The Dawn of a New Red Dawn but Will it Be a Good One for MGM
There Are Some Movies that Ought to Not Be Remade. is Red Dawn One of Them
MGM Studios decided to remake the movie for release in 2010, with a changed scenario in that this time it would be the Chinese who were invading the USA. However, production of the remake of Red Dawn was called to a halt due to lack of money when MGM went bankrupt.
Now the movie has been given the green light and is due for release in 2011, however according to Movie Web News, the movie's producer Tripp Vinson has issued a statement to the effect that the identity of the villains in the movie has been changed, which according to the press release will make the movie more current politically as well as scarier.
The original 1984 version of Red Dawn was set during the Cold War era, when even though it was highly unlikely, Americans still feared the possibility that the Soviet Union might invade the USA. Whether the scenario was realistic or not, the topic makes for a good adventure movie, especially with a group of teenagers as the saviors or the nation.
For the remake, however, the Chinese were chosen as the bad guys, and with the expansion of China, especially their military forces, this is a workable scenario, assuming that the invasion of the American mainland would be as much of a shock as was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
However, since the remake of the movie was shot, for both political and financial reasons, according to producer Tripp Vinson, the storyline has changed so that now the North Koreans are the bad boys who are invading the USA, and while given the size of North Korea this is unlikely, with a regime like they have in North Korea, anything is possible.
Another big factor in the decision to change the baddies from the Chinese to the North Koreans is the huge Chinese market. Since the Chinese viewing market is huge, MGM did not want to risk offending the Chinese by making them appear to be the bad guys in this movie.
The last few weeks has seen a team of technicians digitally editing the movie, to replace the Chinese insignia in every scene by that of North Korea. Certain scenes have also been revised to reflect the new scenario.
The original 1984 version starred Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen in some of their earlier roles. The remade storyline still has a number of the same characters as follows:
Jed Eckert (Patrick Swayze) is now played by Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway, and upcoming movies Thor, The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers).
Robert (C. Thomas Howell) is now played by Josh Hutcherson (Kicking And Screaming, Bridge to Terabithia, Firehouse Dog, The Kids Are All Right).
Matt Eckert (Charlie Sheen) is to be played by Josh Peck (The Wackness, Wild About Harry).
Erica (Lea Thompson) will now be played by Isabel Lucas (Home And Away, Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen).
Toni (Jennifer Grey) has been replaced by Adrianne Palicki (CSI, North Shore, South Beach, CSI Miami, Lone Star).
The big question that is on everybody's lips is "Is a remake of Red Dawn likely to be a hit or a flop at the box office?"
Given that movies where the kids save America usually go down pretty well with teenagers, this could well be set to be a hit at the box office, but will their parents like it or shun it, like many remakes. I guess we will all find out later this year when the movie is released. On a fairly low budget of $75 million the movie will at least hopefully break even.
Sources:
Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
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16 Comments
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I liked the original, there's no need to ever remake it but, then again, every remake I've ever seen has always been worse, so this will an easy one to avoid :)
Good one Tony!
Excellent article as always. Thanks!
I never saw the original. Remakes are never usually as good!
I loved the original, and like Bev suggests, I would probably try too hard to compare them to enjoy the remake. For the same reason, I have yet to see the new "True Grit."
Interesting - excellent recap.
I don't think I ever saw the original version. It doesn't sound like something I'd pay to see.
I haven't seen the original, but it seems that the remakes rarely hold up.
I, too, wish they'd leave some of the original versions alone. I liked the old Red Dawn. It seems once you a movie that makes a big impression on you, it's hard to to see it with other stars. You're always comparing and that could be distracting.