In Newsweek, film critic David Ansen just wrote a story about why some stars' movies last and some don't (Betty Grable vs. Clark Gable, basically). In it, he speculated on whch of today's stars will still have their films watched in 50 years. I thought his choices wer kind of mercurial and based solely on his taste. But anyway who do you all think will still be around? I'll take Sean Penn, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and he made a solid argument for Tom Cruise. Ashley Judd still might, if she would start making better films.
the only true star currently acting that I can see being remembered for all time is Tom Hanks. Now that's not to say others won't, but he's got the hands down lead in the category with a concentrated barrage of not just huge awards, but huge awards in huge movies. These were blockbusters that he won acting awards in. That's a tough task to do over and over again. Usually you have to give up acting a little to have a giant summer blockbuster. With Hanks, you manage to not have that. On top pf that, he had a ton of smaller movies that critics of blockbuster movies seem to dwell on. I think that the only thing that would ever make him not be an actor to be remembered for ever come fifty years from now, is if his producing credits overshadow his acting resume - which given the way things are going and how not all that old he is, could very well happen.
Cate Blanchett? That's a huuuuge stretch. She's really gonna have to step it up if she wants to even be considered in this conversation. I mean really, the woman wasn't really even nominated for anything of any significance untill 1999. That's not a whole lot, there. I'm certainly not saying that she isn't capable of attaining greatness, but for now, she's far, far from getting there.
of course you could say the same thing for you and me, too. that said, I'm not sure I can name one movie Ashley Judd has been in. good luck trying to remember in 50 years.
Yeah, same here. I mean I know she made that one with Morgan Freeman. And she was really good in it. And I've seen her in other stuff, too. But that's just not enough to make her a supernova of a star.
In the mid-90s, people thought she was a future star. I was flipping through channels a couple of months ago, and came across High Crimes on CBS. That definition-of-mediocre film happens to have a pretty good cast-- Morgan Freeman, Jim Caviezel, even Amanda Peet can be good in supporting roles. She was eating them alive. She made the film a lot more interesting than it ever should have dreamed of being. But that's her problem -- no one remembers any films she has been in since the mid-90s, when she was in Heat, Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls etc. She's an absolutely beautiful woman. She's Phi Beta Kappa. She's a really good actress, and I don't understand why she hasn't put it more together. But she's still early 30s, so she isn't quite dead yet. Really, I'm not hopeful, though.
Bruce Campbell will be remembered in circles. The same circles that currently think of Peter Jackson as, "That guy who directed Bad Taste and Dead Alive." I'm the kind of guy who has a hard time placing most bands with their songs and most actors/actresses with their movies, but I have no problem remembering Ed Harris (specifically for The Abyss and Needful Things), Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner and Ladyhawke), or Peter Weller (Buckaroo Banzai, Robocop, and Of Unkown Origin). I fully acknowledge that I could be very alone in my assertion concerning all three of them. Blade Runner in turn reminds me of Harrison Ford. Between just Star Wars and Indiana Jones, regardless of all the rest, he'll be remembered widely. I'd like to think Kurt Russell will as well, but I think that's being a little more hopeful.
Meryl Streep will probably be remembered, mostly because of the variety and volume of her work. Of this generation of actresses, there isn't really one that stands out as the frontrunner, the way you could argue that Hanks and to a lesser extent Cruise are with the actors. However, of those two, Hanks has the best chance to be remembered. Mostly because I believe his carreer could easily have another two decades in it, while I doubt Cruise will still be such a bankable actor in two decades time.
Here's the link .... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8443715/site/newsweek/ Ansen's point is that huge stars of the 40s, like Grable (He could just as easily use Eddie Cantor or Mickey Rooney) can fade from public memory, while Cary Grant can never win an Oscar and still be looked back on as arguably the best actor in screen history. I think he places a little too much emphasis on present popularity of a movie and doesn't see that quality does rise over time. How many classics were bombs at the time? Start with Citizen Kane and work your way down. He also places too much emphasis on his own taste. Ocean's Eleven is built to last, but Eyes Wide Shut isn't? Really? We'll see. And how does he decalre War of the Worlds, which everyone here sees as a flawed movie, as an instant classic that will be watched forever and ever and ever after only two weeks. BTW, like it or not, AFL is absolutely right about Tom Hanks. He embodies an American ideal just as much as John Wayne ever did. Just a different one.
I was thinking about actresses after posting. I realized that all the 90s female next-big-thing stars kinda died out. Judd, Uma Thurman, Gwyneth Paltrow. I think Blanchett is the best bet, b/c her career is still rising and she already has a couple of signature roles (Elizabeth, The Aviator) and her appeal isn't as dependent on her looks as others. The most like Streep, to me. Someone not mentioned yet is Kate Winslet, who's always in interesting movies and has been in one enormous one. I love Jennifer Connelly, but don't think she's that well known. Naomi Watts is an interesting proposition. She got a late start, but she's been in a lot of quality movies, and King Kong may launch her more strongly into the public consciousness. Zhang Ziyi? You never know. Same with Scarlett Johannson.
My guess is that 30 years from now, Depp will be considered the greatest actor of his generation, better than Sean Penn. But like Cary Grant, I don't see him taking on any of the types of roles that get people serious Oscar consideration -- he's not going to play a dying man or schizophrenic for the heck of it. It's more fun to think about who won't stand the test of time. Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, and Holly Hunter, for example, I don't think will look all that great to the critics of 20-30 years from now.
While I agree with the Robin Williams and Holly Hunter part of the statement, I gotta disagree with the Hanks opinion - mostly becuase of why you're right about Depp; He plays roles he wants to play. He plays fun roles that people will remember like Big where he's not known for how great of a job he did in the movie, but rather how loved he was in it. There's a difference. Both Depp and Hanks have done plenty of things outside of 'the norm' to gain the recognition of the blockbuster-loving average fan and blockbuster-hating critic alike. While, clearly, Hanks has not done so to the extent that Depp has, it's still much more true of Hanks than a lot ofother big name actors of this era. As for the who won't be remembered...who, in a million years, would have thought that Michael Keaton wouldn't be remembered forever after say, his first fifteen movies? But now there's no way in god's green earth that you'd get one of us to throw his poisoned name into the mix.
Who ever said that Penn was the greatest actor of his generation? The only movie I really remember him for is Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Yeah, while I know plenty of his work, the truth is he's not going to be remembered as a great actor. Again, that's not to say he might not be one, but rather that he won't be known forever as one. Plus, the fact is, a whole lot of people don't like him. And being liked as a person goes a looooong way to being known as an actor fifty years from now.
He'll be remember by my generation as one of the best, but it'll much in the same way my dad still thinks Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the greatest rock bands ever. But he IS a great actor, who has chosen (for the most part) really, really good roles in fantastic films.
Well, I thought they gave the Oscar to the wrong person in "Dead Man Walking"... "Thin Red Line;" "Mystic River." Of course "China Story" might be enough to nullify all three... Edit to fix error.
I don't know. You have someone like Brando, whom most people didn't particularly like that much and thought was a little nuts, but is generally respected as a great actor. Of course, Penn isn't known for "big" movies. "Mystic River" and "Dead Man Walking" aren't exactly Godfather. Not quite in the same category as Michael Keaton, but Meg Ryan has gone from arguably the biggest actress of the late 80s-early 90s to doing c-movies. Russell Crowe or Harrison Ford?