POOR old John Woo seems to be learning about Hollywood life the hard way after his new film was reported to have incurred the wrath of the censors and its leading man.
The current darling of Tinseltown, Woo has encountered a few highly publicised problems with his directorial Hollywood debut, Hard Target. Word has it the star of the film, Jean Claude Van Damme, was displeased with the final cut of the film.
Why? It did not include enough of himself.
This condition of celluloid insecurity is something Kevin Costner reportedly came down with while making Robin Hood. He furiously claimed he was not in enough shots and did not have his fair share of close-ups. A star re-cut was demanded.
According to industry sources, Van Damme was stricken when the film was screened during some test runs, and the audience was said to react a little too enthusiastically to other actors, including Lance Henrikson's bad-guy character.
Van Damme, they said, grabbed hold of the editing reins, and had the film's original editor, Bob Morosci, removed while he called in a new, more Van Damme-friendly editor. All this, of course, adds spice to movie's August 20 premiere in the US.
Meanwhile, nothing has been heard from Universal Pictures, which made the film. Producers Jim Jacks and Rob Tapert have apparently been keeping mum. Maybe because they already have enough on their hands trying to placate US censors who have taken exception to the film's violence.