https://deadline.com/2018/07/james-gunn-fired-guardians-of-the-galaxy-disney-offensive-tweets-1202430392/amp/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&__twitter_impression=true

James Gunn has been removed as director of the Guardians Of The Galaxy series after a batch of old social media dispatches were unearthed that touched on areas like pedophilia and rape. In the latest shocking #metoo development in the entertainment industry, Gunn was severed from the Marvel Comics Universe after a slew of social media posts he wrote before getting Guardians of the Galaxy surfaced. According to Fox News, they were posted because Gunn is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and the effort was to knock him down a few pegs.

Mission accomplished. Gunn has long been a provocateur who has drawn ire in the past for his unusual humor. Among the tweets that forced Disney and Marvel’s hand were: “I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.”

Another: “The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like ‘whew this feels great, not being raped!’” There were others that made satirical comments about the 9/11 attack, AIDS and the Holocaust.

Disney responded quickly and decisively: “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” said Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios chairman, in a statement just released.

Since the fall of Harvey Weinstein, a heightened level of sensitivity in Hollywood has led to one headline after another, from Scarlett Johansson withdrawing from playing a transgender character in the $30 million New Regency film Rub & Tug, to Paramount TV chief Amy Powell being fired for alleged racially insensitive statements. This was just the past nine days.

The idea of being held to task for old social media posts might be new to Hollywood, but we see it rear up all the time in sports, most recently when all-star Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader was forced to apologize for old homophobic and racist posts made while he was in high school in 2012. One and one-half of the Two and a Half Men cast were felled by outlandish social media messaging, as both Charlie Sheen and Angus T. Jones issued volatile statements that disparaged the long running hit sitcom.

Here is Gunn defending the prior tweets, which were captured by Fox News before his Twitter feed was taken down.

1. Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
2. It’s not to say I’m better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
4. For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn’t living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
5. Anyway, that’s the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore. I don’t blame my past self for this, but I like myself more and feel like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018

New world we’re living in huh?

Best bet - just stay off social media

But his tweets seemed immature while Gunn's stuff is objectionable.

Clue me in if I'm wrong.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

remember when GLAAD went after him in 2012 for stuff he'd written?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/guardians-galaxy-director-james-gunn-395796

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

He worked for Troma (c'mon) and made Slither and Super, two films that have a lot of questionable shit in 'em.

And fuck these alt-right fuckers b. They can't hold even hold up their President for doing the same and much, much worse shit.

It's funny how these alt-right fuckers went after him exposing tweets, that if it was someone they liked would be riding for til the wheels fell off for.

But I get it, Disney has to protect their bottom line. I'm just curious to see who they tap to take over.

Thor 3 was almost like Guardians.

obsessed with rape/pedophilia jokes in the first place?

their business is movies for children...they should've known better

Everyone knew, there's a person who's sole job is to go through potential hire's history and see if they said anything dumb.

His juvenile tweets probably had little to do with it.

That's all it was: Juvenile shock humor. About on the level with that dude we all knew in high school who kept telling dead baby jokes. I didn't find it particularly funny, but I didn't think any more of it than I would from an episode of the Family Guy. And let's not forget that he actually apologized for AND deleted these tweets YEARS AGO.

For instance, Jhonen Vasquez, comic artist and creator of Invader Zim, has said stuff even more twisted and morbid on Twitter. Not only did he get a job with Nickelodeon, but Invader Zim is getting a reboot movie within the next year. And in his case, he's apologized for NOTHING, and those tweets are still live. In fact, I'm sure plenty of celebrities/comedians are tweeting worse stuff for shock value as I type this.

James Gunn just pissed off the wrong people--and I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people were within Disney/Marvel.

Yes, Disney knew about the tweets. They also knew this was the guy who came from Troma films, and made Super for Christ's sake.

Let's not just act like Disney was trying to do the right thing, because this is pretty much like them firing Robert Downey Jr. over the crazy shit he did while drunk and coked out back in the 90s.

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/guardians-of-the-galaxy-cast-james-gunn-support-1202889736/

https://imgur.com/gallery/KvcbD


Who's the arbiter of growth nowadays?

there was nothing remotely "jokey" about them statements. There were what they were, shock tweets from a place of privilege tweeted solely because of said privilege. It's easy to call something a "Joke" when you have no emotional connection to it.

2nd....I do respect the way he responded. He didn't bend over backwards apologizing, he owned up to it...explained as best as he could and kept it moving. For what it's worth...that was refreshing.

D

I write jokes for a fucking living. These don't seem like jokes to me. These seem like "Hey, let me say some edgy shit and see if anyone calls me out on it, so I can continue to say similar edgy shit."

I'm not saying he's a pedophile, but let's stop calling these jokes.

Yes they were very, very tasteless.

But seriously. I've read similar tweets like that from comedians in the past (one of the reasons I stopped going on twitter). It's just shock value humor. Come on, we've all met people in the past that said shit like that just to get a rise out of people, that whole 'it's funny because it's awful and people nervously laugh at it' humor.

It was juvenile though. I'm not excusing or condoning it, but dude was really trying to be funny, that was all.

https://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/exclusive-dave-bautista-interview-james-gunn-guardians-of-the-galaxy-firing-quit-twitter/368730

Dave Bautista tells ShortList he'll quit 'Guardians of the Galaxy' if James Gunn's script isn’t used

Speaking to ShortList in his first interview since James Gunn was fired, Bautista said he would be doing the director a “disservice” if he didn’t step away from the franchise


Dave Bautista says he has asked Marvel to release him from his contract over the studio’s firing of director James Gunn.

Speaking to Shortlist in his first interview since the controversial decision, Bautista, who plays Drax the Destroyer in the MCU, said he would be doing Gunn a “disservice” if he didn’t step away from the franchise.

The director was fired last month after alt-right activists unearthed a series of offensive tweets from several years ago.

“Nobody’s defending his tweets, but this was a smear campaign on a good man,” he said, speaking to ShortList’s Tom Ellen. “I spoke to Chris Pratt the day after it happened and he’s a bit religious so he wanted time to pray and figure it out, but I was more like: f*ck this. This is bullshit. James is one of the kindest, most decent people I’ve met.”

Bautista said Gunn had already turned in the script for Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3. A replacement director for the film, due to shoot early next year, has not yet been announced.

“Where I’m at right now is that if don’t use that script, then I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me.

“I’d be doing James a disservice if I didn’t.”

Bautista echoed this sentiment on Twitter during the early hours of Monday when he tweeted: “I will do what i’m legally obligated to do but without is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o just isn’t GOTG. It’s also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis. That’s just how I feel. “


I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That’s just how I feel https://t.co/Ym4FwruVDu

— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) August 5, 2018


Last week Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper were among the cast members of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise to sign an open letter asking Gunn to be reinstated. According to sources at Disney it’s unlikely the the Gunn will be rehired, despite the backlash from the franchises A-list cast.

“I don’t think will get him re-hired,” Bautista said. “But I hope it opens people’s eyes to James’ character.”

ShortList has reached out to Disney for comment and will update this article accordingly upon their response.

Bautista was speaking to ShortList ahead of the release of his film Final Score. The full interview will be in the September 6th issue of ShortList.

Final Score is in cinemas September 7th

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/PeriodicLittleApe-max-1mb.gif

...pulling the same thing on Kathleen Kennedy. Probably happen next year around ComicCon, when Disney starts their Episode IX push in earnest.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/james-gunn-demand-major-studio-movies-disney-firing-1133161

James Gunn in Demand for Major Studio Movies After Disney Firing
AUGUST 08, 2018 11:09am PT by Borys Kit

The 'Guardians' director has been approached by several top producers and executives dangling big film projects.


James Gunn may have been fired by Walt Disney Studios from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but many in Hollywood are looking to work with the controversial filmmaker.

Gunn, who was fired July 20 after past offensive tweets came to light, has been approached by several top producers and executives at major studios dangling big film projects, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

"I’d work with him in a heartbeat," says one senior executive at a rival studio. Like the dozen or so execs and producers THR spoke with, this exec asked to remain anonymous because Gunn is not permitted to entertain other offers while his negotiation to exit Disney is ongoing.

“I’ve been advised that we can’t bring anything to him until the Disney matter is 100 percent resolved,” says another studio executive. Major players said to be interested in Gunn’s services run the gamut from studios, including Warner Bros., which has its Disney/Marvel rival superhero movies via DC Entertainment, and high-profile and Oscar-winning producers.

The interest makes sense given the outpouring of industry support for Gunn in the wake of his firing, including from the Guardians cast, which issued a joint letter calling for his reinstatement citing “little due process in the court of public opinion.” Actor Dave Bautista went so far as to say he would quit the franchise if Gunn’s script weren’t used.

But any major studio hiring Gunn likely would face immediate criticism from the same people who bombarded Disney with calls for Gunn’s firing after the conservative website The Daily Caller resurfaced tweets Gunn sent from 2008 to 2011 that joked in racist and homophobic fashion. Then again, the Disney brand is often held to a higher standard than, say, Warners or Lionsgate, which don’t tout a specific family-friendly brand to consumers. Some execs and producers are mulling a cooling-off period of several months before making any official announcements.

Multiple sources say that Gunn, represented by UTA and attorney Andrew Hurwitz, remains locked in complicated negotiations with Disney over his exit settlement. Gunn has written the script for Guardians 3 and was to have directed the third installment of a franchise whose first two entries (also written and directed by him) grossed $773 million and $863 million, respectively.

Sources say that Gunn, while under contract for the third movie, likely was not "pay or play,” a status that would require Disney to pay him his full fee regardless of whether his services are actually used. Filmmakers typically reach pay-or-play status when a movie is officially greenlit or eight weeks prior to the start of production, neither of which had occurred. But Gunn is not said to have breached his contract because the offensive tweets were sent years before he first signed with Disney’s Marvel Studios.

Some experienced talent reps estimate that due to the unique situation, Gunn could receive a payout of $7 million to $10 million, if not potentially higher. And, more importantly, he would be free to take on another project immediately. Also affecting the negotiations is that sources say Disney plans on using Gunn's script for the third movie.

Disney, Marvel and reps for Gunn declined to comment.

There may be an unexpected twist to the story. Two sources say there is a hope through the talks that Gunn could return in some fashion, even if it’s to develop and direct another Marvel movie. “An end-all verdict hasn’t been issued and conversations with Marvel are still ongoing,” says one source familiar with the proceedings.

That leaves Gunn and his potential suitors waiting to see the outcome of the talks. “Most people feel his comments were coming out of his brand of comedy ,” says another studio exec. “Having an inappropriate sense of humor shouldn’t be a crime.”

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

----------

IG @h_n_z

Disney seems hyper-focused on playing nice by the family moviegoer set, but do these people know or care who made Guardians of the Galaxy? They just want to see a movie and get their kids to shut up for a few hours.

I think in the past it was either movie nerds on industry insiders. Now you don't even have to be paying attention to get some of this info

I don't know if folks care as much as Disney does, but people folks care.

Is it care enough to not go see the film? Now that I don't know.

Have we seen the actual effects of audiences standing up against celebrities revealed to be shitty people or sexual predators?

Where based on the news, the current movie or TV show tanks noticeably?

I mean Michael Richards' career was ruined, but post-Seinfeld he hadn't exactly been blowing up.

Johnny Depp is still doing okay.

I can't really think of any example. In just about every case, the studio or network pulls the plug on the actor's project pre-emptively.

The cynic in me thinks that if Disney hadn't fired Gunn over the tweets, the news would have caused a stir for a minute, Gunn would have pointed to his earlier apology, stressed how he's a different dude now, and then by the time Guardians 3 hit theaters nobody would even have remembered the scandal.

https://deadline.com/2019/03/james-gunn-reinstated-guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-disney-suicide-squad-2-indefensible-social-media-messages-1202576444/

Disney Reinstates Director James Gunn For ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 3’
by Mike Fleming Jr
March 15, 2019 11:00am


EXCLUSIVE: Redemption and second chances have long been superhero movie staples, and today it looks like life has imitated art. I’ve learned that Disney has reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and I’ve confirmed it with Marvel and Gunn’s camp.

The decision to rehire Gunn –he was fired last July by Disney after alt-right journalists made public a fusillade of decade old social media missives that made light of pedophilia and rape — was one that was mulled and actually made months ago, following conversations with Disney studio leadership and the team at Marvel Studios. Why the change of heart? After the firing, Walt Disney Studios president Alan Horn met with Gunn on multiple occasions to discuss the situation. Persuaded by Gunn’s public apology and his handling of the situation after, Horn decided to reverse course and reinstate Gunn.

The social media messages were indefensible, but the filmmaker never did anything but blame himself for poor judgment displayed at a time when he was emerging from the Troma film factory and attempting to be a provocateur. There were no reports that Gunn ever engaged in the behavior he lampooned. Unlike the defensive posture exhibited by Kevin Hart that led him to skip hosting the Oscars, Gunn fell on his sword early and often and never lashed out at Disney.

Ultimately, Gunn’s missives were poorly chosen words and not actions, though Disney’s quick trigger was completely understandable when the social media messages were first reported by outlets like Fox News. Those outlets reported that Gunn’s missives were exposed as payback for Gunn being a vocal critic of President Donald Trump.

Gunn’s return to Guardians of the Galaxy 3 got complicated when he signed on to write and direct the Suicide Squad sequel for Warner Bros and DC. Marvel Studios has agreed to commence production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after Gunn completes Suicide Squad 2. Making the whole thing easier though was the fact that Marvel Studios never met with or considered any other director for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, despite speculation that Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi and Vice helmer Adam McKay were in the mix.

Marvel Studios has remained mum on all details concerning Guardians of the Galaxy 3, as the Kevin Feige-led division turned its focus toward Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. Marvel this week set Destin Daniel Cretton to direct Shang-Chi.

Prior to his dismissal, Gunn had written a script which Marvel confirmed would be used for the third Guardians of the Galaxy installment. I expect Gunn to confirm all this as he supports the release of Brightburn, the David Yarovevsky-directed Elizabeth Banks-starrer that he produced and Sony releases May 24.

There will be an inevitable chorus of those who will gripe about Gunn’s return, but creatively, Guardians will benefit from his return. The entire cast of the film was outspoken in its desire to have Gunn back, saying that those satiric tweets did not match his personal actions. The cast clearly loves him; Chris Pratt, Zoey Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Michael Rooker and Pom Klementieff all pleaded for Gunn’s return, in an open letter. The controversy shattered the camaraderie that the cast had with the filmmaker and put a strongly performing franchise in limbo. Marvel has done a great job allowing its filmmakers to inject their personalities into each franchise, and perhaps none has been as stamped by one filmmaker as Gunn on the Guardians franchise. The first two installments grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide, with the sequel out grossing the first picture.

Soon after the announcement of Gunn’s firing, fans circulated a petition urging Disney to reconsider. On October 31st, a fan crowdfunded billboard went up in Anaheim, CA to rehire Gunn.

Disney is days from closing its acquisition of the assets of Fox and while the company will always be family first, it is somehow reassuring that there is room for second chances, and for a good director to have a chance to overcome a colossally stupid mistake.

UTA and The Safran Company rep Gunn.

This was the apology Gunn delivered last July: “My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time. Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.”

the people campaigning against him in the first place were literally fake people, but it's rare for execs to go back on anything

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

The upside is Gunn will probably make a way more awesome Suicide Squad sequel than the DCEU would have done otherwise (and will certainly top the original). If they pull off Shazam, Gunn rocks SS2, and Ava rocks New Gods, maybe we will finally see a run of good DCEU movies like we deserve. I confess I still haven’t seen Aquaman....

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com