MovieChat Forums > Jem (1985) Discussion > Movie News Jon M. Chu is Directing a Jem...

Movie News Jon M. Chu is Directing a Jem and the Holograms Film!


www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=116268

what you think of this 80's fans?

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I'm not really that familiar with the Jem cartoon, but the show is featured on Teletoon Retro often. What I find most fascinating about this cartoon is that it's just so '80s. The music, fashion, everything is overblown. I doubt this new film will be a period piece, and the last thing I would want to see is another conventional film about a struggling girl band.


http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

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Unfortunately I think it sounds like it's going to be a mess. I just hope at the very least they keep the reason for Jerrica becoming Jem the same as the show which was to help take care of the Starlight girls and keep them together while also trying to get control of her fathers company back and not because she just wants to be a pop star.

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Well, it's going to be set in present time, thus making this 80s fan loose most of his interest. And it's directed by the guy who did the Justin Bieber movies, making it even more unlikely I will see it.

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wallacesawyer of course it was very 80's as it came out in the 80's lol,that isn't it a bad thing 80's were a good decade great bands like U2,The Cure,The Smiths,Guns N Roses etc+
Cronosred when you said:Unfortunately I think it sounds like it's going to be a mess-in what way did you mean?
+Chucky_Jr know what you mean I wish they had a better Director for it

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The fact that their asking the fans to send in audition tapes for so many aspects of the film. I don't think a Jem film needs a huge budget but I would like to think when it comes to costume design, songwriting, dancing, and acting they could hire professionals to take care of that stuff. Then again maybe it's just a ploy to drum up interest in the film and I'm worrying about nothing.

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we shall find out soon Cronosred,I'm sure of it

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wallacesawyer of course it was very 80's as it came out in the 80's lol

So was GHOSTBUSTERS, but even that movie doesn't feel as '80s as JEM.

that isn't it a bad thing 80's were a good

I don't think that's a bad thing. That's actually what most interests me about it. But I don't think a modern movie will be the same. I keep thinking of the JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS film.


http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

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wallacesawyer get what your saying now,+ know what you mean also about a modern movie-what are your other favourite films from the 80's?

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what are your other favourite films from the 80's?

Way too many to name, but a short list off the top of my head...

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Masters of the Universe
Robotech: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie
A Nightmare on Elm Street films
Friday the 13th films
Porky's trilogy
Screwballs
Loose Screws
Star Wars sequels
Ghostbusters 1 & 2
Return of the Living Dead
Beverly Hills Cop 1 & 2
Indiana Jones 1-3
Airplane 1 & 2
Revenge of the Nerds
The Naked Gun
Commando
Terminator
the six Bond movies (including NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN)
Die Hard
Bachelor Party
Caddyshack 1 & 2
Weekend at Bernies



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good list there,I agree it would be to long to name everyone lol-how about a list of some 80's TV shows you like?:]

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how about a list of some 80's TV shows you like?:]

haven't watched too many

The Transformers
G.I. Joe
The Master
Police Squad
Robotech
Monsters
Tales from the Darkside
V mini-series and TV show

I'm leaving out MST3K and SIMPSONS, because they got better in the '90s.


http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

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official site http://jemthemovie.com/

I won't say I'm excited but I am really curious. I'm not expecting them to do a direct take of the show because that would be complete cr@p but I'd like them to have fun with it. Something along the lines of 21 Jump street would be idea but would take some really brilliant writing to get there.

Things I'd like to see:
Rico getting some ass

Rico getting busted for tagging 2 girls (even though they're the same girl)

Aja's inconsistent accent

The Holograms and the Misfits nearly killing each other (multiple times) over a record contest but it being ok when the Holograms try to kill the Misfits

Secondary Characters with bigger hair than the leads

Knock off celebs (actually, real pop starts playing a one off of themselves would be sah-weet!)

Holograms not dependent on line of site with the projector

A giant computer with piano keys!

and thats just off the top of my head



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Way to desecrate our childhood.

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House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!

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Way to desecrate our childhood.

Why are people still saying this? The movie probably won't win many die hard fans over but it's not going to erase whatever fond memories you'll have as a kid watching the cartoon.

2014: The Year of Godzilla

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retro3 I totally agree with you,we will have wait and see what Jon M.Chu brings to the table

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I want this to happen, and yet I fear all the things that could go wrong.

"There is no escape, John!"

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DeRo64 I think he should do a survey of Jem fans and they give him suggestions as always good to ask the fans right?

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Is it just me or are archetypes from the 80's usually given to lackluster directors. First, Transformers then GI Joe then TMNT and now Jem and the Holograms. I was hoping for someone like Spike Jonze or Michel Gondry would be directing. Or maybe I'm wrong and Jon M. Chu will turn out to be the best choice. I don't know.

Yeaaaaaahhhh, I can totally see Academy Award nominees and winners like Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry running to make a film based on a property like Jem and the Holograms...Get real.

Chu is not a great director, but he's adequate enough for a film based on Jem and The Holograms and he's worked with Hasbro before so it should come to no major surprise that they gave it to him.

2014: The Year of Godzilla

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It's toyline. At least with superheroes and even somebody like James Bond, auteurs like Shane Black or Sam Mendes can really make something out of them.

"While guys hold on to their toys forever, girls soon throw out their playthings."

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So Academy Award nominees/winning directors can direct property based movies about grown men wearing shiny skin-tight costumes. But an Academy Award nominee director won't direct a film about a pop singer because that's too out there? And you're telling me to get real? What world are you from?

Better and stronger source material to work from, with longer history and cultural impact. Batman has been around since the late 1930's and has gone through several iterations, same deal with Superman, Thor, Captain America, etc. And most of the directors who have adapted those properties were fans in childhood.

Jem is just a different story altogether...And I doubt somebody like Spike Jonze would get all excited if it was offered to him. Especially now.

Yeah, because GI Joe worked out so well.

It was better than the first film, that much is for sure.

2014: The Year of Godzilla

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So the only difference between Jem and Superman is that one was around longer? Sorry, but that's a rather lame excuse.

It isn't lame, it's perfectly valid. Superman has been around since the 1930's and has gone through various iterations in entertainment and there have been some very solid and well-written story arcs that left a major impact on their mediums respectively and are still held in a high regard. Superman has also been studied at university's and there have been books written about the character's cultural impact and the various themes found within the source material. Jem is a different story, it's an 80's property by Hasbro that wasn't exactly a source of extremely high quality writing or animated storytelling( though for it's time the animation was pretty solid and pretty to look at), and that quite a few people write off as a guilty pleasure of theirs in their childhoods. That doesn't mean the movie itself has to be bad, but at best it's going to be a silly and flashy musical made for teens and pre-teens to go gaga at for two hours with a( hopefully) rocking soundtrack. It ain't going to win an Academy Award for best picture, if anything it'll probably win favorite movie at the Kids Choice Awards or the MTV Movie Awards.

Also, was BSG based on better and stronger source material? Many would say the original BSG was cheesy Star Wars rip off. Yet that didn't stop anyone from creating a reboot that was superior to the original. So again that's just another lame excuse.

I've never watched a single episode of Battlestar Galactica, original or remake, so I cannot properly comment on this example. However, a more appropriate example in this case would probably be My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic considering it's also based on a Hasbro property aimed at the female demographic. Before that show came around I don't think the brand was as popular as it is today because of that show. Same said with Transformers, it's now a billion dollar franchise thanks to the movies( with a fourth installment coming out in June with Academy-Award nominee Mark Wahlberg in the lead)that's led to more merchandise being produced.

Furthermore, a director does not have to be a fan of the property in their childhood in order to be interested in a reinvention of said property

That wasn't what I was getting at though, what I was saying is that part of the reason why those critically acclaimed directors took on those properties is because they grew up with them. I'm not saying it is essential for every adaptation for the director to be a fan of the material, in quite a few cases the director isn't the be all or end all of a film production it's more of the producer or company's show.

But not by much.

No, it wasn't but I wouldn't mind getting the Blu-Ray for a rain day, that's more than I can say with the first movie.

2014: The Year of Godzilla

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Spike Jonze? Michel Gondry? Okay, I love Spike Jonze but no way is he touching Jem or any other 80's toy property. He's above those type of projects. Michel Gondry, yeah, after the whole Green Hornet disaster especially since he disowned that movie, I doubt he'll touch another IP anytime soon.

"While guys hold on to their toys forever, girls soon throw out their playthings."

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Alright smart guy, how many of Spike Jonze's films have you seen? And what makes you think he'd want to touch an 80's toyline?

And believe me, The Green Hornet was not exactly a good experience for Gondry. And if Raimi's directing a sequel to Oz the Great and Powerful, how do you explain this?

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/cast-signed-for-oz-the-great-powerful -sequel-but-not-sam-raimi/

Your problem is that you're so reaching and desperate.

"While guys hold on to their toys forever, girls soon throw out their playthings."

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If this is because of Where The Wild Things Are, that's a different case. He saw something in that story. Jem, what's he going to see in it? He's going to see it for what it really is, something to sell toys; nothing more. It's not going to speak for him and besides, he's likely to work on original projects he wants to do. Not what the studio or want you want.

Same with Gondry, maybe there's an IP that could interest him but like Jonze, he's likely to work on original. I'm willing to bet you never saw nay of their films. I've seen Adaptation and the aforementioned Where The Wild Things Are. I've even seen The Science of Sleep.

Also, Raimi is not going to direct another Oz movie. He kind of makes it clear he's done.

"While guys hold on to their toys forever, girls soon throw out their playthings."

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Hmmmm... he'll probably see a story about a female pop singer with a dual persona and double life made possible by an AI created by her father who recently died. Which can open the door themes about identity, technology, fame, pop culture, etc. And that just off the top of my head.


Could work but nope, he's likely not going to give something like Jem a second thought.

And you can read Jonze's mind because? If you're going to say that there is nothing to Jem then to sell toys then the same can be said for any property based film. It's just there to make money and sell merchandising and nothing more. Again you're not making a very convincing argument as to why he wouldn't be interested.


You can make something of great quality out of something toyetic but this is not that argument that you can't. Gondry and Jonze are not the type of people who'd even want to be involved in a toyline. I mean, come on; tell me something, are you somebody who thinks James Cameron should direct a Transformers movie? I'm not claiming to know the dudes personally but it's their body of work and how they view film is what leads to that conclusion. You're just throwing out names without a second thought. Even if either man were, what do you think he'll choose? The original project they see a lot in that they'd like to try or the movie designed to sell toys?

But that doesn't mean his never going work on another property film. Christ, you keep grasping at straws and it's starting to get annoying.


I'm the one grasping straws? You're the one throwing out names without a second. I just realized something, you're jackass me at the age of 14. How sad and scary is that?


"While guys hold on to their toys forever, girls soon throw out their playthings."

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And you still not given a credible reason as to why.


Have you?

You do realize James Cameron was going to direct Spider-Man at one point a right? You really think Spider-Man is all that different from the Transformers?


Not only has Spider-Man lasted longer than Transformers at that point in time and still is, he's likely to have been inspired to accept that gig at one point thanks to the success of Tim Burton's Batman. An auteur take on a comic book property. Not to mention the speculator boom was riding high in the 90's so he probably saw an equal profit in return.


Again any property film (especially comic book films) can be purely designed to sell toys or merchandise. You have yet to give a reason as to why these guys wouldn't be interested. They're willing to bypass something original for a comic book movie but not movie originated from toys? That makes no sense. The best you can come up with is that Spike Jonze wouldn't be interested because his Spike Jonze. Again that is a lambe argument.


It's not because he's just Spike Jonze. He's someone who prefers original material unless something outside of his caliber speaks to him. Hell, he's not likely to direct a comic book movie either. What part of "him or Gondry won't touch tentpole blockbusters" do you not understand?

No, sorry but you are grasping at straws. You're the one saying these films are beneath them for no good reason other than their names. You haven't given me an rational, adult reason as to why it's implausible for someone like Spike Jonze to be interested in Jem.


Hey, here's a thought; you haven't given reasonable arguments as to why they're likely to take such a gig. I know your kind, you're the kind who never saw their movies but throws around the names anyway because they sound "important." I doubt you have seen any of their work, don't tell me otherwise because I don't believe you for one second.

"While guys hold on to their toys forever, girls soon throw out their playthings."

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James Cameron's Spider-Man...Good enough proof that being an acclaimed director doesn't always ensure a quality adaptation. His script ranks as one of the worst I've ever read and I've read plenty over the years. Only good idea he had was giving Spidey organic webbing.

2014: The Year of Godzilla

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No, Cameron is a great writer and clearly not one of worst. And one of things that makes him such great filmmaker is his writing.

Wow, way to misinterpret what I was getting at. Yes, as a general thing Cameron is a great writer, but his Spider-Man script was an abomination, so bad I had trouble contemplating it was even penned by him. Did you know he wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to be Doc Ock and constantly shouting "Okey Dokey!"? Or that he wanted Spider-Man to swear like a sailor, or having him and Mary Jane get it on...On top of the Brooklyn Bridge...In a Spider-Web of all things.

Proof that not everything a quality director touches turns to gold.

2014: The Year of Godzilla

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