Will Smith's son may star in Karate Kid remake
edonline
Will Smith's son may star in Karate Kid remake
Staff and agencies
Friday September 28, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Twenty-three years after Ralph Macchio gave hope to a generation of skinny
male adolescents with his role in The Karate Kid, unconfirmed reports
suggest Sony Pictures is considering a remake.
The website IGN Entertainment reports that Will Smith's nine-year-old son
and The Pursuit of Happyness co-star Jaden Christopher Syre Smith will play
plucky contender Daniel Larusso.
No clues were given as to who will step into the shoes of the late Pat
Morita, who memorably portrayed Larusso's mentor Mr Miyagi.
Macchio himself is considered to be too old to reprise his role as the
gifted martial artist, which must have come as a surprise to the fresh-faced
actor.
The Karate Kid took $90m (£44m) across the pond when it opened in 1984,
however it was trumped two years later when The Karate Kid II grossed in
excess of $114m (£56m).
Macchio gamely turned up to work on a third instalment in 1989, however by
then the fans had lost interest and the film flopped on less than $40m
(£19m).
Picadilly
Agent Smith
@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com:
> Karate Kid??? NoOOOOOOOOOO! Hollywood sucks
Isn't it hard to believe that Hillary Swank actually made one of those
piles of crap?
Ago@faraway JonesieCat
"edonline" <edonlineSPAMOUT!@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:d4CdnVUCpdtOpGDb...@giganews.com...
Oooo, Morgan Freeman in the Pat Morita role! Or else - now don't laugh,
give it some thought first - Jackie Chan, but not being so goofy. And Chan
wants to be a bit more serious these days, this would fit the transition
well. I mean it!
jc
katorz...@hotmail.com
> Isn't it hard to believe that Hillary Swank actually made one of those
> piles of crap?
i don't begrudge miss swank her success; i thought she was excellent
in "boys don't cry", but what i find hard to believe is that a girl
with a face like hers ever got into the movies in the first place!
good for her, though.
i never saw "the karate kid", but it seems to be one of those films
like "dirty dancing" which is permanently beloved and embedded in
the back of people's heads.
a remake would no doubt have huge appeal if it was done right.
why not go straight to the top and cast jackie chan as mr. miyagi?
it could be his wallace beery/robin williams moment.
i know he's not japanese!
or actually, how about michael jackson?
not to be "racial", but he looks kind of asian too, right?
ps
23 years is a decent interval between remakes.
what a lot of folks don't seem to realize is that hollywood was built
on remakes and sequels.
it has always been thus, since the 1930s.
remakes are not some pernicious new trend, i swear to you!
Willow Ufgood
> Oooo, Morgan Freeman in the Pat Morita role! Or else - now don't laugh,
> give it some thought first - Jackie Chan, but not being so goofy. And Chan
> wants to be a bit more serious these days, this would fit the transition
> well. I mean it!
Pat Morita was originally a comedian, so it's not a big stretch.
Logically, Ralph Macchio would be the choice for mentor role. But this
is Hollywood; they'll probably hire Ben Affleck or something.
Ago@faraway JonesieCat
"Willow Ufgood" <wil...@ufgood.net> wrote in message
news:fdk1lq$uql$1...@aioe.org...
I thought of that, but Ralph Macchio's too young. They'll have to give him a
cameo, or maybe invent another part for him entirely - be a nice touch.
jc
Mayn
> x-no-archive: yes
> "JonesieCat" <Long Ago@Far Away> wrote in message
> news:46fd91e6$0$22253$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
Whoa -- I just checked imdb and Pat Morita (RIP) was 52, six years older
than Ralph Macchio is now, when he played Miyagi. If those pics of Macchio
are recent, well, all I can say is the difference in appearance between
those two men at roughly the same age is astonishing. I guess it a
combination of good genes and good living. Plus, Macchio has a babyface.
Some people just have those young-looking faces.
>
> http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001494/
Ago@faraway JonesieCat
"Mayn" <xox...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:46fda59e$0$9602$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
These days there are more options to stay younger-looking, and lots of
pressure to stay that way in order to get roles in T-town. Macchio, at 46,
is older than I thought. But he just seems too youthful and whitebread to
play the Mr. Miyagi role. YMMV.
jc
katorz...@hotmail.com
> play the Mr. Miyagi role. YMMV.
do you mean "whitebread" or "white"?
not fighting, just asking.
katorz...@hotmail.com
> do you mean "whitebread" or "white"?
...to clarify: if we are going to put people in ethnic boxes, we
might maybe more appropriately call c.thomas howell "whitebread"...
ralph macchio would have been more of a very lightly seasoned
calzone, wouldn't he?
i'm not trying to makle trouble!
Ago@faraway JonesieCat
<katorz...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1191143002.8...@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
I said what I meant.
jc
Willow Ufgood
> Macchio, at 46,
> is older than I thought. But he just seems too youthful and whitebread to
> play the Mr. Miyagi role. YMMV.
So basically you're saying you want a Japanese guy as the sensei again?
Probably the most obvious choice would be Ken Watanabe; he seems to be
Hollywood's go-to Japanese guy of the moment.
A good lesser known actor would be Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
katorz...@hotmail.com
so, what does "whitebread", in the context of ralph macchio, "mean" to
you?
i.m. axing.