Monday, July 25, 2011

I HEARD WHAT YOU WERE SAYING! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MY WORK! YOU MEAN MY WHOLE FALLACY IS WRONG. HOW YOU GOT TO TEACH A COURSE IN ANYTHING IS TOTALLY AMAZING! As the world pauses to reflect on his intellectual legacy upon the centennial of Marshall McLuhan's birth, I'll go in a different direction—name your favorite cameos by non-actors portraying themselves on screen.**

Three films with which I'll start: Bill Murray in Zombieland; James Taylor and Eminem in Funny People; and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. ("You gotta do the safe picture. Then you can do the art picture. But then sometimes you gotta do the payback picture because your friends says you owe him.")

** Okay. I totally went away from "non-actors" when it came to constructing the list. Oops. Pretend I listed Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in Airplane! and Jann Wenner in Almost Famous instead.

53 comments:

  1. (Wait, the first and third are non-actors?)

    Springsteen in High Fidelity.

    Stan Lee in Mallrats.

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  2. Eric J.10:47 PM

    Mike Tyson in Black and White.
    Kareem Abdul Jabaar in Airplane!

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  3. Joseph J. Finn10:49 PM

    Everyone in that end sequence in Jay & Silent Bob gets a prize, especially the Dawson and the Pie F***er.

    Kurt Vonnegut in Back To School.

    Alice Cooper's wonderful Mila-wa-kee speech in Wayne's World.

    Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore.

    I have more but I can't wait to see what else people come up with.

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  4. Joseph J. Finn10:50 PM

    Both excellent choices.  Lee is great powering through Jason Lee's insane questions.

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  5. I wish I could describe that Tyson-Downey Jr scene. It's really electric.

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  6. Lance Armstrong in Dodgeball.

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  7. David Bowie in Bandslam
    Not sure if it counts, but I liked the Roy Firestone cameo at the end of Jerry Maguire in which he interviews Rod Tidwell and goads him into crying.

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  8. Heather K11:05 PM

    You know, I still have a soft spot for Brett Farve in the end of Something About Mary (and I don't like football nor Farve, so this soft spot is kind of weird and alarming, maybe its mold?)

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  9. David Bowie in Zoolander.

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  10. Does NPH in Harold and Kumar count?

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  11. Professor Jeff11:41 PM

    Xavier McDaniel in Singles.

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  12. Tosy and Cosh11:49 PM

    Vernon Jones on The Good Wife, Just kidding. He was kind of painfully bad.

    Shawn Colvin on Treme?

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  13. Joseph J. Finn12:34 AM

    Going with more Cameron Crowe, Mookie Blaylock/Pearl Jam in Singles, listening to Matt Dillon's free-form nonsense and nodding along.

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  14. Lance Armstrong in Dodgeball.<span><span>  "I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever."</span></span>

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  15. randy1:50 AM

    The Altman fan in me wants to say Alex Trebek in "Short Cuts", even if it was dialogue-free.  The geek in me wants to say Alex Trebek in the X-Files episode "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'".

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  16. Adam C.2:26 AM

    Bowie already had a number of legit film acting credits under his belt by the time of these two cameos (The Man Who Fell To Earth, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Hunger, and Absolute Beginners, just to name a few), so I'm not sure he fits the category. But in any case, my choice for a Bowie cameo as himself would be his bit in "Extras."

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  17. Adam C.2:26 AM

    Bowie already had a number of legit film acting credits under his belt by the time of these two cameos (The Man Who Fell To Earth, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Hunger, and Absolute Beginners, just to name a few), so I'm not sure he fits the category. But in any case, my choice for a Bowie cameo as himself would be his bit in "Extras."

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  18. Fred App7:51 AM

    And the Cliff Klavin fan in me would say Alex Trebek in the Jeopardy episode of "Cheers." Name three people who have never been in my kitchen.

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  19. Adam C.7:58 AM

    There's nothing to click for "Like This the Best," but I like this the best.  The greatest-of-all-time use of a self-cameo.

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  20. Oh great, now you ruined that episode for everyone who hasn't seen it. (Kidding.)

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  21. Saul Bellow and Susan Sontag in Zelig.

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  22. DonBoy10:15 AM

    Merv Griffin in whichever Steve Martin movie that was.

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  23. Gregorus10:37 AM

    I liked Neil Diamond in Saving Silverman.

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  24. Dave S10:40 AM

    Al Gore on Futurama the first time.

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  25. Andrew10:46 AM

    Patrick Stewart on Extras. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_cwI1Xj4M

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  26. Watchman10:57 AM

    Still laugh over Louis Rukeyeser getting slapped out of his cab by Bette Midler in Big Business

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  27. You get all the points in the world from me for mentioning Bandslam.

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  28. Carrie11:03 AM

    Bert Parks in "The Freshman"

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  29. Tom Jones in Mars Attacks!

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  30. 12-year-old me loved seeing Buzz Aldrin on that Punky Brewster episode about the Challenger.  And mentioning Buzz Aldrin makes me think of his appearance on The Simpsons ("Second comes right after first!").  But voice cameos is probably a different category altogether...

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  31. Marsha11:44 AM

    Vonnegut is one of my all time favorites!

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  32. isaac_spaceman12:15 PM

    There's that whole scene in Ocean's 11 with (then-) Young Hollywood, including Topher Grace and (I believe) Shiri Appelby getting poker lessons from an exasperated Brad Pitt, and then when Clooney, Pitt, and Grace leave the club, there is a mass of screaming fans clawing at Grace and his cohorts while ignoring Pitt and Clooney.  Pretty funny scene. 

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  33. Eric J.12:21 PM

    I can't believe it's not on Youtube, but I can't find it.

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  34. Eric J.12:23 PM

    The Man With Two Brains.

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  35. isaac_spaceman1:10 PM

    Obviously not non-actors, though one could make an argument about Appelby and that Shane guy that was in the Mandy Moore movie. 

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  36. bristlesage1:12 PM

    Buzz Aldrin on 30 Rock, also!

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  37. Aldrin also has a seriously weird cameo as himself in Transformers 3, to provide "legitimacy" to the plot.

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  38. bella wilfer2:01 PM

    Shaun White in Friends With Benefits. (Can you tell I really want to talk more about that movie? Because I do. It was way better than it had any reason to be.)

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  39. it's Holly Marie Combs, Topher Grace, Barry Watson from 7th Heaven and Shane West.  And I think there's also a line in there one of the fans asks Topher about transitioning from TV to movies that is a dig/thing on George Clooney.

    (I like dvd commentaries, sue me!)

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  40. Goghaway3:15 PM

    Detlef Schrempf on Parks and Rec!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1LRPff8UQ8

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  41. kd bart4:03 PM

    Howard Cosell in Bananas.  Providing commentary on both an asssasination and the consumation of Fielding Mellish and Nancy's relationship.

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  42. isaac_spaceman4:15 PM

    Wow, I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that Holly Marie Combs exists. I guess I had to know it, because I remembered that there was a woman in that young hollywood set piece, but I could not name anything she's been in.  Or picture her face.  And Barry Watson right now looks like he's 35 years old .

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  43. isaac_spaceman4:16 PM

    I call shenanigans.  He's a recurring character.  He's had as many appearances as Li'l Sebastian, and someday will eclipse him. 

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  44. Adam C.4:54 PM

    Almost certainly true, unless there's a Ghost of Li'l Sebastian arc on the drawing board.

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  45. I fear that movie's been forgotten.<span> </span>

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  46. Eric J.6:59 PM

    Needs a revival then - was that the last watchable Marlon Brando movie?

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  47. Eric J.7:01 PM

    You had to bring it up. I was just starting to love again.

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  48. Adam C.7:28 PM

    Carmine said one boy...here are two!

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  49. isaac_spaceman9:14 PM

    The Score wasn't very good, but I remember it as watchable. 

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  50. Joseph J. Finn11:59 PM

    The worst part is that Combs is a few months younger than me.  

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  51. I love the Kevin McHale episodes of Cheers.

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  52. Goghaway10:22 AM

    Eclipse Li'l Sebastian?! Detlef is obviously amazing, but that miniature horse has an honorary degree from Notre Dame.

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  53. I love the sequence in Dave with all the real politicians (Christopher Dodd, etc.) being interviewed about the president's performance.

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