Aargh! Rush as Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's film genres, but he's still waiting for a mention on The Simpsons, writes Jim Schembri.
THERE was a time once - long, long ago - when Geoffrey Rush acclaimed stage actor, the respected film star, the Oscar winner.
established for decades on stage. This is what you used to think.
But times change and so does Geoffrey Rush.
All that stuff about acclaim and respect and so forth still holds true, sure. Today, however, Geoffrey Rush has become something far more important than any of that. Today, Geoffrey Rush is what every 21-year-old, Today, at 56, Geoffrey Rush is a multibillion-dollar franchise responsible for them.
In this modest regard, Rush is entitled to "I don't know my figure," he says as he settles back in the couch, not looking at all like a pirate, "but I will point out that with a teaser asking, 'Who are Australia's top box-office stars? to page 27.'
you could then say, 'I'm worth this amount of money at the box office.
'"
One of the annoying things about Geoffrey Rush, however, is his steadfast refusal to buy into any of this. In fact, here's what he immediately follows up with.
"I remember the duds.
I know that in America Quills, despite its actor) made $7 million. That's like an eye-dropper in Hollywood terms."
World's End, in which he stars as Barbossa, a pirate who goes "aargh!
"
Pearl, where Geoffrey Rush first went "aargh!"
So let's hear that sales pitch.
"It's a drama of betrayal," says Rush.
"Like the first two films plot-driven. Independent of some of the required special effects that are part and parcel of the genre, and unlike most of the franchise blockbusters that are out there, it's dramatic and it's funny. Not many of them get the funny part in there comfortably.
"
Rush is in a tough spot, though. He hasn't seen the thing. Nobody has.
"It's kind of interesting because it's the first time I've been on a press tour where no one has seen the film. That makes for a slightly different interview."
But the pitch must go on.
So let's dance.
world, yet some film critics found them long, tedious, boring and empty, especially the second one in which audiences had to watch a orifice.
"Yours is one of the few reviews that I can quote, you'll be flattered to know.
'Visually ugly franchise crud.' And I was with their feet. Pirates II and III were always conceived as one big narrative with a cliffhanger interval, so worked.
"
Hot on his bout of critic bashing, Rush adds this gem.
you as my fingers wrapped around that Emmy!"
discussion about modern movie going.
It's genuinely impressive how technology, the culture of gaming and why on earth inordinately audiences.
form for the target audience of 15-year-old boys is fading away," he says. "I drop into the chatrooms and it's like they're doing a "They've already picked up on some red herrings that are in II, That's how deep their level of interest is.
And gamers are happy to sit for eight hours in front of the Xbox, so 2 hours is a doddle, it's a breeze to them."
Rush enjoys musing about the future of film. The period when cinema went from silent to sound fascinates him, and it's in those terms that he looks at the shape of things to come.
"There's going to be a splicing in the form. It's like trying to pictures. I think the gamers of the world, who are such a big market now, are going to (see cinema) evolve into a form where it'll be like an adjunct to something else, or interactive in some way.
"Remember the computer game Pong, which we all thought was really soulless? Look where games have got to in 30-odd years. If you look now at what Xbox 360 can do, the graphics are extraordinary.
I was watching my son and I said, 'Are you watching the footy?' He said, 'No, this is Xbox,' because he had it plugged into the plasma. The shadows on the ground, the active voice commentary that keeps up with your specific game, are amazing.
bar. They don't want to be seen to be doing only Gollum-standard creatures, they want to go further, and that's huge."
Rush knows it.
"It's 10 years ago and it's lost its newsworthiness, so it's hard to rehash or microwave up the old sentiments."
Today, however, he has a new similarly-sized figurine in his life multibillion-dollar blockbuster franchise mega-movie star.
career when somebody says, 'Hey, you're a doll!
' and they suddenly realise they're in a cellophane-sealed box as an action figure.
opened in America saying, 'You're a clue in The New York Times crossword!' and I said, 'Nice.
' All I want now is the stamp and for an airport to be named after me."
What? No reference on
The Simpsons?
Did we miss that? "No. I don't think there has been, sadly.
That would be fun."
his life where he would do his best work. Testament to this still Sydney.
may or may not have achieved but I certainly know, in terms of whatever rules I use to gauge my career management, that this is a bumper year for me. It's been really great.
weeks.
'
with Cate Blanchett) coming out towards the end of the year, I'm absurdist play. It's a good balance for me."
some, Rush agrees that is actually the essence of how he likes to work.
"My LA agent expressed it best. When I told him I was going to do the play for six months in Australia he went, 'Wow! That's a long time to not be working,' and I said, 'Fred, I'll be working doing a play.
' He then said, 'I totally understand. Every actor now and then has to sharpen the knife.' I went, 'Gee, can I use that in interviews?
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