[HISSTANK]

Originally posted by: Shin Densetsu @ Hisstank.com

Quote:

The New York Times has posted an G.I. Joe, and it's live action debut in theaters this summer with G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra. In addition, they also got feedback from Hasbro's CEO, Brian Golden:

For Hasbro this summer will see not one but two of its most lucrative properties spun into big-budget movies: the “Transformers” sequel will be followed on Aug. 7 by a live-action adaptation of its G.I. Joe toys, called “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”

The pair of films is the payoff of a strategy that the toy company has been cultivating for nearly a decade: infusing movie-friendly story lines into its popular playthings and teaching Hollywood that these stories can be translated to cinema screens. It’s an approach that many other toymakers are also taking, unwilling to cede theater marquees to the creations of comic book publishers like Marvel and DC.

As fans and collectors know, the Hasbro toys have histories that stretch back for decades. The original G.I. Joe, a 12-inch-tall soldier known as “America’s moveable fighting man,” was introduced by Hasbro in 1964. After the Vietnam War Joe’s connection to the United States military was played down, and in 1982 the soldier was recommissioned as a pocket-size special missions force of numerous agents. The Joe team was also given a nemesis, Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization (back when such things seemed suitable for youthful reveries).

The revitalization of the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises began this decade under Hasbro’s chief executive, Brian Goldner, a veteran of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson and Bandai America (which makes the Power Rangers toys).

When Mr. Goldner, 45, joined Hasbro in 2000, the company was largely focused on Pokémon imitators and toys licensed from movies. The Transformers had become robots that turned into wild beasts, and new G.I. Joe figures had been phased out in favor of replicas of the vintage 1960s dolls.

“We had relegated these brands to an experience that was limited to the playroom floor or the kitchen table,” Mr. Goldner said. “The history of those brands was much more expansive.”

Under Mr. Goldner’s direction the Transformers action figures and animation returned in 2002 to the characters and stories introduced in the 1980s. After those toys were successful, Hasbro issued updated versions of its ’80s-era G.I. Joe warriors and their Cobra enemies. The objective, Mr. Goldner said, was not only to sell toys but also to show the film industry that, cinematically speaking, they were no different from Spider-Man or Batman.

“G.I. Joe and Transformers had all the makings of big motion-picture brands,” he said. “They had grown up in the comics and animation. The generation of, in particular, men that had played with these brands were a moviegoing age.”

The challenge that Hasbro now faces, Mr. Goldner said, is growing its movie business without selling out the core elements of its popular toys for the sake of getting them on the big screen.

“We listen to the fans, really completely,” he said. “We may not be able to do what every fan wants us to do at every moment because there are so many opinions. You could go off the rails trying to do everything everybody would want.”

Read More: A G.I. Joe For Hollywood To Play With @ G.I. Joe - HissTank.com.