You Ought To Be In (10) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We start today with the 27 actors that have starred in exactly 10 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of eight films in six years in the mid 2000s, there has been nothing new for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with it going on 21 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Banks first graced my screen in a starring role in 2006 thanks to The Baxter.  After a dry spell in the early 2010s, she bounced back with seven films in five years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet six years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Emily Blunt

Our first new entry, Emly Blunt’s first starring role was in 2007’s Wind Chill.  Thanks to three films in 2014 and another two in 2018, her latest, 2021’s A Quite Place Part II, gave her ten appearances.

Gerard Butler

The Scottish actor first appeared on my screen thanks to 2003’s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, which I saw in 2005.  The Has Fallen franchise gave him three additional appearances, in 2013, 2016, and 2020.  He last made a mark in 2022 with two films, 2016’s A Family Man and 2022’s Last Seen Alive.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

You Ought To Be In (10) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we start with the 27 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen, a slight increase from the 22 at this level 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of 8 films in 6 years in the mid 2000s, there has been nothing new for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with it going on 18 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Our first new entry, Banks first graced my screen in a starring role in 2006 thanks to The Baxter.  After a dry spell in the early 2010s, she bounced back with 7 films in 5 years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet 3 years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Halle Berry

Another newcomer, who has racked up starring roles in 4 different decades now.  I first saw Berry in 1992’s Boomerang, which I saw in a screening at Stewart Center at school.  After notching 5 films during the 2000’s, she had been pretty quiet until returning to my screen earlier this year in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

Most Watched Actors – The Late 1990s

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at the most prolific actors that have starred in the movies that I have seen in the last half of the decade of the 1990s, corresponding with the end of college and the transition into adulthood and real life.

1996

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Gil Bellows 3
Alyssa Milano 3
Bill Pullman 3
Liv Tyler 3

A four way tie that covers a lot of bad movies, most of which I don’t even remember.  Gil Bellows starts things off with Miami Rhapsody, Love And A .45, and Black Day Blue Night.  Alyssa Milano made her case by doffing her top in Poison Ivy II: Lily, Deadly Sins, and the cult classic Embrace of the Vampire.  Bill Pullman shows up thanks to legitimate big screen blockbusters in Independence Day, Sibling Rivalry, and While You Were Sleeping.  Rounding things out is Liv Tyler, who appeared in That Thing You Do!, Stealing Beauty, and Heavy.

1997

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Patricia Arquette 3
John Cusack 3

The number of leaders is cut in half, as Patricia Arquette appeared in the classics Daddy, Lost Highway, and Flirting With Disaster.  John Cusack plied his wares in City Hall, the tremendous Grosse Pointe Blank, and The Grifters.

1998

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Jennifer Aniston 3

The Friends star makes her move to the big screen with starring roles in The Object Of My Affection, Picture Perfect, and Dream For An Insomniac.

1999

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Janeane Garofalo 4
Gwyneth Paltrow 4

A strange pairing, with comic Janeane Garofalo starring in Sweethearts, Mystery Men, Larger Than Life, and The Matchmaker.  Meanwhile, the glamorous Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in A Perfect Murder, Shakespeare In Love, Great Expectations, and Hush.

2000

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Maria Ford 5
Tori Spelling 5

As we wrap things up, your first question is probably who the hell is Maria Ford?  If you were perusing the late night offerings on Cinemax back at the turn of the century, you might be very familiar with her body of work.  Tori Spelling, however, was a constant presence on Lifetime, appearing in Death Of A Cheeleader, Coed Call Girl, Deadly Pursuits, Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?, and Perpetrators Of The Crime.