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Anthony Hopkins and the Santa Barbara Film Festival

Edward Norton IS perhaps the greatest actor of his generation by Niiiice	Mar 5th, 2000 09:17:03 PM
Method acting's the way to go.
THE LION IN WINTER by Stephen Dedalus	Mar 5th, 2000 09:39:33 PM
Saw this in TV a few days ago. Its Hopkin's first performance, and it is one of the best things he's done. He plays Richard, son of Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and Catherine (Katherine Hepburn). I won't go into the story (it's about who inherits the throne), but I will simply say that you should see it NOW. Great acting, also the debut of Timothy Dalton.
big lipped, you're right, Leonard Maltin is very frustrating... by Stephen Dedalus	Mar 5th, 2000 09:53:56 PM
The man has absoultely no insight into movies anymore. His reviews used to be quick, witty, and sharp-edged, but now they've become blunt and predictable. Every other movie gets a "1/2" rating. He has no respect for smaller films like SMOKE SIGNALS and PI, and yet big-budget crap like WATERWORLD and VOLCANO (yes, VOLCANO!!!!!!!!) are given pleasant reviews. And to think that this is the man who used to praise little, hard-to-find entries like BUTLEY, Olivier's THREE SISTERS, or documentaries like BEST BOY. Plus, he has not given a film a ** rating since Gillian Armstrong's rendition of LITTLE WOMEN in 1994. Someone needs to hit him over the head with something.
Leonard Maltin? by Pips Orcille	Mar 5th, 2000 09:55:45 PM
What about Jan Wahl? I really can't stand her one bit. She is sooo arrogant when she's on news in the Bay Area. And those stupid dresses she wears. Man!
Don't forget... by danhelm	Mar 5th, 2000 09:57:27 PM
MTV Radio, big_lipped. I've never heard of them, can't find them on my radio here in Southern California, but I know a film is unwatchable if it quotes MTV Radio in its ads. Also, I love it when ads use one word quotes, usually something like "fun" or "exciting". Those marketing people are geniuses, they can turn shit into gold. Hopefully other talkbacters can point out some other no-talent hack critics.
Funny thing about Maltin... by gilmour	Mar 5th, 2000 10:17:46 PM
Anyone notice how on ET whenever Leonard gives does an interview with a popular male star the idiot writers for ET always make him say the words "Hollywood Hunk" or heartthrob. Damn thats funny, just wanted to share...
Hey Harry What happened to "pure nitro"?? by phishboy	Mar 5th, 2000 11:27:47 PM
I remember a certain someone a few weeks ago posting a review which said Pitch Black was pure nitro.In fact harrys quote was the only reviewers quote in the newspaper ads and on TV commercials for this film.My comment is why is it when this movie was ripped by other reviewers and thoroughly unenjoyed by most viewers you pulled all mention of your review from this site. Was that on purpose or am I imagining things?
Roles of a Lifetime by SpoilerMan	Mar 6th, 2000 12:45:18 AM
You can help but be impressed with the roles that Sir Anthony Hopkins has chosen over his long film career. Honored figures from real life: Picasso, Yitzhak Rabin, Lloyd George, C.S. Lewis, John Quincy Adams, and Richard I. He's also tackled some of the most hated figures in history: Bruno Hauptmann, Capt. Bligh, Guy Burgess, Richard Nixon & Adolph Hitler. Among his wholly fictional parts he has played tragic heroes (Quasimodo), serial killers (Hannibal Lecter), swashbuckling swordsmen (Don Diego de la Vega) and eccentric vampire hunters (Abraham Van Helsing). A fine career, most worthy of accolades.
Um... by All Thumbs	Mar 6th, 2000 01:19:47 AM
I thought Rex Reed was North America's worst "popular" critic. Have you guys ever seen his 1999 Best/Worst lists?
re:molehunter by SpoilerMan	Mar 6th, 2000 01:22:18 AM
I don't understand your objection, molehunter. You DON'T think that Hitler was one of the most hated figures in history? Or you object to the company I put him in? I was merely listing the roles that Hopkins has performed over the years.
Hopkins in "Titus" by Austin Powers	Mar 6th, 2000 02:03:03 AM
How do people feel about Hopkins' most recent role in "Titus"? I thought his love of the Bard really showed through. And there was more than a little bit of Lecter in the mincemeat pie scene, eh?
Ill tell you whats next for Ed 'TM' Norton by Malchizedik	Mar 6th, 2000 03:03:28 AM
A 98 minute cliche he directs, with him and Ben Stiller and they're a priest and a rabbi respectively. They try to woo the same chick, played by Jenna (ZZTOP leggs girl) Elfman. Funny religious confliction does not ensue. Oh, and worst critics of all time???? Pauline Kael, Francois Truffaut, Jean Luc Goddard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rhomer, and Paul Schrader. They killed film criticism. Lisa Shwartzenbaumer RULES.
Hey, I feel sorry for the critics. by Toby O. Notobe	Mar 6th, 2000 04:19:15 AM
I mean, how would you like to be mis-quoted and have to live with it for the rest of your life. The best example is Ebert who _to this day_ gets slammed for saying that Advertures in Babysitting was "...more entertaining than Ferris Beullers!!!" I saw the show when he reviewed it and the actual quote went more like "with the premise it has, this movie should be more entertaining than Ferris Beullers." I don't know which marketing flack took out the first part and added a bunch of exclamation points, but I sure hope he's enjoying his own special circle of Hell.
Hopkins & Foster by KittyKitty	Mar 6th, 2000 05:34:47 AM
Bravo Anthony Hopkins well deserved. I wish Harry had been there then he could have sat on Jodie Foster till she agreed to be in the sequel. I thought Anthony was mad at her? He may understand her reasons for turning down the sequel but I sure as hell don't. P.S. He is fantastic in Titus (how come Harry hasn't reviewed that?) He should have got an Oscar nom and it's funny he says that about Norton cause Norton and Hopkins are my favorite actors. Class!
Edward Norton happens to be God by Darth Bond	Mar 6th, 2000 09:10:08 AM
but since we're on the (Sir?) Anthony Hopkins topic let me just express my discontent with this actor. See, I too thought he was fantastic in Lambs, and great in The remains of the day, even above avarge in Amistad, etc, but lately what has he done? Zorro? Instinct? pleeeeeease. Plus, apart from being able to different accents (i.e: egends of the fall) I don't think he's that good of an actor (i.e: Legends of the fall, he was unbelieveable (yet hilarious) as an old(er than he is) man). I think post people consider him good and respect him because of his British background and accent. It is my opinion that he is overrated. CYL.
"...but lately what has he done?..." by Sweeper887	Mar 6th, 2000 10:26:32 AM
"...but lately what has he done? Zorro? Instinct? pleeeeeease." "The Mask of Zorro" was pretty damn good and everybody knows that. Look at the box office numbers. It's not like a "Wild Wild West" where it had good numbers opening weekend and then it died...but it had very steady business in spite of being released only a week before "Saving Private Ryan." As far as the box office failure of "Instinct" - it's all in the advertising. The movie itself was decent, but they advertised it as something that it was NOT. It was NOT a cross between "Silence of the Lambs" and "Gorillas in the Mist"...but a 'humanities' flick about how far one would go to protect one's 'family'. If the execs would have advertised it as it should have been, it wouldn't have been such a failure. In between those two films (Mask of Zorro and Instinct), he did "Meet Joe Black" - the movie was 2x too long and slightly dull. But, I would definitely have to agree with Roger Ebert in that Anthony Hopkins' performance was the best thing about the film - he was fantastic (as usual)! That's the only thing that gets ME through that movie. Oh yeah, and after all of the films listed above, he spent 6+ months in Italy filming "Titus" while his marriage fell apart. "Titus" is a great tribute to the bard, as they turned his worst play into something great. Then sometime in between filming "Titus" and "Mission Impossible 2," Anthony narrated the IMAX feature "Sigfried & Roy: the Magic Box." You see, Darth Bond, he's done quite a bit since 1998. And, just look at the filmography of Michael Douglas if you want someone who hasn't done a movie in a while - There was nothing between "A Perfect Murder" which was released in early summer of 1998 and "Wonder Boys" which was released just last month. I'm not even going to start in regard to how Darth Bond thinks that Anthony Hopkins is overrated... I just think that someone should get his/her (whatever gender you are, Darth Bond) head out of his/her ass and start looking at the world.
Titus by Omega Red	Mar 6th, 2000 10:31:40 AM
Titus was a great movie. Anthony Hopkins delivered yet another good performance. I wish that the film had been more widely released/recieved. And yes I agree with the poster above me, there are hints of Lecter in the final scenes.
Critics and Whores by All Thumbs	Mar 6th, 2000 10:39:58 AM
Sounds like a good title for a TV show. Anyways...regarding the critical comments on movie critics, I admit that's a great quote, but you'll notice that virgins are preferred over whores just as what the critics propose is preferred over what most studio execs propose, ESPECIALLY by people on this site.
Great article, pity about Jodie Foster and by the by, Edward Nor by brokentusk	Mar 6th, 2000 11:25:55 AM
Thank you.
any more from santa barbara? by thedood	Mar 6th, 2000 08:20:28 PM
I appreciate michael mann jr.'s comments from the Santa Barbara film fest. Was anyone else in attendance? Any other workshop speakers or film info worth noting? I missed the event this year but it is a good one and there must be more out there. And one note re: Anthony Hopkins... he has always elevated any work I've seen him in and challenged the other actors to be at their best. Writing and directing and promotions are other's responsibilites... can we separate the actor from the project please?
All Hail Norton? by oscar wilde	Mar 7th, 2000 12:41:21 AM
Ed Norton is a fine young actor, but his filmography isn't nearly large enough to ordain him the high priest of a whole generation of actors. Twenty-years ago the same things now being said about Edward Norton were being said about Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts. Is Norton that good, or is his competition that bad? Dustin Hoffman had close contemporaries like Newman, Beatty, Redford, Voight, Hackman, DeNiro, and Pacino, to name just a few. Norton has the Holy Trinity of Ben Affleck,Matthew McConaughey, and the incomparable Ed Burns to compete with. As for film criticism, if it were ever relevant, it is now certainly not. Let's not confuse reviewer with critic. The word critic implies intellectual rigor. A film reviewer on the other hand is merely a second-rate newspaper writer, or worse, who gives a thumbs-up or down for that large public who can no longer read. Food critics do not waste their time reviewing the menu at McDonald's or Wendy's, why then should critics waste their time reviewing the cinematic equivalent of fast food?
Hannibal script by Senor PsiKoPatH	Mar 7th, 2000 02:38:34 AM
When Foster first gave signs of trouble the script was modified, largely as part of an effort to coax her to 'pick up her good bag' once again. Now that it is certain that honor will fall upon someone else, is there any chance of the 'more original' script being used? I'd just hate to see that marvellous ending changed. grx. Senor PsiKoPatH (senor_psikopath@yahoo.com)
More on Sir Anthony Hopkins and God (Re: Sweeper887) by Darth Bond	Mar 7th, 2000 07:31:54 AM
Let me clarify my statement. I was not being critical about Anthony's lack of work, but rather the mediocrity of the work with which he has been involved recently. Zorro was pure pop-corn, but with too much sugar for my taste, Instinct, pehaps it was badly advertised, whatever, but IT WAS DULL. What else, oh yeah, the forgetable Meet Joe Black, over three hours of Brad Pitting which should have been kept at 80 minutes. And Titus (which I have not seen, so I won't get into it, much), an early work of Will's (hence, not that well liked by certain critics) and I think Hollywood should do more of the bards later stuff 5 I want another Hamlet! and not with ethan hawk smirking). Now, don't get me wrong, he probably IS an excellent actor, but in these last movies I think he is been sleeping on a kinnda autopilot, perhaps he does deserve this award, but defenetly does not deserve the honour of it presented by Ed "God" Norton itself (guess the norton fan). CYL.

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Anthony Hopkins and the Santa Barbara Film Festival

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