In response to the flying words that director Stephen Sommers was fired mid-way through 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra', producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura as well as Paramount have come out with a denial.
- Jun 12, 2009
AceShowbiz - Words that director Stephen Sommers being shunt out from "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" apparently hold no truth in them. In an interview with Latino Review, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has set things straight, saying "It's very unfair to Steve, it's completely untrue he was never asked to leave or been fired or any of that. That's ridiculous. The movie tested very well."
When the site mentioned that the screening test result is as good as "Transformers", the producer declined to compare "G.I. Joe" with other movies. He said, "Well listen, we tested very well and I don't compare the movies because they are different movies, but you know I think its really destructive for a director."
"It hurts a guy's career when people go around talking about that he was fired or he didn't do a good job and truth is he did a really good job. People are going to enjoy the movie and the test audiences enjoyed the movie. He did a very good job the movie tested well and it couldn't be more false that the studio in anyway did anything negatively to Steve."
Pressed further on what really happened in the editing room, di Bonaventura had this to say, "Nothing that doesn't happen on every other movie, which is that you constantly work and work and work and you make it better and better." He continued explaining, "We had a delay on visual effects so we waited a long time to finish the movie but that's the only thing. I don't really know why that would be interpreting it negatively but I guess it was."
As for the film's screen test so far, the producer insisted that everything went well. "Everybody was happy, the studio was happy, the filmmakers were happy, the audience was happy with the movie," he stated. "We had three test screenings, three different times and tested it and each time it just got better and better. We started off in a good place and we ended up in even in a better place, which is what you hope on a film from testing it."
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura aside, Paramount Pictures have also chimed in on this firing report of Stephen Sommers. The studio stated in an e-mail that "the story is completely false", adding "Sommers was not fired or shut out of the editing room and the film has been testing through the roof."
"G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" is set ten years in the future and chronicling the rise of the Cobra Organization. Featuring Channing Tatum, Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller among others, it is scheduled to arrive in U.S. theaters on August 7.
