Jodie Foster made two mistakes with her latest directorial effort: She named it The Beaver, and she hired Mel Gibson to star in it. Summit Entertainment originally planned to release the movie, about a guy who goes crazy (sound familiar?) and befriends a beaver hand puppet, next year. Now that the studio has a similarly crazy star on its hands, however, how can they best handle the situation? Claude Brodesser-Akner offers up a few ideas in New York:
- Market it as a Jodie Foster film: “Everybody loves Jodie Foster! She’s an American institution!” Brodesser-Akner writes. Unfortunately, Gibson is in 90% of the scenes.
- Market it as a “message movie”: But only if Mel cooperates. “Imagine all the interviewers asking, ‘Mel, have you ever felt like you were going crazy?’ Then he could make a little joke, ‘Whatever could you be talking about?’ then everyone chuckles, and he leans forward and says, ‘But seriously, mental illness affects everyone, as you see in this movie.’”
- Wait to release it: This is probably the best option, because “scientists predict that in the year 2843, the human race will be overtaken by a race of cyborgs with the prime directive that they deserve to be blown. And they will need a summer tentpole.”
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