So, I dont know if they are actually making a biopic, but this dude nails it.

Yeah. He's good. Watching this earlier today really made me miss Robin Willliams.

Was talented, but annoying as all get up

Holy cow. That was incredible. Who is that guy? He's spot on

Fyi this guy also did a fantastic Obi-Wan fan film.

Wow! I was watching that with my jaw hanging open. Absolutely insane likeness and I swear there were plenty of moments that if you shut your eyes and just listened you'd think it was actually him!

Robin Williams would be proud of that performance!

These reactions seem weird and hypocritical to me. There have been films in the past with actors portraying people that have passed away and no one said a negative word about the idea. Whether it be actual past actors being portrayed or other people in history. So why the massive push back on this one about robin williams?

The only thing I can see (and I would agree with this) is that the reason is it's simply too soon. He only passed away 7 years ago and with him being as iconic as he was, seeing another person pretend to be him would understandably seem disrespectful to his memory for some.

But if that's the case I wish that's what would be said, as opposed to the whole idea just being "bad or feels wrong." Again…been done for years. Jim Carrey got nothing but praise for his spot on impersonation of Andy Kaufman with Man on the Moon….course he was a dick while filming but that's another issue.

It's not the *idea* of the biopic that's rubbing these guys the wrong way. You're right in that plenty of biopics have been made about deceased people, all portrayed by actors essentially doing similar impressions to this, met with very few complaints.

Rather, it's that this guy is *using* a relatively recently deceased person - in such schmaltzy/maudlin fashion - as a means to forward his own career, in a cash-grab kind of way. He's clearly trying to will this project into existence, and doing so in a very "everyone look at me and look what I can do" kind of way. It's just… a lot. And ultimately more about him than Williams.

On the one hand, if I was this talented, and had the idea to create something like this, I'd probably do the same thing. I'm not saying I'm above it (though I'd at least try not to make something so mawkish). There's a certain hustle here that I respect. But on the other hand, it really does feel kind of gross to go to THIS length to showcase your impression of a beloved actor, one who had addiction/depression issues of his own and ultimately committed suicide, to advance your career.

I don't know, I see both sides here and it's a fine line. There's just something a little proud-and-oblivious-theater-kid-doing-Simple-Jack about this whole thing that kind of weirds me out.

I don't really see any difference between this and Ray or Walk the Line, two subjects who also struggled with major demons in their life.

I don't see how this could possibly be gross, and any other biopic is not.
They are one and the same.

Are we pretending other biopics are made to honor someone's legacy, but this guy is the one trying to further his own career? This is the one that is in bad taste?

I just shared it because I thought he did a good impression, for the record.

That's the KEY difference here, though. This movie isn't being made. It's not a real thing. It's ONE guy taking extreme measures in maudlin fashion to showcase his impression. It's not a carefully constructed two-hour feature made with the best of intentions as a celebration of the subject's life. It's not really about Williams. It's first and foremost about this actor dude, and him trying to get paid doing a movie that doesn't yet exist.

That said, again, personally, I don't really have a huge issue with it. I just thought it was interesting how it's dividing people, and I'm simply saying I can kind of see both sides here.

TCTTS said:

---

That's the KEY difference here, though. This movie isn't being made. It's not a real thing. It's ONE guy taking extreme measures in maudlin fashion to showcase his impression. It's not a carefully constructed two-hour feature made with the best of intentions as a celebration of the subject's life. It's not really about Williams. It's first and foremost about this actor dude, and him trying to get paid doing a movie that doesn't yet exist.

That said, again, personally, I don't really have a huge issue with it. I just thought it was interesting how it's dividing people, and I'm simply saying I can kind of see both sides here.

---

That might be a very...optimistic point of view when it comes to biopics and intentions behind them.

I was primarily just replying after reading that series of tweets, your take made sense.

That is probably a better way to frame the discussion that you showed in the tweets though, at least the movies do have some intention of honoring the subject. And doing an impression is not the same as being able to put in a quality performance in a role.


I just liked his impression, and I don't think it's an easy one to do either.

Related note, I think that I think the film industry would be better off if no more biopics are made going forward, they're kind of lazy storytelling. They'd probably just fill the void with more remakes of existing material. It must be easier to get funding for that over any original content.

It's actually quite impressive when hollywood manages to out d-bag themselves. But those responses, minus the one from Williams, just go to show that it's possible when the really try.

So much jealousy in all those waiter's twitter replies

TCTTS said:

---

That's the KEY difference here, though. This movie isn't being made. It's not a real thing. It's ONE guy taking extreme measures in maudlin fashion to showcase his impression. It's not a carefully constructed two-hour feature made with the best of intentions as a celebration of the subject's life. It's not really about Williams. It's first and foremost about this actor dude, and him trying to get paid doing a movie that doesn't yet exist.

That said, again, personally, I don't really have a huge issue with it. I just thought it was interesting how it's dividing people, and I'm simply saying I can kind of see both sides here.

---

But don't you have to start this way to actually get to the 2 hour feature? And if you are going to show what a Robin Williams movie would look like, wouldn't you HAVE to start with this iconic early phase of his life?

Sure it's schmaltzy but he WAS schmaltzy at this stage. Granted, it's a little too obvious but I'm still trying to figure out what the objection is. Is it because he died of suicide?

The hate for this is ridiculous. So the fact that one guy made this is somehow "gross" but if a studio did it, it would be great? Spare me the indignation.

I would never have guessed while watching it that creative types would find something about it negative. I thought it was pretty impressive. I imagine most normal people would see it positively.

The piling on and pearl clutching by the Hollywood hypocrites is hilarious. The guy is obviously talented and unafraid to take a risk and is getting railed on by people pissed off bc they didn't do it first. More power to him.

How is this any different than having a portfolio of previous work with clips? Except in this case he showcased a skill he has in the hopes someone takes it that direction. In any other world he'd be applauded for his moxie.

Jealousy. That's my guess.

Marauder Blue 6 said:

---

The piling on and pearl clutching by the Hollywood hypocrites is hilarious. The guy is obviously talented and unafraid to take a risk and is getting railed on by people pissed off bc they didn't do it first. More power to him.

---

It is EXACTLY this.

Critics hate it? What a surprise. They generally are full of themselves and want to appear cerebral and "above the fray".

Other actors hate it or think it's in bad taste? Fire up some Gin Blossoms.

This guy took a chance. He has a talent and is perfect for the role. This is no different than a cover band making a demo of a popular song done by an artist that passed in the last 5-10 years and trying to get it out there for a record company to hear it. It's been done for decades, but with YouTube it can reach millions of viewers almost instantly.

TCTTS, not to go all F16 on this thread, but those reactions are why people bash Hollywood for being full of hypocritical liberals. They all feign righteous indignation when mostly they are kicking themselves for not thinking of it first or not being able to do it on their own.

Someone threw Zemeckis under the bus? Ok. Yeah, because he sucks and has never done anything, amiright?

They all need to shut it, to borrow a phrase from Michael Scott. We could make a list of movies or even cover songs that are "in bad taste" in some form or another. This is no different.

Hypocrites. Every single one of them.

It's funny to see what gets no-name hollywood people riled up. Why on earth would anyone have such a strong negative reaction to this?

Some of those responses are why Hollywood gets dinged so often. Freddy Mercury's biopic was ok because millions were spent and millions were made by actors and corporate suits, but this somehow isn't because this guy did it in an attempt to make it happen?

dc509 said:

---

Some of those responses are why Hollywood gets dinged so often. Freddy Mercury's biopic was ok because millions were spent and millions were made by actors and corporate suits, but this somehow isn't because this guy did it in an attempt to make it happen?

---

Don't try and use logic and reason and facts. It won't be appreciated by any of those Twitter experts.

Uhm....who's the girl playing Pam Dawber?

The criticism seems like Hollywood and its advocates protecting its own rather that looking at the potential of such a biopic without bias.

The guy's trying to promote himself. Should he just send out headshots like everyone else and wait by the phone? What a great way to get noticed, clearly he's creative beyond just a great impression.

Van Halen were all monsters for going out to Gazarri's and The Whiskey and other clubs on the Hollywood Strip and pimping out their cover of "You Really Got Me".

Awful. Who the hell did they think they were, trying to emulate a British Invasion band as influential as The Kinks?

They should have been canceled.

Gatekeeping. The irony!