Hollywood Blogslap

It recently dawned on me that both of the young leads from John Carpenter's 1983 flick Christine have gone on to become fairly successful filmmakers. And that realization led to the obvious revelation that there are two distinct definitions of the word "successful."

Keith Gordon, whom you may remember from his performances in Jaws 2, Dressed to Kill, The Legend of Billie Jean, and Back to School, played Arnie Cunningham, the nerd-turned-automotive assassin in Christine. Mr. Gordon has since gone on to direct The Chocolate War (1988), A Midnight Clear (1992), Mother Night (1996), and Waking the Dead (2000), four extreeeeemely good films, if it's me you're askin'. Gordon also directed the big-screen adaptation The Singing Detective, which I've not yet seen due to the millions of awful things I've heard about it. I really should rent the thing already.

Aside from his performance as the blandly noble Dennis Guilder in Christine, John Stockwell is probably most recognizable for his work in Losin' It, Eddie and the Cruisers, My Science Project, and Top Gun. As a director, Mr. Stockwell brought us 1987's Under Cover, the 2000 TV flick Cheaters, the Kirsten Dunst romance crazy/beautiful, the surfer-girlz classic Blue Crush, and the keeningly awful Paul Walker/Jessica Alba gape-a-thon Into the Blue.

Which just goes to show you: If you're a young actor who has aspirations of becoming a film director, and you have the chance to star in a Stephen King adaptation ... be sure to audition for the role of the tragic villain.