Summary
- Mark Wahlberg missed out on the opportunity to obtain producer rights for Fifty Shades of Grey and was furious about it, even considering firing his entire team.
- Despite the film's success at the box office, director Sam Taylor-Johnson expressed regret over creating the film and chose not to be involved in the sequel.
- Wahlberg also has regrets about certain roles he has taken on in his career, including his role in Boogie Nights, especially since becoming a father.
Mark Wahlberg is a major box office star. In fact, he has several films that were able to generate over $100 million at the box office. However, these days it seems like his priorities are elsewhere, with a lot of fans wondering what happened to his acting career?
In the following, we're going to take a closer look at a certain role Wahlberg wasn't able to obtain. In truth, he had interest behind the scenes as opposed to on-camera, wanting producer rights for the film. It wasn't meant to be, and Mark was furious about the way negotiations went down.
We'll reveal why he almost fired his entire team, and how the film in question performed at the box office. In addition, we're going to reveal other mistakes made by Wahlberg throughout his career, including roles he regretted taking on.
Fifty Shades Of Grey Dominated At The Box Office, But Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Regrets Creating It
The film in question is none other than Fifty Shades of Grey, distributed by Universal Pictures. Let's be honest here, the reviews weren't kind to the film, with Rotten Tomatoes issuing a 25% approval rating. Nonetheless, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson celebrated the film's success given its insane box office numbers. For the first film alone, the novel turned film was able to generate $569 million. Despite the film's obvious success, director Sam Taylor-Johnson felt regret over the film, and backed out when it came time for the sequel.
She explains alongside Indie Wire, “With the benefit of hindsight would I go through it again? Of course I wouldn’t.”
“I’d be mad [to do it again],” she continues. “It was a struggle and there were lots of onset tête-à-têtes, with me trying to bat it into the [right] place. I like everyone — and I get really confused when they don’t like me. I was so confused by E.L. James. I don’t understand when I can’t navigate a person, when there’s no synergy.”
In truth, the film could've looked different on several instances, both in terms of the casting and those involved behind the scenes. As it turns out, Mark Wahlberg had major interest in the film, and he almost fired his entire team when he came up short for producer rights.
Mark Wahlberg Was Desperate For The Rights Of Fifty Shades As A Producer But Was Outbid
Mark Wahlberg missed out, and rejected several roles throughout his career. However, his interest in this particular role was due his projections of its potential. Mark wasn't interested in taking on a role on-screen. Instead, he wanted to obtain producer rights given the potential with the script.
Ultimately, Wahlberg was outbid and he was furious about it all. The actor admits that for the first time in his career, he actually contemplated firing his entire team because of it.
"I almost fired my agent Ari [Emanuel] over [Fifty Shades]—not because I wanted to play the part. We were aware of the book from very early on, and we were close to securing the rights, and then we get into this bidding war," he said.
"We were so close to having [it]. That was one of the few times I was going to fire Ari," he revealed alongside Hollywood Reporter's Producers Roundtable.
It was a tough reality for Wahlberg, especially given the success of the film in the years that followed, becoming a massive franchise. Nonetheless, Mark had a few other notable regrets throughout his career, including roles that he doesn't look back on fondly.
Mark Wahlberg Has Other Career Regrets Including Boogie Nights
In a perfect world Wahlberg would have traded his role in Boogie Nights for producer rights in Fifty Shades, but this world ain't perfect... The film was able to generate $43 million at the box office worldwide, a decent number given the small budget.
Nonetheless, Wahlberg has regrets looking back on the role, especially since he became a father.
“I just always hope that God is a movie fan and also forgiving, because I’ve made some poor choices in my past. ‘Boogie Nights’ is up there at the top of the list.”
“I don’t want to compromise my artistic integrity or choices based on my faith or my family, but I also have other things to consider, and being a little bit older and a little wiser, the idea of having to explain that movie and the reason behind it to my kids is another issue,” Wahlberg revealed.
Nowadays, Wahlberg's roles in Hollywood seem to be decreasing, and this might be due to the actor wanting to shift things into a different direction. It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for the popular star.
