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

[cesstar]

On 04/01/2017 at 3:07 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Damn, I wish I had lived a vagabond lifestyle in Hawaii in my early 20's.  I did love Everwood in its first two seasons (the show lost me with the back half of the series), and it's cool to see him reach the heights he's reached.

Emily VanCamp's had a great post-Everwood career, too. She might not be headlining movies but she's doing pretty well.

And then there's Gregory Smith. I think he had Rookie Blue, an ABC summer series, and that's about it.

I thought Gregory Smith was fabulous on Everwood (never watched Rookie Blue), he had that vulnerability that was just perfect for the character of Ephram. However, he didn't really grow up to have the leading man looks of Chris Pratt. Since Rookie Blue he seems to have made that jump into directing and seems quite successful with a handful of credits for both Rookie Blue and Saving Hope. And he's now done 5 episodes of Arrow and 3 of Legends of Tomorrow (which are those technically challenging action adventure shows that seem to give directors a good stepping point for bigger shows and/or movies).

[Pink ranger]

Looking at the career trajectory of Bryan Cranston has had me thinking. He has now been either nominated or won pretty much every industry acting award that American TV, movie and broadway offers. He got Malcom in the Middle at age 44, Breaking Bad at 53, All the Way at 58 and Trumbo at 59. Yet for over 30 years his career consisted of jumping from TV bit part to bit part.

How much of the skill set of an actor to be a movie star is innate and identifiable at a young age and how much is developed overtime through experience?

At an age when most of todays movie stars are considered in their prime (20-40) his career was what many would consider mediocre. Some would think that he wasnt capable of doing better since he spent so long at that level. Its easy to think that those who have "IT" would be talent spotted young and break out like Jennifer Lawrence did in her early twenties. But did all those years cultivating his craft in a wide variety of roles while under the radar help Cranston become the great actor that he is known as today?

[aradia22]

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Looking at the career trajectory of Bryan Cranston has had me thinking.

I would say Cranston isn't quite a movie star though he's had a lot of success on TV and has probably done well for himself financially. His recent movies haven't been financial or critical successes (Trumbo and the one where he's a... spy?). But it doesn't seem to bother him and he seems to be taking the projects that interest him. Kind of in a... James Franco, or maybe more of a Daniel Radcliffe vein. I've made a lot of money and people liking what I'm doing would be great but I'm also just going to go for projects that I'm interested in. Apparently he's going to do a revival of Damn Yankees in 2018 which is something I never saw coming.

[AimingforYoko]

4 hours ago, aradia22 said:

(Trumbo and the one where he's a... spy?)

Undercover DEA agent.

[Bruinsfan]

Pretty much everyone I've talked to about the 2014 Godzilla movie thought Cranston's performance was the best in the film (which had Juliet Binoche, David Straithairn, and Ken Wattanabe, so not faint praise) and that it was a huge mistake to kill his character off early and follow Aaron-Taylor Johnson's much less interesting character.

[methodwriter85]

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Aaron-Taylor Johnson's much less interesting character.

But Aaron is such a hot young hunk...of COURSE we'd want to follow his character!

Seriously though, it'd be interesting if he finally becomes a thing now because he's been getting pushed for the past couple of years now...Nocturnal Animals sucked imho, but Aaron is getting rewards for it.

As for Gregory Smith, true. He didn't really develop leading man looks. The cute twink look doesn't usually translate to leading man looks.

Edited January 11, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Chas411]

Aaron Taylor Johnston and his wife give me the creeps and for that reason I can't enjoy any of his roles. 

[gator12]

Same here @Chas411 I can't follow his career simply b/c of him an his wife relationship. Its no fault on his own, I don't blame the teenager in the situation but I can't ever be okay with an adult, especially one of authority going after and being in a relationship with a teen. 

[ruby24]

I'm the same. And yes, I would have felt exactly the same way had the roles been reversed and it was 42 year old man going after a 19 year old girl and having a baby with her the next year.

It's just wrong.

[ShadowHunter]

On 1/11/2017 at 11:44 AM, Bruinsfan said:

Pretty much everyone I've talked to about the 2014 Godzilla movie thought Cranston's performance was the best in the film (which had Juliet Binoche, David Straithairn, and Ken Wattanabe, so not faint praise) and that it was a huge mistake to kill his character off early and follow Aaron-Taylor Johnson's much less interesting character.

I wanted Godzilla to step on Aaron Taylor lol. 

[Hybridcookie]

I admit, I have a soft spot for Aaron Taylor Johnson, as I loved him as Quicksilver in the 2nd Avengers movie, but yeah, his whole relationship with his wife creeps me out.

[methodwriter85]

I could be wrong, but a cynical part of me figures that when Aaron himself hits 40-something, he'll dump his 60-something wife for some hot young college co-ed. 

Of course, they could always wind up like Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caulfied. But then again, he wasn't a teenager when they got together.

Speaking of, I kind of wonder how Sam would have handled  the Elena plot on 50 Shades Darker. Too bad she and E.L. James couldn't stand each other.

[methodwriter85]

Anya Taylor Joy makes a great Final Girl. I wonder if she'll do a straight-up slasher film?

[UYI]

On 1/15/2017 at 3:18 PM, methodwriter85 said:

 

Of course, they could always wind up like Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caulfield. But then again, he wasn't a teenager when they got together.

 

I think he was 19 when they first got together, so he wasn't THAT much older. 

[Athena]

3 minutes ago, UYI said:

I think he was 19 when they first got together, so he wasn't THAT much older. 

Yeah, he was 18 when they met on the set. I consider that very much a teenager.

[vb68]

Quote

Yeah, he was 18 when they met on the set. I consider that very much a teenager.

 Well, the word on that situation was it was very much an arranged marriage. I've read before that Maxwell's older brother ( who was some obscure heavy metal rocker) was dating Juliet's sister and set the whole thing up.  So it was indeed unusual and strange, but again they are still together.

I wish Maxwell got more work. I think he's basically given up on films and American TV. 

[Athena]

Apologies. I was thinking of Aaron Taylor. Either way, both men were teenagers when they met their spouses. The Aaron Taylor situation creeps me out more still; it's an even wider age gap and they met while working on set.

[methodwriter85]

13 hours ago, UYI said:

I think he was 19 when they first got together, so he wasn't THAT much older. 

When did they start dating? Wikipedia says that they married in 1980, and he was born in 1959, so he would have been about 20 or 21. Juliet was married until 1980 to her previous husband, so there must have been overlap.

Grease 2 never did much for me, but man, the guy was hot. He was also pretty good in Empire Records as the aging former teen heartrob sleazeball. It's kind of funny to think he was pushed as a teen idol in the early 1980's while being married to a much older woman.

[UYI]

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

When did they start dating? Wikipedia says that they married in 1980, and he was born in 1959, so he would have been about 20 or 21. Juliet was married until 1980 to her previous husband, so there must have been overlap.

Grease 2 never did much for me, but man, the guy was hot. He was also pretty good in Empire Records as the aging former teen heartrob sleazeball. It's kind of funny to think he was pushed as a teen idol in the early 1980's while being married to a much older woman.

According to Athena above, he was 18 when they started dating. I guess Juliet's previous marriage took some time before it could transition from separation to divorce, I don't know. 

[methodwriter85]

No, Athena was thinking of Aaron Tyler Johnson, who was 18 when he married his wife. Maxwell Caulfield was somewhere around 19-20 when he started dating Juliet Mills, it seems.

[Athena]

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

No, Athena was thinking of Aaron Tyler Johnson, who was 18 when he married his wife. Maxwell Caulfield was somewhere around 19-20 when he started dating Juliet Mills, it seems.

Yes, I was mistaken earlier thinking of that other couple but according to most interviews, Max and Julia met in 1980 when he was 21 and she was 39.

[absnow54]

I really wish Britt Robertson was having a better career. I really liked her in Ask Me Anything, and before that Life Unexpected. Hopefully her Netflix show will give her a chance to breakout in an adult role and finally get out of "high school" age.

[raezen]

Last week I saw Hidden Figures and Moonlight on Tues (cheap night) and Wed (film series night at our local theatre) and am I ever glad to see the attention being paid to Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae for their work in both. And I really want to see big things in the future for Naomie Harris and Trevante Rhodes.

[methodwriter85]

On 2/6/2017 at 9:52 AM, absnow54 said:

I really wish Britt Robertson was having a better career. I really liked her in Ask Me Anything, and before that Life Unexpected. Hopefully her Netflix show will give her a chance to breakout in an adult role and finally get out of "high school" age.

She really, really needs to get out of high school roles. (Meanwhile though, Emma Roberts still kind of works as that even though they're both the same age.)

Anyway...I'm kind of disappointed in how Abigail Breslin turned out. I thought she did a lot great work as a a kid (her episode of Law and Order: SVU still sticks with me), but so far she's not impressing me in any adult stuff she's done. Maybe she needs the right role, although I can't see her part in Dirty Dancing: The Musical T.V. Movie really being in the right direction. I guess she's my Chloe Grace-Moretz...the child star who does some really great work, but kind of flounders around in adult roles, but because they did great work as a child everybody's waiting for them to do the adult part that justifies the potential you saw in them as a kid.

On the opposite end, Hailee Steinfield did such great work in Edge of 17. I kind of wish she wasn't making crappy Top 40 music, but she's definitely got a future in acting.

Edited February 13, 2017 by methodwriter85

[manbearpig]

Michelle Rodriguez has a role lined up opposite Viola Davis in the next Steve McQueen movie, which just happens to be co-written by Gillian Flynn! Should be a nice stretch for Rodriguez and with a script from McQueen and Flynn there should be some interesting things in there for her to play. 

http://deadline.com/2017/02/michelle-rodriguez-steve-mcqueen-heist-pic-widows-viola-davis-iain-canning-emile-sherman-12-years-a-slave-1201913988/

Edited February 16, 2017 by manbearpig

[JustaPerson]

Jamie Dornan must be frustrated that any "serious actor" cred he might have built up with The Fall has been completely wiped out by the Fifty Shades trilogy. 

[Kel Varnsen]

15 hours ago, JustaPerson said:

Jamie Dornan must be frustrated that any "serious actor" cred he might have built up with The Fall has been completely wiped out by the Fifty Shades trilogy. 

I am really surprised that they didn't shoot those 50 shades movies back to back Lord of the Rings style. Not only because it seems like such a flash in the pan fad type of thing, but also to get things over with as soon as possible for the actors. The fact that they still have another year before they are through with this thing must be brutal.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 1/27/2017 at 0:44 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Anya Taylor Joy makes a great Final Girl. I wonder if she'll do a straight-up slasher film?

You should check out Morgan if you already haven't. It isn't quite a slasher movie, but Anya Taylor Joy

plays a genetically modified girl where the experiment goes horribly wrong.

[sum]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I am really surprised that they didn't shoot those 50 shades movies back to back Lord of the Rings style. Not only because it seems like such a flash in the pan fad type of thing, but also to get things over with as soon as possible for the actors. The fact that they still have another year before they are through with this thing must be brutal.

They did with the 2nd and 3rd series at least.

[aradia22]

Quote

On the opposite end, Hailee Steinfield did such great work in Edge of 17. I kind of wish she wasn't making crappy Top 40 music, but she's definitely got a future in acting.

I like her pop music. It's not easy to write a solid pop song and most of her stuff is very solid. 

[Joe]

20 hours ago, JustaPerson said:

Jamie Dornan must be frustrated that any "serious actor" cred he might have built up with The Fall has been completely wiped out by the Fifty Shades trilogy. 

Wouldn't he have known its reputation going in? Was he hard up for money? Or did he think he could somehow overcome the material?

[aradia22]

He knew its reputation. Everyone did. And Charlie what's his face from Sons of Anarchy dropped out before Dornan was cast, right?

[Proclone]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

Wouldn't he have known its reputation going in? Was he hard up for money? Or did he think he could somehow overcome the material?

I'm sure he did.  My guess is that it was some combination of those two factors.  I don't know what he got paid for the movies, but since he's best known for playing a serial killer in The Fall (which produced by the BBC, I believe) and the Huntsman on Once Upon a Time on ABC, I'm sure it's by far the most amount of money he's ever been paid.  It might be hard to turn that kind of money down.  He also probably thought that he could rise above the material and maybe have people say, "50 Shades kind of sucked, but Jamie Dornan was pretty good in it."  The problem is that Dakota Johnson stole that from him by consistently being the best thing about the first one (haven't seen the second) by actually managing to make a character that was insufferable on the page likable.  Dornan on the other hand probably realized early on there is no way to make Christian Grey likable or even relatable without fundamentally changing the character, which would make fans of the books go ape shit. Not to mentioned he really struggled with the American Accent.

The script for the first one isn't even awful save some "iconic" lines that were lifted directly from the book, so I could see how someone might be lulled into thinking, "Hey, maybe it won't be so bad."  And to be honest the first one isn't that bad actually, it's boring.  It's competently shot, there are no particularly awful performances  in it and the worst parts are the ones lifted directly from the book, but it is God awful boring.  Some reviewer (I forget which one) described it as seeming like everyone involved just wanted to be able to get another job after it and that's pretty much what it seemed to me.  A movie that was competently made even if not actually a good movie.  50 Shades Darker on the other hand seems like it can't even say that much from the reviews I've seen.  So, I imagine Dornan and everyone else involved is probably really starting to regret their decision right about now.

In any case I do hope both Dornan and Johnson are both able to rise above and beyond 50 Shades.  I like them both as actors (though let's please not put them together again they have no chemistry IMO) and I'd really like to see them in better films.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Proclone

[methodwriter85]

I feel like the second one basically said "Fuck it" and decided to go for a cheesy sex romantic melodrama. Any aspirations about elevating the material really was dropped in this one. I think Sam Tyler-Johnson wanted to make something like Sex, Lies, and Videotape and couldn't handle E.L. James wanting to keep this as a Twilight fanfic sex fantasy. Honestly, 50 Shades Darker is more watchable because it doesn't have the conflict about what it wants to be as opposed to the first movie.

Jamie Dornan isn't exactly known for leading man roles, and I can't blame him for taking the role. I think he wasn't really ready for what would happen, but he seems more at peace now. And whatever tension that Jamie and Dakota had during the first movie seems to have been worked out in the second one- at least on-screen. They no longer look as if they want to throw up around each other.

[UYI]

I just feel bad knowing that Tippi Hedren's granddaughter is stuck making crap like this, big paycheck or not.

Speaking of which, I just watched The Birds again, and this time around, I could REALLY see where Dakota gets her looks. She absolutely has Tippi's face, albeit not her eye or hair color. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by UYI

[Ohwell]

I think Dakota is the spitting image of her father, Don Johnson.

[UYI]

I guess it could be a case where you can see two people at different times in someone's face, I don't know. 

[methodwriter85]

Dakota Johnson is naturally blonde, I think.  Melanie and Don were both blonde/blond-ish so I can't see her not being one. She was pretty much blonde in most of her non-50 Shades roles. BTW, her brother Jesse looks like his dad but with sharper features.

I do think Dakota's got a pretty good future ahead of her. I can see something like a Jamie Lee Curtis type of career for her. As in not particularly choosy, but someone that will do her best to elevate the material and will even get a chance to shine in a couple of really good roles even if she's not an acclaimed actress in total. Really, a long-star type of person.

Anyway, I was thinking...with us being in the late part of the decade now (just two years and 9 months until we can say we live in the 20's), I was wondering who you consider to be the biggest star flameouts of the decade.

For females, it's Katherine Heigl. Hands down. She had pretty much locked up the American Sweetheart crown and could have ridden that for awhile, but then she had to ruin it with her mouth. Although her success really was more at the end of the 2000's than the beginning of this decade, so hmm. Her downfall really started with leaving Grey's Anatomy though in 2011, although she had a lot of bad press going into that. Her career stalled in 2011, but really flamed out in 2012 when One For the Money bombed hard and she no longer had Grey's Anatomy to fall back on. I really can't think of any other female star that fell that hard from fame during the 2010's...she was considered hot in 2010, "not" by 2011, and "done" by 2012.

If she hadn't burned her bridges with Judd Apatow she probably would still be working in movies people would want to see because he does keep a lot of people employed. She's trying really hard to re-ignite her career on T.V. but it seems like a lost cause.

For males, I lean towards Shia LeBeouf and Alex Pettyfer. Shia pretty much had a guaranteed career with a legitimate shot at making the A-list, and then burned a shit-ton of bridges. Alex had a lot of buzz with everyone wanting to cast him because he looks like an Abercrombie and Fitch model, but then pissed everyone off and didn't particular show any real acting chops. He might manage to rebound and it does look like he's working again, but damn, that kid did a lot of damage to his rep way too early in the game. I'd definitely say they're both cautionary tales.

Edited March 16, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Chas411]

Agreed on Heigl. It's sad if she hadn't brough it all on herself. 

Shia had a few critical successes so while he burned a lot of bridges due to unstable personality I don't think he's flamed out. Reckon he'll get another few memorable films at least. 

Alex Pettyfer... Agreed. He really messed things up for himself.

[ribboninthesky1]

I don't think Pettyfer had a chance to flame-out.  He barely hit the scene before he sabotaged himself.  Truth be told, if he had waited a few years, gotten a few hits under his belt, his attitude most likely wouldn't have mattered. 

LeBoeuf was a Disney child star who never successfully transitioned to adult, IMO.  If he hadn't done the Transformer films, not sure anyone would have been checking for him. Didn't realize he'd burned bridges. 

[methodwriter85]

But that's kind of the point- Alex basically went up in smoke as soon as he was lit because of his rotten behavior. Shia at least took a few years before he started turning everyone in Hollywood against him.

[aradia22]

Quote

Anyway, I was thinking...with us being in the late part of the decade now (just two years and 9 months until we can say we live in the 20's), I was wondering who you consider to be the biggest star flameouts of the decade.

I can't think of anyone really. If we were to take the previous decade (2000-2010) I would for sure say Lindsay Lohan. To me, that's the perfect example of someone who was a star then quickly was not, in the space of about a decade. The problem with everyone I'm thinking of is either A) I don't think they ever reached a pinnacle of success and stardom and B) They did and there were some bad movies but then they just rebounded. I feel like we give too many chances these days but maybe it's just Hollywood being risk averse and banking on "names" even if their last 3 movies lost money or they annoyed the hell out of everyone for a while (Bieber/Cyrus). 

I think Anne Hathaway took a hit but she'll probably rebound. I don't think Emily Blunt got to some highpoint and then flamed out as much as she isn't quite connecting the way she should be. The quality of the movies (most of which I haven't seen) on paper she's making solid choices and her fan base should be growing more than it is. Kristen Stewart is definitely getting work and seems happy to be on more of a indie path but the movies that could have been bigger for her... weren't. Andrew Garfield isn't hurting either but betting on Spiderman didn't really work for him. Melissa McCarthy is doing fine but she could use another solid hit. Emma Stone was doing fine minus some really unfortunate choices (Movie 43, Aloha) but La La Land seems to have cemented her star status for the time being. Bradley Cooper is all over the place with the wins overshadowing the meh movies. 

[tongueincheek]

On 9/11/2016 at 3:19 AM, Danny Franks said:

One actress who does have presence, and an almost transcendent beauty, is Sarah Gadon. She was captivating in 11.22.63, and I've seen her in a couple of other things since. I hope her career takes off.

She is such a Hitchcock Blonde. I was knocked out by her performance in INDIGNATION, she occupied every bit of frame in her limited screen time. I hadn't seen anything from her previously, though I knew she was a Cronenberg family favorite. I actually watched "11.22.63" after INDIGNATION and was equally charmed by her presence. Credit to her dialect coach, her speech patterns that she developed for those roles were pretty incredible. Really looking forward to "Alias Grace" on Netflix. I hope it does well for her. 

Edited March 18, 2017 by tongueincheek

[tennisgurl]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 1:02 AM, methodwriter85 said:

For females, it's Katherine Heigl. Hands down

Oh Katherine Heigl. She really had so much potential, and she had a great career right in front of her on a silver platter, and she totally blew it. At the time, I remember a lot of people crying sexism and double standard after Heigl got heat put on her for accusing her break out movie (Knocked Up) for being sexist against women, and I just never saw that. Maybe you could make the argument that she wouldn't have gotten such a Hollywood backlash if she was a guy, but, to me, it doesn't look great on anyone to bite the hand that feeds them, unless its a pretty obvious moral lapse. Also, I would have been fine with her saying she found Knocked Up sexist (I didn't, but I can see what she was saying), if she didn't follow that up with starring in a string of RIDICULOUSLY sexist and terrible movies (I was dragged to The Ugly Truth, and it was offensive to men, women, and the entire human race), and saying more stupid crap and acting like she was the best thing to ever happen to Hollywood.

[ribboninthesky1]

11 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

But that's kind of the point- Alex basically went up in smoke as soon as he was lit because of his rotten behavior. Shia at least took a few years before he started turning everyone in Hollywood against him.

Ah okay, I perceive flame-out as having a spark to begin with.  Yeah, he was the lead in a couple of movies, and was lucky enough to get cast in Magic Mike, but I feel like it was more the industry overhyping him vs actual talent and audience popularity. He's not a bad actor from what I've seen, but there's no shortage of English male talent out there. 

[Bruinsfan]

Heigl convinces me of the existence of a higher power because she's now on my TV set in the role that her preferred facial expression was made for.

[dusang]

4 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Heigl convinces me of the existence of a higher power because she's now on my TV set in the role that her preferred facial expression was made for.

NO!!! Bwahahahahaha!!!

[VCRTracking]

You can bite Judd Apatow's hand and get away with it. You can bite Shonda Rhimes hand and get away with it. You can't do both.

[cynic]

There were rumors about Heigl's attitude and how difficult she could be all the way back to her Roswell days. She still got tons of chances and even now that she has several flops, she is still getting chances. I don't get that at all.

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, cynic said:

There were rumors about Heigl's attitude and how difficult she could be all the way back to her Roswell days. She still got tons of chances and even now that she has several flops, she is still getting chances. I don't get that at all.

On network t.v. and Direct-to-Redbox movies. Not prestige cable dramas or wide-release motion pictures.

Katherine's best bet is just work with her "bitch" label and own it. No one's going to buy her as the heroine now, so maybe she just needs to embrace that and start playing bitchy bosses and such.

Watching Feud's Oscar episode me think about how, once upon a time, Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon were once continual Oscar contenders, netting 3 Oscars between them. But neither of them were able to maintain the movie pedigree like Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren did. (Glenn Close is also still able to get there- she got nominated as recently as 2011.) At this point I can't see it happening again for either of them...which made watching them play two characters who will never see an Oscar nom or win again pretty poignant, I thought.

It's working out fine for Jessica on T.V., though. It's nice to see Susan go for a lead role again...I feel like she's been mostly playing supporting roles on T.V. and movies for the past 10 or so years.

Edited April 3, 2017 by methodwriter85