After decades in development, the big screen adaptation ofThe Green Hornetis finally opening this weekend, starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, and Cameron Diaz. Since our review of the film won’t be available until Friday, here are a few things you may not know about the masked hero and the movie’s arduous road to your local theater.
The Green Hornet is Related to the Lone Ranger
The Green Hornet character premiered on January 31, 1936 over the airwaves of Detroit radio station WXYZ, the same outlet that started broadcasting“The Lone Ranger” three years earlier. Though both featured masked heroes and helpful sidekicks (Tonto and Kato), this series was designed to feature one white-collar man taking down political corruption during the Great Depression. Only in 1947, in an episode titled“Too Hot to Handle,” were the two heroes (both created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker) officially connected in the story. The Lone Ranger (John Reid) was the uncle of newspaper tycoon Dan Reid, who was the father of Britt Reid, aka The Green Hornet.
In 1989, NOW Comics attempted to reconcile the different Hornets as a multi-generational persona and his ancestral link to the Lone Ranger. By its final issues, Paul Reid (Britt’s nephew) had assumed the identity alongside a fourth Kato.
George Clooney Was Originally Cast as the Green Hornet
Long before he won the Oscar and prior to his notorious turn as the nipple-fied Batman, George Clooney agreed to play the Green Hornet in Universal’s adaptation of the radio serial and comic books. The studio optioned the rights in 1992 and rebuffed open lobbying from Eddie Murphy for the part, instead naming Clooney of“ER” fame as the masked avenger. But Clooney soon bailed to makeThe PeacemakerandBatman& Robininstead and Universal attached Greg Kinnear, then a late night talk show host, along with martial artist Jason Scott Lee as his sidekick, Kato.
Michel Gondry Was Set to Direct Once Before
Michel Gondry, director of the incarnation hitting theaters this weekend, was already on board a Green Hornet movie once before. Then a French music video filmmaker, Gondry was hired in 1997 by Universal to make his feature film debut on the story, which he described as a quirky“futuristic fantasy” inspired bySuperman III. Gondry worked withRoboCopwriter Ed Neumeier on four drafts of the script over a year and a half. Mark Wahlberg was lined up for the lead— though Gondry wantedSwingersactor Vince Vaughn— and Jason Scott Lee stayed on as Kato from the Clooney/Kinnear days. But the studio balked at Gondry’s vision, which centered on a magical Asian crime lord that“ate human hearts” until he swallowed a pacemaker and was killed by a microwave.
When Gondry was mentioned to Sony for the Seth Rogen version, the studio said“never,” according to co-writer Evan Goldberg. But the director convinced executives with a“Kato-vision” fight sequence that he brought in to show he was capable of big-budget action.
Kevin Smith Wrote and Nearly Directed Green Hornet
Cult-favorite filmmaker Kevin Smith signed in 2004 to write and direct a Green Hornet. Miramax had acquired the rights for $3 million in 2001 after the property was put in turnaround at Universal. Smith had an established relationship with Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein and was given the chance at the comics. Smith’s version paired Britt Reid with a female Kato this time, and he discussed the lead with Jake Gyllenhaal. The project was later shelved, which Smith claims was because he“didn’t have the directing chops” to pull it off. His take on the character later became a Dynamite graphic novel series where Britt is killed off by The Black Hornet and Kato trains Britt Reid Jr. to take his place alongside Kato’s daughter, Mulan.
Stephen Chow Almost Directed and Played Kato
When Michel Gondry was brought on board (a second time), Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Stephen Chow had been removed as the project’s director because he wanted“too much control,” but still remained on board as Kato, Seth Rogen’s ass-kicking sidekick. Gondryrecountedheadaches trying to direct Chow on“why the character was special” and listening to his“ludicrous” ideas about the production.
One example was Chow’s desire to have Kato literally control Britt Reid. Rogen told theNY Times,“Stephen wanted Kato to implant a microchip in Britt’s brain and control him with a joystick. Maybe they’re doing that in China, and I’m not aware of it. I don’t read the newspapers as much as I should.”
Taiwanese pop singer Jay Chou ultimately replaced Chow, though the studio was initially concerned about his fluency in English. The producers later settled, saying the struggles with the language made him endearing.
Nicolas Cage is Crazy
Emerging from the turmoil over Stephen Chow’s departure was the news that hit-or-miss actor and comic book fanatic Nicolas Cage had beencast as the villain. The development came just in time to rescue a shaky production rocked by delays and pre-production problems, and as Cameron Diaz came aboard as the“love interest.” But, according to Gondry, he was unable to work with Cage who, for whatever reason, wanted to use a Jamaican accent as the gangster villain. Cagedropped outroughly two months later, later telling the Canadian Press,“Seth Rogen and Michel had a different take on the character.” He was immediately replaced by Christoph Waltz as shooting was already underway.
Sources:New York Times,The Playlist,Entertainment Weekly,NY Post, Screen Junkies
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