If you could pick 2 of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood and put them into a movie, would anyone go see it? And I’m not talking about the paparazzi inspired Jennifer Lopez – Ben Affleck kind of pairing. I mean in the order of Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington.
As I provided in the example above, the answer depends deeply on who exactly is being called a star celebrity, their talent, and the movie they are in. If you want to have Hilary Duff, or Jessica Alba, or Shia LeBouf well you can’t really expect much even with material as good as The Maltese Falcon. They may be popular, especially with teens, but they just aren’t quality actors.
But quality is not enough either. Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood are both notable, exceptional actors. They both are legitimate mega-stars. But if you saw them in City Heat, well let’s say that I hope you watched it on broadcast television where it didn’t cost you more than time.
And sometimes it’s just so close but not there, like Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in Virtuosity. Or Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in Devil’s Advocate.
On the other hand, match up Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino (in Heat); Cary Grant and Tony Curtis (in Operation Petticoat); Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson and James Coburn (The Magnificent Seven); Marlon Brando and the entire cast of the Godfather; Kathryn Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner – also including Sidney Poitier) or Humphrey Bogart (The African Queen), and now with the proper script you have a movie. A big movie. A movie people want to pay to see, and will enjoy the experience.
So I come back to the question at hand. Is the pairing of 2 of the top A-list actors, with a decent script enough to have a blockbuster movie?
Well in 2010 we may well find out. Because that is the proposed release date for a spy-thriller, The Matarese Circle, featuring Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. The deal is not final yet, and production has yet to start. But if this is the line up the next question has to be the script.
The script is from the same mind that created the Bourne series of books, Robert Ludlum. So I think the question of how good it might me is no longer in doubt. Add to this the fact that the director of this proposed film is David Cronenberg known for his films The Dead Zone, The Fly, Crash, and Scanners. So that front should be solid as well.
If this film can capture the unique spark that was in say Collateral, then this film will top the charts. One might expect that this could become an Oscar contender. Mostly due to Washington. Especially if the issue of accents are removed as we all know that Tom Cruise can’t do one.
Either way, if this comes to fruition as it stands now, this will be a must see film. I am eagerly awaiting the early trailers.
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