Is it your Birthday this week?
Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so,
Happy Birthday to you from
Odeon Online!
Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Boy
on 15th August,
Ben Affleck, at the end of this feature.
Sunday 10th August
- Antonio Banderas - Born 1960, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Singer
- Rosanna Arquette - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actress
Monday 11th August
- Chris Hemsworth - Born 1983, turns 31 - Actor
- Viola Davis - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
- Ian McDiarmid - Born 1944, turns 70 - Actor
- Hulk Hogan - Born 1953, turns 61 - WWF Wrestler | Actor | Producer
Tuesday 12th August
- Casey Affleck - Born 1975, turns 39 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
- Bruce Greenwood - Born 1956, turns 58 - Actor
- George Hamilton - born 1939, turns 75 - Actor | Producer
- William Goldman - Born 1931, turns 83 - Writer
Wednesday 13th August
- Paul Greengrass - Born 1955, turns 59 - Director | Producer | Writer
- John Slattery - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actor | Director
Thursday 14th August
- Mila Kunis - Born 1983, turns 31 - Actress
- Halle Berry - Born 1966, turns 48 - Actress | Producer
- Steve Martin - Born 1945, turns 69 - Actor | Producer | Writer
- Wim Wenders - Born 1945, turns 69 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
- Antonio Fargas - Born 1946, turns 68 - Actor
- James Horner - Born 1953, turns 61 - Composer
Friday 15th August
- Jennifer Lawrence - Born 1990, turns 24 - Actress
- Ben Affleck - Born 1972, turns 42 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
- Natasha Hentsridge - Born 1974, turns 40 - Actress
- Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Born 1963, turns 51 - Director | Writer | Producer
- Nicolas Roeg - Born 1928, turns 86 - Director | Cinematographer
Saturday 16th August
- Steve Carell - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actor | Producer | Writer
- James Cameron - Born 1954, turns 60 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor | Explorer
- Madonna - Born 1958, turns 56 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress | Producer
- Angela Bassett - Born 1958, turns 56 - Actress
- Bruce Beresford - Born 1940, turns 74 - Director | Producer | Writer
- Rumer Willis - Born 1988, turns 26 - Actress
It's going to be a busy time this week ahead in the Affleck household as young Casey turns 39 on Tuesday and older brother Ben turns 42 on Friday. Born
Benjamin Geza Affleck-Boldt in Berkeley, California and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts the young Ben had aspirations to be an actor from his earliest years on. He scored his first job on a Burger King commercial in 1984 aged 12. It was just a few short years before, that he met his lifelong friend and collaborator Matt Damon who lived just a few blocks away. In their early teen years they took acting classes together, and also secured small roles in TV movies and series including
'Hands of a Stranger' in 1987 and
'The Second Voyage of the Mimi' in 1988 having played also in
'The Voyage of the Mimi' four years earlier.
His introduction to feature length films cakes in 1993 with the acclaimed
'Dazed and Confused' and other small independent offerings such as
'Mallrats' in 1995 and
'Chasing Amy' in 1997 for which he was garnering some critical acclaim.
However, already Affleck was getting restless with not securing more significant roles in bigger films. Sharing an apartment with brother Casey, and friend Damon who was experiencing similar challenges in his quest for movie stardom, the two decided to take their destiny into their own hands and take control of the process by writing their own script . . . and so
'Good Will Hunting' was released in 1997 through Miramax Studios who paid US$600K for the piece, whilst agreeing to give Affleck and Damon the control they wanted over the movie's production. The rest, as they say, is history and the stuff of legend as the film went on to gain nine Academy Award nominations and winning two including Best Screenplay for Affleck and Damon - with Affleck, at 25 years of age, being the youngest person ever to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
With this big breakthrough, Affleck and Damon had the film making world at their feet. For Affleck this led to big budget epic fare including
'Armageddon' and
'Shakespeare in Love' in 1998 and
'Pearl Harbour' in 2001.
As the new decade broke Affleck made some 'interesting' choices including the critically panned
'Gigli' 'Jersey Girl' and
'Daredevil' which he has subsequently has said that it's "the only movie I actually regret . . . it just kills me!" There were others too in that sickly schmaltzy RomCom genre that did him no favours. At the same time he had high profile relationships with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez having been engaged to the latter for a short while at a cost of US$3.5M for the engagement ring alone and maybe this is why he was admitted for alcohol rehab. too. But sometimes you just gotta hit the bottom before you can rise up, and rise up Ben certainly has!
In 2005 he married co-star actress Jennifer Garner and now has three children with her - Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose and Samuel Garner. He continues to write and has Directed three films to much critical acclaim. He has appeared in four films nominated for Best Picture Academy Awards -
'Field of Dreams', 'Good Will Hunting', 'Shakespeare in Love' and
'Argo'. He wrote the Screenplays for
'Good Will Hunting', 'The Town' and
'Gone Baby Gone', and Directed
'Argo', 'The Town' and
'Gone Baby Gone' and has numerous Production credits to his name, and 58 acting credits so far.
His filmography other than those already mentioned include : '
Forces of Nature', 'Dogma', 'Boiler Room', 'Bounce', 'Reindeer Games',' Changing Lanes', 'The Sum of all Fears', 'Paycheck', 'Hollywoodland', 'Smokin' Aces', 'State of Play', 'The Company Men', 'Runner Runner' and the late 2014 release
'Gone Girl'. Currently filming for a 2016 release is
'Batman vs Superman : Dawn of Justice' and recently announced for release sometime thereafter is
'Justice League' when Affleck will again reprise his role as the Batman/Bruce Wayne caped crusader. For release in 2016 also will be the Affleck screen scripted and Directed
'Live By Night' - described as a 'big sweeping gangster-epic morality story'.
When Affleck was announced to play Batman/Bruce Wayne last year it caused much uproar and gnashing of teeth given his earlier outing in the panned
'Daredevil'. At 40+ years of age he will be the oldest actor to play the character - but that shouldn't deter us given that he will have played two Frank Miller created characters on the big screen -
'Daredevil' being the other. Bearing in mind that he has also played 'Superman' in the telling of the story surrounding the mysterious death of George Reeves - the first actor to play the original superhero in the TV series of the 50's - he is clearly drawn to the super hero types battling crime and injustice at every turn. He will though be the third Oscar winning actor to play the caped crusader after George Clooney and Christian Bale, so he is in esteemed company!
Ben Affleck is an avid Poker player but does so always within his limits. In 2004 he won the California State Poker Championship with a winning purse of US$356K. He has an active interest in Politics and is vocal and transparent about where his allegiances lie. He is charitable and support humanitarian projects, having founded in 2010 the 'Eastern Congo Initiative' to support relief efforts to the humanitarian crisis there.
He won the Best Picture Academy Award for
'Argo' and Best Screenplay Award for
'Good Will Hunting'. He won the Golden Globe for Best Director for
'Argo' and Best Screenplay for
'Good Will Hunting' and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for
'Hollywoodland', and he won the BAFTA for Best Film and Best Director for
'Argo' and nominated for Best Lead Actor for that same film. He has a total haul of 56 award wins and 75 other award nominations globally.
Ben Affleck - acclaimed Actor, Director, Writer; charitable humanitarian; a man who has made some questionable choices but like a Phoenix that has risen from the ashes; multi-talented and with your achievements going from strength to strength -
Happy Birthday from
Odeon Online.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
As those aliens attempt to phone home and muster reinforcements for their ultimate destruction of our small humble planet, the final set piece moves to Pearl Harbour (how fitting!) and would you believe the USS Missouri is very swiftly recommissioned on the spot to do fierce battle and thwart the intergalactic foe.
Liam Neeson adds gravitas as Admiral Shane, Taylor Kitsch provides the muscle as Lieutenant Alex Hopper, Alexander Skarsgard is brother Commander Stone Hopper, and the eye candy is provided by Rhianna (in her first acting role and passable) as Petty Officer Cora 'Weps' Raikes and Brooklyn Decker is Sam who is the love interest for renegade sailor boy Alex! The alien creatures are well realised and the game tie-in works . . . just about! A thumping soundtrack, the Hawaiian backdrop and the immediacy all make for an enjoyable ride. Mix 'Top Gun', 'Transformers' and 'Predator' and you are just about there!
This film cost a massive US$210M to make and brought in for that investment just US$303M. The film picked up three award wins and thirteen nominations, including a Razzie Award for Rhianna as 'Worst Supporting Actor' and four other 'Worst' nominations in those same 2013 Razzie's. Peter Berg Directed who generally has a reasonable touch with wartime action fare, but I guess it just goes to show that with the best high-octane all guns blazing effects and epic budget you still need a half decent believable story to reel the audience in. When there are others out there that have set the benchmark so high, you gotta be on your game - so I guess it's 'Transformers 1 : Battleship 0'.
