The Hollywood Writers Strike of 2023 has been gaining momentum over the past few weeks in an effort to put writers to the fore by demanding more recognition and better pay for their contributions to films.
This isn’t the first time that the wordsmiths of the industry have gone on the warpath to stand up for their rights. Back in 2007-2008, a similar Writers Strike took place with the goal to give writers the pedestal they deserved.
Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds
Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds faced the effects of the strike in 2008. The actor who played Deadpool in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, recalled the tumultuous time which resulted in the film suffering from a lack of script owing to the film writers going on strike.
Also Read: “You couldn’t ask for a better guy”: Ryan Reynolds vs Hugh Jackman’s Fights Are Going to be Breathtaking, Tom Holland’s Prediction For Deadpool 3
Ryan Reynolds Had to Improvise For Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is one of Marvel’s most interesting characters mainly due to his foul-mouthed persona and complicated past. The actor who first took on the role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine starring Huge Jackman, spoke of his experience playing the character during the challenging times of the Writers Strike in 2008. Reynolds who was forced to improvise his lines due to a half-baked script owing to the lack of writers, said,
“So we were in the middle of production, there were no writers, no anything. Every line I have in the movie I just wrote myself because in the script we had, it said, ‘Wade Wilson shows up, talks really fast.’ I was like, ‘What?! What am I supposed to do with that?’”
To complicate matters further, The Proposal actor was not convinced about the character arc of Deadpool and how he was written into the script. Reynolds got to redeem himself later in a standalone film involving the character.
Also Read: “It was a routine of humility”: Ryan Reynolds Hated Working With Kristen Stewart After She Claimed it Was Hard Filming S-x Scenes With Deadpool Actor in $17M Movie
History Repeats Itself For Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 3
It seems that Ryan Reynolds and his character Deadpool have an uncanny relationship with the Writers Guild of America. The actor is once again caught in the middle of the Writers Strike while working on his next film based on the Marvel superhero, Deadpool 3. After his first experience proved to be a challenging proposition owing to the writers going on strike in 2008, the star is now forced once again to rework the character following the 2023 Writers Strike.
Ryan Reynolds will reprise his Marvel character in Deadpool 3
This time though, Reynolds who is also credited as a writer and producer in the film, is in a precarious position. He will not possess the freedom to use his famous improvisation skills to modify the existing script owing to a new WGA guideline that states that producers cannot indulge in “writer-like practices” while the strike is going on, to show solidarity with the community. Despite Reynolds being known to traverse from the beaten path many times, he will have to adhere to the rules this time to avoid being expelled from the Guild.
Sharanya is a mom, bookworm, and cinephile. Having completed her Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, writing is one of her passions. When she is not running behind her 11 and 9 year old, she spends her time watching and blogging about movies. She enjoys a range of genres from Indian mass entertainers to Hollywood and world cinema. Her interests also include analyzing pop culture in movies and music.
Harrison Ford Nearly Lost His Hard Earned $1.9 Billion Indiana Jones Franchise to FRIENDS Star As Indiana Jones 5 counts down the days before its theatrical release, rumors are floating around that this is Harrison Ford’s last outing as the titular character. While nothing has been officially confirmed, the 80-year-old actor’s age has ramped up the conversation about his franchise departure.
It’s difficult to imagine the Indiana Jones franchise without Ford’s rogueish charm and action skills. But once upon a time, the actor was going to be passed on for the role he is most known for (apart from playing Han Solo in Star Wars) because Steven Spielberg and George Lucas wanted to create a new star.
Today, the Indiana Jones franchise (which has grossed $1.9 billion till now) is synonymous with Harrison Ford. It’s impossible to think of an Indy film without the actor.
But if things had gone a little differently, he wouldn’t have been cast at all. When Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was getting developed by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, the latter reportedly didn’t want to work with Ford again after collaborating on Star Wars.
It was because he didn’t want them to develop a Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro sort of working relationship with him. In a report by Empire, George Lucas said:
“I was wary of Harrison and I becoming like Scorsese and De Niro. I thought, ‘Let’s create a new icon.’ We found Tom Selleck, but as soon as the network heard, his option on Magnum P. I. got picked up.”
Tom Selleck is best known for Magnum, P. I as well as Blue Bloods and FRIENDS. On the latter, he played Richard Burke, Courtney Cox’s Monica’s much older boyfriend in season 2. He was originally supposed to star in only 3 episodes but ultimately ended up appearing in 9.
Since Selleck couldn’t be Indiana Jones, Lucas and Spielberg circled back to Ford. But the Star Wars creator wasn’t convinced that the actor would go for a three-picture contract. After all, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about that on Star Wars.
But Spielberg pushed Lucas, and so they narrated Ford the script. The rest is history because the actor said, “Yeah, I’ll do a three-picture deal. I’d love to.” What a rollercoaster ride it has been since then as the Blade Runner star is now presenting the fifth film in the franchise.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny could very well be the end of an era that began with 1981’s Indiana Jones and the Raiders Of The Lost Ark. As such, Harrison Ford wanted the film to go big. In an interview with Esquire, he said:
“I wanted an ambitious movie to be the last one… and I don’t mean that we didn’t make ambitious movies before. They were ambitious in many different ways. But not necessarily as ambitious with the character as I wanted the last one to be.”
Ford has worked on the franchise for over four decades, and so he was also determined to show his age on-screen too. It now remains to be seen how audiences respond to the actor’s possible last adventure as Indy.
A literature graduate who loves sharing her views on everything pop-culture and entertainment. Ishita especially loves dreaming about superheroes and comic books when she isn't day dreaming about them everyday either way.
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