Falcons 22, Bears 20
Newsday
Published July 2 2008
Will, Will, Will, baby! You need to branch out. You can't play the nice guy all the time. You're the world's biggest movie star, man. People are gunning for you. You have to go bad to keep things good.
How's about you play a destructive, homeless, alcoholic amnesiac?
What? Yeah, OK. You can have super powers.
Whatever it is, it's "Hancock," the strange spacey movie opening in wide release Wednesday that is expected to be a summer blockbuster, directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith as the above-described hero—angry, boozy and unbathed.
Smith recently told CNN that Hancock's nastiness was the reason the role appealed to him.
"There was something that always bummed me about superhero movies that create alternate worlds," he told the network. "I've always loved the idea of a superhero being in today's world, right now, as it is. And to be able to put Hancock into this world as a real person with real problems, I just thought it would be something revolutionary and genre-breaking."
Actually, Smith helped bring the project to the screen, having been given the script three years ago. It took a few years for the stars, and planets, to become aligned. It also took a few adjustments to the script.
What they ended up with is the story of John Hancock, faster than a speeding bullet, etc., whose ungainly exploits around L.A. have been costing the city millions.
Every time he lands, he makes a pothole. When he flies, it's like somebody set off an 80-proof unguided missile—instead of leaping over tall buildings, he punches holes in them. And he doesn't really think things through (probably because he's snarfing down half-gallons of bourbon). Instead of simply flying a car out of the way of an oncoming train, he stops the train—derailing the whole mess and destroying the locomotive in the process.
When he wants to subdue a car full of bandits, he sticks his feet through the floorboard, a la Fred Flintstone. He's a menace. And the city has had enough.
Berg said he liked the movie's moody tone.
"That was what did it for me," Berg said. "You read it and think, 'Wow. How will that work? Can it work?' It's the opportunity to do something new. Of course, if it fails, you go, 'Oh. That's why no one's ever done that before.'"
But while "Hancock" is intended as a character-driven film—the other characters include Ray ( Jason Bateman), a good-hearted publicist who wants to help change Hancock's image, and Ray's wife, Mary ( Charlize Theron)—the CG effects are going to dominate the discussion. This is somewhat problematic for a director like Berg, who said the effects made him think " 'Revenge of the Nerds' on steroids."
"There's a big CG fight between two characters," Berg said, not wanting to give too much away, "and that was probably my least favorite part of the film. Once the fight starts, you're very limited and you're at the mercy of your effects guys. I'm sure most directors will tell you, unless they're really technically oriented, that it's definitely the time we have the least amount of control as directors."
Smith also had issues with the CG effects. Actually, Smith said that if there is a sequel, he'd prefer all his flying scenes be computer-generated next time.
"Some of the flying scenes were 40, 50 miles per hour, 60 feet up in the air, so it had me, um, a little, little ... all right, I was scared," he told CNN. "I can say that. It's a superhero movie, but I think in real life I was a little nervous." [ L.A. Daily News contributed. ]
How's about you play a destructive, homeless, alcoholic amnesiac?
What? Yeah, OK. You can have super powers.
Whatever it is, it's "Hancock," the strange spacey movie opening in wide release Wednesday that is expected to be a summer blockbuster, directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith as the above-described hero—angry, boozy and unbathed.
Smith recently told CNN that Hancock's nastiness was the reason the role appealed to him.
"There was something that always bummed me about superhero movies that create alternate worlds," he told the network. "I've always loved the idea of a superhero being in today's world, right now, as it is. And to be able to put Hancock into this world as a real person with real problems, I just thought it would be something revolutionary and genre-breaking."
Actually, Smith helped bring the project to the screen, having been given the script three years ago. It took a few years for the stars, and planets, to become aligned. It also took a few adjustments to the script.
What they ended up with is the story of John Hancock, faster than a speeding bullet, etc., whose ungainly exploits around L.A. have been costing the city millions.
Every time he lands, he makes a pothole. When he flies, it's like somebody set off an 80-proof unguided missile—instead of leaping over tall buildings, he punches holes in them. And he doesn't really think things through (probably because he's snarfing down half-gallons of bourbon). Instead of simply flying a car out of the way of an oncoming train, he stops the train—derailing the whole mess and destroying the locomotive in the process.
When he wants to subdue a car full of bandits, he sticks his feet through the floorboard, a la Fred Flintstone. He's a menace. And the city has had enough.
Berg said he liked the movie's moody tone.
"That was what did it for me," Berg said. "You read it and think, 'Wow. How will that work? Can it work?' It's the opportunity to do something new. Of course, if it fails, you go, 'Oh. That's why no one's ever done that before.'"
But while "Hancock" is intended as a character-driven film—the other characters include Ray ( Jason Bateman), a good-hearted publicist who wants to help change Hancock's image, and Ray's wife, Mary ( Charlize Theron)—the CG effects are going to dominate the discussion. This is somewhat problematic for a director like Berg, who said the effects made him think " 'Revenge of the Nerds' on steroids."
"There's a big CG fight between two characters," Berg said, not wanting to give too much away, "and that was probably my least favorite part of the film. Once the fight starts, you're very limited and you're at the mercy of your effects guys. I'm sure most directors will tell you, unless they're really technically oriented, that it's definitely the time we have the least amount of control as directors."
Smith also had issues with the CG effects. Actually, Smith said that if there is a sequel, he'd prefer all his flying scenes be computer-generated next time.
"Some of the flying scenes were 40, 50 miles per hour, 60 feet up in the air, so it had me, um, a little, little ... all right, I was scared," he told CNN. "I can say that. It's a superhero movie, but I think in real life I was a little nervous." [ L.A. Daily News contributed. ]