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

[SallyAlbright]

The HBO series sounds interesting (I won't be watching because I don't get HBO) and she is surrounded by a good crew.  Also, she never struck me as the bubbly sort so you're probably right about the personality thing.

I absolutely love Big Little Lies, and am totally excited about the show, but I think Woodley is a bit miscast. Or rather, miscast only because Nicole Kidman is also miscast. I feel like it has to be one or the other. It's not unfathomable that they'd both have kindergarten-age children, but the age difference will look quite pronounced, I think. Kidman is a bit older than her character, if I recall correctly, while I think Woodley is a bit younger. As I was reading it, I pictured Felicity Jones as Jane and, luckily, Reese Witherspoon as Madeline and Skarsgaard as Perry. Pretty weird that two of those actually worked out. The supporting cast is great too, with Adam Scott and Laura Dern.

[Athena]

I have requested a Big Little Lies forum for those of us interested. Either way, this show should be interesting given the production and cast.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thank you Athena! I would be majorly interested

[DollEyes]

  Another example of a successful child star transitioning into a great career as an adult actor is Nicholas Hoult. He came to most people's attention in the film version of About A Boy when he was a boy, but has since played roles in, among other things, A Single Man, Warm Bodies, the X-Men prequels and is Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road, one of this year's Best Picture Oscar nominees.

Edited January 16, 2016 by DollEyes

[KatWay]

I hope he goes places. He hasn't found a real breakout role yet but he's been great in everything I've seen him in so far. 

[vb68]

On the TV side, I just wanted to mention Fred Savage too.  I was surprised he came back to acting, but I think he will probably be a lifer in the business.  Everyone seems to like him.

[Ms Blue Jay]

He had no interest in acting, only directing.  

 

In 2015, Savage returned to acting with the Fox series The Grinder.[6] Producer Nick Stoller approached Savage about playing the role of Stewart on The Grinder.[6] Savage was uninterested in acting at first but agreed to meet with the producers of the series because his children attended school with Stoller's children.[6] Savage eventually agreed to take on the role.[6]

 

[anyanka323]

According to Wikipedia, Michael B. Jordan is going to be portraying Bryan Stevenson, a real life legal activist, and will work with Ryan Coogler again in a film about the Atlanta school system cheating scandal.

The Bryan Stevenson book, Just Mercy, is a must read if you have any interest in race, social justice and how they relate to the justice system in this country.  It was on the NY Times' list for best books in 2014, and was probably optioned as a film around that time as well.  The director of Short Term 12 is writing and directing the adaptation.  The role of Bryan Stevenson is a great one for an African American actor and one that may finally get Michael B. Jordan some awards recognition. 

[methodwriter85]

  Another example of a successful child star transitioning into a great career as an adult actor is Nicholas Hoult. He came to most people's attention in the film version of About A Boy when he was a boy, but has since played roles in, among other things, A Single Man, Warm Bodies, the X-Men prequels and is Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road, one of this year's Best Picture Oscar nominees.

 

If the mild success of Warm Bodies hadn't been immediately followed by the huge flop of Jack and the Beanstock, I think Nicholas would have bigger buzz around him. I do think it sucks that Warm Bodies wasn't a breakout role- it should've been, for both him and Teresa Palmer.

[methodwriter85]

Another thought today- it's nice that Jennifer Jason Leigh is mounting a comeback of sorts. She's never chased after American Sweetheart status and she's always been pretty quirky, but there's something very cool about seeing a natural-faced 53-year old woman being listed at Number 4 on Star-O-Meter on IMDB and seeing people remember that she's alive despite daring to being over the age of 40.

 

She's also a good reminder that it's not a bad thing to let your face age. Her lined, naturally-aged face really did add a lot to The Hateful Eight. I mean, as much as I love Virginia Madsen, I kind of wish she'd ease up on the injectables.

Edited January 17, 2016 by methodwriter85

[ellenr33]

I'm really loving little Jacob Tremblay and I thought he was robbed for an Oscar Nomination. I hope this little boy makes it. I think he is adorable!

[shang yiet]

If Jacob is as good as Haley Joel Osment was in Sixth Sense, then he should have been nominated. Haley Joel was.I though he should have won too.

[VCRTracking]

Another thought today- it's nice that Jennifer Jason Leigh is mounting a comeback of sorts. She's never chased after American Sweetheart status and she's always been pretty quirky, but there's something very cool about seeing a natural-faced 53-year old woman being listed at Number 4 on Star-O-Meter on IMDB and seeing people remember that she's alive despite daring to being over the age of 40.

 

She's the same age now as her dad Vic Morrow was when he was killed while filming the Twilight Zone movie(which I watched for the first time recently).

[methodwriter85]

She's the same age now as her dad Vic Morrow was when he was killed while filming the Twilight Zone movie(which I watched for the first time recently).

 

You can definitely see her father in her looks. She got the brown eyes from her mother, but the overall facial structure is her father's, especially the mouth shape.

 

I always remember being surprised to learn that she wound up having a child late in life, to Noah Baumbach. (Who wound up splitting with her and going to Greta Gerwig.)

 

Again, it's really nice to see a woman who is allowing her face to age normally, especially someone who's best-known role was that of a teenaged girl. I think that's going to serve her well as a character actress, like it has for Melissa Leo.

[Craphole Island]

I really hope to see Michelle Pfeiffer make a similar comeback to Jennifer Jason Leigh. I think she's certainly a bigger name than JJL but I still don't think she gets talked about enough. She's fantastic in everything I've seen her in and although I just saw it for the first time this past year, I think she should have won the Oscar for Fabulous Baker Boys.

[JBC344]

I really hope to see Michelle Pfeiffer make a similar comeback to Jennifer Jason Leigh. I think she's certainly a bigger name than JJL but I still don't think she gets talked about enough. She's fantastic in everything I've seen her in and although I just saw it for the first time this past year, I think she should have won the Oscar for Fabulous Baker Boys.

Word. Michelle was incredible in The Fabulous Baker Boys.  It seemed like she was having a bit of resurgence when she did Hairspray, and was praised.  But then sort of fell off with Dark Shadows and a couple of other movies.  She really is fantastic.  Would love to see her used more. 

[absnow54]

Didn't Michelle Pfeiffer get a bunch of random name drops in popular 2015 songs? I know they mention her in Uptown Funk. She's a wonderfully charismatic actress, and I'd love to see her hit it big again. It looks like she's playing Bernie Madoff's wife in an upcoming HBO film opposite Robert DeNiro, so she'll probably be around for next year's award season.

[JBC344]

Didn't Michelle Pfeiffer get a bunch of random name drops in popular 2015 songs? I know they mention her in Uptown Funk. She's a wonderfully charismatic actress, and I'd love to see her hit it big again. It looks like she's playing Bernie Madoff's wife in an upcoming HBO film opposite Robert DeNiro, so she'll probably be around for next year's award season.

Cool.  I heard about this project but didn't know Michelle was playing Ruth.  Can't wait to see it.  I like when her and Robert play opposite one another. 

[UYI]

Didn't Michelle Pfeiffer get a bunch of random name drops in popular 2015 songs? I know they mention her in Uptown Funk. She's a wonderfully charismatic actress, and I'd love to see her hit it big again. It looks like she's playing Bernie Madoff's wife in an upcoming HBO film opposite Robert DeNiro, so she'll probably be around for next year's award season.

 

She was also mentioned in Vance Joy's song "Riptide" ("I swear she's destined for the screen, closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that I've ever seen"), which technically came out in 2014, but it still gets radio play now, so you're good. :)

 

I do wonder if her stunning looks actually gave her a bit of a disadvantage in landing serious/good roles at times (the whole "So Beautiful, It's a Curse" thing), even she obviously has had some great roles, too. I do know she apparently turned down a LOT of roles that went to other big actresses of her time period, so that might have hurt things for her at times, too. 

Edited January 20, 2016 by UYI

[Athena]

She was also mentioned in Vance Joy's song "Riptide" ("I swear she's destined for the screen, closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that I've ever seen"), which technically came out in 2014, but it still gets radio play now, so you're good. :)

 

I do wonder if her stunning looks actually gave her a bit of a disadvantage in landing serious/good roles at times (the whole "So Beautiful, It's a Curse" thing), even she obviously has had some great roles, too. I do know she apparently turned down a LOT of roles that went to other big actresses of her time period, so that might have hurt things for her at times, too.

 

Indeed. These are the following roles she turned down according to Wikipedia: "In the 1990s, Pfeiffer accepted and also turned down many high-profile roles, beginning with the title role in Pretty Woman (1990), which earned Julia Roberts a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress... she turned down the role of Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991),[42] which won Jodie Foster the Academy Award for Best Actress, the role of Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (1992), ultimately played by Sharon Stone,[9][43] and the role of Louise in Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise, that went to the twelve-years-older Susan Sarandon.... she turned down the role of the White Witch in the 2005 fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which went to Tilda Swinton."

 

To be fair, some of the roles worked for the substitute actresses so well that they all got critical acclaim from it. However, those are a lot high profile roles she said No too. At that time, she could afford to be choosy as one of the most beautiful women in the world, but still.

 

After her critical and commercial success in the early 90s, the rest of her movies in the 90s didn't do as well. So she quietly went off on a four year hiatus to focus on her family. For most actors, that is hard to come back from. Of course she was an A-lister.

 

I agree that she's a great actress and such a magnetic film presence. It's too bad she doesn't work as much, but she seems happy with where she has been.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Ugh.  All those missed opportunities.  Another thing for me to (irrationally?) blame David E. Kelley for ;)  She has that star quality people really respond to.  She had a great run and I think people have such goodwill towards her.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[dusang]

Ugh.  All those missed opportunities.  Another thing for me to (irrationally?) blame David E. Kelley for ;)  She has that star quality people really respond to.  She had a great run and I think people have such goodwill towards her.

 

[OT]Back in the TWoP days, someone was recapping one of David E. Kelley's shows -- I don't remember which one, Ally McBeal?  Picket Fences? Boston Professional? -- and every time the recapper came across something idiotic and improbable in the show (so, like every two minutes or so) he'd write in a parenthetical aside of Michelle Pfeiffer calling DEK back to bed.  Oh god I miss TWoP sometimes.[/OT]

[VCRTracking]

Thinking about it the 2000s(or "Oughts") had the most young stars with a lot of potential who ended up crashing and burning since, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes, Shia LeBeouf and the most tragic, Heath ledger.

Edited January 23, 2016 by VCRTracking

[SeanC]

Did LaBeouf really crash and burn, per se?  He's made his share of weird/controversial statements, but in terms of his career it seems more like his artistic interests just took him in a very niche direction (and he's not really traditional leading man material, looks-wise, anyway).

[methodwriter85]

Thinking about it the 2000s(or "Oughts") had the most young stars with a lot of potential who ended up crashing and burning since, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes, Shia LeBeouf and the most tragic, Heath ledger.

 

Don't forget Heath's friend, Wes Bentley. (Although luckily, he's back on a good path and he seems to be having a nice career resurgence.)

 

Michelle Pfeiffer should be transitioning to older character actor roles like JJL did, but the problem is that she's still too stunningly beautiful to really pull that off. You can only play so many "gorgeous older woman" roles.

 

Anyway, Brie Larson on her newfound buzz:

 

Brie Larson's 20-Year Climb to Overnight Stardom - The Hollywood Reporter

 

I've liked her in 21 Jump Street, The Spectacular Now, and Trainwreck...it's cool to see that she's getting her chance to shine in the sun. She seems determined to remain grounded.

[Rick Kitchen]

Domhnall Gleason has had a lot of starring roles this year, including Star Wars and The Revenant, and a supporting role in Brooklyn.  I hope he starts getting bigger roles and leading roles in big films.  His nest film he co-stars with Tom Cruise.  His star is on the ascent, and I like it.  He always delivers solid performances.

[absnow54]

Domhnall Gleason had an amazing year. He was also in Ex Machina also. I think he was in half of most people's top 10 movies last year.

[AshleyN]

I've actually had the opposite thought about Gleason: I've seen three of his films just in the last few weeks and came away kind of confused about why he's getting cast in everything under the sun. I thought he was horrible in Star Wars and forgettable in both Brooklyn and Ex Machina. The latter might be the worst, given that he's technically the lead but was overshadowed in every single scene by either Alicia Vikander or Oscar Isaac, to the point where I can barely remember a thing he did. He's not bad necessarily (except in Star Wars), but I've yet to see him do anything that any half-decent actor couldn't.

[VCRTracking]

I can't really blame Gleeson for Star Wars because it seems they did several takes of his big speech, some of them not as OTT and less intense as the final movie but JJ Abrams wanted the really BIG version.

[KatWay]

 

I can't really blame Gleeson for Star Wars because it seems they did several takes of his big speech, some of them not as OTT and less intense as the final movie but JJ Abrams wanted the really BIG version.

For maximum Nazi reference. How stunningly original. Knew there was a reason I didn't care for JJ Abrams. (man, I can not shut about about that)

[cynic]

I loved Gleeson in About Time, so was looking forward to him in Star Wars. I was so disappointed. The character and his acting was so one-note. He just looked like he smelled something bad the whole time.

[VCRTracking]

It makes you realize how good Peter Cushing was in the first Star Wars.

[methodwriter85]

Now that the First Wave flopped, can people please stop trying to make Chloe Grace Moretz happen? Please?

[absnow54]

I think the real question is: can we stop trying to make Twilight/Hunger Games ripoffs happen? Pretty much every YA dystopian novel published in the last 5 years has been optioned, and not a single one has stuck. 

[methodwriter85]

The Maze Runner and Divergent have done okay enough, but nothing else has.

[Skyline]

Now that the First Wave flopped, can people please stop trying to make Chloe Grace Moretz happen? Please?

I'm afraid they'll never stop giving her chances. She has 3 films that are in post-production. 

[methodwriter85]

I'm afraid they'll never stop giving her chances. She has 3 films that are in post-production. 

It's not even that I hate the chick or think she's a terrible actress. I'm just annoyed that she keeps getting pushed as the next big thing despite the fact that she can't headline a big successful film. I want her to do what Saoirse Ronan did after her big flop- take a step back, and then come back with an actually good role.

 

I also feel like she wouldn't be getting these many chances if she weren't a pretty barely-legal blonde girl, which annoys me on so many levels.

Edited January 25, 2016 by methodwriter85

[Bruinsfan]

I'm just crossing my fingers that she starts taking roles away from Jennifer Lawrence.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I strongly wonder what David O. Russell will do when (if?) Jennifer Lawrence ages out of her looks.

[Ambrosefolly]

I strongly wonder what David O. Russell will do when (if?) Jennifer Lawrence ages out of her looks.

Then she will finally be old enough for the parts he casts her in.

[raezen]

Then she will finally be old enough for the parts he casts her in.

By then he will probably become as difficult with her as he is with all the actress over 30 he's worked with. And she's big enough that she really does not have to put up with it.

[absnow54]

That's already happened. There were a few instances during "Joy" filming where they had huge arguments and when the media picked up on it, Jennifer's people went to facebook to post about the incidents, which she never does. Since then, she's been in hardcore "I LOVE David! He's the greatest, I swear!" mode. I do think that once she starts working with other accomplished directors like Spielberg and Aranofsky, she'll be less likely to put up with DOR's bullshit. But right now he's her award season ticket.

[raezen]

Which was funny because JL has said in interviews that if someone says there her on social media, it's not her.

I almost feel like there's a contract between the two or something for JL to not just do pr for his films but for him. At least that was how it felt during SLP's pr.

Edited January 26, 2016 by raezen

[UYI]

JL has an official Facebook page, but has gone on record saying that she'll never get Twitter. She might be on Instagram, though, I can't remember. 

Edited February 4, 2016 by UYI

[xaxat]

That's already happened. There were a few instances during "Joy" filming where they had huge arguments and when the media picked up on it, Jennifer's people went to facebook to post about the incidents, which she never does. 

 

Really? There was behind the scenes drama during the making of a movie about a woman who invented a mop?

[SeanC]

Discussing potential up-and-comers, anybody have any thoughts on Lily James?  Film-wise, she had a notable success with Cinderella last year.  She was in the BBC's War and Peace adaptation that just aired, and has the somewhat dubious Pride and Prejudice and Zombies out tomorrow (was probably fun to shoot, if nothing else).  I've found her quite charming in what I've seen her in.  She's arguably got the most notable film career of anybody primarily associated with Downton Abbey of late, which is a bit unusual given that she wasn't even part of the original cast.

[Athena]

I've found her quite charming in what I've seen her in.  She's arguably got the most notable film career of anybody primarily associated with Downton Abbey of late, which is a bit unusual given that she wasn't even part of the original cast.

 

Partly it's due to her age because there can never be enough ingenues. Most of  the Downton older actors were established and the show has really helped some people's careers, but James is now an international star. Good job with whomever got her the Cinderella gig as it gave her momentum. Jessica Brown Findlay (whom James effectively "replaced" on DA) was hyped for a good post-DA career, but her movies have not done well and she's faded from the spotlight. James is filling that period film/production niche that was dominated by Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan. Before them, it was Kate Winslet when she was in her early 20s. While James is not necessarily the most accomplished actress, she has a lot of screen charisma and is definitely one of the more charming actresses popular right now. I think her acting has improved.

[methodwriter85]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies isn't going to be a big blockbuster, but it wasn't hyped all that hard so it's not really not going to hurt her that much.

 

Article on Paul Dano. I've liked that guy ever since L.I.E...I'm thrilled that he's making a pretty solid character actor career. I think it actually works to his favor that he's not a hugely handsome guy- just average looking, because no one's tried to turn him into some pretty boy next big thing.

[Rick Kitchen]

I wonder if Hail, Caesar! is going to give Alden Ehrenreich a career boost.  He has a really large part in the film.  His next two movies he co-stars with Warren Beatty and Jennifer Aniston. He stars in the Aniston film.

[Athena]

I wonder if Hail, Caesar! is going to give Alden Ehrenreich a career boost.  He has a really large part in the film.  His next two movies he co-stars with Warren Beatty and Jennifer Aniston. He stars in the Aniston film.

 

Here's a Rolling Stone article about him. He is extremely well liked by big name directors. Stephen Spielberg discovered him and got him through the door on TV spots. He's now been directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, the Coen Brothers, and Warren Beatty. I haven't formed a strong opinion on him, but he seems decent and a natural. It's really interesting how he keeps getting cast by big name directors so he must be doing something right.