After watching one would-be blockbuster taken down by a parade of bad buzz, you may be tempted to think back 20 years to Waterworld, Kevin Costner’s dystopian aquatic epic that floundered amid reports of a disastrous shoot. Blogger Jeffrey Wells — a former EW reporter who covered the movie — was, and to atone for his small part in sinking the film, he texted Costner to apologize, saying that the finished product was better than the headlines made it out to be. No need for pity, replied Costner: “I’m not sure you know how beloved the movie is around the world.†(That’s the world that’s only 71 percent water, not the one that’s 100 percent water.) He continued: “I know that people might think of Waterworld as a low point for me. It wasn’t. It could have had a better, more obvious outcome. The thing I know is that I never had to stand taller on a movie when most were going the other way. The movie with all its imperfections was a joy for me.â€
Costner also said (he’s a movie star, he’s got unlimited texts) that, unless you know how much work goes into making a film, you should refrain from taking potshots from the sidelines. As he told Wells, â€Being hard [on a film] is really easy if you don’t know the underbelly of what [went into it].†That’s true! By the way, does anyone know Josh Trank’s cell?