The other day, as I was trying (and failing) to fall asleep at around 2 in the morning, I found myself thinking about the Oscars. More specifically, I was thinking about people who have been nominated for them in the past and how I wish they would do work that good again. I then thought about some of this year's acting and directing nominees and pondered their careers up to this point and what the future holds for them. Some of them will most likely be back at the ceremony fairly soon as nominees (Clooney, Pitt, Viola Davis, Terrence Malick) while several others will most likely never go to the show in any capacity again (everyone involved with The Artist). From there, my brain made the weirdly irrational leap (again, 2 in the morning) to actors and directors who have had past glory, both recent and not, who I think could produce work that could land them in the audience of the biggest show in show business. Without further ado, here are ten actor-director pairing I would love to see along with the number of Academy Award nominations they have received in the past:
Note: number of Oscar nominations in parentheses
Joe Pesci (2) and David Mamet (2)
Weirdly, this was the first pair that entered my mind and inspired me to imagine further pairings. I have absolutely no idea how I came to think of this duo, but as soon as I did, I immediately hailed myself as a genius. The appeal of this pairing is simple and irresistible (unless you're an evangelical wingnut): nobody curses on screen with more panache then Joe Pesci, and nobody writes profanity better than David Mamet. These are not opinions, these are Coors Light cold hard facts. While Pesci may be taking it easy of late (he's been in two movies since 1998), short of reuniting with another director to be mentioned later, getting his hands on a Mamet script might be the best thing he can do to make people remember just how awesome he used to be. For Mamet, the upside is also great. While his abilities as a visual filmmaker may not be up to par with the rest of the directors on this list, he still possesses a unique storytelling style and verbal flair that has been known to produce some iconic lines in cinema history. The Kings of Cursing should unite and make the MPAA blush!
Tom Hardy (0) and Martin Scorsese (10)
That zero next to Tom Hardy's name does not reflect his immense talent. I have a feeling that he will be up for a golden statue in the next five years, and I think Scorsese is just the guy to guide him to it. Nobody makes movies about the trials of masculinity better than Martin Scorsese, and Hardy might be the manliest actor working today. To this point in his career, he has shown that he will do absolutely anything for a role, transforming his body for every film he has done, whether he has to be svelte and suave for Inception or muscle-bound and menacing for Warrior. Hardy also has shown remarkable range as an actor, often within the same performance. He can be equally charming and brutish, and the number of characters from Martin Scorsese films that carry both these qualities is tremendous.
Nicolas Cage (2) and Francis Ford Coppola (14)
Considering the length of both of their careers, I find it incredible that Nicolas Cage has never been in any of his uncle's films. Francis has seemed willing to help out his family in the past, though sometimes with less than satisfactory results (his daughter Sofia in Godfather Part III comes to mind). In this particular case, though, I think these two desperately need each other. Cage's troubles, both on and off screen, have been well-documented, and while working with his uncle might not help him escape his financial troubles, it may help him get out of creative debt. Meanwhile, Francis Ford Coppola, one of the most celebrated and influential filmmakers of all time, has seemingly disappeared from the cinema world. He has made a few films over the years (Youth Without Youth, Tetro, Twixt), but they were all critically panned and commercially irrelevant. Both of these men might not have the motivation to create something both critically and commercially viable (each seemingly wants to do one and not the other), but in their respective heydays, they did work that I love and I can just imagine how much positive press they would get if they worked together. Worst case scenario, Coppola should just give some of his wine money to his nephew to get him out of debt and away from shitty superhero sequels.
Christian Bale (1) and Darren Aronofsky (1)
Both of these men have reputations of being very intense and incredibly meticulous, so why not bring them together? All of Aronofsky's films involve mentally unstable protagonists pushing themselves to their physical limits without the capability to stop. Christian Bale, with his legendary physical commitment to his roles, would make a perfect protagonist for an Aronofsky movie. It's already almost happened twice. Aronofsky was one of the original directors considered for Batman Begins, and Bale was in the running to play the lead in Aronosky's upcoming biblical epic about Noah. Hopefully, the third time's the charm, as these two are arguably the most perfect match on this list.
Michael Fassbender (0) and Christopher Nolan (3)
If Christopher Nolan can make Christian Bale a movie star, why can't he do it with a man who not only looks like Bale but also shares many of his qualities as an actor? Michael Fassbender is on the verge of superstardom, and it's no accident. The guy does quality work every time out. Unlike Bale, he does not have a bad performance anywhere on his resume and he seems the perfect candidate to topline whatever Nolan's first post-Batman project winds up being. Nolan has always been great at filling out his big-budget action spectacles with respected dramatic actors, and right now, very few people are getting more respect than Fassbender. After working with the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, and Ridley Scott, aligning himself with the most popular working director can only do wonders for his Q-rating.
Lindsay Lohan (0) and Quentin Tarantino (4)
Before anyone chastizes me for suggesting that Lindsay Lohan should never be allowed to work in Hollywood again, hear me out. In his movies, Quentin Tarantino has cast a once-popular actor who had not been getting good work in recent years and gave them a lead role in a major film. He did it with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, Pam Grier in Jackie Brown, and David Carradine in Kill Bill. All of these actors gave fantastic performances, and in Travolta's case, it netted him an Oscar nomination and rejuvenated his career. While the same did not exactly happen for Grier and Carradine, I think Tarantino can give Lohan a Travolta-like adrenaline needle to the heart. It could be argued that she has a career beyond saving, but she's still only 25 years old and if there is anyone that can bring an actor back to the heights of their initial fame, it's Quentin Tarantino.
Michelle Williams (3) and The Coen Brothers (14)
I have heard Michelle Williams pronounced the next Meryl Streep on several occasions on the heels of her third Oscar nomination (even though she's pitted against the current Meryl Streep) due to her versatility and ability to completely immerse herself in a character. One could argue that over the years, the Coen Brothers have created some of the most memorable and interesting characters of the silver screen, from H.I. McDonough and Marge Gunderson to The Dude and Anton Chigurh. To me, Williams seems less like Streep and more like a prettier Frances McDormand, a Coen staple. She has played memorable characters in her films (most recently Marilyn Monroe), but she seems to carry herself more like a character actress than a movie star. The Coen brothers specialize in creating uniquely quirky and nuanced characters, and I feel that Williams would thrive in a role like that. If Carey Mulligan, with whom I see similarities with Williams, can play a key role in a Coens films as she will in Inside Llewyn Davis later this year, then Michelle Williams should be lined up for whatever the Coen brothers have lined up next.
Meryl Streep (17) and Steven Soderbergh (3)
Unlike all of these other pairings, I can't really give a specific set of reasons why I want Meryl Streep and Steven Soderbergh to work on the same film. It's not exactly a "duh" pairing along the lines of Bale and Aronofsky, but I want to see it equally as much. Streep is the best actress alive, and she has worked with many of the best directors over the years, but something about her working with Soderbergh makes me want that pairing more than any other, and I think I know what it is. Steven Soderbergh always gets remarkable ensemble casts for his films, and between Out of Sight, Traffic, the Oceans Trilogy, and Contagion, it seems like he has worked with every major movie star alive today. However, he has not worked with Streep, and my inner fanboy trembles with the potential for magic these two could work together in his next big ensemble film.
Vince Vaughn (0) and Woody Allen (23)
Wait, what? Vince Vaughn in a Woody Allen movie? That's like Barack Obama getting rid of Joe Biden and naming Rick Santorum as his next Vice President! Woody Allen would never be able to tolerate working with the leader of the Frat Pack, he's too obsessed with improv, and Woody's words are gospel! You should be forced to watch The Dilemma on loop for a week for even suggesting the idea! To everyone who just uttered one of these sentences either out loud or in their heads, hold your damn faces and let me explain. In case you forgot, Woody Allen made his highest-grossing film ever last year and it happened to star Vince Vaughn's good pal Owen Wilson, so the notion of a former frat-packer headlining an acclaimed Woody Allen movie isn't so foreign. Most importantly, Vince Vaughn's schtick, talking in a whiny voice at supersonic velocity, is almost identical to what Woody Allen used to do back when he acted in his own films. Vince Vaughn may be the coolest guy in the room in all of his movies, but he could just as easily be the pretentious-sounding misunderstood misanthrope that is the hallmark lead character of Woody Allen's finest comedies. Can you believe Vaughn hasn't had a hit since Wedding Crashers? That was seven years ago! I guarantee that if Vaughn got involved in an Allen picture, it would be the perfect shot in the arm of his slowly declining career.
Kate Winslet (6) and Paul Thomas Anderson (5)
Like Streep and Soderbergh, this pairing does not really have a superficial link that would signal them as a great pair in the future. At this point, I'm just thinking of the most esteemed actors and directors off the top of my head and checking to see whether they have worked together or not in the past. I really wanted to put Kate Winslet with someone because she has more Oscar nominations by the age of 35 than anyone in history. Before her career is over, she may approach Meryl Streep's record nomination total at the rate she is going. When it came to thinking of a director capable of presenting her a real challenge, Paul Thomas Anderson was the first name that came to mind. He gave the world one of the great protagonists of the last ten years in Daniel Plainview, so when thinking about the possibility of Anderson making another film with a female character with an equally commanding screen presence, I could only think of one actress who could fill that role and make it iconic: Kate Winslet.
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