Why does GIJoe NEED a movie anyway?

[captain mal]

All the bellyaching about the movie sucking makes me wonder... WHY DOES IT MATTER?

For years, GIJoe never had a movie. In the early 80's - Star Wars was all the rage, and it had movies - GIJoe came along and became a huge hit with Comic Books and Cartoons.

Wouldn't it make more sense to invest $100 million in a TV series - that could last for years, rather than invest $100 million in a crappy movie that will be just a flash-in-the-pan?

Discuss?

[Troops of Doom]

Wouldn't it make more sense to invest $100 million in a TV series - that could last for years, rather than invest $100 million in a crappy movie that will be just a flash-in-the-pan?

Strike Back was a great TV series about special forces, so it can be done. (The Unit too with less on the homefront.) Put some actors in accurate GI Joe costumes and send them on some down to earth missions. Simple enough concept.

[musashi3000gt]

Im one of those guys who just could not like ROC no matter how hard he tried. I figured if this is what Hollywood thinks GI Joe is then I'd rather they dont do anymore.

Also this whole crap with everyone crying "Whaaaaa! my movie got pushed back, whaaaa Im not gonna buy GI Joes ever again!!!!"
That shit makes Joe fans look like a bunch of fucking pansies!
No wonder Hasbro never listens to us! Paramount executives must be laughing thier asses off reading some of the E-mails they got from grown men threatening never to buy toys again.

I think we could use a little more animated action though. Resolute was a nice surprise. Renegades was starting to hook me in too.

Comics are loosing traction but at least we still got that too.

[Zarana]

Why does gijoe NEED to exist at all?

[Dem_Yoe'z!]

Joes were doing great with the 25th line, then ROC came along and flooded the stores with way too much product (ultimately hurting the line). Then later we had POC/30th, the highpoint of the entire Joe line, and were doing well until the Retaliation movie fiasco.

This all seems to support your premise, not only does the Joe line not need movies, it actully seems to be hurt whenever a movie is released.

[Crazy Legs]

Yeah, i was thinking of that.
That instead of doing TV series that could do TV mini-series once a year or so.

[Zarana]

Better yet gi Joe: a one act drama coming soon o a high school auditorium near you.

[cobracobra]

I totally agree trying to sell toys to kids with a movie that is pg-13 is not working so far. I thought Renegades was awesome but it being on the Hub Channel it might as well be showing on mars. Finally watched it on Netflix and was blown away by the entire story line. Really impressed I wonder if enough of us rally around for Renegades we could get another season.
And two new 7 packs?
Featuring....
Tomax, Xamot, Mind Bender, Baroness, Destro, Zartan,Cobra Commander, Major Blood.

Road Block, Jinx (cyber ninja outfit) , Rip Cord (Bio Blue) Barbeque, Flint, Lady Jay, Hawk.

[rnstrait]

The problem with GI Joe is Hasblow. They have no clue what the people who buy their toys want. This has been proven to be true since the renegades and now the retaliation fiasco. It almost makes me wonder if the people who were designing and putting out the POC and 30th lines are even still at hasblow or whether they were the ones who got laid off last year.

[hotmitts]

Paramount executives must be laughing thier asses off reading some of the E-mails they got from grown men threatening never to but toys again.


hahaha, I like this.

[musashi3000gt]

Why does gijoe NEED to exist at all?

Cause Larry Hama needs to get payed! duh.

[Jeffrozup]

Because this is a completely different era we live in now. If there is no major motion picture or successful TV product to accompany the toys, it is not going to be hit.

[skinny]

one possibility is that with so many entertainment outlets and channels, a movie is one of the few mediums with a lot of power as far as marketing. There are only about 40,000 theaters in the US. How many TV sets are there? how many computers?
and they all show the same movies, all over the US.

If you did a TV series, what channel would pick it up? Syfy? could you get it on NBC? CBS? or ABC? even those three networks are not anywhere near as powerful as they once were.

Internet, how do you get a lot of visibility on the internet? Very few things ever go viral. I don't think anyone knows why either, or it would happen a lot more often. I imagine tho if you get on the front page of Google, MSN, or Yahoo, etc. it certainly helps.
How much of the internet is devoted to talk about movies? a lot.
A movie now, there are only so many theaters and they all show what Carmike AMC, etc, care to distribute. A captive audience if you get distribution.

[General Hawk]

Joes were doing great with the 25th line, then ROC came along and flooded the stores with way too much product (ultimately hurting the line).

A little bit of rose colored glasses here. Don't forget the 25th line was pulled back due to poor sales before the final single packs and comic packs ever hit retail, so it was not necessarily "doing great".

[General Hawk]

Strike Back was a great TV series about special forces, so it can be done. (The Unit too with less on the homefront.) Put some actors in accurate GI Joe costumes and send them on some down to earth missions. Simple enough concept.

Personally I would love to see something like this, but Hasbro ultimately still wants the brand to be approachable by kids, and this isn't the way to do that.

A perfect world would be for a good Hollywood feature to partner with a good animated series and cover all bases, but there's no way they would do a live action TV show and an animated TV show simultaneously.

An hour long super-military drama would hold little interest for kids, and lets not forget, it's not like the ratings for Strike Back or The Unit are setting the world on fire.

[YoungMaster]

Keep pumping out figs and comics that I want to buy and I will continue to see crapy movies and tv shows.

[drunknmunky]

A little bit of rose colored glasses here. Don't forget the 25th line was pulled back due to poor sales before the final single packs and comic packs ever hit retail, so it was not necessarily "doing great".

Not to mention the fact that 25th figures hit every discount outlet store and literally flooded the pegs for years. I can still find the later waves at my local TJ Maxx stores.

I think the thing GI Joe needs most is some sort of continuity. They release so many different versions that even as collectors we have problems following them. Imagine what the average kid thinks (assuming that kids actually watch Joe). Seriously, RoC, Renegades, Resolute and Retaliation all have completely different stories and continuity is non existent. Put on a quality cartoon on a network that kids have access to and see what happens. Not saying it will work out great but at least give it a chance. Put on 3 or 4 seasons, make the toy line fit the cartoon and then make a movie. But make the movie follow the cartoon as closely as possibly.

[HEAT Viper]

I've been thinking about this too. First off, maybe it needs to be approached more like a comic book movie than a toy movie. Hollywood seems like they've started to figure out the comic book movie (Ghost Rider and Green Lantern aside--my opinion). All that material right there to mine--even pull in some of the DD/IDW stuff. If I could see a G.I. Joe movie that was HALF as authentic to G.I. Joe as Avengers was for Avengers, I'd be happy . . .

At the same time, I hate movie figures that look like actors and so I'll never buy one. Duke is Duke, not Tatum. As long as they fill out the lines with other stuff, though, I'll find something to like. I'd much rather collect stuff like POC and 30th--best Joe figures ever and best figures on the market period at the time imho.

I also agree that some animated support is needed/would be welcomed. Clone Wars seems to be doing alright . . . why wouldn't something like that work for Joe? ARAH essentially started from nothing back in '82, should be easier to grow it into something more now. But what do I know? More than the suits I bet . . .

[Troops of Doom]

Personally I would love to see something like this, but Hasbro ultimately still wants the brand to be approachable by kids, and this isn't the way to do that.

A perfect world would be for a good Hollywood feature to partner with a good animated series and cover all bases, but there's no way they would do a live action TV show and an animated TV show simultaneously.

An hour long super-military drama would hold little interest for kids, and lets not forget, it's not like the ratings for Strike Back or The Unit are setting the world on fire.

Haha. :p Oh yeah, the titties and excessive blood and cursing of Strike Back would be too much for the kiddies. I didn't really mean that's the route GI Joe should take, although it would be cool. I just think for live action TV is a better format for storytelling and GI Joe's ensemble cast, than the frilly "summer blockbuster" format of ROC. I think the movie industry has been surpassed by TV a long time ago. It could be done, Tour of Duty was PG13 and there's been a bunch of G rated WWII shows. I loved that stuff when I was a kid.

But I'd also be happy with a new cartoon serial too, which is more likely to happen than live action.

[GeneralxRon]

GI Joe Needs to be made into a live action movie for two words..

"3D"



http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8/dwaynejohnsongijoegunsh.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/225/dwaynejohnsongijoegunsh.jpg/)

[AlleyViperEXE]

Not to mention the fact that 25th figures hit every discount outlet store and literally flooded the pegs for years. I can still find the later waves at my local TJ Maxx stores.

I think the thing GI Joe needs most is some sort of continuity. They release so many different versions that even as collectors we have problems following them. Imagine what the average kid thinks (assuming that kids actually watch Joe). Seriously, RoC, Renegades, Resolute and Retaliation all have completely different stories and continuity is non existent. Put on a quality cartoon on a network that kids have access to and see what happens. Not saying it will work out great but at least give it a chance. Put on 3 or 4 seasons, make the toy line fit the cartoon and then make a movie. But make the movie follow the cartoon as closely as possibly.

I suppose that makes sense, in a way, but continuity doesn't mean much of anything for other toy lines. Look at Transformers, Marvel, DC, figures etc, etc.

[Steevy Maximus]

I suppose that makes sense, in a way, but continuity doesn't mean much of anything for other toy lines. Look at Transformers, Marvel, DC, figures etc, etc.
THANK YOU!

It always bothers me when people hark about "consistency" when it completely ignores the last DECADE of retail trends. Since the "new standard" was introduced by 25th, GI Joe figure design hasn't changed that dramatically (RoC and forward have been refinements to elements introduced in 2007). Only change has been the branding, which is true of pretty much ALL the other toy brands available.

The last big run GI JOe had at retail was newsculpt, which by the end of 2002 had no less than FOUR different figure aesthetics on market at the same time. Even by the time Hasbro settled on an aesthetic in 2004, you will had the classic o-ring figures being sold in comic packs and TRU sets.
And since the introduction of 25th, GI Joe has barely gotten HALF the support newsculpt got, and it has only gotten worse.

Im one of those guys who just could not like ROC no matter how hard he tried. I figured if this is what Hollywood thinks GI Joe is then I'd rather they dont do anymore.


And I respect that, but pointing to Transformers and Star Wars, a successful film has much greater implications for the brand. (Star Wars actually rode a solid wave of success after REvenge of the Sith, leading to the introduction of the comic packs and the Saga Legends assortment)

I did not care to have RoC be the "foundation" of a new modern Joe myself, but I also knew that a revitalized/successful Joe brand would benefit me in other ways.

In 2010, I got a Transformers characters named Darkmount (Straxus in the comics). He was basically a TRansformers equivalent to Kwinn or Dr. Venom: a comic only creation fans had only dreamed of getting. In 2006, he wouldn't have even been on the table, much less for MASS RETAIL. All because the movies expanded the brand more than the prior DECADE of well performing lines and cartoons.


In the current toy environment, a feature film will reach more people and have the potential to expand the brand more than any cartoon, comic or toyline could ever hope to achieve. The last 3 years have shown that even with an amazing product line, that alone won't drive a brand (neither will catering to collectors).
GI Joe isn't growing, and vehicle sales since 2008 have been fucking ABYSMAL.

A movie, creating new interest and expanding the brand would ultimately benefit the collector. Without a movie, I question how much longer retailers will continue to support a niche product like Joe.

[thairestauranteur]

Seeing as Hasbro and whoever they contract to do the movie have such problems, it seems to me perhaps the franchise would be better off not having a movie at all.

Just keep things in the realm of toys, comics, cartoons, and maybe video games.

Less stress that way and no huge investment in motion picture prices.

Hasbro has certainly done itself enough self inflicted harm on its own trying to bring a film to market. I cannot think of any better reason NOT to make a movie when they are bending their own pecker around and pumping their own bung hole.

[KingBiohazerd]

The problem with GI Joe is Hasblow. They have no clue what the people who buy their toys want. This has been proven to be true since the renegades and now the retaliation fiasco. It almost makes me wonder if the people who were designing and putting out the POC and 30th lines are even still at hasblow or whether they were the ones who got laid off last year.

Lol I'll be seeing this POP up some were else very soon. Your right they have no clue at all they should just give up and only make toys for us. We have seen how well that has worked for them with the skystriker. Matter of fact maybe you should take over hasbro.

[Shipshape1983]

A movie is much needed attention and trying to reach out to new potential fans.

Kids have NO attention spans anymore. They watch a cartoon and 3 minutes later they've forgotten it already. As for comic books?

please.....comics are dead.

plus with all the techno garbage kids are playing with now....why would they care about toys?

PC is another thing.....Joe has strong males in it. So you know thats gonna be villianized by the politically correct cry babies.

our current society just has no place for Joe.

look how most of America treat actual military personnel and veterans!

[supermanblue]

THANK YOU!

In the current toy environment, a feature film will reach more people and have the potential to expand the brand more than any cartoon, comic or toyline could ever hope to achieve. The last 3 years have shown that even with an amazing product line, that alone won't drive a brand (neither will catering to collectors).
GI Joe isn't growing, and vehicle sales since 2008 have been fucking ABYSMAL.

A movie, creating new interest and expanding the brand would ultimately benefit the collector. Without a movie, I question how much longer retailers will continue to support a niche product like Joe.

^This,
Hasbro for the most part is thinking money which is why with both movies we have a half a job on the toy product. But the other side of that is that a movie does continue the brand....in retail stores. Like someone said with 25th having some cancelled at the end of it's reign product was about to go stricktly internet IMO. ROC good or bad brought GI Joe quickly back to the Walmarts, Targets, etc. So when the movie was done what happened next? We got Low Light, LifeLine, Sci Fi etc. Retailers again stopped taking in product bam new movie, new product in brick and mortor. I am a Joe fan since forever but I just cannot do internet only purchasing. Many of us can't. It doesn't mean we are any less of a fan. A movie brings in the younger crowd. Do toy lines based for kids really keep going without anything kid inspired to drive it. We are thinking like collectors and Hasbro only sometimes seem to care about the collector. Me myself I think that anything that can Help keep a GI Joe line alive go for it. It just needs to be a good product. I also agree that a relevent cartoon helps too. My son and I just this past weekend discovered the new Avengers cartoon. Same characters with extras. Plus there is a new Spiderman cartoon running with Avengers. Thats how you do it. Big time movie, toys in the stores and a cartoon to go with it. Main course, side dish and desert.

[1982]

To the vast majority of people G.I. joe lost it's resonance around 94. There were no TV shows, no comics,and no toys( atleast they way the were before). Kids born after that time don't have the connection to the material that we do. I mean Transformers still had TV shows like Beast Wars,Armada,Energon, and now Prime. When they lost People do to age or whatever the reason they were always picking up new fans Joe wasn't becuase it was gone. Extreme was there but it was a poor substitute for the stuff we grew up with an soon faded away. Thats the real problem, Hasbro lost faith in the brand. It seems to me that every atempt after that was Hasbro trying to find which direction to move in.