Why didn't Whoopi Goldberg kill herself?

[lissener]

Is there ever a reason for anyone, anywhere, to agree to star in a movie like Theodore Rex (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114658/)? I mean, has there ever been a clearer sign that a career has fallen below rock bottom than a movie about a cop and her new partner, a cop also, but also a dinosaur (in red Chucks)?

Seriously, at what point do you kill yourself? Shouldn't that point be before you make a movie like Theodore Rex? Wait, I'll be right back, the dinosaur is doing a Scottish accent now.

OK, I'm back. I will never be the same after that.

Anyway. And what about Quigley (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0350022/)? In which Gary Busey plays a little white dog, and spends much of the movie on his hands and knees wearing a black leather dog collar? Again, shouldn't suicide be somewhere on the scale between Point Break and Quigley?

[pbbth]

Since when is a poor career choice a reason for suicide?

[friedo]

Hey, there's an alternate side to every coin. If she had killed herself, we never would have been blessed with the genius that is Sister Act 2.

[Jesus Harold Christ]

How about right before they decide to work as a video store clerk?

[Jolly Roger]

There was a contract issue IIRC for Whoopi in Theodore Rex. She didn't want to do the movie but this was around the time another actress (Kim Basinger, I think) had gotten into hot water for breaking a contract.

[CaerieD]

Wasn't there some sort of creepy Adam and Eve subplot involving Mr. Rex and a female of his species? I watched it as a teen and seem to recall some sort of gross insinuation of dino-sex.

[SkipMagic]

How about right before they decide to work as a video store clerk?
Wow, based on quite a few of your threads, what an utter surprise you're upping your trolling and just coming right out to be a jerk. My, such an excellent way of making your stay here that much shorter.

Not that it's any great revelation, but the staff will be discussing your posting privileges.

ETA: It was a short discussion.

[lissener]

The dinosaur just did, back to back, an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, and a Jack Nicholson impression.

[mswas]

There was a contract issue IIRC for Whoopi in Theodore Rex. She didn't want to do the movie but this was around the time another actress (Kim Basinger, I think) had gotten into hot water for breaking a contract.

Kim Basinger's career never recovered from her breaking the contract for 'Boxing Helena'.

[lissener]

Kim Basinger's career never recovered from her breaking the contract for 'Boxing Helena'.Whoosh?

[Captain Amazing]

There was a contract issue IIRC for Whoopi in Theodore Rex. She didn't want to do the movie but this was around the time another actress (Kim Basinger, I think) had gotten into hot water for breaking a contract.

Right. The production company claimed that she had entered into a verbal contract to do the film a few years before, and sued her for $20 mil. when she tried to back out. She ended up agreeing to do the movie in exchange for them dropping the lawsuit.

[lissener]

Theodore Rex is available on DVD.

The African Queen is not.

[NDP]

Nearly everything I wanted to say in this thread has already been said so I'll just add that Theodore Rex has the dubious distinction of being by far the most expensive movie ever to go STV (straight-to-video).

[don't ask]

The African Queen is not.

It is in Australia (http://www.sanity.com.au/product/product.asp?sku=366268) if you want me to pick one up for you.

[mobo85]

a cop also, but also a dinosaur (in red Chucks)

This gives me an excuse to comment on the fact that I thought I was the only one who ever noticed the "male character on a TV show/movie in red Chucks=wacky" code, but even The Onion (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31824) has poked fun at it.

I've never seen Theodore Rex, but I have heard of it- and the whole premise sounds like something Homer Simpson would have thought up.

[Tuckerfan]

IMHO, the world would have been better off if Gary Busey (and Billy Zane) had committed suicide right before agreeing to do Kurtlar vadisi - Irak (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493264/). For those of you not familiar with the film (which was made in '06), let me just point you to what Wikipedia says about it: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurtlar_Vadisi_-_Irak)The film features a Jewish-American Army doctor (Gary Busey) who harvests fresh organs from injured Iraqi prisoners to sell to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv for transplantation.

[lissener]

It is in Australia (http://www.sanity.com.au/product/product.asp?sku=366268) if you want me to pick one up for you.

Wow. Thanks but no. I'm not a huge fan of the movie, but I'd love one for the store. Unfortunately most of our customers couldn't play a Region 4 disc.

[Scissorjack]

This gives me an excuse to comment on the fact that I thought I was the only one who ever noticed the "male character on a TV show/movie in red Chucks=wacky" code, but even The Onion (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31824) has poked fun at it.

Hey, The Doctor wears red Chucks and he's not - oh, wait.

[The Scrivener]

Re. the OP -- what, and never taste Entenmann's again? :dubious:

I won't [ever] be seeing T. Rex, but surely the thespish career limbo bar was set very low by Richard Pryor in The Toy... and by John Travolta in Battlefield Earth...

[Terrifel]

Ironically, the dinosaur was later found dead of a barbituate overdose, shortly after landing a walk-on role in Star Trek: Nemesis.

[John DiFool]

Anyone else think Whoopi's best role was as Guinan? I think that role showed her talents to very good effect. [And yes I know about the Color Purple...]

[RickJay]

Avoiding bankruptcy is a remarkably motivating thing.

[obfusciatrist]

There is the fact that sometimes things that sound really stupid ("see, your a private detective and will solve a murder involving a rabbit and his drop-dead gorgeous,but human, wife; so Bob Hoskins, do you do it or jump off a bridge") turn out to be fine.

Sometimes you can only prove something was a horrible idea by going out and doing it.

[Moirai]

Kim Basinger's career never recovered from her breaking the contract for 'Boxing Helena'.

Yeah, that Oscar she won for L.A. Confidential wasn't... oh, never mind...

[Moirai]

Avoiding bankruptcy is a remarkably motivating thing.

This. What is the classic line from Michael Caine? "I have never seen Jaws 4, I hear it is awful. But I have seen the house it paid for, and it is lovely."

[Cisco]

Jaws 4 got a bad rap because the absurdity of a shark somehow knowing where you were going on vacation, and following you thousands of miles there. If you can suspend your disbelief for that, it's honestly not a bad movie. Better than Jaws 2 or 3 (though not in the same league as 1.)

And Point Break is my favorite action movie (not saying much since I don't really like action movies, but still . . . :D)

[RealityChuck]

One is never really sure in Hollywood just how good or how bad a movie ends up being. Sometimes you need to take the money and hope for the best.

[Tuckerfan]

One is never really sure in Hollywood just how good or how bad a movie ends up being. Sometimes you need to take the money and hope for the best.

There's been a couple of cases where actors have claimed that the movie they signed on to make was not the movie which came out, and that the script was changed against their objections. Samuel L. Jackson tends to be rather blunt in his discussions about the Hollywood "suits." :D

[jsgoddess]

To me, making a bad movie is pretty far down on the list of horrible sins one should die before committing. Actually, now that I double check, it's not even on the list.

[mobo85]

There is the fact that sometimes things that sound really stupid ("see, your a private detective and will solve a murder involving a rabbit and his drop-dead gorgeous,but human, wife; so Bob Hoskins, do you do it or jump off a bridge") turn out to be fine.

Sometimes you can only prove something was a horrible idea by going out and doing it.

But then again, there's the flip side of the coin: "See, you're a plumber from Brookyln who gets transported into an alternate universe where humans evolved from dinosaurs; so Bob Hoskins, do you do it or jump off a bridge?" (Hoskins himself has said working on Super Mario Bros. was "a fuckin' nightmare.")

[Oakminster]

Even making bad movies has to be more fun than working a regular job. If I could pay my bills by starring in craptacular films, I'd jump at the chance.

[lissener]

Even making bad movies has to be more fun than working a regular job. If I could pay my bills by starring in craptacular films, I'd jump at the chance.

You're right, I'd do the same. Which is why I don't wonder why Carrot Top didn't kill himself rather than do Chairman of the Board:while that movie is even worse than Theodore Rex, it was surely the highpoint of his career. Whoopi started at the top and has been sliding--plummeting--ever since.

[lissener]

Re. the OP -- what, and never taste Entenmann's again? :dubious:

I won't [ever] be seeing T. Rex, but surely the thespish career limbo bar was set very low by Richard Pryor in The Toy... and by John Travolta in Battlefield Earth...
To be fair, while Battlefield Earth was a (not the) bomb, it was made because Travolta was in a powerful enough position to launch what was essentially a vanity project. HIS rock bottom was probably Look Who's Talking 8, or whatever.

[Equipoise]

Hey, there's an alternate side to every coin. If she had killed herself, we never would have been blessed with the genius that is Sister Act 2.Hey, according to IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000155/bio), Whoopi made a cool seven MILLION for SA2!

Salary
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) $7,000,000That's the only one I could find. Theodore Rex's budget was an estimated $33,000,000, so we can assume that Whoopi got a few million of that for a couple/few weeks' work.

Geez, suicide, or lots of money...suicide, or lots of money. Tough decision, there.

:rolleyes:

[lissener]

Here's another tough decision: reactionary literal-mindedness, or easily recognized hyperbole.

[Little Nemo]

It's easy for us to be all moral on this issue. Nobody ever offered me a million dollars to star in a really stupid movie so I can't claim I turned them down.

What I don't understand is why anyone would be willing to watch a movie like Theodore Rex.

[Baldwin]

Lots of famous actors have been in crappy movies, or done movies they didn't want to because of contract obligations. Occasionally this involves playing a cyborg cop partnered with a dinosaur cop. Does the OP have an actual point to make?

[lissener]

It's easy for us to be all moral on this issue. Nobody ever offered me a million dollars to star in a really stupid movie so I can't claim I turned them down.

What I don't understand is why anyone would be willing to watch a movie like Theodore Rex.

It's called taking one for the team. I watched it so you don't have to. You're welcome.

[Wendell Wagner]

Whoopi Goldberg's philosophy has always been that she'll take any role she's offered with a reasonable paycheck. With one exception, she's never been a bankable movie star who can demand huge salaries for each role. She's mostly a character actor who only occasionally gets a lead role. The one exception was her demand for Sister Act 2. Sister Act made a huge amount of money and she wasn't well paid for it. She told the producers that she would only do the sequel if she was paid the largest salary of any actress up to that time for the role.

[Terrifel]

It's called taking one for the team. I watched it so you don't have to. You're welcome.Well, there's your answer then. Whoopi Goldberg starred in Theodore Rex so that nobody else would have to.

Otherwise it could have been you, or a loved one. Think about THAT scenario. Where's your damned gratitude?

[Johnny Q]

There's been a couple of cases where actors have claimed that the movie they signed on to make was not the movie which came out, and that the script was changed against their objections. Samuel L. Jackson tends to be rather blunt in his discussions about the Hollywood "suits." :D


It would be interesting to hear what he thought Amos and Andrew was supposed to be.

[Jolly Roger]

It's easy for us to be all moral on this issue. Nobody ever offered me a million dollars to star in a really stupid movie so I can't claim I turned them down.

What I don't understand is why anyone would be willing to watch a movie like Theodore Rex.

I enjoy bad movies on some level. I used to write for Dante's Inferno and All Night Video Store. If the site still exists you can look up all kinds of bad movies there.

[lissener]

It would be interesting to hear what he thought Amos and Andrew was supposed to be.

Uh . . . have you seen Amos and Andrew? It's a pretty smart satire on racism.

[outlierrn]

Uh . . . have you seen Amos and Andrew? It's a pretty smart satire on racism.


Concur. Never seen this Rex of which you speak, and now I won't have to, Thank you, Lissener

[gonzomax]

Avoiding bankruptcy is a remarkably motivating thing.

She has done 109 movies. She has a successful stand up act for many years, She is on the View. I don't think she has too much money trouble.

[Mirror Image egamI rorriM]

I work with a guy named Theodore Rex Lastname. His paycheck says T Rex Lastname. His license plate is T REX.

[Beware of Doug]

Nothing like the book (http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Rex-Modern-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0812966007/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228106393&sr=8-2), I gather.

[RickJay]

She has done 109 movies. She has a successful stand up act for many years, She is on the View. I don't think she has too much money trouble.
Kim Basinger was loaded, too.

[lissener]

I work with a guy named Theodore Rex Lastname. His paycheck says T Rex Lastname. His license plate is T REX.
Wow, that's . . . strangely hot. Can you send him my email, ask him if he has any openings for a stalker?

[lissener]

Nothing like the book (http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Rex-Modern-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0812966007/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228106393&sr=8-2), I gather.

Well, exactly like the book, actually, except replace "POTUS" with "Muppet Dinosaur" and everything else with "Whoopi Goldberg." With those adjustments, it's a pretty faithful adaptation.

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Is there ever a reason for anyone, anywhere, to agree to star in a movie like Theodore Rex (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114658/)?

A lot of actors flat out like to act. It's what they do, even if they they know it's a really crappy movie. I like to post here and, heavens knows, I'm well aware that none of my posts is ever going to win an Oscar.

[Prelude to Fascination]

There's been a couple of cases where actors have claimed that the movie they signed on to make was not the movie which came out, and that the script was changed against their objections. Samuel L. Jackson tends to be rather blunt in his discussions about the Hollywood "suits." :D

Arguably, the most famous situation that fits this description is Caligula, where Peter O'Toole and Sir John Gielgud were especially vocal about not knowing they were participating in a big-budget hardcore porn movie.

Jolly Roger, I used to like going to Dante's Inferno bad movie site, but quit after it hadn't been updated in months (a year or more?). I think it's still on the web, but as I say, no longer updated.

[Jolly Roger]

Arguably, the most famous situation that fits this description is Caligula, where Peter O'Toole and Sir John Gielgud were especially vocal about not knowing they were participating in a big-budget hardcore porn movie.

Jolly Roger, I used to like going to Dante's Inferno bad movie site, but quit after it hadn't been updated in months (a year or more?). I think it's still on the web, but as I say, no longer updated.

I can tell you why it hasn't been updated in some time. the hosts of the site needed the reviews edited for language, and that took some time. I don't think I managed to re edit half of them. Having to that with work and having any kind of a life not watching bad movies and you know, going outside made it too difficult. Especially as I had just moved to Europe at the time.

I enjoyed working on the Inferno and at times want to start it up again, but I have so many other priorities right now its kind of impossible.

[Lute Skywatcher]

There is the fact that sometimes things that sound really stupid ("see, your a private detective and will solve a murder involving a rabbit and his drop-dead gorgeous,but human, wife; so Bob Hoskins, do you do it or jump off a bridge") turn out to be fine.

Sometimes you can only prove something was a horrible idea by going out and doing it.Just ask Eddie Murphy, who turned down a role in that movie.

[gonzomax]

Kim Basinger was loaded, too.

I thought she bought a town and blew it all.

[D_Odds]

To me, making a bad movie is pretty far down on the list of horrible sins one should die before committing. Actually, now that I double check, it's not even on the list.You are, of course, correct. However, on the list might be taking overtly facetious statements literally.

[Bryan Ekers]

Anyone else think Whoopi's best role was as Guinan?

It's be a pretty poor comment on her career if it was. Guinan was a terrible character, straight out of the "inscrutable magical black advisor" book that gave us Bagger Vance.

[Sublight]

I thought she bought a town and blew it all.

Lucky constituents.

[lissener]

Someone just rented Theodore Rex. . . . Was it one of you?

[jsgoddess]

Someone just rented Theodore Rex. . . . Was it one of you?

Maybe someone in the bad movie club. :)