775 replies to this topic

[dinovelvet]

Two more cast members, though frankly they aren't too exciting - the WWE star Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Charisma Carpenter, some tv actress who used to be on Buffy the vampire slayer. Bit of a drop in star power after Sandra Bullock turned it down, eh!

[dodge]

Two more cast members, though frankly they aren't too exciting - the WWE star Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Charisma Carpenter, some tv actress who used to be on Buffy the vampire slayer. Bit of a drop in star power after Sandra Bullock turned it down, eh!

Don't know Stone Cold, but I've checked out CC's photo. Ouch! With all the testosterone raging about, the Babe Factor was needed. Competing for her...attention may help light the big boys' fires.

[dodge]

A formidable challenge we should not be too shy to discuss faces Sylvester Stallone: having assembled one of the greatest beefcake casts in cinematic history, how he is to balance the fine line between Mammon and Art when it comes to the bods he's assembled? Sly himself, Mickey Rourke, Eric Robets, Danny 'Machete' T, the too-shy-to-strip Jet Li, etc...Nearly all of the jocks are in need of a Break and what they need are juicy parts and scenes to strut their 'cake. But...from what I've learned so far, some of them won't appear in the same scenes with the rest. This would seem to rule out a TOP GUN-style volleyball or soccer match or even a shower or mud wrestling scene. Bummer. I don't know how Sly'll solve this dilemma. But if he wants a monster hit he'd better deal with the issue in a clever way. We need the icing on the 'cake!

[dodge]

Wikipedia reports that Machete choreographed some of Eric Roberts' 'boxing moves' in previous films--my guess would be Best of the Best? Hope they get to duke it out.

[Loomis]

More EXPENDABLES goodness: a short vid of Stallone workin' that body in the gym:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40413

I don't know what he thinks he's playing at with that goatee, though.

[dodge]

Soooo...shooting starts March 28, I've read. anyone know the shooting/production schedule? Release seems to be set back to 2010--hopefully way before summer!

[Matt_13]

This movie is going to be utterly ridiculous, I can't wait.

[dinovelvet]

Yet another casting titbit, actually I found this in an article about potential Thor candidates :

"Liam Hemsworth (offered a significant role in The Expendables after Sly Stallone saw his tape)"

A quick trip to the imdb reveals that he is an alumni of, er, Neighbours (hey, well so is Guy Pearce!) and has a part in Knowing. Other than that, not much to go on.

And, start your countdowns now...the release date has been announced : April 23rd 2010

[dodge]

Yet another casting titbit, actually I found this in an article about potential Thor candidates :

"Liam Hemsworth (offered a significant role in The Expendables after Sly Stallone saw his tape)"

A quick trip to the imdb reveals that he is an alumni of, er, Neighbours (hey, well so is Guy Pearce!) and has a part in Knowing. Other than that, not much to go on.

And, start your countdowns now...the release date has been announced : April 23rd 2010

Thank you for the update. In ten more days the lens is loosed on history in the making.

[Loomis]

I'm still rather baffled by everyone's enthusiasm for THE EXPENDABLES. Where were you lot when Sly was making action movies in the '90s?

[dinovelvet]

I'm still rather baffled by everyone's enthusiasm for THE EXPENDABLES. Where were you lot when Sly was making action movies in the '90s?

Well I was there, dude. Cliffhanger, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man, Assassins, The Specıalıst...saw 'em all on the big screen!

But I think one of the reasons people are getting behind The Expendables is because the action genre is in the toilet at the moment. Every movie out there with even a trace of action in it is either based on a comic, a videogame, is a remake, or is some other kind of CGI rubbish where the "star" dangles around on wires in front of a green screen. That ain't "action" where I come from. Look at some of the effeminate man-boys who have starred in "action" films lately - Shia Labeouf, Hayden Christensen, James McAvoy, Pierce B...er, whoops. Anyway, this all adds up to people being excited to see the return of some REAL action, led by the man whos been doing it for three decades now.

[Loomis]

Good point. And even when Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis ("real men", I guess) did their recent action comebacks, it was thought necessary to pair them with "effeminate man-boys".

That said, though, I'm still surprised by the huge wave of goodwill for THE EXPENDABLES. I mean, it's not as though RAMBO was exactly universally loved (or even that big a hit). I guess Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke are more exciting names than I'd imagined.

It'll be interesting to see how well THE EXPENDABLES does at the box office. The buzz alone should push it above $100 million in the States (which neither ROCKY BALBOA nor RAMBO achieved).

[dinovelvet]

Good point. And even when Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis ("real men", I guess) did their recent action comebacks, it was thought necessary to pair them with "effeminate man-boys".

Ah yes. I wonder if it was assumed by the studios that teens wouldn't be interested unless there was someone in it they could, like, totally relate to. Thankfully Sly hasn't gone in for any of that nonsense...or has he? Because today's news is Whitaker out...Fiddy Cent in! Straight from Sly himself :

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40487

Also of interest, Mickey Rourke's character is named 'Tool'. Er, fair enough.

[Safari Suit]

I like that 50 Cent has been given the chance to work with so many people struggling actors would dream about working with (including DeNiro and Pacino for s sake!) in the space of a handful of films despite not managing to convince most of the world he can make any kind of impression on screen. Well, maybe "like" isn't the right word.

[dodge]

Good point. And even when Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis ("real men", I guess) did their recent action comebacks, it was thought necessary to pair them with "effeminate man-boys".

That said, though, I'm still surprised by the huge wave of goodwill for THE EXPENDABLES. I mean, it's not as though RAMBO was exactly universally loved (or even that big a hit). I guess Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke are more exciting names than I'd imagined.
It'll be interesting to see how well THE EXPENDABLES does at the box office. The buzz alone should push it above $100 million in the States (which neither ROCKY BALBOA nor RAMBO achieved).

I dunno about Dolph, but Mickey is. Eric Roberts has a pretty decent straight to video fan base--he must've turned out a hundred of those. Aside from the Real Action angle itself, I think a lot of the buzz has to do with second chances--a group of expendable mercenaries p;layed by actors in need of Just One Lucky Break. Plus the beefcake angle, which served 300 so well. Finally, this film has, imo, an aura of Real Deal about it. Go, Sly.

[baerrtt]

The main reason people are enthusiastic about THE EXPENDABLES is pure nostalgia for the time(the 80s to early 90s) when action movies simply meant R-rated macho, jingoistic gorefests.

No PG-13 rating, no attempts at 'character development' just mindless (and enjoyable) carnage. Most of the cast for the upcoming film, alongside Stallone, were all stars during that period(alongside newer names like Statham and Austin) and it's pretty much a statement to the newer generation of action films/stars that the REAL tough guys are back in business.

The thing is it probably will be complete crap and yet some ppl(of a certain age) will take it to their hearts.

[dodge]

The main reason people are enthusiastic about THE EXPENDABLES is pure nostalgia for the time(the 80s to early 90s) when action movies simply meant R-rated macho, jingoistic gorefests.

No PG-13 rating, no attempts at 'character development' just mindless (and enjoyable) carnage. Most of the cast for the upcoming film, alongside Stallone, were all stars during that period(alongside newer names like Statham and Austin) and it's pretty much a statement to the newer generation of action films/stars that the REAL tough guys are back in business.

The thing is it probably will be complete crap and yet some ppl(of a certain age) will take it to their hearts.

I agree with you about the nostalgic appeal. But I think you're underestimating the draw of the casting itself. If Sly can keep all those egos in line, I think we'll see a film that's far more than 'complete crap'? I'll wait till I've seen some footage before feeling any alarm.

[Matt_13]

My friends and I are just excited because we were all thoroughly entertained by RAMBO (in a "That was hilarious, what's Sly going to do next?" kind of way) and also because the cast of the film is nothing short of incredible. No nostalgia on our end (none of us are even 20 yet so we weren't really able to see Sly in action during the 90's due to ratings) just an urge to see lots of stuff get blown to pieces by some of the most famous action icons ever to grace the screen. If nothing else, THE EXPENDABLES will be the most entertaining film of the year. I hope it is more than that, though.

[dinovelvet]

The drama! Fiddy cent out, replaced by Terry Crews :

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40516

I don't know much about him, but he has a decent action resume, and isn't a rapper, so that's nice.

[JimmyBond]

I didnt care if Fitty was going to be in the movie anyways. Perhaps this will mellow everyone out who was having a fit over it.

Terry Crews is a good choice anyways. Not only is he a great comedy actor (he's on "Everybody Hate's Chris), but he's pretty good at drama too.

[Safari Suit]

I wouldn't have boycotted the movie over his inclusion, but I can understand "having a fit", as you put it, over the inclusion of that charmless and near-talentless buffoon.

[dodge]

This is good news to me. I'm bored to death by rappers ruining decent films. Crews has a very decent film-TV track record and has a menacing presence at 6'2, 240 lbs. Any news on why Fiddy got the sack? Is Sly paying that close attention to reactions of the fans?

[dodge]

This just in re Kurt Russell and the film:

A Tango & Cash reunion occurred to Sylvester Stallone when he was putting together The Expendables. His upcoming mercenary flick that will begin shooting later this spring already features Jet Li, Jason Statham, Stallone (of course), Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, and about a half dozen others, and Sly had been holding out hope that Kurt Russell would join in the fun.



I don't know how there could possibly be room for one more speaking part in the film, but The Italian Stallion wrote to the fansite StalloneZone to let everyone know it wouldn't be happening. What's interesting is not that Russell passed but the hoops Stallone says he had to jump through just to hear that Russell wasn't interested.

"I know that many people on the site have asked for Kurt Russell. I asked for him too. Actually, I was taken aback when asked to put the request in a letter and send it to his agent. Subsequently, I was called back by the agent several days later after refusing to send a letter and he said Kurt Russell is not interested in 'ensemble acting' at this time. So, people, I came, I saw, I failed."


source: http://www.getthebig...xpendables.html

[dinovelvet]

Interesting. What else has Kurt got in his plate, really? Its not as if Grindhouse gave him a Travolta-esque comeback. (He doesn't seem to have ANY stuff in the pipeline if imdb is any indication). Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

[dodge]

Interesting. What else has Kurt got in his plate, really? Its not as if Grindhouse gave him a Travolta-esque comeback. (He doesn't seem to have ANY stuff in the pipeline if imdb is any indication). Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Real bad move in his part, I'd say. But I was thinking last night that this may be for the best. I like him just fine as an actor and have enjoyed a few of his action films--but I've never considered him to be an action star. Not like Stallone. Kurt always seemed to be playing at it. For Sly's purposes, the casting as is may be just about perfect.

[dinovelvet]

Well, The Event Movie of 2010 ™ started shooting yesterday, and a unit publicist for the film is, uh, "twittering" with observations such as "jason statham is rrrripped", and there's a bit from Sly himself in there. We've been promised an exclusive photo so it may be worth keeping an eye on :

http://twitter.com/marialascala

[dinovelvet]

What is the budget estimated to be on this film?

I estimate it to be one million pounds...of testosterone.

[dodge]

What is the budget estimated to be on this film?

I estimate it to be one million pounds...of testosterone.

LOL

[Loomis]

What is the budget estimated to be on this film?

I doubt we're talking megabudget by Hollywood standards. RAMBO (2008) is said to have cost $50 million, and I imagine it's a similar, perhaps slightly higher, figure for THE EXPENDABLES.

Stallone is no longer a box office giant. ROCKY BALBOA and RAMBO were only moderate hits in the United States, and no one's gonna give him a blank cheque.

[dodge]

What is the budget estimated to be on this film?

I doubt we're talking megabudget by Hollywood standards. RAMBO (2008) is said to have cost $50 million, and I imagine it's a similar, perhaps slightly higher, figure for THE EXPENDABLES.

Stallone is no longer a box office giant. ROCKY BALBOA and RAMBO were only moderate hits in the United States, and no one's gonna give him a blank cheque.

You're probably right on this. I'm wondering about the salaries then: Rourke's part is small and it's said he took the role as a favor to Sly. Do you think the others are paid whatever the minimum is?