John Malkovich's scenes cut from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Entertainment News
The 71-year-old actor was set to appear in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster as villain Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost but director Matt Shakman has revealed that his scenes didn't make the final cut as they didn't fit in with the story — which features Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn as the heroic ensemble.
In an interview with Variety, the filmmaker said: "There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor.
"When we were building a '60s retro-future world, introducing all of these villains, introducing these four main characters as a group, as well as individually, introducing the idea of a child — there was a lot of stuff to balance in this movie and some things had to go ultimately in terms of shaping the film for its final version."
Shakman had previously worked with Malkovich on his feature directorial debut Cut Bank in 2014 and said that it made the decision to omit the Con Air actor even more agonising.
He said: "It was heartbreaking not to include him in the final version of the movie because he's one of my very favourite humans and one of my biggest inspirations.
"As a person who walks the line between theatre and film and television, there's no one who is more inspiring than the founder of Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
"What he's done on stage as an actor and what he's done as a director in theatre as well as in film, and as just a film actor of incredible ability — I was honoured he came to play."
Malkovich revealed earlier this year that he has turned down several Marvel movies in the past because he didn't like the terms in the contracts that were on offer.
He told GQ magazine: "The reason I didn't do them had nothing to do with any artistic considerations whatsoever.
"I didn't like the deals they made at all. These films are quite gruelling to make… If you're going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me.
"You don't want to pay me, it's cool, but then I don't want to do it, because I'd rather be onstage, or be directing a play, or doing something else."
The Burn After Reading star explained that he was shocked by the similarities between a Marvel production and being on stage when he decided to accept the part.
Malkovich said: "It's not that dissimilar to doing theatre. You imagine a bunch of stuff that isn't there and do your little play."
The actor even suggested that one of the most demanding roles of his career came when he voiced the character of Dr. Octavius Brine in the 2014 animated flick Penguins of Madagascar.
He said: "One of the hardest things I've ever done was a film called Penguins of Madagascar, a children's film where I played an octopus.
"And I must have recorded the entire thing, every line; at least a thousand variations of every line.
"I never understood why it never occurred to them to maybe have a different line. And I did mention that more than occasionally."
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Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Review
(Clockwise from top left) Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (PG) 115 minutes, opens on July 24 ★★★★☆ The story: On Earth-828, human society has made great leaps in technology by the 1960s. The planet is protected by guardians dubbed The Fantastic Four by the media. Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), his wife Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Reed's best friend Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sue's brother Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) are astronauts who, four years ago, travelled to space and returned with superpowers from an encounter with cosmic rays. Their gifts are put to the test with the arrival of the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), a herald of doom announcing that the planet will be consumed by her master Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a cosmic being who devours worlds. Here we go again: A new decade, a new Fantastic Four reboot. Marvel has analysed the previous failures and tweaked the formula. Its answer? A slightly older cast, whose members are comfortable with and confident in their superpowers. Compared with the 2005 version, which had the beats of a sitcom built around a dysfunctional family, or the 2015 reboot, a brooding exploration of what it means to be different, this iteration of the comic book heroes presents them as the picture of mental health. Reed and Sue are a couple deeply in love. Ben and Johnny have professional respect and admiration for each other. In one revealing scene, Johnny and Ben are together, minus Sue and Reed, preparing dinner. In lesser hands, this would have been a moment for mean-spirited quips, or building jokes around the idea of the armour-encrusted The Thing being clumsy in the kitchen or a cocky Human Torch shooting flames to cook sausages. Instead, Ben is portrayed as a delicate perfectionist, with Johnny his wary but respectful companion who 'flames on' only in the line of duty. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'pore's domestic recycling rate drops to all time low of 11% Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kick in Business Singapore's digital banks finding their niche in areas like SMEs as they narrow losses in 2024 Asia Japan Prime Minister Ishiba to resign by August, Mainichi newspaper reports World Trump says US will charge 19% tariff on goods from Philippines, down from 20% Singapore Two found dead after fire in Toa Payoh flat Singapore 2 foreigners arrested for shop theft at Changi Airport Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving As Ben notes in another scene, catchphrases like 'flame on' belong only in cartoons. The two of them set the table and, in a charming display of sensitivity, wonder if it would be impolite to start the meal without Reed and Sue. These are among the small character-based surprises director Matt Shakman sprinkles throughout the film. His gift for character-driven drama has been showcased in the Emmy-winning Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021), which had the American film-maker directing all nine episodes of the story centred on Marvel's Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). (From left) Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY In First Steps, the retro-futuristic setting – featuring furniture, flying cars and rocket ships from the minds of designers from a parallel world where it is still 1960 – feels natural and lived-in, yet unlike anything seen in a Swinging Sixties picture. The sense of mystery that drives WandaVision pervades this movie as well. Haunting the minds of all four heroes is the question of Sue's unborn child, glimpsed in the movie's trailer. The irradiated couple's worries about the physical state of the baby are handled with a graceful economy, within a story that opens the door to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe without making it obvious. Hot take: This reboot succeeds by focusing on emotionally mature, mentally well-adjusted characters rather than rehashing the dysfunction and angst of previous versions.
AsiaOne
a day ago
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Kevin Feige teases Tom Holland will become 'proper Spider-Man' in next movie instalment, Entertainment News
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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
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