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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 11:38:20 GMT
Thoughts on his acting? Do you enjoy his nominated performances (Primal Fear, American History X, Birdman)? Where do you think he ranks among his contemporaries (DiCaprio, Damon, Bardem, Jude Law, etc.)? P.S. Remember when he and Salma Hayek dated?
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cherry68
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Post by cherry68 on Feb 21, 2019 11:49:50 GMT
He's surely one of my favorite actors, especially his earlier performances. His turn in Primal Fear is one of the most impressive performances of the last decades, and one of the best debut roles ever. It's a pity the movie was so lame.
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Post by pacinoyes on Feb 21, 2019 12:20:26 GMT
I think he's a better than good but overrated actor. First of all there is nothing movie star about him and I mean that as a negative. There is nothing inherently interesting in how he looks, speaks, moves, is captured by the camera. His whiny, twerpy voice is a major drawback too actually. That is of course ironic as his best work confounds all of that to his advantage (American History X). He's been good (usually), great (occasionally), mannered and over-studied (always). His closest precursor is Dustin Hoffman but Hoffman wasn't a bland WASP who acted more major than he was, he was just major - and Hoffman wasn't just a thinking actor he was a risk taking one too. Norton doesn't do much, never acts on stage, protects his career and his acting like he's afraid his precious talent might break if he uses it. Norton got branded actor of his generation way too quick also - The Score actually used that as a marketing tool - 3 best actors of their generation - Brando, De Niro........Norton? Nah, he hadn't earned that, but he can be great certainly and that counts for something - he's somewhat like DiCaprio but he's a star, and he wishes he was like Phoenix but he can't find a book to study to do a Phoenix copy - I don't dislike him but he's not my thing to say the least.
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Post by notacrook on Feb 21, 2019 12:36:55 GMT
One of my very favourite actors. His performances are pretty much always some level of great, but his work in Primal Fear, Fight Club and Birdman in particular are all-time level for me.
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Post by pupdurcs on Feb 21, 2019 13:54:36 GMT
Brilliant actor (for a time), squandered talent and cautionary tale.
He really was potentially "the guy" for a 5 or 6 year period in the late 90's and early 2000's. Denzel Washington was the American in the 80's who inherited the percieved mantle of greatness from Brando/Clift and the 70's generation (certain people wanted it to be Penn or Rourke, but they never really stuck), but Norton really was the only guy that seemed worthy of doing it from the generation after Washington. One may argue Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but he was always relegated to character actor status, wheras Norton quickly became a leading man after Primal Fear.
A New York stage pedigree, a stunning film debut in Primal Fear, brilliant and rangy follow-up turns in American History X and Fight Club, The People Vs Larry Flynt saw him fly by any potential rivals like Joaquin Phoenix, Christian Bale and Leo DiCaprio, at least in terms of esteem. Him getting cast with Brando and DeNiro in some sort of chintzy generational torch passing of great American actors seemed entirely appropriate at the time.
And then he gave one more brilliant performance in 25th Hour (a masterpiece), and it all seemed to start slowly going sour. Norton was accquiring a reputation for being difficult and meddlesome in the production process. I feel like top directors stopped wanting to work with him (at least in lead roles where he could exert more influence over production). His roles became less interesting, as did his performances. The fallout from Marvel firing him after his meddling in their Hulk film, and replacing him with Mark Ruffalo was lethal. In this new international marketplace, no actor is irreplaceable....something Norton didn't quiute seem to understand. There's always some talented Brit or Australian who the powers that be can slot right into your casting niche. One could argue that Hollywood decided to give Ryan Gosling more opportunities when they got tired of dealing with Norton.
He's still a fine actor. He can still do good supporting work in ensemble pieces that gain attention during awards season. But he'll never be what he was again during those first few years of his film career, and it's too late to live up to that huge promise.
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Drish
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Post by Drish on Feb 21, 2019 13:55:19 GMT
Love love love that picture. Norton is amazing and is miles ahead of Leo, Damon, Law for me. The Painted Veil is my favorite of his. Really looking forward to what he does next..his directorial debut?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 14:04:17 GMT
I think he's a better than good but overrated actor. First of all there is nothing movie star about him and I mean that as a negative. There is nothing inherently interesting in how he looks, speaks, moves, is captured by the camera. His whiny, twerpy voice is a major drawback too actually. That is of course ironic as his best work confounds all of that to his advantage (American History X). He's been good (usually), great (occasionally), mannered and over-studied (always). His closest precursor is Dustin Hoffman but Hoffman wasn't a bland WASP who acted more major than he was, he was just major - and Hoffman wasn't just a thinking actor he was a risk taking one too. Norton doesn't do much, never acts on stage, protects his career and his acting like he's afraid his precious talent might break if he uses it. Norton got branded actor of his generation way too quick also - The Score actually used that as a marketing tool - 3 best actors of their generation - Brando, De Niro........Norton? Nah, he hadn't earned that, but he can be great certainly and that counts for something - he's somewhat like DiCaprio but he's a star, and he wishes he was like Phoenix but he can't find a book to study to do a Phoenix copy - I don't dislike him but he's not my thing to say the least. He's slept with Salma Hayek. He wins.
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Post by pacinoyes on Feb 21, 2019 14:07:49 GMT
Indeed. On the other hand, he slept with Courtney Love so he kinda loses too ..........
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 14:09:36 GMT
Indeed. On the other hand, he slept with Courtney Love so he kinda loses too .......... That was good.
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Post by countjohn on Feb 21, 2019 14:19:50 GMT
One of my favorites and still the most talented of his generation. I'm probably one of his bigger proponents on here.
As for the noms, Primal Fear and AHX are all time great performances, and he's very good in Birdman.
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Post by jakesully on Feb 21, 2019 15:21:18 GMT
Great actor overall and used to be one of my favs but since he doesn't get as much work these days , I've sorta cooled on him. Still though, he has been in some of my favorite films (25th Hour, Fight Club) and also has given some real underrated performances too (Down in the Valley, The Painted Veil & The Score) Also , I remember on the old message boards (on his board on IMDB) , there was a very long running (and very funny) thread about people meeting Norton and how rude he was to fans (most of them were obviously made up but were hilarious ).
I'm hoping he gets more work from here on out and I'm really looking forward to Motherless Brooklyn coming out later this year.
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Archie
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Post by Archie on Feb 21, 2019 15:23:07 GMT
Great actor overall and used to be one of my favs but since he doesn't get as much work these days , I've sorta cooled on him. Still though, he has been in some of my favorite films (25th Hour, Fight Club) and also has given some real underrated performances too (Down in the Valley, The Painted Veil & The Score) Also , I remember on the old message boards (on his board on IMDB) , there was a very long running (and very funny) thread about people meeting Norton and how rude he was to fans (most of them were obviously made up but were hilarious ). I'm hoping he gets more work from here on out and I'm really looking forward to Motherless Brooklyn coming out later this year. Oh man, that thread was fucking hilarious.
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Post by stephen on Feb 21, 2019 16:16:55 GMT
I'm of two minds about Norton.
I think that in terms of pure talent, the man is one of the strongest natural actors in his generation. I'd have him over the likes of Damon, DiCaprio (who has hit higher heights but only recently), and Bale for sure, and though he's not quite on Phoenix's level he makes a worthy contemporary for him. And yet, I think that the man's ego and control-freak tendencies really does sour me on him. Acting/filmmaking is a collaborative medium, and while it's clear that Norton cares a great deal about the art form and seemingly wants to make every project he's in fit his sensibilities, I do feel he often oversteps those boundaries, and it can come off quite disastrously. Some say that he saved American History X . . . even though I think it's a godawful piece of preachy-ass bullshit with or without Norton's involvement, and no one could save it. And while I liked his Hulk film, it's clear that his brand just wouldn't work in an over-arching MCU being controlled by an outside force.
Norton can be good. Hell, he can be great. His first and third Oscar nominations are very strong work (and for my money, he's best of the field in 2014), and I'm always pleased to see him pop up in a quality project. But like scrudpup said, Norton kinda squandered his opportunity more or less right out of the gate with his reputation taking hit after hit, and making him more or less radioactive to work with because no one wanted to deal with the hassle. You gotta play the game and entrench yourself before you can start acting like Marlon Brando in the '70s, Ed.
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Feb 21, 2019 16:23:42 GMT
He's solid. Never completely in love with a performance, but never really disappointed by one either.
I do find it hilarious that despite him buTTing heads with studios and directors that the first film he steps behind the camera for is... Keeping the Faith (which is a harmless romcom, but not exactly good).
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Post by jimmalone on Feb 21, 2019 17:01:31 GMT
He's really great in his three nominated performances as well as in 25th hour, but aside from this quartet he really hasn't done anything noteworthy for me. As special as those performances are the rest seems soo routine, sometimes even soulless. So yes, he's highly talented, but doesn't deliver consistently.
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Post by TerryMontana on Feb 21, 2019 17:41:33 GMT
A really, really talented guy who has never failed me with his performances. He is never bad in a movie and sometimes he's great (AHX, Primal fear). Very good in Birdman, Painted veil, 25th hour and ok in red dragon.
Of course it was too early to name him the best of his generation and he never made it. Comparing him with Di Caprio, he loses hands down.
The point is, he hasn't done anything good for ages. Birdman was not HIS movie of course. Great film by Inarritu and a personal acting show by Keaton. I hope for Motherless Brooklyn to be a good one because Norton seems he really needs a comeback.
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cherry68
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Post by cherry68 on Feb 21, 2019 22:22:28 GMT
Love love love that picture. Norton is amazing and is miles ahead of Leo, Damon, Law for me. The Painted Veil is my favorite of his. Really looking forward to what he does next..his directorial debut? Not a directorial debut. He directed Keeping the faith 😁.
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Post by Christ_Ian_Bale on Feb 22, 2019 0:53:29 GMT
Also , I remember on the old message boards (on his board on IMDB) , there was a very long running (and very funny) thread about people meeting Norton and how rude he was to fans (most of them were obviously made up but were hilarious ) This also reminds me of that time when one of the kids that was in Moonrise Kingdom was on reddit talking about what a douchebag he was, and all the comments were telling him to settle down before he burned bridges.
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Post by ingmarhepburn on Feb 22, 2019 2:33:35 GMT
He's one of my favorite working actors. Extremely charismatic, immensely talented, with a very likeable persona. He always puts so much enery into his performances, and somehow he never falls into excess or caricature. I haven't seen Primal Fear yet (why?!), but he's my win for American History X and my runner-up for Birdman. I also nominate him for Fight Club, and I absolutely loved Keeping the Faith.
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Post by SeanJoyce on Feb 22, 2019 4:08:37 GMT
Still a top-3 actor for me. He was "it" when I first seriously started getting into movies and I just can't shake the excitement of uncovering new films of his at the time.
I haven't heard much about Motherless Brooklyn after the unfortunate incident that killed a fireman last summer. Did that impact production at all? I was terrified the movie would never get finished after reports surfaced that the guy's family was suing Norton's production crew.
Motherless Brookyn...like The Irishman, I can't believe we face the reality of this coming to fruition. Speculation and frustration for it to happen dominated his message board at IMDb. I've not read the book but people gushed about tailor-made for Norton the main part is. Is anybody thinking Oscar material, or will it likely be too small to make much of an impact on AMPAS?
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Post by stephen on Feb 22, 2019 4:13:02 GMT
Still a top-3 actor for me. He was "it" when I first seriously started getting into movies and I just can't shake the excitement of uncovering his movies. I haven't heard much about Motherless Brooklyn after the unfortunate incident that killed a fireman last summer. Did that impact production at all? I was terrified the movie would never get finished after reports surfaced that the guy's family was suing Norton's production crew. Motherless Brookyn...like The Irishman, I can't believe we face the reality of this coming to fruition. Speculation and frustration for it to happen dominated his message board at IMDb. I've not read the book but people gushed about tailor-made for Norton the main part is. Is anybody thinking Oscar material, or will it likely be too small to make much of an impact on AMPAS? His production company got sued, according to an article dated back in August, but the film is being primed for a November 2019 release (according to a tweet by its distributor), so I suppose it didn't get too badly affected by it. As for its awards chances, it obviously depends on the quality of the work. I can see Dafoe getting some supporting traction for it; he is, after all, on quite the roll these last few years and he might have something of a banner year going if The Lighthouse is any good. As for Norton himself, he did just get nominated a few years ago but it remains to be seen if he can be contrite enough to "play the game."
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Post by pupdurcs on Feb 23, 2019 11:08:13 GMT
I feel like Norton aged out of Motherless Brooklyn and should have ceded the part to a younger actor. When the project was mooted for Norton at his peak, I thought he was absolutely perfect for it, but I'm less excited now I feel he is too old.
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Post by futuretrunks on Oct 31, 2019 20:56:35 GMT
I think of all the post-Denzel American actors, he had the biggest opportunity to be a legitimate competitor to DiCaprio. He can be subtle, explosive, and technically precise. A combination Joaquin has lost, in my eyes since about 2008, and I think will be clearer to other people in the upcoming years when Film Twitter's predictable boredom with DiCaprio owning the industry abates.
And despite Norton lacking conventional movie star looks, he still had great presence onscreen when he blew up. His American History X performance is simply unforgettable to me in a way that I don't find anything Bale or Joaquin have done as leading men to measure up with; it resonates more like Denzel in The Hurricane or Training Day.
Mismanaged talent, but maybe he'll have a big comeback someday.
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Post by pacinoyes on Oct 31, 2019 21:10:27 GMT
I think of all the post-Denzel American actors, he had the biggest opportunity to be a legitimate competitor to DiCaprio. He can be subtle, explosive, and technically precise. A combination Joaquin has lost, in my eyes since about 2008, and I think will be clearer to other people in the upcoming years when Film Twitter's predictable boredom with DiCaprio owning the industry abates. And despite Norton lacking conventional movie star looks, he still had great presence onscreen when he blew up. His American History X performance is simply unforgettable to me in a way that I don't find anything Bale or Joaquin have done as leading men to measure up with; it resonates more like Denzel in The Hurricane or Training Day. Mismanaged talent, but maybe he'll have a big comeback someday. I somewhat agree but to me he's a lesser actor than Phoenix and PSH who I guess you could compare him too but PSH was older than Phoenix (He'd be 52 now). To me the great problem with Norton is his voice - he can never lose that whiny, tinny voice really - and for me it drives me nuts but some can look past it. He did have a great presence and he also took a lot of roles where his voice was out front - speech patterns or defects (he even does that in Motherless Brooklyn) which in a way works to his advantage since it distracts me from it because it's so upfront which is contradictory/interesting. He is a guy you look at and maybe the first thing you say is there should have been "more" for him but that makes him sound like someone more minor than him, he's a fascinating guy to discuss tbh - even from his selective filmography and limited stage work - he went about things his own way that to be a fan of his had to be frustrating too.
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Post by Good God on Oct 31, 2019 21:14:18 GMT
I think of all the post-Denzel American actors, he had the biggest opportunity to be a legitimate competitor to DiCaprio. I think while we disagree on Phoenix, I agree that Norton could have been more of a complete package than Phoenix. An actor that I seriously think could have competed with DiCaprio for roles and in stature but passed away before his time was Heath Ledger. He had the acclaim, he would have blown up with The Dark Knight, and he was really coming into his own as an actor. He was also beginning to get great offers. He was supposedly in line to play Brolin's part in No Country for Old Men before he dropped out, and I remember reading that Malick wanted him for The Tree of Life.
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