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Bruce Willis - done with acting

UTCzech III

By UTCzech III
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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2907

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Damn.  Best to him.

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Bruce Willis’ family has announced the actor is retiring from the profession after being diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder caused by brain damage that affects a person’s ability to communicate. Willis’ family members posted a joint statement to social media announcing the actor’s retirement.

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” the statement reads. “As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support,” the statement continues. “We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.
As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”

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RPM

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Damn. Maybe that explains his career choices. He was in a bunch of forgettable direct to video stuff the last few years. But in his prime, the guy was the shit. David Addison, Jr was a role model to me.

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C-Man

C-Man 27231

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I've heard of aphasia but had to look it up and remind myself exactly what it is. Usually brought on by traumatic head/brain injury or stroke or is a sign of brain tumor.

Fucking sucks. Bruce is one of the greatest action heroes of all time. Loved him in Moonlighting and then was basically dragged to see Die Hard at the theater in HS. I never in a million years thought that movie was going to be anything other than a cheesefest a la Tango & Cash. It's perhaps the greatest action film ever made and nobody else in the world could've played John McClane.

Best wishes, Bruce.

"I was always partial to Roy Rogers."

die-hard-bruce-willis.gif

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TurkeyChew

TurkeyChew 383

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So, I guess this is as good a time as any to admit this, I've never seen Die Hard.

Every year during Christmas when Die Hard comes up as "is it a Christmas movie or not" debate, I mean to check it out, but I never do.

Edited by TurkeyChew
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mchookem

mchookem 16337

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1 minute ago, TurkeyChew said:

So, I guess this is as good a time as any to admit this, I've never seen Die Hard.

Every year during Christmas when Die Hard comes up as "is it a Christmas movie or not" debate, I mean to check it out, but I never do.

ok...NOW you deserve to be negged to oblivion! 

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Hate

Hate 20116

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So, I guess this is as good a time as any to admit this, I've never seen Die Hard.
Every year during Christmas when Die Hard comes up as "is it a Christmas movie or not" debate, I mean to check it out, but I never do.

I saw it for the first time last Christmas and enjoyed it. You should watch it this year.
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Deej

Deej 76836

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11 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

So, I guess this is as good a time as any to admit this, I've never seen Die Hard.

Every year during Christmas when Die Hard comes up as "is it a Christmas movie or not" debate, I mean to check it out, but I never do.

 

5 minutes ago, Hate said:


I saw it for the first time last Christmas and enjoyed it. You should watch it this year.

Who the fuck are you people?

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Hmbre97

Hmbre97 6316

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5 minutes ago, Hate said:


I saw it for the first time last Christmas and enjoyed it. You should watch it this year.

Same. I only ever caught bits and pieces of it over time while channel flipping but never watched it start to finish. I think it's overhyped a bit but I'd add it to the xmas watch list.

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Newdoc

Newdoc 3448

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12 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

So, I guess this is as good a time as any to admit this, I've never seen Die Hard.

Every year during Christmas when Die Hard comes up as "is it a Christmas movie or not" debate, I mean to check it out, but I never do.

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RomaVicta

RomaVicta 29934

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I saw him recently in some awful movie where he's a retired cop living on a lake. Local cops are corrupt. Truly amateur night.

I did notice that he was only filmed in a few locations and really wasn't in the film more than a fraction of the time. Usually I notice this when a big actor is in a small movie. In those cases, the limitations I mention above likely have to do with accommodating the actor's schedule by limiting shooting to just a day or two.

In Willis' case, I wonder if those were the parameters required for his participation due to health problems. Sad.

I didn't care for Willis and wouldn't go see Die Hard in the theater until the weight of good reviews compelled me. It was a very hot summer day in Austin and my apartment only had AC in the bedroom. I was about the only person in the theater. Fantastic movie. I sat through it twice to avoid the heat and just because I liked it so much.

I think maybe my favorite Willis performance was in Pulp Fiction.

Best of luck to him.

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15301

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30 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

So, I guess this is as good a time as any to admit this, I've never seen Die Hard.

Every year during Christmas when Die Hard comes up as "is it a Christmas movie or not" debate, I mean to check it out, but I never do.

Dude?  Hudson Hawk?  Death Becomes her?  Sure, but Die Hard?

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UTCzech III

UTCzech III 2907

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37 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I've heard of aphasia but had to look it up and remind myself exactly what it is. Usually brought on by traumatic head/brain injury or stroke or is a sign of brain tumor.

Fucking sucks. Bruce is one of the greatest action heroes of all time. Loved him in Moonlighting and then was basically dragged to see Die Hard at the theater in HS. I never in a million years thought that movie was going to be anything other than a cheesefest a la Tango & Cash. It's perhaps the greatest action film ever made and nobody else in the world could've played John McClane.

Best wishes, Bruce.

"I was always partial to Roy Rogers."

die-hard-bruce-willis.gif

Ha! Same.  My wife (gf at time) was working at the Erwin Center and got some passes to an advance screening.  I was like, "Seriously?  A fucking Bruce Willis movie?".  Wound up having a few drinks before showtime then had a blast, the whole theater was going nuts.  Fun night.

I also like The Last Man Standing, it bombed but I kind of dig it.  Gangsters in the middle of nowhere Texas, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern, David Patrick Kelly.  OK in my book.  

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mchookem

mchookem 16337

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some really good and memorable roles.

had actual comedic and dramatic chops, in addition to outstanding action roles...Nobody's Fool, 12 Monkeys, Sixth Sense, Death Becomes Her, The Whole Nine Yards...

this makes me really sad 😔 I was just lamenting last week how many absolute legends we were likely going to lose in the next 10 years or so...but they are all on the backside of 80+! (Pacino, Hackman, Duvall, Eastwood, Nicholson, etc.) 

66 is young ☹️

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18015

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35 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

I saw him recently in some awful movie where he's a retired cop living on a lake. Local cops are corrupt. Truly amateur night.

I did notice that he was only filmed in a few locations and really wasn't in the film more than a fraction of the time. Usually I notice this when a big actor is in a small movie. In those cases, the limitations I mention above likely have to do with accommodating the actor's schedule by limiting shooting to just a day or two.

Red Letter Media had an entire episode about this.  Basically, the star gets $1M (about 50% of the budget) to be on the DVD cover with their name above the title. They film a couple of scenes in one day, rarely with anyone else in frame.  Any other shots are a stand-in from behind or in the shadows.  They talked about the rumor of health concerns with Bruce and assumed he was just trying to make as much cash as possible over the past 10 years before he couldn't do it any longer.

 

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WhatTheBuck

WhatTheBuck 28788

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Back in the spring/summer of ‘87, I was living in my first apartment near south campus. Bw-3 had opened up their second store just 2-3 blocks away. Every Tuesday night my roommates would go get wings on 10¢ wing night, bring them home, and eat them while we watched Moonlighting. That was our weekly ritual. (A dozen wings for $1.20 was a good deal for a poor college student and back then they didn’t suck.)

I remember when Die Hard came out and nobody thought that guy from Moonlighting could make it as an action star. Boy, did he prove us wrong.

Also, he was hilarious as a guest star on Mad About You. There was more but this is all I could find:

 

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RomaVicta

RomaVicta 29934

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14 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Red Letter Media had an entire episode about this.  Basically, the star gets $1M (about 50% of the budget) to be on the DVD cover with their name above the title. They film a couple of scenes in one day, rarely with anyone else in frame.  Any other shots are a stand-in from behind or in the shadows.  They talked about the rumor of health concerns with Bruce and assumed he was just trying to make as much cash as possible over the past 10 years before he couldn't do it any longer.

 

Michael Caine made a buttload of movies in the late 80s. He had to participate fully as a character. One of the Jaws sequels is one example. People wondered why he'd stoop to such low standards.

His response was like what you post. He realized he had a limited time left as an actor and began to think is was stupid to turn down million dollar fees. Luckily for us, he didn't become a joke so that we can now enjoy him in a number of quality roles as a senior.

Generally, I love actors as professionals. They want to display their craft and the vehicles to do so are limited in quantity and even more limited in quality. Actors take work where they can find it because opportunities to get paid are few and taking any role gets a career started. I love them because they devote themselves to material no matter the quality and do their best to make it as good as possible.

Watching guest actors on SNL staying in character and not subverting the script even when the skit is a disaster is always sorta moving to me. That's a fucking pro.

Also, I admire an actor like Stephanie Courtney who plays Flo. She elevated that character from the beginning. She shows up and give it everything. She's adept at comedy and has great facial expression. 

Actors can be nuts when they're not acting, but that's beyond the scope of my interest.

Edited by RomaVicta
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Don Johnson

Don Johnson 4754

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20 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Red Letter Media had an entire episode about this.  Basically, the star gets $1M (about 50% of the budget) to be on the DVD cover with their name above the title. They film a couple of scenes in one day, rarely with anyone else in frame.  Any other shots are a stand-in from behind or in the shadows.  They talked about the rumor of health concerns with Bruce and assumed he was just trying to make as much cash as possible over the past 10 years before he couldn't do it any longer.

 

23 of his last 24 movies were direct to video.  All since 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Willis_filmography

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2 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

Michael Caine made a buttload of movies in the late 80s. He had to participate fully as a character. One of the Jaws sequels is one example. People wondered why he'd stoop to such low standards.

His response was like what you post. He realized he had a limited time left as an actor and began to think is was stupid to turn down million dollar fees. Luckily for us, he didn't become a joke so that we can now enjoy him in a number of quality roles as a senior.

Peter O'Toole made an excellent film on the subject written by John Hodge. The Final Curtain 

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High Plains Drifter

High Plains Drifter 11050

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1 hour ago, UTCzech III said:

Ha! Same.  My wife (gf at time) was working at the Erwin Center and got some passes to an advance screening.  I was like, "Seriously?  A fucking Bruce Willis movie?".  Wound up having a few drinks before showtime then had a blast, the whole theater was going nuts.  Fun night.

I also like The Last Man Standing, it bombed but I kind of dig it.  Gangsters in the middle of nowhere Texas, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern, David Patrick Kelly.  OK in my book.  

 

I also like Last Man Standing. Its a remake of a Fistful of Dollars (Clint Eastwood spaghetti western).

I really like this scene, Texas Ranger laying down the law:

 

 

 

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C-Man

C-Man 27231

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1 hour ago, TurkeyChew said:

I've never seen Tango & Cash either, if that helps.

It's so bad, it's g-, err, well watchable. For nostalgia and all. But that's about it.

 

1 hour ago, Dutchrudder said:

I guess he finally got too old for this shit.

 

Wish him well, dude is still a legend. 

200.gif

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TurkeyChew

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I just dug through the filmography linked above for Direct-to-video. Can someone who knows help those of us who are clueless how this industry works?

It appears based on the film titles and actors, to be aged or actors who were once bankable or had a name, that can no longer get work (e.g. some of those films were Bruce Willis, Kevin Dillon, Devon Sawa, Luke Wilson, Chad Michael Murray, Shannon Doherty, etc.).

These films then skip theatres with no marketing or press junket or publicity and then go straight to DVD for consumption at like a RedBox? Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, etc.? 

How do the economics of these things work considering none of us have or will ever see these movies with 6% on RT, etc.

My only guess is they are made for overseas audiences and there are huge old American actor fans and profit centers in Sri Lanka or Poland or something?

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Dutchrudder

Dutchrudder 11141

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3 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

I just dug through the filmography linked above for Direct-to-video. Can someone who knows help those of us who are clueless how this industry works?

It appears based on the film titles and actors, to be aged or actors who were once bankable or had a name, that can no longer get work (e.g. some of those films were Bruce Willis, Kevin Dillon, Devon Sawa, Luke Wilson, Chad Michael Murray, Shannon Doherty, etc.).

These films then skip theatres with no marketing or press junket or publicity and then go straight to DVD for consumption at like a RedBox? Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, etc.? 

How do the economics of these things work considering none of us have or will ever see these movies with 6% on RT, etc.

My only guess is they are made for overseas audiences and there are huge old American actor fans and profit centers in Sri Lanka or Poland or something?

If you have a lot of time on your hands, these videos discuss the topic in depth and give you just as much as you want to see of the films. They are truly dogshit films.  

https://youtu.be/cd1eNS9HtXo

 

https://youtu.be/FbLk4ktAE5U

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BERT

BERT 4380

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1 hour ago, Dutchrudder said:

I guess he finally got too old for this shit.

 

Wish him well, dude is still a legend. 

 

24 minutes ago, C-Man said:

It's so bad, it's g-, err, well watchable. For nostalgia and all. But that's about it.

 

200.gif

thought the same thing @C-Man

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