Time waits on no one....
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master"~Ernest Hemingway
Two weeks ago, I found myself watching a movie I used to watch quite a bit a long time ago, "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Growing up, Swayze was one of my favorite actors, and not because he happened to be a fellow Texan, of which there aren't many in front of the camera these days.
"Red Dawn" (the original one), "Dirty Dancing", and "Point Break" have all been remade in the past few years, but none of them made even remotely the same splash as the originals. How does a project with better technology, vastly higher budget, better marketing and a bigger worldwide audience, as well as nostalgic appeal not generate the same success? The remake of "Point Break" received only 5.3 stars on IMDB (compared to the 7.2 from it's 1990's counterpart) despite having an astronomical budget of $105 Million. The answer is the leading actor.
Swayze, who passed away in 2009 from Pancreatic cancer, was 39 when he made the original "Point Break" and was riding at the top of his career. But that wasn't the reason he was such a huge draw for the box office. He was a certified A-Lister with "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" both bringing in a return on investment of over TEN times their budget domestically alone. But more than that, he was incredibly talented as an actor.
In class, we've discussed the past couple week how Austin's acting scene needs to be better trained from an early age and it is true that markets like Dallas and Houston have more options in that regard. Despite Baylor, Texas State, and The University of Texas at Austin being within a 90 mile radius of the city, most of that talent (all three schools boast renown film, theater, and fine arts departments) ends up leaving the immediate area. At some point in his own career, Swayze had to make the decision of how best to advance his career, and for him that included moving to L.A. However, his talent was developed here in Texas and his later success was a byproduct of the classical dance and acting training he received from an early age.
So, although other markets such as Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta or L.A. provide more opportunities to hone your craft, time is always of the essence to develop skills. With as much social media, internet and film/camera technology available these days, you can't necessarily wait on outside factors to help nurture and expand talent right where you are. Like everything in life, there tends to be strong competition out there, and what differentiates a movie barely making it's own budget back vs. being able to command a return of ten times what you put in comes down to one main factor: talent and how well it can shine when put on the spotlight.
Two weeks ago, I found myself watching a movie I used to watch quite a bit a long time ago, "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Growing up, Swayze was one of my favorite actors, and not because he happened to be a fellow Texan, of which there aren't many in front of the camera these days.
"Red Dawn" (the original one), "Dirty Dancing", and "Point Break" have all been remade in the past few years, but none of them made even remotely the same splash as the originals. How does a project with better technology, vastly higher budget, better marketing and a bigger worldwide audience, as well as nostalgic appeal not generate the same success? The remake of "Point Break" received only 5.3 stars on IMDB (compared to the 7.2 from it's 1990's counterpart) despite having an astronomical budget of $105 Million. The answer is the leading actor.
Swayze, who passed away in 2009 from Pancreatic cancer, was 39 when he made the original "Point Break" and was riding at the top of his career. But that wasn't the reason he was such a huge draw for the box office. He was a certified A-Lister with "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" both bringing in a return on investment of over TEN times their budget domestically alone. But more than that, he was incredibly talented as an actor.
In class, we've discussed the past couple week how Austin's acting scene needs to be better trained from an early age and it is true that markets like Dallas and Houston have more options in that regard. Despite Baylor, Texas State, and The University of Texas at Austin being within a 90 mile radius of the city, most of that talent (all three schools boast renown film, theater, and fine arts departments) ends up leaving the immediate area. At some point in his own career, Swayze had to make the decision of how best to advance his career, and for him that included moving to L.A. However, his talent was developed here in Texas and his later success was a byproduct of the classical dance and acting training he received from an early age.
So, although other markets such as Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta or L.A. provide more opportunities to hone your craft, time is always of the essence to develop skills. With as much social media, internet and film/camera technology available these days, you can't necessarily wait on outside factors to help nurture and expand talent right where you are. Like everything in life, there tends to be strong competition out there, and what differentiates a movie barely making it's own budget back vs. being able to command a return of ten times what you put in comes down to one main factor: talent and how well it can shine when put on the spotlight.
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