Harvey Weinstein Makes His Tirade-Free Viral Comedy Debut
Paul Rudd gets most of the dialogue, but the producer's slow burn is what registers
.Stories about producer Harvey Weinstein's volcanic temper and penchant for colorful, highly creative obscenity are part of Hollywood lore, to the point that a blustery, Weinstein-esque executive is rapidly becoming a stock character for movies about movies. (See: Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder and about a half-dozen bit characters on Entourage.)
Playing himself in a new Web video for Funny or Die, Weinstein manages to keep things civil--G-rated even--when Paul Rudd (who in real-life recently wrapped the Weinstein-produced Our Idiot Brother) shows up at his office with a series of dubious movie pitches and marketing campaigns. ("Why don't we advertise in pizzerias?" he suggests brightly.) Then he licks a picture of Mick Jagger. The video isn't the freshest bit of self-parody, and Rudd probably has 90 percent of the dialogue, but it's still satisfying, thanks to Weinstein's pitch-perfect slow burn.