We’ve just been made aware that Roger Friedman, a freelance columnist who writes Fox 411 on Foxnews.com – an entirely separate company from 20th Century Fox — watched on the internet and reviewed a stolen and unfinished version of X-Men Orgins: Wolverine. This behavior is reprehensible and we condemn this act categorically — whether the review is good or bad.
What’s humorous to me is the amount of people calling for Friedman’s job due to the “criminal” nature of his actions who actually downloaded the film themselves and have admitted as much, more or less, in print. Double standards all over the place. You know if your conscience is clean or not.
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that earlier in the week, a work print of Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was leaked online and downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.
The story hasn’t gone away for many reasons, chief among them the slow news week, I’m sure (which David Poland bemoans here). But even with that having been said, New York magazine’s decision to post images from and commentary on the work print is deplorable to say the least. I understand the blog’s desire to stay “hip” and maintain that characteristic snarkiness, and sure, it’s a funny post. But how is this okay?
Worse, Fox’s own Roger Friedman had the balls to actually review the film. It’s already unbelievable that guy has a job to begin with, but Jesus.
UPDATE (3/27): I figured I’d include the latest here, so this entry is up to date. /Film has the following today:
Earlier this week we reported that Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had mentioned during an appearance at the Bradford International Film Festival that he had been offered and accepted an offer to write a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hours later our friends at FirstShowing heard back from 20th Century Fox who claimed that “the executives haven’t talked with any writers” for the project. Now Entertainment Weekly confirms that “Beaufoy was approached by Wolverine producer Lauren Shuler Donner to gauge the writer’s interest in W2, but no formal offer was made.” So that’s the final word on the story — there was some truth to the story after all.
EARLIER: Peter Sciretta at /Film landed a pretty interesting scoop this afternoon. It seems Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar winning screenwriter of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Full Monty” has been tapped to pen the sequel to May’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Can anyone say paycheck?
Honestly, I don’t see how this fits but I’ll give Beaufoy the benefit of the doubt. I’m still heavily anticpating Gavin Hood’s film, though I’ve heard terrible things ever since negative word-of-mouth on David Benioff’s script was making the rounds a few years back. And let’s face it. Benioff hasn’t offered a suitable script since his debut, “25th Hour,” seven years ago. Troubled production, late re-shoots and a general cloud of doubt around the Wolverine film haven’t broken my spirit…yet. But if there’s a new project in the pipeline, maybe there’s hope. Maybe.
alright guys, im currently working at the bradford international film festival in the UK, and tonight we had simon beaufoy, screenwriter of slumdog millionaire doing a screentalk. anyway he dropped a bit of a scoop, hes been employed to write the script for “wolverine 2″ a film i didnt actually realise was even in the pipeline. he commented that while he was apprehensive about the project (claiming to not even know what a wolverine was!) his agent pursuaded him to take it on.
The bold is mine. Like I said, paycheck. Agents make bank in this town when their clients do, after all. And kudos to Peter for at least trying to double source the story before just posting it up, since he’s been hanging onto the scoop for a day now. AICN has different standards, which forced his hand, but there we are.
Here’s the latest trailer for “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”:
I was amazed at the number of trailers I caught over the weekend for films I actually wanted to see. I’m usually rolling my eyes or, better yet, taking a refreshment and/or bathroom break, but I lit up a little bit.
The new “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” materials could really do no wrong for a guy like me at this point, though I’m dreading that release more and more. The whispers are ugly. Still, even if all the good stuff is in the trailer — it’s a hell of a trailer. Even fluff like “The Proposal” looks appealing at this point. And I’m totally on board for “Observe and Report” (which reminds me I need to address “Eastbound and Down” at some point).
All of this is a long way of coming to that new “Terminator Salvation” trailer I’m sure you’ve all seen by now. Maybe I’m alone, but this is one of the most exciting trailers I’ve seen in a long, long time. Of course NIN’s “The Day the Whole World Went Away” is put to great use throughout, but I was a little surprised at the idea of spilling a major plot point maybe a minute into the thing (which might not be that big of a spoiler in this age of AICN obssessive pre-release plot excavation — I can’t keep up).
Anyway, I’ve been amped up for the film for a long time, despite the expected lingering atmosphere of anxiety. I think we dodged a bullet with “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” a film I actually respect quite a bit, but the potential for outright disaster is right there in front of our faces on this thing. Here’s hoping…
• David Poland looks at the race nine weeks out from the angle of release marketing and strategy. [Movie City News]
• Nathaniel Rogers is knee deep in his annual (extensive) year in review features. Read it. Now. [The Film Exerience]
• Jeffrey Wells passes on some notes from a friend making some dubious comparisons between “Milk” and “Braveheart.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Old news you’ve probably read by now, but Tina Brown’s latest foray into the world of journalism proves just how much of a disreputable rag it can be. [The Daily Beast]
• David Usborne is quick to dive in the mud with the hacks and bring a respectable UK outlet down there with him. [The Independent]
• Joe Queenan chats with Mickey Rourke across the pond. [The Guardian]
• Anne Thompson seems to think a Christmas release hurt “Revolutionary Road”‘s Oscar chances. [Thompson on Hollywood]
Dave Karger takes a stand with some late-December Oscar predictions. [Entertainment Weekly]
• David Carr speaks up for “Iron Man” over “The Dark Knight,” calls the latter’s third act a “mess.” Oy. [The Carpetbagger]
• Tom Roston sits down with “Defiance” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” star Liev Schreiber. [Los Angeles Times]
• As a David Fincher retrospective cranks up in the Big Apple, Dennis Lim looks back over the director’s career to date. [New York Times]
• Patty Rhuke spotlights the similarities between “Forrest Gump” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” comparisons certain parties involved would probably rather go away. [USA Today]
No explanations, just my annual unfiltered, edge-of-my-seat anticipations. My tastes tend to skew entertainment from afar; I don’t look forward to the Oscar stuff until later in the year, when the pieces of that crazy puzzle are slowly revealed.
Here’s what I’m looking forward to:
1. “Watchmen” (Zack Snyder, Warner Bros. Pictures, March 6)
2. “Public Enemies” (Michael Mann, Universal Pictures, July 1)
3. “Avatar” (James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, Dec. 18)
4. “A Christmas Carol” (Robert Zemeckis, Walt Disney Pictures, Nov. 5)
5. “Terminator Salvation” (McG, Warner Bros. Pictures, May 22)
6. “Shutter Island” (Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros. Pictures, Oct. 2)
7. “Green Zone” (Paul Greengrass, Universal Pictures, TBA)
8. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (Gavin Hood, 20th Century Fox, May 1)
9. “State of Play” (Kevin Macdonald, Universal Pictures, April 17)
10. “2012” (Roland Emmerich, Columbia Pictures, July 10)
Though I wish they’d “officially” release this thing already. It’s attached to prints of “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” so feel free to sneak in and half a look before ducking out of that atrocity. Personally, I think it kicks ass, but I’m as aware of this troubled production as the next guy, so here’s hoping:
I came across this photo from Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood and just had to pass it on. As a comic geek, it’s so cool to see Hugh Jackman shaking hands with the creator of Wolverine, writer Len Wein. Check out the look of appreciation in Jackman’s eyes. Indeed, without Wein, Jackman would probably still be on a stage somewhere belting out the tunes of “Oklahoma!” I’m sure he’d be just as happy, though. The guy seems glum-proof.
UPDATE (3/27): I figured I’d include the latest here, so this entry is up to date. 
No explanations, just my annual unfiltered, edge-of-my-seat anticipations. My tastes tend to skew entertainment from afar; I don’t look forward to the Oscar stuff until later in the year, when the pieces of that crazy puzzle are slowly revealed.
