Author Archives: robin
Robin’s Underrated Gems: Wait Until Dark (1967)
It’s probably the most overused cliche in the horror genre. At the end, the hero or heroine supposedly kills the villain, but then they suddenly rise up from the dead for one last scare before they are killed off for … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Dustin Hoffman Does a Personality Test
A year before The Graduate was released, Dustin Hoffman was just a struggling young actor looking for any work he could find. In 1966, 20th Century Fox was scouting for actors and filmed this “personality test” of him, which I’m … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Bob Barker Shills Belair Cigarettes
Yesterday, I dug up old footage of Roy Scheider doing the now-forbidden act of shilling cigarettes on television during the 1960s. Well, now I’ve uncovered footage of Bob Barker, of all people, doing the same thing early on in his … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Roy Scheider in an Alpine Cigarettes Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10A02lVBtQ Man, I’ve always wanted to do a “Before They Were Stars” feature of a famous actor doing a cigarette commercial, which, of course, are completely forbidden now. But here’s an ad featuring the late, great Jaws star Roy Scheider … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Portia de Rossi in an HIV Clinic Commercial
Well, I have to admit that this commercial caught me completely off-guard. In 1994, Portia de Rossi appeared in this ad from her native Australia, which looks like it’s going to be your standard, run-of-the mill clothing commercial. But in … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Michael Shannon in a Heavy Metal Music Video
As we edge ever-so-closer to seeing Michael Shannon portray General Zod in Man of Steel, here’s a flashback to his very first appearance in front of a camera. Shannon’s film debut was a bit part as the newlywed who receives … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: 11-Year Old Claire Danes in “Dreams of Love”
Claire Danes’ acting debut came at the age of 11 when she starred in a 1990 short film called Dreams of Love, which also happened to be produced by Academy Award-winning director Milos Forman. The full short doesn’t seem to … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars (2-for-1 Special): Jesse Eisenberg and Michelle Monaghan in a Dr. Pepper Commercial
Early in his career, Jesse Eisenberg was probably best known as “Butt Naked Boy” after appearing in this hilarious Dr. Pepper commercial as a nerd who is crushed in a supermarket and undergoes a humiliating rescue when firemen are forced … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Alfonso Ribeiro in a Pepsi Commercial with Michael Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4-KmZU8OQI Last week, I posted priceless footage of a young Alfonso Ribeiro, a.k.a. Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in a commercial where shilled his own breakdancing instructional manual. However, you can’t deny that the dude was a … Continue reading
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Robin’s Underrated Gems: Find Me Guilty (2006)
We recently recorded a Shouts from the Back Row podcast about our favourite courtroom movies and one of the most unique entries in the genre has to be Sidney Lumet’s 2006 effort, Find Me Guilty. This was a very unusual … Continue reading
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