Thor... With Branagh? Verily?

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

But yes he is entirely an animal of his times, he's a descendant of that acting school you see parodies in Blackadder the Third

And that's where the phrase  "Best (whatever) of their generation" comes from.   The standards at that time have to do with that, too.

[Tripe]

I still think Gielgud was better though

[Junkyard]

Aaand, though I really shouldn't, I'm gonna plug this here:
Hamlet in 6.5 Minutes

[Tripe]

Nice, do some more.

[Junkyard]

Thanks. Might do Macbeth at some point later:
"Jokes on you, Macduff! I can't be killed by anyone born of woman!"
"Hmm... would that include someone who was C-sectioned?"
"Uhhh... hm. That's a good question. Were you...?"
"Yep."
"Shit."

[Doc Steve]

Well, that's the thing people don't ever seem to consider with guys like Patrick Stewart and Kenneth Branagh: maybe they don't feel the need to act at a certain "level." Maybe they act because they enjoy acting, and enjoy getting paid for it.

"Play Hamlet? Sounds great! Play a steampunk supervillain? Fun! Play a Harry Potter character? Fun! And lucrative!"

So yeah; Thor? Fun!

This argument is exactly what they've always said about the difference between the US and the UK when it comes to drama.

In the UK actors can go back and forth from the stage to movies and to TV and no one thinks a thing of it.  But in the US any sort of change is looked on as "being reduced to" or "trying to be above one's self" or whatever.  Just look at all the great TV and comedy we wouldn't have if people like Helen Mirren, Judi Dench or Stephen Fry thought that way.

(no, this doesn't mean that I've changed my mind and think David Duchovny is good for anything other than television - there are exceptions)

Not only that, but work on the stage, in television, and in cinema are all compensated at the same base rate/union scale in the U.K.  Film is definitely the way to go in the U.S. and Canada. 

I'm not worried about Branagh "selling out."  I'm worried that there's no way to salvage a Thor movie from the get-go.  We're not necessarily talking about Patrick Stewart playing Professor X "for fun."  I'm more concerned that it will turn out to be more like Donald Pleasance in Puma Man. 

I'm actually a bit of a fan of the old Thor and Avengers comics, by Slepnir's Steed.  I just don't think you can make a movie out of it.  Of course, I said that about DareDevil, and look how wrong I was! [/sarcasm]. 

[Doc Steve]

I still think Gielgud was better though

Catch me in the right mood, and I might even argue that Derek Jacoby was the best of that lot. 

Olivier is definitely a "classically trained actor," in the sense that acting was approached as a type of declamation.  This was more or less the norm before so-called method acting.  The best contrast that I can think of off the top of my head would be the dynamic in the old television show Combat!  Vic Morrow (Sgt. Saunders) was a method actor.  Rick Jason (Lt. Handley) was a classically trained actor. 

[Junkyard]

By the way, regarding Thor- I was walking by the magazine rack at the grocery store, and I see a Wizard Magazine cover declaring Thor the next big thing for Marvel.

... the hell? They haven't managed to keep a steady series going for Thor in decades, and they're acting all optimistic? What's changed sinse the last failed attempt?

[Tripe]

A bunch more neo pagans?

[Doc Steve]

By the way, regarding Thor- I was walking by the magazine rack at the grocery store, and I see a Wizard Magazine cover declaring Thor the next big thing for Marvel.

... the hell? They haven't managed to keep a steady series going for Thor in decades, and they're acting all optimistic? What's changed sinse the last failed attempt?

That's what I'm saying.  It's like doing a Man-Thing, or Ant-Man, or Master of Kung Fu, or Moon Knight, or Morbius the Living Vampire movie.   

If anyone really cares, I can try to totally geek out and see how many more 1970s titles I can remember...     

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

That's what I'm saying.  It's like doing a Man-Thing, or Ant-Man, or Master of Kung Fu, or Moon Knight, or Morbius the Living Vampire movie. 

Actually, I bet they could do better bringing forward some of the older but good titles from the past.

It will seem like something new and original to most people and not as many out there who have their own ideas of how a movie should be made before they even sit in the seats.

There's an old DC title from my childhood that I'd love to see made into movie.

[Tripe]

If anyone really cares, I can try to totally geek out and see how many more 1970s titles I can remember...     

Continue...

[doggans]

or Ant-Man

What if they had...oh, I don't know...say, Edgar Wright doing Ant-Man?

[mrbasehart]

And they've recently done a Man-Thing move...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290747/

The think Heroes for Hire would make a good TV series.  Kinda like the A-Team crossed with Heroes.   

[Doc Steve]

If anyone really cares, I can try to totally geek out and see how many more 1970s titles I can remember...     

Continue...

Already mentioned previously:  Power Man and Iron Fist.

Conan the King, The Defenders, Black Panther, What If?, Prince Namor: The Submariner, Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Spotlight, Marvel Premieres, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Werewolf by Night, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Invaders, Nova, ROM: Space Knight, Marvel Two-in-One, She-Hulk, Spider Woman, The Thing, Godzilla, and Shogun Warriors.  

I'm sure I left out some of the other merchandising tie-ins.  ROM: Space Knight may have started in the 1980s.