“As the youthful and vibrant rookies of the Silver Screen soak up the pages of People’s Most Beautiful People, the older generation of Tinsel Town men is beginning to feel the years weighing on their careers. Some accept their wrinkles. Some embraced their middle-aged beer bellies.”
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As the youthful and vibrant rookies of the Silver Screen soak up the pages of People’s Most Beautiful People, the older generation of Tinsel Town men is beginning to feel the years weighing on their careers.
Some accept their wrinkles. Some embraced their middle-aged beer bellies. They concede the sexually appealing and macho roles to the ripped and ready brood of up-and-coming actors. But there are few who refuse to surrender to the physically taxing effects of time.
A handful of actors stand their ground, bad knees and all, and have initiated a resurrection of their former glory. So turn up the hearing aids and wipe off the bifocals as we investigate these upcoming films starring old guys.
The first of these attempted preservations hits theaters this summer with 20th Century Fox’s Live Free or Die Hard. Bruce Willis reprises his role as John McLane. Out of the near-geriatric group of men valiantly attempting a comeback, Willis is the most capable. But he is almost a decade younger than the others, at a mere 52 years young.
Die Hard’s fourth installment pits McLane against a group of cyber terrorists who threaten the nation’s security. Clad in a muscle T-shirt and holster, McLane takes on apprentice Justin Long, a hacker, to stop the systematic shutdown conspiracy.
The film has been rumored for over four years, but Willis felt it to be in bad taste to film a movie about terrorism with the world in unrest. But as we moved further from Sept. 11, the film was a go and the story was set.
The other two films are on the horizon. Both slated for 2008, their veteran actors are well into their 60s and looking more aged than ever.
Sylvester Stallone, fresh off his most recent Rocky installment has been given the green light for John Rambo.
Are you sure you’re ready for this plot?
In this installment, a Christian human rights group recruits John Rambo. His mission: to protect them against pirates and to rescue imprisoned relief workers from the brutal Burmese soldiers.
Have I sold you on this one yet?
Many people believe our beloved Rocky looks pretty good for his age. But how fit is Stallone? He recently was detained in Australia on the weekend of the premiere of Rocky Balboa on charges of use of banned human growth hormones.
Our final chapter in this array of actors is yet another star who has decided to add a fourth chapter to a worldwide phenomenon.
Harrison Ford has signed on for the fourth (and hopefully final) installment of The Adventures of Indiana Jones. Also due out in 2008, Jones still has no script or plot. And honestly, anyone would be hard pressed to find a marketable storyline for a near 70-year old Jones.
Spielberg is packing his cast with such names as Cate Blanchett, John Rhys Davies and, of course, Sean Connery, in hopes that it will suck the American public into believing that Jones could actually give it another go into the heart of some turbulent jungle nation or arid stretch of desert. However, we’ve been promised that the story will address Jones’ age.
We’ll have a better idea of where the heck Spielberg’s head is when the script premise hits the Web later this year. Filming is due to begin in June.
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