At the Pineapple Express panel at Comic-Con 2008, fans could not stop raving about Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s highly anticipated big screen re-intro of The Green Hornet. We knew the duo had targeted Hong Kong star Steven Chow (Shoalin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) to play Kato, the Green Hornet’s manservant (originally played by the legendary Bruce Lee!). It was bound to happen; it’s happened; and some more!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steven Chow has been cast as Kato, but not only this, the Rogen/Goldberg duo said, let’s have him direct it also! “I’m excited to be taking on The Green Hornet—obviously I’ve been a huge fan of the show since I was a kid,” Chow expressed. Bruce Lee was so popular as Kato in the original TV series (1966) that Hong Kong renamed the show as The Kato Show when broadcast there. “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,” he continued.
It looks like Steven Chow will be following in the Chinese crossover to Hollywood tradition that Bruce Lee started. The God of Gamblers series starring Chow and crossover star Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Anna and the King, The Replacement Killers) is one of my favorite childhood films. I imitated the God of Gambler’s magic throughout my teenage years crying, “I am Dǔshén!” And thus came my addiction for dark chocolate as well.
Like all of you, I can’t wait. The Green Hornet is set to hit theaters June 25, 2010.
I don’t know what comic con you attended but I do not recall “fans could not stop raving…”
In reality fans could not be more disappointed in the comedic direction of this film and the blatant disregard for what the character is really about.
Hopefully Chow will respect the role the legend Bruce Lee played and insist on a faithful role. As I don’t recall Lee ever playing a comedy role.
Lets look at some facts that have been overlooked or pushed under the rug by SOOO many in Hollywood.
1. The character predated Batman and the ONLY tie in was in 1966 when the same producer for the TV show did the TV Green Hornet. That is it.
2. The Character is not a superhero, he has no super powers, no super villains, and he is at best a masked crime fighter. Really he is no different than any TV/Film crime fighter except he happens to have a secret identity.
3. The Character did not come from the comic world; comics only explored their version of the story after the radio show was already established. The later 90′s Comic series further explored an alternate universe of the Green Hornet world. Not too uncommon for the comic world but not congruent with the characters true origins and world.
4. The character is a hard driving young (33 years old) successful businessman who is dedicated to fight crime in his community and wherever it occurs. NOT a lazy billionaire playboy! That is pure recent media hype.
5. He is seen as a criminal in the criminal world so law enforcement is always after him. The criminals hate him because they fear him, Kato, and the Black Beauty.
6. The Green Hornet is a brilliant strategist and foils his foes in a well played out mental chess game (SEE Jason Borne or James Bond) Kato assists in strategy, weapons development and construction, and muscle when needed. Kato is essential in the mix.
5. The Green Hornet is fully capable in hand-to-hand combat in most every situation. He has a totally different style than Kato. He is in top physical condition.
6. Kato is fully competent in any situation of combat. He is so confident that his attitude comes across as smug. But make no mistake he takes crime fighting and combat very seriously. It would be a very rare occurrence if he were bested in hand-to-hand combat.
7. The TV series was canceled because the producer was not allotted enough TV time to further develop the character. ABC only allowed 30m and Dozier insisted on 60m for the second season. He attempted to prove his point with several 2-parters in the first season. ABC refused the extra time so Dozier canceled the series. How do I know this? Because I am looking at the focus study and Nielsen reports in my hand right now. The series actually did better than Batman in focus study reports! And Batman was HUGE in 1966.
8. Production costs were out of control on Batman (A Huge hit) and budgets were getting tight so this was also a factor in sidelining the Green Hornet.
9. It is often brought up that Michael Keaton is/was a comedic actor and he did well at Batman in 1989. One must realize that Keaton worked as Batman because he has shown he an actor that has depth and intensity. It makes no difference that he was in a comedic role prior. He was/is capable of VERY serious roles and can portray a very dark character, which is needed for the Dark Knight. Same goes for Robin Williams as The Joker or Riddler. He has proven himself in serious roles and can also be a believable villain that can also be very dark. Can Seth?
10. The Green Hornet does not exist in the DC or Marvel comic’s universe.
11. Seth has in the past said this will be a comedy then said it will be an action film just like Pineapple Express , so who knows what he/they will decide on.
(Pineapple Express actually shown little impressive action scenes.)
12.The French have done an excellent interpretation in their short film located here. http://www.lefrelonvert-court.com/
13. There was actually a plan for the Green Hornet to have a feature film in 1967. It was dropped because the series was dropped, plain and simple.
14. Batman was NEVER the Dark night until much later in his genesis. The 60’s TV interpretation was not far off from the comics of the day. The Dark Knight came much later!
They were able to hold the elements together for Spider-man, Fantastic Four, Elektra, Daredevil, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Batman, Superman, Punisher, Blade so why not do the same for the Green Hornet? The Hornet is more like a Jason Borne, or a James Bond without the MI5-CIA connection. Hard fighting, mental strategy game, interesting gadget technology.
Anything less than what the character is or was created to be is just a slap in the face to all of fandom and aficionados of the genre. People do not want something different they want something familiar but updated to take advantage of the wonderful film technology we have today.
Look for inspiring films to model off of like:
1. Ronin
2. Blade (especially the first 10 minutes)
3. The Professional (especially the first 10 minutes)
4. Casino Royal (especially the first 10 minutes)
5. The Usual Suspects
6. Smokin Aces (the plot twist)
7. The Bourne films
Lets hope Chow honors Lee with a respectful interpretation of his character Kato. Lee never portrayed the role in a comedic vein and anything less than a serious role would be disrespectful to Lee.
Filmgoers want to leave the film after paying their $10 saying “…damn that was awesome!” Not “Damn I could have blown that $10 bucks elsewhere and been happier.”
Fans are not looking for another Rush Hour film, they did that and it was fine for what it was.
Impress us Seth! Don’t rip us off!
To my recollection, fans could not deter from questions regarding rumors of an upcoming Green Hornet until Seth Rogen took a presumptive approach to keep at Pineapple Express.
Though I’m sure there are a number of fans that share your thoughts, there is equally a sizable number that are excited about Steven Chow’s new outlook. His filmography no doubt lies in comedy, but is also comparable in action. Thus the crime-fighting (and slightly comedic in my opinion) angle the film necessitates is right up Chow’s alley.
Plus, old movies don’t translate (we can just rent the originals). Often times the difficulty for filmmakers is the new rendition has to be of modern day relevance or comedic value. I suppose in your view, Seth Rogan should be running around in black and blue tights sucking in his gut.
Thanks for commenting.
“old films don’t translate.”
Who said anything about old films? The Green Hornet was only in serials of the 30′s and yes they do not translate well, however they do translate to the 60′s straight played version. Ever watch a couple of episodes? You might be surprised in what you see.
The plain and simple fact is that the character was never intended to be played as comedy. Can we play James Bond as a comedy? No and it would be silly to try.
“I suppose in your view, Seth Rogen should be running around in black and blue tights and sucking in his gut.” Only if he was looking to play a 60′s version of the Adam West Batman. Again like was stated above The Green Hornet has nothing to do with Batman nor is even considered a super hero.
Seth should stick to what he does best, mindless comedy and stay away from the Green Hornet. Leave that to a serioue treatment like was mentioned above.
To any Asians, try not to be offended by the Green Hornet’s lousy treatment of Kato. Kato has to be very forgiving and put up with a lot of demeaning crap from the GH. All I can offer is that the GH is an irresponsible man-baby who treats everyone that way. It’s just Kato’s bad luck to also be in his employ. But despite what a jerk GH is to him, Kato rises above and they form a solid friendship and there is lots of action… killer Kato action! PLUS, Kato gives the GH a run for the pretty girl and you’re left wondering. So I kind of liked it. I hope you will, too. I feel sorry for Bruce Lee who had to put up with the post-war sentiments of his day and wear a mask to hide his Asian features. It hurt him deeply and I don’t blame him. The US govt paid a lot of money to brainwash its citizens into hating and fearing Asians so they could fight Japan earlier and Korea/China about that time. All they ever really had to do was activate a few assassins, but I won’t go there. Still, that is WHY all the anti-Asian sentiment existed, so I had to touch on it. I am proud that we’ve all gotten past that war-mongering, statist crap and learned to be friends despite our mutual govt’s best attempts to the contrary. Let’s try like Hell to keep it that way. Peace… and enjoy the show.