Monday, June 16, 2003

THINK OF IT AS A WELL-DESERVED MOVIE-STAR SEMI-RETIREMENT: Or so goes Fametracker's new Fame Audit of Harrison Ford, which aptly notes: "You have to assume that Harrison Ford gets sent every big screenplay in Hollywood, and takes his pick of roles. And yet....Six Days, Seven Nights and K-19: The Widowmaker, the title of which apparently referred to suicides among tragically bored male audience members."

Indeed, here's his last movies: Sabrina, The Devil's Own, Air Force One, Six Days Seven Nights, Random Hearts, What Lies Beneath, K-19: The Widowmaker and Hollywood Homicide. Not only is there nothing Raiders-level in the bunch, there's nothing Presumed Innocent level either -- though, to be sure, Air Force One and What Lies Beneath both made buckets of money.

So is it that Ford's not getting good scripts? Not at all. In fact -- and I'm surprised the Audit didn't note this -- Ford was offered, and accepted, the role in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic that eventually went to Michael Douglas. Great dramatic role for a mature actor, and Ford even worked with Soderbergh on the character to complicate the part. But then Ford declined to take K-19 instead, and Kevin Costner declined to take 3000 Miles to Graceland, leaving it to Douglas to take the great part.

(Indeed, Douglas, his contemporary picks much more wisely: why didn't Ford take on Douglas's parts in Wonder Boys, Falling Down or even Basic Instinct? All would have worked for him.)

Ford's a great actor, with a nice comic touch (see: Working Girl). It'd be nice if he started picking roles that were up to the standards of his pre-Regarding Henry career.

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