The Hangover Part II

[MacGuffin]

Liam Neeson to replace Mel in 'Hangover 2'
Warner Bros. finds replacement for Todd Phillips comedy
Source: Variety

Liam Neeson has stepped in to replace Mel Gibson in Warner Bros.' "The Hangover Part II," following a revolt by the cast and crew against Gibson's involvement in the movie.

Neeson says he was invited to take the cameo role via his "A-Team" co-star Bradley Cooper, who stars in "The Hangover Part II" along with Zack Galifianakis.

"I just got a call to do a one day shoot on 'Hangover 2' as a tattooist in Thailand, and that's all I know about it," Neeson told Daily Variety. "I just laughed my leg off when I saw 'The Hangover, I was shooting in Berlin earlier this year and rented it on the hotel TV."

Neeson flew out to the set Thursday from his home in New York.

In a statement released Thursday, director Todd Phillips said, "I thought Mel would have been great in the movie and I had the full backing of Jeff Robinov and his team. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew."

The studio has scheduled "The Hangover 2" for release on May 26.

"The Unknown" (previously titled "Unknown White Male"), the Dark Castle thriller that Neeson shot in Berlin earlier this year, is set for release by Warners in January.

Neeson most recently played another cameo as the Admiral in Universal/Hasbro's "Battleship." He will start filming Joe Carnahan's "The Gray" in January, followed by further shooting on "Battleship" and "Clash of the Titans 2." Then he's lined up for Ji-woon Kim's "The Last Stand," and after that he hopes to play the lead in Brad Silberling's "An Ordinary Man," a low-budget drama about a fugitive war criminal in the former Yugoslavia.

[Stefen]

haha. fuck yeah. Mel Gibson got pwnt.

[mogwai]

Mel Gibson got hungover.

[Derek]

a raper is ok. a guy who said bad words isn't.

[Kal]

a raper is ok. a guy who said bad words isn't.

sorry but if you really think thats all he did, you need to find out before making stupid remarks.

[Stefen]

If I had to pick a best friend for life between the two, I would choose Mike Tyson because he was really just a misguided youth who had to grow up too fast and has not rehabilitated his image. Mel Gibson is just a mean, mean person.

[Alexandro]

this just goes to show how people have their heads up their asses in the 21th century.
oh mel gibson is a RACIST, didn't you know? he said he N word!!! and he's sexist, he ACTUALLY said "sugar-tits" to a police woman. and he explodes in anger like a maniac on the phone, and you know, he's FUCKED UP. so he can't be in our hangover movie where we cast poor mike tyson, just a misguided black kid, a victim of the system. give me a fucking break. is called being a human being. oh, alec baldwin left an angry voicemail to his daughter, BAD. Russell Crowe got pissed at some douchebag bellboy and throwed him a phone, BAD. Jesus. Everyone jumps at every celebrity that fucks up as if no one ever fucked up before.

the people behind the hangover can get off their high horse immediately. they went and put mike tyson on their film as a fucking sideshow freak for people to laugh at, nothing more. specially zach galifankis, who has turned into a major whore of the highest level. He's all over the place now, doing every crap movie he can find to make some money before his moment passes. And they replace Gibson with Liam Neeson, in yet another paycheck whore role, for their completely superfluous SEQUEL because nothing most of those guys have done since can ever top the original Hangover. That's it. There is no morality here at all. There is no search for the greater good. Just a bunch of filmmakers and actors cashing in they two year old project and rejecting someone because they feel "offended" by his behavior which, no matter what anyone says, is not equal to raping someone.

[john]

zach galifankis, who has turned into a major whore of the highest level. He's all over the place now, doing every crap movie he can find to make some money before his moment passes.

To be fair, Galifianakis didn't show much consideration for his filmography before The Hangover, either. He seemed to act in films not based on artistic or intellectual merits, but whether or not it was a paying gig. With the exception of a few projects (Visioneers, Into The Wild) he has mostly appeared in disposable junk like Corky Romano, and Bubble Boy. That hasn't changed post-Hangover, except his viability has increased and the checks have gotten larger.

What he does seem to show some consideration for, and hasn't really compromised, is his career as a stand-up comedian. He didn't indulge in any college tours after The Hangover. At worst, he recycled decade old material for his Saturday Night Live monologue - but that's a pretty minor criticism.

He's actually made a pretty admirable distinction between "Zach Galifiankis: Comedian" and "Zach Galifinakis: Actor-for-hire."

I do agree with you on your larger point, however.. To be point that I can't even feign indignation over who gets cast and who gets fired, what is/isn't offensive, etc. It's a superfluous film made for an easy return of investment. I could give wto fucks who they do (or do not) cast.

[Derek]

a raper is ok. a guy who said bad words isn't.

sorry but if you really think thats all he did, you need to find out before making stupid remarks.

Researched. I'm back. Said dumber things than that and stand by it. And what about Tyson? Which is kind of my point. And picking a best freind for life?? Give me a break. Tyson got caught and found a higher power and got a facial tattoo.He must have a hell of a PR team for the goodwill he gets. and nothing against Tyson, because he was funny-ish. but sugartits is funnier. people pretend to know these celebrities and judge them while the are at it. gibson, like tyson, just got caught.

[modage]

I think Galifianakis IS showing concern for his career now actually. 

Dinner For Schmucks
Bored To Death
Due Date
Hangover 2

Which of these is a "major whore" role?

The difference in Tyson and Gibson is that Tyson has actually gone to jail and "paid his debt to society".  Mel Gibson is basically on a Hollywood blacklist right now because of his behavior and getting a role/cameo like this would allow everyone to let him off the hook and laugh with him.  I think they just didn't want to be the guys to do that.

[Alexandro]

Jodie Foster, an actual smart person, already did that with The Beaver, people who've seen it have been giving high praise to Gibson's performance. The dude is a major talent and has committed no crime. He is an asshole, he has a lot of hate and frustration, he is insane, but that fuels his work and makes it special too. He got caught and now every self righteous idiot around feels compelled to attack him. Self righteousness makes me sick.

[modage]

But The Beaver is not going to be seeing a release anytime soon and when it does it will probably not be seen by many.  The Hangover 2 will be a huge hit (at least for a few weeks) and allowing him to re-enter the public in that platform is not something the cast/crew was comfortable with.

[Gold Trumpet]

I buy the Mike Tyson paying his debt to society idea and time just healing that issue. He went to prison and since there were no complaints when he was originally hired for the Hangover, it seems everyone is beyond that issue. I also understand Mel Gibson being toxic. No, the guy did nothing illegal which can be proven in a court of law right now, but no filmmaker is their right mind is going to believe he's ready for public fitting either. I don't believe rape and harassment are comparable, but I also believe you have to admit what he did isn't going to make him public friendly for a while. Even if it's just the actors complaining about him now, I'm sure lots of other protests would have come out over his involvement and since this movie wants to make a ton of money, why risk the good fortune this series has by putting him in the movie?

[polkablues]

I don't see how there's a controversy here.  It's not as though Mel Gibson has a constitutional right to be in movies.  They hired him, his would-be coworkers expressed concern, and they decided the downside was greater than the upside, so they let him go.  It has nothing to do with self-righteousness, it has nothing to do with comparing Gibson's transgressions to Mike Tyson's.  It was a simple business decision.  The movie's going to be retarded anyway, so who really cares in the long run?

[Alexandro]

If it's not about self righteousness on the part of the hangover crew (which it is), is about it on the part of the mass media in USA and theoritcaly on the american public. I say "in theory" because until gibson shows up in another movie, nobody KNOWS for sure what the response will be. My hunch is that the media will make a lot of fuss about it as they usually do and the normal people wont give a shit and show up to a mel Gibson movie because he is still one of the biggest stars in the world, a dying breed, actually.

In fact, if this poll (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/30/60minutes/main6819188.shtmlutm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsGamecore+%28GameCore%3A+CBSnews.com%29) is any indication, no one really cares about it in terms of not going to see Gibson to the movies anymore. So is not really a business decision at all.

And one of the reasons The Beaver is not getting a wide release soon is precisely this form of pre-censorship. Last time Mel gibson showed up at the theatres in that insufferable edge of darkness crap, people filled the seats and ate it all up.

and yes, the hangover 2 will be retarded, it's probably better for his career. this is a bizarre world.