The Expendables (2010 film)

For other uses, see The Expendables (disambiguation).

The Expendables
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Sylvester Stallone
Written by	Dave Callaham (story & screenplay) Sylvester Stallone (screenplay)
Produced by	Avi Lerner Kevin King Templeton John Thompson Robert Earl
Starring	Sylvester Stallone Jason Statham Jet Li Dolph Lundgren Mickey Rourke Randy Couture Terry Crews Eric Roberts Stone Cold Steve Austin David Zayas Gisele Itié Charisma Carpenter Gary Daniels Bruce Willis Arnold Schwarzenegger
Cinematography	Jeffrey Kimball
Edited by	Ken Blackwell Paul Harb
Music by	Brian Tyler
Production companies	Nu Image Millennium Films
Distributed by	Lionsgate (U.S.) California Films (Brazil)
Release date	August 13, 2010 (2010-08-13)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$85 million

The Expendables is an upcoming ensemble action/war film written by Dave Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and is expected to be released on August 13, 2010. The film pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and early '90s, and stars an array of action veterans from those decades, including Stallone himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, and Jet Li, as well as more recent stars such as Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Plot

A team of highly-trained, dangerous mercenaries are sent on a mission to a South American country, with the objective to overthrow a cold-blooded dictator. As the mission begins, the mercenaries discover that the situation is not as it appears. The men find themselves trapped in a deadly game of deception.

Cast

The Expendables

• Sylvester Stallone as Barney "The Schizo" Ross, a paramilitary veteran and leader of the team.
• Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, second in command of the team. He is a former SAS soldier and expert at close quarters combat using knives.
• Jet Li as Yin Yang, a Chinese expert of martial arts.
• Dolph Lundgren as Gunnar Jensen, a Swedish sniper dealing with his inner demons.
• Terry Crews as Hale Caesar, Yin's best friend and a heavy weapons specialist.
• Randy Couture as Toll Road, demolitions expert.
• Mickey Rourke as Tool, a former Expendable, now an arms dealer and tattoo parlor artist/owner.

Other characters

• Charisma Carpenter as Lacy, Lee Christmas' fiancee.
• Bruce Willis as Mr. Church, the man who hires the Expendables.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger as Trench, an old rival of Ross and the former leader of the original Expendables.
• Gisele Itié as Sandra, a young native woman and undercover Interpol agent.
• Lauren Jones as Cheyenne, Tool's love interest.

Garza's men

• David Zayas as General Garza, the evil dictator.
• Eric Roberts as James Monroe, an ex-CIA agent preventing the Expendables from killing General Garza.
• Stone Cold Steve Austin as Dan Paine, Monroe's bodyguard.
• Gary Daniels as The Brit, General Garza's main henchman and a former Expendable who wants to go to war and get revenge against the team for kicking him out.
• Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira as General Garza's sword wielding henchman.
• Amin Joseph and Senyo Amoaku as the leaders of a group of Somali pirates that challenge the Expendables.

Production

Production began on March 3, 2009, and filming began on March 28, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and other locations included Mangaratiba, Niteroi, Guanabara Bay, Colônia Juliano Moreira and Parque Lage. Filming ended April 25. Filming continued later on May 11, in Elmwood, Louisiana and Downtown New Orleans, Louisana which included French Quarter, St. Peters Street, Fort Mccomb, Claiborne Avenue and the Interstate 10 Overpass. Filming officially ended on July 1, 2009. On October 27, 2009, there was a pick-up scene at a church in Hollywood, California featuring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis. On June 2, West Coast Customs Street Customs built three customized 1955 Ford F100s for Sylvester Stallone for the film. One was built for a crash scene, the second for green screen, and the third for Stallone to keep. "The Expendables has a eighty million-dollar budget," says Stallone's co-star Dolph Lundgren, adding, "It's an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with knives and shooting at each other."

Casting

Jean-Claude Van Damme was personally offered a role by Stallone, but turned it down because he felt there was no substance to his character. Stallone said of Van Damme "He told me, you should be trying to save people in South Central." This reportedly led to Dolph Lundgren being cast instead although it is not confirmed whether it was the same part. The role accepted by Forest Whitaker was originally conceived as a role for Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Wesley Snipes but later rewritten for Whitaker. Due to a scheduling conflict prior to filming, Whitaker was replaced by 50 Cent for the role of Hale Caesar. He was then replaced by former NFL player Terry Crews.

Steven Seagal was asked to play a cameo role, but turned down the offer due to negative experiences with producer Avi Lerner. Actor Danny Trejo was rumored to play Emmanuel, but on June 15, he revealed that he was not cast for the role. Instead, both are in the works for Robert Rodriguez's Machete.

By May 2009, the script had undergone a number of re-writes, in which Chris Hemsworth was written out. Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Sandra Bullock was rumored to have a role in the film, but revealed that she did not even know about the project. Despite the news, she did express interests in working in another action film and would have liked to appear in the film depending on the storyline.

The role of the man who hires the Expendables, Mr. Church, was very difficult to cast. Initially offered to Schwarzenegger, he declined in favor of a smaller cameo due to his political career. The role was then offered to Kurt Russell whose agent replied that he was not interested in "ensemble acting at the moment." Stallone spent several months after principal photography determined to find a big action name for the part. Rumors suggested that the role had been offered to friend and fellow former Planet Hollywood co-owner Bruce Willis, who was busy filming Cop Out. Willis' casting as Mr. Church was confirmed by August 2009, as was the fact that he would appear in a scene with both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

On October 26, Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger shot their scene in the Hollywood Presbyterian church in Los Angeles, marking the first time all three have appeared together on screen.

Music

Composer Brian Tyler announced on his official website that he has been hired to write original music for the film. Tyler previously worked with Stallone on Rambo in 2008. Sully Erna from Godsmack is writing a song called 'Sinner's Prey' for the movie. A small portion of Sinner's Prey can be heard at the beginning of the promo trailer when the Millennium Films logo appears.

The Florida hard-rock band Shinedown has also contributed a brand new track, recorded specifically for the movie, which is also used in the theatrical trailer. The song is entitled "Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)", and was released on June 22, 2010.

The score for the film will be released on August 10th. The tracklists have been revealed.

1. The Expendables
2. Aerial
3. Ravens And Skulls
4. Lee And Lacy
5. Massive
6. The Gulf Of Adem
7. Lifeline
8. Confession
9. Royal Rumble
10. Scanning The Enemy
11. The Contact
12. Surveillance
13. Warriors
14. Trinity
15. Waterboard
16. Losing His Mind
17. Take Your Money
18. Giant With A Shotgun
19. Time To Leave
20. Mayhem And Finale

Release

The film had an original scheduled release date set at April 23, 2010, but was later pushed back four months until August 13, to extend production time. On March 17, 2010, the official international poster for the film was released.

A promo reel (aimed at industry professionals) was leaked online in August. Sometime in October, nearly two months after the promo trailer was leaked, it was officially released online. The promo trailer was edited by Stallone himself and it was shown at the Venice Film Festival. On April 1, 2010, the official theatrical trailer for the film was released. On June 15, 2010 a red band clip for the film was released.

Comic book

A comic book prequel to the movie published by Dynamite Entertainment was released in May 2010. It was written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Esteve Polls, with cover art by Lucio Parillo. The story focuses on the Expendables' mission in Nigeria.

Sequel

Due to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to early test footage and trailers, producer Avi Lerner has reported that there is already talk of making two sequels, or at least some sort of a longer franchise, based on the surviving members of the team. It's been confirmed by Stallone himself that he has scrapped Rambo V (and "retired" Rambo) in order to work on The Expendables sequel.

External links

• Official website
• The Expendables at IMDb
• The Expendables Official Trailer
• Visiting Dolph Lundgren on the set of The Expendables