Thursday, March 20, 2008

Vince Vaughan

In the course of my young and innocent life I've been fortunate to be spared seeing--let alone participating in--a flame war. You know, where somebody is really taken down. For that reason I rarely look at comments following a news story. Too much ugliness. Niki Finke is a Hollywood reporter and columnist and (to me) one of the best. Here's her story about Vince Vaughn leaving his talent agency followed by some of the comments from readers. I have to admit I don't understand how Vaughn ever got work. There's something so seedy about him he's repellent to me. Personal taste. But as the following responses indicate, he has as many admirers as detractors. I don't know if this is an actual flame war but it'll do till the real thing comes along.

From Nikki Finke:

I've confirmed that Vince Vaughn has axed both his manager Eric Gold and his agency United Talent. Someone close to Vince just told me he did it by cell phone. He's still with his attorney Debbie Klein. He'd been a UTA client since 1993 (three years before his breakout Swingers, which was partly filmed in the apartment of an agency assistant) and a Gold client since 2005's Wedding Crashers. Vaughn's last movie, Fred Claus did little business. A $20 million a pic star, he recently pacted for a two-year, first-look producing deal with Universal and his Wild West Picture Show Productions which is run by his sister.
UPDATE: Vaughn is telling people today that he made the moves because his manager and his agency "didn't get along at all" and it was too much drama in his life. However, I've heard from a lot of moguls in Hollywood that Vaughn was quite adept at making his own off-camera drama on nearly every recent movie he did.


Letters:
1.

vince is a lunatic. his reputation as the most insane, difficult guy to work with in town, is well earned. uta started his career and made him a $20m star. he needs to look inside and get it together; he’s a mess, regardless of who represents him.

Comment by ts — March 18, 2008 @ 10:50 am
2.

Why isn’t this hack in rehab yet?

Comment by 40yearoldstitzer — March 18, 2008 @ 11:16 am
3.

he’s a drunk, bitter, pathological, paranoid, republican


Jeez, what a bunch of bitter gripes. The guy’s funny and fun to watch and has had a bunch of big grossing movies. What he may be like on the set (good, bad or indifferent) doesn’t matter.

Comment by Richard — March 18, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
8.

What is with all of the hatred on all of these asinine entertainment blogs? You’re all losers! How pathetic that you feel the need to spew your sh*t on the internet.

Comment by MB — March 18, 2008 @ 1:48 pm
9.

Vince is rad. You people are morons…or are you just bitter UTA employees who will no longer get that sweet 10%?

Comment by Common Sense — March 18, 2008 @ 1:54 pm
10.

Vince, were you forced to make ‘The Breakup’?
No!
Then why did you do it?
For the money?
I think it was supposed to be a comedy, but it sure didn’t come out that way.
And that thoroughly fake romance with Aniston, Puh-Leeze!

Just what is it with all these stupid actors that take it out on their agents & managers for the crappy choices they made both in choosing the movie & the wretched acting style in that movie?

Comment by Unindicted Co-conspirator — March 18, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
11.

I agree with Richard. Vince is fun to watch and has been in some great movies. Too much jealousy out there. My Momma always said, “If you have nothing nice to say, keep your mouth shut.” Vince, if you read this and need a new manager email me at phildaleduckie@aol.com. We would welcome you to our team.

Comment by phil dale duckie — March 18, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
12.

Who cares!!! He isn’t the first actor to do this. I’m sure he’ll be fine and so will his ex-manager and ex-agent. Sometimes people need a sense of new and improved energy.

Comment by ND — March 18, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
13.

No, Vaughn is an example of the grotesquely inflated, unjustifiable salaries earned by actors that damage the industry at large. There’s nothing to show for it either except bad offensive movies.

Get over yourselves, Vaughn defenders on this site. Tell your buddy you posted a good word for him and be on your way.

Comment by Exec — March 18, 2008 @ 2:31 pm
14.

Vince Vaughn may be ok as a character actor, but as a lead? Puh-leeze. Hope that romance with Aniston was fake - how could she touch him? Echh.

Comment by Viewers — March 18, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
15.

Yeah Phil, I’m sure Vince will get right on that. Especially since we all know how reputable management firms are that shill for new clients on the message boards of entertainment industry gossip sites. He’ll be calling you within the hour…

Comment by JB — March 18, 2008 @ 3:11 pm
16.


Comment by buddysattva — March 18, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
19.

none of you guys have a clue how hollywood works do you?

Comment by ghostface — March 18, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
20.

as a director who has worked with him and having heard first hand his nasty, long-winded rants about every other working actor in the business this seems like typical behavior for a star gone out of control

Comment by TP — March 18, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
21.

fuck him, move on asshole.
there’s a lot of us out here that will work for half.
I didn’t see him out there with our fellow strikers.

Comment by richie rich — March 18, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
22.

wow. vince vaughn leaves uta after he makes a bomb. what a surprise. i have worked in this town for 20 years and if any of you could hear what uta agents and gold had to go thru to expain this guy’s behavior, you wouldn’t believe it possible. vince is a very bad boy and he knows it. yes, he is an original talent but life is way too short.

Comment by noway — March 18, 2008 @ 4:00 pm
23.

I’m sure there are plenty of agents foaming at the mouth to get him on the roster, so don’t shed any tears for him.

Comment by Wendy — March 18, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
24.

he is vin diesel in one minute

Comment by zz — March 18, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
25.

I will never understand why people keep hiring this asshole, and that he made it to the $20M level. He never makes it to the set on time, he never shuts the fuck up, doesn’t learn his lines (so he can improv his shtick) and sexually harrasses everyone (women AND men.)

He needs to go away for a while. Or longer.

Comment by Client # 9 — March 18, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
26.

does Mr Vaughn remember where he was before UTA nowhere
maybe he made 3 million a pix he makes 20 million now
i would say UTA and its agents made him a star
even thoug he looks and acts like a unkempt drunk
low life


the real fuck up here is Eric Larry Gold, he is talentless (he convinced VV to do Fred Claus, nice)
parasite chronic pot smoker who sucked off all the sweat and blood that
Jimmy Miller put into Jim Carrey, then when Jimmy couldn’t
stand being around toxic (hey Ellen nice work having such a woman hating manager on your team) Eric anymore and they split. Jimmy has rightfully gone on to a well deserved career as the biggest comedy manager and film producer in the biz. This is eating Eric Larry alive
and driving him to smoke even more pot and other shit
than before. For whatever VV short comings might be,
he has saved his career by stepping off.

Eric try not to pop a vein you can’t afford another open heart surgery again.

Comment by Anonymous — March 19, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
32.

Well, thank God there are no moronic, untalented, sexist, egotistical, loud-mouthed, hypocritical, back-stabbing, unjustifiably rich and ungrateful Democrats in LA.

2 comments:

  1. I'm not a Vaughn fan either. I really can't comment on the quality of any of his films, as I've never seen one. From the first moment I saw a trailer he was in, I decided he wasn't someone in whom I'd put much hope of an entertaining film.

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  2. Ed, this sort of knee-jerk "OMFG I HATE (fill in the blank) SO MUCH!!!!!!!" commentary is totally predictable, almost inevitable, in almost any on-line discussion of any celebrity. I don;t know which is more ludicrous: the people who think their opinions actually matter to anyone of consequence, the anonymous posters claiming to be industry insiders, or the people who post "who cares"? (Well, obviously you do, because you felt the need to post).

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