Tag: Dean Israelite

‘Power Rangers’ Movie Logo Looks Like a PlayStation Game from 1998

by Eric Francisco

The logo for 2017’s Power Rangers directed by Dean Israelite is now unveiled, and, well I’m not going to dance around this. It looks like garbage.

Looking like chrome vomit from a late ’90s PlayStation game, the logo for Power Rangers is uncomfortably color-less, sporting a bizarre emphasis on black, red, and some blue. It’s not quite what I wanted from something as beloved to me as Power Rangers, and honestly the current blank logo they have would have been fine.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEMgDroGztT/?taken-by=powerrangersmovie&hl=en

I guess this is supposed to be dark and gritty? That’s kind of what Dean Israelite and literally anyone else involved with this movie has been describing the production as. Given how well Marvel balances the line between family friendly and profoundly dark, not to mention how much Zack Snyder’s nihilism plagued Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice it’s amazing to me that anyone thinks “dark superheroes targeted to children” is in any way a good idea.

As far as the logo itself, I wish I had evidence but it looks like something I actually made when I was 6 toying with the clip art in Windows 95. I printed it and kept it on my wall. I seriously wish I could show you how this logo is something an actual 6-year old made, because I did!

While we have yet to see a trailer for this, let’s reserve judgement until then. Meanwhile, last week they opened up a Snapchat account. I haven’t seen them post anything, but hopefully a social media intern doesn’t accidentally send out sexts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDyhOOPmzgl/?taken-by=powerrangersmovie&hl=en

Power Rangers will be released on March 24, 2017. It stars (deep breath) Darce Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, pop star Becky G, and 30 Rock and The Hunger Games star Elizabeth Banks.

Elizabeth Banks Is Rita Repulsa In Dean Israelite’s ‘Power Rangers’!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Dean Israelite’s Power Rangers has finally found its villain.

As a 90’s kid who only really remembers the series’ early seasons, I couldn’t be more excited to see iconic villain Rita Repulsa on the big screen in 2017.

THR has learned that Pitch Perfect 2 director and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp star Elizabeth Banks has signed on to portray the role, and the actress has already taken to Twitter to express excitement over the news:

It’s truly amazing to see so much of the world so excited about a Power Rangers resurgence (well, not that Power Rangers ever went away), and as a huge fan of director Dean Israelite’s 2015 feature debut, Project Almanac, I really can’t wait to see what comes of 2017’s Power Rangers.

RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Naomi Scott, and Dacre Montgomery are our new Rangers, and Power Rangers is slated for a March 24th, 2017 release.

How do you feel about Banks as Rita Repulsa? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

Breaking Down the Potential 2017 ‘Power Rangers’ Cast

by Eric Francisco

Variety has reported that a slew of young Hollywood actors will begin testing for 2017’s Power Rangers, set to be directed by Project Almanac helmer Dean Israelite with a script by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz of X-Men: First Class and Thor. Based on the information, I can say that for the most part, they’ve chosen well!

From Variety:

Sources tell Variety the studio is about to begin testing young talent, looking at up-and-coming actors and actresses to make up the team. Sources say Daniel Zovatto (“It Follows”), Ross Butler (“Chasing Life”) and Brian “Sene” Marc are among those testing for Zack (aka the Black Ranger), while KJ Apa (“Shortland Street”), Austin Butler (“The Shannara Chronicles”) and Mitchell Hope (“The Descendants”) are testing for Jason (aka the Red Ranger).

Sources also say Naomi Scott (“The Martian”) and newcomer Stephanie Scott are up for the role of Kimberley (aka the Pink Ranger). Insiders say the studio is looking for fresh faces to fill out the team and will probably look for a big name to play the antagonist for the films, though no offers have been made for that part.

These are quite the batch of promising young stars, but let’s break them down by character and see how well each candidate would portray our beloved teenagers with attitude. As of now, we only know the potential candidates for Jason, Zack, and Kimberly.

Let’s take a look at Zack. For a refresher, here is the rumored character description.

17 years old, always the life of the party. Filled with bravado and swagger, Zack’s tough and cool on the exterior. A charming guy who’s never had trouble with the one-liner, nor lacked confidence around women. A great athlete that’s never wanted to play on any team but his own. Zack advertises everything about himself, except the truth, which is that he lives in a trailer park with his single mom, and because of it, feels deeply inferior to all his peers.

Proposed actors: Daniel Zovatto, Ross Butler, Brian Marc.

WOW. They’re really uncomfortable casting a black actor for Zack, and in some ways that’s a bummer. Power Rangers never intentionally casted by skin, but the producers they must feel as though they just can’t get away with letting Zack the Black Ranger be black. While people object to that, the Black Ranger has become an icon for black millennials, and to see that changed would turn ticket-buyers away from the movie. From what I gather, Brian Marc — who doesn’t have much of a body of work to judge him by — is of mixed race.

Ross Butler, however, is Asian. His acting credits are a bit longer than Brian Marc’s, mainly in some Disney stuff and TNT series. He’d be an interesting choice: Besides being Asian and bucking Asian stereotypes (again, read his rumored description), he has a cool air about himself — necessary for Zack –that I’d be excited to see.

Of course, Daniel Zovatto is the highest profile actor, having been on the horror hit It Follows and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. While I hope Zack stays an actor of color, Zovatto would be equally exciting as the Black Ranger.

My personal hope is that Ross Butler gets it. Just because it would be a really significant step for Asian men and POC superheroes. Zovatto wouldn’t be bad either but I don’t think he needs Power Rangers, and sadly Brian just doesn’t have enough for me to judge from.

Now, Kimberly.

17 years old, unconventionally cool all in a way the popular girls wish they were. In fact, she was one of those girls, but isn’t anymore. Not since she’s returned to school after an absence of 6 months. Rumors are flying as to why; rumors she seems not to care about, because she’s come back with this new rebel-without-a-cause, edgy attitude. But the truth is, it’s all masking a deep secret that makes her feel profoundly vulnerable.

Proposed actresses: Naomi Scott, Stephanie Scott.

Both actresses are exactly what they’re looking for: young, pretty, and up-and-coming. Both have respectable resumes (Naomi Scott was just in The Martian, although I honestly don’t remember her character). She was, however, a star in Terra Nova, which I did not see enough of to judge her from. It’s also worth mentioning she’s British-Indian, which is a rad departure from the brunette Valley Girl that Kimberly originally was.

Stefanie Scott, just 18 years-old and having starred in Insidious 3 and the upcoming Jem and the Holograms, IS your typical blonde-looking teen, and is a pop star as well. I always imagined a pop star actress would be Kimberly.

In the end, what matters for Kimberly is that she needs to be smarter and more clever than she appears to be. She has to be beautiful, yes, but she’s also not a dumb Barbie. She’s whip-smart and clever, and deceptively so. That’s what’s needed for Kimberly. Either Naomi or Stefanie would be good, but I think Naomi would be more interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlyEVDhDN0

Now, Jason.

17 years old, the makings of someone or something great if he would just get out of his own way. Jason was a legend of this town — a freshman quarterback with the skills to take him all the way. People knew his name. Children wore his jersey. Until, one night Jason wrapped his car around a pole and busted out his knee. Everything Jason was going to become ended in an instant. And with it, he lost himself. When we meet him at the start of the film, he’s a kid in need of redemption. By the end, he’ll be leading this disparate group of teens to shed their individual baggage and find who they truly are.

Proposed actors: KJ Apa, Austin Butler, Mitchell Hope.

I think I’ve mentioned how much I hate they’re departing Jason from his martial arts roots, but what kid could relate to karate when their dads want them playing football?

Disappointingly, all actors are white dudes, and none of them remotely resemble what Jason should be. I don’t get a square-jawed hero vibe from any of them, and even with his emo-laced description I just don’t see any of these guys fitting that role. Mitchell Hope is the closest one, but I’m still not sold.

Is Jon Foo too old? They can just CGI the shit out of him into looking like a teenager, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjIEL6fUOUA

Neither Trini nor Billy‘s proposed performers were mentioned by Variety (maybe I should audition!), but they’re bound to be filled soon.

Power Rangers is set for release on January 13, 2017.

The New ‘Power Rangers’ Movie Got Them Wrong, and That’s Okay

by Eric Francisco

Yesterday Collider let loose what they claim to be an exclusive look at the character bios of the titular heroes in 2017’s Power Rangers, which will have Project Almanac director Dean Israelite at the helm. I’m not going to copy and paste them here, partly because we could use the clicks to our pages and also because it defeats the purpose of what Derek wrote before I could.

Based on this information that we’re trusting Collider to be legit, these new 2017 Power Rangers are missing the things that made us love the original Power Rangers in the first place. And maybe that’s all right.

To anyone outside of Power Rangers fan circles, they sound great. They sound troubled, complex, insecure, and flawed. Basically, they’re teenagers. Of most note to me was that the descriptions strictly discussed their emotional state. But to anyone who still cares about this silly show twenty years later, they’re largely unrecognizable from the Angel Grove teens we grew up with.

These character bios, perhaps intentionally, sound incredibly ambiguous. Does Jason know karate? Can Zack dance? Is Billy smart? Aside from stuff about Jason being a star football player (he wasn’t — more on that later) and Zack living in a trailer park, there’s really not many surface details that give these heroes better shape. It’s funny that most blogs reporting on these details deride how paper-thin the original characters were — and no, they’re not wrong, they weren’t very complex — but the original Rangers had far more potential for growth than the 2017 Rangers, whose backgrounds, while interesting, have predictable trajectories. In the end, we know Jason will get over his football injury, Zack will accept who he is, Billy will get his swagger, Trini will find her place, and Kimberly will move on from her past. If they don’t, they can’t become the Power Rangers.

Again, the bios are ambiguous and perhaps not telling us everything, but I kind of wish they told just a little more. I miss the individual talents the Rangers had. They all made sense. Jason’s martial arts, Kim’s gymnastics, Billy’s brain, all that shit were their superpowers. The Rangers never relied on conventional superpowers to save the day, they only had themselves, but at their peak.

It’s not a bad lesson to teach kids and adults that the only power they need are the gifts they have already, and many of these gifts the Rangers had came from sheer dedication and hard work. Jason earned his black belt, he wasn’t bitten by a radioactive karate master to get it.

Still, I’m excusing it. If Power Rangers 2017 sweeps everything we loved about the original guys under the rug, I’m okay with that. Being a slave to the source material is creatively restricting, and these bios show that the film’s creative team are putting effort to think outside the box. I’ll be crossing my fingers that Jason is still something of a martial arts expert (Austin St. John himself said he always saw Jason as kind of a younger Bruce Lee, not an all-American bro out of Friday Night Lights). But if he’s not, I don’t see it as spitting on the show I loved twenty years ago. I see it as willingness to evolve.