Opening in theaters next month, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION is the sequel to 2009’s G.I. JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA and features some personnel additionsin the form of DWAYNE JOHNSON andBRUCE WILLIS. This time around, the G.I. Joes continue to be pitted against their mortal enemy COBRA while, at the same time, contend with threats from within the government.
Recently named “Action Star Of The Year” at CineCon by The National Association Of Theater Owners (NATO), JOHNSON faced entertainment reporters asking if working with WILLIS constituted a “passing of the torch” from a former Action Star Award winner to the present one. (CLICK ON THE MEDIA BAR FOR AUDIO)
Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) tweeted this vague response, igniting rumors that Johnson is in talks or cast in an upcoming DC Comics movie adaptation. Many fans responded to The Rock’s tease, but got no response. So what might The Rock have up his sleeves? Could there be a Warner Bros/DC Comics movie in the works? Or is The Rock just trying to get his fans talking (sometimes a lot of nonsensical buzz can turn into reality).
I remember back in 2007 that Johnson was attached to play Black Adam in a bigscreen adaptation of the Captain Marvel comic book Shazam!. Somewhere along the line, that project fell off the board. Has the project been rekindled? Or more likely, is Johnson in talks for another DC Comics property? If so which one?
Steven Tyler believes Aerosmith’s song for the ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ soundtrack is ideal because its overall theme mirrors the movie’s onscreen battles.
Steven Tyler believes Aerosmith’s song for the ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ soundtrack is ideal because it mirrors the movie’s themes.
The band’s frontman thinks their track, ‘Legendary Child’, is the perfect song to accompany the forthcoming action movie – which stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis – because its theme of the group struggling to overcome adversity in the music industry is reflected in the film characters’ onscreen battles.
He said: ”’G.I. Joe’ [is] about deep space and ‘let’s go fight the foe.’ And then I thought about where the band came from, and going [into] the music business.
”If there ever… was a foe, the music business was. So to be successful you had to learn how to climb ladders, jump through hoops and live through burning houses.”
Steven revealed the group spent 12 hours filming a video for ‘Legendary Child’, and he is excited about its release because guitarist Joe Perry was ”on fire” while they were recording the song.
Speaking to ABC News Radio, he added: ”It’s gonna be slammin’. Joe was on fire. Wait, you’ll see.”
‘G.I Joe: Retaliation’ is to be released later this summer.
Does your movie franchise require a fresh face and additional biceps poundage? Then the man to call is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The wrestler-turned-actor got his big-screen breakthrough in the 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns and more recently has spruced up both the Fast and Furious and Journey to the Center of the Earth series.
Now Johnson has joined the Joes in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the follow-up to Paramount’s 2009 G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, which earned $300 million worldwide and received — to put matters kindly — mixed reviews. The actor’s addition to the cast isn’t the only change to the franchise: Bruce Willis joins the cast and director Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never), replaces G.I. Joe helmer Stephen Sommers. Meanwhile, judging by the film’s trailer, Cobra star Channing Tatum plays a smaller part this time around.
Below, Mr. The Rock talks about G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which opens June 29, and his penchant for playing action heroes who like to crack eggs as well as skulls.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What can you tell us about G.I. Joe: Retaliation? DWAYNE JOHNSON: I can tell you this one is creatively much different [from the first]. It’s rooted, it’s grounded, it’s real. The studio came to me and I loved the idea of starring in the movie because I grew up on G.I. Joe and it’s a massive property. I spoke to the studio and they told me about the creative shift that they wanted to make with the movie, which made it easy for me to sign on.
Franchises are often “rebooted” after three or four movies. Did the studio talk about why they wanted to do so after just one?
Sure, sure. We all talked about that. The very frank discussions that I had with the studio was, ‘We know we can do better. And let’s challenge ourselves and sit down and make the movie that’s going to entertain the world.” I can appreciate that transparency and that directness. When you’re that open from the beginning, it makes things much easier and it makes the creative process that much better.
Can you give us some idea about the plot?
Absolutely. The Cobra command is trying to take over the world. I emerge as the leader. I go get Bruce Willis and we start kicking a– all over the place and stopping that!
What can you say about your character, Roadblock?
In the mythology of G.I. Joe, Roadblock is the glue that holds the Joes together. The added layer to that for me was to make him a B.A.M.F. You know what that means?
It took me a couple of seconds, but yes.
Alright!
Who does Bruce Willis play?
Bruce Willis plays the original Joe, Joe Colton. He fitted so nicely into this role. I’ve been not only a fan of Bruce since I was a teenager but a friend of his for years now. And us together, in these roles, as a fan of movies but also as a fan of action heroes, I’m excited about this. Bruce does that very well. And when I say “that” I mean, “There’s a problem, I’m going to fix it, and I have a gun.” [Laughs] We both do that very well.
I believe Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who played one of the villains in the first movie, isn’t in Retaliation. Can you say who, if anyone, has replaced him in the role?
Well, to be honest with you, I didn’t see the first one. So I’m not quite sure. I know he’s not in it, but I’m not quite sure what role he played.
Have you still not seen the first one?
No, I didn’t want to see it. I just didn’t want that to cloud my judgment in any way as we were going down a new creative route.
Channing Tatum returns from the first one, as does Jonathan Pryce. So there are some plot connections between The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation?
Yeah, sure, sure. There are some plot connections with the first and the second. I’ll tell you this: Out of great tragedy often emerges new leaders and, through a great tragedy that takes place with the Joes. New leaders emerge.
Is it the Joes who are retaliating?
It is, yeah.
John M. Chu directed the movie. What was he like as a collaborator?
He was great to work with. He was an interesting choice at first because he had just come off the Justin Bieber movie.
I’m not sure what you’re getting at. I always think of Justin Bieber and The Rock in the same sentence.
Of course you do! [Laughs] Any time you think of Justin Bieber, you think of the Rock. So it was an interesting choice, but the studio was sold on him, and once I sat down with him I recognized right away that he was the right guy for this. One of the most interesting things about John Chu is that, from a very early age, he was always inspired by movement and dance. So to take that notion of movement and fluidity and apply that to a very big action movie — it’s a challenge, it’s a risk, but it has paid off in such invaluable ways. I’ve seen the movie and I couldn’t be happier with it and that guy is a hell of a director. Audiences are going to appreciate what he did.
Where did you shoot the movie?
We were all in New Orleans. We were the first production that was allowed to shoot inside of NASA there in New Orleans. They were nice enough to let us shoot in there, and utilize everything that they had, which was amazing. We made a complete mess of the place and probably screwed it up for any production that’s going to come in there after us. We had a lot of explosions there. But we cleaned up everything nicely!
I believe Roadblock is also something of a chef — like your character in The Rundown. Are you a good cook yourself?
I am a hell of a cook myself.
What’s your signature dish?
My favorite dish would be blackened sea bass with a mango paste… No, I’m kidding, that’s bulls—. I can’t cook! Look at that, I had you going for a second! No, I tell you what I do: I make a hell of an egg-white omelet and I make a hell of a Don Julio shot.
Would you be up for making another G.I. Joe?
I would. Definitely. The world ain’t saving itself! Me and Bruce and the Joes, we’ve got some saving to do!
Re-posted by: Lisa Marie @DWAYNE-JOHNSON CENTRAL – JULY 1, 2011
Posted by: Ben Kerin of WrestlingNewsSource.com on Jun 30 2011 Source: PWInsider.com
Randy Orton took part in an interview with KUPD in Phoenix and he noted the he had heat with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson around the time of his WrestleMania return. He noted that The Rock called the company to complain about Orton burying him and Triple H in an interview. He felt that Rock mentioned Triple H to amplify the heat.
Orton also noted his wife saved his life five years ago after an incident which left him unable to breath for a period due to past drug usage. This period of his life will be covered on his upcoming DVD.
He also puts over John Cena as better then The Rock on the mic and more.
Attention all guys that drive or are intending to drive Toyota’s famous hybrid electric hatchback, the Prius.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson advises you to check your manhood first.
“You can drive a Prius, sure,” the star of “Fast Five” told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. But you should also grow testicles before that.”
Indeed.
Not surprisingly, Johnson chooses to get around town in a “black gorilla.”
“It’s a black Ford F150. Ford tough all the way. I’ve got a black gorilla that womps and stomps candy asses all over the place – that’s it,” he said. “It is a badass.”
Johnson has another crucial tip for male car owners.
“Sheila? Honey? Darling? Come on, you can’t name a truck after a chick,” he advised.
And while the action star obviously loves big vehicles, he doesn’t have a need for big radar numbers.
“I don’t have a need for speed, I’m not that guy. These other guys – Vin (Diesel) and Paul (Walker) and Tyrese (Gibson) and even the girls like Jordana (Brewster) have a need for speed, they have a need for speed,” Johnson continued. “I don’t need that. I don’t race cars.”
Speaking of his “Fast Five” costars, the retired pro-wrestler described the decision to sign on to play Hobbs, a special agent with the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), as a simple “no brainer.”
“It’s an epic franchise, and it was an opportunity to create a very, very cool old school character based off of characters I like from the 70’s – Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson. I got to bring that back,” he said. “Old school. Old Testament. The code. You did me wrong, now you’re going to pay. You’re either going to pay with my gun or my fist.”
Audiences seem to agree as the movie had the biggest April opening weekend ever with $86 million. And although he’s found his niche in Hollywood, Johnson said he misses his former occupation.
“I love WWE and I love that platform. There is no other platform in the world that gives me that instant gratification. There is just no other platform,” he added. “For example, I have this huge fight scene with Vin Diesel (in the film.) I can take him, German suplex through the wall, but the stunt double will have to actually go through the wall and get crashed and fall. Now Vin was willing to go, but the studio wouldn’t let him. But in WWE, I could take anybody and German suplex them right on top of their head and I don’t have to let them go – and I can entertain. There’s nothing like it, I love it.”
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