Is Eliza cursed when it comes to having her own shows?

[Joshua]

Every time Eliza starts her own show, someone always manages to cancel it?

Tru Calling
Dollhouse

both cancelled. But she has no problem getting success playing a recurring character on another show. Like what the heck? She's a great actress who deserves her success. "Tru Calling" was an good show imo. If she went along with the FTVS spin-off project, would it have the same fate has Dollhouse/Tru Calling?

 

[Okra]

Thought if they made ‘Blade Runner’ into a television show, I would love to have her as the leading character.

 

[david4wt]

Well sad to say but I'm sure it's really full of great actors/actresses that just can't make it. Emma Caulfield and Charisma Carpenter aren't doing much, and they are great too. It's all about luck I think.

 

[Mr Giles]

I dont think Eliza(or Charisma and Emma) are great at all. Eliza Dushku is an ok actress who does well in a supporting role but in no way is she a good lead actress. She just doesnt have 'it'.

 

[david4wt]

Mr Giles agrees: People make their own luck.

[MENTION=11237]Mr Giles[/MENTION] I really don't think so. It's all about being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. It's not a fair world, not every one that deserves it make it.

 

[EvilWillow]

[MENTION=11237]Mr Giles[/MENTION] I really don't think so. It's all about being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. It's not a fair world, not every one that deserves it make it.

Agreed.


A lot of the time producers and casting agencies do what is called "type casting". Basically if you don't look like what they want, you don't get it, regardless of your talent.

 

[Mr Giles]

But being in the 'right' place, 'right' time and knowing the 'right' people is all about getting out there and putting youself in that position. It doesnt just happen by luck. You get back what you put into life. So luck is all subjective, for whatever reason Eliza isnt good enough from what ive seen of her, to be a lead. But i still love her as Faith, easily one of my favorite characters.
And 'deserving' something? Thats also subjective.

 

[david4wt]

If your opinion is that if someone is talented and tries hard enough then he's going to make it, I disagree 🙂

 

[Mr Giles]

A great example would be David Boreanez! Alot of people would agree he is not the most talented actor around, But, he still was a big character on Btvs, and had a couple of lead roles in Angel and Bones!!! Talent only gets you so far.
I love this saying ''If you really want something, you'll find a way to get it. If not, then you'll find an excuse not to get it''

 

[ashleigh]

In the dvd commentary, Marti Noxon points out that every single extra we see in the show is striving to be a leading character. I wouldn;t say that Eliza is 'cursed' because he shows got cancelled, I'd say she's very lucky to have had them in the first place 😛

 

[The Chosen]

A great example would be David Boreanez! Alot of people would agree he is not the most talented actor around, But, he still was a big character on Btvs, and had a couple of lead roles in Angel and Bones!!! Talent only gets you so

Keep in mind that David was discovered while walking his dog. You can't really say he intentionally walked his dog in order to get an acting job. 😛

Which also proves they were more interested in what he looked like than his acting skills 😛

Initially, of course. Though if Boreanaz hadn't proven himself to be capable of playing Angel he wouldn't have gotten the role. But I was mostly making mention of Boreanaz' discovery to refute the idea that people make their own luck, put themselves in certain positions purposefully. Though I do think you definitely have a point.

 

[Washburne]

Summer Glau is way more cursed than Eliza that's for sure.😉 If we're gonna use the word cursed then think of the actors that never get close to where Eliza is. She could be "bigger" yes but all in all she's got it pretty good.

Dollhouse got a second season and got to finish it even though it might have not deserved it considering the ratings. I'm more sad about Tru Calling that started to get relly interesting when it had to stop. No real ending either.

---------- Post added at 10:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 AM ----------

As for Charisma and Emma. I don't think we see them as much as we should but I doubt any of them could carry their own show. Unless they had great back-up cast.

 

[Taake]

Well I don't think she's cursed I guess, personally I would have loved to see more of Dollhouse but I think both DH and Tru Calling had the same problem which eventually led to their demise - they were both far too Eliza centric. Now I love and adore Eliza Dushku and I think she's great, but in her shows her characters have been emphasised to the point of neglect of the other characters.

Imagine if Bones was just focused on Booth, or if How I met your mother only concerned Lily's problems.... it's not interesting. You need the group dynamic and though both of Eliza's shows have had co-stars that have met her stride by stride and been equally charismatic and dynamic they just haven't been given the room to play because she's been "the star" who's been placed in front of them all. And it just hasn't worked... it's not interesting, one character is not enough to keep a large audience hooked, we need other characters to relate to and see how the lead relates to them as well.

A great example would be David Boreanez! Alot of people would agree he is not the most talented actor around, But, he still was a big character on Btvs, and had a couple of lead roles in Angel and Bones!!! Talent only gets you so far.
I love this saying ''If you really want something, you'll find a way to get it. If not, then you'll find an excuse not to get it''

A very good point, he took his chances and turned them into gold so to speak. No doubt he put a lot of effort into it (especially considering how his acting improved from season 1 of Buffy and onwards)

 

[Washburne]

I think both DH and Tru Calling had the same problem which eventually led to their demise - they were both far too Eliza centric. Now I love and adore Eliza Dushku and I think she's great, but in her shows her characters have been emphasised to the point of neglect of the other characters.

Imagine if Bones was just focused on Booth, or if How I met your mother only concerned Lily's problems.... it's not interesting.

A very good point. Think, oh the horror, if Btvs had only been about Buffy...

 

[Okra]

The only way all the cast members can break out from the Buffy the Vampire series. Would be if one of them gets nominated for an Oscar, or, win one. They had done minor work, commercials, guest shots on other series, limited roles in movies. Sarah is the only one that really made a good movie: still “I know what you did last Summers.” with Sarah being killed and ‘looks like a cheap small city whore’ was not a good way to break out in the movies.

Still Eliza did have a part in a movie, I forgotten it. She did make a appearance like after 10 minutes. By that time, I was not really interested in the movie and it was being shown very late at night.

 

[Cast No Shadow]

The only way all the cast members can break out from the Buffy the Vampire series. Would be if one of them gets nominated for an Oscar, or, win one. They had done minor work, commercials, guest shots on other series, limited roles in movies. Sarah is the only one that really made a good movie: still "I know what you did last Summers." with Sarah being killed and "˜looks like a cheap small city whore' was not a good way to break out in the movies.

Still Eliza did have a part in a movie, I forgotten it. She did make a appearance like after 10 minutes. By that time, I was not really interested in the movie and it was being shown very late at night.

What about Anthony Stewart-Head? He's done loads since BtVS.

 

[Ianigsy]

I don't think it's so much a case of being cursed as of producers having taken a chance on her because she brings a very loyal fanbase with her and that could make the difference between a project getting made or not. Eliza's performance as Faith made a massive impact, but while personally I think Eliza is very good in a certain kind of role, I'm not sure she's quite as versatile as you need to be to make an impression as a lead. Perhaps Dollhouse was part of an attempt to change that.

Part of the problem with Tru Calling was they kept purging the supporting cast every so often so Tru's family and friends kept appearing and disappearing.

 

[VisionGirl]

The only way all the cast members can break out from the Buffy the Vampire series. Would be if one of them gets nominated for an Oscar, or, win one. They had done minor work, commercials, guest shots on other series, limited roles in movies. Sarah is the only one that really made a good movie: still "I know what you did last Summers." with Sarah being killed and "˜looks like a cheap small city whore' was not a good way to break out in the movies.

Still Eliza did have a part in a movie, I forgotten it. She did make a appearance like after 10 minutes. By that time, I was not really interested in the movie and it was being shown very late at night.

Wow, I really disagree with this. If you look at the Filmography section of her Wikipedia entry, Eliza has done quite a lot: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Dushku

Not all actors break into the big-time. Not all actors cross over from TV to film well, or vice-versa. That doesn't necessarily gauge their acting ability. In fact, I disagree that the Oscars are the end-all/be-all on acting in general. I agree that it USED to be that way. But I think the perception of television is changing. There's a lot if academic interest in & appreciation for the medium of television.

I also agree with whoever said that a lot of Hollywood success can be attributed to luck and knowing the right people. There are a lot of underused/under appreciated attractive actors with good abilities. I also don't believe in curses, although I agree that cast chemistry is important in a show's success. There is also the issue in the way a show is promoted, which seemed to plague both Firefly & DH (& other shows), an Fox seems notorious for that.

I don't think Eliza is some kind of washed-up has-been. She's young and will hopefully have more opportunities in the future. Success doesn't have to mean being the lead in a show; we can all think of supporting actors & characters with incredibly great storylines & performances. And an individual actor doesn't necessarily consider their life fulfillment or career success in terms of how many lead roles they have.

OK, rant over. 🙂

 

[Aloverssoulz]

With Tru Calling I don't think there was anything about it that stood out and with Dollhouse I think they waited to long to get the story really going in season 1 and they lost their chance at getting viewers because of it. If season 1 had some great episodes like season 2 I think the show would have lasted 5-6 seasons because it would have hooked viewers.

Also, not to make any Eliza fans mad, but I don't think she's a strong enough actress to LEAD in a show.

I think she'd fit in great in a show like CSI or maybe even a roll in Bones, those shows would suit her personality more because they're mostly serious, but nothing light hearted like sitcoms. It felt awkward watching her in The Big Bang Theory.

I don't think she'll ever have a show where she is the main star that won't get canceled. Some actors just fit supporting roles better than starring ones. Not taking anything away from her by saying that 🙂

 

[Mr Giles]

If you believe in luck, you believe in fate!