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Seth Rogen attended the SXSW Film Festival to premiere his new comedy Observe and Report, but more importantly he confirmed that “we have no 100% official Kato at this point.”

Up until now, Chinese filmmaker Stephen Chow (Kung-fu Hustle) had been pretty much locked for the role of Green Hornet’s sidekick, despite his stepping aside as the film’s director a few months back. Michael Gondry had taken on the reigns of the project.

Rogen’s statement does leave the door open for Chow to still play the part, which I hope he will.

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Michel Gondry is in place to direct The Green Hornet with Columbia committed to a June 25, 2010 release date.

If you have been following the film’s development process, then you know that Seth Rogen is set to play the title character, and Stephen Chow will play his sidekick, Kato.

Gondry work includes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Human Nature and soon to be released on March 6, Tokyo!  A commercial film like Green Hornet is not his forte, but I am interested in seeing how he’ll pull it off.  

As far as Variety reports, Gondry nailed the gig after presenting a vision that astounded the production presidents. They had been looking for a director since late last year, when Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) resigned over creative differences. Yet, Chow decided at that time to remain in the picture playing the Kato role.

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I love Kung Fu Hustle.  Geniunely, I love this movie.

Okay, yes–it was just yesterday that I brought up Kung Fu Panda, and I can assure you that I’m not on some crazy kung fu kick.  Not that kung fu movies aren’t often great fun–I tell you, this is the one subgenre of film where you can count on the Chinese to be amazing.  They have done some FANTASTIC stuff.

But Kung Fu Hustle was something special.

The plot is one significant part of it–a young man from the country and his tubby cohort are out to join the Axe Gang, the most feared criminal syndicate in all of China.  They want the standard things that young men looking to join criminal syndicates want, money and women.  While out trying to join, they stumble into Pig Sty Alley, a run-down housing development full of honest, hard-working folks just trying to make their way in the world. In a series of unusual events, Pig Sty Alley manages to catch the attention of the Axe Gang, and we discover the Alley’s secret–it’s positively lousy with kung fu masters.  The coolie (basically a guy who moves heavy stuff for a living) is a thunder-legged master by the name of Twelve Kicks.  The tailor is an effeminate punching master known as Iron Fist, who hangs his dry cleaning up by the iron rings that protect his wrists in battle.  And the guy at the noodle shop, Donut?  He’s a staff fighter called Hexagon Staff.

And for those of you who think I’ve given away half the plot, oh no. Oh no no nooooo…there’s plenty more where they came from.

Naturally, the Axe Gang takes offense to this apartment building standing up for itself and thus sends an array of hired killers to take care of business.

Perhaps the best part of Kung Fu Hustle is the way Stephen Chow has managed to blend an adrenaline-fuelled rush of a movie with a rollicking comic riot of a movie.  There will be entire stretches of the movie with precious little dialogue, but you’ll scarcely notice because you’re too busy watching incredibly choreographed fight scenes.  And then, when the dialogue DOES come back into play, it’s brisk, it’s punchy, and it packs in plenty of laughs. There’s a very good reason that this movie had the widest cinematic release in the United States of a foreign language film–because it was THAT GOOD.  I actually remember seeing this one in a theatre near my house, and I live out in the middle of nowhere, so we don’t always get the newest movies right off.  But on one cold Sunday afternoon in April, I managed to catch this one.  And it stuck with me for quite a while, seeing the amazing fight scenes on a big screen.

Yes, for those who want a SERIOUS kung fu epic, well, this is not for you.  In fact, I’m hard pressed to name very many SERIOUS kung fu epics–most of the ones I’ve seen have had at least a little humor in them. And yes, there’s a heavy dependence on the wire-fu going on in here.  But these things are so small that they can easily be overlooked.  The plain and the simple is, I loved Kung Fu Hustle, and if you’re into action flicks with some humor, or action flicks with a LOT of humor, then Kung Fu Hustle will definitely be up YOUR alley too.

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Columbia Pictures’ film The Green Hornet has made another change.  Stephen Chow will not direct but will still play Kato.

A new director needs to be found for the crime fighter movie, which will keep on track to start production spring.

According to Variety, the character began on radio in the 1930s and is best known from the ’60s TV version. But a bigscreen translation is having a long gestation, going through many incarnations, including as a proposed George Clooney vehicle.

Chow stepped out as director over creative differences.

The film was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and Rogen is also starring as the masked crime fighter. The script will likely be refined with a director in tow.

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The Green Hornet is set to be directed by Stephen Chow, who will also star as the masked manservant Kato. Seth Rogen is aboard as the mask crime fighter — Green Hornet.

The movie bows June 25, 2010. 

I am very excited about The Green Hornet finally coming to the big screen. I’ve know about the project for quit some time while it’s been in development.

Kato was originally played by Bruce Lee on television.

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