I bought one of those talking ‘Rocky' key-chains this week – you know, it says things like “Hey, I'm Rocky Balboa – the Italian Stallion' – and the wife loves it…. About as much as she does hand-washing my ratty undies each week.
But I digress, the man behind the key-chain, Sly Stallone, has buried Rocky and will next…. Bury the fuckers that hurt his family. Yep, he's stepping into Charles Bronson's shoes for an unnecessary “Death Wish” remake.
On the eve of the “Rambo” release, the muscle man told our friends at IGN Movies a bit about that next film – and how it'll differ from the original.
“I think Death Wish, if it were done today, would be volcanic,” Stallone said. “The idea of Jeff Goldblum being a mugger who breaks into an apartment is very simplistic. It gives you an idea how bad the elevation of violence has become. I would focus on defense attorneys, I would focus on [the people] allowing this crap to happen — not so much the guy on the street. It's like, ‘Who permits it?'
“What if it happened to you, that your daughter was grabbed and her eyes were put out? Would you want to sit there and defend that guy?
“There's moral questions here that are being presented that have not been answered in 30 years. So by no means is it the pacifist [origin of the original].”
Stallone also said that he would continue to develop the idea of the central character being a man who reverts to his more violent self following a personal tragedy.
“Now you've unleashed a man who really understands the world of violence,” he said. “He isn't burdened with this passive-aggressive, conscientious-objector kind of thing. That's been done. It's like what happens when the wolf has gone from wolf to wolf in sheep's clothing back to the wolf. Now the fellow on the street has a problem because he knows how to deal with that kind of mentality because he was a prisoner.”
The big guy is set to write, direct and star in the film.
Speaking of all things Sly, here's something interesting : Lionsgate aren't doing any media screenings for Rambo. Not one. Usually, that means the film is a real dog and they don't want the bad press to leak earlier than it needs to. But thing is, the test screenings for the film have gone through the roof, and anyone else that's gotten a sneak peek at it have also given the film the thumbs up. It could just be that it isn't a critics movie – I'm sure it's not – but an audience pleaser, and that's why Lionsgate saved the reviewers the cost of a bus-pass and latte this time.
Update:
The following story has already (I swear, it took like 5 mins!) been debunked by Schwarzenegger's Deputy Communications Director Laura Braden. ”I wanted to let you know that the below story is false. Governor Schwarzenegger has not signed on to be in any upcoming Sajid Nadiadwala movie', writes Braden.
Meantime, Stallone's old buddy and co-owner of the overpriced tinseltown-themed restaurant chain Planet Hollywood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has allegedly been roped into doing a cameo in a Bollywood movie.
Both Schwarzenegger and Beyonce Knowles have apparently agreed to cameo in Bollywood producer Sajid Nadiadwala's next film, “Kambakth Ishq”.
An international source told DNA India, ”Sajid has managed a casting coup in Kambakth Ishq. Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to play an interesting cameo in the film. Pop Sensation Beyonce is also all set to act in the film. The film stars the super hit pair of Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor. Akshay plays a Hollywood stuntman in the film. ”
My only question : Why would Schwarzenegger rule out a cameo in the fourth “Terminator” movie but accept a role in a Bollywood film that won't play anywhere outside of a VCD store in New Delhi?
