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How does a man measure his own worth in his life, in his profession? How does someone view themselves through the eyes of others? Take, for interest, the actor Peter Weller. Peter Weller has not had what you would call a sensational movie career. The IMDB has 45 movie credits listed, with his first in 1973. Yet most every geek on the internet knows Weller from at least one movie: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Which I happen to be watching right now as I type this. I got my hot little hands on the Special Edition DVD. Internet geekiness almost demands that you love this movie. Yet most people (read: normal people) don't know it at all. With this DVD in my hand, I am taking it upon myself to travel the land exposing as many people as possible to the joys of Banzai.
The other outstanding theatrical classic that Peter Weller starred in was RoboCop. One of my favorites. And to a lesser degree RoboCop 2. A much lesser degree. He has also had success with two other pictures; Leviathan and the really bizarre, David Cronenberg-directed Naked Lunch. And after that, I know nothing about him.
I wonder how he feels about his career. Because I think he is an unequivocal success. He made two classic movies. No matter what crap he makes in the future, he will have always made Banzai and RoboCop. But does he think that way? One would assume that as an actor, he is constantly refining his craft and constantly looking for a project that would allow him to achieve success. For some actors, success would mean a box office hit or an Academy Award. For others, it simply means a well made movie, no matter how successful, in which they feel they've given a perfect performance. Weller has no Oscar and RoboCop was probably his most successful movie in terms of box office draw. And for a release in 1987, that means 53 million dollars against a budget of 13 million. And yet, to me he is a complete success.
I used to think this way about Tim Curry. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is obviously a classic movie. It is the all time cult movie. Yet, for the longest time, Tim Curry struggled to make a name for himself beyond Rocky Horror. In some interviews I've read, he was almost Shatner-esque about decrying the Frank-N-Furter role. He wanted to be known as an actor not as a character. But because he couldn't see himself through the eyes of his fans, he didn't know that he had already cemented himself for all times as a success.
I have also made this point about Kevin Costner. He is constantly churning out crap, but he has already created two or three classic movies that will stand the test of time long after he is dead. I try and make the comparison to Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy Stewart is known as one of this countries most loved actors. But he made a crapload of horrible movies. Yet he made a handful of classics and that is what is loved for. Bull Durham , Field of Dreams, and Dances with Wolves will always outshine a thousand pieces of crap like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld, and The Postman. Notice those movies were so bad that I didn't even bother to link to them. When Costner is dead, those three movies will still be popular. The first three, not the last three. The last three will always be pieces of crap. Although I will insert a disclaimer here. I can't really tell the future. No one liked It's A Wonderful Life or The Wizard of Oz when they first came out. So, really, don't pay any attention to anything I've just said. Except that I like Buckaroo Banzai. And I'm going to go back to watching it. Bye.
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