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G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu talks about the sequel and future projects

Especially compared to the frenzy of social media and internet updates we had seen for several months running, the silence regarding G.I. Joe: Retaliation over the past month has been deafening, and honestly I think it will continue to be that way probably until closer to the end of the year.

We talked about this a little bit during last night’s recording of the What’s on Joe Mind podcast, and I feel pretty comfortable saying that once we hit the Super Bowl, we will probably see another trailer (hopefully with some different footage) and I think promotion will seriously ramp up at that point for the March release.  Until then, though, I think things will remain relatively quiet.

However, G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu did speak with New Media Rockstars, speaking mostly about new projects with superstar Justin Bieber, but also touching quite a bit on G.I. Joe: Retaliation as well.  Mr. Chu repeated much of what he said to GeneralsJoes a while ago, repeating that none of the film delay was due to Channing Tatum or fears about the film’s performance, merely relying on the ever-changing technology and implementing some 3D elements.

There isn’t a whole lot of new information, but with the G.I. Joe community being somewhat starved for Retaliation updates these days, we will take what we can get.  Check out the full interview right here.

Disturbing new details starting to emerge from G.I. Joe: Retaliation date change

Now, of course, this has to stay in strict “rumor mill” mode, but honestly Drew McWeeny from HitFix is a very well connected guy in the movie industry, so I would think this is something we should pay some attention to, and it does connect some dots for us.

According to the aforementioned HitFix, Paramount’s decision to move the film release date has created some contention between the studio and director Jon M. Chu, and in fact, Paramount may be attempting to press forward with reshoots without Chu’s involvement.  This could be huge, and would certainly explain the director’s Twitter silence.

Chu has long established his fandom of the G.I. Joe franchise, and has been exceptionally well connected to the fans through social media, so if Paramount tries to lock him out of the reshoot process, do we all risk losing some connection to the production, and losing the assistance of someone who will fight for what we want to see in a G.I. Joe film?  However, also according to HitFix, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (who has some klout with the studio) is standing firm by Chu’s side and supporting him against the studio.  Check out the full paragraph here:

“We’ve been hearing reports of rough test screenings for the film, but things are starting to get genuinely contentious between director Jon Chu and the studio, and right now, there is a chance he won’t be directly involved at all with the reshoots.  There’s also a chance Chu might try to legally force his way back onto the film, which could create even more strain in the relationship he has with Paramount.  Word is that producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is firmly on Chu’s side, which could help, but I shouldn’t be shocked if we get word soon that Stuart Baird or someone similar is being brought on to “consult.””

Obviously this turns the entire production process on its ear, and unfortunately injects even more doubt and chaos into what is already a bizarre, uncomfortable next nine months for everyone involved.

Interestingly, among this is other news according to IGN.com, who reports that another Paramount production, World War Z is also going through a long series of reshoots and have also endured a date change, signifying that this isn’t a problem necessarily focused purely on G.I. Joe.  It sounds like Paramount is scrambling to refocus on their films and find a better, more effective formula for their story telling.  In light of the massive domestic failures of John Carter and Battleship, and in light of the tremendous success of Avengers, it looks like Paramount is paying more attention to the narrative.  Hopefully the results in March show that to be the right move, but if the voyage over the next nine months is fraught with the same chaos, uncertainty, and train wreck under tones that we’ve seen over the past two weeks, G.I. Joe’s public face is just going to suffer further.

At the end of the day, it feels like the G.I. Joe brand in general is a brand that has been skirting the line of viability and profitability over the past several years, and this constant barrage of press for all the wrong reasons isn’t going to do it any favors long term.  Buckle up, Joe fans.

Big thanks to Ed Dam from JoeCanuck.com for the heads up to the article, and check out the full article at HitFix.

ComingSoon.net interviews an array of G.I. Joe: Retaliation personalities

With CinemaCon come and gone a couple of weeks ago, online sites are now starting to reveal the video interviews they did during the event.  Yesterday we saw a great interview with Jon Chu, and today Coming Soon posts a nicely edited series of conversations with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, DJ Cotrona, and director Jon M. Chu.

They all reflect nicely on the film’s place in G.I. Joe continuity (a “reboot” without really being a “reboot”), and how much the toyline and comic influenced the story they are telling this time around.  Quite interesting to note as well is The Rock speaking about Roadblock’s time training with Snake Eyes, and specifying that the character does not have an Arashikage tattoo in the film, but he may have one for “the next film”.  He says that with tongue firmly in cheek, but it was certainly cool to see it mentioned.  Sounds more and more like the whole Roadblock as a ninja element is something being much more marketed for toy purposes, and not so much a major part of the film itself, especially since we already saw Roadblock train with Snake Eyes in the IDW Prequel limited series.

Check out the interview on ComingSoon.com, or the embedded video below.

We’ve seen our share of video interviews…  this one is exceptionally well presented and has some great information and insight.  Definitely check this one out.

Great video interview of G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu

Every time I hear this guy talk, I get a big smile on my face.  In many cases you can tell when the Hollywood machine is just working and the actors who proclaim their “fanboy” nature are sorta pandering to those of us who have been around the block a few times.

You heard it during the Rise of Cobra tour when Stephen Sommers said how much of a fan of the franchise he was, and then shoe-horned his “Accelerator Suit” concept into a film where it probably didn’t belong.  Just listening to Jon Chu talk about the G.I. Joe property, his genuine excitement and interest in the brand is palpable, and it feels much more than an act that we sometimes get with other movie makers.  That doesn’t guarantee it’s a great film, but I think that is certainly points for it, and combined with all the great footage and imagery that we’ve seen, I find myself even more ecstatic for June 29th.

In this interview he talks about the reasons why you should see this movie this year, the shenanigans that go on on the set of the film, and what makes this G.I. Joe film different than the others.  Check out the interview on Comic Book Movie, and I’ve also embedded it below.

The final G.I. Joe: Retaliation poster revealed – UPDATED w/ International!

Thanks to ComingSoon.net we have a look at the last G.I. Joe: Retaliation theatrical poster.  The poster takes some imagery from the previous character posters and combines it all into one pretty cool looking theatrical poster for the film.

Loving how this looks.  Another poster to add to my growing “want list”!  Check out the original post on ComingSoon.net, and also mirrored below.  Thanks to the Twitter account for the General Geekery Podcast for the heads up!

UPDATE – It looks like there are also posters for Brazil and the UK as well, which I’ve included in the gallery below.  The Brazil one is the split one that actually has Firefly in it.  The other one with Lee Byung-Hun subtly included is for the UK.

So, poor Flint is 0 for 3 on Retaliation posters.  What did he ever do to you, Paramount?!?  Thanks to toycollector962 for the updated info.

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