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Morgan Freeman Knew This Movie Was Doomed: "What On Earth Was That?"
Morgan Freeman was aware that 'Dreamcatcher' would not succeed even before filming started, a realization he openly shared.
Common sense suggests that actors usually know well in advance what they are getting into, even before stepping onto the set to film the first scene of their latest movie. However, Morgan Freeman, having already signed on for a significant supporting role, knew the outcome would be disastrous.
In his defense: he wasn't motivated by artistic reasons, but purely for financial gain. While he should have been promoting the film and encouraging audiences to spend their hard-earned money on a ticket, Freeman candidly informed everyone that it was nothing more than a paid job.
He likely read the script beforehand, but when he and his co-stars held their first group reading, the actor realized that the adaptation of Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, would turn out to be far worse than he could have ever imagined.
Freeman had previously collaborated successfully on a King adaptation (The Shawshank Redemption), but it would be a tremendous understatement to say this sci-fi thriller didn’t come close to that masterpiece. Not only because they belong to entirely different genres, but mainly because one film is a classic and the other a complete disaster.
The only truly memorable aspect of Dreamcatcher is Freeman's ridiculous fake eyebrows, which are so distracting that anyone watching the film wonders when those eyebrows will walk off his face to start their own adventure; likely just as bored by the endless, meaningless story as the viewers themselves.
On paper, it sounded promising: a wise Freeman playing a military colonel during an alien invasion, partially against his usual type, plus a group of four childhood friends with a telepathic bond. With a strong cast - including Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Thomas Jane, and Tom Sizemore - there seemed to be potential.
But as Jane revealed on the Kingcast podcast, the first group reading of the script was anything but hopeful. "We were all in a small hotel room reading the script", he recounted. "You know, actors in a room with the director, reading the whole story. And for some reason, it took longer than expected; it lasted three hours."
The resulting film runs just over two hours, so something must have made that reading feel endless. And when it finally ended? Freeman closed his script, looked around and said: "What on earth was that?" according to Jane. "And that really happened."
Unfortunately for Freeman, the answer was: a terrible film. Too late to back out, he had to come to terms with being part of a disastrous literary adaptation while filming in the icy wilderness of Canada - in the middle of winter - knowing that Dreamcatcher was already hopelessly lost.
The film ultimately received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, scoring just 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Dreamcatcher became a commercial flop, with a global revenue of $75.7 million against an estimated budget of $68 million.
In his defense: he wasn't motivated by artistic reasons, but purely for financial gain. While he should have been promoting the film and encouraging audiences to spend their hard-earned money on a ticket, Freeman candidly informed everyone that it was nothing more than a paid job.
Worse Than Anticipated
He likely read the script beforehand, but when he and his co-stars held their first group reading, the actor realized that the adaptation of Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, would turn out to be far worse than he could have ever imagined.
Freeman had previously collaborated successfully on a King adaptation (The Shawshank Redemption), but it would be a tremendous understatement to say this sci-fi thriller didn’t come close to that masterpiece. Not only because they belong to entirely different genres, but mainly because one film is a classic and the other a complete disaster.
Ridiculous Fake Eyebrows
The only truly memorable aspect of Dreamcatcher is Freeman's ridiculous fake eyebrows, which are so distracting that anyone watching the film wonders when those eyebrows will walk off his face to start their own adventure; likely just as bored by the endless, meaningless story as the viewers themselves.
On paper, it sounded promising: a wise Freeman playing a military colonel during an alien invasion, partially against his usual type, plus a group of four childhood friends with a telepathic bond. With a strong cast - including Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Thomas Jane, and Tom Sizemore - there seemed to be potential.
First Reading
But as Jane revealed on the Kingcast podcast, the first group reading of the script was anything but hopeful. "We were all in a small hotel room reading the script", he recounted. "You know, actors in a room with the director, reading the whole story. And for some reason, it took longer than expected; it lasted three hours."
The resulting film runs just over two hours, so something must have made that reading feel endless. And when it finally ended? Freeman closed his script, looked around and said: "What on earth was that?" according to Jane. "And that really happened."
Terrible Film
Unfortunately for Freeman, the answer was: a terrible film. Too late to back out, he had to come to terms with being part of a disastrous literary adaptation while filming in the icy wilderness of Canada - in the middle of winter - knowing that Dreamcatcher was already hopelessly lost.
The film ultimately received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, scoring just 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Dreamcatcher became a commercial flop, with a global revenue of $75.7 million against an estimated budget of $68 million.
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