The Matrix/Tank controversy (1 Viewer)

[Gary->dee]

Has anyone been following the escapades of actor Marcus Chong and his battle with the Wachimacallit brothers over his role as Tank in the sequels? It's like high drama crossed with absurd comedy mixed with utter embarassment. It seems like this kid just f'ed up by asking for too much money and was shown the door.

I was looking around and found out there's actually a few sites dedicated to this earth-shattering issue.

Boycott the matrix I think is the biggest site. They have some interesting letters:


This one from the actor is Hilarious!




Don't forget to buy a mug or teddy!


I feel like I missed an entire season of Dynasty.

good grief

 

[Matt Stone]

Wow.

Just...wow.

"My name is to be correctly spelled on both Matrix 2 and Matrix 3 posters."

 

[Chris Atkins]

That is ridiculous...

On the other side, his absence harmed the narrative because of the need to introduce a new character and make us care for him.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

I hear the party who really played "hardball" in this incident was Joel Silver. He sent photos of Marcus Chong, in costume as Huen Newton in the movie PANTHER (holding automatic weapons) to the FBI as if they were the real thing and had Mr. Chong arrested on suspicion of terorrism. (!)



By the way, does anyone else find it odd that the two pure 100% human characters, TANK and DOZER, are named after machinery?

 

[Joseph Young]

To be honest, I really liked his character in the first Matrix and was sorry to see Tank go. But I've researched this issue a little bit, seen all the pro-M.C. sites and read his statements, and have to conclude..

The dude's insane. Literally.

 

[Gary->dee]

I think what's even funnier, as Rob pointed out, is that Joel Silver gives the security guard at Warner Brothers a picture of Marcus as Huey Newton from the 1995 movie Panther.



Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves is livin' it up at Cannes


AAAHahahaaaaaaaa!


Hit it, Ethel!

There's no business like show business...

 

[Ivan Lindenfeld]

Marcus CHong is a loon. He belongs at Warners in the Looney Tunes department.

Not that Joel Silver is any better. Have you heard him upsell his crappy movie projects? Same words as a great project like Matrix.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Yes, the dude is out of bloody gourd. $500,000? $200,000 and $300,000 bonuses? Is he kidding? Didn't Keanu give up millions to make sure the movie got made because the special effects were so ridiculously expensive? Why the guy couldn't see this as positive exposure and not a quick payday is beyond me.

 

[Malcolm R]

Funny how he's concerned about his name being spelled correctly on the posters when his letter is full of typos and grammatical lapses.

 

[Gary->dee]

"Many forces are even out of your four mighty hands. Some things are beyond our control. None-the-less you mighty knights shall truly break into Valhalla, for you have battled for me, your squire, as the kings speaking up for a unruly, yet devoted brother of the table. The blessings are to many to count. The blessings."


What the sam hell is this guy talking about? At some point early in his letter he went into a direction in which he tried to connect with other worlds to form some kind of bond. Either that or he was smoking crack.


Don't forget, boxers and calendars are available!



There's no people like show people..!

 

[Matt Stone]

What a f*cking nutcase.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Believe or not, I almost feel bad for this guy. Who is giving him advice? Who's trying to milk him? He's clearly not all there. Where the heck was his agent during all this? I don't want to laugh, 'cause I feel like I'd be laughing at him.

I admit, I really liked him in The Matrix. He brought real energy and verve (and humor) to his scenes. But he wasn't vital, and his asking for that kind of money showed a real disconnect with reality.

A shame, really.

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Gary->dee]

Where the heck was his agent during all this?

He doesn't have an agent. Go figure!

 

[Chris James]

Maybe his dad helped him type that

(For those that might not know, his dad is Tommy Chong [adopted])

 

[Gary->dee]

his dad is Tommy Chong

Interesting I didn't know that. Well that explains it!

wa-wa-wa-waaaaa...

 

[Kevin M]

Tommy Chong is his father.........OOOHHHH. I think we're on to sumtin' boys.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Very interesting thread.

Here's an article that I mentioned in the BIG Reloaded thread, courtesy of E! Online :



There's more in the article, but most of it has been covered by this thread already.

...he doesn't have an agent??? He comes from a showbiz family! How could he not have gotten some sound advice??

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Sheesh. Three consecutive posts bashing Tommy Chong. Nice.

 

[Ricardo C]

Eek.

 

[Gary->dee]

Three consecutive posts bashing Tommy Chong. Nice.

Bashing? More like having fun with him. I like Cheech & Chong and saw their movies in the theater while growing up, so I have nothing against Tommy and if anything have respect for him. But it's hard to deny the comedic value of the connection between a young actor that screwed up on a number of occasions and a man that has always advocated smoking pot.