The Has Been And The Never Was :: essays research papers

The Has Been and The N invariably WasThis is the story of two very contrasting individuals who, up until a certain point, could have been called The Has Been and The Never Was. They argon both self-made actors who pursued slightly different paths to fame. When the two were cast together in the same movie, their performances were nothing short of spectacular. They proved to all of Hollywood that they were A-list, profitable Talent, and deserved the professional respect accorded to people of this caliber. The movie that they appeared in was pulp Fiction and the actors are John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson.First, a few brief sentences most the film that umpteen people call one of the greatest ever made (a simple search on the Internet brings up oer 50,000 websites devoted to the movie). Directed by a then unproven Quentin Tarantino, who Roger Ebert calls The Jerry lee Lewis of cinema, a pounding performer who doesnt care if he tears up the piano, as long as everybody is rocki ng (Chicago Sun-Times 10-94) the movie is a combination of some(prenominal) short-stories into a larger story. Tarantino ignores the concept of time, going forwards and backwards in such a way that the ending and the beginning of the movie are almost the same scene. This nonlinear way of shooting, combined with the brilliant performing of Travolta, and Jackson make the film one that can be watched a dozen times, and every time the viewer will take something different away from it.The Has-beenJohn Travolta is an actor whose career has seen as many downs as it has seen ups. An awe-inspiring Hollywood star of the late 70s and early 80s, Travolta was the youngest of six children born to tire salesman and former semi-pro football player Salvatore Travolta and high schooling drama teacher Helen Travolta on February 18, 1954 in Englewood, NJ. Being the baby of the family, Travolta grew up pampered. The Travolta children were encour erad to be creative, and would stage shows in the baseme nt of their home. By age twelve, John knew he wanted to be an actor, having already joined an acting workshop in his hometown. He soon began appearing in local anesthetic theater and began taking tap lessons from Gene Kellys brother Fred. Travolta admits he picked up a lot of moves from TVs Soul Train, and he ascribes his love for dance to the occurrence that his high school was fifty percent black.