It’s sad that The Island, probably Michael Bay’s best film to date, will also probably be one of his lowest box office results film. This is a bad message to director’s like Bay. “Make totally crap movie = Make lots of Money. Make pretty decent movie = Make no Money.
It’s funny how losing in professional sports suddenly turns teammates against each other publicly. Losing will do that. Well I guess the movie industry isn’t all that different from professional Sports. The Island lost… and lost hard at the box office. And now “teammates” are coming out swinging at each other. Starting with the producers taking shots at Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanson:
Producers Walter Parkes and wife Laurie McDonald have admitted on their website that the acting duo – who play lovers in the sci-fi drama gave less than a sparkling performance, saying: “Listen, those are the superstars of the future, not the superstars of the present.” McDonald went further by writing of stunning Scarlett: “Even lesser television actresses, quite honestly, would have more connection to that audience.”
Ouch… that’s pretty brutal. More than brutal… it’s actually not really deserved either. I personally thought Ewan and Scarlett both did a fine job in the film. And it you saw my review, you know that I even thought the film as a whole was pretty good. But people stayed away. I’m still not 100% sure why (we all have our theories).
But really… this is kinda immature of the producers. Everyone wants to point a finger. But really… at this point what is finger pointing going to accomplish for them?
but where the heck is their website Anyone know that?
People stayed away because the movie was crap.
97 out of 162 reviewers at RottenTomatoes agree.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/island/
Take a look at Walter Parkes and Laurie McDonald’s listing on imdb.com. About the only thing that they’ve been associated that has critical and financial success is Gladiator. And you have to give Ridley Scott credit for that. Ultimately, these two are hacks. And so is Michael Bay. The only other things Parkes and McDonald have done well is Men In Black and Road to Perdition and both of those were comic book movies that practically write and direct themselves.
These three people should not ever be let near a movie studio, and their recent comments show that.
And how stupid can they be to not pick up on the fact that 1.) Movies aren’t cheap. 2.) Star Wars Epi. III, Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, and Fantastic Four all filled the summer blockbuster list. They’d have been better off to wait two months to release the film in late summer or early fall. 3.) Based on points 1&2, you have to remember that most people have a finite amount of cash budgeted for such entertainment.
Where is the website that Walter Parkes and his wife dissed on the actors? What’s it called?
The problem with The Island was it was advertised with the tag line “Why didn’t we do this before” hinting at that it was a more adult oriented film. They should have made the film R or NC-17 and pumped out the action more. As it was it was a brisk walk up untill the highway chase. And that was a long brisk walk. That’s not the Actor’s faults but the script / director / editors fault. Don’t market us T2 and then give us On Golden Pond.
I also think that THE ISLAND is going to be one of those films that rakes in bigtime on DVD…The tough sell (due to schizophrenia nature of the film quiet-sci-fi/over-blown-action) just made everyone say “I’ll wait for DVD for that one”
It’s a shame too, as the film looks really, really great on the BIG screen.
(For the record, I didn’t love the film, but it’s easily Michael Bays best film to date)
The Island was a good movie, What John and Grant said are right.. The director couldn’t decide whathe wanted the movie to be.. so that made a lot of people not want to see it, so maybe the Director should be the one playin` Red Arse instead of all the heat being put on Ewan and Scarlett
Just watch the DVD sales, and then watch the producers praise the actors, and may that be the case may these hypocrites burn in hell. Okay, I know thats harsh but I hate people like this. The actors did perfect in the film and the producers slammed the actors before the film could shine. DVD is Hollywood at the moment and a theatrical release serves no real point, so there is nothing to justify what the producers said to allow them have blamed the actors(which should not happen anyway, especially to Scarlett and Ewan, who are both great).
Un fucking belivable, and I thought I had some growing up to do, sheesh…..
Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald should have kept quiet.
I hope the actors have the dignity and common sense not to reply to this. The Island is still being released slowly, country by country, to various foreign audiences. The last thing we fans need is to have the people behind the film, who should still be boosting it, pointing fingers at each other now.
By the way, based on this detailed (and scathing and funny) seven page account of Parts: The Clonus Horror, the film that The Island is allegedly based on
http://www.agonybooth.com/parts/
I’d say the lawsuit is unjustified. The two movies are dissimilar.
But again, this is bad publicity at a bad time. It isn’t fair, but it all hurts.
This is really sad. Sounds like bunch of bad little children blaming each other on who broke the cooking jar.
Donna A.
Ahhhhh Americans, we always blame someone else!
Maybe Transformers will be good……….
*lowers head and prays*
This is the first film Bay is making without the helping hand of super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer. We always talk about the influence of a director or the moviestars, but what about the involvement of the producers Walter Parkes and Laurie McDonalds. They are shifting the guilt to somebody alse pretty fast I would think.
What they will accomplish is pissing off two pretty big stars who are actually very good actors so that they’ll probably never work with them again.
That’s probably not a bad thing for McGregor or Johansson considering the class of material they would be turning down.
Seriously, I think it makes the actors look better than the Producers.
Here’s my beef. The story had great potential, I thought Ewan and Scarlett did a great job. What ruined the movie was identity crisis of the DIRECTOR. Do you want to make an action flick or a thought provoking sci-fi piece?
His own indecision showed in the movie with the first hour of it being awesome, the second hour being overworked, forced-in stunts.
The other piece of the puzzle — when will hollywood realize we are sick of paying $8 to go to the movies to see the same stories? Lower ticket prices, quit retreading old movies and then we’ll come back.
The article questions their popularity in the mainstream audience, not their perfomances.
Hey there Paul.
Yes, there is a court case going on over that. We first posted about it a couple of weeks ago. You can get more info here:
https://www.themovieblog.com/archives/2005/07/the_island_to_be_withdrawn.html
Yeah, I think the article puts words into their mouths. Ewan (as anything other than Obi Wan) isn’t that big a draw in the US and Scarlett, to the PG-13 action movie audience, is surely “the chick in the boring hotel movie where nothing happened”, so I don’t think they’re far off the mark, to be honest. And I liked the movie!
I think it’ll do better here in the UK – if harmed a little by reports that it ‘bombed in the US’.
Isn’t there also some controversy about The Island a remake of a film called, Clonus?
Its all about name droppin and mcgregor and johanson arent big names. I read the interview and the producers didnt seem to be bashing the performances, but more their box office draw. I dont think they would call them the stars of the future and then say their performances were weak. they even compare the risk they took to the one they took on russell crowe in gladiator. no crowe is huge. though cinderella man did bomb.