Romeo Must Die... This is a joke, right?

[Brandon Gray]

From Reuters/Variety
''Romeo'' gets kick-start
By Benedict Carver and Chris Petrikin

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - The latest update of a Shakespeare play will take the
Bard into the 'hood with a film blending the hip-hop and Kung Fu genres in a
story culled from ``Romeo and Juliet.''

``Romeo Must Die'' will star Jet Li as a chop-socky Romeo who falls for a
black Juliet, played by hip-hop singer Aaliyah. The pair's romance is
inevitably frowned upon by the other members of their crime families.

The $20 million Warner Bros. picture, which begins shooting in Vancouver on
May 3, co-stars Russell Wong (``New Jack City''), Delroy Lindo (``Ransom'')
and Isaiah Washington (''True Crime'').

``This film will have a strong urban appeal,'' producer Joel Silver told
Daily Variety. ``We're looking to combine a hip-hop soundtrack with an
exciting martial arts aesthetic.''

Silver produced the ``Lethal Weapon'' series, with Chinese-born Jet Li
making his U.S. debut in the last one, ``Lethal Weapon 4.'' That film's
cinematographer, Andrzej Bartkowiak, will make his directing debut on
``Romeo.'' The picture's tentative release date is the first quarter of
2000.

Silver said he hoped the Li character could be the basis of a future
franchise for his WB-based production company. Aaliyah, who records for WB
sister company Atlantic Records, will likely appear on the ``Romeo''
soundtrack.

Reuters/Variety

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[MasonBarge]

Why a joke? Italian Renaissance politicians were a lot closer to LA street
gangs -- at least insofar as their morals, penchant for violent revenge, and
"family" loyalty -- than to the sweetly spoken characters of Shakespeare.

While I don't much enjoy either hip-hop music or Kung Fu movies, I think the
timeless plot would be a natural in such a setting. "Romeo" may not have
ballet and Leonard Bernstein, but the idea of setting the plot in modern
American street gangs is not exactly unprecedented -- think "Best Picture 1961"
here. And I'd bet they at least will cast better leading actors than Natalie
Wood and the no-talent guy who played Tony.

- Mason Barge
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me
some coffee." -- Abraham Lincoln

[Brandon Gray]

I wasn't asking if it was a joke because they were doing a modern revamp of
a Shakespeare play. I asked because of the sheer lack of originality and the
shallow, trendy interpretation that seemed like a parody of Hollywood.

Romeo and Juliet has been done to death, especially gang versions (West Side
Story, Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet). And get a load of how Joel Silver
says he wants to make Romeo into a franchise. So he's not only changing the
ending, he's spoiling part of his new ending before the picture is even
made.

This is clearly going to be yet another video game pretending to be a movie.

Brandon Gray
http://www.brandongray.com

[Tom Cervo]

>Why a joke? Italian Renaissance politicians were a lot closer to LA street
>gangs -- at least insofar as their morals, penchant for violent revenge, and
>"family" loyalty -- than to the sweetly spoken characters of Shakespeare.

Yes--and then go out and commission a portrait by Michelangelo.
Whereas your average gangbanger doesn't think it's art unless it's on black
velvet.

[Franknseus]

I guess I will be the first to admit that I think it sounds fantastic. It
probably has a very high probablity of disappointing me, but this is the kind
of berserkist thinking I want to see more of in Hollywood. It's such a crazy
combination of aesthetics, yet in a way it's perfectly natural. There has been
a strong tie between hip hop and martial arts for several years, since the
emergence of the Wu Tang Clan, whose samples, philosophy and of course name
have largely been culled from kung fu flicks. At the height of their popularity
another rapper, Jeru the Damaja, came out with an action packed martial arts
video which seemed to imply that training in kung fu was becoming a
prerequisite to rocking the mic.
Having Jet Li star in the first film to come out of this trend makes it
promising. Unfortunately, the casting of Aaliyah is not. I'm not sure who would
be better in a Juliet role, but if they want popular artists in the other roles
they should go for more skilled rappers who have been around for a few years
but are still mainstream popular - maybe people like Snoop Dogg and Ol' Dirty
Bastard.
I hope they commission the Bomb Squad to do the score.

Bryan Frankenseuss Theiss
--
http://www.bucketheadland.com/visitorcenter/

"What nobody realizes is that The Green Mile is a movie about peeing." --Frank
Darabont

[Tyler Cheung]

This sounds like a B-movie in the making to me. Right up there with
"Alien Babes Must Die"

[Franknseus]

Addendum: I said yesterday that I thought this sounded like a cool idea for a
movie. However, I was picturing it all taking place in a surreal fantasy world
based around hip hop, Shakespeare and high flying kung fu.
However, having given this a bit more thought, I realize that the movie will
more likely take place in a "realistic" 1999 L.A., with a clash between black
and Asian gangs. And that would probably be cheesy as all hell.
But I'll still see it because, let's face it, it's Jet Li playing Romeo, and
that's what I call a fuckin' movie.