Was that the head of Fox all coked up at the Golden Globes?

Written by Vince Mancini / 01.24.12

As pointless and usually boring as the Golden Globes are, past years have given us a treasure trove of delightful gifs, such as bug-eyed Christian Bale, Brendan Fraser laughing like a spaz, (and the subsequent William Tell version), to say nothing of Quentin Tarantino fist pumpin’ like a champ while the imaginary wizard who shows up when he does too much cocaine cheers him on (actually that one was at the Oscars, and the coke wizard was his director of photography, Robert Richardson, but who’s keeping track). This year’s telecast was largely un-gif-worthy, except for a brief shot of a guy sitting behind Michelle Pfeiffer who was gnawing at his own cheek like it was the key to his freedom. I demanded it be giffed, but unfortunately, no one had video of the event… UNTIL NOW!

Twitter friends Jordan Rubin posted the video (below), and someone else pointed out that the tongue-chewer is actually Tom Rothman, the co-CEO of Fox. To be honest, he doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would be coked off his face at an awards show (or anywhere, really), but it would go a long way towards explaining Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son. (I know what you’re thinking, and sorry, Tower Heist was Universal).

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Fox campaigning hard for Andy Serkis’s monkey Oscar

Written by Vince Mancini / 11.30.11

YOU ARE A MONKEY, DEREK!

I think most of us could already predict this was coming based on how furiously everyone was jacking each other off over motion-capture when Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out over the summer. Now it’s official: Fox is pushing hard for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Andy Serkis’s performance as Caesar the ape. I’m all for it, but only if he has to give his acceptance speech using the talking sign language glove from Congo.

Fox will push to create momentum for a possible best supporting actor Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis for his performance as ape Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman and CEO Tom Rothman said here Monday night.
“I think we may be at the place where we will see a first-ever in Hollywood this year, which is to see Andy Serkis get nominated for a best supporting actor for Planet of the Apes, even though his face never actually appears,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street when asked about Fox’s contenders for awards season. “But his performance appears, so we are going to push that hard.”
Further discussing Serkis’ work Rothman said: “The emotionality – what you see and what you feel – he did it. I saw him. I watched him. Then they digitally overlaid – you can think of it as a costume – the skin and the hair of an ape.”

“He BECAME Caesar the ape. It was incredible to watch. He refused to break character for the entire shoot. I saw him hurl his own feces at a PA who messed up his Starbucks order once. What an incredible artist.”

“…But I tell you the thing that people felt – and a lot of people where moved when they saw the movie – is because of his performance.” [THR]

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Directing Wolverine 2 is ‘Aronofsky’s job if he wants it.’

Written by Vince Mancini / 10.06.10
"It seems one of them wasn't fooled by my disguise. Curses! Think, Aronofsky, think!"

"Damn, it seems one of them wasn't fooled by my disguise. Think, Aronofsky, think!"

You could start an entire site dedicated solely to movies Darren Aronofsky is rumored to be possibly thinking of directing.  He was supposedly interested in Superman before Zack Snyder got the job, and last we heard about Wolverine 2, the directing job was between David Slade and Aronofsky.  Now, Deadline says the job is Aronofsky’s if he wants it.  Can’t say I fault the media strategy.  The only way I was ever going to care about this project was by association to the guy most recently known for aggressive lesbian ballerina sex.

Aronofsky and Hugh Jackman already have a close relationship after they made The Fountain, and Aronofsky recently met with Fox chief Tom Rothman seeking the kind of creative control he’s accustomed to. There was a lull in the talks when Aronofsky briefly flirted with directing Superman, but that job went to Zack Snyder. Meanwhile, Darren has developed some serious heat off festival showings of Black Swan. I’m not sure if he’s going to do Wolverine 2, but it’s his job if he wants it — and they are talking.

If anyone can do it, Aronofsky can, but this seems like a thankless project.  I mean, it’s never going to live up to the first one.  It’d be like making a sequel to the Sistine Chapel, or Black Knight.

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THIS IS ALL AFFLECK’S FAULT

Written by Vince Mancini / 10.03.08

IESB recently did an interview with Fox head Tom Rothman (yes, the same Fox that made Space Chimps), and they asked him what he thought of the Daredevil franchise.  You’ll never guess what he said:

Tom Rothman: A Daredevil, to use your words, reboot, is something we are thinking very seriously about.
I think that the thing the Hulk showed… is that… if you really do it right, the audience will give you a second chance. …And I think that you see that when they did Batman Begins …you can [make] some mistakes along the way or movies that the audience wasn’t that crazy about [but] then given the proper amount of time and the right creative vision behind it, you can, to use your word, reboot.
IESB: And Iron Man proved that a second tier hero done right can make lots of money.
TR: Correct, but these are good properties [Daredevil and Elektra, the Marvel properties whose rights are still owned by Fox] and I am actually encouraged by both the Hulk experience and particularly by what they did with Batman, after the relative disappointment of what the last Batman was [1990's incarnations]. [Source]

Batman works because his superpower is hiding behind stuff and beating people up.  Iron Man works because he has rocket arms.  Daredevil… is a blind lawyer.  Even his name makes no sense.  I watched part of the first Daredevil when it was on cable once, and it was as good as you’d expect from a movie where Colin Farrell has a bullseye on his forehead and throws toothpicks at people. In related news, sex with me is often called “the Hulk experience.”

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