I’m a huge Seinfeld fan. It’s funny how so many of my real life experiences coincide with events in the world of Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. It’s also interesting to realize just how many famous actors made appearances in Seinfeld episodes before they were so well-known.
This is a good film discussion game to play among friends. In case you have never heard of it, here’s how it works: Kevin Bacon has appeared in so many movies with so many different actors, that theoretically you can connect any film actor to Kevin Bacon through six actors or less. The point of the game is to find the least amount of actors in between, but you should always keep it under six. For example:
1. GENE HACKMAN was in Hoosiers with DENNIS HOPPER.
2. DENNIS HOPPER was in Waterworld with KEVIN COSTNER.
3. KEVIN COSTENER was in JFK with KEVIN BACON.
TOTAL - 2 (I was able to connect Gene Hackman to Kevin Bacon through 2 actors - Dennis Hopper and Kevin Costner).
Let me throw one out for discussion - ALEC BALDWIN
Producers for the next Bond film, Casino Royale, have released the final four candidates up for the coveted role of James Bond. You can read all about them on the following site: http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_21_report_july05b.php3?t=bond21&s=bond21
1. Goran Visnjic
2. Henry Cavill
3. Alex O’Lachlan
4. Ewan Stewart
Out of these four, my choice would be Goran Visnjic. Casino Royale is slated to start production January 2006 with an October 2006 release date.
As a long-time Bond fan, I was saddened to hear that Pierce would no longer be donning the tux, drinking vodka martinis, and saving the world from ruthless villains with a plethora of high-tech gadgets and weaponry. I always felt that Brosnan was the best Bond since Connery. Now that the torch will soon be passed, the big question is “Who will play Bond?” Here are some of my candidates:
1. Jude Law - he has that sixties, slick, smooth spy look that would be great for Bond.
2. Colin Farrell - he would be a good choice if the producers want a rough-around-the-edges Bond, much like Timothy Dalton
3. Sam Neil - I always thought he would be a good Bond, but now age is against him, and the producers want to appeal to a younger audience
4. Jim Caviezel - he has a good look and is an accomplished character actor, but isn’t English
5. Guy Pearce - an Australian actor who has the rugged features great for Bond, and has the accent, but might look too “boyish” and unkempt for Bond
Wed Aug 17, 3:07 PM ET
By the Associated Press
NEW YORK - A single, surprising phone call and it was over. That’s how Pierce Brosnan says he learned that his services as James Bond would no longer be required.
“One phone call, that’s all it took!” the 52-year-old actor tells Entertainment Weekly magazine in its Aug. 19 issue.
Brosnan starred in four Bond films. He says that before they stopped negotiations, the producers had invited him back for a fifth time.
“You know, the movie career for me really started with Bond,” says Brosnan, acknowledging that by the time “GoldenEye” premiered in 1995, he was already 42.
He then starred as 007 in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) and “Die Another Day” (2002).
His departure from the role was a “titanic jolt to the system,” says Brosnan, followed by “a great sense of calm.”
“I thought. … I can do anything I want to do now. I’m not beholden to them or anyone. I’m not shackled by some contracted image. So there was a sense of liberation.”
Brosnan says he’s grateful to have had the role, but adds: “It never felt real to me. I never felt I had complete ownership over Bond. Because you’d have these stupid one-liners which I loathed and I always felt phony doing them.”
He plays a foulmouthed, skirt-chasing hit man in the upcoming film “The Matador.”
“(For this) to come on the heels of my departure from the world of Bond is sweet grace, to play this one as a farewell to that chapter in time it certainly wasn’t planned.”
Okay, here’s my casting list for Life After The Bear:
Ray Perkins Sam Shepherd (played Dolly Parton’s dead beat husband in Steel Magnolias and Julia Roberts’ law professor in The Pelican Brief)
Bill Curry Ed Harris
Gene Stallings Sam Elliot
Mike DuBose Ned Beatty (known as Otis, Lex Luthor’s dim-witted sidekick in Superman)
Dennis Franchione Harold Ramis (he played Igon in Ghostbusters)
Mike Price Burt Reynolds (if you ever saw Striptease you will know what I’m talking about)
Mike Shula Scott Bakula (known as Sam in the TV series Quantum Leap)
While listening to talk radio today I heard the local deejays talking about the old movie The Bear, starring Gary Busey as Bear Bryant. The two deejays musingly opened up the floor of discussion to all listeners, asking them to cast a movie entitled, Life After The Bear. Since the University of Alabama has had way too many coaches since Bear Bryant, this casting call is a long one. So, for all you Alabama fans, who would you cast in the following roles? 1) Ray Perkins, 2) Bill Curry, 3) Gene Stallings, 4) Mike Dubose, 5) Dennis Franchione, 6) Mike Price, and 7) Mike Shula.
Just as movie-goers across
America are drawn to great performances by excellent character actors, they are also drawn to certain “image” actors. When watching a performance by any of these actors, you can expect to see the actor, not a character.
1. John Wayne
2. Clint Eastwood
3. Arnold Schwarzenegger
4. George Clooney
5. Tom Cruise
6. Kevin Costner
As promised I have compiled a list of some of the best character actors and actresses in recent
Hollywood history. Feel free to add in your favorites as well.
1. Johnny Depp
2. William H. Macy
3. Dustin Hoffman
4. Ian McKellen
5. Denzel Washington
6. Ethan Hawke
7. Samuel L. Jackson
8. Jim Caviezel
9. Russell Crowe
10. Gene Hackman
11. Adrien Brody
12. Al Pacino
13. Marlon Brando
14. Morgan Freeman
15. Anthony Hopkins
16. Nicolas Cage
17. Daniel Day-Lewis
18. Meryl Streep
19. Hallie Berry
20. Nicole Kidman
21. Kate Winslett
22. Cate Blanchett
23. Jessica Tandy
24. Jodie Foster
25. Kathy Bates
There is a difference between a character actor and an image actor. A character actor has a special talent to create a unique and different persona in each film he or she is in. In contrast, an image actor plays himself or herself in almost every film. Currently I am compiling a list of character actors verses image actors and will post them shortly. In the meantime, be organizing your own list and be ready to post those as well.
