That's probably the biggest shame about Nemesis' failure at the box office. Tom Hardy had a lot of buzz surrounding his performance prior to the movie's release, and this was supposed to be the movie that was going to send him on his way.
I have never gotten the fan criticism of Hardy's performance as Shinzon. Frankly, I don't believe it has anything to do with Hardy's acting, but fan expectations about how a clone should look and act like. The typical complaints are that Shinzon didn't act like Picard, or that he shouldn't be bald because Picard didn't lose his hair until he was older.
Well, Shinzon was a genetically engineered clone meant to age rapidly, and he didn't live Picard's life in bucolic France, but in the Reman mines. He wouldn't necessarily look and act exactly like Picard in those circumstances. I mean, the guy was willing to blow up the Earth. If he's willing to do something that unlike Picard, doesn't it make sense there would be other differences too?
In fact, that was the entire point of the movie. Shinzon represented an alternate, darker path Picard could have taken. But it's not like he's supposed to be the "Mirror Universe" version of Picard.
He should have known the movie would tank ... he doesn't look even a little bit like Patrick Stewart. Warning sign #1.
It couldn't have been just because of the Trek film. Actor's careers don't die just because they're involved in one flop. John Travolta made arguably the worst movie of the last 40 years in Battlefield Earth, with made about $1.98 at the box office, but he kept making high-profile movies. Harrison Ford had duds. Sean Connery had LOTS of duds. Audrey Hepburn made a vanity movie called Green Mansions that reportedly made audiences green, and then she went on to make Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Nemesis may have contributed to Hardy's woes, but frankly if he didn't pick himself up in time, that's his fault.
Here's another example: Michelle Ryan. Her Bionic Woman was a huge flop, and she was being promoted as the next Jennifer Garner. Her career in the US tanked as a result, and so she went back home to Britain and got herself some prime gigs in shows like Doctor Who and Merlin and she doesn't seem to be hurting. And in her case that's in spite of a lot of dislike from UK audiences (due to her playing an unpopular character on a soap opera called Eastenders, apparently).
A lot of people bitch about individuals involved in Nemesis, but it's primarily aimed at the people behind the scenes -- the writer, the director, the producers. I don't see people spouting hatred for Hardy as an actor -- in fact I heard him called the only good thing about Nemesis -- any more than I've heard anyone complaining about Dina Meyers. The CHARACTERS, yes, or the near-autisic obsession some fans have with the fact Shinzon was bald when in episode 22 of Season 3 young Picard wasn't bald (sounds like something straight out of Galaxy Quest). The actors are another story.
Al
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John Travolta made arguably the worst movie of the last 40 years in Battlefield Earth, with made about $1.98 at the box office
Battlefield Earth was a propaganda movie that Travolta made to please Lord Xenu and his scientology overlords. Heck, he even committed fraud to get investors put money into this venture.
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TREY PARKER: And it comes from an honest belief we have, which is... George Bush doesn't know what's going on. Michael Moore does not know what's going on. And Alec Baldwin definitely does not know what's going on. Basically, this shit is gigantically complicated.
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EDIT: Duplicate Post.
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TREY PARKER: And it comes from an honest belief we have, which is... George Bush doesn't know what's going on. Michael Moore does not know what's going on. And Alec Baldwin definitely does not know what's going on. Basically, this shit is gigantically complicated.
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John Travolta made arguably the worst movie of the last 40 years in Battlefield Earth, with made about $1.98 at the box office, but he kept making high-profile movies. Harrison Ford had duds. Sean Connery had LOTS of duds. Audrey Hepburn made a vanity movie called Green Mansions that reportedly made audiences green, and then she went on to make Breakfast at Tiffany's.
The big difference between Hardy and these examples is that these were already established actors. They'd already made it big, they can afford to have a flop once in a while, but are established enough that people will give them a second and third chance.
This was to be Hardy's "big break". It was the job that was supposed to put him into the major leagues, but it flopped and his chances of making that leap went with it.
Not to say that blaming Trek for his failed marriage, alcoholism, and drug addiction is anything short of refusing to accept the consequences of his own actions.. but as for his career not taking off, yeah, it's fair to lay that blame with Nemesis.
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"The idea of doing an impression of William Shatner… it would have no shot at succeeding. The character is Jim Kirk, not William Shatner." - Chris Pine
the BEST overacting moment for Picard:
Data tells him that some doodad thingy in his programing is "type R" and Picard YELLS, "TYPE R!?!?!" for no apparent reason.
It was like "The Cage" Spock (Deflectors at FULL INTENSITY! or THE WOMEN!!!)
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Flavius: What do you call those?
Spock: I call them ears.
Flavius: Are you trying to be funny?
Spock: Never.
becoming an alcoholic and ruining a marriage has nothing to do with staring in a film that flopped and everything to do with personal failures... it says more about him than problems with the film... and to blame a film for this..seems he can't take responsibility for his actions.
no sympathy.
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" laffa while you can ,,, monkey-boy!"
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The movie success (or lack thereof) could certainly be a catalyst. The inability to deal with it properly IS a personal failure - but by no means a character flaw. He didn't have the right mechanism to cope and ended up down a dark path.
If the movie had been his "Dark Knight" would he have have needed to cope with depression, etc. and fall into alcohol and drugs? Likely not. People turn to those things to cope with a situation they mentally can't.
Hardy wasn't one of them. He did well with what he was given. He just wasn't given much of anything good or that made sense.
But, since he's the guy that tries to embody part of that crap script, he gets the blame.
Sucks to be the "face" of a bad film. He got undeservedly dumped on.
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The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. ” — Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Recommendations Relative to the Strengthening and Enforcement of Anti-trust Laws.”
"If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty Humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being." ---Gene Roddenberry
NEM was a bad a film. Hardy, however, was not a bad actor.
I completely sympathize with him.
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The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on
my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their
breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and
only hollow rhythms resounded from within.
Quadrivium -- the Family of Battlestar Galactica
He's a good actor who wound up in a bad film. It happens. He was poorly cast for sure, but he did what he could with the role. I hope he's moved on and I wish him well.
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I thought he was entertaining. Hammy, over the top, but it kept me watching.
"SILENCE ROMULAN!"
I knew Stuart Braid was a tough director, but I didn't know he made people crack addicts. Someone check on Gates McFadden!
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An elephant never forgets . . .TO KILL!
I thought his monster was a 200 lb. Reman!
I don't understand these actors! They make a LOT of money for doing very little and complain when they fall from grace temporarily.
Chin up Tom, do some diarrhea medicine commercials and get on your feet!
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"I do not have a receipt, I won it as a door prize at the "Star Trek" convention, although I find their choice of prize highly illogical as the average Trekker has no use for a medium-sized belt."
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Doing very little? Acting is a LOT of work. Those on TV series and in movies often work 16 or 18 hours a day. There is nothing easy about acting whatsoever. It has a lot of perks, but it's a very challenging career.
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Rich Handley
Author, Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology
Available now from Hasslein Books
www.hassleinbooks.com
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I don't understand these actors! They make a LOT of money for doing very little and complain when they fall from grace temporarily.
Really, SLP? You believe the shit you're uttering?! Tell me this is a joke and not your own thought process that you're claiming to be reasoning, as well as displaying lack of human compassion.
Acting is like any other profession - it's a skill and a profession. Like any other career - some are better at it than otherz; and like any other job, people are compensated differently and paid accordingly to the value they bring to the product or service they are producing.
I don't know Hardy's demons - but like anyone else - you and me included - we have them. All he is doing is telling the interviewer what has happened to him; the most and best we can do is wish him well in his recovery.
So ... again ... please tell me what you said is a bad humored joke.
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Quote:I don't understand these actors! They make a LOT of money for doing very little and complain when they fall from grace temporarily.
Really, SLP? You believe the shit you're uttering?! Tell me this is a joke and not your own thought process that you're claiming to be reasoning, as well as displaying lack of human compassion.
Acting is like any other profession - it's a skill and a profession. Like any other career - some are better at it than otherz; and like any other job, people are compensated differently and paid accordingly to the value they bring to the product or service they are producing.
I don't know Hardy's demons - but like anyone else - you and me included - we have them. All he is doing is telling the interviewer what has happened to him; the most and best we can do is wish him well in his recovery.
So ... again ... please tell me what you said is a bad humored joke.
Good points, but as someone who works within the industry both as an agent and as a director I do firmly believe that there is a rediculous amount of overpayment that goes on for large scale productions/named actors/films etc-just like professional sportsman.
It is without a doubt an incredibly tough profession, and for the small actoir trying to earn enough to eat with it can be utterly soul destroying, however, we must not forget that these large scale actors who receive vast sums of money are fundamentally being paid to pretend to be someone else-that is for entertainment value. I do beleive that salaries are far too large. Regardless of how hard they're working, the profession does not need to be paying that amount of money, when in my opinion there are professions that contribute far more on a social, educational, health, moral etc level than does the acting industry.
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BTW, Mr Hardy has recovery and is starring in Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) next movie titled "Inception", joining Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard.
In 2002, Mr Hardy gave an exclusive interview to TrekWeb webmaster Steve Krutzler and was really nice to us.
TrekWeb wishs him the best in his life and his career.
Gustavo
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TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
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I took what he said as fecetiousness.
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There once was a man named Scorned,
whose posts were more offensive than porn.
He posted one too many,
got kicked out on his fanny,
and all the while he had been warned.
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I took what he said as fecetiousness.
Yeah, yeah! That's the ticket! fece,fecit,
What he said!
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"I do not have a receipt, I won it as a door prize at the "Star Trek" convention, although I find their choice of prize highly illogical as the average Trekker has no use for a medium-sized belt."
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