Hey folks, Harry here with MuvieMan who is taking a look at the Joel Silver produced, Jet Li modern day ROMEO AND JULIET remake entitled ROMEO MUST DIE. This is a film I am highly anticipating and pulling for. I want this one to rock. But... well... One never knows for certain. But... for now, things look good...
I was pleasently suprised when I picked up the script to Mitchell Kapner's "Romeo Must Die", and was entertained. When I had first heard of the project I thought "Oh no, not another modern day R&J remake". When I read the script, I found out that's not really what it is. Instead it is a cool mix of "The Godfather" and "Romeo & Juliet" with the Hong Kong action style thrown in (both Kung Fu and over-the-top gun fights).
Or at least it was a good script. But I'll get to my worries later. First, I'll talk about the script.
The script I read was First Draft July 6, 1998. Mitchell Kapner was the author and it's about 112 pages. It starts with a description on how the line between Chinatown and Little Italy is being blurred and that the Chinese are moving in on the Mob's turf. Then we go to a Italian resturaunt where some "Rat Pack" dressed Chinese give the patrons a hard time. Well the owner calls for some reenforcements, and when they come, the Chinese blow away everyone in the resturaunt. Then we cut to a Kaeoke bar where the "Rat Pack" Chinese are hanging out. Their leaders are Frank and Dino. Anyway, Vinnie Batista (or 'Vinnie Bats') comes into the bar and sits at a private booth with Frank. You see, Vinnie Bats hired the Chinese to do the attack to start a war. Well, in retaliation, Vinnie and a whole bunch of other mobsters waste everyone in the bar (who happen to be mostly Chinese).
Then we meet the key players:
The Chinese
Uncle Steven- Head of the Chinese mob, wants peace. Benny Fong- Head of the "Ghost Dragons" (the street gang branch of the Chinese mob). Tommy Moy- Right-hand-man to Uncle Steven, he's gay.
The Italians
Don Corvino- Head of the Corvino crime family, also wants peace. Vinnie Batista- Second in command to the Don, wants a war to show the Chinese who's boss. Paul Corvino- The Don's son, friends with Vinnie. Mrs. Corvino- Old fashion Italian mother. Gina- Leather clad assassin for Vinnie.
The Supporting Cast
Father Soriano- Priest at a church in between Chinatown and Little Italy.
Captain Prince- Head of the fifth precint's Organized Crime Unit
The Main Characters are Danny "Romeo" Lau, the nephew of Benny Fong and Julia Corvino, daughter of the don.
The main story is pretty much the Romeo & Juliet story. The two fight while Danny tries to pursue Julia's affections. The only differance is that he doesn't really win her over till the end of the script. Mitchell Kapner uses Romeo & Juliet as a referance point, he doesn't try and actually recreate Shakespear's play scene-for-scene like the other. As a matter of fact (spoiler) niether die in the end (end spoiler). However, like in the original tale, key players from each side die raising hostilities.
And the raising hostilities leads to some cool action scenes. There's a scene where Danny is able to escape and kill his captors (which there are four of) while tied to a chair. The last scene is a combination of the John Woo style we all love and ass kicking martial arts. The only action scene I found to be lackluster is tthe car chase.
I also love all the little references to R&J like some drunken tourists singing "When Your A Jet" in the kareoke bar (ok, West Side Story was basically a R&J remake). There's Captain Prince, and a few others I'm forgetting.
Unfortunatly, I don't think this is anywhere near what they're filming with. I've heard various things (some of which may not be true) that concern me. First of all: changing the city from New York to Vanouver changes the film's whole dynamic. Second: they seemed to have added in some serial killer sub-plot. Third: they changed it from the Mafia to a African-American crime family which eliminates the whole "Godfather" aspect.
Well, if anyone has read this draft or a later one and would like to tell me what happend (I'm getting my information second hand, mind you) e-mail me at MuvieMan7@aol.com
