The forthcoming remake of Red Dawn, the 1984 film in which American teenagers band together to fight invading Soviet forces, will feature a North Korean invasion of the United States, similar to just-released shooter Homefront. Why is that so interesting? Because they already shot the film as a Chinese invasion of the States.
The film’s producers are in the process of digitally altering the new Red Dawn, swapping out Chinese imagery and changing dialogue to make the film’s aggressors North Korean, reports the LA Times. Studio execs were concerned about Chinese leadership being offended by the war flick and losing (potentially) a billion viewers over Red Dawn’s choice of villain.
“MGM has been working with the film ‘Red Dawn’s’ director and producers to make the most commercially viable version of the film for audiences worldwide,” said Mike Vollman, executive vice president of worldwide marketing to the LA Times. “We want to ensure the most people possible are able to experience it.”
Publisher THQ shared similar concerns when it chose a unified Korean invasion over a Chinese attack on US soil. Execs said China was just “not that scary”. But it too was worried about China’s reception to Homefront.
“The guys in our Chinese office said: Did you know that everybody on the exec team will be banned from coming into China for the rest of your lives?” executive Danny Bilson told Kotaku earlier this year. “They were afraid the ministry of culture was going to wipe us out.”
Both Homefront and the original Red Dawn were co-written by screenwriter John Milius.
Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China’s good side [LA Times]
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