Sony has brought on board Nicolas Cage [NCAGE] and Cameron Diaz [DIAZ], who will play the love interest, for their 2010 summer tentpole film, The Green Hornet [GHRNT]. The news gave me a flashback to his hammy cameo as Fu Manchu from Grindhouse. What was once an interesting project has sunk to a level of mediocrity. Seth Rogen [SROGE] had been an odd choice to play action hero to begin with, but Stephen Chow was an inspired choice to direct as well as star as the sidekick Kato, the role in which Bruce Lee outshined the lead in the original TV series. Unfortunately, Chow left over creative differences, to be replaced by director Michel Gondry [MGOND] and a yet to be cast actor. Since Gondry is best known for quirky films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sony needs big name actors to up the commercial factor of The Green Hornet. Unfortunately, Cage and Diaz could do these paycheck roles in their sleep. Meanwhile, arguably the coolest role of Kato remains uncast. With these choices already taken, they might as well go completely camp and hire someone like Rogen’s Apatow cohort, Dr. Ken Jeong, as Kato. Why not, no martial arts experience necessary.
Tag(s): NCAGE, GHRNT, SROGE, MGOND