BLOG ENTRY: tears of the sun firing and inception premiere

Hey fans! Mike here. Just wanted to clear up some things. As I'm sure you all heard, I was recently let go from my most recent movie I was shooting in Australia, Tears of the Sun. I just want to say that I have always prided myself in being one of the few (and sometimes it feels like the ONLY) celebrities who doesn't play the coy "I can't speak on that issue" game who allows rumors to run rampant leaving fans who pay their good hard earned money to see our films wondering where the truth lies. I have no problem admitting to my many faults and mistakes, but this is one of those times where I truly am NOT to blame, but actually the victim. Victim of what you may ask? Victim of a misunderstanding? Victim of my reputation (which is no one's fault but my own)? Victim of an oversensitive conclusion jumping feminist who doesn't trust or like men? Maybe. Who knows. Here's the truth....

....As you all know I am a director as well actor. I shot an 80 minute film during my time on The Best Tears starring a few of my co-stars from the show called The Pill and recently wrapped directing on my second film, a feature length indie film called Look At Me Now which will be in select theaters next Janaury 2011. While shooting Tears of the Sun two weeks ago I was done for the day and before leaving the set I stopped by Ellen Page's trailer and found her rehearsing lines. I asked her if she would like to appear in another film of mine that I was thinking of making one day and she said sure. I gave her a super rough cut of Look At Me Now to watch so she could see what kind of style I have. I called her a few days later to see what she thought of the footage (or if she even watched it yet) and got no answer so I left a voicemail. A few days later I go to the set and see her in the dressing room and ask her (and I quote) "What? You don't return messages?" She responds, stuttering and clearly lying, making it up as she goes: "Um, I dont, I dont have voicemail". I found this odd since HER VOICEMAIL PICKED UP AND I CLEARLY LEFT A MESSAGE. Anyway, one of the new female hair dressers interrupts me and feels the need to introduce herself and go on to explain to me her whole life story. I patiently listen and by the time she is done, next thing I know Ellen has disappeared. So I leave the dressing room looking for Ellen and I am confronted by the film's executive producer/location manager Nick (a super great nice guy from Albania who has been on set almost every day and makes sure everyone has what they need). He tells me Ellen doesn't want to speak to me, be around me or anything. She basically said that I am "harrassing her".

...OK, Ummm WHAT? I did nothing of the sort. I said ONE SENTENCE to her (and have a witness, the young hair dresser, to prove it). All I asked her was why she hadn't returned my phone message. Anyway, a big thing on set erupts as I am looking for her (she was hiding SOMEWHERE) to explain herself and on set extras, producers, crew members, and security are trying to escort me off the set as if I am some kind of threat. I am told by Nick (and our assistant director Amy, A BITCH who EVERYONE HATED) that I must leave the set since I am making Ellen feel unsafe, or I will be fired. I basically told them to kiss off and fire me, so they did. I honestly feel this is all so insane and immature and makes no sense. Clearly Ellen watched the footage I sent her (for those who don't know, Look At Me Now is partially about a girl who starts doing porn and cannot escape the industry and there's ALOT of graphic nudity, sex, drug use, and violence in the film) and maybe felt that I was some type of perv who wanted her to do something similar in a future film, which wasn't the case at all. I just wanted to show her "hey I've directed something before, take a look at it". Alot of actors (and others) CLAIM they direct but their only experience is recording a friend's birthday party on their iPhone. You may ask, 'Well why didn't I just show her footage from The Pill, which was far less graphic?' Well, first off, I thought Ellen was a grown up who could handle Look At Me Now, not a child. Secondly, the only copy I had left of The Pill was on an old laptop of mine I threw out a while ago since it crashed due to a virus that I couldn't have fixed. There WAS a video of the film on a website called IMEEM which no longer exists, so basically unless someone out there downloaded it, I have no copies of the film and it's gone forever. Look, I am VERY proud of Look At Me Now and thought a "serious" actress like her would enjoy it and maybe be impressed. Instead maybe it grossed her out. I honestly don't know if this is the reason why she is acting like this. I am just speculating. But she is handling this all wrong. She needs to grow up. Seriously.


...Anyways, I have had several conversations with the producers explaining to them my side of the matter, telling them exactly what I just told you. But to no avail. It's cool. I know the truth. I know I did nothing wrong. I hope one day Ellen will give (either to me or the press) an explanation for why she feels so "harrassed" or "threatened" by me. Until then I will move on. This whole situation has become comical to me, but it DOES anger me. But I will get over it. I have been through worse. I can care less about how some "midget sized Canadian actress with 3 semi-decent films to her resume who thinks she is WAY more talented than she actually is" feels about me. Despite all of this, I think the film will be great. The cast (Dennis Quaid, Josh Hartnett, Michelle Yeoh, Simon Pegg, Cliff Curtis) is superb and Terence Malick has done an INSANE job with the visuals. It will look like nothing we've ever seen before. The story is very spooky and I hope none of this drama ruins what I think will be a great film. So go see it next March when it comes out. I hope I will be allowed to promote it with my co-stars, but if I am not due to what happened, I understand and can live with that.


IN OTHER MORE POSITIVE NEWS: It looks like I will make it to the Inception premiere after all. Chris Nolan, who is directing Quantum of Solace, also wrote Inception and really wants me to be there with the rest of the cast. MGM (the studio that funds the Bond movies) is still having some issues that have pushed filming back by a few weeks but everything will go as scheduled for the most part when we start filming in mid September. I was to fly to London and begin fight training and gun training in early July but that got pushed back to late July and Chris wants me at the Inception premiere. I already have a date lined up. But there is the little issue of Miss Morley. As you all know from my Complex magazine interview things did NOT end well AT ALL between us on the set, which was the last time we saw each other. And when I say "did not end well", I mean "if I see that person again I will KILL THEM". It's mutual. But I don't want that tension to ruin what should be a great night and a great premiere. I have such respect for director David Fincer, writer Chris Nolan, my co-star/friend/fellow LA Laker fan (we won it again this year BITCHES! lol) Leo, co-star Rachel, and everyone else involved who will be there, and I don't want a special night which is meant to be a celebration of the release of this amazing amazing mindblowing blockbuster to turn into some drama filled high school thing of "oohh Mike just showed up, where's Mel? will they argue? etc. etc." So I contacted our Best Tears co-star Sarah Jean Russell (who is still extremely close to Mel) and although her first reaction to my first text was not as kind as I'd hoped ("Fuck off" I recall being repeated constantly) we hashed it out and got around to thinking of ways to make it so things are at the LEAST cordial between Mel and I at the premiere, and at best, friendly. If we could achieve that, well, then maybe world peace IS possible haha....



P.S. My best friend James Franco just wrote an excellent article about the craft of acting that I think everyone should read. He's been working really hard lately doing multiple films, soap opera acting (which is one of the most demanding schedules an actor can endure), Saturday Night Live skits, and on top of all that going to NYU to get his master's degree in screenwriting as well as studying drama. I don't know how he finds the time lol. He even mentions me in the article saying "There are certain actors who possess such integrity, creative powers, and unbridled poetic passion that when they act they are doing more than just reading the lines. They are truly...feeling them. Guys like Marlon Brando, James Dean, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ed Norton, Benicio Del Toro, Jack Nicholson, and in my opinion, even my good friend Michael Reese Meyers, when they perform, they channel something, they access something deep inside themselves that transcends the words on the page. They paint with their emotions using the screen as their canvas and only accept roles that they know will change them as a person, forever. Michael always told me, 'I won't take a role unless I feel I won't be the same person afterwards, a role that will teach me something about myself '. I am no where near these guys but I plan to be, one day"....(thanks bro)


You can read the whole thing here: www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/roundtable/james-franco-on-the-limits-of-control.php


Until next time guys;
-the chameleon =)