Well, that was shortlived, The Hangover 2 director Todd Phillips has just issued a statement regarding this week’s earlier news that Mel Gibson would have a cameo appearance in the upcoming sequel as a tattoo artist in Thailand:
“I thought Mel would have been great in the movie and I had the full backing of Jeff Robinov and his team. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew.”
If you’re wondering just who in the cast and crew wasn’t particularly happy about the situation, current signs point to Zach Galifianakis as the current vocal party as Vulture noticed a comment Galifianakis made on the iTunes Comedy Death Ray podcast:
“But a movie you’re acting in, you don’t have a lot of control — you just show up and vomit your lines out. I’m not the boss. I’m in a deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something. But I can’t get the guys to [listen] … I’m not making any leeway.” Galifianakis cut Aukerman off with an abrupt warning sound as the host began to mention the film’s title, but after Aukerman pressed, “I know you’re filming The Hhhhhhhh…” Galifianakis admitted, “It has something to do with a movie I’m working on, yeah. I’ll tell you about it later. It’s very frustrating.”
I have a hard time believing Galifianakis was the only one with a problem and it would be nice, with this comment out there, if the entire team would stand in solidarity so it didn’t look like he was the only one as this is surely something he will now be asked about at ever opportunity. Then again, I have a hard time believing it’s something he will be all that embarrassed to discuss.
As for how the role will be re-cast, that information isn’t out there yet and hopefully it will be kept quiet just as the Mike Tyson cameo in the first film was. The Hangover 2 will again star Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms and is currently set for a May 26, 2011 release. Details on the story say the film will center on what happens after a hard night of partying in Bangkok and Stu (Helms) ends up sleeping with a transvestite. Just as in the first film, the guys spend the next day trying to figure out what happened the night before.
