There’s an interesting L.A. Magazine piece titled “Will Hollywood Welcome Kevin Spacey Back Following ‘Not Guilty’ Verdict?”
Writer Jeff Sneider asked some industry hotshots if they’d ever hire Kevin Spacey again after he was found “not guilty” yesterday in a London court. The answers are predictable, with one “major studio exec” being quoted as saying “Hell No!”
That seemed to be the widespread sentiment among the industry folks who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A longtime talent manager adds that Spacey will probably find more work overseas than in his home country, unless he wants to continue starring in micro-budget indies such as “Peter Five Eight.”
I called this yesterday. Most people did. These days, once accused in Hollywood, it’s very hard to escape that shadow, even if the accusations against you turn out to be false.
“All of these legal wins are great for Spacey, but it doesn’t escape the fact that his name has been absolutely tarnished by the media over the last six years. These days, you can be found innocent, multiple times, in the court of law, but public perception can still permanently destroy your career.”
As Sneider mentions in his piece, it’ll take a major societal shift before Spacey’s given a second chance in Hollywood, where stories about the actor’s behavior have run rampant for years.
If you had millions of dollars on the line, would you risk your investment by casting Spacey, who may be a great actor, but still comes with a tremendous amount of baggage regardless of today’s verdict? There’s your answer right there.
If you ask me, it’s a real shame because Spacey was one of the great living actors before he got embroiled in these controversies, his career highlights included marquee roles in “American Beauty”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Se7en”, “Glengary Glen Ross”, “L.A. Confidential” and “The Negotiator”.
With the aforementioned “Peter Five Eight,” Spacey has two other projects coming up. He lent his voice as a carjacker for B-movie “Control” and plays Gore Vidal in a film called “Gore,” which wrapped production in 2017 and was shelved by Netflix.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.