I actually thought Stephen Sommers was a nice fit for a G.I. Joe picture. Although I love the way he shoots movies, I thought a flick that was a little more realistic and fully character driven would allow him to improve on the weaker part of his directing… and I really thought he could have grown with it.
Now, with the success of the Transformers it seems Sommers started to see big dollar signs in his eyes. The word is he wanted a deal similar to the one that Michael Bay got for directing that toy franchise to the big screen. $10 million is the figure quoted. What Sommers obviously doesn’t realise is that G.I. Joe, whilst popular yes… it doesn’t have the wider following that Transformers has.
Paramount said they weren’t offering him what they wanted, and rightfully so. Which mean’s he’s out of the picture and the hunt is on for a new director.
Len Wiseman would have been perfect for this and I would have supported him to take on this film, just as I will when he takes up Gears of War. You know there’s some movies that certain directors should stick to until they have crafted their art and can move on to better things and Wiseman should have stayed away from Die Hard and especially Escape from New York and done stuff like this instead.
Oh and those rumors about Jason Statham being in the flick? I heard a while back that a role in the script was written specifically for him… so it wouldn’t surprise me.
source – iesb
3 Comments
Bay got 10 million for transformers? Oh sh*t, any hope for good movies just went out the window. When directors find out they can get as much as a name actor can even if they make dumbed-down deplorable crap then we’ll see a real horse race for who can appeal to the lowest-common denominator.
I would have loved to see Sommers direct this movie, but that was before I found out this flick will share little in common with the actual G.I Joe brand. It’s suposed to be more of a Duke/Action Man team-up. Action Man is seen as being more marketable globally than G.I. Joe. Keep in mind Don Murphy (the genius behind this no-doubt instant=classic) was the same moron behind Transformers. I suppose no one told him that US audiences have never heard of “Action Man.” It will be next to impossible to market the film no matter how good it is. But after bastardizing Transformers maybe a total flop is what these *ssholes need.
Van Helsing and Mummy Returns were both overbloated pieces of garbage. Sommers does not know when to put away his CGI crayons. Why you think he’s a perfect fit for GI Joe which would benefit from as much practical effects as possible (gunfights and hand to hand combat) is beyond me.
Well… that’s kind of what I mean. Something that will take him away from the CGI will be a good thing because he has a superb imagination for him. Let’s see what’s it’s like when he doesn’t put it on a machine and just goes out and films it.
Although we won’t get that chance now. Hey, Bay deserved $10 million… look how much the movie made. Transformers was one of the worst flicks of the year from where I sit but it made money… a lot of it… and if I were the movie studio I would be pleased with his work.