Edward Norton defends self after Marvel unceremoniously drops him from The Avengers
First, Marvel’s Kevin Feige lambasted Edward Norton, 41 next August, who played Bruce Banner in Louis Leterrier’s 2008 The Incredible Hulk, in a missive sent to hitfix.com. Feige bluntly explained that Norton’s temper had been the cause for the actor’s being dropped from the upcoming The Avengers, in which Banner/The Incredible Hulk is to be played by Mark Ruffalo.
Then Norton’s agent lambasted Feige for having sent out such an undiplomatic – and, according to the agent, also untrue – notification about his client.
Now it’s Edward Norton’s turn to comment on the matter in a carefully worded note posted on his Facebook page and partially reproduced below:
“As most of you know, I don’t like to talk much about the business of making movies because it means a lot to me to protect the audience’s fullest enjoyment of the ‘magic’ that films can have. But I am so appreciative of the outpouring of support from fans of the Hulk and the Avengers that I feel it would be rude not to respond.
“So here goes: It seems it won’t work out for me to continue playing Bruce Banner for Marvel in ‘The Avengers.’ I sincerely hoped it could happen and be great for everyone, but it hasn’t turned out as we all hoped. I know this is disappointing to many people and that makes me sad.
“But I am very sincerely grateful to Marvel for extending the offer and even more so for giving me the chance to be a part of the Hulk’s long and excellent history. And I really can’t thank the fans enough for how much enthusiasm you’ve sent my way about what Louis and I tried to do in our turn with the legend. It means a lot to me. I grew up with Banner and Hulk and have been a fan of every incarnation.”
To be directed by Joss Whedon, besides Mark Ruffalo The Avengers should feature (some of those names have only been rumored) Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (the Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson), and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury).
Previous post: Regarding Edward Norton, with whom Marvel had a falling out at the time The Incredible Hulk came out – Norton was reportedly unhappy with the film’s ending and refused to do publicity for it – Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige sent the following missive to HitFix.com:
“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the [sic] Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. … We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”
In response to Marvel’s actions, Norton’s William Morris Endeavor agent Brian Swardstrom has also sent HitFix his side of the story (extract below):
“This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light. Here are the facts: two months ago, Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward on stage with the rest of the cast at ComiCon and make it the event of the convention. … This past Wednesday, after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had decided to go in another direction with the part. …
“We know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige’s mean spirited, accusatory comments. … Feige’s statement is unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory. Mr. Norton talent, tireless work ethic and professional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel’s fans.”
Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield (Lions for Lambs) will be the new Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, Columbia/Sony Pictures has announced. Marc Webb of (500) Days of Summer will direct the Spider-Man reboot from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac).
In the first decade of the 21st century, Tobey Maguire played Parker and his alter ego in three hugely successful releases ($2.5 billion worldwide), all directed by Sam Raimi. Kirsten Dunst was cast as his love interest.
Both Maguire, 35, and Raimi, 50, left the franchise earlier this year. Sony then announced that the next Spider-Man movie would start from scratch, taking Parker back to his high-school days.
Among the other rumored possibilities to play Peter Parker at one time or another were Chace Crawford, Logan Lerman, and Robert Pattinson.
The Los Angeles-born, British-raised Andrew Garfield, who turns 27 in August, will next be seen in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, costarring with Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, and Charlotte Rampling, and in David Fincher’s The Social Network, playing opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.
Garfield won a BAFTA TV Award for his performance in John Crowley’s psychological drama Boy A, which was screened at the LA Film Festival. Long before Spider-Man was even a distant possibility, Garfield was present to field questions from the audience.
Spider-Man will begin filming – in 3D – in December. It’s scheduled to open in July 2012.
Mel Gibson’s latest rant endangers The Beaver
Mel Gibson’s latest rant, in which he yells over the phone at girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he has been involved in a nasty child custody battle, has been made available at the online tabloid radaronline.com.
The rant revolves around Grigorieva’s supposedly “fake” breasts and the way she dresses. It has become infamous worldwide because it contains sexually abusive insults, one of which features an allusion to her looking like “a fucking bitch in heat” that could end up getting gang raped “by a pack of niggers.”
Earlier this afternoon it was announced that Gibson had been dropped by William Morris Endeavor. He had been a client of William Morris’ Ed Limato, who died on July 3, for more than three decades.
Best known as the Twilight Saga studio, Summit Entertainment own the distribution rights to The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster, and costarring Foster and Gibson. The story (written by Kyle Killen) revolves around an executive who parades around with his buddy, a hand puppet beaver. (Shades of James Stewart and his invisible giant rabbit in the 1950 classic Harvey.
Prior to his winning the Oscar, Gibson had faced accusations of anti-gay bigotry, but these didn’t affect his career: He would go on to win the Best Director Oscar for Braveheart in early 1996. However, accusations of anti-Jewish bigotry following the release of the violent 2004 religious drama The Passion of the Christ and, especially, his 2006 DUI arrest in Malibu did affect his popularity.
His latest effort, The Edge of Darkness was a costly box office dud for Warner Bros. When the movie came out, Gibson took a combative stance against those who mentioned the 2006 incident.
In 2008, Kyle Killen’s screenplay for The Beaver had topped the list of best-liked unproduced scripts of the year. According to Variety, The Beaver was expected to cost $18–$19 million.
Update: The Beaver was finally released in early May 2011.
Teen Choice Awards 2010: The Twilight Saga effect rages on at pop movie awards ceremonies
Like the People’s Choice Awards and the MTV Movie Awards and other such pop movie awards shindigs, the winners at the Teen Choice Awards are selected by die-hard fans.
Voting is open to the public. In fact, the public can choose their favorites time and time again. As a result, the winners won’t necessarily be those with the most followers; expect them instead to be the ones with the most ardent fans.
Hence, it should come as no surprise that major box office hits – Avatar, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Blind Side, Sherlock Holmes, etc. – dominated most of the seemingly endless categories of this year’s Teen Choice Awards, presented on Aug. 8 at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
Of note, New Moon costar Robert Pattinson won no less than four awards – in the shape of a small surfboard because … why not? – one of which for Remember Me. If only all those Edward Cullen fans had been as eager to vote with their wallets; had they done that, Pattinson’s late winter box office dud might have turned out to be a hit instead.
Singer Katy Perry and a quartet of Glee actors – Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Cory Monteith, and Mark Salling – were the evening’s hosts.
Teen Choice Awards 2010: Partial list of winners
Choice Movie: Drama: The Blind Side
Choice Movie Actor: Drama: Robert Pattinson – Remember Me
Choice Movie Actress: Drama: Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Choice Movie: Comedy: Date Night
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy: Tina Fey – Date Night
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy: Ashton Kutcher – Killers
Choice Movie: Fantasy: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Choice Movie: Sci-Fi: Avatar
Choice Movie: Action Adventure: Sherlock Holmes
Choice Movie: Romantic Comedy: Valentine’s Day
Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller: Paranormal Activity
Choice Movie: Animated: Toy Story 3
Summit to release Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer on Blu-ray/DVD
Summit Entertainment will be releasing the DVD/Blu-ray of Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer on Aug. 3. Among the DVD extras are interviews with author Robert Harris and Roman Polanski.
Starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton and Eli Wallach, the critically acclaimed political thriller was the winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival.
Written by Polanski and Robert Harris from Harris’ novel The Ghost, The Ghost Writer tells the story of a ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) hired to pen the memoirs of a former Tony Blair-like British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) who has numerous deeply hidden, decomposing skeletons in his closet.
PBS documentary Among the Righteous on DVD
Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands, a PBS documentary based on Robert Satloff’s book, is now available on DVD.
According to its press release, Among the Righteous “investigates forgotten links between Arabs and Jews during the Holocaust to reveal the great heroism that took place during this tumultuous period in history.”
In the ForaTV clip above, Satloff discusses “several stories of assistance North African Arabs offered to Jews during the Holocaust.”
notes
Edward Norton The Incredible Hulk image: Marvel | Universal Pictures.
Mel Gibson The Beaver image: Summit Entertainment.
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