Reboots Galore: Red Dawn
The folks over at Slice of SciFi are reporting some casting news on a purported reboot of the 1984 movie Red Dawn. For those of you not, erm, old enough to remember the flick, here's a quick summary: Russians invade the US of A, dropping paratroopers right next to a small-town high school. A few football jocks escape to fight back, even after the invading forces pull gun registration records (and, of course, the guns themselves) leaving lots of unarmed, unhappy sheep-hicks. They meet a mean fighter (Jennifer Grey -- no, really). They lose. The country eventually wins and their efforts are immortalized in a small plaque on a rock.
As crappy as this might sound, I actually enjoyed this movie when it released. As Sean likes to say, there while the overall sucked a bit, the actual moments were pretty funny. The piss-in-the-radiator bit, for example, is classic. And while some might call the movie an NRA wet dream, it struck me as more of a rah-rah-go-get-'em flick, with which I'm down.
So casting news? Slice of SciFi says Josh Peck will fill Charlie Sheen's original role of Matt while Adrianne Palicki will step into Grey's size-nines. No word yet, apparently, on who'll inhabit Jed, originally played quite effectively by Patrick Swayze.
Red Dawn Casting News [Slice of SciFi]
Galactic Watercooler 
Modern Geek 
Save Eureka 
Eff This Week 
FitSmart 
Frakin-A! This is a Great Movie(tm)
And yeah, you could see it as a right-wing fantasy, but you could also see it as a cautionary tale about invading other countries. Pick your poison.
Wolverines!
Oh My God. I love this movie. I’m not sure how the “reboot” will go over but you know I will watch it at least once!
I loved this movie! It’s one of those I can’t turn off if it’s on tv. It’s a brat pack/Outsiders mash-up. Of course they want to remake it.
STOP RAPING MY CHILDHOOD!
um, unless you do it right.
This was the very first PG-13 movie I went to see. I’m excited to see the remake and I wonder how real the movie will be to the current world situation including China and Russia.
Oh my. Well, this should be interesting. I never saw Red Dawn and will have to check the library for it.
Love this movie. I can see why they feel it’s time for a remake, but I wonder who the bad guys could creditably be. Unless, it’s the U.S.
Also TEEN WOLF 3!! Just heard it.
I am totally sick of these Hollywood re-boots of “good” movies. Movies like Red Dawn, Karate Kid and Alien ( the re-boot was even rumored to be set underwater rather then outer space) do not need to be touched. The Day The Earth Stood still was god awful, and I hear my beloved Forbidden Planet is next on the block. It’s sad that it seems people who are being paid millions cannot come up with an original concept for a movie. Or find it hard to sick close to the story of the original. I understand some things need to be updated but not the way most big budget flicks do it.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate all re-boots, Batman being an example of that. Heck I even enjoyed the “new” ending to the Watchmen over the comic book ending.
If they( folks in the industry) feel they must reboot something how about pulling things like the crapfest that appears to be the GI Joe movie off the shelf before it even hits, and remaking it so it’s closer to the source material. I know a large majority of movies are adapted from books or comics that I may not be familiar with. But remaking or should I say butchering well established movies or series needs to stop.
Hmm… one of the things that made RED DAWN (Great title BTW) so powerful when I saw it (yes I’m that old!) was how real the threat of a Soviet attack was back then. When I re-watched this flick last year with childrenAZ, I was shocked at how frightening and well thought out the attack portrayed in the film really was. For a re-boot to do justice, it has to evoke that same level of unease. It wasn’t all guns and fighting; it was a war- cold, hard and cruel. I’m open to a re-boot if it can make me scared to go to bed at night.
I too loved this movie growing up. it was the first thought that ran thru my head when I was out side the straits of hormuz(the Gulf) on Sept 11, 2001. I got woken up my our Admiral talking on the 1MC(big speaker system on Naay ships.) he was telling us the World trade center was no more and that DC was attacked. he also told us that we were holding on station awaiting orders and that all comms were down so that orders could come thru more easily.
I woke up my buddies all around me and we ran up to Combat to see what had happened, only to learn the events of that day.
There are a great show called Jericho that comes to mind as something like red dawn, but different at the same time.
-Beach23bum
Ummm! Right movie (Dirty Dancing?) wrong actor. Patrick Swayze not Jennifer Grey
Why a remake? If they get John Milius to write and direct again, I’ll see it. I’m waiting for the Megaforce remake myself (hopefully it would be better).