Posts by Roger Fowler

Jason Morgan4 said:If you buy property in America, they can come after you for taxes even if you're living in the US, believe it or not... Now, would they actually be that incompetent? Probably not. But hey, they could if they felt like it.

You ever heard of FATCA?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act

Morgan Brown4 said:If you follow that logic, Matthew McConaughey fits right into that stretch where he was just churning out mindless romantic comedies; I’m positive the suburban housewives absolutely adored him when he pivoted to those chick flicks and walked away from the heavy-hitting roles he actually had back in the nineties before finally finding his way back to them in the 2010s.

And that Maggie Smith movie—it’s really just the one that put Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map, isn't it? The one that immediately hits you when you realize he spent all those years before that actually grinding through absolute garbage like Conan O'Brien and The Terminator. 🙄

I was just using housewives as an example, but honestly, actors like Clint Eastwood are in a league of their own when it comes to expanding an audience. He managed to climb all the way from those gritty, low-budget westerns directed by Sergio Leone to receiving an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award—an honor held by only forty-six people, including the absolute legends of acting and directing—all while sitting on four Academy Awards. Who else even has a life story like that? Being hated is always relative, since any niche group will always have its devotees, but isn't the real goal to actually become a household name for everyone?

Is there anything more pretentious than an industry handing out trophies to itself just to feel important? You have to wonder if these AFI honors actually mean anything, or if it's all just a hollow circle jerk designed to convince us that Hollywood still has a soul.

Is there anything left to say about a career that spans decades of grit and celluloid legend, or are we all just circling the drain of cinematic history? Does anyone actually believe we'll ever see another figure quite like Clint Eastwood again?

If Arnold Schwarzenegger ever actually walks away with an Academy Award, he’ll probably go down as one of the most successful people to ever walk this earth, regardless of whether we're talking about acting or just life in general. I mean, think about the trajectory: starting out as some immigrant laborer, turning into a seven-time bodybuilding champ, evolving into a legitimate actor with increasingly decent roles, becoming the Governor of California, and then potentially landing an Oscar? Even someone like Chuck Norris would look pretty small compared to that kind of climb.

Laura Palmer25 said:Where on earth did you get Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger from? Everyone loved the latter back when he’d roll straight from the gym to the set; after Conan the Barbarian, he became an absolute icon... we're talking about types of actors who lived under constant threat of being hated by the media or the general public just for existing (think Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson and his girl, or Robert Downey Jr.).

By the way, I still can't wrap my head around Robert Downey Jr. today.

Sure, but among which audience? If we're using that logic, then Hulk Hogan belongs in the same category. People loved them, sure, but only a specific subset of people. You wouldn't expect some suburban housewife to identify with Clint Eastwood while he's busy filling people with bullets and dropping cult lines, yet when he's doing something like Madison County, she absolutely can. The man grew up in every sense of the word and expanded his reach.
Can you even imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to break into serious drama? With Maggie, he actually proved he had the chops for those kinds of roles.

bluecyclist64 said:Did Schwarzenegger act in those movies? I didn't catch that.
You mentioned one of his films, but since you didn't actually name it, I had to ask.

Oh, I thought you were talking about Clint Eastwood. I dropped the link for the movie Maggie. Maybe the subject matter isn't your thing, but I think Schwarzenegger actually gave a really solid performance here. Give it a watch and tell me what you think. 😉

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1881002/

Morgan Brown4 said:People actually dig Clint specifically because of those gritty, low-budget westerns 🤦 and Dirty Harry.
As far as I can tell, the consensus is overwhelmingly positive, both regarding those films and his performances in them.

I guess I could see someone agreeing about Arnold Schwarzenegger if we’re talking about the early days, back when he was doing that trashy Hercules in New York followed by a few minor roles.
But isn't it true that people love him because of The Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, Predator, Total Recall, or Command? Maybe he was better in Maggie, but aren't those earlier roles exactly why everyone knows and likes him? 🙂

Credit where credit is due for Clint, but the man has proven he offers way more than just that, hasn't he? And Arnold definitely showed with Maggie that he can handle a serious role too. I’d give him a shot.

bluecyclist64 said:Which movie?

Madison County, Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Perfect World... they’re all just stellar examples of Clint Eastwood's work, aren't they? They actually prove a man can be capable of something much deeper than just sporting a brooding stare and handing out lead.

It’s wild to think how Clint Eastwood evolved from those cheap old westerns and the whole Dirty Harry series into such a heavyweight actor and director.

Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger actually pulls it off here, doesn't he? For an actor of his caliber, this feels like a massive step up.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1881002/

Elizabeth Lopez2 said:Passing the buck to other countries—or if you want to get technical, their intelligence agencies—is always just a way to cloud the fact that we’re actually at fault here. That’s the real issue. They didn't start our conflicts; they just waited until things were already spiraling out of control and then maneuvered themselves into whatever positions served their own interests best.

Does that logic hold up for 1999 as well? 🍿