Fool's Gold (2008 film)
Fool's Gold | |
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Directed by | Andy Tennant |
Written by |
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Produced by | Donald De Line Bernie Goldmann Jon Klane |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Don Burgess |
Edited by |
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Music by | George Fenton |
Production company | De Line Pictures[1] |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 113 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $70 million |
Box office | $111.2 million[2] |
Fool's Gold is a 2008 American
Plot
Ben "Finn" Finnegan is a treasure hunter searching for the sunken Spanish galleon, the Aurelia, that was lost at sea with the 1715 Treasure Fleet, known as the Queen's Dowry. He finds a fragment of dishware produced as part of the treasure. Finn appeals to his creditor Bigg Bunny for help finding the Queen's Dowry, but Bigg wants the treasure for himself and takes the fragment.
Finn's ex-wife Tess is working as a steward on a yacht owned by multi-millionaire Nigel Honeycutt. Finn dramatically saves a flyaway hat belonging to Nigel's daughter Gemma. Finn is taken aboard the yacht and reunites with Tess. They tell Nigel and Gemma about the fabled Queen's Dowry, and persuade them to fund the search. Tess and Finn find and follow clues to an ancient church and discover a diary describing the treasure's location. They celebrate by having passionate sex. Unfortunately, Bigg has been following them; he takes Tess hostage and forces her find the treasure in a blowhole.
Finn enlists his former mentor Moe Fitch to help. They rescue Tess but Bigg kidnaps her again onto his plane. Gemma gets Finn to the plane on her
Cast
- Matthew McConaughey as Finn
- Kate Hudson as Tess
- Donald Sutherland as Nigel Honeycutt
- Alexis Dziena as Gemma Honeycutt
- Ray Winstone as Moe Fitch
- Kevin Hart as Bigg Bunny
- Ewen Bremner as Alfonz
- Brian Hooks as Curtis
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Cordell
- Michael Mulheren as Eddie
- Adam LeFevre as Gary
- Rohan Nichol as Stefan
- David Roberts as Cyrus
- Roger Sciberras as Andras
- Dan Mewing as Pilot
Production
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2015) |
Inside scenes were shot on a sound stage at the Warner Bros studio facility and the actors and crew stayed in luxury homes and apartments on the Gold Coast.[citation needed] McConaughey mentioned having a python in the backyard of his house in Port Douglas. McConaughey said, "There were other days like the day we went out diving and swam with a dugong, which was very cool."[citation needed]
Two crew members were stung by Irukandji jellyfish during filming, so some of the water scenes were shot in the Caribbean because the actors were so frightened.[4]
At the time of filming, The Precious Gem luxury motor yacht in the film was called the Keri Lee and has subsequently been renamed "Penny Mae". It was designed by yacht architect Ward Setzer of Setzer Design Group and originally named Status Quo.
2011 lawsuit
Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc., was sued in 2011 by Canadian novelist Lou Boudreau, in Canadian court, alleging copyright infringement by Tennant and two other men over the authorship of the script.[5] Warner Brothers did not comment on the matter.[5]
Reception
Box office
Fool's Gold was released on February 8, 2008, in the North America and grossed $21.5 million in 3,125 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office.[6] The film grossed over $110.5 million worldwide — $70.2 million in the North America and $40.3 million in other territories.[2]
Critical response
On the
Several critics compared the film unfavorably to
Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat gave the film one and a half stars and said "the resolution is never in doubt, the villains are comedic rather than menacing, and no one involved seems to care one way or the other that their names are attached to this indifferent mess." Vonder Haar said McConaughey plays Finn "as Sahara's Dirk Pitt minus the SEAL training and a few million brain cells." and asked "Does McConaughey have some codicil in his contract stipulating he must spend at least 51% of a movie shirtless?"[17] Sid Smith of the Chicago Tribune gave it two stars out of four and said the characters "are comic book clichés". Smith said "the outcome is predictable" and "The wasted talents include Sutherland, affecting a hokey British accent, and hatchet-faced Ewen Bremner."[13] Brian Lowry of Variety said, "The lure of Matthew McConaughey shirtless for extended stretches doubtless has some marketing value, but after that, Fool's Gold offers small compensation." Lowry wrote "At times the pic feels like a comedic version of The Deep, only without the comedy." Lowry said the tropic scenery was well-shot but said "there's not much chemistry" between McConaughey and Hudson.[16]
Carina Chocano of the
The film earned a
Home media
Fool's Gold was released on
References
- ^ "Fool's Gold (2008)". The Numbers. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Fool's Gold (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "FOOL'S GOLD - Movie Production Notes...CinemaReview.com". Cinemareview.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ Fairfax New Zealand. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ a b "N.S. writer sues Warner Bros. over Fool's Gold". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 6, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ^ "Fool's Gold (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
- ^ "Fool's Gold". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
- ^ "Fool's Gold Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
- ^ a b Peter Travers (2008-02-07). "Fool's Gold". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b c Wesley Morris (2008-02-08). "A pair of fools, little to treasure". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b Carrie Rickey (2008-02-08). "Glitter, yes; but golden, no". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b c Sid Smith (2008-02-06). "Recalling older, funnier romantic comedies". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b Carina Chocano (2008-02-08). "'Fool's Gold'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b "Fool's Gold". Empire. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ a b c Brian Lowry (2008-02-03). "Fool's Gold Review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ Pete Vonder Haar (2008-02-09). "FOOL'S GOLD". Film Threat. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ Nathan Rabin (2008-02-07). "Fool's Gold". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Razzies® 2008 Nominees for Worst Actress". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ "Fool's Gold (2008) - Financial Information". The-numbers.com. Retrieved 2015-10-08.