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

[methodwriter85]

On 6/28/2018 at 8:32 AM, raezen said:

I didn't see the first Hunger Games in theatres but when I did I remember my sister andI wondered aloud why we didn't see 'Rue' everywhere. Then some time later I saw the video she made talking about cultural appropriation, and I thought "that's why". I think Amandla would have been very unhappy as a Disney kid because there is always a price paid to belong to the club. 

Yeah, there is. Brie Larson is probably extremely thankful that her brushes with Disney were just enough to give her some work and a roof over her head, but not enough that she was defined as a Disney teen star. Her career would have looked very different. There's a reason why so many former Disney kids are screwed up. Even Zac Efron, who was lauded as being the success story over someone like Lindsay Lohan, turned out to have some serious problems of his own. They just didn't come out until later.

Now it kind feels like Disney doesn't turn out the super-stars they used to. The last group they launched that went pretty big was that whole Miley Cyrus/Selena Gomez/Demi Lovato peer group of the mid/late 2000's. Girl Meets World failed to catch on in a big way, and Dove Cameron/Ross Lynch are kind of known, but not really household names. Bridgit Mendler had a little success, but she seems to be more working actress than star. Then there's Luke Benward, who I considered the Fetch of the Disney would-be hearthrobs of the late 2000's/early 2010's.

Also, the defunct Vine and YouTube seemed to contribute more teen idols than Disney has, at least in the past decade. And Netflix, I think. People seem wild over Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why.

I do kind of wish Shane Harper was doing more, though. He's so  generic looking but there was something about him. Right now his biggest non-Disney work seems to be his God's Not Dead movies.

Edited July 5, 2018 by methodwriter85

[Fool to cry]

On 6/27/2018 at 6:15 PM, HunterHunted said:

Tom Cruise is auditioning young actors to play Goose's son in Top Gun 2. Austin Butler and Dylan O'Brien were previously considered. Glen Powell, Nicholas Hoult, and Miles Teller are the front runners. I love Glen Powell and Nicholas Hoult. While Top Gun 2 would probably be good for their careers, I don't want either of them connected with the crazy that is Tom Cruise, Scientology, or Clearwater. I'll happily let them have Miles Teller, who is an asshole. A talented asshole, but an asshole nonetheless. I'm surprised the beautiful talentless trees (Scott Eastwood and Liam Hemsworthwood) weren't on the list.

http://www.vulture.com/2018/06/glen-powell-nicholas-hoult-miles-teller-on-the-top-gun-2-shortlist.html

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/top-gun-2-casting-key-role-gooses-son-1123513?utm_source=twitter

 

Looks like Teller is going to be Goose Jr:

Miles Teller to Play Goose’s Son in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (EXCLUSIVE)

He really doesn't look like Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan would be his parents but I wish him luck.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Fool to cry

[ancslove]

On 6/28/2018 at 11:47 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Yeah, there is. Brie Larson is probably extremely thankful that her brushes with Disney were just enough to give her some work and a roof over her heard, but not enough that she was defined as a Disney teen star. Her career would have looked very different. There's a reason why so many former Disney kids are screwed up. Even Zac Efron, who was lauded as being the success story over someone like Lindsay Lohan, turned out to have some serious problems of his own. They just didn't come out until later.

Now it kind feels like Disney doesn't turn out the super-stars they used to. The last group they launched that went pretty big was that whole Miley Cyrus/Selena Gomez/Demi Lovato peer group of the mid/late 2000's. Girl Meets World failed to catch on in a big way, and Dove Cameron/Ross Lynch are kind of known, but not really household names. Bridgit Mendler had a little success, but she seems to be more working actress than star. Then there's Luke Benward, who I considered the Fetch of the Disney would-be hearthrobs of the late 2000's/early 2010's.

Also, the defunct Vine and YouTube seemed to contribute more teen idols than Disney has, at least in the past decade. And Netflix, I think. People seem wild over Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why.

I do kind of wish Shane Harper was doing more, though. He's so  generic looking but there was something about him. Right now his biggest non-Disney work seems to be his God's Not Dead movies.

It's interesting.  Zendaya and Dove Cameron have been doing well, but both keep plugging away with different roles (Zendaya on Greatest Showman, Dove with Hairspray Live and a guest spot on Agents of Shield) without really pushing their Disney fame.  And I'm not sure if that's because they are both primarily actresses, rather than also trying to be brand-recognized pop stars like Miley, Demi, and Selena all did, or if Disney is trying to keep a lower profile for their current stars, because there's been a lot of talk about Disney kids with serious problems.  Bella Thorne, Zendaya's Disney costar, has been more reliant on her Disney name/herself as a star personality, and it hasn't been working out well for her.

[aradia22]

I think it might just be that Demi and Selena were able to break through with legitimate music careers in a way that Dove and Zendaya have not been able to, not that Zendaya and Dove aren't trading on their Disney names or they're primarily actresses. I haven't seen the younger ones act but Demi and Selena were not great actresses. Demi does have a killer voice though and Selena... well, she has people who write her good pop songs. Miley is different because she had her music world contacts to pull her through to some sort of legitimacy, traded on some courting of the LGBT community, and then found her way onto The Voice. Miley's just like the proverbial cat with nine lives. Also, even if they're "acting" Zendaya and Dove are still taking jobs that take advantage of their singing. I think they've just found a balance where they have their Disney fans but they're still "whos" to the general population... while all the magazines keep trying to convince me that Zendaya is some kind of activist (but that's another matter). 

[Ms.Moon]

12 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Also, even if they're "acting" Zendaya and Dove are still taking jobs that take advantage of their singing. I think they've just found a balance where they have their Disney fans but they're still "whos" to the general population... while all the magazines keep trying to convince me that Zendaya is some kind of activist (but that's another matter). 

I like Zendaya, I think she's making good choices when it comes to her acting.  She had producer credit on her Disney show K.C Undercover, she's Mary Jane in the Marvel Universe Spiderman and she was in The Greatest Showman last year.  She's also co-producing and starring in a movie with Reese Witherspoon.  I think she's putting together a career more in the "long career mode," which is smart.  She's also not rocking the boat at Disney which is good because Disney will take care of her if she does.  There is voice over work, she can get roles in Disney productions long after the "Disney tween/teen star," wears off if she plays her cards right.  

[ancslove]

Selena was widely considered the best Disney actress of her set, although I did wonder how much of that perception was helped by playing a character that was demonstrably not a version of herself, unlike Miley and Demi and Hilary Duff before them.  But she had the most natural delivery, and she didn't shout every other line.  I always thought it was a bit strange that Selena went full pop star, because she was also widely considered to be the weakest Disney singer of her set.  But kudos to her for being able to create a real music career.

[topanga]

3 hours ago, ancslove said:

Selena was widely considered the best Disney actress of her set, although I did wonder how much of that perception was helped by playing a character that was demonstrably not a version of herself, unlike Miley and Demi and Hilary Duff before them.  But she had the most natural delivery, and she didn't shout every other line.  I always thought it was a bit strange that Selena went full pop star, because she was also widely considered to be the weakest Disney singer of her set.  But kudos to her for being able to create a real music career.

Ariana Grande (Nickelodian, not Disney) also went pop star. I´m actually surprised she´s as successful as she is. I saw her sing live early in her career, and she wasn´t that great back then. 

I enjoyed her character on I, Victorious, even though she was a bit one note. I wonder if she´s stopped acting completely.

[methodwriter85]

I do think part of it though is that the tween/early teen demographic doesn't consume media like they did back in 2005. A lot of kids these days seem to be finding their teen idols from YouTube or on Netflix. 15 years ago, Disney's only real competition was Nickelodeon. Their general plan of making their teen star have a t.v. show, then do music, and then do movies doesn't really work as well as it did back then. (Or they'd movies and THEN do music.)

I have had this irrational hatred for Bella Thorne since she was Rockie on Shake It Up (my niece watched that show when she was like 4) so I'm kind of glad her career has kind of tanked. Zendaya's doing pretty well and I'm glad.

[ancslove]

I'm just surprised that Ariana was theater-trained.  Disney stars tend to over-enunciate, Ariana slurs every sound together.  But, like Demi, she has a strong voice with an incredible range.  That stands out in the pop music world, when a lot of pop songs only seem to have 5 different notes.  (Havana, I'm looking at you.)

[aradia22]

Quote

Selena was widely considered the best Disney actress of her set, although I did wonder how much of that perception was helped by playing a character that was demonstrably not a version of herself, unlike Miley and Demi and Hilary Duff before them.  But she had the most natural delivery, and she didn't shout every other line.  I always thought it was a bit strange that Selena went full pop star, because she was also widely considered to be the weakest Disney singer of her set.  But kudos to her for being able to create a real music career.

I didn't watch a ton of Wizards of Waverly Place as I'd aged out of the demo at that point but I sort of watched some of it ironically (i.e. I definitely watched some of the movie when various places were making fun of the incest vibes). And for Disney, she was good. I'm just saying her acting career (Spring Breakers, Getaway, etc.) wasn't really taking off the way her singles were catching on so I get why she went with music. I've always liked her music and I love Revival so I'm not trying to say this in a shady way but she's kind of a Britney. Being a strong singer isn't as important as finding good people to write you pop songs (if you can't do it yourself). Look at where Christina Aguilera is in spite of her voice. 

[Scarlett45]

On 6/26/2018 at 12:40 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Amandla Stenberg officially came out as a lesbian. Good for her. I'm curious to see if this will impact her career, because right now she's getting a lot of lead roles in smaller YA films. I want to feel like it shouldn't make any difference, but most celebs who came out tended to do so after they had established themselves rather than when they were on the ascent.

They don't seem to be pushing her as like the All-American wholesome girl-next-door who just happens to be black a la Brandy back in the 90's. Amandla's career choices seem to be a bit more eclectic than that, so her being a lesbian shouldn't be that big of a deal. I do think that's part of what held Raven Simone back from coming out when she was at the height of her That's So Raven Disney fame.

 

On 6/26/2018 at 2:55 PM, HunterHunted said:

She had previously come out as non-binary, bi, and later pansexual 3 or 4 years ago. I'm assuming studios know what they're getting with her. But you never know especially because she's Black and outspoken about racial issues.

I’m glad for Amandla, but I think Raven’s career path had partly to do with her being pan, but more to do with her looks and role choices. Raven was smart to play a teenager as long as she could (with that baby face she has) but she’s always been larger than mainstream actresses. Even at her thinnest now she’s naturally bustier (like Tootie from facts of life), she also enjoys working but won’t “play the game”. She’s back on the Disney channel now playing an adult with children (continuing her Raven role) so she’s working but she isn’t a money maker so she doesn’t get the big parts. 

[methodwriter85]

I do think Amandla, despite also being busty, seems to fit conventional beauty types better than Raven does, which probably helps her. Amandla is/was much, much pickier, whereas Raven definitely seemed to take what she could get, especially in her child star days.

Anyway, Joey King, who I liked in The Conjuring, is basically getting her moment right now because her cheesy Netflix teen flick The Kissing Booth took off like a bullet. Like seriously- she went from having 600k followers on Instagram to over 4 million in the span of a month because of this movie. On one hand, I kind of wish she had been able to do something critically acclaimed, like Hailee Steinfield's Edge of 17 movie, but on the other hand, there is no shortage of former child actresses who are now in their late teens/early 20's and want to make the leap to ingenue/lead actress. Anything that can get you to stand out, right?

In Joey's case, she's more in the vein of a working child actress than someone who was a child star, which I feel tends to portend well for those trying to make the leap into young adulthood roles. When you're McCaulley Culkin or Haley Joel Osment, i.e. someone who had a very iconic movie role as a child, it seems harder to make that transition. The ones who work but aren't really in the spotlight don't really have to live down the child version of themselves or people's expectations of them. And because they have experience, they're not quite so overwhelmed if/when they suddenly get the spotlight, as opposed to a green actor suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I've never paid much attention to Ariana's music but it looks like this latest album will be amazing.  "No Tears Left to Cry" and "God is a Woman" are insanely great singles.  I've been playing them nonstop.

[HunterHunted]

Wyatt Russell's career is heating up. He's managed to get his own TV series, Lodge 49. And strangely, I've seen fewer interviews mention that he's related to Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn than interviews with his half-siblings (Kate and Oliver Hudson).

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Wyatt Russell's career is heating up. He's managed to get his own TV series, Lodge 49. And strangely, I've seen fewer interviews mention that he's related to Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn than interviews with his half-siblings (Kate and Oliver Hudson).

I thought he has been very, very smart with how he's managing his career. Very low-profile for the most part, and playing a lot of "the dude abides" kind of roles. It's only been in the last two years that he's even started doing the lead roles.

In one interview he basically admitted that his hair and beard are something he does to make himself stand out, which is pretty smart. He's not going to be cast in "boy next door"/generic male lead parts, anyway. His face is too quirky for that.

Anyway, I was thinking about Greta Gerwig, and how her directing career seems to be taking off right now. It made me think back to Frances Ha, where her character realizes that she's going to make a much better choreographer than a dancer. Maybe some parallels? Not that Gerwig is a bad actress by any means, but she's past the ingenue stage and she's aging out of the mumblecore indie stuff that made her famous. At this point it looks like she might become best known as a director, although we'll have to see how her Little Woman film pans out. The fact that the studio is trusting her to helm a cast that includes Meryl Streep and Emma Stone really speaks highly of their current confidence in her.

I still really want to see Greta Gerwig and Chloe Sevigny play sisters at some point, though.

[methodwriter85]

Just got back from Mama Mia 2. I honestly think that Lily James just might end up the real deal. She's rebounded very nicely from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies disaster with Baby Driver and now this. I don't think Mama Mia 2 was a perfect film by any means, but it was a great showcase for her.

Who would have thunk that with all the actresses from Downton Abbey, the Lady Sylvia replacement would wind up the one with a legitimate shot at movie stardom?

[VCRTracking]

54 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

Just got back from Mama Mia 2. I honestly think that Lily James just might end up the real deal. She's rebounded very nicely from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies disaster with Baby Driver and now this. I don't think Mama Mia 2 was a perfect film by any means, but it was a great showcase for her.

Who would have thunk that with all the actresses from Downton Abbey, the Lady Sylvia replacement would wind up the one with a legitimate shot at movie stardom?

I thought she was good as Winston Churchill's secretary in The Darkest Hour, holding her own with Gary Oldman.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Even if she never becomes a huge star, I think Lily James will have a nice, long, steady career. In addition to being a more than capable actress, she has charm, presence, and a face the camera loves. If you look at her resume, James, for the most part, has an enviable checklist for an actress: Successful and beloved TV show? Check. Oscar bait movie? Check. Adaptation of a bestselling novel now available on Netflix? Check. Critically acclaimed indie films that prove you're a serious actress? Check. Disney princess? Check. Sequel to popular (if divisive) movie musical that shows off your singing chops? Check. 

Speaking of Mamma Mia 2, I won't lie, I can't see James aging into Meryl Streep. I can, on the other hand, definitely see her aging into Jessica Lange (seriously, watch Cinderella and Tootsie side by side, they're practically the same person).

Quote

I thought she was good as Winston Churchill's secretary in The Darkest Hour, holding her own with Gary Oldman.

It was a small part, but James excels at playing plucky and sympathetic, and she somehow doesn't let famously hammy Oldman upstage her. And I have to say, she's one of those rare actresses who looks equally good blonde or brunette. 

Edited July 23, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[methodwriter85]

I really liked her in Baby Driver, even though she had the one-dimensional love interest part. She still managed to inject life into that character.

[Wiendish Fitch]

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I really liked her in Baby Driver, even though she had the one-dimensional love interest part. She still managed to inject life into that character.

I concur. :)

[Scarlett45]

19 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Just got back from Mama Mia 2. I honestly think that Lily James just might end up the real deal. She's rebounded very nicely from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies disaster with Baby Driver and now this. I don't think Mama Mia 2 was a perfect film by any means, but it was a great showcase for her.

Who would have thunk that with all the actresses from Downton Abbey, the Lady Sylvia replacement would wind up the one with a legitimate shot at movie stardom?

Okay I LOVED Pride & Prejudice & Zombies!! It’s going in my Halloween movie marathon rotation!! And she was great in it.

I think Lily James has a lot of charm, she’s attractive but not a bombshell, her face shape should age well where she can do a lot of different parts into her 40s etc. She may also want to do more comedies. 

[JustaPerson]

I loved Lily James in Cinderella! She and Richard Madden were so sweet and believable as a couple. I still revisit the film occasionally. 

[ancslove]

I think Lily James is beautiful, but in an earthy way, if that makes sense.  She’s not quite a bombshell like Scarlett Johansson, or an ice queen like Dianna Agron.  She was magnetic in Mamma Mia, in a role that wasn’t too likable, and also had a decent American accent.  

I’d love to see Amanda Seyfried lead a real drama, or go Broadway.  She’s got a great voice when she’s not being pushed above her range, and MM2 kind of redeemed Les Mis.  (I loved her Cosette, but the songs were out of her comfort zone.)

[aradia22]

Quote

I think Lily James is beautiful, but in an earthy way, if that makes sense.  She’s not quite a bombshell like Scarlett Johansson, or an ice queen like Dianna Agron.  She was magnetic in Mamma Mia, in a role that wasn’t too likable, and also had a decent American accent.

I don't get the same vibe but I haven't seen Mamma Mia. To me, Lily James gives off a very typical English rose vibe though she's somewhat curvy. Like Kate Winslet. 

[UYI]

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the tragic murder of 10 year old Judith Barsi, who was shot to death by her own father while she was sleeping, along with her mother, who was shot as she was running down the hallway towards Judith's room after the first gunshot (which killed Judith instantly). Her father killed himself shortly thereafter.

She was the voice of Ducky in the original Land Before Time movie, and the voice of Anne-Marie in the original All Dogs Go to Heaven movie, both of which were released after her death. She also appeared in several TV movies, as well as the final Jaws movie, Jaws: The Revenge.

Because of her short stature, she often played characters younger than her own age, making her early death even sadder (and her character in the Jaws movie was herself nearly killed by the titular shark).

In a bizarre coincidence, Judith died mere months after another young child star, Heather O'Rourke (who herself was only 12). 

With the credits she already had, especially as a voice actress, I can't help but wonder what else might have been in her future. 

Edited July 25, 2018 by UYI

[methodwriter85]

I was born in '85, so I wasn't really old enough to know about any of that. Such a tragic story. I loved All Dogs Go To Heaven and it's a shame to know what happened to the girl who voiced Annelise.

I guarantee she would have been part of the Disney Renaissance. I'm not sure how successful she would have been as a live action actress especially if she remained super-short but guaranteed she would have voiced a character in the Disney Revival era.

Anyway...

On 6/28/2018 at 11:47 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I think Amandla would have been very unhappy as a Disney kid because there is always a price paid to belong to the club. 

Yep, and we got our newest reminder with that, as Demi Lovato apparently OD'ed on heroin. She's stable but yeah, tough stuff. I've never really liked her- she seemed super fake and annoying when Disney was pushing her. And there are a lot of stories about how she's rude to fans now, but yeah. Tough stuff. The Disney Club just seems to have so many casualties and cautionary tales.

I'm still kind of shocked that Lindsey Lohan has made it to her 30's. I remember there was a time where newspapers apparently had an obituary planned for her during her meltdown phase for a few years. She's apparently going to try and reinvent herself as a Lisa Vanderpump in what sounds like a Pump Rules reality show knock-off.

Best of luck to her, honestly. It sounds like living away from Los Angeles has been good for her. It does make me sad when I think about all that wasted potential, but we can't go back to 2004 again, right?

[UYI]

I'm still curious about those stories that the real reason that Lindsay has been in Dubai is because she became a prostitute, but we'll probably never know for sure.

I'm the opposite of you--while I've always had a soft spot for Demi, in spite of some of her blunter moments (and sometimes BECAUSE of them!), it's Lindsay who I became tired of--so many years of her getting second chances, only to basically laugh in the face of them, continuing to show up late/not at all/party instead of work until she couldn't really get work in Hollywood anymore at all. But we all see things differently, I guess, and I certainly would love it if Lindsay got off/will get off drugs. 

Edited July 25, 2018 by UYI

[methodwriter85]

Oh, I'm not saying I care for LL at all now. Probably not in the past five years. It's still a shame the potential she had and squandered. Every other actress from Mean Girls is still acting and doing well to varying degrees because they chose to actually work. I'm just glad LL hasn't died.

[VCRTracking]

With discussion a while back about Gwyneth Paltrow I decided to post this recent New York Magazine article here:

The Big Business of Being Gwyneth Paltrow

Excerpt:
 

Quote

 

The Goop campus in Santa Monica consists of four squat gray buildings, where in June a diverse group of about 200 young, exuberant, well-dressed people were working hard to plan the coming weekend’s event, the In Goop Health wellness summit. G.P. sat at her desk behind the glass walls of her office, which was spare and also decorated in shades of gray. Her golden hair fell over the paper she was reading. She was wearing a tank top, shearling-lined white Birkenstocks and Goop x Frame wide-legged palazzo jeans. Back when she wore them at Harvard, I’d never seen anyone else wear them. Now she was making them, and everyone else I knew was wearing the same style.

We ate salmon hand rolls. She was trying to be low-carb today, but it wasn’t happening. There was too much going on. The wellness summit, a daylong immersion in Goop-endorsed products, panels, doctors and other “healers,” was a “heavy lift for the team.”

“It’s intense, man,” she said. She reached behind her to her bookshelf, which held about a dozen blue bottles of something called Real Water, which is not stripped of “valuable electrons,” which supposedly creates free radicals something something from the body’s cells. “It’s insane, and then I have to do a lot on the day, and I really don’t like speaking in public, and I have to keep getting up in front of a crowd.”

 

 

[methodwriter85]

To be honest, I kind of love that GP doesn't try to put on some faux-humility "I'm just like one of you!" facade that a lot of actresses feel like they have to do. Now that she's past her ingenue days, she truly doesn't seem to give a shit anymore.

Jeremy Irvine and the other two guys who payed the Young Versions of Sophie's possible dads have been social media-ing up a storm. It's kind of cute- they're calling themselves the #Dynabros. Jeremy Irvine was supposed to be a big thing after War Horse, but then War Horse didn't do that great. Then he appeared in a series of flops and little-seen projects, most notably his Stonewall picture, which was heavily criticized for white-washing the whole moment.

Jeremy has been on record saying that he doesn't really want to court fame but I guess he might be warming up to it? Or in the years since his first initial brush with fame, Jeremy realized that he can't make a living on purely low-profile indie work and direct-to-video Sci-fi films?

I'm also going to pretend that Alexander Skarsgard walked up to Josh Dylan at some Mama Mia press junket event and called him "Dad." I feel like that's something Alex would actually do. LOL.

Edited July 26, 2018 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

On 7/24/2018 at 9:26 AM, ancslove said:

I’d love to see Amanda Seyfried lead a real drama, or go Broadway.  She’s got a great voice when she’s not being pushed above her range, and MM2 kind of redeemed Les Mis.  (I loved her Cosette, but the songs were out of her comfort zone.)

Amanda should probably get a nice boost from this. The sequel actually works. I don't think she's going to get flooded with offers like I think Lily James will, but it's a nice reminder she's still in the game. And her character growth between the first movie and the second one does a great job of showing Amanda playing a matured character, which isn't something Amanda has really been known for. She stayed a wide-eyed ingenue/sprite of a girl for as long as she possibly could because of how young she looked.

Age did finally catch up to her a bit but I did think 25 was a reasonable age for her to play. That doesn't go into trying to figure out how Sophie can be 25 in present-day if she was born in 1980, but whatever.

It should help set up Amanda's post-ingenue stage in her career.

Edited July 28, 2018 by methodwriter85

[SallyAlbright]

On 7/23/2018 at 2:14 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Just got back from Mama Mia 2. I honestly think that Lily James just might end up the real deal. She's rebounded very nicely from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies disaster with Baby Driver and now this. I don't think Mama Mia 2 was a perfect film by any means, but it was a great showcase for her.

Who would have thunk that with all the actresses from Downton Abbey, the Lady Sylvia replacement would wind up the one with a legitimate shot at movie stardom?

Lily James just has "it" in my opinion. There are more beautiful (even though I think she's adorable) and probably more talented actresses out there, but I find her so charming and am happy to watch her in any role. She's quite versatile (Baby Driver, Cinderella, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Mamma Mia) and I think she will have a very long career. 

[aradia22]

Quote

To be honest, I kind of love that GP doesn't try to put on some faux-humility "I'm just like one of you!" facade that a lot of actresses feel like they have to do. Now that she's past her ingenue days, she truly doesn't seem to give a shit anymore.

I mean, she does kind of say she's normal and "just like you." If "you" if someone who believes in taking a bunch of unnecessary vitamins and putting a jade egg in your lady parts and cupping and talking about psychic vampires and how being a mom is hard even if you have a bunch of nannies and help in your personal and professional life. And probably doing yoga and pilates and whatever else I'm not paying enough attention to know about. But there are totally women like that. And I kind of respect that she's just going to talk to those women and not pretend she's talking to everyone. And that she doesn't like to wear a lot of makeup but because she's shilling for Goop she talks about all her face creams and procedures. Like, is she kind of part of the problem? I guess. But she's very upfront about it so I'm not sure if she's fooling anyone who doesn't want to be fooled. 

[methodwriter85]

Yes. GP's audience is comprised of rich trust fundies or bored housewives from Greenwhich who aren't interested in that Real Housewives nouveau riche look. She's not going to pretend otherwise, because Goop is basically just her vanity project. Goop doesn't need to be mainstream because GP isn't funding her lifestyle with this. She comes from wealth.

I doubt anyone who's blue-collar or lower-middle class are really putting themselves into debt trying to follow her lifestyle, as opposed to what goes on with the people that seem to be eating up whatever the Kardashians/Jenners are selling. That's why I can't really get worked up about this like the Goop critics are. Like you said, I don't think vulnerable people are getting fooled by it. It's the people who really want to  believe they can be like Gwyneth (and have the means to do) that are fooling themselves.

That said though- let's be serious, other than her wealth, GP is just the beneficiary of good genetics. I mean, seriously- her mother aged exceptionally well and it's really not surprisingly the daughter looks great in her 40's as well. That and not indulging in unhealthy behaviors is probably more to do with why GP looks fantastic than anything involving her New Age-age jade crystal balance body type stuff. (Well, that and a good nip/tucker.)

[UYI]

On 7/28/2018 at 3:33 AM, methodwriter85 said:

 

That said though- let's be serious, other than her wealth, GP is just the beneficiary of good genetics. I mean, seriously- her mother aged exceptionally well and it's really not surprisingly the daughter looks great in her 40's as well. That and not indulging in unhealthy behaviors is probably more to do with why GP looks fantastic than anything involving her New Age-age jade crystal balance body type stuff. (Well, that and a good nip/tucker.)

Maybe just not finding that hitting her hard yet--I'm pretty sure she smoked for a long time; she might still, actually.

Also, I've seen jokes that she couldn't POSSIBLY be "Becky with the good hair" in the Beyonce song "Sorry", but rather more of a "Becky with the dry hair." But this probably belongs more in the Plastic Surgery thread, so I'll stop. :)

Edited July 29, 2018 by UYI

[Wiendish Fitch]

Because I love her movies from the 1990s, I was always willing to give ol' Gwynnie's artsy-fartsy, hippy-dippy statements and behavior, but this quote from the NY Times?

"We are doomed to aspire for the rest of our lives. Aspiration is suffering. Wellness is suffering. As soon as you level up, you greet how infinite the possibilities are, and it all becomes too awful to live without."

Yeeeaaaahhhh.... that's how a cult leader talks. Her fellow Goop-ers better think twice before downing that Kool-Aid. 

[AimingforYoko]

3 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Her fellow Goop-ers better think twice before downing that Kool-Aid. 

This letter just arrived from an attorney for Kraft-Heinz, "We would like to point out that the drink consumed by the cult members in Jonestown, Guyana was Flavor Aid, not Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid has never caused any deaths. Except maybe by diabetes."

[UYI]

Kathleen Turner had some things to say:

http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/kathleen-turner-in-conversation.html

[methodwriter85]

I really don't like her slagging on Elizabeth Taylor's performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? I'll give her Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, but Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf is a tour de force masterclass in acting from her and she deserved every inch of the Oscar.

Anyway...I'm kind of hoping Bo Burnham and Elsie Fisher manage to be a John Hughes/Molly Ringwald type of duo for 21st century indie world:

We need some more solid, honest teen films. And they really seem to have some solid chemistry. Bo does seem to really have a way of writing teenagers that feels authentic like John did as well as capturing the milleu of suburban lifestyles. It'd be great if they can deliver some more good films together.

Hopefully though Elsie won't slam Bo as a horrible person in Time magazine when she's 18. LOL.

Along that vein, Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan are teaming up again to do Little Women, so that should be interesting.

[Silver Raven]

How many Little Women productions do we need? There's the modern day Lea Thompson version coming out in September, and now the Greta Gerwig version?  I guess, with Meryl Streep as Aunt March, they're going to have to pad her role, though.

[shireenbamfatheon]

Florence Pugh is going to be pretty big in the near future. She had a lead role in the critically acclaimed Lady Macbeth, will be playing Dwayne Johnson's and Lena Headey's daughter in Fighting with my Family, has the lead female role in Chan-Wook Park's The Little Drummer Girl, and is starring in Little Women as one of the March sisters. It's pretty impressive to achieve all that in 2-3 years at the age of 22.

[Danny Franks]

Okay, I'm watching Pacific Rim: Uprising (it's not particularly good), and I'm a bit confused about Scott Eastwood. Is he any good as an actor? I honestly can't tell, because he looks so much like his dad that I can't concentrate on his performances at all.

[HunterHunted]

1 minute ago, Danny Franks said:

Okay, I'm watching Pacific Rim: Uprising (it's not particularly good), and I'm a bit confused about Scott Eastwood. Is he any good as an actor? I honestly can't tell, because he looks so much like his dad that I can't concentrate on his performances at all.

I would say no. Everything I've ever seen him in he comes across like a pale imitation of Clint and he doesn't seem to have much charisma either. He's just kind of flat and there on screen.

[Joe]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

Okay, I'm watching Pacific Rim: Uprising (it's not particularly good), and I'm a bit confused about Scott Eastwood. Is he any good as an actor? I honestly can't tell, because he looks so much like his dad that I can't concentrate on his performances at all.

He's all right. I've seen worse. But he doesn't have Clint's presence.

[Danny Franks]

16 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I would say no. Everything I've ever seen him in he comes across like a pale imitation of Clint and he doesn't seem to have much charisma either. He's just kind of flat and there on screen.

 

14 hours ago, Joe said:

He's all right. I've seen worse. But he doesn't have Clint's presence.

Thanks. This is kind of what I figured. Flat. He seems almost like someone trying to do an impression of Clint Eastwood, which is probably unavoidable, because he is who he is. But it doesn't quite work, and he is definitely bland in Pacific Rim: Uprising.

[methodwriter85]

On 8/16/2018 at 8:18 AM, Danny Franks said:

Thanks. This is kind of what I figured. Flat. He seems almost like someone trying to do an impression of Clint Eastwood, which is probably unavoidable, because he is who he is. But it doesn't quite work, and he is definitely bland in Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Honestly, Hallmark Christmas movies would be perfect for him. But he looks too much like Clint to be totally acceptable in that kind of fare. I did think his Nicholas Sparks movie (which was pretty close to being like a Hallmark movie) was fine enough. He should play more stoic ranch/farm guys who find the love of a beautiful young woman. Maybe he'll wind up in the Netflix t.v. movies?

Christopher Gorham is more of a working t.v. actor than a movie star, but I was hearing that Insatiable is bringing him a new round of attention. It made me think about him and wonder why he has never worked on another Ryan Murphy show after Popular. He's kept a pretty steady career, he's a pretty decent actor, and the looks have definitely held up, so I wonder if he and Ryan had some kind of falling out or if Ryan just never really cared for him. Ryan's had both Leslie Grossman and Bryce Johnson make appearances on his other shows so it's not like he has some total blackout of the Popular cast.

I feel like he totally could've rocked a part of a psychotic bad guy on American Horror Story or something. He kind of reminds me of Anthony Perkins in that sense.

In other Murphy-verse thoughts, Cody Fern is being used again to play Tate's son in American Horror Story. I loved his work on The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Say what you will about Ryan Murphy shows, they do have a way of either bringing back old faves for a new go-around or they introduce us to fresh new talent. Cody's IMDB page was pretty sparse and it's always kind of cool to see someone get a break, especially in his case- he looks like he had been acting since '08, so it took awhile for him to hit his breakthrough role in Assassination. Here's hoping he's getting the ball rolling on a fruitful career.

Edited August 20, 2018 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

From another thread...

Quote

One thing about working for Disney and I'd said this in another thread if you do not mess up and are smart about your personal life messing up your career Disney will take care of you.  

Aside from Ravyn-Simone now currently starring in a reboot of That's So Raven where she's raising her kids who may or may not have inherited her psychic powers, Hayley Mills got her bit of a resurgence in the 1980's thanks to Disney making those Parent Trap t.v. movies. (Which probably did well enough that it made them decide to do the 1998 version.) Zendaya is of course getting into the Marvel-verse.

Hayley did do rebellious things in her 20's but she was pretty much doing them in England and in a pre-internet age.

On the flip-side, I can't imagine Lindsey Lohan will ever be let near a Disney production. I don't know if Zac Efron is considered "damaged" or not- he was never arrested, but he did make some rounds in rehab. I don't recall him ever trash-talking Disney, though. In general, Zac does seem to have a good reputation and people who want to help him when his attempts at leading movies don't take off- the most recent example being Hugh Jackman putting him in the Greatest Showman. Vanessa Hudghens did do the no-no part photos of herself, but I don't know yet if I think she's going to be permanently blacklisted from Disney. As for Miley, she has specifically trash-talked Disney but they still apparently approached her about a spin-off.

I can see Hilary Duff doing some Disney stuff on the parental side eventually, although right now she's got her Younger show. She always seemed like a good company girl to me and she's kept her image pretty respectable.

Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel...I can toooootttalllllly see them eventually playing parental units or teacher/adult mentor units on a Disney show someday. Lucas did have his Freeform show Switched at Birth, and Ashley produced Young and Hungry for ABC Family/Freeform.

Hmm. I'd also say it's pretty safe to assume that Demi Lovato is probably never going to do anything else affiliated with Disney. Even going beyond the overdose, she has been pretty consistent about rebelling against the Disney image as well as being perhaps a little too candid about her personal life. And in pragmatic terms, Sonny With A Chance and Camp Rock were popular enough, but not flagship shows as opposed to the High School Musical franchise or Hannah Montana. I could see Disney seeing Demi as not being worth it.

The Jonas brothers....maaaayybbbbee Nick. Kevin's not the one anyone cared about, and Joe seems like he's pretty much completely disavowed his teen idol days. However, in Nick's case, he seems like he has a genuinely good shot at movie stardom. He might get lucky and get cast into Marvel-verse.

[memememe76]

With the success of Crazy Rich Asians, we can see a few of the actors really break out: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan. Gemma seems to be a shoo-in for whatever Bond film that will come out eventually. Henry could work in the Marvel universe. Constance has also shown a character actress side from her Fresh Off the Boat show, so she could lead a few more comedies. Either Constance or Awkwafina should be considered for hosts of the upcoming SNL season. 

[HunterHunted]

If you look at the fancast suggestions for Namor, the Submariner (a Marvel character), more than 50% include an actor of Asian descent. Marvel deserves a solid kick in their figurative nuts if they don't choose an actor with Asian ancestry for the part. I personally want Lewis Tan for the part, but Henry Golding could be good too.

Edited September 1, 2018 by HunterHunted

[topanga]

On 8/29/2018 at 5:40 PM, memememe76 said:

Either Constance or Awkwafina should be considered for hosts of the upcoming SNL season. 

Absolutely.