Friday, March 29, 2024

Bad Ideas Dept: Lanky, Thin, Tall British “Billions” Actor Damian Lewis Will Play Fat, Dead Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

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Alas, Chris Farley cannot play dead Toronto mayor Rob Ford. You remember Rob, don’tcha? Fat and loud, he partied like it was 1999, drank, did drugs, went to rehab. He finally exploded and died from cancer in March 2016.

Now comes word of a movie about Ford, produced by brothers Jonathan and Andrew Bronfman of Canada. They are distant relatives of the Bronfmans of Seagrams fame. Their father, Paul Bronfman, chairman of Pinewood Toronto Studios. Bronfman owns William F. White International Inc., (Whites) described as Canada’s oldest and largest provider of professional motion picture, television, live event, digital media production equipment and technical expertise.

So who did they get to play Rob Ford, a man whose shirt tail was rarely tucked in? Why, his physical opposite, Damian Lewis, of “Billions” and “Homeland” fame. Lewis is tall, thin, lanky. Makes no sense.

The movie is called “Run This Town,” named for a Jay Z song that has nothing to do with anything. This is the first directing job for producer-actor Ricky Tollman.

While I’m sure Lewis up to the challenge, the question is Why? We’ll have to wait and see how this works out.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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