The Blame Game

A movie called The Island came out last month. It was directed by Michael Bay, starred Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson and it should have been one of the biggest movies of the year. Instead the big budget, summer popcorn flick tanked and Bay reluctantly took the blame. Now say what you want about Bay as a filmmaker, but stepping up and claiming responsibility for the film's failure was a stand-up thing to do.

Now the film's producers Walter and Laurie Parkes have gone on record (via their website) and placed the blame on the film's stars. They claim that McGregor's and Johansson's "half-hearted efforts" resulted in the film's poor box-office showing. They further state that a television actress could have done a more professional job than Johansson. "Listen those are superstars of the future, not superstars of the present. Even lesser television actresses, quite honestly would have more connection to that audience."

The Parkes' are way out of line here. I'm sure big-budget failures are hard for any producer to take, but to lash out at the stars of the picture is just plain wrong. I've seen actors phone in performances before and I felt that both McGregor and Johannson did a wonderful job in their respective roles. Sadly neither one of them put asses in seats (based on their output it doesn't seem to be either one of their intentions). So if neither star has the resume to headline a movie like The Island then why the heck were they cast? The last thing a professional should do is play Monday morning quarterback, which is exactly what the Parkes' have done.

They could have blamed audiences, critics, the competition, or the piss-poor marketing campaign. They could have blamed the movie's failure on lots of things, but instead they blamed the talent. It's a cheap shot and one that they should have had the decency not to make.