What is your favorite star-studded film cast?
The week’s AVQ&A is in honor of films like The Harder They Fall, Eternals, and Don’t Look Up
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I will throw in my vote here for one of my all-time favorites: Silverado. Kevins Kline and Costner, Danny Glover, Brian Dennehy, Jeff Goldblum, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Hunt, John Cleese (of all people), the list just goes on and on. Everyone turns in a magnificent performance and it is SO MUCH FUN!
I adore that movie. One of my favorite westerns.
Killer Bruce Broughton soundtrack too. You know the original is special, when/if there’s a reboot people are thinking “God I hope they keep the theme song.”
This would be my pick as well. Underrated film
Silverado’s great. Though IMO it’s a little bit like the White Album in that you could probably trim away at least one or two main characters and their subplots and make it a tighter film, but damned if I know which ones you’d get rid of.
Probably the easiest one to cut would be Jeff Goldblum’s arc, but anyone cutting Jeff Goldblum from a movie deserves all the scorn they would get from such a heinous act.
Ocean’s 11, Independence Day, and Air Force One for me. I know AFO isn’t a typical pick, but just look at how many stars are in that movie, not just Harrison Ford. I’m counting it.
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was my first thought, but I’m going to go with a more obscure and infinitely weirder one.The Loved One boasts a cast including, Robert Morse, Rod Steiger, Jonathan Winters (in two roles), Liberace and Paul Williams, with cameos/small roles by Sir John Gielgud, James Coburn, Milton Berle, Dana Andrew, Roddy McDowall and more. All in service of the blackest of black comedies, set at a pet cemetery company, based on the book by Evelyn Waugh. It also has the filthiest joke I have ever seen get past the Hayes Office. I am constantly shocked and thrilled that this movie ever got made.
Thanks for the rec!
You’ve made a friend for life, cause I LOVE “The Loved One”. It’s so, so ahead of it’s time and Roddy McDowall kills it through the entire film. I just re-watched it on Prime recently and it’s pretty damn risque: you can see how a major studio would go from that to “Pretty Maids All In A Row” in a few years.
If you like black comedies and Roddy McDowall, have you seen Lord Love a Duck? I absolutely love it! I wonder if they released it anywhere. I scored a blu-ray of The Loved One from Warner Archive, but it’s not available there.
I do love that film as well! And I think I switched them in my head: Lord Love A Duck is when McDowell is the narrator and The Loved One is where he inherits the family business. But either way both are incredible.
I was glad to see this! Unbelievable who they got to do this movie. Seems like there are no extras.
The Martian is the most rewatchable movie of this century.
Give me any of the Oceans, even 12, on TV and I’m stopping to watch the rest of it.Also, 11>13>8>12
The Great Escape.
Sneakers. Not only was it eerily prescient about computer tech and its implications, how can you top:
Robert Redford
Sidney Poitier
Mary McDonnell
Dan Ackroyd
Ben Kingsley
David Strathairn
River Phoenix
James Earl Jones
Stephen Tobolowsky
Love that movie.
Oh wow, haven’t seen this in YEARS. Love it. Gonna have to see where it’s streaming.
With A Bridge Too Far (how has nobody mentioned A Bridge Too Far!?)We can start with the actors who had already been nominated for (and in three cases won) Oscars (Olivier already had more than ten!), all of whom were in the prime of their star-power career:
Laurence Olivier (just after Marathon Man)
Robert Redford (just after All the President’s Men)
Gene Hackman (just after The French Connection II and The Conversation)
Michael Caine (just after The Eagle Has Landed)
James Caan (after The Godfather, just after Rollerball)
Ryan O’Neil (just after Barry Lyndon)
Maximilian Schell (just after The Odessa File)
Liv Ullmann (just after Scenes from a Marriage)
Elliot Gould (after M.A.S.H.)
Then we can add a few who didn’t have Oscar nominations yet, but who were big enough stars to have had Golden Globe nominations:
Sean Connery (after Bond, just after The Man Who Would Be King)
Dirk Bogarde (not long after Death in Venice
Hardy Kruger (just after Barry Lyndon)A couple of lesser-known British actors who had done a lot of TV work, both of whom had had BAFTA nominations:
Anthony Hopkins (after The Lion in Winter) (also Emmy nominated)
Edward Fox (shortly after The Day of the Jackel)
To round out the German side of the cast, Wolfgang Preiss and Walter Kohut – not famous to English-speaking audienced, but both winners of the German Film Awards.Then throw in a long list of recognisable British TV actors and future stars, like Denholm Elliot (who would go on to get an Oscar nomination later on), Ben Cross (who would go on to star in Chariots of Fire), and Alun Armstrong (who had already been memorable in Get Carter and who would go on to be in everything for the next fifty years). And, just for fun, Colin Farrell (but no, not THAT Colin Farrell) and the guy who did the voice for Captain Grey in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons…
I’m not sure that level of concentrated star power has ever been mustered in another film, or ever will be. Those aren’t just good actors – it’s probably at least ten bona fide contemporary movie stars, any one of whom could have headlined a major film, plus a handful of other recognisable faces. I mean, any time five of your actors have knighthoods, it’s a pretty good sign!
My first thought was The Battle of Britain. Not a great film, but as a WW2 buff I enjoy it. But you’ve got Olivier, Chris Plummer, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, and Ian McShane, with a supporting cast of “everyone else in England”
True; another older film worth mentioning here is the original Murder on the Orient Express – and of course the new version isn’t shabby in its cast either, but I think the original tops it. Bergman, Bacall, Gielgud, Finney, Connery, Balsam, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Michael York, Anthony Perkins… even Wendy Hiller isn’t so well known these days, but she had an Oscar win and two nominations behind her (first one in 1939!)…
I used to watch this occasionally on Saturday afternoon network TV, but probably haven’t seen it in close to 20 years at this point. Great movie that doesn’t really generate much discussion any more.
This came up on a thread within the last couple of weeks. It should be #1 in an AtAVC featuring films that suffered from terrible marketing. It looked like it was going to be an action comedy, not a great heist flick with some comedic moments.
Rock n Rolla, Contagion, Silverado…
Snatch is my Guy Ritchie pick. It’s a guilty pleasure favorite. Dennis Farina in particular cracks me up. “Anything to declare?” “Yeah, don’t go to England.”
And to paraphrase: “England? Yeah, y’now… land o Mary f**kin fish n Poppins chips. England!”It’s also nice to know the cabbie from American Werewolf rose up in ranks to become an underground pig farmer 😉
“Why do they call him ‘The Bullet-Dodger’?”“…..because he dodges bullets, Avi…”Speaking of Vinnie Jones, it’s still a bummer Galavant was cancelled.
“Well I can’t see him either, I seemed to have misplaced my binocue-laahs.”
I watch the scene where you’re first introduced to Pitt, right up to the point where he knocks out the boxer brought along for protection, all the damn time. There are supercuts of just Pitt’s scenes that are a riot.
The Martian. Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Wong. Hell, it has Michael Pena and Sebastian Stan and the two of them might have 10 lines combined.
Pacino and DeNiro head to head. Throw in Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Jon Voight, Ashely Judd on the cusp of bigger stardom, and more for good measure. Heat. Personal all time fave.Also hadn’t thought about The Player in a while. Remember really liking it, have to watch it again.
Before you even get to the cameos like Hank Azaria, Jeremey Piven, Tone Loc, and fricking Henry Rollins, you also have Amy Brenneman who was a legit TV star, and Natalie Portman.
The Player is kind of cheating since most of those actors are playing themselves.
Very true, it doesn’t really belong on this list. I rented The Player back in the day, solely because Tim Robbins was in it. There was some prison flick I thought he was kind of good in right around that time, and it made me want to check out some of his other work.
Yeah, what was that one called again? Kind of faded into obscurity. Love Bull Durham though.The Player’s main cast was very cool, if actually pretty small and not exactly star-studded (I had to look it up because I couldn’t remember anyone beyond Robbins, Whoopie Goldberg and Lyle Lovett). Sydney Pollock, Peter Gallagher, Vincent D’Onofrio all put in fun work.
Yeah, same, although I definitely remembered Whoopi from it. She was one of my favorite TNG characters. I think her kind of outsized persona back then always overshadowed what an effective actor she is. I never realized the writer was Vincent D’Onofrio until now. And I certainly had seen Full Metal Jacket at the time so I should have known who he was. One of the greatest living actors IMO. Should have won an Oscar for Men In Black.
A Bridge Too Far.
Pretty much every Wes Anderson film since The Royal Tennenbaums.
I have an oddball choice: Peter Bogdonavich’s Noises Off.Michael Caine
John Ritter
Carol Burnett
Christopher Reeve
Marilu Henner
Nicollette Sheridan
Julie Haggertty
Mark Linn-Baker
And, Denholm Elliott in his final role. It’s a hilarious, well-structured farce.
Thank you. I love this movie😎
Kicking it old school here, the first movie that popped into my mind was The Great Escape.
Yes! Actually, it was a tie between The Great Escape and Murder By Death.And Murder By Death has some of my favorite movie lines ever, including, but not limited to: “Why would anybody steal a dead, naked body?”, and “I can’t help it, I’m old”
God, both those movies are excellent and definitely star-studded! I feel like Murder By Death fell off the face of the Earth as it never gets mentioned anymore and it’s so funny (though, yes, the Peter Sellars’ scenes are dated). And The Great Escape is so enjoyable, it’s easy to watch over and over.
Came here to say this.
I wonder if everyone has a different definition of what a movie star is than I do. I don’t necessarily think a person’s celebrity has to eclipse their acting ability, but I do think there’s more to being a star than just being a very good actor or even a very prolific one. It’s not a proper metric anymore, but I think a movie star used to have the ability of having their name be in the same size font as the movie title on the poster, without looking absurd. Of course that’s not how movie posters are made now, especially with so many ensemble casts, but I think the basic principle is the same: A name worth as much or more than than the title of the movie they’re starring in.
Anyway, it would be the Ocean movies for me, even though there’s only four proper movie stars in the trilogy, plus or minus a cameo or single movie antagonist. I worked in a casino for a while, and they have a certain charm in getting some details right, and other details laughably wrong. I haven’t rewatched Oceans 8, though it’s worth mentioning it has a higher ratio of stars to total cast than the main sequence.
My definition of a movie star as opposed to an actor is that a movie star is recognizably their movie star persona no matter what role they are playing. An actor is recognizably the role, whatever role they are playing. Actors can become movie stars, when they get so famous that studios and directors only want the persona, or they get lazy. Don’t know if I can think of many examples of the reverse, but it’s not something I’ve ever tried to look for.That’s why, for me, Cary Grant is the ultimate movie star. Because he was always Archie Leach, playing Cary Grant, playing a role in a film.
Johnny Depp is probably biggest that comes to mind for the reverse process, unfortunately.
I’ve always thought DeNiro was the best example of that. Started out as a great actor. Then he’s doing lazy comedies roles all the time. How the mighty have fallen.
Same. A movie star for me is anyone who has the ability to open a film on their name value alone. The poster doesn’t have to show you anything about the movie but the actor’s face and you’re sold. I have no idea what Finch is, but I’ll watch it because Tom Hanks is in it, that kind of thing (true story). Oceans is as good a pick as any
Probably still Clue, which would seem to be a direct inspiration for Knives Out (and why I had probably unreasonable expectations for it).My Anderson cast vote would probably be The Grand Budapest Hotel overall (haven’t seen The French Dispatch yet).
I’d also give Pulp Fiction, Magnolia, and The Big Lebowski mentions as my all-time favorite star-studded ensemble casts from those respective directors with many loaded casts to pick from (vs. films where many people became famous like The Outsiders—The Godfather is another obvious one but sort of the edge as it was a mix of stars and soon-to-be-bigger stars).
I love Clue as much as the next guy but…star studded? I think of star studded more like those 70’s disaster films (which truthfully by and large weren’t as good as Clue)
Well, as far as comedic actors at the time, yes. Tim Curry was obviously known as Tim Curry. Madeline Kahn had been around and was very well known for Young Frankenstein, in particular, to the point that she had an eponymous TV series prior. Christopher Lloyd had just starred in Taxi. Eileen Brennan had had a long comedy career and was just in Private Benjamin—the film and series—where she won an Emmy and was nominated for an Oscar. Michael McKean had just done Laverne & Shirley and Spinal Tap. Martin Mull wasn’t a huge star but famous enough for TV work to be on Laugh In. Even Howard Hessmen’s bit part was notable as he was very well known from WKRP at that point. Lesley Ann Warren, not so much. People forget how big television stars were at the time—there are shows most people have never heard of that this cast were on back when people watched far fewer network TV and syndicated series. Maybe not the biggest of big stars at the top, like an Eddie Murphy, but it was very much a collection of famous funny people making a silly movie.
Those aren’t stars, that’s almost a Love Boat episode. Just sprinkle a handful of Van Pattens and you’re there.
Pulp Fiction was going to be mine. Once the opening credits started rolling, with one actor’s name after the next filling the screen, people in the theater where I saw it actually started laughing a bit in a “holy shit!” kind of way.
The original Magnificent Seven had a pretty unbeatable cast, as the sequel demonstrated by casting Chris Pratt in the Steve McQueen role
On the flip side of this, the Star Wars prequel series has to go down as the biggest waste of a deep cast in recent memory. While a lot of people dump on the Anakins, if you can’t make a solid film with Samuel Jackson, Liam Neeson, Ewen McGregor, and Natalie Portman (with a bunch of good actors in supporting roles) then two rookie actors were never going to save it.
For the flip-side when it comes to television, the American Horror Story series. So many talented actors and actresses giving their all to stories that very quickly become convoluted, with characterization that’s all over the place.
I think Portman was given terrible direction. She was obviously told to play Padme with a very flat affect and boy did she deliver.
The Longest Day — John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Sean Connery, Curd Jürgens, Paul Anka, Rod Steiger, Fabian, Roddy McDowell… the joke was that the cast of the movie about D-Day rivaled the size of the original.
Didn’t Burton agree to do his one scene as an ecxuse to get away from the Cleopatra set?
That sounds plausible.
The joke is that the movie seemed longer than the day it was based on.
The version I heard as “as told in real time”
I love that movie. I hate that it almost completely ignores that Canada had a beach on June 6, but it is still pretty great.‘You know those 5000 ships you said the Allies don’t have? I’M LOOKING AT THEM’
“And just where, my dear Pluskat, are those ships going?”“STRAIGHT FOR ME!”
A former colleague of mine is an historian. He had read German transcripts of that discussion, and it is pretty much word for word from what is in the movie.
What an amazing scene. Impressive that watch officer was able to do his job with his pants completely loaded.
The Player, as brilliant as it is, feels like a cheat here due to the “cameo as themselves” nature of most of the famous names. For the second time this week, I’m shouting out in the comments section for JFK.Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Bacon, Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Ed Asner, Gary Oldman, Donald Sutherland, Walter Matthau, Vincent D’Onofrio, Michael Rooker, Wayne Knight, Laurie Metcalf, John Larroquette, and John Candy? That’s a cast.
Good call. Every corner of that movie was occupied by a high-profile actor.
Sutherland’s “Mr X” monologue is one of the all-time greats. Up there with Shaw’s Indianapolis speech from Jaws.
The Royal Tennenbaums was my first thought, and Mars Attacks is a solid second, but how about some old-school love? i’ll add Murder By Death to the list — or even the 1978 version of Death on the Nile.
One from each Gen X decade (roughly)MidwayThe Right StuffHeat or Sneakers (good calls by others)SpotlightBlack Panther
I watched Midway for the umpteenth time last night actually. Love it.
The Last of Sheila.
How can it not be anything other than Jimmy Kimmel f***ing Ben Affleck? So much star power in just 5 minutes of deliciously irreverent comedy.
My Dinner with Andre. The cast is just unbelievable; everyone from Andre Gregory to Wallace Shawn is in it.
Ocean’s 11 for sure. Not only is it infinitely rewatchable, it’s effortlessly charming and fun. A true testament to guys being dudes.
I’m gonna go leftfield and say Enemy of the StateWill Smith; Gene Hackman; Jon Voight; Regina King; Jason Robards; Lisa Bonet; Ian Harte; Gabriel Byrne; Tom Sizemore; Jack Black; Scott Caan; Barry Pepper; Jake Busey; Jason Lee; Jamie Kennedy and obligatory Larry King playing Larry King.
I wanted to beat the shit out of Jack Black; Scott Caan; Barry Pepper; Jake Busey; ; Jamie Kennedy in that movie.
Fuck this shit, do pie fights. And why hasn’t there been a pie fight in years???
Towerin Inferno!Steve McQueenPaul NewmanWilliam HoldenFaye DunawayFred Astaire Jennifer JonesRichard Chamberlain
Murder By DeathPeter Falk, Truman Capote, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Eileen Brennan, Peter Sellers, Elsa Lanchester, Alec Guinness, James Coco, Nancy Walker, Estelle Winwood, James Cromwell.“I can’t help it, I’m old”
Towering Inferno
Poseidon Adventure
Kelly’s Heroes
Not as many stars (however that’s defined ) as other suggestions, but Scott Pilgrim was the first film to pop up in my head. Also, a bit surprised no one yet mentioned Endgame. Maybe too soon for many of the careers involved?
I thought of going for a Marvel movie, but many of those actors are huge stars because of the franchise itself, which feels like cheating.However, in terms of pre-existing stars, I’d go with Black Panther. In addition to Chadwick Boseman, who I feel had established himself as an instant star, you had Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan, (Oscar Winner) Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, Sterling K. Brown, and Danai Gurira. That’s like 2 generations (well, a generation and a half) of Black star power. Plus, through in Martin Freeman and (apparently one of the highest grossing actors of all time) Andy Serkis.
Perhaps, but I can’t discount the previous franchise star making turns. They put the work in and even though the films are part of the MCU it’s no absolute guarantee of success. Also there’s the possibility of recasting, however remote for main characters, like with War Machine.Besides I think you’re selling short just how many Pre Marvel movies established stars there are: ScarJo, two Sherlocks, Samuel Jackson, Josh Brollin, Zoe Saldana, the Dr Who woman, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong’o, Natalie Portman, Renne Russo, probably more I can’t think of right now.
Since Don Cheadle was mentioned in the slideshow, I gotta bring up Out Of Sight, a veritable cornucopia of stars and also an unbelievably great movie:Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, Dennis Farina, Luis Guzman, Albert Brooks, Michael Keaton, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis in what must’ve been one of her first roles, and one big name who’s kind of a crowd-pleasing cameo so I won’t mention it (even though, sure, the movie’s 23 years old already*).
*holy shit, that can’t be right….
Came to see who picked Oceans 11 (or actually better, Oceans 13). but the choice is Ocean’s 8? Don’t get me wrong, I actually kind of enjoyed that movie, but it is in every way inferior to Oceans 11-13. Especially taking Sandra Bullock, one of the most charming onscreen personas, and turning her into a brooding criminal mastermind. The fun part of Oceans 11 etc is that you just have a gaggle of A-list stars just… having fun. I don’t know why Oceans 8 tried to be all edgy instead.
I actually liked Ocean’s 8 better than Ocean’s 12. It’s definitely not as good as Ocean’s 11 but its a solid movie I might rewatch someday.
12 is definitely the weakest of the trilogy, and the least rewatchable, since the heist is way too complicated and if you come in in the middle of the movie, you’re always gonna be kind of lost.BUT… the laser dance scene might be the best scene in any of the Oceans movies.
12 was okay, but the premise that was central to the heist stretched suspension of disbelief a bit too far. And that’s saying a lot when discussing an Ocean’s movie.
The “Tess looks like Julia Roberts” was definitely on the wrong side of the meta-contextual wink winks and the heist context was also too clever by half. And overall the movie was too sprawling in plot, geography and cast. And I would probably watch Oceans 8 or 12 if I were on a plane and both movies were on.
It’s still plenty entertaining, just too silly relative to the other two (I’ve only seen parts of 8, so no comment)
What qualifies as “star-studded”? Because my easy answer is Armageddon. While Bruce Willis was probably the only bona fide A-lister in the cast at the time, you had multiple Oscar winners/nominees and rising stars like Owen Wilson. Plus a very, very solid roster of late 90’s “that guy”s who would go on to bigger things, from Peter Stormare to William Fichtner to Jason Isaacs to Keith David. And not just the cast, but what other project are you getting credits from Michael Bay AND JJ Abrams?
I’m not clicking through the slideshow to see if anyone chose this, but it’s gotta be Heat:Robert De Niro (still putting in effort)Al Pacino (still mostly keeping the whoo-ha! in check)Val Kilmer (still fit)Jon Voight Tom SizemoreDiane VenoraAshley JuddTom Noonan (Tom Noonan!)Dennis HaysbertDanny Trejo (DANNY TREJO!)Henry RollinsWes StudiMykelti WilliamsonHank Azariaand many more…
Mine’s a tie between Young Frankenstein and Galaxy Quest. Second place would be Ocean’s 11, the 2000 version. That cast gelled so well. My guilty pleasure third place-ers are Mystery Men, Rat Race (yeah, I know, but my two favorite British comedians are in the same flick!) and Snatch.
UnforgivenClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanRichard HarrisGene HackmanSaul RubinekFrances FisherThe DepartedLDCMatt DamonMark WahlbergRay Winstone Martin SheenVera FarmigaAlec BaldwinAnthony Anderson
I feel like The Departed gets some stick as not being great, it absolutely fucking is. Perhaps it’s not Scorcese’s great movie, or even in his top 5. But it’s fucking great.
Despite the subject matter, it’s not as dark in tone as a lot of other directors would have taken it. It’s a 2 1/2 hour movie that still feels brisk.
It’s Ocean’s 11 and you all know it’s Ocean’s 11. There is no movie with a higher ratio of fun to Oscars possessed by cast.
Of the movies listed in the piece, I’m definitely with ‘Knives Out’. But in the comments, KateH may have nailed it with Sneakers. But I’ll throw in, though it can be recency bias, but I did like the small roles in “Tick, Tick… Boom”. While no huge Broadway stars are in the main roles, it has what feels like every NY musical actor in all the tiny roles that got 15 seconds of screen time… like they cast all the secondary parts at a Tony Show after party (“I have this scene next week, can you spare a couple hours? Great! So Judy Kuhn will play Jonathan’s mom with 2 lines!”)
A Bridge Too Far, of course.
What, no love for The Great Escape?
Glengarry Glen Ross has the best cast I’ve seen in a film. Either nominated for Oscars or have won Oscars (and Tonys).Al PacinoJack LemmonAlec BaldwinAlan ArkinEd HarrisKevin SpaceyJonathan Pryce
Can’t believe you’re the first person to mention Glengarry. Been scrollin a bit. I was surprised it wasn’t in the slideshow.
The Magic Christian.On top of being a virulent anti-capitalist work decades before Squid Game (but with fewer gore scenes), the cast is absolutely bonkers for a movie most people have never heard of.Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr are the two ‘main’ stars, but the movie includes Raquel Welch, Roman Polanski, Yul Brenner, Christopher Lee and apparently the entire British acting community of the time.It’s… rough. But oh god are there some seriously twisted fun bits in it. I’ve always loved the auction.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th DimensionI’m always amazed by the cast of this crazy movie.Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Clancy Brown, Yakov Smirnoff!, and way before Breaking Bad, Jonathan Banks
Avengers, Infinity War?Robert Downey JrTom HollandScarlett JohanssonChris PrattChris EvansChris HemsworthTom HiddlestonIdris ElbaBenedict CumberbatchZoe SaldanaDave BautistaMark RuffaloJosh BrolinElizabeth OlsenSamuel L JacksonPaul BettanyChadwick BosemanDon CheadleBradley CooperVin DieselAnthony MackieJeremy RennerCarrie CoonBenicio del ToroPeter DinklageWilliam HurtAngela Bassett.And I didn’t even list everyone. I mean it’s kind of a cheat but that cast….
Much as anything it’s a case study in how serious artists view superhero movies. Once upon a time actors like Ruffalo, Cumberbatch, Hurt, Hiddleston and del Toro wouldn’t have given a producer casting those roles the time of day.
Here’s my suggestion:Ragtime, 1981James Cagney, Brad Dourif, Elizabeth McGovern, Donald O’Connor, Mandy Patinkin, Mary Steenburgen, Debbie Allen, Jeff Daniels, Fran Drescher, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Jeter, John Ratzenberger, Samuel L. Jackson and Norman Mailer. Now admittedly, many of these were bit roles for actors at the very start of their career – it was Daniels’ film debut, for instance – but the overlap is amazing.
Don’t forget about The Outsiders! Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estivez, Ralph Macchio, and the star, C. Thomas Howell… Oh! and Diane Lane! Damn, Even Tom Waits made an appearance, I’m gonna have to rewatch now.
The Prestige :Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier and Christian Bale as Alfred Borden. It also stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Andy Serkis, Rebecca Hall, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla.So Wolverine,Batman and Alfred ,Black Widow and Ulysess Klaw (and the person who inspired Wonder Woman )hang out with David Bowie.Also despite about 3 people watching it , but Freaks of Nature has a damn good cast :Nicholas Braun, Mackenzie Davis, Josh Fadem, Joan Cusack, Bob Odenkirk, Keegan-Michael Key, Ed Westwick, Patton Oswalt, Vanessa Hudgens and Denis Leary.
The Player would be my choice but Altman also is a great reminder that without a great film, cameos are just a cheap trick. Two years later, he’d make Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear) one of the most star-studded pieces of absolute dog poop in cinematic history. The Prêt-à-Porter cast included: Marcello Mastroianni, Sophie Loren, Kim Basinger, Stephen Rea, Lauren Bacall, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Lila Taylor, Sally Kellerman, Tracey Ullman, Rupert Everett, Forest Whitaker, Richard E. Grant, Danny Aiello, Teri Garr, Lyle Lovett . . .Somebody else mentioned The Outsiders which really should be in a completely different, but equally interesting post: “Which is your favorite film with a cast of future stars. My pick would be Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Don Phillips should get a lifetime Oscar as casting director just for putting together this collection of relative unknowns: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Judge Rheinhold, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker, Anthony Edwards, Nicholas Cage and Eric Stoltz.
No less than Roger Ebert was outraged at how the movie treated Jennifer Jason-Leigh, given that they were obviously working with a star to-be.
Dazed and Confused is the modern version of that cast. McConaughey, Affleck, Zellweger (briefly), Parker Posey, Milla Jovovich, Jason London, Cole Houser, Joey Lauren-Adams, Nicky Katt, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp.
The Muppet Movie, of course.Steve Martin, James Coburn, Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Paul Williams, Mel Brooks, Cloris Leachmann, Elliott Gould, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Dom DeLouise, Richard Pryor, Orson Welles, Telly Savalas, and to top it off, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. How do you beat that?
Almoat forgot – Austin Pendleton and Big Bird!
The Thin Red Line, no doubt.
So, for a bit of a challenge, my criteria will be (1) the star-studded cast has to constitute 5 or more movie stars, who (2) have each headlined their own hits, that (3) I have seen prior to watching the movie. I’m not counting star-making performances, or any before-they-got-famous actors would not have been known to me at the time. This unfortunately removes some of the first films I thought of like L.A. Confidential and Interview with the Vampire. But I’ve still got plenty of others. Rounded down to my Top 3:
Batman Begins: Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Cillain Murphy (I just saw him in 28 Days Later!), and Liam Neeson.
Sin City: Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, Elijah Wood, Mickey Rourke, Benecio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Brittany Murphy, Josh Hartnet, Nick Stahl, and a partridge in a pear tree.
The Lord of the Rings: I didn’t know who Orlando Bloom was, but I was still excited for Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Hugo Weaving, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen (he was the villain in G.I. Jane!), Christopher Lee, Liv Tyler, Sean Bean, and John Rhys-Davies, who was as much a start to me for voicing my favorite cartoons as he was for Indiana Jones.Honorable Mentions: Tombstone, A League of Their Own, Dick Tracy, A Time to Kill, Pulp Fiction.
Midway (1976). How’s this: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Ed Nelson, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, James Shigeta, Pat Morita, John Fujioka, Robert Ito and Christina Kokubo.(copied from wikipedia, hence the links).As an aside, do these fucking slide shows take forever to load even on a 1 Gbit connection for everyone else too because they should die in a fire? Fuck I hate slide shows. It’s getting harder and harder to comment here.
Oh, Midway, which I forgot to add….
Two underrated ensemble comedies from years ago:Big Trouble – Stanley Tucci, Dennis Farina, Rene Russo, Jason Lee, Patrick Warburton, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Foster, Zooey Deschanel, Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville, Omar Epps, Heavy D, Sofia Vergara, Andy Richter, Mike McShane, Jack Kehler…okay, Tim Allen is in it too, but no movie is perfect.Greedy – Michael J. Fox, Kirk Douglas, Nancy Travis, Phil Hartman, Ed Begley Jr, Jere Burns, Olivia D’Abo, Colleen Camp, Bob Balaban, Austin Pendleton, Khandi Alexander, Kevin McCarthy and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her Kirsten Dunst.
Greedy has completely and utterly fallen off the map, which makes no sense given the cast and how consistently hilarious it is. Not sure I would call the cast full-on star studded (Fox, Douglas, maybe Begley) but they are all perfection.
A lot of love for the Ocean’s 11 remake here, but let’s not ignore the original: the entire Rat Pack, plus Richard Conte, Cesar Romero, Shirley MacLaine, and a bunch of assorted buddies, plus one of the most killer endings in history.
Duh, Towering Inferno.
Leo DiCaprio, Gabriel Byrne, John Malcovich, Jeremy Irons, and Gerard muthafukkin Depardieu!
Is it just me or does every movie nowadays have a ridiculously stacked cast? Maybe it’s always been like this but it just seems more pronounced lately. I can’t figure out if it’s because a) COVID has forced actors and actresses to lower their salaries so everyone’s easier to hire now; or b) they all just need the work due to the pandemic. Just look at some upcoming films:Bullet Train: Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Hiroyuki Sanada, Logan Lerman, Andrew Koji, Joey KingThe Gray Man: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Wagner Moura, Jessica Henwick, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard, Rege-Jean PageArgylle: Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Rob DelaneyKnives Out 2: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Ethan Hawke, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monae, Jessica Henwick, Leslie Odom Jr, Kate HudsonAsteroid City: Tom Hanks, Adrien Brody, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Maya Hawke, Jeff Goldblum, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Jason Schwartzman, Matt Dillon, Tony Revolori, Hope Davis, Sophia Lillis (granted, some are just Wes Anderson’s usual repertoire, but still)Untitled David O. Russell Film: Christian Bale, Anya Taylor-Joy, Margot Robbie, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Zoe Saldana, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift, Mike Myers, John David Washington, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Rock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Leland OrserThen there’s Dune, The Batman, Nightmare Alley, House of Gucci, and most of Marvel’s upcoming output. It’s a long list.
How can there be any other answer than Ocean’s 11 (2001)?
I have been on a random ‘90s sequel kick, apparently, but there a surprising number of “names” in Scream 2, which I just saw the other day. David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and Jamie Kennedy return; but then you also have Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O’Connell, Portia de Rossi, Rebecca Gayheart, Elise Neal, Duane Martin, Tori Spelling, Nancy O’Dell, Luke Wilson…Similarly, the Schumacher Batman movies aren’t remembered as fondly but have a lot more random notable people in bigger parts. I always forget that Drew Barrymore is in Batman Forever.
Remembered a little seen movie from 2010 called Operation Endgame (or Rogues Gallery), with two rival teams of spies named after tarot cards trapped in an underground complex bumping each other off with office supplies (since there are no weapons available). It’s got a full roster of ringers: Rob Corddry (who spends the entire movie insulting people and unsurprisingly steals the show), Maggie Q, Joe Anderson, Ellen Barkin, Ving Rhames, Adam Scott, Bob Odenkirk, Emilie de Ravin, Odette Annable, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Hitchcock, Beth Grant, Brandon T. Jackson and Zach Galifianakis as a hermit assassin who’s built up as an ice-cold badass, but it’s really just Galifianakis doing his stunted man-child schtick. Aside from Corddry’s master class in dissing people like you mean it, the movie sucks. But it’s really odd to see people known primarily for goofy comic parts acting like stone cold killers in an action movie, so you get stuff like Bob Odenkirk swordfighting Ellen Barkin (years before Nobody), Alpa Chino from Tropic Thunder slitting Maggie Q’s throat, Adam Scott being burned alive, and Galifianakis stabbing people with scissors. It’s a movie that sounds way more fun on paper than it is in reality.