It is clearly one of those mysteries of life. Kevin Hart cannot host the Oscar telecast
because he is a comedian who has said offensive things (somewhere in the deep,
dark past).
However, this “offensive” individual clearly has an
audience out there … they were willing to shell out $105.9 million (to date) to
watch him do his thing on the silver screen.
Yes, life is indeed full of mysteries.
Another mystery is the history of the production of
Kevin Hart’s latest box office hit, The
Upside. An
eight-year odyssey to the screen, multiple cast and directing changes — with Neil
Burger (Divergent, Limitless, The Illusionist) emerging
as the director and Bryan Cranston as Hart’s co-star — and add to all those
changes the whole Harvey Weinstein mess, which put the final production into
limbo for months.
Even after all of that, and even with the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences declaring Kevin Hart offensive, The
Upside was a box office hit for STX Films and
Lantern Entertainment.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, who will be
handling the domestic home entertainment packaged media rollout, announced this
past week that The Upside will
be heading home on May 21 as both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack selections. For the record, the ARR is a leisurely 130
days.
As to bonus features, there are deleted scenes
(maybe containing offensive Kevin Hart material that would have earned the film
a MPAA rating of R … or maybe not), a gag reel (possibly containing offensive
material from Kevin Hart, so Academy members be forewarned) and five
featurettes — “Onscreen Chemistry: Kevin and Bryan,” “Creating a Story of
Possibility,” “Bridging Divisions,” “Embracing Positivity” and “Presenting a
Different Side of Kevin Hart.”
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