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

[methodwriter85]

I think he's in a weird place at the moment because he's not really pretty enough to be cast as the love interest in teen movies, but he's still a little young to fully get into the character actor thing. He's pretty smart in what he's doing.

[methodwriter85]

So, after spending most of this decade as a has-been with a string of box office flops, Ryan Reynolds is a star again. Good for him. I feel like the problem he ran into is that he's really well-suited for R-rated, wisecracking roles, but he then tried to do all these straight roles.

Edited February 13, 2016 by methodwriter85

[Ruby25]

Yeah, I saw the movie last night and I think he finally found the absolute perfect role for his style of snarkiness. He fits the character to a tee. It'll be hard to separate him from it now.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Ruby25

[SallyAlbright]

RR was perfect for Deadpool, but I still think his range is just so limited. I like him as a snarky sidekick type, but I've just never bought him as a leading man, ever. He just doesn't quite have the charisma for me. 

[JBC344]

I find him to be very limited as well.  With that said I recently saw him in "Woman in Gold" last week.  The movie where he played a real life lawyer, opposite Helen Mirren.  He was actually really wonderful.  I kept saying to myself why can't he do more roles like this?  I know it wasn't a flashy role but a really subtle, subdued performance.  Would love to see him do more of these roles in addition to more Deadpool movies.

[methodwriter85]

The problem with Ryan Reynolds is that he absolutely SUCKS as an everyman- either in action mode (Tom Cruise) or in dramatic mode (Tom Hanks). He just doesn't work in those roles.He has this particular snarkiness that he excelled at doing, but the problem is that most movies don't have those characters as their leading man.

[methodwriter85]

I saw the Pretty in Pink 30th anniversary screening today, and it made me decide to dig up the long-lived beef that happened between Molly Ringwald and John Hughes.

 

I have a really hard time picturing Jennifer Beals as Andie. Geez, that would've been a disaster.

 

I do think Jennifer Lawrence and David O'Russell are heading to this place, but of course, I don't think the inevitable split will push her back to obscurity. As Dawson Leery put it, all Molly Ringwald really had was the gawky ingenue appeal. Her career was probably always to go fizzle out- her pissing off the wrong person just hastened it.

[topanga]

 

I saw the Pretty in Pink 30th anniversary screening today, and it made me decide to dig up the long-lived beef that happened between Molly Ringwald and John Hughes.

It seems like the feud started purely for professional reasons, then became something else. John Hughes definitely put Molly Ringwald on the map, but she also became typecast as "the actress from John Hughes movies." Molly said on the Professor Blastoff podcast that she would go to auditions where casting people would flat out tell her that they couldn't imagine her playing any other role except a character in a John Hughes movie. And she felt that hurt her career. So she began to turn down parts in John Hughes movies, and that led to them not speaking for 20 years. But apparently, they made up before he died.

 

What I can't over is John Hughes' ability to make the world believe that there are no black people in Chicago.* I loved every John Hughes movie as a teenager, but now, I'm like, "Sheesh. Nooooo black people??????" I still watch the Breakfast Club over and over, by the way. 

 

*ETA: And no Latino people, Caribbean people, Asian people, East Indians, etc.

Edited February 18, 2016 by topanga

[xaxat]

What I can't over is John Hughes' ability to make the world believe that there are no black people in Chicago.* I loved every John Hughes movie as a teenager, but now, I'm like, "Sheesh. Nooooo black people??????" I still watch the Breakfast Club over and over, by the way. 

 

*ETA: And no Latino people, Caribbean people, Asian people, East Indians, etc.

 

I was attending high school in Southern Illinois around the same time Hughes was doing his high school movies. And from what I remember during band/debate competitions at suburban Chicago high schools in places like New Trier, Downers Grove etc. an all white class was entirely believable.

 

Chicago was (and still is) a pretty segregated city.

[AimingforYoko]

I was attending high school in Southern Illinois around the same time Hughes was doing his high school movies. And from what I remember during band/debate competitions at suburban Chicago high schools in places like New Trier, Downers Grove etc. an all white class was entirely believable.

 

Chicago was (and still is) a pretty segregated city.

The joke among my friends was if a white person said they were from Chicago, the follow-up question was always, "What suburb?"

[methodwriter85]

I was attending high school in Southern Illinois around the same time Hughes was doing his high school movies. And from what I remember during band/debate competitions at suburban Chicago high schools in places like New Trier, Downers Grove etc. an all white class was entirely believable.

 

Chicago was (and still is) a pretty segregated city.

No, what I found unbelievable is that the school district would have had zoning that allowed very rich and very poor kids to attend school together. I can buy that rich kids are going to a public school, but I didn't get how that zoning even allowed for people like Andie and Duckie to attend that school.

 

I feel like Molly Ringwald is like the teen equivalent of Shirley Temple- beloved child star that nobody wanted to see grow up. (Although it really is a shame- Shirley did a wonderful job in The Best Years of Our Lives, and I bet she could've had an adult career with the right role and a public willing to accept her as a woman and not a little girl.

 

Speaking of the movie's stars, I feel like Andrew McCarthy was probably screwed by both his alcoholism, and I think he had a hard time with not being able to do the cute young guy act. James Spader and Annie Potts definitely had the best careers out of that cast, with Jon Crier at least getting one long-running and successful show. James really did have a pretty good run as a film star- he was never a blockbuster type, but I honestly got the feeling he never wanted to be. As for Annie Potts, I always loved her on Any Day Now, though she seems to have settled into "Hey, It's that Guy" status on T.V. instead of being a series lead.

 

Gina Gershon and Kristy Swanson were basically extras, so I'm not really including them. I do think it's a shame that Kristy didn't take off- I always did love the Buffy movie.

 

 

The joke among my friends was if a white person said they were from Chicago, the follow-up question was always, "What suburb?"

 

Gentrification doesn't seem to be a thing there, like it is for Philly and D.C. I guess the gang violence is keeping the whites out of trying to gentrify "transitional" neighborhoods?

 

I do wonder if things had changed, because in Mean Girls, their high school was pretty diverse and it was supposed to be North Shore.

Edited February 18, 2016 by methodwriter85

[VCRTracking]

I feel like Molly Ringwald is like the teen equivalent of Shirley Temple- beloved child star that nobody wanted to see grow up. (Although it really is a shame- Shirley did a wonderful job in The Best Years of Our Lives, and I bet she could've had an adult career with the right role and a public willing to accept her as a woman and not a little girl.

 

I think you mean The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, where Myrna Loy played her sister. Loy was also in The Best Years of Our Lives but Teresa Wright played her daughter(though IRL Loy was only 13 years older than her).

 

What I can't over is John Hughes' ability to make the world believe that there are no black people in Chicago.* I loved every John Hughes movie as a teenager, but now, I'm like, "Sheesh. Nooooo black people??????" I still watch the Breakfast Club over and over, by the way.

 

Of course there are black people in John Hughes' Chicago! They show up and do spontaneous yet choreographed line dancing whenever a white teenager skipping school hijacks a parade and lip syncs a Beatles cover of an Isley Brothers song!

Edited February 19, 2016 by VCRTracking

[methodwriter85]

I think you mean The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, where Myrna Loy played her sister. Loy was also in The Best Years of Our Lives but Teresa Wright played her daughter(though IRL Loy was only 13 years older than her).

 

 

Of course there are black people in John Hughes' Chicago! They show up and do spontaneous yet choreographed line dancing whenever a white teenager skipping school hijacks a parade and lip syncs a Beatles cover of an Isley Brothers song!

 

They were also there as the help when Watts wanted to gamble.

 

I really thought that Shirley Temple was the teenaged girl that was in The Best Years of Our Lives. Hmm. Okay, got that wrong.

[VCRTracking]

I don't think the daughter in Best Years Of Our Lives was a teenager since she gets with Dana Andrews in the movie.

 

Molly said on the Professor Blastoff podcast that she would go to auditions where casting people would flat out tell her that they couldn't imagine her playing any other role except a character in a John Hughes movie.

 

Ironically she played different types of characters in those movies, at least in terms of class. Sixteen Candles, she was middle class, Breakfast Club she was upper class and Pretty in Pink she was lower.

Edited February 19, 2016 by VCRTracking

[LilWharveyGal]

There's also Wilma, Homer's girlfriend, who seems slightly younger than Peggy.

[methodwriter85]

Ironically she played different types of characters in those movies, at least in terms of class. Sixteen Candles, she was middle class, Breakfast Club she was upper class and Pretty in Pink she was lower.

 

Sam, Claire, and Andie were all pretty different, to be honest. The only commonality they really had is that they were teenagers going to high school in suburban Chicago.

 

I always thought it was kind of funny that John Bender tells Claire to stuck her head in the sand and wait for her prom, and then Molly's next role was playing a girl going to her prom.

 

Molly Ringwald just turned 48. Man, that's crazy. It's going to be weird that the public image of you is always going to be a 17-year old, lovesick teenager when you're pushing 50.

[VCRTracking]

There's also Wilma, Homer's girlfriend, who seems slightly younger than Peggy.

 

She was played by Cathy O'Donnell. I just watched The Best Years Of Our Lives again on TCM last night and I cried even harder than I did when I first saw it years ago.

 

Edited February 20, 2016 by VCRTracking

[PepSinger]

I really don't think that Ryan Reynolds is limited. Do I think he'll win an Oscar? No. However, every movie I've seen him I thought he was believable and did a good job. I don't think it's so much about him not being a leading man so much as it was he was picking shitty projects. Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, and Just Friends all did well. 

 

I am so happy he has a box office hit under his belt again. 

[methodwriter85]

Well, I was right that he had a percentage of box office:

 

'Deadpool Success' Leads to Big Payday for Ryan Reynolds and Team

 

At a minimum, he's going to make 10 million from this, but probably a lot more when it's all said and done.

Edited February 23, 2016 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Brie Larson. From failed Disney teen pop star to Oscar Winner in 11 years!

 

 

I think it's fucking hilarious that the current Best Actress is a former Avril Lavigne/Hilary Duff/Michelle Branch wannabee.

 

A lot of people have said that they picture her falling away pretty quickly after her win like Hilary Swank did, but I think the thing that she has going for is a warm on-screen personality. She did a fine job with her parts in Trainwreck, 21 Jump Street, and the Spectacular Now, and I think she can have a pretty long career.

[Trini]

Wow, I only knew her as Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim!

[raezen]

Wow, I guess it's true. If at first you don't succeed, try again (but maybe in a different area.)

Edited March 2, 2016 by raezen

[SeanC]

A lot of people have said that they picture her falling away pretty quickly after her win like Hilary Swank did, but I think the thing that she has going for is a warm on-screen personality. She did a fine job with her parts in Trainwreck, 21 Jump Street, and the Spectacular Now, and I think she can have a pretty long career.

I don't really see the comparison.  She's had a pretty solid career in indie drama and supporting roles in somewhat larger films prior to winning an Oscar.  She's also more conventionally attractive than Swank (who got a lot of ridiculous BS about her face).

[Ruby25]

I don't see a lot of screen presence from her though. She seems more like a character actress to me. I just think she's probably not going to be big movie star type, but not that she won't be a successful working actress. I think she probably will, maybe like Julianne Moore or something.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Ruby25

[raezen]

I guess it also helps to plan for your career early like Alicia Vikander did in this video when she was 9 making the rounds;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s1dCi1IGuDI

Edited March 2, 2016 by raezen

[methodwriter85]

I don't really see the comparison.  She's had a pretty solid career in indie drama and supporting roles in somewhat larger films prior to winning an Oscar.  She's also more conventionally attractive than Swank (who got a lot of ridiculous BS about her face).

Swank also has this vaguely off-putting vibe to her. (It's really hard to describe it, but there's a reason why she never took off when she tried to do romantic comedies.)

 

I think Brie has a chance at a good Judy Greer kind of career. (Maybe Julianne Moore?) Someone described her as reminding them of Amy Ryan, a quintessential "Hey, It's That Guy!"

[VCRTracking]

Brie is starring in the upcoming movie Kong: Skull Island. If that movie turns out to be a big blockbuster hit, more people will know who she is than just Indie movie viewers.

 

I liked Brie Larson when she appeared in an episode during the terrible fourth season of Community(when creator Dan Harmon was fired). I was hoping when Harmon returned in season 5 he would bring her back and was so happy when he did. Although because she had a busy schedule only appeared in 2 of 13 episodes. As Harmon said in an interview:

 

You said before that there were really only two things from the fourth season you needed to carry through. But you chose to bring back Brie Larson. I don’t know if she comes back at any point later in the season or if that was just it. But you clearly saw something there that you wanted to have come back.

Dan Harmon: Well I’ll break your heart by telling you that, I mean, she’s in demand and did us a favor probably financially by coming back. She comes back in this next episode, the Vince Gilligan one, but there’s no closure with that. The idea is that Abed’s in a relationship and we’re not making a big deal out of it. We tell a story about what it might be like to be in a relationship with Abed for this episode but we didn’t have the Brie Larson availability to have her there at the curtain call and the finale or anything like that. But she was magical in her appearance in the fourth season. She doesn’t even say anything. She might as well be a pair of glasses and a wig on a mop handle, but it’s Brie Larson so she has this humanity, this energy coming off.

 

I wouldn't say she doesn't say anything in the season 4 episode. She says think that make you think "Wow this girl is perfect for Abed!"

 

Edited March 2, 2016 by VCRTracking

[AshleyN]

Wasn't Larson one of the finalists for Sarah Conner in the new Terminator movie? She dodged a bullet there, likely thanks to Emilia Clarke's Alan Taylor/Game of Thrones connection.

[methodwriter85]

Wasn't Larson one of the finalists for Sarah Conner in the new Terminator movie? She dodged a bullet there, likely thanks to Emilia Clarke's Alan Taylor/Game of Thrones connection.

 

And yet they're somehow trudging ahead with a sequel. This is even more insane than splitting Allegiant into two movies.

 

I actually could've seen her as the Sarah Connor in the original Terminator movie, not that bullshit Katniss Everdeen rip-off. She has a good "every woman" quality to her, which is why she'll make a great character actress, especially once she gets older.

[methodwriter85]

Chris Hemsworth Moving His Family Back to Australia

 

I mean, on one had, it's probably mostly about wanting to raise his kids and be a proactive dad. On the other hand, it's probably also just a little bit of move for Chris to regroup and figure out how he can salvage for himself an acting career outside of Thor.

 

I do feel for him. He's honestly good, and he has charisma.  He just hasn't been having a lot of luck.

[dusang]

Chris Hemsworth Moving His Family Back to Australia

 

I mean, on one had, it's probably mostly about wanting to raise his kids and be a proactive dad. On the other hand, it's probably also just a little bit of move for Chris to regroup and figure out how he can salvage for himself an acting career outside of Thor.

 

I do feel for him. He's honestly good, and he has charisma.  He just hasn't been having a lot of luck.

 

I disagree -- he's had some unfortunate box office but he's got secure employment for several more Marvel films, he's on friendly terms with Ron Howard for the prestige pictures, and he's got The Huntsman and Ghostbusters in the can... I think he's a-okay.

Edited March 29, 2016 by dusang

[manbearpig]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I was so excited to see a Witherspoon/Payne reunion because their work together on Election was so great. Kristen Wiig is a more than capable actress and I'm sure she will do well in the role, but I'm still a little disappointed. Here's hoping Witherspoon and Payne eventually get a chance to work together again.

[dusang]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I was so excited to see a Witherspoon/Payne reunion because their work together on Election was so great. Kristen Wiig is a more than capable actress and I'm sure she will do well in the role, but I'm still a little disappointed. Here's hoping Witherspoon and Payne eventually get a chance to work together again.

 

Oh, that was not the plot description I was anticipating!

[SallyAlbright]

Someone who I think is on the verge of breaking out is Taron Egerton. I thought he was a revelation in Kingsman, and then equally great in the not-that-special Legend and Eddie the Eagle. He is allegedly on the short list to play a young Han Solo, and though he looks nothing like Harrison Ford, I hope he continues to get star-making roles. I can't wait for the Kingsman sequel, but hope he also has a long career outside of that potential franchise. 

[Athena]

Someone who I think is on the verge of breaking out is Taron Egerton. I thought he was a revelation in Kingsman, and then equally great in the not-that-special Legend and Eddie the Eagle. He is allegedly on the short list to play a young Han Solo, and though he looks nothing like Harrison Ford, I hope he continues to get star-making roles. I can't wait for the Kingsman sequel, but hope he also has a long career outside of that potential franchise. 

 

I concur. Has anyone seen his recent press/pole dance with Hugh Jackman for their new movie? Adorable.

 

He's my favourite front runner for the Han Solo role because he's the one with best screen charisma to pull off that very fine line of playing Jerk with Heart of Gold. He's the right age, can do action, and can act. He has comic timing, but I think he can pull off right amount of heart as he did he Kingsman. I look forward to seeing more of him too.

[methodwriter85]

I don't think he's hot, but there's just something incredibly appealing about Taron's face. Like he's that friendly guy you grew up with who might have gotten into a few scrapes but ultimately had his heart in the right place. He's going to make a great Everyman.

[Craphole Island]

I just saw the new Richard Linklater film "Everybody Wants Some!!" and I really, really loved it. I was laughing throughout. But there were a lot of great performances. It was basically a who's who of hot guys from teen(ish) shows (Glee, Pretty Little Liars, Scream Queens, Teen Wolf, etc.).

 

- Glen Powell was really hilarious throughout the movie. I enjoyed him in (the mostly terrible) Scream Queens so I wasn't surprised, but I hope to see more of him.

- I was a fan of Blake Jenner's on Glee and I'd like to see more of him too.

- I've never seen or heard of him, and had to Google, but Temple Baker was also really funny in it. No idea if he's been in anything else!

- But honestly, the person I look forward to seeing the most is Zoey Deutsch. Her part isn't large (it's very dude-heavy), but she has charm to spare and I can't explain it, I just really liked it everytime she was on screen. I expect to see a lot more of her. She's also Lea Thompson's daughter!

[methodwriter85]

She definitely has charisma and girl-next-door charm, like her mother did.

 

I think she's prettier than her mother was, but you can still pretty much see how she's her daughter. I think she's got a pretty great future ahead of her.

 

I honestly thought it was going to suck, but the critics seem to be loving it.

Edited April 1, 2016 by methodwriter85

[Craphole Island]

She definitely has charisma and girl-next-door charm, like her mother did.

 

I think she's prettier than her mother was, but you can still pretty much see how she's her daughter. I think she's got a pretty great future ahead of her.

 

I honestly thought it was going to suck, but the critics seem to be loving it.

The trailers really don't do it justice. I imagine it's a difficult movie to really market though, trailer-wise, because there's not really much of a plot (just as there wasn't in Dazed and Confused). But I recommend it! And she was great. Very charming.

[UYI]

She may be a total nutter butter, but I'll say this for Sean Young: her interviews are never boring.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sean-young-catwoman-a-role-880058

[Ohwell]

Sean Young.  Any time a dickhead like James Woods sues you for harassment, you must be pretty kooky.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I do wonder if things had changed, because in Mean Girls, their high school was pretty diverse and it was supposed to be North Shore.

 

Mean Girls was filmed in the most multicultural city in the world, being Toronto, Canada ;)

[topanga]

 

I do wonder if things had changed, because in Mean Girls, their high school was pretty diverse and it was supposed to be North Shore.

 

Mean Girls was filmed in the most multicultural city in the world, being Toronto, Canada ;)

That's true about Toronto, but the filmmakers still had to have it in the back of their minds that they wanted the school to be diverse. They even said, "hey, let's give the people of color a line or two." Not that it was Shondaland, but at least you saw black, Asian, Latino, and Middle Eastern actors. 

 

--Sorry to veer off-topic, but I can't find the original post, so I don't know which actress we're talking about. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

It was about how John Hughes movies about teenagers in Chicago were not diverse.  Tina Fey wrote Mean Girls, so yeah, she included some diversity, like Tim Meadows being the Principal and the Indian kid Kevin G. being a Mathlete that kind of befriended Lindsay Lohan.  I mean, it was nice to see a lot of black and Asian kids at that high school I guess, even though they barely spoke.  Even the fact that they made Janis Ian Lebanese instead of just American White Girl is cool.  And Lindsay's other best friend was gay. But it did treat Africa very ignorantly.   I had no idea Mean Girls was set it in Chicago and I'm sure I've seen it at least 10 times... that's funny.  Although Tim Meadows does say, "I did not leave the South Side for this."

 

To try and leap back on the topic, here are some people I had picked for stardom in my lonely movie blog

 

- Emma Stone from Superbad 2007.  I have to say though, to see her so "thinned out" makes me sad.  She got so thin and then became a movie star.  I thought she was so cute and curvy in that first movie.

 

- Chris Pratt from Bride Wars 2009 (although I said the same thing about Steve Howey and that did not happen.)

 

I watch Brooklyn Nine Nine and I think it's so weird that Terry Crews is in an ensemble cast of 10 people.  I think he should be a movie star like Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[ChelseaNH]

I saw Mirror, Mirror over the weekend and it was not exactly good, but I came away with an appreciation for Armie Hammer.  Too bad he hasn't gotten any traction.

[VCRTracking]

 

- Emma Stone from Superbad 2007.  I have to say though, to see her so "thinned out" makes me sad.  She got so thin and then became a movie star.  I thought she was so cute and curvy in that first movie.

 

Actually, there have been paparazzi shots of her in tights recently where I go "Where did THAT come from?" I think she's been working out for that movie where she plays tennis champ Billie Jean King.

 

[methodwriter85]

I saw Mirror, Mirror over the weekend and it was not exactly good, but I came away with an appreciation for Armie Hammer.  Too bad he hasn't gotten any traction.

He's continually made choices that looked good on paper, but just haven't worked out well. It's got to be frustrating for him.

[absnow54]

I'm still upset that Man from UNCLE didn't do well. That movie was a lot of fun, and all three leads, including Armie Hammer were great in it.

[UYI]

Another new Sean Young interview--now, with 100% more presidential time travel! 

 

http://gawker.com/talking-with-sean-young-crazy-in-hollywood-supporti-1768875389#_ga=1.124403338.1437480648.1454568134

Edited April 5, 2016 by UYI

[Ms Blue Jay]

My mom would TOTALLY be on board with Armie Hammer being a movie star.  I think she even liked The Lone Ranger.  He was great in The Social Network.  I never got around to seeing J. Edgar!  (Should I?)

 

So weird to think of him as Gabriel from Gossip Girl.  LOL.  I do not remember him being good in that role... 

 

I am loving all of the Sean Young updates.  This really brings me back to a nice nostalgic chunk of my childhood.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay