Posted by Team LaFours at gatekeeper2.bakernet.com on May 31, 2000 at 11:11:06:
In Reply to: Indie Films need to have celebraties? (long) posted by Pickle on May 31, 2000 at 08:47:35:
Creatively I think you're right - celebs bring a certain expectation of how they will act. They are expected to be how they normally are and it takes a pretty amazing movie to change the perception of an "established" actor (Like Willis in The Sixth Sense or 12 Monkeys, for example). It can also be a kiss of death for a movie if you don't overcome that. If the director can't pull that level performance out of a celeb actor, the critics will latch on to that like rabbid wolverines.
Financially, a "star" can help a movie get off the ground that otherwise might not get made. Look at Good Will Hunting - a complete unknown actor could have done a great job in the role of Sean, but having Robin Williams (and Gus Van Sant, to boot) gave the movie easy marketability.
There are massive exception to these two statements - mainly because there's people like John Pierson who give indie films the shot they deserve. But for the most part, I think celebs are always going to have a bipolar relationship with indie flicks.
Chris
"Ooo, Minitrucker Magazine!"