It\u2019s been noted that the director who gave us two of the most cherished underdog sagas in American movies remained, to the end, somethi…<\/b>
\nHere’s what’s new and interesting in entertainment and the arts:
It\u2019s been noted that the director who gave us two of the most cherished underdog sagas in American movies remained, to the end, something of an underdog himself. John G. Avildsen may have secured his place in the Hollywood firmament with \u201cRocky\u201d (1976) and \u201cThe Karate Kid\u201d (1984) , both fitting tributes to the importance of working hard, staying tough and keeping your eyes on the prize. But those soaring career highs stood out in a career that also encompassed high-profile duds, ill-advised sequels, Troma sexploitation flicks and a trio of Razzie nominations. It was not, to be sure, your typical Academy Award winner\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9.
But so what? Avildsen, who died on Friday at 81, was more uneven journeyman than exacting artist, the kind of director who gamely tried his hand at any number of genres, misfired often and seemed to stumble onto his successes almost by accident. But that lack of pretension \u2014 another word for it might be subtlety \u2014 made sense for a filmmaker who was, at his best, a master of the sturdy and the sentimental, who excelled at telling scrappy, emotionally generous stories about improbable winners, perpetual losers and everyone in between.
That so many of these characters spring so vividly to mind is a reminder that Avildsen, while not always inspired in his choice of material, had an often sure-handed touch with actors. Sylvester Stallone\u2019s original appearance as Rocky Balboa, for all its endlessly imitable meathead toughness, seems all the more striking today for its delicacy. The performances given by Peter Falk in \u201cHappy New Year\u201d (1987) , Molly Ringwald in \u201cFor Keeps?\u201d (1988) and Morgan Freeman in \u201cLean on Me\u201d (1989) rank among their personal bests.
Despite his facility with actors, Avildsen wasn\u2019 t afraid to clash with his collaborators in front of the camera or behind it. Off-screen disputes may have been at least partly to blame for the fiasco of \u201cThe Formula, \u201d his dead-on-arrival 1980 thriller starring Marlon Brando and George C. Scott. The director\u2019s battles with John Belushi on the set of the 1981 suburban comedy \u201cNeighbors\u201d similarly became the stuff of industry cautionary-tale legend.
Read more<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 6.7<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 0.4<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 6<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 0<\/div>\n

TW likes: 0<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: -10<\/div>\n<\/div>\n