Modified On July 10, 2007
From a website called FemaleFirst.co.uk, which pushes “ultra-sexy lingerie” alongside gossip items about Lilly Allen and giveaways of Dirk Bogarde DVD boxed sets, comes this bit of (unattributed) nonsense:
Comedians Ricky Gervais and Chris Rock want to star in their own buddy cop film, after becoming friends at Live Earth.
The pair were both at the London leg of the event introducing other acts, and hatched the plan backstage.
Gervais explains, “It’s going to be called Badge Buddies. I play a guy. My partner’s retired and he takes over. I’ve never played a homosexual before.”
Rock adds, “It’s going to be Rush Hour meets Shakespeare In Love.”
The pitch and the title sound so hackneyed we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a hoax.
Assuming that it’s real, we’d have to believe that Rock and Gervais travel with their agents, managers, studio execs and two dozen attorneys as they are able to “hatch a plan backstage” for a major motion picture. And then publicize it less than 36 hours later.
When we saw video of Rock sauntering onstage at Wembley Stadium, we wondered, “What the hell is Chris Rock doing in London? Why isn’t he introducing someone at Giants Stadium?” We now figure that he was across the pond to promote the upcoming project– if one does indeed exist– featuring himself and Gervais.
We’re still puzzled as to why the studio(s) involved would concoct this fairy tale about a meeting backstage and a subsequent deal. Perhaps if the producers of this film and others like it would put more effort into the actual scripts– rather than into the goofy fantasies pertaining to the genesis of the project– we’d all have better movies.