Fly balls

In the agent community a job that your client lucks into is called "a fly ball" -- all you have to do is look up and spot it and put your glove out. Ralph Fiennes caught one when Steven Spielberg happened to see him as Heathcliff in a British TV version of Wuthering Heights and said, "I want that guy to play the evil Nazi in Schindler's List." Wolfgang Petersen's career was on a low flame when Clint Eastwood decided out of the fucking blue, "I want the guy who directed Das Boot to direct me in In The Line of Fire." The agents repping Italian director Gabriele Muccino (the original The Last Kiss, called L'Ultimo bacio) had tried and failed to to get him a directing gig for two or three years and nothing, and then Will Smith happened to see L'Ultimo bacio and said, "I want that guy to direct The Pursuit of Happyness." Serendipity, luck...God's grace.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 15, 2006 at 3:18 PM

comment #1

travis b Author Profile Page says ...

the same can be said in any business. anyone who is successful has to attribute some of that to blind good luck.

Posted by travis b Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 3:38 PM

comment #2

anti-sardine Author Profile Page says ...

If that's the case then Keanu Reeves' agent must have caught more "fly balls" in his career than Barry Bonds.

Posted by anti-sardine Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 3:39 PM

comment #3

Daniel Fienberg Author Profile Page says ...

Is that really "serendipity" or "luck"? Muccino directs a highly acclaimed Italian films, one of the country's biggest hits in years, but Hollywood doesn't care. Will Smith sees his film, loves it and gets him hired. Wouldn't serendipity or luck be if Will Smith's kid spilled ice cream on a stranger's lap and that stranger turned out to be the director of a sentimental, yet manly Italian film looking for work in the states? Similarly, somebody seeing Ralph Fiennes in a major BBC literary adaptation isn't quite on the level of the mythical starlet being "discovered" sitting at the drug store counter. It's far more logical for Muccino or Fiennes to have miraculously found jobs doing what they do than for, say, Paris Hilton to find herself with an acting career... Now that's *dumb* luck.

-Daniel

Posted by Daniel Fienberg Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:11 PM

comment #4

NYCritic Author Profile Page says ...

Mr. Wells, I believe Mr. Spielberg saw Ralph Fiennes in the title role of A DANGEROUS MAN: LAWRENCE AFTER ARABIA and that performance convinced him to hire the British actor to portray Amon Goethe.

Posted by NYCritic Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:14 PM

comment #5

Patrick Author Profile Page says ...

'Wuthering Heights' was a feature film,
'A Dangerous Man : Lawrence After Arabia' was
made for British television. Both influenced
Spielberg in casting Fiennes.

Posted by Patrick Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:33 PM

comment #6

JWEgo Author Profile Page says ...

You either luck into it
or you don't

Posted by JWEgo Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:46 PM

comment #7

p.Vice Author Profile Page says ...

Does this finally confirm Will Smith's utter lack of taste and intelligence?

Posted by p.Vice Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:49 PM

comment #8

Hopscotch Author Profile Page says ...

I don't think Ralph has ever topped that performance. It might (I emphasize might) be the best performance given in a Spielberg-directed movie. Hanks in SPR, and Robert Shaw in Jaws are up there too.

Posted by Hopscotch Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:52 PM

comment #9

slothroplt Author Profile Page says ...

You either luck into it
or you don't

..........

Your dick must be raw what with all the constant jerking off.

Posted by slothroplt Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 4:54 PM

comment #10

slothroplt Author Profile Page says ...

Best performance in a Spielberg film: Christian Bale, Empire of the Sun. Hanks and Shaw are my 2 and 3. Bonus award for comedy goes to Sean Connery in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Posted by slothroplt Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 5:02 PM

comment #11

nola Author Profile Page says ...

I can't speak to Will's taste but I liked L'utimo Bacio.

Posted by nola Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 5:11 PM

comment #12

Hopscotch Author Profile Page says ...

Bale is certainly up there. And Michael Lonsdale in "Munich".

Posted by Hopscotch Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 5:39 PM

comment #13

Dan Revill Author Profile Page says ...

My 5, no make that 6, favourite performances in Spielberg films:

Christian Bale - Empire of the Sun
Christopher Walken - Catch Me If You Can
Ralph Fiennes - Schindler's List
Tom Hanks - Saving Private Ryan
Robert Shaw - Jaws
Richard Dreyfuss - Close Encounters of the Third Kind

(and yeah, Connery was pretty rad in The Last Crusade)

Posted by Dan Revill Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 6:16 PM

comment #14

CambridgeCat Author Profile Page says ...

What, no love for SUGARLAND EXPRESS?

Posted by CambridgeCat Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 7:03 PM

comment #15

bmcintire Author Profile Page says ...

They are only considered "fly balls" because the agents don't have to do any work. It has not a fucking thing to do with luck. You land a role (through whatever means), do a great job and someone of influence sees it, likes you and hires you from it. Architects and plastic surgeons land gigs much the same way. It only proves that agents are bitter assholes.

Posted by bmcintire Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 7:09 PM

comment #16

christian Author Profile Page says ...

i'm with christian bale. he deserved a nom. remarkable.

shaw next, fiennes fer sure, haley joel osment (yes), ford in raiders, truck in duel, et...

i love sugarland but the acting is part of the tone...

Posted by christian Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 7:12 PM

comment #17

Arrow77 Author Profile Page says ...

Ralph Fiennes has been constantly great so saying "luck" helped him get his first great is a bit silly. Every great career needs a beginning...

Posted by Arrow77 Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 7:21 PM

comment #18

Joe Leydon Author Profile Page says ...

Actually, Ralph Fiennes has always described himself as "lucky" for landing so many great parts. But as Eric Bogosian says in "Under Siege II" (hey, take your wisdom where you find it): "Chance favors a prepared mind."

Posted by Joe Leydon Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 7:48 PM

comment #19

nemo Author Profile Page says ...

Edward Norton has been pretty consistently terrific, but he attributed getting his start to the luck of being cast in an attention-getting role in "Primal Fear". He was great in it, but he was a total unknown, and he said that any of dozens or even hundreds of other very good unknowns could have been cast in the role. He probably (maybe) would have established himself without that role, but it would have been a much longer, slower, harder climb.

I remember reading a joint interview with Michael Caine and Richard Gere about 20 years ago when they were promoting a now long-forgotten adaptation of a Graham Greene novel. They got on the subject of what goes into having a successful career. They both agreed that when they were starting out in their early 20s they both knew actors the same age who they considered much more talented, but who were out of the business within a few years. They both thought talent was valuable, but that luck and persistence were more important factors for success than talent.

A person could find that view depressing, but also liberating.

Posted by nemo Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 8:46 PM

comment #20

Larry Author Profile Page says ...

Bale sucks so bad in Empire that I can't even stand to watch him as an adult.

Posted by Larry Author Profile Page at November 15, 2006 10:20 PM

comment #21

MAGGA Author Profile Page says ...

Bale, Osment and Henry Thomas are my three favourite performances in Spielberg films, but every actor in Schindlers List is also close to perfect. And this year feels so empty without a Spielberg film

Posted by MAGGA Author Profile Page at November 16, 2006 5:00 AM

comment #22

T. S. Idiot Author Profile Page says ...

Although I find S's List a bit overrated, Neeson is magnificent, perfectly capturing the character's mixed emotions and motivations.

Posted by T. S. Idiot Author Profile Page at November 16, 2006 8:48 AM

comment #23

The Movie Man Author Profile Page says ...

Christian Bale gave the strongest child performance in a Spielberg film and that is saying something given Spielberg's gift for casting and directing children over the years. As for the greatest performance in a Spielberg movie? (Which I think is cool mini-thread.) I'd give it a three way tie to the principles in Jaws, which for my money is still the pop master's best film. An Honorable mention would be Neeson's towering movie star performance in Schindler's List, I think the movie has Spielberg's typical third act problems but Neeson holds it together beautifully. Hanks's Oscar showboating over the performance would constitute another in an endless series of Academy blunders.

Posted by The Movie Man Author Profile Page at November 16, 2006 11:12 AM

comment #24

NYCBusybody Author Profile Page says ...

I can't let a thread like this pass without stating, unequivocably, that I consider Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler to be one of the greatest of all performances, period, and certainly of those in Spielberg films.

Posted by NYCBusybody Author Profile Page at November 16, 2006 11:38 AM

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