Danny McBride's Crocodile Dundee sequel Dundee is nothing but a Super Bowl ad stunt after all. Dundee supposedly stars McBride as the son of Crocodile Dundee, the character introduced by Paul Hogan in the surprise hit 1984 movie. Noted Aussie Chris Hemsworth supposedly co-stars. Screen Australia is allegedly responsible for producing the film. The original film starred Hogan as a leathery Aussie who leaves the outback and becomes a fish out of water in New York City. The film grossed $328 million, spawning a sequel while making Hogan an international star.
A trailer for Dundee appeared out of nowhere last week, leading to surprised - and in some cases stupefied - reactions. But evidence soon mounted that the movie doesn't actually exist. For one thing, the "movie" seemed to have been produced entirely in secret. Also, Screen Australia does not list the film on its release slate for 2018. And for another thing, the trailer was announced exclusively on People magazine's website - not a normal outlet for trailer drops. Could the movie really be nothing but a viral stunt perpetrated in the name of touting Australian tourism?
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As reported by the Brisbane Times, industry insiders now say Dundee is not a real movie at all. Tourism Australia reportedly is responsible for the fake movie viral marketing campaign ahead of an ad set to run during the Super Bowl. Screen Australia and Tourism Australia offered no comment in response to reports of Dundee being a case of cinematic fake news.
The Dundee trailer shows Danny McBride dressed up like Paul Hogan's original character, standing perched atop a cliff high above a river. "This summer the son of an Australian legend returns home," reads the text. The awe-inspiring imagery then gives way to madcap silliness as McBride turns to the camera and in a very non-Aussie accent says, "G'day. Losers." McBride then "hilariously" recreates the most famous scene from Crocodile Dundee. "That's not a knife. That's a knife."
For some the trailer was immediately too bad to be true. Skeptics received a further boost when a second clip dropped showing Chris Hemsworth welcoming McBride's Brian Dundee to Australia. As many pointed out, Chris Hemsworth serves as an ambassador for Tourism Australia. "Where the kangaroos at?" McBride asks amiable Chris like a clueless bro on vacation. A smiling Hemsworth seems dubious as to Brian's identity. Turns out, the whole idea of the movie was totally dubious.
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Some may find themselves disappointed over the fact that Dundee will not in fact grace movie screens this summer. Others, however, have expressed relief over the film's obvious fakeness. Crocodile Dundee was a hit in its day, but now looks loaded with bad, racist, misogynistic humor, and dumb cliches. All in all, the world might be better off leaving Paul Hogan's Crocodile Dundee back where it belongs - in the '80s.
Source: Brisbane Times