What if actors thought, "What if this is the last movie I will ever make?"

[John Morgan]

If you are a Transfan, you will have a copy of "The Transformers: The Movie."  In this movie, they have many top stars doing the voices for the characters: Robert Stack, Judd Nelson, Lenard Nemoy etc.  But one character, Unicron, is voiced by Orson Welles.  Yes, Citizen Kane himself.  This movie also has the distinction of being the last movie Orson Welles made before he died.

This brings me to my question.  Do you think many actors will reconsider starring in some movies if they think that it may be their last role?  There are some really big names out there that end up in real stinker movies.  What if it were there last movie?

(Yes, I know sometimes it is their last movie.  I also know that they got to eat somehow.)

[Flangepart]

Hummm....maby. Maby, it depends on their egos. Kurk Russel, going by the commentary track for Big Trouble In Little China, seems confident enough in his self, he dosen't mind looking goofy. He had fun with it, and that helped the show. Maby some actors just don't care, and the ones who do, are the most anal and uptight about doing something different.

[Frannie]

How about the skin-a-max film Bruce Willis made where he is a psychiatrist having an affair with a crazy chick?

[Jay O'Connor]

Or half of Rutger Hauer's resume :)

[peter johnson]

Christopher Lee -- highly educated, speaks 5 languages, done some amazing pictures, Sauron in Lord of the Rings, master of his craft -- has been in some of the worst worst Mexican crap-fests of all time to pay bills.
Acting is a heartless and thankless profession -- If the Rings is his last picture, then he goes out on top where he belongs.
There's the old joke about the guy who gets a job cleaning up poo from an amimal act in Vaudeville -- he has to go into the cage with the tigers to shovel out & they claw and bite him and he barely escapes with his life.  This goes on day after day -- he tells his friend about his job & the friend is aghast:  "That sounds like the worst job in the world!  You have to shovel crap all day and your life is in constant danger!!  You should quit!!"
"What!", says the guy, "And give up showbiz?". . .

[The Honn]

Raul Julia's last film was that AWFUL live action Street Fighter travesty with Rob, sorry, Jean-Cleade Van Dam and Kylie Minogue. Or was it her sister? Wait...do I care? Does anyone? Poor poor Raul Julia, I feel so sorry for him that I have to continually spell his name wrong.

[Law Dog]

And How about poor Lon Chaney Jr. going out on Al Adamson's Dracula vs Frankenstein. Or dear old Bela posthumously showing up in Plan 9?

[AndyC]

As an old Transfan from way back, I'm curious to know if the original post suggests that Welles was somehow diminished by Unicron being his last role. I had always thought it was the other way round, that Welles added a touch of respectability to the picture, and the fact that it was his last made it more special.

(Hard to believe Optimus and the other bots are approaching their 20th anniversary. Man, do I feel old.)

As for the other examples, yes, Raul Julia, Bela Lugosi and the others deserved better. In Julia's case, it was just bad luck. For Lugosi, his decline started long before, and his last roles simply reflected that. It wasn't really his choice to play crappy roles.

[Cullen]

At least Raul Julia looked like he was having fun with the part.  Poor Lon Chaney lookec like he was suffering through out "Dracula v. Frankenstien."

[Lee]

What was it that Raul Julia died from? It was too bad that he died after making Street Fighter. He was talented guy.

[Cullen]

The IMdB says Raul Julia died of a cancer-related stroke.  Pity.  He was a damn good Gomez Addams.

[John Morgan]

AndyC,

Yes, I do feel that Welles taking the role of Unicron added some bit of respectability to the picture.  (Even though I don't put The Transformers Movie in any catagory related to Welles other pictures.)  In fact, my mother, who hated any and all types of cartoons like this, was impressed that Welles was in the picture.

The sad part is, most Transfans at the time of the release didn't know anything about Orson Welles.  (At least Transfans I knew.)  Most were told after the fact of Orson Welles status as an actor and that the Transformers Movie was the last one he did.