When Actors Belittle Their Own Movies
-
Columbia Pictures.
You have two Oscars under your belt.
Weaving’s Cloud Atlas co-star, Tom Hanks, is so proud of their new movie that he, too, took the time to poke fun at his less than stellar past work: “It's not like I'm pushing Turner and Hooch or Angels and Demons,” Hanks said recently.
Backlash: None. As perhaps the most likeable actor in Hollywood—and only the second to win back-to-back best actor Oscars, after Spencer Tracy—few can begrudge Hanks the opportunity to laugh at some of the low points of his career. -
Imdb.com/mptvimages.com.
You're a living legend.
Of his famous work on The Sound of Music, veteran actor Christopher Plummer, who played Captain Von Trapp, had this to say, back in 2010: “I was a bit bored with the character. Although we worked hard enough to make him interesting, it was a bit like flogging a dead horse. And the subject matter is not mine. I mean it can’t appeal to every person in the world. It’s not my cup of tea.’’
Backlash: None. Plummer’s distaste for the musical classic was not expressed until years after the film’s release and its director, Robert Wise, had passed; by that time, he had amassed Tony and Emmy Awards, and, as of this year, an Oscar as well. -
John Jay/CREDIT: mptvimages.com.
You're a living legend.
In his autobiography, Alec Guinness recalled an awkward moment with a mother and her child, who asked for his autograph. He obliged, but under one condition: “Do you think you could promise never to see Star Wars again?” he asked the boy.
Backlash: None. Star Wars fans may argue over how his rejection makes them feel, but overall this wasn’t held against him. Guinness was already an esteemed actor by the time he appeared in Star Wars, having won an Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai and appeared in Lawrence of Arabia, among other legendary films. With so many classics under his belt, it’s not hard to understand why he begrudged the overwhelming attention paid to his character of Obi-Wan Kenobi. -
Warner Bros.
Everybody agrees the movie was terrible.
While discussing his career, Clooney confessed, “I’ve been in those Pluto Nash kind of movies—Batman and Robin cost $160 million—and you know they’re a waste of money.”
Backlash: None. The film currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 12 percent. -
Twentieth Century Fox.
Everbody agrees the movie was terrible.
Amy Adams was supposed to co-star with Mark Wahlberg in the maligned M. Night Shyamalan film The Happening, but eventually pulled out. “She dodged the bullet,” Wahlberg said, adding, “It is what it is. F—ing trees, man. The plants. F— it.”
Backlash: None. The Rotten Tomatoes for The Happening rating stands at 17 percent. -
Youtube.
Everybody agrees the movie was terrible.
Director Matthew Vaughan admitted to casting Michelle Pfeiffer in Stardust because he loved her performance in Grease 2. Pfeiffer initially took it as a joke. “I thought he was pulling my leg…But I forget how young he is.”
Backlash: While the role nearly cost her her career—Brian De Palma didn’t want to audition her for Scarface because of Grease 2—no one holds her embarrassment against her. Rotten Tomatoes rating: 24 percent. -
MCA/Universal Pictures.
…Or the movie’s been completely forgotten.
Said Jamie Lee Curtis: “Virus is so bad that it's shocking... That would be the all-time piece of s**t... It’s just dreadful.”
Backlash: Despite its $75 million budget, few people remember Virus, which made $30 million at the box office. -
Allied Filmmakers.
You spend most of your time away from the spotlight.
“The worst thing I ever did? Super Mario Brothers,” said Bob Hoskins. “It was a fuckin’ nightmare." The directors were a “husband-and-wife team,” Hoskins explained, and “their own agent told them to get off the set! Fuckin’ nightmare,” he added. “Fuckin’ idiots.”
Backlash: None. While a respected character actor, Hoskins didn’t have anything to lose by stating the obvious—he continued to work steadily until announcing his retirement in 2011. -
Warner Bros.
The director is an unknown guy named Pitof.
“Thank you for putting me in a piece of shit, god-awful movie!” Halle Berry said while accepting her Razzie for Catwoman.
Backlash: Her career took a dive, but no one blamed her for poking fun at her own misfortunate screen turn. It probably helped that the director isn’t well-known and doesn’t have nearly the same star power as Berry. -
Paramount Pictures/Lucasfilm.
You probably shouldn’t criticize your own movie if…
The director is a legend.
Of the Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Shia Labeouf said: “In that movie, I just felt sort of pigeonholed. Like I didn't have enough meat to chew on. I just feel like we were trying to enforce innocence on an audience that wasn’t willing. You can’t force things, you know?”
Backlash: Spielberg is not pleased, Harrison Ford calls him an “idiot,” and the public considers him an ungrateful, spoiled actor. Seeing the error of his ways, Labeouf eventually admits that he regrets his statements. -
Universal Pictures.
You probably shouldn’t criticize your own movie if…
Knocked Up was Katherine Heigl’s first leading film role, and she found it "a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys.” “I'm playing such a bitch,” she added, “why is she being such a killjoy?”
Backlash: Director Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen slam her and she goes on to make terrible romantic-comedies that many women take issue with.
While promoting their new movie, Cloud Atlas, both Hugo Weaving and Tom Hanks have contrasted its acting challenges (both tackle multiple roles) with past work they’re less proud of. Weaving singled out his voice-acting as Megatron in Michael Bay’s Transformers series. “I didn’t care about it, I didn’t think about it,” he said in an interview. “I don’t regret doing it, but I very rarely do something if it’s meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly.” Bay responded defensively by encouraging “all those whiners” (co-stars Megan Fox and Shia Labeouf have also belittled their work on the series) to donate their salaries to a charity.
Some people have little sympathy for those who complain about a role that may have earned them millions of dollars. But there are occasions when actors should feel free to look back and publicly concede the silliness of some of their past endeavors—without earning any backlash from the public or scorn from prior collaborators. Herewith, a guide to belittling your previous work.