Chef? What’s Fincher cooking up next? Ahaha let the punning begin!Hey “Passengers”! That script was one of the hottest things on this years Black List. I remember it because it was the highest ranked “non-political” film. Since those have been bombing in theaters, I figured Passengers must be the script with the greatest potential.On a final note, I can’t believe Keanu turned down The Watchmen and Speed Racer to do Street Kings and TDTESS. No way would I have made that trade off!

Street Kings was a small project from Fox Searchlight and just cost US$ 20 million and has already $ 14 in the bank in a week, and surelly will do well overseas, how is that a flop? You guy love to pick on Keanu, it’s tiring.  Leatherheads cost $60 and made just about $20 and by no means will make money overseas, now, that is a flop. BTW, Keanu was ace in Street Kings! And those future projects sure look good for him, mostly Passengers.

Alicia,

Whilst it won’t be a movie that is likely to finish in the red if you asked Fox Searchlight if they were happy with the weekends takings, I’m sure they would tell you they weren’t.

If a movie was going to deliver exactly the amount that you put into it then why bother?

Movies are about profit. Street Kings won’t make a profit, not one that justifys the studios time and effort with the picture.

Hellen,

I’m not so sure he did turn down those movies. I’m pretty sure he asked for too much money on both and wouldn’t budge, so WB and their respective directors looked elsewhere.

Smart move you have to say because Keanu’s star is fading fast at the mo.

In reality a movie has from opening weekend to following weekend to make budget. With Street Kings sitting at $14.5 it will clearly break before next weekend.
Matt, fading fast, is very brash. You must hate him for personal reason, because as long as I have worked in the industry, Keanu has been a bankable star, whom production companies scammer to work with, especially now that he’s not trapped into Warner.

Well I have to disagree Matt. Street Kings will most certainly make a  profit, largely due to its amazingly tiny budget. Which also points out that it wasn’t a grand paycheck which caused Keanu to do Street Kings instead of The Watchmen or Speed Racer. Must have been something in the script to cause all those big names to work for nearly no pay? Baffling. If he’s not getting paid anyway, he might as well go with the guaranteed hits of Speed Racer and The Watchmen. They probably would have paid him better than Street Kings too!

I certainly do not hate Keanu Reeves. He’s a limited actor but I’ve enjoyed some of his performances over the years. THE MATRIX and SPEED found the right persona for him but when he’s mis-cast, he’s awful.

I saw a Keanu Reeves starring vehicle released last week… and no one cared. When has that ever happened before?

Coming out second to Prom Night… please? He WAS a huge star but I see nothing from the past two years or anything on his upcoming schedule that tells me he’s a big player in the industry.

Will Smith is. Tom Cruise still is (despite a mis-step last year). Keanu Reeves I’m afraid isn’t.

Matt you’re a cunt. It’s well known Keanu never asks for much money, so don’t even bother with that one. Alicia, and Hellen, don’t even bother with this asshole.He clearly wants to see Keanu fade. Tom Cruise and Will Smith have had their flops too, Johnny Depp flops continuously except for Pirates, and Clooney is now officially the king of flop.But this is Keanu we’re talking about, so unless scorn and ridiclule are involved, Matt wouldn’t have any cred. So naturally, a jerk who doesn’t know a thing about him decides to put his own spin on it.Yawn.

To Matt: You dislike him, it’s obvious. But don’t try to pose as some “insider” who knows everything because you are not. Where is the article claiming Leatherheads is a flop? Sweeney Todd? Lions for Lambs? Smart People? Anyone?Street Kings is a small budget movie and until some time ago it has absolutely no PR at all and info was that it’s release would be limited. The fact that is at +2400 theaters was a surprise for me. Keanu is attached to the movie for years now and even said that having it to get made was a dream to him because no one wanted to make a movie about dirty people who are not heroes by any  means. He managed to finance that and get the movie made for US$ 20 million. Go read the Hollywood Reporter because this info is there. Of course Fox Searchlight would want to have a bigger opening, every studio would want, but as we know, we are living in a world where movies like Alvim and Prom Night make big money, so, where is the surprise? Prom Night had a spectacular opening, lots of PR and did all the money it had to make in ONE weekend. Period, it will be behind Kings and 21 this weekend and will hardly manage do reach 35 mil final numbers. About Watchman, he turned down the role because he chose to make The Day the Earth Stood Still. Plain and simple, he said that in an interview some weeks ago and even said he went to the Watchmen set in Vancouver where he was filmimng TDTESS as well and Zack Snyder showed him some footage that got him excited. He was not talking as someone who asked too much and was turned down.  As for Speed Racer, he said he would like to work again with the W brothers but it didn’t work. Maybe because he was involved with Street Kings, maybe he didn’t like the premise. He has the right. You are talking about the man who turned down lots of money for Speed 2 and gave up millions to technical crews in The Matrix sequels. You are again being biased and putting your “assumptions” about what happened as they are fact! And you saw Keanu Reeves star in a R rated movie, with very few PR going against the huge draw of a PG-13 movies that was being advertised since last year towards it’s teen audience and released in the week where most of them are having… go figure, Prom Nights! A movie with Will Smith or Tom Cruise, if not a big gigantic summer blockbuster or superhero movie  would come in second as well. Put Sweeney Todd there. Put Lions for Lambs. Put a movie where Will Smith isn’t a super hero and see what happens. Keanu could had chose doing those “wannabe” blockbusters (as we don’t know yet how they will perform) and have all the media hype and BO possible, but no, instead he decided to dedicate to the project he wanted to get made, Street Kings and another who appealed to him more, TDTESS. Can’t an actor have personality enough and choose what appeals to “him” and not for the wannabe critics? One of the things that makes his career so enduring is that he choses to act in things that appeal to him personally. I hope he continues that way. BTW, I’m not part of his PR or Fox Searchlight. Not a blind fan either. But I’m really tired of the way some part of the media acts towards him. Your article is mean and the proof that biased pseudo journos or bloggers are everywhere and act as they knew everything, when they are only stating their personal love or hate feelings about someone, an actor in this case.

Oh, dear Matt, let me add… The fact that he has upcoming projects like The Day the Earth Stood Still (with Scott Derrickson), Passengers and Pippa Lee, and working with directors as Rebecca Miller, Roger Michell and David Fincher shows to you what? Take a look at his resume and you will see that he follows a pattern. He is no Will Smith. He doesn’t need to be.

Alicia, yeah pretty much. Keanu trashing is getting so old, so repetitive, and apparently so clueless about itself too. And Matt should be on the ball with that one, considering he’s such a know-it-all.Here’s the thing:First of all, Keanu was never among the very top “players” in Hollywood. He has the irrational hatred of critics, and now fanboys (since blogging started) to go up against, as well as typecasting and about ten tons of baggage from “Ted” following him around, and a general “fuck Hollywood” attitude that doesn’t particularly help him. And he’s had to deal with flops himself before, and yet has nevertheless stayed steady.But NONE of this means he is “fading fast”, asking for “too much money” OR that SK is a “mega flop” or even a flop.Matt seems to forget that for Fox Searchlight to have such ambitious hopes for a movie of that size, they would need to have additional money for ADVERTISING (which was next to nil as it was), since yes, manic advertising/prom season is about all Prom Night has going for it. And since predictions were BELOW $12 mil initially, the gross was likely nowhere near the “surprise” for Fox that Matt and all the “pundits” are now claiming it was. But isn’t it just SO GOOD to stick it to Keanu?!Keanu is a world-wide star, something not every Hollywood hotshot or critics’ darling is. SK will thus make plenty of money in that bigger picture. Constantine managed to make money worldwide even WITH the obligatory and unrelenting scorn and ridicule from Matt types.So bottom line to Matt, don’t bullshit. You made this post as yet another “expert” waiting for someone to counter you so that you can then post the usual “Hey I don’t hate Keanu, but he is not a good actor, but he’s okay as long as he plays emotionless characters, AND BY THE WAY HE SUCKED IN DRACULA!!!!!!!!!!” type posts that have become a dime a dozen. And why have they become a dime a dozen? Because you “pundits” are not paying much attention.

See new article on the homepage for my response!

well, we will see it…