MAYBE A LITTLE PANIC WOULD HAVE DONE SOME GOODComplications Ensue
Complications Ensue:
The Crafty Screenwriting, TV and Game Writing Blog




Archives

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015

December 2015

January 2016

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

November 2017

December 2017

January 2018

March 2018

April 2018

June 2018

July 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

November 2019

February 2020

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

August 2020

September 2020

October 2020

December 2020

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

May 2021

June 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

August 2022

September 2022

November 2022

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

July 2023

September 2023

November 2023

January 2024

February 2024

 

Saturday, May 07, 2005

The Hitchhiker's Guide is a good example of why you can't star a cast of unknowns in your big-screen movie. If they're utter unknowns, it's probably for a reason. For example, lack of charisma. The cast simply did not have the charisma to carry the movie. You can't rely on the smasho special effects to do it for you. Bad, amateurish acting and weak charisma sunk this movie for me. I needed to care more about the hero, and I needed to care more about whether he'd get the girl, and the girl was fine but not very fine, and he was nothing much.

Surely there have to be bigger stars even in the British firmament? When you have $80,000,000 to throw around, can't you throw some of it above the line?

UPDATE: Okay, fair enough. One reader claims that the stars of HGG are known in England. Another points out that many successful movies star unknowns, and I'd probably have to add Star Wars to that list. But my point was that it was a huge budget picture with very small stars. The movies listed in the comments were small budget pictures.

My bad for being cranky late last night and talking like a studio executive. But I still think the stars of HGG felt singularly 16mm in what was produced to be a big blockbuster special effects feature.

9 Comments:

Cast of unknowns? Er, Sam Rockwell? Bill Nighy? Zoe Daschanell? Martin Freeman is well-known in Britain and elsewhere -- and it is a British story originally. There are things wrong with HHGG (many!). But cast of unknowns isn't really one of them ...

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:27 AM  

The Hitchhiker's Guide is a good example of why you can't star a cast of unknowns in your big screen movie.

Uh...
American Graffiti
Flashdance
Gremlins
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
The Full Monty
American Pie
Stand By Me
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Porky's

And that's just off the top of my head.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:36 AM  

American Graffiti - original
Flashdance - original
Gremlins - original
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - original
The Full Monty - original
American Pie - low budget original
Stand By Me - low budget based on a short story in an SK anthology.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - based on the b/w comic.
Porky's - original but copying the success of American Grafitti, Animal house, etc...

In every instance you name above - the story wasn't already a number one smash hit worldwide. They - like the cast - were releative unknowns! The level of expectation is smaller for an original movie, but it is huge for a series of books that have been called "classics!" Everyone - and I mean everyone - has their own idea as to how these characters look and act.

Why do you think they took soooo long to cast the Harry Potter books, and then surround those kids with classic, well known actors? Casting is a huge part of the greenlighting process.

I'm with Alex on this one. The average movie-goer doesn't go to see a "Sam Rockwell movie" nor a "Bill Nighy picture." They point to the screen and say - "Hey that's that guy from...isn't it?"

By Blogger Cunningham, at 12:37 PM  

I think the cast of unknowns would have been fine for a good science-fiction movie. If the space opera held together, then we wouldn't really care about the skill of acting--we'd just enjoy the spectacle of sci-fi. The problem is that the romantic comedy plot is at odds with the science-fiction plot, and vice versa. I have no opinion on whether a cast of unknowns could carry a romantic comedy--but they didn't carry this one.

My more verbose comments on Hitchhiker's.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:59 PM  

In every instance you name above - the story wasn't already a number one smash hit worldwide. They - like the cast - were releative unknowns! The level of expectation is smaller for an original movie, but it is huge for a series of books that have been called "classics!" Everyone - and I mean everyone - has their own idea as to how these characters look and act.

Well, that's just ridiculous. There's an entire generation (the biggest movie-going demo, by the way) that for the most part have never heard of these books. They're classics for people who read them back when they came out, or found them via the sci-fi world where they're revered. The first Potter film was made right smack in the middle of the series being the biggest selling books in the world.

"Everyone" as you say, has their own ideas of how the characters look and act... but your "everyone" is limited not only to those who read the books, but an even smaller percentage - those that read the books and were so touched by them that their image of the characters stays with them over the past 20+ years.

Yes, if you put Tom Cruise in a movie, there's a demo that will go see it simply because he's in it. But having *names* is zero guarantee of any type of box office success, original story or not.

There's way too many films to list to make that point.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:59 AM  

Yes, if you put Tom Cruise in a movie, there's a demo that will go see it simply because he's in it. But having *names* is zero guarantee of any type of box office success, original story or not.

There's way too many films to list to make that point.
--------

Just name three and make your point...

By Blogger Cunningham, at 6:37 PM  

Three? But there's so many to choose from...

Gigli - Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Chris Walken.

The Big Bounce - Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Morgan Freeman.

Elektra - Jen Garner

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore

Town & Country - Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn

Sphere - Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Sam Jackson, Barry Levinson directing

The Two Jakes - Jack Nicholson, Harey Keitel, Madeline Stowe

Catwoman - Halle Berry, Sharon Stone

Hollywood Homicide - Harrison Ford, Josh Harnett, Martin Landau, Lena Olin

6th Day - Schwarzenegger, Robert Duvall

The Siege - Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Annette Bening

The Postman - Kevin Costner

Cutthroat Island - Geena Davis, Matthew Modine

Windtalkers - Nick Cage, Christian Slater, John Woo directing

Mars Attacks! - Everyone

And then there's the famous ones:
Ishtar
Hudson Hawk
Cleopatra
Bonefire of the Vanities

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:31 PM  

I don't care if Martin Freeman is the heart and soul of The Office, he doesn't have big screen charisma. At least, not the way he was shot in this movie. I know you didn't like the movie either.

My point is if the movie is supposed to be seen on a screen 40 feet tall, you need a different kind of star than you can have if it's meant to be seen in a 99 seat theatre. Bill Nighy was great in Love, Actually but you wouldn't go see that at Grauman's Chinese, would you? Nor am I equating big screen charisma with acting ability. John Travolta has big charisma, but hasn't acted, if he ever did, since Saturday Night Fever. He does, however, play himself awfully well.

By Blogger Alex Epstein, at 2:46 PM  

Erm... Martin Freeman, yes but Zooey Deschanel, Mos Def and Sam Rockwell aren't British.

Alan Rickman doing a voice, okay. Bill Nighy in half the film, yes. But this wasn't a British cast, really and it certainly wasn't a 'star' british cast. I'm not sure it was charisma so much as horrible mis-casting - none of the main four actors was right for the role. And only one of them was British.

By Blogger ThisBloke, at 5:43 AM  

Post a Comment

Back to Complications Ensue main blog page.



This page is powered by Blogger.