Ocean’s Eight, the all-female reimagining/sequel to the Ocean’s Eleven franchise, was filmed earlier this year in New York. It will be released next summer in June, after what I’m hoping will be a big, splashy Cannes Film Festival premiere (come on, make it happen!). The cast for Ocean’s Eight is lit: Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling and… Rihanna. Rihanna has obviously taken some acting gigs here and there over the years, and I was so pleased that she was cast in this ensemble. But sources tell Star Magazine that Rihanna’s scenes might be heavily edited so she’s barely even in the film. That is NOT how you treat Rihanna.
Editors working on Ocean’s Eight were having some wild thoughts about Rihanna’s performance. “They cut her out,” claims an insider close to the film. “They didn’t just reshoot the scenes differently with her still in them, they removed her entirely.”
While the insider adds that Ri still appears in some of the film, she’s in for a rude awakening when the movie premieres.
“She’s the least experiences cast member and I guess that must have shown,” reasons the source. “I’m sure she’ll still be amazing in the final cut, but there just might be less screen time than she was expecting.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
I’ve never had a moment where I’m watching Rihanna do something and I’m like “wow, she is a really terrible actress.” I’ve had those moments with Beyonce (lord help me), Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears and, of course, Madonna. That entire list is full of women who should never try to “act.” But Rihanna? Rihanna brings a sense of realism and cinema verite to everything, like she’s never really “pretending.” What I’m saying is that I don’t really buy that Rihanna is a charisma vacuum on screen in Ocean’s Eight. And I will be sorely disappointed if her part is basically cut down to an extended cameo.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
