F. Gary Gray or Jon Chu Might Make a G.I. Joe Movie
With G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra director Stephen Sommers officially handing the keys to The Pit over to someone else, Paramount has been looking to recruit someone new to direct their next jingoistic cartoon adaptation, and they've reportedly got it down to two frontrunners: F. Gary Gray or Jon Chu.
Gray, for his part, does have some vehicular action on his résumé, having directed the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. Most recently he brought us a strong contender for the most laughable Gerard Butler film to date, Law Abiding Citizen.
Chu doesn't have as much experience in the action realm, but he did direct Step-Up 2: The Streets, Step-Up 3-D, and that just-released Bieber movie, so he always has bullshit lines like "action scenes are really just a choreographed dance of sorts, though, aren't they?" to sell himself with-- not to mention the valuable experience he got coaxing acting out of Channing Tatum for a Step-Up 2 cameo. Also on his side: the fact that he'll do whatever Paramount wants him to. Like, say, tack a few more minutes of footage onto Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, to catch the film up to all the Biebering that's happened in the last few months.
Tough call. In the end, Paramount really just has to ask themselves, "Who's going to get the best 'Here we go again!' reading out of Marlon Wayans?"
