Happy Self Love Week: The Directorial Cameo
I'm going to finish off this week with the ultimate act of self love which is the directorial cameo.
When did the directorial cameo begin?
Jean Renoir in La Bete humaine?
And why did it begin in the first place? To save money? Because there was no one better? Out of desperation? Out of ego?
No matter, the directorial cameo is here and here to stay, so it's worth examining. So let's break it down. There are lots of degrees of the directorial cameo.
There's the see if you can find me cameo a la Alfred Hitchcock.
There's the has some dialogue but not too much as to botch the movie cameo which belongs to the likes of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Mel Brooks.
There's the director title isn't enough so I'm also going to star in it cameo and that goes to Spike Lee, Albert Brooks, Orson Wells and Clint Eastwood.
And then there's Woody Allen. I have loved him in Sleeper and Love and Death and Annie Hall and Radio Days and Crimes and Misdemeanors and New York Stories and good God somebody stop me. And when Woody isn't starring in his own movies, he's casting someone that can play his own neurotic, stammering bad self, like John Cusak or Will Ferrell. It wouldn't be so bad if Woody didn't put out about six movies a year.
There's no denying that Alfred Hitchcock's cameos are cool in that he makes it a point to not stand out. I would have to say that Scorsese's cameo in Taxi Driver is both brilliant and deeply disturbing. Spike Lee is excellent in all his movies. David Lynch playing agent Gordon Cole makes me laugh every single time. And I would have to argue that I can't really see anyone else in the role of Charles Foster Kane other than Orson Wells and knowing how egotistical Wells was, I'm not sure there was no one better to understand the character than him.
Come to think of it, I'm not sure that there has been one single movie that has suffered because of a director casting himself/herself. It might have been better, but I don't know that it was worse. But then again, I haven't seen Steven Soderbergh in Schizopolis.
When did the directorial cameo begin?
Jean Renoir in La Bete humaine?
And why did it begin in the first place? To save money? Because there was no one better? Out of desperation? Out of ego?
No matter, the directorial cameo is here and here to stay, so it's worth examining. So let's break it down. There are lots of degrees of the directorial cameo.
There's the see if you can find me cameo a la Alfred Hitchcock.There's the has some dialogue but not too much as to botch the movie cameo which belongs to the likes of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Mel Brooks.
There's the director title isn't enough so I'm also going to star in it cameo and that goes to Spike Lee, Albert Brooks, Orson Wells and Clint Eastwood.And then there's Woody Allen. I have loved him in Sleeper and Love and Death and Annie Hall and Radio Days and Crimes and Misdemeanors and New York Stories and good God somebody stop me. And when Woody isn't starring in his own movies, he's casting someone that can play his own neurotic, stammering bad self, like John Cusak or Will Ferrell. It wouldn't be so bad if Woody didn't put out about six movies a year.
There's no denying that Alfred Hitchcock's cameos are cool in that he makes it a point to not stand out. I would have to say that Scorsese's cameo in Taxi Driver is both brilliant and deeply disturbing. Spike Lee is excellent in all his movies. David Lynch playing agent Gordon Cole makes me laugh every single time. And I would have to argue that I can't really see anyone else in the role of Charles Foster Kane other than Orson Wells and knowing how egotistical Wells was, I'm not sure there was no one better to understand the character than him.
Come to think of it, I'm not sure that there has been one single movie that has suffered because of a director casting himself/herself. It might have been better, but I don't know that it was worse. But then again, I haven't seen Steven Soderbergh in Schizopolis.
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5 comments:
Yes there has been a movie that suffered - "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" ... Lucas put himself and his three stupid fat kids in the movie, and screwed it up.
www.therecshow.com
One must - MUST - mention M. Night Shyamalan, king of the Not Only Do I Cast Myself Instead Of Real Actors, But I Give Myself Important Expository Dialogue In Which I Show You How Clever I Am And Did I Mention That I Also Wrote This Movie? cameo
burbanked, you are right and I was trying to avoid giving Shamalamadingdong any more attention than he has already given himself.
That's a good instinct, Piper, but if the discussion is about cameos that take you completely out of the movie and service an ego instead of a narrative, MNS is the poster boy.
Indeed he is. Consider me a softy as I was especially harsh on Shammy a couple of weeks ago, but that is no excuse. He has a place here.
Sammyray, I was not aware the Lucas and this kids were in Episode 3. Nonetheless, it still sucked.
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