'Expendables 3' Cast Rolls Into Cannes In Tanks
(By Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Associated Press, 18 May 2014)
(By Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Associated Press, 18 May 2014)
Who needs a red carpet? The megawatt cast of "Expendables
3" made a spectacular debut at Cannes on Sunday, rolling down the famous
Croisette in tanks as a throng of onlookers and media jostled for a better view
of its cargo: Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford,
Antonio Banderas, and Jason Statham. And that was just part one of the
entourage. Banderas was hardly
exaggerating in the subsequent press conference when he called it the "hall
of fame" of action heroes. "The
chance to work with all these guys is very very rare," said Stallone, the
film's original star and creator, sitting between Schwarzenegger and Gibson.
Since the first "Expendables" in
2010, the cast has ballooned to seemingly include almost every star that's
flexed a muscle on film: The third edition includes younger stars such as
Kellan Lutz and Ronda Rousey (the only woman in the cast), as well as Wesley
Snipes and Kelsey Grammer. Ford called
joining the cast "a lot of fun," and that was clear from the
camaraderie at the press conference (which needed two rows of seats to fit
everyone). There were plenty of
compliments: Schwarzenegger called Stallone one of his "great
inspirations, while Stallone gushed about the former California governor's
great mind; Banderas said he was honored, as a Spaniard, to be included. The cast also cracked jokes at the expense of
each other, and themselves: Age was a natural target, given the advanced age of
most of it's top-billed stars. "I
think Lincoln was in the White House when we first met," quipped Stallone,
67, about Ford, 71.
Later, when asked when the stars when know
when it was time to retire, Stallone said: "When you're ass falls off,
it's time to retire," before adding: "We're children with arthritis!
We're young forever!" Though much
of the cast are senior citizens, Stallone, is hoping to reach a younger
generation with the next film with a PG-13 rating instead of the R-rating of
the others to expand its reach. Stallone also said the franchise would
return to its action roots; the second one delved "too far" into the
comic realm, he said. "I realized
we should get back into dramatic. When the action starts, I don't like to do
joke action," Stallone said. "I feel like we finally got it right on
the third one - kind of like a marriage."
'The Expendables
3': What The Critics Are Saying
(By Ian Servantes, Hollywood Reporter, 15 August 2014)
The
Expendables 3, with a cast so big it can only fit on a billboard,
hits theaters Friday. Kelsey Grammer, Wesley Snipes, Mel
Gibson, Antonio Banderas and Harrison Ford are just a few of
the new faces (read: muscles) to join Sylvester Stallone, Jason
Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews and Arnold Schwarzenegger in
the franchise's third installment, directed by Patrick Hughes. In addition to potential franchise fatigue, a pristine
copy of the movie leaked on the Internet earlier this
month, and the film opened to a muted $875,000 Thursday night from
more than 2,200 locations. The Lionsgate and Millennium Film is expected to
take in $20 million to $25 million for the weekend — a series low.
Read
what top critics are saying about The Expendables 3:
The Hollywood
Reporter's film critic Justin Lowe says in his review, "Although The Expendables 3
remains faithful to the series' B-movie roots, what becomes increasingly clear
is that the issue of franchise fatigue isn't so much attributable to the
initially inspired template that put highly recognizable, aging action stars
back in the game as it is to increasingly formulaic plotlines. With no higher
purpose than generating cash and allowing for a few shared laughs among old
buddies on repetitive assignments to take out tyrannical despots and nefarious
arms dealers, The Expendables lack the dimensionality of enduring screen
characters, despite the iconic roles many of these actors have played in other
films."
He
continues, "The biggest misstep involves sidelining the original cast
members while Ross (Stallone) convenes a new group of Expendables, which
consumes an unwarranted amount of plot with commensurate payoff. None of the
newcomers has the experience or credentials of the film's real stars, which are
the factors that make their performances so effectively economical and
ironically amusing."
Los Angeles Times' Kenneth
Turan says, "With some of their members looking old enough to apply
for joint membership in the RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) action franchise,
Expendables 3 has tried to make a virtue of necessity and construct a
film about younger types muscling their sclerotic compatriots out of a job.
That may sound interesting, but it's really not. ... In addition to a great
deal of bloodless (which is kind of a relief) PG-13 action, Expendables 3
has a surfeit of the kind of tedious macho dialogue these films are known for.
When Drummer (Ford) returns to action and tells the gang, 'I haven't had so
much fun in years,' it's not likely the audience will be in full
agreement."
Boston Globe's Tom Russo
was one of the few critics with kind words and says The Expendables 3
"gets the franchise back on track. ... Rather than trying to pique our
interest by being the slightest bit selective, Stallone takes the view that
more really is more. ... It's a preposterously overstuffed strategy that, go
figure, not only works, but even cures a thing or two that ailed the previous
movies. They were decent guilty pleasures, but didn't offer much in the way of
story. Flat, lunkheaded banter between Barney Ross (Stallone) and sidekick Lee
Christmas (Statham) was passed off as humor. Here, there's a more compelling
narrative, as well as some legitimate comic relief thanks to Banderas, Snipes,
and — so that's what he's doing here! — Kelsey Grammer."
The New York Times' Nicolas
Rapold offers a short and sweet takedown of the movie and says the director
"pours these gunfire barrages, explosions and a few leaping stunts into
rambling set pieces, as if turning an action hose on and off. A little pizazz
comes from Banderas as a gabby Spanish killer and from Snipes as a loose
cannon, reconfirming his potent screen presence. ... It's all a bit like a
classic-rick tribute concert, or playing with all your action figures at once,
or maybe Cannonball Run, with the strained buddy-buddy back-and-forth.
It's also a leisurely action movie that feels as though it's spread pretty thin
across its more-is-better cast."
Chicago Tribune's Michael
Phillips references the reported $90 million budget and says, "It
looks more like $30 million. I think the audiences respond to the general air
of cheapness in this franchise; it's part of the fun, the tinny, macho
ridiculousness of it. He continues, "The climatic and semi-endless assault
features tanks, helicopters, motorcycle stunts only a digital effects specialist
could love and some terrible staging and editing. Even so, the movie's less a
failure than a shrug, and it's pleasant in a numbing way to see everybody
again, killing, killing, killing."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/expendables-3-review-what-critics-725804?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_boxoffice&utm_campaign=THR%20Box%20Office_now_2014-08-16%2007%3A42%3A42_ehayden
(By Kim Masters , Hollywood Reporter, 07 August 2013)
A source
says the actor was offered $3 million for four days of work shooting in
Bulgaria but said he would drop out if he didn't get $4 million. Sylvester Stallone let the world know Tuesday
that Bruce Willis was out of the upcoming The Expendables 3 for being
"greedy and lazy," and it seems that laziness was not the primary
issue. Stallone raised eyebrows in
Hollywood by tweeting "WILLIS OUT . . . HARRISON FORD IN!!!! GREAT
NEWS!!!!! Been waiting years for this!!!!," then following up with a
second tweet reading "GREEDY AND LAZY . . . A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER
FAILURE." A source with knowledge
of the situation says the fallout was over a specific money demand. Willis was
offered $3 million for four days of consecutive work on location in Bulgaria
for the film. "He said he'd drop out unless he got $4 million," this
source close to the production says. "A million dollars a day. Stallone
and everybody else involved said no."
Stallone
then quickly reached out to Ford, who was game to join the Expendables cast. The insider adds, "I think [Willis] was
pretty surprised he was replaced in 72 hours by Harrison Ford -- a better
actor, a much nicer person and a more interesting direction for the film." Willis' reps at CAA declined comment. Willis most recently appeared in Red 2, which
has grossed a disappointing $80 million worldwide. Before that, February's A
Good Day to Die Hard grossed $305 million. He also had an extended cameo in
March's G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which grossed $372 million.
The next
installment of The Expendables, with a budget of more than $90 million, is set
for release next August by Millennium Films. In addition to Stallone and Ford,
the cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke and
Wesley Snipes.
Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas Set For
'Expendables 3,' According To Stallone
(By Christopher Rosen, The Huffington Post, 09 August 2013)
Mel Gibson
and Antonio Banderas have joined the cast of "Expendables 3," this
according to a representative for star Sylvester Stallone. Both Gibson and
Banderas was first rumored for the project earlier this year, following tweets
from Stallone himself: “Antonio B.
...? Could be.” (12:41 PM - 3 May 2013)
and “Mad Max vs Barney Ross...... (11:53 PM - 15 Jul 2013).” Gibson will reportedly star as the villain in
"The Expendables 3." As for Banderas, there's no word yet on his
"Expendables 3" part. According to his representatives, the
52-year-old has an offer for the project but has not officially signed on just
yet.
Regardless,
Stallone is already looking forward to appearing with Banderas again; the pair
shared the screen in 1995's ‘Assassins.’ "He is a consummate actor and a
gentleman," Stallone said of Banderas in a statement to HuffPost
Entertainment. (Banderas is represented by manager Manny Nunez.) Gibson and Banderas would join Stallone and
Harrison Ford in the cast of "The Expendables 3." Ford replaced Bruce
Willis on the call sheet this week, after reportedly demanding $1 million per
day in salary to appear in the series' third film. (Willis' representatives had
no comment on that report, which originated in THR.) Stallone, meanwhile,
called Willis "greedy and lazy" on his Twitter account. "Expendables 3" is set for release
sometime in 2014.
If We Were Making 'The Expendables 3,' Here's Who We'd Cast
(By Chuck Walton, Fandango.com, 16 August 2012)
Here's the thing about The Expendables franchise. If you're
going to go big, go really big. For example, let's look at the cast tagged in
the first Expendables – "Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Couture, Austin,
Crews, Rourke, Willis." Of those names, the ones action junkies really
care about are "Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis." Couture,
Austin, Crews, Rourke? Being an MMA, wrestling, ex-NFL or Academy
Award-nominated/cult film favorite is all fine and cool, but it doesn't truly
define a long-standing action genre icon...although definitely, they're able to
fill out the fringes on the poster.
Flash forward to The Expendables 2. Two years and $100 plus
million later, we have a new stellar line-up on the marquee – "Stallone,
Statham, Li, Lundgren, Norris, Crews, Couture, Hemsworth, Van Damme, Willis,
Schwarzenegger." The cast is more solid this time, but here's who really
matters – "Stallone, Li, Lundgren, Norris, Van Damme, Willis,
Schwarzenegger." Go ahead and take aim, but nowadays Statham doesn't
really make the A-list cut. He's had too many subpar actioners (Killer Elite,
Blitz, In the Name of the King, The Mechanic, etc.) on his shooting schedule. So
basically, we've gone from five badass action idols in one movie to seven
in the sequel. That's awesome. But note to Sly and producer Avi Lerner (the men
behind the men) - feel free to shoot even higher for the next outing. Lots of
wish list guys may have balked in the past. But if Expendables 2 hits
like we think it might (outrageous? absurd? sweet!), there'll be more coin in
the till to corral the hold-outs.
Here's our advice to the makers of The
Expendables 3, and it's a simple 3-step.
1) Ditch the non-action movie stars in the secondary
roles. Couture, Crews, Hemsworth, and Statham (due to his output of
insignificant action flicks). Replace
with any of the following (if you, the filmmakers, love the Statham bunch and
can't stand to lose them, maybe they can be in another movie off on another mission)
…these guys are more solid - Tony Jaa, Michael Biehn, Chris Hemsworth, and The
Raid: Redemption's Iko Uwais (plus Harrison Ford and/or Clint Eastwood in cameo
appearances as the head guys back at control doling out assignments). Basic
rule of thumb: No co-stars who are known more as athletes (Howie Long and Brian
Bosworth included); no co-stars whose egos are bigger than their action stripes
(Vin Diesel included); and no co-stars under 35 who can't carry a minimum
weight of 215 pounds of muscle (Liam Hemsworth, out; Chris Hemsworth, in).
2) Split the teams. We love JCVD being the baddie in Expendables
2, but he needs more A-list action talent behind him on the dark side. And
there's plenty of awesome firepower yet to be utilized for good and bad. For
the good guy team as new headliners alongside Sly and company, we suggest Kurt
Russell, all of the guys mentioned above as secondary lieutenants,
plus fellows such as Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Carl Weathers,
Chow Yun-Fat, Keanu Reeves or Matt Damon if they're willing to suit up,
and Linda Hamilton or Rene Russo (see point 3). On the bad boy team,
we recommend as the two head villains the sorely-missing super bad boy
Steven Seagal (with pony tail and lots of gym time to prep) and of course the
one and only Mel Gibson (this will be a perfect career comeback where he
can go down in appropriately crazy, cartoonish, over-the-top fashion). More
folks for baddie consideration: Wesley Snipes, Vin Diesel (here, it makes
sense), Sigourney Weaver and Roddy Piper. While we're at it, maybe have Jet Li
change sides, too.3) Add legitimate female brawn. We don't need damsels in distress. And we don't need models or actresses who look like models day-playing as action heroines, unless they're Kate Beckinsale. Throw Linda Hamilton in with the good guys, Sigourney Weaver in with the bad guys, have them go mano a mano, and voila, you've got a must-see action match-up. Meanwhile, intercut with cool one on one battles between Snake Plissken and Mad Max, Rambo and Blade, the Terminator and Gino from Out for Justice, and so on and so forth.
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