This is fantastic take on the opening of this film. This is also a go-to film in my household and I love it because it contains so many truisms in not just how guys relate to each other, women relate to each other, but how men and women have difficulty communicating with each other. This is a fantastic slice-of-life film.
I've been thinking lately about Matt Dillon after seeing him in Rumble Fish, To Die For and generally coming across clips of his many films, like this one. Why did he not become the biggest star in the world? He worked consistently, but he never quite became the name above the title that you would expect from a guy who was an amazing actor and a big heartthrob at 17. Did he have limited range, make the wrong career decisions, have issues in his personal life, take too long of a hiatus at some point? I mean, he was the most electrifying presence in The Outsiders, a film with a ton of young talent, some of whom went on to become huge stars, most notably, Tom Cruise. I'd love to see a deep interview with him. Anyone else?
I think JD's comment is probably the right answer here. Once an actor starts saying no to the wrong parts, they start getting fewer parts offered to them. That probably worked fine when there was a thriving indie scene to keep Dillon doing things that mattered to him, but indies dried up as a source of both artistic satisfaction and income. You can't go back and recover that earlier juice in most cases.
In 1989, he starred in one of my favorite films of all time, Drugstore Cowboy, also directed by Gus Van Sant like To Die For. After Cowboy, I thought for sure he would continue his ascent into big dramatic roles, but he instead chose a wide array of characters and films. His filmography is all over the place, which is not a bad thing, he always pops up in interesting films. He got a big career jolt in 1998 with "Wild Things" and then his hilarious turn in "There's Something About Mary," and then later in varied films like Crash, Armored, The House That Jack Built, and some things I haven't heard of. Anyway, he's worked consistently and he's always good, especially in... Beautiful Girls. (See how I wrapped that up?) ;-)
I get the feeling that after being a teen heartthrob early on in his career he wanted to move away from the spotlight and be regarded as a serious actor. I don't think he was interested in being a movie star. For him, it is all about the work. That's just a gut feeling I get from his career trajectory.
I met Scott at the Austin screenwriters conference when I was 29 and I had recently watched Beautiful Girls for the second time. I told him it absolutely hit home with me and my 30 crisis. He was happy to hear it still held up.
P.s. You're crazy if you think I'm telling you what year that was.😅
I watched this movie after reading the first few sentences of the piece and then went back to finish it just now. So great. Can't wait to hear what Scott Rosenberg has to say!
That is great; I appreciate the attention to detail.
I'll be a bit greedy and ask if you'd think about doing a similar write-up for _Return of the Secaucus Seven_ another great ensemble film about a group of friends getting together after not having seen each other for a while.
I would love to do that, but it's currently unavailable in Australia to even watch and, more, I haven't been able to find the script. I used to have Sayles's email, but it seems to have surrendered to the Digital Gods.
This is superb, Cole, really superb.
I see what you did there.
This is fantastic take on the opening of this film. This is also a go-to film in my household and I love it because it contains so many truisms in not just how guys relate to each other, women relate to each other, but how men and women have difficulty communicating with each other. This is a fantastic slice-of-life film.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the read so much, JD!
I've been thinking lately about Matt Dillon after seeing him in Rumble Fish, To Die For and generally coming across clips of his many films, like this one. Why did he not become the biggest star in the world? He worked consistently, but he never quite became the name above the title that you would expect from a guy who was an amazing actor and a big heartthrob at 17. Did he have limited range, make the wrong career decisions, have issues in his personal life, take too long of a hiatus at some point? I mean, he was the most electrifying presence in The Outsiders, a film with a ton of young talent, some of whom went on to become huge stars, most notably, Tom Cruise. I'd love to see a deep interview with him. Anyone else?
I think JD's comment is probably the right answer here. Once an actor starts saying no to the wrong parts, they start getting fewer parts offered to them. That probably worked fine when there was a thriving indie scene to keep Dillon doing things that mattered to him, but indies dried up as a source of both artistic satisfaction and income. You can't go back and recover that earlier juice in most cases.
In 1989, he starred in one of my favorite films of all time, Drugstore Cowboy, also directed by Gus Van Sant like To Die For. After Cowboy, I thought for sure he would continue his ascent into big dramatic roles, but he instead chose a wide array of characters and films. His filmography is all over the place, which is not a bad thing, he always pops up in interesting films. He got a big career jolt in 1998 with "Wild Things" and then his hilarious turn in "There's Something About Mary," and then later in varied films like Crash, Armored, The House That Jack Built, and some things I haven't heard of. Anyway, he's worked consistently and he's always good, especially in... Beautiful Girls. (See how I wrapped that up?) ;-)
Don't forget Singles! He was hilarious as a hapless wannabe Eddie Vedder in that flick.
I get the feeling that after being a teen heartthrob early on in his career he wanted to move away from the spotlight and be regarded as a serious actor. I don't think he was interested in being a movie star. For him, it is all about the work. That's just a gut feeling I get from his career trajectory.
I met Scott at the Austin screenwriters conference when I was 29 and I had recently watched Beautiful Girls for the second time. I told him it absolutely hit home with me and my 30 crisis. He was happy to hear it still held up.
P.s. You're crazy if you think I'm telling you what year that was.😅
I watched this movie after reading the first few sentences of the piece and then went back to finish it just now. So great. Can't wait to hear what Scott Rosenberg has to say!
Well, that's flattering. I love that anything I wrote inspired you to go watch the film. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!
That is great; I appreciate the attention to detail.
I'll be a bit greedy and ask if you'd think about doing a similar write-up for _Return of the Secaucus Seven_ another great ensemble film about a group of friends getting together after not having seen each other for a while.
I would love to do that, but it's currently unavailable in Australia to even watch and, more, I haven't been able to find the script. I used to have Sayles's email, but it seems to have surrendered to the Digital Gods.
It looks like the movie should be available here: https://archive.org/details/return-of-the-secaucus-7
(also on youtube; but that might be region limited)
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.
I appreciate you considering it; I think it’s a brilliantly written movie, but an interesting example of the limits of the digital commons.
Thanks! It's been about thirty years since I've seen it. It would be great to return to it.