|
|
Post by Derrick on Jan 28, 2010 11:07:26 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by james on Jan 28, 2010 12:02:41 GMT -5
I have to argue the point that Richard Pryor wasn't a movie star. He was, some of his films did well at the box office, and if it "didn't work" (which I quibble with), it's because screenwriters didn't know how to write to his strengths as a stand-up comedian and master sory-teller. That's why some of his best films are the stand-up concerts.
(By the way, the cover art of every DVD I've seen of Superman III tries to obscure the fact that he's in it. I think Richard Pryor was given a bad hand with that film. He's actually very funny, and the "evil computer" plot isn't bad, either, but the two halves of the story are so different in style that the whole is awkward to watch).
I think this list is cheating a bit, as the posters for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Trek IV look like early pre-release work that was quickly replaced. At least, those aren't the posters most viewers know (the most well known Raiders poster is somewhat similar in concept but much, much better in execution).
|
|
|
|
Post by Eddie Love on Aug 22, 2010 16:59:35 GMT -5
Agreed, James:
"...I've gathered, there was a brief period where Hollywood was determined to use Richard Pryor's status and fanbase in the stand-up world to make him into a movie star. It never really worked."
Completely absurd. Even a picture like Bustin' Loose debuted around the country at number 1, seen by many people who would never have seen his stand-up movies. If "it didn't work" -- or more accurately "didn't last -- it has something to do with the fact that Pryor famously tried to kill himself, and he and his career never fully recovered.
|
|
|
|
Post by Derrick on Aug 22, 2010 19:19:47 GMT -5
Much as I love Richard Pryor, I don't consider him to be "movie star" in the conventional sense since he was simply too quirky and unpredictable. Except during the period where he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and his movies were all pretty bland and unfunny.
I will argue until I'm outta breath that he was indeed an actor and as evidence I point to GREASED LIGHTNING, BLUE COLLAR, BUSTIN' LOOSE and especially SOME KIND OF HERO.
Strangely enough I'm really not a fan of the movies he did with Gene Wilder except for SILVER STREAK which I consider an all-round superior example of the action-adventure/comedy genre.
|
|
|
|
Post by james on Aug 22, 2010 19:30:11 GMT -5
Strangely enough I'm really not a fan of the movies he did with Gene Wilder except for SILVER STREAK which I consider an all-round superior example of the action-adventure/comedy genre. Fun fact - Cary Grant loved Silver Streak and once complimented Gene Wilder for the film when the two met. James |
|
|
|
Post by Eddie Love on Aug 22, 2010 20:38:10 GMT -5
Much as I love Richard Pryor, I don't consider him to be "movie star" in the conventional sense since he was simply too quirky and unpredictable. Except during the period where he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and his movies were all pretty bland and unfunny. I will argue until I'm outta breath that he was indeed an actor and as evidence I point to GREASED LIGHTNING, BLUE COLLAR, BUSTIN' LOOSE and especially SOME KIND OF HERO. Strangely enough I'm really not a fan of the movies he did with Gene Wilder except for SILVER STREAK which I consider an all-round superior example of the action-adventure/comedy genre. And if you read Pryor's autobiography, I don't think he has a single complimentary thing to say about any of his movies -- except maybe GREASED LIGHTNING or BINGO LONG -- he's openly contemptuous of all the ones with Gene Wilder, even "the early funny ones." I recall seeing the last one they made -- ANOTHER YOU (?) and it remains one of the most profoundly depressing experiences I ever had in a movie theater. And don't forget his early dramatic turn in LADY SINGS THE BLUES -- which is an all around great film. Diana -- excuse me -- Miss Ross should have been the first black actress to win a Best Actress Oscar. That is a monumental performance. It's odd people don't speak of it at all these days. They seem to refer more to Dorothy Dandridge, nominated for a musical where she didn't do her own singing. In my teens, one of my older brothers would let me tag along when he'd push the car out of the driveway to go see a midnight show of Pryor's concert films. In an era when Fred Travelena on Dinah! was considered cutting age comedy, these were beyond a revelation. I laughed more than I ever had in my life. |
|
