Music stars’ mustsee movie roles
With Lady Gaga earning plenty of plaudits for her big-screen debut in Star is Born, now is the perfect time to reflect on some of the other musicians who attempted to make the transition to acting.
And there are plenty of examples for viewing on free-to-air TV and streaming services over the next week.
Netflix currently has two classics of the ‘‘genre’’ in 2002’s 8 Mile and 1992’s The Bodyguard. The first showcased not only the verbal dexterity and mic skills of rapper Eminem but his dramatic chops, while the latter gave Whitney Houston the biggest-selling soundtrack of all-time.
However, neither went on to greater movie stardom after their splashy debuts.
More consistently successful has been former Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake, whose turn as Napster founder Sean Parker in the Oscarnominated The Social Network (Amazon Prime Video) was just one of a number of roles in highprofile flicks he’s secured (Trolls, In Time, Inside Llewyn Davis). Even more recently, Rhianna’s Ocean’s 8 (Stuff Pix) scene-stealing performance proved she has come along in leaps and bounds since her less-than-impressive debut as Petty Officer Cora ‘‘Weps’’ Raikes in Battleship.
But if you’re after mega music-star gems that you might not have watched in a while, it’s hard to go past Keith Richards’ turn as Jack Sparrow’s dad in Pirates of Caribbean: At World’s End (Stuff Pix) and the delights of Beyonce in Austin Powers in Goldmember (TVNZ2, 8.30pm, October 28). She stole the show in the 2002 actioncomedy as undercover spy Foxxy Cleopatra.
Meanwhile, debuting this week is Sean Baker’s The Florida Project (Rialto Channel on October 27 at 8.30pm).
Initially, I wasn’t too taken by the misadventures of miscreant minors Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), Jancey (Valeria Cotto) and Scooty (Christopher Rivera), but by the end I was captivated.
A provocative portrait of American poverty, it takes place in the shadow of Florida’s Disney World. While tourists live it up in nearby fourand five-star hotels, the likes of Moonee and Scooty’s solo mums Halley (Bria Vinaite) and Ashley (Mela Murder) struggle to make ends meet in the The Magic Castle Inn and Suites.
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