Internet and rumors/speculation

http://thisfilmison.com/2010/07/06/mutual-speculation/

Mutual Speculation

Posted by Lewis in In Our Humble Opinion, Super...Heroes!
06/07/10

Way back on the 9th if June it was widely reported that Michael Fassbender would be taking over the role of Erik Lensherr aka Magneto in the Michael Vaughn directed franchise prequel X-men: First Class. Much to my disappointment, only a few days later I read an article claiming that Fassbender had denied rumours linking him with Magneto and also a similar role in the forthcoming Spider-man reboot.

Chris Nolan hates you!

Then, yesterday I breathed a sigh of relief when Entertainment Weekly reported that Fassbender was all but guaranteed to follow/precede Ian McKellan into the X-men universe. As a fan of the X movies and of Fassbender you can see how this past week has been somewhat of a roller coaster for me.

The events of the past week got me to thinking. What is the real effect of twenty four hour casting speculation? Is it merely fan boys run amuck or does it have an almost viral impact on the entertainment industry, be it good or bad? If Inception director Chris Nolan is to be believed the whole thing can have a negative impact on the overall process.

In a recent interview Nolan claimed rather frankly that; “”Honestly, I don’t really look at the internet, I think at a very early stage in taking on Batman, I realised it wasn’t going to be helpful to look at what they say.” Nolan also went on to say that widely reported rumours can also cause issues when it comes to meetings with the studio bosses.

With a third instalment of Nolan’s Batman franchise in tentative preproduction message boards and blogs are once again ablaze with casting rumours for characters that are as yet, not even confirmed. Despite no confirmation from Nolan or Warner Bros the hive mind of the internet appears convinced that we can expect the Riddler to crop up in the next movie but with names as diverse as Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams and Johnny Depp being thrown around it’s clear that no one really has the faintest idea.

An horrific image if ever I saw one

It’s one thing for sites to report on strong rumours. Marvel Studios, for example, were particularly forthcoming with the names of the actors who had screen tested for the role of Captain America (Mike Vogel, Michael Cassidy, Garrett Hedlund and Wilson Bethel) before eventually settling on Chris Evans. When, on the other hand, you have to begin an entire article with ‘This is just a rumour but…’ surely journalism gives way to speculation, or just making s$#! up.

Today it has been widely been reported that both Don Cheadle and Frieda Pinto have been offered parts in Fox’s ‘Caeser’ aka Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Apes. Whilst this would be in keeping with the earlier announcement of James Franco as the lead it is undeniably a speculatory news piece. So, why do we do it to ourselves? Why do we let ourselves become so embroiled in a dialogue in which we have seemingly no voice?
Take for example the up and coming Predators movie. Whilst the principle cast (Adrian Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga etc) are all present and correct in the movie’s trailer one actor’s appearance is still the source of much online debate. A possible cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger has been neither confirmed nor denied by director Nimród Antal yet I cannot help myself be entirely swept up by the possibility of the appearance of franchise legend ‘Dutch’. My brain tells me that the rumour stems entirely from an inconclusive glimpse of the Governator on the Predators set and nothing more than that. My (nerdy) heart on the other hand, tells me that an Arnie cameo would be freakin’ sweet and would probably crank the movie up a whole star.

Whilst the cynic in me fears that we’re only a few years away from an X-factor style casting competition the general public is, for now at least, uninvolved in the casting process. However, what we may never know is whether or not our constant probing and prodding has a detrimental effect on the process. Could an actor potentially be put off taking a role by the intense glare of internet speculation? Chris Nolan seems to think it’s a possibility and as the man responsible for one of the most inspired casting choices of all time I’m inclined to believe him.