Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Red Dawn

9/26/11 – Variety reported that FilmDistrict is in negotiations to acquire a controversial remake of Red Dawn from MGM.  A political hot potato, the mid-budget pic made headlines earlier this year when its producers decided to digitally change the nationality of the film's villains from Chinese to North Korean, for fear of offending the Chinese government.  A source close to the production confirmed the negotiations and said that "Red Dawn" will likely hit U.S. theaters during the fall of 2012.  Dan Bradley directed the remake, which was produced by Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson and Vincent Newman. Chris Hemsworth stars alongside fellow up-and-comers Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck, Isabel Lucas and Connor Cruise.

1/12/10 – SCI FI Wire reported that Adrianne Palicki will play one of the high-school rebels who take up arms in the upcoming remake of John Milius' classic 1984 alternate-reality movie Red Dawn. But she told us to expect something different and more exciting. "It's more of a re-imagining rather than a remake, I guess you would say," Palicki said. "We have different enemies, and there's even more action." The update involves a group of teens who become guerrilla fighters against an invasion from China. The Americans are rounded up into camps and forced to listen to propaganda and also face firing squads. "You'll see a lot more action, a lot more great stunts, and it's very tense," Palicki said. "It's a very timely movie in the world today." Palicki plays Toni, the role made famous by Jennifer Grey in the original. She co-stars with Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson and Matt Gerard. The new version of Red Dawn is directed by Dan Bradley. Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore wrote the script. Red Dawn opens Nov. 24.

6/17/09 - Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki have been cast in MGM/UA's remake of Red Dawn, which is set to begin filming in September, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  They join the already-cast Chris Hemsworth in the story of a group of teenagers who form an impromptu insurgency when their town is invaded by Chinese and Russian soldiers.  Peck will play Matt Eckert—the role originated by Charlie Sheen—the hotheaded younger brother of Hemsworth's Jed Eckert (originally played by Patrick Swayze) and star quarterback of their Spokane high school football team.  Palicki will play Toni, the role first inhabited by Jennifer Grey.  Dan Bradley will direct the revamp based on the 1984 Cold War-era film co-written and directed by John Milius. Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore wrote the updated screenplay. The film is scheduled to hit theaters Sept. 24, 2010.

5/18/09 - Deadline Hollywood reported that Star Trek's Chris Hemsworth has won the title role in Kenneth Branagh's Thor, with the approval of Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige.  Hemsworth—who played James Kirk's father, George, in J.J. Abrams' hit Trek—has also been cast in the lead role of Jed Eckert in director Dan Bradley's Red Dawn remake, taking the role that Patrick Swayze played in the original. He will do that film before taking on Thor.  Red Dawn is eyeing a Sept. 24, 2010, release; Thor is slated for a May 20, 2011, release.

7/9/08 – MGM is moving forward to remake the 1980s apocalyptic movie Red Dawn, and the studio has hired screenwriter Carl Ellsworth to recraft the story. Dan Bradley will direct.  The original Red Dawn was the Cold War brainchild of writer-director John Milius, who devised a World War III invasion of America by the Soviets and Cubans.

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