I just realized that I Saw the Light will have its limited release starting this week. I’m sure it won’t come to my town, but hopefully we’ll be getting, like, a premiere? Or some big new interviews from Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen? Or are they pretending that this film didn’t happen, following it’s not-so-stellar premiere in Toronto last year? Hm. There have been new promotional photos released, plus this clip of Tom-as-Hank Williams singing “Honky Tonkin’”.
To me, Tom’s voice sounds sort of thin, but then again, the real Hank Williams’ voice sounded kind of thin in the older recordings too. But voice is important… the voice is what’s being picked apart by Hank Williams III, the grandson of Hank Williams. When Tom’s casting was announced in 2014, Hank III complained loudly that they were getting an Englishman to play Hank. Hank III also blasted Tom’s voice after Tom performed at a music festival, singing some of Hank’s songs. Well, now on the eve of the film’s release, Hank III still wants you to know that he does not approve.
Hank III will not be seeing the movie: “I’ve seen a two-minute clip and that’s enough for me.”
He hates that they’re using a posh Englishman: “Hank Williams Senior should not have been played by a European type. It needs to be an American from the South who has eaten, lived and breathed these kind of roles before. I immediately thought of Matthew McConaughey because of the weight he lost for ‘The Dallas Buyers Club’ and he has a natural arrogance, fire.”
He also has a problem with the director, Marc Abraham: “It’s not just the actor, it’s a little deeper than that,” he says, explaining he would also have preferred a heavy weight director such as Martin Scorsese or Clint Eastwood instead of rookie Marc Abraham.
He’s annoyed that Tom re-recorded Hank’s songs: “They should have used Hank’s voice. Maybe the director said that seems too old, or too thin, but there are ways to get around that.”
But no one invited Hank III to the table: “I wasn’t invited to the table probably because I have strong views and think outside the box…”
The fact that they’re not using Hank’s real vocals is weird to me too, because I seem to remember that the producers actually got the rights to the songs. Maybe they just decided to use Tom’s vocals because he worked so hard on sounding like Hank, or maybe they just got the rights to the music but not Hank’s vocals. Also… Martin Scorses directing a country-western bio-pic? Yeah, that was never going to happen. I understand wanting your famous icon grandfather’s story to be told properly (and let’s be clear, I do not believe this film tells the real story properly), but complaining about how Marty Scorsese should have done it? Ha.
Also: Tom will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday this week. And Elizabeth Olsen will be on Monday. So… at least there’s that.
Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
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