G.I. Joe: Retaliation

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September 15, 2012
Lee Byung Hun Talks Jon Chu And GI Joe Retaliation Reshootby Shin Densetsu HissTank.com Celebuzz was able to catch up with Storm Shadow actor Lee Byung-hun recently. During this chat, Lee spoke of the differences between Rise Of Cobra director Stephen Sommers and GI Joe Retaliation director Jon M. Chu:
"When I first shot G.I. Joe, I was so uncomfortable,” Lee tells Celebuzz, who is in Los Angeles promoting the Korean film Masquerade. “It was my first experience in Hollywood and I had to work in English. So I was kind of shy and embarrassed, so I didn’t talk a lot, to the director especially. He was always busy. But Jon Chu’s different. He always wants to talk a lot – discuss the scene and the characters. So I was really comfortable with that."
The article mentions that Lee didn't do much research on Storm Shadow after he was initially cast for the role:
"I didn’t watch the cartoon,” Lee reveals. “I just needed basic information because when I first asked Stephen Sommers if he rather I studied more or watched previous G.I. Joe stuff, cartoons, he said no, I want you to create something else.”
“Then he gave me the basic information about Storm Shadow,” he explains. “He gave me some of his characteristics, and then I created some other characteristics with that [role]"
While filming his new movie "Masquerade" in Korea months back, Paramount announced that Retaliation would be delayed until March 2013. At this point he was called back to the states for 1 more day of shooting, which turned out to be longer:
"That was when I was filming [Masquerade],” he explains. “I’m in 90 percent of the movie, so my schedule was crazy. And then all of a sudden they called me and said you have to come here because we have to shoot one more day, so I told my director that I had to go to the States.”
“Even though it was only one day [of shooting], it took five days because you’re going back and forth so they hardly allowed me to go,” he reveals. “But my flight was so long and I was used to doing a period movie, that it was really hard to act in English.
“I made no good takes in 23, and that was my record,” he admits. “Thank God it was just one day.”
Aside from Channing Tatum and The Rock, it's not known who else aside from Lee was called back to shoot more footage.

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September 14, 2012
'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Co-Star Byung-Hun Lee Calls Director Jon M. Chu 'Brilliant' (EXCLUSIVE)Written by Todd Gilchrist Celebuzz.com l Photo from Daum

Described as “the Brad Pitt of Korea,” Byung-Hun Lee made his American debut as Storm Shadow in Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. But the actor says that he felt more comfortable on the forthcoming sequel for more reasons than just the fact that he was no longer a newcomer to working in English. Specifically, he enjoyed a great collaboration with G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu.
“When I first shot G.I. Joe, I was so uncomfortable,” Lee tells Celebuzz, who is in Los Angeles promoting the Korean film Masquerade. “It was my first experience in Hollywood and I had to work in English. So I was kind of shy and embarrassed, so I didn’t talk a lot, to the director especially. He was always busy. But Jon Chu’s different. He always wants to talk a lot – discuss the scene and the characters. So I was really comfortable with that.”
“He’s brilliant,” Lee says. “His character is really comfortable like a [kid] so we could talk a lot.”
What obstacle made reshoots on ‘G.I. Joe 2’ tough for him to tackle?
Storm Shadow is one of the most beloved characters in G.I. Joe history, but the actor said that when he initially signed on to play the role, he did very little research into his animated predecessor.
“I didn’t watch the cartoon,” Lee reveals. “I just needed basic information because when I first asked Stephen Sommers if he rather I studied more or watched previous G.I. Joe stuff, cartoons, he said no, I want you to create something else.”
“Then he gave me the basic information about Storm Shadow,” he explains. “He gave me some of his characteristics, and then I created some other characteristics with that [role].”
Six weeks before Retaliation was scheduled to arrive in theaters, Paramount Pictures pulled it from the studio’s summer 2012 lineup and announced that the film would be converted into 3D. Additionally, the cast was recalled to shoot additional scenes, which Lee says was an especially big challenge since he was working on another film at the time.
“That was when I was filming [Masquerade],” he explains. “I’m in 90 percent of the movie, so my schedule was crazy. And then all of a sudden they called me and said you have to come here because we have to shoot one more day, so I told my director that I had to go to the States.”
“Even though it was only one day [of shooting], it took five days because you’re going back and forth so they hardly allowed me to go,” he reveals. “But my flight was so long and I was used to doing a period movie, that it was really hard to act in English.
“I made no good takes in 23, and that was my record,” he admits. “Thank God it was just one day.”
Masquerade opens in Los Angeles Friday, September 21. G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens nationwide March 29, 2013.
From https://twitter.com/jonmchu
This image has been resized to fit in the page. Click to enlarge.

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October 17, 2012
JOHN M. CHU TALKS 'MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE' AND 'G.I. JOE: RETALIATION'
Written by  Jordan DeSaulnier  Director Jon M. Chu is making the movie from music-centric movies into features based on toy properties that hit the peak of their popularity in the 1980s.  Having directed Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D, Chu is now in post-production on G.I. Joe: Retribution and is set to direct a new Masters of the Universe movie, bringing He-Man and Skeletor to the screen all over again.
Chu has provided an update on the G.I. Joe sequel and explained a bit about how he became involved in the Masters of the Universe, as well as his approach to the fantasy action-adventure.
The quasi-reboot sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra stars Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, and Bruce Willis.  The movie was scheduled for nationwide release on Jun 28th of this last summer.  Right in the middle of an extensive event movie promotional push that included a pricey Super Bowl television spot, Paramount Pictures unexpectedly delayed G.I. Joe: Retalition until March 29, 2013.  With the sequel just five weeks from release, the studio's dubious official explanation for the delay was a conversion to 3D to better serve the film in international markets.
In a new interview with Celebuzz, Chu was asked when Masters of the Universe might begin production, to which he replied with a G.I. Joe update, saying, 
I can’t say exactly, but my first priority right now is still G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  We are finishing the dimensionalizing of the film and I want the audience to be blown away by the 3D work we do in it so that takes a lot of my time and energy currently. It’s a lot of technical and creative stuff put together which I love. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve done, finally!
Okay, with that Hasbro property out of the way, let's move on to He-Man, a Mattel toy.  The animated series designed essentially to advertise toys, Masters of the Universe was previously made into a 1987 cheesefest starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella.  Chu was lured to the new version by the screenplay, courtesy of Richard Wenk, who contributed to The Expendables 2.  Chu explained,
I was approached about doing a Masters of the Universe movie and while at first I was skeptical, I read the script and I was blown away. I had no idea what to expect but it was such a fresh, UNEXPECTED approach I was immediately intrigued. I never expected to connect on a human level to a MOTU movie but I really plugged in emotionally. That alone, got me excited to see what we could do with the property.
MOTU is such a challenging puzzle to make into a movie that works to a contemporary audience but the script seemed to really crack it for me. I think people are really going to be surprised at the rich story we have the opportunity to tell in this world. Where you think MOTU goes left, the script goes right and it was just very clear to me this was something very special.
It was never a conscious decision to do another “toy” movie but when I read this I couldn’t put it down. And I definitely couldn’t let anyone else make it but myself  It was just too much fun.
Despite not thinking of his next film as a toy movie, Chu nonetheless has an attachment to the popular action figures and whatnot, an attachment that drew him to the movie, as he said, 
I LOVED the toys growing up. I had Grayskull, I had BattleCat/Cringer, I had Stratos and Orko and obviously He-Man and Skeletor. I also watched the cartoon a lot growing up. This is my era, so going to Mattel to visit their headquarters was like walking into a childhood fantasy. They had a lifesized He-Man in the lobby as well as a glass case with EVERY SINGLE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE action figure on display. It brought me back to my youth and I knew I had to be a part of getting this movie together. For every MOTU fan out there, it felt like it was time and I wanted to make sure to protect it in the process.
The director is unconcerned with treading on the narrative toes of the 1987 Masters of the Universe.  He explained,
I feel like there’s a lot of room to crack open the Masters of the Universe story. We are still in our process and I think we have some great seeds planted but making one of these types of movies RIGHT takes a lot of TONAL tightroping so we’re just going to play for the next several months. Play with designs, play with the characters, try new things, maybe go too far on some things and pull back. The process is really important to find where the right line is so we can land right on it. I think that’s what can dig out the properties full potential for a cinematic rebirth.
I don’t really think about the 80s movie when looking at this movie because the script here is so strong and so unique. I think the characters are so grounded and layered I never expected that in a Masters movie so to me it’s on a totally different level. Don’t get me wrong, I love the 80s movie for full nostalgic reasons but this script feels like it’s a totally different genre than that one.

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October 26, 2012
Director Jon Chu Talks 'He-Man: Masters of the Universe' & 'G.I. Joe 2' 3D Conversion
by Ben Kendrick ScreenRant
Following a pair of box office successes with Step Up 3D and the Justin Bieber concert film, Never Say Never, Paramount tapped Jon Chu to direct their G.I. Joe follow-up, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. At the time Chu might not have seemed like an obvious pick and our coverage speculated that the director could have been moved up the list because the studio was interested in shooting their toy-to-movie sequel in 3D. However, as filming started it was made clear that G.I. Joe 2 would not be a 3D venture – only to find out later on that Paramount intended to reshoot the film and, at the same time, add a 3D post-conversion.
Chu was reportedly “shellshocked” by the news but now, months later, the director is opening up about the 3D add-on as well as his next in-development project, another 1980s toy line-turned film, He-Man aka Masters of the Universe.
Chu recently spoke with MTV Geek about his past and future movies, including his YouTube passion project, “The League of Extraordinary Dancers” (check out his Super Ballet video), crediting his theory that “dance helps action” as the reason he landed the G.I. Joe: Retaliation gig:
I brought out some of the LXD episodes and showed them. You get some hints of how the camera moves, the choreography of the frame itself matches what’s in the frame. That was my reel to get the job, and they were like, “Okay, we get it” [...] In a weird way, doing the online dance videos that everyone thought was crazy at first helped me get G.I. Joe,” said Chu. “It’s nice to bring it home.
Now that G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been delayed, it’d be interesting to know whether the producers still agree with Chu’s action filmmaking philosophy. Though, the director is quick to downplay the “shock” he was reported to have experienced several months back when the film was bumped out of its summer time slot – claiming that, given his experience with 3D before, the first cut of G.I. Joe: Retaliation already contained a lot of opportunities for cool 3D:
I really want to push how we use the 3D [...] I shot two 3D movies. So being around that, I know what we are actually capable of doing [...] Fortunately, a lot of our shots, I guess it was in my brain anyway. We had a lot of depth in our shots, or let our shots play longer. For me, if we’re going to do this, we have to make sure it enhances the experience. That’s where we are right now, and it’s a slow painful process, to be honest!
I’m trying to convince them to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements. But as of right now, we’ll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3D to give it that edge… But we’ll see if time permits, and they’re down to do that.
To Chu’s point about his 3D instincts, the G.I. Joe: Retaliation production has been an outright bizarre endeavor to follow. As mentioned, the producers hired a filmmaker, best known for smart use of 3D in dance/music films, to shoot a 2D movie – only to later ask that director to oversee 2D reshoots and a 3D post-conversion, as well as add more Channing Tatum. While moviegoers would, no doubt, have accused Paramount of a 3D cashgrab when the project was originally announced – at least the final film could have benefited from Chu’s 3D knowledge during shooting: instead of attempting to make use of his expertise in post. Understandably, film production is a fluid experience but, given the positive response to first full length G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer, it’s hard to ignore that the problem behind the G.I. Joe 2 delay might not be Chu but a studio that didn’t have a clear idea about what film they wanted to release.
Full article here

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October 27, 2012
Jon M. Chu talks G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Masters of the Universe
Source: Flickering Myth.com

Jon M. Chu must be a busy man these days, what with putting the finishing touches to the delayed action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, as well as prepping another 80s toy adaptation in Masters of the Universe, but the director has found the time to offer fans an update on both projects:
“I really want to push how we use the 3-D," Chu tells MTV Geek, with regards to G.I. Joe, which was of course pushed back from this summer to a 2013 release in order to convert the movie into 3D, as well as reportedly increasing the screen time for Channing Tatum's Duke. "I really want to push how we use the 3-D... I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I’m in that room, watching. It’s hurting my eyes, but we’re getting it better, and pushing it further... I’m trying to convince [Paramount] to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements but as of right now, we’ll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3-D to give it that edge… But we’ll see if time permits, and they’re down to do that."
Moving on to the live-action He-Man adaptation and Chu revealed that he's busy putting the final touches to the screenplay, as well as expressing his excitement at being able to bring the world of Eternia to the screen: "Masters of the Universe means so much to a lot of people out there – and myself as well. I don’t want to disappoint my friends! We all grew up with Masters, played with the toys… I had a Castle Grayskull, played with the toys, I had a Battle Cat. We’re just designing now, going to far on some things, pulling back on others… Making it more real, or more fantastic. We’re trying to find that line as we go.
"A lot of people ask, who are you going to cast? We’re not even there yet, we’re just trying to get the character of the movie down. This is one of the most fun parts, where all the possibilities are open, and we’re just playing in the sandbox," states Chu, who admitted that he'll be drawing on "all iterations of the franchise" for inspiration, including the recent DC Comics title. "Right now, I’m just soaking it all in. Learning, watching, listening, reading a lot. Any blogs that are out there, or people who have opinions. I’m just soaking it in, and feeling what the environment is in this world. I know what I personally feel about Masters, but there is something to be said for experiencing what other people experience in the world."
G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits cinemas this coming March, with Channing Tatum joined by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra veterans Ray Park (Snake Eyes), Lee Byung-hun (Storm Shadow), Arnold Vosloo (Zartan) and Jonathan Pryce (The US President), while new recruits include Dwayne Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) as Roadblock, Bruce Willis (A Good Day to Die Hard) as Colonel Joseph Colton, Elodie Yung (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Jinx, D.J. Cotrona (Dear John) as Flint, Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights) as Lady Jaye, Ray Stevenson (Thor) as Firefly, Stephen Martines (General Hospital) as Cross-Country, RZA (The Man with the Iron Fists) as Blind Master, Eddie Hargitay (The Superagent) as Tunnel Rat and Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) as Mouse.

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October 26, 2012
Interview: Director Jon M. Chu On 'Extraordinary Dancers', 'G.I. Joe 2', and 'Masters of the Universe'
by Alex Zalben MTV Geek!
Jon M. Chu probably isn’t the first guy you’d think of as a geek, but that’s about to change. The Director of "Step Up 2: The Streets" and "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" is not only directing the ever-so-slightly delayed "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," but he’s also officially signed on to direct the big screen revamp of "Masters of the Universe." Oh, and he’s also just released a “secret” episode of his superhero/dance series "The League of Extraordinary Dancers" on his increasingly popular YouTube channel DS2DIO (“D-Studio”). So lay off: he may not have his geek card yet, but it’s in the mail.
“We shot it a long time ago, before I went off to go shoot 'G.I. Joe,'” said Chu over the phone, in reference to the secret episode of "LXD." “It was supposed to be in the second season, we wanted to do an evil ballet! But when we edited the second season, what we found was it didn’t propel the story forward that much in our arc that we had to do this season. So at the time, we just pulled it.”
Despite all the time and effort put into the episode, and with no idea whether it would ever “see the light of day,” it got swept under the rug. Then came Chu’s channel, DS2DIO, where LXD ran after it’s initial run on Hulu, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity… And so Chu and company put up the ep as a Halloween treat to fans, which you can watch right here:
Moving on, we chatted a bit about the development of the show, and how things had changed with LXD from its conception until now. Interestingly, the show started as a pitch for YouTube, before getting picked up for Hulu. The plan – in those early stages – was to make a show that was two or three minutes long. “When we actually needed the money and support, we went to Hulu,” said Chu. “Hulu said, listen two or three minutes doesn’t cut it. People want ten minute, twenty minute, thirty minute episodes. We were like, we don’t think dance on the Internet can exist like that. We had a big fight about it, compromised that we’d do these six minute versions.”
Turns out? Bad choice, as they got “reamed” by the Hulu viewers, who wanted way more show. “There are different cultures of people who watch YouTube and Hulu,” said Chu. They extended the episodes to fifteen minutes or so, which was perfect for the Hulu audience; but clearly, it was a steep learning curve.
“You could have the same person watching a Hulu video and a YouTube video, but their mentality is different,” added Chu. And bringing this full circle, DS2DIO is part of YouTube’s current initiative to push videos longer, and more professional than the traditional YouTube videos, making the extended LXD episodes a perfect fit.
Coming soon, Chu is expanding the programming available on DS2DIO from simple (well, not SO simple) dance based programs, to more off the beaten path fare, including a show intriguingly titled “FIGHT.”
“FIGHT started when I was on the set of G.I. Joe, and meeting the fight coordinators, and stunt coordinators,” said Chu. “When I was around them, I felt like I was around dance choreographers, and dancers. The way they talked about what they wanted to do, the way they saw storytelling in movement and fighting… It was just these intriguing conversations we’d have on set.”
Meeting and talking to them on set, Chu decided to follow up on some of the ideas they wanted to try out… But online, as part of this new show. “It’s not dance persay,” continued Chu. “But it’s about movement, storytelling, and that’s what our channel is really about.”
So the show throws these stunt coordinators into unexpected places, and shows what Chu called “bite-sized” fight scenes. “Whether you’re at a paint shop, a church, or the back of a truck, these giant fight scenes take place,” said Chu. “It’s a melding of what I’ve just learned on G.I. Joe, and bringing it back to DS2DIO.”
Continuing, Chu gave us a little bit of a scoop about how close this particular project hits to home. “In fact, in order to get G.I. Joe – and I haven’t told anyone this before - when I was first interviewing for the job, Lorenzo di Bonaventura – our producer, and the studio said, “Look, we think shooting dance helps action, but we’re not sure.” And Lorenzo was definitely like, “I don’t think dance has anything to do with shooting action.” So then I brought out some of the LXD episodes and showed them. You get some hints of how the camera moves, the choreography of the frame itself matches what’s in the frame. That was my reel to get the job, and they were like, “Okay, we get it.””
“In a weird way, doing the online dance videos that everyone thought was crazy at first helped me get G.I. Joe,” said Chu. “It’s nice to bring it home.”
Taking a little step back, we talked about Chu’s intro into the world of dance, with the Director noting that he didn’t start off knowing anything about the discipline. But hanging around dancers, and seeing what they can do, he felt like he needed to bring his filmmaking prowess to bear. “If I just shot what they do,” said Chu, “People would be amazed. It wasn’t a conscious thing, other than people needed to see this.”
Getting back to "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," Chu noted that the sequel hit a significant hitch earlier this year, when the studio delayed the impending Summer release in order to post-convert the movie to 3-D. “I really want to push how we use the 3-D,” said Chu. “Especially since we pushed the movie date, I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I’m in that room, watching… It’s hurting my eyes, but we’re getting it better, and pushing it further.”
Continuing, Chu added that most post-conversions simply sink the background, and allow that to stand in for the 3-D experience. Not so for the director of Step Up 3D. “I shot two 3-D movies,” said Chu. “So being around that, I know what we are actually capable of doing. If we had shot it in 3-D, there’s a lot of things that we would shot in a 3D way.
“Fortunately, a lot of our shots, I guess it was in my brain anyway,” continued Chu, laughing. “We had a lot of depth in our shots, or let our shots play longer. For me, if we’re going to do this, we have to make sure it enhances the experience. That’s where we are right now, and it’s a slow painful process, to be honest!”
Even though the movie is technically done, and with no natively shot 3-D footage, all the shots need to be post-converted, that doesn’t mean Chu has given up on making some tweaks. “I’m trying to convince them to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements,” said Chu. “But as of right now, we’ll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3-D to give it that edge… But we’ll see if time permits, and they’re down to do that.”
While Chu finishes off G.I. Joe, he’s also spending his time working on another, hotly anticipated toy to TV to movie adaptation, "Masters of the Universe." While it’s still early going, Chu is still eager to jump right into the world of Eternia. “I’m really excited about that one!” said Chu. “We’re really early in the process… We’re working on the script, to make it better and stronger. We’re designing a bunch of stuff. I learned on Joe that to make it right, you have to do a lot of experimenting first, and you have to trust that during the process you’ll find where the tonal line is… It’s so delicate.
“'Masters of the Universe' means so much to a lot of people out there – and myself as well. I don’t want to disappoint my friends!” continued Chu. “We all grew up with Masters, played with the toys… I had a Castle Grayskull, played with the toys, I had a Battle Cat. We’re just designing now, going to far on some things, pulling back on others… Making it more real, or more fantastic. We’re trying to find that line as we go.
“A lot of people ask, who are you going to cast? We’re not even there yet, we’re just trying to get the character of the movie down. This is one of the most fun parts, where all the possibilities are open, and we’re just playing in the sandbox.”
So given Chu is early in the process, will he aim to shoot in 3-D so he doesn’t end up in the same situation that led to "G.I. Joe’s" delay? “It’s not always my choice!” said Chu, laughing. “I love 3-D, and for certain movies it can be really great, and for certain movies it can be poison. As we figure out the character of the movie, I think we’ll have a better feel for it. Of course, I love 3-D – a movie like Masters in 3-D would be amazing… To be in that world would be a crazy, crazy experience. We’ll see what Sony decides.”
We also asked whether Chu would be pulling at all from the recent DC Comics reboot of Masters of the Universe. He did say that he’s looked at the comics, and spent a lot of time at Mattel reviewing all iterations of the franchise – but right now, there’s no one source he’s drawing on for the movie. Instead, the Director said he’s immersing himself in the world, same as he did for the "Step Up" movies, and "G.I. Joe".
“Going into 'Masters of the Universe' is the same experience,” said Chu. “Right now, I’m just soaking it all in. Learning, watching, listening, reading a lot. Any blogs that are out there, or people who have opinions. I’m just soaking it in, and feeling what the environment is in this world. I know what I personally feel about Masters, but there is something to be said for experiencing what other people experience in the world.”

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October 26, 2012
Jon M. Chu on G.I. Joe's 3D Conversion and Masters of the Universe
by Spencer Perry SuperHeroHype
  Jon M. Chu is a very busy man. He's still working on the 3-D conversion for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which was delayed from this year to next spring, and he's recently been named the director for the upcoming reboot of Masters of the Universe. MTV Geek caught up with the director to talk about where he's at on both of those projects.
"I really want to push how we use the 3-D,” said Chu. “Especially since we pushed the movie date, I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I’m in that room, watching… It’s hurting my eyes, but we’re getting it better, and pushing it further.”
Chu is no stranger to 3D films as he directed Step Up 3D and the Justin Bieber 3D concert film and that helped with G.I. Joe, even though it wasn't filmed in 3-D. “So being around that (Shooting 3-D), I know what we are actually capable of doing." Said Chu "If we had shot it in 3-D, there’s a lot of things that we would shot in a 3D way. Fortunately, a lot of our shots, I guess it was in my brain anyway. We had a lot of depth in our shots, or let our shots play longer. For me, if we’re going to do this, we have to make sure it enhances the experience. That’s where we are right now, and it’s a slow painful process, to be honest!”
Chu is still looking to do some more tweaks to the film's presentation even though it's finished. “I’m trying to convince them to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements. But as of right now, we’ll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3-D to give it that edge… But we’ll see if time permits, and they’re down to do that.”
Even though the film is still a few years away, the subject of Masters of the Universe couldn't help but come up. “I’m really excited about that one!” said Chu. “We’re really early in the process… We’re working on the script, to make it better and stronger. We’re designing a bunch of stuff. I learned on Joe that to make it right, you have to do a lot of experimenting first, and you have to trust that during the process you’ll find where the tonal line is… It’s so delicate.
And don't bother asking about casting, Chu doesn't even know. “A lot of people ask, who are you going to cast? We’re not even there yet, we’re just trying to get the character of the movie down. This is one of the most fun parts, where all the possibilities are open, and we’re just playing in the sandbox.”
G.I. Joe: Retaliation is scheduled to hit theaters on March 29, 2013.

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October 26, 2012
Jon Chu Says He Wants to Push How 3D is Used Via G.I. Joe: Retaliation
by Jeremy Thomas 411mania.com
Plus he gives an update on Masters of the Universe...
Jon Chu recently spoke with MTV Geek about his 3D conversion work on G.I. Joe: Retaliation as well as the latest news on Masters of the Universe. Check out the highlights:
On his 3D work on G.I. Joe: Retaliation: "I really want to push how we use the 3-D. Especially since we pushed the movie date, I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I'm in that room, watching… It's hurting my eyes, but we're getting it better, and pushing it further."
On his past experience with 3D helping him this time around: "So being around that (Shooting 3-D), I know what we are actually capable of doing. If we had shot it in 3-D, there's a lot of things that we would shot in a 3D way. Fortunately, a lot of our shots, I guess it was in my brain anyway. We had a lot of depth in our shots, or let our shots play longer. For me, if we're going to do this, we have to make sure it enhances the experience. That's where we are right now, and it's a slow painful process, to be honest!"
On doing more tweaks to the film's conversion: "I'm trying to convince them to give me a couple days to do a couple of enhancements. But as of right now, we'll see what they let me do. I really want to shoot some of the sections in 3-D to give it that edge… But we'll see if time permits, and they're down to do that."
On Masters of the Universe: "I'm really excited about that one! We're really early in the process… We're working on the script, to make it better and stronger. We're designing a bunch of stuff. I learned on Joe that to make it right, you have to do a lot of experimenting first, and you have to trust that during the process you'll find where the tonal line is… It's so delicate."
On casting Masters of the Universe: "A lot of people ask, who are you going to cast? We're not even there yet, we're just trying to get the character of the movie down. This is one of the most fun parts, where all the possibilities are open, and we're just playing in the sandbox."

[Guest sarahp]

New Retaliation trailer

http://youtu.be/mwtH2CBeZ5M

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November 2, 2012
Today's Hot Trailer: G.I. Joe: Retaliation Returns to Action
by Ryan Reelz.com
The sequel's spring promotional campaign was only half the battle.
2009's live-action adaptation G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra didn't exactly please the legion of comic book/cartoon/action-figure fans, but did well enough to for the studio to greenlight another installment. G.I. Joe: Retaliation stumbled a bit out of the gate, with the hiring of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Step Up 3D director Jon M. Chu, but Chu assured fans that he was a huge G.I. Joe fan and then armed his sequel with a promising cast that included Bruce Willis as General Joe Colton and Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, with only Channing Tatum, Ray Park and Lee Byung-Hun returning from Rise of Cobra to play Duke, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, respectively.
Anticipation was buoyed by the arrival of the first trailer last December that actually looked good, right before Paramount decided it would delay the sequel for nine months until March 2013. Retaliation's TV spots went off the air as speculation grew for why a summer release would suddenly suffer such a long delay. While some of those questions remain unanswered, Retaliation is back with a new international trailer, which offers new footage from the sequel that highlights how Cobra plans to keep the world under their thumb.
Here's our rapid reaction to the trailer:
The more Willis the better: More Willis is always a good thing and the bonus footage of Willis at the end of the trailer hints at Willis making more than a cameo appearance. Still, we're managing our expectations here by anticipating that Willis' role will be more of the Expendables 2 size and not a leading role.
Cobra still hates Europe: In Rise of Cobra, Cobra used nanomites to destroy the Eiffel Tower and show the world what kind of power they were wielding. While the trailer reveals that Retaliation will again see Cobra try for world domination, this time with a satellite-controlled weapon system that destroys...Vienna?
While boldly attacking the world is a recurring theme for Cobra, we're a little annoyed that Zombieland screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have strayed too far from Rise of Cobra's method of destruction.
No 3D? One of the few reasons offered for Retaliation's nine month delay was that the studio wanted time to post-convert the sequel to 3-D. Chu even recently spoke to MTV Geek (via Super Hero Hype) about the 3-D conversion process, saying: "I really want to push how we use the 3-D. Especially since we pushed the movie date, I want to fulfill the promise to the fans that the 3-D will be great, and enhances the experience of the movie. So every step of the way, I’m in that room, watching… It’s hurting my eyes, but we’re getting it better, and pushing it further."
So why doesn't the trailer even mention the 3-D? Seems like a misstep.
More Cobra Commander, please: Enough said. We know he's back, we like his helmet, just...more please.
Where's Duke? Though Tatum's Duke remained on board for Retaliation, the trailers make it look like he won't be around for long, especially when Tatum is nowhere to be seen after Johnson's prophetic words: "we're all that's left."
In May, THR reported that one of the reasons for Paramount's delay of Retaliation was so that reshoots could "expand the role" of Tatum, bringing Duke back from the dead so the studio could capitalize on the actor's growing popularity after box office hits like Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street. So far, there's still very little of Duke in the trailer, and with Tatum's schedule filling up fast, we'll have to wait and see whether Duke remains a casualty or not.
Next Showing:G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens March 29, 2013

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November 11, 2012
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura Talks 3D Conversion of G.I. JOE: RETALIATION; Teases Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow Fight That’s “Perfect” for 3D
by Adam Chitwood collider.com
This past summer wasn’t exactly lacking in blockbuster material, but many will remember that it was originally supposed to have one more actioner on tap: the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  With its release date a little over a month away, Paramount abruptly pushed the film’s release date back a whopping nine months.  The official reason given for the move was that they wanted to post-convert the pic to 3D, but many surmised that the reshoots were being done to un-kill the suddenly popular Channing Tatum.
Steve recently spoke with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about a number of upcoming projects (read what he had to say about Red 2 right here), and during their conversation, di Bonaventura talked about the nature of the 3D conversion of G.I. Joe, the last-minute release date change, and more.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.
Di Bonaventura began by talking about the advances in 3D conversion technology:
“We learned a lot about 3D—I personally learned a lot about 3D in Transformers. The conversion part of the 3D process is night and day, you know, every three, four months it’s better than it was before.  It’s amazing how fast that thing has changes.  And originally we didn’t really have the time or the resources to try to figure out how to shoot it in 3D in the time frame that we were originally talking about, you know, starting in August and releasing in June.  So this delay has allowed us to go at it now.”
The producer also said that many of director Jon M. Chu’s sequences lend themselves well to the format:
“Jon [Chu] has some sequences that are really, there’s a phenomenal—for G.I. Joe fans it’s going to be one of the really great scenes for them, because there’s a fight between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow in a hallway that is so perfect for 3D I can’t tell you.  It’s going to be like one of the coolest fights ever in 3D, because there’s so much about it that’s dynamic.  That’s going to be really fun.  And you know people have seen bits and pieces of the Himalayan sort of rock climbing thing, it’s almost 3D without having turned into 3D, so I can’t wait to see that.  That one’s going to be like what the hell?”
Di Bonaventura also talked about his reaction to Paramount’s last-minute decision to delay the pic’s release:
“When you’re planning yourself all towards one direction, you know, you definitely go, ‘Whoa, what the hell?’ But the second—here’s a sort of simple way for me to look at things: if the studio wants to spend money on making your movie better, let them… I find it hilarious when people fight that, you know? I’m like, ‘Great, you want to spend a lot of money and try to make our movie a bigger success? Okay! That sounds good.’ And Jon got that too. The first moment you’re sort of going, “Whoa! Uhhh, wait.’ Then you realize, ‘Oh okay, great, let’s do that.’”
Look for Steve’s full interview with di Bonaventura soon.

[rubie]

November 19, 2012
Adrianne Palicki Talks RED DAWN, G.I. JOE 2, the WONDER WOMAN Experience & Possible FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Movie
http://collider.com/adrianne-palicki-red-dawn-gi-joe-2-interview/211386/

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December 3, 2012
https://twitter.com/TheRock
https://twitter.com/jonmchu

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December 5, 2012
ExclusiveG.I. Joe: Retaliation new poster: Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis toughen up
By Emma Dibdin Digital Spy
A new poster for GI Joe: Retaliation has been released.
The sequel to 2009's GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra sees Jon M Chu (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) take over the directing reigns from Stephen Sommers.

Channing Tatum reprises the role of Captain Duke Hauser from the first film, while Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki and Ray Stevenson also star.
The release date was reportedly pushed back in order to allow more screen time for Channing Tatum's character to be added. 
Paramount originally claimed that the delay was due to the 3D conversion process, but a later report revealed that audience testing showed that the relationship between Tatum and Johnson was the aspect viewers enjoyed most. 
GI Joe: Retaliation will be released on March 27, 2013 in the UK and March 29, 2013 in the US.

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[rubie]

December 11, 2012

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December 12, 2012
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, to Open Its Veil in Hong Kong
Fans are anxious to meet the 3D release
by Lee Eun-sun KOFIC
The Hollywood film G.I. Joe: Retaliation, starring Lee Byung-hun, is going to be world-premiered in Hong Kong on December 13th. Initially, leading actors including Lee and the director had a plan to come to Korea for world premier and the press conference in June, but as they changed the plan to convert the film to a 3D version, Korean release has been postponed to March next year. The fans are anxious to meet the film refined after the 6 months of additional work at the world premier in Hong Kong. Lee, who successfully debuted in Hollywood with high level action acting as Storm Shadow, the secret weapon of the terrorist organization Cobra in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009, is a leading actor in the sequel. He took pictures for posters, which had only leading actors such as Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson. The 3D version of G.I. Joe: Retaliation was directed by John Chu, who directed Step Up 3D, instead of Steven Sommers, the director of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

[rubie]

December 12, 2012
CineAsia 2012: 'G.I. Joe,' 'Despicable Me' Sequels Launch Fresh Footage
by Clarence Tsui THR
Paramount unspools a 3D trailer and footage of "G.I.Joe: Retaliation" in the presence of its director and Korean star, while Universal shows first sequence of "Despicable Me 2."
HONG KONG – Stereoscopic trailers and sneak peeks of tentpole sequels dominated the first half of CineAsia’s second-day proceedings on Dec. 12, with Paramount launching its revamped G.I. Joe sequel in the presence of director Jon Chu and star Lee Byung-hun, and Universal unveiling the first 10 minutes of Despicable Me 2.
While the teaser of the original 2D G.I. Joe: Retaliation, originally slated for a June 2012 release, concentrated more on the story of its protagonists being excommunicated by the US government, the new trailer of the converted 3D version (which debuts in the U.S. on March 29, 2013) plays up its staggering visuals and action scenes.
Chu, who appeared on stage with Lee at the presentation at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, described the making of Retaliation as “really insane." Pointing to his actor – whose role of Storm Shadow was “expanded” in the sequel, according to Paramount Pictures International president Mark Viane – Chu said: “His abs in 3D look amazing.”
The trailer was followed by the screening of a fight sequence featuring Lee, and set in a Himalayas monastery.
“When I first heard Asia was the biggest-selling region for G.I. Joe I was shocked,” said Lee, who returns to the franchise’s new instalment, alongside new additions Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis. Lee will receive CineAsia’s Star of the Year award at the convention’s concluding ceremony Dec. 13.
Paramount also preceded the screening of the new trailer of Marc Forster’s World War Z with an unfinished eight-minute sequence set in Philadelphia, received warmly by trade representatives in attendance. The film, to be released on June 28, 2013, stars Brad Pitt as a military operative who is drafted to combat an onslaught of zombies caused by what was heard in the shown footage as rabies originating from Taiwan.
The studio will also unspool the first eight minutes of J.J. Abram’s Star Trek: Into Darkness before a CineAsia screening of Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away.
Other teasers shown at the showcase included Kenneth Branagh’s Russia-set conspiracy thriller Jack Ryan, starring Chris Pine as the titular character drawn from Tom Clancy novels and Keira Knightley debuting Christmas 2013; and Noah, Darren Aronofsky’s take on the biblical ark-builder, with Russell Crowe playing the lead character amidst a cast consisting of Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson. The film is to be released in spring 2014.
Meanwhile, enthusiasm was evident as Universal introduced a sequence of Despicable Me 2, the follow-up to the Steve Carell-voiced animation about the villainous Dr Gru converted to goodness (and suburban life) with the adoption of three girls. His latest adventure begins as he is brought to the underwater headquarters of a government intelligence agency with two of his minions.
Hosted by the studio’s s senior vice-president in international distribution, Jack Ledwith, the Universal showcase also featured new trailers for Tom Cruise's futurist action vehicle Oblivion (to be released April 2013), the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park (April 2013) and the sixth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise (June 2013).

[rubie]

December 12, 2012
G.I. Joe: Retaliation at CineAsia2012
Source: Sipa.com l IndiaTimes.com

South Korea actor Lee Byung-hun poses for photographers after an interview for his latest film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)/

South Korea actor Lee Byung-hun, right, and American director Jon M. Chu pose for photographers after an interview for their latest movie "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)