Velvet Goldmine: Classic Christian Bale

Recently, while uploading some of my past articles, I came across one of the first I'd ever written -- a review of a little movie called Velvet Goldmine. Released in 1998 (I was in the Fall semester of my senior year in undergraduate college), the movie was a small film with limited distribution, mainly because no one knew who the "stars" of the film were, at the time.

Who were these "unknowns"?

Ewan MacGregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Eddie Izzard, Toni Collette, and some unknown Welsh actor named Christian Bale. 

To give you an idea of the times, the Internet was still in its infancy (dial-up connections were considered "edgy," especially if they were over 14.4kbps), many college students did not own their own computers (I was an exception), and independent films were considered "sub-standard." The Sundance Channel, launched only 2 years prior, was mostly reserved for "uppity" film students (I was a bio/classics double major, so I didn't qualify), and IFC was along the same lines. 

I even managed to get an interview with the director of the film, Todd Haynes.

The movie didn't do well, managing to make only $1.5 million on a budget of $9 million. However, costume designer Sandy Powell was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on the film, and won the BAFTA award in the same category.

For those who think that Hollywood only became short-sighted recently...

• Todd Haynes went on to direct I'm Not There, the Bob Dylan film starring the late Heath Ledger. (Talk about six degrees of separation!)
  
• Jonathan Rhys-Meyers went on to star in The Tudors (for which he won a Golden Globe) and received an Emmy nomination for his work in the Elvis miniseries. 
• Eddie Izzard went on to star in The Riches, and launched several successful comedy tours.
• Toni Collette went on to star in Muriel's Wedding, In Her Shoes (with Cameron Diaz), and currently stars in the acclaimed Showtime series United States of Tara.
• Ewan MacGregor went on to star in the Star Wars prequels The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, reprising the Obi-Wan Kenobi role originally made legendary by Sir Alec Guinness.
• Then there's Christian Bale...need I say more?

I knew I was onto something, even back then, when I wrote that article (linked above). Even though I was laughed at, I knew to hang on tight...and I was right. :-)
If Hollywood only knew then what they know now...