Dan Bradley: Hack
In today’s remake frenzy, studios are going to the bottom of the barrel for content. One such remake is a new rendition of 1984’s Red Dawn.
The remake by first-time director Dan Bradley was completed and readied for release last year. But the real story is the behind-the-scenes’ efforts to submit to the politics of global economics and digitally alter the baddies for this remake.
The original 1984 film wasn’t “all that” to begin with, but it highlighted director John Milius’ love of all things military (he was already established for his Apocalypse Now screenplay), and it was an early showcase for actors Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey.
The plot of the original film involves a Soviet invasion and how a small band of teens defends their mid-Western town. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the producers decided to substitute Chinese invaders for this remake. However, in the wake of objections to villifying the Chinese and upsetting the global economic scorecard, producers digitally altered the baddies to be the North Koreans!
Here’s how to maintain good international relations with the Chinese!
VOH 
Good find, Mr. R. Here’s an interesting quote:
“Red Dawn” is not the only piece of entertainment to swap out Chinese villains for North Koreans recently. The video game “Homefront,” which was released this week and features a script by John Milius, writer of the original “Red Dawn,” was also originally intended to feature a Chinese invasion. For business reasons, publisher THQ changed the occupying forces to North Korea.
A representative for MGM said it’s hopeful the unusual changes will have a simple result: turning “Red Dawn” from a complete write-off into a movie that can find an audience and make money.