Scott Rudin takedown - Page 17

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 12:42pm

re Carl Pasbjerg, if Rudin has stepped back, he won't have the pleasure of working with Rudin. I also think that Wagner Johnson either quit or were fired not by Rudin but by the new regime so as to make a clean break. (I don't know, but that is also not what I was expecting when the story first broke, underscoring that the situation is fluid and will be for a while.) The other big news in the piece is that he is also stepping back from film and streaming as well, which was the negative pregnant of sorts in the original statement. 

re recovery, I would not be so pessimistic, but also bear in mind that the opportunity to step back in is not going to be up to him. 

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 3:18pm

>I also think that Wagner Johnson either quit or were fired not by Rudin but by the new regime so as to make a clean break.<

That change happened almost a year ago.  

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 3:22pm

Think I've said this before: people like Rudin don;t change. Responses to him do change though. For someone like Rudin, making money is at this point probably secondary to the power and prestige. "Stepping back" means people wont be hanging on his every word at opening night parties, it means his draconian rules about things like play merchandise and black and white playbills and water bottles will probably be eased out, it means he won't be onstage for the Tony's and other awards shows.

Updated On: 4/20/21 at 03:22 PM

Posted: 4/20/21 at 3:29pm

poisonivy2 said: "Think I've said this before: people like Rudin change."

For a second I saw a glimmer of hope. You extended an olive branch to a monster, acknowledging that it's possible for someone to change, to be better once they realize where they went wrong. For a moment it made me think, maybe cancel culture isn't as relentless as I thought. Maybe there are people who aren't exclusively laser-focused on the powerful's comeuppance but actually want to effect positive change in these people. To offer them some sort of redemption.

Then I realized this is probably a typo, and you wanted to write "people like Rudin don't change."

So it goes.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 4:25pm

I believe people can change if they are willing and make an effort to do anything and everything they can to sincerely do so. 

A better question is: Is Rudin willing to change? Is he repentant of all the wrong he's done and all the harm he's caused? 

 

Updated On: 4/20/21 at 04:25 PM

[Jjdenison22]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 5:05pm

People like Rudin, who have been doing this for decades and are now in their 60s, don’t change. Sad fact.

Posted: 4/20/21 at 5:12pm

Jjdenison22 said: "People like Rudin, who have been doing this for decades and are now in their 60s, don’t change. Sad fact."

Sounds like a stereotype about old people.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 5:25pm

Change is hard...and the longer you've had a habit, the harder it is. Not ageism at all .

[binau]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 5:43pm

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8RCRpnsxQ

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 5:50pm

I don't care if some guy got fired from B&tB. But I agree with JBroadway. This discussion about copying private correspondence is wild. Do we live in such a surveillance state that you've all given up on any expectation of privacy? I would understand if people were arguing that copying and spreading the email was justified because of the content of the message but no, it really isn't difficult to not look at the phone or laptop of the person next to you. It's absolutely different from overhearing a phone call. 

[alovingfan]

Posted: 4/20/21 at 8:21pm

CarlosAlberto said: "I believe people can change if they are willing and make aneffort to do anything and everything they can to sincerely do so.

A better question is: Is Rudinwilling to change? Is he repentant of all the wrong he's done and all the harm he's caused?

"

He wont change.  And this kind of person already has a plan in motion.

[showman91]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 11:25am

Not to sound conspiratorial, but anyone using this as an example to argue against the "police state" we're living in sounds completely ignorant. First off, big tech is actually SELLING YOUR DATA & MAKING MONEY OFF OF IT EVERY SECOND. Second, I'm willing to take bets the font on his phone is set at size 64.

He got caught. He could have easily dug his heels in and denied it, but he didn't. He admitted it, and resigned. Even if Disney pressured him, he could have stood up for himself and gotten fired. Also, let's take a moment to imagine the entire cast and the rest of the creative team (all of whom were Disney employees) going through that rehearsal process wondering if he's saying the same kind of stuff about each of them. Who would feel comfortable going through that process knowing he had stood up for Rudin. It sounds like to not have taken action would've fostered and unsafe working environment, the likes of which Disney wants nothing to do.

He made his bed, now lie in it.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 1:51pm

Fun, semi-comprehsible, all-caps statement from Hugh Jackman: 

https://twitter.com/MichaelPaulson/status/1384923084365385728

Posted: 4/21/21 at 2:13pm

LizzieCurry said: "Fun, semi-comprehsible, all-caps statement from Hugh Jackman:

https://twitter.com/MichaelPaulson/status/1384923084365385728"

It's getting predictably roasted on Twitter, which once again confirms my belief that people with power should pretend, to the best of their ability, that Twitter does not exist. Unless you fit a very specific mold, it cannot help you, it can only hurt.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 2:14pm

showman91 said: "Not to sound conspiratorial, but anyone using this as an example to argue againstthe "police state" we're living in sounds completely ignorant. First off, big tech is actually SELLING YOUR DATA & MAKING MONEY OFF OF IT EVERY SECOND."

That's my point. Maybe I was naive to think that individual human beings would be better than Facebook and the NSA. Stop looking over everyone's shoulders, you creeps. 

Anyway, back on topic, Hugh's answer sounds better (aside from misspelling "entertainment" but is just as much of a non-answer in the sense that it distances him from personal responsibility and parrots the same PR language we've heard over and over in response to criticism. This conversation is overdue and we're going to try to create a good working environment is neither a strong condemnation of Rudin or a commitment to anything specific. "State your truth," "journey of healing," "seen, heard, and valued"... It's not that different from what Daniel James Belnavis was hearing. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 2:53pm

Hugh's statement is fine. Twitter's need to project Rudin's actions onto Hugh is...strange.

I want to know if the "rebuilding" of MUSIC MAN means Hugh gets himself a shorter contract. He was signed for a year pre-pandemic but it seems increasingly less likely that he wants to lose a year of film work for this production.

Also, I hope nobody is expecting the all-white principal cast and mostly-male creative team to change with this; it would be pretty sh!tty to fire folks for optics purposes after the pandemic. (If people drop for other reasons, that would be a different story.) "Rebuilding" probably means producer and management.

Updated On: 4/21/21 at 02:53 PM

[jo]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 4:32pm

Hugh has actually recently signed up for a new dramatic movie called "The Son"  (one of the Froilan Zeller trilogy, of which "The Father" is a current Oscar nominee for Best Picture & Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins) co-starring Laura Dern. Empire Magazine says it will likely shoot this year. The script is completed - an adaptation of the original play in French - so it is likely to happen. Maybe he will film it before rehearsals for The Music Man start  (October?). He has also another movie being released by Warner Bros this year, REMINISCENCE  ( a romantic sci-fi thriller written and directed by Westworld's Lisa Joy-Nolan) which he completed right before the pandemic. So, there may not be an urgency to get back to movies right away.  And since the success of The Music Man may be dependent on his continuing stay with the production, he may decide to stay longer than the July 31, 2022 current last ticket sale date.

They have had several workshops for the show -  one with Sutton and a dance group held for a month ( Sept 2019) while Hugh was on his music tour,,,then another one with Hugh and Sutton in February 2020, followed by another one in October 2020. Also, many zoom sessions with Jerry Zaks and Warren Carlyle that Hugh once said " that he thinks he already knows the show"  (presumably his part in it). 

I am glad for the troupe - the creatives, the cast....the crew, the collateral services people ( costumes, wigs, props, publicity, etc), the musicians and theatre staff --- that the show will go on!

 

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 6:06pm

Whoever on Hugh’s PR team thought this was the right thing to say really should be fired. He would’ve been better off saying nothing. Like Rudin’s voice is the most important voice right now....what the heck???

[jo]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 6:19pm

I think what HJ was saying was that Rudin's announcement to leave Broadway was the most important news that the community wanted to hear!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 6:49pm

Nah

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 6:51pm

jo said: "I think what HJwas saying was that Rudin's announcement to leave Broadway was the most important news that the community wanted to hear!"

That’s definitely not the words he used 

Posted: 4/21/21 at 7:04pm

bwayobsessed said: "jo said: "I think what HJwas saying was that Rudin's announcement to leave Broadway was the most important news that the community wanted to hear!"

That’s definitely not the words he used"

It's up to you whether you want to interpret his words favorably or unfavorably, in good faith or bad. It's a personal choice and depends on what you value.

[jo]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 7:08pm

That was how I interpreted his message. 

To me, what is most important is that he is taking on the responsibility ( and a huge one, maybe even unfair compared to when he first signed on to the project) of rebuilding the production to what was widely anticipated to help bring back Broadway to its former glory. And to lead the performances as he is expected to do!  And to make sure that the working environment within that theatre group is healthy and inspiring.

If you don't want to see it or you dislike Hugh Jackman, that is up to you.  But surely we are all interested in bringing on a successful comeback for Broadway. Ask Broadway League ( I don't know the equivalent League for Hollywood) to institute the reforms that you want in the performing arts community.

I am just a theatre fan who has enjoyed many Broadway shows since a very long time ago! No, not including the original production of The Music Man... but I am happy to  welcome the chance to see a great revival of this show.  

Updated On: 4/21/21 at 07:08 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 8:29pm

Re important voices: It is inconceivable to me that anyone thinks that any "voice" is more important that Rudin's. How could it be? It is the sine qua non of the entire narrative. (It is also a voice that no one was expecting to hear. Recall that folks were saying he would never admit anything, never step away, etc. Did everyone's pivot blank out that memory?) If Rudin had not made his statement (without regard to whether he meant any of it), where would we be right now? My guess is we would have a bunch of unemployed actors. The other important voices are the ones we never heard. And never would. They are the voices that told Rudin that that gig was up. Let me ask: if not Rudin, what important voice would you nominate? (I understand of course about the voices of the victims, but those voices antedated this entire narrative. Cause and effect. We are on effect now. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/21/21 at 8:36pm

@bwayobsessed

The quality, timing, and sincerity of Jackman’s statement definitely warrant some scrutiny, but your interpretation of that line is clearly a twisting of his words.

Updated On: 4/21/21 at 08:36 PM