Jack to Heath: "Told Ya So! (Dead Dumb Ass)"
It's refreshing to know that in this time of sensitive mourning for Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson is still capable of behaving like a jackass. By way of background, it should be noted that Nicholson was reportedly "furious" that Ledger, and not he, was asked to play The Joker. I'm assuming Nicholson envisioned a Dark Knight where The Joker battled Batman's gadgets and Judo know-how with colostomy bags, an enlarged prostate, and sharpened pills of Viagara.
But on to more recent events:
The movie legend was dining at the Wolseley restaurant in London when a photographer told him about Heaths passing.Nicholson ... replied I warned him then later said I told him so.
Ultimately, it was clarified that Jack was referring to his experiences with the sleeping pill Ambien --- a drug that some speculate contributed to Ledger's death. Nevertheless, before that further information was divulged, here were the top 5 guess as to what Jack told Heath:
Warned him never to leave the number of an anorexic troll doll as his emergency contact.Suggested that 10 Things I Hate About You was a better title than Shrew-Tamin 2: New Skool RulzAdvised that premature Nixon-style male pattern baldness will not prevent you from getting quality tail as long as you're rich and famous.Suggested that when you play the Joker, everyone will say you stole the show from Batman, mostly because there's only so much acting Michael Keaton or Christian Bale can do with nothing more than an exposed jawline.During the filming of Brokeback Mountain Jack suggested the line "I wishI knew how to quit you" in place of "man, I loves me some gay cowboy sex."
Gladstone writes for Cracked and others. Go to Wayne Gladstone Lives in Maine to see all his published stuff, links to his other worthless endeavors, and his full name and state of residence.
It can be a bit nerve wracking to take on any new sport, but there is perhaps no athletic activity that intimidates beginners quite as much as skydiving. Since the majority of people who are interested in skydiving have never jumped out of a plane before, it makes plenty of sense that skydiving can cause even the most experienced and courageous athletes to come down with a sudden case of the jitters. The fact that many people find their first jump so difficult makes the initial fall all the more important. If your first skydiving experience is positive, you will feel more confident about your ability to learn skydiving technique. If you don’t enjoy your first jump for any reason, you are unlikely to try again. In some sense, the first jump can make or break a skydiver.
ReplyThere are two common methods for taking on your very first dive: tandem jumping or accelerated free fall. In a tandem jump, you share a harness with an experienced skydiving instructor who has total control of the fall and landing. In an accelerated free fall, instructors help to guide you during your time in the air, but you are in your own harness, open your own parachute, and control your own landing. Each of these methods has some advantages and some disadvantages, and deciding which one is right for you depends largely on what you think your future as a skydiver will be.
Tandem jumping can be less frightening than an accelerated free fall, and many people opt to start out with a tandem jump in order to get a taste of what skydiving is like without having the responsibility of controlling any portion of their fall. Often, people who only plan to skydive once choose to take a tandem jump because it allows them to relax and enjoy the ride while their jumping partner worries about the altitude, the parachute, and the landing. This gives you the opportunity to experience the thrill of skydiving while knowing that your safety is in very capable hands.
In an accelerated free fall, you exit the plane with two instructors, one on either side of you, who maintain a grip on your harness for the duration of the fall, controlling your speed, helping you improve your position, and assisting you with stability. When you reach four thousand feet above the ground, you open your own parachute and pilot yourself down to the landing target. An accelerated free fall costs more than a tandem jump because it requires two guides instead of one, but unlike the tandem jump it can count as the first leg of your training course towards eventual certification. This makes it a good option as a first jump for people who are serious about continuing with their skydiving training.
ZOMGS SO RELEVANT.
I beg to differ, it seems so irony :P
ReplyThis will be fun! I wonder how many WP images on human body are going to come up!
ReplyTo take a point from an earlier reviewer, I don't mind if an actor plays himself in every role, as long as he's fookin' awesome. I have to say Jack fits that description, as opposed to, say, Clooney?
ReplyYou're off there. He wanted to do another Hannibal movie. He just loves that guy. But, sure, I agree with everything else you said.
ReplyI mean of course their characters were handicapped, not the actors themselves:
Reply1988 Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man as Raymond Babbitt (autistic)
1989 Daniel Day-Lewis - My Left Foot as Christy Brown (paraplegic)
1991 Anthony Hopkins The Silence of the Lambs Dr. Hannibal Lecter (bi-polar, heh)
1992 Al Pacino Scent of a Woman Lt. Col. Frank Slade (blind)
1993 Tom Hanks Philadelphia Andrew Beckett (AIDS victim)
1994 Tom Hanks Forrest Gump Forrest Gump (mildly retarded)
1996 Geoffrey Rush Shine David Helfgott (mental problems, difficulty: had to beat BB Thornton's Slingblade mental patient.
1997 Jack Nicholson As Good as It Gets Melvin Udall (obsessive compulsive)
streak broke after that. Even '95's Nick Cage role in Leaving Las Vegas was a suicidal alchoholic, but not exactly handicapped I guess, also Jeremy Irons in 90's "Reversal of Fortune" is probably playing a mentally disturbed person, but that's stretching.
Just generally, I'd say from hearing actors discuss it and from the evidence above, its easier to tun in a really notable performance by doing a character that is very different from a normal, day to day existence, like say the roles in Glen Garry Glen Ross. Those are probably much harder to portray. Also, in fairness to Hopkins in "Hannibal", its hard to keep a character, especially one as extreme and caricatured over the years as Lecter, from falling into self-parody. Some say he did exactly that. So really, you can't judge him on that role too harshly. I'd have to give Hopkins the benefit of the doubt and think he would have druthered not to repeat the role, but they probably threw a bank full of money at him, hell, let him cash in, everyone else does and most not near as deserving.
yup, Brazil.
ReplyAs I said, I find Hannibal a stunt role, not true acting in the classic sense, more creating a very extreme and affected character, which actually is said to be easier than a "normal" role. That's why the big Oscar Best Actor winners of the late 80's-90's were all handicapped or otherwise "differently abled".
Hopkins shines as a "normal" man, which is a very tough acting part, by all accounts. Elephant Man, for example, a very complex role he played to perfection, in my opinion. There are many more, Hopkins has made a career of such parts, the Merchant-Ivory stuff, Shadowlands etc.
Re actors in general though: Most, probably more casual, movie fans are drawn by actors, I'm more a fan of directors (a great actor can suck if the guy helming the movie sabotages them)
I'm a Gilliam fan from way back. Coen Bros, Burton, Scorsese, Coppola, G. R. Hill, Mike Leigh, Tarantino etc.
Hey, new comments! Yay. I love Hopkins in Magic. Gotta say though, Gary Oldman blew him off the screen in Hannibal as Mason Verger.
ReplyBig Ian Holm fan too. Big Night. Brazil.
Let me speak up for the British actors, of course we all love Duval and DeNiro, but there are some really fantastic Brits that act so effortlessly you forget how great they are.
ReplyAlthough I think its sort of unfortunate people probably most associate him with Hannibal Lector, Anthony Hopkins is probably the best actor of the last 40+ years, in my humble judgment. I first saw him in a hokey slasher with Ann-Margaret called Magic and even then I thought there was quality in him. Everyone knows his great roles, but buy "Titus" if you get a chance, the closest thing Shakespeare wrote to a slasher flick. Its hilarious, actually, its so over the top.
I also really like Ian Holm, who is also unfortunately more associated with Bilbo Baggins than Napoleon, Ash, or my favorite, Fluellen.
Well. Now I know which one of you is Jack Nicholson's alt.
ReplyMess with the Neil and you get the Diamond
ReplyWhat do you mean that you never blog about anything important, you just blogged about a New Kids on the Block possible reunion?
ReplyWell, THAT's true Guy, but y'know Neil is just like that. If it gets us Cracklin' Rosie and Coming to America, then really, who are we to argue?
ReplyI was mostly refering to the last 3 lines of his rant were it seems he's addressing Jack personally refering to him in the 2nd person, but I'm sorry I didn't know I was personally addressing Neil fucking Diamond. That's just fuckin' awesome.
ReplyI think Neil made sense, he's just saying things on both sides of a debate.
ReplyJack is talented. Jack is an asshole. I agree.
But that's my number 1 hate about blogs: their nature encourages an all or nothing opinion. they're horrible for nuance.
That's why I rarely blog about politics or anything important.
Also, I happen to know that "Neil" is Neil Diamond and you better well show some effin' respect.
Way to go Neil with the rant that makes no sense at all.
Replyhmmmm .... not enough christian bale worship for my tastes.
ReplyAlso, I once wrote for a class an entire paper on Jack's awesomitude. How despite his seeming (Note I said seeming) inability to act like anyone or anything, but himself he's still one of the greatest actors of all time because his level of awesomeness is so great that it permeates the very soul of the viewer. That and its really impressive that he was able to be on screen for even a second and not shake like Michael J. Fox on a bad day given the mountains of cocaine he was snorting regularly. A lesser man would have literally transformed into the Trix rabbit the second he turned away from his winter wonderland. I mean, the man single handedly kept the columbian economy afloat from 1973 - 1979. I guess what I'm really trying to say is Jack has become a giant gaping asshole. First off there was no reason they should have ever gone to him to play the joker and his crying about it is plainly and insult to the one man I can never allow to be bismirched: Batman. If Batman couldn't knock out a 2008 Jack Joker simply by staring at him and growling angrily he wouldn't be played by Christian Bale. Secondly, the dude just died. Get off the goddamn cross for a second and respect the fact that he was a human being and one with a young daughter. That's more important than you're giant impossibly inflated ego, dick.
That line was high-larious!
Reply"Man, I loves me some cowboy gay sex"
ReplyGlendoor, I sort of get what you mean, about character actors being more versatile and more enjoyable to watch, not to mention being able to earn their bucks better.
ReplyUnfortunately, I think the era of character actors is dying out, probably being replaced by Method. It's a bit sad but there are some guys where it isn't neccessarily a bad thing.
De Niro is my favourite actor of all time, and even playing himself is a damn good thing.