Peter Bart: Will Ryan Kavanaugh’s Comeback Attempt Sway The Doubters?

deadline.com:

I have always been a sucker for comeback stories, especially at a time like this when careers veer dramatically between triumph and cancellation – though some comebacks may raise questions (see below).In the world of corporate suits, I admired Alan Horn’s remarkable comeback at Disney after Warners abruptly declared him excess baggage.

Or Ron Meyer emerging as the boss of Wild Bunch after Universal cut him loose. Or even Paramount levitating Brian Robbins to studio chief after his Eddie Murphy movie bombed (Eddie cast as a literary agent in A Thousand Words!).At another level, I was impressed by Bill Tennant’s fortitude in reinventing himself as a highflying talent manager after plunging into drug addiction and homelessness – becoming a role model for the similarly afflicted.On the talent side, the Tom Cruise legend was famously crunched when he was “fired” by Paramount and Valkyrie bombed, only to be rehabilitated with a lavish Mission: Impossible deal (M:I-7 awaits release).

Kevin Hart was fired as Oscar host before he even wrote his first joke — today he’s awash in the Shark Tank. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are a number again, banishing memories of Gigli, their doomed romantic comedy that sank an entire studio (Revolution).

Robert Downey Jr was deemed an insurance question mark until he became a Marvel superstar.At the nether end of the spectrum, I could also summon a list of once-famous but newly canceled celebrities who now nervously inhabit the Netflix reception room, praying for a Papal blessing from Ted Sarandos.Do members of the canceled tribe have a chance swimming against the tide?