- Howard Stern, movie mogul – We’re still waiting for his “Porky’s” and “Rock and Roll High School” remakes. C’mon, Howard. You only work four days a week now and you’re on vacation more often than Johnny Carson in the ’80s.
- Eli Roth, the new king of horror – The director of “Hostel” and “Cabin Fever” has been silent of late, and the next time we’ll see him is in front of the camera in “Inglourious Basterds.”
- Zach Braff, indie auteur – “Garden State” was a minor comic gem. So where’s his follow up?
- Danny DeVito, quirky director for hire – The one-two punch of “Throw Momma from the Train” and “War of the Roses” announced the arrival of a new comic visionary. Since then, that vision hasn’t been seen much ’round Hollywood.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Personally, I could wait forever for remakes of Porky and esp. R&RHS (who could they possibly get to “play” the role of the Ramones?), though even those would still be preferable to Drop Dead Fred(?!?!)…
As for Eli Roth, I read an interview on a film blog with him stating that he was working on a “Cloverfield” type project and was going to use some of the money toward financing a feature-length version of his mock-trailer “Thanksgiving” from “Grindhouse” (Robert Rodriguez is also working a feature-length version of the mock-trailer “Machete”, reportedly to shoot this summer).
Roth has been attached to “Cell” forever, it seems. But I think his rep took a hit when “Hostel 2″ tanked. You’d think a smart horror director with a smidge of cred could go the low-budget route for a while …
But now he’s acting in Tarantino’s latest, so maybe he’s distracted.
Wow. I can’t say I miss any of these cats. DeVito seems like many screen stars – very limited appeal, very narrow range.
DeVito, to my eyes, was on to something with those directorial efforts … but he made only a few more films and they tanked at the box office. He subsequently retreated to acting.
Don’t forget ‘Howard Stern – The Early Years’. OOFFAA! He stopped being really creative years ago. Now, he just lets his staff – mainly Richard and Sal – do all his heavy lifting. And he makes a ton of money for a part time gig. In fact, the only thing he does full time, is bash Christians. He’s become everything he used to rail against. What a clown.
Howiewood Stern may have hit a new low with his recent bit about questioning Beyonce’s singing abilities from that (obviously doctored) tape, seeing how his own “efforts” have atrophied beyond the point of no return; it’s amazing how I don’t miss him at all on morning radio, esp. with some of the “talent” that’s taken his place (Danny Bonaduce? REALLY???)…
Howard Stern circa 1993 would tear this year’s model to shreds. Great point about letting his lackeys do all the creative bits …
I love all the talk of him retiring … he barely works now and collects a paycheck that all but sunk Sirius’ chance for profits.
The thing Howard still does really well, is interview celebs. I still can’t believe he had Paul McCartney in studio. But those are few and far between. And you’re right WWTW, he was at the top of his game around ‘93. Like a pro athlete after a big free agent signing, he forgot what made him great. Maybe that’s just human nature or maybe he’s just lost it.
He finally realized how famous is he and now acts accordingly.
Don’t be shocked by the McCartney interview … Sirius kissed up the ex-Beatle big time, turning over a channel to him for a while and even Howard seemed compelled to talk nicely about his new album. That’s likely how it all came down.
One of my career highlights as a writer was the time Howard read a column I wrote about him on the air … Robin even mocked my name … classic!
Interesting mix of guys; DeVito (and to a lesser, different extent, Stern) could be a Jacob Marley to the others about the consequences of talent vs luck over time – particularly in light of your post about an actual talent over time, Eastwood.
~ Dagnabbitt
You’re right about the McCartney stuff. Just that McCartney is to me like Elivs was to generations before. A true icon. Even if he stopped being relevant a long time ago.
Tough, its pretty cool that he read your column over the air.
And there’s going to be a problem when Howard retires. What’s going to happen the no talent egomaniac that answers to the name of Robin? I cannot put my distaste for into words.