The Idea
Casting comedic actors in drama or horror flicks
Why It’s More Than Average?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Lost in Translation. Broken Flowers. Philadelphia. All these movies featured actors who were traditionally known for their comedic timing and general jack-assery. All of those movies listed are among my (and others I imagine) favorite movies.
And now this weekend Jim Carrey is going to step out of his funny shoes and into a horror flick directed by Joel Schumacher. I’m very interested in seeing it, even though the last time they joined up they single-handedly killed the Batman franchise until Christopher Nolan brought it back.
It always seems to be the comedians who successfully jump genres. I can’t think of any “serious” actors or actresses who made a comedy on the same type of level as the Jim Carrey’s, Bill Murray’s and Tom Hank’s of the world.
Will It Succeed?
In my mind, it already has. We’ll see if The Number 23 is a success. And it’s not always a slam dunk. For every Tom Hanks out there, there’s an Ashton Kutcher is just waiting to make another movie like The Guardian.
When you step outside of something you’re good at, you better have a damn good reason and try twice as hard.
It’s fine to be different just for the sake of trying something new. But if you don’t try and just mess around, people will see right through it. And if you’re known for a certain type of creative, not doing well in your alternative ventures could have unexpected (and negative) results on the reputation you’ve built.
However, if you’re successful, you can open up tons of new doors creatively. And it can be very satisfying. Plus, people will begin to see you in a whole different light, and not just the guy who talks out his butt for laughs.
How I found out about it
By watching movies.
