If he'd only died after...

[mousepod]

Did Robert Altman "Jump the Shark"® before? iSm's suggestion that he "kinda wish he'd kicked the bucket after Gosford Park" made me think that there are probably lots of other favorite artistes that probably overstayed their welcome.

I'll admit that the collector geek in me breathes a little sigh of relief when I know that a part of my collection has reached some level of finiteness (I know that's not a word). My friend called me with the news of Altman's death with "Jesse, there's not going to me an 'O.C. and Stiggs' sequel." Knowing that gave me a certain sense of morbid satisfaction.

Anyway, it got me thinking that there are certain other artistes that might've overstayed their welcome. If Mel Brooks had kicked after History of the World, it truly might have been good to be the king.

Any other death wishes?

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Is this along the lines of "I wish the bullits would've hit Yoko instead?"

Hmmmm

[mousepod]

Y'know, as I read my OP in the cold light of the morning, I'm thinking that between the "Love" review and the news about Robert Altman and Dave Cockrum, I was in a pretty nasty place when I started this thread. So perhaps I'll nominate it for an untimely demise...

[LSPoorEeyorick]

No, no. It's not so horribly nasty. Just honest.

Personally, I wish Sondheim had kicked it before Bounce. (Maybe even Passion.)

[innerSpaceman]

Pfft, Lucas after Star Wars is too easy.

Naw, this isn't too nasty a thread. We don't have to be wishing death upon people ... just the good sense to know when the decline has hit their talent and the better sense to stop right there.


Ok, with most folks .... death is the only thing that works.



With Altman, btw ... he'd long since grown out of his own morbid "Stiggs" phase ... and I wouldn't call one unmasterpiece film (Praire Home Companion) coming after one great film (Gosford Park) the kind of shark jump that I'd like to see stop artists in their tracks. There are plenty of artists who've sunk to clunker after clunker. I can't think of any right now, but I'll be sure to post them here when I do. ;)

[Ghoulish Delight]

It pains me to say this, but Burton needs to be stopped. Rather, needs to have been stopped. I'll give him Sleepy Hollow, while not brilliant at least it was enjoyable. And I see that he did a short based on Stainboy, one of the characters from his uber-cool, Shell Silverstein meets Poe poetry collection The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. Gotta get my hands on that and check it out.

But Planet of the Apes? Big Fish? Charlie and the Pointless Backstory? Even Corpse Bride which, while beautiful, was, like Big Fish, disappointingly one-dimensional in the story and character departments.

Yeah, definitely wish he'd have hung up the hat in the new millenium.

[Alex]

Just a morbid way of saying "I wish so and so had stopped when they were at the top of their game." Which is a very common wish.

With Altman, I would probably make that wish around 1980, but while I don't like most of his stuff after that he did still have a couple quality efforts in him. Are 16 stinkers an acceptable price for Gosford Park? Is most of the crap (by his standards) Scorcese has produced since Goodfellas worth the price of getting The Departed?

The problem is, you never know if the person has another classic in them that makes sitting through the intervening pablum worth the wait.

I wonder if the directorial equivelant of Jim Brown (for those who don't know, one of the best football players of all time who walked away from the game while still at his peak) may be James Cameron.

He has been promising to direct a fiction movie for years now but something always seems to distract him. I can easily see him taking his massive wealth and playing with submarines for the rest of his life. Hard to believe it has already been a decade since his last non-documentary directorial effort.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Cameron has a feature in active development right now (not just blue sky phase.)

[Not Afraid]

Andrew Lloyd Webber should never have been born. (How's that for excessive nastiness?)

David Bowie (whom I ADORE, needs to stop making music.)

[Alex]

Which one? I know he's committed to several over the years but they eventually fell apart. And IMDb lists all of his current ones as in pre-production (IMDb is not good at keeping that current though) which is where the others collapsed.

I thought he was just producing Battle Angel and Avatar for Rogue with others directing.

But it isn't a bubble to be burst. I don't want Cameron to stop making movies, I'm hoping he gets back in the game.

[Tref]

Hmm, I don't buy it.

Though I have been guilty of feeling this way in the past, I eschew the 'what have they done for me lately' line with the new & improved, 'live and let produce crappy things.'

So Mel Brooks may want to recycle his old films to make a few bucks -- I say, go ahead! The Who wants to make a new album? OK by me. And if George Lucas want to make another Star Wars series, I say, do so, with my blessings! Indeed, I may even go see them! (Though probably not.)

And what of the Beatles? Is the Love project or 'Free as a Bird' really such a bad thing? Who does it harm? I happen to be a big fan of both. And if 'Real Love' isn't a great pop song, then I do not know what is.

Paul McCartney once told a story about working with Brian Wilson. Brian said (and I am paraphrasing) that he could never make another record like Pet Sounds because he is no longer that same person, in that same place and time.

So does that mean he should pack it all in? Or, Heaven forbid, die early?

I submit the answer is, no.

So sayeth me.

Can I get a witness?

[mousepod]

Andrew Lloyd Webber should never have been born. (How's that for excessive nastiness?)

David Bowie (whom I ADORE, needs to stop making music.)

ALW could have exited somewhere between Evita and Cats and my CD collection wouldn't know the difference.

I would have written off Bowie in the early '80s, but every few albums he's produced a lesser gem. I actually still listen to Earthling and Heathen every once in a while. Tough call on that one.

[Not Afraid]

I have all of Bowie's catalog on my iPod and, when a "newer" song plays it is good, but then an older song plays and I remember why he's my absolute favorite artist. If the earlier stuff wasn't so frickin good, the newer stuff would look better.

[CoasterMatt]

As much as I miss them, I'm glad Oingo Boingo called it quits (with a set of KICKASS shows and live album/video).

My favorite band besides Boingo, Aerosmith could have called it quits from an album standpoint years ago, but they keep getting better live (even with Steven Tyler being held together with bolts now)

[Prudence]

Andrew Lloyd Webber should never have been born.


I second that motion.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

THIRDED.

[Strangler Lewis]

Hmm, I don't buy it.

So Mel Brooks may want to recycle his old films to make a few bucks -- I say, go ahead!

Recycle his old films? Much as I love him, he's never stopped writing vaudeville shtick for Sid Caesar.

[Strangler Lewis]

THIRDED.

I say nay. I love banging away at Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar on the piano (or in the shower). Most everything since I can do without, including Sarah Brightman.

[€uroMeinke]

Anne Rice after Interview with a Vampire - or maybe I'd have let her finish the triology, but not much further than that...

[Ghoulish Delight]

As much as I miss them, I'm glad Oingo Boingo called it quits (with a set of KICKASS shows and live album/video).And don't forget the final studio album, which equally kicked ass.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

LUCAS!!! Burn him for a heretic! BUUUURRRRNNNN!!!





If I focus all my "no longer good" wrath on Lucas then everyone else on the planet is spared :cheers:

[NickO'Time]

LUCAS!!! Burn him for a heretic! BUUUURRRRNNNN!!!





If I focus all my "no longer good" wrath on Lucas then everyone else on the planet is spared :cheers:
He's from my hometown, spare us please? Take him and his sister.;)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

He's from my hometown, spare us please? Take him and his sister.;)You are spared. I don't know about his sister at all but I'd definitely consider throwing his "I played director on the set of Ep 1" son into the volcano with him.

[CoasterMatt]

Maybe we can get a good deal and toss Lucas and Spielberg into the same volcano?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ooh, ooh! John Williams! Jurassic Park was his last decent score! Please don't make a case for the Harry Potter Imperial March. :rolleyes:

[Strangler Lewis]

Maybe we can get a good deal and toss Lucas and Spielberg into the same volcano?

I like Spielberg. His entertaining movies entertain, and his serious movies have ideas worth talking about even if they do occasionally bog down in sentimental clunkers.

[mousepod]

Half of my DVD collection is organized by director, so I just strolled over to check out some gaps that I don't want to fill.
I'm with GD on Burton.
I'm thinking that genre cinema wouldn't have suffered if John Carpenter and Brian De Palma hadn't made it past the '80s.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'm with GD on Burton. Squee!! I've just discovered that all 6 episodes of Stainboy are available at Atom Films...ugh, this is going to be a long afternoon wiating to get home so I can watch them.

[innerSpaceman]

I'd leave Spielberg tottering on the brink for now. He still does some stuff that (apparently only) I like.

John Williams must stay. He's done some good work post-JP. His score for Catch Me If You Can is a great example. You probably didn't know it was one of his, 'cause its one of the non-Williamsy Williams scores. Those are his best nowadays, and it seems the old boy's still got some life in him when he explores other avenues of music.


Burton? Into the lava with him.