The Hollywood Phoenix Theory

The Hollywood Phoenix Theory

Stars that need to jump from movies to television

Over the past few years in hollywood there has been a migration of sorts, not stars leaving or retiring, but a migration of A and B list stars moving from the big screen of the local cineplex to the small screen of television. It started slowly, but surely, and is starting to pick up speed in the last year or so, to be honest the concept first proved to work over 10 years ago when John Lithgow took up the lead in that horrible sitcom 3rd Rock From The Sun, ever sense then, the likes of A-listers like Martin and Charlie Sheen, Gina Davis, and afew others lead the way, you now find the non-"celebreality" set appearing more and more, and with the likes of Ron Perlman, Harvey Kitell, Anna Paquin, Danny Devito, Glen Close, Minnie Driver, and Kira Segwick among others all heading out of the stars and settling into the daily grind of 13 to 26 episodes per year, one must ask, is television the new place to be in Hollywood?

One is left to wonder what would bring about such a shift toward what could be the catalyst of a second golden age of television, bringing us back to the days when it was common place to see big name stars both on a movie screen and on television weekly in some form or another, before there was a line drawn between the two medias. I think that many forget the founders and pioneers of television were the stars of not only radio, but the big screen as well, and with so many more people staying at home and watching or downloading critically acclaimed television series these days instead of going to watch what most deem to be unoriginal, unimaginative, and down right horribly written movies that are by no means worth the average of just about $10.oo per ticket plus over priced snacks and drinks, it seems logical those that love their jobs as actors, would in theory, end up finding their way to the medium of television, after all, with bigger names involved, you can afford the good writers to make it as excellent as possible and not worry about cost because the show will bank on the star's name alone in most cases. This is why so many stars are opting for this route over the horribly bad and so far beyond boring and pointless reality television route, which to be honest, will die out in the next few years hopefully.

So, with that all explained so we're all on the same page, I would like to give you all my list of actors and actresses who should make the jump to the small screen and why it would be the right choice for them to make... so with out any farther delay, gets get into it..

Wesley Snipes

Ever sense the rumors of Snipes being the man that smacked Hallie Berry so hard she lost part of her ability to hear, his career has been circling the drain, he doesn't work nearly as much as he used too and when he does, they're direct to dvd movies that no one except a die hard fan would even know existed, let alone try to watch, its been atleast 4 years by my count sense a movie of former star of Blade and White Men Can't Jump has had a movie on the big screen, and though maybe he's not the greatest actor of all time, hollywood is in short supply for big name black actors that aren't Denzel Washington, Forest Witticker, or Will Smith, and though these three are phenomenal in their own rights, seeing them, or an unknown taking on the lead in a movie with a black lead gets kind of boring, kind of like having steak every night, sometimes you just want a taco you know? Snipes used to be that taco.

Now, how do we fix this? Simple, we get Snipes on a show where he can showcase himself, he's not really a comedian, and really with the exception of "White Men Can't Jump" and "To Wong Fu.." Wesley has never really been that good at it, so it would have to be something dramatic but not like, overly dramatic because he's not Morgan Freeman, a show like the short lived "K-Ville" would have been a great relaunch point for him, and so would the under noticed "Lincoln Heights", something that hasn't really broken through but is coming so very close each time. he's just enough of a name to do that, give a show with good staff and writers that little kick to make it into public knowledge, and by proxy, jump starting his own career.

Julia Roberts

Now, I know alot of you reading this are wondering why I would pick a woman who's name conjurers images of movies like "Pretty Woman", "Erin Brockovich", and the shouldn't ever be forgotten "Hook", but you see, that is the problem, when you think of Julia Roberts, the average person has to think really hard to remember her last leading role on the big screen, which was the kind of forgotten "Charlie Wilson's War", before that her last two big screen roles were voice acting, not to say voice acting isn't a great field to be in, its just when you're one of the stars that defined the last half of the 20th century in film, you should be abit more high profile, it was hard for me to put her on this list, but with her last starring role to date being the completely unnoticed "Fireflies in the Garden" which went straight to dvd, I'm taking this as a bad sign, seriously, when an multi academy award winning actor or actress ends up in direct to dvd movies, something is really wrong.

Now, how do we fix this? Well what we need is to play to Julia's strengths, now, she's always been a very funny woman, but not sitcom funny, she's always been good at drama, but not that 100% serious stuff, ironically had Kira Segwick passed on the role of Brenda Lee Johnson on "The Closer" that role would have been perfect for Julia, the right mix of drama with just a dash of realistic comedy tossed in, thats the kind of show Julia needs, and with so many shows these days being "dramedy" there is a very good chance she could do the right thing and take one as it comes by her desk, I would however stay away from maybe a law show or something where she ends up playing an Erin Brockovich like role, though she was amazing in that, I'd hate to see her get pigeonholed that way. I could see her as maybe a therapist/love interest for Hugh Laurie on "House" maybe, or something like that very underrated show "The Ex List", I can see her doing something in those vains.

Liam Neeson

Alot of you I think have kind of forgotten about Mr. Neeson, oh sure you know his voice as Aslan, the jesus allegory lion from the narnia movies, but still, as far as being able to pack the theaters with out being a CGI lion that sounds like Sean Connery, he's not done so well. Its not that Liam isn't a good actor, he is, he's very good, he just for some reason can't get the big roles, they always get sent to someone else, and he ends up in a movie that less then a year later will end up on Lifetime as a movie of the week where he plays a rugged old cowboy who falls in love a repressed housewife or something boring and predictable like that. I guess if anything, Liam is just unlucky as far as roles go, which is a shame, because he's got so much ability and could become as revered as he should be in the business.

Now, how do we fix this? Liam, for some reason has never been really allowed to play on his strength, his nationality, he's played many scotish people when they needed someone to be scotish that wasn't Sean Connery for whatever reason, but he's never really been allowed to play someone irish, and though it might be a tad on the cliche side, a show like the failed "Black Donnellys" or Showtime's "Brotherhood" where irish mobsters are showcased or even if he'd tried for the role of a cop on the US version of the UK series "Life On Mars", could be the right move for him. Maybe if he were to head back across the pond and star in a crime drama in the united kingdom, he's a big enough star that it would get picked up here, sure it would probably get edited for language and violence like most foreign made crime dramas do, but you gotta make afew sacrifices to finally break that glass ceiling in life. The idea of an actor or actress going overseas to restart their career isn't unheard of either, Gillian Anderson restarted hers two years ago with "Bleak House" and is actively looking for roles in the UK, so why couldn't Liam give it a try?

Vin Diesel

Now, I am well aware that Mr. Diesel is still in pictures, and is still billed as a box office draw, but you see, the problem with it is, Vin, though not the greatest actor in the world, tends to pick roles that are just not right for him, or really require nothing more then to be the guy who drives the fast car, or the guy that dodges the fireball just as its about to catch him, no matter how unrealistic that is, he is basically an action movie star and the world doesn't really seem to see him well in other roles, he's always looked kind of out of place and not exactly fitting the role, like you were very aware that it was Vin Diesel trying to play some lawyer or something.

Now, how do we fix this? Simple, the world loves action on television, if it wasn't canceled "Over There" would have been a great series for him to get in on, or maybe if he were to take up a role as a biker in the second season of "Sons of Anarchy", if we were to do an american version of the Australian series "Rush" he'd fit in right on that whole "fast action with cool guys and hot girls kicking ass on the beach" kind of thing, after all people love shows like that, and they always need people who are believable as action stars for them, plus, anythings better then Babylon A.D...

Anjelica Huston

Most people remember that Anjelica from her role on "Medium" last year, which is a pale american take on the fine british show Afterlife, and we're all sure we remember her from various dramatic roles she's done over the years, but you see, she doesn't seem to carry the weight she used too, kind of like Demi Moore, we all know her, know her work, but she's not done anything of any real note, save for the random tv appearance, in a great while. which is why I feel maybe a jump to tv would work for her. Plus she's a great actress, she could take any role really and make it great, not many can do that. I also dream of the day she gets to play Maila Nurmi in a biopic...

Now, how do we go about this? simple, you play to the one thing Anjelica can do, that no ever really notes her for doing, her comedy. Yes, with so many tv shows coming out that are "sarcastically dramatic" and "dramatically funny", I think a well written one would suit her just fine, anyone that doesn't believe she can do comedy with the best of them, go watch her play Mortisha Addams, thats deadpan comedy at its best. If failing that, maybe if she were to come out of her comfort zone abit and do some sci fi, a show like Heroes would pay off well with a character played by her, be it hero or villain, she would bring a great flair to the role. I actually think if she were to go dramatic, she could have ended up on Sons of Anarchy in the role the very underrated Katie Segal is in, but thats just me.

Brendan Fraser

I know that Mr. Fraser still is in movies, and he still does the big name draw thing, but you see there is one key element to that you're not taking into account, Brendan Fraser picks some really crappy movies to star in. Oh sure, he's made the mummy movies, and they've pretty much run the course with those after the last one, but really for the most part, his movies suck, his version of Journey to the Center of the Earth was pretty bad, and well, I don't think most people have forgiven him for monkeybone honestly, I know I haven't.

So, how would the switch to tv work for him? simple, put him in something where her can be funny, but not that stupid george of the jungle rip off adam sandler funny thats not really funny at all. He needs something where he can deliver funny lines, in a deadpan straight fashion, where he's play a serious role in a comedy series, that would be Brendan's best bet for restarting his career, because his drama fails horribly, and there is no need for dumbed down "look at me mugging for the camera making an insanely stupid face" stuff on television, only place that would fly is MTV or one of those annoying kids channels that crank out horrible show after horrible show these days.

Elizabeth Hurley

This one would be probably one of the people most in need here, seeing as she's not been in anything at all sense 2004, and well, its a shame when a woman that looks like this gets dropped off the face of the earth and no one seems to care. And though I'd love to see her back on the big screen, maybe in that trainwreck thats gonna be the G.I Joe movie next summer as the cult fan favorite obscure character Dr. Biggles-Jones or something, but that aside, I think she could benefit from a trip to television land, because well, after all, she's not had a role sense 2004.

Now, how do we go about doing this? Its a hard call, she could take many routes, she could kind a nice sexy dramatic role over in the U.K, like say a companion to Doctor Who or maybe a cast member on its secondary series Torchwood, I think the sci fi genre would benefit from her, also, if Eve Myles and Kylie Minogue can do it, why not right? Or over there too, she could go the complete other way and do an awesomely written comedy like Shameless or something, because I'd laugh myself into a coma at the idea of Elizabeth Hurley as a chav, but thats me. As for coming overseas here to the states, she would make a great edition to a show like, say Reaper, as like a succubus incharge of all the other succubi in hell or something, having played the devil in the under rated bedazzled she would have no real problem selling the "evil is sexy" thing again, she could also stand to benefit from say, a show like Bones, where she could show up as a love intrest for Booth and set sparks flying, there are many many things she could do in those vains.

Well thats about enough for now, I'll add more later I think, but for now, i'm good. Enjoy.


--

Laz