Christoph Waltz to Replace Nic Cage in ‘Green Hornet’

Christoph Waltz

by Matt Raub – TheFlickCast.com

With the publicity for Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet picking up steam in the past monh or so, more news has come out on the casting of the main villain in he film, Mr. X. The role was originally set to go to Nicolas Cage, but for whatever reason (possibly the fact that he’s got another superhero film in the works with Kick-Ass), Cage has stepped down from his role.

We now recieve word that the role will instead be taken on by Christoph Waltz, fresh from playing the Nazi baddie in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

“I’m told that ICM’s actor Christoph Waltz who won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for playing a Nazi in Inglourious Basterds (and is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination) has now been cast as villain Chudnofsky in Sony’s The Green Hornet opposite Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz.

Since Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds came out — and crossed the $100M mark this weekend – Waltz has been offered a lot of big movies by a lot of big directors. And he’s getting big bucks now. How great he’s found success at age 52.”

This is the second news of an actor getting replaced from the film after Stephen Chow stepped down from both directing and the role of Kato. See Waltz, Rogen, and Cameron Diaz in theaters for Green Hornet on December 17, 2010

Seth Rogen’s “Green Hornet” Delayed by Five Months

Cameron Diaz as Lenore Case in Green Hornet

From WorstPreviews.com

Even though Seth Rogen has been trying to convince fans that everything is proceeding smoothly on “The Green Hornet,” Columbia Pictures has just announced that it has moved the film from its July 7th, 2010 release date to December 17th, 2010.

“We’re both relieved and psyched about the change,” Rogen told HitFix. “It gives more time for post, which would have been immensely rushed if we were to come out in the summer.”

He continued: “It also affords us more time to promote the film, (now we can go to Comic-Con with more than a car!) and ultimately is a great vote of confidence from the studio. We got the same date that movies like ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Avatar’ are getting, so we’re thrilled to be there.”

It is believed that the five month delay is created at the hands of Stephen Chow, who first signed to direct and star in “The Green Hornet” and then abandoned both positions. And since Columbia couldn’t have the Summer release, it was forced to push the film till December, another popular month for action films.

 

Asian Pop Star to Play Kato in “Green Hornet”

Jay Chou

Gregg Kilday – Hollywood Reporter

Asian pop star Jay Chou will team up with Seth Rogen to fight crime in a new film version of “The Green Hornet,” to be directed by Michel Gondry.

Chou snapped up the role of Kato, the Green Hornet’s sidekick, after Stephen Chow walked away from the Columbia Pictures project last month.

The film, written by Rogen & Evan Goldberg, is based upon “The Green Hornet” radio series created by George W. Trendle. It is slated for release summer 2010.

The Kato role was previously played by martial-arts legend Bruce Lee in a 1974 version.

“It’s an overwhelming experience to take on a role made famous by Bruce Lee. I won’t try to be Bruce Lee’s Kato — I will try to bring my own interpretation to the part,” Chou promised.

Born Chou Chieh-Lun in Taiwan in 1979, Chou released his debut album “Jay,” combining Eastern and Western musical traditions, in 2000. He moved into acting with a starring role in 2005′s “Initial D,” a comedy-action hit in China. Other credits include Zhang Yimou’s “The Curse of the Golden Flower,” as well as “Secret,” which marked his directing debut.

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Seth Rogen Still Hot For Green Hornet

by Todd Gilchrist – Cinematical.com

Last week Cinematical reported on a casting call advertisement posted July 10 on Spoiler TV for actors to play Kato in Seth Rogen’s long-gestating big screen adaptation of The Green Hornet. While this more or less officially confirmed that actor-director Stephen Chow was permanently off the project, Rogen told reporters that he’s unconcerned about the recent hubbub about the film’s status since he’s known of Chow’s departure for a few months. “In my head, we lost Stephen Chow in April,” Rogen said. “So it’s something I’ve had a lot of time to wrap my head around.”
   In fact, Rogen said that both Chow’s departure and the more recent revelation of that news has not changed his feelings about the film’s progress. “To me we haven’t had a Kato since April, and we’re looking,” he said. “We’re kind of in the same boat we were in beforehand.”
   Rogen has discussed the development of Green Hornet often in interviews, and at Comic-Con last year he joked that there was no audience for it, suggesting that people were more interested in characters from Final Fantasy 19 than in the 1960s television character. But then again, Rogen also seemed to embrace the fact that his interpretation of the character wouldn’t necessarily appeal to the “typical” comic book adaptation audience, if there is one.
   “You know, we’re not trying to make what they would probably consider to be a 100 percent safe version of a movie like this,” Rogen said. “We like to push the envelope in some directions. We like to do things that we find interesting and new and original. You bring Michel Gondry into the equation, and that opens up a whole new bag of worms.”
   Rogen explained that as of right now, he’s inviting many of his former collaborators and pals to offer ideas on how best to bring Green Hornet to the screen. “Right now we’re making a big movie and not many of our friends have made a movie this scale,” he said. “So we’re inviting everyone imaginable to come and just see what it’s like and give us their ideas and throw in their input, have them learn from what we’re doing and to get all their ideas in the process.”

Cameron Diaz In Talks To Join ‘The Green Hornet’ Cast?

Cameron Diaz

Josh Wigler – MTV.com

   Seth Rogen’s planned adaptation of “The Green Hornet” might be getting a little help from Heaven above — or, if nothing else, the film could be touched by an “Angel.”

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Cameron Diaz, she of the “Charlie’s Angels” franchise, could be playing the female lead opposite Rogen in the Michel Gondry-directed “The Green Hornet.” While a deal has yet to be signed, EW indicates that the actress is in early talks for the role.

  In joining “The Green Hornet,” Diaz’s acting career would essentially be coming full circle. She made her on-screen debut opposite Jim Carrey in “The Mask,” the 1994 comedy based on the Dark Horse comic book. If that film’s a little too far back in the memory bank for you (and shame on you if that’s the case!), “The Mask” centered on an everyman (Carrey) who slipped on a mystical mask, thereby transforming into a green-faced, slapstick-heavy, superpowered numbskull.

Here, Diaz would be playing opposite Rogen, a well-established comedian that is breaking convention by playing a comic book hero that just so happens to boast the word “Green” in his moniker. Diaz starring alongside two comedians playing green-related superheroes? Just a coincidence?

Yeah, probably so.

If the casting news pans out, Diaz would star alongside the aforementioned Rogen, who plays Britt Reid, the masked vigilante known as the Green Hornet. Casting details are light on the film thus far, with Stephen Chow currently attached to play the Hornet’s martial artist sidekick Kato — but after Chow’s directing deal fell through, it’s a tad up in the air whether the actor will continue with the project.

Seth Rogen is the Green Hornet

Green Hornet

By night, debonair newspaper publisher Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) fights crime as a masked superhero known as The Green Hornet. At his side is martial arts expert Kato (Stephen Chow).

  Expect a June 2010 release for this Original film directed by Michael Gondry. Stephen Chow had been tapped to direct but dropped out over creative differences. He is still expected to co-star as Kato, the Hornet’s trusty sidekick and chauffeur.

   Since Chow’s departure, the project has been the subject of speculation that it was sliding into development hell, but the studio is intent on making the feature one of its 2010 tentpoles.

   The choice of Gondry, the helmer behind off-the-beaten-path films such as “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Science of Sleep” and “Be Kind Rewind,” signals that the creative direction the studio and the film’s producer, Neal Moritz, are trying to take the project is one not usually associated with the usual crime-fighter movie.

   As of this post, the Special Effects Makeup artists haven’t been named.

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