Star Pick with Justin Paul Kelly

"I remember 3 or 4 weeks before [filming Star Trek], I was working on a western, being beat up, and shot, and one thing and another. . . and then finally killed in the thing; and then a month later I’m in a gold tutu floating around as a God – so you never know in this business. It is very strange". That is a quote from iconic character and voice actor Michael Forest, who has been working in the business for more than sixty years. He humourously summed up life as an actor in the quotation above, referencing work on a western as well his classic turn as the God Apollo (in the episode ‘Who Mourns for Adonais?’) on the television series Star Trek. I was fortunate enough to interview Forest at CAPE, the Cornwall and Area Pop Expo as part of the fiftieth anniversary of the cult classic Star Trek.

There may be no film that better encapsulates the idea of doing what is right or just rather than what is popular or easy than the classic 1952 western High Noon. I recently chatted with iconic character actor John Rhys-Davies, who has created wonderful personas in memorable films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Gimli), Raiders of the Lost Ark/Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (playing Indiana Jones’ loyal pal Sallah), or portraying General Pushkin in the 1987 James Bond flick The Living Daylights, to name but a few.

Hollywood studios have long used focus groups as a way to determine if audiences like a film. And, for just as long as they’ve been around, there have been complaints about them: ‘Who are the people who comprise the focus groups?’, ‘Do they have any insider movie knowledge?’, ‘Why are they more knowledgeable than the screenwriters and directors who have made the film?’, "Why are studios changing the ending of a movie just because a few random people disliked it?’.

Often considered the best film of 1989, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing sets the tone early with Rosie Perez (who plays Tina) dancing to Public Enemy’s song "Fight the Power". It was rather interesting to learn that Lee was actually influenced by Ann Margret’s opening in Bye Bye Birdie (which has a very different vibe). In any case, what follows is a powerful, character driven dramedy that widely encompasses life, death, race, poverty and everything in between – all found within the neighbourhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

There was always something highly entertaining about the late Patrick Swayze, whether he was having a comedic dance off against Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live, or he was the criminal mastermind of a surfer gang in the action flick Point Break. He always brought a charming, entertaining and realistic human side to the characters that he portrayed. One role that epitomises his varied career is the romantic dramedy Ghost.

Interweaving multiple stories can be a complicated thing to do. For every film that succeeds at structuring several tales into one powerful story, there are twice as many that fall flat. One movie that takes on this challenging task, tackling three separate narratives that take place in very different eras, is the 2002 dramatic motion picture The Hours. The film features several powerhouse performances from three superb actresses (Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore), so it is perhaps not surprising that actress Jenny Lampa, who has earned rave reviews and has received a number of acting nominations for her performance in the Swedish thriller The Break-In, selected this as one of her favourite movies.