The entertainment industry game of ‘Hot or Not’ sure is a fun one. When an actor is an undiscovered unknown then obviously they are in the nascent ‘Not’ stage, lacking the ability to land an audition, have a phone call returned, or even get their no-name ass arrested (or at least for anyone to give a crap if they do). But this is mere formative character-building - something for them to subsequently look back on with doe-eyed nostalgia/stinging bitterness from their poolside lounger at the Chateau Marmont – because, sure enough, they soon start getting cast in a few things. The roles and projects gradually rise in profile, and their particular charms prick at the consciousness of those in the industry. And before they know it, they find themselves entering the realm of ‘Hot’, poised to leap that final hurdle and firmly imprint themself upon the minds of those faceless punters in the street to whose ranks they so recently belonged. But then of course, ubiquity, overexposure and film fan fickleness all rear their respective ghastly visages and our actor is returned to the town dump of Loserville from whence they came, to weep over the gilded life they carelessly allowed to slip through their clammy grasp. Like I said, it’s FUN.
Happily for Danny McBride, he currently appears to still be on the upward rise section of his own personal ‘Hot or Not’ adventure. Having chalked up an indie breakthrough (
The Foot Fist Way), supporting slots in high profile rib-ticklers (
Pineapple Express,
Tropic Thunder, the forthcoming
Land of the Lost), and his own HBO show (
Eastbound & Down), McBride is now set to step up to the leading man plate in
Hench, which has been announced as in development at Warner Brothers.
Based on a comic book, sorry, graphic novel by Adam Beechan and Manny Bello, Hench depicts the misadventures of Mike Fulton, an injury-ravaged football player who finds new employment as a supervillain’s hired goon. And with straightforward comic book heroics having been rogered rather senseless in the last few years by the major studios, it seems logical that more esoteric and postmodern takes on caped and costumed biffing should exude a certain appeal for producing studios, with Hench seeming likely to operate in broadly similar territory as Edgar Wright’s forthcoming Michael Cera-starring
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Dreamworks’ animated
Master Mind. In addition to starring as Fulton, McBride will co-write the script with
Eastbound cohort Shawn Harwell, and, if nothing else, you do have to say he is an expert physical match for the titular mustachioed lackey.
Sources: Aintitcool, Collider, AiT-Planet Lar
January 04, 2008, 07:42:59 AM
