Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone (age 37) has been acting professionally for 22 years. She is the epitome of the good girl actress, never appears nude, no drinking or drugs, no sex tapes. She met Christopher Jarecki at age 23, and dated exclusively for 8 years before marrying him and having a baby.

At age 19 she had a big hit movie in Clueless which landed her a three picture $10 million deal as one of the upcoming wonderkids. She professed a love of Shakespeare, and took a role in Kenneth Branagh's "Love's Labour's Lost" one of the most disastrous film versions of a Shakespear's plays.

The only problem is that over the last two decades since Clueless her career has been an almost unmitigated disaster. Practically every movie a financial and critical failure.

Does a person have to fall apart in personal life to be a success in films?

11/2/12 Vamps Anch. $3,361
10/5/12 Butter RTWC $105,018
6/17/11 The Art of Getting By FoxS $1,430,241
3/11/11 Elektra Luxx Gold. $11,514
10/6/06 Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker Wein. $677,646
3/30/05 Beauty Shop MGM $36,351,350
3/26/04 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed WB $84,216,833
8/1/03 Scorched Nev $8,000
6/9/00 Love's Labour's Lost Mira. $299,792
2/12/99 Blast from the Past NL $26,511,114
8/29/97 Excess Baggage Sony $14,515,490
6/20/97 Batman and Robin WB $107,325,195
7/21/95 Clueless Par. $56,631,572
3/3/95 Hideaway Sony $12,201,255
4/2/93 The Crush WB $13,609,396

As we have discussed here before, women really can't anchor a film. You can call it audience sexism, Hollywood sexism, or they just can't really do it; but it is the case. When women do anchor a movie it usually either intentionally or inadvertently becomes a "chick flick" meaning less than half the potential audience will watch as many women don't like chick flicks.

Where's the two Spiderman movies?

Quote: Pacomartin

11/2/12 Vamps Anch. $3,361
10/5/12 Butter RTWC $105,018
6/17/11 The Art of Getting By FoxS $1,430,241
3/11/11 Elektra Luxx Gold. $11,514
10/6/06 Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker Wein. $677,646
3/30/05 Beauty Shop MGM $36,351,350
3/26/04 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed WB $84,216,833
8/1/03 Scorched Nev $8,000
6/9/00 Love's Labour's Lost Mira. $299,792
2/12/99 Blast from the Past NL $26,511,114
8/29/97 Excess Baggage Sony $14,515,490
6/20/97 Batman and Robin WB $107,325,195
7/21/95 Clueless Par. $56,631,572
3/3/95 Hideaway Sony $12,201,255
4/2/93 The Crush WB $13,609,396

She wasn't in Spiderman, you're thinking of Emma Stone.

3 pictures at $10 million? If she's happy and stable, what does she owe the world to keep making pictures? That sets you up for life. She's Jewish so you know she knows some good accountants :)

I guess I just don't understand the movie business.

Quote: Pacomartin

11/2/12 Vamps Anch. $3,361
10/5/12 Butter RTWC $105,018
6/17/11 The Art of Getting By FoxS $1,430,241
3/11/11 Elektra Luxx Gold. $11,514
10/6/06 Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker Wein. $677,646
3/30/05 Beauty Shop MGM $36,351,350
3/26/04 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed WB $84,216,833
8/1/03 Scorched Nev $8,000
6/9/00 Love's Labour's Lost Mira. $299,792
2/12/99 Blast from the Past NL $26,511,114
8/29/97 Excess Baggage Sony $14,515,490
6/20/97 Batman and Robin WB $107,325,195
7/21/95 Clueless Par. $56,631,572
3/3/95 Hideaway Sony $12,201,255
4/2/93 The Crush WB $13,609,396

Except for Batman, never heard of or seen any of these.
She is not familiar to me at all, I have barely heard of
her. Compare her to a Gary Oldman, who's movies
have mostly made money in the last 20 years. Of course
he's immensely talented, that might have something
to do with it.

Quote: theodores

She wasn't in Spiderman, you're thinking of Emma Stone.

Aha, I was thinking of Kirsten Dunst though.

Quote: theodores

She's Jewish so you know she knows some good accountants :)

And lawyers ;)

Quote:

I guess I just don't understand the movie business.

Neither do the people who make movies. Unfortunately they think they understand it.

Quote: Evenbob

Except for Batman, never heard of or seen any of these.

The Crush was aimed squarely at teenagers. It was about a sociopathic 14 year lolita that falls for an older man and ruins his life and killing those around him. Alicia was age 16.

But two years later, Clueless was based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma. It was a teen hit, but film critics taking note of it's literary heritage deemed her the next great actress of her generation. Alicia was age 18 and she was paid $250K. She signed the three picture $10M contract

The Batman and Robin film where at age 20 she played Batgirl put a major dent in veryone's career, from Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell not to mention the director and director Joel Schumacher and writerAkiva Goldsman . Only Uma thurman got out of that movie unscathed as only 18 weeks later she starred in one of her better hits, Gattaca. Everyone else beside Alicia recovered their career, and Batman and Robin was written off to corporate greed.

But rarely do you hear of a young actress with such rave reviews totally derailing into such a train wreck of a career. She is still well known enough that 20 years later she keeps getting cast. But interestingly enough she is very well behaved in her personal life, to the point of being boring.


She was fairly known for appearances in 3 Aerosmith videos

The problem with Silverstone's acting is a lack of talent. In Clueless she played herself. In everything else she played Cher trying to act. Nice lady, bad actor.

Quote: Mosca

The problem with Silverstone's acting is a lack of talent.

Well that hasn't stopped a lot of people. Although I kind of agree, that she's often pretty terrible.


Possibly the only actress that trumps Alicia Silverstone was Karen Allen. Given her roll in Animal House followed by Raiders of the Lost Ark, she had possibly one of the highest feelings of good will for any actress in the entire world. It's pretty amazing that she wasn't in bigger films (although Starman is a popular movie). Fortunately for her, they thought it was important to include her in IJ: Kingdom of Crystal Skull in 2008.

1984 Starman: Jenny Hayden with Jeff Bridges,
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark: (age 29) Marion Ravenwood with Harrison Ford
1980 Cruising: Nancy with Al Pacino
1978 Animal House : Katy with John Belushi