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Monday, September 28
Dennis Quaid has already said he'll be there for a G.I. Joe sequel, but he wants even more to do.
I want to get out of the pit.... I want to ride a horse and shoot a gun. I want a horse with an accelerator suit.
Quaid was apparently impressed with G.I. Joe, saying director Stephen Sommers hit a "home run" with the first movie. While G.I. Joe was not a huge hit domestically, its opening weekend made $100 million worldwide, opening the door to a sequel.
Posted 9/28/2009 by Ryan
Related: Dennis Quaid | Stephen Sommers | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Tuesday, September 22
Sure, it had cheesy dialogue and ridiculous-looking effects, but G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra's $100-million opening weekend was enough for Paramount to grant director Stephen Sommers and company another "Go, Joe!"
The cast is ready to return, with Dennis Quaid telling io9:
Yeah if they do one, I'm there.
And Byung-hun Lee, who played Storm Shadow in G.I. Joe, is reportedly starting work on the sequel at the end of the year according to a Korean news source.
Top star Lee Byeong-Heon is in the new Hollywood film, G.I. Joe 2!
He will be starting the filming by the end of this year and has been contracted for the 3rd sequel, also!
No official word on whether Sommers is retuning for the sequel, though he has said that he would shoot his live-action Tarzan movie next "unless the studio wants a G.I. Joe sequel."
What will go down in G.I. Joe 2? Well, screenwriter Stuart Beattie has already given some hints.
Posted 9/22/2009 by Ryan
Related: Dennis Quaid | Lee Byung-heon | Stephen Sommers | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Friday, August 28
Movies based on '80s era toys are best approached with some caution and the same can be said about videogames based on movies, but what happens when you get a videogame based on a surprisingly decent movie that was based on a toy? Confused yet? We are too. Nonetheless, it was with this question in mind that we approached the videogame tie-in for G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra seemed like it had great potential when it first booted up. We were instantly reminded of a hybrid between the original Contra games and NES classics like Ikari Warriors and Gorilla. But after only the first six levels, we felt that we'd experienced everything the game had to offer, yet still had another 14 levels to go before completion. The game's biggest flaw was that it overstayed its welcome by being way too long. After unlocking Snake Eyes in the fourth level, no new elements were introduced. Playing as Snake Eyes was definitely the highlight of the game, but two levels later and that was dull, too. Instead of ramping up at this point to the climax, G.I. Joe just lingered on ... and on. At this point the game was just a repetition of the same rinse and repeat gameplay mixed with the same insipied one-liners over and over again.
Nonetheless, there's still a lot here for fans of the series and the movie. Its collectables are pretty awesome and the only thing that kept us going through the later levels. There are tons of characters to play as, even though they all essentially play the same. There are trading cards to collect for just about everything in the game, be it weapons, characters, vehicles, etc. Best of all, there's plenty of videos to watch that range from documentaries on how the music was created to the old PSAs from the cartoon. We couldn't help but smile while watching some of the classic childhood safety messages.
There's definitely something here to be enjoyed by series fans, but we couldn't help but think about what could have been and we suspect that the fans will feel the same way. G.I. Joe would've been great as a six level-downloadable title on XBLA or PSN, but as a twenty level full release it's just too much padding.
Posted 8/28/2009 by reelz
Related: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Thursday, August 13
Despite a spec script written by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra screenwriter Stuart Beattie that Steven Spielberg apparently loves, Microsoft told Kotaku that the movie is still "on hold":
We're glad there's still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie. That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.
Beattie told iF Magazine that in order for a Halo movie to be made that Microsoft needs a "a powerful filmmaker to give us those keys." Despite Spielberg's apparent interest, Microsoft say they have "nothing further to share with respect to plans regarding a Halo movie."
Looks like despite the players interested in Halo, the movie version is on pause.
Posted 8/13/2009 by Ryan
Related: Steven Spielberg | Halo | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Stuart Beattie
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Monday, August 10
While the final box office tally for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is far from counted, its big, $100-million opening weekend ($56.2 million dollars domestic and $44 million worldwide) gives some credence to the already announced possible sequel. Screenwriter Stuart Beattie told iF Magazine what the sequel might entail.
There are so many great characters and vehicles and storylines. There are endless ways to go. There are a bunch of characters I'd like to bring in like Shipwreck, Wild Bill, Major Blood and the Dreadnoughts. I would love to get Cobra Island in there. There's a bunch of stuff I would like to do if we were lucky enough to get a chance to do it again. It's up to the people at Paramount and how well it does.
Director Stephen Sommers has said that he will make the G.I. Joe sequel next should Paramount ask for one. As long as G.I. Joe doesn't have a tremendous box-office drop in the next few weeks, Joe may well get another "Go!"
Posted 8/10/2009 by Ryan
Related: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Stuart Beattie
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Sunday, August 9
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra | $56.2M | $56.2M | About 1/2 of Transformers 2's opening weekend take, but a shot in the arm to August box-office doldrums. |
| Julie and Julia | $20.1M | $20.1M | Cooking dramedy did decently in spite of just-so-so reviews. |
| G-Force | $9.8M | $86.1M | Animated family fare beats Potter two weeks in a row. |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | $8.8M | $273.8M | Potter running out of gas but will likely pass up Up as #2 earner for 2009. |
| Funny People | $7.9M | $40.4M | Large Week 2 dropoff as this Apatow movie quickly fades from memory. |
Bomb of the Week: For the past two weeks you couldn't watch TV without seeing an ad for A Perfect Getaway but it didn't matter. It made just $5.7M and had a lousy per-screen average. And here's the weird thing: it stars Milla Jovovich and apparently it doesn't totally suck.
Posted 8/9/2009 by reelz
Related: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Thursday, August 6
Orson Welles was a brilliant filmmaker, no one argues about that, but his masterpiece is usually considered to be Citizen Kane. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra's star Joseph Gordon Levitt took the route less travelled and chose a lesser-known, but no less great, Welles movie as his favorite. Check it out below:
Check back every Thursday, or on ReelzChannel television, for more of My Favorite Movie.
Posted 8/6/2009 by reelz
Related: Orson Welles | F for Fake | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Joseph Gordon Levitt
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An interview io9 had with Marlon Wayans revealed that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra wasn't the first comic book movie Wayans has been involved in, just the first one he was able to complete. Back in 1992, Wayans was cast as Robin for the sequel to Batman, only he was never used:
I was actually supposed to play Robin, in Batman Returns, about 15 years ago. But there was too many characters. I was cast, I was paid and everything. I still get residual checks. Tim Burton didn't wind up doing three, Joel Schumacher did it and he had a different vision for who Robin was. So he hired Chris O' Donnell.
Not that Wayans is at all bitter about it:
No, look — I get why they picked Chris O' Donnell, because it would be messed up to have Batman and you've got Robin, and his bulge is somewhat bigger than Batman's. Batman would have a serious problem with that.
Take that, O'Donnell! Little Man just owned you! In all seriousness, avoiding playing Robin, and eventually taking part in the embarrassing Batman And Robin, is a positive move, even for the guy from White Chicks.
Next Showing: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra opens Friday
Posted 8/6/2009 by Ryan
Related: Marlon Wayans | Chris O'Donnell | Batman Returns | Batman Forever | Batman & Robin | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Director Stephen Sommers' live-action adaptation of the toy, comic book, and cartoon property G.I. Joe is only a day away, and in anticipation MTV has strung together this series of clips that highlight the great "toys" that the Joes use in their battle against Cobra, specifically, the Delta 6 Accelerator Suit.
This comes right after a viral video was released showing a Joe skateboarding in a Delta 6 Accelerator Suit.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra stars Dennis Quaid as Hawk, Channing Tatum as Duke, Sienna Miller as Baroness, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander.
Next Showing: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra opens August 7
Posted 8/6/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Stephen Sommers | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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Wednesday, August 5
Critics trashed Paramount Pictures' Transformers 2 back in June, and in return Paramount is extending a large middle finger to the movie critic community by not screening the flick before it opens on Friday. Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore was wonderfully blunt about the studio's decision:
G.I. Joe is a big, fun, summer event movie — one that we've seen audiences enjoy everywhere from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to Phoenix, Ariz. After the chasm we experienced with Transformers 2 between the response of audiences and critics, we chose to forgo opening-day print and broadcast reviews as a strategy to promote G.I. Joe. We want audiences to define this film.
OK then. In the meantime, some select non-traditional outlets have seen the movie and so far, so good:
"G.I. Joe may not be a great movie, but it sure is a hoot and a half, just make sure to find that inner child in you that still likes to play pretend."
— Jimmy0, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
"If I was 10 years old, G.I. Joe would be one of the best movies I had ever seen. As a grown up it's one of the better summer movies; a delightfully light, fun and action-packed kick in the ass."
— Devin Faraci, CHUD
"A big-budget popcorn flick worthy of escapist fun."
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
"This cartoonish flick is not as cheesy or silly as [director] Sommers' former work (The Mummy, Van Helsing), but it's like a long, noisy, relentlessly violent videogame lacking plot and character, with the robot-like actors marginal in the overall design."
— Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com
Check back here Friday morning when ReelzChannel's Travis Oscarson gets the First Fans reaction.
Posted 8/5/2009 by reelz
Related: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra