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Why I’ve Lost All Hope In Righteous Kill
Righteous Kill was supposed to be the movie event of our generation. FINALLY… a movie with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in a film together (they only really shared 1 scene in Heat and never had screen time together in Godfather 2). It was going to rule right? right? RIGHT!?!?!
My hopes were sky high, and then came the devastating news that the producers thought it would be a good idea to pop the talentless, can’t act, can’t even play himself properly, 50 Cent in the film with these two titans of the acting world. But still… I held out hope that maybe he’s just got a cameo… maybe it’ll be like a 1 minute scene and then he’ll be gone. Hope, hope, hope. Then I saw this, and all my hope was shattered:
Sure looks to me like 50 Cent has more than a passing cameo in the film.
Here’s the thing… it’s not that I think 50 Cent himself will ruin the movie (although he might), it’s that the producers (who have produced other great films like Jessica Simpson’s “Blonde Ambition”, “Inspector Gadget”, and “The Wicker Man” remake) of this film clearly have no common sense or judgement. The fact that they sat in a room and said: “You know what would be a great idea? Let’s put 50 Cent in the movie!” has me only wondering what other brain farts they’ve squeezed out in making this film. I’ve lost all hope.
omg..this is hiliarious! Great post John!
The only good thing I see about this magazine cover is that is says the actress ‘Paula Patton’(the first actress in my “actresses that deserve more recognition” blog) is on the rise this year. Good Job Paula! :P
This really is a pathetic magazine cover though….this is definitely foreshadowing disaster.
i know de niro will do anything for a pay cheque, but it is a new low for pacino.
i hate everything 50 cent represents.
This magazine cover is a sign of the Apocalypse! hehe
You know John…VIBE is an Urban magazine, so it would make sense that they would place 50cent on the cover to promote his latest project. And MAYBE this is a case where they push a NAME for the sake of promotion and then come to find out they only have 5 minutes of screen time. I recall it is something you hate, but in this case it would be for the better, especially the movie.
I know, I’m reaching, but I thought perhaps it might bring back an ounce of hope.
I’m going to agree with Mell on this one. Like it or not, the younger generations will not get too excited about seeing De Niro and Pacino together. They might see it if there is nothing else going on that weekend, but throw in 50 cent and you get a whole larger crowd. Hopefully his appearance will be small and insignificant, and this is just a marketing campaign to try to get people out to see it. Plus, VIBE would have to have 50 on the cover in order to make it appeal to their readers. We will just have to wait and see, but don’t get down on this movie just yet.
I sense a ‘what is DeNiro thinking’ post on the horizon:)
Before I get excited about a movie I look at at who’s behind the camera. The fact that the director of this movie also directed Pacino’s first direct to DVD movie 88 minutes is all I need to know. 50 or no 50 this film was designed to disappoint.
Meli beat me to it. Of course Vibe is going to put him on the cover. It’s a goddamn rap magazine. They might just be trying to push the movie as “Ooh, 50’s in it!” to draw in 50 Cent fans, when he’s really only there for five minutes. Remember when The Rock was in The Mummy Returns for five minutes, but if you look at the poster for that film, his head is almost as big as Brendan Fraser’s? They did that to draw in WWE fans, and it worked. This might be another situation like that.
Hopefully, 50 will only be in this for a dameo. That’s not a typo. Dameo, not cameo. Dameo, as in, “Damn, he was only in that for five minutes!”
You realize that Vibe is an “urban/hip-hop” (i.e. 98% black) magazine right? Maybe that’s why he’s on the cover?
oops. Others beat me to it. Oh well. The comment still stands.
Hey Drew and all…
Yes, I understand Vibe is a hip hop magazine… HOWEVER, I don’t think the black hip hop community is so starved for attention or so lacking in talent, or lacking in real black celebrity news that they’d put a guy on the cover of their #1 magazine for getting a 3 minute cameo in a movie with some famous white boys.
LOL. Fine, fine! Go ahead and dash our tiny bits of optimism! =P
@Drewbacca
Actually Vibe is a pretty white magazine. The editor in chief is a mid 20’s white girl. No lie.
Correction:
I’m thinking of XXL magazine, my mistake.
I actually do think the hip hop community (white, black or otherwise)is just starved enough for attention and lacking in talent to promote 50 cent for a 3 minute cameo. That community worships the Godfather and Scarface (though not for the same reasons that film buffs do). Connecting 50 cent to THE Godfather himself is a wet dream for these posturing fools.
Yes I’m holding out the hope that it’s just a cameo, it’s just a cameo. I can close my eyes for a minute and it will all be over…..
While several beat me to it regarding Vibe, the better cover would have included Pacino.
John, Why are you moaning and groaning about all of this freaking cover? I can see if EW had a cover like that. Or maybe Empire. Then it would be something to be concerned about. Out of curiousity, I did a bit of checking.
1) Shouldn’t Don Walhberg be on the cover next to 50 Cent?
2) Should there be cause for alarm since 50 CEnt IS playing a major character (drug dealer-imagine that!)
3) I didn’t know John Leguizamo was in the film! Until now!
Kids don’t care for Pacino and DeNiro. So they wouldn’t see the film. However, since 50 is in it, we’ve got a whole new crowd that’s gonna line up at the cinema on the opening night. I guess they just wanna broaden the audience
Whle the plot of the film strongly suggest 50 Cent’s role is at least supporting, if that reason was so sfsilver, again I ask: Where’s Pacino?
In all seriousness, you can’t judge a film simply by a picture. Not trying to start a fight Gio, you know I love you, but when I asked you on the live show what you thought about the new Indy 4 pics, you said something to the effect of not being able to judge a whole film simply on one still picture. Just because they are on the cover of a mag together does not mean that 50 is in this for the duration of the film. I can understand you being a little wary, but losing ALL hope because of a magazine cover? You protest too much, methinks:)
I worked at the production company that made the film and it is an immensely boring film. 50 Cent is Spider in the movie, a pimp and nightclub owner, and his character is pretty significant. Remember this movie is coming from Jon Avnet, his last movie with Pacino — 88 Minutes — hasn’t even been released (because it’s diabolically bad). No, you’re right to worry about a movie when John Lequizamo is the best thing in. Righteous Kill is going to flop big time.
good point you raise kristina…..
john has said a few times about various films that you can’t judge a film from a still and here he is giving his final verdict on a film based on a still that isn’t even from the movie.
maybe it would be better to judge the film on hell i don;t know…some footage? soem actual footage…..even photos from the film maybe….but tot go so over the top about the cover of a hip hop magazine….
must be a slow news day huh?
and I don’t understand why you keep talking about this film….if you have no hope for it why do you continue to talk about it….
evenm without 50 cent being in it who was going to give a fuck about this thing?
what was the last decent thing de niro or pacino did???when did they last matter??
for deniro probably casino and pacino…jesus I can’t remember the last time he made a good film….there is heat of course but that is one wildly wildly overrated film.
it would be a big deal if they had never been in a film together i understand that but they have ..
this film sounds like a direct to dvd piece of junk…just like the junk pacino and deniro have been making for the past 15 years.
Fuck 50 Cent Jay-Z for life!
Seriously though this is a fucking joke you basicly fucked yoursself over royally on any chance of topping Heat by casting 50 Cent in this movie.
Good point Kristina(2)!
Well this probably is a montage.but even then you can see De Niros faces and get your own conclusion about what is hes thinking there.
And with someone say something bad to Steven Segall about doing movies with RAP singers,here it is the answer.
¨DE NIRO DO IT! I CAN DO IT TOO!!IN FACT I STARTED THE THE WAVE¨
Why excatly do they think they need 50 Cent in a movie with Robert de Niro and Pacino?
“Aw suckfish, we only got two old guys. Hey I know, we’ll put in some black egotripper who can’t act and give him the promotional cover in stead of Pacino … nobody likes Pacino anyway, especially not the Scarface-swallowing teenagers who also have a poster of 50 cent over their beds. Yeah 50 Cent is a good idea … say when could we legally kill WGA members again and hire robots instead? That 50 Cent biopic needs a sequel!”
Never let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.
I would not worry about magazine covers as they are meaningless…watch the film and then judge it…if you can go in knowing as little as you can about it you may just have a brilliant few hours…everyone is different and people like different things so my advice is don’t read any reviews or anything like that as everyone has different opinions and sometimes this can give you good or bad vibes and prejudged ideas about a film before you have the chance to experience it properly the way the director intended, just go and watch for yourself.
When I saw Heat at the cinema for the first time I went in not knowing anything at all about it and I witnessed my alltime favourite film and it was an amazing 2 hours 45 minutes showcasing the magic of De Niro and Pacino, and the amazing talent of director Michael Mann.
Seeing two legends together again should be a sublime experience…the supporting cast is just along for the ride…so when the film is released just sit back and appreciate the experience for what it is, it is a rare and extraordinary event showcasing if not the two best then two of the best actors of all time the likes of which we may never see again…I hope all who watch this film get alot of good out of it when they see it and that the film itself is a brilliant one…I look forward to seeing once again the combined quality and chemistry of De Niro and Pacino.
Here’s something I find very amusing…
Alfie berrating John for judging a movie to be worthless based on pictures…
I seem to recall a certain giant transforming robot movie that Alfie judged to be worthless based a few simple pre-production pics…
hmmmm… very amusing indeed…
and I quote –
“maybe it would be better to judge the film on hell i don;t know…some footage? soem actual footage…..even photos from the film maybe…”
That sound eerily like something that someone once said to Alfie about the aforementioned giant robot movie.
I wonder if he remembers that…?
All in good fun, brother
Dont get mad
Hey Alfie,
Did I judge this film??? Where did I judge it? I said that I lost HOPE in the film, because the produces have shown they make POOR decisions. When the people in charge of a movie make decisions like this (putting 50 “no talent” Cent in a movie with De Niro and Pacino), it leaves me little hope that they know what on earth they’re doing with this movie.
I’m not losing hope based on PICTURE. I’ve lost hope based on a DECISION.
You actually said you had lost all hope in the film which means you will be unfortunately going into the film with a negative vibe. Don’t worry so much about magazine covers and the supporting cast, don’t let that ruin the film for you as it really should be something to be savoured and enjoyed and, even if the film itself is not out of this world, just to see the two greats together again is what it is all about…just hopefully enjoy the movie and the magic once more of legends De Niro and Pacino.
Well Do you still plan to watch this movie john?
Hey Sha,
Yes, I will go see it cause I give just about everything a shot… but I have little hope that it’ll be any good at all. I’m expecting the worst.