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HYPE: Samuel L. Jackson Ever since the Godfather himself, James Brown, slipped into the semi-obscurity of Eddie Murphy impersonations and PCP arrests, the unofficial title of "Hardest Working Man in Show Biz" has been up for grabs. And while Gene Hackman and Michael Caine have at times pretended to the throne, there is only one true successor and his name is Samuel L. Jackson. Since 1981, while Hackman was appearing in a laggardly 45 pictures and Caine a scant 44, Jackson has appeared in an astonishing 61 films. What's even more surprising is that aside from a couple Star Wars sequels, most of them are excellent movies. Seemingly addicted to quality fare, the list of movies in which Jackson has blended into the background reads like an AFI Best of list: Goodfellas, True Romance, Fresh, Menace II Society, Eve's Bayou. And yet it's a measure of his acting prowess that so many of his roles are memorable by invoking the name alone. Jules Winnfield. Mace Windu. John Shaft. Now add Augustus Gibbons to the list. Teaming with Vin Diesel in xXx (in theaters August 9), Jackson plays the CIA operative who decides to look outside the ubiquitous box for a "new breed of secret agent". Which is the same that can be said for Hollywood. Whether the picture reaches the level of Jackson's previous artistry remains to be seen, but this much is certain: stuff will explode, theaters will be packed, and sequels will be made. Which will keep Samuel L. Jackson on our movie screens for a long, long time. And that's a good thing. |
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But unlike many headline-grabbing actresses, Jolie is even more interesting on-screen than off. The dangerously screwed-up beauties she has played in George Wallace, Gia, Playing by Heart, Pushing Tin and Girl, Interrupted have all been tangible, believable creations. In her first big-budget thriller, The Bone Collector, she easily matched the skill and intensity of Denzel Washington. She's likely to stun audiences as the take-no-prisoners action heroine Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, a fantasy adventure adap from the video game by director Simon West (see story on p. 54). And who isn't looking forward to watching her later this summer when she plays the sex-obsessed femme fatale who enraptures Antonio Banderas in Original Sin? When Angelina Jolie greets me for this interview, she strikes me as someone fully capable of doing all that she has done offscreen and all that she's expected to do on-screen as Lara Croft. She's dressed in a black T-shirt and black leather jacket, and she looks like she might throw a mean right if provoked. "Call me Angie," she says, reaching out to shake my hand. I can tell she is indeed something like her father--intense, focused. And I have little doubt that, like her father, she'll be original in her thinking. For Lawrence Grobel's interview pick up the June issus of Movieline. PAGE 1 | 2 |