Who are the performers whose real-life persona interferes with your ability to enjoy their work? Reasons of course may vary: Maybe you saw an interview in which the person(s) made racist comments or was(were) simply an ass, or maybe they have politics that are in radical opposition to your own, or maybe you have “insider info” on some of their backstage behaviour.
Example: I can not watch any Jean Claude Van Damme movie without thinking “You egotisical a**hole!” every time his face is on the screen. I find him totally unbelievable as a sympathetic character of any kind, especially if he tries to play the “nice guy”. I can not enjoy his movies as a result. (Not that they are particularly well-crafted oeuvres from the start.)
I’ve seen him be a blatantly egotistical twit in many interviews and I’ve had friends who’ve had to work with him.
It is customary at the end of a shoot, to have a “wrap party” and typically the higher-ups give the crew small gifts as tokens of appreciation – a materialistic way of saying “good job.” Depending on where you stand on the food chain, the quality of your gift may vary. Crew members will often get baseball caps, jackets, maybe a nice (but not overly expensive) watch. JCVD crew gift? He gave the crew autographed pictures of himself.
I must admit, some of the philosophies and/or bigotries expressed by Vanessa Redgrave, Mel Gibson, Lina Basquette, Jane Fonda and a few others do make my brain-pan hurt a bit when I watch them onscreen. Oh, and Emil Jannings, who actually moved back to Germany in the early '30s and joined the Nazi party? Feh! to him.
Alec Baldwin is an extremely talented actor; look at Miami Blues, for example, or note that the people who work on SNL consider him one of their all-time great hosts. Sadly, he’s also a loudmouth putz who obnoxiously and grating expresses his liberal views, thoroughly embarrassing those of us who would otherwise claim him for our side. He’s the Ann Coulter of liberalism.
I met a lot of the newsanchors and talking heads at the 2000 Dem convention in L.A. Suffice to say that Larry King is a real class act and a sweet guy who went to a lot of trouble to make time for his fans (one after the other). And I have to give Robert Novak credit. As unpopular as he was with the crowd, he was down on the floor talking to people and doing his job.
Is he still here? I thought he was going to leave the country if Bush won. Should we go help him pack?
Loudmouth putz, indeed. That’s putting it mildly. Oh, that’s right, we’re not in the Pit.
I’m consistent in my inconsistencies. I’d agree about Cruise and Travolta, except I loved “The Color of Money” and would see “Mission Impossible” on DVD, and would go see “Pulp Fiction” (but not “Battlefield Earth” unless I was with good friends and some good drugs :D).
Larry King and Baba Wawa make my teeth itch, but that’s because they’re terrible butt-sucking interviewers. Then there’s Greta von Sustern, who pats herself on the back for coming out about her plastic surgery (but didn’t come out all the way, apparently, she’s had more than she’ll admit).
David Letterman’s pretty abrasive off-screen, but that wouldn’t stop me from enjoying his show.
Oh, Danny Bonaduce, sultan of sleaze. I’d run him over in a heartbeat. Yes, Danny, we know you’re a media whore, but you’re tedious and annoying. Just go away.
Hehe, I love Danny Bonaduce. He’s a morning radio host here in L.A., and I listen every morning. Yes, he is a media whore, but I think he’s a funny media whore.
Richard Wagner died in 1883. I don’t think it’s fair to lessen his legacy because the Nazis listened to him…does Charles Manson detract from the White Album?
Personally, I think that Russell Crowe’s alleged behavior has diminished his work a little bit.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Woody Allen yet. Hilarious movies - a brilliant director - but I can’t support anyone who would bone the barely-if-even 20-year-old daughter of the woman he was living with. (Weren’t Woody and Mia married? Wouldn’t that make Soon-Yi his step-daughter? Eeeww!)
Nope and nope. Matter of fact, Woody and Mia weren’t even living together. Though they had a long-term relationship, they maintained separate living quarters and were never married.
Yes, the whole Soon-Yi thing was creepy, but it wasn’t as creepy as the late-night talk show hosts would have you believe.
