Seth Rogen gives us a sneak peek at The Green Hornet!

Tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Seth Rogen was to debut the trailer for The Green Hornet. At the time of this writing we still aren’t sure if that is going to happen. Seems the studio is experiencing power issues, that began in the control room and eventually spread to… gasp… the green room. Talk amongst the gathered journalists is that it is most certainly the zombie apocalypse. 

Luckily for us, we were part of a small group that got a sneak peak at the trailer a few hours earlier, followed by a Q&A with Seth, director Michel Gondry, producer Neil Moritz, and screenwriter Evan Goldberg. Here are some of the highlights:

As directed by Michel Gondry, the man behind one of my all-time favs, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you would expect this film to deliver a bit of quirkiness. However, Gondry was quick to point out in the Q&A,
“There is a danger of having a
shtick.” Honestly, I wouldn’t have pegged this as Gondry film if I didn’t already know. He further explained,
“There is some sequence that we’re still working out that you didn’t see in the trailer, that’s more of my specific signature. But when we met they said we want to see Michele Gondry sequence and I said
no.”

Seth Rogen’s involvement has been discussed at length on message boards and fan sites. Personally, he was never a concern for me. I wasn’t sure about Michael Keaton as Batman back in the day and that worked out, so I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The trailer quickly illustrates that this was not a cause for concern. See Seth doesn’t play the debonair newspaperman as described in classic Green Hornet. He says,
“My guy is not exactly like Bruce Wayne. The whole story of the movie is I’m an irresponsible idiot whose is trying to get his life together and do something worthwhile. So as an irresponsible idiot I’m quite good. And that’s why we always knew it was an easy buy. We didn’t want to just tell people what the whole story of the movie was, but that’s why we knew it was going to be fine because the story wasn’t that of a completely serious well-groomed man who decides to become a superhero. It’s about a guy who is grappling with his own irresponsible old activities and tendencies and can he put those all aside and do something worthwhile. And that’s why I think as an actor I thought it was something I could tackle. It displayed what people expected of me and what maybe I could show as a growth through the
character.”

In Britt Reid, Seth delivers another in his long line of lovable everymen. Sure this one inherits a prominent publishing dynasty and fights crime, but this is definitely a Seth Rogen character.

The trailer also gives us our first peeks at Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson and Christoph Waltz as the villainous Chudnofsky. Cursory glances, but this trailer wasn’t about them. It was designed to introduce the public to The Green Hornet and his trusty sidekick Kato. Jay Chou’s turn as Kato is something the filmmakers are clearly stoked with. Seth would mention,
“I think Jay… Man I’ve never been psyched to show up to work and be completely overshadowed by somebody on a regular basis. And it’s just how it is. Jay in his own right will win people over. He is an incredibly impressive and charismatic performer. Jay is a talented martial artist and he’s just a rad
dude.”

The trailer certainly backs this notion up. Some of the most memorable moments come from Jay. There are laughs; after Seth asks him to take his hand and fight crime, he states he’ll help, but “I don’t want to touch you.” There are martial arts aplenty, and we get our first inkling of Kato-vision. This film looks like it is going to make Jay Chou a household name.

The trailer also shows off Black Beauty, the car unveiled at last years Comic-Con. As impressive as it was to see on the convention floor, it’s even sweeter in action. Sleek, black and gadget-filled, this is the ultimate muscle car. 

There was much more to the Q&A and we’ll get that to you this week. For now, you can check out the trailer when it premieres tonight on
Yahoo.com (9:45
PST). As for Seth’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, well Seth just filmed his segment utilizing Apple Photo Booth and Jimmy’s laptop. The segment is now set to be part incorporated into tomorrow’s show. Definitely a night for the JKL history books and it should make for entertaining television.

I’d like to thank Columbia Pictures and the fine folks at Jimmy Kimmel Live for a memorable evening. If tonight was any indication, The Green Hornet should be an adventure you won’t soon forget. Looking forward to Comic-Con where we’ll get our next taste. 

THE TRAILER IS NOW
AVAILABLE
FOR VIEWING BELOW…