[ad_1]
Sometimes, despite how valuable someone might be, their employers just don’t want to compensate them for it. This is something many of us can relate to, and Brendan Fraser found himself in that situation following the release of the 1997 comedy George of the Jungle. The movie was a big hit at the box office, earning more than $174 million worldwide. Those results put the plans in motion for a sequel which would eventually arrive in 2003 in the form of the direct-to-video movie George of the Jungle 2.
While some stars like John Cleese and Thomas Haden Church would reprise their roles, the role of George was recast with Christopher Showerman replacing Fraser. That recasting was one of the chief complaints many viewers had when watching the movie, which was met with rather harsh reviews upon its release. Perhaps it would have done better if Fraser were to have returned, and while he was given the offer, the numbers weren’t befitting of what the actor was expecting.
Per Entertainment Weekly, Fraser revealed what happened with George of the Jungle 2. He comments on the sequel’s meta humor used in reference to the recasting, admitting that the jokes about the studio being “too cheap” to keep him on board had some truth to it. Aside from that, Fraser was also more intrigued by playing new kinds of roles, making the lowball offer for George of the Jungle 2 even less appealing.
“I think George got a remake, and they built a joke into it that the studio was too cheap to hire me, which wasn’t inaccurate. I was approached. I can’t remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do The Quiet American instead with Michael Caine, and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story. I’m always making diverse choices, and, hopefully, that keeps me and an audience interested. With a bit of distance, I think they’ve all cumulatively led up to the place I’m in now.”
Playing George Was Taxing on Brendan’s Body
Fraser also had a recent chat with his old pal Adam Sandler for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, and the topic of George of the Jungle came up there as well. In the conversation, Fraser explained how having so little clothing to wear in the film meant that his body had to be perfectly chiseled. To look the part, Fraser literally starved himself, which eventually started to take a toll on his mind as well.
“The wardrobe was there was no wardrobe. George wears a loincloth. I was waxed. Starved of carbohydrates. I would drive home after work and stop to get something to eat. I needed some cash one day, and I went to the ATM, and I couldn’t remember my PIN number because my brain was misfiring. Banging on the thing. I didn’t eat that night.”
No wonder Fraser wanted to be properly compensated for the sequel.
[ad_2]
Sometimes, despite how valuable someone might be, their employers just don’t want to compensate them for it. This is something many of us can relate to, and Brendan Fraser found himself in that situation following the release of the 1997 comedy George of the Jungle. The movie was a big hit at the box office, earning more than $174 million worldwide. Those results put the plans in motion for a sequel which would eventually arrive in 2003 in the form of the direct-to-video movie George of the Jungle 2.
While some stars like John Cleese and Thomas Haden Church would reprise their roles, the role of George was recast with Christopher Showerman replacing Fraser. That recasting was one of the chief complaints many viewers had when watching the movie, which was met with rather harsh reviews upon its release. Perhaps it would have done better if Fraser were to have returned, and while he was given the offer, the numbers weren’t befitting of what the actor was expecting.
Per Entertainment Weekly, Fraser revealed what happened with George of the Jungle 2. He comments on the sequel’s meta humor used in reference to the recasting, admitting that the jokes about the studio being “too cheap” to keep him on board had some truth to it. Aside from that, Fraser was also more intrigued by playing new kinds of roles, making the lowball offer for George of the Jungle 2 even less appealing.
“I think George got a remake, and they built a joke into it that the studio was too cheap to hire me, which wasn’t inaccurate. I was approached. I can’t remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do The Quiet American instead with Michael Caine, and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story. I’m always making diverse choices, and, hopefully, that keeps me and an audience interested. With a bit of distance, I think they’ve all cumulatively led up to the place I’m in now.”
Playing George Was Taxing on Brendan’s Body
Fraser also had a recent chat with his old pal Adam Sandler for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, and the topic of George of the Jungle came up there as well. In the conversation, Fraser explained how having so little clothing to wear in the film meant that his body had to be perfectly chiseled. To look the part, Fraser literally starved himself, which eventually started to take a toll on his mind as well.
“The wardrobe was there was no wardrobe. George wears a loincloth. I was waxed. Starved of carbohydrates. I would drive home after work and stop to get something to eat. I needed some cash one day, and I went to the ATM, and I couldn’t remember my PIN number because my brain was misfiring. Banging on the thing. I didn’t eat that night.”
No wonder Fraser wanted to be properly compensated for the sequel.
Leave a Reply