Geffen, Murphy strategy

email this story
read comments (13)
post a comment

An Eddie Murphy jab coming from someplace else! Radar's Jeff Bercovici has written that "a well-placed Hollywood insider" is predicting that David Geffen's Oscar strategy for Dreamgirls strategy "will not result in an Oscar for Murphy, noting the way the actor has alienated Academy voters by complaining in public about not getting paid enough for Dreamgirls. Says the insider, 'You got paid for Norbit, you stupid prick.'"

The other half of Bercovici's item says that "a source close to Jack Nicholson says the Departed star has been complaining about Geffen's over-the-top campaigning for Dreamgirls. According to the source, Nicholson believes Geffen strong-armed Academy members into nearly shutting out The Departed's cast in the acting categories. (The exception is Mark Wahlberg, who is up against Dreamgirls' Murphy in the supporting actor category.)

"What particularly annoys Nicholson, adds the source, is the cynical way Geffen used the promise of an Oscar nomination to get Murphy to settle for less than his usual rate."

The end-of-the-item residue is a bit muddled, but the linkage is more or less established: a vote against Murphy is a vote against a manipulative billionaire's "over-the-top" Oscar strategy, which is also a vote against Geffen himself. Academy members, it's in your hands. If I were voting I would say to myself, "No question about it -- Geffen wants all the Dreamgirls Oscars he can get, and I, being a member of this industry and naturally susceptible to the animal-kingdom impulse to show obeisance before power, am going to vote to support Geffen's latest power lunge."

Girl vs. Boy noms<< previous | next >>Howell, Murphy, bling

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 2, 2007 at 9:13 AM

comment #1

MikeSells says ...

Oh, PLEASE Jeffrey. This is absurd!

If Geffen was powerful enough to prevent any of The Departed actors from receiving a nomination, than I'm sure Dreamgirls would have collected far more overall nods than it did. This makes absolutely no sense. The Departed did not receive more acting nominations simply because the cast was an embarrassment of riches (although I think Nicholson was the weak point by far), and there was much category confusion.

I really hope that Jack Nicholson does not honestly believe this.

Posted by MikeSells at February 2, 2007 9:42 AM

comment #2

Chris Willman says ...

I said it before and I'll say it again: Every billboard for "Norbit" around town is, in effect, a "Not for Your Consideration After All" ad for Eddie's Oscar. If he loses, that will be much more of a factor than some kind of willful protest vote directly against David Geffen, which I think is a Nikki-perpetuated fantasy.

Posted by Chris Willman at February 2, 2007 9:44 AM

comment #3

jeffmcm says ...

Well at least this is more interesting than Wells's last obsession, Factory Girl, which is about to die a quick death.

Posted by jeffmcm at February 2, 2007 9:55 AM

comment #4

Craig Kennedy says ...

Fucksakes Wells, are you jockeying for a paying gig with Radar or something?

As for Murphy, I'm actually rooting for him now so we don't have to endure a year's worth of Wells' bleating about his foot-soldier's role in the take down of Eddie.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at February 2, 2007 10:05 AM

comment #5

EveHarrington says ...

Sorry, CJ Kennedy, this very morning Punxsatawney Phil predicted six more weeks of Eddie Murphy bashing by one Jeffrey Wells.

Posted by EveHarrington at February 2, 2007 10:31 AM

comment #6

bipedalist says ...

This is so psycho. It's completely uncalled for to drag The Departed into this clusterfuck. And Jack Nicholson. The sad part is Wells will take it as confirmation that his evil little plan worked if Murphy doesn't win, which he may not have but it will have had NOTHING to do with this "campaign."

Posted by bipedalist at February 2, 2007 10:39 AM

comment #7

rocco says ...

Umm, "predicting" that Murphy might not win and actively campaigning for the cause are one two opposite ends of the asshole spectrum.

Posted by rocco at February 2, 2007 10:41 AM

comment #8

Craig Kennedy says ...

Funny you should allude to Groundhog's Day Eve because I'm definitely feeling deja vu.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at February 2, 2007 10:43 AM

comment #9

Mark says ...

i just saw The Departed again this week. Why was there never much love or buzz for a nomination for Damon? He seemed to be the forgotten man, yet his performance was no less layered nor effective than Leo's. His "just kill me" line in the elevator was worth a nomination by itself.

Posted by Mark at February 2, 2007 11:18 AM

comment #10

Doug says ...

Mark, I agree with you about Damon in "The Departed." When I saw the film I fully expected that Matt and Leo would be nominated for Best Actor, and Jack Nicholson would be nominated for Supporting. The Matt and Leo "Departed" campaigns were half-hearted because of their roles in "Blood Diamond" and "The Good Shepherd." Not sure what happened with Jack, except maybe everyone felt they'd seen this performance from him before.

Posted by Doug at February 2, 2007 12:35 PM

comment #11

Nick Rogers says ...

To Doug, re: Jack - Everyone HAS seen that performance from him before.

Posted by Nick Rogers at February 2, 2007 1:31 PM

comment #12

storymark says ...

Here's a thought: Maybe if we didn't all jump into these comment feeding frenzies every time Jeff posts something silly in order to drum up posts, he might start posting things of substabce more often?

Anybody remeber when the last time an actual column was posted?

Posted by storymark at February 2, 2007 2:03 PM

comment #13