Karate Kid 1 Cast
Simon Thompson is a freelance journalist, producer and broadcaster originally from the UK but now living and working in Los Angeles. He has worked for, and with, the biggest brands in the industry including Reuters, E! News, BBC, ITN, Euronews, Sky News, Digital Spy, IGN, SciFi Now magazine and more. Simon has covered everything from red carpets to the Oscars as well as having created, scripted, produced and presented a range of primetime entertainment news shows on major networks and interviewed the biggest names in the industry. Simon is also currently developing his first documentaries and feature film projects. He can be found on Twitter @ShowbizSimon and you can see more of his work on his website.
Www.thisissimonthompson.com The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. ‘The Karate Kid’ took $90.82 million at the domestic box office against an $8 million budget – adjusted for inflation the figure increases to $248.12 million. The Karate Kid is heading back to the big screen for one night only – and it’s finding a whole new life online. The revival of the classic, a joint venture between and YouTube, will screen in nearly 700 movie theaters on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The screening event will also feature an exclusive advance screening of the first two episodes from the new YouTube Red Original Series, Cobra Kai, based on the Karate Kid franchise.
The Karate Kid was an instant commercial success on its release in 1984. It took $90.82 million at the domestic box office against an $8 million budget – adjusted for inflation the figure increases to $248.12 million. To celebrate the new series, I caught up with The Karate Kid’s Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, aka Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, to talk about the film’s legacy and YouTube Red’s Cobra Kai. Simon Thompson: The Karate Kid transcended being a hit movie and became a pop culture phenomenon and the dialogue has become part of our lexicon. Ralph Macchio: The one thing that I felt was, at least when we were making the movie, Pat Morita and I had the potential for creating something special.
It was more from the aspect of how easy it was to work with him and how it all naturally fell into place. As an actor, scenes you can very often take a lot of effort and energy and come out spectacular but then there are others that are effortless.
The Daniel and Miyagi dynamic was very easy and it just unfolded right. As far as the movie itself, we wondered if it would work, we wondered if all the elements come together or would it be too corny? We wondered if the bully was too cartoonish or if the ending was too much? Seriously, you have no idea. We just trusted it. We had John Avildsen as our director and a great script but to say did I think that in 2018 I’d be talking about this with you?
The pop culture side of it is even more unbelievable. That fact that phrases from the movie have become part of the lexicon, as you said, is incredible and wonderful in the same breath. William Zabka: It was my first film so, at the time, I had nothing to compare it to.
So, from me, if nobody ever saw the film, if it went no further than the experience of learning the martial arts and filming it, it was still the highlight of my life. Nobody could have ever seen the course that The Karate Kid took.
When you’re 18-years-old, you can’t imagine that 30 years later you’ll be talking about the same movie. It felt like every actor in the story in the show really personified the characters in such a way that it even lived off camera. There was something organically happening, in the energy of all the relationships and everything beyond.
I think the month-long rehearsals added to that too. It was like the cameras were capturing an event that was happening and not just a movie. We knew it was special but not this kind of special. I don’t know what to attribute it to exactly but it has snowballed, became part of popular culture and it has touched so many lives. Actors Ralph Macchio and William Zabka of ‘Cobra Kai’ speak onstage during the YouTube Red Originals Presentation in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo: Frederick M.
Brown/Getty Images) ST: Cobra Kai can’t be the first time that a revival, reboot or continuation of The Karate Kid has come up. WZ: I think the writers and creators of the show took a really smart and fresh approach that’s not just nostalgia, it’s very relevant for today. If the show started now and there never was The Karate Kid, the show would still work. It’s such a sacred film to so many people. It’s a memory that they’ve seen 100 times, so to toy with the legacy of it, I think everybody’s a little bit gun shy.
Ralph and I have both been pitched different versions of some kind of a sequel or continuation over the years but none of them felt right. They were all weighted too far one way or the other and this one just kind of threads the needle, it felt safe and it felt right. When I left the meeting where these guys pitched it to me, I walked away and I didn’t send a text to Ralph because I didn’t want to jump the gun. It felt like an old girlfriend coming back and wanting to try it again.
It was like the Johnny in me just woke up from a deep sleep, opened one crusty eye and saw a vision of Ali standing in the corner. What they pitched to me hit a nerve, it felt right and then they got Ralph and the same thing happened to him. Our pitch meeting to YouTube was actually April 25th of last year which, unbelievably, happens to be the same day as our one night premiere of the original movie for Fathom.
RM: I feel this is the exact right time. The original Karate Kid was a combination of the right time, the right cast, the right filmmakers, the right story and the right summer. This feels that same way to me now for the launch of the Cobra Kai series.
Everyone from the taxi driver on the street to the guy at the bakery on the corner, to a studio executive and a top writer, everyone has their own idea and their own take on what would work. I’ve had everything from Daniel having his own kid who is in trouble in New York and he becomes the Miyagi for his kid to maybe Elisabeth Shue coming back as Ali and she’d be with Johnny but Daniel has a kid with her. Seriously, we’ve had a million ideas come our way.
Cobra Kai is, we feel, the right story with the right people at the right time and being available the right way. ST: How was it going back to the world of The Karate Kid? RM: It was surreal just being called Daniel Larusso again. Mind you, I’ve been Daniel Larusso on street for the past 34 years so it wasn’t it wasn’t completely out of the realm of something I’ve heard before. Even Billy and I looking at each other was surreal.
They show some flashbacks throughout the show and there’s footage that’s never been seen before from the original shoot intercut into the story, it’s amazing. First of all, you’ve got to get past how awesome it is to see yourself at 21-years-old as opposed to 51, but once you get past that it’s just unbelievable. Miyagi is woven into Daniel’s life and his family’s life in so many ways. If Daniel loses his focus or is not in a place that he should be, the Miyagi-isms have to be woven into these stories.
For me, it’s almost like working without my partner but they’ve done a beautiful job. ST: Is Cobra Kai a one-off or are we looking at this as the start of something bigger? WZ: Absolutely something bigger.
William Zabka
The ending of the first season is really the turning point. If this was a script, this would be page ten of the story and this is where it all starts to happen.
Season one is really setting the stage for a long run. Well, for as long as people are interested. RM: We are hoping to do this for many seasons.
Actress In Karate Kid
The arc is really a film cut up into 10 half hour parts but the stage is set for more, absolutely. That’s the plan. ST: William, you mentioned Elisabeth Shue earlier. Can we expect to see her show up at all? WZ: Well, you have to sign into YouTube Red to find that answer out but she’s certainly a big part of Johnny Lawrence. The origin of The Karate Kid was really a fight over a girl.
She’s a part of Johnny, I can tell you that much. RM: Everything is on the table and everything is being discussed. There will be surprises peppered throughout and hopefully, moving forward, even bigger and better ones. It all depends on how the stories drive forward and in what direction. Tickets for Cobra Kai: Premiere Feat. The Karate Kid can be purchased via t or at the box office of participating theaters.
Simon Thompson is a freelance producer (TV & Digital), film & entertainment journalist and broadcaster. From the UK, he now lives and works in LA. RECOMMENDED BY FORBES.
What is Cobra Kai? Cobra Kai is an upcoming comedy-drama web series based on the popular The Karate Kid film series. The series will premiere on May 2, 2018 on YouTube Red.
Karate Kid 2 Cast
The series takes place some 34 years after the original movie, 1984’s The Karate Kid, and follows one of the film’s main characters, Johnny Lawrence, as he reopens the Cobra Kai karate school in a quest for redemption. In doing so, he renews his old rivalry with another classic character, Daniel LaRusso, who’s struggled without the sage Mr. Miyagi as a mentor.
The series revolves around both men’s personal struggles from the past and how they impact the present. A post shared by (@cobrakaiseries) on Apr 16, 2018 at 10:14am PDT Chris Bumbray of praised the much-anticipated web series as ‘a welcome-sequel to a beloved classic that stands on its own’ while Rafer Guzman of hailed its ‘underdog spirit.’ Over at the, Dan Fienberg also lauded the sequel, saying it packs ‘enough homages, twists and reversals to be much more consistently entertaining than it has any right to be.’ Kristen Baldwin of also lavished praised on the acclaimed web series, saying it’s an ‘entertaining dramedy that mixes nostalgia and teen angst’ in a deft and unique way.