Paul Feig just made a startling comparison between his female-led hit ‘Bridesmaids' and ‘The Hangover'
Feig – who is set to release his latest movie, the sequel 'Another Simple Favor' starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick this spring – was at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday, where he talked about how so much was hinging on the success, or failure, of the 2011 comedy.
'So many female writer friends of mine were going out and pitching female-led comedies, and they all heard from the studios: 'We have to wait and see how 'Bridesmaids' does,'' Feig said, per Variety.
'I was like, 'F**k! Don't put that on me. Am I gonna ruin movies for women?'' he remembered thinking at the time.
Feig also made an interesting comparison to a male-led comedy from two years prior, saying, 'I don't think with 'The Hangover' they said, 'I'm gonna wait to see all these dudes on screen before we do this again.' But thank god it did well.'
'Bridesmaids' starred Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne, and went on to snag Oscar nods for best supporting actress for McCarthy as well as best original screenplay for writers Wiig and Annie Mumolo.
The film also ended up grossing close to $300 million, but right up until the weekend of its theatrical release, Feig described how he was kept guessing.
'Right 'til the day we came out, we were predicted to not do well,' Feig said this week. 'We were told, 'You have to make $20 million on opening weekend, or you will be considered a failure.' And we did a midnight screening the night before that didn't go well. They were like, 'It's gonna be $13 million. Sorry, it's a bomb.' All day, I was walking around, like, 'I guess I destroyed comedy for women.''
When he finally got the good news regarding 'Bridesmaids'' success, he was in good company.
'Melissa McCarthy and (her husband and 'Bridesmaids' costar) Ben Falcone were over at our house for dinner, and suddenly, (we got) the texts: '20 million. 21. 22.' So we all got in the car. We went down to the (Los Angeles cineplex) ArcLight Cinema and it was packed. It was the greatest moment of our lives.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Epoch Times
Denzel Washington on Cancel Culture: ‘I Follow God, I Don't Follow Man'
While promoting his new film, 'Highest 2 Lowest,' the Oscar-winning actor said faith matters more to him than public approval. Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is taking aim at cancel culture, reaffirming his opinions are formed only through faith and his relationship with God. In a recent interview with Complex News, the 70-year-old questioned why losing public support in terms of cancel culture would matter to anyone, before dismissing the notion completely.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Sydney Sweeney stands by controversial bathwater soap, compares herself to Jacob Elordi
As a businesswoman, Sydney Sweeney isn't afraid to push the envelope, even if the fan mail isn't always glowing. The Emmy-nominated actress, who's stirred controversy with her provocative campaign ads, opened up about the backlash she received for her bathwater-scented soap with Dr. Squatch in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Aug. 20. Sweeney, who had teamed up with the men's hygiene brand in 2024 for a suggestive body wash commercial, followed up the collaboration in May with Sydney's Bathwater Bliss, a bar soap that was reportedly infused with her used bathwater. "When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap," Sweeney said in a press release at the time. "It's weird in the best way, and I love that we created something that's not just unforgettable, it actually smells incredible." The soap's sensual marketing theme sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some users dubbing it a "gimmick" and questioning the item's cleanliness. "It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting," Sweeney reflected in her Wall Street Journal interview. "They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi's bathwater." Sweeney's "Euphoria" costar Jacob Elordi, who also starred in the 2023 dark comedy "Saltburn," achieved an eccentric sex symbol status after a scene from the film depicted Barry Keoghan's character drinking Elordi's bodily fluid-filled bathwater. The racy sequence even inspired the creation of Elordi bathwater-scented candles, although the actor was not involved in the manufacturing or sale of the products. Why Sydney Sweeney pays attention to controversial campaigns Sweeney's bathwater soap isn't the only business move of hers that's raised eyebrows. In July, the "Anything But You" star became the face of denim retailer American Eagle's newest campaign, which featured biology-inspired wordplay praising Sweeney's "great jeans." The campaign quickly ignited a cultural firestorm, with some accusing Sweeney and American Eagle of subtly endorsing eugenics, the discredited belief that the human population can be improved through selective breeding. Even President Donald Trump weighed in on the sartorial scandal, defending the actress's "hot" ad. While Sweeney has yet to comment on the backlash, American Eagle defended the campaign in an Aug. 1 statement: "'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story." Although Sweeney doesn't take the controversy to heart, she told The Wall Street Journal that she keeps tabs on her brand's public reception. "I think it's important to have a finger on the pulse of what people are saying," Sweeney said. "Because everything is a conversation with the audience." Contributing: Melina Khan, Nicole Fallert, Joey Garrison, Jay Stahl and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
Gizmodo
4 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Guillermo del Toro Explains Why His Frankenstein's Monster Looks So Unique
Clearly, we're all very, very excited about Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, which is coming to theaters on October 17 before arriving on Netflix on November 7. That's because it's del Toro, one of our most beloved filmmakers; his cast is incredible; and there has rarely been a better pairing of filmmaker and subject matter. One other thing has us hyped up too, and that's Frankenstein's monster. Del Toro loves a monster and, in a new interview, he talks about how he approached his monster differently, both visually and in his on-screen creation. 'Ever since I started drawing the creature in the late '70s and early '80s, I knew I didn't want symmetric scars and I didn't want sutures or clamps,' del Toro said to Variety. 'What I thought was very interesting was to make him like a jigsaw puzzle. I wanted him to look beautiful, like a newborn thing, because a lot of times, Frankenstein steps into the frame and he looks like an accident victim. But Victor is as much an artist as he is a surgeon, so the cuts had to make aesthetic sense. I always thought about him as made of alabaster. I never understood something about the other versions: why does Victor use so many pieces from so many bodies? Why doesn't he just resurrect a guy who had a heart attack? And the answer for me was, what if the bodies come from a battlefield? Then he needs to find a way to bring the corpses together in a harmonious way.' What does that all mean? We aren't quite sure, but it sounds absolutely fascinating. Equally fascinating is del Toro talking about his choice to actually show Dr. Frankenstein make the creature. 'Almost nobody shows the creation of the monster,' he said. 'Everybody shows thunder, and the monster is already put together. And I thought, if you are following a rock star, you want to shoot the concert. So instead of making it horrible that he is putting all these things together from bodies, I made it into a waltz. I made it into a joyous fun, sort of crazy concert. He's running around the lab, putting this body together, grabbing this part and placing it together here or there.' Look, if the image of Oscar Isaac in posh Victorian-era clothes dancing around a lab creating an alabaster monster out of dead bodies doesn't do it for you, why are you reading this website? Frankenstein will have 'the biggest theatrical release that Netflix gives its films,' according to del Toro, starting on October 17. It'll be in theaters for at least three weeks and, eventually, will even get a physical media release. But, for most people, they'll see it on Netflix starting November 7. Read more from the filmmaker about his love of the source material, his alternate plans for the movie, and more over at Variety. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
