Jack Black Says 'The Big Year' With Steve Martin & Owen Wilson Was A "Career Nadir"

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by Kevin Jagernauth
June 4, 2012 5:06 PM
4 Comments

Jack Black, for the all the success he's had in films like "The School Of Rock" or the "Kung Fu Panda" movies, is no stranger to flops. "Year One" anybody? How about "Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny"? But it seems one much more recent movie is an effort that the actor views as one of the lowest points of his career on stage or in front of the camera.

Teaming with his Tenacious D buddy Kyle Gass to speak with Canada's Exclaim for their monthly questionnaire, Black was candid when he was asked about his career low point. "God, there's been a few lately. What's the lowest of the low? I guess my career nadir was probably that bird watching movie ['The Big Year'] that came out a couple months ago," he said. "I know it was good but, career-wise, when no one goes to see a movie that you're in with Steve Martin and Owen Wilson, that's when you gotta feel pretty bad."

It's a nice show of honesty from the actor, but a combination of shifting release dates, a virtually non-existent campaign by Fox and scathing reviews (it has a tepid 40% on Rotten Tomatoes) for the David Frankel film probably didn't help. That it only pulled in $7.4 million worldwide (oof) isn't a shock. But it's onward and upward for Black.

He's currently killing it in Richard Linklater's "Bernie," which is rolling out across the country. It's a pretty restrained and very different performance than what we're used to seeing from the actor, and yet you can't really picture anyone else in the role. Keep an eye out for "Bernie" when it comes to your town, because it's an unbelievably funny and astonishingly true story with some remarkable casting and shooting touches by Linklater. Definitely recommended.

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4 Comments

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Trish from Alaska | June 5, 2012 2:30 AMReply

I *loved* The Big Year, so sorry it didn't do well with critics, et al. I was incredibly relieved when it rose above the stupidity of so many humorous movies - the fact that these 3 guys could show their acting chops w/o slapstick or outsized goofball crudity made it such a pleasure to watch. And the main point of the movie resonated for me - in many ways I lost my "Big Year" for something better, at least for now.
jingmei | June 4, 2012 9:21 PMReply

Would like to see more of his dark dramas instead of comedies/slackers.
white | June 4, 2012 8:00 PMReply

WATS A NADIR?
jingmei | June 4, 2012 9:20 PM

You can read between the lines of this article for sure dude.