Mark Wahlberg has apologized and apologized again for ill-considered remarks about what he might do if he were on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
On Friday, the “Contraband” star put a little context around his remarks, and his apologies — and described the role of the journalist who conducted the interview in question.
“Because of the fact that I had a reservation on one of those flights, it’s always a topic of conversation,” Walhberg noted in a chat with WPLJ-95.5 radio’s morning team, coming off 13 hours of work.
This past week, with the release of promotional blurbs for the Men’s Journal interview in which he made the comments, “I got blindsided by the fact that people thought I was being disrespectful to the victims of 9/11 and that was, to me, a horrific thing and i wanted to address it right away,” Wahlberg said. Hence, the quick apologies.
The gaffe, for those who missed it? “If I was on that plane with my kids,” Wahlberg told the magazine, “it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.’”
So how did those ill-considered words make their way out of his mouth?
“I’ve got this journalist who’s asking all the questions, and I’m trying to promote a movie and he’s asking me, you know, about sex and this and that and I’m like, dude, I’ve got a wife and four kids and this is not appropriate. … It wasn’t a Q&A, it wasn’t like all of a sudden I decided I was going to get on this soapbox and talk about my opinion about 9/11. I was there to talk about the movie,” Wahlberg explained.
Before the radio interview aired, several families of 9/11 victims told the New York Post they thought an apology was great, but that Wahlberg should use the opportunity to publicly visit the 9/11 Memorial and possibly help with fundraising for the memorial and museum.
On Wednesday, Wahlberg told TMZ, “To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with,” adding, “I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention.” [xx]
Mark Wahlberg claims ‘intuition’ led him to cast Justin Bieber in his forthcoming basketball film.
The ‘Contraband’ star is planning to make a movie with teen heartthrob Justin about his favourite sport, and says it was an immediate and natural choice for them to work together.
Asked why he picked the ‘Baby’ singer, Mark told MTV: ‘Intuition. I’m pretty intuitive.
‘I see the guy and spent time with him and you see what he does and how he does it, and then you actually have a conversation with him and it’s there.’
Although 17-year-old Justin has had little previous big screen experience – aside from his documentary film ‘Never Say Never’ – Mark is confident he can make the project work, adding: ‘It’s there – and if not, I will extract it.’
Mark has previously likened the project to ‘The Colour of Money’, a 1986 film about an old pool player and his young protege, starring Paul Newman and a young Tom Cruise.
He added: ‘Wait till you see me and Bieber in the flick. Think of, like, ‘The Colour of Money.’
Mark is hoping the film can go into production in 2012. [xx]
Merry Christmas, dear readers (it’s Christmas Day in my corner of the world)! May this season’s spirit of giving inspire us all to help, in whatever way we can, in the relief drive for Tropical Storm “Sendong” victims.
Mark Wahlberg embodies the Yuletide spirit of generosity and sharing. Every Christmas, he does something for the inner city kids in his native Boston. “Last year, gave away over 300 Xboxes to kids,” the actor said. “This year, we’re giving games and clothes. We teamed up with an organization that is not only sending all the clothes that they haven’t been able to sell, but also taking-individually-the sizes of these kids from the Boys Club and other community groups. We’ve been doing this for seven or eight years now. My mom, brothers and sisters take part.”
The actor does his philanthropic work with inner city and at-risk youth through the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation. “In the last couple of years, we’ve partnered with Taco Bell,” he said. “They have Graduate To Go program, which encourages kids to finish high school. They’re creating other programs, too. The coolest thing is, we just opened these Graduate To Go studios. Our plan is to have one at every Boys Club across the country.”
The foundation’s LA facility has recording, TV, film and animation studios “to train the kids in the field that they’re gravitating toward. We also opened one in Boston. We have mentors who teach and train the kids. We hope to open one in Toronto, partner with a college there and train the kids on the job.”
I have added alot of new candids of Mark and his family to the gallery. Mark was out and about during the week of Christmas and was fairly busy. So check them out in the gallery.
GALLERY LINK:
» December 20 l Mark Wahlberg and his family visit Santa’s house at The Grove
» December 21 l Mark Wahlberg’s Family Time At The Park
» December 23 l Mark and daughter Ella spotted shopping at Gearys in Beverly Hills
» December 23 l Mark and son Michael shopping in Beverly Hills
Mark Wahlberg wishes he had kept his shirt on more when he was younger.
The actor/producer is embarrassed by his musical past as lead rapper in hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and admits he would take back both his outfits and music choices if he could.
He said: “Believe me, if there were things I could take back I would. I can’t take any of it back and it’s moulded who I am today, but I would certainly like to erase some of those things. I should have kept my shirt on a lot more. And not pulled my pants down so much.”
When he made the transition to movies, Wahlberg said he finally felt as he if he found his true calling but his model wife model Rhea Durham and their four children are still more important to him than his career.
He explained to Men’s Health magazine: “When I did my first film I really felt like I had found my niche. It was difficult because I wanted to do anything in my power to make people forget about my past. I wanted to be credible, respected and taken seriously.
“Well, family is the most important thing to me. So when I’m back home I’m in the gym at 4:30 a.m., when it’s still dark out and the kids haven’t woken up yet. Then I get the kids up, get them off to school and get my day started.
“Family, faith and being a good person are the be all and end all. If I succeed at business and I fail at being a good father then it was all for nothing.”
The full Mark Wahlberg interview is in the January/February issue of Men’s Health magazine on sale this week. [xx]
Mark Wahlberg could be teaming up with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in Michael Bay’s dark comedy Pain And Gain.
The two action stars are said to be the frontrunners to take the leads in the director’s first film post-Transformers, reported Variety.
The film is based on an article in the Miami New Times about an extortion ring and a kidnapping plot that went horribly wrong. Mark and The Rock would play the Floridian bodybuilders who hatched the plan in the film, scripted by Captain America: The First Avenger writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
Meanwhile, former rapper Mark – who received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as former boxing champion Micky Ward in The Fighter – revealed he has some regrets about his embarrassing past.
“Believe me, if there were things I could take back I would. I can’t take any of it back and it’s moulded who I am today, but I would certainly like to erase some of those things,” he told Men’s Health, adding: “I should have kept my shirt on a lot more. And not pulled my pants down so much.”
The 40-year-old said he’s happy with his film career, however.
“When I did my first film I really felt like I had found my niche. It was difficult because I wanted to do anything in my power to make people forget about my past. I wanted to be credible, respected and taken seriously.” [xx]
Mark graces the cover of Men’s Health UK magazine for the January 2012 issue. I have added the scans to the gallery. Great article with amazing shots so be sure to check it out.
GALLERY LINK:
» Magazine Scans > Mens Health [UK] – January, 2012
I added some new photos of Mark attending the conference of his new movie ‘Contraband’. I also added some new photos of Mark on the set of ‘Broken City’. He looks great in these so check them out.
GALLERY LINK:
» November 18: “Contraband” Press Conference
» Broken City > On Location – November 2o, 2o11
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an American actor, former rapper, and producer of film and television. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. 
