Defamer
Try as it might, Universal is facing another orgy of resistance to its big-screen efforts on behalf of the Incredible Hulk comic franchise. This time around, five years after Ang Lee's expensive, cheesy The Hulk flatlined into muscly green oblivion, The Incredible Hulk has studio flacks spinning, onlookers shrugging and temperamental star Edward Norton naturally pouting over the whole drama. Reports NY Timesman Brooks Barnes:
Mr. Norton and Marvel, which has the right of final approval on the film, have sparred in recent weeks over trims, among other issues, said studio executives involved, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Norton — who was hired to rewrite the script along with playing the lead — has made it clear he won't cooperate with publicity plans if he's not happy with the final product, these people said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Norton said he had no comment. [Marvel chairman David] Maisel brushed off the friction as par for the course."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.)
And for those unaccustomed to Brooks Barnes speak, "among other issues" roughly translates to "the Hulk effects look like they were done on a Commodore 64." Nagging specifics aside, we've heard all this before about Norton, and while we don't believe for a minute that he will sit out promotion for Hulk, we look forward to his carefully engineered sabotage of press conferences ("I dunno... Liv Tyler, you wanna answer that?") and television appearances ("Actually, Jay, let me tell you how poorly that clip was originally written...") leading up to the June 13 release date.
Comments
"Very passionate" is to Ed Norton as "temperamental" is to Russell Crowe. Hearing Ed speak about this last summer at Comic Con, it sounds like working with him is like dealing with a really pretentious toddler.
I still think the Ang Lee one was over-hated. As for the "trims" in question, my guess is that, unless it's stuff that might make a difference between PG-13 and soft R, they should just concede to Norton and let promotion go as smoothly as it can. The film is already largeley immune to critical hype anyways (Remember "Spider-Man 3"?)so I don't see where it hurts to let the baby have his bottle. As for the fanboys, fuck em'. The ones who are gonna pay will pay to see it, then bitch about it on messageboards. The ones who won't will torrent it, watch it, and then bitch about it on messageboards. Complaining is part of their entertainment.
I wouldn't give Norton the final rights to walk my dog.
in one part of the comic-con panel, norton describes himself as modest. i'm all "you're a lot of things, sweetie, but modest isn't one of them." and i'm a fan of his.
Does Ed Norton press appearances really hold any sway on whether or not the bulk of America will see this movie? Most people are probably still confused when they see Norton without a distressed hat and black vest.
Ed Norton or not, this thing couldn't suck any worse than "Fantastic Four"
Half of Toronto worked on this movie last summer. For the first couple of weeks it was like "Ed Norton is an idiot control freak who rewrites scenes the night before and then magically expects all the actors, prop masters and wardrobe keys to have intuited the new pages by the time they show up for work the next morning." But the utter hatred soon faded to frustration and finally the bemused tolerance one would have for a pretentious toddler. Supposedly the art dept. had copied some scientific equation on a blackboard for atmosphere, and Norton asked someone to explain it to him because the scene wouldn't be real unless he understood a scibble that appeared on a wall, some 20 feet in the background.
If there's one thing that will keep me away from the theaters to see this, it's knowing that the climactic fight scene is 26 MINUTES LONG! I can't imagine anything more boring than a 26 minute long fight between two crappy CGI monsters. I already saw that movie, and it was called King Kong.
@bobloblog: wow, really? (at the explaining the fake equation comment) What does it say about me that, being presented with that factoid, I only love him more?
@DuckyDoom: You're not a pretentious toddler, are you?
Gamma rays (denoted as γ) are a form of electromagnetic radiation or light emission of frequencies produced by sub-atomic particle interactions, such as electron-positron annihilation or radioactive decay. Gamma rays are generally characterized as electromagnetic radiation having the highest frequency and energy, and also the shortest wavelength (below about 10 picometer), within the electromagnetic spectrum. Gamma rays consist of high energy photons with energies above about 100 keV.
Hard X-rays overlap the range of "long"-wavelength (lower energy) gamma rays, however the distinction between the two terms depends on the source of the radiation, not its wavelength; X-ray photons are generated by energetic electron processes, gamma rays by transitions within atomic nuclei.
Due to their high energy content, gamma rays can cause serious damage when absorbed by living cells.
(You know, for motivation. In case Ed's reading this.)
Couldn't all this sturm und drang really be masking the fact that he's playing a feckin' big green monster in what's essentially a kiddie film (sorry, whackin' off fanboys)? Remember Norton when he first started to get buzz? He professed hatred for "products" like The Incredible Hulk.
@DuckyDoom:
He is committed to his craft, that's for sure.
Anyone who thinks Edward Norton might be even slightly sane should be reminded that he dated Courtney Love for like 3 years.
@DuckyDoom: he's hot and was really good in the painted veil. the end.
@DexterRiley:
It's Hollywood. 98% of the movies made, be they rom-coms, horror, suspense, or political melodrama, are kiddie flicks.
Team Lou Ferrigno!
@CourageousCoward: You just became 10 to the 1,000th power hotter.
Its ok Ed - your fans have your back -but could you please for our sake, try to share your toys in the sandbox better in the future?
DuckyDoom at 10:11 AM
I'm with you Duck because I would sit and try to figure it out and then realise that it was fake and then scoff at production for thinking they could get away with it. Why yes, I AM that much of a geek.
@roahboah: No, but I was... I also hope to raise them.
@hummingpenguin and @bobloblog: Has anyone else noticed that he seems to be contractually obliged in each movie to take his shirt off? Now that's what I call commitment. And yes, hotness. I love me some nerd bodies.
and @CourageousCoward: I love you.
@SanFranBetsu: Coincidentally, I wouldn't give Ed Norton final rights.
The first Hulk was actually quite good. "So Edward, here's the breakdown... Y=Talent and X over the 10,000 power is equal to your clout, well, yeah, we're fucked..."
Is it just me, or does Norton appear to be gradually descending into Sean Young territory?
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