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I thought he had two offers but let them choose which one he went with. He was definitely trying to make cash with the role though. He wanted to leave money for his kids.
I always adored watching Julia's work, he managed to bring an energy and intensity to every part. How appropriate that his final role was one motivated by love, and marked by a no-holds-barred performance that will be long remembered. Honestly, I tear up just thinking about what must have gone through his mind at the time...
Peter Cushing was regarded as a bit more of a B movie actor; he was certainly very well known, but Hammer Films were not given the same credence as the type of work Sir Alec Guinness had done that had led to BAFTAs and Oscars. Don't get me wrong -- I love Peter Cushing and I think the snobbery toward genre storytelling is misplaced, but I think the point is that even though Peter Cushing would have been known, Sir Alec would have been the only one to have been truly respected (whether that's valid or not).
I actually sort of respect Bruce Willis's reason for taking as many high paying crap roles as he could. He knew he was sick, and wanted to provide as much for his family as he could while he was still able. In reference to Max Von Sydow and Raul Julia, I have loved both of them in every role I've ever seen them in.
@@ericthompson3982 Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merceless was a real treat. Flash Gordon was campy fun. The soundtrack by Queen was the icing on the cake.
@@ericthompson3982 Same. My crazy younger brothers and I have all been musicians since we were very young. I started playing piano when I was 3. One younger bro learned drums and the other guitar. We learned to sing and play most of the movie's themes and had a little concert for our family. Man I wish we had a video camera back then.
@@Hinatachan360 Okay, I've always been a musician my whole life in a musical family, so I find that just absolutely fantastic. I love hearing about other families like that.
His health issues also probably made giving a great performance very difficult. There's a reason he was only in some of these movies for a few total minutes of screen time. I imagine this audio was recorded a long time ago and has been recycled. I know WhatCulture frequently does that. But I wish they'd cut that part about Willis out somehow.
Raul Julia took the role because he wanted bring joy to his son who loved the game so much. And Raul Julia thought it would a nice "farewell gift". money was the least of his thoughts.
That movie was garbage..the fact Balrog was a good guy is just one of the flaws of this awful movie. The Animated Movie made by Cap com was the real deal.
Raul Julia and Bruce Willis both get a free pass, they both knew their health was failing and wanted to earn money to support their family and in Rauls case play a role his kids would love
He took on the role which he was not enthusiastic about, though afterwards he said it was the most liberating and fun he's ever had as an actor in movies.
It must be said something for Bruce Willis loving his craft so much that his reaction to a failing health was wanting to be able to film as much as possible while he still could.
Guinness may have hated the script and dialogue, but he actually liked the overall plot of good vs. evil in Star Wars. He also enjoyed working with the cast and Lucas.
According to Max von Sydow himself, he loved playing Ming the Merciless because he enjoyed the Flash Gordon comics as a kid. He was brilliant in the role!
@anton1990 that was almost the same reason Brian Blessed wanted to play Prince Vultan. He loved the comic as a kid, and he and his friends would play as Flash and the other characters. Brian has some hilarious stories about shooting the movie in his autobiography "Absolute Pandemonium"
I can only imagine that Raul Julia’s kids can and do watch back his performance in Street Fighter with some joy. “For me, it was Tuesday” is still one of the hardest lines in cinema history.
The fact that Raul Julia took the role because his children were fan of the series should disqualify it from being considered just paycheck, though, since it was done for them and not for the money.
And gave us one of the best lines in movie history. “For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday.”
I love him. The only thing i was able to see him The Addams Family movies, but he was a great Gomez. "Isn't he a lady killer?" "Aquitted." That part cracks me up every time.
Raul Julia did not do it for the paycheck. He had been diagnosed with cancer and knew he had little time left. He did this movie because his kids loved Streetfighter II and he wanted to leave them with a movie that they loved where they could see their dad
I would put Orson Welles in there for the 80s animated Transformers movie. He was absolutely broke at the time and only did it for the check, but Omicron was great.
Transformers (1986) was a financial dud and either panned or outright ignored by critics, so there’s a case to be made that it was “bad” in conventional terms. Of course, it became a cult classic that treated its audience way more respectfully than did most of the live-action movies.
@@austintrousdale2397I was 12 when the film came out. And I can definitely attest that while critics may have panned it, the kids watching the cartoons thought it was one the coolest things ever!
Micheal Caine on starring in Jaws: The Revenge "I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!"
I'm surprised that Michael Caine didn't make the list for his role in Jaws The Revenge. He made it very clear in interviews that he took the role to pay for his house. He even missed accepting an award because of filming.
Although it was great to see Michael Caine in a genre flick fresh off his Oscar win, “Hoagie” wasn’t a particularly engaging character and couldn’t elevate the material.
Arguable mention: Nicole Kidman in Bewitched. SHE was perfect. Blame a very confusing script and a MISCAST WILL FERREL for everything else. Shoutout to Kristen Chenowith and Steve Carrel tho. He TRULY should have gotten his own Uncle Arthur spinoff.
Raul Julia was the only thing good from Street Fighter. The fact he took the role for his kid's while knowing he was dying I can't fault him for taking his money. Hell he was the only one who earned their check.
I'm surprised that Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean didn't make this list. Obviously a paycheck role, but Rush still utterly killed it.
@@HariSeldon913 Man I love Langella, but he WORE OUT the sets in Masters. FULL THROTTLE the entire time for an absolute crapfest of a movie. =) This performance is eternal.
@@gabeowens9248 My favorite from him is a movie called Dave. He's a former senator turned White House Chief of Staff and makes Skeletor look like a nice guy.
Anthony Hopkins has won 2 Oscars one for Silence of the Lambs and for The Father and Raul Julia is awesome in Street Fighter His "it was Tuesday"speech is amazing
Jeremy Irons. He knew what was up. If you've ever played a really great adventure in DnD with everyone just having fun THIS is what you image its like.
I think may favorite hypothetical for Jeremy Irons in the D&D movie is that he walk on set, took a look around, and said to himself "Oh, it's going to be one of THOSE movies", and then decided he was not going to "act" and instead just have fun.
I imagine this audio was recorded a long time ago before Willis's health issues were known. I know WhatCulture frequently recycles videos. But I wish they'd cut that part about Willis out somehow. He wasn't being lazy.
Like, a *long* time ago - it mentions Hopkins having one Oscar (he won his second in 2020) and refers to Jack and Jill as "one of the worst films of the past decade" when it was made in 2011.
Michael Caine was famously quoted saying "I haven't seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific" about Jaws 4
10:48 If the actor takes the role - whether because they are are really into the character or if they simply need some income [and who doesn't need more cashflow, right?], - it should be a mark of their artistic integrity that they do not just phone it in but give the role their best. That distinguishes a falling star from one who yet shines brightly.
Rail Julia was acting in a different film to the rest of the cast and I wanted to see that film instead. Though Street fighter is one of my guilty pleasure films, a large part due to Julia
Eccentric he may have been, but Marlon Brando was Perfectly cast as Jor-El and he was believable as being 'fatherly' in his scenes with Clark Kent at the Fortress of Solitude- far moreso than Russell Crowe was in the role in Man of Steel. Agree 💯% about Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon. One other brief, but still convincing role of his was as James Bond's nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld in 1983's Never Say Never Again.
Raul Julia's portrayal of M. Bison has no place on this list. His taking the role was no cash grab. Julia was dying of cancer and knew it. He also knew he had one movie left in him before he became too weak due to his disease. He chose Street Fighter, not because of the money, but because his sons were big Street Fighter fans. One of them reportedly loved playing M. Bison more than any other character. So Julia took the role of Bison for them. His brilliant portrayal of the villain was his gift to his boys.
Type casting is when an actor plays a certain type of character in a long string of performances. For example, being type cast as a brooding malcontent or a sweet motherly figure. If someone gets a reputation for always playing a kind hearted matron, and then they get a role as a sadistic serial killer, but it’s not known to the audience prior to seeing the film, that would work as ‘against type casting’.
I'm pretty sick of people giving Brando crap about using cue cards. You could criticize his process if he were turning in a bad performance but he didn't. He always brought his A game.
On The Godfather, Coppola caught Brando reading his lines off a cantaloupe. You should seek out those Michael Caine acting lesson videos where he emphasizes finding productions that take place on the Cote d'Azur.
I've heard that everybody on Flash Gordon knew they were making goofy nonsense EXCEPT either the writer or the director... I forget which... but one of the creators really thought he was making a creative masterpiece amongst lots of people who were playing it straight but self-aware ... that guy was totally not self-aware.
Raul Julia made a great job as bison. It was the time when villains were more interesting than the heroes(Batman,street fighter,master of the universe,speed,speed,etc)
Hey, Bruce Willis was doing all those recent paycheck movies because dementia started to kick in, and he wanted to wring every last dollar out of his career while he was still able to talk. Maybe don't mock that? He had more than proven himself in the decades prior
I like large actors that can accept a small, crap role and still bring their A-game. Mainly, it shows professionalism. It looks poorly on you as a famous actor to phone it in. People notice that stuff. Like, Street Fighter. I don't think anyone really speaks badly about the actors or their job. Van Damme is on odd choice, but understandable. They crap on the rest of it.
I won't lie, I know it's god awful, but i love The Adventures of Rocky and Bulwikly. Its one of those movies, like the live action Looney Toon movies, where it feels like at least everyone had a blast makinging it.
Eric Stuart Yugioh! The Movie Pyramid Of Light no lie I was a massive Yugioh fan 20 years ago coming off the 2001 4Kids Dub on Kids WB but I now have a disdain for the franchise given What I know about 4Kids Entertainment today
There are many things the Yugioh dub is infamously terrible for, Eric Stuart and Dan Green giving fantastically perfect over-the-top performances are not among those flaws. Those two are amazing in their roles.
Alec Guinness was the only true name actor among the film cast? Not true. Peter Cushing was very well known too, and as a result was one of the highest paid members of the cast. Also, there's no evidence of Max Von Sydow taking the part in Flash Gordon for the paycheck, looks like he is just listed here because you feel that role was beneath him..
All of these actors that cashed a paycheck from these films for money spent years and years being underpaid actors. They need to make up for a couple of decades being overworked and underpaid.
I still miss Raul Julia to this day. People forget he was a fine actor, played opposite another great actor who is also gone, William Hurt in *"Kiss of the Spiderwoman."* RIP