OBVIOUS (SORTA’) EXPENDABLES CASTING OCCURS

Adkins is the shit, I'd almost bother with this sequel just for him.

Jason Pollock, The casting for Expendables Too, is just...Awesome!  The first is now my favorite film with Jason Statham as He and Stallone were...Perfect together!  Norris, More Schwarzenegger, More Bruce, Scott Adkins, and hopefully Tons of...Van Dammage, should be just as...Awe-Inspiring as the Classic Original Film! 

They'd better not cut Adkins' skills to shit in post-production.

But they will.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnooj82 

They'd better not cut Adkins' skills to shit in post-production.

 

But they will.

Well they can't have him outshine all those septuagenarian leftovers now can they.

Seriously tho, anyone who hasn't seen it, check out Adkins in 2009's Ninja. What a fantastically fun little b-movie it is. I'm at Adkins fan for life after that.

Ninja was more entertaining than Ninja Assassin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnooj82 

Ninja was more entertaining than Ninja Assassin.

By a very long way. Ninja Assassin was a video game. Ninja was an old school eighties styled martial artser.

mcnooj82, The Rain Dog, While I enjoy Ninja, over Ninja Assassin, it is by a very...Small Margin!  Both films are...Awesome!  I think Adkins, deserves to be in bigger films, and The Expendables 2 is the...Perfect Vehicle for him to shine!  Rain, was terrific in both...Ninja Assassin and Speed Racer.  The...Finale of Ninja Assassin tops the end of Ninja, where Ninja as a whole is better!

I agree, Duke.  The finale of Ninja got a little funky, but it is more consistently entertaining than Ninja Assassin.  The only good part of NA was Rain himself.  

mcnooj82, The ending where Sho Kosugi's Dojo was invaded by the...G.I. Joe Reserve Unit!, was just...All Kinds Of Awesome!  

Not to sound like a troll, but can someone translate for me from Hipster Douche into English the first paragraph of this article?

Seriously, it's so horrible in what it's trying to do... I have no idea what it IS trying to do! I sincerely hope "being funny" wasn't the objective there, because if it was... wow.

Then again, the article-writer said he didn't even like The Expendables, so major fail right there in having that hipster douche write that piece.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Perfect Weapon 

Not to sound like a troll, but can someone translate for me from Hipster Douche into English the first paragraph of this article?

 

Seriously, it's so horrible in what it's trying to do... I have no idea what it IS trying to do! I sincerely hope "being funny" wasn't the objective there, because if it was... wow.

 

Then again, the article-writer said he didn't even like The Expendables, so major fail right there in having that hipster douche write that piece.

Seriously, do you not know Mr.Pollock? 'Hipster douche' he is not.

...and guess what - you may not have wanted to sound like a troll, but ya know what Mick Jagger used to say....

Sorry, Rain Dog. While I have the utmost respect of Scott Adkins as a Martial Artist, with the exception of Boyka, he just doesn't have the charisma to headline a movie. That doesn't take away my enjoyment of Ninja and the Undisputed films, but i'll take JC and Statham over him anyday.

The first Expendables was a flawed film (no doubt about that), but it had potential. And if the sequel improves the script and fight scenes i definitely will be looking forward to it.

Let's just agree to disagree, guys. Sly, Arnold, Bruce, Norris and JC have been entertaining us for decades. I think we owe them a little bit of respect at the very least. So i am supporting them in their new film.

I really liked Ninja, but I had a lot more fun with Ninja Assassin. It was just so crazy in all the right ways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcnooj82 

They'd better not cut Adkins' skills to shit in post-production.

 

But they will.

Not necessarily.  Sly has stated on more than one occasion that he isn't too happy with how many of the fight scenes were filmed in the first one..............particularly the Dolph vs. Li fight that second unit was in charge of.

Anyway, Adkins is supposed to have a sizeable role.  Presumably there is a rival team of mercs lead by Van Damme that Adkins is apart of................and they are the villains of the piece.  I'm guessing Bruce's "Mr. Church" is gonna be a baddie as well.  It will be interesting to see who else fills out Van Damme's team.  Stallone was supposedly reaching out to a lot of the 90s "stars" like Christopher Lambert, Jeff Speakman, Olivier Gruner, Lorenzo Lamas, etc.  Tom Sizemore supposedly has a role as well and I suspect it won't be that of a hero.  Chuck Norris isn't going to have anything more than a cameo like Bruce & Arnold in the first one, so I wouldn't get too excited about his involvement.  That said, Arnold is supposedly going to be doing a week's worth of shooting and Bruce two weeks.

With this puppy gearing up for an October shoot, we should be getting the official plot and see the cast fill out within the next couple weeks.  I like the first one, despite its flaws, and I think the second will be a lot better.  Stallone knows what didn't go well on the first go 'round and I'm sure they'll do their best to iron out the kinks for this one.
 

Hey there, Perfect Weapon - guess I'll "just try ya'" -

"Collider and /Film" - these are the websites that reported the casting first, so this is me citing souces.

"...(shout-out to Russ Fischer)..." - is a shout-out to former CHUD contributor and all around good guy Russ Fischer, who wrote the story at /Film.

"....are reporting that Schatzi Schwarzenegger..." - "Schatzi" is Arnold Schwarzenegger's mother's nickname for him. "Schatzi on Main" is also the name of the restaurant the Austrian Oak (another nickname - try to keep up) opened in Santa Monica (I think?) in the early '90s. This is, of course, information that is disseminated to all Hipster Douches, which is probably why you had no idea what I was talking about.

"...and Gemini Croquetts contest winner Bruce Willis..." - a reference to Bruce Willis's finest hour, The Fifth Element. Admittedly, it's not a well-known film, so perhaps I could be accused of using my hipster douche/indie film/scenester penchant for latching on to unfamiliar or unpopular movies or music in an attempt to seem edgy. Or "edgy."

"...have signed on the line which is dotted..." - oft-used David Mamet/GlengarryGlenRoss reference. Mamet references are the sole province of hipster douches.

"...for expanded Expendables gigs." - insinuating via alliteration that the roles they've signed for are not mere cameos, as they were in the first film. As we all know, alliteration is the hallmark of hipsterdom.

"...They join rumored newcomers" - They have joined the cast amid speculation regarding other as yet unconfirmed actors joining the project.

"...JCVD..." - An abbreviation of Jean Claude Van Damme. Also the title of a Van Damme vehicle released in 2008. But I had to see it at an independently-owned movie theater in Chicago - so, you know...hipster!

"...Fuck Norris..." - a dig at Chuck Norris, whom I tire of as both a mediocre filmic presence and an insipid Hipster Douche internet meme (oh WAIT - I mean, I LOVE that meme! The boogeyman looks under HIS bed for Chuck Norris! rotflcopterzzz!!!).

"...and all of the returning beasts..." - explaining here that there are cast holdovers from the first film, and that they are formidible men.

"...Sly..." - Oscar-winning Actor/Producer/Writer/Director Sylvester Stallone's nickname, known only to Hipster Douches. It's like our secret handshake. "Speak Sly...and enter!"

Oh crap. That was a reference to another Hipster Douche indie flick called Fellowship of the Ring. Sorry.

"...Turkish..." - reference to actor Jason Statham's finest hour, Guy Ritchie's Snatch. I can understand why you wouldn't pick up on that one either, as I'm really working at the height of hipster obscura here.

"...and our beloved Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho..." - reference to Terry Alan Crews's winning comedic perfomance as Pro Wrestler/Porn Star/President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho in Office Space/Beavis and Butthead creator Mike Judge's cult classic Idiocracy - a film for hipsters, by hipsters.

"...among others..." - there are other returning actors, as well. Try to think of the word "others" as...like...me talking about the other very exclusive Hipster Douche friends who get into all the really edgy underground places that ordinary people can't go because they don't wear scarves in the Summer.

So I hope that helped. Thanks for reading.

Meanwhile...did Speakman up there just use "fail"?

Fucking hipster douche.

Adkins is the tits. Some of the things he does in Undisputed 2 and 3,and to a lesser extent in Ninja, are just amazing. The things the man can do with his body is insane. He is like the white Tony Jaa.

Love Adkins hearing he is in this makes my September. Count me as a fan of The Expendables. No hate for that film at all.

I can understand how some loathed most of it but Terry Crews with that shotgun? Does it get much sweeter than that?

Hopefully Stallone pulls out some tricks beneath his sleeve. Hoping this one pays off big time.

CHUCK NORRIS!? FUCK CHUCK NORRIS!

As much as I'd love to see Adkins kick ass in a big action movie, there are zero chances of me paying money to see a movie with Chuck Norris in it.

stelios,  If Chuck Norris has just a...2 minute cameo in Expendables 2, you have no interest in it, but if he didn't cameo you might have seen it?  Why do you hate Chuck Norris so much?  Norris has always been one of my favorite martial artists along with Bruce Lee, Sho Kosugi, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh!  Did you miss his best work...An Eye For An Eye, The Delta Force, Delta Force 2 and Forced Vengeance?  I am just...Curious.  Yes I know...Curiosity about...Chuck Norris, killed the cat!

As someone who had forgotten everything about the first film about 20 seconds after the credits started rolling, I will be there opening day on this one.  For Adkins.  The same Adkins that needs to be Danny Rand.  NEEDS.  TO.  BE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by duke fleed 

stelios,  If Chuck Norris has just a...2 minute cameo in Expendables 2, you have no interest in it, but if he didn't cameo you might have seen it?  

Yes. I want to set his face on fire and then put it out with a rock.

Fucking Chuck Norris might be in this? Guess there's no upper age limit. Assuming this is still supposed to be a men on a mission movie and not a remake of On Golden Pond, I got six magic words for you Sly:

Ernest Borgnine

George Kennedy

Jim Brown

oh and lol at someone calling HAM a "hipster"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disciple_72 

oh and lol at someone calling HAM a "hipster"

HA! How the hell did I miss that?

He's right though. Fucking hipster.

HAM was the one who, in a neckbreaking escape, stole the ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK standee from a theatre lobby, right? My grandmother once spoke a prayer about this man's heroics.

As for Expendables, I think most people just celebrated the fact that it exists. There's so much to improve. The Crews shotgun bit shouldn't just be one small moment, there better be many of those fuck yeah moments. The action needs to be clearly seen and there need to be martial arts scenes, spectacle and explosions that confront the best of each's filmography.

I want a blood soaked Van Damme to make Statham his bitch. I want Scott Adkins to wipe the floor with Terry Crews. I want Stallone to fistfight Schwarzenegger into oblivion. And Bruce. Oh beware the smirk, THE SMIRK. It'll happen, I call it.

Well, at least you didn't get all whiny and butthurt over my comments, Powell...

I don't want to get in a shitstorm of an argument over this so this will be the last thing I post in this thread, but homie, you were trying WAY too hard there to appear "smart" and "hip" with the readers with your alleged great movie smarts there, and it lead to a paragraph that just didn't flow well and wasn't easy to read. Simple as that.

Then again, Powell isn't the only person who writes like that around here and given that someone else in this thread-a guy who actually has power here-is inexplicably angry over kind old grandfatherly Chuck Norris appearing in this movie... that's why to be honest I don't even read most of the articles posted on this site and instead stick with the messageboard stuff; whether or not it's "hipster douche" or not, it's just a smug attitude I'd rather not waste my time with.

Man, I haven't even seen the first Expendales (the posturing surrounding it's release, REALLY put me off), but I'm of interested in Expendables 2 if Adkins is involved. As RD said the guy is a great talent. NINJA, UNDISPUTED II and III are all fantastic. He's fantastic in smaller roles as well, he plays a really fun villains in THE SHEPHERD and even has a really fun little character in THE TOURNAMENT (which is probably the best action-movie I've seen in a long time). Might have to catch Expendables II if they really let the stars off the hook with it.

The entire release and fanbase of the Expendables is super-duper off-putting in so many ways, as Perfect Weapon showcases excellently. It's so entrenched and defensive, and word "hipster" is constantly dropped by people who obviously tag it to anybody who's seemingly smarter and or more critical than them.

And the thing is? The Expendables isn't even a movie worth that effort. A B-Movie tribute CAN be done, and it could be tons of fun, but Stallone was too busy operating in that "weird" zone he gets in and practically sabotaged his own movie. The action's shot for shit, the R-rated violence is obviously edited in and clumsy, most of the characters are pointless save for Stallone and Statham, Mickey Rourke is acting in his "let me show you why my career has been so fucked" mode as opposed to "good actor" mode, and the whole thing's got this level of shoddiness that makes it a big fucking slog.

I still want the second one to do well though. Even more so since Scott Adkins is the shit. Dude's like one of the best American martial artists I've seen in a long time.

LaurenOrtega, I thought The Expendables was the...Best Film of 2010!  Stallone and Statham were perfect together.  Dolph needed some more screen time.  Terry Crews needs more to do as well.  Overall the action is fantastic, the banter was spot on, and the score was...Epic!  Jet Li was fine, but the MMA fighter was not too interesting.  I am absolutely excited for...Expendables 2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 

I still want the second one to do well though. Even more so since Scott Adkins is the shit. Dude's like one of the best American martial artists I've seen in a long time.

 

Absolutely. He does the red, white, and blue proud every time he appears on screen. From sea to shining sea, God shed his grace on Scott.

No problem, dooder! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 

The entire release and fanbase of the Expendables is super-duper off-putting in so many ways, as Perfect Weapon showcases excellently. It's so entrenched and defensive, and word "hipster" is constantly dropped by people who obviously tag it to anybody who's seemingly smarter and or more critical than them.

 

 

And the thing is? The Expendables isn't even a movie worth that effort. A B-Movie tribute CAN be done, and it could be tons of fun, but Stallone was too busy operating in that "weird" zone he gets in and practically sabotaged his own movie. The action's shot for shit, the R-rated violence is obviously edited in and clumsy, most of the characters are pointless save for Stallone and Statham, Mickey Rourke is acting in his "let me show you why my career has been so fucked" mode as opposed to "good actor" mode, and the whole thing's got this level of shoddiness that makes it a big fucking slog.

 

I still want the second one to do well though. Even more so since Scott Adkins is the shit. Dude's like one of the best American martial artists I've seen in a long time.

 

Your criticisms of the film are dead-on.

I love - LOVE - Escape from L.A. But I totally get why people think it's crappo - the same things you said about The Expendables could really easily be said of Carpenter's film. It's hastily assembled, and some of the CG is beyond horrible.  There's a mudslide sequence that was shot, posted, and ready for the film - but Carp said the CG was so bad he couldn't include it. Buena Vista Effects - Disney's answer to Digital Domain and ILM Digital - closed its doors very shortly after.

But was it really their fault? It's not like anyone spent any money on Escape from L.A. The budget was $50 mil - not a lot for a Summer action tentpole.

Here's where that figure gets really interesting.

Carpenter got five milli to write the film - and an additional five to direct. Russell got TEN to star (and five for his contribution to the script), and Hill got five mil for producing. Carpenter referred to the film before it was released as "our retirement plan." Those three swiped well over half the film's budget before a frame was shot.  Of course the effects were shit - there wasn't any money left for them!

$50,000,000 in 1995 dollars would be like...gosh - probably like $80,000,000 now - exactly what The Expendables cost.

What do you want to bet that, after everyone got their payday - there was around $45.00 left to make the flick?

As I said in my piece - I love that the film made bank - and I hold out hope that this one will deliver on the promise of the first. But Stallone seemed to have to fight to make Rocky Balboa...he had to cut corners and pinch pennies to make Rambo - I think he walked into Expendables thinking "TIME TO GET PAID!" - and a quality film wasn't his highest priority. And if the box office on the three films can be indicative of anything - it's that busting his ass to make Rocky and Rambo was not nearly as fiscally renumerative as tossing off a generic B-action flick. As much as I hope the new film will knock us out, the worldwide haul suggests that a lack of quality needn't be a concern to the filmmakers.
 

While I don't necessarily doubt your conclusions, I think Sly's main motivation on the first Expendables was also to get as many action "stars" in it as possible..........in addition to making money.  I think he tried so hard to get everyone that he possibly could and retooled the script numerous times to suit them, that his focus most definitely wasn't on giving us an awesome story and action scenes to go along with the cast.  Remember, the project came together and was shot very quickly.  They've had more time with this one to get a script together and casting in place.  Add that to the fact that Stallone himself has already spoken about the deficiencies of the first one and I think they really are trying to give us a better film this time around.  We might not get a masterpiece of an action classic from them, but I'll be surprised if they haven't improved greatly on the first one.  I suspect one of the reasons that Sly is only acting and producing this time is to help focus on that.............instead of having to worry about directing it too.  Not having to worry about the actual shooting of the film will/has likely allowed him more time to focus on making sure everything else goes right.

For better or worse, Sly seems to be listening to his fans these days and I think that will inform this sequel to at least a certain degree.

I certainly don't want to bash anyone's opinions, and I'm not even really speaking about Jason (Although I'm not a fan of that article, that's my problem) but it's a sad sign of the times that we're finally getting an action film with Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis are going to war against each other, and rather than being excited at seeing bloggers/authors minds explode at the idea of the movie millions have been genuinely wanting since the 1980s, I sigh because I know they'll choose use this news as a soapbox to shit on the (admittedly very flawed) original, if only to make themselves look cool, or because bitterness that the boys (deservedly) killed Scott Pilgrim at the box office.

Oh, and Scott Adkins is fucken British.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude hallenbeck 

Oh, and Scott Adkins is fucken British.

He is.  He even calls the squad "chaps" in Special Forces and everything.

I wish Adkins had more charisma. At least as much as Lundgren, Van Damme. Right now he's above Don "the dragon" Wilson, Pitbull Arlovski, Lorenzo Lamas and Cynthia Rothrock, on par with Michael Dudikoff and Jason Momoa, but not anywhere else. Only in his Boyka role he's slightly more than that, The Shepherd, Weapon and Ninja made him look just bland.

Which sucks, as I really like the guy. His skills are amazing and you can see he works his ass off to achieve stuff.

He shouldn't end up doing Crash Dive 3. Frankly, he deserves something like his own The Transporter or Above the Law.

Well, even if Adkins can't manage to score a nice role off of this film, maybe he can continue to tag along with Van Damme if Jean-Claude's career manages to achieve some sort of small theatrical resurrection with Expendables 2 and (apparently) Dragon Eyes both hitting the big screen next year.  After all, this will mark their fourth film together (The Shepard, Assassination Games, and Universal Soldier: A New Dimension being the others), three of which will have almost been filmed back to back.  Obviously they like working with one another.

I actually haven't seen Ninja. (Only copy I could score down here was dubbed in Spanish - and CASTILLIAN Spanish to boot, so fuck that twice). But I really think Adkins showed his chops and charisma in Undisputed III.

(I hope we get a BOYKA: Undisputed 4 down the line, and soon.)

I would say he does deserve a shot at big screen stardom. But, then again, some of these DTV action films are actually superior to the theatrical ones (Universal Soldier: Regeneration was a better, more satisfying action film than Terminator Salvation at maybe a third of the budget - FACT).

So does it really matter?

But I do hope he gets a better part than Gary Daniels did in the first Expendables.

If not, give him an equally cool send-off at least.

As far as Chuck Norris, not a huge fan. But I support his inclusion here regardless - more so if he plays a villain.

Erix, To me Chuck Norris is a much better...Hero, than a villain!  I cannot remember him as a villain outside of Bruce Lee's...Way Of The Dragon (Return Of The Dragon in the US)!  To me, the role that Norris would be...Perfect, in Expendables 2 is...President Of The US!  He could be a former Expendable!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Myers 

I wish Adkins had more charisma. At least as much as Lundgren, Van Damme. Right now he's above Don "the dragon" Wilson, Pitbull Arlovski, Lorenzo Lamas and Cynthia Rothrock, on par with Michael Dudikoff and Jason Momoa, but not anywhere else. Only in his Boyka role he's slightly more than that, The Shepherd, Weapon and Ninja made him look just bland.

 

Which sucks, as I really like the guy. His skills are amazing and you can see he works his ass off to achieve stuff.

 

He shouldn't end up doing Crash Dive 3. Frankly, he deserves something like his own The Transporter or Above the Law.

Oh, I dunno.  His small role in Stag Night showed a different side entirely to the guy, and he did alright in a small role.  Like you said, Boyka shows what he's capable of - I think he just needs the right combination of director/circumstances to bring out his best.  I think the more time he spends with guys like JC and the E2 crew, the more he'll learn and develop.
 

But Duke... You must agree that one of the best things about Ninja Assassin was seeing Sho Kosugi in a rare villain role. Don't you think the same applies here?

Erix, Not at all.  Sho Kosugi always has given the impression that he can not only be a bad ass, but the type that would be equally comfortable as a...Villain!  Norris, is too...Rah Rah, for that!  His characters are usually on the happier/optimistic side of the...One Man Army Types!

Well then perhaps he can be a sympathetic villain. Someone who is, deep down, a good person but has been corrupted by life... And he has a change of heart at the end, making a noble sacrifice to aid the heroic Expendables. How does that sound?

Erix, No.  Chuck Norris should be a...Hero!  Anything else would be...disappointing!

No the only way I'm watching is if he's a real, mustache twirling villain. Who then proceeds to die in the worst way possible. Hopefully by some combination of fire and his face. And as he dies screaming, Sean Penn shows up and starts reciting excerpts from the Capital to him. Translated to Russian.

See this is kinda what I'm talking about as far as The Expendables goes. There's just this weird defensiveness around the movie that's extremely off-putting. The IDEA of The Expendables is good, I myself loved the thought of dudes long regulated to DTV getting a chance to be on the big screen again and be involved in an ultra-violent irony-free love letter to 80's action.* But that's just not the movie that we got at all.  Shit, it actually pales behind DTV films like Undisputed 3 or The Tournament in just about every single way that counts, and that's not cool.

And it makes the silly little feuds(the fight with Scott Pilgrim is and always has been dumb) chest-pumping, and pissiness towards critics and bloggers even weirder. Because even somebody who's supportive of the idea like me is apprehensive as fuck when it comes to these movies.

And I keep forgetting Scott Adkins is British, same thing with forgetting Brad Allan's Australian.

*My dream cast for the Expendables actually didn't include any action stars past the early 90's. And even the use of the word "stars" was probably questionable. Mostly as I'd have been quite happy with PM Stars like Gary Daniels, and Jeff Wincott actually taking lead roles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 
The IDEA of The Expendables is good, I myself loved the thought of dudes long regulated to DTV getting a chance to be on the big screen again and be involved in an ultra-violent irony-free love letter to 80's action.* But that's just not the movie that we got at all.  Shit, it actually pales behind DTV films like Undisputed 3 or The Tournament in just about every single way that counts, and that's not cool.

Hell, MacGruber was a better throwback to 80's action.  I have no idea how Stallone managed to drop the ball so thoroughly, but its becoming apparent he didn't learn from his mistakes.  You can cram the cast with as many beefy B-movie action stars as you want, but if they're all rigid and awkward together and have zero chemistry on screen, the movie just isn't going to work.