Wow, remember when we talked about the idiotic attitudes of the producers behind this RED DAWN remake? It was one of our very first YOMYOMF blog entries and it caused quite a discussion on the continued racial ignorance that permeates today. If you don’t know what’s up with this remake of the cheesetastic ’80s Communist invasion in Middle America action movie, then here’s a quick recap: In this new version, the bad guys aren’t invading Soviets, but Communist Chinese! It stars Tom Cruise’s stepson and is vying for a pussified PG-13 rating.
Well, news has come out that the producers are going to switch out the Chinese baddies and make them North Koreans instead. Yep, you read that right. They’re going to employ digital effects to change flags, emblems and soldier’s uniforms and swap them out with North Korean symbols. So, why are they doing this? Pure economics, Charlie Chan! With China’s booming and lucrative film market, why piss them off? Aintitcoolnews reports:
…potential distributors are nervous about becoming associated with the finished film, concerned that doing so would harm their ability to do business with the rising Asian superpower, one of the fastest-growing and potentially most lucrative markets for American movies, not to mention other U.S. products.?? As a result, the filmmakers now are digitally erasing Chinese flags and military symbols from “Red Dawn,” substituting dialogue and altering the film to depict much of the invading force as being from North Korea, an isolated country where American media companies have no dollars at stake.
Apparently, MGM, the studio behind the film, has been shopping the new RED DAWN around town and the feedback was making a film where the Chinese are the bad guys, ain’t good for the beleaguered and cash strapped studio, especially with THE HOBBIT and JAMES BOND franchises coming up, and China being a major fixture in getting some of that money back at the box office. According to the LA Times, this unprecedented move will cost about $1 Million to make the changes, which won’t be 100%, so some remnant of Chinese symbols and imagery may still exist in the end product.
“We were initially very reluctant to make any changes,” said Tripp Vinson, one of the movie’s producers. “But after careful consideration we constructed a way to make a scarier, smarter and more dangerous ‘Red Dawn’ that we believe improves the movie.”
Wow, what a bullshit answer, huh? With no release date in site, and the threat of a direct-to-DVD release, does anyone even give a rat’s ass? Bottom-line, all Asians look same in Hollywood. Hence, trying to hire Offender Roger to come in for a table reading with him playing the Chinese parts, just because he was Chinese. Uhh…. it’s a table reading, idiots! You could have a gay Australian sailor, who was left handed and had a peg-leg read those parts!
Offender Justin just sent me a Youtube clip that pretty much encapsulates this very lame situation….. 
Touché, Hank Hill.
actually it’s more accurate now, since the main villains are Korean-American actors.
how does Will Yun Lee feel that he got punked thinking he was going to portray evil Chinese in all of his roles?
I think this is a good thing. While Asian Americans have many differences than Asia Asians, both are still considered as a group here in the US. Therefore, the rise of China also means Asian Americans won’t be easily punked in the media anymore (except for Koreans apparently). Also in the distant future, I foresee hollywood being funded by Chinese cash, and these assholes will have harder time sterotyping or whitewashing asians in their films.
I guess switching us out isn’t that great, but the fact that they are forced to consider an asian group’s perspective for their films (even if it is for money’s sake) is a good thing. Too bad Koreans have to take the fall.
having any Asian group (or any ethnic minorities) being portrayed as the “inscrutable other” “yellow peril” is never cool.
the point that yomyomf nor any of the major media groups haven’t touched upon is what to do with all these sellouts who take racist portrayals of another Asian ethnicity for money?
last time I brought up Will Yun Lee Phillip just brushed it aside with apologist words of Asians should be allowed to play any Asian group, conveniently ignoring the fact that Will Yun Lee and many other Koreans have no qualms about constantly portraying evil Chinese characters.
don’t think Chinese money will ever fund “haolewood” projects. Sony haven’t had any sway in it. and most joint productions from China have haolewood dictating the terms and content of the movies.
besides, you can be sure whites will play up the divide and conquer anti-Japanese angle to the Chinese market.
while it sucks that Asians remain divided, there is truth to why the foreign language Asian channels are still broadcasting while the English Asian-American ones all have folded.
You’re pure.
“It stars Tom Cruise’s stepson…”
i’m pretty sure that’s his actual son, he’s just adopted.
[...] my fellow Offender Anderson already blogged, the producers of the upcoming reboot of Red Dawn are making “tweaks” to their film to change [...]
Luv the vid.
Ya know…..there are plenty of DUMBASSES in the USA that confuse Taiwan & Thailand too.
@Bond “Ya know…..there are plenty of DUMBASSES in the USA that confuse Taiwan & Thailand too”
This includes me. And I learn later in life that I’m actually Taiwanese. And then I was confused for awhile as to why my parents don’t know how to speak Thai.
It’s all figured out now. I hope.
When people ask me where I am from, I tell them a local city that I spent most of my life, even though I know that they mean to ask my ethnicity. My roommate’s brother would still talk to me as if I am an exchange student, even though I had told him that I went to elementary school, middle school, and high school in USA, and in college with his sister.
[...] the film has met with numerous roadblocks and delays including a post-production race change of the bad guys from Chinese to North Korean; presumably because the producers realized it’d be a bad idea to piss off China and its [...]