(AP) Hollywood -- May 15, 2004
Warner Brothers continues its ongoing homage to Golden Era Hollywood and to the stable of stars which made that studio one of the most famous in cinema history. Fo’c’sle Jack Tanner, the Pirate Pom, plays Humphrey Bogart in a new Warner’s biopic of the screen legend.
Normally cast in pretty-boy roles a’ la’ Brad Pitt and George Clooney, Fo’c’sle Jack described himself as “totally ready for the challenge” of playing the brooding film noir star. “I want a diverse filmography and onscreen presence,” said Jack. “It’s too easy for an actor to paint himself into a corner playing only action heroes." Asserting his admiration for character actors Guy Pearce and Daniel Day-Lewis, Tanner obviously practices what he preaches. Warner’s has agreed to delay production of Dark at the End of the Tunnel, the Bogart working title, until the Pirate Pom wraps the title role in Fox’s Master and Commander: Sloth at the Mizzen, the 18th-century sequel to the Russell Crowe / Patrick O’Brian Far Side of the World, to release in June 2003. Sloth, already predicted for an unprecedented number of Oscar bids (over the Crowe prequel), will release in December of this year.
As to the thin squeak of some backers’ and critics’ complaints that Humphrey Bogart was a man and Fo’c’sle Jack is, well, a dog, Production Feasibility Analyst Stu Upjohn commented: “What can we say? The public seems to buy whatever the Pirate Pom is selling. He’s got a helluva range. I’m confident he could do any role, remake any picture, and that picture would make history—and make profit. Sloth. Troubled Hollywood Legend. Seems to make no difference to the Pom or to the box office. Here. Throw this. He likes to play fetch.”
Producers were satisfied with the close resemblance between Bogart and Fo’c’sle Jack when the Pirate Pom took a February screen test.