Whatever happened to...?

[ad hoc]

Romanian TV has so far offered up this Christmas (among other similar piles of shite) The Santa Clause 2 and Galaxy Quest (actually Galaxy Quest is only half shit), which led me to ponder...What the hell happened to Tim Allen? Starred in some rubbish sitcom on US TV, suddenly found himself starring in rubbish (and half rubbish) Hollywood films, and then... vanished entirely. Did he actually turn into Father Christmas?

Other sitcom stars who were turned into Hollywood leading lights only to disappear without trace include Helen Hunt.

[erwin]

Whatever happened to...?

I thought Galaxy Quest was very good, me.

[Guest]

Whatever happened to...?

Helen Hunt was killed in Team America.

[Disco Child Ballads]

Whatever happened to...?

What happened to Helen Hunt is that she turned 40. Hollywood being the blatantly sexist industry that it is, doen't have much interest in actresses once they get a bit old.

[RobM]

Whatever happened to...?

Dammit, thought I'd finally found a Likely Lads thread.

I quite liked Helen Hunt - As Good as it Gets was a fine film as these things go.

[G-Man]

Whatever happened to...?

Helen Hunt will make a comeback once she's old enough to play the family matriarch, at which point she'll be regarded a national treasure.

[David Agnew]

Whatever happened to...?

Or when she gets bored of directing/producing.

Tim Allen was in one of the big films of 2010, as he's the voice of Buzz Lightyear.

[evilC]

Whatever happened to...?

[Bored Of Education]

Whatever happened to...?

Yes, apart from the Wild Hogs film that he did with other oldies like Travolta etc, Tim Allen has bounced between Toy Story and Santa Clause for the last decade. Not bad work if you can get it

Helen Hunt is missing inaction. Cut from "One Night At McCool's" says it all

[Reed John]

Whatever happened to...?

Tim Allen was in Mamet's excellent Red Belt. Small part as a past-his-prime action star.

His sitcom, Home Improvement, whatever its merits, was a massive hit and lasted many years and survived into syndication. Allen was the star and one of the producers, so he can just retire to his own private island if he'd like.

Helen Hunt probably did very well with Mad About You royalties.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Whatever happened to...?

ad hoc wrote:

Romanian TV has so far offered up this Christmas (among other similar piles of shite) The Santa Clause 2 and Galaxy Quest (actually Galaxy Quest is only half shit), which led me to ponder...What the hell happened to Tim Allen? Starred in some rubbish sitcom on US TV, suddenly found himself starring in rubbish (and half rubbish) Hollywood films, and then... vanished entirely. Did he actually turn into Father Christmas?

Other sitcom stars who were turned into Hollywood leading lights only to disappear without trace include Helen Hunt.

Thank God! Both of them.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Whatever happened to...?

Disco Sea Shanties wrote:

What happened to Helen Hunt is that she turned 40. Hollywood being the blatantly sexist industry that it is, doen't have much interest in actresses once they get a bit old.

That's such a myth.

This is the list of the highest paid actresses 2010. Half of them are under 40.

1. Sandra Bullock
2. Rese Witherspoon
3. Cameron Diaz
4. Jennifer Aniston
5. Sarah Jessica Parker
6. Julia Roberts
7. Angelina Jolie
8. Drew Barrymore
9. Meryl Streep
10. Kristen Stewart (those bullshit twilight films)

If we look at the past ten years of Oscars, acress in leading role, are you trying to say that the only reason Julia Roberts won in 2000 was because she was young and sexy, not because the part fitted her perfectly and she pulled it off, could have today as well?
Judi Dench was nominated twice because of her being young?
Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman or Diane Keaton can't pick up the phone and have a brilliant scrip written for them?

Or looking at last years Oscar nominated:
Sandra Bullock
Helen Mirren
Carey Mulligan

Gabourey Sidibe

(no intention to mock her built)
Meryl Streep

Any of those were cast because they were young and sexy, not because they were brilliant for the part?

Hollywood provides what the market demands. If people would stop watching utter shite like Scream, American Pie, Buffy the Vampire Crackwhore or another bloody film about a sexy, young vampire clique, we'd see more scripts made into films with actresses of quality, rather than another Jessica Alba half-flashing her tits.

It's not Hollywoods fault that the most people who go to the movie theater are morons.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Whatever happened to...?

Now, if you want to do a what-happened-to, but quality acts...

[ad hoc]

Whatever happened to...?

Hadn't realised that Tim Allen was in Toy Story. Not sure if I've ever seen any of the Toy Story films in English

[ian.64]

Whatever happened to...?

Tom Berenger used to be a hot property at one time, didn't he? I was surprised to see his slightly podgy presence in Inception - good though he was.

[trimster]

Whatever happened to...?

Disco Sea Shanties wrote:

What happened to Helen Hunt is that she turned 40. Hollywood being the blatantly sexist industry that it is, doen't have much interest in actresses once they get a bit old.

I think that is myth, too. The likes of Nicole Kidman (43), Naomi Watts (42), Kate Blanchett (41) and Uma Thurman (40) seem to be getting as much work as they ever did when they were younger.

Maybe 50 is the new 40?

[ian.64]

Whatever happened to...?

I've always though Hollywood's attitude to older women actors was a bloody joke anyhow, as it wasn't very long ago where Sean Connery OAP could still be cast as some sort of romantic lead with women half his age. There'd be cries of disgust had it been an old woman giving a strapping young male lead the come-on.

Just to digress, I often feel wistful everytime I see an old sitcom and come across all those actors and actresses of yesteryear who were ubiquitous and popular around that time (Allen Cuthbertson, anyone?). I sometimes wonder to myself what happened to them and come up with three options:

(1) Snugly retired in Spain or some other sunny continental locale.

(2) Dribbling and dessicated as they're fed mushed food in a nursing home.

(3) Dead.

It's usually (3).

[trimster]

Whatever happened to...?

Allan Cuthbertson...? Wasn't he the Scottish actor who looked a bit like Alan Gilzean?

[ian.64]

Whatever happened to...?

Let's see.



Alan Gilzean



Allan Cuthbertson

[trimster]

Whatever happened to...?

Ah... I think I was actually thinking of Ian Cuthbertson, who was Scottish and kind of working class looking. That guy in the picture was actually born in Australia and usually played stuffy officer types (and looked nothing like Alan Gilzean!)

[Reed John]

Whatever happened to...?

I'm afraid that PPV is sort of right on this, but not entirely.

There are some good roles for older (or larger) women as he lists, but the Oscar nominees and others that aspire in that direction are a very small part of all the paid acting gigs available and there aren't usually very many women in each of those films.

Whereas, young pretty girls who can't act very well have a lot more options - crap TV, horror films, theme park shows, quasi-porn, actual porn, modeling, etc.

From the perspective of overwhelming majority of SAG card-holding older actresses who aren't on the proverbial "A List" - Meryl Streep, Glen Close, Julia Roberts, etc. and actually have to audition for stuff, it must be especially discouraging. Even more than life as an actor usually is.

Ian is right that older women with younger guys is a novelty if not totally unheard of in film, wheras the opposite is not true. But that reflects reality, to some extent. Throughout history, older men with younger women have been far more common than the other way around. It's part biology, part sexist oppression. Of course, I realize that reality is also taking it's cues from Hollywood to some extent.

And even beyond that, Sean Connery is kind of an outlier in this regard. I too found it hard to accept him as an action hero screwing 20-year-olds, but my female friends assured me that he's still hot. I don't get it.

[erwin]

Whatever happened to...?

ian.64 wrote:

There'd be cries of disgust had it been an old woman giving a strapping young male lead the come-on.

Sylvia Miles on Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy - yes, disgusting.

Anne Bancroft on Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate - v. sexy.

Maude on Harold - tender.

More recent ones?

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

Whatever happened to...?

erwin wrote:

ian.64 wrote:

There'd be cries of disgust had it been an old woman giving a strapping young male lead the come-on.

Sylvia Miles on Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy - yes, disgusting.

Anne Bancroft on Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate - v. sexy.

Maude on Harold - tender.

More recent ones?

I guess this one won't count, because it's not an old woman (I don't know how old Kate Winslet's character is supposed to be), but one of the best films I've seen the past decade comes to mind, The Reader.

Then there’s Y tu mama tambien

I’m sure Jessica Rabbit is much older than Roger.

There hasn't been a revolution as far as roles for women 40+ goes, but things have changed quite a deal.
Twenty years ago, a show (and the films) like Sex and the City would have ended up being about four women in their 20's, played by four women none older than 32.

[willie1foot]

Whatever happened to...?

ian.64 wrote:

There'd be cries of disgust had it been an old woman giving a strapping young male lead the come-on.

I must admit to cries of disgust when I watched Entertaining Mr Sloane in my youth.