in which wil laments a bad decision
Since Stand By Me was on AMC, there have been a crapton of new readers visiting my blog. One of them left a comment this morning, asking about this pile of shit movie I was in when I was 13 called The Curse.
I don't think about this movie very often, because it's pretty depressing when I do, because The Curse is the movie that effectively ended my respectable film career.
Think about it: after Stand By Me, River did Mosquito Coast, and I did The Curse. Who went on to have the respectable film career? I did Python, and River did Running on Empty. I did Deep Core 2000, and River did Sneakers. See the pattern? I take responsibility for the shitty movies after The Curse -- I was an adult, and I had a family to support -- but I can't help but feel that I would have had more options available to me -- better options, more respectable options -- if I hadn't been talked into The Curse by the people I trusted when I was a kid to advise me about the business of making movies.
I was only 13 when The Curse happened. I relied upon other people, who should have known better, to help me make good career choices. Unfortunately, all of those people just saw a chance to make some quick money off of me being in the film, without considering the real consequences of following up a classic, critically acclaimed film like Stand By Me with a pile of shit horror movie like The Curse.
Here's how I put it in the WWdN:iX FAQ:
The Curse: what were you thinking?
Well, at the time, your Uncle Willie was just a young'un, and some really evil producers from a scary foreign country came to him and said, "We have this movie for you to be in, and we want to give you lots of money to be in it." And Uncle Willie didn't have the best advisers at the time, and nobody told him that this big pile of shit would be around forever. Consider it the very expensive lesson. At least I didn't get a tattoo.
I've done great indie film work, like The Girls' Room and Jane White is Sick and Twisted. I've done great television work, like NUMB3RS. Yes, I was also on this science fiction show for a few years as a regular. I don't take any of that for granted, but I can't help but wonder what my film career -- and my whole professional life, really -- could have been like if I'd been advised to pass on The Curse, and accept some of the other roles I was offered around the same time and shortly thereafter.
I don't have a lot of regrets in my life, but that film is certainly one of them. It was a miserable experience making the goddamn thing, and the end result is a major embarrassment to me. It really bothers me that I trusted these people to guide me, and they exploited me. If you've read Just A Geek, you've heard of Prove To Everyone. I don't think Prove to Everyone would exist -- or at least wouldn't have had such a powerful hold over me -- if I hadn't done The Curse.
Comments
But I sympathize with you on how bad the movie is.
I think it's a really unfair position to be in... I mean, there were TONS of things I did when I was 13 that I'd never want to come resurfacing back at me for years and years (and years) later!
For what it's worth, I'm with angie k and I think it's a fun movie if you go into it knowing that it's totally cheesy. And I'm one who does love the cheese.
"What were you thinking"? That's kind of rude, isn't it? I think I would have responded with, "What was yo momma thinking?"
Anyway, if the worst regret you have in your life is being in a B horror movie, I think you're doing pretty good. There are worse regrets. You could regret having taken the red pill. You could regret that night in TJ with the girl who said she was 18, and that she was a girl. You could regret setting nanites loose all over your home. See, many worse things to regret. You've made a good career for yourself, and it ain't over.
Also, River's dead. You're not.