I Swear I Only Did It For The Money

Certainly, every actor has movies or plays they would rather leave off of their resumes. Unfortunately for some of our well established and well-regarded performers, these cinematic achievements are often unearthed and put on display for the viewing public to watch and ridicule or just glance at and wonder what on earth they were thinking. For the rest of them, it is just another day at the office… making bad movies and making money (somehow) by doing it. Here are a few:

  • Marlon Brando (he played Superman‘s Kryptonian father and was paid $14 million dollars for 13 days on the set. This breaks down to nearly $1.4 million dollars a minute for his total on screen time. An excellent movie, but a miserly performance).
  • Elizabeth Taylor (her role as Wilma’s mother (did she have a name?) in the live-action Flintstone‘s movie was about as memorable as her laundry list of ex-husbands. Her payday must have been nearly as extravagant as Mr. Brando’s)
  • Ben Affleck (should be named multiple times, but it can be summed up in one word… Gigli)
  • Richard Pryor (ok… so maybe not one of our most celebrated actors… but I’m thinking the adult comic famous for his drug-addled standup of the 70s was attempting to change his image in the mid-80s when he decided to sign up for such movies as The Toy, Brewster’s Millions, both of which were relatively harmless comedies. However, he was at least in part to blame for the beginning of the end of a superhero movie franchise).
  • Sir Michael Caine (thank goodness he has his role of Alfred the butler to make up for the travesty that was Jaws: The Revenge).

Although these are quite dated to be sure, there must be other memorable (memorable to mention perhaps not so memorable to watch) examples in which well-known and established actors were only looking for their next pay check. Feel free to include your favorite “paycheck” role/movie.

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July… A Super Month

I never before realized what a great month July is. Not only does it bring the birthday of a very good friend (and the up-coming birth of the couple’s fourth child) but also many Superman related anniversaries

Happy birthday (or deathday as it were) to all.



Winning Isn’t Everything

While having a few minutes free today, I flipped through the endless array of nothingness which is television (especially on a late Saturday afternoon). I happened across the game show “Greed.” One of the multiple choice questions was: “Which four of the following has won a Best Actor Oscar.” The six possible answers were:

Al Pacino
Robert Redford
Paul Newman
Michael Douglas
Tom Cruise
Nicolas Cage

The question got my head spinning about controversies in the category. George C. Scott refused the award for his portrayal of Patton because he did not like the way in which the character was presented. Marlon Brando refused the award for his role in one of the most acclaimed films in motion picture history, The Godfather, in order to protest the mistreatment of Native Americans in motion pictures. Those are two of the most notable controversies in the 80 year history of the Best Actor award. Are there any others?

As for the question itself, I had to check the veracity of one of the correct responses. I was absolutely sure of one of the actors until it came up wrong. I was even certain of the role for which I was sure he had won. See if you can guess the correct four.



Superman 2×2

When you are 8 years old sitting in a movie theatre watching one of you favorite characters on the screen, you have no idea how much turmoil goes into putting that action on film. Richard Donner directed Superman the Movie and simultaneously his version of its sequel. However, following the release of Superman, Donner was fired and a new director for Superman 2, Richard Lester, was hired. The funny thing is nearly 80% of what was seen in theatres in 1981 is what Donner had filmed. So 25 years later, Donner released his version of Superman 2 from the rolls of film shot while making Superman the Movie.

Richard Lester’s version is a good film. However, it does have many problems. In the Fortress of Solitude battle scene with the three Kryptonian villains, the Man of Steel is given powers that he never had before and were cheesy powers to begin with. From his “S” shield on his costume he pulls out a cellophane shield which he hurls at the evil doers.

Also during the Fortress battle, Superman and General Zod participate in a game of hide and seek. They apparently were endowed with the powere to magically appear and disappear anywhere within the fortress. Or maybe it was a trick ice crystals within the fortress. But that was meaningless as well.

Richard Donner’s version had no such new powers for Superman. However, it also has ONE BIG FLAW!!!! The same thing that plagued the climax of Superman the Movie. I will not spoil for the uninitiated.

Personally, I prefer Donner’s version. Both are flawed, but Donner’s version also has a brilliant scene with Superman and his father Jor-El (Marlon Brando) at the Fortress. Both do include the diner scenes which are some of my favorite scenes from the movie.

Richard Lester’s version also lead to the ultimate demise of the Christopher Reeve starring movies. The final two films of the series took a horrendously comedic tone. Richard Pryor was added to the cast of Superman III as a comedic foil. Superman IV was just an awful mess which spelled the end of the Last Son of Krypton on the big screen for 20 years .