June
22
Will Smith is in the Fluke Zone
Years ago a screenwriter pal of mine, Steven Axelrod, introduced me to the idea of the Fluke Zone. I never forgot it--and brought it back for this week's column. Here's the short version:
The Fluke Zone is a place where a movie star (or director or writer) can do no wrong. Audiences love you no matter what you do. Many stars fall out of the Fluke Zone when they lose touch with their fans. They tire of the limitations of carrying formula studio pics. Audiences see a star in the Zone as someone who delivers every time.
The trick is to stay in the Zone as long as possible. Many try, but few are chosen.
Looking at this summer's movies, there's only one star in the Zone: Will Smith.
The hardest-working man in showbiz is doing what it takes: picking blockbusters crammed with f/x and action such as the Independence Day and Men in Black series, I Robot and I Am Legend, along with the occasional acting showcase, from the career-turning Six Degrees of Separation and Ali to his Oscar-nommed turn in The Pursuit of Happyness. And Smith, borrowing a page from Cruise and Schwarzenegger, works long hours burnishing his press on global promo tours. All that elbow grease has paid off.
This summer, in Peter Berg's Hancock, Smith plays a homeless superhero. Will his B.O. run continue? Nothing lasts forever.
It's even tougher for women. While men grow into their masculine authority, reaching their prime in their 40s, women have a shorter shelf life in the Zone. Hollywood doesn't allow them much room for error. But Angelina Jolie is breaking the mold. Jolie is Hollywood's first bonafide femme action star. Jolie mixes it up with the best of them. She can be tough, sexy, lethal, funny and heartbreaking, from her career-making Oscar turn in Girl, Interrupted to Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in which she met her match and partner, Brad Pitt.
While Jolie's output is uneven, she can open genre flicks, forging a path for ambitious actresses to follow. Universal paid her $15 million to return to action in the fantastical R-rated thriller Wanted, anchoring the pic with Morgan Freeman opposite the lesser known James McAvoy (Atonement). While Jolie is not in the Zone -- A Mighty Heart proves that -- she could be. 
Subscribe to this blog's feed
I think I detect some spam up there!
Great analysis of the Hollywood zeitgeist. I, for one, would love to see Robert Downey Jr. in more stuff. He's dreamy.
Posted by: Liz | June 22, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Nice post. I think I'd put Christian Bale on the list as well.
Posted by: Cinexcellence | June 23, 2008 at 04:43 AM
hancock looks like a hit to me. i'd say smith has front row seats in the zone for at least another year
wanted does nothing but elevate jolie to new status. she'll be able to do anything she wants after this one.
Posted by: Alan | June 23, 2008 at 08:27 AM
I left the superhero stars out of the discussion--what if they're not in a superhero movie? Matt Damon in Bourne vs. Matt Damon in anything else, Christian Bale in Batman etc. They have to prove themselves b.o. robust in other pics, assuming they even want to.
Posted by: Anne Thompson | June 23, 2008 at 09:24 AM
One thing that's needed seems to be a true popular touch, a sensibilty that jibes with that of the audience. Everything Smith does, whether an action movies or a weepie, seems to be rooted in feelings that lots of other people share. Not all of Bale's (extermely honorable) choices are like that, to the discredit of neither.
Posted by: David C | June 23, 2008 at 01:05 PM