Friday, May 16, 2008

Advice to Casting Directors: Two Undervalued Blondes

Lookie here! Two sensational actresses are FREE --well not as in monetarily, but free as in their television series have been cancelled or have expired.


Anne Heche (Men in Trees) is not a generic interchangeable actor. She's a presence. She was an surprising, tempestuous and undervalued big screen actress (Donnie Brasco, Wag the Dog, Psycho, Birth) and then she went a little crazy and became an overvalued celebrity (for the wrong reasons --not that I didn't enjoy the "Celestia" years!) then she did a couple of spins on Broadway (where she was valued if not enough) before she was an undervalued TV star (Men in Trees). Someone treasure her gifts quickly, challenge her. Time is a wasting. Sure, she's a bit of a troubled handful but you get results.

Katee Sackhoff is a terrific actress. I won't lie and claim that she's undervalued on her breakout show (Battlestar Galactica)... they've leaned on her heavily and she's crafted an indomitable fan-favorite character who has evolved considerably from her first bold sketches four years back. Then, and seemingly without dropping a bead of sweat, Katee gave Bionic Woman the only fire it had as its rogue bionic. A bonfire to be more accurate. It was night and day on that show between her scenes and every one else's. Both of those shows have expired or are about to. She's a bonafide super star, if Hollywood would merely point bright lights her way to reflect. Give her a lead role and watch the magic happen.

Wil Yun Lee & Katee on Bionic Woman: the only interesting relationship/subplot.
Come to think of it, let's give him more work too.


Free advice. This is just me giving back to Hollywood.
*

12 comments:

par3182 said...

i wish you were in charge of hollywood - i'd see a lot more movies

Anonymous said...

shame about heche she showed such promise in early ssupporting roles like the juror.

Anonymous said...

Love Heche. Am I allowed to prefer her Psycho turn to that of Janet Leigh? Am I even OK to say that out loud?

Rob

Michael Parsons said...

Good idea par3182. Ever thought of becoming a producer Nat? I am sure you can go down to the job centre and fill out an application.

Kamila said...

Anne Heche was AMAZING in "Men in Trees". I am so sorry the show was cancelled! I will miss Elmo!

Anonymous said...

Let's see more of Katee!!!!

Anonymous said...

I love Anne and MIT too, which ABC f**ked royally with inexplicable hiatuses, time slot changes, and now the unceremonious cancelation [sigh].

But re: the Defamer piece, WTF is up with Anne's financial picture?

It's so odd when celebrities like her bemoan their net worth when the sum of money she earns per episode of a weekly TV series or for a single role in an "independent" film surpasses the average wage most Americans make annually.

It's hard to feel a whole lot of sympathy for her and other actors like Sarah Jessica Parker, who say they're constantly afraid that -- no matter how rich and famous they become -- the powers that be will figure out they're not talented and fire them, or their current role will be their last; yet they live so lavishly that this fear can't possibly be as ever-present as they purport it to be.

Shouldn't somebody of her obvious means be reasonably expected to weather a relatively minor four-month career drought? Most folks manage to survive just fine, in good economic times and bad, on a fraction of what Anne makes.

Anne is a singular talent, however, so I do hope she continues to get stage and screen work.

Marco

Li Wen said...

Mmm. Yes to more Will Yun Lee. With or without Sackhoff. The dynamic between those two was my favourite on Bionic Woman too.

Glenn said...

I'm a vocal unabashed fan of Anne Heche. I think she's totally excellent in all those roles you mentions (she'd be a two-time nominee for her roles in Wag the Dog and Birth if you ask me). And even in big Hollywood pics like Seven Days, Seven Nights she was a breath of fresh air. I liked her on Men in Trees, too. Hell, I liked that whole show. It was just fun nicely made entertainment.

But, I wish she'd bring back the short hair!!

Anonymous said...

i like it when celestia started talking in her language to baba wawa. celestia was totally hot.

NATHANIEL R said...

jimmy agreed. that has to be one of the greatest celebrity interviews ever.

and oh: i also like her with short hair. LOVED her in Psycho (i know it's not popular but whatevs... i'm with Rob there.)

par i wish i were in charge of Hollywood too. SOMEONE MAKE THAT HAPPEN!

Glenn Dunks said...

I really like Anne in Psycho, too. I wouldn't say she was better than Leigh, but I thought she was ace. Made Marion a bit more unlikable.

I wish she and Halle Berry both went back to their short hair days. It's like what you say about red heads. Why look like everyone else when you can look amazing while standing out in a crowd?