There are a multitude of ways Hollywood screws up movies these days, from over-editing, to over focus grouping, to casting Harrison Ford. Really, they are always coming up with new and innovative methods, but the end goal is always the same: to deliver the most mediocre film possible; one that your Aunt Milly in Sioux City might say was “pretty good”.
Still, when rumor-y backbiting info breaks, we’re gonna cover it, bringing the pain like a JV cheer squad. This morning we read some fun inside dope (read: giving you the straight scoop) from the unlucky in love Hollywood Reporter:
At one point, the poker thriller [Runner Runner] was in such bad shape that Affleck helped bring in his go-to film editor, William Goldenberg, to help credited editor Jeff McEvoy salvage the movie. (Regency insiders insist Goldenberg was their idea.)
That, in and of itself, is kind of funny, Ben Affleck calling up his Argo dude and saying, “Bring all the Red Bulls, we can still Frankenstein this biotch to glory!” And poor Jeff McEvoy, his confidence level has got to be in the toilet, “Uh, thanks for all your hard work, Jeff, but we’ll take it from here. Go get yourself a nachos bellgrande.” But the next bit is even a little more tragic, if such a thing is possible:
Goldenberg, who won an Oscar for Argo and also edited Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone, is said to have improved the final cut of the film, but Runner Runner still was demolished by critics … (Sources close to filmmaker Furman say he lost control of the movie during production.)
Sources “close” to Furman? Like his mom? His house plants? And how did he “lose” control of the film, as if it was a peyote induced wandering in the desert, with only his Bob Marley cap to guide him? Lookit, Runner Runner was in fact aimless and meandering, but now we can’t even blame anyone, and that’s the real shame of this whole escapade.