tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post3870228131253580282..comments2024-03-25T10:22:04.995-07:00Comments on Ed Gorman's blog: Lazy actors, distracting actorsEd Gormanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06126267358266480356noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post-29543351201543237252010-08-01T20:14:27.269-07:002010-08-01T20:14:27.269-07:00Robin Williams has ruined more movies than he'...Robin Williams has ruined more movies than he's made, I think.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post-25344438878301458022010-08-01T17:31:37.604-07:002010-08-01T17:31:37.604-07:00Stars are immediately recognizable, which is why t...Stars are immediately recognizable, which is why they're paid so much. To then expect them to be chameleons is silly. The difference between today's crop of stars and those from the Golden Age is that most contemporary stars are less attractive personalities and, on average, make worse movies.Peter L. Winklerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16005846686173676213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post-61533268342341100002010-08-01T15:14:07.122-07:002010-08-01T15:14:07.122-07:00James Mason certainly played James Mason in "...James Mason certainly played James Mason in "Odd Man Out," which gave an occasional odd tinge to his role as an IRA-like terrorist.<br /><br />And Woody Allen -- an actor at one time, too, don't forget -- had no interest in playing anything but Woody Allen. His performance in "Hannah and Her Sisters" produced the odd sensation of an acceptably funny comic performance cut and pasted into an acceptable dramatic movie with which it had nothing to do otherwise.<br /><br />The old publicity system may have been better at engineering public demand, but stars today expect to be taken seriously as thinkers (Clooney, Sean Penn). Perhaps this somehow makes the old game of playing one's self harder to take that it was in the days of the stars.<br /><br />Humphrey Bogart tried at least once not to play himself, in "Sabrina." I have never seen an actor look lesss comfortable in a role.<br />==========================<br /> Detectives Beyond Borders<br />"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<br /> <a href="http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/</a>Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post-2449856060080441232010-08-01T14:37:07.552-07:002010-08-01T14:37:07.552-07:00I agree with Richard Wheeler. Not much has changed...I agree with Richard Wheeler. Not much has changed. Except with the vast exposure these "stars" get in the media today, it's easy to see too much of them. The old publicity system was better at engineering public demand.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36271824.post-18034333208793318362010-08-01T13:55:49.252-07:002010-08-01T13:55:49.252-07:00In the High Hollywood days, actors pretty much pla...In the High Hollywood days, actors pretty much played themselves. Gary Cooper played Cooper. John Wayne played Wayne. James Stewart was largely himself. Marilyn Monroe played herself. Doris Day played herself. Character actors did, too. James Mason was always himself. No one objected; perhaps there was an unwritten understanding that we went to films to see the stars--not the characters they played.Richard S. Wheelernoreply@blogger.com