I Think it's Kind of Weird When Your Career is Entirely Based on Someone Else's Career
What I mean, for example, is the character Steve Carrell plays in Little Miss Sunshine. He's the second most foremost Proust scholar in the United States. But no matter how good he is, not matter how penetrating his scholarship is, no matter what Proust-related revelations he brings to light, he'll always be not as good as Proust. Because he's just following in his footsteps. Just documenting and analyzing the works of someone who came before him. His entire life is in his shadow.
This applies to more than just fictional characters. Take this friendly fellow:
No, no that's not Saddam Hussein, friends. It's Jerry Haleva, who played Saddam Hussein in Hot Shots. He also played Saddam in such notable films as Hot Shots Part Deux, The Big Lebowski, and The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest (but he was just a Saddam hologram in that one). In all, Jerry has played Saddam in six films. This is the only character he has ever played. He is famous, to the degree that he is famous, because of Saddam.
And now Saddam's dead.
So where does that leave Jerry?
Boned, that's where.
He's fucked. Do you think George Bush thought about how Gulf War II would affect Jerry? Probably not. But it did. It radically changed his life. How's he supposed to play Saddam now? It would just be kind of sad. The guy was living in a spider hole for God's sake (the real Saddam, not Jerry; Jerry lives in Sacramento, probably in a house).
This is the reason I'm against the death penalty. There all these unforeseen consequences that occur when you kill someone. Break Saddam Hussein's neck in Iraq, and 10,000 miles away in California a poor hardworking Joe just like you or me is suddenly out on the street because Saddam's more pathetic than comical.
That's why Saddam should have lived. Not for his own sake. But for Jerry's. Next time, George W Bush, think about Jerry before implementing radical foreign policy.
What I mean, for example, is the character Steve Carrell plays in Little Miss Sunshine. He's the second most foremost Proust scholar in the United States. But no matter how good he is, not matter how penetrating his scholarship is, no matter what Proust-related revelations he brings to light, he'll always be not as good as Proust. Because he's just following in his footsteps. Just documenting and analyzing the works of someone who came before him. His entire life is in his shadow.
This applies to more than just fictional characters. Take this friendly fellow:
No, no that's not Saddam Hussein, friends. It's Jerry Haleva, who played Saddam Hussein in Hot Shots. He also played Saddam in such notable films as Hot Shots Part Deux, The Big Lebowski, and The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest (but he was just a Saddam hologram in that one). In all, Jerry has played Saddam in six films. This is the only character he has ever played. He is famous, to the degree that he is famous, because of Saddam.And now Saddam's dead.
So where does that leave Jerry?
Boned, that's where.
He's fucked. Do you think George Bush thought about how Gulf War II would affect Jerry? Probably not. But it did. It radically changed his life. How's he supposed to play Saddam now? It would just be kind of sad. The guy was living in a spider hole for God's sake (the real Saddam, not Jerry; Jerry lives in Sacramento, probably in a house).
This is the reason I'm against the death penalty. There all these unforeseen consequences that occur when you kill someone. Break Saddam Hussein's neck in Iraq, and 10,000 miles away in California a poor hardworking Joe just like you or me is suddenly out on the street because Saddam's more pathetic than comical.
That's why Saddam should have lived. Not for his own sake. But for Jerry's. Next time, George W Bush, think about Jerry before implementing radical foreign policy.
posted by Michael at 2:21 AM
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