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Not surprisingly,“Gigli” (search )tanked at the box office.
In its opening weekend, the $54 million Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopezgangster romance took in less than $4 million.Producers of the film who lost money are probablydisappointed.
It happens.
But judging from the torrent of venomous press this movie project has unleashed, one would think film critics and entertainment reporters were the ones who lost their shirts on this ill-fated project.Check out some of these quotes:
“Hopelessly misconceived exercise in celebrityself-worship, which opens to nationwide ridicule today.” — A.O. Scott, New York Times
“Nearly as unwatchable as it is unpronounceable.” — Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
“Every generation gets the celebrities they deserve, but what have we done to deserve ‘Gigli’?” — Duane Dudeck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Witless, coarse and vulgar.” — Roger Friedman, Foxnews.com
And believe me, these are not the worst.So what did Jen and Ben do to deserve such bad press?Brace yourselves:They made a bad movie.
It happens.
Imagine if the most popular couple in high school —the king and queen of the prom — tripped and fell flat on their faces while accepting their crowns.What would you do?Even though you voted for them, you’d probably laugh your butt off.
Essentially that’s what’s going on here.The press giveth, and the press taketh away.
Over the past yearBen Affleck (search)andJennifer Lopez (search)have graced countless magazine covers, been featured in segments on every entertainment show and have been daily fodder for gossip columns.
Their interview with “Access Hollywood”‘sPat O’Brien (search)that aired on a “Dateline NBC” specialearned super ratings, putting the show in the Nielsen’s top10 for that week.
So the coupleis over exposed, big deal.Next summer it’ll be somebody else, and then somebody else, and then somebody else.Jen and Ben will move on, and continue to command the big bucks Hollywood has to offer.
It wasn’t always so for Ben and Jen.
It bears reminding thatBen Affleckwasa struggling actor who had modest success with commercials and a PBS series in a careerthat started when he was 8 years old.After several unmemorable roles, (“School Ties,” “Chasing Amy”)he and childhood friendMatt Damon (search)wrote“Good Will Hunting” (search), and the rest, as they say,is history.
But even that wasn’t so simple.The actors’ agent shopped the eventual Oscar-winning script around to several studios before finally finding a home at indie-friendlyMiramax. (search)
Jennifer Lopez had it a little tougher.Growing up in the Bronx, one of New YorkCity’s tougherboroughs,little “Jenny from the block”used to take the subway into Manhattan for dance classes.After several years pounding the pavement, she got small parts in musicvideos and eventually landeda role as a “Fly Girl” on Fox’s“In Living Color” (search), starring the Wayans familyand Jim Carrey, among others.
Lopez spent several more years in Hollywood before hitting it big playingSelena (search), the Latin pop star who was murdered by the president of her fan club.
Lopez’s exposure to the music industry from that role and her earlier videos probably fueled the desire to become a pop star herself, which she eventually did to huge success, if not critical acclaim. She did earn critical accolades for her work with actorGeorge Clooney (search)in thenoir film“Out Of Sight” (search), (which also featured two of my favorite actors, Dennis Farina and Michael Keaton).
The point is, while sitting on top of the world today,Affleck and Lopezwere just two kids with dreams not too many years ago.Like most other hard-working Americans, they achieved success the old-fashioned way.They earned it.
So why so bitter after one colossal failure?
“We really don’t get anything from movie stars except entertainment,” says psychologist Dr. Georgia Witkin, a Fox News consultant. “Fans like them because they are beautiful and rich and wewould love to trade places with them, but if they fail to entertain us, like in the case of ‘Gigli,’ than what use do we have for them?” she said.
Public relationsconsultantKen Sunshine (search), a well-respected operator who reps Ben Affleck,says he can’t prepare any of his clients for the inevitable onslaught of bad press.
“We have a sign in our office that says ‘the press is always right,'” said Sunshine. “The media will do what they’re going to do.Celebrities can’t obsess about what’s written or said because if they do they’ll go crazy, and they’ll have a very short career.”
So what advice didSunshine give to Ben in dealing with the torrent of bad publicity that surrounded ‘Gigli’?
“I pride myself onmy discretion,” he said. “I would never share that frankly.”
Spoken like somebody who’s been here before, andanother sign that Affleck and Lopez will be just fine.
Mike Strakais the project manager for FOX News’Internet operations and contributes as a featuresreporter and produceron FOX Magazine (Sundays 11 p.m. on FNC) and asa reporterand columnistfor Foxnews.com.
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