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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 26, 2019 20:11:06 GMT
The greatest Superman actor was on David Letterman sometime in the 1970/80's (presumably promoting one of the first two Superman films), and Letterman asks him about what it's like to work with an icon like Brando. Everyone in the audience and Letterman presumably expects Reeve to gush about the legend that is Brando, but Reeve essentially says Brando was a lazy actor who squandered his gifts, didn't give a damn and took the money and ran. Fascinating interview. I'm sort of astonished that Reeve would go on national TV and be so frank and brutally honest (in a negative sense) about an actor so revered he'd recently worked with in Brando. Reeve wasn't wrong though....but he had some big balls to say it. (as an aside in advance, can we please avoid a debate about actors being "liars". Thanks  ) |
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Post by stephen on Apr 26, 2019 20:14:02 GMT
That horse must've been a Brando fan.
But yeah, it's surprising that someone so high-profile would be so critical of another high-profile person. I feel like nowadays, Reeve would just smile and go, "Well, y'know..." and then leave it at that, letting his silence on the matter speak volumes.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 26, 2019 20:19:27 GMT
That horse must've been a Brando fan. But yeah, it's surprising that someone so high-profile would be so critical of another high-profile person. I feel like nowadays, Reeve would just smile and go, "Well, y'know..." and then leave it at that, letting his silence on the matter speak volumes. Exactly...you just wouldn't get that level of detailed forthrightness on a platform like that today, if a high profile actor had something negative to say about another big name. The fear of blowback would be too much.You are right, they'd probably be coy and try to let silence speak volumes or a dismissive "no comment". I'm just kind of shocked. I never knew Reeve said this...on Letterman of all places. I always had this (apparently wrong) impression of Reeve as a guy who gave PR trained interview responses. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2019 20:25:47 GMT
That horse must've been a Brando fan.  |
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LaraQ
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Post by LaraQ on Apr 26, 2019 20:27:59 GMT
Where's the lie?.Brando did squander his talents.
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Apr 26, 2019 20:31:47 GMT
Where's the lie?.Brando did squander his talents. I mean he gave us many brilliant performances, I wouldn't say he squandered his talents or that he owed anyone anything. |
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Post by stephen on Apr 26, 2019 20:35:18 GMT
Where's the lie?.Brando did squander his talents. I mean he gave us many brilliant performances, I wouldn't say he squandered his talents or that he owed anyone anything. I would argue the opposite: if he's going to be paid an exorbitant amount of money, he should at least show up and play ball. They wanted Brando because of his name recognition and, yes, his talent, but kowtowing to his massive ego when he showed up to do the barest minimum (not bothering to memorize his lines, showing up late to shoots, not reading Heart of Darkness, etc., etc.) is what let Brando get away with all that crap in the first place. Too many people excuse Brando for pulling the shit that he did because of his iconic status, but you owe it your audience and your co-workers to show up and do the work you're paid for.
Brando was a talent, that's not up for debate. But was the talent worth the hassle, and was the final product made better for it?
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 26, 2019 20:36:12 GMT
On May 5th 2018 I posted a real life story about Denzel Washington. Something from real life that happened and I could have spoken about at a very long time about it .........it was interesting (to me anyway) and applied to his acting and dedication and was quite complimentary. Know how many replies it got? Zero...........nobody cared I guess. I bet they would have cared if I had video? See how about if I just say actors are bad critics and have bad manners - is that ok? I don't think he's a liar I just don't learn anything from it - Chris Reeve thought Brando was a dick - Oh I'm shocked!........Brando wasn't giving it 100% on Superman (for Godsake)? .........Reeve's silence should have spoken volumes, it's not a good look to project......nobody remembers this, takes it seriously, or lets it cloud their perception of Brando etc. Just say it was fine and change the subject - like why is this an example of big balls and not a small brain or a cruel heart or wahhhhhhhhhh crybaby syndrome.......its sort of interesting but I didn't even like this stuff when Brando did it to actors either (to Burt Reynolds etc). |
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 26, 2019 20:53:22 GMT
I mean he gave us many brilliant performances, I wouldn't say he squandered his talents or that he owed anyone anything. I would argue the opposite: if he's going to be paid an exorbitant amount of money, he should at least show up and play ball. They wanted Brando because of his name recognition and, yes, his talent, but kowtowing to his massive ego when he showed up to do the barest minimum (not bothering to memorize his lines, showing up late to shoots, not reading Heart of Darkness, etc., etc.) is what let Brando get away with all that crap in the first place. Too many people excuse Brando for pulling the shit that he did because of his iconic status, but you owe it your audience and your co-workers to show up and do the work you're paid for.
Brando was a talent, that's not up for debate. But was the talent worth the hassle, and was the final product made better for it?
This. I think Reeve was being cruel to be kind in a way. You could hear the disappointment in his voice towards the end of the interview when he said how it sucks that Brando Brando doesn't care, and how much he could be a leader to actors like himself if he just made some effort. There's no question Reeve admired his talent, as do most actors. I also liked that Reeve said he would say the exact same thing to Brando's face. But yeah, the gratuitous behaviour the media and the industry let Brando get away with has had a long term negative effect in some ways. You see it in wannabe Brando-acolytes like Johnny Depp doing the same thing now (not learning his lines, using earphones to get fed lines etc) thinking that type of unprofessional laziness is a sign of rebellious "genius", because Brando was allowed to get away with it. Maybe the likes of Mickey Rourke and Val Kilmer might not have torpedoed their careers if they didn't see so many things Brando got away with in terms of behaviours , and decided it was a good idea to emulate. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 26, 2019 21:19:32 GMT
Let me see if I have this straight - Brando owed something to those pantheons of hard working virtue - movie producers? ..........Mickey Rourke and Val Kilmer (and Shia LaBeouf and insert names here _____) put a bunch of blow up their noses and you know, weren't Brando to begin with but that's Brando's fault because they emulated him?
Does everyone at your job get treated the same? Do athletes? Do network news anchors? Nah.......that's silly, of course they don't.
Brando hurt acting by not taking it seriously - ok fine I do get it and he hurt it even more by confusing people with what it actually was (that crowd of imbeciles that think "realism" or "naturalism" is the key to film acting)...........but that's not his fault either.
Give the dude a break....he was a great talent........he was a dick.......like who gives a fnck if Reeve was "disappointed" in Brando and that unprofessional laziness actually did result in some acting genius too - I always say you learn more about Brando in the 60s films than the 50s ones.....and some of what you learn is astonishing about the work.
There's only a few guys like this where their genius gets credit AND blame for everything - Brando and Olivier are the obvious two - and their fans don't excuse them they know what they were like and it's a complicated world and actually you can learn a lot about what Brando had to do to keep acting in HIS autobiography than from Chris Reeve on a talk show. Like you know, some people can't just "get disciplined" either .......if he couldn't do it the way he could do it.......... he might have put a bullet in his head too.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 26, 2019 21:42:52 GMT
Reeve's views are perfectly valid ( and not just because he was a fine actor, who played one iconic role so singularly well, that no one has come close to usurping it in 30 years and umpteen tries,and probably never will).
He worked with Brando...he was a young actor at the time who wanted to be inspired by a legend, and found him to be an unmotivated disappointment. It's easy for a fan sitting on a couch watching Brando movies to say "who gives a frick if he was unprofessional", but not all actors appreciate working with other actors they see who don't care about the work, no matter how iconic they may be.
Reeve was also classically stage trained actor from Julliard, so when he talks about Brando could have been a "leader to actors", he's not so much criticising him for being a "dick"...he's criticising him for not putting in the pride to his profession. Maybe if he bothered learning lines, he could have played some of the great stage roles (another Superman actor Terence Stamp, who was far more admiring of Brando than Reeve, still took Brando to task for not being able to learn lines....wondering how Brando could play the great roles like Macbeth and Lear if he couldnt learn lines).
I think quite a few actors had that sense of professional disappointment in Brando that Reeve did (and Stamp to a lesser extent, even though Brando was his idol growing up), but as he said, Brando was an institution by that point, so saying it in the open was like sticking your head above the parapet.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 26, 2019 21:54:27 GMT
Oh it is valid, it just is not MORE valid than say John Goodman's here even if he didn't work with him imo.
He has his own POV too....and everyone has some POV on Brando and Olivier ..........and the guys like that - there's not many of those guys anyway though.....those 2 are the invention of the cliche after all....no one gives a sh it about Russell Crowe (all due respect) or James Mason (all due respect) .....relatively to them. I'm not defending Brando's behavior, just saying it was what it was and not that big of a deal......he's still the best - almost without argument from the US I'd say ...........I mean a lot went into that whole thing, Reeve's is another voice in a large, never ending chorus of voices......sigh.
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Post by mrimpossible on Apr 26, 2019 22:11:54 GMT
I think it was extremely rude of him to diss Brando like that in public. Yes it was probably true that Brando got lazy at that time but he had more talent in 1 finger than Reeve ever did. He also never owed anyone anything. I always get annoyed when people say celebrities have to be role models or inspiring as if they owe a debt to society or something.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Apr 26, 2019 22:41:01 GMT
A couple things regarding Brando:
1. He was extraordinarily talented.
2. He grew extraordinarily lazy.
Both can be true and Reeve is just pointing that out. He's not saying Brando owed anyone shit (though as Stephen said, he probably owed the producers footing the bill to do what he's paid to do), simply that he was disappointed Brando stopped giving a damn when he could have been and could have done even more. Is Brando everything in modern American acting and deserving of his acclaim? Yeah. Was he also a legendary pain to work with who sometimes fell short of his reputation? Yeah. Brando doesn't need a defense, his legacy is secure and his lack of fucks given probably extended to people stating the obvious about his later work ethic.
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Post by stephen on Apr 27, 2019 0:34:45 GMT
A couple things regarding Brando: 1. He was extraordinarily talented. 2. He grew extraordinarily lazy. Both can be true and Reeve is just pointing that out. He's not saying Brando owed anyone shit (though as Stephen said, he probably owed the producers footing the bill to do what he's paid to do), simply that he was disappointed Brando stopped giving a damn when he could have been and could have done even more. Is Brando everything in modern American acting and deserving of his acclaim? Yeah. Was he also a legendary pain to work with who sometimes fell short of his reputation? Yeah. Brando doesn't need a defense, his legacy is secure and his lack of fucks given probably extended to how people stating the obvious about his later work ethic. I think there is something to be said for the danger of "securing one's legacy" while one is so young and has so many years ahead of them, as it so often breeds complacency and (in the worst circumstances) outright laziness. Yes, history will remember the great films and often overlook the crap in between (as it has done with Brando), but in the moment, in their active periods, they should either shit or get off the pot. You're an actor. You're paid to act, and to be convincing in the role. You don't have to give a damn, but you have to pretend you do -- that's literally your job. I can respect an actor taking a clear paycheck part with no real artistic value if they show up to work and give it their all. But if you're there, coasting on your rep just to get easy money and not bothering to learn lines or adhere to the production schedule? I don't respect that. You're not just inconveniencing the "money men", you're inconveniencing your co-stars (many of whom don't have the luxury to wear kimonos and read Post-Its with dialogue) and the poor sods on the crew, and you're basically thumbing your nose at the audience, saying "This project is beneath me, so why should you care?" If you don't give a damn about the craft of acting or treating it as a serious gig, then fob off and retire. There are countless actors who would give anything for the opportunity, and would try their damnedest . . . and who knows? They may be that undiscovered great talent to rival your lazy ass.
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avnermoriarti
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Post by avnermoriarti on Apr 27, 2019 4:23:09 GMT
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 27, 2019 7:21:40 GMT
 My god! Broderick's story is hilarous and sad at the same time. Brando truly didn't give a shit at this stage. Some actors revered Brando so much that they'd laugh off the experience or make excuses for him, but anyone should be able to understand and sympathise with actors who worked with him like Reeve who did not find this stuff amusing or something to celebrate.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 27, 2019 10:21:15 GMT
LOVE that story and to me that's why he's special - it is funny but it also just "is" - would Broderick have preferred not to have Brando in the film (of course not) would Reeve have preferred it (who cares?) and Norton laughs/rolls his eyes because well it is funny but also because we don't understand the "method" (there's that word again!) to Brando's madness.........we never do after all with anything outside of our preconceived rules on acting. It's like I always say we talk about acting all the time because we THINK we know it - in a way we would never talk about editing or directing or cinematography because after all "we" act everyday in our lives (and mistakenly correlate the two) ..........but notice how what he says here is awfully close to what Goodman says about him and to Goodman (and Broderick actually) that was its own brand of genius. See, Brando gave some amazing performances when he "apparently" cared the least - the "1 and 2" of Brando - he was was talented and lazy are truths but they do not reveal a deeper truth themselves - ie you can't say "oh after 1964 he didn't care at all!" - and many (all?) other actors could have shown up on time, known their lines and asked about your grandmother and they never could have. If you can't say that, well what are you actually saying? It's what makes him.........him............. and he was never the same as anyone right from the start anyway, and at every stage of his career. |
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Post by eyebrowmorroco on Apr 28, 2019 13:56:54 GMT
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Post by TerryMontana on Apr 28, 2019 15:44:07 GMT
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Post by PromNightCarrie on May 21, 2019 1:58:54 GMT
Hilarious. Brando truly didn't give a shit after a certain point which probably annoyed (lesser) actors who take what they do seriously.
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