It’s not often that you become a fan of an actor after seeing him or her in a really bad movie. But back in 2001 that’s exactly what happened to me when I saw “A Knight’s Tale”. The movie was a neat idea that turned out pretty horrible, but 1 character, Geoffrey Chaucer (played by Paul Bettany) stood out to me, and Bettany’s performance salvaged a bit of enjoyment for me. Next, I caught him in “A Beautiful Mind” with Russell Crowe (Best actor alive today), and when you can stand out when performing next to him (even Al Pacino got over shadowed by Crowe in “The Insider”), you know you’ve got talent. But his BEST performance (in my opinion anyway) was again acting along side Crowe for “Master and Commander”. I really enjoy watching this guy work.
Anyway, just because you’re a great talent doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got good judgement when it comes to the projects you decide to be a part of. And this latest news seems to prove that and Bettany has signed up for “The Secret Life of Bees“. The good folks over at Yahoo give us this:
Bettany (“A Beautiful Mind,” “The Da Vinci Code”) will play the widowed father of the film’s 14-year-old central character, Lily Owens. Dakota Fanning is in negotiations to play Lily. Set in the 1960s South, “Bees” revolves around Lily and her friend Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), who flee their small town to escape their harsh upbringing and uncover the mysteries of Lily’s late mother. Along the way, they are taken in by three sisters (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Keys) who teach them the art of beekeeping.
I have to admit I’ve never read the book, but on the surface this looks terrible to me. But who knows right?
(As a side note, I thought Bettany would have made an AMAZING Joker for The Dark Knight)
