When Will Smith announced that his production company would be remaking "The Karate Kid," he set off waves of speculation about how drastically he would break from Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita's original story.
Macchio went on record, saying that recreating the figure of Mr. Miyagi with Jackie Chan, let alone the rest of the story, would be a challenge. Smith assured everyone from the beginning that his new film would have "a Chinese adaptation to it," though, and new details about the script seem to confirm that it will head in a very new direction.
Rumored to be retitled "Kung Fu Kid," Smith will be keeping the original title, "The Karate Kid," according to Moviehole. Though the story reportedly has a similar cast of characters to the 1984 version, Smith's movie looks like it will re-contextualize the entire story with new cultural and possibly even racial undertones. Read more...
Recently at Sundance, we bumped into Eighties icon Ralph Macchio and brought you his first thoughts on Will Smith's upcoming “Karate Kid” remake. But while we played in the snow with the original Daniel-san, we were also eager to get his thoughts on the recent news that Mr. Miyagi is going to be played by…Jackie Chan?
“I don’t know,” sighed the now 47-year-old star, in town to promote his Slamdance flick “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead." “I think Jackie Chan, we all assumed that’s where they were going to go - unless they were thinking of just casting an unknown.” Read more...
We all know a "Karate Kid" remake starring Will Smith's son Jaden is coming. We all know that some people are unsure that this is a good thing. But still, even as the project has been rendered wobbly with controversy, Ralph Macchio refuses to sweep the leg.
“Listen, here’s my take on it," the 80's icon told MTV News on Sunday, making his first-ever public statements addressing the remake of the film that made him famous. "I think Jaden - you know, Will Smith’s kid - the kid’s got chops. He’s young; he’s like eleven...That story will work forever, when well-told. So, it makes sense in that respect." Read more...
Will Smith normally appears in action films that feature aliens and big explosions, but with his son Jaden's forthcoming starring role in a remake of the 'Karate Kid', the whole family may soon become synonymous with martial arts as well.
Though Smith Jr. is locked in for the Ralph Macchio role, a key character is yet to be cast, that of Daniel's wise sensei. "We don't have a Mr. Miyagi yet," Smith told MTV News. "There's a couple of people that we're really intrigued by, but I don't want to say any names because I'll be in trouble."
Interestingly, though the original movie was set in the United States, the new version will take place in China, and that means key characters will change with it. "We're making it with the China Film Group, so it'll be based in Beijing. Mr. Miyagi was originally Japanese, so there'll be a Chinese adaptation to it." Read more...
I think it's official -- if you were old enough to see "The Karate Kid" in theaters, Hollywood considers you ancient news, and your childhood memories up for grabs. It's the latest 80s movie to get the remake treatment, following in the wake of proposed updates of "Short Circuit," "Footloose," "Red Dawn," and "The Last Starfighter."
According to Variety, Jaden Smith, son of Will, is set to star as the next crane-kicking Karate Kid, confirming rumors that have swirled since September. The movie will be produced by Overbrook Entertainment, Smith's production shingle. No director has been named, but Chris Murphy is penning the script.
This "Karate Kid" will be decidedly more exotic. Rather than being set in sunny California, the film will be shot in Beijing and other foreign cities. Read more...
