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Why Mark Hamill Wasn’t in Mel Brook’s ‘Spaceballs’

Matthew Trzcinski — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 01:48:30 +0000

The best parody movies do a great job of mimicking other films. Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs got the look and feel of a Star Wars movie right, but Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill is nowhere to be seen. During an interview, Hamill explained why he didn’t appear in Brook’s space opera.

Mark Hamill wanted to be in Mel Brook’s ‘Spaceballs’

Hamill has played some iconic roles, such as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Chucky in the remake of Child’s Play. However, he will always be associated with Star Wars first and foremost. He also appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, a film that alludes to Star Wars in its title. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was directed by Kevin Smith, who has referenced Hamill’s signature franchise in his work on several occasions.

During a 2019 interview with Empire, he was asked why he appeared in Smith’s film. “Listen, I turned down so many things that play on this very same thing,” he said. “But this very same thing. But this is special. The only time I would’ve considered it before was when Mel Brooks did Spaceballs.”

Mel Brooks didn’t ask Mark Hamill to appear in his movie

Hamill said he didn’t appear in Spaceballs because Brooks never offered him a role in the film. “He didn’t ask me to do anything, but I thought, ‘If he asks me, I probably will,'” Hamill said. “Just because I love Mel Brooks so much. But he didn’t ask me, so that wasn’t a problem.

“But by avoiding all those kind of derivative send-ups, I was being careful so that when I did do it, it would be more meaningful,” he added. “And this was the one, because it was Kevin. He has such a great affection for Star Wars.”

While Spaceballs spoofs several Star Wars characters, including C-3PO, Chewbacca, and Jabba the Hutt. it doesn’t really spoof Luke in any meaningful way. The film’s protagonist, Lone Starr, is based on Han Solo, and any similarities between him and Luke are minor. Perhaps Hamill would have felt a little out of pace in Spaceballs for that reason.

How ‘Spaceballs’ failed and succeded

Spaceballs was not a tremendous hit when it was released. According to Box Office Mojo, the film earned around $6 million during its opening weekend and around $38 million worldwide. That was not impressive for a major studio movie released in the 1980s.

However, Spaceballs had the last laugh. Today, it is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, satire of Star Wars. It’s not as critically revered as The Producers or Blazing Saddles, but it might be Brooks’ most popular film.

The film inspired a sequel called Spaceballs: The Animated Series. Another sequel would make sense right about now, considering that several Star Wars films and television series have come out since the premiere of Spaceballs. Perhaps another Spaceballs film would be able to deftly mock the way that George Lucas’ sci-fi saga has regurgitated itself over and over during the past few decades.

Spaceballs is pitch-perfect even if Hamill didn’t get the chance to land a role in it.

Madonna on the Major Flaw of ‘A League of Their Own’

Matthew Trzcinski — Sun, 02 Jun 2024 03:56:17 +0000

Madonna‘s movie A League of Their Own received a warm reception from audiences. On the other hand, the “Like a Prayer” singer publicly criticized the movie. She didn’t think it lived up to two classic movies that she considered works of art. However, the Queen of Pop didn’t completely dismiss A League of Their Own.

Madonna said ‘A League of Their Own’ ‘candy-coated’ a fascinating story

A League of Their Own is loosely based on the history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which paved the way for a lot of women’s sports leagues. During a 1992 interview with The Guardian, the Material Girl said the film reified the concept of the American Dream. She was asked if the movie was “phony.” “It depends on who’s telling the story,” she said. “There are people that have their own views of America.

“If someone told the story of my life and they did it realistically there wouldn’t be anything phony about it,” she added. “I think the story the movie is based on is a very good story about these women who, y’know, in the 1940s had a hardball baseball team. It was unheard of. The fact that they, against all odds, came out believing that they were going to make it and that they could play. I mean, the true story is fascinating and amazing, but I think it’s been candy-coated.”

How Madonna would have directed the film

The “Frozen” singer didn’t like how some of the female baseball players in the movie had to quit after their husbands came home from World War II. “It’s sad, disgusting really,” she said. “But the story of the women and how they grouped together and became a team that really built up a stadium, that’s amazing, there’s nothing phony about that. I think if I were to have made that movie I would have made a big stink about the fact that they didn’t go on but I wasn’t the director.”

Madonna said A League of Their Own had its moment. However, she didn’t consider it a work of art like Gone with the Wind or Doctor Zhivago. For context, those two movies are historical epics that were nominated for many Academy Awards and inspired countless other filmmakers.

How the world reacted to ‘A League of Their Own’

While Madonna didn’t think A League of Their Own was perfect, it did well with audiences. Box Office Mojo reports the movie made over $13 million during its opening weekend. A League of Their Own made more than $107 million domestically and more than $24 million in other countries. Altogether, the film earned in excess of $132 million worldwide.

These days, the true mark of whether a film connected with audiences is whether or not it inspired a remake or a belated sequel. A League of Their Own was remade as a television series. Like many recent remakes, the new version of A League of Their Own was more diverse and LGBTQ-friendly than the original. Compare the two versions, and you’ll see how Hollywood’s relationship with feminism has evolved over the past 30 years.

Madonna had some criticisms of A League of Their Own, but the free market repeatedly rewarded the film.

The Story Behind That Song From the ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ Trailer

Matthew Trzcinski — Mon, 27 May 2024 03:04:35 +0000

I Saw the TV Glow might be the most talked about horror movie of the year so far. Trailers for I Saw the TV Glow include a haunting song about adolescence. Interestingly, the tune was not written for the film. Here’s a look at what the writers of the track were trying to say and why the song appears on the soundtrack of I Saw the TV Glow.

Trailers for ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ include a cult classic song

The track from the trailers for I Saw the TV Glow is called “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl.” The tune was initially performed by the rock band Broken Social Scene. During a 2023 interview with Billboard, Broken Social Scene’s Emily Haines’ discussed her interpretation of the track.

“[It was] this tale of a lost kid, or someone who was about to go off to LA, maybe. I was definitely aware of the fact that something was ending,” she said. “If you’re gonna be a super stubborn independent person like myself and want to change the industry at the same time as you’re trying to launch your band, you’re gonna have a bit of an uphill grind. So it’s not a sad thing, it was just the sense of ‘Oh man yeah, things are gonna change.'”

Broken Social Scene’s John Crossingham elaborated on the track. “It taps into that mysterious quality of being young and at odds with things,” he explained. “It’s opaque enough that you can put anything you want on it, but it’s specific enough in its emotion that you recognize what’s being intimated.”

Why ‘Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl’ is part of ‘I Saw the TV Glow’

“Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” became a cult favorite. It appeared in the trailers for I Saw the TV Glow. The version of the track that appears in the trailer is not the original but a cover by singer Yeule. IndieWire reports that, during a 2024 interview with the Filmmaker Toolkit, director Jane Schoenbrun explained that they wanted the soundtrack of the film to feel like the best 1990s mixtape ever (in spite of the fact that “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” came out in 2002).

Schoenbrun originally wanted Yeule to write a new tune for I Saw the TV Glow. Ultimately, the director decided to ask Yeule to record “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” out of a longtime fondness for it. Schoenbrun said the original version of the track was a predecessor to hyperpop, a trendy subgenre of pop music known for distorted vocals and instrumentation.

Why the song is perfect for the movie

It’s nice that “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” is featured in a teen film. With a title like that, it should have been in a teen film when it first came out! Considering I Saw the TV Glow is an homage to the popular culture of the 1990s and 2000s, the tune fits perfectly into the movie and its marketing. While I Saw the TV Glow is a disturbing, otherwordly take on nostalgia, Yeule’s “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” is a respite from the onslaught of horror.

Love or loath I Saw the TV Glow, it has a glorious soundtrack.

Nicolas Cage’s ‘Longlegs’ Was Inspired by a Legendary Director

Matthew Trzcinski — Wed, 22 May 2024 03:57:47 +0000

Nicolas Cage is going to star in the upcoming independent horror film titled Longlegs. While the film looks very modern, it’s actually a throwback to one Old Hollywood icon. Interestingly the director of Longlegs has a major connection to the icon in question.

Nicolas Cage’s ‘Longlegs’ was inspired by 1 of the best directors ever

Longlegs will be directed by Oz Perkins. So far, Perkins is most famous for his films I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and Gretel & Hansel. During a 2020 interview with Polygon, Perkins discussed Longlegs, saying it was inspired by the work of cinematic legend Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is remembered for horror films and thrillers such as Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest. His movies often have good humor and a psychosexual subtext. Hitchcock might be the most acclaimed director of all time, with Stanley Kubrick being his only real rival.

“As nicely as horror movies have come out of the reputation-gutter and become more well-thought-of by the general public, I think the thriller should be next up,” Perkins said. “The Hitchcockian thriller had a moment in the ’90s, a brief resurgence, but it’s spent most of the past two decades in sh***** stature. Where’s our Vertigo? That’s what I’m working on next. I’ve started writing now, and Vertigo is the big one, with trace amounts of Frankenstein and The Social Network in there too.”

Perkins has a special connection to Hitchcock. His father was Anthony Perkins, the actor who played Norman Bates in Psycho and its sequels. Norman is undoubtedly the most famous figure in any of Hitchcock’s films. Norman paved the way for numerous other slasher movie villains, including Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers.

What the director of ‘Longlegs’ thinks about movie villains

The younger Perkins discussed his attitude toward villains, “The most iconic and impactful villains are the ones who are upset, reacting to a life that hasn’t gone their way,” he said. “Wicked Witch of the East, Darth Vader — everyone’s heartbroken.” The director was likely referring to the Wicked Witch of the West, who becomes the antagonist of The Wizard of Oz because her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, is killed by a falling house.

Perkins explained why his father’s performance as Norman was so impactful. “What my dad did with that role was a modern, humanistic, naturalistic look at a deeply hurt person,” he said. “And we get put right in his head, as someone who’s been abused and abandoned, and then has to cope with that.”

What Nicolas Cage could bring to the film

Perhaps Perkins will bring that sort of humanism to Longlegs. A director probably wouldn’t cast a name actor like Nicolas Cage in a role unless they were going to give him something interesting to do! On top of that, sympathetic and quasi-sympathetic villains have been very common in American films so far this century, from independent films to Hollywood blockbusters.

The trailer for Longlegs doesn’t provide too much detail. That’s part of a broad trend of modern film marketing that emphasizes mystery over story. Hopefully, moviegoers are in good hands with Cage and Perkins at the wheel.

Nicolas Cage Compared ‘Longlegs’ to ‘Pinocchio’

Matthew Trzcinski — Wed, 22 May 2024 02:02:20 +0000

The trailer for Longlegs, Nicolas Cage’s new horror movie, makes it looks like a serial killer film. Interestingly, Cage compared the film to a character from Pinocchio. However, the film was directed by the son of a horror movie legend.

Nicolas Cage said ‘Longlegs’ is about ‘a possessed Geppetto’

Anthony Perkins was a talented actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows, but he will always be most remembered for playing Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Bates was one of the first realistic serial killers to be portrayed onscreen in an American movie. Perkins would reprise the role in three sequels. His son, Oz Perkins, is now a horror director known for the offbeat films Gretel & Hansel and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. He also directed Cage’s upcoming film, Longlegs.

During a 2022 interview with Document, Cage had a lot to say about the up-and-coming director. “He’s pretty strong in the horror genre at the moment,” he said. “But he’s actually Anthony’s son. He’s done some really good movies. Gretel & Hansel was terrific. [Longlegs is] about a character who’s hearing voices. It’s kind of like a possessed Geppetto, who’s making these dolls.”

Nicolas Cage is a big fan of Anthony Perkins

Cage elaborated on Longlegs. “So, I’m gonna be doing that with Oz, who’s also an actor, and I’m excited about that,” he said. “I told him that I thought Anthony Perkins was in the same club, in some ways, as James Dean and Montgomery Clift — but that his dad was spookier. There was this strange tension under him that made him a little more edgy than the other two. Especially, you know, when you see him in movies like Psycho.”

Cage also said that Dean was a huge influence on him as an actor. Dean and Clift are often considered two of the best actors of all time, but Perkins is rarely lauded that highly. His performance in Psycho, however, is generally regarded as one of the best horror performances.

The trailer for ‘Longlegs’ has some religious references

That’s quite the comparison! Geppetto was the character from Carlo Collodi’s children’s book The Adventures of Pinocchio who created the puppet Pinocchio before he came to life. Today, the character is most familiar to audiences through Walt Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio. In the Disney version, Geppetto is a kind father figure to the title character. Apparently, Cage will be playing a much darker figure in Longlegs.

What exactly does Cage mean when he talks about a “possessed Geppetto”? Does he mean the killer in Longlegs acts “like a man possessed,” or is he referring to something supernatural? The trailer for the film doesn’t feature the paranormal, but it does include quotes from a religious text (the Book of Revelation), so it could go either way. Specifically, the trailer quotes a passage from the Book of Revelation about the devil himself.

A lot of modern movie marketing is intentionally mysterious. Trailers give fans a tantalizing glimpse of something, hoping they’ll shell out some money to know what’s going on in the movie. So far, Cage and company are doing a great job with that! Both the trailer and Cage’s comments make Longlegs look cryptic.

George Lucas: Critics Missed the Point of ‘The Phantom Menace’

Matthew Trzcinski — Tue, 21 May 2024 03:08:54 +0000

The first three Star Wars films are often cited as some of the best Hollywood movies of all time, while The Phantom Menace received far less glowing reviews. George Lucas reacted to the critical trashing, saying the reviews for The Phantom Menace were identical to those for the previous Star Wars films. Fans should not take him at his word.

George Lucas defended a controversial character from ‘The Phantom Menace’

During a 1999 interview with Empire Magazine, Lucas shrugged off the negative reviews of The Phantom Menace. “The critics pretty much hated the first three movies; they said the dialogue is bad, the acting’s wooden, no story, too many special effects, it’s a children’s film,” he said.

“That same review got moved to Empire Strikes Back, that same review got moved to Return of the Jedi, and that is the review that is getting reprinted now. You’d think that after a while, they’d figure out that’s what these things are. It’s always gonna be like that because I see it as one movie, not six.”

Lucas defended the most controversial and widely panned aspect of the movie. “The irony was that it was written about Star Wars that in C-3PO, I had created the most irritating character ever created on film,” he said. “Now one of the reviews for The Phantom Menace says in Jar Jar, I have created the most irritating character ever created on film. It’s exactly the same sentence. It was like, ‘Hey, haven’t I been here? I already did that once.'”

George Lucas’ claims are not accurate

It goes without saying that salespeople aren’t always trustworthy, especially when they are selling their products. Lucas is the ultimate salesman for Star Wars, so fans and film historians should not take him at his word. The reviews for the original Star Wars were, by and large, glowing.

In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert, one of the most famous film critics in the United States, gave Star Wars a perfect four-star rating. He felt watching the movie was an out-of-body experience, where he wasn’t in a movie theater anymore but actually in the world of the movie. He said other critically acclaimed films such as Bonnie and Clyde, Jaws, Taxi Driver, and Cries and Whispers gave him the same feeling.

Ebert was not alone. Vincent Canby of The New York Times said Star Wars was the most beautiful movie serial ever made. In addition, Star Wars was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Lucas. Of course, every movie receives negative reviews, but the critics generally praised Star Wars.

Why the director might’ve framed ‘The Phantom Menace’ a certain way

So why did Lucas say that the original trilogy was critically reviled? Well, no one can know what’s going on in his head. Perhaps the bad reviews he received had a greater impact on him.

On the other hand, Lucas may have wanted to do some damage control. Rather than really engage with the criticisms of The Phantom Menace, he could say that reviewers would pan his work no matter what. That sort of fatalism can be perversely comforting.

Whether you love or hate The Phantom Menace, it wasn’t as lauded as its predecessors.

‘The Phantom Menace’ Turns 25: It’s Worse Than Ever

Matthew Trzcinski — Tue, 21 May 2024 03:07:57 +0000

There was a time when Star Wars was innovative. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was the moment George Lucas allowed the series to become a shell of its former self. While some fans feel that time has been kind to the movie, it’s only gotten worse with age.

25 years later, 2 elements of ‘The Phantom Menace’ are inexcusable

The Phantom Menace is a boring movie about political shenanigans starring a bunch of characters who rarely emote and a large orange lizard named Jar Jar Binks. If it was one of the many science fiction films made in the direct aftermath of the original Star Wars, like Message from Space or The Black Hole, no one would defend it. Because the movie has the phrase “Star Wars” in its title, it will always have defenders.

The movie was always bad, but age has made it worse for two reasons. Firstly, more and more fans are recognizing that Jar Jar Binks is not just annoying and hideous. He’s a gross stereotype of Afro-Carribean people. In fact, he’s a stereotype who is so abrasive and obvious that it’s a little surprising Hollywood considered him acceptable in 1999. He’s more like a character from a 19th-century minstrel show than a 1990s blockbuster.

The film’s other major problem, its visuals, were once a strength. In 1999, The Phantom Menace looked state-of-the-art. Even critics who didn’t care for its story praised its CGI. Today, it looks sterile and phony. Mid-century stop-motion effects have a lot more charm and personality than Watto or any of the other grotesque aliens in the movie.

25 years later, the defenses for ‘The Phantom Menace’ aren’t great

Some fans defend The Phantom Menace. If somebody likes the movie because it’s nostalgic for them, that’s their prerogative. As someone who loved it as a child, it’s issues have only become more egregious to me over time.

Some fans feel that at least The Phantom Menace is superior to Disney’s Star Wars films. That’s not much of a defense. The Phantom Menace is the result of a filmmaker trying too little, while the Disney Star Wars films are the result of a corporation trying too hard to please everyone.

George Lucas defended ‘The Phantom Menace’ from fans

During a 1999 interview with Empire Magazine, George Lucas was asked how he dealt with the fact that The Phantom Menace was a children’s movie that many adults wanted to see. “Basically, I didn’t,” he replied. “I kept it as it was originally intended. You can’t play too much to the marketplace.

“It’s the same thing with the fans,” he added. “The fans’ expectations had gotten way high and they wanted a film that was going to change their lives and be the Second Coming. You know, I can’t do that, it’s just a movie. And I can’t say, now I gotta market it to a whole different audience. I tell the story.

“I knew if I’d made Anakin 15 instead of nine, then it would have been more marketable,” the director continued. “If I’d made the Queen 18 instead of 14, then it would have been more marketable. But that isn’t the story. It is important that he be young, that he be at an age where leaving his mother is more of a drama than it would have been at 15. So you just have to do what’s right for the movie, not what’s right for the market.”

1 Madonna Movie Was So Bad Her Brother Couldn’t Handle It

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 17 May 2024 20:57:42 +0000

Numerous singers, like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Cher, tried their hand at a film career. Madonna did as well, and she made many notoriously bad movies. The singer’s brother admitted he told her one of her movies was awful and he couldn’t finish it. Meanwhile, he told his sister a different story.

1 Madonna movie was so bad her brother couldn’t look at the screen

Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, is a dancer who has worked with his sister on multiple occasions. In his 2008 book Life With My Sister Madonna, Ciccone recalled attending the premiere of Madonna’s movie The Next Best Thing. He went with Billie Myers, a personal friend and singer known for her hit “Kiss the Rain.” The Next Best Thing stars the “Like a Virgin” singer as a woman who has a child with her gay best friend, played by Rupert Everett.

“The movie is awful,” he said. “I pretend that I have to go to the bathroom and hope no one notices that I don’t come back. Instead, I stand in the hallway and listen, but at least don’t have to watch.”

Why Madonna’s brother refused to criticize ‘The Next Best Thing’

Ciccone was not honest about his feelings. “Afterward, I tell Madonna that she was great and the movie is funny, but this isn’t true,” he wrote. “I am glad that I am not alone with her because if we had a proper conversation about the movie, I know she would realize that I am lying.”

Ciccone explained why he felt criticizing The Next Best Thing was useless. “She has no idea whatsoever how bad she is in the movie but I realize that nothing good would come of speaking my mind so I decide not to,” Ciccone wrote. “The movie has already premiered, and there is nothing that can be done anymore to improve it or my sister’s performance in it. Commenting on it negatively to her would be both pointless and destructive and I refuse to go there.” Sadly, while Madonna is one of the most popular and important pop stars ever, she’s rarely garnered acclaim for her acting.

A famous critic lambasted the movie

When The Next Best Thing came out in 2000, Roger Ebert was the most famous film critic in the United States. His website reports that he was not a fan of the film, giving it one star out of four. He felt the movie dealt with gay issues clumsily and lacked likable characters. In Ebert’s opinion, too many movies about gay characters faltered by making sexuality their entire theme, and The Next Best Thing was no exception.

The movie is a notorious bomb, but Madonna got the next best thing out of it: a hit song. The film’s soundtrack includes her cover of Don McLean’s “American Pie.” With that in mind, it might be easy to call The Next Best Thing a modest victory for the Material Girl, except that her “American Pie” is rotten and expired. Turning a classic rock song into an overproduced electropop tune was a terrible idea. It’s for the best that she doesn’t release many covers.

Ciccone bit his tongue and praised The Next Best Thing but the rest of the world didn’t.

Is ‘Happy Gilmore’ on Netflix? Last Chance to Stream the Adam Sandler Comedy Classic

Matt Moore — Fri, 17 May 2024 17:45:22 +0000

Happy Gilmore and Netflix are ready to hit the links together for a sequel. But Adam Sandler’s original comedy is on the back nine when it comes to streaming.

Sandler is ready to resurrect the character that helped him become a comedy icon. It will be another installment in the actor’s lucrative deal with Netflix, significantly adding to Sandler’s net worth. However, time is limited to catch up with Happy Gilmore on Netflix.

Carl Weathers and Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore’ | Universal/Getty

‘Happy Gilmore’ leaves Netflix on May 31

Happy Gilmore‘s round on Netflix officially ends on May 31. The 1996 comedy joins a list of fan-favorite titles leaving the streamer at the end of the month, including the Hunger Games series and Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper.

Happy Gilmore earned mixed reviews when it hit theaters but managed to pull in a respectable box-office return. But it’s been over the past two decades where the film has earned cult-classic status. Sandler’s signature rage as Happy, Carl Weathers’ surprise comedy chops as Chubb, Bob Barker’s cameo, and Michael McDonald’s performance as the villain Shooter McGavin has left audiences laughing for years. It’s no surprise Netflix kept Happy Gilmore in its library for so long.

Netflix announced ‘Happy Gilmore 2’

As far back as 2022, Adam Sandler teased a sequel to Happy Gilmore. He hinted that a new movie would see Gilmore involved in a senior tour.

Then, Michael McDonald revealed Sandler showed him a draft of Happy Gilmore 2 in March 2024. Netflix wasted little time, confirming the movie during an upfront presentation on May 15, 2024.

Netflix didn’t release any other details about the plot or cast. But based on McDonald’s comments, there seems to be a part to play for Shooter McGavin.

Julie Bowen, who co-starred as Happy’s love interest, Virginia Venit, is also likely to return. She teamed up with Sandler for his 2020 Netflix film Hubie Halloween.

Chubbs actor Carl Weathers died on Feb. 1, 2024.

‘Troy’ Cast Then and Now, 20 Years After the Brad Pitt Epic Premiered

Matt Moore — Tue, 14 May 2024 14:36:00 +0000

Twenty years ago, Troy and its cast made its mark on epic filmmaking. Director Wolfgang Petersen’s take on Homer’s Iliad featured an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt and created a wildly entertaining, if not entirely accurate, movie.

Working from a script by future Games of Thrones showrunner David Benioff, the Troy cast brought to life legends like Achilles, Helen of Troy, and Hector. Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Diane Kruger were among those who joined Pitt in the impressive cast. While many of the actors haven’t made another film on Troy‘s scale, they continue to perform in blockbuster movies 20 years later.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt | Toni Anne Barson/WireImage (L); Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images (R)

A 40-year-old Brad Pitt starred as the de facto lead of the Troy cast as the hero Achilles. However, as Pitt admitted in 2019, he didn’t want any part of Troy.

“I had to do Troy because – I guess I can say all this now – I pulled out of another movie and then had to do something for the studio,” he told the New York Times. “So I was put in Troy. It wasn’t painful, but I realized that the way that movie was being told was not how I wanted it to be.“

Obviously, it didn’t have any adverse effects on Pitt’s career. After winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2019, he co-stars in 2024’s Wolfs with George Clooney.

Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom | Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage (L); Gilbert Flores/Golden Globes 2024 Getty Images (R)

Orlando Bloom was 27 and at the height of his fame when he was given the role of Paris in Troy. He’d made a name for himself with the Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings franchises. It may not be his favorite part, but at least he avoided major injury (unlike his co-stars).

In 2024, Bloom starred in the action thriller Red Right Hand. He also leads the Peacock series Orlando Bloom: To the Edge, where he explores the world and performs death-defying stunts.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana | Mark Mainz/Getty Images (L); Robert Cianflone/Getty Images (R)

Troy is sandwiched between Hulk and Munich in Eric Bana’s filmography. The Australian actor’s role as Hector is another example of how Petersen’s epic managed to cast every part perfectly. Bana was 36 when he went head-to-head with Brad Pitt.

Bana returned to his role as Aaron Falk in 2024’s Force of Nature: The Dry 2, an Australian mystery thriller. Bana also stars in A Sacrifice, based on Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo.

Diane Kruger

Diane Kruger | Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage (L); Jason Mendez/Getty Images (R)

Director Wolfgang Petersen didn’t want Helen of Troy to appear on screen because no actor could live up to expectations of this mythical beauty. But when the studio pushed back, the director cast a 28-year-old then-unknown Diane Kruger.

The German actor appears in David Cronenberg’s 2024 horror film The Shrouds. Then, she portrays German-American singer and actor Marlene Dietrich in the series Marlene.

Sean Bean

Sean Bean | Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic (L); JC Olivera/WireImage (R)

Years before playing Odysseus in Troy (and decades before becoming Ned Stark in Game of Thrones), Sean Bean impressed with roles in GoldenEye, The Lord of the Rings, and National Treasure. Bean was 45 years old when he took on the role of Ithica’s king.

2024 will see Bean lend his voice to the animated science-fiction series Rogue Trooper, based on the comic strip of the same name. He’ll then play Thomas Cromwell in the Disney+ series Shardlake.

Brian Cox

Brian Cox | Cambridge Jones/Getty Images (L); Frazer Harrison/Getty Images (R)

Brian Cox admitted that the role of Agamemnon was the only one he ever pursued. By the time Troy came around, the 58-year-old Cox had already been acting for over 30 years.

Cox’s career hit a new level with Succession. In 2024, his credits include a voice role in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the Paramount+ film Little Wing, and the Netflix film The Electric State.

Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson | J. Quinton/WireImage (L); Mike Marsland/WireImage (R)

Like Cox, Brendan Gleeson brought a level of experience and gravitas to Troy that couldn’t be done by his younger co-stars. Gleeson, 49, portrayed Menelaus, the younger brother to Agamemnon.

Gleeson earned an Academy Award nomination for his 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin. In 2024, he plays a supporting role in Joker: Folie a Deux.

Rose Byrne

Rose Byrne | Peter Kramer/Getty Images (L); Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic (R)

Rose Byrne, 25, landed the role of Briseis in Troy after Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai turned it down because of the love scenes. Byrne had primarily done Australian movies up to that point, save for a minor role in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

Since Troy, Byrne has proven to be a talented and versatile actor. Upcoming projects include the film If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, produced by the Safdie brothers; the drama Tow, co-starring Demi Lovato and Ariana DeBose; and a second season of her Apple TV+ series Platonic with Seth Rogen.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Troy, stream the epic on Prime.