Dustin Hoffman runs scared of film openings, reviews

15/11/2007 08:31

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK (Reuters) - During nearly half a century in the movie business, Dustin Hoffman has never been optimistic about the success of a movie and he is glad he will be in Britain when his latest film opens on Friday.

Two-time Oscar winner Hoffman, 70, will escape the "angst" that comes with the opening of children’s movie "Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium" by being in Britain filming "Last Chance Hervey" with Emma Thompson.

"I have never felt confident about any film I was making," he told Reuters in an interview. "I always feel I run scared in a sense, as I think all people that make movies should, because by definition it’s not going work.

"That’s what the odds tell you. There’s 500 films, or whatever it is, released every year. How many of them work on the level that you want them to work?" he said. "It’s very hard to make a good movie. You need a bit of serendipity I think."

Judging by some of the early reviews of "Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium," London might be a good place for Hoffman to be. The New York Post slammed the movie as "an assault on artificial sweetness" and described Hoffman’s role as a "real punch in the guts."

"Dustin Hoffman? One of the great actors of his time?" the review asked. .....continued below

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"The star of classics like ’Marathon Man,’ ’Midnight Cowboy’ and ’All the President’s Men’ has been reduced to hawking magical, belching kiddie toys?"

"STAY OF EXECUTION"

Hoffman, who plays 243-year-old Mr. Magorium, the owner of a magical toy store, said he was flattered that critics felt everything else he had done in his career was a "step up."

"I have done some step-downs, I won’t mention them, but I didn’t feel that this fell into that category," he said. "I wonder if those people would feel it was a step down to do a film that is a step down but that grosses $300 million (146 million pounds)."

Variety said the film, written and directed by Zach Helm, "sprinkles in charming moments but ultimately doesn’t evoke enough wonderment to overcome its tongue-twisting title and completely win over adults along with kids."

Hoffman said he was attracted to the Mr. Magorium role by the well written script and something he had never tried. While it was fun, he said the role was not as much fun as playing an embarrassing parent in 2004’s "Meet the Fockers."

"I enjoyed this but I didn’t have as much fun in this as I had in ’Fockers’ because in ’Fockers’ I was just able to cut loose," he said. "In ’Fockers’ I came home and my kids ... said, ’You finally played yourself.’ That’s what I do at home, I’m kind of crazy."

(Additional reporting by Sharon Reich; Editing by Arthur Spiegelman and Bill Trott)

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