Hollywood: Armie Hammer
By Tony Rizzo
HOLLYWOOD -- The #MeToo movement is not a trial by judge or jury, but a condemnation in a court of public opinion. The subject of a #MeToo judgment could lose everything, even if they can prove their innocence, because the retraction never catches the front-page headline. Recent case in point is Armie Hammer who, despite such successes as "The Social Network" (2010) and "Call Me by Your Name" (2016), was accused of sexual abuse in an anonymous Instagram post. Even though it was never proven, he was dropped by his agency and cut from co-starring opposite Jennifer Lopez in "Shotgun Wedding" (replaced by Josh Duhamel). Hammer also lost "The Offer" (replaced by Miles Teller) and was dropped from the series "Gaslit" (replaced by Dan Stevens), the film "Billion Dollar Spy" and a Broadway play titled "The Minutes." His role in "Death on The Nile" -- completed before the pandemic shutdown -- was impossible to reshoot, but Taika Waititi replaced him with Will Arnett in "Next Goal Wins."
Needless to say, Hammer's marriage fell apart, and when his wife, Elizabeth Chambers, moved to the Cayman Islands with their two children, he soon followed. However, Armie received no assistance from his famous family (you know, Arm & Hammer), so in order to support his family, he took a job at a Cayman Island resort selling timeshares from a cubby-hole office. As of now, no papers have been filed against him in any court, and no settlements of any kind were made. So much for "innocent until proven guilty!"
Armie Hammer PHOTO CREDIT: Depositphotos
***
"The Fall Guy" was an ABC series from 1981-86 starring Lee Majors as Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman by day and a bounty hunter by night. In 1981, Milton Bradley created a "Fall Guy" board game. A comic strip based on the series appeared in a "Look-in" magazine, and a British video game was developed by Elite Systems in 1984. In 2013, Dwayne Johnson was in talks to star in a film, but it never happened. Now, "The Fall Guy" will be a $100-million film starring Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers. But here's the catch ... this American-made series-turned-film about a Hollywood stuntman is going to be shot in Australia! The government in New South Wales is providing $14.5 million, and the Australian Federal Government is ponying up $30 million.
Paul Fletcher, member of parliament, expects "The Fall Guy" will inject more than $244 million into the Aussie economy by employing 1,000 Australians who will make up the cast and crew, as well as over 3,000 locals as background extras. With those figures, "The Fall Guy" is a man for all seasons!
(c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.