G.I. Joe

No Ticket

New member
I just found out they're making a G.I. Joe movie! But "A Real American Hero" you won't find anywhere around this project, look what I found at IGN:

Who needs A Real American Hero? Not Paramount or Hasbro it seems. The studio's live-action feature film version of G.I. Joe will no longer revolve around a top-secret U.S. special forces team but rather an international operation.

In a follow-up to their confirmation that Stephen Sommers will direct G.I. Joe, Variety offers this new description of the team: "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."

Wow. A Real Globally Integrated Hero! Can we assume that this "double-crossing Scottish arms dealer" is Destro since he was one in the comics? And does that mean there will be no Cobra Commander in it?

So why the changes? Hasbro and Paramount execs recently spoke about the challenges of marketing a film about the U.S. military at a time when the current U.S. administration and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are at a low-point in global polls. When a studio makes a film as expensive as G.I. Joe will likely be, they want to know that as many people as possible around the world will want to see it. In other words, G.I. Joe -- "A Real American Hero" -- is a tough sell.


... if you ask me, this means the movie is probably gonna suck. Maybe such a change isn't seen as a dumb idea to some people, but when you change a major part of a property like that, I think your just setting yourself up for failure.
 

Kingsley

Member
Nontheless it could be a good marketing movement, it's true that everything related to US army forces outside the United States can be seen at least with distrust.

In my case, whenever a movie teaser shows me the US military forces in a Mtv way, or a too melodramatic way, I smell propaganda.
I know its shooting before asking, but thats the way I get used to approach to a war film when I dont know who is behind it, and when abstract values such as "honor" are proclaimed in favor of a nation. No matter what nation.
 

Don Karnage

New member
aw dude this will be sweet! they can have meetings and conferences, send inter office emails. maybe even hold press conferences! and they can talk about the challenges of working in the joint environment, the cultural differences, the challenges of getting funding from their parent countries. I hope they focus on Sam Sup-O (my fav integrated hero (who just happens to be, by pure coincidence, of a mixed race background and is in no way intended by the studio to make a cultural point), since everyone knows that supply is where the *real* action takes place. No one ever won a war without supplies to do so. (y)

and as far as getting rid of Cobra Commander... Great idea! i mean, since when has there ever been any good villians where you couldnt see their face? it like, never happens.

on a more personal note, i hope to see Van Damme in this one. Only his superior acting skillz (yes, with a 'z') can take this movie to the next level. AND HES BELGIAN! so it fits!

golly, i sure wish i were as smrt as those hollywood execs. they really do have their finger on the pulse of the world. :whip:
 

Niteshade007

New member
I never understood the draw to G.I. Joe, he was basically a Barbie doll.

I don't really care about the change. Personally, I think it's a good marketing strategy because it makes it seem like it won't be American propaganda.
 

No Ticket

New member
It's stupid to change it just to not "offend" other countries. That's a form of censorship if you ask me. G.I. Joe has always been about the American military and the term "G.I." was even conceived by it. That's history folks, that's not fiction. To change it is to just ignore history.

But I see... let's make everybody happy right... make it a global organization. It's not like it was important to the characterization of the entire series or anything. I'm sure it will still be a great movie.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
I'd consider seeing it. Have to prepare for it though. Start off the day with a body massage, grab a porkchop sandwich for lunch, drop off my computer for some help, and then maybe after the movie stop off at a club for some fresh beats before retiring to bed in my flame-retardant pajamas.
 

IndySeven

New member
I was kinda hoping that they'd stay true to the original 1960's U.S. Military themed line. A movie based on that line would be pretty realistic and good!(y)
 

fixer79

New member
G.I.Joe movie (2009)

I wonder what you guys 'n gals' thoughts are on the upcoming G.I.Joe movie.
Not very much is know about it, only that it will be directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns) and that it will star the relatively unknown actress Sienna Miller as The Baroness and martial artist Ray Park (Star Wars' Darth Maul, X-Men's Toad and Sleepy Hollow's Headless Horseman) as Snake Eyes.

Personally, I'm looking forward to this attempt to bring the Joes to the silver screen. I've been a big G.I. Joe nut when I was a kid. I was a card-carrying member of the Belgian club and everything. I even sent them a letter once, asking for my favourite Joes' autographs and I actually got them ;)
Anyway, I think Sommers could pull it off...
I don't really have an opinion about Miller as The Baroness. Sure, she's a pretty lass, but I haven't seen any of her work, so I can't really judge her...
Maybe they should've cast an older actress though... It's hard to imagine The Baroness being younger than me :)

Ray Park as the enigmatic Snake Eyes makes kind of sense. I mean, it's right up his alley, isn't it?
Yet sadly for the Scottish actor, his face will not be seen yet again... ;)

Oh yeah- at one point in the film's pre-production, the G.I.Joe base was going to be set in Brussels, Belgium. Sadly for me and lucky for you Americans, the idea has been dropped... :(

Thoughts anyone?

YO JOE,

Cliff
 

Michael24

New member
I'm really hoping this will make up for the disaster that was Transformers.

I'm glad the Brussels idea was dropped. G.I. Joe should remain based in American like it always has been. I recently heard that they will be keeping The Pit after all, so I was glad to read that. I was very afraid earlier this year when I read that Marky Mark was connected to the film to play Duke(!!), but thankfully I read that he has another film that starts shooting in February, so that effectively keeps him away from this project, which really puts my mind at ease. Personally, I think actor Colin Ferguson (currently the star of Sci-Fi Channel's EUREKA) would be a perfect Duke. He looks almost just like the animated version.

I always imagined Famken Janssen as The Baroness. I'm unfamiliar with Sienna Miller, but at this point, it could have been worse.

I'm really looking forward to this movie. I'm a huge Stephen Sommers fan, though I'm a tad disappointed he won't be writing. I always enjoy how creative his scripts are. Hopefully, this one will be just as good, though. And composer Alan Silvestri is set to re-team with Sommers on the score, which is just too cool. (For years, I figured the Silvestri-scored The Delta Force was the closest we'd ever get to a G.I. Joe movie.) Hopefully, they'll incorporate the iconic theme music into the score as well. I think they said they were going to do the same with the Transformers music, but I don't recall hearing it's theme anywhere in the film.)
 

sunshinestate1992

New member
Michael24 said:
I'm really hoping this will make up for the disaster that was Transformers.

I'm glad the Brussels idea was dropped. G.I. Joe should remain based in American like it always has been. I recently heard that they will be keeping The Pit after all, so I was glad to read that. I was very afraid earlier this year when I read that Marky Mark was connected to the film to play Duke(!!), but thankfully I read that he has another film that starts shooting in February, so that effectively keeps him away from this project, which really puts my mind at ease. Personally, I think actor Colin Ferguson (currently the star of Sci-Fi Channel's EUREKA) would be a perfect Duke. He looks almost just like the animated version.

I always imagined Famken Janssen as The Baroness. I'm unfamiliar with Sienna Miller, but at this point, it could have been worse.

I'm really looking forward to this movie. I'm a huge Stephen Sommers fan, though I'm a tad disappointed he won't be writing. I always enjoy how creative his scripts are. Hopefully, this one will be just as good, though. And composer Alan Silvestri is set to re-team with Sommers on the score, which is just too cool. (For years, I figured the Silvestri-scored The Delta Force was the closest we'd ever get to a G.I. Joe movie.) Hopefully, they'll incorporate the iconic theme music into the score as well. I think they said they were going to do the same with the Transformers music, but I don't recall hearing it's theme anywhere in the film.)

u didnt like tansformers it sounds like becuase its for everybody not just hardcore fans
 

Michael24

New member
Not to sidetrack the thread, but no, I didn't like Transformers. I thought it took way too long for the majority of the bots to show up, and when they finally did, it felt like all of them except Bumblebee were relegated to supporting character roles and comedic relief. Plus, the villain is absent from the action until nearly the final ten minutes of the movie, and then his whole character is basically reduced to "Me, Megatron! Me smash!" Also thought the subplots, with the computer hackers and the military team treking through the desert, were boring and too distracting from the main storyline. And the ending was lame in that the government "covered up" what really happened in downtown L.A. Like they could cover up the fact giant robots destroyed seemingly half the city in a fight that had thousands of witnesses running about for cover.

Yeah, I didn't like Transformers at all. I don't think I'd been that disappointed by a movie since maybe Batman Begins.
 

indy34

New member
I refused to watch transformers because I thought of those crappy Japanese cartoons of transformers but I eventually saw it and it was good.(y)
 

fixer79

New member
In case you guys forgot who The Baroness or Snake Eyes were and because I'm such a nice guy :)rolleyes: ), I've made you actor/character comparison pictures...

miller.jpg


park.jpg


Personally, I always envisioned Greek singer Nana Mouskouri as the perfect
Baroness...
Behold!

nanam.jpg


Y'see? Am I right?
Sadly, Nana is 73 years old now. If only they'd thought of making a G.I.Joe movie sooner...
:p
 

Niteshade007

New member
I just found out that one of the major characters (I think his name is Duke) went to my high school. He graduated a year before I entered, I believe, but it was a small school, so everyone who was older than us knew him. He was also in a Mountain Dew commercial and that cinema masterpiece Step Up, which surely you all will remember as the film that was snubbed by the Oscars that year.

It is cool though to have gone to the same school as someone who is in movies. I have several friends who also know Britney Snow, the actress from Hairspray and the upcoming Prom Night. She and I share the same birthday too, only she's a year or two older.
 

Michael24

New member
I'm getting so jazzed for this movie! I can't believe that a live action G.I. Joe is finally happening, and I think the first day of shooting is set for February 15. I've not been disappointed with any of the casting news. Heck, Dennis Quaid and Arnold Vosloo just came on board a couple weeks ago. Woo-hoo! I know what movie I'm going to be eagerly anticipating in 2009 more than any other. :whip:
 

Indy Smith

New member
I always thought GI Joe was the the name of the lead character :D You can tell I never had or watched GI Joe as a child.
 

Michael24

New member
G.I. Joe was originally a lone character when first introduced in the '60s. In the early-80s, Hasbro revamped the toyline and G.I. Joe was now the codename of an elite special missions force, with various members having their own codenames. G.I. Joe now tackled a new threat in the form of Cobra, a worldwide terrorist organization determine to take over the world. (What else? :D ) This line was known as "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero."

In a rather creative move, Hasbro later retroactively worked the original G.I. Joe (whose name was revealed as Joe Colton) into the new "American Hero" continuity by revealing he had been the original "special mission force" and sort of laid the ground work for what would later become the Joe team in the '80s.

I see you were born in '82, so you were only about a year old when the "new" G.I. Joe came out starting in 1983. All the info you ever wanted to know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe :D

And correction: the movie started shooting just this past Monday. Oooh, I'm so excited!! :whip:
 

Indy Smith

New member
hey Michael, thanks for the info. I never caught GI Joe. Cartoons i was into as a child that remember were Thundercats, He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and a few more. I can't even say I truly remember Transformers except maybe having a few toys :(
 

Michael24

New member
I was into all of those as well. THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS and HE-MAN started around the same time as G.I. JOE, so I'm not sure how you missed it. :)
 
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