Thank Robert Altman, if thanks are in order. Ever since his Tanner '88 made hay by weaving real politicians into its scripts — and half the fun of The Player proved to be the stars who were acting as if they weren't acting — filmmakers have run with the cameo concept, and in every possible direction. Where a cameo once meant a pivotal turn by a respected actor (think Sir Alec Guinness in Star Wars), the term now embraces all manner of showy or secret casting coups, as this survey of current and coming distractions illustrates.
THE PRESTIGE CAMEO
The benefits go both ways, to the auteur who
lands the star and to the actor who's important enough to
matter. Spike Lee hooked up with Madonna (cast as a strip-club
owner), Homicide's Richard Belzer, and Lee veteran John Turturro
for Girl 6, his phone sexcapade due March 22. The cooler the
walk-on, the more likely it's unbilled (as in ''That's Wesley
Snipes with Angela Bassett in Waiting to Exhale!'').
THE REAL-LIFE CAMEO
They're rarely adept actors even when
playing themselves, yet celebs from all walks get film work.
Yes, that was Spiderman creator Stan Lee in Mallrats. Yes,
that's golf great Lee Trevino lurking in Happy Gilmore. The Price Is Right's Bob Barker says he read Gilmore's script, which
has him punch out Adam Sandler, and thought, ''I can't miss this
opportunity.'' Ed Koch plays his TV commentator self in City Hall, while Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) plays a senator.
Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli sings in Beautiful Girls. And Quentin
Tarantino is kinda convincing as an obnoxious director in Girl 6. Of course, he is an actor.
THE CROSSOVER CAMEO
Director Mike Figgis not only composed and
performed music for Leaving Las Vegas, he also wrote fleeting
parts for musicians Julian Lennon (a bartender) and Lou Rawls (a
cabbie). Supermodel Naomi Campbell puts a slim toe into acting
in Girl 6. Coming as a prosecutor in Oliver Stone's production
of The People vs. Larry Flynt is political consultant James
Carville.
THE COGNOSCENTI'S CAMEO
From Dusk Till Dawn features such cult
faves as blaxploitation star Fred Williamson and 1990's Night of the Living Dead director Tom Savini, who's also a horror-makeup
meister. Those in the know will notice that director Bob
Rafelson (Five Easy Pieces) gets a scene with Nicolas Cage at a
mall in Las Vegas, and that Figgis, à la Hitchcock, appears in a
wordless role. Even novice screenwriter Scott Rosenberg, who
snuck into his current films, Beautiful Girls and Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, knew enough about being an insider
to skip writing himself any memorable lines.
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