Val Kilmer give his life history with film and video, as he took them since he was a kid. Interesting collage of footage between past and present. His successes and his flops. His current illness and his Jim Morrison and Mark Train roles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqNnhgEyQCU&t=1s
he was always one of my fav actors...
shareA very sad documentary. Even when he was successful, it wasn't the kind of career he wanted. He was a theater actor in the body of a Hollywood movie star.
shareTrue. I thought it was sick how he was the "star" of Batman when all they needed was someone to fit the suit. I saw the 1st Batman with Michael Keaton in the theater, and thought, WTF is this?! I was a fan of the TV show, and thought the movie was totally worthless. So I didn't bother to see his version. I thought he was good in The Doors though.
But yes, then finally he got what he wanted: playing Mark Twain, but then right away he got sick and had to retire. I thought it was weird that he was portraying Mark Twain even though it was Hal Holbrook who was considered the master of that.
So he had an early video camera filming his Brat Pack.
I have to ask: Does the documentary go into what a massive dick he was during his heyday? He had a dreadful reputation when he was on the A-list, treated his co-workers terribly and made the kind of enemies that made it difficult for him to come back.
Or did it just focus on how unhappy he was with Hollywood, and not on how unhappy he made others?
Yes, there's a moment in the doc that answers your assumptions.
shareSince I'm not planning to watch the doc, because I'm not fond of listening to assholes feeling sorry for themselves... be a dear and just tell me what the moment is?
shareI won't, because you already made up your mind about VK after buying all those rumors about him. That's why I said assumptions and not questions. You're not looking for answers.
shareI actually am looking for an answer to the question of whether Kilmer addresses his earlier bad behavior, or whether he denies it, or ignores the entire issue.
I have after all only heard rumors, but when you hear variations on the same rumor for years on end, you start to think there might be something to it.
I said yes, it is addressed.
And usually those rumors about "difficult actors" affect actresses more. So don't believe everything you read.
Ah, thank you for that limited answer. So FYI I don't believe everything I read, and I also don't believe everything that Kilmer says on the subject years later.
Rumors are only ever just rumors, that's true. But jerks never think they're jerks, they always think they had every right to behave that way.
I’m sure you’re right but it’s worth noting that opinions on him are pretty divided. Frankenheimer and Schumacher disliked him strongly, even though Schumacher offered him the lead in his next film (Time to Kill). I’ve heard he was a pain in the ass in The Real McCoy and that he is a bit above it all in his DTV work. Red Planet, The Saint, and some others have had rumors of him being a pain in the ass.
However, Tony Scott loved him. Michael Mann (also noted asshole) really enjoyed working with him, as did Robert De Niro. Kurt Russell sings his praises to this day. Oliver Stone said he was intense and a bit of a drama queen, but ultimately enjoyed working with him. Robert Downey Jr. loves him. DJ Caruso said you have to be patient and willing to meet him where he is, but loved working with him.
He’s admitted that he followed the Brando school of thinking that being an ass was somehow part of the process, and I don’t think he did a good job of picking films that were in sync with his interests of being an actor and the types of stories he wanted to tell. He also just seems to either really click with people, or really repel them.