"KEEP BUSTIN'."

Patrick Hughes to direct THE EXPENDABLES 3

tn_redhillWell, you know us, we like to talk about who should direct the next EXPENDABLES. Of course the answer is a John like maybe Hyams or Woo or McTiernan via satellite. But we knew those were not gonna happen. Recently Stallone twittered that he wanted Mel Gibson to direct it, but even he admitted that was unlikely to happen. It is not clear whether or not he asked Danny Glover as a backup.

A few days ago Stallone twittered about meeting with a “NEW BLOOD” director who he said most of us haven’t heard of. We now know for sure that he was not trying to hint at John Carl Buechler, director of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD. He has revealed that he chose the Australian director Patrick Hughes. I liked his movie RED HILL, which you can read my review of here.

I gotta say, it’s a surprisingly good choice. Who knows how much power Hughes will have (Stallone is often accused of choosing puppet directors so he can control the production without having to do all the directing), or how he’ll do with a bigger production, or what he’ll even want to do with this series. But if he brings any of RED HILL’s foreboding tone and western classicism to it that can only be a good thing.

Note that the FAST AND FURIOUS series is being taken over by James Wan, also an Aussie. Let’s get Greg McLean on a new TRANSPORTER or something.

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51 Responses to “Patrick Hughes to direct THE EXPENDABLES 3”

  1. Never heard of this guy before or even seen the movie RED HILL he made, but perhaps it is time to check up on that movie.

  2. Shoot, you should. It’s really good. As Vern says it all depends on how much Stallone will let Hughes do, but this guy is talented. They should do a kind of MAGNIFICENT SEVEN story with EX3 where the team go on a mission and lose all their equipment in a crash and have to get analog on some bad guys ass. That would suit Hughes, I think.

  3. Knox Harrington

    April 24th, 2013 at 5:33 am

    Why exactly can’t he get someone like John Woo? It’s not like he’s the most expensive director around these days, and The Expendables is a big franchise. You’d think that Stallone would realise that, even though he himself will have a little less control over the directing duties of the film, it would be in the hands of a capable veteran of action filmmaking, one with a unique style and aesthetic.

    I’d much rather see this franchise do the Mission Impossible thing and give each film its own unique feel by getting a filmmaker with his own vision.

  4. Knox – because Woo is busy with a WW2 movie/mini-series about the Flying Tigers. Which is actually a good topic for a movie/mini-series, and one you don’t have to dance around shit to appease our Chinese overlords like Disney and Hollywood usually have to do.

    Remember when Sly openly suggested Mel Gibson? That…would’ve been interesting.

    Never would’ve happened, if at the least because that cast would not want to talk about Gibson’s trouble in EVERY FUCKING INTERVIEW. Not worth it.

  5. RED HILL was pretty good, but as long as Sly has control of the script and editing, it really doesn’t matter.

  6. I was hoping he’d get somebody like John Hyams or Walter Hill but Hughes is a pretty interesting choice I must say. His short film SIGNS is on YouTube if anyone is interested. I very much doubt Ex3 will carry the same tone though.

    I always thought a modern day take on 13 Assassins would be an interesting route for the series to go. And for god sake, if Arnie does come back the film should finally settle that eternal childhood question: Who would win in a fight between Stallone and Schwarzenegger?

  7. Same answer it’s always been: Whoever’s top billed.

  8. Okay, I’ve been doing my level best all morning not to be a condescending dick about this. I’m about to fail. I apologize in advance.

    I don’t understand how anyone can still maintain any excitement or even simple interest beyond morbid curiosity about this incompetent chicanery of a franchise. To me, it’s like a grown man believing in the tooth fairy.

    We like to make up little stories about how they can “fix” this thing. I’ve done it, too. (Mine actually would have worked, though. The only director who can wrangle an actual movie out of these elements is someone who’s even more intimidating than its stars, and that’s Mel. No one else.) But why on earth would anyone involved want to improve the series, or even acknowledge that it needs improvement? These films are successful. More importantly, they have achieved Sly’s primary goal of making him popular again. That is all he has ever cared about. The occasional good movie is merely a by-product of his need for validation. As long as he gets it, he will continue to deliver the same shit again and again. Eventually, people will get tired of it, and then he will pretend to be a humble craftsman just trying to win back the trust of his fanbase. He’ll fumble for a while, but eventually, he’ll hit on something that works, and the process will start anew. He will do this over and over again until he dies.

    We’re in the JUDGE DREDD/THE SPECIALIST/DAYBREAK portion of the cycle right now. Why should we reward this kind of behavior? It’s clear that he didn’t learn a thing from any of his previous falls from grace.

    Wait, is this like presidential elections, where we all know nothing is ever gonna change, but it’s such a massive spectacle full of so much potential for awesomeness that, even when we know we’re all gonna be disappointed in the outcome no matter what, we have no choice but to get swept up in it all the same?

    Because I hate those, too. Every time, I just end up with a rotten tooth under my pillow and no quarter.

  9. Wait, are you insinuating the preposterous idea that the Tooth Fairy may not be real? You crazy person

  10. Well, since the first two entertained the hell out of me I see no reason to improve on anything. Just keep up the good work.

  11. Give us more comedy next time, other than that the movies are excellent and flawless entertainment.

  12. Please let that be sarcasm. I beg of you.

  13. I was kidding. We don´t need more comedy. Just the same amount will do fine.

  14. I guess if you guys are happy with the way things have gone thus far (as unfathomable as that sounds to me), I’m not really talking about you. I’m talking about the guys who found the others as soul-deadeningly disappointing as I did, yet still manage to work up some degree of hope that THIS TIME it’ll all work out. Isn’t that the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing and expecting different results?

  15. Mr. Majestyk, one hell of a post there. I couldn’t agree more with what you stated.

  16. I wish I wasn’t, but I’m on your side in this one Majestyk.

    The Stallone tweet about Mel Gibson got me pretty excited thinking about the possibilities. I ‘knew’ it wasn’t going to happen, but shit wouldn’t it have been cool if it did? The saddest thing is that it shows Sly CAN still have a good idea, even a likely impossible one. Unfortunately I agree about Stallone and his ability to turn a blind-eye to the failings of his undertakings as long as they do well at the box office. The Expendables movies (especially 2) have trotted out almost ever single fucking action movie trope in existence, and they’ve done it in such a ham-fisted manner it makes it seem like they have no idea that’s what they’re doing. They’ve hired brilliant martial artists like Jet Li and Scott Adkins and given them fucking abysmal showcases for their fight scenes. I’m legitimately not sure that Sylvester Stallone has any idea why so many people loved his early films and those of his contemporaries.

    I’ll see a third one of course, because I’m gullible like that.

  17. caruso_stalker217

    April 24th, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    I also agree with Majestyk here. It doesn’t matter who directs this thing, it’s just going to be more of the same. Now I am one of those poor souls who enjoyed the last two. I recognize that they aren’t great films, but they delivered what I was looking for, which was apparently watching a bunch of old dudes tell shitty jokes for 100 minutes.

    It’s kinda like THE AVENGERS to me. It’s more about seeing a bunch of dudes you like in other better movies showing up in the same movie together. You can argue that the writing and acting is better, but at it’s core it’s all the same shit.

    The first IRON MAN movie never would have featured Hulk cartoon-punching Thor, is what I’m getting at.

    Admit it, that was as shitty as most of the jokes in EX2.

    ADMIT IT.

  18. I can’t do it. Hulk punching Thor was in character for him, and the joke was well timed and executed, creating the perfect button for the end of that scene. Then we’ve got EXP2, where nearly every joke was some hacky meta bullshit that referenced things none of the characters should have any knowledge of and executed with zero finesse or timing.

    Also, Hulk punching Thor made me laugh. Every single joke in EXP2 just made me want to curl up in a hole and die.

    Advantage: AVENGERS

  19. caruso_stalker217

    April 24th, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Fuck.

    I can’t argue with that.

  20. That Hulk punch punctuated a brilliant, grand, meticulous, dazzling, extended one-take shot that encompassed action from all The Avengers. None of the f/x in THE EXPENDABLESes showed the polish or purpose of the f/x parts of AVENGERS. Computers were used in THE EXPENDABLESes for poorly filmed bullshit blood sprays, not for awesome flying metallic alien whales destroying Manhattan.

    Almost none of the dialogue was character-based or weighted by a form of reality that would contribute to a fan’s willingness to suspend disbelief in EX 1 or 2, and, no, referring to the “Quotes” sections of the IMDB catalogs of each of the EXPENDA-stars doesn’t count as the same thing as referring to the nerd universe of Marvel & the Avengers’ mythic backgrounds.

    THE EXPENDABLESes was your slow-witted brother-in-law copycatting internet memes and regurgitating his drunken, anti-cinematic concept of how the most thoughtless 80s action films would look & sound like in an ever-ironic, lazy 21st century world (minus the innovations that make newer films prettier & grander).

    THE AVENGERS was evidence of an auteur & fanboy at the height of his craft, devoting all his skills & his studio’s resources to make something huge & beautiful & memorable & original in terms of zingers & spectacle, exceeding anyone else’s efforts both in filmatism & in the ability to service all the fanboys, nerds, casual moviegoers, explodetacular-seekers, *and* fans of BADASS CINEMA.

  21. And Scarlett Johansson in a catsuit.

  22. I admire AVENGERS for doing something it didn’t get enough credit perhaps.

    I remember reading comics as a kid they (and I assume they still do?) and they would have cross-overs/team-ups, they would by dialogue basically sum up who the guest heroes/villains are and for that adventure, you would get the idea of the who and what. But those moments would have a big black “*” which in bottom of page/panel would allude to past # issues in other titles. If you actually wanted to know the entire story, enjoy the full emotional weight and not just the Cliffnotes version.

    You could watch THE AVENGERS without seeing the other Marvel-produced movies and fully enjoy it I’m sure. But its much richer if you’ve seen the others. Hell and its not just the build-up. I mean I doubt it’ll happen, but honestly I wouldn’t mind a Black Widow prequel. You gotta love Whedon’s teasings of her backstory, and I’m sure for a movie it would be interesting to see her origins, and ultimately be turned by SHIELD. Who knows, what is her deal with Hawkeye? Friends? Friends with benefits? Lovers? Who knows. Then you could see why two spies would later feel overwhelmed fighting “magic and monsters.”

    Anyway early reviews for IRON MAN 3 are good, early tracking has a $160 million opening weekend. Shane Black hopefully gets to direct more kickass movies, and Marvel continues onward unchallenged.

    Unless Nolan/Snyder actually continue their team up behind the DC Universe…

  23. caruso_stalker217

    April 24th, 2013 at 7:17 pm

    I take it you guys are not feeling me on this EXPENDABLES/AVENGERS thing.

  24. Well, it’s a bit like comparing Chris Cornell to Anna Netrebko,
    Pong to Call of Duty 4,
    Richard Roeper to OutlawMotherfuckingVern.

  25. I wish Hughes good luck, but for me, the only directing choice (aside from Hyams, Gibson) would have been Werner motherfucking Herzog.

  26. Or it would be cool if Herzog just narrated it.

  27. Also acceptable.

  28. Knox Harrington

    April 25th, 2013 at 2:16 am

    Speaking of Herzog, am I the only one who thinks that Jack Reacher was really great?

    I’ve never read any of the books, so I can’t comment on how successful the film is as an adaptation, but I thought it was excellent cinema. Cruise was on top form. McQuarrie set a perfect tone and mood for the film, I loved the procedural pace, that chilling opening scene and that action-packed take-no-prisoners ending. And Herzog scared the shit outta me.

    More please.

  29. I thought Hughes did a very good job with Red Hill. After seeing the film, I thought he was for sure gonna enter Hollywood at some point. He can handle drama, suspense and action, with a very controlled visual style. Hopefully this will get him bigger projects in the future.

    I’m still wondering why another Aussie, Greg Mclean, hasn’t done a Hollywood feature. Wolf Creek and Rogue were VERY well directed (Despite enormous script issues in WC). He hasn’t done anything since the 2007’s Rogue, and is currently starting on WC2. Seems like a waste of talent to me. But I did hear that after Rogue, his cinematographer on all his movies committed a suicide. Maybe the partnership was crucially important for McLean, and thus his career has been non-existant in recent years.

  30. Knox, I just watched Jack Reacher last night. Yeah, it’s very good. I think a lot of folks here embrace the film, and it did have really strong legs at the B.O.

    McQuarrie is doing M:I-5 next, so we know that at least Cruise was happy with the film.

  31. Paul, me, & Matty B. all liked JACK REACHER, possibly enraging fans of the Reacher books, though I sorta addressed those concerns in a spoilery forum response:

    https://outlawvern.com/forum/the-films-of-cinema/ok-i-got-quite-a-lot-on-jack-reacher-spoiler-heavy-review-anybody-care-to-debate/

    Vern said he’s planning to see it on disc, possibly b/c I suggested that it’s like a Seagalogical BLOOD WORK with better fights, increased intensity, and more humor.

  32. I am a fan of the books and continue to find Cruise’s casting to be some kind of Onion-style satire on the great chasm between celebrity self-image and reality that somehow bled into the real world, but I’m not enraged anymore because I’ve decided to think of the protagonist of the movie as not the actual Jack Reacher, but Jack Reacher’s creepy homunculus, Tack Creacher. If someone could do a fan edit with these changes made in ADR and to the title sequence I would really appreciate it.

  33. I want Mclean to make more movies, but if he stays in Australia that could be fine. Sometimes it’s better to stay the fuck out of Hollywood. I just looked it up and found an article from January saying WOLF CREEK 2 was currently filming, so I hope that’s true. A while back I read some quotes about what he wanted to do with it, and it sounded great to me. He compared it to MAD MAX 2 as a bigger budget and more action filled approach. And he’s said from the beginning that he wanted Mick Taylor to be the Australian Freddy Krueger, so a sequel is not a desperate attempt to get going again, it’s something he’s wanted to do for a long time.

  34. They should call it Wolf Creek: Act 3.

  35. I agree that staying out of Hollywood is quite often a good idea. I’m hoping that all those brilliant Korean filmmakers that Hollywood recently imported will have the good sense to go back home soon and continue making their film industry one of the best in the world.

    The thought of Kim Ji-Woon making movies in the states kinda depresses me.

  36. If I were korean, I´d take every chance of getting out of there before the North Korean version of Baby Herman accidentaly spills his gruel on the nuclear button.

  37. Knox — I dunno, I would love to live in a world where someone says, “Mr. Kim, here’s all the money you could ever want, go out there and do what you do.”

  38. Had to go back a few comments to realize Mr. S wasn’t talking about Kim Jong-un.

  39. Knox Harrington

    April 25th, 2013 at 1:28 pm

    I’m not really a fan of giving filmmakers endless resources. Struggle breeds creativity. I think that’s a big part of why Korean cinema is so great. Most of their “blockbusters” are quite shit, just like most Hollywood ones are, but they’re so damn good at making genre cinema, and they have such creative freedom. I don’t know why they’d wanna go to the states and put up with some exec constantly giving them “notes”.

  40. Never was a fan ofTHE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD, but I REALLY liked I SAW THE DEVIL.
    I suspect when they brought him over to the states to make THE LAST STAND (which I have yet to see) they put silvertape on his mouth and told him to point were the actors would stand and hit their mark and that was it.

  41. Knox Harrington

    April 25th, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    I still think A Bittersweet Life is one of the best action films this century.

  42. Knox — there’s definitely something to that. But still, Kim Ji-Woon seems to me to be a guy of such big vision that I’d love for him to get a chance to make something as big as his imagination, rather than something he had to be clever to get finished. Creative control is an interesting thing, it doesn’t always work the same way. You lose control on a small scale, too, when you can’t get the resources to do what you want. Sometimes, that’s actually a helpful thing, as you correctly point out; it forces directors to hone their ideas, to question them, to not just go with the first thing that pops into their head. But it can also limit truly bold ideas and force directors to downsize their dreams and ambitions. Kim Ji-Woon –out of all the Korean directors– seems to me to be a director of scale and bombast, and I’d love for him to be able to actually bring the scale he seems to want to the next level. Someone like Park Chan Wook likes small, intimate stories with clever ideas (although his recent American debut STOKER is fucking brilliant) and I think is better suited to small, independent productions. But Kim has the ambition and talent to be the next Spielberg, and I’d love for him to get that chance.

  43. I don’t mind him doing large scale stuff. He’s so damn good at it. The Good, The Bad, The Weird being a prime example. I just don’t want the guy losing his unique edge. The Last Stand already felt like a step in that direction to me. And like I said, it kinda depresses me. Also, I just love the Korean aesthetic.

    But hey, if Tarantino can make a successful $100 million R-rated movie, I guess there’s still hope for edgy big-budget Hollywood films.

  44. I won’t get optimistic about this unless they also cast Jason Momoa and Manu Bennett as guys who beat the shit out of each other for 20 minutes at one point in the movie. I don’t care which is good and which is evil, just make it happen.

  45. It seems relevant to as here, have any of the other gamers here bought FAR CRY 3: BLOOD DRAGON?
    http://youtu.be/av5pqJaIeCk

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AipzU3tzxRo

    It’s a blast.

  46. Stu – I have and it is amazing. Getting Michael Biehn was a stroke of genius in my opinion, the soundtrack is incredible and has all different music cues lifted from 80´s sci-fi/action movies. The constant references I don´t think ruin the game, more than heighten the experience since it´s about evoking nostalgia .For example the pistol looks desginwise much like RoboCops gun, also naming it A.J.M ( Alex J Murphy) seals the deal.

    Also, neon dragons that fires lasers from their eyes are pretty cool. The game is hilarious!

  47. This quote comes from Sly’s Twitter account:

    “Just talked to STEVEN S. in Moscow …Sounds great and says he wants to be in EX3, if the part fits….”

    I so hope they get Seagal 3X!

  48. Me too.

    But wont that producer/Seagal problem get in the way?

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