Every actor has to start out somewhere (Ryan Gosling in Young Hercules) and, as you'll see by these videos, their roles were not always as glamorous as they are today (Ryan Gosling now).
So, take a little trip back in time to see some of your favorite actors featured in roles that, although likely not their brightest moments, got them to where they are today.
This first compliation features: Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Jeff Goldblum, Clint Eastwood, James Franco, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Jason Bateman and Chevy Chase.
The second features: Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Steve Buscemi, Paul Newman, Robin Williams, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Katie Holmes.
Lots of interesting hair-dos and retro clothes that almost make Jeggings not seem quite so bad.
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is very funny! I was howling at times (which I'm sure everyone around me appreciated) and, for me, that is well worth the ever-rising admission prices these days. It's about a regular guy who gets dumped by his famous girlfriend (she's a sexy detective on one of those "CSI-type" crime shows), so he decides to get away to Hawaii to get his mind off of it. But, guess who's there with her new boyfriend when he gets there? No, not Pinky Tuscadero....his ex.
I bet you never expected that, did you?
Even if you did, it's still chock-a-block full of hilarity and fun, so add it to your list of public outings.
I also saw "Iron Man", which for some reason, I keep telling people I saw "The Rocketeer" or "Iron Giant". Similar titles, but very different movies. If you're an action movie fan, then you'll definitely want to see this movie on a big screen. The story is good, Robert Downey Jr. does a great job and the effects and action sequences are top notch. Plus, it was nice to see Jeff Bridges in a movie...it's been a while.
I saw it at the Arclight theater in Hollywood, where they featured one of the "Iron Man" costumes in the lobby. It was pretty cool up close and I, along with the rest of the Hollywood riff-raff hanging out, were taking cell-phone pics as soon as we saw it (I wish I had remembered to bring my regular camera...cell pics just don't turn out as good).
Being a comic book fan, it's always exciting to see a well-produced and acted superhero movie. So often, they turn out to be cheesy messes ("Fantastic Four" or "Catwoman", anyone?) or just a CGI showcase (Something the last "Hulk" movie and, from the trailers, the upcoming "Hulk" movie appear to share). But, every once in a while, they get it right (the latest "Batman" film, the "X-Men" movies).
Debra Winger as "Wonder Girl"...a successful career (and likely new agent) soon follows.
Production values and effects have advanced so far now, that they can almost do anything. How times have changed. I used to watch all the superhero TV shows when I was a kid..."Batman", "Wonder Woman", "Isis", "Shazam", "The Flash"...even "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl". When you look at them now, they are so much cheesier than you remember, but still fun to watch for a quick stroll down memory lane. At the time, those shows were IT...they were hip/cool and worth scarfing down two bowls of Quisp in front of.
Then I remembered a 70's TV special called "Legend of the Superheroes", a primetime special with several of the popular TV heroes of that time, including Burt Ward and Adam West as Batman and Robin and one of the only live-action inclusions of the one comic book I actually collected...Green Lantern. Looking at it now, it feels like a completely different show and planet. I don't remember it having a laugh track...it was a variety show-type comedy and featured Ed McMahon? Well, if you watch this clip...you'll see what I mean.
Any show that features Ruth Buzzi making an entrance carried in by two body builders in speedos and superheroes collecting a much-needed paycheck, really is must-see TV!
The final poster was released for Ant-Man recently and, along with that, news that Ant-Man will be appearing along with MANY other Marvel heroes in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie...
Disney announced the cast for what could be the most comic book character-loaded Marvel movie yet. Captain America: Civil War will have (as it stands now) up to 16 comic book characters in its cast. It’s almost the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe — well, besides Thor and Hulk.
But now onto the massive cast. Here’s who’s returning, plus the new players, along with their rumored roles: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes/War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, Daniel Brühl who recently revealed he’ll be playing Baron Helmut Zemo (but Marvel does not confirm this in the press release), Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Martin Freeman who is rumored to be playing Everett K. Ross
Lordy...that really is just about everyone and it's also likely that Spider-Man is going to show up in this one too.
It's an odd choice, since he already played Johnny Storm (the "Flame-ON!" guy) in the previous Marvel Fantastic Four movies (which are going to be redone again with a new cast). He'll also play Captain America in the upcoming "Avengers" movie, which will also include Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Hulk (Edward Norton), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) all in one movie.
Filming has already begun on a stand-alone Thor movie with Chris Hemsworth (he played Kirk's young father in the last Star Trek movie), which will also co-star Anthony Hopkins and is being directed by Kenneth Branagh.
It will be cool to see an Avengers movie with all three characters (and probably more) and the same actors starring in them for once. It's a shame that Warner Bros. still hasn't be able to get their Justice League movie off the ground. Maybe Avengers will help give them a bit of a competition push...
However, the DC Universe is still going strong, there is a new Batman movie and Superman and X-Men movie reboots in the works and, of course, we have Ryan Reynolds currently filming the Green Lantern movie...so I'm looking forward to those as well.
The new Conan movie was also cast recently, with Stargate Atlantis actor Jason Momoa taking over Arnold's infamous loin cloth (hopefully it was dry-cleaned first).
I'm sure that Jason's main competition for the role, Kellan Lutz (from the movie Twilight and recent Calvin Klein ads), was bummed when he didn't get the barbarian role. But, I'm sure he's over it now...
It was announced today that Kellan has been cast as the Greek god Poseidon in the upcoming movie War of the Gods, which will also star Mickey Roarke (who also co-stars in the upcoming Iron Man 2) as King Hyperion.
Gold's Gym must be very busy lately with all of these Superhero, Warrior, and and Greek God movies coming out.
I certainly don't see any of these actors "preparing for their roles" at my local 24 Hour Fitness.
Marvel’s The Avengers from Disney could close in on $160M when it opens in North America this weekend and $425M when it debuts in Russia and China for a possible total near $585M through Sunday. Even very conservative estimates put the worldwide total at $500M through Sunday when Joss Whedon’s actioner will be open in every movie territory except Japan.
The new "Star Trek" movie had the best opening weekend of any Star Trek movie to date. It made $76.5 million here in the US and another $35.5 million overseas, for a total of $112 million.
Before this, "Star Trek: First Contact" held the record for making $30.7 million its first weekend.
Reports seem to indicate that this film might be the first one to appeal to non-Star Trek fans as well, which is a good sign. We'll see how it fares over the next couple of weeks as "Angels and Devils" and the new "Terminator: Salvation" open.
Regardless...it's still great news.
Now that many of you have seen the movie, I can comment on a few elements of the movie that I enjoyed.
I really liked Faran Tahir as the captain of the USS Kelvin (the one at the beginning of the movie). I knew he looked familiar, but didn't place him until later as one of the main bad guys from "Ironman" (part of the group who kidnapped Robert Downey Jr.). He has a very strong presence in both films and is also quite enjoyable visually.
I really liked the entire sequence above, on and below the drilling device over Vulcan. It's amazing how realistic everything looked, from they way they filmed them dropping from the shuttle, diving, parachuting and landing on the mechanism. Very exciting to watch and we even got a classic "Red Shirt" moment worked in.
I really enjoyed the Spock-Uhura relationship (would gossip media refer to them as "Spuhura" or "Uhurock"?). I liked the way they casually eased into revealing it and thought that their scene together in the elevator was very emotionally effective.
I also saw an interview with Chris Hemsworth (he plays Kirk's father in the movie) and didn't realize until hearing him that he, like Eric Bana, is also Australian. You'd never know it from this movie, mate.
I also thought that Bruce Greenwood was very good as Captain Pike. He works all the time as an actor and is consistently engaging and fun to watch in everything he does.
Not sure why they threw in that ewokish creature that Scotty was hanging out with, but I'm hopeful that it isn't signed on for any sequels that will be likely coming our way in the future.
The Academy Awards were actually a lot of fun tonight. I thought Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's opening was hilarious. The writing was funny and they really played off of each other nicely. That Paranormal Activity spoof they did was a riot!
There were some obvious winners (Mo'Nique and Jeff Bridges) and some interesting surprises (TheHurt Locker winning over Avatar and Sandra Bullock winning over Meryl Streep).
Plus, my roommate Joel redesigned, printed out, and framed some really fun movie posters to include a few of our friends who came over to watch the show tonight. So, of course, I have to share those here too.
Another nice surprise was Star Trek winning an award for Best Makeup. It is the first Academy Award that any Star Trek movie has ever won (and there have been ten other Treks before this one). So, naturally I was very excited about that (as you can see by my smile in the poster above).
Unfortunately, not everyone who is nominated can win. Like Colin Firth in A Single Man (which is a great movie, if you haven't seen it).
Matt Damon didn't win for Invictus (although it's always nice to see him).
Sherlock Holmes didn't win either, but I thought Robert Downey Jr. was quite entertaining while presenting with Tina Fey (who I always enjoy) for the writing awards.
Even though Hugh Jackman did a nice job hosting last year, I kinda hope they let Steve and Alec host again next year. Or Abe Vigoda and Betty White...they were sure funny together in that Snickers commercial.
I also think that Sean Penn might have been tipping the hooch backstage before he presented tonight. Otherwise, can someone please explain to me what the hell he was rambling on about before he finally handed out his award?
I haven't seen Inglourious Basterds yet, but I hear that Christoph Waltz (the guy who won Best Supporting Actor) was really good. Although, I'm just not sure I can sit through the scalpings and other bloody stuff that is supposed to be scattered throughout the film.
Has anyone seen Young Victoria? I do enjoy Emily Blunt (she was so funny in The Devil Wears Prada), so was happy that it at least won an award for Costume Design.
Because...without costumes, everyone would be naked in every movie.
And, as we learned from Harvey Keitel in The Piano...that isn't always a good thing.
The Academy Awards nominations were announced today and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie each got one (he for "Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and she for "The Changeling"). I really liked both of their films and performaces, so that should be an exciting and hectic night at the Pitt-Jolie household (I need the mascara now....NO, I need the mascara now").
I had only one "she better get nominated" person who I was hoping didn't get overlooked...Taraji P. Henson (she played Brad Pitt's mother in "Benjamin Button"). Thankfully, she wasn't dissed...so I am very excited about her nomination!
Every once in a while, the academy gets it right.
It's also nice that Meryl Streep got nominated for "Doubt" (I have to see that soon!). This is her 15th nomination, which is a record for any performer. She's always so good in any role...it's almost wrong when she doesn't get nominated.
I'm glad that the academy got "Milk" (4 nominations). You just never know how the kids are going to swing for voting with gay-themed films.
Other nominations that are well-deserved are comeback kings Mickey Rourke and Robert Downey Jr., everything for "Benjamin Button" (13 Nominations) and "Slumdog Millionaire" (10 Nominations), Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Amy Adams, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, and Viola Davis (all three nominated for "Doubt"), Heath Ledger, Marisa Tomei (who was really good and quite naked in "The Wrestler), and Anne Hathaway.
It's looking good and James Spader's voice is perfectly suited for the bad guy.
I wonder if this is the first movie he's done with Robert Downey Jr. since they did Less Than Zero together almost 30 years ago (1987...dear God, how time flies!)
