Actor Brendan Fraser, 52, is to star in the next movie project from the acclaimed, Oscar-nominated director, Darren Aronofsky.
The Whale is adapted from a play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter. It made its debut off-Broadway in 2012 and won a clutch of prizes, including a Drama Desk Award for ‘Significant Contribution to Theatre’ and a GLAAD Media Award.
According to Variety, The Whale focuses on a 600-pound middle-aged man named Charlie, living on the outskirts of Mormon Country in Idaho, and his attempts to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter.
The two became estranged after Charlie, an online writing instructor, abandoned his family for his gay lover, who later died. The man’s death triggers Charlie to turn to compulsive eating to cope with his grief.
Related: Wentworth Miller on why it’s better to use gay actors for gay roles
The movie will be a co-production between A24 and Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures.
Aronofsky is best known for Black Swan (the Natalie Portman-starring drama earned him an Oscar nomination in 2011), and 2017’s mother! (starring his former partner, Jennifer Lawrence). In 2008, Aronofsky made The Wrestler, which won plaudits for Mickey Rourke after many years in the Hollywood wilderness.
Fraser is fondly remembered for starring roles in turn-of-the-century movies such as George Of The Jungle (1997), and The Mummy films. His big-screen career appeared to disappear in the late 00s, although he’s been busy in recent years with some TV roles, including Trust (for FX in 2018).
Related: Idris Elba says it’s “nonsense” to pressure Hollywood to cast gay actors in gay roles
Given Aronofsky’s pedigree as a filmmaker and the quality of the material upon which it’s based, some are already speculating The Whale could be an awards contender.
Hunter is adapting his play for the screen. He told Deadline, “Adapting my play into a screenplay has been a real labor of love for me. This story is deeply personal and I’m very thankful it will have the chance to reach a wider audience.
“I’ve been a fan of Darren’s ever since I saw Requiem for a Dream when I was a college freshman writing my first plays, and I’m so grateful that he’s bringing his singular talent and vision to this film.”
whatsaywhat
A 600lb, gay recluse = .my life during Covid
PolishBear
It sounds like the sort of material only Darrent Aronofsky would tackle. He’s one of my “go-to” directors …. that is, someone whose movie I would see knowing only that he directed it. I even loved “mother!” despite the fact that it polarized audiences and was a box-office bomb.
Kangol2
Mother! was awful but it had its moments. Pi, Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, though, are among his best.
jackmister
Fraser showed such promise in Gods and Monsters. I was expecting him to go on to have a brilliant acting career –but then along came The Mummy and…well…I don’t blame him for wanting to make money. I figured he would have the money/clout to go back to making serious work. This project sounds like something a real actor would want to sink their teeth into. Hope it works out for him.
Cam
So the character “abandoned” his good morning heterosexual family for “The gays” and is not being punished by becoming 600lbs and will find redemption by coming back to the good Mormon family.
Yeah, I think I’ll pass.
Roy Ajax
Hits a little too close to home?
Cam
@Roy Ajax
Awwwww, the right wing troll account took time off from attacking LGBTQ rights and defending bigots, to try to insinuate that someone on here is fat or estranged from a fictional daughter etc…
Nice to see you resemble Trump in so many ways, let me guess, next you’ll attack a disabled reporter and mock them.
You’re doing great sweetie! A few more like this and maybe Putin will increase your pay from 5 to 6 kopecs per post. (Eye Roll)
Roy Ajax
Cam
How insulting! I haven’t been paid in kopeyki since 2017! I make 14 rubles a post.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
Precious, you can try to deflect all you want. But you’ve been on every thread on here defending the treasonous attack on our Capitol Building. A little break from your usual posts attacking LGBTQ people and defending bigots, but this is who you are.
We know you’re a troll, and the fact that you have been on here for years trying to do the exact same thing makes it very likely you’re paid.
So keep deflecting, but it doesn’t hide the fact you’re a bigot who defends treason.
Roy Ajax
Cam
Please copy/paste where I defended breaking into the Capitol.
ceej11
Y’all just kiss already!
Cam
@Roy Ajax
Troll, you really think this tactic works? You’ve been on all the threads either deflecting, or trying to minimize what happened. Your entire goal here is to either defend bigots, or defend Trump.
The most adorable part of it, is you think you fool anyone. Anybody who sees this screename knows what you’re about, and all of your other screenames soon become obvious too.
You’re a defender of treason and bigots and your game is boring.
wiredpup
Well I see Miss Camilla is here creating a row. Tell me, is there anything in this world that doesn’t offend you?
Cam
@wiredpup
So let’s see Roy, doesn’t matter what screename you’re under, you don’t think anything is as big an insult as referring to someone as a woman.
Again, your troll game is boring.
Prax07
Sounds like an incredibly depressing story, just what we need more of these days. I’ll pass, thanks.
Jake123
Doubt there’d be many gay actors lining up to play this role. Putting on 200lbs+, yeah the straights can keep this one!!
Cam
Can you imagine that being part of the job???
Ok, we’re filming in 5 months, we need you to be 600lbs by then.
Kangol2
There are a few who’d do it and give great performances too. If the character is White, Daniel Franzese, Matt Bomer, Cheyenne Lane, Nathan Lane, and even Guillermo Diaz could all pull it off, with the right makeup and prostheses.
Leash
good that hes back
Donston
Sounds like an Aronofsky project. He’s very much about trying to embody physical and mental ailments. Facing your past is also something a lot of his movies delve into. He is a bit hit or miss for me. So, we’ll see. It’s gonna be depressing as hell and “provocative”. That’s inevitable.
jayceecook
I agree that he is brilliant but can swing wide at times. I haven’t seen Noah or The Wrestler so I can’t judge those. I enjoyed Pi, RFAD, and Below. mother! was what it was and I still don’t know how I feel LOL
I love The Fountain and think it’s highly underrated while I hated Black Swan and think it’s highly overrated.
This does sound like something only he and a few others would tackle. Which gives me hope but also worry. I think the industry is looking for another big success story from him and I think that has possibly plagued his last two films a bit.
Chipster
Judging the play by the synopsis is just plain dumb. You can’t possibly know the take on the characters simply by reading a 2-3 sentence synopsis! If you saw the play, speak up! It won awards, but I (for one) would love to hear the perspective of someone who ACTUALLY saw it!
If you only know this project by the synopsis AND you’re making judgements based solely on that basis, well I pity you – there is so much GREAT literature and GREAT art that isn’t easily summarized in a synopsis.
As for Frazier depicting a 600lb man, you’re even MORE of a clueless idiot if you think they’ll ask him to ACTUALLY GAIN 400lbs for this role! Perhaps it hasn’t occurred to you that this is 2021, not 1921… we have FX that can make him APPEAR to weigh 600lbs, even though Frasier himself may only weigh 200lbs (though, truthfully – at 50+ years old, and about 6’3 or so in height, he most likely weighs about 250 in real life today, plus or minus 20lbs for good measure).
I recall (though I cannot find references) that Brendan Frasier hasn’t exactly been “kindly and supportive” of LGBTQ issues in the past… it’s nice to see that he’s willing to accept such a role, even if the protagonist doesn’t appear to be much of a hero… (based on the synopsis LOL!)
Donston
Considering the synopsis and Darren’s filmography it’s not hard to tell it’s at least gonna be a bit of a downer and possibly awards bait. Could be good though.
Cam
You said “As for Frazier depicting a 600lb man, you’re even MORE of a clueless idiot if you think they’ll ask him to ACTUALLY GAIN 400lbs “…
Yeah, except nobody believed that. You may want to calm down.
jayceecook
I don’t remember ever hearing anything about him being anti LGBTQ. And I grew up with a crush on him so I kinda spent too much time obsessing over him like most teens. He’s been in multiple LGBTQ themed projects and this won’t be his first time playing a gay character. I’m not sure somebody who is anti LGBTQ would have that pattern but it’s 2021 so who knows.
I think what you might be referring to are the years of gay rumors that plagued him during his career. Rumors that were brought up again back in 2018 when he came forward saying he was allegedly sexually assulated by the guy who was the former president of the HFPA. Which effectively killed his career for a bit. Well that and the damage those stupid Mummy movies did to his body.
Personally I don’t think he is but if somebody has evidence otherwise then so be it. At this point very little surprises me.
Heywood Jablowme
“though, truthfully – at 50+ years old, and about 6’3 or so in height, he most likely weighs about 250 in real life today, plus or minus 20lbs for good measure”
Come on, most older guys are not built like Donald Trump… or Russell Crowe lol.
Openminded
Fraser looked good way back in the “George of the Jungle” days. He’s going to need to be in good shape to carry around the prosthesis that make him appear to be 600#. I’m sure they are going to be quite a load.
michael_totzke
I love Brendan Fraser. Glad he’s nabbed a good role.
Bubbleandsqueal
No CGI needed for Brendan, which keeps the low budget in check.
KyleMichelSullivan
I’m glad Brendan’s coming back to film. I know he hurt himself, physically, doing the Mummy movies and was in the process of healing. My mother worked on Monkey Bone, as an extra, and met him. She thought he was a very sweet young man.
Kangol2
Looks interesting though the bare storyline gives me pause. It feels a bit heteronormative so I hope a gay person has some input in the script, but this is the kind of story about gay people that Hollywood likes. Were this a 200-lb man in a loving relationship with his gay male partner/husband and tried to reconcile with an estranged 17-year-old, they’d be less interested in filming it. Aronofsky is a very talented director, though, so I’ll wait to see how it turns out.
jayceecook
Reading is fundamental dear. As is a quick Google search. The man writing the screenplay for the film is the playwright who wrote the original play it’s based on and he’s gay. Also he was overweight as a child. But he is cis and white so that is two strikes against him on the modern “authenticity scale” people like you require from fictional work.
Donston
I think the issue is that people are tired of seeing “queer trauma” exploited and tired of the “gay tragedies”. While the industry is still having a difficult time giving us decent, realistic same-sex couples. People are also tried of seeing leading characters whose “queerness” is their biggest character trait and pretty much the biggest aspect of drama in the story.
The source material may be good. The film could end up being excellent. But many want to see some evolution. And Hollywood is just not giving us that.
Kangol2
Thanks, Donston. That’s what I’m talking about. Jayceecook’s triggered snark, including the racial and gendered comment, speaks for themselves.
TimberWolf
Brendan Frasier is a fine talented actor with a large showcase of movies under his belt, Gods and Monsters, Twilight of the Golds, School Ties, Crash, Journey to the end of the Night, and of course the Mummy series, studios new Indian Jones, sad as he aged the roles became campier. No one can blame him for passing up on cheese roles for B or straight to video movies. When in doubt take a role as an attorney, This may be a break he needs to get more respectable roles that credit his talent, Although the plot of the story/ subject matter doesn’t interest, the Oscars may see it worthy. A good actor that needs a good role
nm4047
Given the photos that appear (including the likes of this site) of Fraser & his weight gain compared to his time as George of the Jungle physique, I’m guessing there won’t be need of much padding.
Terrycloth
Seriously ? Could we ? I’d love to post without it always becoming a Cam & Roy show…sigh..drama