Opening today, Soul Men features the final performance from Bernie Mac, who died unexpectedly on August 9. The movie also includes a cameo from Isaac Hayes, who died one day later. Both men join a long list of people whose last films were released after their deaths, a list that includes Brad Renfro, whose final performance, in The Informers, can be seen in theaters come next May.
Unlike some names on that list, Bernie Mac, whose voice can also be heard in the new animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, isn’t likely to receive a posthumous Oscar nomination as a tribute to his final work. But as one of the most underrated comic actors of the past few years, Mac likely gives a great performance as soul singer “Floyd Henderson,” enough to fall in with the crop of posthumously released roles we’ve showcased below:
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It’s not definite yet, but it looks like Oscar-nominated actor/director Kenneth Branagh will be taking the helm of Marvel Studios’ comic book adaptation Thor. Most young moviegoers know Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart (from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), but he’s otherwise better known for primarily directing films of Shakespeare’s works. He also tends to cast mostly trained Shakespearean actors, although he has been known to include an Alicia Silverstone or a Matthew Lillard in his ensembles. Additionally, he’s been known for odd casting choices, such as Robert De Niro for the Monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Who will he cast this time in the Asgardian ensemble that will make up the film? It might not actually be totally up to him, but if it is, it might look a little like this:
Kenneth Branagh as Thor/Donald Blake
I know what you’re thinking. He’s old. But he’s only five years older than Iron Man’s Robert Downey Jr. and only 3 years older than Brad Pitt, who recently was rumored to be at the top of Marvel’s wish list for the role. Anyway, he’s cast himself as Hamlet, Dr. Frankenstein and Henry V. So, it would be fitting if he cast himself in the lead here, too. The only issue, of course, is that the script now apparently features Thor’s alter ego, Donald Blake, and he’s reportedly written as a med student, not a full-on doctor. Oh, and for Thor, Branagh will have to beef up tremendously. Or not. If he actually got away with playing the character, he could probably also get away with not giving in to the whole height and muscle problem.
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Though I first buzzed about an Academy Award nomination for Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight more than a month before his death, I now want to take it all back. I feel all the talk of Ledger’s posthumous Oscar chances will cloud my mind when I finally do see it, and it will probably also cloud the Academy’s judgment, too. Six months from now, when the nominations are announced on January 22 (coincidentally the one-year anniversary of Ledger’s death), if Ledger is not recognized for his role as The Joker, there will surely be an uproar — actually, Hollywood might just up and self-implode.
I’m not the only one annoyed by all the Oscar buzz. Terry Gilliam, who directed Ledger in The Brothers Grimm and the upcoming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is calling “bullshit” on the whole thing, particularly against Warner Bros., which Gilliam accuses of exploiting Ledger’s death and chance of a posthumous Oscar for publicity purposes. Considering most Oscar campaigns for live actors are really just part of movie marketing, he has a good point.
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