Last month it was revealed that Jaden Smith (age 10), son of superstar actor Will Smith, will take on the role originally played by Ralph Macchio in a remake to THE KARATE KID, the hit family drama from 1984 that spawned three lesser sequels. Just this week, Smith Sr. talked about casting “Mr. Miyagi” and how shooting in China might affect the “karate” angle.
Columbia Pictures is dusting off its old franchise and planning to give it a facelift courtesy of a new script by Chris Murphy. The basic plot involving a youth standing up to bullies by learning martial arts from an eccentric master will remain in place but the setting is shifting from California to China where the film will be shot in Beijing and other cities with the production assistance of China Film Group, the company behind recent Chinese blockbusters like MEI LANFANG and FEARLESS.
Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008).
With Jaden presently starring in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, the newly released sci-fi pic, itself a remake of Robert Wise’s 1951 classic, MTV news caught up with Smith Sr. to talk about his son’s next film which Smith is producing along with Ken Stovitz, longtime partner James Lassiter, and Jerry Weintraub, producer of the original KARATE KID.
When asked about who might fill the role of Mr. Miyagi, Smith was tight-lipped but did state that they were looking at several people they were “intrigued by.”
With the film set in China, the casting of this role has potentially opened up to include Chinese actors. This role needs a strong actor more than a strong martial artist. My initial pick would be someone like Tony Leung Ka-fai, although if I was going to visually match a Chinese actor to Pat Morita I would choose Wu Ma. Chow Yun-fat would be an obvious choice but also a mistake. He had his chance with BULLETPROOF MONK and failed, although it wasn’t entirely his fault.
More to the point, the topic of the Chinese locale and its relation to the Japanese art of karate was brought up. “Fortunately, karate is originally a Chinese art form,” said Smith. “So that’s what we’re playing around in.”
Smith is technically right but I cannot imagine American producers having the sophistication to adequately portray karate and its medieval roots in kung fu while remaining respectful of either art or either culture for that matter. With Chinese co-producers on board, I suspect we’ll inevitably see a shift to modern Chinese martial arts. In that case THE KARATE KID may become THE KUNG FU KID. If that happens, there is really only one choice for “Mr. Miyagi.” That would be Sammo Hung. He has been taking on the mentor role in film and TV of late and doing a fantastic job of it, not to mention that he is more than qualified to portray a kung fu mentor onscreen.
Should Smith and his team decide to stick with Japanese karate, and I sincerely hope they do, there is also only one choice and his name is Yasuaki Kurata. He’s the right age, he can act, he’s a sensei in real life, and his karate and screen fighting skills and experience are tops. He could also be the film’s fight coordinator. His English is limited but I say hire a coach and feed him lines.
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