Rumors flooded the internet today, claiming G.I. Joe director Stephen Sommers had been fired and even "locked out" of the editing booth. But we got to the bottom of the matter to distinguish fact from Cobra crap.
Latino Review reported that over on Transformers producer Don Murphy's message boards, a commenter (named Endchimes) made a bold statement:
After a test screening wherein the film [G.I. Joe] tested the lowest score ever from an audience in the history of Paramount, the executive who pushed for the movie Brad Weston had Stephen Sommers, the super hack director of the film fired. Removed. Locked out of the editing room.
The anonymous source added that editor Stuart Baird was brought in to fix the film without Sommers' involvement.
According to our own inside sources, the rumor is false. In fact, Sommers was hard at work on GI Joe planning today. He has not been cut out of the editing room and he has still been involved in the film. Our sources also maintain the rumors of poor test screenings have been over-exaggerated and that test screenings have been very positive.
G.I. Joe Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura went on the record with Latino Review to also put down the rumors as well. Addressing the editing room drama and on how it's been testing with audiences:
Nothing that doesn't happen on every other movie, which is that you constantly work and work and work and you make it better and better. We had a delay on visual effects so we waited a long time to finish the movie but that's the only thing. I don't really know why that would be interpreting it negatively but I guess it was....
Everybody was happy, the studio was happy, the filmmakers were happy, the audience was happy with the movie. We had three test screenings, three different times and tested it and each time it just got better and better. We started off in a good place and we ended up in even in a better place, which is what you hope on a film from testing it.
So there you have it. Sommers still on — doubly confirmed — and people are as opposed to those silly power suits as we've been. But let's not forget the film does have one Christopher Eccleston ace up its sleeve, so who knows? We'll have to wait until it's in theaters August 7th to truly judge these real American heroes.
Top picture from Modlight.