Just curious about everyone's thoughts on what adding a big-name star would have done for the numbers

POSTED BY: ErinBC
UPDATED: Monday, October 24, 2005 07:32
VIEWED: 9306
PAGE 3 of 4

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 NEXT PAGE

EVERYWORLDSPINNIN

Thursday, October 20, 2005 3:48 AM

I think Samuel L. Jackson as The Operative would have been cool. You could write the opening scene as such:

(Operative kills both security personnel with one swing of his sword)

(Operative looking at TERRIFIED doctor)

Operative
(to Doctor)
Oh, I'm sorry. Did that break your concentration? I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue. I believe you were saying something about "forgot my sword."

-------------------------------------------------------

"The last thing I want is that any of our descendents should look back in some years and despise us for not daring to act when we had so much capacity to act. We must dare to seek how, why and on what we agree. We shall thus be able to join together to look for alternative solutions and new ways of managing the world's challenges. Being diverse is our richness, acting together will be our strength". (Federico Mayor; 02-04-01;
UBUNTU Constituent Meeting).

TUDYKRAWKS

Thursday, October 20, 2005 6:01 AM

Originally posted by UnregisteredCompanion: A big-name star in Serenity would be like putting ketchup on filet mignon.

i've put ketchup on filet mignon, but i think a name actor, not someone hgue like denzel, or kidman, but maybe a.... casey afleck as mr. universe or something like that wuld've gotten a bit more ppl in the seats. (ok my casey afleck idea is horrible, but i culdn't think of anyone else)

"mine is an evil laugh"

WASHBURN

Thursday, October 20, 2005 7:54 AM

One person I could have seen play Mr. Universe would be Jake Gylenhall(sp?)he has played quirky characters before (Donnie Darko anyone?) and he isn't a huge star but he is known face-wise. But other than that? No way...keep the H-town highrollers out of my movie.

CYBERSNARK

Thursday, October 20, 2005 3:51 PM

The words "Big-name Actor" are a contradiction in terms. Big-name celebrities don't act. They play themselves.

In Serenity, I'm not paying to see Nathan Filion, or Alan Tudyk, or Adam Baldwin. I'm paying to see Malcolm Reynolds, and Wash, and Jayne Cobb.

Well. . . I'm paying to see Mal and Wash, anyway.

No offense to any of these actors, but. . . well, that's it, actually. They're actors. The whole point of having them there is to act. To be someone they're not. Big-name celebs just don't do that --usually, they're not supposed to.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

MER

Friday, October 21, 2005 2:33 PM

Samuel L. Jackson. Lol if anybody who watches Family Guy on a regular basis should know what I'm talking about.

Brian became a porn star director. In his first film, Samuel L. Jackson was in it. There was a joke regarding him before they showed him. If I could, I'd quote it.

SADLITTLEKING

Friday, October 21, 2005 6:05 PM

It would have been good for the box office, bad for the movie (as others have said). I'm sure Denzel Washington would've done a nice job as The Operative, but I honestly wouldn't trade Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance for any big name. The guy just nailed the role perfectly. He wasn't just playing The Operative, he WAS The Operative.

Like someone said, big name actors tend to not be convincing and I don't think that's entirely their fault. Studios would rather have big names than actors who best fit the roles being cast. So the fact that great, unknown actors get passed up isn't really Tom Cruise's fault, it's the studios who feel they need Tom Cruise to get people to see a movie. And Serenity proves that point. The acting is top-notch, the story, the emotion...everything is there and it's done at a high level. The only thing missing from the movie was a big name to get people instantly excited about the movie, not because of great acting, but because of celebrity. And that's a damn shame. Since Firefly, I've always thought that Summer Glau was one of the most talented actors I've ever seen and yet her name can't put butts in seats. It's really tragic.

UNREGISTEREDCOMPANION

Friday, October 21, 2005 6:52 PM

" The guy just nailed the role perfectly"

Exactly! That role could have been easily screwed up by someone with less talent and a bigger ego.

~~~~~
"Funny and sexy. You have no idea. And you never will."

JAYNEANDVERA

Friday, October 21, 2005 6:59 PM

There's no doubt a big name would have helped the numbers. But as most of you said making the operative one would have hurt the film. Perhaps they could have done something like Scream where Drew Berrymore dies in the first few minutes. Maybe have a big star with minimal screen time. Sure people may have felt cheated, but they would have seen the movie, fallen in love with it and forgotten about the fact that star didnt play much of a part.

SMOKE

Friday, October 21, 2005 7:11 PM

LMAO Jim Carrey as the new pilot of Serenity. No offense Wash, RIP.

BOBSTER

Friday, October 21, 2005 7:57 PM

Big stars are nothing more or less than successful actors. If correctly cast -- and I grant you that's a heckuva "if" -- a big or medium sized star as the Operative or Mr. Universe might well have worked, if people didn't bring the burden of incorrect expectations and simply let these actors do their jobs.

For example, forgetting about the marital stuff, Laurence Fishburne would have been almost too "on the money" as the Operative, but I'm sure he'd have a terrific job and would not have "hurt" the movie artistically one bit, though I'm very partial to Chewitel E and think he was probably a near-perfect choice.

As for Mr. Universe, well, I like David Krumholz, but his interpretation really didn't work, IMO anyway. While Phillip Seymour Hoffman or John C. Reilly, for example, aren't huge draws, they're well known faces who's presence in trailers would have attracted some interest.

And, in STRICTLY dramatic terms, a really big star in this smallish role would not have hurt much, unless they insisted the part be ridulousy beefed up. Baggage and $40 million payday aside, why not Tom Cruise or Jim Carrey or Tom Hanks as Mr. Universe? Might have been kind of cool, actually. I particulalrly get the idea of Tom Cruise playing a guy who's married to an inanimate object....

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 NEXT PAGE