Let me preface this article by saying this is a mere casting rumor that I’ve decided to entertain. The big screen adaptation of Green Hornet has been plagued with so many casting and directorial issues that I decided to report on what seems to be some positive news. According to IGN, Korean actor Kwon Sang-woo may be up for the role of Kato, the martial arts master and sidekick of the title character.
In my opinion the entire development of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Green Hornet has been a disaster. The film’s release date has gotten the shuffle treatment several times, and one of its main stars have dropped out. So in the recent wake of Stephen Chow’s exit as Kato, people are wondering what the hell is going on over there. Over at First Showing, they’ve gotten several updates regarding the films status, including some choice words from it’s lead actor, Rogen.
Not only was Stephen Chow set to direct the movie The Green Hornet but he was going to play the character Kato in the film as well. The film is about a newspaper publisher who turns into a masked superhero (Green Hornet) and fights crime at nights. Chow would have play edthe martial arts expert by the superhero’s side. Kato. First Chow backed out of directing the film, and now he has dropped out of the project all together. According to Superherohype.com, Chow has exited the film due to scheduling conflicts.
Here is what the studio had to say about Chow’s exit:
If you’re surprised by this latest casting update, you must not have been following the Green Hornet adaptation that closely. The film originally had Chinese star Stephen Chow set to direct and co-star as the title character’s famous sidekick, Kato. He then decided to opt out of the directors chair due to “creative differences,” and the position was passed on to Michel Gondry. At this point he was still loosely attached to star as Kato, but over at First Showing, they’re confirming that Chow has officially dropped out of the film all together.
Oh, the drama that surrounds a comedy. The big screen adaptation of The Green Hornet was beginning to become one of those avid “in development” projects we constantly hear about. It’s production has been plagued with issues, most notably the rocky involvement of Stephen Chow. Chow was set to direct and star as Kato alongside Seth Rogen for the film, but he soon dropped out as director due to the usual “creative differences.” Now another unconventional director is attached to helm the action comedy, and according to Variety it’s Michel Gondry.
Here are some of the top stories that you may have missed over the weekend……
In a typical Hollywood move, Stephen Chow has opted not to direct the big screen movie version of the classic TV series The Green Hornet. According to Variety, Chow exited the position over “creative differences.” I wonder what those differences were? Did he want to make the movie good, and take it beyond its campy roots? We may never know.
More on The Green Hornet after the jump.
To say that Seth Rogen had a very good ‘07-‘08 run would be a gross understatement. No other actor under thirty, save for Michael Cera, has crashed the spotlight so readily. Knocked Up literally put his face all over town, but then he unleashed the perverse, endearing Superbad (as brilliant as Cera’s work is, the point still goes to Rogen), and built a cache of action cred in Pineapple Express.
Now Hollywood has been desperately trying to categorize him. But they’re wrong. He’s not the new Will Ferrell. He sure as hell isn’t the new Chevy Chase, and if his ballsy upcoming slate says anything, it’s that the studios are slowly but surely figuring that out.
Rogen talks with Screencrave about his personal stake in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, why audiences should look past the title, and why they should be ready to see a whole lot more of him. Figuratively speaking.
