Renowned Hollywood legend James Woods serves as an executive producer on the highly acclaimed movie “Oppenheimer,” which is already being touted as a strong contender for the Best Picture Oscar.
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Woods played a pivotal role in bringing the movie to fruition (see below), and given that Hollywood attempted to cancel him after he openly embraced solid common-sense conservative values, this achievement may very well stand as his most significant triumph within the industry.
Woods’ devoted fans, who stood by him unwaveringly through every challenge, have been expressing their heartfelt congratulations to the Hollywood icon for standing strong against the pressure and prevailing over Hollywood in its own arena. In response, he sincerely expressed his appreciation with a tribute in kind to his fans.
“So many of you have been so supportive of my career, and I am truly humbled and honored. #Oppenheimer has been a high water mark, of course, thanks to the brilliant efforts of the great Christopher Nolan and everyone involved,” Woods wrote.
“Someone sent this meme that says it all,” he added.
So many of you have been so supportive of my career, and I am truly humbled and honored. #Oppenheimer has been a high water mark, of course, thanks to the brilliant efforts of the great Christopher Nolan and everyone involved. Someone sent this meme that says it all. pic.twitter.com/t2QS3L0Lqf
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 30, 2023
The story behind the movie is that James Woods’ old friend from MIT had been attempting to get the project off the ground for years, but faced numerous obstacles and made no progress. Upon reaching out to Woods, he wholeheartedly embraced the project and took it upon himself to drive it forward.
Though it posed considerable challenges, James persevered and successfully got the movie made. And it’s one of those rare blockbusters.
Woods said earlier: “Because I wholeheartedly support both my unions (SAG-AFTRA and WGA) while on strike, I am not allowed to do promotional work on productions in which I performed services as an actor or writer.
“I am extremely proud of this work as an executive producer, however. #Oppenheimer”
After the movie scored an “A” from CinemaScore, Woods said: “Our audiences are why we make movies. Thank you for your support. And thank you for supporting our striking actors and writers.”
“Around the world, we’ve seen sellouts at 4 a.m. shows and people traveling hours across borders to see ‘Oppenheimer’ in Imax 70mm,” said Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. “This is a phenomenon beyond compare in Imax and we’re just getting started.”
“This is a 1940s period piece,” added Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr. “That speaks volumes to the appeal of Nolan and his prowess as a filmmaker. He has an amazing reputation for storytelling in the biggest format possible.”
The LA Times explained:
Since 2015, the film rights had been under option by J. David Wargo, a successful New York businessman who studied physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was itching to get the book into production. Various scripts had been commissioned and rejected.
“Then, during the midst of the pandemic, Wargo got frustrated with the project and flew out to L.A. on a rented private plane and went to Hollywood,” Bird explained.
In L.A., Wargo met with the actor James Woods, an old friend, who set up a meeting with Charles Roven, one of Nolan’s longtime producers. Roven handed the book to the director. (Wargo and Woods are both executive producers on “Oppenheimer.”)
As it happened, Nolan had recently completed “Tenet,” a movie that references the atomic bomb, and one of its stars, Robert Pattinson, had given the director a book of Oppenheimer’s speeches as a wrap gift.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.