'Red Dawn' Movie Remake to Hit Theaters Next Year; Villians Digitally Altered

The longtime shelved remake of ’80s action thriller “Red Dawn” will likely be released sometime in 2012 by independent studio Film District, reports the Los Angeles Times.

'Red Dawn' Movie Remake to Hit Theaters Next Year; Villians Digitally Altered

Reportedly completed in 2009, the “Red Dawn” remake floated in limbo as longtime studio MGM went bankrupt (a development that also temporarily left the future of the James Bond series – perhaps the most successful English-language movie franchise in history – in limbo). However, Film District has struck a deal with MGM, and has also potentially benefited from the delay, as one of the “Red Dawn” stars, Chris Hemsworth, was elevated to fame this summer as the titular character in “Thor.”
Apart from a bankrupt studio, the “Red Dawn” remake has suffered another setback. In the original, 1984 film, a small Colorado town is invaded by Russians, who serve as the consistent villains throughout the film. With the idea of Russian Communists invading the U.S. laughably dated, the makers behind ‘Red Dawn 2.0′ initially made the new villains Chinese (which conveniently keeps the title relevant). However, as the remake readies for release, the film has been digitally altered to change the Chinese villains to North Koreans, as studio executives openly admitted that the portrayal of Chinese villains could harm business dealings between the U.S. and China.
“The studio suits are right to be concerned,” wrote columnist David Sirota, whose latest book, “Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now,” features a section on “Red Dawn.” “China’s government only allows about 20 non-Chinese movies per year into its theaters, and in the late 1990s, the regime halted Walt Disney, Sony and MGM business in the country after those companies produced films deemed critical of China.”
The original “Red Dawn” shows the aforementioned small town being taken over by murderous, invading Russians. A group of high-schoolers (Wolverines!) and some adults eventually repel the invasion through gumption and guerrilla warfare. Apart from being a showcase for many emerging young stars at the time (Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Grey), “Red Dawn” is remembered perhaps as a flawed movie but also as a near-perfect time capsule for the last years of the Cold War in Reagan America.
FUN FACT: “Red Dawn” was the first film to receive a “PG-13″ rating, a new rating meant to find a middle ground between the restrictive (18 and older) “R” and all-encompassing “PG.” This is ironic considering that, at the time of its release, “Red Dawn” was regarded by the “Guinness Book of World Records” and the National Coalition on Television Violence to be one of the most violent movies ever made.