Posts filed under 'Controversy'
May 9th, 2008
Josh Brolin had a heck of a year in 2007, with strong performances in AMERICAN GANGSTER, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, GRINDHOUSE and IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH. But have you seen what he has planned for 2009?
Yes, that’s Brolin as none other than our president. Brolin has the title role in Oliver Stone’s new movie, W, which also stars Elizabeth Banks as Laura. I’d say in Brolin’s case, the resemblance is pretty strong, though Banks looks a little young to play Laura. (She’s 27 years younger than the real First Lady.)
What do you think? With Oliver Stone behind the camera — his flag-waving 2006 movie WORLD TRADE CENTER aside – anything is possible. Though his output in recent years has been a bit lackluster, I’m a big fan of both JFK and NIXON. Be interesting to see him apply his talents to another U.S. President.
April 10th, 2008
There’s trouble in Hulk-land, according to this article from the New York Times.
For one thing, the recently unveiled trailer got a decidedly mixed reaction from fans and critics. As the article says, “The look of the new Hulk — meaner and greener — won praise from some fans online, but several influential tastemakers held their noses. Entertainment Weekly pronounced the computer-generated effects ‘totally fake-looking,’ while obsessedwithfilm.com deemed the project ‘just hideous.’ “
To add to the troubles, the movie stars Edward Norton — a very talented actor, but apparently not the easiest guy to work with when the movie isn’t what he wants it to be. (See also AMERICAN HISTORY X and THE ITALIAN JOB). Asked to respond to reports of friction between the studio and Norton (who is also working on the script), the Times article quotes Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel, then offers a helpful explanantion of Hollywood-ese:
“When you get to this point in the process, there are always lots of passionate discussions,” he said. “Edward is very passionate. He is as passionate about the Hulk as we are.” (For those unaccustomed to Hollywood speak, “very passionate” roughly translates to a seven on the “he’s a difficult person” scale.)
THE INCREDIBLE HULK is set to open on June 13, and it’s far from the only game in town. THE DARK KNIGHT (the new Batman movie), IRON MAN (also based on a Marvel Comics character), SPEED RACER (from the Matrix boys, the Wachowski brothers), HANCOCK (Will Smith’s movie about a down-and-out superhero) and, of course, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL will all be competing for the same audience, and bad word of mouth combined with the lackluster reception to Ang Lee’s 2003 HULK movie could spell Doom for this Marvel movie, and I’m not talking about Dr. Doom.
Here’s the trailer. What do you think?
March 31st, 2008
Yes, that’s Robert Downey Jr. between Ben Stiller and Jack Black.
Heard about TROPIC THUNDER, the upcoming movie written and directed (and starring) Ben Stiller? The plot has great potential — a group of self-obsessed actors filming an APOCALYPSE NOW-type war movie wind up in an actual war zone — but the most intriguing part of the movie is Robert Downey Jr.’s role: He plays a dedicated (white) method actor who undergoes an elaborate physical change to play a black character (in the movie within the movie). Here’s what Downey himself says about the role:
““At the end of the day, it’s always about how well you commit to the character,” he says. “I dove in with both feet. If I didn’t feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I’m just C. Thomas Howell in SOUL MAN, I would’ve stayed home.”
Downey is, of course, referring to the awful 1986 “comedy” where Howell played a student who pretended to be black to get into college. The premise was offensive and, even worse, the movie wasn’t funny. TROPIC THUNDER looks like it’s going to be a lot funnier — and address the racial issue in an intelligent, amusing way. Here’s the trailer…
