Hollywood Babble On & On #966: The Good, The Dumb, & The Downright Asinine

Today I've three things to talk about, one has some praise, the other two have some snark. So let's start with the good stuff...

THE GOOD: RIDLEY THINKS SMALL SO OTHERS MIGHT THINK BIG.

Big budget director Ridley Scott is getting into the small budget game. Ridley's Scott Free Productions of London is partnering with Orchard Media and Focus Features International to executive-produce 6 low budget genre films over the next three years.

"For me under $100 million is 'small.'"

The deal is to make two low budget movies a year, in the genres of science-fiction, horror, thriller, or comedy, in Northern Ireland, using local crews making films for international audiences.

Personally I love the idea, especially if they do it right, and here's why.

1. Low budget movies, especially genre films with a built in audience, are a low risk/high potential reward situation. If one of these films hits big, it could give birth to a new franchise, and pay for the making of the other films.

2. The low risk financial situation means that this program can become a vehicle for the promotion of new talent and new ideas. Both are badly needed in the modern movie business.

3. Ridley Scott has a lot of clout in Hollywood and his name, and the cachet that goes with it could get such films the buzz they need to get them to connect with audiences.

So let's hope this clicks and inspires other big name filmmakers to do something similar.

THE DUMB: NBC HACKED

NBC's official website was hacked this past week. Apparently the sudden appearance of relevant and funny humor on the websites for The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live signaled people that something was wrong.

THE DOWNRIGHT ASININE: CUSACK CHASES THE RUSH

Actor John Cusack is developing a biopic of conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh to be called RUSH, and is looking to star in it himself.  

All he needs are financiers and distributors who want to spend millions of dollars and see absolutely no return on their investment. 

"I'm gonna need a fat-suit."

Anyone who thinks John Cusack could make a film about a man he considers a combination of Satan and Hitler that would not be anything but borderline libelous, is delusional.

Rush's fans will avoid it because of that reason.

Liberals who hate Rush Limbaugh, will avoid it because it can only be boring. No one will pay money to sit through an actor in a fat suit giving a lecture about how someone they already hate is an awful person.  

So to those looking to give Cusack money to make this film, please give it to me, so I can go on a wild weekend in Vegas, the odds of getting a return on that investment will be a hell of a lot better.