RUSSELL CROWE EQUATION VIOLATED WITH "CINDERELLA MAN"
The Russell Crowe equation is simple, it goes like this:
Russell Crowe + Macho Movie + Macho Title = Big Box Office
If you take a look at the career of Russell Crowe's, he's had amazing success with macho movies with correspondingly macho titles. Just look at "Gladiator" and "Master and Commander," for starters.
His early career was established with such films as "The Quick and the Dead," "Hammers Over the Anvil," and "The Silver Stallion."
And before you mention "A Beautiful Mind," you must remember that when Crowe signed on the working title was "Muscular Crazy Math Guy Who Scares The Crap Out Of Everybody."
But "Cinderella Man" violates that proven formula. "Cinderella Man" could easily be the title of the classic fairy tale retold with Rob Schneider in the lead role.
But the problems with the title go deeper than that. The film is about a boxer who overcomes great odds. The one film with that synopsis did great and it had a macho title--"Rocky." The other recent film with that plot was called "Million Dollar Baby," a title which is still has more testosterone than this one.
A key difficulty is that "Cinderella Man" brings to mind connotations of cross dressing which may provide significant subconscious discomfort for members of the NASCAR set as they queue up in the box office line.
I think that ultimately the film may do very well, but it would have done "Sith" like numbers from the start if it was titled "I'm Gonna Beat Ya 'Til You Like It And Then I'm Gonna Beat Ya Some More."
Russell Crowe + Macho Movie + Macho Title = Big Box Office
If you take a look at the career of Russell Crowe's, he's had amazing success with macho movies with correspondingly macho titles. Just look at "Gladiator" and "Master and Commander," for starters.
His early career was established with such films as "The Quick and the Dead," "Hammers Over the Anvil," and "The Silver Stallion."
And before you mention "A Beautiful Mind," you must remember that when Crowe signed on the working title was "Muscular Crazy Math Guy Who Scares The Crap Out Of Everybody."
But "Cinderella Man" violates that proven formula. "Cinderella Man" could easily be the title of the classic fairy tale retold with Rob Schneider in the lead role.
But the problems with the title go deeper than that. The film is about a boxer who overcomes great odds. The one film with that synopsis did great and it had a macho title--"Rocky." The other recent film with that plot was called "Million Dollar Baby," a title which is still has more testosterone than this one.
A key difficulty is that "Cinderella Man" brings to mind connotations of cross dressing which may provide significant subconscious discomfort for members of the NASCAR set as they queue up in the box office line.
I think that ultimately the film may do very well, but it would have done "Sith" like numbers from the start if it was titled "I'm Gonna Beat Ya 'Til You Like It And Then I'm Gonna Beat Ya Some More."
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