Cameron Diaz Superhero Movie On Disney+ Features The Coolest Sidekick Ever
Crime fighting is so much better in pairs than as a solo act, especially when it comes to cinema. The 2011 action flick The Green Hornet is no exception, pairing comedic actor Seth Rogan with Taiwanese musician/actor Jay Chou as a duo that’s Hell-bent on taking down a Russian organized crime boss. Adding Cameron Diaz as a love interest to Rogan’s character only makes the film entry more enticing for anyone looking to stream a great film on Disney+ this Spring.
Cameron Diaz In The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet has its roots in a 1930s radio serial, and later crossed over into a multitude of comic books and movie serials in the 1940s.
But the 1960s television series of the same name really put the characters on the radar of a new generation of fans.
The series featured martial arts legend Bruce Lee as Kato, helping the actor jump-start his career in film.
The 2011 version of The Green Hornet centers around the son of a newspaper magnate who inherits his father’s publication after the patriarch’s death. Britt Reid’s first order of business is to terminate the employment of most of his late father’s staff and bring on a mechanic/martial arts expert named Kato as his assistant.
The two bond quickly and decide to use Reid’s media outlet as a weapon against a local Russian mobster.
The Green Hornet And Kato
Convincing Kato to join him as a crime-fighting duo, Reid has his mechanically adept partner engineer a special car to help them in their efforts to rid the city of crime.
The car, known as Black Beauty, is equipped with enough weapons and gadgets to give the Batmobile a run for its money. Reid begins publishing stories from his newspaper that feature the exploits of his alter-ego, the Green Hornet, in an attempt to shake up organized crime leaders.
Cameron Diaz The Icing On The Cake
Car chases, diabolical double-crosses, and drug lab explosions are but a few layers in a film that seems to have a great time poking fun at itself while paying homage to the original television series.
The addition of Cameron Diaz’s character of Lenore Case, the lead secretary of Britt’s newspaper and the object of his affection was the icing on the cake that this film needed.
Role Changes
The Green Hornet was in development beginning in 1992, when the rights were secured. Several script changes led to production delays, causing a chain of A-list actors who were granted the starring role of Britt to have to pass on the part. Between 1992 and 2007, the lead was given to George Clooney, Greg Kinnear, Mark Wahlberg, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The iconic sidekick role of Kato was originally meant for Jason Scott Lee, who portrayed the late Bruce Lee in the 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Like the string of actors who had been cast to play his counterpart Britt, Lee bowed out due to production delays for other projects.
Jet Li was next in line for The Green Hornet’s Kato, and he also had to part ways with the project in 2001.
Script Rewrites
At one time in the early 2000s, The Green Hornet nearly had Kevin Smith rewriting the script.
But after a hundred pages of copy, Smith left for other endeavors, keeping the film in limbo once again. But by 2007, producer Neal Moritz was able to finally put together the beginning of the end of the project’s woes and brought on Rogan as the screenwriter.
Mixed Success For The Green Hornet
Production of The Green Hornet was finally underway, with Rogan, Chou, and Diaz in unforgettable performances.
While critics didn’t seem to care for the film, fans helped make the film a box office success by driving returns to more than $100 million over production costs.
The Green Hornet can be streamed from the Hulu section of Disney+, for those who have a subscription to both of the streaming services.
