Volume 5
Issue # 11

June 22, 2004

"Blaam! Boom! Pow! The Next Action Star "

Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruce Willis. Harrison Ford. These men are among the giants in the world of action films. Between high speed chases, exploding cars and intense hand-to-hand combat, they help to create fully immersive experiences as we enter the worlds of Terminators, Temples of Doom and the jungles of ‘Nam. Even the likes of Jean-Claude Van-Damme or Dolph Lundgren had their moments in their heydays – with underground no-holds barred fighting with Chong Li in Bloodsport and blood-spewing intense combat with Rocky.

Who can forget Indiana Jones escaping a rolling boulder? Who can forget when a cold, emotionless machine from the future reassures young John Connor that he’ll be back? Who can forget Danny Glover stuck sitting on the crapper in Die Hard, getting consoled by Mel Gibson? Some may argue that such stars as Arnie, Willis, Ford, Eastwood, and others of that ilk are past their prime, which may be true. The “new” action stars – Will Smith, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman, even Tobey Maguire – are following in their footsteps, but this time around, most motion pictures have budgets in excess of $100 million and are laden with expensive special events and CGI. Case in point, the biggest action films of late and to come – among which we’d find I Robot, Lord of the Rings, Spiderman and X-Men – are big budget, big spectacle, and can only be fully appreciated on the big screen.

A different breed of action film has emerged these past few years. We find actors who we normally think of in more dramatic roles, with serious dialogue and real stories, finding themselves in the action film foray. Ben Affleck, as a new younger Jack Ryan, starred in The Sum of All Fears and even attempted superhero-dom with Daredevil. His close friend, Matt Damon, best known for his role in Good Will Hunting, has ventured into a similar realm as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity and this Summer’s The Bourne Supremacy.

At the same time, the hottest television programming is no longer the situation comedy (sitcoms). We have even moved on from our fetish with game shows – Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Greed, The Price is Right, $100,000 Pyramid, to name a few. It has become very clear that "Reality TV" will dominate our primetime viewing schedule for at least the next few years. It all began with Survivor, and has now moved on to Who Wants to Marry my Dad?, Joe Millionaire, The Apprentice, and among the biggest, American Idol. These are all, of course, competitions usually with a large cash prize. The latter two however have the added incentive, guaranteeing a high paying job with the Donald and a record deal, respectively. Following in the success of these shows, NBC debuted The Next Action Star, which you can catch Tuesdays at 8pm. You will also find it on CTV.

I had the chance to catch an episode earlier this evening for the first time. Over the course of the hour, we see 20 hopefuls receive makeovers and training for intimate scenes. For some, this was a brand new experience, having had no acting experience or training prior to this show. For others, this may have felt like another day at the office, so to speak. Honestly, none of this was particularly interesting; before this show hit the air, I had high hopes. I was looking forward to the opportunity to watch some amateur actors try to make it big. I am a huge fan of action films; I love intense swordplay, supernatural disasters, and John Woo slow-motion gunfights.

Next, the contestants were given an opportunity to show off what they've learned. The scene -"Trapped" - consisted of a pair of actors (one male and one female) shortly after an earthquake nearly destroys the building they inhabit. One actor enters a destroyed room to find his/her spouse trapped under the debris, moments away from death. They are to share a passionate intense moment, typically ending with that one last kiss. Now, we all know that we don't watch action movies for the actor's acting ability. We watch it for the big fights, big explosions and fast cars; so, this exercise was somewhat interesting to watch, but ultimately far from useful. In the end the 20 hopefuls were dwindled down to 14, with both Asian contestants - Michelle and Young - packing their bags and heading home.

My prediction? This show may be somewhat entertaining while it lasts, much like American Idol. After William Hung, we showed network executives that we love to watch the losers - WB's Superstar USA confirmed that; and at the same time, we like to see success stories, but they all fall into obscurity in a very short time. Other than Clay Aiken, no American Idol contestant has gone on to "make it." Who are we kidding?! Ruben Studdard? Barely on even BET (Black Entertainment Television). Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson? Please. So, whoever wins this competition (one male and one female) and goes on to make what they hope to be the next Star Wars or Indiana Jones will be sadly disappointed and will watch their movie flop worse than Glitter and From Justin to Kelly.