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Motion pictures have long been a safe haven for men of few words, most particularly westerns Gary Cooper said next to nothing in High Noon – My Blog

Hard-working, reliable and charismatic, Bruce Willis is one of the highest-paid actors in motion picture history. But in his new movie 16 Blocks, Willis may have now become the highest paid actor, on a dollars-per-word basis, ever. Willis practically says nothing in this engaging, if predictable, tale of a dirty cop who belatedly decides to clean up his act. Occasionally he makes a phone call; occasionally he issues a threat; occasionally he mutters a few words about man’s inhumanity to man. But mostly he just broods. Since Willis routinely commands $20m a picture, his performance in 16 Blocks is the biggest payday anyone has earned for not saying anything since Marlee Matlin won a 1987 Academy Award for her debut as a mute in Children Of A Lesser God.

Willis’s taciturnity, from the spectator’s point of view, is somewhat offputting because Mos Def, his garrulous co-star, just will not shut up. Ceaselessly running his mouth about the upscale bakery he wishes to open in Portland, Oregon, Def has about 40 times as many lines as Willis, all delivered in an unbearably grating lisp. In some ways 16 Blocks resembles buddy movies like Midnight Run and Trains, Planes And Automobiles, both of which pair a maddening motor-mouth with a strong, silent type who only speaks when he is spoken to. But it has been years since I have seen a film in which a major star not only doesn’t demand all the best lines, but doesn’t seem to demand any lines at all. It suggests that Willis was either deliberately going for the record for most dollars per word, or had just suffered through a brutal root canal.
n discussing the history of well-remunerated male terseness, it is essential to distinguish between films in which movie stars don’t say much because they’re not in the film very long, and those where:
Actors don’t say a whole lot because they don’t appear to have a whole lot to say (Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain).

Actors are being deliberately uncommunicative because stoicism goes with the territory (Gary Cooper in High Noon).
Actors keep a lid on it because of severe cultural taboos against loquaciousness (Max Von Sydow in The Seventh Seal).
Actors clam up because their English needs work (Jet Li in Unleashed, Cradle 2 The Grave, or anything).
Actors bite their tongue because they are pouting, insane, or both (Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now).
Famous instances of films where actors received a staggering level of reimbursement for very little verbalising include Jaws IV, where Michael Caine, seemingly intent on buying a house in Switzerland, briefly appears, makes a few supercilious remarks, and then wanders off, and Superman, where Marlon Brando was paid the then-princely sum of $1.5m to babble a few words about the decline and fall of the Kryptonian Empire during perhaps three minutes of on-camera work. A famous anecdote that is probably not true but ought to be has the famously churlish superstar turning up on the set and behaving with uncharacteristic courtesy to the men, and delivering bouquets of flowers to the women. Asked by the press whether this startling gallantry was an indication that he had turned over a new leaf, Brando replied: “No, but at these rates, the least I can do is be civil.”
Motion pictures have long been a safe haven for men of few words, most particularly westerns. Gary Cooper said next to nothing in High Noon, and even less in The Garden Of Evil, one of the great overlooked horse operas. The peerless character actor Ben Johnson made scores of films during his lengthy career and only said about 137 words in any of them. Neither Steve McQueen nor Yul Brynner had a whole lot to say in The Magnificent Seven, but they were absolute blabberpusses compared to the laconic Charles Bronson and the zip-lipped James Coburn. Bronson enjoyed a supplementary career in France, where in films such as Rider On The Rain he was deliberately given very few lines because he couldn’t actually speak French, and had to learn his lines phonetically. And no one was ever more deliberately uncommunicative than Bronson’s harmonica-playing man of mystery in Sergio Leone’s immortal Once Upon A Time In The West.
It is not necessary for an actor to say much in a motion picture if he has a truly dominating personality, plays a terrifying monster, or is Austrian. Jack Palance, the most famous gunslinger of them all in Shane, keeps a tight lid on things, only occasionally opening his pie-hole to snarl something totally uncalled-for. Boris Karloff, as Frankenstein, mostly grunted his way through a long series of horror movies. Burt Lancaster in Valdez Is Coming plays things maddeningly close to the vest, letting his twinkling eyes and blazing guns do his talking for him. Getting Gene Hackman to say anything in Francis Ford Coppola’s brilliant The Conversation was like pulling teeth. And Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly got the job done with minimal word play in Terminator, as did Sylvester Stallone in the Rambo series.
But ne
ver in the course of human events have more people paid more money to watch one actor say so few words in so many movies than has been the case with Clint Eastwood. Anything but a gasbag in the seminal classics A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Eastwood brought the art of brooding reticence to astounding new heights in such films as The Outlaw Josie Wales, High Plains Drifter, Cogan’s Bluff, Hang ‘Em High and Pale Rider.
Eastwood’s famous disinclination to vocalise made perfect sense in the context of these movies. But by casting himself as a tight-lipped DJ in Play Misty For Me – his maiden voyage as a director – Eastwood was literally throwing down the gauntlet, saying: “I don’t care if DJs do get paid to run their mouths all night. I’m not that kind of DJ.”
In recent times, the one actor who has delivered the most memorable performance without resorting to much in the way of verbiage is James Caviezel in The Passion Of The Christ. Partially because the film’s dialogue is in Aramaic, motivating the actor to keep the verbal lifting to an absolute minimum, but mostly because Christ probably didn’t have a whole lot to say other than “Ouf!” Or “Hey! Didn’t anyone ever tell you that hurts?” during his real-life Passion, the actor mostly grunts or gasps his way through Mel Gibson’s controversial film. Without question, Caviezel now holds the record for most-dollars-per-Aramaic-word in motion picture history, unlikely to be eclipsed any time soon.
It is one of the ironies of motion picture history that a genre that started out with silent films has now come full circle, with talkies where the protagonist doesn’t talk. It remains to be seen whether Willis’s studied reticence in 16 Blocks is an aberration, or whether it will now become a cornerstone of his acting style. Whatever, here’s hoping his example encourages others to do likewise. If I never had to hear Orlando Bloom or Leonardo DiCaprio say another word, I could live with that.

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13 years ago they were dubbed the most beautiful twins in the world – but wait till you see how they look today!

In 2017, Leah Rose and Ava Marie Clements celebrated their 7th birthday by creating an Instagram account that exploded overnight with followers who were stunned by their breathtaking beauty.

Now 14, the California girls – frequently called the “most beautiful twins in the world” – are internationally recognized child models, with a story as captivating as their angelic looks.

In 2017, Jaqi Clements decided to post pictures of her identical twin daughters, Leah and Ava on social media. Initially, the posts were just a way to share their lives with friends and family. But the internet quickly took notice of their extraordinary beauty, and the account began to gain traction.

Their charm and natural beauty resonated with people, and soon, modeling agencies and brands started reaching out. What began as a simple Instagram page turned into a powerful platform that would redefine their lives.

“Instagram was something that I hadn’t used much before starting an account for the girls,” the mom of three writes in a blog post. “If you would have asked me 6 months ago if 300,000 followers was a lot…I wouldn’t have had a clue.”

Now the twins have almost 3 million followers on Instagram and Facebook, along with high-profile partnerships with brands like Nike, Disney, and Target, cementing their status as top child models.

Criticism
Behind the glamor, the Clements family faced significant criticism from people who questioned the parents’ decision to allow Leah and Ava to pursue modeling at such a young age.

Jaqi firmly defended her choice, explaining that modeling was the twins’ dream, not something imposed on them. She emphasized that she and her husband, Kevin, were not profiting off their daughters but were instead making personal financial sacrifices to support the girls in following their passion.

Responding to the attacks, Jaqi writes, “I didn’t decide that my girls were going to start modeling, they did. And if the day ever comes that they want to move on to something else, I will 100% support their decision to do that.”

Lifeline
The family initially saw social media as a platform to share the siblings’ modeling journey, but in October 2019, the Clements twins’ Instagram account, which had already gained millions of followers due to their modeling success, became a lifeline for their father.

The family’s lives took an unexpected turn when Kevin, the father of three and head swim coach at a local high school, began feeling what he thought was a mild cold.

Kevin, then 39, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.

Determined to help, the twins harnessed the power of social media, hoping to find a match among their millions of followers for their dad’s life-saving bone marrow transplant.

“If he gets a transplant, his cancer will go away quicker,” Ava told People in 2019.

Leah added, “People are so sweet to want to help my dad. The more people that get tested the better.”

Thousands of people around the country responded to the twin’s pleas to help their dad, and though Kevin found a match in his brother Chris, the followers who offered their support were added to a national registry to help other patients.

More than pretty faces
Ava and Leah are now stunning 14-year-olds who continue to model and engage with their ever-growing fan base. Their journey from local models to international sensations is a testament to their hard work, charm, and the unwavering support of their family.

Balancing their successful modeling careers with education, family, and advocacy, Leah and Ava have proven that they are more than just pretty faces – they are an inspiration to many and as they continue to evolve, the world eagerly awaits what’s next for these remarkable young stars.

What do you think of these beautiful girls and how they rallied the support of their followers to help their dad? Please share your thoughts with us and then share this story so we can hear from others!

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“Kelly Clarkson’s Honest Thoughts on Spanking: A Parenting Debate Unfolds”

A few weeks prior, singer and mother of two, Kelly Clarkson, ignited a fervent discussion on the radio by sharing her views on child discipline, particularly regarding spanking. She expressed her concerns about the application of physical punishment on children.

Known for her candidness, Clarkson openly discussed her perspective on this divisive topic, revealing that she does not oppose the idea of physically correcting her children when they misbehave. This straightforward admission quickly garnered the attention of both listeners and the media, leading to a broader conversation about the appropriateness of spanking as a disciplinary method. Although Clarkson’s comments were deeply personal, they prompted a wider examination of parenting techniques. During her discussion, she articulated her strong belief in using physical punishment as a way to teach her children the difference between right and wrong.

Her remarks resonated with many parents, who found themselves aligning with her stance on physical punishment. While some parents view spanking as an effective strategy for maintaining discipline and helping children grasp the repercussions of their actions, they contend that it must be administered in a proper manner to be effective.

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NCIS star Pauley Perrette now unrecognisable after quitting acting

For 15 seasons, Pauley Perrette was synonymous with her character Abby Sciuto, a forensic specialist on NCIS.

But in 2017, she shocked fans by announcing she wouldn’t be returning to the popular crime show. At the time of the announcement, Perrette said it was a decision made a year earlier.

Since then, she has only appeared in the now defunct sitcom Broke, going from a fixture on television to rarely seen. Perrette now says she’ll “never again” return to acting.

“I’m not ungrateful for the benefits that it gave to me,” she said in an interview with HELLO! “But I’m a different person now and I want to be here for it – the good and the bad and the painful.”

“I want to be me all the time,” she continued. “And it takes a good amount of courage for me to say that to myself, but it’s authentically how I feel.”

“At this point in my life I have this deep need to find authenticity in everything, and being an actor, especially at certain points in my life, was a great escape; it’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be me, I could be somebody else. My character didn’t have all of the problems that I was having.”

But Perrette hasn’t completely turned her back on the entertainment industry. She’s now producing films, specifically documentaries; her most recent project being Studio One Forever in 2023.

“It’s why I only watch documentaries, I want the truth. For me, going back to being an actor would be taking away from this life of true authenticity that I’m living 100 per cent of the time.”

Days after Perrette’s final NCIS episode aired in May 2017, she wrote on social media that she’d endured “multiple physical assaults,” implying that was the real reason she had exited the program.

Fans remained devastated, hoping she’d return, but the actress insisted she wouldn’t. In June 2019, Perrette implored the public to stop asking if she’d ever reprise her role, claiming she was “terrified” of former co-star Mark Harmon, “and him attacking me.”

There were reports that the two clashed on set because of a dog bite, but that has never been confirmed.

CBS later announced that Perrette had shared workspace concerns before exiting the show and that the network had investigated. Perrette expressed her appreciation for both the studio and the network.

NCIS is still on the air – its 22nd season premieres on screens this month.

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