At what point does the reality of the person impede your enjoyment of the actor?

[outlander]

I guess I'm thinking of the Sperminator in particular, but a lot of people have a serious problem after listening to Mel Gibson's rants.

I have a problem with the views of Tim Robbins and Sean Penn and yet try as I might I can't dislike Andy in Shawshank and I only hate Penn when I am supposed to. God I hated his character in that Viet Nam war movie with MJF....

Maybe there's a difference to disliking them because of what they've done and disliking them because of what they believe.

Is that making sense to anyone? What are your thoughts on the matter?

 

[micdavis]

Stop paying attention to any of the personal stuff.

People that give a damn about the personal lives of celebrities should be shot in head.

I am sick to death of "famous" people who have done ZERO of quality. (Jersey Shore folks top the list).

 

[DarkHelmet]

I try to separate the artist from their art.

I am completely opposite politically of Bruce Springsteen...and always have been, but his music has influenced me more than anything other product of pop culture has so I remain a loyal fan.

I too don't care for Robbins and Penn, but also can't turn away from Andy Dufresne or Jimmy Markum.

 

[SSgt Burton]

People that give a damn about the personal lives of celebrities should be shot in head.

Bit harsh yes? :lol


I'm not too sure if that is the point Outlander is making but...

Ever since Neil Patrick Harris outted himself, it's kind of difficult for me to accept him in his role on "How I Met Your Mother" in which he is a complete womanizer. It just seems so ironic now.

(Not that I have any problem with his orientation at all. I like NPH.)


I'm not about to toss my Schwarzenegger collection as the man was my greatest inspiration growing up... However I certainly don't approve of what he did. And I was shaking my head when I heard the news. Stupidity, selfishness at its finest.


Mel Gibson is another kettle of fish altogether. His drunk driving/anti-semitic comments pretty much did it for me, and the recent rants were the last nail in the coffin.

Really I have no tolerance for someone who drives drunk period- a friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver in '96.


One thing I was going to start a thread on... Has today's instantaneous media become our modern version of a "public flogging"?

In this era, if someone famous does something ridiculous, it is all over the World the same day. Makes me think of the times when people were punished/humiliated publically for the town to witness.

And I'm not saying "public lashing" = "media sensationalism". Just that the idea that... I don't know... the more famous you are, the faster the news travels... the greater the humiliation on a Global scale?

Maybe less of a flogging and more like "being marked" back then?


Kevin

 

[joker-scar]

yes.. it is a strange thing. I still watch Seinfeld and laugh, but there is a moment when kramer crashes through the door, I'm thinking..Oh yeah...what's he doing now? :confused But I still watch and find him funny. :lol
But, there is no way I could watch Capricorn 1 and not think...OJ Simpson...bloody glove...and no matter how charming he comes across, I'm thinking...you're rich and got away with murder :angry :thumbsdown ...for a time at least. So there is no way I can get past that. I guess this is an extreme example of that, but for the most part I can separate the person from the acting role.

 

[JLeezy23]

I think there's a difference between them as human beings (morally) and them as performers (being actors, singers, etc.)

Charlie Sheen went kinda insane but i still love his characters past and present. I didn't stop watching Two and a Half Men cuz he was a druggy, crazy, outta wack guy. I jus like his acting.

Mel Gibson, not too sure. I love Mad Max movies, Lethal Weapon, Patriot n all, just haven't seen his current acting so much so i'm quiet on his situation as of now. He was pretty insane in those phone msgs but idk.

Arnie is always good in my book. Almost every guy looks at Terminator as a, would it be called a "hero"? He has love children, Jerry Lewis has one too, lots of actors have kids all and over its nothing new.

Personal information shouldn't affect someone's professional career, at least to the fans point of view most of the time. America is sooo obsessed with the celeb's personal lives they forgot that these people actually work in show biz, i hate all those celebrty gossip shows. Hollywood USED to FUN!

 

[outlander]

I cited those examples that I cited merely because those were the actors that occurred to me at the moment, not because I was seeking comments on those people in particular.

I avoided Mystic River for years because of pronouncements made by Penn and Robbins. But Mystiic River is a damn fine film.

Neither of those two actors has done anything horrible of which I am aware, but I am offended by their hubris in trying to educate me and America on issues which I feel they are hopelessly naive. But when all is said and done, I appreciate their craft.

I am conflicted.

 

[MooCriket]

Great thread, Outlander. I do not let my personal feelings concerning an actor's real life views nor what they have done prevent me from enjoying their films. I've always been able to just enjoy the character in the film.

I guess I am just fortunate to be able to do so, otherwise I probaly would have next to nothing to watch if I based my enjoyment off whether or not an actor/actress/writer/director, etc., etc., agrees with my views on life.

 

[SSgt Burton]

I think there does come a point in which an actor/musician etc acts like such a *******, that the "only" way for someone like ourselves to send a clear message ("You're being a ******* so stop it already!") is to stop watching their films, or buying their cds.

By becomming inifinitely famous you "have" to shoulder some responsibility of your personal life, or face public ridicule.

Why?

Because "we" the public ultimately supply you the entertainer with your paycheck.


Now where that line is drawn as to how much one person can tollerate on an entertainer's abhorrent behaviour is up to the individual. I for one am unwilling to let "everything and anything" slide to satisfy my need for entertainment.

Am I going to stop watching Platoon because Charlie Sheen has become a complete nutcase? No. Will I throw out my dvd of Mad Max? No. But I will no longer provide these people with anymore of my money.


Kevin

 

[cayman shen]

I'm usually totally able to compartmentalize, and don't care a bit about their private lives...but his private life aside, something about Colin Farrel (sp?) just makes my trigger finger itch. I can't watch anything that tool "acts" in.

Tom Cruise might be the only actor I can really say his offscreen anitcs/beliefs has more or less totally destroyed for me.

 

[PHArchivist]

When they become a Scientologist.

 

[KnightAsylum]

Only Sean Penn has crossed that line for me. I won't even watch anything he is in based on his real world life. Woody Harrelson is a close second -thank goodness I was able to overlook it and enjoy Zombieland because he is another I try hard to avoid based on their personal life.

 

[Wes R]

I generally would rather focus on the quality of the movie/acting unless it's as bad as the person in real life. Let's face it Tom Cruise is a nut and it's affected his movies. I personally don't care what Mel's opinion is or that Arnie likes to full around. It shows they're human like everyone else. I dislike woody and sean penn for the fact they make big steaming turd movies and in some cases may even push their agendas via their movies.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I try to, but it all depends. I think James Caan said it best when he said (paraphrasing) most actors don't have poli-sci degrees so they should shut up and do their job.

I'm more likely not to watch people just because they annoy me.

 

[Kittlemeier]

I get annoyed at entertainers on either side, even the ones I agree with for the most part, when they get political. Doesn't affect my enjoyment of their performances at all though.

Now if they're just a jackhole, sometimes it does bother me. I can hardly watch Russell Crowe anymore. And while I can still enjoy some of Gibson's older work, it's hard to watch his newer stuff. Maybe it's just the line of when it happened, fairly early in Crowe's career but very late in Gibson's.

 

[Wes R]

I try to, but it all depends. I think James Caan said it best when he said (paraphrasing) most actors don't have poli-sci degrees so they should shut up and do their job.

I'm more likely not to watch people just because they annoy me.

That should be taught at acting schools.

 

[JPolacchi]

I think part of it is when celebraties use their personal lives and "star power" to influence others.Sometimes this happens and it is beyond their contol.Our pathetic society always wanting *dirt* on those they take a disliking to due to their political or personal beliefs. Case in point...the numerously mentioned "Sean Penn".He is an incredible actor, but his political beliefs are way too far out there for me.

Another example, Arnold's current downward spiral in poplarity and Hollywood/media hell bent on crucifying him based on his personal life and very poor decisions. I think it is enough that his *split* be made public, but when the media goes after him to kick him while he's probably already feeling at his lowest and publisizing that he had a kid out of wedlock is something else.Asie from that,his personal life is really no business of anyone. Plus rthe fact that all of this crazyness is exposing a minor to the same torment is beyon cruelty.Regardless of whether you liked Arnold as a polititian or an actor is beside the point.If he were a Joe Blow nobody,no one would really care.That says allot about what our sociiety is like.

A last example would be Christian Bale and his on-set temper tantrum in Terminator. Like him or hate him, aside from the fact of whether you think he is the biggest A-Hole on the plante...he is another damn fine actor who turns out great movies and performances,and he has the Oscar to prove it. Mel Gibson is another animal altogether,but alcoholisim is a disease and aside from his personal beliefs...it alters you.

I think allot of people forget that alcohol in itself is a drug,and even though he is probably already prejudiced...it certainly wasn't helping him being that intoxicated and picking a verbal argument with a cop.He's made some great,cult classic films in the past and he's been able to prove he can direct too...hard to say what the future hold for him when he continues to make bad decions and then they get publisized.Even Nicholas Cage is really in a fix with his recent issues of drugs,alcohol and appartent physical abuse acusations/charges.

I'm in no way excusing them for anything these guys have done, but we all make mistakes and really bad decisions.We have to learn from them and hopefully not repeat them.The disadvantage to them is that they have targets painted on them,and as much as people like to see a star rise,just as many love to see one fall.I prefer just to forget all about their excentricities, bent poltical views or screwed up personal lives and enjoy their films and performaces for what they are.That's enough for me.

 

[Jet Beetle]

I believe this is my answer

 

[PantheraGem]

I try to remember that, for the most part, these are people so boring and uninteresting that they make their lives worthwhile by pretending to be other people.

 

[Bizarro Lois]

Generally, I have no problem keeping the two separate. A lot of the actors in older movies I like were at the opposite end of the political spectrum as I am, and even voted against some very significant acts. I still love their movies, but I guess it's not quite the same because they have all passed on, and society has changed.
I can see letting a performer take a hit in the wallet if you know the money you spend seeing his/her movie will end up supporting a cause you are adamently against. It was hard to buy any Charlton Heston DVD at one point, because of certain actions he took at that time. But I don't spend much time thinking about the personal lives of actors, even the ones I really like, while they're onscreen. And a lot of the ones that I laugh at their personal lives(Tom Cruise and Charlie Sheen) are not actors I really like in the first place.