North Koreans are the new Chinese, who were the new Russians it would seem. “Red Dawn,” a remake of the 1980s film about a bunch of kids who keep those pesky Soviets from taking over America was remade by Dan Bradley (a stunt coordinator making his directorial debut) with the Chinese now serving as the updated baddies. But according to the LA Times, it appears that the film is undergoing a post-production makeover that will now digitally swap out Chinese flags and whatnot and substitute with North Korean ephemera. Additionally, dialogue in the film will be altered to match the story changes as well, which will not totally erase the Chinese but give the North Koreans a bigger role as the dudes who stomp on the stars and stripes. So why all the changes? MGM has been showing the film to potential buyers and without a chance to crack the Chinese market, potential customers are passing on the film.
The changes will apparently cost in the neighborhood of $1 million dollars, but Dan Mintz, one of the honchos at DMG Entertainment notes that in its current form, “Red Dawn” would most certainly face a less-than-pleasant reception in the giant movie market of China. “….there would have been a real backlash. It’s like being invited to a dinner party and insulting the host all night long. There’s no way to look good…. The film itself was not a smart move,” he says.
And according to producer Dan Tripp, while they were hesitant to alter the film, he says the changes will now make the movie “smarter and scarier,” which is an interesting way to spin things. The LA Times gravely cautions that if no buyers step up the film could be shelved, but considering the money already thrown at this thing and with “Thor” himself, Chris Hemsworth, in the lead role — with co-stars Josh Hutcherson (”The Kids Are All Right”), Josh Peck (”The Wackness”), Adrianne Palicki and Jeffrey Dean Morgan also featured — this will come out in some way, shape or form. There’s money to be made and ledgers to be balanced.
Anyway, we can’t say this will change the film too much. Written by Jeremy Passmore and Carl Ellsworth (”The Last House on the Left,” “Disturbia”) we weren’t exactly looking forward to it, but let’s just hope the changes don’t go the route of Mr. Black at Kamp Krusty or Poochy’s death on “The Simpsons.”