Today marks the 80th birthday (80th!) of cinema legend Max von Sydow. This year, a fan site points out, retrospective celebrations of his work seem highly probable. I bring this birthday up because my interview with him a year and half ago is still one of my favorite events from my Film Experience journey. He was so interesting to talk to. Consider the diversity of his resume: The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Awakenings, The Virgin Spring, Flash Gordon, Three Days of the Condor, Judge Dredd, Hannah and Her Sisters. He's worked with everyone from Ingmar Bergman to Steven Spielberg. If I could have tied him up for hours with more questions, I would have, believe me. His next film is Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (previously discussed) and then we might see him in the WW II resistance fighter drama, Truth & Treason. He's not in the trailer so we assume he plays one of the characters as an older man in an epilogue.
On the other end of the age spectrum is von Sydow's upcoming co-star in that picture, Haley Joel Osment. He turns 21 today. He was once everyone's favorite tiny medium (The Sixth Sense) and little android (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) but we haven't seen him for years. Growing up is always difficult for child stars. Their faces change or don't change enough. There's that brief awkward phase or whole long stretches of it. We haven't seen Osment much recently but he does have two films in the works, the aforementioned Truth & Treason and an indie comedy called Montana Amazon in which he co-stars with Olympia Dukakis.Maybe he isn't ambitious about having a big film career as an adult but if he is I figure both M. Night Shyamalan and Steven Spielberg ought to offer him something good to help him with the transitioning. They way I see it they both owe him --think of how much weaker both of those films immediately become with anything less than a preternaturally gifted child actor in their demanding roles.
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11 comments:
I went to NYU last week and a few kids said Osment was studying there. So I guess that's what he's up too. And I kinda have more respect for actors if their inclined to study for a couple of years. I'm pretty sure that would have done wonders on Lohan.
Haley Joel Osment's little sister stars in Hannah Montana. Two different roads.
Hah, earlier today I actually re-read your interview with Von Sydow (which is also one of my favorite TFE posts ever) to celebrate the occasion.
A fine actor, he is.
Would love to see what Osment has in him as an adult actor.
As for Max, one of my all time favorite screen presences. He's one of those people who can be deathly serious without force or it coming as too much gravitas. Though I love The Seventh Seal best of all his movies, his small role in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tears me up inside every time I think about it. Truly moving stuff.
Haley and I have a mutual friend, so I've met him. He's very much a friendly, typical college kid...just with a Joan Miró painting hanging in his apartment. He didn't mention any plans for the future, and it seems that, for the moment, he's most concerned with enjoying his NYU experience and going from there.
He was in a Mamet play on Broadway this past year, though, so he's not completely out of the spotlight.
Happy Birthday to Max Von Sydow. One of my favorite movies is Three Days of the Condor. Max was the major reason. I would have loved to see a movie about his character. "It's a real pity" that it never happen.
it was such a shame he didn't win bes tsupp actor either way it would've done him no harm as not winning has!
Saw him in American Buffalo in its (what, two week long?) run on Broadway a few months back. He was... to put it kindly ... the play's weakest cast member.
I'm pretty sure that Shyamalan's ego prevents him from coughing up something good now anyway.
That said, I really want to see The Happening, because it seems like it would be great to laugh at.
Haley was just on Broadway recently, I think. he's around and he's been working steady, just not in the spotlight he came out in.
My cousin was in 3 days of the Condor! He still gets residual checks when it airs. : )
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