SNEAK PEEK: “THE GREEN HORNET”

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) and Kato (Jay Chou) break the law – in order to protect it – in Columbia Pictures' new 3D action-adventure “The Green Hornet.”

            Directed by Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), the film also stars Cameron Diaz (“Charlie’s Angels”), Tom Wilkinson (“Valkyrie”), and recent Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”).

            In the film, Britt Reid is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. 

            Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato, they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. But in order to do this, they decide to become criminals themselves.  Protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

            Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower. 

            Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato’s clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case (Diaz), they begin hunting down the man who controls LA’s gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Waltz).  But Chudnofsky has plans of his own:  to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.

            Opening across the Philippines on January 2011, “The Green Hornet” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads.  Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Movie Review: Green Hornet

The Green Hornet movie is not new to some who grew up with it. It's a pulp classic since the 1930's. For those who have no idea what's so unique about the Green Hornet here's a background. The Green Hornet started out as a radio drama production that first aired in January 31, 1936 and was created by George W. Fender and Fran Striker. That explains the choice of fashion for the Green Hornet: Fedora hat and trench coat. He's also similar with DC Comics' Sandman, who also have a gas gun but the Green Hornet was more popular and cooler. Before the Batman had a new darker image as the The Dark Knight, the Green Hornet already had that darker image when it was broadcast. The Green Hornet already had that outlaw superhero image. He is fighting crime outside the law who treats him on equal status as a criminal. By daylight, He's Brit Reid,publisher of Daily Sentinel. His secret was only shared to Kato, chauffeur and crime fighting partner, Lenore Case, his secretary, and a district attorney. The Green Hornet also had a movie back in the 1940's of the same name and had a sequel, The Green Hornet Strikes Again.

ABC production of Batman with the Green Hornet guesting

In 1966-1967, ABC, the same producers of Batman, produced and aired The Green Hornet TV series starring Van Williams in the title role and Bruce Lee as Kato. There was even a Batman episode guesting Van Williams and Bruce Lee as Green Hornet and Kato. When I watched that classic episode, I enjoyed seeing Bruce Lee kicking Burt Ward's behind. But the show was aired only for one season. The pulp hero Green Hornet continued in comic books. Bruce Lee became an instant Hong Kong superstar after the series.

Green Hornet Comics

Here's additional trivia: Kato's nationality during the 1936 radio broadcast was Japanese but when the United States entered the war in 1941, there was racial tension about Kato so he was turned into a Filipino character to avoid the radio show's cancellation. Before the Seth Rogen movie, there was already a French short film also titled The Green Hornet in 2006. The Green Hornet music theme is actually The Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov. The Green Hornet theme was trumpeted masterfully by Al Hirt. It was also used in one of the scenes of Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Review: As a fan of the Green Hornet, I expected it to be a serious character. Since it was Seth Rogen's production, I figured it was going to have a comical approach. Seth Rogen being Brit Reid is not really what I have in mind since Brit Reid was portrayed as handsome and a person who's in authority and a good decision maker not like Seth Rogen portrayed. I predicted before watching the movie that Jay Chou, who played Kato, will also steal the scene from Seth Rogen. I expect quite a future for this Chinese actor. The character of Kato has evolved more than just the Green Hornet's aide. Christoph Waltz played the gang lord Benjamin Chudnofsky. Although I expected Waltz on the same level as what he did in The Inglorious Basterds, he played the role of Chudnofsky very well. I really like how the rolling arsenal, The Black Beauty was conceptualized. If ever there is a sequel, I expect Seth Rogen's Brit Reid will have a more serious character. The Green Hornet is distributed locally by Columbia Pictures Phils. The Green Hornet opens in January 19 in both 3D and 2D cinemas.

With the guys from the Robo Rock Radio Show during the Green Hornet premiere

“THE GREEN HORNET” CREATES BUZZ AT COMIC-CON

SAN DIEGO -- Seth Rogen is a superhero who wields a blowtorch and has a Chrysler equipped with hood-mounted machine guns in Columbia Pictures’ upcoming action adventure The Green Hornet.

The film doesn't open until next year, but Rogen showed a brief clip recently to about 6,000 fans at Comic-Con.

The writer-actor said it was important to debut the footage at San Diego's annual pop culture convention because "the people who are in this room are probably the biggest movie and comic book fans on the planet."

"We are excited for you specifically to like this movie," he said.

The clip showed Rogen as Britt Reid — who becomes the Green Hornet — out for an adventure with his sidekick Kato, a masterful fighter and mechanic played by Jay Chou. It also offered viewers a look at the Black Beauty, their 1965 Chrysler Imperial armed with guns, rockets and other secret weapons. Kato himself is also a weapon: When a street fight erupts, he defends his pal in a scene that plays with timing and perspective, revealing director Michel Gondry's experimental touch.

The director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind said he was excited to take on a superhero story — especially in 3-D.

"I have developed some techniques that I never had the opportunity to use in a big scale movie," Gondry said, adding that he found the relationship between Britt and Kato particularly alluring.

Both director and star said they always hoped to do their film in 3-D and designed its visual concepts with dimension in mind, but they still had to persuade the studio to spend the time and money to convert it. That process delayed its release until January 2010, producer Neal Moritz said.

Rogen and co-writer Evan Goldberg said they drew from The Green Hornet's radio, television and comic-book histories to create their modern-day version of the vigilante superhero. Their story focuses on the hero-sidekick relationship between Britt and Kato.

"Me and Evan, we're lifelong comic book fans. We've always wanted to make a movie like this," Rogen said. "Specifically as writers, what attracts us is movies that explore relationships, usually between two dudes, as lame as that sounds."

(Opening soon across the Philippines, The Green Hornet is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to get the latest movie news, video clips, games and free downloads. Find us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.)