411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 11.14.08: Week 152

Posted by Ben Piper on 11.14.2008

Will Quantum of Solace be better than Casino Royale? Would Beyonce make a good Wonder Woman? Is Joss Whedon's Dollhouse doomed by its timeslot? 411's Jeremy Thomas and Leonard Hayhurst debate these and other subjects in week 152 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



Hello, everyone. I hope that everything is well and fine in the world for you all as we settle in for yet more great Fact or Fiction action. This time around we've got the Ask 411 movie expert Leonard Hayhurst matching wits and opinions with Jeremy Thomas! Let's see what they have to say…

1. You fully expect Quantum of Solace to be a bigger and better film than Casino Royale.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fact- I liked Casino Royale, but perhaps not as much as a lot of other people. I like the grittier portrayal of Daniel Craig, but he was obviously finding himself in the part as the filmmakers were also finding their way. So, with one movie to cut their teeth on this one should be able to make a nice blend of action, grit and traditional Bond elements. My guess is that this is all leading to Bond fighting SPECTRE and Blofeld popping up in a film or two.

Jeremy Thomas: Fact- I loved Casino Royale and it is, truly, my favorite Bond film. Yes, even more then Goldfinger or Goldeneye. Daniel Craig just blew me away, the opening few scenes were breathtaking and immediately established the new Bond, and they never let up from there. As good as Royale was, the trailer for Quantum of Solace looks even better. When White says "The first thing you have to understand is, we have people everywhere," I just grinned like an idiot. Everything about this looks top-notch, and I expect it will be all-round better, even if Olga Kurylenko doesn't look quite as awesome as Eva Green.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Beyonce would be a terrific choice to play Wonder Woman.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fiction- The recent hoax was that Megan Fox was going to play the part and I think she's a bit small. I say die Beth Phoenix's hair black. There's nothing saying that Wonder Woman can't be black, but I'm against a racial switch on a character just to do it. The recent rumor of Will Smith as Captain American intrigues me, as it would make sense that the military would test and experimental serum in World War II on what was perceived to be expendable black soldiers. Beyonce has never really shown herself to be a great actress and while you might not need great acting chops to play Wonder Woman, it is a physically demanding role. I'm also think she would not be accepted by the comic book fan base in the part for several reasons outside of her skin color.

Jeremy Thomas: Fiction- I'd use a more vehement word if I could. This is why Marvel Studios can earn critical and commercial success with the majority of their films and D.C. can't, outside of the Batman movies. Marvel hires real actors, like Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton, Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman, Anna Pacquin, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and William Hurt, while D.C. thinks supermodels (Megan Gale as Wonder Woman in the Justice League mess), rappers (Common as Green Lantern in the same), or R&B singers like Beyonce will do. Clearly, they won't. I'll take nothing away from Beyonce, who was okay in Goldmember and even good in Dreamgirls, but she doesn't have the experience or the acting skills to carry an big-budget action superhero film. This is just an all-around bad idea and if D.C. wants to be taken seriously in the film adaptations of their books, they need to start raising the bar.

Score: 2 for 2

3. Even with Will Smith and Steven Spielberg potentially collaborating on it, doing a remake of Oldboy is a horrible idea.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fiction- I've not seen the original movie, but have heard of it and from what I understand it's a very dark and violent film. Dark and violet doesn't usually go with Spielberg and Smith. What they will probably do is just take the basic story idea and Hollywood-ize it for their own purposes. Steven Spielberg directing Will Smith in a movie about a man held captive for years and then let out to figure out what happened to him has potential. If you were just told that, I think most people would be interested in seeing it. Of course, most mainstream audiences in America probably haven't seen the original, so the pair probably won't be stepping on many toes. It will probably stand on its own separate from the original and be just fine. However, there are way too many Korean films getting American adaptations as seen in the horror genre, but there again most of those movies wind up being judged on their own merits by American audiences because they don't know the originals.

Jeremy Thomas: Fact- I have seen Oldboy, as well as the two other movies in the Vengeance trilogy. I have to say, for the record, that I've seen a lot of messed up films, and this one ranks up there in terms of story content. I generally like Smith's films, as well as Spielberg's, but try as I might I can't imagine them making anything remotely like Oldboy. I mean, there's controversy and then there's controversy, and as good as the Korean film is, what American studio would touch this one with a ten-foot pole is beyond me. I simply don't think American audiences would accept this. Now, if it gets a minor release through one of the so-called "independant" studios and Smith & Spielberg are only producing, not writing/starring/directing, I could maybe see potential there in a limited-release type film. But with two heavyweights like that I don't see that sort of thing happening, and this just seems like a bad plan. Not to mention that I, even being the huge fan of Asian culture that I am, am so utterly BEYOND done with Asian remakes, horror or not. Sorry, no, move along.

Score: 2 for 3

Switch!!!

4. Speaking of Will Smith, you like the idea of his son Jaden being cast as the next Karate Kid.

Jeremy Thomas: Fiction- Though this has nothing to do with doubts about Jaden Smith. While I'm not convinced he's an actor who can carry a film, he did remarkably well in The Pursuit of Happyness and almost surely has all the training and tools one might need to get a success. What I really, truly don't like about this idea is that no one should be the next Karate Kid. There should be no new film. This is just another stupid remake that doesn't need to be made; the original is a very fun 80's classic that helped cause a resurgance in the youth study of martial arts as personal discipline, which I always thought was a great thing. I don't have a lot of faith in a remake capturing the magic that the first (or even the second) did; look at the ill-fated third film or, if you dare, The Next Karate Kid. Hilary Swank, you've come a long, long way. I could think of worse ideas, but that sure as hell doesn't mean I like this one.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fiction- As I said above, I don't like the idea of doing a racial switch just to do one, and at the age of 10 he's a bit young for the part. I do agree with Jeremy that questioning his acting chops shouldn't be an issue. There are a bunch of movies from the eighties that just fit their time, place and demographic. All that has moved on and a remake isn't going to recapture it. Fans of the original won't want to see a remake, and kids today won't know the original to be enthused about the remake. As Jeremy also pointed out, they tried to revitalize the franchise once with The Next Karate Kid and it didn't work. I don't like gender flips for the sake of doing them either. At least that had Pat Morita in it and he's dead now. Who will play Mr. Miyagi in this one, Samuel L. Jackson? "Wax on, motherf**ker."

Score: 3 for 4

5. The announcement by Fox that Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will air on Fridays is a bad omen for the show's chances of success.

Jeremy Thomas: Fact- I want to smack Joss for agreeing to work with Fox again; between this and the move of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to the traditional death knell Friday Night Lineup, it solidifies my conspiracy theory that Fox just hates everyone and everything associated with Joss. They screwed up Firefly by legendary proportions; the excellent Drive by Tim Minnear and starring Nathan Fillion got cancelled after only four episodes; and now Terminator (featuring Summer Glau) and Dollhouse are getting the timeslot shaft. I'll watch them religiously, and when Fox gives them the axe, I'll resume my boycott of the network. Finks, all of you, finks! *BLAM BLAM BLAM*

Leonard Hayhurst:Fact- Fridays have been a bad time slot for genre shows since Star Trek got sent their to die in its third season so Laugh-In could have their early evening, mid-week time slot. Geeks might live in the parents basement with nothing else better to do, but statistics show that Friday and Saturday nights do not deliver that key 18-34 year old demographic, no matter how you slice it. That's who is going to be watching something like The Sara Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse. However, I would go against Jeremy a little bit by saying that Fox might be the only network willing to work with Whedon outside of the CW and you wouldn't want it there either, would you? This will be just the next show to go on the list of those that got axed before their time.

Score: 4 for 5

6. You'd be interested in watching Ricky Gervais' new HBO stand-up special.

Jeremy Thomas: Fact- Ricky Gervais is great, both as a stand-up comedian and a comic actor, and from all accounts Ghost Town was far better then anyone really thought it would be. Since I have HBO and any of their stand-up ends up being in the On Demand stuff, I'm sure I'll get plenty of opportunities to check it out, and I no doubt will. HBO usually produces great stand-up stuff, and with a gifted comic in the spotlight, how can I really say no?

Leonard Hayhurst: Fact- I'm really not that familiar with Ricky Gervais as I don't have HBO or have watched the original Office. Chad Webb from here on 411 loved Ghost Town, so it must be good. I wanted to see it, but I think I was washing my hair that week or something. From what I have seen of Gervais he seems to be quick with a unique sense of humor. He's got that dry British wit with a healthy dose of American pop culture and perspective. With all the hack stand ups out there today, I'd be more than willing to give Gervais a fair shake.

Final Score: 5 for 6

And there you go. Leonard and Jeremy agree more than not. Many thanks to hem both for taking the time to participate, and to you for clicking the link.

Check back next week for more Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV goodness. See you then.
-BP