NEWS and My Opinion on Sony’s upcoming THE GREEN HORNET!

I’m a bit perplexed by what’s going on with Sony’s pre-production big screen version of THE GREEN HORNET. It was just announced that Hong Kong superstar, STEPHAN CHOW (KUNG FU HUSTLE), who’s known for slapstick style martial arts will not only direct, but co-star as KATO in the film opposite SETH ROGEN (who also co-wrote the script). Yes, that’s Seth Rogen of Knocked Up and Pineapple Express fame. Why Rogen has chosen to attach himself to this project is anyone’s guess but, to me, it just doesn’t make sense! If the material is played straight, Rogen is just so wrong and if it’s played for laughs it’s totally disrespectful to the source material.

Ben Stiller did this type of thing with STARSKY AND HUTCH and I hated that film. The 70’s cop show it was based on was a drama, not a silly comedy. The same goes for The Green Hornet. Instead of the greatness of The Dark Knight would anyone have opted to see a Batman and Robin 2 this summer? The answer is pretty obvious! My guess is the studio deemed the Green Hornet property as having a limited mass audience so, when Rogen showed interest, they welcomed him with open arms because he’s such a hot property in the industry. When all is said and done, it will be interesting to see how this project in its current form is received. My guess is that there will be a strong backlash from many who think the creative choice to have Rogen along with his comic antics in the lead is a really bad idea! COUNT me in!