Follow a Doctor or Nurse around for a day, head out with a policeman or someone from the Armed Forces, look at one of those jobs of the people who climb all over electricity pylons all day, follow a paramedic or ambulance person.

Very nicely put, and thanks Richard.

We're the unsung heroes of this world obsessed with superficiality. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. I have my own favorite actors but I am not putting them on the pedestal. Let's call a spade a spade shall we Mr. Miller?

no one could say it better, Richard.

i'm wondering just how much of that is how he really feels, though, and how much of it is him kissing some serious tail hoping to pull more respectable actors into his adaptations.

Well that's a relief. Richard, as much as I enjoy your articles, it's been slightly bothering me that I always seem to agree with them. Limits the scope for lively discussion. But this is one that I'll take (a bit of) issue with. Ok, so Millers comments sound a bit OTT, film actors aren't a superior form of life and their jobs aren't as worthwhile as those of teachers or nurses. However, see it from his point of view. For years the guy's been toiling away in the less glamorous world of comic books and suddenly his graphic novels are all the rage for movie adaptations and he's given the chance to direct films himself and work with these people. These actors are very charismatic and beautiful otherwise we wouldn't spend hundreds of millions of pounds buying tickets to watch them on the big screen. (I mean, Simone even thinks Hayden Christensen's charismatic. Sorry..couldn't resist that.) Richard, like me, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a few ideas for film scripts rattling around in your head. It doesn't happen for many people but you never know, it's not completely beyond the bounds of possibility that one of these might get completed and filmed. My suspicion is that if you ever actually met Scarlett Johansson yourself you'd probably dissolve into a pool of mush. I'm pretty sure I would. I think that all Miller did was give an honest account of his reaction to actually meeting some of these people face to face.

Tim says, Simone even thinks Hayden Christensen's charismatic. Sorry..couldn't resist that.

*chuckles*

But he is charismatic Tim! I saw him perform live on stage just before Attack of the Clones was released. But that's beside the point. Miller used the word intelligence, wisdom and gravitas to describe these actors, I bet their brilliant, superb, fantastic, but it is a tad OTT to use that term to define them even coming to undesrstand it from his point of view. Is he not in touch with common people every day who can exude as much intelligence, wisdom and gravitas to their chosen field of work? I challenge him that.

Anyway, nice to see you back Tim. ;)

Nice to be back, Simone. Actually, gags aside, I've heard Mr Christensen is a pretty good stage actor and although you'll never convince me that he wasn't wooden as anything in the Star Wars prequels, so was Natalie Portman and she's been great in everything else I've seen her in. I'll never understand how Lucas could have got the dynamics between his characters so wrong in the later movies when he got them so right between Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in the earlier ones. Still that's a whole other discussion and kind of out of date too..

How could it bother you that you agree? Surely that means you've found someone who's reviews you can believe in to decide on your own film viewing - to me that's the most important thing for the reviewers/critics that I read.

That aside, I guess it does get difficult to keep agreeing...however I'm definitely not going to become controversial and deliberately aggressive just to get rises!

Seriously, I'm glad you agree, and I'm also glad you don't on this one!

You're right, if I met Scarlett I would be complete mush. but would I cast her in a film about Mary Queen of Scots for example? No way.