Where did it all go wrong (or very right) for ....

IvaBigWun · 13-01-2015 10:41pm #1

A thread about people in the movie industry who had it all and then lost it. Be it fame, their talent or whatever.

I'll start with John McTiernan

He directs the two greatest Action films of all time in the late 80s back to back. Predator and Die Hard are both faultless and would rank in many people's all time top tens.

Today? He is a man who has prison time under his belt and his first film in years to be released this year doesnt look too hot http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103237/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1

How can the man who gave us this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxBXm7ZUTM

And this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9AT3tQGbIk

fall so far from grace?

Where did it all go wrong for John McTiernan?

Add your own "Where did it all go wrong for ...." but please make it more than a one line reply.

Edir: Thread was far too pessimistic for my liking. Add your "Where did it all go right for ..." stories too.

Where did it all go right for Ben Affleck? What a turnaround!

Birneybau · 13-01-2015 10:45pm

Bill Murray. I mean, wtf!?

IvaBigWun · 13-01-2015 10:49pm

Birneybau wrote: »

Bill Murray. I mean, wtf!?

Ol' Donie · 13-01-2015 10:52pm

I expect John McTiernan rightly thought to himself: "Well, I'm never gonna top that."

ziedth · 13-01-2015 10:56pm

In a similar Vein:

Michael Biehn...

Two of the biggest films ever made in the mid 80's in Terminator and Aliens and followed on with films up to the early 90's like Tombstone and the abyss.

He is/was a much better actor then the other action stars of the day and while looking at his IMDB page he's actually surprisingly to me found allot of work in the last 20 years I always felt he should have been up there.

Ol' Donie · 13-01-2015 11:00pm

Where the hell did Mike Myers go?

IvaBigWun · 13-01-2015 11:04pm

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Where the hell did Mike Myers go?

The Love Guru put his career to rest. He might stand a chance to come back if he were to somehow revive Austin Powers for one more film.

Bipolar Joe · 13-01-2015 11:04pm

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Where the hell did Mike Myers go?

Making ****ty sequels that no one asked for. I've been thinking for a while, now is the right time for Wayne's World 3. The rock superstars of today are just regular old pop stars. What're Wayne's and Garth's thoughts on this? How can they solve the problem? Now Myers and Carvey have somewhat buried the hatchet, I have my fingers crossed.

HamsterFace · 13-01-2015 11:06pm

Michael Keaton

...oh wait :-)

happysunnydays · 13-01-2015 11:13pm

Assault on Precinct 13
Halloween
The Fog
Escape From NY
The Thing
Big Trouble in Little China
Prince of Darkness
They Live

8 classics, John Carpenter, legend of the horror genre hasn't made a decent flick since the late 80's. Where did that all go wrong?

Dirty Steve · 13-01-2015 11:33pm

Michael Madsen.

Thelma & Louise, Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Wyatt Earp, Donnie Brasco, Kill Bill.
Then he went bankrupt and signed on to do anything, literally anything. Maybe things would have been different if he'd played Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.

He's supposed to be in Tarantino's upcoming Hateful Eight though, so it may act as a chance for him to get his career back on track.

ziedth · 13-01-2015 11:47pm

Dirty Steve wrote: »

Michael Madsen.

Thelma & Louise, Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Wyatt Earp, Donnie Brasco, Kill Bill.
Then he went bankrupt and signed on to do anything, literally anything. Maybe things would have been different if he'd played Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.

He's supposed to be in Tarantino's upcoming Hateful Eight though, so it may act as a chance for him to get his career back on track.

I watched some bare knuckle traveler boxing thing with him and vinnie Jones the other night. Good God it was horific, I thought pretty much what you wrote there. I wonder could he have had John Travolta's career if he'd done pulp fiction

Victor · 14-01-2015 12:00am

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Where the hell did Mike Myers go?

Not far away enough? :pac: I think I've only ever seen one of his films in full - Inglorious Basterds.

ThisRegard · 14-01-2015 12:03am

Dirty Steve wrote: »

Michael Madsen.
.

Poetry seems to be his thing now, and family rows.

Birneybau · 14-01-2015 12:07am

Victor wrote: »

Not far away enough? :pac: I think I've only ever seen one of his films in full - Inglorious Basterds.

I'd hardly call that 'one of his films'.

Hal Ashby would be my serious answer. Made a few great films and then went into a horrible decline.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Ashby

http://magazine.good.is/articles/the_directors_director

Outkast_IRE · 14-01-2015 12:20am

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Where the hell did Mike Myers go?

He is meant to of been making more than 10 million dollars per movie for voicing Shrek in each sequel. I would say he is quite content with that.

Conriocht · 14-01-2015 2:33am

Thora Birch! One of the most promising actors of her generation and she has pretty much vanished from relevance. I don't know how much of it is true, but there have been stories that her father (who acts as her manager) has a lot to do with her career path - allegedly he's a weird, obsessive perve.

DainBramage · 14-01-2015 4:02am

he's probably not considered a great actor but this thread made me think of Steve Guttenberg. He seemed to everywhere when I was a kid in the 80's---Police Academy, Cocoon, 3 men and a baby, short circuit etc.
But pretty much disappeared around 1990.

Insect Overlord · 14-01-2015 4:06am

DainBramage wrote: »

he's probably not considered a great actor but this thread made me think of Steve Guttenberg. He seemed to everywhere when I was a kid in the 80's---Police Academy, Cocoon, 3 men and a baby, short circuit etc.
But pretty much disappeared around 1990.

He hadn't a hope after the Stonecutters disbanded, to be fair.

Decuc500 · 14-01-2015 11:07am

happysunnydays wrote: »

Assault on Precinct 13
Halloween
The Fog
Escape From NY
The Thing
Big Trouble in Little China
Prince of Darkness
They Live

8 classics, John Carpenter, legend of the horror genre hasn't made a decent flick since the late 80's. Where did that all go wrong?

Bit harsh. In The Mouth Of Madness is a great film. His two episodes for Masters Of Horror are two of the best in the series. I also really like Vampires and The Ward, so I wouldn't say his later career has been a total disaster.

AndyBoBandy · 14-01-2015 11:10am

IvaBigWun wrote: »

to somehow revive Austin Powers for one more film.

Hollywood being Hollywood, you know this is going to happen at some stage

14-01-2015 11:24am

ziedth wrote: »

I watched some bare knuckle traveler boxing thing with him and vinnie Jones the other night. Good God it was horific, I thought pretty much what you wrote there. I wonder could he have had John Travolta's career if he'd done pulp fiction

Strength and Honour

The_Valeyard · 14-01-2015 11:26am

Jerry Bruckheimer he had potential.

14-01-2015 11:39am

Victor wrote: »

Not far away enough? :pac: I think I've only ever seen one of his films in full - Inglorious Basterds.

I bumped into him coming out of arnotts years ago, he was over for planet Hollywood. looks like a boyscout. Apparently a nightmare to work with. he frequently tops the most hated stars list with Catherine heigel!!

It's gas though, these people may just know there own minds and be close to normal in real life. Just cos you don't fancy the casting couch etc, you're labelled a diva in Hollywood, well maybe.

14-01-2015 12:03pm

^^^^^
Yeah it is another case of "What happened to..." Catherine Heigel
Saying that, her comments after Knocked Up would make anyone think twice about taking her for a role

Faith+1 · 14-01-2015 4:21pm

Deleted User wrote: »

^^^^^
Yeah it is another case of "What happened to..." Catherine Heigel
Saying that, her comments after Knocked Up would make anyone think twice about taking her for a role

What did she say?

pixelburp · 14-01-2015 5:09pm

Yeah I think John Carpenter is a director who just seemed to lose his way somewhat, though I think when we namecheck Carpenters highlights, it's worth pointing out just how important the contribution of his erstwhile DP, Dean Cundey was in forming the classics that we know of: something like The Fog or Halloween worked as much because of Cundey's haunting, beautiful camerawork as it was Carpenter's vision.

It's hard to credit that the guy who made The Thing or Halloween went on to make Ghosts of Mars and Escape from LA (albeit the latter being a misguided sequel to an original movie that was itself a bit cheesy to begin with).

Maybe he was another victim of The Thing, and this facsimile John Carpenter is doing his best to integrate into society, absorbing others as he drifts through Hollywood

Theboinkmaster · 14-01-2015 6:11pm

Faith+1 wrote: »

What did she say?

Copy and paste from google:

What's soured many in the industry, according to several executives and producers who have worked with Heigl, is more than just the exceptionally difficult behavior and demands of Heigl and her manager mother, Nancy. There also is Heigl's habit of airing her grievances in public, including her 2008 denunciation of her first hit film, Knocked Up, as "sexist," as well as her announcement later that year that she would not seek an Emmy for her performance in ABC's Grey's Anatomy because the writing wasn't good enough.

thorbarry · 14-01-2015 6:40pm

M Night Shynamanamanaman

The 6th sense came outta nowhere and was brilliant, Unbreakable and Signs were pretty good. The rest of his movies since, well the ones I have seen were terrible

Harry Palmr · 14-01-2015 7:03pm

happysunnydays wrote: »

Assault on Precinct 13
Halloween
The Fog
Escape From NY
The Thing
Big Trouble in Little China
Prince of Darkness
They Live

8 classics, John Carpenter, legend of the horror genre hasn't made a decent flick since the late 80's. Where did that all go wrong?

While my cut off would be earlier yes Carpenter is a great example of directors who burn themselves out after an intense early career.

I'll top him though with Walter Hill. Six lean and mean classics -

Hard Times/The Driver/The Warriors/Southern Comfort/The Long Riders/48 Hours

and then the collapse into mediocrity - Streets of Fire/Crossroads/Brewsters Millions/Another 48 Hours and so on.

Of course the ultimate example is Orson Welles!

GreNoLi · 14-01-2015 8:17pm

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Jerry Bruckheimer he had potential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VovRTt0hAPk

An understated director.

Where did it all go wrong (or very right) for ....

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