FOR YOUNG ADULTS ONLY THE MAKERS OF 'XXX' SET THEIR SIGHTS ON A HIP AUDIENCE - AND TAKE SHOTS AT 007.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer ``XXX'' director Rob Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. has nothing against James Bond per se. ``I'm the greatest admirer of Bond,'' says Cohen, a 53-year filmmaker who sports a shaved head, gray goatee, an earring earring, a personal adornment, sometimes an amulet, worn attached to the ear lobe. Since prehistoric times the ear has been pierced for the insertion of the earring; certain primitive tribes distort the lobe with plugs several inches in diameter or with heavy stones. and a copious amount of beaded jewelry. ``Watching Ursula Andress walk out of the water in that swimsuit in 'Dr. No' is the first time I connected (sexually) with women. Any movie series that gives you that kind of moment, much less a hundred other great moments, you can't knock that.'' Point taken. Cohen then proceeds to knock Bond, repeatedly, savagely and with a great deal of glee. Clearly he means ``XXX'' as an obituary notice for 007. The movie reteams Cohen with 35-year-old actor Vin Diesel, who starred in Cohen's left-field hit of last year, ``The Fast and the Furious.'' Just as that movie aimed at being the ``Rebel Without a Cause'' for today's teens, ``XXX'' means to reinvent the spy movie for young men who are bored with Bond. Diesel plays Xander Cage, an in-your-face extreme-sports athlete who is recruited to spy on some Eastern European anarchists. Cage's exploits seem directly lifted from ESPN's X-Games: He snowboards down a mountain ahead of an avalanche, parachutes off an airborne car, flies through the air on a motocross motocross Form of motorcycle racing in which cyclists compete on a closed course marked out over natural or simulated rough terrain. Courses vary widely but must be 1.5–5 km (1–3 mi) in length, with steep inclines, hairpin turns, and mud. bike and uses a metal tray as a makeshift skateboard. In case those X-Game subtleties are lost on you, extreme sports extreme sports Sports events characterized by high speed or high risk. Such sports include aggressive inline skating, wakeboarding, street luge, skateboarding, and freestyle bicycle events (wherein tricks such as back flips are performed on a bicycle). stars Tony Hawk
``Guys like Hawk are the heroes to this generation,'' Cohen says. ``And they symbolize what I wanted 'XXX' to be all about. It's got X-games and tattoos and piercings. It features a multiethnic star as its hero, a hero who has no time for things like tradition and authority. And let's face it: The only thing Bond has going for him these days is tradition.'' Adds Diesel: ``James Bond is about as relevant to young people today as Clark Gable is.'' (It should be noted here that Diesel's favorite movie is a Gable film - ``It Happened One Night.'') More Diesel: ``Bond wears a suit. Do you know a kid today that wears a suit? I don't. So I think Xander Cage is the voice of the younger generation.'' Diesel pauses, considering. ``God help us,'' he adds with a throaty throat·y adj. throat·i·er, throat·i·est Uttered or sounding as if uttered deep in the throat; guttural, hoarse, or husky. throat laugh. Sure-fire star? If Cage is the voice of the younger generation, Diesel seemingly out of nowhere has become the action hero for today's teenage boys. For all the hype he's getting, Diesel's resume is rather scant. He has made all of nine movies, two of which (``Diablo'' and ``Knockaround Guys'') have yet to be released. All told, he has one genuine hit (``The Fast and the Furious'') to his credit, with a supporting role supporting role n → second rôle m supporting role n → ruolo non protagonista in ``Saving Private Ryan'' adding some credibility. That incomplete track record didn't keep Revolution Studios' president Joe Roth from paying Diesel $10 million for ``XXX'' or Universal from offering Diesel $20 million-plus for a ``Fast and Furious'' sequel. (Diesel - and Cohen - turned the project down.) New Line has opened the vaults to lure Diesel into making a proposed trilogy of sequels to the 2000 cult sci-fi movie ``Pitch Black,'' and Diesel recently signed on for a projected movie about the famous Carthaginian leader of men (and elephants), Hannibal. That's a lot of people banking on an actor who was scuffling for work not all that long ago. The explanation is simple, say observers. Studios desperately need new action stars to replace fallen heroes like Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] and Sylvester Stallone. ``There has been an action vacuum for some time now,'' explains Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co., Inc. ``Actors like Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. He came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. are too old, and nobody has really been able to find an actor to take their place in the traditional blow-'em-up action movies. So when somebody like Vin Diesel comes along, it's as much about wish fulfillment wish fulfillment n. In psychoanalytic theory, the satisfaction of a desire, need, or impulse through a dream or other exercise of the imagination. as it is about reality.'' And the wishes run deep. Roth has already given the green light to ``XXX2'' and authorized a $20 million paycheck for Diesel - before anyone has a chance to see how the first movie does in theaters. As veteran producer Frank Marshall (``Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' ``Signs'') notes: ``It's all about franchises now. It's not good enough to make a hit movie. It has to be a hit movie with franchise potential. Otherwise, no one gets that excited.'' That said, action movies have been doing OK of late by casting unlikely actors in starring roles. Nobody looks at Tobey Maguire (``Spider-Man''), Matt Damon (``The Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. Identity'') or Ben Affleck (``The Sum of All Fears'') and thinks of Harrison Ford, but all three powered their action-oriented movies into solid and (in the case of ``Spider-Man'') spectacular hits this summer. One for all Cohen says those actors are all fine young men, but they lack one thing that makes Diesel appealing to so many - his multicultural background. Diesel (whose real name is Mark Vincent) avoids talking about his origins, saying he ``wants to be a blank slate'' for his audience. ``If you're Italian, you look at Vin and you see an Italian,'' Cohen says. ``If you're African-American, you see an African-American. If you're Hispanic, you see a Hispanic. He has that Everyman fascination.'' But with a super-size sense of confidence. Diesel says he always knew stardom would come his way, dating back to the time he began acting at the age of 7 in his stepfather's theatrical shows. Now, he says, ``the rest of the world has finally caught up.'' Diesel is no muscle-bound mus·cle·bound also mus·cle-bound adj. 1. Having inelastic, overdeveloped muscles, usually as the result of excessive exercise. 2. a. Hindered by or as if by overdeveloped muscles. b. lunkhead, though. He's smart, engaging, a good listener and owns a wicked sense of comic timing that would serve him well should the right script ever come along. (One of his dream projects is a remake of the aforementioned ``It Happened One Night.'') And while Diesel says he's honored to be compared to Stallone and Schwarzenegger (``I love 'Rocky,' '' he says), he points to Mel Gibson Noun 1. Mel Gibson - Australian actor (born in the United States in 1956) Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Gibson U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. as his role model in the business. ``The best thing about my new-found position is the ability to get films green-lit,'' Diesel says. ``I am a huge, huge fan of Mel Gibson's. He was able to navigate his fame to a place where he could make his dream film with nothing else but his name. If you think about it, how would you present 'Braveheart' to a studio for $70 million? Who would ever say, 'I'm going to spend that kind of money on a guy that wears a skirt?' But it ends up being one of the most remarkable films that we've seen in 20 years.'' 007 vs. XXX JAMES BOND KNOWN AS 007 First incarnation: Ian Fleming's ``Casino Royale,'' 1953, for television. First film appearance was ``Dr. No,'' 1962. Dress: Savile Row Savile Row occupies a quiet corner of Mayfair in central London near Bond Street and is famous for its men's bespoke tailoring. Many of the greatest, most famous or most infamous men in history have patronised the many tailors that occupy this street; men such as Winston suits. Hair care: Shampoo, condition, gel. Never a hair out of place. (Exception: Sean Connery's Bond, in which the routine is replaced by applying toupee.) Mode of transportation: In the Pierce Brosnan era, BMWs have replaced Aston-Martin as Bond's favorite ride. Favorite drink: Martini, prepared as follows: 3 ounces gin, 1 ounce vodka, 1/2 ounce blond Lillet. Shaken, not stirred "Shaken, not stirred" is a famous catch phrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent, James Bond and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. . Garnish with lemon peel. What he looks for in a woman: Beauty. Tight, revealing wardrobe. Willingness to have sex upon first meeting. Ability to die and still look radiant. Bonus points for an unusual name like Pussy pus·sy adj. Containing or resembling pus. puss, pussy term of endearment addressed to a cat. Called also moggy. Galore. Musical tastes: London Philharmonic. Gadgets of choice: Whatever Q provides. Tends to favor gizmo-laden cars, phones and watches. Catch-phrase: ``Bond. James Bond.'' Attitude: Devil-may-care charmer charm·er n. 1. One that charms, especially a disarmingly attractive person. 2. One who casts spells; an enchanter or magician. Noun 1. . XANDER CAGE KNOWN AS XXX First incarnation: ``XXX,'' 2002. Dress: Filthy, fur-lined coat and whatever's lying on the floor next to his bed. Hair care: Lather, shave, rinse. Mode of transportation: Pontiac GTO The Pontiac GTO was an automobile built by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974, and by General Motors Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is often considered the first true muscle car. . Favorite drink: Cranberry juice Noun 1. cranberry juice - the juice of cranberries (always diluted and sweetened) fruit crush, fruit juice - drink produced by squeezing or crushing fruit . What he looks for in a woman: Beauty. Tight, revealing clothes. Willingness to have sex eventually. Bonus points if she takes his coat to the dry cleaner. Musical tastes: Jaw-rattling industrial rock like Rammstein and pulsating techno from Orbital. Gadgets of choice: Anything Toby Lee Shavers provides. He uses a gun that shoots darts that paralyze par·a·lyze v. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. , simulate death. Catch phrase: ``If you're going to send someone to save the world, make sure they like it the way it is.'' Attitude: In-your-face anarchist. - G.W. The original Triple X James Bond already has encountered XXX. Nobody did it better than Barbara Bach, who played Maj. Anya Amasova, aka the Soviets' Agent Triple X, in 1977's ``The Spy Who Loved Me.'' Bach also achieved fame in 1981 for marrying one of the Fab Four: Beatle Ringo Starr. - Daily News CAPTION(S): 5 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) The name's diesel, vin diesel Our favorite new tough guy shakes it up in `XXX' (2) no caption (Vin Diesel) (3) no caption (Sean Connery) (4) no caption (Vin Diesel) (5) BACH Box: (1) 007 vs. XXX (see text) (2) The original Triple X (see text) |
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