Intellectual Defenestration

The League of Extraordinarily Bad Career Moves

Sunday I watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The movie has a fantastic premise: take a group of Victorian era fictional characters and create a sort of "meta-fiction." While it was still a fun action movie and good for simple escapism, it fell far short of the what it could have been. As Roger Ebert said, "the movie plays like a big wind came along and blew away the script and they ran down the street after it and grabbed a few pages and shot those."

One intriguing thing I learned while watching some of the DVD extra features was why Sean Connery chose to act in the movie. Apparently, he felt that he needed to do an "effects movie," as he called it, particularly since he had turned down both The Matrix and Lord of the Rings. Seems he "couldn't understand them." When he saw that they were both huge successes, he figured that he needed to do a similar movie. When presented with the script to The League, he couldn't understand that, either, but figured it was an "effects movie," so he should do it so he could get in on some of the Matrix and LOTR action.

That has to be the worst set of career moves I have ever heard of in my life. Connery's career would have taken a huge (and much-needed) boost from either The Matrix or LOTR . To turn them both down boggles the mind.

I almost feel pity for Connery for that lack of foresight. On the other hand, he probably makes more in a year for the simple act of being Sean Connery than I ever will in my life. Pity only goes so far...