one perk of being famous: being analyzed

I think the best part of being famous as an artist is to have your work analyzed to death: reviewed, critiqued, cross-analyzed, dissected, and everything else. There's a whole industry of people who analyzed and critiques prominent musicians, filmmakers, actors and artists. I'm one of them, or aspire to be one of them as a film critic. And those film critics or music critics, or whatever they are, don't just review something some average Joe did with his camcorder when he went on his trip to do relief work on his camcorder. They will, however, review the footage Spike Lee took of New Orleans post-Katrina when he went down there. They might bash it or they might praise it, but either way, it must be exciting to have such prominent critics looking at your work and deciding whether it's a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.

In essence, what i'm saying is that it's a natural instinct for anyone who makes a work of art to want to have it judged and evaluated, and as a perk of being famous you get to have it evaluated by the best. Another perk is that even if it's bad and the critics bash it you can look on the bright side which is that you're famous enough to have those critics look at your work in the first place. I saw this terrible movie, Vanilla Sky, by Cameron Crowe, the other day and it was one of the most dissapointing movies I'd ever seen. If I were to write a bad review of it and give it a thumbs down, or whatever (or let's say a respectable critic were to do so), I wouldn't really be saying "this is a terrible work of art" because it's all relative. What I would be saying is "for something to be put into a theater on national distribution, this is unacceptable." Because, Vanilla Sky is perfectly acceptable for the standards of an 8th grader shooting a student film. If you took all the "films" ever made, Vanilla Sky is still close to the top. I have been to a couple student film festivals and some of the stuff there will just make you cringe and all of it shows an understanding of the craft that isn't fully developed. In other words "Vanilla Sky" isn't neccessarily bad, it's just bad by "famous person" standards which should give comfort to those people like Ben Affleck pre-Hollywoodland who was just running into a lot of critical trouble, although oddly enough it doesn't. That just might be one way of looking at it.

Of course, when you become a historical figure like Picasso or Monet in art or Duke Ellington or Alfred Hitchkock or Barizhnokov, then you become the subject of academic literature and books and everything, and that must be funner, still, although I hear that many of them do so with detached amusement. I heard once that Alfred Hitchkock helped his granddaughter out in film class with an essay she had to write in a class where she had to analyze one of his movies. He told her what he was thinking when he made the movie and she still got a C.

What's great about achieving that level of fame is being psychoanalyzed by authors. I'd love that. It'd be like free therapy with the best writers in the world as your therapists. I'd also love to have an E! True Hollywood Story. I would love to have everyone I've ever known rounded up and asked to say a few words about me: I would learn a lot about myself.

Social Competency/EQ Rankings for The Office characters

Rate all the members of the office from best to worst in terms of social skills/emotional intelligence (emotional intelligence isn't about who's in touch with their feelings but ability to discern emotions and navigate social situations). The scenario would be let's pretend Dunder-Mufflin had their employees tested with an EQ test, how would they all score. I think what you'll notice is that they're all dysfunctional in some way, except for Jim (the hero), hence that's why it's a comedy. After some thought, I'm going to exclude Jan because she's management. All the actors were probably entrusted with creating a social flaw for their characters:
Class A: Normal
1. Jim (that's why he's the hero, obviously)-What I like about him that other "cool people in the office" like Kelly, Darryl, Roy or Pam wouldn't do is befriend Michael or at least try not to make him look like a complete idiot. He helps him save face, and that's part of why I love him, because he's looking out for everyone.
2. Tobey-I think he's crush on Pam is absolutely nothing unnatural and he handles it like a gentleman. It's precisely why he's a thorn in Tobey's side
3. Ryan-I don't really like him though (it might be a BJ Novak thing), but he doesn't have any beef with anyone or any real social problems, except he can't stand up for himself
4. Oscar-His comic flaw is being gay, but otherwise he's a cool guy who has healthy social interactions
5. Pam-A little shy, and clung to Roy a little long.
6. Karen-A little needy, but a very cool chick. I'd love to have her around the office (i'm not physically attracted to her, but I think she's very outgoing and fun). I think that's what makes Pam vs Karen so much more intriguing than Pam vs Katie was that Katie was so much wose off. Karen vs Pam is a closer call.
7. Darryl-How long did he bother to put up with Michael's tauntings of him
8. Stanley-A little stiff, but I think a good barometer over whether Michael's acting out of line

Class B: A little questionable
9. Phyllis-I guess she's like the overweight girl with low self-esteem. Just a victim of the effects of how much society makes fun of the fat girl when they're little that they take that self-esteem with them into adulthood
10. Roy-Well, he was a really really bad boyfriend/fiancee and I think his interactions with Jim were a little questionable. I don't think he's grown out of his "class bully" stage. I'd call him borderline, although he's improving in his understanding that girls like romance and he's improving in understanding what's important to him. If i were his therapist, i'd say he's making great progress. Also, in Roy's defense, we know about his bad quality's through Pam's stories and I think guys usually have more stories in the closet that wouldn't have gotten let out to the general public through her stories.
11. Hannah-Her lack of social skills is evidenced in the fact that she chose the wrong party last night. Major deduction.
12. Meredith-She needs to deal with her drinking problem to move up into Class A
13. Kelly-Kelly has one flaw too that she needs to deal with to enter A class. She needs to deal with her problem of still being in high school
14. Kevin-He's slightly creepy like Creed but he has a decent-looking fiancee so he must be able to carry on at least one relationship with a girl. I think he's kind of like an overgrown teenager. He talks about "banging girls" like he's with his high school buds, he loves chocolate, and he still thinks his "band" can make it big. Also, he's not so bad with interacting coworkers that Angela can't stand him. They were also sympathetic of him when he had skin cancer
15. Andy-I actually think he's not that bad as to be a complete wreck. Just a little bit self-involved like Garreth

Class C: Unfit for society
16. Todd Packer-I think he's slightly better than Michael in the sense that he doesn't try to hide his sleazy habits: bad taste in jokes, insensitivity to women and everyone else
17. Michael-He's been talked about so much, i don't want to go down the long list of his traits cause he's obviously the center of his show. I think he's actually a little more of a gentleman than people give him credit for and i think he does eventually correct his big errors. He does this so more lately. When he said "I've got a big surprise" and went blank in season 2 after ice cream sandwiches didn't win over the staff, that was bad. I think he does less of that. He made major progress at winning over his staff by episode's end of the skin cancer episode when he invited them to go ice skating.
18. Creed-I think Creed can pass for normal but at the same time, he's like a mental case. His past is so shady. Maybe he actually was in a mental hospital. It's a beautiful character. My god, he's like a predator to Pam and Anna. I think for example Michael like everyone else in the office thinks that Pam is cute, but at least he doesn't go stare at her breats and insist on remaining there when asked to stop.
19. Angela-I think last week confirmed that she is indeed the most evil, malicious, and stubborn person in the office. Angela Kinsey really should be hailed.
20. Dwight-He's made strides. He's not completely evil and dislikeable which makes for a better and more well-rounded character. Before the end of this season, i might have ranked and rated him a little higher for winning Pam's friendship to some degree and for scoring himself a girlfriend but major negative points when it's revealed how insane his girlfriend really is.

The black hole at the end of the year: pros and cons

The end of the year depresses me, at least as a film critic. Filmwise, I have absolutely nothing to look foward to. I don't even know anything that's coming out next. The end of the year is really climactic. There's like this orgasmic explosion of quality films that come out right at the end of the year. "Blood Diamond" "Children of Men" "Letters from Iwo Jima" "Venus" "Dreamgirls", "Notes on a Scandal" etc, etc, etc. The flipside of this, is that from now until pretty much forever, I have absolutely no idea what's coming to the theaters. Absolutely nothing to look foward to, in a way, although the hype machine will start pretty soon. Last year, I believe it was New Year's Day or January 2nd when the TV Guide channel aired its first trailer of the Da Vinci Code and X-Men 3 and that's when we were like "whoah, that looks cool, i'm really looking foward to that" and the hype builds up over several months to the summer. The truth is it doesn't really matter if the film is good or not, the film industry can run on hype alone. Opening weekend grosses for those films are more than twice as high as the domestic total of the average film and by the time word of mouth gets out that the film is bad, the film's already made a ton of money, and I have no problem with that because usually, we like hype, we live off of it, in the sense that it gives us something to look foward to. Right now, i have no idea what's even playing this weekend (which i wouldn't mind if i wasn't expected to keep watching things and reviewing them at this time, that's why i was trying to get myself in by the end of the calender year) and stuff between January and May is usually very bad. Think Along Came Polly, 13 Going on 30, The Pacifier, Chasing Liberty, Are We There Yet?, The Ladykillers, Walking Tall, Guess Who, Showtime, Jersey Girl, etc. Maybe, the industry should just not release movies during those months and take a hiatus in September and call it the off season.

The end of the year is a great time for the press, however. All of those "end of the year" issues is probably one of your only opportunities where you can write about things that are up to 12 months old and have them considered fresh and current enough to put in current publications. I was able to recycle a lot of old issues and get articles in that otherwise would have had no relavance at all. With a top 10 movies and a top 10 films of the year articles on d.c. scene (www.thedcscene.com) i sort of got the opportunity to review (although in not as much detail) films the second time around.

I think Oscar Season is also a great time for the press and it has little to do with the actual awards ceremony but it gives me a chance to write about films that didn't get printed before or i didn't watch soon enough before and I'm sure that people who are already established enjoy being able to write even more about their favorite films that they haven't done before. The press is so geared around getting things toward deadlines and only writing things that are timely, that anything that you can write about delayed is a relief. I'm sure that's why the press builds up and loves oscar season.

top 50 ACTRESSES of all time

Added note from 4 years after article was originally written: Upon seeing that this was one of the most trafficked articles on my blog, I thought I'd go back and add this forward in which I express that a) I was inexperienced to make such a list four years ago and this list should not be taken seriously and b) Seriously, if you asked me on any day, I'd give you different answers. Also, that an article on 25 most successful actresses of the decade I wrote was researched a bit more meticulously if you want to check that out instead.

In my last post, i said actors and actresses but i forgot to include the actress list. Again, this is not in any way exact since it's hard to compare them. I am continually reediting this post and adding comments and reasoning on the actresses as time allows

1 Katherine Hepbrun-If you go down a list of great films in movie history, it's astounding how many of them Katherine Hepburn found her way into. Maybe she chose her projects well but for that and also having so many Oscars, it's hard to deny her as anything other than #1
Notable roles: African Queen, Bringing Up Baby, Summertime, Lion in the Winter, On Golden Pond, Philadelphia Story, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

2 Vivian Leigh-Had two of the greatest and most often quoted roles in film history with Streetcar Named Desire and Gone with the Wind. Interesting fact: Imdb.com lists her birthplace as West Bengal, India
Notable Roles: Gone with the Wind, Streetcar Named Desire, Anna Karenia Ship of Fools


3 Audrey Hepburn-Her sense of unmatched grace and elegance is still talked about today and is still a model for many young actresses. I think Audrey Hepburn has become the standard for grace and beauty that all young starletts are measured by today, precisely because Audrey Hepburn is exactly what we're missing today. It's a refined sensuality that isn't about cleavage or a lifestyle that screams to be covered by the paperazzi.
Notable roles: Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, Wait Until Dark, Charade, My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's

4 Ingrid Bergman-You know, I honestly don't know why I had her as #2, i just felt like I needed to put at least a couple people between Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn because it just seemed too easy to put two Hepburns next to each other, and she had a lot of oscars plus perhaps the most memorable female lead ever in Casablanca. Notable Roles: Casablanca, Gaslight, Intermizzo, Spellbound

5 Meryl Streep-Her resume just keeps growing as she adds oscar-caliber roles onto it every year and her ascension in the place of movie history's legends keeps rising. It's kind of odd how she's not the one with the spotlight, but she is widely acknowledged as a very precious talent. Notable roles: Deer Hunter, Kramer vs Kramer, Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa, Ironweed, Music of the Heart, Adaptation, The Hours, Devil Wears Prada, Manchurian Candidate, Prairie Home Companion

6 Grace Kelly-Maybe the equivalent of James Dean in having a short career that captivated the viewing public so thoroughly. It's hard to compare her to an actress like Katherine Hepburn or Bette Davis who had a lifetime worth of film roles. To some extent you have to extrapolate how many great film turns she might have had, had her career been allowed to run its course, but like most legends like Elvis, James Dean, Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe (although she didn't die of a drug overdose, you usually give them the benefit of the doubt Notable Roles: Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief, Country Girl, High Noon, Rear Window
Notable roles: Wait Until Dark, Charade, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina, Roman Holiday

7 Judy Garland-No, I'm not gay, but I do think that Garland is hard to deny as a very talented singer and star. Her Midwestern voice is very distinct and maybe what's so great about Garland was that very Midwesternness that made her singing granduer seem folksy and down-to-earth. It's also very interesting when you watch her on the screen to think about how messed up she was off the screen. Her kids (particularly the one with the surname Luft) adore her and say great things about her in interviews but it seemed like she wasn't a very good mother, and she just was addicted to pills of all sorts, but it was really the studio's fault for getting her hooked in the first place.
Notable Roles: Babes in Arms, Wizard of Oz, Meet me in St. Louis, Easter Parade, Summer Song, A Star is Born, Judgement at Nuremberg

8 Marlene Dietritch
She definitely had a presence on the screen that you couldn't take your eyes off of. She was also a very precious commodity since she came straight from Ufa and the German industry where the most innovative directors of the time came from.
Notable Roles: The Blue Angel, Touch of Evil, Morrocco, Destry Rides Again, Shanghai Express, Judgement at Nuremberg

9 Barbara Stanwyck
She had a sensuality that she used to make femme fatales that much more fatal and she also used that quality to make some very memorable screwball heroines. Her performances are really timeless.
Notable Roles: Meet John Doe, Ball of Fire, Double Indemnity, The Lady Eve

10 Bette Davis
Considered the first lady of film, she certainly had a prolific career with 106 films over 6 decades. Some have her higher. She personally doesn't resonate as much with me.
Notable Roles: Jezbezel, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, All About Eve, Now Voyager

11 Joan Crawford
Determined to be a star, Crawford took on a versatile range of roles and refused to be outshined on stage. she gave one of film's great performances in Mommie Dearest.
Notable roles: Dancing Lady, Humoresque, Mildred Pier

12 Greta Garbo-Pretty much the biggest star star of the 30s and the publicity department at her studio helped foster her appeal by painting her as a mysterious recluse
Notable Roles: The Divine Woman, Anna Christie, Grand Hotel, Queen Christina, Ninotchka

13 Elizabeth Taylor-Her reputation as a husband stealer and looks should have taken away from her on-screen persona and marketability as a star, but she was too good of an actress for that to happen.
Notable roles: National Velvet, Life with Father, A Place in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butterfield 8, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff

14 Claudette Colbert
As the romatic foil to Clark Gable in the definitive screwball comedy "It Happened One Night", Colbert exuded a mixture of sensuality and youthful exuberance that even the Breen Code couldn't surpress.
Notable Roles: It Happened One Night, Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, Cleopatra

15 Mary Pickford
America's first lady of silent film was on such a level of her own, that she cofounded her own movie studio (United Artists) because no one could pay her salary. Frequently collaborated with one of UA's other co-founders Director DW Griffith
Notable Roles: In Old Kentucky, Tess of the Storm Country, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Pollyana, Coquette

16 Ginger Rogers
It wasn't just Fred Astaire that made the most famous romantic pairing in film history work. Rogers was a relatable everywoman, the Rogers screen persona came off as slightly flirtatious yet slightly vulnerable. More than anything else, she was talented, however, and could match Astaire stride for stride.
Notable Roles: Flying down to Rio, Swing Time, Top Hat, Barkleys of Broadway, Kitty Foyle

17 Shirley MacLaine
When you're making a list of 50 actresses and trying to make it well-written, you have to keep coming up with new adjectives for these ladies to make each entry sound original, and already at #17, i'm starting to either recycle ones or find a lack of words to characterize the performer. In the former, I'm thinking that MacLaine kind of reminds me of Audrey Hepburn: debonair, very cute, a winning personality. But in the latter case, I can't exactly put my finger on what MacLaine has that MacLaine has that seperates her from Hepburn or anyone else for that matter, but she does have a certain uniqueness to her.
Notable Roles: Terms of Endearment, In Her Shoes, Sayonara, The Apartment, The Turning Point, Irma la Douce, Sweet Charity

18 Marilyn Monroe-The embodiment of male sex fantasy, Monroe was smarter than she looked but not all the time. At times, Billy Wilder had to write her lines on index cards all over the set and she still couldn't get them right, while at times, she was a consummate professional. One might place her higher because she had such greater star quality than her contemporaries or one could place her lower because she might have just been a pretty place, but she knew what she was doing.
Notable Roles: Gentlemen Perfer Blondes, Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot, Misfits

19 Dianne Keaton
Notable Roles: Godfather, Manhattan, Interiors, Reds, Annie Hall

20 Faye Dunaway She had so many definitive roles in the '60s and '70s. In Bonnie and Clyde she and Warren Beatty epitomized the countercultural values in two iconic drifters. In Network, she's brilliant as a TV executive who's nearly gone mad in her obsessiveness for ratings (she talks about the network share during sex), and in Chinatown, her character of Evelyn Mullray is a twisted cross between a femme fatale and a doomed victim. Notable Roles: Bonnie and Clyde, Network, Mommie Dearest, Thomas Crown Affair, Chinatown

21 Susan Sorandon
Notable Roles: Atlantic City, Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, Client, Dead Man Walking, Stepmom

22 Rita Hayworth
Notable Roles: You'll Never Get Rich, Strawberry Blonde, Only Angels Have Wings, Lady from Shanghai, Gilda

23 Shelly Winters
Notable Roles: A Double Life, Red River, Great Gatsby, Winchester '73, A Place in the Sun, Diary of Anne Frank, Lolita, A Patch of Blue, Poseidon Adventure, Cleopatra Jones

24 Natalie Wood-Was in three of the AFI top 100 films in Searchers, Rebel without a Cause, and West Side Story, but her more notable roles have been in films like Splendor in the Grass or Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. Like James Dean she showed a lot of promise and died way too soon (although less soon than Dean).
Notable roles: Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, West Side Story, Love with the Proper Stranger, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice

25 Debbie Reynolds-Although in her old age, she's parodying herself a little too much, she really has been an underrated actress through the ages. She might have stumbled into the role of a lifetime through sheer luck in Singing in the Rain, but she had the perfect blend of wide-eyed innocence and spunk to go toe-to-toe with Gene Kelly, especially in Good Morning. She's shown a penchant for accents and comic characters in silly and innocent comedies, and dazzled in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Notable roles: Singing in the Rain, The Siniging Nun, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, How the West Was Won



Bumped out of 25:

26 Mae West
27 Lauren Bacall
28 Jessica Lange
29 Nicole Kidman
30 Lillian Gish
31 Anne Baxter
32 Janet Leigh
33 Jane Fonda
34 Ava Gardener
35 Frances McDormand
36 Maggie Smith
37 Anne Baxter
38 Olivia de Haviland
39 Doris Day
40 Carol Lombard
41 Ethel Barrymore
42 Eva Marie Saint
43 Sally Field
44 Julie Christie
45 Helen Mirren
46 Maureen O'Hara
47 Julia Roberts
48 Claire Trevor
49 Angela Lansbury
50 Donna Reed

50 best actors of all time

A pretty objective list, I think, of the top 50, I’m surprised I made it all the way to 50 and it was a really hard assignment since actors come in different types: mainly those who create a persona and are a personality and those who are character actors, so it's really hard to make a standard list. You also have people who are more prolific and people who made each picture count. Stars who are very bankable, stars who are confined to one niche (i.e. The Western, etc.)

I think i might keep working on providing descriptions and stuff but that would probably take a lot of time, and come on, i can't be here all day writing. Some notes though:

1. Marlon Brando-Notable Roles: Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata, Apocolypse Now, Last Tango in Paris, On the Waterfront, The Godfather, Favorite Director: Elia Kazan
2. Humphrey Bogart-Notable Roles: Sabrina, African Queen, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, To Have and Have Not, Key Largo, The Big Sleep. Favorite Director: John Huston
3. Jimmy Stewart-Notable Roles: It's a Wonderful Life, Rear Window, Vertigo, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Winchester '73, Favorite Director: Frank Capra/Alfred Hitchkock
4. Lawrence Olivier-Notable Roles: Hamlet, Richard III, Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, Favorite Director: Himself
5. Cary Grant-Notable Roles: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Awful Truth, North by Northwest, Charade, His Girl Friday, Bringing up the Baby, Favorite Director: Nomadic
6. Gary Cooper-Notable Roles: The Westerner, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Pride of the Yankees, Seargent York, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, High Noon, Favorite Director: Nomadic
7. Alec Guiness-Notable Roles: The Lavender Hill Mob, Bridge on the River Kwai, Star Wars, Dr. Zhivago, Favorite Director: Mostly British directors
8. Robert De Niro-Notable Roles: Once Upon a Time in America, Deer Hunter, Godfather II, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, New York New York, Goodfellas, Casino, Favorite Director: Martin Scorsesee
9. James Cagney-Notable Roles: White Heat, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Public Enemy, Favorite Director: Nomadic
10. Henry Fonda-Notable Roles: Young Mr. Lincoln, Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine, 12 Angry Men, Once Upon a Time in the West, On Golden Pond, Favorite Director: John Ford, pehaps
11. Orson Welles-Notable Roles: Citizen Kane, Magnificent Ambersons, Lady from Shanghai, Othello, Third Man, Touch of Evil, Favorite Director: Himself
12. Clark Gable-Notable Roles: It Happened One Night, Mutiny on the Bounty, Gone with the Wind, Favorite Director: Nomadic
13. Charlie Chaplain: Modern Times, City Lights, Gold Rush, Great Dictator, Favorite Director: Himself
14. Peter O’Toole: My Favorite Year, Lawrence of Arabia, Beckett, Lion in the Winter, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Last Emperor, Favorite Director: Nomadic
15. Jack Lemmon: The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses, Mr. Roberts, Some Like it Hot, Save the Tiger, Odd Couple, Glengarry Glenn Ross, Irma la Douce, Favorite Director: Billy Wilder
16. Kirk Douglas: Spartacus, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Out of the Past, Lust for Life, The Champion, Paths to Glory, Favorite Director: Nomadic
17. Dustin Hoffman: The Graduate, Tootsie, Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Papillon, Kramer vs Kramer, Rain Man, Wag the Dog, Favorite Directors: Barry Levinson, Mike Nicholls
18. Jack Nicholson: Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, The Shining, Prizzi's Honor, Terms of Endearment, A Few Good Men, As Good as It Gets, Favorite Director: Roman Polanski
19. Gregory Peck: Duel in the Sun, Twelve O'Clock High, Gentleman's Agreement, Roman Holiday, To Kill a Mockingbird, Favorite Director: Nomadic
20. William Holden: Network, Bridge on the River Kwai, Sabrina, Stalag 17, Wild Bunch, Towering Inferno, Favorite Director: Billy Wilder
21. Gene Kelly-Notable Roles: Anchors Aweigh, On the Town, Summer Stock, American in Paris, Singing in the Rain, It's Always Fair Weather, Favorite Directors: Stanley Donen, Vincente Minelli
22. John Wayne-Notable Roles: Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Fort Apache, Rio Bravo, The Searchers, The Alamo, True Grit, Favorite Director: John Ford
23. Tom Hanks-Notable Roles: Splash, Big, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, Road to Perdition, Favorite Directors: Rob Zemeckis, Ron Howard, Stephen Spielberg
24. Sean Connery-Notable Roles: The Hill, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Murder on the Orient Express, The Untouchables, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Favorite Director: Sidney Lumet
25. Edward G. Robinson-Notable Roles: Little Ceasar, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Double Indemnity, Key Largo
26. Spencer Tracy-Notable Roles: Boys Town, Woman of the Year, Adam's Rib, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Bad Day at Black Rock, Inherit the Wind, Favorite Director: Stanley Kramer
27. Fred Astaire-Notable Roles: Flying Down to Rio, Top Hat, Swing Time, Holiday Inn, Barkleys on Broadway, Band Wagon, Towering Inferno, Favorite Director: Whomever was assigned by RKO
28. Burt Lancaster-Notable Roles: The Killers, From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry, Atlantic City
29. Sidney Portier-Notable Roles: The Defiant Ones, Lillies in the Field, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Favorite Director: Stanley Kramer or Norman Jewison would be my gues
30. Robert Redford-Notable Roles: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Natural, The Sting, The Candidate, The Way We Were, All the President's Men, Out of Africa
31. James Dean
32. Clint Eastwood
33. Paul Newman
34. Al Pacino
35. Montgomery Clift
36. Albert Finney
37. Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
38. Michael Caine
39. Harrison Ford
    
40. Gene Hackman
41. Ben Kingsley
    
42. Frank Sinatra
43. Denzel Washington
44. Walter Matthau
45. Tom Cruise
46. Robert Duvall
47. Anthony Quinn
48. James Coburn
49. Ernest Borgnine
50. John Voight

-I might call this a best actors and actresses of the 20th century list, simply because recent great actors like Russell Crowe, Jonny Depp or Scarlett Johannson who have been much bigger since 2000, have had a much
-Although, i am capable of independently thinking about this, i did consult two sources: AFI's twenty five legends and Premiere's April 2005 issue of top 50 movie stars
-For those keeping track, i basically have Robert De Niro as the best actor today. Obviously, it doesn't look as good with his last few comedic movies but look back before Analyze This
-Among my immediate family, Cary Grant is controversial but oddly enough Premiere Magazine ranked him #1 star of all time and AFI named him the #2 screen legend.
-Walter Matthau was a tough cookie to place, cause what do you have of him without Jack Lemmon
-This isn't really my opinion, although it's a balance between my opinion and popularity
-Ever notice how Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck and Jimmy Stewart are all very alike? Gregory Peck has some great performances but he was so cheesy in Gentleman's Agreement
-I would say that the two biggest actors i grew up with are Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks, and it's interesting to put them up against the greats. If you think about movies that are entertaining and exciting, Harrison Ford is always front and center, though admittedly he hasn't had a hit in years. Hanks, to me, is the best, but i weighed that against other stuff. He's my personal favorite, put it that way
-Admittedly Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire aren't the best actors, but keep in mind that those were the only 2 guys out of the entire MGM roster of stars who can act, sing and dance at a level that made those musicals work. Donald O'Connor could dance but he couldn't act that well. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra could sing but couldn't dance.

-Tom Cruise isn't the best actor, no, but he's done enough good work that he deserves a place on the list. Remember when he used to not be so universally reviled and thought of as one of the biggest stars in the world. It is pretty interesting because Premiere's April '05 (before Oprahgate) Issue ranked Tom Cruise as the greatest living star of today, so it wasn't that long ago. I wonder if the magazine editors who had pages and pages praising Tom Cruise would have changed their minds like the rest of the American public within the following 18 months

-I don't think number of oscars equals greatness. Jack Nicholson isn't number one although some people might say he is. He's good, i like him, he's definitely extroadinarily talented but I think late in his career he's relied on just being Jack. Also, i think i disagree with other people over his best performances (i like 5 Easy Pieces and Chinatown, not As Good as It Gets or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). I also perfer Robert Redford to Paul Newman even though Newman's been nominated a million times.

-James Coburn is interchangable with a number of stars from his era who were in The Great Escape or Magnificent Seven or similar Western/War movies with him-James Garner, Jack Palance, Charles Bronson, etc. It was a close call. I went for Coburn because In Like Flint just blew my mind. Was I supposed to take it seriously or was it a spoof? I couldn't figure out which.

-Sean Connery is also tough to nail down and evaluate outside of Bond. Is he a one-trick pony? The truth is he's done way more than 7 films in his career (that's how many Bond films he did), so it's a shame that he's so associated with Bond. His best acting performance outside of James Bond that i've seen is The Man Who Would be King. He's also not bad in Murder on the Orient Express

actor matches from yesteryear to today

This was in response to a USA Today article asking users
who they would pick as the modern day equivalent of certain stars:


Dick Powell-Ewan MaGregor: Both can sing and dance and play 

young heart throbs, and they also took on a dramatic role in 

Murder, My Sweet and Star Wars, respectively

Robert Mitchum-William DeFoe: Flexible range, can play 

jaded, dark characters

John Wayne-Robert DuVall-In their later stages in their 

career, seen as the top cowboy in tinseltown (Few people 

forget that John Wayne was originally turned down for 

Stagecoach for Gary Cooper and was seen as a B-movie actor 

in the 30s)

Rudolph Valentino-Antonio Banderas: The Latin Lovers

Jane Fonda-Madonna: Both sing, both have remained icons of 

their generations and have generated controvoursey, both 

have passions linked to other countries, Madonna with 

Argentina in Evita, and Hanoi for issues surrounding 

Vietnam, Hanoi Jane

Audrey Hepburn-Mischa Barton/Brittney Murphy: An Audrey 

Hepburn clone comes along every two years, just about, 

Hepburn was very cute and also had a lot of grace and 

sophistication to her. Jennifer Love Hewitt or Brittney 

Murphy are people I would’ve seen in those roles, and I’d 

still see Brittney Murphy in that role, but I think the next 

one to come along as current TV actress Mischa Barton, she’s 

captivating in the OC and the way she dresses when she goes 

to interviews shows a European sophistication about her

Sidney Poitier-Don Cheadle: Black actors, selective of their 

roles, committed to breaking new ground and play pretty much 

all drama forgoing lighthearted comedies. Cheadle’s 

intensity and devotion to Hotel Rwanda raises him to Sidney 

Poitier’s bar

Judy Garland-Emma Rossum: Phantom of the Opera star is 

young, has a naïve and innocent stage persona and has the 

chops to match

Faye Dunaway-Susan Sorandon: Could play sexy in her younger 

days, in her older days brings a commanding authority to all 

her roles (aka Network for Dunaway, Client for Sorandon)

Orson Welles-Sean Penn: Genius is impossible to deny by 

everyone, but seen as an outsider and difficult

Marlene Dietrich-Catherine Zeta-Jones: Foreign allure, very 

seductive

Clark Gable-Harrison Ford: Men of good character, steel 

resolve, both play heroes, Gable’s “Frankly my dear, I don’t 

give a damn” is something I could see Indiana Jones saying 

as he rescues Kate Capshaw from a burning temple while she’s 

complaining about her hair getting wet or something like that

Jimmy Stewart-Tobey MaGuire: Wide-eyed young-at-heart boys 

who can be strong when it counts (Mr. Smith Goes to 

Washington for Stewart, Spiderman for Tobey)

Diana Rigg-Jennifer Garner: Brittish avengers star was a 

beauty but also a tough girl

Barbara Stanwyck-Maria Bello/Marrisa Thomei: Brooklynite 

brashness to them, can be manipulative but usually straight-

up honest, endearing underneath it all

Henry Fonda-Tom Hanks: Quintissential good guy and barometer 

of American character. Hanks’ love of American history 

manifests itself in which projects he choses (Saving Private 

Ryan, Apollo 13), Fonda belief in the goodness of American 

values manifested itself in 12 Angry Men and My Darling 

Clementine among others

Katherine Hepburn-Merryl Streep: Versatile women who are 

respected for their craft above anyone of their generation

Top 10 comic personalities of 2005

I haven't updated it this year, but last year i was thinking of all the top ten lists that happen in December and I thought of a new one, i could add to the mix. Of course, the new magazine, Cracked Magazine does this too now.

2005:

1. Nick Hornby for his novel “Long Way Down” and success of continuing adaptations on screen

One of the few people who I’d voluntarily read a novel from. His books are witty and refreshing enough that his books go by like a magazine article ordinarily does. His books have been adapted into hit movies like High Fidelity, About a Boy, and Fever Pitch, and when his latest comedic book about four people who randomly meet on the rooftop of a building, all with plans to commit suicide (how’s that for a comedic challenge) came out, the movie rights were gobbled up right away, by someone no less than Jonny Depp.

2. Sara Silverman (Role in the Aristocrats and Jesus Walks)

Over 100 comedians tell the same joke and she was the one who was able to find an original angle and run away with it. Sort of a Jewish version of Andy Kaufman, who’s a lot easier on the eyes, she’s starting to become well-known for her brand of humor.

3. Steve Carrell (for his role in the Office and for his starring vehicle in 40-Yr Old Virgin)

Surprise, surprise, Steve Carrell is not just good as a fake newsman, but can do other things too. He had roles in the new Woody Allen movie, Melinda and Melinda, in Bewitched, and starred in his own creation The 40-Year Old Virgin. Even better, catch him on the American version of The Office on NBC for his take on the office boss who tries too hard to be friends with his employees. His awkward silences will make you cringe.

4. Steve Colbert (for his new talk show)

By now, John Stewart is just a little bit too powerful. He probably thinks he’s an actual news anchor who can match wits with fellow anchors on CNN because he’s better dressed than them. At least, Steve Colbert hasn’t forgotten that he’s a comedian. Colbert brings non-stop comic inventiveness to his part, always finding sharp comedic angles.

5. Chris Rock for adding color to the Oscar Ceremony, his successful new show on the UPN, his continuing touring of the circuit in stand-up and for Madagascar

There are those who think Chris Rock isn’t the best comedian in America because he’s not mainstream, but just an appealing voice to the black crowd. Those critics should’ve seen him handle the stage at the most mainstream event there is: the Oscars. While the press made a big deal of a completely non-existent feud he had with Sean Penn, he worked the crowd with as much class and humor as any other host. He also leant his talents to Madagascar, the top-grossing cartoon of the year and made one of the year’s best new TV shows about his childhood growing up in Brooklyn, with comedic monologues featured in flashbacks, another way to get his stand-up co

6. Ricky Gervaise for continuing contributions to TV with “Extras” and for voicework in Valiant

Most of us were not satisfied with Gervaise for producing only twelve regular season episodes of The Office and that’s why we’re thankful to have him back on our TV in any way, shape or form. He made an HBO series about two extras that was must-see TV on Sunday nights for at least another six weeks, this time with a more likeable protagonist and the village idiots being carried out through stunt casting.

7. Vince Vaughn for breakout role in the Wedding Crashers

Vince Vaughn’s rapid fire monologues was what separated Wedding Crashers from a B-grade raunchy comedy to one of the summer’s biggest hits. Before this year, Vaughn was in a lot of funny movies, but this year we were more sure that he was the cause of and not just a lucky guy in the middle of them.

8. Jason Lee for My Name is Earl

This incredibly far-fetched idea for a sitcom suddenly becomes amusing and watchable in the hands of Jason Lee.

9. Penn and Teller for there magic act and for making The Aristocrats

The Aristocrats got mixed reviews, but it was pretty ingenious way to separate the men from the boys (and the women vs the girls, of course) by giving them all a crack at the same joke, and it was all done out of a love of comedy. They also got more publicity for their magic act, which has its moments, too, although Penn does talk a little too much and can give you a headache (but Teller compensates for it, I suppose).

10. Alec Baldwin for bit roles on TV and in movies-

Baldwin is an incredibly underrated comic actor, probably because people take him seriously, but he never misses a beat and dives into a comic part with 110% intensity. He was recently in a minor film with Matthew Broderick called Open Shot which came out on DVD this year and was also in Fun with Dick and Jane, plus he guest-starred on Will and Grace and hosted Saturday Night Live (try downloading his Scoutmaster molests Canteen Boy sketch from the early 90s, to see how funny he can be).

Congratulations, you've won the oscar: now what

I think one thing movie fans care about more than anything else is the oscars. That has become as of late become the way that movie fans who like quality movies get into movies. The oscars have the fun competition aspect that sports have. But I don't think the oscar is the ultimate prize for a film to get.

If you win best picture you get held up under a very close microscope. It's a lot of pressure. I wouldn't equate it to winning an olympic gold medal or the superbowl or a set in congress because you've won at that point. I would equate winning a best picture to being in the lead of a marathon or winning the big 10 basketball championship. Yeah, that's great and all but your goal is to make the final four.

Because, when you think about it, what's the ultimate prize? Being remembered in history. Having your picture be thought of as a classic, making AFI's top 100 or BFI's top 100 if you're British, or the Library of Congress's national film registry, or just being on video store shelves 10 or 20 years from now. The best picture gives you a good shot of being remembered in history but I think A Place in the Sun, MASH, or Raging Bull are remembered a lot better than Life of Emile Zola, Ordinary People, and Marty.

Also, my point of being put up to a lot of scrutiny is that a lot of people like to dissect, analyze, and knock down pictures which most of us can agree are at least good pictures but which we now hate for winning best picture over some other personal favorite of ours like Forrest Gump, Chicago, A Beautiful Mind or whatever else. I personally want no part of those discussions because that's pointless. Those are all good pictures and while the winner isn't guaranteed the best picture in absolute terms, it's very very often one that's good, at least. I think that's what a best picture oscar is: a seal of guarantee that the picture is at least good