Ed Norton is Hulking Mad

Posted on April 10, 2008

The New York Times reports that Ed Norton is refusing to do publicity for the upcoming Hulk film unless he is totally happy with the final product. Ed helped rewrite the script for the film (he's also starring in it) and is very picky when it comes to dialogue and the editing of same. Apparently, there's a big fight brewing over the final edit.

Mr. Norton and Marvel, which has the right of final approval on the film, have sparred in recent weeks over trims, among other issues, said studio executives involved, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Norton -- who was hired to rewrite the script along with playing the lead -- has made it clear he won't cooperate with publicity plans if he's not happy with the final product, these people said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Norton said he had no comment. Mr. Maisel brushed off the friction as par for the course. "When you get to this point in the process, there are always lots of passionate discussions," he said. "Edward is very passionate. He is as passionate about the Hulk as we are." (For those unaccustomed to Hollywood speak, "very passionate" roughly translates to a seven on the "he’s a difficult person" scale.)
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Even Stan Lee, a creator of the Hulk and Iron Man characters, seems underenthused about the prospects of his green baby. "My prediction is that it will be more popular than the last one," he said. His Iron Man prediction? "Enormous hit," he said.

Studio execs are nervous about this one. How many Hulk movies have to be made before someone says "Enough!"? Ed Norton is very good at what he does and if he doesn't do publicity for the movie that's the same as him taking out full page ad in Variety saying "This movie is terrible, don't go see it."