"Use Your Head!" Give Actors/Directors Career Advice

I'd also give some advice to a filmmaker - the great Bennett Miller...............work more. 4 films in 22 years - one a short documentary is not enough buddy. Find a story you want to tell and tell it ........you didn't even write those 3 narrative films. Grrrrrr.

Come on....and that goes for Todd Field too come to think of it.

This is what I think of when I hear "use your head:"



Anyway, I would tell Robert Downey Jr. to double-down on his friendship with Paul Thomas Anderson after their Pinocchio project failed to launch. Downey has the caché to get any project he wants funded and needs to be challenged by a filmmaker he respects. Fuck any attempt at making another blockbuster, give yourself over to good material and that will pay dividends.

It's a pretty predictable thing to say but I'd really urge Tom Cruise to at least switch between his attempts to keep his action star status alive and more character-driven roles in prestige fare. He's a wonderful actor but I think he himself has forgotten that with all the running around and trying to up the ante with the stunts.

Ang Lee - Find a good script again.

Gosling - The great directors are getting old and dying. Work with a few before they're all gone.

Sarah Gadon - Work in Hollywood/England/etc. Enough with so many Canadian productions.

Garrett Hedlund- fire your fucking agent once and for all. He has had horrible luck picking projects for quite some time now which sucks because I am a fan of his and think he is talented when used right.

Chris Pine- dude, drop the Saint reboot. It'll probably suck balls just like the Val Kilmer one. I get that its all about the money but team up again with Joe Carnahan (White Jazz perhaps?) or Taylor Sherdian or something else please.

Fucking yes! 

Also you're forgetting The Saint TV Series that went nowhere as well:


At this point, why the hell are they even bothering with this??? 

I wish TC would do what Leo's doing and do a big prestige drama with a top director every other year or so instead of the constant action movies. 

Nolan- Restrict theatrics and make a mid budget character driven movie.
Fincher- Be prolific
Malick- Bordering on self parody. Go back, go back.
Spielberg- What happened to the days of awe-inducing movies? stop with the boring stuff and do something exciting again.

Emma Watson- Barring a couple of films your post Potter filmography is worse. Either you're more interested in activism than movies or you have a bad agent. If it's the later, fire that person and hire a new agent who gets you interesting projects.

Christian Bale- Enough of this musical chairs with O. Russell and Scott Cooper. Don't reject directors like Mann citing reasons. Just do it.

I agree. She's average at best. 💯

I was thinking of this topic when I was trying to fall asleep at one point Thursday night because I try to get my brain to think about safe stuff to lessen the chance of worrying all night, and I remember I came up with a few people who I would give advice to. Then I forgot all but one of them in my half sleep, half wake state lol.

I just don’t know what’s going on with Daisy Ridley’s career. She seemed to be making the right steps after The Force Awakens, and Hylda Queally is her agent, but aside from Murder on the Orient Express and the other two Star Wars, she’s done so little for an actress at her age who was the lead of such a money maker like TFA.

I guess maybe she doesn’t want to be a huge superstar, but I’m not sure why she couldn’t at least star in better or at least more small movies if she wants to go that route instead of blockbusters. She’s basically only done Ophelia as far as indies after TFA, which I can see why it would have appealed to her, but her peers are really passing her right now.

Pffeifer, Watts, Weaver (and other veteran actresses who are not getting enough movie opportunities at the moment): They should try to work on television, just like Kidman did. They may not win an Emmy like her, but it could be a good start to a comeback.

Saoirse Ronan: Do something other than a coming of age or period drama. It has been more than five years since she last did something 'different', for such a talented actress she could vary more in her choices. See Emma Stone, for example, always criticized for never playing 100% dramatic roles, but even while remaining in the comedy she proved to be versatile. Her roles in La La Land, Battle of the sexes and The Favorite are quite different.

Mia Wasikowska: Go back to work more often, for an actress who at the beginning of the last decade had one of the most interesting filmographies among actresses under 30 she really disappeared in the last few years.

Elizabeth Olsen: Take advantage of her popularity while still in Marvel and use her connections (she probably have some, after all, she is the sister of the Olsen twins) to get more better roles and finally have a breakthrough. She has talent and charisma and can follow the same trajectory as Brie Larson for example.

Will Poulter: shave your eyebrows.

Denis Villeneuve: return to making original films with low or medium budget.

Eddie Murphy: take advantage of Dolemite's success and be more selective in your next projects, try to do some series, there's a lot of good stuff being done on television and streaming services.

James McAvoy: Stop investing so much in bad blockbusters and invest more in low-budget dramas, you are too talented to waste your time on such mediocre roles.

Brie Larson: your post-Oscar career with the exception of Captain Marvel was disappointing, take advantage while you still in evidence to take on the same roles as Lawrence/Stone/Ronan/Robbie or you will become a one hit wonder.

Alicia Vikander: almost the same as what was said about Brie Larson, considering she is a foreigner and speaks five languages, she could be getting good roles in foreign films.

Jessica Chastain: stop trying to be an action star, you work better in smaller films like Take Shelter, A most violent year, Miss Julie, if you want to make oscar baits at least do one that is more like Molly's games and less like Woman walks ahead.