'Red Dawn' Remake Dated for Nov. 2, 2012

WOLVERINES!!!!The original Red Dawn was a silly propaganda piece, even by 1980's cold war era standards.  So, it seemed like kind of a bizarre move for MGM when they decided to remake the film, this time casting China as the villainous invaders, rather than the Russians.  Fears about how this would effect foreign markets, however caused them to shelve it indefinitely.  After being given some reshoots that changed the villains to North Korea, however, the film has a planned release date of November 2, 2012.

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'Red Dawn' in Danger of Never Being Released?

The best laid plans of MGM are now the details holding up a sale of the heavily indebted company. The Hobbit we know all about. James Bond is on hiatus until the studio has money or sells the property to another bidder or is absorbed by a bigger conglomerate, likely Time-Warner.

But there are other projects that MGM had hoped would save the day, like a Poltergeist reboot that's going nowhere fast, RoboCop (ditto), and Red Dawn. The difference for that 80s remake is the film has already been made. A release date was pushed from earlier in 2010 back to November 24th, but The Los Angeles Times says it won't open then and might not ever be released. I wouldn't go to that extreme; it's a $75 million movie starring Thor (Chris Hemsworth), so if MGM is willing to let another studio distribute it and pay for the P & A and all that in exchange for a larger-than-normal percentage in these kinds of arrangements, it could still work.

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China Seeing Red Over 'Red Dawn' Remake

The remake of Red Dawn repositions things a little bit, making the invading superpower not the Soviet Union (which, in a contemporary framework, would be impossible) but China. And China isn't too happy about it.

Of course, the country has been trying to change its public image for year - damn you, Tiananmen Square - but certainly in terms of human rights, Tibet, and a laundry list of other complaints, China still has a long way to go before it's everybody's BFF. Filmshaft cites The Global Times, which says the movie could raise antennae about China as a potential nemesis to the US through its portrayal of fictional events:

“China can still feel US distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans’ suspicions about China are the best ground for the hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie Red Dawn.”

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan Close to Joining 'Red Dawn'

Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Watchmen's Comedian, might be joining the remake of Red Dawn. He'd play the leader of the Special Forces team who stumbles onto a makeshift military compound run by those clever young survivalists fighting against the growing US invasion.

Perhaps just as important as the casting announcement is a little clarity on the invaders. In the 1984 original, of course, it was the commies that were coming to take over America. In the remake...it's different commies. The Chinese are joining forces with the Russians, according to Variety.

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Isabel Lucas from 'Transformers' Joins 'Red Dawn'

Four up-and-coming actors have been added to the cast of the remake of Red Dawn, due out next September. Probably the highlight for summer movie fans is Isabel Lucas, the female Transformer who blended into her surroundings by becoming a hot college chick instead of, I don't know, a Vespa or something.

Lucas will be joined by Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Terabithia), Edwin Hodge from Fox's Mental, and Connor Cruise, the adopted 14-year-old son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Already lined up are Chris Hemsworth, the new Thor, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, and possibly Kurt Russell.

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