And the part has attracted a wide range of actors. Ludwig Stossel took the lead in 1947 in a Brian Donlevy movie called The Beginning or the End, about the development of the bomb. A lot of character actors followed, plus some you may not expect in the part. I saw the names Robert Downey, Jr., Rene Auberjonois, Arte Johnson (!), Walter Matthau as mentioned yesterday in I.Q., Elliott Gould, Maximilian Schell, and he was voiced in the animated film, Firedog this year by Tom Berenger. (I have no idea what Albert Einstein has to do with a movie about a dog overcoming fear of fire to save his friend's father.)
If Arte Johnson isn't odd enough as Einstein, how about Andrea Gall in a movie from 2002 called The Ten Rules: A Lesbian Survival Guide.
One name caught my eye...Yahoo Serious played Einstein in his 1989 movie, Young Einstein. He has a strange name so I looked at his bio on IMDb. The writer says, "Yahoo Serious (born Greg Pead) became one of Australia's most successful independent conceptual artists and filmmakers of the 1980s and 1990s." Pretty serious stuff. Then I looked at his filmography.
Total number of productions he was involved with...THREE! So much for Australia as an important breeding ground for independent filmmakers. Here is the complete filmography of Yahoo, seriously. (Well, it brings a smile to my face!)1989 Young Einstein
Writer, producer, director, actor, stunts, editorial dept.
1993 Reckless Kelly
Writer, producer, director, actor, editorial dept., music dept.2000 Mr. Accident
Writer, producer, director, actor, stunts.
For that body of work, he was on a Time magazine cover. I hope it pays the bills. I'll try to be more serious tomorrow.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I used to watch Young Einstein over and over when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteNo judgements from me, Jump. That's why we are doing these blogs! I can still watch many movies over and over.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a way of categorizing movies. Some you watch once to see the outcome. A good mystery is only fascinating the first time you see it. Think of The Game (1997) with Michael Douglas or The Usual Suspects (1995) with Kevin Spacey. It is simply not as good when you know what is coming.
Other movies, a comedy or a good sci-fi, are watched for the experience more than the story. You immerse yourself in the film. I can watch Star Trek all weekend!