Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Emile Hirsch has hastily parted ways with the United Talent Agency.

This comes just days after Hirsch’s big flick, “Speed Racer,” came in third place at the box office. Adding to the scandal is that Warner Bros. tried to lie about how much money the movie earned.

Hirsch’s now former agent, Shani Rosenzweig, is “gobsmacked” about the actor’s departure. He had been with the agency for more than seven years.

“He claims he just doesn’t want an agent,” an insider told the site.

The promising young actor will next appear in the Gus Van Sant film, “Milk.”

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The Wachowski Brothers’ kaleidoscopic retelling of the classic cartoon series “Speed Racer” opened this weekend with an estimated $20.02 million with “Iron Man” coming in first with $50.05 million.

“In terms of Warner Bros., this is a yellow flag of caution,” said Bock of Exhibitor Relations Co. “Don’t be surprised if Speed Racer comes in third, when all is said and done.”

Speed Racer’s failure to succeed at the box office is disastrous considering the movie cost well in excess of $100 million and Warner Bros. expected the movie to be a major summer hit.

“Iron Man” is already Marvel’s 2008 top earner, with a 10-day total that now stands at $177.1 million.

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“Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.”
- Pauline Kael

The question is, what did the siblings Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy, V For Vendetta) set out to accomplish, and what did they achieve with Speed Racer? Could their dialogue and characters have better served the story? Could the roles have been better cast? The question is not whether the dialogue could have been more realistic, or the characters deeper, or the plot more unpredictable and profound. Some ideas beg for deep characters, realistic dialogue, and unpredictable plots. Others, likeSpeed Racer, would be sunk by them.

Whether setting out to be groundbreakingly philosphical indie cinema or the finest garbage, a film is best served by being true to its setup. This is why, for example, I maintain that Independence Day is a better movie than, say, War of the Worlds, although the latter is more ambitious. Within its parameters,Independence Day delivers what it promises: vicious aliens, noble, one-dimensional heroes, and landmarks blowing up in spectacular fashion. War of the Worldsdoes not.

There is, of course, an argument to be made whether money should be wasted on a given idea in the first place (which is why trailers for 10,000 BC – made by the director of Independence Day, oddly enough – made me want to cry), and even deliberate trash is poorly served by inconsistent plots and underdeveloped characters (hence the general outcry against Independence Day’s follow-up, Godzilla).

But, if a given idea – like, say, a live-action update of a cheeseball retro-futuristic anime series the audience might have a passing awareness of thanks to Family Guy – has just enough merit to justify its existence, then the question becomes whether its concept has been turned into the best movie it can be. In Speed Racer’s case: is the art direction really that spectacular? (Yes.) Are the action sequences enjoyable? (Yes.) During said sequences, can you tell what’s going on? (Yes. Until the very end.) Is the plot engaging enough to hold them together? (Yes.) Are the characters likeable? (Yes.) Do they have plausible character arcs? (Yes.) Is the movie primarily aimed at kids or adults? (Kids and young teenagers – though everyone will be impressed by the visuals.) Is there objectionable content? (Three or four mild swear words, and you could make an argument that many of the women are glorified hood ornaments. That said, they do race, and the supporting cast is multiracial.)

(And for those who remember the series…) Is there kung fu? (Yes. And ninjas.)

What I’m trying to say, as eloquently as possible, is that Speed Racer is trash. Hokey, exciting, polished, predictable, cohesive, distinctively edited, wonderfully acted, perfectly cast, gloriously entertaining trash.

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