Jul 14 2009 11:06 PM ET

'Green Hornet': Chow out as Kato; Rogen stays

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Tags: News

First he was no longer directing The Green Hornet. Now, Stephen Chow, the Hong Kong actor-helmer-madcap mayhem maestro behind the martial arts comedies Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, has left the production altogether. Chow will no longer be playing sidekick Kato to Seth Rogen’s Green Hornet in director Michel Gondry’s relaunch of the 20th century pulp hero as 21st century superhero. “There was a mutual and amicable decision by both sides to move on,” a Columbia Pictures spokesperon said in a statement. “We are out  now to cast a new Kato and remain fully committed to Michel Gondry’s  exciting vision for the film, which will begin production this September.” Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) is directing from a script written by Rogen and frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg (Superbad). Cameron Diaz is in talks for the female lead. (Reporting by Nicole Sperling)

Comments (26 total) Add your comment
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  • mario
    Tue 07/14/09 11:51 PM

    why does this spell disaster to me?
    i have all the faith in the world for Gondry but, Rogen AND possibly cameron diaz??? i dont like rogen in most of what he has done and cameron diaz is an over-rated actress. Why Gondry, why?

    Reply
  • Cruiser
    Wed 07/15/09 12:40 AM

    Two words:
    Donnie Yen

    Reply
  • Devin Faraci
    Wed 07/15/09 1:30 AM

    What kind of reporting did Nicole Sperling do on this story? Perhaps read the websites that covered this already and then forget to give credit?

    Reply
  • brandi
    Wed 07/15/09 1:43 AM

    I would like me some Donnie Yen. Or maybe Mark Ducascos.

    Reply
  • bigmoviemike
    Wed 07/15/09 2:04 AM

    Seth Rogen as the Green Hornet is the worst casting ever, whoever thought of him should be fired, the movie will suck and Michel Gondry is one of the worst directors in the business.

    Reply
  • Kristy
    Wed 07/15/09 2:42 AM

    Are they kidding, Seth Rogen as the Green hornet. Only if it’s a comedy and even then. I don’t think he is all that funny.

    Reply
  • jon
    Wed 07/15/09 3:30 AM

    i agree with the donnie yen nomimation. he’s an awesome martial artist and can speak very good english.

    Reply
  • Harry
    Wed 07/15/09 6:24 AM

    Stephen Chow might be silly in all of his movies, but he’s a very intelligent guy. He made the right decision abandoning this project. His next film “Journey To The West” will be huge.

    Reply
  • Lia
    Wed 07/15/09 6:32 AM

    I could deal with Rogen since Lantern is supposed to be an ‘every man’ who ends up in extraordinary circumstances but Diaz is too old looking to play the female lead, even to Rogen. And, I’m kind of sick of her in the action movies,;Charlie’s Angels was enough, try someone new. Zooey Deschanel, Eliza Dushku, Rachel McAdams or Emily Blunt- all great actresses who could handle stuff blowing up around them and still look hot

    Reply
  • SuperErik
    Wed 07/15/09 9:58 AM

    This is a strange one. Maybe Rogen is trying to go mainstream and play it serious. I will watch this out of curiosity and see what direction they are taking. Now if they get Jackie Chan as Kato, well, it’s safe to say this will be a full fledged “Rush Hour” “Shanghai Noon” style comedy.

    Reply
  • Ben
    Wed 07/15/09 12:21 PM

    I guess based on the casting decisions so far, that it was intended for this Green Hornet movie to be a comedy. I was hoping for an action flick, but it sounds like it is going to be some lame parody.

    Reply
  • daniel
    Wed 07/15/09 12:35 PM

    this movie will be the worst one of the year in whatever year it comes out…can we just be honest..seth rogen is not that good of an actor, it all depends on the material and supporting actors around him (just look at observe and report***awful!) I just dont understand why they dont come up with some fresh and exciting like batman for this franchise and introduce the character properly to the country and world..use a nathon fillion, or someone of his style and avoid using actors cause execs think they can sell tickets…

    Reply
  • Stacie
    Wed 07/15/09 2:12 PM

    Damn it! I was so excited for Stephen Chow to do this movie. Michel Gondry though? It could work.

    Reply
  • GreenHornetFan
    Wed 07/15/09 3:41 PM

    Just a FYI for those dissing the “casting decision” of Seth Rogen… he WROTE the movie! Or co-wrote it, actually. He wrote it for himself to star in, so there is no casting decision there. I’m sure that he has written the movie to fit his acting style. Now the terrible casting decision of Cameron Diaz is a different story! PLEASE DON’T GET CAMERON DIAZ! I think Rogen can pull this off, but Diaz will tank this movie. She’s one of those actresses that kind of does the same thing in every movie she’s in and if people don’t like her in one movie, they’ll see her name attached to another movie and just won’t even bother seeing it. Kinda like Jennifer Aniston or Lindsay Lohan. It does suck that Chow is out, and that’s a bummer. But people are going to even more bummed if Diaz is cast. A lot of people were looking forward to this movie (including myself) and personally, I wouldn’t go see it if she’s in it.
    NO CAMERON DIAZ! NO CAMERON DIAZ! NO CAMERON DIAZ! NO CAMERON DIAZ!

    Reply
  • Emma 4 Life
    Wed 07/15/09 5:41 PM

    bigmoviemike doesn’t know movies too well – Rogen cast himself you idiot. Why does everyone assume this movie had any potential anyway? Its comedy filler….

    Reply
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