," Sommers said. "I wouldn't have jumped into this just because of the Hasbro-Transformers tie. Remember, 'Pirates of the Caribbean was a big hit, but 'Haunted Mansion' not so much."

Di Bonaventura said the film has some of the elements that made "Transformers" work as a film.

"My experience with beloved properties is that characters, attitude and tone are even more important than plot," di Bonaventura said. "Paramount showed a great deal of confidence in Stephen's take, and our ability as producers to get this up and running for a February start. His passion for the characters and the world convinced the studio this was something they couldn't resist."

WMA plugged its client Sommers into Hasbro, which left CAA to become a WMA client earlier this summer. Sommers haunted Hasbro's Pawtucket headquarters to steep himself in the lore.

WMA is also helping Hasbro with possible movies based on such properties as the board games "Monopoly" and "Battleship."

[MacGuffin]

First look: 'G.I. Joe' aims to bridge eras of toy, TV fans
By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY

Say hello to Snake Eyes — just don't expect him to say anything back.

This is the first character reveal from next August's G.I. Joe movie — the mute, faceless, black-clad ninja commando, among the most famous of the good guys from the 1980s incarnation of the decades-old Hasbro toy line.

Just as Paramount breathed new life into the Transformers franchise last summer, the studio is hoping to do the same to this sci-fi soldier series about a team of military experts battling the villainous Cobra organization.

G.I. Joe refers to the team, not any one person, and Snake Eyes is its mysterious lone wolf. In the movie, shooting now and set for August 2009, this fearsome figure is played by Ray Park (Darth Maul in the first Star Wars prequel).

"He's the world's greatest ninja, but he's also next-generation. He's not afraid to use a sword one second, and a split-second later he's pulling out his Glock," says director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy and Van Helsing). "His chief nemesis is arguably the world's other great ninja, Storm Shadow. The two grew up together, were blood brothers and now are mortal enemies."

Channing Tatum (Step Up) plays all-American team leader Duke. Rachel Nichols (Alias) plays the crossbow-wielding Scarlett, Marlon Wayans is paratrooper Ripcord and Dennis Quaid is the commander, Hawk. On the evil-doer side, Sienna Miller plays the raven-haired Baroness, Christopher Eccleston is Destro, the arms dealer who hides behind a silver mask, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From the Sun, Brick) plays multiple roles, including the Cobra Commander.

Depending on which decade you grew up in, the name G.I. Joe can mean very different things. Hasbro initiated the G.I Joe line as 12-inch dolls in the 1960s, with generic figures representing the U.S. military branches.

The franchise was relaunched in the '80s with smaller action figures, new heroes featured in comic books and a popular after-school cartoon.

Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura also is overseeing this project. He says the appeal then, as now, is broad, across race and even gender. (G.I. Joe was one of the few toys for boys that had female characters.)

"There are quite a few characters in it, and almost certainly a character in which an audience member can see themselves, or want to be," he says.

Sommers stresses that the movie is an origins story, so his challenge is to explain why the bad guy wears a metal mask, why Snake Eyes doesn't talk and other strange things kids took for granted. "For people who know nothing about it, it'll make sense," Sommers says. "And to people who love this stuff, it'll show where they all came from."

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First Photo of G.I. Joe's Scarlett!
Source: JoBlo

First it was Snake Eyes, and now the second character from Paramount Pictures' G.I. Joe has been revealed. JoBlo has your first look at Rachel Nichols (P2, "Alias") as Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara in the Stephen Sommers-directed flick, coming to theaters on August 7, 2009.

[MacGuffin]

Super Bowl ad:

[private witt]

So the zinger line to close the trailer is Dennis Quade saying, "I didn't."  Whooo!  Watch out, America.  Badass alert!  LOL.  Next.

[Stefen]

It looks like it could be fun. The type where you get really stoned and go watch it on a Saturday afternoon and eat way too much popcorn.

[Kal]

Yeah, I never really got into G.I. JOE as a kid, but it looks fun

[private witt]

Makes me wonder how much the Pentagon was allowed to re-write the script in exchange for free hardware for the filmmakers to use in the film like they did in Iron Man and Transformers.  I always felt the cartoon was just a half hour recruitment tool for kids. 

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/12/pentagon-holl-1.html

[MacGuffin]

New Trailer

[RegularKarate]

Paul Scheer posted on his blog: "I applaud G.I Joe: The Movie's Marketing Campaign, because after seeing the trailer and now this poster it's really clear that if you spend 10 bucks to see it, it's YOUR fault."

[MacGuffin]

Rumor: Director Stephen Sommers has been fired from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Source: SciFi Wire

Has G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra director Stephen Sommers been fired only a couple of months before the film's release?

That's the rumor, based on a post by someone called "EndTimes" on the posting board of producer Don Murphy.

"After a test screening wherein the film tested the lowest score ever from an audience in the history of Paramount, the executive who pushed for the movie Brad Weston had Stephen Sommers, the super hack director of the film fired. Removed. Locked out of the editing room," the post said.

The studio has reportedly brought in Stuart Baird to edit the film into releasable shape, with Paramount's input.

We've put in a query to Paramount to find out whether there's any truth to this, so stay tuned ...

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is slated for release on Aug. 7.

[Stefen]

haha

[MacGuffin]

False rumor claims 'G.I.' director fired
Stephen Sommers was never let go from project
Source: Variety

One day you're directing one of the summer's biggest tentpoles, the next you're not. Depending on which websites you read.

Fan sites were in a lather Thursday, running with a rumor that originally appeared on a message board on producer Don Murphy's web site. The claim: Stephen Sommers was fired from Paramount's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

The report said the director had been banned from the editing room and that Stuart Baird was hired to re-edit the film after a string of poor test screenings.

According to the studio and the film's producer, however, none of that is true.

"In this day and age, we are constantly dealing with online rumors that take on a life of their own," says a Paramount spokeswoman. "We love Steve and couldn't be happier with the movie he made."

"G.I. Joe" producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has responded directly to websites saying, "It's very unfair to Steve. It's completely untrue. He was never asked to leave or been fired. That's ridiculous."

Murphy has since removed the posting from his Angry Films site.

Sommers was never let go from the project and is still putting the final touches on the actioner based on the popular Hasbro toyline. In fact, Sommers has final cut as part of his contract. It will be released Aug. 7.

[MacGuffin]

Paramount won't show 'Joe'
Studio denies critics a sneak peek
Source: Variety

It's the biggest movie of the summer that practically no one has seen.

"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" opens Friday, but Paramount Pictures isn't screening the blockbuster for critics beforehand. Only a select few writers from blogs and movie Web sites have seen it for review - such as Harry Knowles, the self-professed "Head Geek" from Ain't It Cool News - and their opinions have been mostly positive.

Instead, the studio says it's intentionally aiming the movie at the heartland, at cities and audiences outside the entertainment vortexes of New York and Los Angeles. Paramount held a screening Friday for 1,000 military service members and their families at Andrews Air Force Base; it's also focusing marketing efforts in places like Kansas City, Charlotte, N.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

While appealing to a sense of patriotism nationwide, the plan also is inspired by the disparity that existed between the critical trashing "Transformers: Rise of the Fallen" received and the massive crowds it drew at the box office.

"`G.I. Joe' is a big, fun, summer event movie - one that we've seen audiences enjoy everywhere from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to Phoenix, Ariz.," said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. "After the chasm we experienced with `Transformers 2' between the response of audiences and critics, we chose to forgo opening-day print and broadcast reviews as a strategy to promote `G.I. Joe.' We want audiences to define this film."

With a reported production budget of $175 million and a cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "G.I. Joe" follows the adventures of an elite team using high-tech spy and military equipment to take down a corrupt arms dealer. It comes from director Stephen Sommers, whose previous films include "The Mummy" and "Van Helsing."

Long before anyone saw the completed product, though, "G.I. Joe" drew mixed buzz at best for its trailer, which premiered during the Super Bowl. Now it's the final action picture of the summer - and it has a lot in common with the highest-grossing film so far this year, the "Transformers" sequel. Both are effects-laden spectacles based on Hasbro toys and both are Paramount releases from producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

"Transformers" has gone on to gross more than $388 million in the United States alone since its opening six weeks ago, despite receiving just 20 percent positive reviews on the Web site Rotten Tomatoes, a critical aggregator. The withholding of "G.I. Joe" from mainstream critics suggests that the studios believe they can succeed at the box office without them.

It's a tactic normally reserved for horror movies or other genre pictures with built-in fans who don't necessarily care about reviews - ones based on video games, for example - not summer blockbusters. Still, "G.I. Joe" has been tracking well because it represents the last big bang of the season, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

"They don't need (to screen) it and there's no upside to negative reviews. The film is going to open well no matter what," Dergarabedian said. "They're being very strategic in who they show the movie to. If they can win over their core audience from these reviews, that's good for the movie."

Devin Faraci from the film Web site CHUD.com is one of the few writers who have seen it for review purposes, and not just for junket interviews. He's among the critics who've contributed to the movie's 88-percent positive rating as tabulated by Rotten Tomatoes, saying: "If I was 10 years old, `G.I. Joe' would be one of the best movies I had ever seen."

Faraci said he was in Toronto recently when he received a phone call at 8:30 a.m. Los Angeles time, asking if he could come to the Paramount lot that day for a "G.I. Joe" screening. He flew back, got off the plane and headed right over.

"It's silly. It's a film that plays on its own terms," he said. "I don't think reviews will kill it but I think it'll get a more positive response than they expect. It's a big, silly, pulpy, cartoony action film and it makes no apologies for being that way."