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TitanPa 
"Here four more"
United States
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 Posted - 02/02/2007 : 18:18:34
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I was reading an article in entertainment weekly that I thought would make a good topic here. Actors that take paycheck roles. These are roles that A-List actors take to keep the paychecks coming. When this happens it makes you say "What the hell are they doing in that movie?!?!"
They had a list of the top 25. I will mention the top 10
10 - Demi Moore in 'Striptease'
9 - Michael Caine in 'Jaws: The Revenge'
8 - Judi Dench in 'The Chronicles of Riddick'
7 - Orson Welles in 'Transformers: The Movie' (his final role)
6 - Peter O'Toole in 'Club Paradise'
5 - Dennis Hopper in 'Super Mario Bros.'
4 - Tony Curtis in 'The Bad News Bears GO to Japan'
3 - Sir Ben Kingsley in 'BloodRayne'
2 - Richard Burton in 'Exorcist II: THe Heretic'
and the #1 Paycheck role??????
Why De Niro why??????
1 - Robert De Niro in 'The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle'
Anyone else have any others they can think of????
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Rovark 
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
UK
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 18:42:26
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Michael Caine has never been shy admitting that he takes paycheck work. For every "Get Carter", "Educating Rita" or "Cider House Rules", there's a "Jaws: The Revenge" or "The Swarm"
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
The Hub of the Universe
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 20:13:26
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What about:
Every movie Eddie Murphy has ever done after Beverly Hills Cop. |
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Rovark
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
UK
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 20:27:48
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Alec Guinness didn't exactly do Star Wars out of belief for the material.
Of course, because he took points instead of cash, he never had to do any paycheck work again.  |
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SixFourian
"Four ever European"
The European Union
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 20:49:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Rovark
Michael Caine has never been shy admitting that he takes paycheck work. For every "Get Carter", "Educating Rita" or "Cider House Rules", there's a "Jaws: The Revenge" or "The Swarm"
Yep, I remember him stating quite explicitly that he took great roles when he got them, the next best roles when he got them, etc. etc. etc. |
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
The Hub of the Universe
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 20:57:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Rovark
Alec Guinness didn't exactly do Star Wars out of belief for the material.
Of course, because he took points instead of cash, he never had to do any paycheck work again.
He hated that movie, and he hated being known as Obi-Wan to an entire generation. It's too bad he felt that way, because it really was one of his finest performances.
Has anyone ever seen the Kevin Spacey SNL sketch with the screen tests of various celebrities auditioning for Star Wars? Priceless, especially Spacey as Walter Matthau auditioning for Obi-Wan. |
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GHcool 
"Forever a curious character."
Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 21:59:42
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| I thought Christopher Walken hit rock bottom as a mouse poop-tasting exterminator in Mouse Hunt. But then he was in Gigli. |
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ragingfluff 
"Currently lost in Canada"
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Posted - 02/02/2007 : 22:12:30
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Pacino in Devil's Advocate
Pacino in Two for the Money
De Niro in Analyse This (this is debatable), and Analyse That (this is not open to debate)
De Niro in the horror thing with Dakota Fanning
De Niro on SNL!!! (although he was funny and it was a coup to get him after 25 years of asking)
Dustin Hoffman in Sphere
Samuel L Jackson in Sphere and pretty much everything else he has done since Pulp Fiction, with a couple of exceptions (Changing Lanes, Black Snake Moan, A Time to Kill, The Negotiator)
Olivier in Princess and the Showgirl
Olivier in Marathon Man
Olivier and Gregory Peck in the Boys From Brazil
The entire cast of Murder By Death
Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2
Demi Moore in Charlies Angels 2
Brando and Hackman in Superman
Brando in The Freshman and Christopher Columbus
Raul Julia in Streetfighter (sadly, his last film)
80% of Michael Caine's career
Sean Connery in everything after Name of the Rose
EVERY A LIST ACTOR YOU CAN THINK OF WHO HAS POCKETED MILLIONS MAKING T.V. COMMERCIALS IN JAPAN AND KOREA WHILE BABBLING ON AT HOME ABOUT "integrity": hypocrites!!
See www.japander.com
I would carry on but this is sort of depressing
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
United Kingdom
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 01:01:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
He hated that movie, and he hated being known as Obi-Wan to an entire generation. It's too bad he felt that way, because it really was one of his finest performances.
I think that's open for debate. It's certainly a well-loved performance by a generation or two of people but I don't think it compares to his great screen performances - Colonel Nicholson in 'Bridge over the River Kwai' springs to mind. Fagin in David Lean's 'Oliver Twist' as well. How about all the D'Ascoynes in 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' or Marcus in 'The Ladykillers'? In 'Star Wars' you can almost see him rolling his eyes at having to act sat next to a seven foot dog. |
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Rovark
"Luck-pushing, rule-bending, chance-taking reviewer"
UK
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 10:39:12
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quote:
Originally posted by demonic
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
He hated that movie, and he hated being known as Obi-Wan to an entire generation. It's too bad he felt that way, because it really was one of his finest performances.
I think that's open for debate. It's certainly a well-loved performance by a generation or two of people but I don't think it compares to his great screen performances - Colonel Nicholson in 'Bridge over the River Kwai' springs to mind. Fagin in David Lean's 'Oliver Twist' as well. How about all the D'Ascoynes in 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' or Marcus in 'The Ladykillers'? In 'Star Wars' you can almost see him rolling his eyes at having to act sat next to a seven foot dog.
Not his greatest performance agreed, but still excellent in a very understated manner. He definately lends the film a certain gravitas and it's hard to see what Star Wars would have been without him.
How about Bela Lugosi in "Glen Or Glenda" The sad thing here would be that he was no longer A list or even B list but just surviving on any work offered.
And as for Orson Welles paycheck cv. Who can forget all those wonderful sherry adverts back in the 70's. |
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redPen
"Because I said so!"
United States
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 10:47:03
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I have to half-disagree with one of the fluff's films listed here.
I thought Brando's self-parody in The Freshman was highly entertaining. I'm sure purists (which likely includes Sir Fluff) are upset that he poked fun at his own classic role in The Godfather, but on its own, The Freshman is a real kick. Even Bruno Kirby, himself a Godfather Part II alum, appears in it, though not self-mockingly so.
The fact that Brando's character is repeatedly "almost referred to" as looking just like the character in The Godfather makes this film a tongue-in-cheek classic.
But again, I understand that this film upset many. I merely wanted to post a retort. Long live democracy!
Also, Rovark, on the subject of Mr. Welles, some might list his appearance (one of his last, if not last, anywhere) as himself in the intro to a "Moonlighting" TV episode. Again, I'd have to disagree with anyone who lists this. It was HIS idea, and I'm not sure if he even got paid! The story is that he enjoyed the show so much that he contacted them to ask if he could appear, and the producers leapt at the opportunity. Some would say he had scraped the bottom of the barrel by doing any television at all, but sadly, his career was always a struggle, even though he had the mantle of "genius" over his head and Kane was already called a "classic." His filmography is a hodgepodge of European Shakespearean roles and useless unseen cameos. He's sort of Hollywood's Truman Capote: He had one glorious masterpiece in his early days, then spent the rest of his life struggling to match it while resting on its reputational laurels. Very sad. |
Edited by - redPen on 03/02/2007 10:54:50 |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
United States
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 12:27:59
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quote:
Originally posted by ragingfluff
Olivier in Marathon Man
Olivier and Gregory Peck in the Boys From Brazil
Demi Moore in Charlies Angels 2
I don't agree with the two Olivier choices. He was quite brilliant in Marathon Man, and The Boys From Brazil was an interesting film. I don't think Demi Moore took the Charlie's Angel role nearly as much for the paycheck as for the opportunity it offered to jump start her career. |
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randall 
"I like to watch."
NYC, USA
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 18:39:07
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quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
I thought Christopher Walken hit rock bottom as a mouse poop-tasting exterminator in Mouse Hunt. But then he was in Gigli.
Two Christophers, Walken and Lee, have repeatedly said that they like to work constantly and thus take stinkers alongside the better roles. Their resumes certainly bear this out. |
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ragingfluff
"Currently lost in Canada"
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 21:38:57
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[quote]Originally posted by redPen
I have to half-disagree with one of the fluff's films listed here.
I thought Brando's self-parody in The Freshman was highly entertaining. I'm sure purists (which likely includes Sir Fluff) are upset that he poked fun at his own classic role in The Godfather, but on its own, The Freshman is a real kick. Even Bruno Kirby, himself a Godfather Part II alum, appears in it, though not self-mockingly so.
The fact that Brando's character is repeatedly "almost referred to" as looking just like the character in The Godfather makes this film a tongue-in-cheek classic.
But again, I understand that this film upset many. I merely wanted to post a retort. Long live democracy!
I don't advertise my knighthood much...the proles get upset
I disagree with the premise of the disagreement (hah!)
Just because a role is a "paycheck" role does not mean I consider the performance to be bad. Brando was brilliant in The Freshman (I don't argue that) - Hey, Gene Hackman was the best thing in Superman; but what other more "serious", less paying work did he turn down to do it?
Another paycheck whore I forgot to mention is Mel Gibson in Bird on a Wire (he was saving up for Braveheart, I suppose)
And do please check out www.japander.com You'd be surprised who'd jump at the chance at a million dollars to shill ginseng tonic, shitty Japanese beer, English lessons or shampoo
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 03/02/2007 : 22:01:59
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quote:
Originally posted by ragingfluff
Hey, Gene Hackman was the best thing in Superman; but what other more "serious", less paying work did he turn down to do it?
Hiya RFluff!
Just to set the acting record a bit straighter ...  
Please remember that actors, even stars, aren't always in control of the timing of filming. Mostly they're not. So, let's consider a scenario where Hackman [just an example] was signed up to do a film which was supposed to start shooting in six months [which is when he'll finish the one he's currently working on with a month off for a bit of a holiday], and then another after that which starts in ten months. Then the first film gets cancelled. What's he supposed to do -- sit and twiddle his thumbs? Or take a quick in and out part which will pay him a fortune?
There are other factors, too. Sometimes a powerful agent will pressure a producer that if s/he lets his/her client take the lead in a film they also have to take a percentage of their other clients, too.
There's also the personal favor factor where a producer or more likely director or writer who happens to be a friend of a certain actor asks them to do the part.
It may seem to those not in the biz that actors, even stars, have more power than they actually do. Sometimes, though, if a star is in huge demand, they'll be - shall we say - persuaded to take a role if they can get something they particularly want -- like to film near a magnificent golf course just at the time when they can participate in some tournament. Or, that if they take a role in this film, they'll get the studio backing to greenlight the film they really want to act in/or direct.
Nothing in the movie biz is straightforward. One thing's for certain - the real story ain't gonna be discovered. Not for years. Or decades. Or ever.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
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ragingfluff
"Currently lost in Canada"
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Posted - 04/02/2007 : 19:18:32
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Christopher Reeve reported the following anecdote in his autobiography. The idealistic young actor Reeve asked the seasoned veteran Hackman what his 'motivation' was in playing the role of Luthor. Hackman responded, "You mean, besides the million dollars?"
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Paycheck Roles
