"The problem today, and I think it's a very dangerous one for the people concerned, is that there are quite large numbers of very young men and women - boys and girls to me - from 18 to 30, and they are playing very large parts in huge films and they simply, through no fault of their own, don't have the background and the experience and the knowledge to pull if off."And it's dangerous for them because if they are in one failure after another, sooner or later people are going to say, 'well, he may have a pretty face but he's not bringing the public in'.
"So many of these good-looking - sometimes even pretty - boys and girls are getting these good roles and it's not fair on them. At some point it's going to catch up."
I suppose some people might say who the hell is Christopher Lee to make comments about other people's acting abilities, but it tends to be extremely difficult to sustain as long as a career as he has without something to back it up. Oh, and he happens to be right on. I mean, think about the icons of Hollywood, from the Golden Age through till about the 80s (Pacino, Nicholson and Hoffman...sort of the anti-leading men); then stop and think about the biggest stars in Hollywood today. Who are the next icons going to be? And where will the stories come from? Think about that, and then read this story:
Asked about rumors that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck may be remaking "Butch Cassidy," Redford said he finds that "depressing."Having seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I can say that it is, indeed, a pretty close to perfect movie; not to say it's the greatest movie ever made, but it is a very good movie and I don't think anything could have been done to make it better. The script is excellent and the chemistry between Newman and Redford stands up next to anything. I do, however, have to disagree with Redford in that there is a shortage of good, original ideas in Hollywood. Perhaps it is more precise to say that there is a shortage of people willing to take large risks on good, original ideas, but the end result is the same: studios spend huge amounts of money to make films that are all either remakes or retellings of old stories. Really, there is no such thing as an original story; only new perspectives.
"There is no shortage of good, original ideas, and there's just no point to remakes. Why do they have to mess with things that were perfect the first time around?" he said with a groan.
Either way, the thought of Affleck and Damon remaking Butch Cassidy is just fucking wrong. I mean, the biggest question is why. Why? Are you so desperate to do a project together that you have to redo a movie that is less than 50 years old? Can you not dream up some other buddy movie for the two of you to do? Hell, call it Sundance Cassidy and the Butch Kid, who fucking cares, but at least write a new word, maybe even two! Come on, stretch those Oscar-winning talents, boys!
I find it amusing when Hollywood types blame bootleggers and pirates for declining movie attendance. And yeah, it probably has a mild effect. But you know what has an even bigger effect? Paying $12 to sit in a chair for 2 hours and 30 minutes of shit that's 90% digital effects that don't look real (and I don't care what special effect people say; yes, it's impressive what they can do, but you can usually tell when shit is digital), that has a crap-ass, hackneyed story and is probably based off an idea that some goon had 40 years ago.
And that is the industry that I can't get a break in. Sigh.
Oh, and Sundance Cassidy and the Butch Kid sounds pretty damn awesome to me. Like Brokeback Mountain 2. Boom! Sells itself, doesn't it?
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