[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by admin

LOL

YouTube - GI JOE 21

Good one Admin! I like the part where he says, "Does your mother still hang out in dockside bars?".

[bsmith13]

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

While I do agree that the GI Joe movie will no doubt be horrible, I'm pretty sure it is based on the 80's toy/cartoon/comic, not the classic "doll" from the 60's and 70's. The 80's version was also know as "Action Force" in the UK, and product was altered slightly for whatever nation it was distributed in. The GI Joe toys I had all came with "Canada" decals to put on them, and some of the file cards listed places in Canada as the character's place of birth. I think it's kind of cool that they are going more the NATO route with the movie so that fans worldwide might be able to have a more personal link to the characters. Hopefully it works out as well as Transformers did.

One of my friends growing up had the Skystriker jet and would never let me play with it. I thought it was kind of bitchy of him at the time, but now I can understand why he might not want to share, just like I can understand some of the anger coming out over (what seems to me) a pretty pathetic attempt to cash in on 80's nostalgia. Boys and their toys, boys and their toys...

I have a huge collection of the G.I. Joe toys, comics and DVDs from the 80s. I understand that they were touted as an international force when sold abroad, but here in the US, no member of the G.I. Joe team was ever anything but American.

I will not be watching this movie.

[PickMattock]

Originally Posted by bsmith13

I understand that they were touted as an international force when sold abroad, but here in the US, no member of the G.I. Joe team was ever anything but American.

I will not be watching this movie.

While most characters were indeed from the US, there were always members, or allies, of the Joe team that were not American. For example, Big Ben was British, Red Star was Russian, Quick Kick was half Japanese and half Korean...

[admin]

Originally Posted by bsmith13

I have a huge collection of the G.I. Joe toys, comics and DVDs from the 80s. I understand that they were touted as an international force when sold abroad, but here in the US, no member of the G.I. Joe team was ever anything but American.

I will not be watching this movie.

I did too. My mom made me come over and clean out the closet to my old bedroom and I sold them. I was talking to a guy at a hobby shop about them and told him that I was thinking about ebaying the lot, and he offered me $1000 cash for the collection. I took it and now I wish that I had ebayed them. I had enherited almost the entire 12" collection from my brother and I had thrity-two of the smaller ones including the Carrier, Huey Cobra, F-14, Cobra A-10, and a lot of the smaller craft.

They say hindsight is twenty twenty.

[PickMattock]

"Miss Emu wrote on October 30, 2007 08:11 PM:
TO: the Producers of G.I. Joe--
How DARE you defame and degrade a true American Honored Military Hero. The man that the doll was based on was a Medal of Honor wearer that wore the uniform of a US Marine. Hasbro Toy Co. asked to use his face on the doll because of his unfailing actions during WWII. This Marine stated that his face could be used as long as the doll was always a United States Marine and that he would always be an American. Now, that you are basing your movie on that doll, I believe that your endeavor to appease the wimps and terrorist in order to make money you are trashing all that this man accomplished. I would like for you to explain to the Marines how you could ignore that contract with Hasbro Toy Co. and it's most important request. I don't think they will appreciate how you trashed one of their own most honored members. Remember they TRULY believe Once an Marine--ALWAYS a Marine and to prove it they have always HONORED those who have gone before them.

As one who has had Marines in the family and is a strong Supporter I find this action extremely distasteful to the point that I want to gag on my anger.

How UN-American are you going to go in order to make money?"


Now if only that were true. Hey, I like manufactured outrage as much as the next guy, but before “gagging on anger,” one should first check the facts. According to a net write-up, the “Medal of Honor wearer” referenced in this post is Mitchell Paige, who earned it on Guadalcanal in 1942. Great, but here’s my the problem: Mitchell Paige didn’t get a GI Joe in his likeness until 1998...Some 32 years AFTER an Imperial Japanese soldier had joined the G.I.Joe toyline!

“How UN-American are you going to go in order to make money?” Apparently they had no problems with it in 1966. Just two years after the original “GI Joe: America's Movable Fighting Man” was introduced (Which not only included "Action Marine" but also "Action Soldier," "Action Pilot," and "Action Sailor"), “the GI Joe Combat Series” expanded to include foreign soldiers. The “German Storm Trooper,” “Japanese Imperial Soldier,” “French Resistance Fighter,” “Russian Soldier,” “Australian Jungle Fighter,” and a “British Commando” all joined under the line title “GI Joe Fighting Men, Action Soldiers of the World” in 1966.

While Mitchell Paige is often quoted as saying his only condition in allowing his likeness to be used for that particular figure was “G.I. Joe must always remain a United States Marine." …It just makes no sense at all and I think it’s pure internet bunk. Long before he was ever approached to ‘ok’ his “Classic Collection” MOH figure there were not only GI Joe toys that weren’t Marines, but were in fact everything from Nazis to fictional ninjas and terrorists with metal masks and laser pistols.

[dragon53]

News

Hasbro Comments on G.I. Joe Movie
Source: Necomortis
November 5, 2007


Hasbro has released to following message to fans regarding Paramount Pictures' live-action G.I. Joe adaptation, to be directed by Stephen Sommers and written by Stuart Beattie:

Hasbro's G.I. Joe Team wanted to take this opportunity to clarify some of the facts regarding the G.I. Joe live-action movie that we are developing with Paramount Pictures.

First and foremost, we are not changing what the G.I. Joe brand is about. The name "G.I. Joe" will always be synonymous with bravery and heroism.

The G.I. Joe brand has enjoyed a successful 43-year history, spanning two key generations. The first was the line of 12-inch "realistic military" figures that were popular with kids in the 1960s and 1970s.

The second generation, was created in 1982, and is based on a cast of fictional heroes and villains that make up the "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" fantasy. The premise of this fantasy is the story of the G.I. Joe team, led by Duke, and their "fight for freedom wherever there is trouble" against the evil Cobra Commander and his Cobra force. This storyline was an instant hit with kids in the early 1980s, spawning a highly popular 3-3/4-inch action figure line, comic book collection and animated series.

This movie will be a modern telling of the "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra" storyline and its compelling characters that Hasbro created 25 years ago. The G.I. Joe team will not be based in Brussels. Instead, they will be based out of the "Pit" as they were throughout the 1980s comic book series. And, in keeping with the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra fantasy, the movie will feature characters and locations from around the world. Duke, the lead character and head of the G.I. Joe team, will embody the values of bravery and heroism that the first generation of G.I. Joe figures established.

G.I. Joe is a very important property to Hasbro and we thank all of our fans for their enthusiasm. Without all of you, the brand would not be where it is today.

G.I. Joe is expected to hit theaters in 2009.

[Shawn 507]

Originally Posted by PickMattock

While most characters were indeed from the US, there were always members, or allies, of the Joe team that were not American. For example, Big Ben was British, Red Star was Russian, Quick Kick was half Japanese and half Korean...

Wow thats like saying Mom is from Georgia and Dad is from NY. Interesting family discussions during re-unions I'm sure.

[PickMattock]

Yeah, that was his whole shtick. He didn't fit in in Japan or in Korea, so naturally all that was left him was to join a crack American antiterrorist paramilitary organization.

[bsmith13]

Originally Posted by PickMattock

While most characters were indeed from the US, there were always members, or allies, of the Joe team that were not American. For example, Big Ben was British, Red Star was Russian, Quick Kick was half Japanese and half Korean...

I stand corrected, though in my defense, I don't remember Big Ben or Red Star in any of the comics. And Quick-Kick was portrayed as an american serviceman of asian descent.

My corrected point is that the G.I. Joe team was an american military institution. Big Ben and Red Star were like exchange students. In the US Marvel comics, and on the TV show, the team was never international.