“No f*cking way”: Even Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet Could Not Convince George Clooney to Work in $31 Million Movie That Became a Box Office Nightmare
George Clooney, Hugh Jackman, and Kate Winslet have individually starred in some great films. Clooney has the Oceans franchise, Jackman is Wolverine, and Winslet was Rose Dawson. However, once upon a time, there was a chance that they could star in a film together.
But that didn’t happen. Even though Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet starred in it, their presence couldn’t convince George Clooney to make the movie. He was probably the smarter one of the three because it bombed badly at the box office.
George Clooney Saved His Career By Rejecting A Hugh Jackman And Kate Winslet Starrer Film
Movie 43 is a movie no one has probably heard of. After all, this 2013 movie had a budget of $10 million and grossed only $31 million. It’s possible that it was able to gross that much because it had a star-studded cast comprising Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Terrence Howard, Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, and more.
The film also flopped hard with critics because it only has a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Movie 43 is a bunch of crude comedy shorts with well-known actors. Turns out, the title of the film doesn’t have any significance to the story as well. So it looks like George Clooney made the smart decision to not star in it even though bigwigs like Winslet and Jackman were in it.
As per Vulture when Clooney was approached for the film, he said, “No f******* way.” However, the Batman actor wasn’t the only star who rejected the film. Plenty of other well-known personalities also saw the flop coming from a mile away.
Collin Farrell Refused To Star In 4% RT Scoring Movie 43
Vulture reported that Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, were offered roles in the film, but they refused. Also, Collin Farrell backed out even though he initially agreed to appear. Producer Peter Farrelly recounted that when Farrell was trying to opt out of playing an unfunny-looking character beside Gerard Butler, he made a weird and weak excuse.
However, the producer called him out on it and told him to be straight about his reason for leaving the film. He said:
“It’s like, c’mon, Colin, you saw sense and backed out — admit it.”
Even though Richard Gere did star in it, he stalled working on it for a year. Producer Farrelly knew that many stars wanted out but he and the other bosses didn’t let them. What also led to the demise of the film was the fact that almost none of the stars promoted it. As such, it looks like even the ones who did star in it knew what an embarrassing flop it was going to be.
Movie 43 is available on Starz.
Source: Vulture
