When Eric Tuchelske spent eight days as an extra during the filming of the remake of 1984's "Red Dawn," a story about a foreign invasion of the United States, the enemy was clear: China.
"It was everywhere. The uniforms, the flags," the 48-year-old Dearborn Heights man said. He remembers a scene in Detroit, where several scenes were filmed, in which the Chinese tried to convince the Americans to switch allegiance. "It was pretty obvious."
But since the film was shot, producers have swapped out the villains. Gone are the Chinese, in are the North Koreans, a decision made to preserve an opportunity to show the film in China's burgeoning film market, according to media reports.
That switch, however, has angered many in the militia movement, many of whom revere the original movie, in which a band of teens — including a young Charlie Sheen — fight back against the invading Soviets and Cubans.
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20110407/METRO/104070397/New-‘Dawn’-invaders-make-Michigan-militia-see-red#ixzz1J5RlwCiz
Brighton — Members of the Michigan Militia, an 18-year-old all-volunteer armed force established to protect the rights of citizens, gathered today for a family picnic and an opportunity to openly carry their weapons.
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Men dressed in camouflage uniforms and a few women laughed and talked as hot dogs and burgers sizzled on the grill. A few participants headed for the shooting range to begin practice drills and contests, including one for children. Other sessions included a water bottle toss and war cry competition.
Posters featuring the faces of militia members as "dangerous citizens" were displayed near the picnic shelter and spoofed ones used in "Red Dawn," a film remake partly shot in Detroit with a pending release date. In it, the enemy invaders were changed from Chinese to North Korean in post-production. Group spokesman Michael Lackomar said he believes the Chinese government and the U.S. State Department pressured producers to alter the movie and the move violates their First Amendment rights.
Still, Lackomar said the posters were created to make a statement about the power of everyday citizens.
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20110409/METRO/104090368/Michigan-Militia-s-family-field-day-is-more-than-just-fun-and-games#ixzz1J5S9kUIEChina has become such an important market for U.S. entertainment companies that one studio has taken the extraordinary step of digitally altering a film to excise bad guys from the Communist nation lest the leadership in Beijing be offended.
When MGM decided a few years ago to remake "Red Dawn," a 1984 Cold War drama about a bunch of American farm kids repelling a Soviet invasion, the studio needed new villains, since the U.S.S.R. had collapsed in 1991. The producers substituted Chinese aggressors for the Soviets and filmed the movie in Michigan in 2009.
But potential distributors are nervous about becoming associated with the finished film, concerned that doing so would harm their ability to do business with the rising Asian superpower, one of the fastest-growing and potentially most lucrative markets for American movies, not to mention other U.S. products.
As a result, the filmmakers now are digitally erasing Chinese flags and military symbols from "Red Dawn," substituting dialogue and altering the film to depict much of the invading force as being from North Korea, an isolated country where American media companies have no dollars at stake.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316,0,995726.story?track=rss
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