Just released late last night, is the trailer for the major motion picture adaptation for “Red” based on the Wildstorm mini-series by the same name. It stars Bruce Willis as Frank Moses (Paul, in the comics) who is a retired CIA operative, until a killer goes after him. Frank gets his old team together (Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Hellen Mirren) in retribution and to survive.
Blog@ talked to the artist of the series, Cully Hamner, to see what he had to say about the trailer. “Does this look like two tons of fun, or what? Sort of stunning that they could find this movie in the grim, nasty little comic Warren and I did, but when you really look, it’s all still there. It’s expanded, and the tone is different, but the theme has made it through. I can’t wait to see it with an audience.”
“Red” is slated for release in October.
June 24th, 2010 at 8:19 am
Great! Another comic book movie that has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the comic they’re “Adapting”.
I hate hollywood.
June 24th, 2010 at 8:30 am
The movie is the Baby Boomer Generation revenge personified into an action movie.
June 24th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Wow! Yet another DC movie that’s going to flop at the box office. As if Jonah Hex wasn’t bad enough, now this interpretation of RED is just going to continue DC’s lackluster presence on the big screen.
Aside from Batman Begins and the over-praised The Dark Knight, DC really hasn’t put out anything worthwhile, that has helped to compete, let alone surpass the movies MARVEL continues to produce. DC’s [immediate] cinematic fate will rely heavily on the success of the Green Lantern live action movie, because I really don’t think Nolan’s 3rd Batman movie will generate anywhere near the numbers Dark Knight did. While MARVEL is about to deliver the AVENGERS to the big screen, DC is still trying to figure out how to produce a successful Superman movie. Sadly, it appears that they’re years away from bringing the JLA to the theaters, but I suppose they’re satisfied with riding the success of Nolan’s Batman franchise. Too bad, because DC has a wonderful library of characters and to see all their cinematic efforts directed to Superman, Batman and C list characters/stories like Jonah Hex, The Spirit and now this RED story?
Wow, I can’t help but wonder who’s making the “movie” decisions at DC. Some C-list employee? When are we going to see SHAZAM, The Flash, Wonder Woman or even Aquaman. Instead…we get Jonah Hex? Jonah Hex? Were they serious?
In the meantime, I’m anxiously awaiting MARVEL’s THOR, Captain America, X-Men: First Class and Iron Man 3…and these movies aren’t just fanboy dreams, they ARE coming to a theater near you!
DC execs better get-on-the-ball while the superhero movie genre is still at its peak.
June 24th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Bitch all you want about how bad of an adaption it appears to be. This looks fun.
June 24th, 2010 at 9:43 am
Nah, it doesnt look fun at all to me. I’m not as offended that they deviated from the comic as I am how ridiculous and uninteresting they decided to make it.
I truly don’t wanna believe the idea that creators would become shills for money. However, Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner are making comments that are the exact opposite of what i’m seeing with my own eyes. I would question their judgement if I hadn’t read Red and saw how awesome it was.
So the question is, how do you have the sharpness and skill to make Red and then be able justify this trailer?
June 24th, 2010 at 9:44 am
This does look fun..I’m not to familiar with the source material but this looks kinda like a Mr. and Mrs. Smith retired deal. Also the actors involved are top notch and look like they’re having a fun time with the roles.
June 24th, 2010 at 9:47 am
AT least DC is trying differnt things. Marvel has stuck to there “Big Guns” and really that is it. Add to the fact that Marvel has little to do with the DD, FF, Spider-man or the X-men movies that have been made thus far (sure they have had some input but those movies weren’t controled by Marvel) and the only success they have had is Iron Man and it’s sequel. DC has tried with properties that most movie goers wouldn’t know were comics in the first place (Losers, Hex and now Red). Granted I would liked for them to have stayed closer to what the comic originally was, this doesn’t look half bad and has Hamner said they just added to it.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:01 am
From Tony:
“Bitch all you want about how bad of an adaption it appears to be. This looks fun.”
If your comment is in response to mine, you’re entitled to your opinion and I respect it.
As far as seeing the RED movie, because (as you put it) “This looks fun,” personally, if I want to see “fun” I’ll go see Toy Story 3 or Shrek 3. “Potentially” destroying the comic book based movie by giving it a lighthearted spin is a travesty to the original theme of the book. For what the movie “appears” to contain, it could have easily been another movie altogether, having no association to the comic book source material.
Imagine if the directors of Toy Story 3 made the latest movie into a rated R, bloody version. That’s how I feel when I see original comic books stories/characters “watered-down” for a lighthearted, (in some cases) comical interpretation. RED deserves a much better theatrical presentation than that.
IMO
June 24th, 2010 at 10:05 am
enjoyed the Red comic, but they’ve been right about it being too internalized. I agree that it looks like fun, and I’m glad they could get anything from the comic. If they were to try a straight adaptation it’d have to be, what’ 20 minutes? That series was wham bam thank you mam we’re done! I’d like an actual full movie thanks, and looks like it’ll be delivered.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:06 am
@the critic
Why does DC even have to work toward a JLA movie? Where is it written that the copy this/copy that pattern of superhero comics has to migrate over to the film industry? While I agree with you that The Spirit and Hex were bad movies it’s easy to see why both of those properties could get a green light decision.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:43 am
I think it looks like it will be fun movie. I havnt read the book so I dont know what it was about but taking the trailer for what it is it looks good. I will see it.
Oh by the way I saw Jonah Hex and liked it but have never read any Jonah Hexs books.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:50 am
As a comic fan, I feel the need to point out that these comments show just how out of touch we can be. I’ve been looking all over for reaction to this trailer, and the consensus seems to be:
Comic fans: “This looks terrible, they ruined the book.”
Everyone else: “This looks awesome. Can’t wait to see it.”
Mourn DC’s recent failures all you want, but this isn’t going to be one of them, at least not at the box office.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:13 am
To the Critic,
I hear you on the Justise League movie thing I have to admit while it is annoying, I would much rather them take their time and try to put out a good JL movie (hopefully) than a bad one. I have read so many things about that movie ranging from Warner Bros. calling the movie Justice League, to Justice League of America, to American Heroes. I mean come on American Heroes. At one point I also read on http://www.aintitcool.com that the 2 big guns weren’t even going to be in it…Superman and Batman! How the hell can you have a JL flick without Superman and Batman, especially SUPERMAN. It’s stuff like this that makes me glad they are “Years Away” from the final product. I do respect your opinion, and I am in no way blasting you or making fun or you, please don’t think that. IMO I’d rather DC be on this track and (hopefully) get it right, or we end up with say….Watchmen.
June 24th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
From Warren Ellis himself:
“…RED, the book, is 66 pages long. If you were to film 66 pages of comics, you might, might just about get 40 minutes of film out of it. If you added a musical number. … So, yes, RED the film is very different. Not least because it needed to generate more material than the book itself actually constituted. It is in fact best to consider RED as a short story being adapted into film.”
orig. post: http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=8099
I’m a comic fan who also thinks this looks good- truly an ubermench hybrid if ever there was one!
Comics are a malleable mythology, not a religion. Let’s keep it fun.
June 24th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
“LoyalV Says:
I’m a comic fan who also thinks this looks good- truly an ubermench hybrid if ever there was one!
Comics are a malleable mythology, not a religion. Let’s keep it fun.”
Couldn’t agree more.
June 24th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
To Frank H. MacDonald,
I appreciate you for respecting my opinion and don’t worry…I didn’t think you were “blasting” me by making your point. Even if you WERE blasting me, that is your right to do so. I completely understand that when we leave comments on any open forum, we are opening ourselves to either friendly debates or childish insults. Respectfully, I appreciate the maturity of your post.
To respond to your point, I agree…I also would rather DC/Warner Brothers take their time to “put out a good JL movie,” but based on what they’ve put out so far, it seems like such a movie is a very long time away. And, if what you’ve read about a JLA movie being made, without Superman and Batman in the line-up is true, wow…then the line-up better be nothing short of AWESOME to make up for their absence; (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, The Flash, Aquaman, Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm, The Atom and Martian Manhunter could work). “Here’s hoping for such a cast of characters!”
Moving along…
Interesting, you didn’t care too much for WATCHMEN? I’m a long time fan of the comic series and even though the movie had issues, overall…I was pleased with it.
To Dan,
You asked “Why does DC even have to work toward a JLA movie?”
Actually, they don’t have to, but surely you can agree that they need to make a much better effort to bring mainstream, headliner (A-list) characters to the screen individually. Other than Batman and Superman, DC/Warner brothers haven’t made much of an effort to bring other [costumed] characters to the movie theaters. Based on what I’ve seen on the big screen from DC/Warner Brothers so far, one would think that they had only Batman and Superman (and supporting cast) in their superhero universe. On the flip side, (successful movies or flops) look at ALL the characters MARVEL has brought to the theaters already; Blade, The X-men, Spiderman, The HULK, Daredevil, Elektra, The Fantastic Four, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, The Punisher and Iron Man. I don’t know about you, but that’s very impressive to me. I know that quantity isn’t more important than quality, but still…they need to increase their efforts to put out more movies. Even they [DC/Warner Brothers] feel the pressure to do so.
June 24th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Of course, this seems to be far away from the source. But that’s exactly why it could become a good movie. The comic was one-dimensional with a lot of action, no humour. Its story, the main character alone, could never sustain a film of 90 minutes. A close version of the Ellis script (which by the way was not very compelling, compared with his usual greatness) would flop.
June 24th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
# Shwa Says:
June 24th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
“LoyalV Says:
I’m a comic fan who also thinks this looks good- truly an ubermench hybrid if ever there was one!
Comics are a malleable mythology, not a religion. Let’s keep it fun.”
Couldn’t agree more.
I’d like to ratify this position.
Having read and loved RED, but before seeing the trailer, I thought “what the hell are they going to do for a RED film?” I figured it’d be about 80 mins of slow-mo to reach the 90 min mark. The trailer looks cool and the comic will still be on your shelf whenever you want to read it in it’s “pure” form.
June 24th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
I truly don’t wanna believe the idea that creators would become shills for money. However, Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner are making comments that are the exact opposite of what i’m seeing with my own eyes. I would question their judgement if I hadn’t read Red and saw how awesome it was.
_______________________________________
I don’t find it hard to believe at all that Ellis (I don’t know about Cully Hamner) is a shill for money. It’s more then plainly obvious for several years that Ellis has always wanted to break into Hollywood and make Hollywood money. So if he has to sell his soul and praise and kiss the butts Hollywood executives and filmmakers to do so, he’s going to do it. Like Frank Miller and Mark Millar, Ellis is nothing more then an elitist self righteous hypocrite who wants nothing more then to break into Hollywood.
June 24th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
@Wraith, and anyone else wary Hollywood taking liberty with comics and the creators thereof:
You say “shills for money” like it’s in some way antithetical to being a respectable creator. Money is the point of having a career- keeps the bills paid and lets them keep creating. Hollywood money spends the same as any other.
The movie industry isn’t the walled garden it used to be, either, where creators break in and never come back to their comics roots. Millar and Miller may never come back as the juggernauts they were, but that’s their call. Geoff Johns works in movies, TV and comics, as does BKV, although not all at once.
In the past decade, Hollywood has seen TV go from a ghetto for has-beens to a haven for long-form, nuanced storytelling. It’s seen the internet democratize media and produce it’s own list of established and respected names without any need for a studio PR system to give them clout. Hollywood needs ideas and has access to consumer dollars. It’s win-win for them and for creators like Ellis who can prove that they can produce solid stories.
I understand the gag-reflex to the Hollywood establishment potentially bastardizing our favorite characters. For every minorly amended and successful property like Dark Knight, there’s a full-on wrong take like Batman and Robin. This isn’t the fault of creators allowing their work to be loosely adapted. When it goes wrong it’s often because the producers think they know better than the creators. It’s why Jonah Hex had mysticism and Megan Fox- the money people were nervous about making a straight-up western with an ugly character, so they wanted to hedge their bets. It blew up like Catwoman. See Kevin Smith’s story about the giant spider for another good example.
The results speak for themselves: movies that respect their source material have historically done better than movies that don’t. DC’s new entertainment group was formed to have creative control to steer these new adaptations in the right direction. We’ll see what happens next, but I’m optimistic.
June 24th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I wonder if the people complaining about this movie diverging from the book have actually read the book. I have and I can tell you that a faithful adaptation would have died on screen. The comic was all about mood and visuals and action with minimal play given to plot and character, and a ton of 11th hour exposition to tie it all up at the end. And that’s not a criticism, because I enjoyed the book. But it was a prime example of something that worked great in print but would have flopped with flesh and blood characters.If you want a faithful adaptation of Red, rent the movie Hitman and imagine Timothy Olyphant about 30 years older, because that’s essentially what it would be. And that movie flopped at the box office.
June 24th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Oh no, here come the Marvel zombies going on about how Marvel is beating DC at the movies! Who cares? I prefer the more diverse array of movies DC has released: Batman, Constantine, V, Watchmen, and yes, even Hex. For every Hex, there’s an Elektra or Daredevil. Not everything has to be about superheroes. And on that front, DC walks the dog on Marvel when it comes to animated movies and projects. I don’t even have to make a list. Relax, divas.
June 24th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Besides, the Ellis/Hamner collaboration they really should have adapted into a movie is Down.
June 24th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
I like your blog – great work!
June 25th, 2010 at 3:11 am
Well, certain movies look like they will be hits from the very beginning and this is one of them. I’m sure it will be a b.o. smash!
June 25th, 2010 at 7:09 am
how bout the blink-and-you-miss-it shot of Richard Dreyfus getting punched in the face while tied to a chair?
seriously, I read “Red” and if they did a total tonal adaptation it would be the same thing as another Jason Bourne movie, only with Bruce Willis…this is looks insanely better than just a flat-out story-grab…it looks like they dug a little deeper into the material and found something that might appeal to EVERYONE, and not just the dorks that populate this site and others, myself included.
June 25th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
..
It looks like an average action movie.
And I don’t think we should begrudge one of the greatest modern comics creators a chance to make some “Geohns Money”.
What? Frank Miller is the ONLY one who gets to sell out?
..
June 25th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I loved the comic and the movie looks like it could be a fun two hours, but based on the trailer the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other, besides the title and the very generic theme of “ex-CIA agent fights back against CIA kill squad”, which could probably also describe several other movies released every year.
What I don’t understand is, why even turn Red into a movie? Saying the movie is “based on a comic by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer” won’t mean anything to 99% of the moviegoing population, and obviously having the DC logo attached is not going to be a selling point (i.e. Losers and Hex). If they are just going to abandon 99% of the plot of the comic (a tense short story about a retired ex-CIA agent fighting off his ex-employers who are assaulting his home), why wouldn’t Warners just make the movie they obviously wanted to make (an action-comedy about a group of retired CIA agents coming back for one last job) and forego the “connection” to the comic?
June 26th, 2010 at 4:51 am
The comic “RED” is not fun at all..but it is very very good.
This movie looks very fun and bloodless and very hollywoody. Almost like the shitfilm “Wanted”. I am not going to see it at the movies but might just watch it on dvd someday.
January 17th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Man I like this post and it was so informational and I am gonna bookmark it. I Have to say the Indepth analysis you have done is greatly remarkable.Who goes that extra mile these days? Bravo. Just another suggestion you shouldget a Translator for your Worldwide Readers