comment #1

jeffmcm says ...

They're not talking about 'most artistically stimulating actor in the world', they're talking about 'reliably gets the most butts in seats in a variety of different movies'. Smith just powered Pursuit of Happyness to $300m worldwide - not bad for a movie about a loser trying to become a broker.

I won't even get into how cranky your Depp ranting sounds.

comment #2

Noah says ...

Depp doesn't need to atone for shit. He could've been a major movie star fifteen years ago if he wanted, but he decided to spend his prime "heart-throb" years doing films like Dead Man, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Donnie Brasco, Fear and Loathing, Benny and Joon, Before Night Falls, Blow, etc. Some of these films are more successful than others, but he's excellent in all of them (and he's excellent in Charlie and Pirates too). This should be a pre-emptive "atonement" that should suit your pseudo-snobbiness. Depp is a sellout for trying to make fun films and some dough, but Michael Mann doing Miami Vice and Michael Arndt doing Toy Story 3 are "pros" in your book? You have some strange vendettas, my friend, as well as a very short-term memory.

comment #3

D.Z. says ...

I stopped caring about Stiller after Mystery Men. Though I hear Zoolander is actually good...

comment #4

Dan Revill says ...

Did Depp hit one of your children?

Sure POTC and C&TCF aren't high art, but they're still pretty fun. If Sweeney Todd is actually great and you go after Depp just because you haven't admired his last few family films, then you're being way too trite and pathetic. The man deserves to be one of the top 3 earners in Hollywood. The list of films that Noah compiled is enough to earn any actor a pass in my books.

comment #5

lesterg says ...

Tom Hanks has made 11 films in the past decade. 9 reached a minimum of 100 million.

His only release in 2006 made 217 million domestic, despite being one of the worst of his career.

Is there a director/studio out there who would NOT cast Hanks in a lead role if he was interested?

comment #6

jeffmcm says ...

Hanks is still up there, he just isn't as versatile as Smith at this point. Hanks can do comedy and drama and the occasional crappy thriller, but Smith can do those three plus big-budget action.

comment #7

lesterg says ...

Agreed that Smith is absolutely the most consistent and versatile guy out there. I'm just taking issue with Newsweek's statement that Hanks is over.

With the exception of action films (and hell, there's always the villain role) you'd be hard-pressed to find a studio that wouldn't cast him in a heartbeat.

That might change early in the next decade, but it's the current reality.

comment #8

Craig Kennedy says ...

Right on, Noah. Depp need not apologize to anyone and I'm saying this as a guy who hates Pirates as much as anyone. And Charlie wasn't bad at all.

Will Smith must deserve some credit for the success of so many relentlessy crappy movies, but that's not an award that really needs handing out, is it?

Based purely on perception, I would draw a line between Hanks and Smith. Hanks seems like a genuinely nice guy (maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but it seems real enough) who has a knack for being believeably likeable in mainstream entertainments. Smith's persona seems like aggressively manufactured likeability calculated to appeal to all races, sexes and age groups. He might be genuine but it comes off a little phony. Hanks could be a complete fake, but he convinces me.

But back to Depp. The guy seems like a genuine artist who made a couple of movies for his kids that inexplicably made 94 quadrillion dollars. There's nothing to atone for there.

comment #9

J. Huff says ...

What's gotten into Wells lately? It seems like he's angry at the world. Mid-life crisis? I'm just not all that interested in his hate for various people in the biz. It seems to be liked by Wells, you either have to make a piece of art every film out or be a die-hard leftist Democrat...either one will get you a pass.

comment #10

cust71 says ...

Sorry, Jeff, I gotta call bullshit on this one. Like Noah had mentioned earlier, he did his work under the radar for quite a while before doing the POTC and Charlie films. I mean, the guy got an Oscar nod (for what its worth) for a f***ing pirate movie! I don't see how he has to atone for anything here.

comment #11

Adonis says ...

When has Tom Hanks done action? When has that been his MO.

Saving Private Ryan's a War Drama. Why would Hanks be less box office effective then 8 years ago, when he was churning out Romantic Comedies left and right?

comment #12

jeffmcm says ...

"When has Tom Hanks done action? When has that been his MO."

That's the point. He never has, although I think there was some gunplay in Turner and Hooch.

comment #13

jakuta says ...

Didn't the Departed (among other recent films) demonstrate that Leo and Matt Damon are next?

comment #14

cobhome says ...

ditto - does Newsweek think Decaprio - Damon and yeah - Pitt - Clooney - are not players?? Or that Will Smith beats them to the roles?? Interesting

comment #15

Undercover Brother says ...

I must agree with the cantankerous Wells on this one. Will Smith is and always will be nothing more than a bland actor who can smile really well. His entire career is one high calorie crap film after another, and he seems ridiculously proud of his consistent mediocrity. Was he even an actor to begin with? As far as I can tell he's been recycling that same old smug, one dimensional, one liner attitutide of his since the Fresh Prince days. You can point to a few things here and there where he pretends he's an actor and wants some respect, but it's always a put on. Smith's main purpose is to strike a dramatic pose in large scale movies and sell products. Suits, cars, sunglasses, homelessness, whatever the producers want to hock, he'll hold it up, put it on or drive it around and look dashing while he does it. If anyone really thinks "Happyness" was some kind legitimate attempt at drama, your delusional. He'll be back to selling you some overpriced sports car or a pair of shades next summer.

comment #16

LFF says ...

Seriously- ease up on Depp, he leaned on Disney to put up the money for a 1000 screen release of "The Libertine" last year. He got such a wealth of goodwill built up from years of good performances in indies that no one should begrudge him his paycheck movies. (which are interesting enough themselves: drunken pirate? Michael Jackson? cmon man!)

comment #17

Rod32303 says ...

Bunch of bitches. Stop fuckin' HATING. You want to see Smith in a committed performance? Watch "Enemy of the State" or even earlier, "Where the Day Takes You," where he's in a wheelchair and smiles maybe three times. Depp's career arch is even stronger and Stiller is Stiller...and raking in the dough. What the fuck? So when McQueen and Newman and Redford and Poitier, all amazing actors, were also box office champs for consecutive years, I'm sure there was a Jeff Wells and an Undercover Brother hating on them. I hope the masses continue to eat these fuckers up. Go to work or go do SOMETHING, jesus!

comment #18

Rod32303 says ...

...and, since I'M on a rant...watch "Ali" again. Not a total success, but the man was IN the film - working hard. Reynolds used to get asses in the seats too, for decades, and made a lot of crap. So the fuck what. People like who and what they like.

comment #19

rocco says ...

Jeff, why do you consistently exclude yourself from the group you refer to as "the schmos"? By all recent accounts, you are one giant prick...err, schmuck...more and more you seem like an angry pre-Seinfeld-success Larry David...the type of guy who puts his head down while walking uptown and just bulldozes through the crowd, perhaps even lowering your shoulder from time to time...

...maybe that's a bit harsh, but why so curmudgeonly lately?

Anyway...Stiller peaked--or reached his expiration date--in 'Starsky...'. He's strictly a big looping, sponsored-by-the-local-muffler-shop "softballer" it now seems...and Mel hasn't been a leading man for quiiiite some time...

...it is interesting that all of the act./adv. box-office draws of the past twenty years...Willis, Cruise, Ford, Schwarzenegger, Seagal, et al have all lost their luster or disappeared from the scene...I don't see Damon carrying the torch--too particular, and not necessarily in a bad way, and too many people dislike him. Pitt? Leo? I'm not sure anyone will be watching many of their movies 50 years from now...(BTW> that Seagal mention is a joke).

Ed Burns, anyone? He had some "next" heat on him for a while. Geez, what happened to that guy? Or was it just that he was nothing more than a good-looking cameraman from LI with a raspy voice who had two decent films in him?

And then there's Eddie Murphy...if we're speaking strictly box-office...never mind...

comment #20

christian says ...

"as recently as Starsky and Hutch he was crackling like a sparkler."

uh, no. that movie was like a broken septic hose.

stiller stopped being interesting around ZOOLANDER...

comment #21

Dublin101 says ...

I assume that Tom Hanks is considered difficult to cast because of his age and weight. The other actors are all fit and pretty (well, maybe not Stiller).

At the risk of sounding like a p.c. pussy I like the fact that an African American actor is king of the Hollywood bear pit. The Smith performance I recently enjoyed was Hitch. Sure the film was shallow and it crossed over into annoying puerile American Pie style slapstick but Smith brought an appealing charm to the part. He might lack substance but his charisma carries the day. He needs to lay off the dodgy sci-fi and find better rom-coms. And he does face the handicap of being a black leading man.

Remember the gossip about Eva Mendez casting in Hitch? The studio was terrified to cast a white women opposite Smith because they didn't want to alienate racists. But they didn't want to cast a black actress because they feared that two black leads would limit the box office. So hey, they decided to cast a Hispanic actress as a compromise. Fucking Hollywood.

On a similar topic is Reese Witherspoon the most bankable leading Actress? Nicole Kidman’s B.O. is very inconstant with plenty of box office turkeys. And Julia Roberts has dropped out the game to raise her kids. Does that leave anyone elese?

comment #22

jeffmcm says ...

Tom Hanks's weight? He didn't look very beefy in The Da Vinci Code.

comment #23

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Gotta say, I'm in the Wells camp here with respect to Depp. I still consider his nomination for the first Pirates film to be the biggest travesty in the history of the Academy. What a terrible movie! I didn't go see the sequel and I won't go see the third one either, and frankly the series' popularity blows my mind. Yes Johnny Depp used to be a phenomenal actor, back in the days of Edward Scissorhands, but now he's just a walking self-parody. Look at his filmography since the first Pirates. Secret Window was embarassing. The Libertine sucked. Finding Neverland was overrated and undeserving of all the Oscar talk. Charlie was a mere shadow of the original. And The Corpse Bride was completely forgettable. Lest I remind you of From Hell, Sleepy Hollow, The Astronaut's Wife and The Ninth Gate. I'll tell you what Johnny Depp needs to do. Revisit Nick of Time territory and star in a movie like Training Day or American Gangster. He used to choose challenging material, and now he just acts like a sexually ambiguous pirate in front of a green screen, raising his eyebrows to wink at the audience as if to say, look at me, I'm Johnny Depp and I'm a loopy swashbuckler. I mean seriously, throw in a couple hotties and enough CGI and audiences will see anything Hollywood sells them. I can understand the appeal of Spider-Man, which has a built-in fan base, so it's no surprise when that breaks box-office records, but I have no idea how the hell the Pirates sequel made the money it did. Besides the obvious little kid demographic, who is paying to see that movie and why? The only reason I might ever consider watching the Pirates sequel on DVD is because of Naomi Harris, who is probably the most gorgeous actress I've ever had the pleasure of interviewing, and that's a list that includes Hayek, Alba, Simpson, Kidman, etc.

Johnny, stop with these holiday blockbusters and return to your indie roots! Remember Platoon? Your agent should be begging Tarantino for a part in Inglorious Bastards, and if he's not, fire him and give me the keys to your career. I don't think you got into this business to become an A-list movie star, I think you set out to become an actor's actor, and judging by Pirates and Charlie, you have officially lost your way. Your career doesn't need resuscitation, it needs a makeover, and preferrably one that doesn't crib from the Keith Richards playbook.

As for Will Smith, the guy is inherently likable. Seriously, what's not to like? He's a wholesome dude, he makes smart career choices, and if you've seen Pursuit of Happyness, it's clear the man can act. Maybe he doesn't often get the chance to show off his talents when he's kicking alien or robot ass, but when he does take a dramatic role he goes the distance. I'd see just about anything he's in, unless it's a pirate movie.

And as for Hanks, he has reached the point in his career where he can simply do no wrong. I thought DaVinci Code was pretty bad, and I think we can all agree that Angels and Demons should recast the role, but I was watching Forrest Gump last night and Tom Hanks is that character. He's still one of cinema's greatest treasures, and he's still remarkably versatile. Again, he just needs to get back on track, because The Terminal and The Ladykillers were not the right vehicles for his considerable star power. Having read the script for Charlie Wilson's War, I don't even think that one's going to be as hot as most people seem to think, but The Great Buck Howard sounds pretty cool, as does the Mark Romanek project he's attached to.

As big as those three guys are, they should watch their backs for rising stars such as
Ryan Gosling, Emile Hirsch, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shia LeBeouf. They aren't box-office draws yet, but mark my words, those four are bound to be around 10 years from now, when Depp is considering starring in Charlie and the Black Pearl: The Demon Pirate of Shantaram.

comment #24

jeffmcm says ...

None of those four guys (Gosling, Hirsch, Gordon-Levitt, LaBoeuf) are ever going to be Tom Hanks/Will Smith level movie stars. Maybe Gosling could be if he wanted to, but he doesn't - he wants to stay indie and will probably only do higher-profile movies like Fracture if it means he gets to work with better directors or actors. The other three guys still look like teenagers so that'll limit their appeal as well.

And I think it's absolutely crazy to say "Depp needs to revisit Nick of Time territory." Did that movie even exist?

comment #25

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Say what you will about Nick of Time, but I think it's a pretty solid little B-movie. You get Chris Walken acting like a psycho, a one-legged Charles S. Dutton and a stone-cold Roma Maffia. Plus Nick of Time really sorta served as the catalyst for real-time shows like 24. So actually JeffMCM, it did exist. And I wasn't saying that those 4 guys would be gigantic mega movie stars like Hanks or Smith, but I do think that one of them is more likely to win an Oscar in the next ten years than Johnny Depp, and frankly, I think it's pretty embarassing that a guy with Depp's resume, which includes Scissorhands, Donnie Brasco, and Ed Wood, has two Oscar noms for a friggin populist pirate movie and the emotionally manipulative Neverland. In effect, the Academy is saying those are his two most award-worthy performances, which is positively laughable. All I'm saying is that the guy used to take bold creative risks and do arthouse movies that appeal to intellectuals, such as Dead Man, and now he just grins like an idiot in a CGI extravaganza, sells millions of tickets and becomes one of the world's biggest box office draws. It doesn't make any sense, but that's the wicked nature of the biz, isn't it?

comment #26

Craig Kennedy says ...

MiraJeff. No one is arguing the merits of Pirates but to blame Depp for it is absurd considering the fact his characterization (against the will of the producers) was the only thing that kept me from wanting to off myself half way through it. And is it his fault he was nominated for it?

Perhaps his recent track record has been spotty, but even if he never made another good film he'd have been the star of more good ones than a lot of actors. And what if Gilliam's Quixote film hadn't been sunk?

Either way, he's not the great satan Wells seems to want to make him out to be.

comment #27

jeffmcm says ...

He's earned it.

And earlier you weren't talking about Hirsch/Gordon-Levitt etc. earning Oscars - you were talking about them becoming big stars.

comment #28

Noah says ...

MiraJeff,

When Depp did Ninth Gate he was working with Roman Polanski, a master.

When he did From Hell, he was working with the Hughes Brothers, talented young filmmakers.

When he did Sleepy Hollow, he was working with Tim Burton who while I might not always enjoy his films, at least he has a vision.

These are all risky films. Ninth Gate wasn't some big-budget studio film. It was a fucking Polanski film and I don't know any respected actor who would turn down working with him. Depp obviously hasn't made all gems, but he works with filmmakers who have visions and he has never given a bad performance. You don't like Finding Neverland? Fine, but at least he was working with Marc Forster and Kate Winslet and he had a perfect accent and gave a truly great performance.

You seem to want him to become a big star in the mold of Russell Crowe by being in Training Day or American Gangster. I don't see that as something he much desires, to be an action hero. His character in Pirates isn't even a hero. I don't know dude, you don't like his last few movies then fine. But you know he's capable of being great, so maybe don't write him off just yet simply because he's had success in the last three years. He's had years of risk-taking performances in underseen films previously.

comment #29

MiraJeffAICN says ...

I said rising stars, as in, on their way to being big stars. Witness Hirsch getting cast as Speed Racer, and also in Sean Penn's Into the Wild. Witness The Believer and Half Nelson, which features a performance as powerful as anything Depp's ever done. Witness Mysterious Skin, Brick, and yes, even The Lookout. Witness A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Shia's casting in Transformers and Indiana Jones. The point wasn't even that these guys will be huge international box-office draws, it was that in 10 years, they will still be around, which is more than I can say for most Hollywood flavors of the month such as Depp's two Pirates co-stars.

comment #30

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Noah, you're right. I just feel like he's been playing it safe since Pirates. And you're right, I don't see him as an action hero either, but he could definitely do a cool crime film or a thriller that's not half as bad as Secret Window. And of course, what actor in their right mind wouldn't wanna work with Polanski, but that doesn't mean you a shitty Satan movie is a good idea. And cjKennedy, you're also right, it's not Depp's fault that he got nominated, and I can't blame him for starring in a big-budget blockbuster based on a Disney theme park ride, and I can't blame him for me not being interested in general, in a pirate film, but what I can blame him for is that he's gotten away from his identity that we all fell in love with. Before, he wasn't interested in being a movie star per se, but it seems to me that he's sold out a little bit. Sure he paid his indie dues early on, but even Keanu Reeves finds time to make Thumbsucker. You can argue The Libertine but that movie isn't worth sticking up for. I also don't think Wells was making him out to be Satan, just that he isn't creatively interesting anymore. People hailed his Pirates performance as iconic work, but to me it felt like a caricature, not a character. Check out your local wax museum. Iconic characters throughout and then Jack Sparrow and Orlando Bloom, and why? Because it made a ton of money, not because it's any good.

comment #31

Noah says ...

I agree with you on that point, MiraJeff. But I don't think he should be looked at as a lesser actor simply because some silly folks made his Jack Sparrow character an icon. I think Depp is going to get back to his roots soon enough. I also agree with you that Gosling could be a fucking star, that dude is a brilliant actor. But even he's doing Fracture, that dumb looking Anthony Hopkins movie. I can't blame him for doing it, I mean it's Anthony Hopkins, but it looks pretty bad. And Emile Hirsch was in Lords of Dogtown and he was good in it, but the movie sucked. Nobody is above reproach, everybody makes bad choices. Depp's last few choices have just been more publicized because they've been successful.

comment #32

Craig Kennedy says ...

I absolutely agree I'd like to see less Pirates and more Ed Wood from Mr. Depp.

comment #33

Hopscotch says ...

To my understanding, Hanks doesn't do action movies because he is not a fan of guns. Though SPR, Hooch and Road to Perdition are exceptions.

Hanks is definitely beginning to show his age, for him to do less "movie star" stuff in his future seems wise on his part, you don't want to turn into a joke (Harrison Ford). I've read the script of "Charlie Wilson's War" and there's a seduction scene between Hanks and Emily Blunt (yes, THAT Emily Blunt) followed by a sex scene with him and Julia Roberts. And I can't wait to see how that goes over. But if he agrees to do Angels & Demons, I might lose all respect for the man.

What's fascinating about Will's recent movies is this: They all Suck! But, they all make huge bank! Why? because we like Will Smith. Sharktale, I, Robot, Hitch, Bad Boys II. Terrible, Terrible films. But the people wanted to see Will, and they're hits. Can't comment on Pursuit of Happyness, I ain't seen it.

comment #34

MiraJeffAICN says ...

I've seen Fracture. Consider me mixed. Will review it on AICN sometime next week, hopefully. Also, all you H-E readers check out my exclusive interview with Tarantino and Rodriguez which should be up tomorrow if I can finish the damn transcription. Quentin sure does talk fast...

comment #35

Noah says ...

MiraJeff, is Fracture more like Instinct or more like Hannibal?

comment #36

jeffmcm says ...

I actually think that Hitch is a pretty good movie, for what it is.

comment #37

frankbooth says ...

I wouldn't write Cruise off just because he's been acting weirder than usual lately. He always seems to bounce back somehow. I've never liked him -- he comes across shallow, cocky and smug in nearly everything I've ever seen him in -- but I wouldn't put money on him vanishing anytime soon. Give him the right role and we're stuck watching him smirk for another twenty years.

He's like Madonna that way. Who expected her to last past 1985?