At some point The Hangover is no longer going to be that movie that will be the summer’s breakout hit; expectations will have been raised so high that it will either fulfill them or disappoint. After a couple months of hearing how this thing is poised to go huge, the potential for the latter seems high. Or might, if the movie wasn’t actually really funny and bizarre. I had a great time with it, and think others will, too. OK, breakout it is.
I’m embarrassed to say that when I interviewed Bradley Cooper last week (that interview will run shortly) I totally forgot to ask him about that weird Variety report that claimed a sequel was already greenlit. So here comes the LA Times with the save. A piece on the film says that no such thing has happened — there’s been no green light, and no deals made with the cast. Not that a follow-up won’t happen, but it’s not set to go just yet.
And now with the unfortunate death of Mike Tyson’s daughter, the film faces an unforseen marketing challenge. Will the very Tyson-centric campaign turn off folks who’ve spent this week reading about his family tragedy? I kinda hate that I work in an industry where I even have to think about that sort of thing.