Chris Evans should be doing a victory lap right about now. He worked it hard at TIFF to promote his debut directorial effort, Before We Go. I keep forgetting to mention that this romcom was once titled 1:30 Train, which sounded like a horror movie. Kudos to the person who decided that was a terrible title.
Chris spent a few days at TIFF and gave a million interviews. He stopped twitching and talked the talk. He was charming and gracious and very proud of his work. Chris has had some great media training. You don’t admit to being so romantic that you develop swampy pits for no reason. Chris was selling a romantic movie. This “new” Chris is believable because he IS a sappy dude. He once admitted to liking women who cry over babies and puppies.
The plan worked. Chris sold his movie’s US rights, and Before You Go will be in theaters next spring. Deadline reports that RADiUS has forked over a seven-figure sum. Modest but still an accomplishment. RADiUS says, “Directed with a deft hand, both [Evans] and Alice [Eve] have tremendous chemistry with each delivering an assured subtlety and highly seductive performance.” Chris responded, “[M]y film couldn’t be in better hands.” Nice closing of the deal. Did you ever expect Chris Evans to make waves as a director? I did not.
People will watch this movie just like they watched Snowpiercer (also a RADiUS title). Chris Evans is steadily proving that he’s not merely a hired gun. Oh, and Ryan Gosling may be pouting in a corner right about now. Hands off the shield, buddy.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & Getty
I am so proud of my super secret husband.
Hurrah! If I sat through What’s Your Number, I can sit through this!
Although I tend to be inclined against the movies in which he keeps his shirt on. Thankfully, those are the exception rather than the rule.
There should be a federal statute that he must take his clothes off in every film. For national morale purposes. I’ll call his uncle’s congressional office about that this morning. Not that we would objectify him or anything.
He’s a director now. Of course we respect him for his brain. It has nothing to do with those beautiful, spray-on t-shirts he loves to wear (although god bless him for it).
Or the spray-on sweaters for when the weather turns chilly, as it is supposed to do here tonight. Of course, we’re always happy to help him change – our patriotic duty to Captain America and all that.
Oh, those spray-on sweaters are glorious. Your description is so apt!
Go Cap!
I think he generally makes bad movies better, or at least tolerable – What’s My Number, the A-Team rip-off with Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the movie in Hong Kong with Dakota Fanning. See, those movies were so iffy I can’t even remember their titles (or be bothered to look them up) – but I do remember Chris in them.
You were the second one to comment?! He is you crash ( not crush)
What? Only a handful of comments down here? Where’s the love for your Cap? He sold his first movie (and Aniston did not, muhahaha), that’s a reason to celebrate! Yay *dances around the computer*
I must say, he’s not my type, I would not hit that, but he always hits the “awww-cute-lost-puppy spot” in my heart. All the best for him, I will watch that shit although I truly hate romcoms.
Where I am near Boston, it’s 8:30 am. For a Friday, that’s early. Give it a few hours and this will get full. 😉
Ssshh! The fewer here, the more of him for us to share.
Stop hogging Lilacflowers!!!
DianaB, I am quite willing to share. I believe it is your turn after T.Fanty is finished with him.
@Spikey, and that has to be killing her.
If he got media training, it was to rein in the worst parts of his anxiety and make him seem more comfortable. I think there is a bit of spin going on, but not a whole lot. This isn’t like Reese Witherspoon or Robin Thicker or Goopy, where they are trying to use PR to craft brand new images to be tightly controlled. Besides, Evans is enough of a talker that he wouldn’t be able to keep a fake image under control anyway.
Congrats, Cap! This is how career longevity is done.
Well good luck to him.
So happy for him!
I think some people did not take him seriously when he first wanted to direct. But he was smart about it. He didn’t try for some artsy bullshit, but instead did something close to his heart, got whatever media training he needed, and rocked it.
This is how to go after your dreams.
Smart and hot – I’m going to go brush my teeth – it may take a while.
I will definitely see this movie. I love me some Cap. I actually think he is underrated as an actor. He blew me away in Snowpiercer. Really good work!
It doesn’t hurt that he is so effing hot. Like, ridiculously, hurts my brain (and subsequently my vagina) hot.
I’m impressed with this, and I think it shines a light on a side of him I hadn’t seen before. I’d always thought he was reasonably smart, but his ping pong stance on whether he was retiring from acting and his tendency to speak a little too freely in interviews made me suspect he was on the flaky side. But I don’t think you can pull this off if you’re flaky, and it also seems like he made some really good choices. Instead of trying to make the movie he’s been making in his head since he was 10, he picked material he liked and could handle, and used the opportunity to cast himself in the sort of role we’re not used to seeing him in.
RADIUS? So Video on Demand then. Maybe a couple of theatres in NY/LA. It’s nice but really not that big a deal.
It does make me laugh that even with this minor success he’s still ahead of Gosling as a director.
I’m so happy for him! Looking forward to seeing the movie.
I hope it’s good and leads to more such projects for him. He is seriously coming into his own now.
yay. i’m happy for him.