DAVID E. KELLEY AND AL PACINO: Given the recent announcements of Regis Philbin, Brett Favre and
The Connecticut Senator Who Looks Like Emperor Palpatine, Slate's Emily Yoffe
wants to know who else should be encouraged to retire already. (Obvs, keep your answers to our bailiwick.)
Chris Berman.
ReplyDeleteAndy Rooney?
ReplyDeleteLeno, though that's obvious.
ReplyDeleteDe Niro -- but only from purported "comedies."
ReplyDeleteIs he doing his job any more poorly than he was 15 years ago? It's not like we're talking about a QB who's lost his zip; this is more like a Jake Delhomme with the salary and clout of a Peyton Manning.
ReplyDeleteIronically, I think Pacino can and potentially should do the De Niro comedy angle and embrace the self-parody. While the "Meet The Parents" franchise has had sharply diminishing returns over time, the first one was really good, in no small part because De Niro was doing a performance with just the right level of winking acknowledgement.
ReplyDeleteAnother retirement announced in the past few days? Kevin Smith, who claims he's retiring from filmmaking (I suppose to spend more time with his Twitter account?) after he completes "Hit Somebody." (I decidedly don't buy it, but it's what he's saying now.)
ReplyDeleteRandy Jackson.
ReplyDeleteAgree. But that was years ago, and now it's time for him to go... And Pacino is always a bit of self-parody, intentional or not, so sure, let's see him do it for laughs intentionally!
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that he is concentrating on writing and producing. he is only planning to retire from directing not show business all together.
ReplyDeleteI am sure it is all just promo for this crazy self-distribution road show thing he is doing for Red State.
Is The Devil's Advocate a comedy?
ReplyDeleteSecond Berman. And to be a bit controversial, but if Community gets a renewal for next year, Joel McHale should retire from The Soup.
ReplyDeleteDavid Letterman. He seems to have lost all joy in his work. He just seems like a bitter miserable person. Granted, I don't watch much anymore and could have just hit a few "negative nelly" episdes in a row.
ReplyDeleteI am also a huge Craig Ferguson fan and would like to see him get the nod for the earlier time slot.
Lee Corso (although that might be happening already) and Lou Holtz. Dick Vitale is also a possibility, but he'd probably qualify as a "Delhomme" - although can we at least get him off the NBA Draft?
ReplyDeleteNO! That's blasphemy! (Though I admit he'd be a bit bigger than The Soup, it's still one of the shows my wife and I look forward to each week and I couldn't imagine it without him.)
ReplyDeleteJennifer Aniston.
ReplyDeleteHoo boy, do I have a list.
ReplyDeleteJoe Buck
Joe Morgan
Chip Carey
Manny Ramirez
Julia Roberts
Sandra Bullock
Uwe Boll
Tyler Perry
Larry Brown
Bud Selig
Al Davis
I'm sure more will come to mind as the day goes on.
Mel Gibson
ReplyDeleteI think you need to separate "people who've lost their talent" from "people I've never believed were talented." (See my argument re Leno above.)
ReplyDeleteTrue dat. I'd love to see Joe Buck retire (and Joe Morgan stay unhired), but neither one has any talent as a baseball announcer. Nor does Tim McCarver, for that matter. [What? Y'all knew I had to say it.]
ReplyDeleteKevin Smith has crossed the line from "mildly annoying but ignorable" to complete jerk. Drew McWeeny says it better than I could: http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/sundance-review-kevin-smiths-red-state-fails-onscreen-and-off-at-its-world-premiere
ReplyDeleteAl Davis
ReplyDeleteCokie Roberts
David Brooks
Eric Clapton
Pat Conroy
Alan Dershowitz
See, I think Morgan has talent as a baseball announcer. Trouble is, the baseball world has moved on from his heyday and he (willfully) hasn't adjusted.
ReplyDeleteI'd be tempted to throw in Harrison Ford. If only because he seems so miserable both on-screen and off- in relation to his newer work. I think he enjoyed the ride at first, because it was something he was good at and got paid good money to do. I don't know if he ever had that will, either driven by artistry or the pursuit of fame/power, that so many successful actors (by whatever criteria we and they determine "success") have now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wouldn't say Peter King needs to retire completely, but I think he would do well to switch from a weekly column to more feature pieces or books. He could write lovely sycophantic biographies of football figures from the past.
Manny Ramirez?
ReplyDeleteShia LeBoeuf.
ReplyDeleteAlso, related to Yoffe's column - what was the point of the choice in the last slide? She thinks tween death threats are funny? It's her attempt at humor? It felt like a weird note to end an otherwise interesting article.
ReplyDelete<span>Shia LeBeouf.</span>
ReplyDeleteDick Clark
ReplyDeleteR.E.M.
ReplyDeleteU2
The James Levine call is, sadly, on point.
Do you think Ford needs to take occasionally breaks? Because HE ALREADY WORKS AROUND THE CLOCK.
ReplyDeletePersonal bias, Ramar, for the amount of money the White Sox wasted on him last year.
ReplyDeleteAt least his daughter isn't dating the SON OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'd prefer he retire after a good career-capper of a film, there's a good argument that the time has come for James L. Brooks to retire.
ReplyDeleteAnd Arthur Laurents probably needs to retire, or at least stop being so utterly controlling with respect to productions of his material.
Joe Paterno
ReplyDeleteFord needs to be smart about his role choices. Even though Morning Glory flopped, he's actually really good in it. Imagine if he'd taken the part in Traffic that he turned down--would have been quite good in it. Early word on Cowboys and Aliens is that he finds a way to make it work as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Rolling Stones.
ReplyDeleteJohn McEnroe
ReplyDeleteDefinitely weird. Quit before puberty makes you a man...what? Extremely odd. I like Yoffe's writing most of the time, but that was just off. Maybe they were trying to rope in the younger demographic with that slide (because tweens are heavy Slate readers, of course).
ReplyDeleteBobby Flay.
ReplyDeleteAh, that reminds me of another one: Rob Reiner.
ReplyDelete...or to curry favor with the over-exposed parents of under-critical tweens.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot be serious.
ReplyDeleteR.E.M.'s "Pretty Persuasion" just came on the internet radio station I listen to, and I came here to muse about R.E.M. But I would have to muse quietly, as it might be near heresy to type such a thing while sitting at a computer in Athens, GA.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like to see the members of R.E.M. continue to do things musically (like Peter Buck's work on the newest Decemberists album), but it might be time for the group to call it a day, except for the occasional reunion show or appearance at a benefit.
Of course, when the new album comes out if it blows us all away, I take it all back.
ReplyDeleteI understand why he's still playing, but it's kinda sad to watch Allen Iverson finish his career in Turkey.
ReplyDeleteBut the most depressing recent case of an athlete avoiding retirement is Evander Holyfield, who just lost a fight over the weekend at the age of 48.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=6050181
I think the Queen is a good call because it will certainly change the dynamics of all Commonwealth countries (the move in Australia to a republic will be bolstered by her resignation).
ReplyDeleteI second Rob Reiner and James L Brooks.
I actually enjoyed the most recent movies from Brooks (How Do You Know) and Reiner (Flipped). They were light years away from Broadcast News or Stand By Me in quality, but I found both relatively enjoyable. I liked How Do You Know more than the vast majority of critics did. Flipped was the first Reiner movie I liked at all since The American President (though it admittedly isn't even close to being in The American President's class. It's more like a decent Netflix rental).
ReplyDeleteIt's HIS FATHER IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. Also, THAT'S WHAT THE MONEY IS FOR!
ReplyDeleteAdam, whereas I say if you've been doing something for a long time, and *still* haven't gotten good, you should retire already and get out of our lives.
ReplyDeleteWolf Blitzer. Seriously, enough already.
ReplyDeleteI third Brooks and Reiner. Not up to their best, but just fine.
ReplyDeleteBoth Al Roker AND Willard Scott (yes, I suppose the argument could be made that they never had any talent but I think at some point they were much much better than they are now).
ReplyDeleteRod Stewart (Maggie May is a much better piece of work than any of the drivel coming out of him right now)
John Travolta
Tom Hanks
Jerry Seinfeld.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Sheen.
Lorne Michaels.
Paul McCartney.
Scott Hamilton.
Barbara Walters.
Miss America (not any individual title holder, just as a concept).
Robin Williams. Used to be so talented. So funny. Such a good dramatic actor. Now, when I see him I cringe.
ReplyDeleteYou know if you're retiring Lorne Michael's why not retire Saturday Night Live. Do we (pop culture consumers) need a two hour overstuffed skit comedy programme filled with up and coming comedians and people promoting their latest album/vanity project/film?
ReplyDeleteSurely the late night chat show, Funny or Die and YouTube fill all criteria?
Yes, the argument that it is relatively cheap for NBC to produce is valid but ...
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