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Steve Martin Filmography
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Steve Martin: Movie career
By the end of the 1970s, he had acquired the kind of following normally reserved for rock stars, with his tour appearances typically occurring at sold-out arenas filled with tens of thousands of screaming fans. But unknown to his audience, stand-up comedy was "just an accident" for him. His real goal was to get into film.
Martin's first film was a short, The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977). The seven-minute long film, also featuring Buck Henry and
Teri Garr, was written by and starred Martin. The film was nominated for an Academy Award as
Best Short Film, Live Action.
In 1979, Martin wrote and starred in his first full-length movie, The Jerk, directed by Carl Reiner. The movie was a huge success, grossing $100 million on a budget less than a twentieth of that amount.
The success of
The Jerk opened more doors for him.
Stanley Kubrick met with him to discuss him starring in an early, screwball comedy version of Traumnovelle (Kubrick later changed his approach to the material). He was executive producer for a prime-time TV series starring Martin Mull and a late-night series called
Twilight Theater. It emboldened him to try his hand at his first serious film, Pennies From Heaven, a movie he was anxious to do because of the desire to avoid being typecast. To prepare for that film, he took acting lessons from the director, Herbert Ross, and spent months learning how to tap dance. The film was a financial failure; Martin's comment at the time was "I don't know what to blame, other than it's me and not a comedy."
Martin was in two more Reiner-directed comedies after
The Jerk: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid in 1982, and The Man with Two Brains in 1983.
In 1986, Martin joined fellow Saturday Night Live veterans
Martin Short and
Chevy Chase in ¡Three Amigos!, which was directed by John Landis, and written by Martin, Lorne Michaels and
Randy Newman. It was originally entitled
The Three Caballeros and Martin was to be teamed with
Dan Aykroyd and
John Belushi.
In 1987, Martin joined comedian
John Candy in the
John Hughes film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles
. That same year, Roxanne, a film he cowrote, won him a Writers Guild of America award and more importantly, the recognition from Hollywood and the public that he was more than a comedian.
Martin starred in the
Ron Howard film, Parenthood in 1989.
In 1999, Martin and
Goldie Hawn starred in a remake of the 1970
Neil Simon comedy, The Out-of-Towners.
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Latest Film News
Latest news on Steve Martin
LiteratureDisneyland home movie from 1956 makes Library of Congress's National Film Registry
Molly sez, "Robbins Barstow's film Disneyland Dream was included in this year's National Film Registry (25 films selected by the Library of Congress annually). He is a tireless advocate for amateur film and a great supporter of Home Movie Day. Steve Martin wrote to Robbins Barstow after the news of Disneyland Dream being selected for the Film Registry. Martin appears in the home movie, he's 11 years old and worked selling guidebooks. Go home movies!" We've blogged Robbins's amazing home movies here before. The man's a hero of the medium. Well-deserved congratulations indeed. From the Library of Congress?s press release: Disneyland Dream (1956) The Barstow family films a memorable home movie of their trip to Disneyland. Robbins and Meg Barstow, along with their children Mary, David and Daniel were among 25 families who won a free trip to the newly opened Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., as part of a ?Scotch Brand Cellophane Tape? contest sponsored by 3M. Through vivid color and droll narration (?The landscape was very different from back home in Connecticut?), we see a fantastic historical snapshot of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Catalina Island, Knott?s Berry Farm, Universal Studios and Disneyland in mid-1956. Home movies have assumed a rapidly increasing importance in American cultural studies as they provide a priceless and authentic record of time and place. The film, along with 15 other Barstow Travel Adventure titles, is available for viewing and downloading at the Internet Archive. Robbins Barstow?s ?Disneyland Dream? Named to National Film Registry, Steve Martin and Disneyland Dream (Thanks, Molly!) Previously:Robbins Barstow's spectacular amateur films - Boing Boing Home movie of contest-winning family vacation to Disneyland in ......
Published: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:20:48 GMT - Source: Boingboing.Net - Read the article
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