Are Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston 'Goree Girls'?
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Romance, Casting, RumorMonger, Newsstand
Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston are going to prison, according to Just Jared -- admittedly not the most accurate source for film news. But considering that tabloids have obsessively documented the meetings, it's probably close to being a done deal.
Goree Girls is a 1940s musical to be produced by Aniston. MSN describes the plot as a semi-true story inspired by Skip Hollandsworth's article "O Sister Where Art Thou." It's actually a pretty cool story of the first female country-and-western musicians who just happened to be prison inmates. Hollandsworth's article is definitely worth reading for the whole story, which is a pretty heartbreaking one, despite the relatively happy ending.
And that's kind of my problem with the concept .I love the story, but ... Jennifer Aniston as an inmate? As a singing inmate? Already, it looks like this is getting the slick and shiny Hollywood treatment rather than something truthful. I want to see Walk the Line, not Chicago. The article convinces me there's a brilliant movie here, the MSN description initially just made wince and wonder where Gerard Butler's promise went.
By now, you're probably wondering what part Butler does play in a women's prison movie. From the article, I'm guessing he plays the "strapping Paul Mitchell," an inmate who narrowly escaped death row (literally -- he was strapped to the electric car when his pardon came in) and drove the Goree Girls to their shows. He eventually married one of them, so for once, the Hollywood love angle is actually part of the true story.
Now, Butler I can believe as a prison inmate (it's the hard knock school of Glasgow), but Aniston as his prison paramour stretches the realm of belivability. However, a lot of grit could be added by whoever lands the directing job and the rest of the cast. So, keep this one on your radar, and watch for it all to be made official.










Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-20-2008 @ 12:32PM
weetiger said...
Well, I'm always in Gerard Butler's camp, but I can't help getting a Lifetime-TV movie vibe from this. (What happened to Burns, G?) I'd love to be proved wrong in this case.
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11-20-2008 @ 4:44PM
Susan F. said...
Gerard Butler's promise has been fulfilled and he is creating a wide variety of roles that has built a solid foundation for his career all the while having to put up with the media taking pot shots at him. He also has the brains to make his new production company into an important entity in Hollywood. Hollywood is starting to realize that movie goers are no longer attracted to the boyish good looks in leading men and are finding out that women want tall, dark and ruggedly handsome.
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11-20-2008 @ 2:55PM
notintoit said...
I agree with Elisabeth. I've been a Butler fan since he did the only interesting scenes in Mrs Brown ages ago. And I'm not one of those 'haters' of Aniston, but she's not an actor. This is a bid at acting respectability b/c a deadpan face in "The Good Girl" didn't get it for her. Ok fine, its partially her $ at stake. But I'd have to see amazing work to even start to believe her. I might pinpoint Butler's promise 'sellout' (for lack of a better word) to his signing w/CAA. He sold his soul for fame & $. They're the agency that'll get both fr you. Common enough story. That doesn't make him a bad guy or a bad actor - I had higher hopes. But now "Dear Frankie" & "The Jury" are a distant memory. Look, I'm not worried about him - life'll work out for Gerard Butler. But he needs to tone down that repellent soc life (he doesn't need to be a monk - just have some class), stop buying into Korean BBQ restrnts, stop claiming Shana Moakler is a "friend", stop wearing bad sunglasses, & get some sleep & exercise. While I do not believe he's 39, I also don't believe he's Geo Clooney's 48, but he looks that old & Clooney doesn't. He should think about that. Robt Burns was 37 when he died of rheumatic heart disease, an alcoholic & womanizer, which is why I'm sure Butler has an affinity for him (not just b/c he was a brilliant Scottish poet). Sure he can look like an alcoholic womanizer, but no way can he look younger & the entire movie is allegedly about the younger Burns & all the women he "loved" (nice word for it). That ship may have sailed.
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11-20-2008 @ 4:34PM
Elisabeth said...
I couldn't have said it better myself. I've been a fan of Butler's since Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, but the last round of TMZ videos has pretty much killed my interest in his career. He (or someone in his camp) seems to be more interested in making his name in the tabloids than in the reviews and trades.
There is NO reason that he can't get the kind of roles Hugh Jackman (who's A-List status actually rides on Australia, he's usually the third or fourth pick for scripts), Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, or Daniel Craig are getting. He had an enormous amount of buzz after "300" and I have a difficult time believing that there wasn't a good meaty script there. He's done a lot of fluff, and while it's FUN (I loved RocknRolla and I think Game will be a blast), it's not the stuff I expected of him. He seems to be picking flashy scripts with big names he can coast on -- "The Ugly Truth" is a perfect example -- instead of looking for roles that play off HIS name and talents.
Manly men are in pretty short supply in Hollywood -- he came up at the right time so that he should have his pick of the macho scripts. And if he doesn't, I wish he'd fight for them. I'd be impressed if he chased down a part in something edgy like "Preacher" instead of Jennifer Aniston. Right now, he's just looking like a party boy of no substance.
11-20-2008 @ 5:14PM
Julie said...
Thank you so much for telling it like it is Elisabeth, and notintoit, you've got it all right. Well said! And Susan, you keep on dreaming....
I keep thinking Gerry is going to hit rock bottom sometime soon and really grow up and do it right. The reality is there is a shelf life in Hollywood, like it or not. Gerry is fast running out of time. If the agency change was what did it, then Gerry get yourself the hell out of there. At least now I completely understand why he would be interested in this script. The story is very real, gritty, heartbreaking. And, if Gerry is looking at the part you suspect, it sounds made for him. But you have to look at the whole picture. Great script, great story and then Jennifer Aniston. We just heard her voice on 30 Rock and she can't sing. We already know she can't act. Her career has gone flat. Mixing with that is even worse than Katharine Heigl (another bad choice, but let's not go there now)
I kept hoping Gerry would get rid of the problem, or grow up, or get centered and make wiser decisions. I am so disappointed. So much potential there. Dear Frankie is true art, a real film. A piece of work to be proud of, the kind of film that becomes an Oscar winner. He has several of those kinds of parts in his past. He's proven he can work hard and he has the talent, but somewhere, somehow, he lost the edge. There have been too many TMZ instances to ignore. I really hope he see this article and the comments, because I think he is a really sweet, down to earth person, with rock solid roots. He conquered alcohol and smoking. He has a pug, and pug owners have to be special (we have two), but lots of fans besides me are fed up. Wake up Gerry.
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11-20-2008 @ 8:04PM
PaFan said...
I don't think a few snippets on TMZ.com reflect Gerry's real life. Surely we're beyond believing the tabloid stuff. Sometimes I think he's just playing with the paparazzi because he dislikes them.
I do think he should be looking for more dramatic roles, and not anymore romcoms, although I will see them. Let's hope Law Abiding Citizen will give him something to dig his acting chomps into once again. I loved Dear Frankie, The Jury and a long ago little Scottish film One More Kiss. It's become a favorite of mine. I think any Burns movie would be a mistake. if box office is important. Let's face it, the general interest would just not be there.
The Ugly Truth will likely do well because of his co-star, but I don't think Jennifer Aniston has much box office pull. She's a celebrity, but not an actress.
Oh well, as far as I'm concerned Gerard James Butler is the only man worth looking at in show biz today.
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11-21-2008 @ 1:20PM
notintoit said...
Elisabeth, again, I agree. There's no reason why he shouldn't get Jackman, Bale, & Clooney roles. Clooney isn't a great actor he's just suddenly choosing wisely. Bale & Jackman don't necessarily have great range but they choose well w/i their range. The reason they're thought of on a higher level (if they are) is b/c of material & the integrity w/which they choose & treat their work. Everyone has a D2K in their history. Hllywd is a perfect example of 'perception is everything.' So I can't say I'm looking forward to "Game". I thought "Crank" was, well, crank. And I can't help feeling that kind of movie is for Dolph Lundgren wannabe's. But hey, he doesn't need to do Shakespeare. I agree that we should never believe what is written or talked about in the media, but SEEING vids of truly juvenile behavior by a 40 yr old man around women 1/2 his age, wearing baggy pants, tight shirts, 11 lbs of jewelry, & Elvis sunglasses, making out in arcades w/a date-o-the-moment, is another story. & I'm not talking about Butler's smart, fun, off-color humor, which is hilarious. If people don't get that, then they prob don't get Clooney either. So what. But that's just part of it. He can no longer take roles in support of Jolie, Swank, & Heigel; likewise Aniston. And I promise you if he does this flick w/HER prod co, then his role will be in support of her. Julie's right too, I've had the thought - maybe he needs to grow up, OR there's no accounting for taste - but hire a stylist. If he signed w/CAA then he cares enough about his career to hire a stylist. Look we're just discussing what happened to this career that as Elisabeth said, had so much promise, so I think we have to include these normally inconsequential things as symptomatic of a larger issue.
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11-29-2008 @ 4:30PM
jaybird said...
Finally, some intelligent assessment of G. Butler, Elisabeth, intoit and others, thanks. For months I thought I was the only one with skepticism here. The blind worship and adoration so many women have for Butler always seemed delusional to me. (As excessive worship is for any "star.") Still, I've been a fan (sort of) who found Gerry interesting and appealing--even inspiring-- bigger than life, and seemingly headed for great things. Like y'all, I've been dismayed by what I've seen of his choices in film roles and social life since he became a rising star on the Hollywood scene. Butler has claimed to do nothing but work, with no time for social life or relationships. Yet photographs show otherwise. Never mind the unsubstantiated gossip, some of which is ugly, probably exaggerated or untrue. Even dismissing Hollywood PR stunts and the rumor mill, you have only to look at his behavior in televised interviews and press conferences, read interviews with astute, legitimate reporters and see photos to wonder just how immature and sleazy this guy really is and whether fame and wealth have gone to his head. His noted charm looks like an increasingly thin veneer. Some of his interviews suggest he revels in promoting a "bad boy" image, which doesn't wear well on someone who is almost 40 and supposedly wants to be taken seriously in his work. To me, his "humor" on certain occasions has seemed inappropriate, unfunny, and unprofessional, not "hilarious." And yes, he seems to have aged fast. Where do the rumors come from that he is older than he claims? Isn't it easy enough to check such vital statistics nowadays? Anyway, he gives the impression that he is caught up in rounds of nightclubbing, parties, fashion shows, hobnobbing with other celebrities and pursuing quantity rather than quality in film roles. Maybe I'm a cynic. I don't know the man and try not to judge what I don't know, but obviously other people are also asking these questions lately.
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11-29-2008 @ 8:53PM
jaybird said...
One last salvo. For several months I defended GB against criticism by a couple of actor relatives who quickly dismissed his recent acting, his motives and his behavior. OK, they could be just jealous of his success but they spent enough time around Hollywood that I respect their opinions about how the industry works. My attitude was, perhaps GB is just doing what he feels is necessary to get maximum exposure and as much money as he can to launch what he really wants to do. As a writer myself, I heard this phenomenon, described in writerlingo as "writing a money book," i.e., doing the schlock you needed to do to stay afloat financially while you planned your great epic that was going to take the world by storm. But as time goes by, a few intelligent reports, like yours, Elisabeth, and a smart interview I saw once by a reporter who was critical and discriminating and cited GB's seeming lack of firm goals suggest he is adrift. Hollywood sellout is not too harsh. It used to be that almost every article about him and interview with him was gushing with enthusiasm and the confounded WORSHIP that can kill a person's reality check and confuse his soul. The tide seems to have turned, on the comments. The entertainment press is not known for truth and discrimination, but when you start hearing GB described by interviewers and associates as seemingly lost, lonely, sleazy, weak, clingy and needy, not to mention raunchy and crude, you have to question the macho image that Hollywood finds so believable H seems now to believe in his own press and think he is the macho man America can't produce.
I have contributed to a couple of websites in which I was raked viciously over the goals for questioning the Sex God at all. I rarely respond to any of this, and agree he has a right to live his life as he sees fit. But we don't have to accept it.
With that, I am going to retire my handle. I have a life of my own that demands attention. I will admit to one thing, I am a journalist with a reputation of impeccable integrity. got the creds to back myself up.
Elisabeth you go girl, and print the truth. With no lies. Whatever your job is. Just get your three impeccable sources on any information. You are entitled to print your opinions too but back 'em up as you are doing.
Over and out, Jaybird (In case anyone cares to attack me I am a firmly from early age heterosexual female. this doesn't seem like the kind of website where people throw nasty accusations at you but I want to make the record clear on that point.
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12-10-2008 @ 2:22AM
Ruth Ventura said...
At the end of the day.....I still love this guy. I just saw him in RockNRolla. I am not ready to think he is over the hill, yet.
He doesn't look like a kid, but he certainly doesn't look old either. He was on Jay Leno on Nov. 6 of this year....He looked great and healthy. He said he had started back to the gym. We are talking about a very intellegent man here. He graduated from law school with honors, was the president of the law society at Glasgow University. I say lets sit back and enjoy whatever he does. I find it hard to believe there will be nothing to enjoy in these new movies. Maybe not academy award material but not every movie made it going to qualify for that. So let's wait and see. He is such a good actor, I believe he can pull these off with style.
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