G.I. Joe: Retaliation

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May 15, 2012

BRANDON'S TEN MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS – SUMMER 2012

BRANDON MARCUS veryaware.com

Summer. Is there any season as wonderful as Summer? I love it for many reasons: the weather, my birthday, the fact that nobody looks down at you when you scarf down a couple dozen hotdogs. What else do I love about Summer? Oh, that’s right, the movies. Summer is the time when studio bring out their big guns, it’s packed to the gills with blockbustery goodness.

Let’s cut the crap, last Summer wasn’t so hot. Yeah, we had a few winners but overall it was kind of rather infelicitous. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with 2012. Summer has barely begun and we’ve already seen some great movies (including Joss Whedon’s indie hit THE AVENGERS). How good will this year be? The sky’s the limit.

Here’s what I am looking forward to most. I hope you agree with me. I’ll be heartbroken if you don’t.

10. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN - June 1

9. MOONRISE KINGDOM - May 25

8. SEEKING A FRIEND AT THE END OF THE WORLD - June 22

7. PARANORMAN – August 17

6. LAWLESS – August 31

5. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION - June 29

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Bruce Willis

Why I’m Excited: Summer needs a movie like G.I. JOE: RETALIATION. It’s going to be loud, exciting and hopefully even funny. In other words, it’s best seen on a big screen in a cool, dark theater. The story seems cliched (super soldiers have to go rogue after being framed. Doesn’t that sound familiar?) but the story doesn’t count as much as the effects, the characters and the whiz-bang action sequences. We’ve seen some wonderful, unapologetic action films recently (THE AVENGERS and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL come to mind). Let’s hope we can add G.I. JOE: RETALIATION to that list.

4. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN - July 3

3. BRAVE - June 22

2. PROMETHEUS - June 8

1. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – July 20

GI Joe: Retaliation Russian poster (comicbookmovie.com)

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May 17, 2012

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation," Cobra Special Forces Wants You!

Source: Nuke the Fridge

Namtar here…

COBRA needs you! Are you evil enough to take the test? Tying into MGM/Paramount Pictures upcoming “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” the studios have created a viral campaign to recruit infantry and specialists into Cobra’s organization. To take the test, if you can handle it, go to www.cobraspecialforces.com. Have fun and good luck! Check out the newest images from the film!

COBRA!!!

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” will open in theaters nationwide on June 29th, and stars Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, Ray Park, Joseph Mazzello, Arnold Vosloo, RZA, Jonathan Pryce, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, Faran Tahir, and Ilia Votok. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick wrote the screenplay, while Jon M. Chu directs. The film is rated PG-13.

Source: cobraspecialforces.com, toynewsi.com

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May 20, 2012

Time for Your Close-Up Mr. Cobra Commander

by Jason (aka WildWeasel) The Terror Drome

A few hours ago, G.I. Joe Retaliation director Jon M. Chu — whom is diligently working on the post-production — posted an image of Cobra Commander via Instagram to his Twitter account. Nothing mind-blowing about the image, but it does give us another look at the infamous Cobra leader. And I’ll take any excuse to post more images from the movie, especially dealing with Cobra. And contrary to belief, this is the same outfit from previous images/scenes we’ve seen in the trailers.

Source: Jon M. Chu

[Guest jonogunn]

Love Commander's mask. The one in the first one was super fail

[rubie]

^

Agree that the Cobra Commander's mask looks really menacing villainous yet so very cool, indeed.

April 24, 2012

Director Jon M. Chu Talks G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

Reveals Film Has 10-Minute Sequence of Dialogue-Free "Kick richard simmons Ninja Action"

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub collider.com

If you grew up reading the G.I. Joe comics and loved issue 21 (the one that introduces Storm Shadow, features zero dialogue, and is widely regarded by fans as the best issue in the series), you’re going to love what director Jon M. Chu told me earlier today at CinemaCon about G.I.Joe: Retaliation. It seems that he paid homage to the issue with a nine to ten minute sequence of dialogue-free kick richard simmons ninja action! In addition to revealing this awesome sequence, he told me the G.I. Joe sequel is around two hours (right now) and to expect between 5 to 15 minutes of deleted scenes on the Blu-ray. We also talked about the soundtrack, the action scenes, the tone of the movie, and so much more.

As you can see in the latest trailer, the reason the sequel is subtitled Retaliation is because at the beginning of the film, Cobra wipes out most of the Joe’s and the surviving members go rogue to try and take down Cobra. G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, RZA, Ray Stevenson, and D.J. Cotrona.

Jon M Chu Time Index

Talks about the tone of the sequel. Talks about how they wanted to show that the Joe’s can get hurt and bleed. Also, the film uses bullets and not lasers.

1:00 – Talks about the soundtrack. Henry Jackman, who did X-Men: First Class, composed the score.

How long was his first cut and how long is the movie right now? Says the first cut was about 15 minutes longer than where the film is right now.

2:45 – Is the film 90 minutes or two hours? Says it’s around 2 hours right now.

Is he a fan of extended cuts and will the deleted scenes be in a separate area on the Blu-ray/DVD?

3:37 – How many minutes of deleted scenes will be on the home video release? He’s says between 5 and 15 minutes

3:50 – Was there a moment from the G.I. Joe cartoon or comic book that he felt had to be in the movie? Talks about issue 21 (the silent issue). Around 4:30 reveals the film will have 9 or 10 minutes of absolutely no dialogue with just kick richard simmons ninja action

5:00 – How the film will balance the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow stuff with the rest of the characters doing their own thing in the movie. Reveals that Snake Eyes has gone over to Tokyo to train new ninja commandos (this is at the beginning of the film which is why he’s not killed when the Joe ‘s are attacked at beginning of film).

6:10 – Will we see new Joe’s and were most of them killed?

7:00 – Talks about the action scenes. Are there a few huge ones mixed with a lot of little ones? Says that each scene is very different.

Watch the interview clip HERE l HERE

[rubie]

May 22, 2012

Source: Nate

THE 2012 MAXIM TOP TEN

10... Adrianne Palicki: "With roles in Friday Night Lights and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Adrianne is the trifecta of perfection: sexiness, football and huge explosions.” Read more at foxnews.com

Bruce Wills Adds A Shot Of Testosterone To The Cover Of Esquire

by Ambika Muttoo vh1.com

This interview — and it’s a long one, folks — was clearly written before Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, gave birth. ”All I want right now is to be with her, to stare at her belly,” he tells the interviewer. Right now, all he wants to do, probably, is to stare at his newborn daughter, Mabel Rae, of which a twitpic has already been posted by Emma. Adorable! But, this wasn’t the situation when Bruce sat down for this interview which accompanies his cover shot of Esquire’s June-July issue. This chat is all about the movies. But on another note, we’d like to add that we appreciate the styling of the cover. It’s simple and classic with a T-shirt and boots by John Varvatos, Calvin Klein jeans and a Paul Smith belt. No frills, no fuss. Sounds like Bruce!

He’s a very, very busy man these days. Apart from being a new dad, he’s got five films out this year — Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, The Expendables 2,The Cold Light of Day with Sigourney Weaver, and Looper, a “return for Willis to visionary science fiction.” He’s also going to start filming the fifth installment of Die Hard. ”I had to think about what I won’t say,” Willis states, “as much as considering what I think is important about the work of these movies.” But then, the interviewer, Tom Chiarella, finally gets an in when Bruce reveals, “I’ve been through enough of these, enough of these to know. I get cranked up, I start talking about Hollywood and what’s wrong with what. Or politics. I might start in on Mitt Romney.” Willis talking movies and talking Romney? It’s a must-read.

[Photo via Gossip Center]

Source: EverythingLBH.com

[pink_chocolate]

the only thing that looks good is Byung-Hun Lee X) . first one disappointed me, probably because of the cheesy romance.

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May 24, 2012

"G.I. Joe" sequel release postponed to March 2013

Reporter: Lucia Hong Editor: Monica Suk 10Asia

Press release via bleedingcool.com

Hasbro, Inc (NASDAQ:HAS – News),and Paramount Pictures, announced today that G.I. JOE: RETALIATION will now be released in 3D. The film, originally slated for release in June 2012, is scheduled to be released March 29, 2013.

“It is increasingly evident that 3D resonates with movie-goers globally and together with Paramount, we made the decision to bring fans an even more immersive entertainment experience,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s President and CEO.

“In 2012, we continue to have several strong motion picture and television entertainment backed properties that are selling well at retail and our entertainment strategy remains strong and on-track,” Goldner said. “Through our own Hasbro Studios for television and in partnership with several movie studios including Paramount, Universal, Sony and Relativity, we are creating entertainment experiences around many of our highly popular iconic brands. For the full year 2012, we continue to believe, absent the impact of foreign exchange, we will again grow revenues and earnings per share.”

The release date of Hollywood blockbuster movie "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra," featuring Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, has been postponed to March 2013.

U.S. Deadline Hollywood reported on Thursday that the "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" sequel will open in theaters on March 29, 2013 in a 3D format.

The article said that the studio executives made the decision due to the fact that 3D films "can better box office internationally."

Originally scheduled to open this summer in Korea on June 21 and eight days later in North America, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" will tell the story of how the remaining Joes fight back when Cobra spy Zartan (played by Arnold Vosloo) assassinates most of them.

The film stars Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson while Korean actor Lee Byung-hun reprises his role as Storm Shadow.

May 23, 2012

Yes it is true – G.I. Joe: Retaliation pushed back NINE months to March, 2013

Source: GeneralJoes.com

I can’t believe I’m even writing this post. Twelve solid months of excitement. Twelve months of jumping up and down with every Twitter update, twelve months of geeking out with every image, every social media update, and cheering along with the rest of the online G.I. Joe community about the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie trailers.

Twelve months of intense excitement and motivation, and in one fell swoop, Paramount has stomped on both Hasbro and G.I. Joe fans with one broad stroke. Citing a desire to convert the film to 3D, Paramount has officially announced that they are pushing back the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation to March 29, 2013. Yes, they apparently made this decision and made this statement just ONE MONTH before the film’s release.

Excitement online has been building, the geek community at large is fired up to see this movie, and I’m sure I speak for many of us when I say this news is crushing.

Already the reaction online is flooding social media, and the reaction is unanimous. It seems as if every ounce of positive energy for this film has been totally snuffed out. Immediate reaction is the film is terrible and they are scrambling to try and salvage something. In my opinion, this move sends a terrible, terrible message.

I’m sure cast, crew, and Hasbro at large are probably all as upset as we are, but I guess that’s Hollywood.

More information on this news as it develops, you can believe that.

[rubie]

Paramount Bumps 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' to 2013

The sequel had been scheduled to open late next month

by Borys Kit, Pamela McClintock THR

Paramount is moving G.I Joe: Retaliation from June 29 to next year, setting a date of March 29, 2013. At the same time, it’s converting the movie to 3D.

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Paramount sources say that for the studio to recoup its sizable investment -- it financed 50 percent of the sequel, while MGM put up 25 percent and David Ellison’s Skydance Productions is backing 25 percent -- a 3D conversion needs to happen, and it wants to make sure the conversion is done right. The studio is pointing to the recent 3D version of James Cameron’s Titanic as a success story.

PHOTOS: 28 of Summer's Most Anticipated Movies

Still, the movie is based on a Hasbro toy line, and some might blame the shift on the disappointing box office of Universal's Battleship, the adaptation of the Hasbro board game that opened to just $25.5 million domestic last weekend. Paramount's first installment of the franchise, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, grossed $300 million worldwide in 2009. But the high cost of studio tentpole movies now requires big-budget releases to gross more than that.

“[battleship] reminds you that if you don’t do it right, you’re screwed,” says one insider.

It's very unusual for studios to change release dates less than five weeks before the film is due in theaters, but this isn’t the first time Paramount has made such a high-profile switcheroo. It bumped Shutter Island, the Martin Scorsese-Leonard DiCaprio thriller, into a winter slot. The movie then turned into Scorsese’s biggest box-office hit.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation cost at least $125 million and features a cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki and Jonathan Price. It is directed by John Chu.

Paramount delays 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' release until 2013

By Ben Fritz and Geoff Boucher LA Times

Paramount Pictures has delayed the release of its sole summer action movie,"G.I. Joe: Retaliation," from June 29 until March of next year, an unexpected shift that leaves the studio without a big-budget "tentpole" hitting theaters in 2012.

The move surprised even the film's director, Jon M. Chu, who early this week still expected the movie to open next month.

In an interview Monday with The Times, the 32-year-old director expressed excitement about the impending release date and a new trailer, and sounded like a filmmaker who felt he had already cleared the toughest hurdles of post-production.

"It's been a crazy journey but we're almost there," he said. "I'm excited for people to finally see it or even finally get a glimpse. I'm really excited about it."

However, Paramount's decision is also surprising to many in the movie industry for several reasons:

It was done just five weeks before the film was set to hit theaters. Paramount has already spent millions on marketing and promotion touting the June 29 launch, including a Super Bowl commercial, trailers, posters, a presentation to theater owners at Cinema-Con in April and a website that now lists an incorrect opening date.

It leaves Paramount with an extraordinarily light release schedule in 2012. Following the decision to delay December's zombie thriller "World War Z" to next summer, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" was Paramount's only 2012 event movie with a budget of more than $100 million. The other five major studios all have several such pictures.

Paramount's 2013 schedule is now comparatively packed with big movies. Along with two other movies delayed from 2012, the aforementioned "World War Z" and "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," the studio is also releasing a new "Star Trek" and a reboot of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" animated franchise.

Studios typically try to have roughly consistent release slates each year to provide investors and parent companies with predictable costs and returns.

Paramount decided to delay "G.I. Joe" to convert it to 3-D, said a person close to the studio who was not authorized to be identified discussing the matter publicly. The conversion could help to boost box-office receipts for "Retaliation," particularly overseas, but such a decision is typically made far earlier in the production process.

In 2009, Paramount delayed the Martin Scorsese-directed thriller "Shutter Island" with about the same amount of warning. Studio Chairman Brad Grey said at the time it was a financial decision. No significant changes to the picture were made before it debuted in February of the next year to solid results.

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation," which cost about $125 million to produce and is being co-financed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Skydance Productions, is a follow-up to 2009's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," a so-so box-office performer that cost about $175 million.

Paramount executives had been optimistic the sequel would be successful, even in 3-D, because they made it for less money, while adding well-known stars Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis to the cast.

March has become a popular destination for studios looking to open tentpoles outside the summer. This year,"The Hunger Games"grossed $392 million in the U.S. and Canada after opening in March.

Next year March will also see the releases of Walt Disney Studios' "Oz: The Great and Powerful," 20th Century Fox's "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" and Warner Bros' "Jack the Giant Killer," though those pictures all open before the release of "G.I. Joe" on March 29, 2013.

Paramount is scheduled to release "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" in June, on behalf of DreamWorks Animation. However Paramount has no money invested in that movie's production.

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May 23, 2012

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Moving To March 2013 To Add 3D For Bigger Foreign Box Office

By NIKKI FINKE deadline.com

EXCLUSIVE: The sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation was supposed to come out this summer on June 29th. But I’ve learned that Paramount is moving the movie nine months to March 29, 2013, to add 3D. “We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally,” one of the studio execs just told me. “Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post — and look how well that movie turned out.” Hollywood is shocked that Paramount vacated the primo date, especially because Paramount blew a wad on a Super Bowl commercial and already was starting TV and outdoor ads for GI Joe 2. Paramount has had luck delaying films before: its decision to move Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island gave the director his biggest box office hit ever. And right now, 3D is huge internationally, with Russia and China building new 3D theaters by the week. Also the execs say that the blockbuster performance of The Hunger Games shows that March can be a prime time of the year to release movies. Of course, Paramount had to talk its partners on GI Joe 2 into the extra nine months of carrying costs – MGM, which has 25%, and David Ellison’s Skydance, which has another 25%. The $125M-budgeted actioner stars Channing Tatum, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Bruce Willis and is directed by Jon Chu.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation massively delayed ‘to add 3D,’ Paramount claims

By Earnest Cavalli digitaltrends.com

Hopefully you weren't too anxious to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation this year, as the movie has been delayed until March of 2013.

It looks like G.I. Joe: Retaliation won’t be hitting theaters this year. According to Deadline, the movie, which was originally slated to debut on June 29, has instead been delayed until March 29, 2013. Why the nine-month bump? Official sources claim it’s so that Paramount can add a third-dimension to the film.

“We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally,” an unnamed studio executive told Deadline. “Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post — and look how well that movie turned out.”

While that seems a valid enough reason, and, as Deadline points out, Paramount has a history of delaying films in an effort to nab larger box office numbers, there are compelling reasons why we believe that this may not be the entire story behind the delay. Nine months is a long time, especially given how much money the studio has already spent on promoting the film’s original June 2012 release date. One would think Paramount would want the film to come out as soon as possible, unless perhaps it was no longer confident in the film’s ability to make money.

Before you read what we’re about to type, please keep in mind that we have no official word on the topic, outside of the press release announcing the delay. Everything to follow is speculation, though if any of you can find logical fault with it, we welcome your opinion in the comments below.

Alright, now those of you who read Digital Trends religiously will likely recall a piece we published only yesterday that covered, in excruciating detail, the massive box office failure of Universal Studios’ Battleship. That film, like G.I. Joe: Retaliaton, was based on a classic children’s toy, beloved by the kids of the 1980s who are now adults with, hopefully, buckets of disposable income. The idea behind both films is that members of this generation are driven entirely by latent nostalgia for the things they enjoyed as children and that adapting literally any piece of pop culture ephemera from the Reagen era will result in massive, unending profits.

Depressingly, this seemed like a solid, if intensely cynical, plan. Michael Bay’s Transformers movies made ridiculous amounts of money, and the first live-action G.I. Joe film, while not critically beloved, made a nice bit of profit.

That all seemed to change with Battleship however. It wasn’t just that Battleship was a failure, the film was a monumental failure, barely earning one-tenth of its $209 million budget in its opening weekend. It performed so poorly that it now holds the record for the smallest opening weekend for a film that cost over $200 million to make. It stands to reason that this might have made the executives at Paramount a bit nervous about their similarly big-budget, nostalgia-tapping G.I. Joe movie.

Perhaps that nine-month delay that was announced only moments ago is an effort by Paramount to either buy time in which the film can be re-edited, or simply stall the release in the hopes that perhaps the market will be more amiable to rehashed 1980s pop culture in a year’s time.

Like we said, we don’t know anything for sure, but at this point, our speculative explanation seems as likely as the official company line.

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Moved To March 2013 For 3D Conversion

by Germain Lussier slashfilm.com

Things were going so well for G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Fans were responding really well to the trailers, director Jon Chu was talking up how it’s the movie he really wanted to see as a G.I. Joe fan, the release date was approaching and everyone was excited.

Paramount has now decided to forgo that positive buzz and bump the film back nine months, from June 29 to March 29, so it can be converted to 3D. We weight the positives and negatives after the jump.

The Hollywood Reporter first tweeted about this news which is, frankly, shocking after all those reasons mentioned above.

So why the move? “We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally” one studio executive told Deadline. Thanks a lot, Battleship.

Let’s go down both sides of the argument.

On the positive side, June 29 placed the film in near direct competition with The Amazing Spider-Man and, as we’ve seen with The Avengers, a huge superhero movie can completely cannibalize box office. Next March, on the other hand, is a little more open when it comes to male-orientated action. (There’s Jack the Giant Killer and Oz The Great and Powerful but Joe is different enough from those). Of course, there’s also the simple dollars and cents of it. 3D movies charge more per ticket which means more money for the studio.

But a conversion this late in the game does suggest they’re going to need that extra $2-$3 per ticket. Is that because the film isn’t that good? It certainly feels like it. Of course it’s possible this is an artistic decision and Jon Chu, who used 3D on a few of his previous movies, just wanted to present this huge action film in that format. If that’s the case though, wouldn’t he have made that decision months and months ago?

Plus, if he didn’t shoot the film with 3D in mind, a conversion can be a total nightmare. Nine months, though, should be ample time to really straighten it out.

What do you think? Is this a good move for the better of the movie or a reactionary move because the film is a bomb?

[rubie]

May 23, 2012

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Director Jon M. Chu on Not Shooting in 3D, Addressing Studio Notes

by Todd Gilchrist THR & hisstank.com

At the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival, the director talked to THR about the "freeing" experience of shooting his sequel in 2D on film.

When Jon Chu was hired to direct G.I. Joe: Retaliation, many assumed he was chosen because of his experience shooting in 3D – his Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never were big hits that boasted well-received 3D presentation. But the film was ultimately shot on film and scheduled for release only in 2D prior to Wednesday, when Paramount announced that the film’s release date was being pushed from June 29, 2012 until March 29, 2013 in order for the studio to convert the film to 3D.

At the 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival, Chu spoke exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter about the process of making the film, and talked about the decision to shoot in 2D, and the ongoing collaboration he enjoyed with the studio.

The Hollywood Reporter: How was it decided not to shoot the film in 3D?

Jon M. Chu: There was a point where we were talking about it when I first came. It seemed like a natural thing, but I told them, “I know 3D. This is what we need. If we’re going to do 3D, we’re going to do it right.” It had a certain price tag to it, and I was like, if you guys are down I'm down, but I do need more time to do it right. And they were about to do it but they cut it just a little bit short, and [i said,] “if you guys are going to cut it short there is no point. Let’s make a movie -- let’s go for it and we’ll go all out. And we shot on film, super-35, and I thought this may be one of the last times I get to shoot on film, and it was actually kind of freeing. I mean, I love 3D and I think there is a lot you can do with it, but there is something to be said about just not waiting for anything. You’re just going. We shot so much film. I mean I think we shot 1.2 million feet of film.

THR: Was that due to using multiple cameras for set-ups?

Chu: Yes and no. We were really efficient when we were shooting – we’d do like 50 set-ups a day, which I've never been at that rate. Stephen Windon, our [director of photography], is just awesome and his camera crew, they’re all warriors. They’re in it, they’re sweating -- we’re in the desert and it’s 114 degrees, and the Steadicam guy is just trudging through this sand. So it was brutal, but they were down to be down and dirty.

THR: How do you integrate the studio’s notes and guidance into the process? And have you encountered those kinds of suggestions on G.I. Joe?

Chu: Always -- I mean, there is always stuff. There are always things that you need to work out with them. That’s part of the moviemaking process. But nothing’s forced. Nothing like, “Jon, you need to dumb it down this much” -- that would ruin the movie. There have been points where I'm like, trust me -- the audience gets it by this point, and they’re like, “we don’t get it because we don’t know about G.I. Joe,” so we’ve been able to iron out [those differences], maybe adding things here or putting in that scene that we cut out previously or things like that. But nothing major, and when I take those notes, I try to listen to where the issue is, because no matter what, if someone is bumping, there is some issue. They may not be able to communicate it right and they may be giving you a solution, not the problem, so we try to interpret their problem. I never take a problem off the table because I know if they’re bumping, someone is going to bump against, so that’s a question that we play with and fiddle with. So it’s a problem you sort of always struggle with, but nothing out of the ordinary.

[rubie]

May 24, 2012

G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation's Fate? Five Movies That Got Last-Minute New Release Dates—and How They Fared

by JOAL RYAN E!Online

Bad sign, always? Good sign, sometimes?

By belatedly getting pulled from the summer schedule and pushed back to next year, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation has joined some infamous company. It's also joined some illustrious company.

A case-study look at five movies that got yanked:

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

• When the Moving Van Showed Up: About three months prior to its planned November 2008 release. Warner Bros. said it saw the summer of 2009 as a better opportunity; conventional wisdom said the studio, after the staggering success of The Dark Knight, just didn't need another 2008 hit on its books.

• The Bottom Line: A Harry Potter movie could open on Mars and be fine; this one grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide.

2. Clash of the Titans (2010)

• When the Moving Van Showed Up: A little more than seven weeks before its slated March 2010 debut. Its studio, Warners, said it needed time to convert the epic to 3-D. If this sounds eerily reminiscent of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, it shouldn't: Clash was only pushed back one week, not eight months.

• The Bottom Line: The 3-D ticket sales added up to a big, $61 million opening weekend.

3. Shutter Island

• When the Moving Van Showed Up: Six weeks before the presumed Leonardo DiCaprio-Martin Scorsese Oscar vehicle was to bow in October 2009. In the depths of the recession, Paramount basically was cash-strapped.

• The Bottom Line: Shutter Island finally opened in February 2012. DiCaprio and Scorsese didn't get any Oscars, but Scorsese got the biggest opening of his career: $41 million.

4. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

• When the Moving Van Showed Up: When director Gus Van Sant told it to show up. At the request of the filmmaker, the 1990s Uma Thurman indie was pulled off its studio's schedule just three weeks prior to its scheduled opening.

• The Bottom Line: That the little movie, which opened eight months after van Sant's request for more time, made little money is not the point of this example; that films can and do get yanked very, very, very close to hitting theaters is.

5. Rollerball (2002)

• When the Moving Van Showed Up: When didn't the moving van show up? This Chris Klein-led remake of the same-titled, 1970s sci-fi-action favorite was a hot potato, moving from a prime summer spot to an August outpost to, about six weeks before that scheduled opening, the dead of winter in the following year. MGM said the film needed more marketing, and it did—the buzz was terrible.

• The Bottom Line: This movie is G.I. Joe: Retaliation's nightmare scenario, and maybe Channing Tatum's, too, considering how Klein's career tracked after this

May 23, 2012

'G.I. Joe 2' Pushed Back to March 2013 for 3D Conversion

by Sandy Schaefer screenrant.com

Here’s an unexpected twist: Paramount is delaying the release date for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, just over a month before the sequel was originally due to hit theaters around the U.S. Retaliation has now been pushed back an entire nine months to a March 29th, 2013 date – where it will face off against The Host during its opening weekend.

The reason for said abrupt delay? Paramount wants to convert the film to 3D, in order to improve its box office prospects overseas.

Deadline quotes an unnamed Paramount head as saying (about Retaliation):

“We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally. Jim Cameron did all of ‘Titanic’‘s 3D in post – and look how well that movie turned out.”

The quality of Titanic‘s post-converted 3D has demonstrated that non-native 3D films are not necessarily inferior to those shot in the format – assuming the proper time and effort is invested. Furthermore, there are certain recurring set pieces featured in the Retaliation trailers to date (especially the cliff-side ninja battle) that suggest the sequel could stand to benefit from the added dimension.

Of course, the delay is still disappointing news for everyone who was looking forward to a second G.I. Joe movie – one that appears to be an improvement on its predecessor. Still, considering that Retaliation was originally going to square-off against Amazing Spider-Man, just a few days after its opening here in the States – the move seems to make sense, from a financial perspective.

How does the news about Retaliation being post-converted to 3D make you feel? Sound off in the comments section.

As mentioned before: G.I. Joe: Retaliation is now positioned to hit theaters (in 2D, 3D, and, most likely, IMAX 3D) around the U.S. on March 29th, 2013.

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Source: Deadline

[rubie]

May 23, 2012

Say It Ain't So, JOE! Paramount Pushes G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Back to March 2013

BRANDON MARCUS veryaware.com

Well, this is wholly unexpected.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION was set to open next month on June 29th but it’s now being reported that the Jon M. Chu action film has been pushed back all the way to March 29, 2013. That’s nine whole months. One of the summer’s most anticipated films is now gone.

The reason for the shocking change? 3D conversion of course. The folks at Paramount have decided the sequel would look better in three dimensions, not to mention it would help international ticket sales.

A source told Deadline: “We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally. Jim Cameron did all ofTitanic‘s 3D in post – and look how well that movie turned out.”

I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of 3D, that’s been talked about to death. I will say that it seems awfully foolish to postpone a picture this close to its release. Posters were already up, trailers were already playing, this thing was on the loading dock ready to take off. This just looks sloppy.

Sorry if you had plans to see the film at midnight on June 29th. Hey, you can always re-watch the first one.

When it opens, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION will star Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis and Ray Park.

No Joe! G.I. Joe: Retaliation pushed back to March 2013

Source: flickeringmyth.com

Any G.I. Joe fans who were looking forward to the arrival of the Jon M. Chu-directed sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation next month will be disappointed to learn that Paramount Pictures has made the rather belated decision to push the film's release date back a whole nine months to March 2013. The reason? Why, money of course!

According to a report over at Deadline, Paramount are delaying the movie in order to post-convert the sequel into 3D, no doubt due to the stellar box office performance of Marvel's The Avengers, with an unnamed source quoted as stating: "We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally... Jim Cameron did all of Titanic's 3D in post – and look how well that movie turned out."

I guess they've forgotten about the small fact that Titanic was already a billion dollar-grossing picture way back when 3D post-conversion was but a twinkle in James Cameron's eye...

The $125m-budgeted sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra sees cast members Ray Park, Lee Byung-hun, Channing Tatum, Arnold Vosloo and Jonathan Pryce all reprising their roles from the 2009 original. Meanwhile, newcomers to the franchise for Retaliation include Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, Bruce Willis as Colonel Joseph Colton, Elodie Yung as Jinx, D.J. Cotrona as Flint, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, Ray Stevenson as Firefly, Stephen Martines as Cross-Country, RZA as Blind Master, Eddie Hargitay as Tunnel Rat and Joseph Mazzello as Mouse. It is now slated to hit cinemas on March 29th, 2013.

Paramount Pushes G.I. Joe: Retaliation into 2013 for 3D Retrofitting

Source: theHDroom.com

Paramount Pictures has made a bold and late decision to push Jon M. Chu's G.I. Joe: Retaliation out of its June 29 release date all the way back to March 29, 2013, Hasbro toy plans and already executed marketing plans be damned. Chalk up a rare victory for diabolical Cobra Commander against those pesky Joes, their Super Bowl ad, and countless marketing dollars spent since.

The reason cited by Paramount for the drastic move is twofold. First, the studio claims that test audiences wondered why the film wasn't available in 3D like other big summer blockbusters are (note: Lionsgate's hugely successful The Hunger Games and The Dark Knight Rises are not available in 3D). Based on a positive experience retrofitting James Cameron's Titanic with 3D, Paramount is convinced the G.I. Joe: Retaliation experience will do nothing but benefit with the third dimension added.

Paramount is locking in on the potential for huge overseas business, the only reason G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra made enough cash to justify a sequel. With stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis and 21 Jump Street and The Vow's Channing Tatum to market, Paramount feels the addition of 3D in big international markets like China and Russia - where 3D showings are growing exponentially - will lead to extra bucks at the box office.

Lionsgate's huge success with The Hunger Games as a March release helped convince Paramount that moving G.I. Joe: Retaliation back was the right idea. Though the studio makes no official mention of it, I'm sure the continued success of The Avengers, couple with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises just after Retaliation's old release date, helped scare the Joes out of 2012.

Fans of the G.I. Joe franchise were all keyed up for a 2012 release. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Hasbro 3-3/4" action figures and a celebration was planned for the annual G.I. Joe Convention that would have featured a screening of the film. In fact, action figures for G.I. Joe: Retaliation have already begun to trickle into stores. Hasbro will now have to scramble to rework their plans.

Thanks to Paramount Pictures chasing the mighty dollar, go ahead and cross G.I. Joe: Retaliation off your summer 2012 movie list. Hopefully the 3D addition will help bring in the big bucks and get the ball rolling on another sequel.

Source: Deadline

'G.I. Joe 2' Pushed Back to 2013 to Get 3D Treatment

© AceShowbiz.com

Aiming for a better box office performance, Paramount Pictures decides to delay the release of 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' to March 2013 to give time for its convertion into 3D.

Summer movie lineup in 2012 has lost one of its most anticipated titles. It has been reported that Paramount Pictures has decided to push back the release date for "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" from June 29 this year to March 29, 2013.

According to Deadline, the sudden decision was made in order to give the action movie a 3D treatment. "We're going to do a conscientious 3D job because we've seen how it can better box office internationally," explained the studio exec to the film site. "Jim Cameron did all of 'Titanic' 3D in post - and look how well that movie turned out."

Paramount seemingly made a right decision given that 3D format is more promising internationally with Russia and China building new 3D theaters this week. Though so, Hollywood is shocked over the postponement news since Paramount has been massively promoting "G.I. Joe 2" including making a Super Bowl ad earlier this year.

As for another reason why the high-octane movie gets delayed for nine months, it is said that the studio has learned from the blockbuster performance of "The Hunger Games" which proved that March can be a prime time to release big movies.

In "G.I. Joe 2", the Joe team must work together to fight against mercenary Zartan and his accomplices. Having the world leaders under his influence, Zartan launches attack towards innocent populace and has some new heavies on the payroll to keep G.I. Joe at bay.

The Jon M. Chu-directed action film brings back Channing Tatum, Ray Park and Lee Byung-hun as Duke, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow respectively. They will be joined by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Roadblock, Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, Elodie Yung as Jinx and Bruce Willis as General Joseph Colton.

[rubie]

May 24, 2012

UPDATE!! What The Hell Happened With G.I. JOE: RETALIATION?!

Source: aintitcool.com

Merrick here...

Per The Kidd's comments below about adding more Tatum to the new movie...

Someone who'd recently seen the new G.I. JOE picture at a test screening told me last night about some interesting and suspicious questions on their post-screening questionnaire thingie. Edited and paraphrased...

"I cant help but kinda call richard simmons on this 3D shenanigan..."

[EDIT]

Questions included...

"How did you feel about him (Tatum) in the film?" and "Do you feel there should have been more of him...?"

This individual found it highly suspicious that these questions were being posed at a test screening which occurred before the announcement of the film's delayed release. All things being equal, it certainly seems quite feasible that some level of retooling of the picture might be taking place during this nine month (!?!?) postponement. If so...said adjustments would seem(?) to be adding more Tatum into the equation. This is only conjecture though...for now, at least...

Here's The Kidd with more perspective...

=========================

The Kidd here...

There's a lot of close attention being paid to what's going on over at the offices of Paramount Pictures today after word came down yesterday that the studio was pulling G.I. JOE: RETALIATION from the summer 2012 calendar a little more than a month shy of its June 29 release date and repositioning it nine months later for March 2013, all in the name of 3-D. After all, an action flick starring The Rock and Bruce Willis would normally seem like a sure bet to bring in some good cash during the blockbuster season, and with a franchise that carries name recognition which already performed well enough in the theatres three years ago to warrant a sequel, you'd think G.I. JOE 2's bed was pretty well made already. That's where you'd be wrong. The first film is pretty divisive among fans - with some considering it nothing more than fun entertainment while others chalk it up to an incredible piece of stupidity - and yet there seemed to be a lot of positive buzz surrounding the sequel, which is quite an accomplishment. You couldn't say the same thing for say WRATH OF THE TITANS, which moved from a disappointing first film to an even more disappointing follow-up. But here we were, maybe not anticipating RETALIATION like PROMETHEUS or THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but at least willing to go in open-minded after what was less than an ideal first offering... only for Paramount to yank the rug out from beneath us for the simple fact that converting the film will add 3-4 bucks to the ticket price you'll have to pay when they finally decide to show it to you. More money for them. But is there more than meets than eye (to borrow from another toy franchise)?

Business-wise, this makes perfect sense for Paramount. Apparently the international box office has been eating these 3-D action flicks up, so it's a sound business decision for Paramount to set G.I. JOE up in a slot where they can best take advantage of the market... but, if that's the case, why wait until now? Perhaps because panic has begun to set in not about what this film might not be able to do... which is compete with THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and make serious money.

There's a lot of apprehension about these big budget blockbusters these days after the financial failings of JOHN CARTER and BATTLESHIP. First off, if you're going to invest that much money in a picture, the studios damn sure want to be sure that they're going to make it back and then some. In the case of JOHN CARTER, Disney really has no one to blame but themselves, as their marketing was weak in gaining awareness for the film. However, BATTLESHIP was set up in the shadow of THE AVENGERS and wound up getting killed for it. Was BATTLESHIP awful? Absolutely. However, terrible movies have still managed to draw an audience, with Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS sequels serving as perfect examples.

But with the record-setting numbers THE AVENGERS has been pulling since it assembled, there's plenty of reason to be worried about going head-to-head with our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man over Fourth of July Weekend. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION is only getting a few days head start on Spidey, and that doesn't necessarily mean people are going to rush out to see it knowing what's waiting for them a few days later over the holiday. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is still a Spider-Man movie, and that'll always trump G.I. JOE. The real question then becomes why did Paramount wait so long to realize they were leading their lamb to slaughter. Did they just think people would come out and see their movie, because during the summer, people have typically gone out and seen anything and everything, only to be proven wrong by BATTLESHIP? That could be part of it... or there could be big problems with RETALIATION.

The 3-D-ification is what it is. It's Paramount looking to squeeze every last dime that they can out of this movie, but couldn't they have decided to do that months and months ago? Why the sudden decision to post-convert? John Chu admitted to The Hollywood Reporter at SXSW that shooting RETALIATION was once an option, but they decided against it because it would have meant more money and more time. However, even those few short months ago, post-conversion 3-D didn't seem to be on the table. That wasn't something being considered then to make the June release date. It seemingly wasn't considered until now, which leads me to believe that this isn't about the 3-D at all. There's something else going on with G.I. JOE: RETALIATION.

Since yesterday, I've been getting all types of early screening reports about the quality of G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, which have ranged from "nonsensical" to "worse than RISE OF COBRA," so it's quite possible that Paramount didn't realize they had a bad movie on their hands until they got it in front of audiences, which was rather late in the game. Therefore, this was their chance to pull the plug to rework and retool the movie.

There've also been reports of plenty of reshoots leading into the cut of RETALIATION they have now with many more to come. The rumor mill seems to be working overtime with talk of Paramount now seeing Channing Tatum as more of an asset, after 21 JUMP STREET and MAGIC MIKE, than a bad link to the first movie. There's been some rumbling of reshoots that would call for more Tatum in the movie. The G.I. JOE RETALIATION we see nine months from now may only vaguely resemble the one we would have gotten one month from now.

Of course Paramount is going to say as much, because the smoke of the 3-D enables the fire of these problems to burn largely unnoticed under that cover... but there's plenty of reason to believe that G.I. JOE: RETALIATION was a movie in trouble and Paramount did the only thing they could think of at this point. The cost of their marketing isn't a big deal to them at this point. It just means a longer period of advertisement for their movie. But the thing I don't think they counted on was that they've taken what was a positive for them and quickly turned it into a negative. People were excited to see a G.I. JOE sequel, and, now that it's not happening when they were told, they have no choice but to fear and assume the worst (much of which may very well be justified).

I hope that Paramount can save G.I. JOE if this is the case. I hope they are pulling out all the stops to try to right the franchise and set it up to have a long future. I'm not saying that the fans deserve it, but the legacy of G.I. JOE does. These properties need to be handled with care, because, for the studios, they mean lots of money, but, for the fans, they mean something special. And poor films associated with such important names means everyone comes out a loser. They have nine months to make it work. They have nine months to pull it together. They have no other choice, because, right now, they've stacked the deck against themselves. Had G.I. JOE: RETALIATION rolled through next month and been bad, the film would have bombed, fans would have complained, and we all would have moved on. But, if you push it back, slap some 3-D on it, and turn out a movie that still winds up not meeting a certain standard, they come across as greedy and untrustworthy... and that's not a perception they should want to carry.

-Billy Donnelly

"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"

BillyTheKidd@aintitcool.com

[rubie]

May 24, 2012

Soldier Sequel SNAFU: G.I. Joe: Retaliation Stands Down, For Now

By LILY ROTHMAN entertainment.time.com

The planned summer release is on hold until March

With only about a month left to go before the film’s planned June 29 release, Paramount has announced that the only big summer action movie on their slate—G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the sequel to 2009′s G.I. Joe movie—will be delayed for nine more months as a third dimension is added to the film. This comes after a heavy promotional push for the movie, including a Super Bowl ad, complicated websites and all the usual buzz-building stuff. The last-minute change was a shock to director Jon M. Chu, according to the Los Angeles Times, who on Monday said that he was ready for the release.

Retaliation stars Channing Tatum, reprising his role from 2009, but Tatum is injured early on and leaves a new group of soldiers to save the day. The new team is led by Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis, the latter of whom plays the Joe (even though the original G.I. Joe toys are a reference to the everyman soldier, the movie has an actual guy). Chu has plenty of schlocky 3D cred to his name—he did the Justin Bieber movie and Step Up 3D—but the Hollywood Reporter says that at South by Southwest the director was open about the studio balking at the time and money needed to do 3D right, and how he was excited to shoot film (1.2 million feet of it, apparently) instead. Adding 3D in post production is nothing new, and the studio executives who made the financial decision to delay surely learned about sunk costs in Econ 101, but it’s not hard to imagine that they’re regretting not filming in 3D from the get-go.

There are lots of theories out there about why Paramount picked March over June. The original date was sandwiched between Brave and The Amazing Spider-Man. Overseas audiences crave 3D. All the promotion wasn’t leading to tangible excitement. This month’s Battleship left audiences with a bad taste in their mouths about toys-cum-movies. The movie already cost $125 million and the first one didn’t make much more than that; 3D ticket prices may help recoup the costs. The spring month is not so crowded and yet Hunger Games demonstrated that a major March opening is possible.

And allow us to put forward another, new, completely unfounded suggestion: the studio’s already on the hook for more than $100 million, but maybe they want to save a few pennies on the redesign of all the promotional materials. After all, the movie’s new release date is the next possible Friday the 29th on the calendar.

G.I. Joe' gets new marching orders, moves to 2013

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer sfgate.com

Just a month before its June release in the U.S., Paramount Pictures delayed the debut of "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" by nine months after another movie based on a Hasbro plaything was trounced at the box office by "The Avengers."

Paramount on Wednesday pushed back the release of the "G.I. Joe" sequel from June 29 until March 29, 2013, in order to adapt the movie for 3-D screens, according to Paramount's executive vice president of publicity, Katie Martin Kelley.

The move comes after "Battleship," based on the Hasbro board game, debuted at No. 2 at the North American box office with $25.5 million in ticket sales, behind the still-strong "Avengers," which brought in a whopping $55.6 million in its third weekend of release.

Action films often get most of their revenue from 3-D showings, which cost a few dollars more per ticket and can boost a movie's prospects to make its money back.

March has proven to be a big month for movies because there's a lack of big-budget competition, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of Hollywood.com. This March, "The Hunger Games" premiered on March 12 and went on to make $629 million worldwide.

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" also suffered from a lack of strong buzz online, according to Ben Carlson, president of market tracking firm Fizziology.

Did 'Battleship' Sink 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'?

By Casey Johnson starpulse.com

According to the company line, G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been pushed back from its release late next month to March 2013, in order to add 3D affects in post production. However, this decision could have as much to do with Battleship's recent release.

Battleship, another Hasbro Studio film, bombed in box offices and netted lackluster reviews. The movie was projected to rake in about $40 million its opening weekend, but could only make $25 million. Given the critical response, it's doubtful that gross will grow much via word of mouth.

March can be a profitable month for films, since large franchises usually shun it for the coming summer. The Hunger Games made $629 million worldwide on the back of a strong March launch. A premium for 3D showings could also boost G.I. Joe's totals.

It's hard to see the move as anything but a reaction to Battleship's failure, given that the flick was only a month away from hitting theaters. If G.I. Joe: Retaliation bombs as well, Hasbro will have to rely on the Transformers franchise to boost its earnings.

[rubie]

May 24, 2012

G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Release Date Bumped To March 2013 For 3D Conversion

Posted by BAADASSSSS! geeksofdoom.com

Those among us who were looking forward to seeing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Bruce Willis team up to kick some Cobra richard simmons next month in the increasingly badass-looking sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation are in for a mighty disappointment. Nikki Finke at Deadline reported today that Paramount Pictures has decided to pull Retaliation from its June 29 release date and delay it until March 29 of next year so that the film can undergo a 3D conversion.

“We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally,” an unnamed executive at Paramount told Finke. “Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post — and look how well that movie turned out.”

Release date changes are old hat in Hollywood, but the sudden decision to bump Retaliation to next year comes as a shock to many considering that the film’s advertising campaign has been in full swing ever since late last year. The trailers, TV spots, and posters have all been greeted with a mixed response, but the buzz on the movie had been a greater deal more positive than its predecessor, 2009′s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. A sizable array of toys, comics, and other movie-related merchandise were gearing up to launch in advance of the original release date and the International G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention being held this year in New Orleans was scheduled to feature an advanced private screening of Retaliation.

The official studio line is that the recent success of The Hunger Games proved that March could be a great time to open a major movie ahead of the summer blockbuster onslaught, but that movie was an adaptation of a mega-popular young adult novel with dark and mature subject matter financed by a fledgling studio that probably would not have done as well if it had opened in the Summer. G.I. Joe: Retaliation on the other hand is a summer popcorn action movie in both body and soul; this movie was designed to be enjoyed in an air-conditioned theater on a hot and boring day. It’s the kind of committee-constructed escapism we’ve come to expect from the studios, the polar opposite of The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises, but possibly no less enjoyable on its own merits.

That’s the line we’re going to get from Paramount, who was only in for half of Retaliation‘s reported $125 million budget while Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Skydance Productions split the other half, but the unspoken reason probably has a lot to do with the recent Stateside belly flop opening of Universal Pictures’ board game adaptation Battleship. Both Battleship and Retaliation were based on beloved Hasbro toys that have been around for decades, but the G.I. Joe line long ago expanded its characters and mythology into the arenas of comic books and animated television. Plus Retaliation was the only movie of the two with any actual stars; Battleship had Liam Neeson, but his role was thankless and reeked of a quick paycheck.

Then again maybe the reason Retaliation is getting its release date pushed back and converted to 3D is because the movie just plain sucks and the studio is trying to find a way to milk every possible dollar from it and have less to write off, but I doubt it. In the meantime, Universal has pushed Seth McFarlane’s debut feature comedy Ted up two weeks into Retaliation‘s old slot.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation will open in 2D and post-converted 3D on March 29, 2013.

The Release Date For 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Has Been Pushed Back To 2013

pinkisthenewblog.com

WTF?!

Just last month, Paramount Studios released two action-packed movie trailers for this Summer’s sequel film G.I. Joe: Retaliation … which was due to open in theaters next month. Today we learn that Retaliation will not be released in theaters next month as planned. In fact, the film will not be released in 2012 at all. The decision has been made to push back the release date for G.I. Joe: Retaliation until March of 2013 supposedly so that the film could be converted to 3D. My guess is that Paramount just decided not to compete at the box office this year with films like The Avengers and Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.

The sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation was supposed to come out this summer on June 29th. But I’ve learned that Paramount is moving the movie nine months to March 29, 2013, to add 3D. “We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally,” one of the studio execs just told me. “Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post — and look how well that movie turned out.” Hollywood is shocked that Paramount vacated the primo date, especially because Paramount blew a wad on a Super Bowl commercial and already was starting TV and outdoor ads for GI Joe 2. Paramount has had luck delaying films before: its decision to move Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island gave the director his biggest box office hit ever. And right now, 3D is huge internationally, with Russia and China building new 3D theaters by the week.

Wow. This is … insane. Let’s be real … the demand for G.I. Joe 2 has been tepid at best. I don’t know that pushing back the film 9 months is really a good idea. I guess the studio execs know what they’re doing and if they think that a 3D conversion will make more money down the line, then I wish them all the luck in the world. Considering how much the studio has already spent on advertising the film’s release this year, I honestly don’t believe the delay will help the film financially in the long run. Not only that but fans will now be confused … expecting a movie this year, having to wait for it until next year. I’ll still see Retaliation, whenever it gets released but I don’t know that the same can be said for many other folks. OY!

[rubie]

May 24, 2012

Dwayne Johnson Says 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Will Have New 3D Scenes

by Ethan Anderton l Source: Twitter via firstshowing.net

For good reason, plenty of people are quite baffled by the last minute decision by Paramount Pictures to push back G.I. Joe: Retaliation from its June 29th release date this summer to a March 29th release in 2013. The reason given was for a 3D conversion so that the film could do better at the box office. Honestly, if that was the case, they would've shot the film in 3D from the beginning. Instead, this seems like an excuse to give a lackluster blockbuster a less competitive release window and make money back with 3D inflation. And evidence of that comes from a brief statement on Twitter from Dwayne Johnson about the 3D news.

According to Johnson's Twitter, when he responded to a follower, he says the nine month wait will be worth it because production was "Designing new scenes to enhance 3D.” That's what we call reshoots, and that means Paramount is not happy with the final product. This isn't merely a nine month delay for a 3D post-conversion, but a delay to try and salvage what might not be all that great of a sequel. It's bad news all around, and honestly, the pressure will be on for this film to be awesome if they're taking more time to design new scenes for 3D. Everyone is expecting just a fun popcorn flick, but now Paramount has to deliver something more, and spend another round of millions on the marketing. It's ridiculous.

The Rock Says ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ is Filming New 3D Scenes That Will Kick Your richard simmons

By Nathan Adams filmschoolrejects.com

The Rock is a hype man, born and bred. I guess that’s kind of inevitable when you grow up in a house with a dad and a grandpa who are both professional wrestlers. So any talking up of his film projects the guy does on Twitter should be taken with a grain of salt; he is a carny at heart, after all. Still though, it should be noted that after yesterday’s announcement that G.I. Joe: Retaliation was having its June 2012 release date changed to a March 2013 one (so that it could be converted to 3D) disappointed pretty much everyone else on the planet, The Rock seemed to be the only guy who was enthusiastic about the news.

Soon after the story broke, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took to his Twitter account and had this to say: “Commitment to make GI JOE a massive world event just got bigger. New release 3/29/13. Rock + richard simmons kickins + 3D = #AwwwwShit”

It seems that in Mr. Johnson’s mind, a finished film that’s already been heavily marketed and was set for release in a little over a month getting pushed back nine more months isn’t a sign that there are serious problems with the finished product, it’s just a sign that the studio is more committed than ever to making sure that it’s the most awesome movie possible. Kind of like how Marvel just gave Iron Man 3 an extra $60 million to play with, only completely backwards.

Confirmation of Johnson’s staunch enthusiasm in the face of anything isn’t the big news that came out of The Great One’s Twitter account yesterday, however. The intriguing news came a little later when he addressed a fan’s disappointment over the film’s delay. He tweeted: “It will be. Designing new scenes to enhance 3D. RT: @JimmyinGA: Was looking forward to GI Joe next month. Hope the 3D is worth the wait.”

Though the news that the film is going to be shooting additional scenes does little to assuage the fears that the real reason it’s going back in for tinkering is that it isn’t very good, the news that said new scenes are being conceived specifically to work in 3D does work a little to assure everyone that they won’t have to sit through a shoddy 3D conversion that nobody asked for in the first place. At least the 3D might look cool?

And, who knows? Maybe G.I. Joe: Retaliation really is just making this move in order to be bigger and better. Maybe The Avengers really did open more eyes than just Marvels to the fact that if you want a movie to succeed in today’s summer blockbuster climate it has to be crazier and more epic than anything anyone has ever seen. Maybe, when all the re-shoots have happened, and all is said and done, G.I. Joe: Retaliation will be the greatest action movie ever made. And if you believe that, The Rock has another one he wants to sell you…

More Deets on 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Push Back

Posted by Adam A. Donaldson nerdbastards.com

Remember that surprise news yesterday that G.I. Joe: Retaliation was being pushed back nearly a year for a 3-D conversion with just over one month to go before it was supposed to be released at the end of June? I thought you might. Well, today’s late breaking addendum to the story suggests that studio execs had more in mind than dollar signs when they went forward with the last minute move.

According to Retaliation star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson there maybe more than meets the eye (Sorry, wrong franchise…) to this decision.

So it looks like they’re going to be adding new scenes, shot in 3-D, to the finished film. In addition, there’s rumors that the Powers That Be are trying to persuade Joseph Gordon-Levitt to come back as Cobra Commander. What exactly that might entail given the fact that the film features a more “traditional” looking CC is unknown.

In other news, the post on Comic Book Movie re-visited some interested comments made by Retaliation director Joh M. Chu when he was interviewed at South by Southwest earlier this year by The Hollywood Reporter

THR: How was it decided not to shoot the film in 3D?

Jon M. Chu: There was a point where we were talking about it when I first came. It seemed like a natural thing, but I told them, “I know 3D. This is what we need. If we’re going to do 3D, we’re going to do it right.” It had a certain price tag to it, and I was like, if you guys are down I’m down, but I do need more time to do it right. And they were about to do it but they cut it just a little bit short, and [i said,] “if you guys are going to cut it short there is no point. Let’s make a movie — let’s go for it and we’ll go all out. And we shot on film, super-35, and I thought this may be one of the last times I get to shoot on film, and it was actually kind of freeing. I mean, I love 3D and I think there is a lot you can do with it, but there is something to be said about just not waiting for anything. You’re just going. We shot so much film. I mean I think we shot 1.2 million feet of film.

[Guest nana544]

I'll love to watch it this summer, but it seems like that might not be the case after all.

[rubie]

May 29, 2012

'G.I. Joe's' move to 2013: A curse or blessing in disguise?

Source: Los Angeles Times

Hollywood was all aflutter late last week over the news that Paramount had done the unthinkable — it had delayed the release of its big summer film “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” just five weeks before it was due to reach theaters. The studio said it was pushing the release back to next March so the film could be converted to 3-D.

Judging from the buzz on Twitter and reaction from industry insiders, no one was buying that explanation. The consensus? Paramount must have decided that it didn’t have the goods to go up against so much stiff summer superhero competition. Surely the film must be a dog.

After all, when studios bail on a release date, it’s usually a sign of something being amiss. Paramount had already spent millions on marketing and promotion touting the film’s launch, including a costly buy for a Super Bowl commercial. The “G.I. Joe” trailer was already playing in theaters. Billboards were up around town. As one top studio executive told me, with obvious relish: “Look on the bright side. Paramount could be the first studio ever to run a spot for the same movie on two Super Bowls in a row.”

From the standpoint of conventional wisdom, surely someone hit the panic button. Look at Marvel Studios: It locks in its release dates years in advance, often long before anyone has started to shoot the movie or even finished the script. For years, this has been the calculus for summer behemoths: Plant your flag on an attractive release date and work backward from that.

It makes a lot of sense, especially if you’re a showbiz brand manager who views your movie as an industrial assembly-line product. In pop music, an artist can sense something in the air, slip into their backyard studio and get a record out into the world in months, sometimes weeks. TV shows deal with zeitgeist issues all the time.

But Hollywood, especially when it comes to reacting to the marketplace, rumbles at the pace of a 2-ton dinosaur. Studios have so many merchandising tie-in deals and carefully orchestrated promotional windows that once a movie’s release date is set, it’s almost impossible to shift gears.

Studios are also prisoners of a risk-averse mind-set that has clogged the machinery of the business, stifling almost anything that resembles innovative thinking. This is especially true of studio release dates, which often seem to be chosen by a distribution chief who’s been in closed-door consultations with a palm reader. If a film does well on a specific date, as “The Dark Knight” did when it came out on the third Friday in July 2008, you can bet that its sequel, this summer’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” will also show up in theaters on the third Friday in July.

Perhaps because Paramount doesn’t have the same deep pockets as most of its studio rivals, it has been open to less traditional kinds of decision making. The studio spends less of its own money bankrolling movies than any other major distributor, but it has been especially canny about getting the most bang for its buck from its releases, one reason why it was the industry’s market share leader in 2011.

Paramount’s business has been booming overseas, in large part because of recent 3-D releases like “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Kung Fu Panda 2” and “Thor.” It was an obvious motivation for giving “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” a 3-D makeover. With audiences in Russia, Korea, Brazil and Japan flocking to see 3-D films, studios believe that a good film can easily enjoy a 25% to 30% boost in its box office if it is distributed in 3-D. With digitally-equipped theater expansion unfolding at a breakneck pace, there will be even more potential ticket sales available by the time “G.I. Joe” debuts.

But to hear insiders at Paramount tell it, the studio was also reacting to events that had occurred in the marketplace since “G.I. Joe” went into production last summer. In fact, executives at every studio in town have been losing sleep in the last several months, trying to make sense of a series of major seismic shocks to their traditional business model.

Over the past 80 days, the industry has been rocked by the release of two huge flops — Disney’s “John Carter” and Universal’s “Battleship.” Each lost many millions, $200 million in the case of “Carter.” At the same time, the industry has spawned two gigantic hits, Disney’s “The Avengers” and Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games,” which are setting box-office records all around the globe.

As one veteran studio executive put it: “It’s great to have the big hits, but when you have two huge films that tank like that, it’s not a fluke — it’s a very unsettling development. It proves that there’s no floor anymore. You can spend an unbelievable amount of marketing dollars and still not even open your movie.”

For Paramount, the biggest lesson from this upheaval is that it couldn’t stand pat with “G.I. Joe.” The studio claims that when it greenlighted the film, it was so rushed that it couldn’t be in 3-D and still meet its summer release date. That now looks like a blunder. By delaying the film, the studio will eat a lot of marketing dollars, as well as spending more money on a 3-D conversion. But with the film in the hands of Jon Chu, a young filmmaker who’s already fluent in the technology, having made two 3-D movies already, the studio believes that a 3-D version of the film would be seen as more of an event internationally.

The studio also isn’t so hung up on leaving June 29 behind. In recent years, a host of films have done summer-like business in March, most recently “The Hunger Games,” which had one of the largest opening weekends ever from its March 23 launching pad this year. Ditto for “Alice in Wonderland,” also released in March, which out-grossed every 2010 release besides “Toy Story 3.”

No one’s saying that “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” will end up being a bigger hit next March than it would’ve been this June. But it is a sign that Paramount isn’t wearing blinders. With two giant action movies having recently capsized, despite huge marketing pushes from their studios, it’s time to realize that if you don’t have the goods, you can’t buy your way to success.

[rubie]