Edward Norton Releases Statement Countering Post-Production Turmoil For The Incredible Hulk
Why not release a statement 1/10 as long that succinctly boasts, "Listen, our movie rocks. It will stomp Iron Man. Just wait and see dudes..."? Or why not go for the brute psyche out, "Incredible Hulk smash all naysayers. Top 3 Comic Book Movie All Time"? More effective in my opinion. Over the past few weeks, EW attempted to lock down an interview with Edward Norton, star, screenwriter and producer of The Incredible Hulk, regarding snowballing online/industry buzz that his Marvel/Universal production may in fact be a turkey aka another Ang Lee's The Hulk creatively and at the box office.
Rather than a one-on-one or a phoner, the mag received a proverbial studio-approved actor's statement totaling 257 words that, while sincere, does not succeed at smashing fanboys "...but is it awesome?" doubts to satisfying, glowing bits. When it comes down to it, people want to know A) why this film is 100 times better than the previous one and B) that it's one of the funnest flicks of the epic '08 summer. Here's the entire thing...
"Like so many people I've loved the story of The Hulk since I was a kid, so it was thrilling when Marvel asked me to write and help produce an altogether new screen incarnation, as well as play Bruce Banner. I grew up reading Marvel Comics and always loved the mythic dimension and contemporary themes in the stories, and I'm proud of the script I wrote. In every phase of production, including the editing, working with Louis Leterrier has been wonderful...I've never had a better partner, and the collaboration with all the rest of the creative team has been terrific.
"Every good movie gets forged through collaboration, and different ideas among people who are all committed and respect the validity of each other's opinions is the heart of filmmaking. Regrettably, our healthy process, which is and should be a private matter, was misrepresented publicly as a 'dispute,' seized on by people looking for a good story, and has been distorted to such a degree that it risks distracting from the film itself, which Marvel, Universal and I refuse to let happen.
"It has always been my firm conviction that films should speak for themselves and that knowing too much about how they are made diminishes the magic of watching them. All of us believe The Incredible Hulk will excite old fans and create new ones and be a huge hit...our focus has always been to deliver the Hulk that people have been waiting for and keep the worldwide love affair with the big green guy going strong.”
Discuss: Does Norton's statement alleviate your concerns about The Incredible Hulk, if you have any? Is this the best way for an actor/screenwriter/producer to counter bad buzz this late in the game in your opinion? Why not release a short statement on YouTube that gets some laughs but makes the point loud and clear? How many of your friends are anticipating the Hulk reboot right now? I want green pie charts and 18-25 demos!