GIJCC Exclusive:
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
at Toy Fair 2009

On February 17th, we were thrilled to attend a special preview event of the upcoming movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra at Toy Fair 2009 in New York City. Hasbro and Paramount provided an inside look at this upcoming blockbuster for industry executives, key retailers and industry partners. WOW! Forty-five years ago, Hasbro introduced G.I. Joe to the world. And now the company that invented the action figure, as we have come to know it today, is now reinventing the action movie together with Paramount, director Stephen Sommers, and some of entertainment's top talent! This film is sure to appeal to fans of G.I. Joe around the world.

The evening began with a greeting by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra producer and Hasbro chief executive officer Brian Goldner, who introduced special guests, director Stephen Sommers, producer and editor Bob Ducsay, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Next, Wayne Charness, Hasbro's senior vice president, corporate communications, kicked off the night with a few interview questions for the esteemed group.

Note: Due to the proprietary nature of the information and film footage shared during the event, no recording devices were permitted, and all questions and answers below are paraphrased.

Wayne Charness: Stephen, what attracted you to G.I. Joe?

Stephen Sommers: I played with G.I. Joe growing up and I never imagined I would be directing a film about one of my favorite childhood toys. When I was first offered the project, I knew that I didn't want to make an "army man" movie, so I gave it some strong thought. But, several of my production assistants, who are in their 20's, told me that I should really look into this because G.I. Joe has a very extensive background and was a team of diverse characters. I never knew how rich the back-story was. When I realized the diversity of the characters, I knew this could be a big epic film. I was really intrigued with Scarlett and the Baroness. [Laughs] The women of G.I. Joe are just as strong as the men and bring a romantic interest to the film. I also grew up loving James Bond, and I remember how Thunderball blew my socks off! It had big visual battle scenes. I like making big visual movies and I thought that G.I. Joe could be this great adventure encompassing sets around the whole world.

WC: Did any of you play with G.I. Joe?

Brian Goldner: My favorite was the Mercury Space Capsule with the G.I. Joe in the silver foil space suit.

Bob Ducsay: I had G.I. Joe figures in my first film as a child; a Super 8 movie using stop motion.

SS: I liked to throw the parachute figures off of the roof.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura: I liked to throw the parachute figures off of the roof and watch them blow up on the way down with firecrackers.

WC: Lorenzo, what did you think about the project when the call came from Brian [Goldner] for this G.I. Joe film?

LdB: When I was at another studio, we optioned G.I. Joe three times over thirteen years. It kept coming back because unlike any other brand it is as Americana as it gets. I am pleased to finally be connected to it. After we started the project, I could not believe the number of people that came up to me to talk about this film.

WC: Stephen, what about you?

SS: The early scripts didn't seem right to me, as they didn't have enough back-story.

LdB: G.I. Joe fans are rabid. You can never put enough characters in the story to please everyone. We had many lively debates about which characters to use, as everyone kept saying "how could you forget my favorite character?!"

WC: Bob, just over two weeks ago, the Super Bowl ad gave us our first taste of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Fans everywhere were buzzing after the spot debuted. What's the key message that you were trying to convey?

BD: The first 30-second clip anyone sees sets their expectations. For example, in the Mummy (1999) we didn't want people to think it was about some guy running around wrapped up in bandages. We knew what movie we made and that wasn't it. We had to set a correct expectation for the fans. This was the same for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The trailer was for people that don't know the brand. We knew that the first question people would ask is "who is playing G.I. Joe?" We had three goals for this spot: 1) We had to show that this was a team on a global mission; 2) That it is a great movie that will appeal to a wide audience; and 3) That it is not just men, but there are also strong women in the movie.

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Next the Super Bowl ad was shown.

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WC: Stephen, are there any surprises for the fans hidden in the film?

SS: Yes! This movie is a lot of fun, as there are many surprises hidden in the film for all ages of G.I. Joe fans. There are lots of nods the fans, but this is an origins film, and if you don't know anything about G.I. Joe or Cobra, this film will explain it. The back-story is rich with great characters. It even has two different romances, one tragic and one comic.

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Next the second clip was shown.

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WC: Lorenzo, you have assembled a great and very diverse cast. Each actor brings something different to the table. Can you tell us a little about the key characters and what led to your casting decisions?

LdB: Of course the actors had to have the iconic look, but the important thing was that they were good actors who could pull off these complex characters. We wanted people who had name value, but not too high profile, because we wanted to present an ensemble cast. We didn't want it to revolve around any one actor.

SS: When we were going through casting, I didn't know who Channing Tatum was, but when my 13-year-old daughter heard his name, she freaked out and started calling all her friends to let them know he was going to be in the movie. Then we got Dennis Quaid, who wasn't sure that he wanted to be in the film, until his son insisted that he be in the G.I. Joe movie.

LdB: The cast is very international. We have actors from France, Korea, Wales, Scotland, South Africa and Great Britain, just to name a few. We are extremely pleased with the way the cast came together and worked as a team. They're all ready to go anywhere to promote the film.

WC: Bob, how do you possibly take all that great footage and package it into a two-hour complete story?

BD: My job is to edit down about a million feet of film into a two-hour saga. That's about ninety hours of film for every hour that will end up in the final product. Then we have to go back and make sure all the relationship elements are there.

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Next the final clip was shown.

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WC: Lorenzo, the female characters have very powerful roles. Tell us a little bit about the character development.

LdB: We wanted to make sure that the females were strong enough to be [G.I.] Joe team members. We needed beautiful, strong women that could carry the part. We were very lucky that the actresses we cast fit all of these requirements.

WC: Brian, tell us about how Hasbro has introduced our global retail partners to G.I. Joe and what the response has been.

BG: When we looked at Transformers we found that worldwide (before the movie) there were approximately fifteen million latent fans that would recognize the property. When we looked at the same thing for [G.I.] Joe, we found that there are about twenty-five million latent G.I. Joe fans. This is because over the years, thirty percent of the G.I. Joe business was outside of the U.S. This movie is really a worldwide adventure.

LdB: Yes, when we brought European retailers to the Prague set, they really understood that this was much more of a super hero movie on a worldwide adventure, not something that was U.S. centric.

BD: G.I. Joe has the potential to be a gigantic franchise worldwide. It features strong female characters, huge action scenes, romance, and will appeal to a wide audience.

LdB: I want to thank Hasbro, as they are a great company to work with. There are a lot of fans within the company. This ensures that the fans outside of the company get a film that they can connect with as they will keep the movie true to the mythos.

BD: I want everyone to know that all of the post-production team members are also fans of G.I. Joe and they are working hard to make it great for the fans.

SS: Often times when I work with a studio, I have to fight for things that I want to keep in the movie. This group has been so great to work with. We have kept pretty much everything in the movie. Also, the actors are a really great group on and off the studio lot.

Next, Brian Savage, director of the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club was able to ask Stephen Sommers some exclusive questions.