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| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
I think Cage suffers from kind of the same syndrome Al Pacino does (perhaps the only thing they have in common); they no longer play characters in movies or in the script- they play themselves. Nicolas Cage just plays Nicolas Cage, and hopefully the rest of the script and characters make sense to have Nicolas Cage with them, otherwise you get The Wicker Man. |
Truth, and I think its only inevitable that most actors fall into this trap, very few manage to escape it. Once their acting identity becomes firmly established in regards to their box office draw, studios stick to that in hopes of further guaranteeing a success in their investment. Every now and then, you'll see a success story of an actor breaking free of that kind of typecasting...Jim Carrey comes to mind (though the world knows we'd all like to see him go back to old-school, Dumb and Dumber Jim Carrey).
Cage had a great career going up until about 2006, when, as you so put it, the Wicker Man hit and turned his once appreciated and respected neurotic acting style into a parody of itself. Since then, things haven't really improved for the guy...which is too bad...the guy that won an Oscar for a movie as brilliant as Adaptation is now starring in movies such as Season of the Witch.
| quote: | Originally posted by Sykonee
Story goes that Hollywood has a list of Name Actors (box office draws) that every producer attempts to get, going down the list until someone accepts the role.
Reeves is apparently something like #25. |
If the studios got what they wanted, every single movie would star Brad Pitt or Will Smith. But of course that isn't possible, so celebrities are statistically ranked according to their box office pull, which is really just a fancy of way saying 'what actors star in movies that were successful'. Even though I don't work in the industry, your observation is dead-on. Talent is really a low priority; if they bring the crowds, they are a name actor. Period.
Keanu Reeves, despite his airheaded perception by everyone, seems to be pretty smart. Although his acting style is largely criticized and the opinion that he has what it takes to be a movie star is debated by many, he seems to choose his projects wisely. Either that, or the projects choose him by sheer coincidence that the original actors turned them down - either way, he's landed smack dab in the middle of some pretty successful blockbusters, which automatically makes the name 'Keanu Reeves' quite attractive on a billboard. He's not on the top of the list, but he's far from the bottom.
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