Actors aren’t very bright; this is a universally acknowledged fact. But when Colin Farrell, set to play the dashing vampire-next-door Jerry, in the remake of Fright Night, accidentally insults the film he was working on, –that displays a new level of “Durrrrr.” And Colin Farrell knows this, because he “cringes” when he sees it. Poor bastard. And to think, –he went to the event, CinemaCon on Tuesday, –to promote the Fright Night remake. His buddy David Gillespie was there (director of Lars and the Real Girl), and tried to correct the situation, –sadly, Colin Farrell didn’t flub in front of a few people who happened to be visiting his panel. Nope, there was an audience, and they were giggling; poor Farrell chewed himself out backstage. Even his sister heckled him.
He told EW about his flub on stage, and how he had actually meant it:
“The wisecracking Irishman was there to show off the first footage of his upcoming horror remake Fright Night, as a vicious but bored-to-(un)death vampire who moves into the suburbs next to a suspicious teen (Anton Yelchin). The 34-year-old actor was a big fan of the 1985 cult-favorite, which starred Chris Sarandon in the bloodsucker role, and told the audience of theater owners: “I heard they were remaking Fright Night and went, ‘Ah, god, remake! Hollywood, so dull!’ And I read the script [by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Mad Men alum Marti Noxon] and really hoped I didn’t like it, and I did. It was fun. But I was a fan of the original. I probably saw it when I was 12 years of age, and loved it.”
Okay, so far, so good. Farrell went on to talk about his friendship with director Craig Gillespie and praised his previous movie Lars and the Real Girl. But then he continued.
“Meself, as a fan of the original, it doesn’t change. I don’t think I’ll have a copy of this version in my library, but I have the original at home,” Farrell said, drawing scattered nervous laughs. “And since [the old film] still exists, maybe this [new] film will bring that film to a whole new audience and maybe some fans of the original, like myself, can enjoy this one as well.”
He then threw it back to Gillespie who said, haltingly, “There are … other actors in the film, as well,” garnering more chuckles from the crowd.
Backstage, Farrell was kicking himself. “Yeah, I knew that would be picked up!” he told EW. “What I meant was [I wouldn’t own it] because I’m in the f—ing thing!” He said he cringes when he watches himself. “It’s always uncomfortable.” Even his sister said “D’oh” to Farrell after hearing what he said onstage. But the actor says he’s a fan of the new Fright Night now, too. He endured watching himself in the film, and said he “enjoyed the romp that it was for two hours.””
Poor guy. Okay, well, that makes more sense; I have to admit, it’s probably a good sign that watching his own movies makes him uncomfortable. Although, I wonder why a guy who claims to be uncomfortable and icky’d out while watching himself perform on camera, would make a sex tape…. that’s when ‘performance’ really counts, after all. Actors do funny things. So what do you guys think? Will Colin Farrell do justice to Jerry? Or does his little slip imply that he really doesn’t care for the movie…? And in that case, will we? I’ll definitely see it, but I dunno, –the original is going to be hard to beat!
A lot of actors I’ve known have been very bright. Nor is it difficult to think of some actors who are widely regarded as very intelligent–Colin Firth, Emma Watson, Jodie Foster, Jonathan Frid, etc. Jack Lemon once insisted that intelligence was a prerequisate of really fine acting, that he’d never met a single really top-notch actor who wasn’t also very bright.
I enjoyed the original, it was atmospheric little flick despite some of the drecky dialogue, but I fear for the remake. Original and it´s sequel were such entertaining B-movies no one can do anymore.