Brendan Fraser deserved an Academy Award nomination for George of the Jungle (I am only half kidding), but maybe he’ll have better luck with A24’s The Whale. The internet-favorite actor is getting career-best reviews for his performance in the polarizing Darren Aronofsky film (one headline reads, “Brendan Fraser Deserves an Oscar for The Whale, but the Movie? She Blows”), leading to inevitable award season buzz. This would be good for two reasons: “Brendan Fraser, Oscar winner” has a nice ring to it, and if he does take home the Best Actor trophy, maybe another movie of his will see the light of day.
Fraser played Ted Carson (a.k.a. Firefly) in Batgirl, but the film will remain unreleased due to some dubious Hollywood accounting. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are hopeful that The Whale could change that. “The way he played that character… It was one of the most memorable villains, so we’ll see,” Adil told Variety. “Maybe when he wins his Oscar they’ll want to show the movie.”
“[Fraser] is the nicest guy I’ve ever met in my life,” agrees Bilall, who fondly remembers the seven months of shooting Batgirl in Scotland. “I never had an experience like that, the whole city was working with us to make it possible. I hope we can get back.”
For now, the only place to see Batgirl is on the Wikipedia page for “abandoned and unfinished films.” Maybe that will change after March 12, 2023, the night of the Oscars.
(Via Variety)
