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On 10/17/12 9:16 PM, michael perelman wrote:
Isn't Red Dawn Jack Abramoff's film?
He was responsible for another doozy:
Red Scorpion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joseph Zito
Produced by Jack Abramoff
The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai Petrovitch Radchenko, a
Soviet Spetsnaz-trained KGB agent who is sent to an African country
where Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces are helping the
government fight an anti-communist rebel movement. He fights with
dedication for his Soviet commanders, until he is thrown in jail for
drunkenly shooting up a bar. During his night in the cell, he meets an
American journalist and a resistance fighter whom the Soviet command
have designated both as an espionage/terrorist threat, and Nikolai
learns the truth about the Soviet presence.
Nikolai is ordered to assassinate the movement's leader, but eventually
turns against his government by switching sides. Disgraced and tortured
by his commanding officers for failing his mission, he breaks out of the
interrogation chamber and escapes to the desert, later to be found by
native people. He soon learns about them and their culture, and after
receiving a ceremonial burn scar in the form of a scorpion (hence the
title), he rejoins the freedom fighters and leads an attack against the
Soviet camp after a previous attack at the rebel stronghold. Nikolai
steals an AO-63 from the armoury, fights his corrupt officers and hunts
down General Vortek, who attempts to escape in a Mil-24 Hind only to be
shot down after takeoff. Nikolai defeats and kills Vortek, as the
freedom fighters finally defeat the Soviet oppression.
Production and controversy
After being denied the right from filming in Swaziland and a search for
other locations, the film was made in Namibia (then South-West Africa).
Warner Bros., who had a negative pickup deal to release the picture,
pulled out for the breach of their contract with the production. Artists
and Athletes Against Apartheid then condemned the production for
breaking the international boycott against South Africa. The film
allegedly received help from the South African government as part of its
propaganda efforts to undermine international sympathy for the African
National Congress (see International Freedom Foundation).
With all the delays and productions issues, the film went over budget by
8-10 million dollars (approximately twice the initial amount).
Abramoff later claimed that he did not intend the film to contain so
much violence and profanity, blaming the director. He established a
short-lived "Committee for Traditional Jewish Values in Entertainment"
to release films more in line with his values, but later abandoned the
project, feeling it would be unfeasible.
A sequel, Red Scorpion 2, appeared in 1994, although the story is
largely unrelated to the first installment.
Release
Red Scorpion had a world premiere at the 1988 MIFED film market, and was
released theatrically in Germany and Japan in January 1989, then
domestically USA on April 21, 1989. The movie was released theatrically
worldwide except in the United Kingdom (where it went "direct to video"
in January 1990).
Months later, Sharpiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment Home Video released the
movie on videocassette and laserdisc. In 1993, a budget tape of the film
was released by Starmaker. The movie has had at least two Region 1 DVD
releases. The first DVD was released in 1998 by Simitar and the second
DVD was released in 2002 by 20th Century Fox. In 2005, Tango
Entertainment released a UMD of the film for the Sony PlayStation
Portable. The two DVDs are now discontinued.
The film was directed by Joseph Zito and represents his first authorial
effort half a decade after the release of the Chuck Norris vehicles
Missing in Action and Invasion U.S.A..
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