Don’t Be Fooled, Hancock is Going to Be Dark

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 6, 2008

Will Smith in Hancock

Judging from the trailers, most of us have chalked Will Smith’s upcoming Hancock as another comedy or just some superhero spoof played for laughs with the requisite number of “Hell Nawwws.” But a new article that talks with producers and director Peter Berg reveals that the film has a side that the studios are afraid. Apparently, Hancock isn’t all chuckles and has a serious darker side to him that Sony has decided not to market as aggressively, or at all.

Director Berg casually brings up how up until recently, a statutory rape scene was in the flick, but implies it has since been cut to assure a PG-13 rating. That’s right, Hancock was viewed to be an R-Rated film by the MPAA. Twice. Also gone is a scene where Hancock gets drunk with a 12 year old, though apparently a 17 year old swilling bourbon with the alcoholic hero, who flies drunk, is ok.

The original script, Berg said, from writer Vincent Ngo was surprisingly dark, sexual, and violent – traits which the current cut of Hancock has managed to retain in as many ways as possible. Ngo’s script first appeared on Hollywood radar a decade ago, titled Tonight, He Comes. The flick apparently delves into the curious world of superhero-human relations in ah, uh, sexual, situation, and why that may, or may not, be possible. Healthy. Or safe.

To me, this is great news. I can understand why the studios would be reluctant to advertise the darker side, as most people see Will Smith tossing a whale around and they think comedy. I’ll be honest, watching the second trailer, I was won over and figured this would at least be interesting. I had assumed our rough around the edges hero would clean up his act rather quickly and then it would be a quirky comedy. But the news of darker goings on, alcohol fueled drama, violence, and sex, well hell, that pushes all my buttons. This is very intriguing and should serve to attract even more viewers to the project. I’ll take a ticket to this, no doubt. Let’s also not forget Peter Berg is an awesome director (The Kingdom).

Source: The New York Times

Sound Off: Does a more intense and darker Hancock interest you more than a Will Smith comedy vehicle?


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  • Jason Reneau
    After seeing Smith in I Am Legend I would love to see a darker Hancock, but I know Will Smith can do Comedy and Drama so a good mix of both may make this movie worth a look.
  • Jason V
    I would have preferred the R-rated and un-neutered version of the film, but I guess that would have been a detriment to the movie's box office returns. The film doesn't quite have quite a draw as sure fire money-makers like Iron Man, Indy 4, or Dark Knight, and I guess a PG-13 rating would help it's chances.

    I'm much more excited for Hancock now. I loves me some dark superhero drama, and I'm pleasantly surprised that Batman won't be the only moody superhero making an appearance this summer.
  • Marcus
    Damn, I would kill to get my hands on the R-Rated cut.
  • Iguess we will have to wait to see if a directors cut will go to dvd.
  • emilia
    cool pic !!
  • Aaron Hughes
    I believe that when a movie is made for a particular audience it should not be altered to suite some other groups of people just because it raises the Parental group rating up higher then the studios would like. It’s important to maintain every writer’s creative vision when a screen play makes its way to the silver screen. For one what made since on paper first, when you start cut pieces out of it, you end up with something totally different then what the writer had originally intended in expressing the story he’s trying to tell.

    I think the best way to do this, and again it would even drive up movie ticket sales, would be to introduce the movie in two different formats for the public eye, one in the PG-13, and the other in the “R” rated version. Both of which would bring in double digits at the box office I’m sure. Making sure that the viewers of the “R” rated version are 18 of age or older, this is paramount, it would be bad press if someone caught a young child viewing the “R” rated version in some theater in the US some where.

    I feel this also is a great marketing ploy for the two distinct generations of view.

    Aaron D. Hughes
    San Lorenzo, CA
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