Harvey Weinstein Already Wants to Make Rambo V
Like two puppies in love, Harvey Weinstein and Nikki Finke had their requisite Sunday chat today, with Weinstein declaring that he’s quite pumped up about Rambo’s combined domestic and international box office potential, while Finke’s sentiments are, adorably, the exact opposite. Serving as executive producer on the fourth Rambo film, which opened in second place this weekend, grossing $18.2 million, Weinstein also said that he’s hungry for a sequel, and this time he wants Rambo to come back to America.
“I like the idea of an older guy kicking ass. Maybe it’s because I’m older, too,” added Weinstein.
Sylvester Stallone has stated many times that, while Rocky Balboa’s days on film are up, he’d love to bring John Rambo back. Recently, we reported that Stallone emphasized adding “another element of the surreal [to a Rambo V] that would actually take the audience into a slightly different genre.”
Weinstein said he expects Rambo to do $50 million domestically, with $100-150 million on top of that internationally, where Stallone is a bigger draw. Both the speculated sci-fi or superhero slant and a return to the states sound like good moves, creative and business-wise, for the franchise and the Rambo character to me. You?
New Rambo Title, New Rambo Poster
Rambo to Hell and Back has now been retitled (yes, AGAIN) as “Rambo“. Apparently Sylvester Stallone didn’t like “John Rambo” because that signified the last of a series. And according to Sly, there will likely be more Rambo movies. I think I like this title best. It’s simple, yet says everything. Plus the first Rambo film was actually titled First Blood, so it works without ruining the title sequencing. The guys at FilmDrunk think the poster looks like a mixture of Scarface and the Bruce Willis Sin City poster, and I would tend to agree. Check out the poster.
Rambo hits theaters on Janury 25th 2008.
source: IGN
John Rambo Sentenced to January Death?
Lionsgate has announced that they will release Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo on January 25, 2008. January is pretty much considered the kiss of death, where bad films go to die. Aside from Star Wars Special Edition, no other film has made over $29 million on a January opening weekend, and only five January releases have gone on to make over $100 million at the box office. In comparison, December offers six times as many $100 million ox office hits, with nine December films going on to $200 million.
This doesn’t seem like a good faith move by Lionsgate. I could be wrong. Paramount’s move to release Cloverfield in January also seems very curious.
Son of Rambow in April 2008
Son of Rambow was probably the biggest hit of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, sparking a record bidding war, which ended with Paramount Vantage taking home the goods. The film was originally set to hit theaters on July 20th 2007, but was pushed back to an unknown 2008 date without reason. Many people speculated that the studio might have wanted to release the film closer to the release of Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo. Who knows if that is true or not. I just caught this gem in Toronto and LOVED LOVED LOVED it.
Director Garth Jennings revealed that the film would hit theaters in April 2008 on Friday night at a screening of the film during the Toronto International Film Festival. No further details were given. So there you have it. The film’s official plot synopsis follows:
SON OF RAMBOW is the name of the home movie made by two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions. Set on a long English summer in the early 80’s, SON OF RAMBOW is a comedy about friendship, faith and the tough business of growing up. We see the story through the eyes of Will, the eldest son of a fatherless Plymouth Brethren family. The Brethren regard themselves as God’s ‘chosen ones’ and their strict moral code means that Will has never been allowed to mix with the other ‘worldlies,’ listen to music or watch TV, until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and maker of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood and from that moment Will’s mind is blown wide open and he’s easily convinced to be the stuntman in Lee Carters’ diabolical home movie. Will’s imaginative little brain is not only given chance to flourish in the world of film making, but is also very handy when it comes to dreaming up elaborate schemes to keep his partnership with Lee Carter a secret from the Brethren community. Will and Carter’s complete disregard for consequences and innocent ambition means that the process of making their film is a glorious rollercoaster that eventually leads to true friendship. They start to make a name for themselves at school as movie makers but when popularity descends on them in the form of the Pied Piper-esque French exchange student, Didier Revol, their unique friendship and their precious film are pushed, quite literally, to breaking point.