G.I. Joe: Retaliation

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION


 MARCH 29, 2013


















G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Official Website / IMDb / Wikipedia / Twitter / Facebook / Paramount Pictures /

DIRECTOR JON M. CHU IMDb / Wikipedia / Twitter / Facebook / Youtube

A new director, Jon Chu ("Step Up 3D"), is brought into the fray for the next instalment of "G.I. Joe". This time, the G.I. Joe team have to stop Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) and Firefly (Ray Stevenson), after they managed to escape. But it is not going to be easy for Zartan is now in disguise as the President of the United States. All the world leaders are coerced to do his bidding, and the world is on the brink of war with Zartan launching nuclear warheads towards innocent populaces. With some new heavies on the payroll, the G.I. Joe team has got a lot on their hands, not to mention pasts to resolve, especially for Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow rivalry that goes back to the time when they were under Blind Master's tutelage.

SCREENWRITERS: Rhett Reese IMDb / Twitter, Paul Wernick IMDb

FILMING LOCATION: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

RELATED SITES General Joes / Hisstank / The Terror Drome / The HDRoom

PREDECESSOR: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) IMDb / Wikipedia / soompi.com

CAST (as stated on IMDb / G.I. Joe Characters)

Captain Duke Hauser
Channing Tatum IMDb / Wikipedia / Facebook / Twitter

Joe Colton
Bruce Willis IMDb / Wikipedia

Roadblock
Dwayne Johnson IMDb / Wikipedia / Facebook / Twitter

Lady Jaye
Adrianne Palicki IMDb / Wikipedia

Firefly
Ray Stevenson IMDb / Wikipedia

Snake Eyes
Ray Park IMDb / Wikipedia / Twitter

Warden Nigel James
Walton Goggins IMDb / Wikipedia

Mouse
Joseph Mazzello IMDb / Wikipedia

Blind Master
RZA IMDb / Wikipedia / Facebook / Twitter

Zartan
Arnold Vosloo IMDb / Wikipedia

Jinx
Elodie Yung IMDb / Wikipedia / Twitter

Storm Shadow
Byung-hun Lee IMDb / Wikipedia / EverythingLBH.com / soompi.com

U.S. President
Jonathan Pryce IMDb / Wikipedia

Cobra Commander (unconfirmed)
Faran Tahir IMDb / Wikipedia

Flint
D.J. Cotrona IMDb / Wikipedia

February 3, 2012

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation': Bruce Willis takes command

– Geoff Boucher Los Angeles Times

Dwayne Johnson (left) plays Roadblock and Bruce Willis (center) plays Colton in "G.I. Joe Retaliation." (Paramount Pictures)

The invasion is underway — “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” won’t arrive in theaters until June 29, but the commando sequel is already trying to win hearts and minds with the new commercial that airs on Super Bowl Sunday during the big game on NBC. It’s a film that will be driven by action and sprinkled with comedy, according to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, but it also aspires to bridge an interesting pop-culture generation gap.

When the first film in the franchise, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” arrived in theaters in 2009, di Bonaventura heard from plenty of confused people — the common link was that most had grown up in the 1960s or 1970s when G.I. Joe was a brand name synonymous with the 12-inch-tall military-man toy that introduced the term “action figure.” They were all unaware of the 1980s reinvention of the brand — in Marvel Comics, toys and animation — that used G.I. Joe as the code name for an elite, high-tech military force.

G.I. Joe, old-school version (Los Angeles Times archives)

“One of the things that everybody kept asking was, ‘Who is Joe?’ Most of us who didn’t grow up with the comic books or the animated series hear the name and think of a single person, not a group,” di Bonaventura said. “People who did grow up with those comics think of it as a plural… I was someone who grew up with the action figures, so when I saw the animated series I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’ That wasn’t the Joe in my imagination.”

Viewing that schism as a story opportunity, the new movie melds the mythology of different eras by presenting G.I. Joe both as a group and as an individual. Veteran action star Bruce Willis joins the franchise as General Joseph B. Colton, the “original G.I. Joe,” and a character that actually appeared a few times in the later issues of Marvel’s military tales. Now the character moves to the very center of the on-screen universe.

“In this movie putting a face on who Joe is — in Bruce Willis — and that idea of having the original Joe is great for the audience that doesn’t know the Joe of the 1980s but knows the Joe of the 1960s and 1970s,” di Bonaventura said. “There’s a combination of these things coming together in a really great way.”

Willis joins Dwayne Johnson as the two major cast additions. Channing Tatum, meanwhile, returns as Duke and shares the screen with Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Ray Stevenson and RZA. “We have a couple of advantages: Channing is a bigger star [than he was when the first was released], Bruce is a well-established star and Rock is a well-established star,” di Bonaventura said. “That’s a big advantage over the first movie. That positions us in a way that we can say to the audience that we’re trying for a certain kind of film.”

The arrival of Johnson is interesting — the former ballplayer and wrestler seems to be in a phase of his career where he specializes in late arrivals by jumping on moving franchises to add muscle to their sequels. It worked in “Fast Five” and now he’s doing it with ”Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” and the new “G.I Joe.”

"G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" from 1982 (Marvel Comics)

“He literally is bigger than life and I think that helps in this kind of large-scale adventure — sometimes it’s an advantage to be small and sometimes it’s an advantage to be big,” di Bonaventura said. ”In this world having the sort of physical capacity he has — on top of the ability to deliver the humor — that’s a great combination for the franchise. It’s great because [the series has] found the right tone and I think that’s so much about what the challenge of a franchise is now — finding the right tone. One of the things we talked a great deal about is that when someone gets punched, you feel the punch. It was one of the guiding principles of it. We really wanted you to feel the muscularity of the franchise, which exists in the comic books and the animated episodes. At the same time we wanted to hold on to the tongue-in-cheek humor.”

Perhaps, but the franchise has to hope that new director Jon M. Chu (“Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” “Step-Up 3D”) can take the place of demolition expert Stephen Sommers, a director with far more experience when it comes to effects-laden projects (“The Mummy” and “Scorpion King” franchises). The first movie grossed more than $302 million and that will be both a boon and a challenge to the newcomer, but di Bonaventura says the new recruit is ready for his tour of duty.

“He’s come to this with a certain delight in dealing with the characters,” the producer said of the 32-year-old director. “Because Jon grew up with this in his DNA, there’s a confidence that he has shown as a director that shows in the film; an understanding of these [characters] that the fans are going to appreciate as well.”

Nice thread.

I was a diehard fan when I was a young kid. Like most fans, I had high expectations on the first movie. But same time I also knew I wouldn't be surprised if Hollywood screwed up the characters and storyline as most fans are accustomed to the cartoons and comic books.  Well.. after watching the first movie I had some disappointments but still didn't care cuz I been waiting for a long time for a GI Joe movie. Snake eyes and storm shadow seemed to take most of the nip picking away as well.

With new director, new characters, and after watching the trailer for the sequel, I can see this is gonna be a more serious movie. However, I still don't see why these idiots can't grab the concept of what GI Joe is to their fans?  What made the cartoon and comic special were the characters and their outfits. Except for snake eyes and storm shadow I can't tell who is who in the sequel. Why is it so difficult for them to dress the characters how their fans remember them?  If anyone has seen GI Joe: Resolute cartoon it's possible to make them look cool if done right.  So this sequel has a few nice additions and got rid of marlon waynes. yay! But it's still not the popular ones.  Who the hell is "mouse"?  do they mean "tunnel rat"? Why not put in snow job, stalker, gung ho, beach head, the dreadnoks, or major blood?  Bruce Willis is a A list actor but who the hell is Joe Colton?  They shouldn't waste a big name on a made up character.  Just my thoughts... I'm still gonna see it but this gets annoying.

This is how GI Joe should be right here!!

http://youtu.be/e_ctV79XxXs

^

Thanks boalohanuiloa for the comment & info. Appreciate reading the input of a GI Joe fan..

February 5, 2012

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Trailer Explodes Into Super Bowl

Channing Tatum tells MTV News the sequel is 'wildly different.'

By Christina Garibaldi (@ChristinaMTV) www.mtv.com

Super Bowl Sunday: A time for an intense football matchup, million-dollar commercials and for movie studios to show off what blockbuster flicks they have in store for the rest of the year. Paramount Pictures was banking on fans being ready for the next installment of "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" when it presented the trailer to the more than 111 million people expected to tune into the game Sunday night (February 5).

The thirty-second Super Bowl spot for "Retaliation" hit the web Wednesday, featuring intense ninja swordfights, a revamped Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes' exploding motorcycle and, of course, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and a machine-gun shooting Bruce Willis.

Yet, there was one thing noticeably missing: Channing Tatum. Tatum, who plays Duke, only appeared in the first trailer a handful of times, and with no appearances in the short Super Bowl clip, speculation is growing that he might be making an early exit from the Jon Chu-directed flick.

MTV News caught up with Tatum at the set of "Saturday Night Live" as he geared up to host the show for the very first time, and he revealed he has yet to see the new "Retaliation" trailer, but hopes fans are ready for an action-packed sequel.

"I hope they like it better than the first one. I think it's wildly different," Tatum said. "Jon Chu: I really do think he's got his finger on the pulse of the hip younger generation. He did the 'Step Up's and what not, so I've got to work with him before. I think he's got a really hip vibe to him."

So now that Tatum has probably recovered from his stint as host on "SNL," we imagine he tuned in Sunday to catch the "Retaliation" trailer. Which team will he be rooting for during the game: the New York Giants or the New England Patriots?

"I just really want it to be a good game. Neither one of them are my teams, but I don't really have a pro team," he admitted. "It's always a bummer when the last game of the season is a landslide, so I want it to go into overtime and be the craziest game ever, but I don't know how you can compete with the last three games; I don't know how you keep going. The law of averages will probably say it's not going to be as good of a game."

No problem

Hope more join in on the discussion. Glad they brought back storm shadow

^

Sure hope many will join us later when the worldwide premiere starts for the summer release.

Totally looking forward for more stunning action between Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow!

February 7, 2012

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' International Trailer Makes Case For Best Picture Nod

by Kevin P. Sullivan /moviesblog.mtv.com l HD Screenshots at theterrordrome.com

No movie so far this year has made a more convincing case that it is unequivocally, unabashedly awesome than "G.I. Joe: Retaliation." It may be goofy as all hell, but dammit if it doesn't look fun.

The new international trailer builds off a solid tradition of badassery that follows generally the same pattern as the first theatrical trailer. The Joes are set up by President Zartan, Channing Tatum probably dies, and the survivors seek revenge.

What we didn't get until now is a preview of the Snake Eyes-Storm Shadow fight and President Zartan complimenting Cobra Commander on his new "cool mask." (We officially and strongly agree. Sorry, JGL.) Plus, Jinx has more of an opportunity to shine in all her ninja glory.

The spot closes out, as they tend to, with Bruce Willis appearing in the bed of an El Camino firing a machine gun. His cholesterol is still high.

Our over-the-top love for everything leading up to "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" may seem unwarranted, given the series' history, but for our money, there hasn't been a trailer or footage from a film coming out this year that looks like it will have as much fun with the action genre. With so many films getting bogged down in gravitas and serious implications, a maniacal master of disguise parading as the president of the United States feels refreshing.

You'll have to head over to Paramount France's YouTube channel to check out the trailer. (Only the subtitles are French.)

G.I.Joe: Retaliation Trailer French Movie Version

by DESTRO hisstank.com

The G.I.Joe: Retaliation Trailer French Movie Version has major spoilers. We just wanted to give you the heads up before you start watching.

Watch the Youtube streaming here (another link for the French trailer)

Also, the Korean version trailer here which highlights more Storm Shadow scenes

February 10, 2012

Source: maxmovieblog

February 11, 2012

G. I. Joe: Retaliation Korean Teaser - Lee Byung-hun TV Spot

by BCYOJOE hisstank.com

Thanks to Lee Byung-hun fan Blogger and YouTube user ylin, we have a variation of G. I. Joe: Retaliation Super Bowl XLVI TV Spot.

The TV Spot is focused on South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun who plays the role of Storm Shadow in both Rise of Cobra and Retaliation. The commercial features an additional scene of Storm Shadow getting dressed [probably to confront his enemy; Snake Eyes], but other than that we've seen the rest of the footage from the 1st Trailer, Superbowl Spot and the French [international] Trailer.

Checkout the TV Spot uploaded by ylin.

February 13, 2012

Jon Chu On Why 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Will Be Nothing Like 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'

Source: Mike Ryan The Huffington Post

In 2009, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was financially successful enough to gross over $300 million worldwide. What "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was even more successful at, however, was alienating fans (which includes this reporter) of the G.I. Joe series. Though fun (at times), that movie does not resemble G.I. Joe. At all. Director Jon Chu wants you to know that "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" -- the sequel to "Rise of Cobra" starring Bruce Willis and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- is nothing like its predecessor.

On Monday, at the American International Toy Fair, I had the chance to speak with Chu, who -- as opposed to the first film's director, Stephen Sommers -- considers himself a G.I. Joe fan. I consider myself a G.I. Joe fan, too. Here's how that (slightly nerdy) conversation -- involving the new Cobra Commander, the possible return of Destro, and how a famous G.I. Joe comic book story, "Silent Interlude," fits in with the new film -- all went down.

I love that your favorite characters are Firefly and Grunt. I feel Grunt is a very "circa-1982" character.

[Laughs] I'm not sure that he's my favorite character, but I do love Grunt. To me it was in the cartoons and things like that, he would just appear randomly.

The comic book did a whole issue devoted to him leaving G.I. Joe.

Yes! That's right. But Firefly, come on; how can you deny Firefly?

He does get short changed. I think because the Firefly and the Storm Shadow action figures were originally released at the same time. People love Storm Shadow. But I did hear that Firefly being in this movie was your doing...

Yep. One of my favorite characters and I had to have him in this movie. We do a different take on Firefly -- no doubt -- so he's not exactly the "Firefly" Firefly that we know. But he's a force to be reckoned with. He's a bad-richard simmons and he still kicks some serious richard simmons.

You're a G.I. Joe fan. In a perfect world, would you rather have just rebooted this franchise from scratch considering the first movie is nothing like G.I. Joe?

Yeah, I mean, for any filmmaker you want to start with nothing.

But Stephen Sommers didn't know anything about G.I. Joe and you do know a lot. That has to be a difficult to step into.

It's hard, but I think everybody felt like we wanted to do a sort of re-attitude toward the movie. And that's part of the tradition of G.I. Joe, that it reinvents itself every several years. So it's sort of inline with what had been done, you know, whether it was in the cartoon or if they changed the theme song to another theme song. To me, all of those different transitions are what makes G.I. Joe so great.

What was the biggest hurdle that was established in the first film that you had to work around?

Oh, we had many times that we were like, "Wait, what year did that movie take place? God dang it." And we're still discussing some things. But, it's part of the challenge.

And Cobra Commander had to be an issue.

Yes, Cobra Commander was an issue. But I know we couldn't lose Cobra Commander.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not in this movie. Under the mask, is this the same character that Levitt played?

No. [smiling] But we figured out a way that's pretty nice. And you get the Cobra Commander that you've always wanted. Or, to me, what I always wanted: a bad-richard simmons villain. He's one of the most iconic villains ever. I'm even following him on Twitter -- he's so funny.

Was that one of your first commands as director? "Cobra Commander has to look like Cobra Commander."

Yeah, definitely, no doubt. That and no lips on Snake Eyes. And no laser guns. And as much real, physical stunts as we can. I don't want to shoot on a green screen. Of course we had to do some green screen, but, for the most part, we got to shoot a lot of practical stunts.

Will this more resemble the Larry Hama comic book or the animated series?

You know, I always see the Joe kingdom as three different eras. The original twelve-inch Joe --

Which Bruce Willis represents...

Yes. And then the Larry Hama comic book. And then the cartoon. The last movie I see as more like the cartoon version. I think we're more like the comic book.

Did you read the comic at all?

Yes. I wouldn't say that I'm an aficionado on all of it. But, yes, for sure.

It's an interesting story: how Cobra runs an entire town called Springfield.

And I love all of the Cobra "cover companies," things like that. We do a couple of things like that in the movie to help show that Cobra's organization is growing.

And we may see Destro?

[smiling] You may see a little glimpse of Destro. We'll have to see. Speaking of the comic book, I love "Silent Interlude." It's one of my favorite. Obviously that changed everything for Joe. We do a little homage in our movie to "Silent Interlude." I'm very excited for the fans to see what we do with that.

The comic used bullets, the cartoon used lasers. I do feel that just hearing that the lasers are gone, it's already more like the comic.

Yeah, and just being able to see people as real human beings. Flawed human beings that get hurt and do get scratched up. And every time they make a kill they scratch little thing on there -- and you see that throughout the movie.

It seemed to work out that there were enough popular characters left to start over with that weren't used in the first movie: Flint, Roadblock, Lady Jaye...

I thought it worked better than I thought it would. I thought I'd come across like, "Well, we need Scarlett back for this thing." Or, "We need Baroness." It's really hard to make a Joe movie without Scarlett and Baroness, but we figured out a way to get through this and we we figured out other ways.

For people like me. For people who were huge fans of G.I. Joe growing up, that went to see the first movie and thought, "That wasn't G.I. Joe. Never again." What do you say to them?

I'll say, just give us another shot. That's what we tried to do with out trailer and all of the material that we're going to release is, "This is not the last movie" It's a different attitude." And just bringing Bruce Willis and Dwayne together, in itself, hopefully, indicates a change of tone and in the movie. When you have Bruce and his sense of humor, but with his real kick-richard simmons presence. And with The Rock, he's the ultimate action hero. Bringing those two together I would hope shows that we're serious about it. Not a thing where we're just trying to get a franchise going up again.

Mike Ryan is the senior writer for Moviefone. He has written for Wired Magazine, VanityFair.com, GQ.com, New York Magazine and Movieline. He likes Star Wars a lot. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter

February 12, 2012

Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, and D.J. Cotrona Play with Their G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Toy Likenesses

by Brendan Bettinger collider.com

Over the weekend, we showed you some of the new G.I. Joe toys that will hit the market to coincide with the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation. However, those images lacked the novelty of the stars of the movie playing with the toy versions of themselves. Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona, and director Jon Chu stopped by the G.I. Joe booth at Toy Fair, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Bruce Willis, Channning Tatum, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, RZA, Joseph Mazzello, Elodie Yung, and Walton Goggins also star in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, scheduled for release on June 29, 2012. Hit the jump for the images.

February 12, 2012

Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, and D.J. Cotrona Play with Their G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Toy Likenesses

by Brendan Bettinger collider.com

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Over the weekend, we showed you some of the new G.I. Joe toys that will hit the market to coincide with the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  However, those images lacked the novelty of the stars of the movie playing with the toy versions of themselves. Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona, and director Jon Chu stopped by the G.I. Joe booth at Toy Fair, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Bruce Willis, Channning Tatum, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, RZA, Joseph Mazzello, Elodie Yung, and Walton Goggins also star in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, scheduled for release on June 29, 2012.  Hit the jump for the images.

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It's kind of a shame LBH is filming his new movie at the moment I would have loved to have pictures of him playing with his own action figure.

A streaming of the interview available at the link provided ~

February 16, 2012

Storm Shadow Will Have A Much Bigger Role in G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

nailbiter111 comicbookmovie.com

"The Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow storyline is a very prominent storyline."

The film's producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says G.I. Joe 2 will be two stories in one, Joes and ninjas. It is Byung-Hun Lee's huge improvement in speaking English that allowed them to give Storm Shadow a bigger role.

The film's producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura was interviewed by Cinema Blend at the New York Toy Fair. He stressed how important it was to find the right tone for a film like this. He feels as though they've gotten it right and now the Joes live in a world where jeopardy is serious, people die, and there is a risk of death. But not everything is too serious either. Lorenzo points out that you never want to make a film too heavy cause you lose the fun, and no matter what G.I. Joe is a popcorn flick.

Lorenzo then spoke of Byung-Hun Lee (Storm Shadow), he is one of the few actors that has returned from the first and Lorenzo says that the Asian star has made a remarkable effort to refine his English speaking skills. With that new ability they were able to increase his role significantly. (related cut on YT)

There will now be two major stories in the film. One will be about the Joes while the other will focus on the ninjas. Both storylines will be battling it out separately and then converge later in the film.

Lorenzo added that Channing Tatum's busy schedule played a part in Duke having a smaller role in the sequel. He'd like to see the character to comeback, and in this universe they could do that. Hmmm, he didn't say Channing would comeback, that makes it seem like Channing is done playing the part. Possibly Duke isn't killed off early in the film like the rumor has it.

G.I. Joe Retaliation stars Channing Tatum, D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, Adrianne Palicki, Jonathan Pryce, RZA, Ray Stevenson, and will be released on June 29, 2012.

February 14, 2012

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Interviews

By Gregg Katzman ugo.com

This week I was lucky enough to chat with the cast and crew of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. They covered everything from drawing from the source material to the badassery of Ray Stevenson. Read our G.I. Joe Retalitation interviews to find out more!

G.I. Joe is coming back in a big way this year. The follow-up is looking like it'll turn out to be one hell of a fun ride and the creative forces behind the film are giving us tons of reasons to be pumped for its return. We already have so much to look forward to: Snake eyes and Storm Shadow, Firefly, Red Ninjas, and a respectable looking Cobra! I was able to get some hilarious and awesome extra info when I went one-on-one with actors Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, D.J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and director Jon M. Chu.

Somehow, Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is thrown into the fray as well. Enjoy!

Is the Rock invincible?

Gregg Katzman: In the trailer we see you fall into the well and all of the bullets splash past you. You're unstoppable. You're like the modern day Steven Seagal, you can't be beat. So is it even possible to kill Dwayne Johnson?

Dwayne Johnson: It is unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt, under God's hot sun, impossible to kill... Roadblock. Put it to ya like that!

Boba Fett? Where?!

Johnson: It's the coolest honor to become a G.I Joe. Being a big fan ever since I was a kid and living vicariously through all my action figures when I was a kid. I lived vicariously through G.I. Joe, Han Solo... and Boba Fett. Those were my three.

Katzman: I'm also a fan of the Fett. Did you ever have them face off?

Johnson: Oh, they all intermingled! To be honest with you, Boba Fett won because he was a hunter and I love hunters.

Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow:

Jon M. Chu: That’s the one thing I felt like we could really milk in this movie: Snake Eyes versus Storm Shadow. Everyone wanted to see more, everyone wanted to see a better, crazier fight so we give that to them in spades. I can’t wait for people to see Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. To me they are elemental... ying versus yang, and when they go at it it’s pretty epic.

Gregg Katzman: Storm Shadow was seemingly killed off.. stabbed, fell off the ledge. Is there any explanation as to how he comes back or is it kind of like “Just accept he’s back and enjoy that he’s awesome.”

Chu: (laughs) We have a little explanation, but it’s hard because at the same time we’re like “we have to go into this whole thing” and I don’t want to know how he survives and all that, but you definitely get a reason why. And then we get him back and we’re moving on.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura: There’s a lot more of that story line in this movie. So you’re going to see different elements of both of them doing a lot more in this movie. I would say that storyline is just about as big as the whole Joes storyline. It’s a little bit like Empire Strikes Back the way Luke is off with Yoda and the other guys are trying to fight the fight.

Can Rock lay the smackdown on Snake Eyes?

Katzman: Snake Eyes is obviously the other really big fan favorite. So, Roadblock versus Snake Eyes, who's winning that?

Johnson: This is a big loaded question!

Katzman: You have the heavy machine gun, you've got everything, Snake Eyes has his gear. Go!

Johnson: %^#& that, no! Tell you what, yes... Roadblock has a heavy machine gun, he has his weapons. Snake Eyes has his weapons as well. When Roadblock and Snake Eyes go one-on-one we put the weapons aside. We only use hands and skill, that's it. Now who wins from that?

Roadblock, and I'm gonna tell you why. Because Roadblock and Snake Eyes in our new story, the backstory is we train together, so with everything he throws at me, I counter. Then I try to kick him in the nuts but he has the hard plastic outfit so that doesn't quite work. Good armor. At the end, he pulls out a ninja star cause he's cheating and he throws it and sticks me right in the middle of the head.

Gregg Katzman: So he wins... but only through cheating?

Johnson: Correct!

On the new villain, Firefly

Johnson: You have a character like Roadblock who is a bad dude and he's a big bad dude who carries a .50 cal and he's proficient with weapons. Who is a viable adversary for him? It's gonna be Firefly and our version of Firefly is a big bad evil mother %^#&er. That's my go-to word! So then the challenge is we have Firefly and then the next level of adversary for Roadblock would be the one and only... Cobra.

Chu: We wanted someone who could actually be the same size as Roadblock and there’s not a lot of people out there (laughs). He’s a great actor and a great villain. Ray Stevenson is actually taller than Dwayne and they could get on a pretty great fight in there. And, he’s such a great actor that he just brings this demented, crazy feel to Firefly.

It’s a different Firefly than what has been presented before, but it’s a cool Firefly and to me, that’s what’s interesting about G.I. Joe is that they’ve reinvented themselves so many times. That’s part of the tradition and so I’m excited.

Adrianne Palicki: Firefly in this movie is officially awesome. Ray Stevenson adds his own flare to the character and it is amazing. I think he's going to be a favorite.

D.J. Cotrona: Firefly finally takes his mask off and what you see when that happens is amazing. Ray killed it. He did such a great job.

Diving into the Source Material

Chu: We do a lot of references to certain issues and certain episodes that are sort of hidden. Maybe people won’t recognize who don’t know a lot about Joe, but we know! And then there’s things like “Silent Interlude,” you know, it was one of the most famous issues of any comic book really, and we do a little homage to that which I’m really, really excited for people to see it.

Bonaventura: We tip our hat to a few things in the comic book very significantly and same with the cartoon series. Jon (Chu) grew up with both so it's sort of in his DNA and that made the process much easier because he knew on a really gut instinctual level what was going to work.

On the first film, G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra

Chu: A lot of people liked it for whatever reason... it was fun and it was crazy. I liked it because it was fun, but it wasn’t necessarily Joe tradition. This one we go back to tradition. We bring back some of the old winks and nods and reinvent it for a new generation. It is on the ground, you get to feel the military world, the ninja world as a real world with some fantastical elements. It’s a re-attitude. It’s going to be a really, really fun movie. Just by having The Rock and by having Bruce Willis in it I hope indicates to everyone that we’re very serious about continuing the G.I. Joe tradition and reinventing the brand for everybody. We’re serious about making it kick-richard simmons and not just soft.

Turtle Soup

Katzman: But what do you think would happen if the two groups faced off?

Cotrona: Joes, please!

Palicki: They’ve got guns and ninjas. Real ninjas!

Cotrona: We’ve got both. There’s no contest. I love Ninja Turtles but it would be a sad day in the sewers of New York.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation comes out June 29th, 2012.

February 15, 2012

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

Director Jon Chu Discusses Story and Cobra Commander

Source: Geek Tyrant

G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu is obviously a huge fan of the animated G.I. Joe series that many of us grew up with. This is the kind of director the movie franchise needed! This movie needed to be made by a fan who understands the fans and respects the property for what it is. I was very skeptical at first, but everything I've seen so far awesomely represents the animated series and toys that I grew up with, so how can I not be excited!? I just didn't think it would come from the guy who directed the Step Up movies and that Justin Bieber documentary.

MTV caught up with the director at Toy Fair and conducted an interview with him in which he discusses the film's characters, story, and the reinvention of Cobra Commander. You've seen the trailer so you know that Snake Eyes and Road Block play a huge role in the story, and that's because they are Chu's favorite characters.

How can you argue with that logic? As a fan of the series I have to agree. Duke was also cool, but he was still always a little uptight. He went on to talk about casting these characters saying,

In staying true to the animated series Chu wanted to make this movie a world wide adventure.

He then goes on to talk about bringing Cobra Commander back to his roots and giving fans the Badass villain we all remember.

I've got to say, I love what I've seen from Cobra Commander so far! The fact that Chu's is still hiding stuff about the character is awesome, and I can't wait to see what he has in store. It looks like G.I. Joe has found the movie director that it deserves, and I'm extremely excited to see it!

February 20, 2012

Hollywood Producer Praises Lee Byung Heon for His English Speaking Skills

Source: Nate: 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l 7 l 8 l 9 l 10 l 11 l 12 l 13 l 14 l 15 l 16 l 17 l 18 l 19 l 20 l 21 l 22 l 23 by: hotshotlover30 soompi.com

Hollywood producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura praised hallyu star Lee Byung Heon. According to BH Entertainment, during an interview with ‘cinema blend’ at the New York Fair,’ Hollywood producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura named Lee Byung Heon, who plays Storm Shadow in ‘G.I. JOE 2,’ as one of the key stars to look out for in the movie.

Lorenzo di Vonaventura stated, “Storm Shadow will have a much bigger role in ‘G.I. JOE: RETALIATION.’ We have Byung Heon Lee who comes back from the first movie. He’s such a star in Asia.” He praised the Korean actor for his ability to master English, and that his ability to refine his English speaking skills increased his role in the movie significantly.

The producer also revealed that the film has two major stories. One will be about the Joes, while the other will be about the ninjas. He added, “The Snake Eye Storm Shadow storyline is one of the prominent storyline in the movie.”

Meanwhile, “G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” will open in theaters on June 29, 2012 in the States.

February 26, 2012

G.I. Joe Movie Retaliation Director Jon M. Chu Confirms The Return Of Destro

by DESTRO hisstank.com

Jon M. Chu the Director for the upcoming G.I. Joe Movie Retaliation has posted this Video to his Facebook account. This video once again confirms Destro, will make an appearance in the upcoming summer block buster G.I. Joe Retaliation.

Please check out link provided at hisstank for the video update ~

February 26, 2012

Awesome Effects, Explosions, and Diving Off Mountains in New Trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation

By Kenji Lloyd heyuguys.co.uk

Everything we’ve seen so far for the G.I. Joe sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, has been really impressive. Bringing some new faces on board to inject some energy into the franchise, including the likes of Bruce Willis and sequel-favourite Dwayne Johnson, Retaliation definitely has potential going for it.

We’ve now got an awesome new trailer to share with you, courtesy of EW via Collider, and though it’s only thirty seconds long, so more like a TV spot in length, it’s pretty damn cool whatever you want to call it.

Jon M. Chu has helmed the project from a script by Zombieland’s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, with Channing Tatum, Ray Park, and Lee Byung-hun reprising their roles from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and joining them will be Johnson, Willis, Adrianne Palicki, Elodie Yung, Ray Stevenson, RZA, D.J. Cotrona, and Walton Goggins.

Having Reese and Wernick as writers can be nothing but good news, because Zombieland was such a great mix of solid action and dialogue, and Chu’s experience directing two of the Step Up films means he should be well-versed in directing highly-choreographed sequences, moving from the dancing of those films to the action in Retaliation.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is coming to the UK on 22nd June and will be released in the US a week later on 29th June. By all accounts, it should be a lot of fun, and here’s the new trailer to prove it.

February 27, 2012

Video: Movie Trailer for 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'

Submitted by I Need My Fix opposingviews.com

The new tv spot for G.I. Joe: Retaliation was set to air during yesterday’s Daytona 500, which was rained out. That didn’t stop it from winding its way to the web, however. So, of course, we had to share. The film, the sequel to 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is directed by Jon M. Chu from a script by Zombieland’s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Channing Tatum, Ray Park, and Lee Byung-hun return for another round where they will be joined by Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki, Elodie Yung, Ray Stevenson, RZA, D.J. Cotrona, and Walton Goggins.

The story is simple: When Cobra spy Zartan has most of the Joes assassinated, the remaining Joes band together to strike back.

This 3rd Trailer features mostly footage that we’ve already seen, but with a few new snippets, including more of Bruce Willis as the original Joe, doing what he does best…smirking:

“Call me Joe.” Is that like, “Call me Snake” or “…call me Irresponsible”? Either way, this looks like too much fun. The first one, I have to admit looked like novacaine for the brain, but this has potential, thanks in no small part to Dwayne… “The Rock”… Johnson. He’s a party unto himself, Every time he smiles I expect to see a flash of cartoon sunlight gleaming from his teeth, just before he winks at the camera. Since he’s always in on the joke, I can only assume that this big cartoon adventure of a movie will be highly entertaining, not to mention I am loving all of the ninja assassin effects, especially that fight on the side of the mountain! We’ll see. G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens in the UK on 22nd June and then June 29 in the US.

February 27, 2012

G. I. Joe: Retaliation Poster From Toy Fair 2012 Hasbro Investor Event

by BCYOJOE hisstank.com

Here’s a little something from the Toy Fair 2012. Every year, Hasbro hosts a Party/Business event for their Investors to celebrate the reveal of upcoming toys. This year, the event was sort of running close-to-close with the Media Day and therefore we focused more on the Toy Reveals rather than Business Plans.

But Hasbro Toy Fair Investor Days also reveal some cool stuff. This year Hasbro released a Poster from G. I. Joe: Retaliation. The poster shows Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Roadblock.

February 28, 2012

G.I. Joe 2's Asian Success Rests on Lee Byung Hun's Shoulders

Source: Nate by jbarky soompi,com

“G.I. Joe 2” (“G.I. Joe: Retaliation”) will release in theaters worldwide on June 21, 2012. Currently, G.I. Joe 2 is having major promotion tours in South Korea and Japan that involves its cast Lee Byung Hun, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, and Dwane Johnson (The Rock). The reason is that Lee Byung Hun’s ticket power in South Korea and Japan was shown through the previous film “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”

When “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” was released in 2009, South Korea and Japan were the two countries with the most revenue excluding the U.S. Paramount Pictures believe that the reason of the film’s popularity in these two countries is Lee Byung Hun.

Spoiler Alert of from “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”

In the first G.I. Joe film, Lee Byung Hun’s character Storm Shadow was portrayed as being dead. However, the character has been somewhat resurrected and Lee Byung Hun will also have increased screen time.

A film representative stated, “Paramount learned about the loyal fans of Hallyu. That is why they have increased the screen time of Lee Byung Hun in the sequel and anticipates its success in Asian markets.”

Third G.I. Joe 2 Spot Hits

Paramount reveals third spot for G.I. Joe: Retaliation

By Jarrod Sarafin mania.com

Paramount Pictures has rolled out the second and third TV spots for G.I. Joe: Retaliation courtesy of TheMovieBox.net. Check them out below and sound off with your thoughts.

The sequel will star Dwayne Johnson (Roadblock), Bruce Willis (Joe Colton), Adrianne Palicki (Lady Jaye), Channing Tatum (Duke), D.J. Cotrona (Flint), Byung-hun Lee (Storm Shadow), Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Jonathan Pryce (U.S. President), RZA (Blind Master), Elodi Yung (Jinx), Ray Stevenson (Firefly), Joseph Mazello (Mouse), Walton Goggins (Warden James) and Arnold Vosloo (Zartan). Director Jon Chu is leading the production, based off a screenplay by the writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation strikes theaters June 29, 2012.

TV Spot 2 Youtube

TV Spot 3 Youtube

March 7, 2012

G.I. Joe: Roadblock's Secret Snake Eyes Connection

Dwayne Johnson talks up his G.I. Joe: Retaliation character, his big gun and his kick-richard simmons new fighting style

by Scott Collura uk.movies.ign.com

Dwayne Johnson -- always The Rock to many of us -- has proven himself to be quite helpful when it comes time to re-imagine a big-screen franchise. Fast Five, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and now G.I. Joe: Retaliation are all films that have taken proven hits and reconfigured themselves with the actor in a major role.

I recently got the chance to chat with The Rock about his character in Retaliation: Roadblock. A staple of the Joe comics, cartoon and toy line dating back to the '80s, the character is new to the big screen. But as an old-school fan of G.I. Joe himself -- he used to pit his Joe action figures against his Han Solo and Boba Fett toys -- The Rock seems like the perfect man to lead a new team of characters to success against Cobra (not to mention the box office).

Check out my on-the-fly Flip Cam interview with The Rock, where he talks about Roadblock's big gun, his new fighting style, his relationship with Snake Eyes and more!

February 16, 2012

Jon Chu Talks ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Story & Reinventing Cobra Commander

by Ben Kendrick at screenrant.com

Director Jon Chu offers up new ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ details – including the scope of the film as well as how the team reinvented fan-favorite bad guy Cobra Commander.

When movie fans first heard word that Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon Chu would be heading-up G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the sequel to Stephen Sommers’ 2009 live-action G.I. Joe adaptation, the collective reaction online was pretty snarky – with even the most generous film-lovers being somewhat skeptical.

Then came word that Chu and the production team would be dramatically slashing the star-studded cast to streamline the sequel – with high profile actors and actresses, such as Rachel Nichols, Marlon Wayans, and Dennis Quaid, all finding themselves excised from the franchise (at least for now). However, much like the potential improvements headed to Michael Bay’s Transformers 4, Chu’s hybrid-sequel-reboot approach has begun to inspire a lot of confidence in the upcoming film (as evidenced by reactions to the official Retaliation trailer).

Chu is a big fan of the G.I. Joe franchise and while he enjoyed Sommers’ take on the characters, the director (along with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura) definitely felt there were opportunities to bring his installment a bit closer to the gritty G.I. Joe film he’d want to see. Speaking with MTV, Chu elaborated on one especially important refinement – Cobra Commander:

- WARNING: SPOILERS for Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe below -

It’s easy to understand where Chu is coming from with regard to Cobra Commander – given the flat-out bizarre “origin story” the character was given in the first Joe film. While the introduction of the character certainly worked to tie-together all of the main players, there’s no doubt that for such a fan-favorite villain many moviegoers found Sommers’ Cobra Commander to be a letdown.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt faithfuls may have been disappointed to hear that the rising star wouldn’t be returning for the sequel, and fans remain split over whether or not his portrayal of “The Doctor” was a high or low mark in the film, but it’s easy to understand why Chu went for the traditional helmeted Commander – since the character has to be forboding enough to sell that Cobra, not just the man himself, is a ruthless terrorist organization.

- END of SPOILERS for Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe.

Of course, with a revamped and dangerous new villain, Chu needed a few kick-butt heroes. Speaking about his favorite characters (one returning Joe, and another new recruit), it’s easy to see that Chu was the Hollywood equivalent of a kid in a candy store – of course it doesn’t hurt if you can enlist Dwayne “Rock” Johnson:

While some fans, who no doubt felt as though Sommers’ Joe was too spread out with too many locales, faces, and plot lines running at once, might be intimidated by Chu’s assertion that Retaliation will chronicle two separate adventures and span the globe – the director promises that, while there is a lot of jet setting, everything comes full-circle:

“As any ‘Joe’ adventure is, it spans the world, and it’s an adventure that ranges from you’re in Pakistan one second to Japan the next second and Korea another one, Washington, D.C. You’re definitely jumping around and it also collides at a certain point.”

Just so long as that “collision” translates into a better look at the showdown between Johnson’s Roadblock and Ray Stevenson’s Firefly – as teased in the international G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be in theaters on June 29, 2012.