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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph Kick-Ass & Kick-Ass 2 (Hit-Girl prequel & Kick-Ass 3 in the works?)

Discussion in 'Community' started by The2ndQuest , Jun 23, 2008.

  1. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    I think on that account, we're all in agreement.
     
  2. Gonk

    Gonk Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1998
    I think they definately could have made Big Daddy out to be a pettier man than he was. There were clear oppertunities of presenting him as anything but Heroic and the girl as way-screwed up.

    I think going the way of the comic book in terms of the main Kick-Ass character though would have been the wrong move. I haven't read the comic but to me the synopsis gives more the message, if any, of "life sucks, horrible people are life's winners so just shut up and take it".
     
  3. SHAD0W-JEDI

    SHAD0W-JEDI Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 20, 2002

    A couple of things...

    I am a comic book / superhero fan, so it is rare that I see a comic book / superhero movie where I haven't read the "source material". In the case of KICK-ASS, I haven't. That means I see the movie pretty much cold, through the eyes of someone who is "into" superheroes but who also has no preconceived ideas as to what "should" happen, how characters "should" be portrayed, etc. And please understand, I am not using the term "preconceived" in a critical way here. Just saying... if you have read a lot of a particular character's comic book adventures, know their origins, their life story, their supporting cast, etc, you have expectations. It is only natural. In this case, I saw KICK ASS without any of that. So my views are colored in that sense. I took the movie in "cold".

    And frankly, I enjoyed it. I thought it was funny and fun. Despite the high body count, it was essentially a "light" fantasy... and yeah, know it is odd to talk about a movie being light when it has a body count as high as KICK ASS does.

    I am having a hard time figuring out the source of the anger being directed at the movie. As has been noted here, KILL BILL got a lot of critical acclaim, and BASTERDS was up for best picture, for goodness sake. Want to talk about movies with represhensible characters, reprehensible moral codes, sadistic, cruel, sickening violence? YIKES. KICK ASS, for all ITS violence, is essentially a goofy over the top vigilante/superhero fantasy. The bad guys are very bad and get "what is coming to them". Thats about it.
    SHADOW


     
  4. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Out on video today- a little dissapointed the deleted scenes aren't on any of the current releases, though. Apparently the director is saving them for an extended cut release but wants his director's cut (the theatrical cut) to have the bigger exposure/release, thus the releases today.
     
  5. Yodaminch

    Yodaminch Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2002
    Good to know. I was contemplating picking up the Blu-ray, but wil wait for the version with deleted scenes.
     
  6. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Sequel greenlit!

    "The estimate is [Kick-Ass] will do 100 to 150 million on DVD based on the American sales so it'll end up making a quarter of a billion on a 28 million investment... So the sequel's greenlit, we can go ahead and do the follow up now, you know. The first made so much compared to what it cost it would be crazy not to."

    Coincidentally, the first issue of the sequel comic, "Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall", will be out in the next month or so! :D
     
  7. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005
    I wonder if Vaughn will still helm it, or if someone else will take the reins.

    There's a lot of room for improvement, that's for sure.
     
  8. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    There isn't a lot of room for improvement, other than making the sequel edgier to be closer to the comics.

    Brief sumamry of what the sequel will be about:

    The second book would involve criminals taking on supervillain personae to counter the superheroes, and Hit-Girl trying to lead a normal life. Red Mist will reappear as a new villain known as The Mother****er, who leads a group of supervillains against Kick-Ass and Hit Girl.[

    The solicits for the first two issues are out as well:

    #1:
    But here now is the sequel to the biggest creator-owned comic of the decade -- the one that spawned the number one hit movie and the worldwide phenomenon--is here! Kick-Ass is back, just as over-the-top as ever! As everybody's favorite psychotic 11-year-old, Hit Girl, trains Kick-Ass to be...well, a bad-ass, Red Mist gathers a team of super-villains to take them down! It's super hero mayhem as only Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. can bring you!

    #2:
    The sequel to the New York Times best-selling comic--which spawned the hit movie--continues! When Dave Lizewski put on his mask and became Kick-Ass, he never imagined things would go this far. Now Dave comes face-to-face with a world he helped bring about, as his dreams of a world of superheroes come true...but will those dreams turn to nightmares? Don't miss the comic book event of the year! Plus: Hit-Girl!
     
  9. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
    There isn't a lot of room for improvement, other than making the sequel edgier to be closer to the comics.

    Sure there is. Edgier would be nice, but so would staying true to the central conceit: i.e., if these are real people dressed up as superheroes, let's go a little lighter on the Hit-Girl wire-fu and step up the realism a notch. Have the little girl killing people by way of being a psychopath, instead of granting her superheroic fighting abilities.
     
  10. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005
    This, basically. The film should also avoid becoming the very thing it said it wasn't by the end of the film...
     
  11. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Hit Girl's antics never seemed far fetched enough to snap me out of the film, though along that train of thought, something like the jet pack ride across NYC would be a good thing to avoid doing, as it was rather distracting for them to go so far on something that doesn't have that kind of range/fuel, especially after it's initial combat flight.
     
  12. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Keep in mind I've never even glanced at the cover of the comic, so I may be getting this all wrong, but the movie sequel has a lot of potential for developing the Kick-Ass/Hit Girl relationship. I'd go see a movie about Hit Girl mentoring Kick-Ass, teaching him how to fight and be more lethal and getting into fights with his girlfriend over his reluctance to give up being a masked vigilante.

    And Red Mist taking over his father's crime syndicate: that would be entertaining.

    Unless something goes horribly wrong with her adolescence in the traditional manner of young Hollywood actors, Chloe Moretz is going to become a big star over the next few years. It's hard to imagine that she's backed by mentally stable, loving parents who want the best for her, but it's possible. We can hope.
     
  13. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Well, the KA2 comic doesn't hit for another few weeks, so it's impossible to judge yet, but the film and the first comic are extremely close to one another, so far as to where Hit Girl ends up (Kick Ass is a little different, as he doesn't get the girl in the comic- she has her boyfriend beat him up for what he did).
     
  14. TiniTinyTony

    TiniTinyTony JCC Super Bowl Pick 'Em Winner star 7 VIP - Game Winner

    Registered:
    Mar 9, 2003
    Kick-Ass remindes me of Gumby. So if they put him on an orange horse in the sequel, I will be happy.
     
  15. JohnWesleyDowney

    JohnWesleyDowney Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2004
    If it's made 150 million in DVD sales, and 100 million at the box office, from the standpoint of the distributor Lionsgate, a sequel is absolutely inevitable. You cannot have a potential franchise sitting on your shelf that's generated a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue. It may not have the entire original cast, and it's possible the same exact creative team may not be involved, but there will be a sequel. It's an economic law of the movie business. You exploit your profitable properties. It's bad business not too.

    Lionsgate is a publicly held company trading on the New York Stock Exchange. If they didn't make a Kick Ass sequel, the stockholders would want to know WHY.

    Lionsgate Kicks Ass on the Home Entertainment Charts as the Crime Fighting Action Film KICK-ASS Debuts at Number One on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download

    Co-written and Directed by Matthew Vaughn, Based On The Comic by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr. and Featuring A Powerful Ensemble Cast, Kick-Ass Dominates with 1.4 Million Units Sold In Its First Week
    SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Just like its title character, the DVD, Blu-ray and digital download debut of Kick-Ass did not need any superpowers to take down the competition on the weekly charts as it proved dominant across all revenue channels this past week. Released by Lionsgate® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, Kick-Ass has debuted number one on the DVD sales chart. The Blu-ray combo pack of the film (three discs- including Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy), also debuted at number one. In addition, the release came out of its first weekend as the top movie download on the iTunes store, Zune and Sony/Playstation and achieved the biggest digital week performance ever by a Lionsgate title.

    Kick-Ass, which grossed nearly $50 million domestically and $100 million worldwide during its theatrical run, also achieved the highest box office-to-DVD conversion rate for all major DVD releases this quarter, helping Lionsgate to maintain their industry leadership in box office-to-DVD conversion. Lionsgate also had the top two converting titles last quarter for films over $10 million box office with From Paris With Love and Daybreakers.

    "Kick-Ass is truly one of the most unique, entertaining, and action-packed movies of the year," said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate General Manager and Executive Vice President. "With its strong word-of-mouth, we felt confident that it would have a powerful home entertainment debut and are particularly pleased with the success of the Blu-ray combo pack, which accounted for 42% of week one sell-through revenue."
     
  16. Nevermind

    Nevermind Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2001
    The original already seems to be a cult hit.
     
  17. JohnWesleyDowney

    JohnWesleyDowney Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2004

    Yes, and a lot of the cult is made up of teens who bought it on DVD or Blu Ray (or had their parents do it for them) since they couldn't get into an R rated movie.
     
  18. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    In other words, making a movie for a target audience that won't be able to see the film in theaters is a viable marketing strategy. Older teens create the word of mouth. Younger teens buy and rent. Evil yet shrewd.
     
  19. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    I don't think one can say it was primarily teens buying the film- consider that the main fanbase spreading that word of mouth is skewed older (as comic readers do), so it'd be the people they hang out with who they spread the word to/saw the film with to spread the word of mouth to, etc.

    Violent action comedies aren't defaultly aimed at teens, in other words. Shoot 'Em Up was even more of a cartoon than Kick-Ass and that's definitely aimed at adults.
     
  20. Soontir-Fel

    Soontir-Fel Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2001
    Yes, less stick closer to the comic, which was unimaginably awful. Thats a great idea.
     
  21. Darth-Lando

    Darth-Lando Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2002
    The comic was waaaay better than the movie. The movie, which I still like, had way too much McLovin. Plus, the main character got the girl which went against everything the comic was about. It was supposed to be a "real world" superhero. And in the real world if you lie to and take advantage of a girl to gain her trust and then confess that everything she knows about you is a lie you generally don't get to sleep with her afterwords. And the JETPACK what the **** was that about???
     
  22. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    McLovin's presence I didn't mind (in fact, I was surprised at how little he was in the movie), but I totally agree about the getting-the-girl part- that went against what the comic was about and the general realism aspect.

    Though, I think if they had tweaked it so that she dumped him when he told her and then MAYBE won her back somewhat after the execution broadcast, it wouldn't have been so blatantly contradictory.

    The jetpack was fine for the most part- but when they used it to fly from midtown Manhattan to Brooklyn (or Queens or wherever) is where it lost me- it may have been a nice moment (I really like Mindy's expression in the one shot), but there's no way in hell that thing has enough fuel for that kind of range (and if it did- he blew a lot of the fuel during the actual attack which means he still shouldn't have been able to make it) and it, again, exceeds the plausibility of the story.
     
  23. -Phoenix-

    -Phoenix- Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 21, 2005
    The jetpack was a badass idea that I think just flubbed in the execution. It really didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the movie, and it kinda felt cheap.
     
  24. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
  25. Darth-Lando

    Darth-Lando Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2002
    I've never quite understood how he didn't flip over backwards when those miniguns started firing. I don't think that jetpack would be able to properly compensate for all that kick. :p