The Green Hornet is an upcoming 2011 superhero film, based on the character of the same name that had originated in a 1930s radio program and has appeared in movie serials, a television series, comic books and other media. Directed by Michel Gondry, the film stars Seth Rogen, who co-wrote the screenplay with Evan Goldberg. Supporting actors include Jay Chou as Kato, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz, Edward Furlong, Edward James Olmos, David Harbour and Tom Wilkinson. The film is scheduled to be released in North America and the United Kingdom on January 14, 2011 and in Australia on January 20, 2011, which will also include RealD Cinema and IMAX
PREMISE
Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), the son of wealthy newspaper publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson), is a ne'er do well playboy who inherits a media empire after his father dies. One day, he meets an employee named Kato (Jay Chou), who is more than he appears. After realizing how he and Kato are not using their abilities to the fullest, Britt decides that the two should become crimefighters, taking on the identity of the Green Hornet. With the help of his new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), Britt discovers that Russian criminal Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) controls the city's criminal underworld. Meanwhile, Chudnofsky, paranoid that he is losing his edge as a crime boss, has united all of the gangs of the city and seeks the Green Hornet, believing him to be a direct threat to his elaborate grand plan.
CAST
Seth Rogen, as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet, a wealthy newspaper publisher who is secretly the masked crimefighter The Green Hornet.
Jay Chou, as Kato, the Green Hornet's valet and sidekick, who is proficient in martial arts.
Christoph Waltz as Benjamin Chudnofsky, a paranoid Russian gangster who plans to join all of the crime families of Los Angeles together to organize a "super-mafia."[1] Nicolas Cage was originally cast, but dropped out during the first week of filming over creative differences with Rogen and director Michel Gondry. "The Green Hornet was something that I wanted to do," the actor explained, "I think Michel Gondry is very talented and I had hoped it would work but I think Seth Rogen and Michel had a different take on the character."
Cameron Diaz, as Lenore "Casey" Case, the love interest of Reid.
Tom Wilkinson as James Reid, Britt's wealthy father and successful newspaper publisher, who does not approve of Britt's playboy lifestyle. James is killed, leading Britt to inherit his newspaper empire.
Edward James Olmos as Mike Axford
Analeigh Tipton as Ana Lee
David Harbour as D.A. Frank Scanlon
Edward Furlong as Tupper
Jeffrey Ng as Karate Master
The filmmakers had wanted Van Williams, who played the Green Hornet in the 1960s television series, to make a cameo appearance as a cemetery guard, but Williams was unavailable.
DEVELOPMENT
Variety reported in October 1992 the Green Hornet was one of the properties represented by Leisure Concepts Inc., for which the trade paper said, without explanation, "rights in limbo"[4] but for which negotiations were ongoing with Universal Pictures.[5] By September 1993, Chuck Pfarrer had finished the screenplay.[6] Rich Wilkes was hired to rewrite Pfarrer's script, which resulted in[citation needed] George Clooney signing a pay-or-play contract. Clooney dropped out in December 1995 to star in Batman and Robin, and an anonymous source at Universal told Entertainment Weekly the following May that Greg Kinnear was being looked at for the title role.[7] Jason Scott Lee by this time had signed on to co-star as Kato.[7] Universal hired music video director Michael Gondry in January 1997 for his feature film directional debut.[8] Gondry rewrote the Wilkes screenplay with Edward Neumeier, saying that "after one-and-a-half years, it was shelved by the studio. . . . We already had the designs for the cars, the weapons. . . .[9] Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin had been signed on to produce by January 1997.[8] Mark Wahlberg was offered the lead role,[10] but the film languished in development hell and Gondry eventually left.
In April 2000, Universal entered early negotiations with Jet Li to star as Kato[11] for $5.2 million against 5% of the film's gross.[12] Dark Horse Entertainment and Charles Gordon joined Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin as producers.[11] Christopher McQuarrie was writing a script by June 2000, [12] but with it uncompleted by October, Li moved on to work on The One while remaining attached to The Green Hornet..[13] After spending about $10 million in development since 1992, Universal put The Green Hornet in turnaround in November 2001, by which time Li and the producers were no longer involved. Paramount and Columbia Pictures showed interest in picking up Universal's option, but Miramax Films won the bidding that month with what Variety reported as "a deal approaching $3 million."[14] In May 2003 the studio was working with automobile companies on product placement opportunities for the Black Beauty. As part of the deal, Miramax would receive its "hero car" and $35 million in additional marketing. The car company that would have landed the deal would be given the chance to help develop The Green Hornet, since a script had yet to be written and no director was attached to the planned 2005 release. Variety noted this figure would have tied the record $35 million deal between Ford Motor Company and MGM that featured the company's Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XKR, and Ford Thunderbird in the James Bond film Die Another Day.
In February 2004, Miramax president Harvey Weinstein hired cult filmmaker and comic book writer Kevin Smith to write and direct the film, based on their previous four-film collaborations. "I dig the fact that he kicked off a run of billionaire playboys who decided to put on a mask and fight crime and that he was Batman before there was a Batman," Smith said. "I always said I'd never do a superhero film, based on my limited experience writing on Superman Lives and having to answer to the studio, Jon Peters, the comics company and eventually a director. Then there's a fandom that gets up in arms if you even try to stray from their character. Here, there is simplicity in the character and the situation."[16] Jon Gordon and Hannah Minghella were now on as producers, with Harold Berkowitz and George Trendle, son of the character's co-creator, as executive producers.
Smith approached Jake Gyllenhall for the lead role in March 2004.[17] In mid-November of that year, he said he had written about 100 pages, and estimated another 100 to come.[18] In February 2006, Smith's official website noted, "Kevin officially no longer has anything to do with the Fletch or Green Hornet projects.[19] Smith went on to write the Dynamite Entertainment comic book Green Hornet, which has run 11 issues as of late 2010.
In March 2007, producer Neal H. Moritz, who had been trying to acquire the film rights to the character for years, obtained the rights and through his Sony-based production company Original Film optioned them to Columbia Pictures.[22] In July 2007 Seth Rogen, in addition to starring in the lead role, was hired to co-write the script with frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg. Columbia also hired Rogen as an executive producer for The Green Hornet. Rogen in July 2007 said he had not begun writing the screenplay yet, but anticipated the tone would be that of "a buddy action movie" with humor, "like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hrs..[24] In September 2008, Columbia Pictures announced A June 25, 2010, release date, and that Hong Kong action star Stephen Chow had signed on to direct and to co-star as Kato. Chow, a fan of the TV show as a kid, explained, "The idea of stepping into Bruce Lee's shoes as Kato is both humbling and thrilling, and to get the chance to direct the project as my American movie debut is simply a dream come true."[25] Chow dropped out as director the following December over creative differences.[26] On February 24, 2009, Columbia Pictures announced that Michael Gondry would direct the film, on which Chow had remained as Kato,[27] after impressing Columbia production presidents Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach with his pitch.[28] Gondry had previously been involved with The Green Hornet when Universal Pictures was planning its version in 1997.
Chow dropped out as Kato in July 2009 over scheduling conflicts other projects.[29] By this time the release date had been pushed to July 9, 2010.[29] In August, he was replaced with Taiwanese singer-actor Jay Chou.[30] The studio was then in early talks with Nicolas Cage to play the gangster villain, and Cameron Diaz was negotiating to play researcher and love interest Lenore Case.
PRODUCTION
Producer Neal H. Moritz considered filming The Green Hornet in Detroit, Michigan; New York City and Louisiana, but ultimately chose Los Angeles, California, as the primary location shooting. "Ultimately, we made the decision, and thankfully the studio agreed with us, that the creative positives of shooting in Los Angeles outweighed the tax incentives offered to us elsewhere," Moritz said.[31] Principal photography began at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California on September 2, 2009 for one week. Filming then moved to Chinatown, Los Angeles for scenes featuring Kato's apartment. Through November, other locations included Sun Valley, Holmby Hills, Bel-Air, Hawthorne and various locations downtown, including City Hall and the Los Angeles Times Building, which stands in for the newspaper where Britt Reid works.
The production modified 29 Chrysler Imperials from model years 1964 to 1966 to portray the Green Hornet's luxurious supercar, the Black Beauty.
RELEASE
Columbia replaced the film's June 26, 2010, release date with Grown Ups, which moved The Green Hornet to July 9, 2010.[33] Sony then scheduled the film for December 22, 2010, before announcing on April 23, 2010, that it was pushing the movie to January 14, 2011, to secure more time to convert it to 3D.
In July 2009, Sony Pictures presented a panel at San Diego Comic-Con International, where Seth Rogen and director Michel Gondry unveiled the first look for the Black Beauty.[35] The first trailer was released online on June 24, 2010,[citation needed] and was attached to screenings of The Town, Grown Ups, Salt, The Other Guys, The Expendables, Machete, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Red, Skyline, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and Tron Legacy.[citation needed] In the UK, the trailer was attached with showings of The Social Network and Tron: Legacy.
MERCHANDICING
Factory Entertainment produced six-inch action figures and a die cast Black Beauty, among other collectibles.[citation needed] Hollywood Collectibles has made a full-size prop gas gun replica.[citation needed] Mezco Toyz has made a set of 12-inch action figures, with the prototypes donated to the Museum of the Moving Image.
The studio and CKE Restaurants, Inc., the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, formed a promotional marketing partnership that included commercials featuring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou in character as the Green Hornet and Kato; a beverage promotion with Dr Pepper; The Green Hornet food items, kids' meal toys, and employee uniforms; and a contest with the grand prize of a Black Beauty car from the film.
PROMOTION
Discovery Channel television show MythBusters aired a "Green Hornet Special" that featured Seth Rogen joining the hosts in testing two myths from the movie.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Hornet_(2011_film)
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