Mark Cuban: “My name is Raymond!!!”

Reeling from the public battering he received from Todd Wagner over his decision to play the part of Raymond “Rainman” Babbit in the sequel to the 80’s smash, Mark Cuban has lashed back in a phone interview this morning with Jim Rome on his popular morning show. He took aim at his 2929 partner at Tod Wagner. “Todd Wagner has become the Ned Flanders of the entertainment industry. Take a look at him. Why they didn’t cast him in the live action Simpson’s opening credits sequence they shot two years ago stuns me.”

“The day I take direction from him is the day this company goes under. From broadcast.com to Good Night and Good Luck, he’s always got one hand on the chicken-switch and a foot on the brake. 2929 could be a mini-major by now if it weren’t for that sniveling bed-wetter. He lacks the vision to see what a master stroke my portrayal of Raymond Babbit would be for the company and for the entertainment industry as a whole. And by the way, me playing Swayze’s part in the Dirty Dancing sequel would have been as inspirational as Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid. But, ol’ Tod ‘the-tail-that-Wagners-the-dog,’ put the kaibash on that one,” he childishly retorted. “But all the forces of heaven and hell will not stop me from being Raymond Babbit.” He finished the interview by declaring “My name is Raymond,” repeatedly, as boldy exclaimed on his twitter post today. If you agree, join the online petition by sending a message reading “MyNameIsRaymond” to Mark Cuban’s twitter account @mcuban or send message to @thomas_peep on twitter, or comment on this article @ www.thomaspeep.com results of the polls will be sent to United Artists who own domestic rights on the sequel.

Cuban reportedly spent the rest of the day in a pre game meeting with the Mavericks. At one point he addressed the team staring at the floor, stating over and over again: “definitely need more defense, yeah, more defense, definitely need more defense.” Getting into character, or slowly going insane? All we can do is stay tuned.

Yesterday, Tom Cruise jumped back into the growing controversy by issuing this joint press release with domestic producers United Artists. “I knew Don Simpson, I made movies with Don Simpson and believe me when I say this, Mark Cuban is no Don Simpson. My dear friend Mark Cuban wants to portray the role of my autistic savant brother Raymond Babbit in the sequel to the much beloved 1989 Best Picture Winner “Rainman.” I know Todd may feel that Mark’s and 2929’s credibility is on the line, but he has not been privy to the thousands of letters and email responses we have received from, not only the public, but the rank-and-file of the Hollywood comunity, since this story broke. Everyone of them has responded to the announcement positively, backing our instinct that Mark Cuban can successfully play an Autistic Savant.

The proof will be, as they say, in the pudding. Todd will have to trust in my years of experience and that I definitively know an Idiot [Savant] when I see one.., And Mark is the real deal.”

Todd Wagner was unremitting in his condemnation of the decision and countered with: “Mark playing an idiot, that’s just idiotic” he stated. “What’s next for Mark, starting five on the Mavericks?” “Did you see him on ‘Dancing with the Stars?’” Atrocious! Yet, after that he started feverishly looking into the remake rights for Dirty Dancing’. “

“That took me 3 weeks to talk him down off the ledge there. Half my job is crisis management, protecting this madman from himself! If you had any idea how close Mark had come to putting himself in the Maverick’s starting lineup, you’d have him locked up immediately. From a sporting perspective, Mark couldn’t jump over a pencil, trust me. From an acting sense he’s as wooden as a crash test dummie. In fact, Cruise would be better off casting one of those. ”

Latest word is that Tom Cruise is trying to set up an emergency summit between producing partner Paula Wagner and Todd Wagner because as he put it, “Aren’t they related somehow?”

See related article: http://www.thomaspeep.com/?p=472

So, to the surprise of many, Mark Cuban has stepped up to the plate, boldly stating that he will fill the shoes of autistic savant “Raymond ‘Rainman’ Babbit” made famous by Hoffman.

Tom and I met and spoke about the film last week and the hole left by Hoffman’s sudden departure.  After about ten minutes in, Tom suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted out: “Oh my God,  I got it, you should play “Rainman!” “We sat down and watched the original film”  Cuban said “and we were both struck by the startling similarities between myself and Rainman”. “Tom said, from what he’d seen, that I was definitely up to the challenge of playing an idiot [Savant].

Skeptical Hollywood pundits have been left scratching their heads at the bizarre move, and Cuban has been copping his fair share of ridicule since making the surprise announcement two days ago. However studio chief, Sumner Redstone, has applauded the daring move. “I think it’s a great decision by Mark Cuban. Have you ever seen a side-by-side comparison of the two, they could be twins. Should be a huge success!”  He exclaimed.

Let’s hope this box office prediction proves true, or Cuban could wind up in Vegas counting cards like his famous namesake.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: CUBAN/RAINMAN