Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

A subforum to discuss film culture and criticism.
Post Reply
Message
Author
Self
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:36 pm

Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#1 Post by Self » Sun Feb 26, 2017 11:38 am


User avatar
jorencain
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:45 am

Re: Passages

#2 Post by jorencain » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:00 pm

Damn. I JUST listened to his interview on WTF with Marc Maron. It was a great interview, and he sounded so full of life and energy.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Passages

#3 Post by domino harvey » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:00 pm

Terrible news. He was always a welcome presence in films and just seeing him pop up in dreck like Term Life last year made me long for Tarantino or some other auteur to offer him a late-period revival. Unfortunately it looks like that stupid Tom Hanks / Dave Eggers movie will be his swan song. Also, though I know it is divisive here, Frailty was a terrifically accomplished film for a first-time director, though I never caught his other efforts behind the camera

User avatar
Buttery Jeb
Just in it for the game.
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:55 pm

Re: Passages

#4 Post by Buttery Jeb » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:10 pm

He just started that Training Day series on CBS; probably too soon for the producers to comment on how that will affect things.

I've been a fan of his since Aliens (and even earlier; I remember how much I loved the video he directed for Barnes & Barnes' "Fish Heads" back in the day). This one hurts.

User avatar
mfunk9786
Under Chris' Protection
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Passages

#5 Post by mfunk9786 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:17 pm

domino harvey wrote:Terrible news. He was always a welcome presence in films and just seeing him pop up in dreck like Term Life last year made me long for Tarantino or some other auteur to offer him a late-period revival. Unfortunately it looks like that stupid Tom Hanks / Dave Eggers movie will be his swan song. Also, though I know it is divisive here, Frailty was a terrifically accomplished film for a first-time director, though I never caught his other efforts behind the camera
Big Love (though it began to flag in the final year or two) is still one of the best HBO series that hardly anyone's actually watched. Would recommend it to anyone who wants to see Paxton at his peak.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Passages

#6 Post by domino harvey » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:18 pm

I started watching it a few years ago and always mean to come back to it. I didn't love it, but I felt it had promise

User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Passages

#7 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:18 pm

I think I've seen Paxton in at least one new film or show every single year. Off the top of my head, I think my favorites were Near Dark, One False Move and A Simple Plan. I finally saw Haywire last year and he was indeed a welcome presence - the role seemed like a fitting tip of the hat to some of his past films, and now here he was playing a parent verging on his senior years.

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Passages

#8 Post by knives » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:19 pm

Paxton also had a pretty good late turn in Haywire as well.

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#9 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:27 pm

Really good in Nightcrawler as well.

This is a shock, though he did seem awfully reflective in that WTF interview.

User avatar
L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#10 Post by L.A. » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:54 pm

I like him in Near Dark. Especially the bar scene is way cool.
Last edited by L.A. on Sun Feb 26, 2017 6:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
mfunk9786
Under Chris' Protection
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#11 Post by mfunk9786 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:58 pm

That's a very funny spoiler tag because I can't imagine anyone who hasn't seen the film even remotely being troubled by seeing those three words, which reveal nothing. Must be some scene!

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#12 Post by domino harvey » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:01 pm

It's the centerpiece of the film. However, if you knew going in that it was, it might lose some of its impact. Not sure it's really a spoiler though

User avatar
L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#13 Post by L.A. » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:02 pm

Sorry mods if the use of spoiler tag wasn't good.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#14 Post by domino harvey » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:04 pm

Better to err on the side of using one than not!

User avatar
cdnchris
Site Admin
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:45 pm
Location: Washington
Contact:

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#15 Post by cdnchris » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:05 pm

Not to derail but I don't think spoiler tags are bad and they don't bother me, but after the Inception thread i can see why some might roll their eyes at them if they're used for not-so-major spoilers.

Edit: but still, I agree with domino above.

User avatar
Brian C
I hate to be That Pedantic Guy but...
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:58 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#16 Post by Brian C » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:09 pm

This seems like as good a place as any to say that I always had a soft spot for Twister. I was always fascinated by storms, and while I won't defend much about that film on the merits, I think it really did capture that feeling of seeing a particularly ominous-looking storm heading your way, and the tornadoes themselves were really cutting-edge special effects at the time, and still hold up reasonably well.

And as far as Paxton goes, it's one of the few outright lead roles he had, and I think he was the right guy for a role like that. He really provided a solid center for the film - he had the gravitas to take it seriously without being *too* serious about it, and generally gave the movie a human presence that it desperately needed among a bunch of typically "colorful" supporting characters and poor Helen Hunt, who seemed vaguely embarrassed to be there.

In short, it was a good example of how I saw him in general - a versatile, professional actor's-actor who made his films better.

Also I saw him introduce a screening of Frailty and do a Q&A afterwards down in Dallas years ago leading up to the movie's release. Seemed really proud of the film and interested in directing in general. I'd have guessed then that he'd transition much more into a directorial career than how it turned out.

User avatar
Rayon Vert
Green is the Rayest Color
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:52 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Passages

#17 Post by Rayon Vert » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:15 pm

hearthesilence wrote:I think I've seen Paxton in at least one new film or show every single year. Off the top of my head, I think my favorites were Near Dark, One False Move and A Simple Plan. I finally saw Haywire last year and he was indeed a welcome presence - the role seemed like a fitting tip of the hat to some of his past films, and now here he was playing a parent verging on his senior years.
A great actor. A Simple Plan is a terrific film, one of my favorites. Frailty was also very strong.

User avatar
mfunk9786
Under Chris' Protection
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#18 Post by mfunk9786 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 1:38 pm

I would be remiss not to clarify that I was amused by the specific implementation of the spoiler tag, not scolding anyone for its use

User avatar
DarkImbecile
Ask me about my visible cat breasts
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#19 Post by DarkImbecile » Sun Feb 26, 2017 3:24 pm

I think the first time I really noticed Paxton as someone I would recognize in future appearances was his fantastically sleazy car salesman in True Lies, which I saw (with my mom, to her growing horror) at eleven or twelve. I was thrilled when I realized he was in Nightcrawler a few years ago. A true shame he's gone, but a ton of great appearances to remember him by.

User avatar
colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#20 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 3:59 pm

I'd certainly recommend anyone to watch A Simple Plan and One False Move for some of Paxton's best performances (though be warned about the harrowing multiple murder sequence that starts off One False Move)

There are the celebrated James Cameron performances in Aliens ("Game Over, Man. Game Over!"), wooing Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies and cajoling a granny to tell her life story in Titanic. But he was also great in a tiny role as the spiky blue haired punk in The Terminator too! (That was part of what made replaying that scene in Terminator: Genisys not really work, as despite all the work put in to have a eerily de-aged Schwarzenegger in there, the illusion was lost as soon as the recognisable Paxton wasn't recreated for that small role!)

Apparently (though I may be wrong about this as it has been a few years since I listened to the commentary track) James Cameron and Bill Paxton met on Galaxy of Terror (aka Mindwarp) (NSFW), in which Cameron was a production designer and Paxton was building the (very Aliens-anticipating!) sets!

While I know I should be celebrating Apollo 13 and so on, I'll probably more strongly remember his part as the older brother from hell in Weird Science! (Literally transformed into a pile of faeces!), or his surprisingly memorable little supporting turn in Predator 2. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm also curious about Brain Dead in which Bill Paxton stars with his father John, as well as Bill Pullman and George Kennedy(!!)

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#21 Post by knives » Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:24 pm

He's also has a great, strange supporting role in the bizarre comedy The Dark Backward.

User avatar
rohmerin
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 am
Location: Spain

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#22 Post by rohmerin » Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:26 pm

I loved, loved, loved Big Love, specially the two first seasons. I did not he was so old. He looked 40 something in the show.

User avatar
thirtyframesasecond
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:48 pm

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#23 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Sun Feb 26, 2017 4:37 pm

colinr0380 wrote:I'd certainly recommend anyone to watch A Simple Plan and One False Move for some of Paxton's best performances (though be warned about the harrowing multiple murder sequence that starts off One False Move)

There are the celebrated James Cameron performances in Aliens ("Game Over, Man. Game Over!"), wooing Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies and cajoling a granny to tell her life story in Titanic. But he was also great in a tiny role as the spiky blue haired punk in The Terminator too! (That was part of what made replaying that scene in Terminator: Genisys not really work, as despite all the work put in to have a eerily de-aged Schwarzenegger in there, the illusion was lost as soon as the recognisable Paxton wasn't recreated for that small role!)

Apparently (though I may be wrong about this as it has been a few years since I listened to the commentary track) James Cameron and Bill Paxton met on Galaxy of Terror (aka Mindwarp) (NSFW), in which Cameron was a production designer and Paxton was building the (very Aliens-anticipating!) sets!

While I know I should be celebrating Apollo 13 and so on, I'll probably more strongly remember his part as the older brother from hell in Weird Science! (Literally transformed into a pile of faeces!), or his surprisingly memorable little supporting turn in Predator 2. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm also curious about Brain Dead in which Bill Paxton stars with his father John, as well as Bill Pullman and George Kennedy(!!)
Paxton and Pullman together would freak Homer Simpson out for sure

https://frinkiac.com/gif/S12E09/1134216 ... 9VIEZPT0wh

User avatar
djproject
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 3:41 pm
Location: Framingham, MA
Contact:

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#24 Post by djproject » Sun Feb 26, 2017 6:18 pm


User avatar
jorencain
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:45 am

Re: Bill Paxton (1955-2017)

#25 Post by jorencain » Sun Feb 26, 2017 10:13 pm

I hope this isn't the beginning of an "Alien" curse. First John Hurt, now Bill Paxton. Fingers crossed that the cast of "Alien 3" are all in good health!

Post Reply