The Bottom Line: 'Tenacious' TV Stars Fight for Film Fame
By Robert Sims, Special to Hollywood.com
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Josh Duhamel |
Every TV star longs to escape the confines of the small screen.
A few make it. Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis have never looked back.
The rest scurry back to TV. Pity poor Jennifer Love Hewitt, Matthew Perry and Tom Selleck.
But for the following eight TV staples, the prospect of being the next George Clooney outweighs the risk of being humbled and embarrassed like David Caruso.
Josh Duhamel
TV Series: Las Vegas
Last Seen: Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! ($17 million)
Next: Turistas (Dec. 1); Transformers (July 4)
The Bottom Line: Playing a charming, handsome movie star will not necessarily turn you into a charming, handsome movie star in real life, as Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! quickly confirmed. Now Duhamel following in the footsteps of other TV hunks by getting blood on his hands with Turistas, which looks like a Hostel knockoff. Not that going the horror route helped Barry Watson or Chad Michael Murray. He also shouldn’t expect too much from Transformers: all eyes will be on those shape-changing robots, not him.
Nathan Fillion 
TV Series: Firefly
Last Seen: Serenity ($25.5 million); Slither ($7.8 million)
Next: White Noise 2: The Light (Jan. 5); Waitress (2007)
The Bottom Line: Fillion can’t be blamed for Serenity or Slither failing. No one could care about Serenity unless they were Browncoats, the loyal fans of Fillion's much-missed sci-fi series, Firefly. Universal didn’t know how to sell the comedy chiller Slither. Fillion, though, clearly isn’t expecting anything other than a quiet reception to his Michael Keaton-less White Noise sequel. He already planning to return to TV via a deal he just signed with Fox. Fingers crossed, Fox will treat Fillion's next series with more respect than it gave Firefly.
Matthew Fox
TV Series: Lost; Party of Five
Last Seen: My Boyfriend's Back ($3.3 million)
Next: We Are Marshall (Dec. 22); Vantage Point (Oct. 5)
The Bottom Line: Having not pursue film opportunities as a Party of Fiver, Fox is now making up for Lost time. The fact-based sport drama We Are Marshall—with Fox as Thundering Herd assistant coach Red Dawson—should be a tonic for bowl fever-gripped college football fans. And while we don’t need another thriller about an attempted presidential assassination, Vantage Point should prove more compelling than The Sentinel given it’s told from five viewpoints. Fox is smart for taking advantage of Lost. Given Lost’s ratings slide, and its penchant to kill off characters, who knows how long Fox has left on that mysterious island.
Eva Longoria
TV Series: Desperate Housewives
Last Seen: The Sentinel($36.2 million)
Current: Harsh Times ($1.9 million) *
Next: Foodfight! (Nov. 16); How I Met My Boyfriend's Dead Fiance (2007)
The Bottom Line: “I would never do another TV show after Desperate Housewives,” the Wisteria Lane sexpot told The Associated Press. Famous last words? Well, the apathetic response to Harsh Times and The Sentinel won’t prompt Longoria to pull a David Caruso. Neither the supernatural romance How I Met My Boyfriend's Dead Fiance or the fish-out-of-water comedy Deep in the Heart of Texas sound too promising. Still, in Harsh Times, Longoria did such an admirable job holding her own against Christian Bale that she showed she’s got what it takes to succeed where Farrah Fawcett failed.
* Through Nov. 12
Amy Poehler
TV Series: Saturday Night Live
Last Seen: Envy ($13.5 million)
Next: Tenacious D In: The Pick of Destiny (Nov. 22); Blades of Glory (March 30); Spring Breakdown (April 13); Mr. Woodcock (April 13); Shrek the Third (May 18); Southland Tales (2007)
The Bottom Line: Sadly, the odds are against the spunky Poehler. No female SNLer has achieved Eddie Murphy-like stardom. But give Poehler applause for giving it a shot, starting with her cameo in the hilarious rock opera Tenacious D In: The Pick of Destiny could significantly help her cause if it connects with singleton women. But it’s more likely that Baby Mama—reuniting her with ex-Weekend Update anchor Tina Fey—that may make or break Poehler. Whatever happens, though, Poehler must not make a SNL character-based film. A Needlers movie would ruin her slim chances of becoming the next Will Ferrell.
Freddy Rodriguez
TV Series: Six Feet Under
Last Seen: Poseidon ($60.6 million); Lady in the Water ($42.2 million)
Current: Harsh Times ($1.9 million) *; Bobby
Next: Grindhouse (April 6)
The Bottom Line: You can’t argue with Rodriguez for his decision to star in Poseidon and Lady in the Water, two potential summer blockbusters that sank without a trace. “It seems like you choose bad movies from the get-go, but you don’t know they are going to be bad movies because the intentions are all good,” Rodriguez tells Hollywood.com. And, as he says, who would “say no” to Poseidon director Wolfgang Petersen? But just when it seems like Rodriguez can’t win for trying—Havoc debuted on DVD, Harsh Times just flopped—he’s delivers a moving performance in Emilio Estevez’s star-studded, well-meaning but dramatically lacking RFK ensemble drama, Bobby. Then there’s Grindhouse. He’s the hero in the Robert Rodriguez-directed contribution, the zombie saga Planet Terror. One thing’s for sure, the dead’s been good to Rodriguez.
* Through Nov. 12
Dax Shepard
TV Series: Punk’d
Last Seen: Employee of the Month ($28.1 million) *
Current: Let's Go to Prison (opened Nov. 17)
The Bottom Line: Sony Punk’d itself by squandering $65 million on a sequel to Jumanji that didn’t star Robin Williams. Employee of the Month doubled its $12 million budget on the strength of Dane Cook’s presence, even if Shepard gave the workplace showdown its comic tension. And Universal just dumped Let's Go to Prison without any fanfare. That said, Shepard could reverse his misfortunes with Smother, in which he will go head to head with Diane Keaton, and the corporate comedy Retreat. If both flop, though, then Shepard really would be up the creek Without a Paddle.
* Through Nov. 12
Wilmer Valderrama
TV Series: That 70s Show
Last Seen: Party Monster ($742,898)
Current: Fast Food Nation (opened Nov. 12)
Next: Unaccompanied Minors (Dec. 8); Darwin Awards (2007)
The Bottom Line: Unlike Ashton Kutcher, Wilmer Valderrama waited for That ‘70s Show to end before launching his film career. However unfocused and gabby, director Richard Linklater’s stomach-churning Fast Food Nation will help Valderrama distance himself from the nice but naïve Fez. In an ensemble drama that includes Ethan Hawke, Greg Kinnear and Bruce Willis, Valderrama is a surprise standout as a Mexican illegal worker. The host of MTV’s Yo Momma goes back to making us laugh with the Home Alone-ish Unaccompanied Minors and the CHiPs film. After that, Valderrama should seek out more meatier roles to build on Fast Food Nation.
Photo(s) by Scott Kirkland- © 2006- DailyCeleb.com- All Rights Reserved