Biggest box office bombs of all time
Jacob Osborn, provided by
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Biggest box office bombs of all time
Making an expensive Hollywood movie is kind of like steering a gigantic cargo ship through a thunderstorm. Onboard are hundreds of crew members, with each one performing a specific function. At the vessel’s main helm are a handful of leaders, including the captain (the director), who may still be beholden to the powers that be. Like any crisis, tensions run high, and opinions can clash over what the best course of action may be. With so much turbulence afoot, and with so much at stake, it can seem like a miracle when the vessel arrives at its destination intact.
To escape poverty and a fractious family, Archie Leach ran away from home at age 13 to perform as a juggler with the Bob Pender Troupe of comedians and acrobats. He frequently worked in music halls in London, where he acquired a Cockney accent. Leach made the United States his home during the company’s American tour of 1920, and for the next several years he honed his performing skills in such disparate pursuits as a barker at Coney Island, a stilt walker at Steeplechase Park, and a straight man in vaudeville shows. His performances throughout the country in numerous stage musicals and comedies during the late 1920s and early ’30s led to a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1932. Studio executives thought “Archie Leach” was an unsuitable name for a leading man and rechristened the actor “Cary Grant,” a name he would legally adopt in 1941. Grant first appeared in several short films and low-budget features for Paramount, and he attracted some attention with his role as a
James Stewart, in full James Maitland Stewart, byname
Jimmy Stewart, (born May 20, 1908, Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S. died July 2, 1997, Beverly Hills, California), major American motion-picture star who was known for his portrayals of diffident but morally resolute characters.
Stewart graduated from Princeton University in 1932 with a degree in architecture. He then became part of the University Players, a summer stock company in Falmouth, Massachusetts. There he met Henry Fonda, and the two became lifelong friends. During the years 1932–33, Stewart appeared in several unsuccessful Broadway plays starting with
Carrie Nation though he was usually singled out for praise by New York critics. These positive reviews led to a motion-picture contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934; after a couple of uncredited bit parts, he made his film debut in