You can breath now. John Rambo has been MIA since 1988 but according to writer/director/producer/star/killing machine Sylvester Stallone, that's just because he's had no-one to point his oversized gun at. After deciding not to remake Commando and sacking the Islamic terrorist schtick, he and writer Art Monterastelli (The Hunted) have banged their heads really, really hard until a script fell out and came up with some bad guys.
In this interview with Entertainment Weekly Sly explains how they mustered up their first draft. Rambo will be re-introduced living a "monastic" lifestyle in Bangkok existing off salvaged spare parts and scrap metal. A group of local humanitarian volunteers run afoul of an old-fashioned kidnapping and their families beg that ol' Johnny should track them down, Green Beret style.
So where did Stallone get the inspiration for the story setting and location I hear you ask? Maybe he researched current affairs in Internation Conflict. Did he consult leading military strategists? Fox News? Magic 8-Ball? No, No, No and I'm sure he tried. But here's what he actually did do: "You know, it's hard ... Politics have changed so much. Who do we fight? The Finns? You can't do that. The Dutch? That's not gonna work. Wooden shoes are not gonna look cool ... I called 'Soldier of Fortune magazine' and said, 'What is the most critical man-doing-inhumanity-to-man situation right now in the world? Where is it?'" They said Burma.
The movie's stakeholders have apparently made their own demands contributions by suggesting that a team of young hot-shots come along for the ride, presumably to bridge the generation gorge. Heck, it worked for Blade: Trinity. Actually wait...
