If it's crap... We'll tell you
Sommers Fired from 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'?
Source: Latino Review
Latino Review has announced via it's message boards that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra director Stephen Sommers has been fired from the project by a Paramount executive named Brad Weston. Read the story below:
After a test screening wherein the film tested the lowest score ever from an audience in the history of Paramount, the executive who pushed for the movie Brad Weston had Stephen Sommers, the super hack director of the film fired. Removed. Locked out of the editing room.
Stuart Baird, a renowned "fixer" editor was brought it to try to see if it could be made releasable. Meanwhile producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura whose turkey IMAGINE THAT explodes this weekend as the new bomb in theatres (also championed by Weston) was told his services were no longer needed on the film either.
Sommers was then forced by his William Morris agents to pretend that he was working on Tarzan over at Warner Brothers doing design work, even though that film doesn't even have a good script yet. When word of the firing started to be whispered about in Hollywood, Sommers was summoned back to the editing room - but only to save appearances, Baird is still editing the movie with studio input.
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who turned down other offers from the property to go with the script that was rushed in 8 weeks by Stuart Beattie because of the writer's strike, is frantic that this will destroy the brand and is distancing himself from the pending catastrophe.
NONE of this needed to happen, except someone who did not know the mythology, Lorenzo was in charge of the film and never contradicted Sommers on anything. Lorenzo, so you know, was Chairman of Warners and had GI JOE under option there (not as a producer) for SEVEN years and he refused to greenlight the film, stating that because he grew up in Italy he had no knowledge of it. If you Google enough, at one point you will see he wanted the film to be about an action hero named MANN (Action Man, get it) and he clearly had no clue what the GI Joe world really was.
And the hapless hack Sommers? Where did he come from? The confused Jon Fogelman at William Morris, who signed Hasbro away from CAA, had to find a director in a hurry for his new clients and gave him the only guy who he repped who would do it. A sad end to what COULD have been a great franchise. Acceleration suits indeed.
So far, everything seems to be checking out, but no representatives have commented on the situation.
Latino Review has announced via it's message boards that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra director Stephen Sommers has been fired from the project by a Paramount executive named Brad Weston. Read the story below:
After a test screening wherein the film tested the lowest score ever from an audience in the history of Paramount, the executive who pushed for the movie Brad Weston had Stephen Sommers, the super hack director of the film fired. Removed. Locked out of the editing room.
Stuart Baird, a renowned "fixer" editor was brought it to try to see if it could be made releasable. Meanwhile producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura whose turkey IMAGINE THAT explodes this weekend as the new bomb in theatres (also championed by Weston) was told his services were no longer needed on the film either.
Sommers was then forced by his William Morris agents to pretend that he was working on Tarzan over at Warner Brothers doing design work, even though that film doesn't even have a good script yet. When word of the firing started to be whispered about in Hollywood, Sommers was summoned back to the editing room - but only to save appearances, Baird is still editing the movie with studio input.
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who turned down other offers from the property to go with the script that was rushed in 8 weeks by Stuart Beattie because of the writer's strike, is frantic that this will destroy the brand and is distancing himself from the pending catastrophe.
NONE of this needed to happen, except someone who did not know the mythology, Lorenzo was in charge of the film and never contradicted Sommers on anything. Lorenzo, so you know, was Chairman of Warners and had GI JOE under option there (not as a producer) for SEVEN years and he refused to greenlight the film, stating that because he grew up in Italy he had no knowledge of it. If you Google enough, at one point you will see he wanted the film to be about an action hero named MANN (Action Man, get it) and he clearly had no clue what the GI Joe world really was.
And the hapless hack Sommers? Where did he come from? The confused Jon Fogelman at William Morris, who signed Hasbro away from CAA, had to find a director in a hurry for his new clients and gave him the only guy who he repped who would do it. A sad end to what COULD have been a great franchise. Acceleration suits indeed.
So far, everything seems to be checking out, but no representatives have commented on the situation.
Tags: fired, g.i. joe: the rise of cobra, movie news, paramount, stephen sommers
Add a Comment
-
Comment by Gift of the Magi on June 12, 2009 at 9:23am -
BrianOBX, do you mean the comic that was without dialogue?
An odd moment of sanity from a studio? COULD THIS BE TRUE??? Well, maybe. Remember that Paramount hired this hack to begin with AND signed off on a rushed script. Even a blind man will hit the brakes if he hears screaming.
-
Comment by Matt878 on June 12, 2009 at 1:18am - New frontrunner to win Razzie Worst Picture and Director. I hope Joesph Gordon Levitt escapes this movie with his career intact because it would be shame that a movie like this would put it on hold. Maybe they can re edit it so much they salvage something. Lowest score from test screening...hahaha I can't imagene how bad it really is?
-
Comment by BrianOBX on June 12, 2009 at 12:37am - The only great thing that ever came out of Joe, was GI JOE 21(vol 1), "silent interlude".
-
Comment by Dr. Detfink on June 11, 2009 at 11:01pm - Well, its too late to save the first film but hopefully the studio saw GI JOE Resolute and said to themselves, "What the fuck were we thinking giving this franchise to Sommers?"
-
Comment by Phil on June 11, 2009 at 9:06pm - Sounds like the movie is a piece of shit.
-
Comment by drum_drunk on June 11, 2009 at 8:45pm - lol. whatever GI JOE sucks anyway.
-
Comment by BOWENARROW on June 11, 2009 at 8:39pm - We all already knew this was going to suck. Now the studio itself has just come out and basically said it. I'm still probably gonna go to the theater and waste my money to see it. What the fuck is wrong with me?
-
Comment by GorTheMovieGod on June 11, 2009 at 8:06pm - There is justice in the world, wow people that it was horrible.
-
Comment by QbanKnight on June 11, 2009 at 7:49pm - damn...lowest viewer score in Paramount history...that must be utter dog shit, oh well, didn't have much hope for this film in the 1st place
-
Comment by Orbital Drop Shock Trooper on June 11, 2009 at 7:34pm -
If this isn't bullshit...
FUCK YEAH, PARAMOUNT. YOU ROCK. For this epic judgment, I'll be seeing Star Trek again at the theater.
Follow Spill on Twitter!
Latest Activity
Photos
Music
© 2009 Created by The Spill Crew
You need to be a member of The Spill.com Movie Community to add comments!
Join this social network