Movie Jail: This week's defendant is...Avi Arad!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

This is Movie Jail, a unique maximum security prison that houses some of the worst writers, directors, actors and producers from Hollywood and beyond. Their crimes? The offenses vary from convict to convict but most of these inmates have contributed negatively to the film world to some capacity* and his or her misdeeds have covered a long enough period of time that the authorities had to intervene. In each column a defendant is put on trial, arguments are made, and then it is up to YOU, the jury, to decide if the person is guilty or not guilty of crimes against cinema. Their lives are in your hands, dude.

The Defendant

The Case

The Prosecution: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Bratz, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider, X-Men: The Last Stand, Fantastic Four, Elektra, Blade: Trinity, Hulk

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Avi Arad is known for producing comic book movies such as Spider-Man and Iron Man, and while many of his films have been big hits at the box office and with critics, he also has quite a bit of garbage on his filmography.

Mr. Arad feels he deserves a lot of the credit for saving Marvel, but many people blame him for the problems with Spider-Man 3, and he's responsible for other poorly received comic book movies like Tim Story's Fantastic Four films, the Ghost Rider movies, and Elektra, one of the worst CBMs of all time. The filmmaker grew up reading comics, but does he actually get them, or does he just see dollar signs? This is the same man who wasn't down for a Spider-Man/X-Men crossover, but thought a Sinister Six spinoff was a good idea.

The prosecution isn't looking for a life sentence, however we do believe that Mr. Arad needs to spend a significant amount of time behind bars for his crimes against comic book movies.

The Defense: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man 2, The Punisher, X2: X-Men United, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Blade 2, X-Men, Blade

Ladies and gentlemen, the defense knows some jury members would love to see Mr. Arad cooling his heels in Movie Jail, but why exactly is there so much hate for my client? Fans like to bash Mr. Arad, however he did help bring comic book characters like Spider-Man, Blade and the X-Men to the big screen, and we believe there's been more good movies than bad ones from the producer.

Although Mr. Arad didn't write the Spider-Man 3 script or direct Ghost Rider, fans act like he's 100% responsible for those film's failures, which is incredibly unfair. And if it wasn't for my client, there's a good chance we wouldn't be enjoying the current golden age of comic book movies. The prosecution wants to lock my client up because of his CBMs, but Mr. Arad should really be applauded for his work. Have they all been winners? No, but he did produce arguably three of the best comic book adaptations with Iron Man and the Spider-Man and X-Men sequels, which should be more than enough to keep my client out of prison.

Fans may not like Mr. Arad because he's a business man first and a comic book fan second, but that doesn't mean he belongs in Movie Jail.

IN CLOSING…

Does Mr. Arad deserve jail time, or a stern warning? Do you believe the producer's well-received comic book movies outweigh his awful ones, or have you been unimpressed with most of his projects? Is Avi Arad GUILTY or NOT GUILTY?

*The cases for and against a defendant going to Movie Jail by the author are not necessarily his views and opinions but they are some of the beliefs that one would use to effectively make an argument for both sides. Not quite a devil's advocate but you get the point. Anyway, this is all in fun so don't take it too seriously. We have a separate jail for those people called "Troll Tower" and believe me you do NOT want to go there.

WHAT SAY YOU, GUILTY OR NOT?

LAST WEEK'S VERDICT

Neal McDonough was found NOT GUILTY of all charges in last week's trial, and most of the jury wasn't happy that he was up for Movie Jail. Jury members said although Mr. McDonough has appeared in critically-panned films like Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, he's still a talented actor who doesn't deserve to go to prison.

PREVIOUS VERDICTS

GUILTY Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Vince Vaughn, Tim Burton, The Farrelly Brothers, Michael Bay, Jessica Alba, Ice Cube, Gerard Butler, Halle Berry, Marlon Wayans, Julia Roberts, M. Night Shyamalan , Katherine Heigl , Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tyler Perry, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Happy Madison Productions, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis, Paul W.S. Anderson, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brett Ratner, Rob Cohen, Renee Zellweger, Shia LaBeouf, Renny Harlin, Diane Keaton, McG, Demi Moore, King Joffrey (Game of Thrones Special), David Spade, Spike Lee, Kevin James, Joel Schumacher, Ehren Kruger, Chris Rock, Mark Steven Johnson, Mickey Rourke, Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman, Josh Duhamel, Saw Franchise (Halloween Edition), Zach Braff, Sam Worthington, Melissa McCarthy, The Wachowski Siblings, Kate Bosworth, Garry Marshall, David Goyer, Akiva Goldsman