Local writer asks, Why did we cancel Linda Fiorentino?

I should probably start with reminding you who Linda Fiorentino is. It's not a name that is really heard in conversation anymore, and it was never really fully a household name to begin with. A onetime Hollywood actress, she had worked her way up in the system, with her most notable role probably being in “Men In Black.” She played a medical examiner, dealing with dead bodies that turned out to be dying aliens.

It was a big budget movie, and it was a big success and because of how the film ended, people just assumed she'd be in in “Men in Black 2.”

She wasn't.

Fiorentino’s journey as an actress, as far what the public could see, was pretty standard. She’d worked hard to make her way up from little independent films to big blockbuster-style movies, earning more money and higher recognition along the way, which is often the goal for up-and-coming actors.

Well, she got all of that, and then it went away. She was quietly canceled.

The question is, why?

There were never any reported incidents of assault or harassment, like with Kevin Spacey, accused of physically and/or sexually assaulting underage actors. Unsafe work environments should obviously not exist, but there is no evidence or even a suggestion that Fiorentino was ever involved in anything like that.

I suppose “outbursts” are a negative thing with some actors. Christian Bale famously had his own big shouting meltdown on the set of “Terminator Salvation,” overheard by the world, thanks to social media.

He wasn't canceled, though.

And no one has ever said that Fiorentino ever had “outbursts.”

But it does happen. When it does, it seems to make good headlines more than it actually creates any other problem. Acting is a job that requires people to get to different places emotionally, so it makes sense emotional outbursts can happen. Usually, no one gets hurt, everyone moves on.

So what happened with Fiorentino? She didn't assault anyone. She didn't blow up on set. Even if she did, ideally that could have been forgiven.

Evidently, she was pushed out, quietly, for being "difficult to work with," which is not a very detailed description.

Two major factors lead to Fiorentino’s quiet but thorough canceling.

One was the film “Men in Black 2.”

When Sony was looking to make a sequel project, Tommy Lee Jones – whose character got a very nice ending in the first one – was instead asked to come back. They decided to ruin the ending of the first film to get Jones back in the second one and leave it open for more sequels. Tommy Lee Jones is reported to have said he would come back, but only if Fiorentino did not. She was, he communicated, “difficult to work with.”

The bigger star of course, won. Sony never really wanted a Will Smith and Fiorentino movie, of course. They always wanted to recapture the Smith and Jones chemistry, so there was no sub-plot with her, no cameo, nothing.

The second factor that led to Fiorentino, supposedly, is Kevin Smith.

No relation to Will Smith.

Kevin Smith is known for the “Clerks,” and “Jay and Silent Bob” movies, and for “Dogma,” which Fiorentino had starred in. Once again, she was said to be “hard to work with.”

That’s about all we know. Which is weird. Smith is very vocal about all sort of things. It's one of his big claims to fame – his storytelling and candid nature. He has a wonderful anecdote about catching Harvey Weinstein talking during a film premiere and telling him to shut up. Now, was it possible Harvey Weinstein heard from Kevin Smith that Fiorentino was difficult and denied her future projects?

Yes. Do I know this to be the case? No.

The point is, there was no big incident around Fiorentino’s exit from her Hollywood career. There was no big scandal. She just silently shuffled off.

Now for what it’s worth, Kevin Smith has been called difficult to work with. Bruce Willis claimed he had issues with him on the set of “Cop Out.”

This basically ended Kevin Smith’s studio film career.

But we still don't know what "being difficult to work with“ means.

In studio terms, it could mean they did something that cost the company money. Not getting the work done on time and under budget is pretty bad. Kevin Smith has since apologized to Bruce Willis – but never to Fiorentino.

I doubt Tommy Lee Jones will ever be so humble.

I think in many ways, all of Hollywood owes Fiorentino an apology.

I'd say sorry to her myself – but I had nothing to do with it.

Oliver Graves is a stand-up comic and award-winning columnist. “Oliver’s World” runs twice a month in the Argus-Courier. Find out more about Oliver at OliverGraves.com.