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

[methodwriter85]

4 hours ago, Pink ranger said:

Looking back at the time that Mad Men ran, I thought that Aaron Paul would have had a good career in movies after Breaking Bad . Young , great actor,  marketable tough guy with a heart type. I don't know why he isn't an action star yet. 

He made a really bad video game movie called Need For Speed and that seems to have fucked his chances. I'm not counting him out yet- men can really have up to their 40's to become movie stars. (And if they're really lucky, 50's. Liam Neeson was always well-known and not hurting for work but he didn't get his franchise lead until his 50's.)

He's also a tough guy (although also "pretty" and not so big on the heart of gold) so it's kind of interesting to me that Cam Gigandet (James from Twilight) hasn't really broken out, either. He's great at playing menacing, asshole types and I'm surprised he hasn't gotten to play the lead villain in a big action movie yet. He seems pretty much stuck in B-movies and T.V. I think Boyd Holbrook probably took the slot he could have had. They're both hot in this similar kind of sleazy bad boy way, although Cam has a much more striking face.

Anyway, I wonder if Orlando Bloom is going to build off the renewed interest in him due to being back in the Pirates of the Caribbean. I never thought much of him but he really impressed me in this indie called The Good Doctor. I'm pulling for him to pull a Jude Law (former male ingenue who winds up doing really quirky and interesting work after he aged out of pretty boy status.)

Edited June 7, 2017 by methodwriter85

[aradia22]

Quote

He's also a tough guy (although also "pretty" and not so big on the heart of gold) so it's kind of interesting to me that Cam Gigandet (James from Twilight) hasn't really broken out, either. He's great at playing menacing, asshole types and I'm surprised he hasn't gotten to play the lead villain in a big action movie yet. He seems pretty much stuck in B-movies and T.V. I think Boyd Holbrook probably took the slot he could have had. They're both hot in this similar kind of sleazy bad boy way, although Cam has a much more striking face.

I googled him. First impression: less attractive version of Sebastian Pigott. Second impression... bully in a teen movie or frat boy asshole. I'm not sure he's pretty enough to be a leading man or threatening enough to be the villain in a movie with adults. Maybe a rom-com or a jerk boss but he doesn't give off an action movie vibe in spite of his build. 

Bloom is... interesting. He didn't have the scandal Jude Law had to deal with (unless I missed something in his divorce from Miranda Kerr)... and so far the hairline isn't receding too badly which I think helped push Jude Law out of pretty boy status. But I get a kind of DiCaprio enjoying life vibe from Bloom, but without the thirst for an Oscar. We shall see. I don't know if he'd want to take the step into TV but he definitely has the right look for a couple of historical periods. 

[xaxat]

I'm really glad that Atomic Blonde gives Sofia Boutella a role where her character isn't defined by CGI/makeup. 

ETA The early review I read say she is the only good thing in The Mummy.

Edited June 7, 2017 by xaxat

[VCRTracking]

15 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

He made a really bad video game movie called Need For Speed and that seems to have fucked his chances. I'm not counting him out yet- men can really have up to their 40's to become movie stars. (And if they're really lucky, 50's. Liam Neeson was always well-known and not hurting for work but he didn't get his franchise lead until his 50's.)

Anthony Hopkins was 54 when he broke out in Silence of the Lambs. He had been in movies since 1968's The Lion in Winter. I found this from a 1979 New York Times interview:
 

Quote

 

His last play at the National Theater was “Macbeth,” with Diana Rigg. “I was fed up with the way things were going,” Mr. Hopkins said. “I was very discontented and restless. I wasn't a good company member. I wanted to do things my way.”

Mr. Hopkins moved to the United States in 1974, when he came to New York to play in “Equus.” When he took the role to Los Angeles, he decided to settle here. He now lives in Beverly Hills, with his second wife, Jenni.

“I always wanted to live here,” said Mr. Hopkins. “I wanted to be a movie star, to be famous, rich.” He laughed “When I go back to England, they say, ‘Haven't you sold out?’ The English think you shouldn't enjoy yourself.”

 

Well it took him about 20 years but he made it! I like the way he related his wanting to move to Los Angeles to his The Edge co-star Alec Baldwin who does a great impression of him:

Edited June 7, 2017 by VCRTracking

[AshleyN]

I have to say, Chris Pine's ascent up the ladder of Chrises the last couple years has been a bit of a surprise to me. I used to think of him as a little too "generic Hollywood leading man", but he started to change my mind with his scene-stealing turn in Into the Woods and now after seeing Wonder Woman I'm a little bit in love with him. He gets props from me for agreeing to play the designated love interest role* in a superhero movie rather than the lead, which I have to think a lot of actors at his level (who already have their own franchise especially) wouldn't be willing to do. He also has the most interesting looking slate of upcoming projects of all the Chrises, with the Ava Duvernay adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, some sort of spy movie with Michelle Williams directed by James Marsh (Theory of Everything), and another movie with David MacKenzie after their previous collaboration (Hell or High Water) was very well received.

I'm not sure I'm willing to go as far as Jezebel and declare him the superior Chris (my love for Steve Rogers is just too strong), but he's probably 1b to Evans' 1a for me at this point, and that's without having seen Hell or High Water, which I hear is supposed to be his best performance.

*Although, this being Hollywood, he does get more to do than just about any woman in a similar role, but he's still clearly playing second fiddle to his girlfriend in the movie.

On 6/7/2017 at 0:21 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Anyway, I wonder if Orlando Bloom is going to build off the renewed interest in him due to being back in the Pirates of the Caribbean. I never thought much of him but he really impressed me in this indie called The Good Doctor. I'm pulling for him to pull a Jude Law (former male ingenue who winds up doing really quirky and interesting work after he aged out of pretty boy status.)

I'm not sure Jude Law is the best comparison there, since even in his "pretty boy" days, he was always highly praised for his acting, including receiving two Oscar nominations and a BAFTA win, whereas Bloom's success seemed to stem almost entirely from a combination of his looks and his luck in landing a role in LOTR straight out of drama school. But hey, if he's doing good work these days then all the best to him.

Actually, someone I've started to contemplate going the Jude Law route is Michael Fassbender. He sort of had a similar ascent in that he made his name with a series of acclaimed performances in smaller movies and supporting roles until Hollywood decided they wanted him to be a movie star. However, although I think he's a terrific actor, the general public does not seem to be here for him and I'm beginning to wonder how many flops he's going to get before he stops getting offered all these leading roles. Like Law, I think he's talented enough that he'll always get work, but I'm beginning to think it might not be the same type of leading man work that he's getting now.

Edited June 9, 2017 by AshleyN

[methodwriter85]

Ooh, good call. Micheal Fassbender is totally this decade's Jude Law.

[JustaPerson]

I guess you could make the comparison, with the big difference being that Michael Fassbender has never been considered traditionally handsome. I mean hot as hell, but not pretty the way Jude Law was. MF never had a pretty boy period, and the pretty boy roles that come with that. He's always done quirky, intense work. I mean his big leading man break in the US was playing a sex addict (Shame) and before that he played a guy sleeping with an underage girl and a prisoner on a hunger strike. 

Jude Law's stuff was always a bit more conventional. I remember him being like unnaturally beautiful in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon looked cute too, but next to Jude they both paled in comparison.

Edited June 9, 2017 by JustaPerson

[Lugal]

On 6/6/2017 at 7:51 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Anyway, I wonder if Orlando Bloom is going to build off the renewed interest in him due to being back in the Pirates of the Caribbean. I never thought much of him but he really impressed me in this indie called The Good Doctor. I'm pulling for him to pull a Jude Law (former male ingenue who winds up doing really quirky and interesting work after he aged out of pretty boy status.)

I think Orlando Bloom would be better as a character actor.  After watching the first Pirates of the Caribbean I remember thinking that Orlando Bloom is not a strong leading man, given how many scenes Depp stole.

[AshleyN]

On 6/9/2017 at 4:47 AM, JustaPerson said:

I guess you could make the comparison, with the big difference being that Michael Fassbender has never been considered traditionally handsome. I mean hot as hell, but not pretty the way Jude Law was. MF never had a pretty boy period, and the pretty boy roles that come with that. He's always done quirky, intense work. I mean his big leading man break in the US was playing a sex addict (Shame) and before that he played a guy sleeping with an underage girl and a prisoner on a hunger strike. 

Jude Law's stuff was always a bit more conventional. I remember him being like unnaturally beautiful in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon looked cute too, but next to Jude they both paled in comparison.

I dunno, Fassbender at this point has done a comic-book franchise, an (attempted) video game franchise, and an Oscar-y biopic. In today's Hollywood, those are the conventional routes to stardom. Sure, he's mixed in some smaller indie/art-house stuff in between, but even that is fairly standard these days for name actors. He's definitely been given a pretty big push by Hollywood and it seems clear that he was meant to be a bigger deal than he is (at least among the general public), which to me is where they're similar.

Like I said, I like the guy and I think he's a great actor, I'm just becoming increasingly convinced that "movie star" isn't really his path.

[DollEyes]

  I don't think that Fassbender really wants to be a stereotypical "movie star" because he seems to prefer roles that are more complex than the typical leading-man fare. He may do movies like  Assassin's Creed for the money, but he also does movies like Hunger, A Dangerous Method, Shame, 12 Years A Slave and Steve Jobs, the latter two of which he was Oscar-nominated for. He not only managed to give Magneto-a comic-book character-depth in the X-Men reboot, his willingness to play a character wearing a papier-mache' head in Frank proves that he doesn't take himself too seriously. 

[JustaPerson]

4 hours ago, DollEyes said:

  I don't think that Fassbender really wants to be a stereotypical "movie star" because he seems to prefer roles that are more complex than the typical leading-man fare. He may do movies like  Assassin's Creed for the money, but he also does movies like Hunger, A Dangerous Method, Shame, 12 Years A Slave and Steve Jobs, the latter two of which he was Oscar-nominated for. He not only managed to give Magneto-a comic-book character-depth in the X-Men reboot, his willingness to play a character wearing a papier-mache' head in Frank proves that he doesn't take himself too seriously. 

Agreed. That was more or less what I was trying to say. 

[ChromaKelly]

On 6/3/2017 at 2:50 AM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

I really thought Vincent Kartheiser was going to do some interesting things once Mad Men ended, but he's only got a handful of credits after playing Pete Campbell. I guess you never know who's going to catch on and who won't.

Kartheiser was really good in Saints & Strangers. I thought he might break out a bit more too after Mad Men. Jon Hamm seems to have stuck with the Tina Fey/Kristen Wiig world and is doing sitcommy bits. Which, is fine, he does have good comedic timing. I think he personal life falling apart somewhat hasn't helped.
Speaking of Harry Potter alums, I'd like to see more from Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). They both made those parts a lot more interesting. I thought Tom Felton especially did a good job in The Half-Blood Prince. 

[memememe76]

I thought Neville was the best thing about Me Before You. I'm surprised that the actress who played Luna has not done more.

[VCRTracking]

On 6/10/2017 at 6:18 PM, ChromaKelly said:

Speaking of Harry Potter alums, I'd like to see more from Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). They both made those parts a lot more interesting. I thought Tom Felton especially did a good job in The Half-Blood Prince. 

I liked seeing Tom Felton on The Flash this season. He got to keep his British accent so it was a little like seeing  Draco Malfoy again but less of a douche.

[topanga]

I'm glad to see Elisabeth Moss continuing to have a  successful TV career. She's a great actress, and I actually like her more because she's (IMO) pretty but not drop-dead gorgeous. 

[Silver Raven]

20 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

I liked seeing Tom Felton on The Flash this season. He got to keep his British accent so it was a little like seeing  Draco Malfoy again but less of a douche.

He was a douche in Planet of the Apes, even with an American accent.

[absnow54]

Bloom is... interesting. He didn't have the scandal Jude Law had to deal with (unless I missed something in his divorce from Miranda Kerr)... and so far the hairline isn't receding too badly which I think helped push Jude Law out of pretty boy status. But I get a kind of DiCaprio enjoying life vibe from Bloom, but without the thirst for an Oscar. We shall see. I don't know if he'd want to take the step into TV but he definitely has the right look for a couple of historical periods.

Didn't Leonardo DiCaprio convince Orlando Bloom to punch Justin Bieber in the face one time? I mean that's not a scandal, but it's a fun tidbit to remember from time to time. I don't think Bloom is the best actor, but I never mind seeing him on screen. I feel like he played his franchise cards very well and probably never has to work again if he doesn't want to.

[dusang]

On 6/10/2017 at 9:18 PM, ChromaKelly said:

Speaking of Harry Potter alums, I'd like to see more from Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) ...

My mind is so dirty.

[methodwriter85]

Matthew Lewis did a pretty sexy photo shoot so you're in luck if you want to ogle his bod.

[dusang]

1 minute ago, methodwriter85 said:

Matthew Lewis did a pretty sexy photo shoot so you're in luck if you want to ogle his bod.

Oh, I know. ;)

(Honestly, I recently re-read Harry Potter and I have no trouble separating the characters from the actors except for Neville.  All through the early books I'm like, "it's okay, Nev, you'll be uber hot some day."

[methodwriter85]

On 6/10/2017 at 10:33 PM, memememe76 said:

I thought Neville was the best thing about Me Before You. I'm surprised that the actress who played Luna has not done more.

He did a great job with a pretty thankless part.

I really liked Me Before You, but I don't know, I wanted to be gutted by it, and I wasn't.  They really gutted Lou's backstory, and why she was the way she was.

Anyway...Ellar Coltrane opens up about his plans in this late 2016 interview:

Life After Boyhood

He's an interesting case because he's pretty much unprecedented. Ellar isn't just some green actor who got cast in a movie for his first-ever acting role. He was a child actor who had 12 years of steady work, yet no one saw it until he was 20. He did do a few other things on the side while he was growing up, but he more or less was in complete obscurity until Boyhood came out and suddenly became an Oscar-nominated movie. I'm not surprised he took a year or two in order to really assess if this is something he wants to pursue.

Ellar seems to have a pretty realistic outlook and a good head on his shoulders- I'm glad he didn't just pounce on the offers that probably came rolling in when Boyhood became a hit. I'm guessing he got a lot of advice from Richard, Ethan, and Patricia that he probably took to heart.

I feel like you could almost do a documentary about it- how exactly does a kid actor with a situation that different from anything ever seen before handle it? I liked this quote:

Quote

After everything with Boyhood, I was like, Noooo, if this is what this is, I want nothing to do with it. I’m just gonna go home and do what I was doing before. But I also can’t go do what I was doing before. And I love acting and I love telling stories, and just being in the process of it all, and being on set. It really makes me happy.

I mean, he's right- he can't really go back to the life or person he was before Boyhood hit. It sounds like he figured out what he wants to get from this experience, and what he's not willing to get up in order to do so despite the fact that it might mean he won't get as much work.

His IMDB page is pretty full so it seems to be working for him so far. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would ever be a "movie star" but it'd be great if he can manage to tell a few more  good stories.

Edited June 26, 2017 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

More thoughts on Channing Tatum...

You know, it's pretty interesting to think about him, because he's a great example of  someone in the right time and place with that right look taking a sheer luck opportunity, and really running with it. Channing's modeling career really could have only happened when it did- his look (that hot white urban boy look with a shaved head) wasn't a classic kind of hot. It was very specific to the late 1990's/early 2000's. I don't think a 23-year old him would have been runaway modeling in 1990, and I don't really see that many male models with his look now, either. I think we've switched back to a more lean male model look. And again, Channing's face isn't classically handsome, but it did indeed look great with 2000's urban fashion. I'm pretty sure the shaved head was on purpose, because as he said once, the shaved head combined with his tan made him look ethnically ambiguous.

He definitely paid his dues during his early acting days in the mid-2000's taking the time to develop into someone that could lead a movie by the time of his first real bonafide hit, Dear John. And he's had a few stumbles lately but he seems to be making some interesting choices, like his parts in The Hateful 8 and Hail Caesar. I feel like being willing to be an ensemble player is definitely going to help him weather whatever bobble he's going through, especially if George Clooney wants to work with him again.

Edited July 3, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Scarlett45]

On 7/2/2017 at 10:25 PM, methodwriter85 said:

More thoughts on Channing Tatum...

You know, it's pretty interesting to think about him, because he's a great example of  someone in the right time and place with that right look taking a sheer luck opportunity, and really running with it. Channing's modeling career really could have only happened when it did- his look (that hot white urban boy look with a shaved head) wasn't a classic kind of hot. It was very specific to the late 1990's/early 2000's. I don't think a 23-year old him would have been runaway modeling in 1990, and I don't really see that many male models with his look now, either. I think we've switched back to a more lean male model look. And again, Channing's face isn't classically handsome, but it did indeed look great with 2000's urban fashion. I'm pretty sure the shaved head was on purpose, because as he said once, the shaved head combined with his tan made him look ethnically ambiguous.

He definitely paid his dues during his early acting days in the mid-2000's taking the time to develop into someone that could lead a movie by the time of his first real bonafide hit, Dear John. And he's had a few stumbles lately but he seems to be making some interesting choices, like his parts in The Hateful 8 and Hail Caesar. I feel like being willing to be an ensemble player is definitely going to help him weather whatever bobble he's going through, especially if George Clooney wants to work with him again.

I agree. I also think Channing is a guy that was willing to pay his dues and work his strengths (like his dance skills in Magic Mike). 

[Amethyst]

On 6/6/2017 at 9:51 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Anyway, I wonder if Orlando Bloom is going to build off the renewed interest in him due to being back in the Pirates of the Caribbean. I never thought much of him but he really impressed me in this indie called The Good Doctor. I'm pulling for him to pull a Jude Law (former male ingenue who winds up doing really quirky and interesting work after he aged out of pretty boy status.)

I saw him in Tour De Pharmacy and he was pretty funny.  As someone who was Orlando crazy when he was first popular, I can admit he's not the greatest actor, but it looks like he's found his niche.  I think he's content where he is, at least for now.  Even though he's not the prime focus in the media anymore, it must be a relief to have some fun with his career for a change instead of being the Next Big Thing.

[Schweedie]

On 2017-07-10 at 3:35 AM, Amethyst said:

I saw him in Tour De Pharmacy and he was pretty funny.  As someone who was Orlando crazy when he was first popular, I can admit he's not the greatest actor, but it looks like he's found his niche.  I think he's content where he is, at least for now.  Even though he's not the prime focus in the media anymore, it must be a relief to have some fun with his career for a change instead of being the Next Big Thing.

I've liked Orlando Bloom ever since he played "himself" on Extras, as a self-obsessed diva constantly trying to assert that he was actually better and more popular than Johnny Depp. I think he's definitely got comedy chops, and I'd like to see him get to use them more - not just playing the straight man, like he did most of the time in Pirates (from what I can remember, it's been a while).

Pretty much every actor who guested as themselves on that show got major bonus points from me. (I mean, not that Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart needed them to begin with, but still.) I think it was the first thing I saw Daniel Radcliffe in outside Harry Potter, and he also completely won me over.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Schweedie

[Chas411]

Yeah I actually am just doing a rewatch and they had some excellent cameos. Orlando and Daniel being among the top.

[LadyAmalthea]

Rewatching the first three Pirates movies recently, I actually think Bloom did a pretty good job and exactly what was required of him as the straightman/romantic lead.  Depp was always going to overpower everyone.

I always have a soft spot for Bloom chewing the scenery in that awful Three Musketeers movie and would like to see him in more tongue-in-cheek roles.  

[Princess Sparkle]

Orlando Bloom reminds me of Jude Law in the sense that while he is gorgeous, he doesn't necessarily have the charisma to lead a movie. HOWEVER, like Jude Law, he should find ways to be in comedies, because he really is funny - I seem to recall that he improvised his Johnny Depp impression in the first Pirates movie, and I'm excited to see him in the new Lonely Island HBO movie.

[ChelseaNH]

I remember being impressed with how Bloom handled some heavy-handed dialog in the LOTR movies.  I think the secret is that he just totally committed to it, which is also what you need to do in comedy, so it all makes sense.

[Dejana]

I wonder if this summer will be the last chance Hollywood gives Dane DeHaan to play the leading man roles. Valerian is not only going to flop but many reviews say he's wildly miscast, and Tulip Fever being pushed back and back after filming in 2014 doesn't inspire much confidence either.

Very curious to see what's next for Harry Styles as an actor: another supporting role or a star turn, and what genre? He's sure to have tons of scripts sent his way but they won't all be Christopher Nolan awards contenders, plus music will take up a lot of time. In some ways he has the luxury to be pickier about the next thing, compared to the other younger cast from Dunkirk.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Dejana

[Pink ranger]

Dane DeHaan seems to be having the same problem as Tobey Maguire. They broke out playing teenagers ( including in different incarnations of Spider-Man movies )  but kept their baby faces after the age of 30 so are having trouble being taken seriously in adult roles. 

[Dejana]

1 hour ago, Pink ranger said:

Dane DeHaan seems to be having the same problem as Tobey Maguire. They broke out playing teenagers ( including in different incarnations of Spider-Man movies )  but kept their baby faces after the age of 30 so are having trouble being taken seriously in adult roles. 

I don't know if it's entirely that, because Leonardo DiCaprio was also baby-faced into his 30s and directors never stopped casting him in plum roles. Dane even resembles Leo but he's like the creepy, slightly off-kilter cousin, so maybe it's that he isn't cut out to be the leading man movie star anymore than, say, William Mapother ever was.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Dejana

[Pink ranger]

He got very good reviews for playing James Dean in the movie Life though so I think that he is capable of being a leading man.  Maybe he should just avoid action adventure films. His criticisms from Valerian mainly revolved around the critics feeling he came across as a "petulant 14 year old" instead of a roguish Chris Pratt/ Harrison Ford  type.  

[Silver Raven]

Well, Dane looks like a 14 year old, so that doesn't help.

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, Dejana said:

I don't know if it's entirely that, because Leonardo DiCaprio was also baby-faced into his 30s and directors never stopped casting him in plum roles. Dane even resembles Leo but he's like the creepy, slightly off-kilter cousin, so maybe it's that he isn't cut out to be the leading man movie star anymore than, say, William Mapother ever was.

Leo was baby faced but he still looked like an adult and a handsome one at that. His face was youthful but he still had an adult type of sex appeal that Tobey and Dane don't have IMO. 

Edited July 23, 2017 by Scarlett45

[Trini]

Beauty is subjective and all that; but Dane isn't at all comparable to DiCaprio lookswise, IMO. While I do think he's talented, I was concerned he was miscast for the role in Valerian, and it looks like I was right.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

8 hours ago, Dejana said:

I don't know if it's entirely that, because Leonardo DiCaprio was also baby-faced into his 30s and directors never stopped casting him in plum roles. Dane even resembles Leo but he's like the creepy, slightly off-kilter cousin, so maybe it's that he isn't cut out to be the leading man movie star anymore than, say, William Mapother ever was.

Having seen DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings and A Cure For Wellness, I agree that he can look pretty creepy. He's not really bad-looking, but his looks are just a little off in some way that I can't accurately describe.

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Having seen DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings and A Cure For Wellness, I agree that he can look pretty creepy. He's not really bad-looking, but his looks are just a little off in some way that I can't accurately describe.

It's his facial shape. His eyes are beautiful and his facial features are nice, but it's like they were put on the wrong face, for lack of a better way to describe it. Like they're too small for his face.

I really thought he was set to take off after The Place Beyond the Pines, but yeah, not going so great. He's kind of screwed in the sense that the kind of things that someone with his face/body type would work well in (dramas, quirky romantic comedies) aren't doing so hot right now. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't really work well as Marvel hero, or as some manchild in a Seth Rogan gross-out comedy, which seems to be where most of the parts for guys his age are doing well in right now.

His co-star Emory Cohen seems to be having better luck- he's also in the same place as Dane DeHaan in that he's not really cookie-cutter leading man handsome but he seems to be carving out an interesting career right now. He does seem to be more comfortable with the supporting parts, and he's mixing in T.V.

Harry Styles will definitely be getting some notice from Hollywood now. Hopefully he's smart and doesn't screw it up. He is extremely lucky that he can be like David Bowie or Jared Leto and just take things that appeal to him.

Edited July 24, 2017 by methodwriter85

[aradia22]

I do see the DiCaprio/DeHaan comparison at times. He's... got angles. There are also times when I think he could play a very flattering version of young Steve Buscemi in a future biopic. I do wonder how his career will develop once he gets older and ages into more interesting parts that are less reliant on movie star good looks. At the very least, there will be a bigger space for him as a character actor. It'll be interesting to see how the work he does now while he's young affects the kind of roles he can get later. As long as there's not a huge misstep, I think he'll be safe. The entertainment industry seems to be giving a lot of chances these days... even when some careers should really just die. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

1 hour ago, aradia22 said:

 The entertainment industry seems to be giving a lot of chances these days... even when some careers should really just die. 

Ryan Reynolds would like to be excluded from this narrative. :-P

Re the Marvel hero thing - since there's been talk of some of the characters possibly being phased out after Infinity War, I'm wondering a bit about what could be next for the 'original' six. If ScarJo never again does something as awful as Rough Night I'll be delighted, but I guess paycheck movies keep you working.

[Proclone]

14 hours ago, Trini said:

Beauty is subjective and all that; but Dane isn't at all comparable to DiCaprio lookswise, IMO. While I do think he's talented, I was concerned he was miscast for the role in Valerian, and it looks like I was right.

I do agree that Dehaan does resemble a serial killer more than a typical leading man, and something about him just screams "villain" to me.  That being said, I think he might be able to work as an action lead, just not the action lead that Valerian was supposed to be.  I've seen it and it's a terrible film IMO and no actor could have saved it, but Dehaan is certainly not able to pull off the cocky charismatic ladies man that Valerian was supposed to be. He could have probably gotten away with being in an action movie if his character is more an unlikely hero who falls into the role.  Even if Valerian had been written (and the script had been better written in general) as a strict by the book solider that needed a learn to loosen up a little, probably would have worked better (and according to a couple things I've read, actually might have been closer to the comics).  Oddly enough they try to imply that was his character at the end of the film where he and Laureline argue and he tells her he's a solider who always follows the rules, except we just watched a two hour film where broke rules all the time.  As the character is actually presented in the film, Dehaan just doesn't have the charm or charisma to pull off suck a cocky, self assured character without making him unlikable.  It did not help that Dehaan had absolutely no chemistry with Delevingne either.  I don't think she's a good actress, but she actually bothered me less in this. Maybe because she's less miscast.  But boy do those two not have chemistry.  You would think that they would have chemistry tests between the leads prior to filming just to make sure in a film with this big a budget, but apparently not.  Someone (not sure if it's this thread or the actual movie thread) mentioned they look like brother and sister, and they do.  Most of the film she looks at him like he's her annoying brother.  In the theater someone actually called out, "Ew, gross!" at the end where they kiss.  I can't really say that Delevingne is a terrible actress (I've only seen her in Suicide Squad and this and I don't completely blame her for how bad her characters in either were), but she picks terrible films and is going choose herself right out of a career.

[kiddo82]

12 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Re the Marvel hero thing - since there's been talk of some of the characters possibly being phased out after Infinity War, I'm wondering a bit about what could be next for the 'original' six. If ScarJo never again does something as awful as Rough Night I'll be delighted, but I guess paycheck movies keep you working.

It's funny you bring up Scarlett Johansson because I just watched Her for the first time this weekend and I was really, really, really impressed with her voice acting.  She made Samantha a character while at the same time never losing the affect of being a program.  I enjoy her as Widow but I feel like it's easy to write off a lot of the Marvel stalwarts as just being part of the machine.  That would be a shame because she really is talented.  (As it would be unfair to all of the 'original' six because they really do make those characters.). One the other hand, she was already a name (with a few Golden Globe nominations) before Widow and she works steadily between Marvel projects which reminds people she has different octaves.  Plus, SNL seems to like to have her back which is never a bad thing for staying in the consciousness of the public.  I can definitely see her coming out fine on the other side as a result of the strength of her non-Marvel resume.  It would be rather unfortunate if that wasn't the case.

Edited July 25, 2017 by kiddo82

[Cobalt Stargazer]

2 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

It's funny you bring up Scarlett Johansson because I just watched Her for the first time this weekend and I was really, really, really impressed with her voice acting.  She made Samantha a character while at the same time never losing the affect of being a program. 

She also voices the most interesting character in Sing!, IMO, and considering she was voicing a porcupine who plays the guitar, that means she can do more than play a stoic action star. I wasn't really trying to knock her, I was just saying that a Kristen Wiig and/or Seth Rogen type comedy doesn't seem to be in her wheelhouse. I have seen her in comedies that work, though, so the fault likely rests with the script.

[kiddo82]

I'm sorry it if came across that I thought you were knocking her.  I intended my response to be more of a "speaking of Johansson..." response than a rebuttal.  Either way, it sounds like we're saying the same thing about her future career prospects.

I was thinking about it last night and the one thing Marvel doesn't do, with the rare exception, is pluck people out of obscurity.  That's not a criticism, just an observation.  And they don't just get people you've heard of, they get really big stars and/or respected talents.  Off the top of my head, Samuel L. Jackson, Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Tommy Lee Jones, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Ben Kingsley, Mickey Rourke, Gwenyth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, Bradley Cooper, Marissa Tomei, Jennifer Connelly, Michael Keaton, Lupita Nyong'o, Brie Larson, Michelle Pfeiffer (announced for Ant-Man and the Wasp), Natalie Portman, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins...(there's probably some I'm missing) have all either been nominated for or won Academy Awards.  And I know they're all at various stages of their careers, but that is still an impressive list of talents to boast.  And that's not even counting the likes of Johansson, Evans, Elba, Spader, Rudd, et al who are all big names and have other roles and accolades to their credit.  Marvel doesn't seem to cast pigeonholed action stars* which (a) I think maintains the quality of the films.  Like I said above, these are real characters not cookbook tough guys and girls and (b) for the sake of the actors involved, keeps them from being known as "just" The Hulk or "just" Thor's girlfriend.  There's also a lot to be said about the sheer size of the family which gives them the flexibility of slipping in and out of the multi-verse while flexing their acting muscles elsewhere.  There really isn't any reason the younger members of the 'verse shouldn't be able to move on fairly cleanly when all is said and done.  If I had to choose, I think the Chris' might have the hardest time (when you have bodies and looks like that it might be harder to be taken seriously at first) but I still think they'll be alright.

*not that there's anything to knock about being a career action star

Edited July 25, 2017 by kiddo82

[absnow54]

I was thinking about it last night and the one thing Marvel doesn't do, with the rare exception, is pluck people out of obscurity. That's not a criticism, just an observation. And they don't just get people you've heard of, they get really big stars and/or respected talents. Off the top of my head... Robert Downey Jr.

To be fair, although RDJ is a two time Oscar nominee with a decade spanning career, casting pre-2008 RDJ to launch the Marvel franchise was a gamble at the time. Marvel's always played it safe when it comes to supporting roles, but I would consider their original tent pole casting of Downey, Evans, and Hemsworth to be riskier. Downey was on his third or fourth comeback, and Evans and Hemsworth (Hemsworth especially) were still pretty obscure. Now, however, Marvel seems to snatch up all the darlings of the previous award season.

[methodwriter85]

I think they're trying to avoid a Brandon Routh situation. Which...I don't think it was all on Brandon, but they really didn't get how to mold green talent.

I guess Tom Holland was working his dues as well. He's another example of the British actor invasion. American guys his age just don't get trained that well- they're usually stuck in teen dramas or light-hearted family sitcoms. Tobey Maquire had his formative acting years when here WAS a strong alternative to that, with all the alternative indie films people were making back in the 90's as well as the moderate budget stuff he did like Pleasantville that got him critical acclaim. That path just isn't really there anymore, at least for American guys. Soap operas (say what you will but they are a training ground) were also pretty good for breaking in young actors but they're almost extinct in America.

[Pink ranger]

I would say that cable and streaming dramas today are/ could be a great training ground for American  actors. 

Look at how well received Alexis Bledel  is in The Handmaidens Tail. Of course, she wasn't in obscurity before but the platform allowed her to flex her acting muscles in a way that her more light hearted early work perhaps didn't.

Also the indie movie pathway still kind of exists since it recently gave us the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Ezra Miller and Miles Teller. 

Edited July 25, 2017 by Pink ranger

[aradia22]

Quote

I think they're trying to avoid a Brandon Routh situation. Which...I don't think it was all on Brandon, but they really didn't get how to mold green talent.

Wait, what was this in reference to? I lost the thread of the conversation. Either way... poor Brandon Routh. Not saying I enjoyed that Superman movie but still.

I agree that indie movies can still give actors a chance to hone their skills. The difference is that they're less mainstream so they're less of a way to grow an audience except as a means of getting on the critics' radar. There's also theater though there aren't a ton of parts for younger actors that aren't written by younger actors and/or performed by small companies/troupes. I wouldn't reject all the Disney and Nickelodeon stuff outright (though I don't watch any of it to say for sure) but if you're interested in getting good, you can put in that effort... though I realize that a lot of that acting is broad comedy and the kind of stuff that won't play well if you try and take it to a more legitimate venue. But at the very least, one would hope you can learn to be charming if not a serious dramatic actor. The most dramatic thing I can think of that cycles through younger actors is Degrassi. There they have plenty of material (even if it's often nonsense) so it's up to them to sell it. And of course, there are still acting schools and programs that churn out young (college-age) talent. 

[JBC344]

21 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

Wait, what was this in reference to? I lost the thread of the conversation. Either way... poor Brandon Routh. Not saying I enjoyed that Superman movie but still.

I agree that indie movies can still give actors a chance to hone their skills. The difference is that they're less mainstream so they're less of a way to grow an audience except as a means of getting on the critics' radar. There's also theater though there aren't a ton of parts for younger actors that aren't written by younger actors and/or performed by small companies/troupes. I wouldn't reject all the Disney and Nickelodeon stuff outright (though I don't watch any of it to say for sure) but if you're interested in getting good, you can put in that effort... though I realize that a lot of that acting is broad comedy and the kind of stuff that won't play well if you try and take it to a more legitimate venue. But at the very least, one would hope you can learn to be charming if not a serious dramatic actor. The most dramatic thing I can think of that cycles through younger actors is Degrassi. There they have plenty of material (even if it's often nonsense) so it's up to them to sell it. And of course, there are still acting schools and programs that churn out young (college-age) talent. 

The reference was in regard to Brandon sort of getting ostracized and blamed for Superman Returns.  He was brought up as an opposite example of how Marvel seems to pick "mostly" established actors which has sort of helped them avoid a "Superman Returns" situation.

[aradia22]

Hmn... In that case, I'm not sure I buy the argument. Theoretically, anywhere along the way, audiences could have rejected one of the Avengers (either their solo movie or the casting). I'm not sure how Marvel would have adjusted if hypothetically Ant Man was far better received than Thor. Would they have just written Thor out of the Avengers for the movies and replaced him with Ant Man or would they have forced Thor through like, just deal with it, this is the lineup we're going with? I would say the fact that the movies (as far as I know) don't stray too far from a certain formula and tone so it's not like you're asking the audience to accept something too crazy and different. That is, I think the brand is bigger than the actors chosen. While they weren't complete unknowns, Marvel hasn't really been betting on anyone whose stock was all that high when they were cast. Even the "big stars/respected talent" filling out the supporting cast mostly seems like they could be had on the cheap. Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, Bradley Cooper, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Anthony Hopkins are the only ones of that list I can see even trying to negotiate for a star salary and even then... probably not. Realistically, maybe Kingsley, Cooper, and Hopkins get more money (though Hopkins seems to be one of those paycheck actors like Caine and Jackson who just like to work as much as possible).