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Larry Hama Involved With GIJoe Movie?!?


JayC

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Not sure if you all caught this little bit of news from yesterday's Hasbro panel

 

http://enewsi.com/news.php?catid=190&itemid=11914

 

"At this past weekend's G.I.Joe Convention writer Larry Hama, who is famous for his work on the Marvel Comics run of G.I.Joe was asked if he would have any involvement in the upcoming G.I.Joe movie. His response, "Nothing is final until the first check clears".

 

Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Hasbro's Brian Goldner will produce a G.I. Joe live-action movie scheduled for release in 2009. Joining the production team along with newly-named director, Stephen Sommers, and business-partner Bob Ducsay will be scribe Stuart Beattie.

 

The studio is looking to start production in February 2008."

 

 

So your thoughts on having Larry working on the movie in some way?

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So your thoughts on having Larry working on the movie in some way?

 

You know... I am going to get flamed bad for this but i really don't think Hama is that great of a writer. I completly respect what the guy did for GI Joe and how he took a comic that was mainly supposed to be just an advertisment and turned it in to an entertaining story as well but come one guys... he is no writing genious.

 

One of the funniest moments for me at the con was during this exact Q&A someone asked Hama how much Spy Troops the movie actually changed from what he wrote to what was released on DVD. The guy asking the question was obviously looking for the answer that many changes and revisions were made after Hama wrote it but Hama said what was released was almost exactly what he wrote... And we all know how good Spy Troops was.

 

Spy Troops was written by Hama and it was utter CRAP. He is not THAT great.

 

It just goes to show Hama is not gods choosen gift to GI Joe. He is not infallable. I would love for them to throw Hama in the movie as a Stan Lee-esk cameo but honeslty I would rather have them leave Hama out of this one or at the very MOST let him consult but I think having him write it in any major way would be a horrible mistake.

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So your thoughts on having Larry working on the movie in some way?

 

You know... I am going to get flamed bad for this but i really don't think Hama is that great of a writer. I completly respect what the guy did for GI Joe and how he took a comic that was mainly supposed to be just an advertisment and turned it in to an entertaining story as well but come one guys... he is no writing genious.

 

One of the funniest moments for me at the con was during this exact Q&A someone asked Hama how much Spy Troops the movie actually changed from what he wrote to what was released on DVD. The guy asking the question was obviously looking for the answer that many changes and revisions were made after Hama wrote it but Hama said what was released was almost exactly what he wrote... And we all know how good Spy Troops was.

 

Spy Troops was written by Hama and it was utter CRAP. He is not THAT great.

 

It just goes to show Hama is not gods choosen gift to GI Joe. He is not infallable. I would love for them to throw Hama in the movie as a Stan Lee-esk cameo but honeslty I would rather have them leave Hama out of this one or at the very MOST let him consult but I think having him write it in any major way would be a horrible mistake.

 

I don't necessarily disagree here, but I do think he's important to have on-hand for the characters. I shudder to think what di Bonaventura might do to them...

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So your thoughts on having Larry working on the movie in some way?

 

You know... I am going to get flamed bad for this but i really don't think Hama is that great of a writer. I completly respect what the guy did for GI Joe and how he took a comic that was mainly supposed to be just an advertisment and turned it in to an entertaining story as well but come one guys... he is no writing genious.

 

One of the funniest moments for me at the con was during this exact Q&A someone asked Hama how much Spy Troops the movie actually changed from what he wrote to what was released on DVD. The guy asking the question was obviously looking for the answer that many changes and revisions were made after Hama wrote it but Hama said what was released was almost exactly what he wrote... And we all know how good Spy Troops was.

 

Spy Troops was written by Hama and it was utter CRAP. He is not THAT great.

 

It just goes to show Hama is not gods choosen gift to GI Joe. He is not infallable. I would love for them to throw Hama in the movie as a Stan Lee-esk cameo but honeslty I would rather have them leave Hama out of this one or at the very MOST let him consult but I think having him write it in any major way would be a horrible mistake.

 

This assuming he had actually SEEN the finished movie.

 

As long as the main creator has a hand and Michael "I don't CARE what the opinions of others are" Bay isn't directing, this film has a chance.

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You know... I am going to get flamed bad for this but i really don't think Hama is that great of a writer. I completly respect what the guy did for GI Joe and how he took a comic that was mainly supposed to be just an advertisment and turned it in to an entertaining story as well but come one guys... he is no writing genious.

 

One of the funniest moments for me at the con was during this exact Q&A someone asked Hama how much Spy Troops the movie actually changed from what he wrote to what was released on DVD. The guy asking the question was obviously looking for the answer that many changes and revisions were made after Hama wrote it but Hama said what was released was almost exactly what he wrote... And we all know how good Spy Troops was.

 

Spy Troops was written by Hama and it was utter CRAP. He is not THAT great.

 

It just goes to show Hama is not gods choosen gift to GI Joe. He is not infallable. I would love for them to throw Hama in the movie as a Stan Lee-esk cameo but honeslty I would rather have them leave Hama out of this one or at the very MOST let him consult but I think having him write it in any major way would be a horrible mistake.

I agree that Hama isn't an infallable writer but did you read the original Marvel Comics Gi Joe series?

 

You can't say that those weren't good. I think that having Hama help can definitely save this movie if they follow Hama's comic writing.

 

Mostly everything you said I agree with Kamen but I think if Hama brings in what he did in the 80s to the movie it could be very good.

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Hama would help the movie IMO!

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I would like to see Hama involved. I didn't know about the Spy Troops fiasco - but that was more of a running advertisement than the movie ever was. Depending on how much room is given by Hasbro for direction and changes is what will make a difference. The guys at the DDP booth says they are heavily leashed when it comes to writing the comic - they say its fun but very aggravating.

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Spy Troops was written by Hama and it was utter CRAP. He is not THAT great.

 

I liked SpyTroops. It was the best of all the G.I.Joe cartoons. Remember, he probably was told to write toward kids, instead of what he did thoughout most of the comic run - more of an adult flair.

 

I think Hama should advise. Remember, he wrote the filecards and came up with most of what think about these characters. I wouldn't throw him out. But, I would want someone with more cinematic flair to write the script.

 

Read my signature.

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Spy Troops was written by Hama and it was utter CRAP. He is not THAT great.

 

I liked SpyTroops. It was the best of all the G.I.Joe cartoons. Remember, he probably was told to write toward kids, instead of what he did thoughout most of the comic run - more of an adult flair.

 

I think Hama should advise. Remember, he wrote the filecards and came up with most of what think about these characters. I wouldn't throw him out. But, I would want someone with more cinematic flair to write the script.

 

Read my signature.

 

Good point there.I would like to see the live action Joe movie geared towards adults as well.I was amazed as to how well the Transformers movie did.I didn't see but my brother did and he liked it.Just keep it at the PG-13 rating.

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I agree that Hama isn't an infallable writer but did you read the original Marvel Comics Gi Joe series?

 

You can't say that those weren't good. I think that having Hama help can definitely save this movie if they follow Hama's comic writing.

 

Mostly everything you said I agree with Kamen but I think if Hama brings in what he did in the 80s to the movie it could be very good.

 

I don't think badly of Hama, I just think people put him on way too high of a pedestal regarding his story telling abilities. I never read the comics as a kid but as an adult I have read a few of them (mostly just the ones that have come with the comic packs) and I'll be honest i had a hard time getting through most of them. They were kinda boring and very childish. Now i don't have that nostalgia factor working for me when it comes to the comics, so maybe that is why I don't really have that high of an opinion of them.

 

Again I just think people hold him with a very biased high regard.

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I agree that Hama isn't an infallable writer but did you read the original Marvel Comics Gi Joe series?

 

You can't say that those weren't good.

 

 

They weren't good.

 

They were okay.

Larry is an okay comic book writer, he knows story structure, can weave a tale that starts and stops inside of 22 pages.......but......

 

Well, when you ask any group of comicbook fans what are the stand-out stories from the Marvel GIJOE run.........the common one that get's cited is the "silent issue"--the one where Hama contributed just the plot and then Steve Leialoha made work in the art. Hama didn't write stitch of dialogue for that issue. How much of a plot was written, were the pages broken down panel-by panel or was that issue written "Marvel style"---who knows? Leialoha should probably get more of the credit for making that issue work.........but again, who knows?

 

There's nothing else remembered or that stands out, and a LOT of folks would really have to think hard about those issues to answer in the first place.

 

In around that, there is some BAD story logic in some stories. The oft-cited claim that the stories were realistic is a farce--because there was a LOT of plain wrong material in those stories.

Mind you, about 1/2 was in the art, but some of the written stuff was next to jibber-jabber in some spots.

The strength in Hama's contributions to GIJOE is in the characters--mostly the character profiles and my guess is that is what he'll consult on "if the cheque clears".

Larry's done BETTER work on other titles: The 'Nam for one--but again.......how many people are quick to bring up that title?

I respect his work as a professional, and he can deliver product, and made an impression with aspects of his work........but his storytelling is pedestrian at best.

I cannot see him contributing major elements to the coming movie, and to my mind, his role will be a consultant at best.

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They weren't good.

 

They were okay.

Larry is an okay comic book writer, he knows story structure, can weave a tale that starts and stops inside of 22 pages.......but......

 

Well, when you ask any group of comicbook fans what are the stand-out stories from the Marvel GIJOE run.........the common one that get's cited is the "silent issue"--the one where Hama contributed just the plot and then Steve Leialoha made work in the art. Hama didn't write stitch of dialogue for that issue. How much of a plot was written, were the pages broken down panel-by panel or was that issue written "Marvel style"---who knows? Leialoha should probably get more of the credit for making that issue work.........but again, who knows?

 

There's nothing else remembered or that stands out, and a LOT of folks would really have to think hard about those issues to answer in the first place.

 

In around that, there is some BAD story logic in some stories. The oft-cited claim that the stories were realistic is a farce--because there was a LOT of plain wrong material in those stories.

Mind you, about 1/2 was in the art, but some of the written stuff was next to jibber-jabber in some spots.

The strength in Hama's contributions to GIJOE is in the characters--mostly the character profiles and my guess is that is what he'll consult on "if the cheque clears".

Larry's done BETTER work on other titles: The 'Nam for one--but again.......how many people are quick to bring up that title?

I respect his work as a professional, and he can deliver product, and made an impression with aspects of his work........but his storytelling is pedestrian at best.

I cannot see him contributing major elements to the coming movie, and to my mind, his role will be a consultant at best.

 

Again, this is one man's opinion to another. I really liked the comic and enjoyed many stories before I realized the silent issue ever existed ( I didn't get into the comic till well into the 80s, however). Going back, though, I really enjoyed the Serpentor stories and the Cobra Island Civil War. Sure, maybe the lingo wasn't right, but it didn't bother me as a kid. I never thought of GI Joe as being realistic and thats why I liked it. I like a one man Snake Eyes army (or two man when Storm Shadow was around).

 

My biggest issue with the America's Elite is that the Joes are too soft and get bested too easy. Snake Eyes got his ass handed to him by Wraith in vol. 2, but vol 3 (America's Elite), the Baroness takes him out. I get they are upping Cobra's threat potential, but the Joes seem to be getting beaten too easily.

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Hama's writing is alright. But when you stop and think about the convulted back story he gave Snake-Eyes and Cobra Commander you realize that he is what you would call great. At least I don't. I do like the idea of him being there as a technical adviser though. He is the one who more or less created these characters so his input is of course valuable.

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I would like to see Hama involved. I didn't know about the Spy Troops fiasco - but that was more of a running advertisement than the movie ever was. Depending on how much room is given by Hasbro for direction and changes is what will make a difference. The guys at the DDP booth says they are heavily leashed when it comes to writing the comic - they say its fun but very aggravating.

 

 

And the heavy leash is why Larry got the book---he was the only one willing to do it!

 

Licensed comics are ALWAYS a pain in the ass to produce, which is why few writers or artists like taking them on. Even after GIJOE became the top selling book Marvel had in the 80's ( for about 3-4 years running), with a large royalty incentive attached to it ( apparently $60K plus a year, OVER TOP the page rate!), the only top-tier talent they could attract to the book were cover artists--and only because of the high cover page rate.

Even with the best monetary incentives on the title, no-one else really wanted to take the thing on.

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Well, just like Stan Lee, I think he at least deserves a cameo appearance!

 

 

Sure, he can be Pathfinder--he was made in Larry's likeness, iirc.

 

Actually, that would be a royal scream! Cast all the folks that posed as likenesses for the figures, as extras of their toy characters in the movie.

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If Hama is involve, then, I will have hope for the movie.

He did the filecards.

He did most of the comics.

I didn't know he did Spy Troops, but you have to take into account that it was dumbed down for the kiddies. It wasn't bad, though.

G.I. Joe: Declassified was great.

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