Brendan Fraser‘s Hollywood resurgence is going from strength to strength following his acclaimed role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. The role is generating a lot of Oscar buzz.
While at the Toronto International Film Festival for the movie, Fraser and Aronofsky along with writer Samuel D. Hunter and his fellow cast members Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins, spoke with Variety about the film.
Fraser also spoke regarding the ‘Disappointing’ Batgirl cancellation.
During the interview when asked how he felt regarding Warner Bros. Discovery decision to axe the upcoming Batgirl movie Frazer stated he was “disappointed”.
“The fans really wanted to see this film made. Leslie Grace is a dynamo. The movie was shot and conceived for a smaller screen. In this age that we’ve come out of now between streaming service versus theatrical release, it wound up being the canary in the coal mine. What did we learn from this? Work with trusted filmmakers, like Darren.”
Fraser was set to play Garfield Lynns / Firefly: A sociopathic pyromaniac in the movie.
The DCEU movie was set to star In the Heights actor Grace as the titular hero, with Michael Keaton reprising his Batman role.
J. K. Simmons was set to reprise the role of classic Batman character Commissioner James Gordon. Also set to feature in the film was Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai in undisclosed roles.
Originally set for a release exclusively on HBO Max, Batgirl was later moved to a big-screen debut long after filming for the bat-centric solo movie came to an end. Then, in the middle of Warner Bros.’ public merger with Discovery, the new outing had its release delayed until at least 2023.
Insiders say that big-budget films made directly for streaming no longer make financial sense under the company’s new strategy.
The reportedly $70 million movie (the source said the budget was actually more than $100 million), which was doing test screenings for audiences in anticipation of a late 2022 debut, would rank among the most expensive cinematic castoffs ever.
Check out the full interview here.
Indie Mac User 