Jack Nicholson Coming to Town?
"The Untitled James L. Brooks Project" -- the romantic triangle starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd set to start shooting here in mid-June -- is negotiating with Jack Nicholson (who won Oscars for the Brooks films Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets) to play the role of Rudd's father. According to Variety, Nicholson would replace the notoriously noncommital Bill Murray, initially slated to co-star.
Jack Nicholson Coming to Town?
Carrie Rickey, Film Critic
"The Untitled James L. Brooks Project" -- the romantic triangle starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd set to start shooting here in mid-June -- is negotiating with Jack Nicholson (who won Oscars for the Brooks films Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets) to play the role of Rudd's father. According to Variety, Nicholson would replace the notoriously noncommital Bill Murray, initially slated to co-star.
As you no doubt know, in the untitled film Witherspoon is torn between businessman Rudd and ballplayer Wilson.
Brooks has a good track record of eliciting restrained performances from wild men (think Adam Sandler in Spanglish; and the unbilled Nicholson as a magisterial Dan Rather-type anchorman in Broadcast News.)
Diabolical Jack (The Shining, Batman, The Departed) doesn't age well for me. I prefer unflappable Jack to flipped Jack. My most cherished performances of his are Easy Rider, The Last Detail, Chinatown, Reds, the Brooks movies and Something's Gotta Give. You? Tell me why.
I share your preference in Jacks. My faves are Reds, Chinatown, Terms of Endearment, The Last Detail, and Something's Gotta Give. My least favorite is The Very Famous Diner Scene from Five Easy Pieces, where I always feel sorry for the waitress. (As a long-time Laker fan, I also have to give a nod to Jack's longest-running role, that of El Supremo courtside Laker fan, with record mogul Lou Adler as his sidekick.)— wwolfe
oops, meants *rolls into town, no pun intended, ha!— Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.- Well, I just hope Mr. Nicholson roles into town. He's a super good dude. Philly welcomes him!!!— Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
- Let us not forget about one of George Clooney's first acting roles and that was in the "Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes." Yeah, like the original needed a sequel. Ha! But, I recall when an interviewer asked him what he would consider to be the greatest movie he was ever in, he said that movie. Good stuff. Good guy, just like all of the good guys I've listed before. I think they accept their "humble" roots and appreciate their fans that much because of it.— Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
- For me it's Chinatown, but I think everything he does is just brilliant, even in a movie like "Terms of Endearment." I guess there are some obvious ones like "The Shining", "Easy Rider," etc. What happened to the vote that I saw up here earlier because I am curious as to which movies were listed? "The Postman Always Rings Twice" - the remake which he was in, kind of hot and rather convincing. And as, the poster Memory Alpha pointed out earlier, "The Terror." Great stuff. Clint Eastwood got his start the same way by appearing in "Revenge of the Creature" just like Dennis Hopper did in "Queen of Blood." Ah yes, those old "drive-in flics" are some of the best films to catch Hollywood's greatest actors and actresses, plus they are some of the funnest films ever!— Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
- They will be shooting in Powelton and on Drexel's campus...so i hear...— FMT
- Two way tie between The Shining and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Great manic performances in both great films. Honorable mention goes to Terms of Endearment, Carnal Knowledge and Chinatown. A great actor, arguably the best of this era over Pacino, Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel, and Brando.— phillyfunk
Comment removed.- i agree carrie re: easy rider. without him in that film, it would be a lot of "hey mans" and dope smoking with a groovy soundtrack. his presence helped make that such an iconic movie.— movieirv
- "Son, we live in a world with walls and those walls have to be guarded, who's going to do it? YOU!, YOU Lieutent Weinberg?" A Few Good Men, only 5 - 10 minutes in the movie - buy maybe, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"— gtb513
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- MovieIrv: King of Marvin Gardens has a Philly scene in a disc jockey booth, does it not?— carrierickey
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- I can't look at Jack Nicholson and not see the Joker from Batman.— jhoagi261
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- My favorite Jack Nicholson films are Chinatown, The Shining, As Good As It Gets and Something's Got To Give. The first two are each profound meditations on the nature of good and evil and metaphysics. The latter two are tender character studies and Nicholson simply makes you believe in the reality of the characters he's playing. Oh -- and he really is great as Col. Jessup.— ccjroberts
- I liked him in Mars Attacks, but yeah where will this be shot?— wolfburn
- Chinatown is great, but I love Jack in The Last Detail the best. I can think one other film he made here. Can anybody else think of a Philly-set movie with Jack?— movieirv
I like him in Ironweed. Underrated movie/performance.- Comment removed.
Alexander Payne + Jack = my personal fave performance, minus a very naked Kathy Bates of course! As Good As It Gets being a close 2nd...— theJOJ- "You Can't Handle The Truth!" Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men. Jack stole the show.— socialgrace
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- No mention of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"? An Oscar winning performance if there ever was one!— rjernee
- I still like him in one of his first serious films, Five Easy Pieces (first top billed role maybe?). I think you get a chance to see unflappable Jack in scenes with Susan Anspach, wildman Jack in Sally Struthers scene and oil field scene, flipped Jack in the diner, frustrated Jack with Karen Black, bemused Jack with the hitchhikers and tortured Jack in the scene with his dying and speechless father.— John Brumfield
- For no particular reason: "The King of Marvin Gardens," "Five Easy Pieces," "Carnal Knowledge," "Chinatown" and ... "The Little Shop of Horrors"— Pash
- GaryK: I love that line! (And that performance, edgy-quizzical, like his wardrobe of a lemon-yellow sportsjacket with black shirt.) Jtap: Will advise.— carrierickey
- where exactly are they shooting at?— jtap1981
- Should I ice her, or should I marry her? PRIZZI'S HONOR gets my honors for Jack. Carrie.— garyk
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