Big Fat Steven Seagal Demands a Big Fat Apology
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 21, 2007
Let’s face it. Steven Seagal’s career is on the rocks.
Scratch that. It’s not even on the rocks any more. It’s past the rocks. It’s so far beyond that, it’s hit dry land, and he hasn’t seen the rocks for ten years.
Back in the 1980s, Steven Seagal was a promising, young action star. With incredible street cred on the martial arts front, he was in line to be another Jean-Claude Van Damme or Chuck Norris. However, after making a splash with Under Siege in 1992, Seagal went on a steady decline in quality and popularity.
His last theatrical release was Half Past Dead, which hit the American theaters in 2002, only grossing $15 million in the U.S. (and a dismal $3.7 million overseas). Since then, all of his films have been released on DVD.
The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Seagal is demanding an apology from the FBI, alleging they damaged are responsible for his declining popularity. Seagal claims the feds leaked an affidavit linking him to the Mafia and Anthony Pellicano, a P.I. who was under investigation for intimidating journalists for writing negative stories about his clients.
IMDb quotes Seagal: “False FBI accusations fueled thousands of articles saying that I terrorize journalists and associate with the Mafia. These kinds of inflammatory allegations scare studio heads and independent producers – and kill careers…. I was sick of hearing my name associated with a crime the government knew I had nothing to do with. Until it happens to you, you can’t imagine what it does to your life.â€
Hmmm… is it possible that Seagal’s reputation as an action star resulted from his enormous girth which made the once lean martial artist now look like a whirling ham hock in his action scenes? Not to knock the guy for his weight, as I could stand to lose a couple dozen pounds myself, but I don’t go around claiming to be an action star.
Here’s a hint to know when you’re a has-been… When the most successful movie you’re still tied to is older than mass-market cell phones, the Internet and Dakota Fanning, you’ve got a Hollywood-sized problem.
Maybe his faltering career has nothing to do with the mob or dirty private dicks, but instead because of Steven Seagal himself. From not finishing his debut album of his singing career (a merciful act, I would argue) to bailing on action movies because a “spiritual advisor†told him he’d be reincarnated as a lesser being if he did them, Seagal has torpedoed his own credibility and likability.
But that does beg the question… Is there such a thing as a lesser being than Steven Seagal?
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