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"It's not the years...it's the mileage."
Though the novelty of The Expendables' all-star cast of '80s and '90s action heroes wore off somewhat by the time The Expendables 2 hit theaters, the resurgence of aging tough-guy actors continues with the success of Liam Neeson's Taken 2, which beat down the competition this past weekend. And there's more to come. Ah-nuld's getting back in the game with The Last Stand and Bruce Willis is dusting off John McClane for a fifth go-round in A Good Day to Die Hard. But, not all aging actors can continue to pull off the kind of tough-guy roles they played in their youth. Tell us which over-50 actors still have what it takes to beat up the bad guys and come back for more.
Rate the Top 10 Tough-Guy Actors Over 50 Still Making Movies >>
Posted 10.09.12 by BrentJS -
The 2010 remake of The Karate Kid was a surprise hit for Columbia/Sony, earning $359 million in worldwide box office. It only took days after The Karate Kid's $56 million opening weekend for Sony to start meeting with writers about a sequel, eventually hiring Kung Fu Panda screenwriters Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff to write a sequel script in August of 2010.
Looks like the studio is finally moving forward with the sequel, as Variety reports that The Incredible Hulk screenwriter Zak Penn has been hired to rewrite the script. Plot details are still under wraps, as is the sequel's title. The 1986 sequel to the 1984 original moved the action from California to Okinawa, Japan, but since the remake was set in China, the sequel could move back to the U.S., but that remains to be seen.
No deals have been finalized, but Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan are expected to return. No word was given about director Harald Zwart, though he admitted in 2010 that he was "open to anything."
Whatever the second Karate Kid is about, we suggest bringing back Ralph Macchio as the sequel's antagonist. You're welcome, Zak. Give us a call for more ideas.
Posted 02.08.12 by Ryan -
The Rush Hour movies helped to popularize Jackie Chan in the United States, and though Chan has continued to work steadily in Hollywood, he has also continued to make movies in his native Hong Kong, such as the period, Martial arts movie Shaolin, which opened in limited release earlier this year.
Chan's latest movie, 1911, is a more personal movie, however, as it celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the Chinese Revolution. Chan plays Chinese revolutionary leader Huang Xing, who helped lead the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance to victory over the Imperial forces of the Qing Dynasty. Chan not only stars in the movie, he also directs and produces 1911, which also happens to be the 100th movie of his career.
The first trailer released for 1911 certainly has a more epic feel to it, as it slowly sweeps through exploding battlefields, and shows a more pensive and focused Chan than in his (sometimes humorous) martial arts movies.
watch the trailer >> Posted 09.22.11 by Ryan -
In addition to Jackie Chan's success in Hollywood, the martial arts actor has continued to make movies in his native Hong Kong, and his latest, Shaolin, is a reunion with his New Police Story co-star Nicholas Tse and director Benny Chan.
Set during the early era of the Republic of China, Shaolin follows an arrogant warlord (Andy Lau) who conquers the township of Dengfeng, only to be betrayed by his sworn brother (Lau) and seeks refuge in a Shaolin temple he once denounced. Chan plays a monk in the temple.
After opening at the top of the box office in Hong Kong in January, Shaolin will finally see release in the U.S. this September from Well Go USA Entertainment, who have released a new, action-packed trailer for the movie.
watch the trailer >> Posted 08.03.11 by Ryan -
Want to know how sequels are made in Hollywood? Make a movie for $40 million dollars and open that movie to $56 million on its opening weekend. That's the recipe for Sony's The Karate Kid, and Deadline reports the studio is already meeting with writers to pitch ideas for another installment.
Will Director Harald Zwart return? >> Posted 06.16.10 by Ryan -
Here's your last chance to see what The Karate Kid remake will look like before it hits the big screens this weekend. Sony has released this final trailer to tease us into theater seats. Can Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith bring back the new car smell to Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san? We think so! This looks like a fantastic redo.
One thing you should know is this movie is truly a remake. The only similarities between the 1984 Karate Kid and this one is the title and a loose association to the original plotline. Smith plays Dre, a skateboarding video game buff who moves to China after his single mother is forced to go there for work. Unable to speak Chinese, Dre finds it hard to settle in, and gets beat up by the local bully. Chan plays Mr. Han, a maintenance man who spots Dre's black-eye and offers to teach him both martial arts and Chinese, so he can defend against all the kung-fu students.
Since they changed story and focus from Japanese to Chinese, we're still wondering how they're going to tie-in the title. Shouldn't it have been called The Kung-Fu Kid?
The Karate Kid Action Trailer in HD
Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video
Posted 06.08.10 by reelz -
If you've seen the trailer for this Jackie Chan family comedy, the following reviews should come as no surprise. At all.
"...entertaining in spots but too obviously low-budget."
— Daniel Eagan, Hollywood Reporter
"Chan’s new all-ages vehicle is smooth like oatmeal. It's hard to imagine anyone being offended, except fans of good comedy."
— Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"It's a sad day for Jackie Chan fans when the action-comedy star is reduced to a vehicle as lame as The Spy Next Door."
— Lael Lowenstein, Variety
"...immediately forgettable family entertainment, suitable for release only in the dung-heap month of January."
— Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
"Wast[es] no time setting a precedent for 2010 ineptness..."
— Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Posted 01.14.10 by reelz -
The Karate Kid remake won't head into theaters until next summer, but its first trailer is now online. At one point titled The Kung-Fu Kid (and before even that titled The Karate Kid), the remake has the "kid" (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) move to Beijing instead of Reseda, and kung-fu will be the taught by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) instead of karate by Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita). Other than that, it seems like the remake isn't trying to stray too far from the original story, aside from having the teacher demonstrate the techniques. The similarity may be why they changed the title back to The Karate Kid, even though there's no karate actually in it. Check out the trailer below.
Posted 12.23.09 by Ryan -
Variety reports that Jackie Chan will star in the Chinese-Hollywood movie Kung Fu Kid, which is a so-called remake of the 1984 American box-office smash hit The Karate Kid.
In the original, the late Pat Morita created one of the most iconic characters in movie history, the Karate master known simply as "Mr. Miyagi." He mentored Daniel Larusso, played by Ralph Macchio, a high-school kid who suffers humiliation and physical abuse at the hands of bullies who take karate from a slave-driver coach with a serious attitude problem.
Chan will apparently be a second incarnation of the Miyagi role, and the part of the young pupil will be played by Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith who starred alongside his father in The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith is also acting as one of the movie's producers.
It's strange that Kung Fu Kid's being called a remake when so many aspects of the original have been changed. According to a post on Movieline, the project is shooting in China due to financial obligations, thus forcing changes to parts of the original story that were specifically Japanese. These include the change from Mr. Miyagi, a carpenter born in Okinawa, to "Mr. Han," a Chinese janitor, and also the change from karate to kung fu.
As a result, the product will likely bare only a passing resemblance to the movie from 25 years ago, but calling it a remake will likely stir up the desired anticipation. Shooting for Kung Fu Kid began this past weekend, and the movie is scheduled for release next June. It is a joint project between Columbia Pictures and the China Film Group, and is being directed by Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2).
Posted 07.14.09 by reelz -
As if having a Will Smith-Jada Pinkett spawn in the lead role wasn't enough to make for an ironically amusing mess of your favorite childhood movie, Jackie Chan is in final negotiations to star in the remake of The Karate Kid. Ten-year-old Jaden Smith, who you may remember from the Pursuit of Happyness (if you weren't tearing up throughout the whole sappy film leaving you unable to make out the boy's face) is already set to star. Perhaps this movie will be the big vehicle that certifies little Jaden as oh, we don't know, the new Dakota Fanning, but a boy.
Of course, Smith is quite a bit younger than when an early 20s Ralph Macchio played the lead in the 1984 original, but the new film is said to "only borrow" elements of the original's plot. We can only hope that some of the new elements involve robots and other such subtle Scientology subtext delicately added to the classic Wax-On-Wax-Off scene.
Posted 01.14.09 by reelz