Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Wolverine, 007 Cop $1 Million Broadway Paydays
Bloomberg.com: "Why would Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, two of the planet’s biggest film stars, spend the fall on Broadway in Keith Huff’s modest two-hander, “A Steady Rain”?"
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5 comments:
Even with a 1 million dollar paycheck (one i would accept in a heartbeat), it still obvious its not that profitable for celebrities to be broadway performers. I think celebrities appear on Broadway for two reasons. One, i Hope that actors actually appreciate their craft and want to improve their craft. Hugh Jackman has proved himself as a seasoned actor and appearing in stage productions only improves his own acting capability. Sadly, i also feel for celebrities to go to broadway is a way to "Show off" how good of actors they are. This is probably part of the reason they rarely open to good reviews from rather cynical broadway critics.
The author of this article is leaving out a major point. I don't know about Daniel Craig, but Hugh Jackman was doing musicals and plays BEFORE he made it into films! This isn't a step down for him, it's revisiting his roots! For goodness sake, he was cast as Van Helsing based on his performance in Oklahoma!! The director had never seen the X-Men movies. He isn't doing this to jump start his career, or because this play lets him shine, or what have you.
Aside from that, I think this can really bring the attention of the general public back to theater and broadway. Bringing something people know (celebrities) to theater will make it more enticing and relatable.
I'm actually all for more well known celebrities being on Broadway, even if it means people go just to see a big name performer. This is a good thing from any view because it means people are possibly still really interested in theatre, despite the recession. With Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, and John Stamos all on Broadway or coming soon, it's a pretty good time. I'm really happy that in this play in particular, the two actors are not making as much money as they potentially could, and showing appreciation of the art by doing so.
At least by putting big names in theatre, lots of people are beginning to migrate to theatre and give us their money. Who cares if the actor is a film actor moving to broadway? If they are good and able to do the show well, then all the power to them. In a struggling time like this, it's crucial to get tickets sold and people in seats. And, if that means having a big name on stage who can perform the part adequately, as opposed to a no-name great broadway performer, then so be it.
The idea of film celebrities doing theater simply as a way to look cultured and artistically serious to all their film celebrity friends is a little ridiculous. People should do theater because they love it, not because they want to impress people. When those are your intentions, you're not going to put out your best product. However, Hugh Jackman does a fair amount of theater, so he might be doing it for the right reasons.
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