RED SCORPION (Joseph Zito, 1988)

[Jox]

A strong influencer made a tweet about Red Scorpio and its political context.

Paul Erickson was close to Jack Abramoff.

[Jox]

Apart from John Woo's original HK feature ONCE A THIEF (1991), I just found out that Jay Chattaway's score was also used in CYPRUS TIGERS (1990) starring Simon Yam.
(HK movies did that a lot since their laws didn't care for copyright, like THE KILLER used cues from RED HEAT as well as HERO AND THE TERROR)

[Jox]

The Awesomely Racist Making of an Eighties Action Classic
https://aryanskynet.wordpress.com/2018/ ... n-classic/

[Jox]

Dolph didn't do a lot of promotion for RED SCORPION but he did some in Japan and Germany in late 1988 / early 1989

[Jox]

Japanese ad

[Jox]

A couple of weeks, late but RED SCORPION was first screened 30 years ago at the MIFED Milan Film Market on October 25, 1988.

The first public release would be in late December '88 in South Korea, just before Germany and Japan in January.

Below is the artwork now everybody knows and that the Abramoff brothers had made for financing, before they had even approached Dolph (!), so they showed it to him when they pitched him the project...

[Jox]

Today we celebrate the 30th ANNIVERSARY of RED SCORPION!

Joseph Zito's epic first premiered in South Korean cinemas on this day of 1988 (followed by Germany in January 1989, the US in April, France in May etc)





Now since it world-premiered on X-mas Eve, does this make it a Christmas movie?!

[Jox]

Thanks to Krom, here is the promo for US rental stores found on the VHS screener

[Jox]

Released in Japan 30 years ago

[Jox]

A strong influencer made a tweet about Red Scorpio and its political context.

Paul Erickson was close to Jack Abramoff.

And apparently RED SCORPION co-executive producer Paul Erickson really follows Abramoff's footsteps in terms of fraud and other things...:

Maria Butina’s Boyfriend Indicted on Money Laundering Charges
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... ng-791591/

[Mosquito]

Today we celebrate the 30th ANNIVERSARY of RED SCORPION!
(...)
Now since it world-premiered on X-mas Eve, does this make it a Christmas movie?!

Ah, so it's not only the perfect Ladies Night film but also an X-mas movie. Very good!

[Moltisanti]

Rest in peace, Carmen Argenziano...

[shooby]

yeah, I've just learned that, with a newsletter of a Stargate's site. So bad

[Jox]

RIP Colonel Zayas, a memorable character despite the circumstances...
(That same year he had been seen in THE ACCUSED with Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis and countless of other movies and TV shows.)
https://www.salon.com/2005/08/17/abramoff_2/

The actor Carmen Argenziano, who played the villainous Cuban colonel, said he knew that many of the men playing Russian and Cuban soldiers were actual SADF soldiers. There were also rumors going around the set that some of the funding for the film, not just props and extras, was coming from South Africa.

"We heard that very right-wing South African money was helping fund the movie," Argenziano said. "It wasn't very clear. We were pretty upset about the source of the money. We thought we were misled. We were shocked that these brothers who we thought were showbiz liberals -- Beverly Hills Jewish kids -- were doing this."

(...)

If only things were as jovial off the set. They weren't. Actors went unpaid; Argenziano said that although he was paid his initial salary, he has never received a residuals check for "Red Scorpion." The manager of one of the major cast members, who did not want to be named, said that, according to her client, many of the actors and crew were never paid at all.

"I just wanted to get the hell out of there," Argenziano said. "It was a very hard shoot. We were all worn out, so no one made a stink."

[Jox]

Greek magazine advert for the video release