Cena's Little Helper
Mid-Card Championship Winner
I've had this idea for quite some time but I've had no clue how to title it or whom should be included. Many people nowadays think of Burt Reynolds as a veteran actor who earned an Academy Award nomination for Boogie Nights, but this is only half of the story. It can quite easily be argued that Burt Reynolds was the biggest movie star of the 1970s. He had major hits with Deliverance and Smokey and the Bandit and was also offered the part of Han Solo in Star Wars. We don't think of Burt Reynolds as a star today because of how disastrous the 80s were for him (look at his imdb or wiki page to see all of the craptastic films he made during that decade).
Burt Reynolds was once the poster child for status decline in Hollywood but, over the past 10 or so years, there have been a handful of actors and actresses that could give Reynolds a run for his money. I'm going to go over a few here but please feel free to chime in on those whom you feel I have left out.
Harrison Ford: In my opinion, Harrison Ford has had a fall from grace that is even bigger than the one suffered by Burt Reynolds. Ranked in 1997 by Empire Magazine as the biggest film star of all time, Ford has since starred in 12 films. Of those 12 films, only 3 have made over $100 million domestically (and Cowboys and Aliens shouldn't even count since it barely made it over this threshold and couldn't recoup its $163 million budget through domestic receipts alone). Once thought immune to empty-box office syndrome, Ford can now be seen in 42, a trite, tiresome, and by-the-book biopic of Jackie Robinson whose screenplay he would have scoffed at only ten years ago.
Tom Cruise: Internationally there's probably no star bigger than Tom Cruise. That being said, he's nowhere near the American box-office draw he was through the mid-80s up until 2005's War of the Worlds. I only include him here because of his recent fall-off but he's still a bankable star and may totally redeem his career if Oblivion does well domestically.
Mel Gibson: I'm loathe to put Mel Gibson on here because, a) I like him, and b) poor personal choices rather than poor business choices have ruined his career. Without wishing for his wife to get fucked by a pack of you-know-whats, I think Gibson would still be a major player in Hollywood.
Russell Crowe: Another man ruined by poor personal choices, except I've always hated Russell Crowe as an actor. No one seemed to be on the rise to super-stardom faster than this man in the early 00s, but his attitude fucked that all up for him.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: His successful gubernatorial campaign saved him from irrelevancy but it looks like he'll be headed there after his next one or two films inevitably flop like The Last Stand did.
John Travolta: One of the biggest movie stars of the late 70s/early 80s who floundered and then became the biggest movie star of the mid- to late-90s. Travolta ain't nowhere near the draw he once was, but if he pulls off another renaissance, don't be surprised.
Kevin Costner: It's hard to believe that this everyman was once a huge movie star. Too bad he fucked up his career with Waterworld and The Postman.
Nicolas Cage: How can a man star in like 10 movies a year but still go bankrupt? More than anything else, Cage ruined his career through overexposure.
Jim Carrey: A man who once earned $20 million per movie. He should've worried about evolving comedically rather than having aspirations to being a serious actor. Now people think he's a shitty actor AND a stale comedian.
Julia Roberts: Besides Eat, Pray, Love, this woman hasn't had a box-office hit in which she received top-billing since 2000.
Obviously, I choose Harrison Ford for the reasons I listed above. After him, I'd go with a tie between Jim Carrey and Kevin Costner.
Burt Reynolds was once the poster child for status decline in Hollywood but, over the past 10 or so years, there have been a handful of actors and actresses that could give Reynolds a run for his money. I'm going to go over a few here but please feel free to chime in on those whom you feel I have left out.
Harrison Ford: In my opinion, Harrison Ford has had a fall from grace that is even bigger than the one suffered by Burt Reynolds. Ranked in 1997 by Empire Magazine as the biggest film star of all time, Ford has since starred in 12 films. Of those 12 films, only 3 have made over $100 million domestically (and Cowboys and Aliens shouldn't even count since it barely made it over this threshold and couldn't recoup its $163 million budget through domestic receipts alone). Once thought immune to empty-box office syndrome, Ford can now be seen in 42, a trite, tiresome, and by-the-book biopic of Jackie Robinson whose screenplay he would have scoffed at only ten years ago.
Tom Cruise: Internationally there's probably no star bigger than Tom Cruise. That being said, he's nowhere near the American box-office draw he was through the mid-80s up until 2005's War of the Worlds. I only include him here because of his recent fall-off but he's still a bankable star and may totally redeem his career if Oblivion does well domestically.
Mel Gibson: I'm loathe to put Mel Gibson on here because, a) I like him, and b) poor personal choices rather than poor business choices have ruined his career. Without wishing for his wife to get fucked by a pack of you-know-whats, I think Gibson would still be a major player in Hollywood.
Russell Crowe: Another man ruined by poor personal choices, except I've always hated Russell Crowe as an actor. No one seemed to be on the rise to super-stardom faster than this man in the early 00s, but his attitude fucked that all up for him.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: His successful gubernatorial campaign saved him from irrelevancy but it looks like he'll be headed there after his next one or two films inevitably flop like The Last Stand did.
John Travolta: One of the biggest movie stars of the late 70s/early 80s who floundered and then became the biggest movie star of the mid- to late-90s. Travolta ain't nowhere near the draw he once was, but if he pulls off another renaissance, don't be surprised.
Kevin Costner: It's hard to believe that this everyman was once a huge movie star. Too bad he fucked up his career with Waterworld and The Postman.
Nicolas Cage: How can a man star in like 10 movies a year but still go bankrupt? More than anything else, Cage ruined his career through overexposure.
Jim Carrey: A man who once earned $20 million per movie. He should've worried about evolving comedically rather than having aspirations to being a serious actor. Now people think he's a shitty actor AND a stale comedian.
Julia Roberts: Besides Eat, Pray, Love, this woman hasn't had a box-office hit in which she received top-billing since 2000.
Obviously, I choose Harrison Ford for the reasons I listed above. After him, I'd go with a tie between Jim Carrey and Kevin Costner.
