- Title: USA: Summer blockbuster "G.I. Joe" makes its premiere in Los Angeles
- Date: 10th August 2009
- Summary: ACTOR BYUNG-HUN LEE ON THE RED CARPET WITH PAN TO FANS HOLDING POSTERS OF HIM (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR BYUNG-HUN LEE, SAYING: "Actually it was a little tough to adjust in this area because it's a little different, especially the language, culture, environment, everything was so different so it was hard to work here, but as time goes by it was really fun because, including the director, producers, actors and actresses were so friendly to me, so, they are really good friends of mine now." CHANNING TATUM ON THE RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) ACTOR BYUNG-HUN LEE, SAYING: "Actually, it was a little tough to adjust in this area because it's a little different, especially the language, culture, environment, everything was so different so it was hard to work here, but as time goes by it was really fun because, including the director, producers, actors and actresses were so friendly to me, so, they are really good friends of mine now."
- Embargoed: 25th August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA41XIILTYZXP0LDB0WX8YWI8RM
- Story Text: Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, and Marlon Wayans join cast members of "G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra" for the red carpet premiere of the big budget action flick.
Stars of the big budget action flick "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" gathered in Hollywood Thursday (August 5) for a red carpet premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Attending were the film's stars Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, and Marlon Wayans, and Korean film and Music star Byung-hun Lee.
The film is based on the popular 1980s children's cartoon "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero," where the ongoing fight between Cobra, an evil terrorist organization, and the G.I. Joes first originated. The billion dollar G.I. Joe franchise cemented its iconic pop culture status as a series of action figures by Hasbro, must-have toys for young children of several generations, especially young boys.
Channing Tatum, who stars in the film, was a G.I. Joe fan as a child, and found the task of personifying the much-idolized character frightening.
"It was incredibly daunting. It's actually terrifying. I was actually very apprehensive, like, I grew up with G.I. Joe, and it was a huge part of my childhood," says Tatum, who stars as Duke, a member of the elite G.I. Joe team.
The film veers slightly from the traditional G.I. Joe storyline, updated for the 21st century as it follows an elite military team (the G.I. Joes) that specializes in anti-terrorism warfare, using the best technology available. British film star Sienna Miller has appeared in several films in her career so far, but most of them have been independent movies, a huge leap from the 175 million dollar (USD) "G.I. Joe".
"Initially, honestly, really intimidating, just because of the scale of it, it was a crew of a thousand, every day you see somebody you've never seen before, and I was used to a more intimate situation, but we all, once I realized what I was in, I had the time of my life," says Miller, who plays the villanous baroness in the film.
Actor Marlon Wayans is used to mostly comic fare -- he and his brothers are the forces behind the "Scary Movie" franchise and popular 1990s sketch comedy show "In Living Color" -- so making an action film like "G.I. Joe" was physically exhausting at times. But the actor found inspiration working with Channing Tatum, and was eager to look his best for the ladies.
"We did weapons training, combat training, fight training, physical training, you know, me and Channing, we worked out to get in shape because we knew we were taking our shirt off and we didn't want to disappoint ladies, because if I go out there and instead of a six-pack, I got the keg, it's not sexy," says Wayans, who plays Duke's friend Ripcord in "G.I Joe."
Participating in a Hollywood blockbuster was also a first for Korean film star Byung-hun Lee, who noticed the difference in the way that American film sets operate.
"Actually it was a little tough to adjust in this area because it's a little different, especially the language, culture, environment, everything was so different so it was hard to work here," says Lee, "but as time goes by it was really fun because, including the director, producers, actors and actresses were so friendly to me, so, they are really good friends of mine now."
In a highly unusual move, the film's distributor, Paramount Pictures, will open "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" on Friday without screening it beforehand for critics or other media. Studio executives say they are trying to protect "Joe" from the kind of critical savaging unleashed on its recent "Transformers" sequel. Other than military personnel and focus groups, only bloggers including Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News have been shown the film, this has led to speculation that Paramount has a bomb on its hands, a fear that Sienna Miller and Channing Tatum do not share.
"I think people love to criticize movies like this, and it's been a new thing, I really don't know why, fully, but I think the people that have seen it, the guys on Ain't it Cool News, the real die-hard fans have given it great reviews, I think they just don't want people slamming it for no reason, which sometimes happens," says Sienna Miller.
"Hollywood critics generally don't like these films, you know, because they're not made for artistic value, they're made for, you just want to have fun, you just want to escape," says Channing Tatum.
"G.I. Joe: the Rise of Cobra" opens in theaters August 7th. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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