Future of Movie Stars: Who Will Shine? Who Will Fade Away?

[vb68]

I think he did some of that in Django.   It was different from what he usually does, and he seemed like he was having fun.

Edited June 7, 2014 by vb68

[scarynikki12]

I would add Wolf of Wall Street.  Whatever anyone thought of the movie itself, Leo looked like he was having a blast with the character's over the top antics.  In general, he seems to have more fun with Scorsese than any other director save Tarantino, and I very much want to see them work together again.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Taylor Kitsch was better than I expected in The Normal Heart.

 

Smart move for him to go that route, after back-to-back big budget clunkers.

 

Jeremy Renner has been a fave of mine, ever since I saw him on Bravo's The It Factor.

 

Two consecutive Oscar noms

 

Roles in three major film franchises

 

He will be quite busy for a while, Avengers 2 along with upcoming Bourne and MI sequels.

The Immigrant and Kill the Messenger.

 

Oh yeah, he'll be around  for long time.  

 

 

Me thinks the blume is starting wear off the rose with Jennifer Lawrence.

The expected backlash has begun, curious to see how that plays out for her.

[Dejana]

Leo's tastes tend to run to the more prestige side of things, more often than not. Even his foray into big-budget action was Inception, not, IDK, Transformers. So often actors are ragged on for taking paycheck jobs instead of caring about their craft but DiCaprio gets it for being in too much Oscar bait. OTOH, I know what people mean when they say Leo's projects are all a bit "worthy"...they'd like to see how he'd fare in a buddy comedy, the next reunion with Kate to be something lighthearted where they play witty urbane spies or stylish art thieves, trying his hand as an SNL host, etc.

[Ohwell]

Me thinks the blume is starting wear off the rose with Jennifer Lawrence.

The expected backlash has begun, curious to see how that plays out for her.

I'll admit I was getting sick of her, especially her "oh look at clumsy me I'm falling!" schtick, but I think she wisely stepped out of the spotlight, and let Shaliene Woodley step in, because she knows people were getting sick of her.  I think it was a relief for her.  That said, I think she's going to be around for awhile, and I think she'll outlast Woodley.  I won't be seeing any of her movies though.  

[Oreo2234]

 

I thought Amy Adams had star quality in Enchanted. That movie would have never worked at all if they didn't have someone like her in that part. I think she's a good actress overall, but she's always shined in that innocent, naive, ingenue type role, like Junebug, Catch Me if You can, etc.

 

Agreed. She really carried that movie. 

 

 

 

Taylor Kitsch was better than I expected in The Normal Heart.

Smart move for him to go that route, after back-to-back big budget clunkers.

 

It would have been a bad idea if he tried to take on another big budget role after that. Although I doubt the studios would let him even if he wanted to. 

[methodwriter85]

Me thinks the blume is starting wear off the rose with Jennifer Lawrence.

The expected backlash has begun, curious to see how that plays out for her.

 

    The one thing I can see hurting her in the long run is her continuing to take age-inappropriate roles and playing people older than herself. She'll make a great young Cathy in East of Eden, but I'm seriously cringing at the thought that they might actually try to put her in age makeup to try and play old Cathy, the one that faces off against Cal. And then there's this new movie she's apparently going to play a mother of three who invents a popular mop or something. I get not wanting to be typecast as a teenager, but she runs a real risk of being seen as old before her time.

Edited June 8, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Athena]

It does irk me that producers think she is so popular and talented that she needs to play roles so much older for her when they could cast a plethora of other talented, available female actreses.

 

I've been following JLaw for awhile. I think she has talent, but she's not perfect nor she is Streep. It'll be good for her to hide out a little.

[GaT]

 

Will no one put us out of our Jonah Hill misery?

 

Sorry, he's been dubbed Sir "Serious Actor" by King Martin Scorcese.

Don't know if anyone is familiar with Lainey Gossip, but since Jonah Hill has been bragging about who he knows & who thinks he's a good actor, she has taken to referring to him as "Jonah Hill, 2X Oscar nominee and friend of Marty, Leo, and Brange". She never just calls him by his name, always by the full sentence & it makes me laugh. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Whoopie Goldberg said something on the "View" the other day about how she has known Jonah Hill since he was a little boy.  His family  has been in the business since he was born, so he knows everybody and they all know him.

 

Apparently his brother Jordan is a real douche.

[Wiendish Fitch]

The fact that Jonah Hill has two Oscar nominations while Michael Fassbender only has one really, really sticks in my craw.

[Danny Franks]

The fact that Jonah Hill has two Oscar nominations while Michael Fassbender only has one really, really sticks in my craw.

 

Well, I think Hill was good in Moneyball, and he's very good in The Wolf of Wall Street, which were both Oscar bait movies. So I'd say that those Oscar nominations aren't exactly undeserved or unexpected. Fassbender only has one? Well, I certainly wouldn't have nominated him for his X-Men stuff, or Prometheus, or Haywire or The Counsellor. So maybe the guy needs to actually do more work that Oscar voters will deem worthy of nominations. We all know what sort of movies get the nods, and Fassbender ain't making them.

 

But then, I don't get the fuss about Fassbender anyway. He's not been particularly impressive in anything I've seen him in.

 

It would have been a bad idea if he tried to take on another big budget role after that. Although I doubt the studios would let him even if he wanted to.

 

 

It was a bad idea him ever taking on those big budget roles (though I still think John Carter was unfairly maligned, and set up to fail by Disney) anyway. I've said before that I think he's always going to be better off in more dramatic roles that allow him to be quieter and more reflective. He doesn't have the sort of in-your-face charisma a good action hero needs, and he seemed to get lost amongst the CGI loudness.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Danny Franks

[aradia22]

 

Well, I think Hill was good in Moneyball, and he's very good in The Wolf of Wall Street, which were both Oscar bait movies. So I'd say that those Oscar nominations aren't exactly undeserved or unexpected. Fassbender only has one? Well, I certainly wouldn't have nominated him for his X-Men stuff, or Prometheus, or Haywire or The Counsellor. So maybe the guy needs to actually do more work that Oscar voters will deem worthy of nominations. We all know what sort of movies get the nods, and Fassbender ain't making them.

Actually, including 12 Years a Slave he's been making movies with Steve McQueen that sound Oscar-bait-y. Hunger, Shame... You can debate whether Jane Eyre was really good enough (also his role was minimal) to nab him a nomination but the Oscars do like period pieces. That said, like him or not, Jonah Hill is at least home grown talent and I'm a little tired of giving all our awards away to the Brits and Australians. Not that I think they should give Jonah Hill an Oscar but I'm not brokenhearted for Fassbender. I'm sure with the choices he's making he'll get his statue someday.

[Danny Franks]

Actually, including 12 Years a Slave he's been making movies with Steve McQueen that sound Oscar-bait-y. Hunger, Shame... You can debate whether Jane Eyre was really good enough (also his role was minimal) to nab him a nomination but the Oscars do like period pieces. That said, like him or not, Jonah Hill is at least home grown talent and I'm a little tired of giving all our awards away to the Brits and Australians. Not that I think they should give Jonah Hill an Oscar but I'm not brokenhearted for Fassbender. I'm sure with the choices he's making he'll get his statue someday.

 

I wouldn't say Shame is Oscar-bait-y. It's a rather seedy (in feel, not quality), grim story about the life of a sex addict. Hunger is a better shout, but I'd wager it was far too Irish/British in its appeal to ever win much favour with Oscar voters, and far too meagre in its budget, publicity and profit. It takes more than a movie being good and more than actors being good in them to get Oscar nods, in my estimation. They need to appeal to the right demographics, and I don't think either of those movies do.

 

Now if Fassbender's next movie role is a neurotic, transvestite mathematical genius with a hot girlfriend who doesn't understand him, and overbearing parents who won't let him be who he feels he's supposed to be? Oscars galore, I'm sure.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Danny Franks

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Fassy was Oscar Worthy in Shame, but as expected the focus was more on his schlong.

 

Which overshadowed his heartbreaking performance.

 

 

JMO

[vb68]

I admit that Jonah Hill has given a couple of good performances, but I personally find it increasingly harder to get past the douche factor with him.  At least that worked for him in The Wolf of Wall Street.  I was not overly surprised that he had to do damage control this week on The Tonight Show for using homophobic slurs.  And there's something so self-satisfied about him in general that completely turns me off.

 

 

Fassy was Oscar Worthy in Shame

 

I totally thought he should had been nominated for that.

Edited June 8, 2014 by vb68

[MrsRafaelBarba]

In hindsight, I think many folks  either didn't get or chose to ignore what "Shame" was really about.

 

A man who while addicted to sex, was full of self loathing and felt unworthy of affection or real love.

 

That what I took away from it.

[Sara2009]

Whoopie Goldberg said something on the "View" the other day about how she has known Jonah Hill since he was a little boy. His family has been in the business since he was born, so he

knows everybody and they all know him.

Apparently his brother Jordan is a real douche.

I have a strong feeling that Jonah is a douche too.

[vb68]

I'm not sure I  understand why Renee Zellweger's career seems to have completely stopped dead in its tracks.   Did she more or less just quit or did she hit that age wall especially hard?

[aradia22]

 

I'm not sure I  understand why Renee Zellweger's career seems to have completely stopped dead in its tracks.   Did she more or less just quit or did she hit that age wall especially hard?

I remember she made a rom-com that used Ingrid Michaelson's Be OK in the commercials. That's the last thing I really remember her being in. I'm not sure it was age. I don't think she came across as a likable, bankable actress in spite of Bridget Jones. 

[Dejana]

She's had eye surgery that made her virtually unrecognizable, but even before that, her career wasn't going well. She strikes me as someone on the fragile side...if she didn't need the money, maybe she took a hiatus from acting.

[DollEyes]

 

Once upon a time, I would have said that Anne Hathaway was on her way to becoming a movie star but even I started to hate her during her Oscar campaign and I sat through the mess they made of one of my favorite books, Ella Enchanted. The problem is that now an actor can become easily overexposed or that they just have to make one slip up and suddenly we all hate them. I think Michael Fassbender is making a lot of smart choices. I think Hugh Jackman has the persona but he's missing all the other factors.

 

    I disagree re Hugh Jackman. he may have made some questionable choices in the past, but he has also shown incredible range, onstage and onscreen. The X-Men films prove that he's an action star; Prisoners shows that he can act and The Boy From Oz, Les Miserables and his hosting of the Tonys and the Oscars show that he's a song and dance man. I think that Hugh Jackman has not only had a great career so far, I believe that his best is yet to come.

 

 

 

The fact that Jonah Hill has 2 Oscar nominations while Michael Fassbender only has one really, really, sticks in my craw.

 

  Well, I think Hill was good in Moneyball and he's very good in The Wolf Of Wall Street, which were both Oscar bait movies. Fassbender only has one? Well, I wouldn't have nominated him for his X-Men stuff, or Prometheus, or Haywire or The Counsellor. So maybe the guy needs to do more work that Oscar voters will deem worthy of nominations. We all know what sort of movies get the nods, and Fassbender ain't making them.

 

 But then, I don't get the fuss about Fassbender anyway. he's not been particularly impressive in anything I've seen him in.

 

  Actually, including 12 years A Slave he's been making movies with Steve McQueen that sound Oscar bait-y Hunger, Shame...you can debate whether Jane Eyre was good enough (also his role was minimal) to nab a nomination but the Oscars do like period pieces. That said, like him or not, Jonah Hill is at least home grown talent and I'm a little tired of giving all our awards to the Brits and Austrailians. Not that I think they should give Jonah Hill an Oscar but I'm not brokenhearted for Fassbender. I'm sure with the choices he's making he'll get his statue someday.

 

Again disagreeing on some levels. Just because an actor's performance hasn't been Oscar nominated that doesn't mean they can't act. Case in point: Michael Fassbender's performance in Shame, which I found brilliant, riveting, disturbing and heartbreaking. He definitely deserved the Best Actor Golden Globe nomination that he got for it and ITA that he was robbed of an Oscar nomination just because he did full-frontal nudity, reducing his performance to a series of dick jokes, IMO the only funny one of which was told by George Clooney at the Golden Globes, in which he said that Fassbender's dick was so big that Fassbender could shoot golf balls with it. Julianne Moore played a porn star in Boogie Nights back in 1997, a role that included nudity and sex scenes and she got Oscar nominated for it, which means that while Hollywood in general and the Motion Picture Academy in particular have no problem with rewarding actresses for roles that require nudity, for actors it's another story. I'm not the most p.c. person in the world, but I know a double standard when  I see it.  As for Fassbender's other work, he's not only one of the best things to happen to the X-Men franchise in years, he, along with Idris Elba and Charlize Theron were the best things about Prometheus. 12 Years A Slave was not the only Oscar-bait movie Fassbender was in. He was also great as Archie Wilcox, the British officer who posed as a German soldier in Quentin Tarentino's Inglorious Basterds, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Christoph Waltz won his first best Supporting Actor Oscar for. For me, what makes Fassbender so appealing is that he's elegant but mysterious with just a hint of dangerous, which is why he's equally convincing as Magneto or as Dr. Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method. I don't think Fassbender's Irish heritage will hurt his career. Daniel Day-Lewis, who's also Irish, has won three Best Actor Oscars, including one last year for playing President Abraham Lincoln. Charlize Theron, who's South African, won an Oscar for playing a serial killer. Re his future projects, he's playing the title role of Macbeth in a film remake opposite Marion Cotillard, another Oscar winner. As far as I'm concerned, talent is talent, whether it's American or not. Michael Fassbender may have gotten his first Oscar nomination for 12 Years A Slave, but I highly doubt it'll be his last.

Edited June 10, 2014 by DollEyes

[blixie]

I think if someone in Hollywood is remotely smart they'll put Miles Teller in everything. The kid does not deserve to be "ensembled" in things like Awkward Moment/21 and Over/Divergent. He has charm to burn and IMO is  this generations John Cusack. He knocked Sundance out two years running with Spectacular Now and this year with Whiplash. 

 

Unfortunately I think The Movie Star is kind of a dead concept down to the tent pole - ifying of the industry. There are precious few legit movie stars working and succeeding right now. RDJ, Sandy Bullock, are still able to bring it home, but even Julia and Tom are striking out more than they hit, because no one in that town wants to risk an opening on only one actor. They need every movie to come with some built in audience, via comics, books series, sequels, and remakes. Of the younger crowd only Jennifer Lawrence has crossed the movie star/iconic threshold to me. She's checked all the boxes, small indies, major franchises, high profile oscar bait entertainments, and she's succeeded in all of them, the only area she seemed to fail at was schlocky horror movie. She's also masterfully cultivated the cool girl persona and captured the zeitgeist. 

 

 

[aradia22]

 

I think if someone in Hollywood is remotely smart they'll put Miles Teller in everything. The kid does not deserve to be "ensembled" in things like Awkward Moment/21 and Over/Divergent. He has charm to burn and IMO is  this generations John Cusack. He knocked Sundance out two years running with Spectacular Now and this year with Whiplash.

Well, I mean they kind of are putting him in everything. He's getting lead roles, ensemble roles, mainstream and indie films. I've found him annoying in interviews but I've yet to see one of his movies. Not sure if his Fantastic Four movie is dead or not.

[methodwriter85]

Miles Teller unfortunately doesn't have a movie-star handsome face...I feel like that's the one thing that somewhat holds him back, but I bet by his 30's it'll be fine. I do think he's got a bright future and a load of talent.

 

I really wish they used him for John Cusack's Hot Time Tub Machine "younger" self. That would've been great.

Edited June 10, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Rick Kitchen]

Fantastic Four is most definitely not dead, they've greenlit a sequel already.

 

Miles Teller has the sequel to Divergent coming up (I hope he has a bigger role, but then I hope Ansel Elgort has a bigger role in it, too.)  He also has a romance film called "Two Night Stand" coming out later this year.

[methodwriter85]

   Ansel's role in Insurgent should be bigger.

 

   I do think he's going to be on a LOT of Tigerbeats or something for the next year or so.

Edited June 10, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Enero]

That said, I think she's [Jennifer Lawrence] going to be around for awhile, and I think she'll outlast Woodley.  I won't be seeing any of her movies though.

 

Perhaps. Or maybe they'll both remain active over the next few years. I'm not much of a fan of Lawrence's meteoric rise over the last 2-3 years. It puts me in the mind of the old adage  that a star that burns the brightest usually burns out the fastest.  I prefer Shailene's slow burn, for lack of a better term, to stardom. I find it interesting that her latest movie Fault in Our Stars has done quite well at the movies. Yes, it was a best selling book, and she has the success of Divergent that I'm sure assisted in the success of this movie, but I like that she and a virtually unknown actor carried this movie and ultimately made it successful. We have yet to see Lawrence do this. She's had her blockbusters (Hunger Games, X-Men, American Hustle), but they were all already HUGE franchises with built in audiences that would follow them anywhere or featured mega stars who carried Lawrence along. I'd like to see what she can do without the extra help of a ready made franchise or other mega stars for support.

[ruby24]

i don't know- i'm not so sure the length of someone's career necessarily corresponds to the magnititude of stardom. i mean, yeah it CAN, but you can always point to somebody like James Dean as being a counterexample, although dying young certainly helps as well. or maybe someone like Julie Andrews- an iconic star whose reign was really just a short time in the 1960's, and yet she's remembered forever on the basis of two cultural phenomenon movies.

 

some people can make such a huge impact in a short period of time that that's all it takes to remain famous forever. Julia Roberts hasn't been able to bring in a crowd at the box office in over ten years, but the movies she made while she was on top cemented her movie star status for the rest of her life, even if she never did anything again.

[aradia22]

 

It puts me in the mind of the old adage  that a star that burns the brightest usually burns out the fastest.  I prefer Shailene's slow burn, for lack of a better term, to stardom. I find it interesting that her latest movie Fault in Our Stars has done quite well at the movies.

Yeah, but I find Shailene much more annoying than Jennifer Lawrence. Not saying that it prevents her from being a movie star but it just baffles me that people can like her with the nonsense that comes out of her mouth sometimes. Stuff like "Do you consider yourself a feminist?"

 

Shailene Woodley: No because I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance. With myself, I’m very in touch with my masculine side. And I’m 50 percent feminine and 50 percent masculine, same as I think a lot of us are. And I think that is important to note. And also I think that if men went down and women rose to power, that wouldn’t work either. We have to have a fine balance.

My biggest thing is really sisterhood more than feminism. I don’t know how we as women expect men to respect us because we don’t even seem to respect each other. There’s so much jealousy, so much comparison and envy. And “This girl did this to me and that girl did that to me.” And it’s just so silly and heartbreaking in a way.

 

That's not even getting into all the crazy hippie stuff.

[methodwriter85]

   Yeah, that was a ding for me on her, but she hasn't squashed my goodwill at this point. After Lindsay Lohan, it'll take a LOT for me to sour on someone if they put in a performance that I loved. (I finally gave up the ghost this year.) For that nonsense, you also get the pretty pro way Shailene handled her getting "cut" (read: fired) from the Spiderman franchise. Although given that Spiderman 2 didn't do so hot domestically (it will just barely make back its 200 million production budget), it's probably for the best. For now, I'm a fan of hers because of The Spectacular Now, The Descendants, and The Fault in Our Stars.

 

   I think Shailene and Jennifer Lawrence are like comparing apples and oranges- their styles and the kind of roles they take are so completely different. They can co-exist pretty well, especially since it seems like barring the Hunger Games, Lawrence isn't doing any "young girl" roles.

 

   It's also interesting because as myself and others have noted, Shailene's rise to stardom has been pretty measured- little kid bit parts with her most famous being a couple of episodes as Marissa's little sister in the first season, then her ABC Family show, then the Descendants, and then three years later, finally launching her bid for stardom, and doing it quite impressively. I really did love that she and Ansel were Hazel and Augustus...in the wrong hands, the roles could've sucked hard, but they really pulled them off.

 

    I think it helps a lot that Woodley was never Maclauey Culkin or Lindsay Lohan- she was not the major kiddie star growing up, just a working one. She paid her dues for a very long time, learned her kraft in relative obscurity, and when it came time for her to lead a movie, she was ready. It's a nice reverse from what you often see happen, where a young movie star gets hyped up before they're ready. *cough* Alex Pettyfer.*cough*

 

    I hope Lawrence and Woodley both stick around for a long time. I can see them both outlasting the ingenue stage, which I can't see with either Kristen Stewart (I think she's destined to go the way of Wynona Ryder) or Emma Watson. I can see Emma Watson deciding very easily to move on to something else once she's no longer the Cover Girl ingenue, which is probably why she has an English degree, instead of fighting hard to stay in the game.

 

    Watching Enchanted again made me feel bad that Amy Addams broke out just as romantic comedies were fading out and changing- she really could have been an American Sweetheart if her career had broke out about 10 years earlier.

Edited June 13, 2014 by methodwriter85

[aradia22]

 

I hope Lawrence and Woodley both stick around for a long time. I can see them both outlasting the ingenue stage, which I can't see with either Kristen Stewart (I think she's destined to go the way of Wynona Ryder) or Emma Watson. I can see Emma Watson deciding very easily to move on to something else once she's no longer the Cover Girl ingenue, which is probably why she has an English degree, instead of fighting hard to stay in the game.

Despite the massive success of Twilight, I don't Kristin Stewart has earned the audience goodwill that Wynona Ryder had. I don't see her making her version of Little Women or Girl Interrupted unless she's just lucky enough to get cast by some crazy director or producer. Unless, you just meant the shoplifting thing, which would kind of be amazing. Also, if that ever happens, expect a message from me because you'd obviously be psychic and I'd want some lotto numbers. As for Emma Watson, I think she has more of a Wynona opportunity to pick projects but after The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring I don't think she's proven that she has a big enough fanbase to allow her to make any project. I haven't seen either movie yet (they're on my list!) but I'm not really sold on her acting ability. I think that'll be the real test. I know I'm alone in this (so many of my comments seem to belong on the Unpopular Opinion board) but I really hate the David Yates Potter films. I find them really slow and boring. They really pulled back on the special effects and magic (aside from the great animated sequence) and I don't think anyone really got a chance to show off their acting ability. When everyone seems kind of bland, then I fault the director, not the actors. I think she could easily choose another path... maybe become a teacher or operate a small art gallery or do a bunch of plays. But if she's got the acting ability, I wouldn't count her out. She could be a Cate Blanchett, an actress who doesn't work often (Blanchett is coming back full force but took some time off to run a theatre in Australia, I think) but who can choose a lot of her projects and who has the respect of audiences and critics. What I'm saying is, I think she's in a position to choose. She doesn't have the desperation you can sense with other starlets around her age.

[herbaltease]

Yeah, but I find Shailene much more annoying than Jennifer Lawrence. Not saying that it prevents her from being a movie star but it just baffles me that people can like her with the nonsense that comes out of her mouth sometimes. Stuff like "Do you consider yourself a feminist?"

 

I suspect neither Jennifer or Shailene are distinguishable from many of their young-actor counterparts in terms of social awareness.  Talented does not always mean educated.  However, getting established and ahead in the entertainment business often requires a single-mindedness the average 20-something doesn't have to contend with.  Thoughtless comments and general diarrhea of the mouth is compounded by the added pressure to be universally likable in order to continue to get more work.  Just the thought of some of the dumb stuff I may have said had someone interviewed me 10 years ago for a mag or talk show  makes me cringe, so I can empathize a little.  That being said, I can't call myself a fan of either actress.  I continue to be ticked at Marvel for trusting Jennifer with one of my favorite X-men characters (as if Halle Berry as Storm wasn't bad enough).  I'm saving Days of Future Past for a DVD-watching.  And I can't get that 'Talk Soup' clip out of my head of Shailene explaining to her tv mom how "incredible sex" killed her dad.  It's unfair, but that's all I can think about when I see her.  If either one of them is able to sustain their momentum past 30, then my opinions might change.  Maybe one or both will have taken some acting lessons before then to help build some range. 

 

Furthermore on the subject of the shit that flies from young celebrities' mouths: I still have not forgotten - nor forgiven, apparently - the Kirsten Dunst interview I read in Seventeen when we were both teenagers (we're the same age).  When asked how she would handle a real-life teen pregnancy (she was playing a teen mom in a made-for-tv movie at the time) she asserted how she wouldn't be "stupid enough to get pregnant."  Way to discredit every abuse, incest, and rape scenario, Kirsten. But again, youth & platforms can be a toxic mix. 

Edited June 13, 2014 by 80srockher

[Athena]

I'm also not convinced of Watson's acting talents, but then again, I haven't seen any of her post-HP projects. I don't think she is necessarily a bad actress either, but I am not sure if she could ever get to be like Blantchett who has a lot of prestige and talent. I often compare English actresses to Kate Winset who got a star making role, but I watched Beautiful Creatures thinking she had potential and screen charisma. She's made her mark by doing a lot of prestige and awards bait movies. I do wonder if Watson will keep doing it. She doesn't strike me as having a lot of range right now.

 

I think Kirsten Dunst still makes some questionable comments.

[VCRTracking]

 

And I can't get that 'Talk Soup' clip out of my head of Shailene explaining to her tv mom how "incredible sex" killed her dad.

 

 

Actually that infamous line was said by a different (and blonde) actress on the show,  Megan Park.  I don't think The Soup ever showed a clip from Secret Life featuring Shailene which is probably a compliment.

Edited June 13, 2014 by VCRTracking

[Sara2009]

I'm guessing Shailene has only ever encountered man-hating feminists. They're the vocal minority, but I think they give that whole community a bad reputation unfortunately.

[aradia22]

 

Just the thought of some of the dumb stuff I may have said had someone interviewed me 10 years ago for a mag or talk show  makes me cringe, so I can empathize a little.

 

Furthermore on the subject of the shit that flies from young celebrities' mouths: I still have not forgotten - nor forgiven, apparently - the Kirsten Dunst interview I read in Seventeen when we were both teenagers (we're the same age).

 

I think that might be a key to the difference in our thinking. I just turned 23 so if anyone close to my age (Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, etc.) says something stupid I'm less likely to forgive or just shrug it off if someone uses "age" as an excuse. Sleep deprivation, fine. Being in your early 20's. Eh, not going to cut it.

[methodwriter85]

   Kirsten Dunst. I really think she's someone who just flat out burned out. I mean really, she was EVERYWHERE in the mid-90's up to the early 2000's. It seems like she's slowed the pace waaaayyyy down, but I'm not so sure if it's that no one wants to work with her, or it's her own choice. She did get good reviews for Melancholia, which came out recently. I wonder if she'll go the way of another 90's teen starlet and become the lead actress on a gritty cable t.v. show.

[Ohwell]

I swear, I used to get Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, and Claire Danes mixed up all the time.  The only reason I can now distinguish Claire Danes is because of Homeland, but I still have trouble with the other two.

[methodwriter85]

Julia Stiles is now playing a hooker on web series called Blue. It's actually pretty good and it makes me again sad that Julia Stiles doesn't get leading roles in feature films anymore.

[aradia22]

 

Julia Stiles is now playing a hooker on web series called Blue. It's actually pretty good and it makes me again sad that Julia Stiles doesn't get leading roles in feature films anymore.

I think it's because a lot of her acting relies on her being cold/reserved which isn't something that people are really clamoring for. Especially with actresses.

[Dejana]

Emma Watson got good reviews for Noah, which probably made less than the studio hoped, but it still got over $100 million and its box office limitations can't really be placed on the cast. A still from an upcoming movie of hers with Ethan Hawke (Regression) surfaced this week and people are snarking on her acting seeming artificial just from a picture. I can easily picture it going either way with her, not making the leap or following a Natalie Portman trajectory and getting major awards traction for a role that perfectly suits her skill set.

 

The Fault in Our Stars is by an author with a huge following who wrote a very popular book based on a real-life girl whose story made waves online even before her death. Shailene's reviews are stellar but I wouldn't say she's more of a factor in its success than Jennifer Lawrence was with The Hunger Games. It's a plus in Woodley's column, definitely. I think getting dumped from the rebooted Spider-Man franchise probably turned out for the best for her.

 

For those who asked about Renée Zellweger, she has an upcoming movie in the news for a casting shuffle with upcoming film The Whole Truth: Keanu Reeves is replacing Daniel Craig, who left the project days before filming was to begin. Gugu Mbatha-Raw of Belle is also in the movie.

Edited June 14, 2014 by Dejana

[Rick Kitchen]

I loved Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You.  She was all right in O, but it was actually sort of silly.  But she never moved on till I saw her again in Silver Linings Playbook, and her appearance again gave me hope that she might eventually become the big star she should be.

[Amethyst]

I think Kirsten Dunst and Renee Zellweger both fell off the radar due to their personal lives.  Supposedly, Kirsten had a breakdown after her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal ended, especially since she and his sister Maggie were such good friends.  Renee Zellweger had a much publicized wedding to Kenny Chesney that ended almost as soon as it started.  Combined with a string of flops, she was no longer considered a box office draw, and to make matters worse, she was "over the hill" for an actress.  It's an unfair system.

 

I've yet to see Emma Watson wow me in a role.  She's very pretty, but compared to her former HP costars, she's by far the weakest link, IMO.  Even when she was spoofing herself in This is the End she sucked.  I wouldn't be surprised if she left the industry eventually, or just decided to work behind the scenes.  

 

 

[SallyAlbright]

Just saw Of Mice and Men on Broadway which got me to thinking about its three young stars, particularly Leighton Meester and Chris O'Dowd. They both overshadowed James Franco, who was just fine but not as impressive as they were. Leighton Meester has a real knack for making shallow, unlikeable characters rather vulnerable and sympathetic. And O'Dowd was a completely different human than he was in Bridesmaids. What do you guys think of them? I hope they both get lots of movie work after this. 

 

And for what it's worth, in regard to the discussion above: I like Jennifer Lawrence but am totally sick of her and already wish she'd take on more age appropriate roles and stop stealing 30-something parts from the likes of Emily Blunt and Amy Adams. I'm glad she will be taking a bit of a break after she finishes Mockingjay so I can miss her and like her again. As for Shailene Woodley...I'm sure she's a lovely girl but I can't stand her. She is annoying and pretentious in interviews, and she was my least favorite part of TFIOS. The sooner she stops getting so much work, the better for me. 

Edited June 14, 2014 by SallyAlbright

[Athena]

I have liked Leighton Meester in almost everything I've seen her in. She made her guest spots on "Entourage", "Veronica Mars" and "House" memorable. I find she is able to generate a lot of chemistry with her costars too. She does vulnerability well, and "Gossip Girl" also showed that she has decent comic timing. All of this doesn't mean she'll break out into films, but I really hope she gets a consistent and quality career post-GG. I always thought it was a shame that Boobs Legsley got media attention when Leighton was by far the better actress and IMO, the prettier of the two.

 

Not surprised at all about Chris O'Dowd's acting talent. He is adorable and hilarious.

[aradia22]

Leighton Meester will have to do a lot to get me to hate her. I was in on Gossip Girl from the beginning and any Gossip Girl fan knows Blair and Chuck were the best part of that show. I saw Country Strong on a plane. I couldn't bring myself to see her Single White Female style movie or That's My Boy. I hope for the best for her but she needs to make smarter decisions because there's only so long reviewers can go "Leighton Meester was the best part of this terrible movie" before she stops getting roles.

 

I've only seen Chris O'Dowd in The Sapphires but he was great in that movie. At the moment I don't see him as a movie star or a critically beloved actor (though that could change) but he definitely seems to know how to fit himself into movies in a way that makes me think he could stick around for a long time in supporting roles. It probably also doesn't hurt that he seems really likable and is forming relationships with people who will probably help him get projects in the future.

[Sara2009]

I hated Chuck most of the time, so I have to disagree there.

I agree about Leughton, though. She was the most talented GG member by far.

[Athena]

I hope for the best for her but she needs to make smarter decisions because there's only so long reviewers can go "Leighton Meester was the best part of this terrible movie" before she stops getting roles.

 

Sadly, I can see why she took both the Country Song and SWF role, they were probably some of the few film roles she got. Even with Leighton's long resume (acting at least 12 years), she is probably not getting the roles and scripts she would like. Most actors don't; they struggle to get paid well. A lot of TV actors cannot break into film easily and they have to take what they can get to stay relevant in Hollywood. She'll get more roles for awhile I think, but it may not be leads or particularly good ones. Leighton even moved to Hollywood post-GG, but she probably needs a stronger (yet obnoxious) management team like Lively had. 

 

I think going into theater is a very smart decision. It may not be the exposure she wants, but she is getting good reviews in a well known production. 

[Oreo2234]

 

And for what it's worth, in regard to the discussion above: I like Jennifer Lawrence but am totally sick of her and already wish she'd take on more age appropriate roles and stop stealing 30-something parts from the likes of Emily Blunt and Amy Adams.

Agreed. I liked her in Silver Linings Playbook but I am not convinced there was no other actress that could have pulled that off. There are a lot of talented 30 something actresses in Hollywood right now they aren't getting a lot of great lead roles. 

Edited June 14, 2014 by Oreo2234