Not that Movie 43 is something that looks like it’ll hinge on positive reviews, but the New York Post has the exact right article for everyone counting the days till this project gets slaughtered in the press. Producer Peter Farrelly denies that the studio is using the typically grim month of January to bury the star-studded movie featuring the likes of Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Emma Stone, Terrence Howard, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pratt, Anna Faris, and lots more — essentially none of whom have promoted the film whatsoever. But Farrelly does admit George Clooney told him “no fucking way” he’d appear in it. Even South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone* couldn’t find something for themselves in the R-rated sketch-fest, dropping out along the way. Richard Gere agreed to take part, then stalled for a year. “They clearly wanted out! But we wouldn’t let them,” Farrelly says of many actors roped in via acquaintanceship. When Colin Farrell canceled his plans to play a particularly unfunny-looking role alongside Gerard Butler, he made a weak excuse. “It’s like, c’mon, Colin, you saw sense and backed out — admit it,” Farrelly says. He also says the unwieldy, confounding title has no meaning. None.
* This post has been corrected to flip the last names of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which were accidentally reversed.
