Culture news Almost impossible to recognize! 40 years ago, this global star took off in a sci-fi film before becoming one of Hollywood's greatest villains
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In Hollywood, there are many people who were thrust into the spotlight early. Very early, in fact, to the point that they are simply unrecognizable in their first film. This is the case of Joaquin Phoenix, for example…
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Heading for the stars, the first attempt
It was in 1986 that “Cap sur les étoiles” was released, or “SpaceCamp” for our English-speaking friends. This American film directed by Harry Winer tells the story of a space shuttle in peril: the problem is that it is piloted and inhabited by inexperienced young people, who accidentally found themselves in the ship. And if you haven't heard much about this feature film, it's also for a good reason : it was released five months after the accident of the space shuttle Challenger.
A real drama and social phenomenon across the Atlantic, this simply curbed the potential take-off of the film, which made less than 10 million dollars at the American box office. However, the music was by John Williams and we also found some well-known faces like Kate Capshaw (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), Lea Thompson (Red Dawn, Back to the Future), Kelly Preston (A Best Friend), Larry B. Scott (Karate Kid)… and Joaquin Phoenix.
The flight, literally
This was actually Joaquin Phoenix's very first appearance in the cinema: he is then only one child and given its commercial failure, very few remember it. Besides, it is always fun to come across photos from the film. He would follow up with another film the following year, Russkies, which was little known, or Spitting Image of a Model Family in 1989.
It was especially the 90s that allowed him to start his career more seriously: he appeared for example in Far from Heaven in 1998 and in 8 Millimetres in 1999 with Nicolas Cage… before exploding completely with Gladiator in 2000, where he played the role of one of the most famous antagonists in cinema. The rest, we know: ultra-respected performances in dozens of films, an Oscar for best actor for Joker and a career still far from over. Hats off to the artist!
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