Today marks a joyful anniversary for action movie fans and a rather unpleasant one for gun control advocates. Exactly 90 years ago, Mikhail Kalashnikov, the man who invented the AK-47 assault rifle, was born in a small Siberian village. If we can, though, let us put aside the AK's bloody legacy on the battlefield and focus on all the badassery the weapon has unleashed on the big screen.
Whether they're battling Russians, trading in black market goods or bang-bang-banging their way through the city streets, movie characters have embraced the trusty AK or later variants like the AKM or SKS. And we, in turn, have embraced those bullet-spewing beauties. Here are some of our cinematic favs (click the image above to check out our AK-47 flipbook gallery)... Read more...
Some people remember “Red Dawn” as an Eighties classic powered by Cold War paranoia. Others think back to recent events and recall that it was one of the greatest films in the career of recently-deceased Patrick Swayze. Still others may remember it as the first movie to ever be released with a PG-13 rating.
The truth is, it’s all of the above. And now, it’s also a remake.
“I’m working on ‘Red Dawn’ right now, up in Michigan,” explained “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” star Josh Hutcherson when we caught up with him recently. “It’s going great. We blew up all of downtown Detroit last week. It was pretty epic.” Read more...
I loved "Red Dawn" as a kid, and in the section of my brain where I'm eternally an eight-year-old watching sci-fi re-runs on a crappy TV in the basement rec room, I still do. I'm just not sure it's held up so well over the years. Great story – the Soviets invade Middle America, Patrick Swayze and his friends fight back – but by today's standards, the action feels a little soft, the special effects kind of cheesy.
Which is why I'm pumped to see "Red Dawn" getting the remake treatment: big Hollywood budget, same great story, albeit with Communist China joining in as antagonists. Similarly, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who signed onto the project a few weeks ago, has fond memories of the original and looks forward to what modern moviemaking magic can bring to the equation. Read more...
Anybody who is watching "Watchmen" actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan's career will surely tell you the same thing -- the man's keeping busy. Already filming "The Losers" and hoping for a role in "Lobo," Morgan will soon sign on the dotted line for yet another well-known franchise.
According to Variety, Morgan is nearly set to star in "Red Dawn," the modern update of the 1984 classic. The new version is directed by Dan Bradley from a screenplay by Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore.
The new "Red Dawn" focuses on a group of teenagers that form a guerrilla resistance against Chinese and Russian soldiers that have invaded the United States. Morgan is set to play the leader of a U.S. Special Forces team that discovers the teenage freedom fighters.
Aside from Morgan, "Red Dawn" stars "Star Trek" actor Chris Hemsworth and "The Wackness" lead Josh Peck as Jed and Matt Eckert, the two brothers previously played by Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen in the first film. The on-screen collision of Hemsworth and Morgan represents a clash of different comic book properties -- Hemsworth is starring in "Thor" for Marvel, while Morgan's already featured in the aforementioned "Watchmen" and "The Losers."
Personally, I kind of wish that Morgan was playing Jed and Matt's father, a role that "Lost" actor Brett Cullen is allegedly playing. Morgan's portrayed the rough-and-tough type before, so his turn as a Special Forces commando feels a bit typecast in my opinion.
Then again, he's played the fatherly type on "Supernatural" and "Weeds," as well. I guess I just want to hear Morgan shout "Avenge me!!!" when "Red Dawn" hits theaters next year. Is that so wrong?
Does Morgan's casting make you more interested in "Red Dawn," or would you rather him play a different character in the film? Are you nervous at the prospect of the remake? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
How awesome is it that we're getting a remake of "Red Dawn"? Seriously. Put aside your kneejerk -- and very natural -- prejudice against the rising number of remakes and just think about that for a second. The original served up an alternate-present 1980s in which Cold War-era Soviet forces invade America. A group of Midwestern teenagers take up arms against the aggressors, operating under the name of their high school football team, Wolverines. Included in this group are stars Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen and C. Thomas Howell. Damn. Straight.
How is an idea like that not screaming for a remake? It's already been confirmed that "Thor" and "Star Trek" star Chris Hemsworth will be stepping into Swayze's Jed Eckert role. Now The Hollywood Reporter reveals that "The Wackness" star Josh Peck and "Friday Night Lights" star Adrianne Palicki have also joined the cast. Read more...
