Jackie Chan And Will Smith Teaming For A KARATE KID Remake?

Reader Comments

1. Mr. Hyde 11/26/2007 @ 9:10am

   Wh...what? I’m still sleeping, right? This is a very bad dream that will end with me waking up feeling sick.

2. Filmstalker 11/26/2007 @ 1:09pm

   I wrote about this back in September, but Will Smith spoke out about it and said that he wasn’t involved in a remake of the film nor was his son.

   At the time Han Sanping wasn’t mentioned but Jerry Weintraub, the original producer, was.

   I thought the casting would be really interesting, but Smith was apparently pretty strong about the denial.

3. Rhythm-X 11/26/2007 @ 1:30pm

   I can’t believe SNOW AND THE SEVEN is finally moving forward after all these years.

   I don’t find it difficult at all to picture Stephen Chow signing on to a KARATE KID remake, particularly if it’s rewritten to focus on Chinese martial arts and the script isn’t total crap.  Think of the larger goal of Chow’s character in SHAOLIN SOCCER - to bring Chinese martial arts knowledge to the world at large.  Now picture him stepping into the role of one of cinema’s most iconic martial arts teachers, in a movie with one of America’s biggest stars as the bad guy (as opposed to the Hong Kong superstar getting cast as Ruthless Asian Villain Number 22562 - which is how it usually goes).  It all works for me, and the humorous aspects of the character would be in very safe hands - I’d love to see Chow administering harsh 36th CHAMBER style training to Son Of Big Willie.  That’s brilliant casting if you ask me.  I’d hope Chow would immediately recognize it as a unique opportunity for an Asian actor - big Hollywood movie, with big Hollywood stars, and the guy from Hong Kong is in a major, non-villainous role that plays to his strengths and interests.  Chow’s a much better choice than Jackie Chan for the role.  A much better choice than damn near anyone, actually.  Plus KARATE KID is a Columbia Pictures film, and Stephen Chow seems to have set up shop at Columbia these days, so it could easily be the next step in what’s so far been a mutually beneficial relationship between Chow and Columbia Pictures.

   The more I think about this remake, the more potential it seems to have.  It’s not like the original KARATE KID is some sort of hallowed cinematic text or anything - it was your typical underdog story, only with karate, and with a debt owed to Lau Kar-Leung’s intricate training sequences.  It’s the perfect example of a film that I have no problem with someone remaking. And if those someones are Will Smith, his kid, and Stephen Chow… well, that’s pretty damn cool, actually.  I’d happily go see it.

4. Rhythm-X 11/26/2007 @ 1:37pm

   It’s a shame if Smith’s camp is strongly denying it.  Then again, people frequently deny things they’re not quite ready to go public with - sometimes strongly.

5. Collin Armstrong 11/26/2007 @ 2:27pm

   Wow.  This sounds really… strange.  I have to agree with Rhythm-X, tho - I don’t see a remake / re-imagining of this film as an artistic violation.  It was a fun flick whose rep has dwindled because of lackluster sequels and Ralph Macchio’s inherent mock-ability.

   I don’t know.  It would all depend on how the thing was handled - I’d hate to see Chow blow an intro to worldwide auds with something that couldn’t stand side-by-side with his other works.  It seems like Will Smith has been making some more thoughtful decisions with his career lately, so who knows - maybe this could turn out to be something exciting.

6. ChevalierAguila 11/26/2007 @ 6:05pm

   If Chow was in this, i hope they actually let him co-write the script, because it will be the only way that this could be good. Because there’s no need to trick ourselves here, when was the last time hollywood had any idea of how to handle a story about martial arts and asian culture, that it wasn’t a stereotype-fest?

7. Swarez 11/27/2007 @ 2:56am

   I don’t think Chow’s humor would translate well over to typical western audiences. His brand of slap stick is hard to swallow for most Joe Six Packs and to do those jokes in English as well would be pretty hard for him I would think.

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