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Miramax plans to castrate another fine movie

posted 17 years ago by nights_dream_paradox
40 replies | jump to latest

DAMN YOU, HARVEY WEINSTEIN!!!

'Tropa de Elite' undergoes changes for USA release

"Tropa de Elite" will undergo an adaptation for its release in the USA. Rather than having captain Nascimento, Wagner Moura's character, as the protagonist, the american version will center on the idealist policeman Mathias, played by André Ramiro.

"'Tropa de Elite' will be told in the USA under Mathias' innocent point of view", according to Harvey Weinstein, Miramax's owner, to the "Persona" section of the "O Estado de São Paulo" newspaper.

To the head honcho of the company that will distribute "Tropa" in the USA, José Padilha's movie has a solid chance to get the Academy Award for best foreign language movie in 2008.

Also according to the newspaper, the focus of the trailers and press material will be on Mathias (Ramiro).

SOURCE: http://gazetaonline.globo.com/entretenimento/cinema/cinema_materia.php?cd_matia=356158&cd_site=0844

[–] Godofcomics 17 years ago

What the fu. ?

Don't tell me André is the black guy? The americans are too racist in favoritism of the black people... this sux.

[–] amudad 17 years ago

this might be interesting
i loved his character and now i can watch the same movie in another point of view
although it is a shame for people who won't be able to watch through the eyes of captain nascimento.

[–] mark_in_rio 17 years ago

American's arn't any more racist than Brazilians, and at least there are laws and organizations that attempt to protect minorities. Hardly the case in Brazil.

André as the protaganist makes perfect sense. Wagner Moura is way to "telenovela" for the US market.

[–] tatti3000 17 years ago

ohh come on, were did you get this brilliant information that in Brazil there are no laws or organizations to protect minorities>>>>> that is the problem, you are trying to talk about an issue as complex as racism with the complexity of something basic. The argument that in america there arent more racist than in brazil is quite questionable, what are your sources that you based yourself apon to make such a statement> i am ot saying that americans are indeed more racist, but just saying that it is not as simple as that...

[–] mark_in_rio 17 years ago

US universities have a quota system for making sure minorities have a place in the classroom. Brazil has been resistant to any quota system. Take a look at a brazilian federal university and you will see a disproportionate amount of white faces.

i'm not saying the US is less racist or more racist. I'm saying the US has enforceable laws to protect minorities. Brazil may have these laws but they are not enforced.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jackwb_2000 17 years ago

Mark

Let's not forget the "quota system" (as you referred) has been forbidden since 1.979 by the Supreme Court.

As for the system itself we will collect his “profits” making a racist job market where the “quota students” will be underestimated and recognized only for using the “easy pass”.

Later

[–] fioravantiduarte 16 years ago

Brazilian universities have this policy also, who said it didn't? Quite misinformed aren't you? Ow, almost forgot. Why white feces? Whats that? Ow I see, 70% of Brazil's population is mixed. So...Well, what does the americans knows about the world. Once I've heard that Brasil was in Africa, yes! Millions of years ago. You can't even point out in a map where are the countries at. You don't even know where's Sevilla.

Pointless.

Tropa de Elite Osso Duro de Roer. Com esses aí bush teria ganho a guerra sem muitas baixas. Bom num é que ele se importe com as baixas, maoir parte dos pobres soldados nem são americanos. Disposable Toys.

[–] ylfaer 17 years ago

What kind of organizations? Ku Klux Klan? huahuahuahua.

[–] fioravantiduarte 16 years ago

Ow really. Lets all kill some Muslims then! The creator of contemporary poverty. Propaganda abuse. An elite witch uses a mass futile population to hide its rotten purposes. A nation that floods the world with cheep food, poor food, and when its flooded reveals that behind this pretty little funny mask, there's another country, just like another else. A country interested in killing for oil, even killing its own people. Greed and fury, maybe sadness or self-esteem issues that moves them to war, war...war!

At least we are the happiest people on earth. We got the most beautiful girls on the planet! And we make love like no one else.

Capitalism, Globalization, Global Village. Another big failure.

Listen to "The Boondock Saints" movie Joke.

[–] blackurbanprince 17 years ago

You gotta be kidding me right? Americans are in favor blacks.... I agree changing the movie around whould be insane but so is your comment.

[–] monica_regina 17 years ago

Well, if they were thinking about OScar, now they can let it go, Tropa de Elite will not concur.

Anyway, if such change of narrator really is going to be, that's more hipocrisy, and the director, writers, etc, should not permit this.

Anyway is really Mathias the one we can think closest to a hero, at the begging at least, and he (Ramiro) also has charisma, Wagner Moura (Nascimento) has a lot of charisma too, probably because of that, Nascimento is so loved as a hero, no matter what he does and behave like a jerk.

[–] Tubular_Bell 17 years ago

Nascimento... a hero? That's completely against the film's point.

I do think they'll screw up the film, if they want to portray Mathias as an "idealistic hero". Mathias's idealism was, in Nascimento's view, his flaw, and the final part of his training was draining it off him completely, replacing it for cold blooded rage. If THAT's the message they're so afraid of, then I guess the film is just not for them.

But they are masters at butchering THEIR OWN films, so I'm not surprised.

[–] PaivaPereira 17 years ago

I´ve seen the movie, being portuguese i didn´t need subs but re-doing the movie so americans can see it tells something about the way their culture is...

FK'n Harvey as a death brain

[–] mandyzuda 17 years ago

This is ridiculous.
My brain is screaming "THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO *beep* UP THIS MOVIE", but they actually do. Damn.
It may actually be interesting, but Wagner Moura's character was what made this movie "likeable" to me. I loved André Ramiro's character, but in his point of view, this movie will be a very confusing mess. That's too bad...

[–] mark_in_rio 17 years ago

That's the price you pay for selling out. That's showbiz, baby!

[–] skprod2000 16 years ago

Are you kidding me?! Trying to get your film played in overseas markets is selling out? That is ridiculous, and sad that you accept that as just the way things are. Films, especially respectable ones like this, deserve to be shown all over the world in their unaltered, intended state. Cuts, dubbing, and misleading marketing should be a thing of the past, but unfortunately the money-grubbing Weinsteins keep perpetuating these abominable practices. Practically every foreign film they've gotten their hands on has been raped and mishandled in some way. This is not the way it should be, this is injustice. Attempting to get a decent American release in this day and age is not selling out, it should be a tangible thing, but unfortunately the Weinsteins, and other real "sell-outs" stand in their way, just for the sake of money.

---------------------------
Oogly Boogly!

[–] fioravantiduarte 16 years ago

We should make some changes too. Lets see Batman through Robin's point of view!

[–] danielito666544 17 years ago

I heard rumours that Wagner Moura recorded an english version of the narrative he made in the brazilian version of the movie, and that´s gonna be the only difference from the original movie.

[–] omegamale 17 years ago

Luckily for us, we will have a 3rd version of the movie to watch ha ha

[–] amudad 17 years ago

*beep* we'll have a whole boxset, just like the Blade Runners one?? haha

[–] frt-joi 17 years ago

That's absolutely ridiculous, I hope it is just a rumour. If it turns out to be true, I wonder what Jose Padilha would say about this.

Remember the butchered american version of "Once Upon a Time in America"? That was not a smart move back then. Why do people bother to mess with masterpieces?

[–] danielmartin-3 17 years ago

frt-joi, I couldn't agree with you more! What a shame to think this masterpiece might be mutilated for mercenary reasons! Sad, sad, sad!

Just a word on the quota system.

Differently from the US and many other countries, Brazil is not a segregationist society - there are deep social/racial problems in Brazil, but segregation is not one of them - Brazil never had different drinking fountains for whites and the "coloured" as a part of government policy. And differently from the US, Brazilian students are neither interviewed, nor have to send the transcripts of their grades and to list the activities they participated in in school as part of the application process to enter university. Although the idea of a more holistic way of looking at a prospective student is laudable, it can be sapped by, for example. a more "segregationist' board of admissions. In such a context, quotas seem a valid way of maintaining racism out of the equation. The admissions system in Brazil, on the other hand, makes it impossible for race per se to be an issue - students are just a number and grades - and it'd seem irresponsible to adopt a system just because it worked somewhere else in a totally different context.

The problem in Brazil seems to be the difficulty central and local governments have to see quality education as a top national priority. Brazil fails to do what Korea has done. And quotas will not help the system to become what it should be. It's just an acceptance of its many failures.

Having quality education for all would make quotas the object of much laughter. And contrary to common belief, the educational system in Brazil could be brought back from the dead in less than 10 years - read what Gabriel Chalita has to say.

[–] raven-1971 17 years ago

Thanks, Daniel, for taking the words out of my mouth. The worst thing we could do here in Brazil is adopt an American system for doing things...

As for the film, it just goes to show how the American promoters don't understand the message of it; nobody ever said that Nascimento didn't start out idealistic like André. Reality made him what he is - just as André becomes his "replacement" at the end. Failure to recognize this demonstrates failure to understand this film.

I hope that, once the DVD is released here in Brazil, it will be released with our version, including the English subtitles. As such, my American and English friends will get a copy from me that shows the story the way it is supposed to be shown.

Americans like stories that make them feel better about themselves, make them feel that there is hope. They don't like reality. That's why serious Brazilian films never have any success in these award ceremonies.

[–] jimmydude6581 17 years ago

How do you know anything about Americans? I'm so sick of everyone assuming they know every single thing about American life when they've never been here.

Yeah, if they change this movie, it sucks, but you don't have to resent every single American just because they don't know that the original version exists. Sorry, we live in America.

"The worst thing we could do in Brazil is adopt an American system."

Yeah, because American's the country where entire cities are run by drug lords.

[–] danielmartin-3 17 years ago

Yeah, because American's the country where entire cities are run by drug lords.

Neither is America nor is Brazil.

I don't see where anyone here claimed they knew all about America - although since Tocqueville a lot has been written and read about the US and its undeniable influence on the world. Also, I don't see where people have tried to demean the US. I believe, what people have been saying here is that it is unwise to adopt any system just because it worked somewhere else.

It would be foolilsh if America decided to use ethanol as a gasoline substitute or as fuel additive as Brazil has done. The use of ethanol as fuel makes some sense in Brazil because Brazil is a tropical country where sugar cane can be planted almost anywhere. So, IMHO, anyone in America who questions the adoption of ethanol as fuel is not implicitly criticising Brazil.

It's lamentable when people from third world countries blame rich countries for everything bad that happens to them. It's equally deplorable when people from first world countries sneer at poorer countries. It's a foolish exchange of abuse and senseless, prejudiced rhetoric. Having been born in a rich country but having lived in a poor and great one for the past 22 years has taught me we all still have a lot to learn from each other.

Quoting a member of these forums whom I admire: "It's sad to see how frequently the level of debate may sink so low that, whenever there is disagreement, debate swiftly descends into cheapshots or ridicule. People can disagree, but that doesn't mean people hate each other."

[–] jimmydude6581 17 years ago

::thumbs up::

Its incredible to find someone who speaks intelligently on the internet. Someone who won't brazenly call out "America sucks!" at the onset of every argument.

I just get annoyed whenever any forum mentions America, everyone is suddenly the expert on every single thing that we do wrong and how we're BY FAR the worst country in the world. It just surprises and infuriates me. I'm blessed to live in this country and it just bothers me that some people here think they have it so bad.

Ethanol wouldn't work as a replacement for gasoline here. If we converted all of our corn crop to ethanol production it would only be enough to replace 11% of our gasoline, and that's assuming there were enough people to use it. It can't be transported by pipeline, so it really stifles its use here. I agree it is an intelligent choice in Brazil.

[–] raven-1971 17 years ago

"How do I know anything about Americans?" Easy - I lived there for more than a decade, my mom's American, though I am Brazilian; my comment was not intended to infuriate - I merely want to say that what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander. Just because something may or may not work in the States (affirmative action), it doesn't mean it would work HERE. First of all, nobody here defines themselves by the color of their skin. My wife and I are always called "that cute interracial couple" in the States; here we're just a "cute couple". Second of all, people here don't make the kind of money that Americans do, so all our tax money has to go towards maintaining social infrastructure, like health, education, social security, etc, instead of funding the military.

Funny, I haven't seen any drug lords elected mayor here either. Wasn't Marion Barry convicted of that?

[–] fioravantiduarte 16 years ago

Dizer isso tudo para um americano é a mesma coisa que falar grego com um russo, ele não vai entender nada. Dá-lhe um hamburguer, um celular e uma televisão cheia de canais. Assim o mentêm, salvo seja, alimentado.

Ask an American: WHERE'S ANDORRA? (NO GOOGLE Maps ALLOWED!)

It's so rewarding when we see beyond our own belly, isn't it?

Por acaso, o Brasil bem que precisa dumas linhas ferroviárias.

[–] fabiank-1 17 years ago

They will KILL the movie.