Is it possible for anyone not to like Hugh Jackman?
Seriously, I don't think I've ever heard a bad word said about the guy.
But Steven Spielberg says...
Jackman may not be the most likeable guy—in his new action drama, Real Steel, that is.
"He risks not being liked for a while in this movie," Spielberg, a producer of the film, told me last night at a VIP screening at the Pacific Design Center in L.A. "He risks unlikeability for the first act and a half of this movie."
He certainly does. Jackman plays a Charlie, deadbeat dad whose 11-year-old son unexpectedly comes to live with him after his mom dies.
Taking place sometime in the near future, Charlie is a one-time champion boxer who now builds and coaches fighting robots. Think Rocky meets Transformers.
"Hugh's a great actor," Spielberg said. "He's a great entertainer. He could do anything. He could do Broadway. He could do musical theater. He could do movies—and probably a few other mediums we haven't invented yet."
How about doing more Real Steel flicks? It has franchise written all over it. "I don't plan franchises until the audience says they want one," Spielberg said. "It's bad luck. You don't want to franchise yourself into a corner."
And if there's anyone who knows franchises, it's certainly Steven Spielberg.