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Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced)

PostPosted: 01 Apr 2017, 01:04
by Jox
That's an unexpected twist yet not so surprising in some way... Now who knows what's gonna happen with it, and the twists may not be over yet... But if Sly is out, surely some of the cast will follow.

Sylvester Stallone Departs ‘The Expendables’ Franchise
http://deadline.com/2017/03/sylvester-s ... 202057171/
by Mike Fleming Jr
March 31, 2017 1:33pm

EXCLUSIVE: In a crushing blow to fans of The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone has washed his hands of the franchise. He has withdrawn from taking part in the fourth installment, even though, sources said, it would have meant the biggest upfront payday in his career at north of $20 million. The reason? He and Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner could not find common ground on a new director, on the script and on certain qualitative elements of the film. That went right down to the selection of the CGI house to handle visual effects. The franchise has used Lerner’s own VFX house, Nu Boyana in Bulgaria.

Sources said that Stallone — who set a high bar for himself reprising Rocky Balboa with Michael B Jordan and director Ryan Coogler in Creed — was concerned about potentially underwhelming results of another franchise with which he is indelibly linked. Stallone wrote the first script with Dave Callaham, co-wrote all the sequels, and directed the first film. But knowledgeable sources said that Expendables team leader Barney Ross has led his last mission.

One who knows the dynamic of the long Stallone-Lerner relationship suggested they often disagree and eventually work it out over a couple of cigars, but it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen this time. Lerner acknowledged the differences he has had with Stallone, but wasn’t willing to concede a divorce just yet. “We’ve got disagreements with Sly, but we’ve had them for over a year and a half,” he told Deadline. “Right now, each one has an opinion. We agreed on 95% of things, but there are certain things in production we don’t agree on. I don’t think it’s over, but write whatever you want. In my opinion, it’s not dead.”

It is unclear how Stallone’s exit impacts the film or its beefcake action hero cast. The last film co-starred action stalwarts Jason Statham, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, and added Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Ronda Rousey. Stallone has no shortage of films he can do, and he’s looking to team on something with Jackie Chan, I hear.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced)

PostPosted: 01 Apr 2017, 13:21
by bomaz
I can't say i m unhappy with this. Dolph can focus on his own projects, as i figure hé won't be part of thé franchise without sly.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced)

PostPosted: 05 Apr 2017, 17:47
by Jox
If Sylvester Stallone Is Expendable, Then 'The Expendables 4' Is Doomed
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmende ... is-doomed/


EDIT:
Like I thought, most stars won't return without Sly and now it's Arnold's turn to leave and speak out:

Arnold Schwarzenegger won't appear in Expendables 4 without Stallone
http://ew.com/movies/2017/04/05/arnold- ... ow_twitter
Arnold Schwarzenegger tells EW that he will not appear in The Expendables 4 without Sylvester Stallone, who has reportedly departed from the action sequel. “There is no Expendables without Sly,” says the Terminator star. “I would never do the movie without him, no.”

Last Friday, Stallone’s rep confirmed to EW that the actor had withdrawn from the fourth installment of the action franchise because he and Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner could not find common ground on a new director, on the script, and on certain qualitative elements of the film
“I have not seen the script; I don’t even know if there is a script, even though they want to shoot in August again, like they usually do,” says the actor.
“You know, I think the first and second one were terrific,” he said. “But, the third one, I thought my part was not written well. It was also not playing well in the movie, as far as I was concerned. Maybe other people believed differently. But I didn’t believe that I had any value in the movie. I love the franchise, by the way. I think it’s a spectacular franchise, The Expendables. I think that Sly has good ideas, what he wants to do with it, and I think if they write a really good script [in] which my part is very well-developed, I would do it. If not, then I won’t do it.”

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced)

PostPosted: 08 Apr 2017, 10:46
by dude hallenbeck
Arnold turned down a cameo in Shane Black's Predator movie too. I'm guessing he's just looking to wind it down and call it a day.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced)

PostPosted: 09 Apr 2017, 11:06
by Jox
More nuanced than this TMZ report, Sly says for him to do EX4 would take to get some "bumps out of the road"...
http://www.tmz.com/2017/04/08/sylvester ... ndables-4/
We got some other actors from the "Expendables" franchise earlier this week -- including Wesley Snipes and Dolph Lundgren, both of whom said they wouldn't do 4 without Sly.


Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced)

PostPosted: 10 Apr 2017, 00:44
by savagesketch
Jox wrote:We got some other actors from the "Expendables" franchise earlier this week -- including Wesley Snipes and Dolph Lundgren, both of whom said they wouldn't do 4 without Sly.


I dunno... No disrespect to their choices and all, but considering some of the projects that they have said yes to, I wouldn't count them out entirely just yet. Money has a tendency to talk in this business. And if Sly is out of the picture, this could open things up for some bigger roles for anyone still interested in sticking around.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 17 May 2017, 21:36
by Jox
Even though no news broke through regarding renegotiating with Sly, French magazine CinemaTeaser just posted a pic of an advance EX4 poster from the Cannes Film Market
(remember that Nu Image / Millennium was still pushing RAMBO V long after Stallone dropped out)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUL-4kEjIie/
https://twitter.com/cinemateaser/status ... 5725181952


Image

EDIT:
http://www.cinemarunner.com/2017/05/17/ ... at-cannes/

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2017) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 19 May 2017, 16:45
by Jox
Avi Lerner on Selling Half His Company, Moving to Las Vegas and Giving Stallone "a New Life"
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/ ... ms-1002715
Sylvester Stallone said there will be no more Expendables with him.

Well, that's what he said last time.

You think there might be another?

Not with Sylvester. There will be more Expendables, but not with him. Sly wanted to produce the movie, and I don't think he can produce the movie. He's a good actor. He's a good writer. But he's not a good producer. And I didn't want to give him $100 million to produce.

Are you still friends with him?

Obviously less. But I respect him. I think he's one of the icons of the world. You know, without being too mean, I took him when he was down, when nobody wanted to hire him, and I gave him Rambo and The Expendables. I think I gave him a new life.

So you're not doing Expendables 4?

We will do Expendables 4, without Sylvester Stallone. We've got a script. We're working on it. Look, Batman, they changed the guys. Spider-Man. You name it.

What's the biggest-budget movie you've made?

Expendables 3 was $80 million.

What's the most you've paid an actor?

Twenty million. Sylvester Stallone. We were going to pay him that for Expendables 4.

What's next?

We are going to do Hellboy [and] Expendables 4 next year. We're doing Expendabelles. It will be 10 big female names. We're doing Angel Is Fallen, we're shooting a movie called #211 with Nicolas Cage, and we just finished a movie called Stoic with Antonio Banderas.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2017) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 31 May 2017, 23:34
by Scifibuff5
I'm sure they'll find a reason to get Stallone involved since at this rate, he doesn't care if fans, studios or even critics have a problem with how he runs things. That being said, while Avi Lerner has been known like many producers to speak out of term and say what he wants (he's earned it to be fair), it's still not the most professional to discuss term contracts and rates for people you're negotiating with.

I hope that if they do actually do The Expendables 4 that they actually come to a common ground and figure out a script less junky than the last two (the second one had 4 writers for goodness sakes!) and just as straightforward a tribute as the first one ended up being.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2017) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 04 Aug 2017, 14:43
by Jox
Sly getting cryptic once again or playing with fans nerves

officialslystallone
The Expendables about to get " ... Very Dark" .... Again...

Image

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 10 Aug 2017, 17:26
by Jox
So EX4 seems really back on the table for Sly...
https://www.facebook.com/claude.eshaya/ ... =2&theater

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 01 Sep 2017, 10:41
by Jox
The Chinese buy out of Millennium is not cleared yet...

China’s Recon Abandons Millennium Takeover Deal
http://variety.com/2017/biz/asia/chinas ... 202543634/

24 hours later:
Millennium Takeover Deal Still On, Says Recon Boss
http://variety.com/2017/biz/asia/millen ... 202544756/

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 02 Sep 2017, 23:22
by Jox
Millennium Films’ Deal With China’s Recon Now “Dead”, Says Avi Lerner
http://deadline.com/2017/08/millennium- ... 202158977/

Word came overnight that the deal was off. But then Xia took to Twitter to say it wasn’t and reports in the Financial Times suggested it might be re-financed offshore, and it wasn’t clear what was going on. Recon, in a regulatory filing in China, then said the acquisition deal was over.


According to Millennium co-founder and chairman Avi Lerner, the deal is dead. “They paid us $20 million and the deal is now dead. As far as we know, it’s dead. The deal was for a little over $200 million for 100% of the company. They gave us $20 million on the come and they were supposed to pay us and they gave us many reasons why they couldn’t. It was this, it was that. It’s very simple. It’s dead. There is no secret deal. I will find another buyer or continue as we are.”

The company is currently looking to recast two films, Hellboy and The Detail, after public and controversial falling-outs with their talent — one over “whitewashing” and actor Ed Skrein and the other with Keanu Reeves over a debate of what the word “commitment” means.

There has been a decided turn in investment out of China, with the government clamping down on entertainment deals and really any that include an outflow of capital outside Middle Kingdom banks.

A Chinese investor — Dalian Wanda Corp. — also stepped off the $1 billion acquisition of Dick Clark Productions. And in that deal, similar to the Millennium situation, they put up $25M to open negotiations and then when the deal collapsed, they paid out another $25M.

In recent months and definitely after Donald Trump entered the White House, China has tightened the reins of some of Hollywood’s biggest players who had been investing in companies and film production. HuaHua (as expected) missed its promised payment to Viacom; Wanda will no longer put financing into Sony films, but will still lend support in China); and Legendary is a big question as they have no money coming in beyond what is in U.S. banks right now.

The latest hiccup with Millennium is not all that surprising, and each deal with the Chinese right now in Hollywood is being met with a jaundiced eye.

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 25 Oct 2017, 18:21
by Scifibuff5
I personally thought Dolph got the best screen time in the first film and the best action (taking over a tank with Randy Couture) in Part 3.

So far I'm continually annoyed by Avi Lerner, since this is the same cheap guy who had his company do a recession in court over the death of Jet Li's stunt double in part 2, which ended up going on so long that Jet Li decided to pay the family out of pocket. Flat out ridiculous!

I've been doing plenty of indie film projects myself so I can't blame Stallone for feeling confused with all that emotional and personal baggage since if something isn't right then it's not easy to proceed, even when you have all the rest of the playing cards (in this case, the other actors attached).


That being said, I agree with earlier comments that Matthias Hues, Mark Dacascos and Tommy Tiny Lister Jr. would be great team players. There was one interview around the time of Part 3 where Stallone said that at one point he considered adding Jack Nicholson to the team, but I know that this is unlikely since Nicholson a year prior (when addressing rumors that he had retired) stated that he wasn't offered any visceral scripts, only more explosions (something that is all The Expendables exists for).

Re: THE EXPENDABLES 4 (2016-2018) (announced / status unknow

PostPosted: 25 Oct 2017, 18:36
by Scifibuff5
I'm also continually getting tired of the other Expendables rumors and, yes, The Expendabelles is sure to fail since:

A) I don't think they're using Ronda Rousey

B) They haven't gotten any other 70s, 80s or 90s icons, let alone how most of them (i.e. Sigourney Weaver, Gina Carano and others have turned it down)

C) Fans and even an Indian newspaper kept stirring up rumors, making it even more of a joke

D) Some of the ones that would be perfect for this (Vivica A. Fox, Kristanna Loken) were in that horrendous Asylum (same company for Sharknado) did that awful Expendables cash-in Mercenaries.