John Travolta - 100 Years of Movie Posters - 78

A Chronology of John Travolta Movie Posters 1977-2012

John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey on the 18th February 1954. He has been Oscar Nominated twice - for Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Pulp Fiction (1994).

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Saturday Night Fever (1977) Directed by John Badham. 118mins.

John Travolta - Tony Manero

Also starring Karen Lynn Gorney, Joseph Cali, Barry Miller, Paul Pape and Donna Pescow.

Based on a New York Magazine article titled "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night" describing the popularity of disco clubs in the 1970's.

John Travolta had small roles in the horror movies The Devil's Rain (1975) and Carrie (1976) before being cast as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever.

The soundtrack LP featuring the Bee Gees and other artists was for a while the biggest selling pop album of all time.

Oscar Nomination for Best Actor (John Travolta).

IMDB rating 6.7

Grease (1978) Directed by Randal Kleiser. 110mins.

John Travolta - Danny Zuko
Olivia Newton-John - Sandy Olsen

Also starring Jeff Conaway, Stockard Channing, Eve Arden, Joan Blondell, Sid Caesar, Edd Byrnes and Frankie Avalon.

Based on the stage musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey which first opened on Broadway in 1972.

Richard Gere played Danny in the 1973 London stage production of Grease and Barry Bostwick was Danny on Broadway.

Grease became the 4th highest grossing movie of all time at the end of the 1970's, the top 3 were Star Wars, Jaws and Gone With the Wind.

Oscar Nomination for Best Song - Olivia Newton-John ("Hopelessy Devoted to You")

Cost $6m - Box Office $386m

IMDB rating 7.1

Urban Cowboy (1980) Directed by James Bridges. 132mins.

John Travolta - Bud Davis

Also starring Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith, Barry Corbin and Brooke Alderson.

Michelle Pfeiffer was considered for the female lead.

Golden Globe Nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Debra Winger).

Box Office $53.3m

IMDB rating 5.9

Blow Out (1981) Directed by Brian De Palma. 107mins

John Travolta - Jack Terry

Also starring Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden and Curt May.

Brian De Palma originally wanted Al Pacino for the lead role.

Cost $18m - Box Office $12m

IMDB rating 7.3

Staying Alive (1983) Directed by Sylvester Stallone. 93mins.

John Travolta - Tony Manero

Also starring Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso and Charles Ward.

Sequel to Saturday Night Fever with Travolta reprising his Oscar-nominated role.

Sylvester Stallone has a brief walk on cameo.

Nominated for 3 Razzie Awards - Worst Actor (John Travolta), Worst Supporting Actress (Finola Hughes) and Worst New Star (Finola Hughes).

Box Office $65m (US)

IMDB rating 4.1

Two of a Kind (1983) Directed by John Herzfeld. 88mins.

John Travolta - Zack Melon
Olivia Newton-John - Debbie Wylder

Also starring Charles Durning, Oliver Reed, Beatrice Straight and Scatman Crothers.

Romantic fantasy reuniting the two stars of Grease (1978).

Razzie Award voters had fun picking on Travolta again nominating him for Worst Actor.

Box Office - $23.6m (US)

IMDB rating 4.2

Perfect (1985) Directed by James Brdiges. 115mins.

John Travolta - Adam Lawrence
Jamie Lee Curtis - Jessie Wilson

Also starring Jann Wenner, Marilu Henner, Laraine Newma and Anne De Salvo.

Nominated for 3 Razzie awards including, you guessed it, Worst Actor (John Travolta).

Cost $20m - Box Office $13m (US)

IMDB rating 3.9

Look Who's Talking (1989) Directed by Amy Heckerling. 93mins.

John Travolta - James
Kirstie Alley - Mollie
Bruce Willis - voice of Mikey

Also starring Olympia Dukakis, George Segal and Abe Vigoda.

Kirstie Alley mentions in her autobiography that she fell in love with Travolta during filming but stayed faithful to her husband.

People's Choice Award for Favourite Comedy Film

(What no Razzie noms this year?)

Cost $7.5m - Box Office $297m

IMDB rating 5.7

The surprise success of Look Who's Talking led to two sequels which again starred John Travolta and Kirstie Alley -

Look Who's Taking Too (1990) Directed by Amy Heckerling. Box Office $47.7m (US)

Look Who's Talking Now (1993) Directed by Tom Ropelewski. Box Office $10.3m (US)

Pulp Fiction (1994) Directed by Quentin Tarantino. 154mins.

John Travolta - Vincent Vega
Samuel L. Jackson - Jules Winnfield
Bruce Willis - Butch Coolidge
Uma Thurman - Mia Wallace

Also starring Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Maria de Medeiros and Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace.

Tarantino's magnum opus gave a boost to Travolta's career and instantly made the director a household name worldwide.

Awarded the top prize at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d'Or.

Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (John Travolta), Best Supporting Actor (Samuel L. Jackson) and Best Supporting Actress (Uma Thurman), winning 1 - Best Screenplay.

Nominated for 6 Golden Globe Awards winning 1 - Best Screenplay.

Cost $8.5m - Box Office $214m

IMDB rating 9.0

Get Shorty (1995) Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. 105mins.

John Travolta - Chili Palmer
Gene Hackman - Harry Zimm
Rene Russo - Karen Flores
Danny DeVito - Martin Weir

Also starring Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo and James Gandolfini.

Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, first published in 1990.

Warren Beatty was offered the role of Chilli Palmer but turned it down.

Cost $30.2m - Box Office $115.1m

IMDB rating 6.9

Broken Arrow (1996) Directed by John Woo. 108mins.

John Travolta - Maj. Vic Deakins
Christian Slater - Capt. Riley Hale

Also starring Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Bob Gunton and Frank Whaley.

The phrase "Broken Arrow" in the US military can mean the loss and accidental use of a nuclear weapon.

Helen Hunt and Jennifer Aniston were considered for the female lead.

MTV Movie Awards nominations for Best Villain (Travolta), Best Fight and Best Action Sequence.

Cost $55m - Box Office $150.2m

IMDB rating 5.9

Phenomenon (1996) Directed by Jon Turteltaub. 123mins.

John Travolta - George Malley

Also starring Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall, Richard Kiley and Brent Spiner.

Ed Harris and Sean Penn were on the shortlist for the lead role.

Saturn Award Nomination for Best Fantasy Film.

Cost $32m - Box Office $152m

IMDB rating 6.3

Michael (1996) Directed by Nora Ephron. 105mins.

John Travolta - Michael

Also starring Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins, Robert Pastorelli and Jean Stapleton.

Fantasy romance. Travolta plays the archangel Michael, vacationing on Earth.

Cost $45m - Box Office $119.7m

IMDB rating 5.5

Face/Off (1997) Directed by John Woo. 138mins.

John Travolta - Sean Archer
Nicolas Cage - Castor Troy

Also starring Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain and Nick Cassavetes.

The story originally took place in the future but director John Woo wanted it in the present.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were the first choices for the face swap but John Woo wanted to work with Travolta again.

Oscar Award Nomination for Best Sound Effects Editing.

Nominated for 9 Saturn Awards winning 2 - Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Cost $80m - Box Office $245.6m

IMDB rating 7.3

Mad City (1997) Directed by Costa-Gavras. 115mins.

Dustin Hoffman - Max Brackett
John Travolta - Sam Baily

Also starring Mia Kirshner, Alan Alda, Robert Prosky, Blythe Danner and William Atherton.

Tagline - One man will make a mistake. The other will make it a spectacle.

Cost $50m - Box Office $10.5m (US)

IMDB rating 6.1

Primary Colors (1998) Directed by Mike Nichols. 143mins.

John Travolta - Governor Jack Stanton
Emma Thompson - Susan Stanton

Also starring Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Adrian Lester and Larry Hagman.

Inspired by real life events, Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign.

Nominated for 2 Oscars - Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Kathy Bates).

Golden Globe Nominations for Best Actor (John Travolta) and Best Supporting Actress (Kathy Bates).

Cost $65m - Box Office $52m

IMDB rating 6.6

A Civil Action (1998) Directed by Steven Zaillian. 115mins.

John Travolta - Jan Schlichtmann

Also starring Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy, John Lithgow and Kathleen Quinlan.

From the novel by Jonathan Harr, published in 1996 and based on true events.

Nominated for 2 Oscars - Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall) and Best Cinematography.

Golden Globe Nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall).

Cost $75m - Box Office $112.2m

IMDB rating 6.4

The General's Daughter (1999) Directed by Simon West. 116mins.

John Travolta - Paul Brenner

Also starring Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Leslie Stefanson and James Woods.

Military murder mystery based on the novel by Nelson DeMille, first published in 1992.

Bruce Willis and Michael Douglas were considered for the lead role.

Cost $95m (!) - Box Office $149.7m

IMDB rating 6.1

Battlefield Earth (2000) Directed by Roger Christian. 118mins.

John Travolta - Terl

Also starring Forest Whitaker, Barry Pepper, Kim Coates, Sabine Karsenti and Michael Byrne.

Set in the year 3000. Earth is under occupation by the Psychlos, tall humanoid aliens with dreadlocks covering their large heads.

Disastrous adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard's epic, 1000 page novel of alien invasion, first published in 1982. The book was a bestseller and deserved a better movie but who would dare film it again?

The film gave Razzie voters something to cheer about and celebrate.

Nominated for 8 Razzie Awards winning 7 including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Actor (Travolta).

Special Razzie Award - Worst Picture of the Decade! (presented in 2010)

Cost $44m - Box Office $29.7m

IMDB rating 2.4

Swordfish (2001) Directed by Dominic Sena. 99mins.

John Travolta - Gabriel Shear
Hugh Jackman - Stanley Jobson
Halle Berry - Ginger Knowles

Also starring Don Cheadle, Sam Shepard and Vinnie Jones.

Halle Berry was paid an extra $500,000 to bare her breasts in the film.

Nominated for 4 World Stunt Awards.

Cost $102m - Box Office $147m

IMDB rating 6.4

Basic (2003) Directed by John McTiernan. 98mins.

John Travolta - Col. Tom Hardy
Connie Nielsen - Capt. Julia Osborne
Samuel L. Jackson - Sgt. Nathan West

Also starring Tim Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Brian Van Holt and Taye Diggs.

Military mystery thriller in the Rashomon style.

Cost $50m - Box Office $43m

IMDB rating 6.4

The Punisher (2004) Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. 124mins (140mins)

Thomas Jane - Frank Castle / The Punisher
John Travolta - Howard Saint

Also starring Roy Scheider, Will Patton, Rebecca Romijn, Laura Harring and Ben Foster.

Based on the Marvel Comics character who made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974).

Dolph Lundgren was the first actor to play Frank Castle aka The Punisher in a 1989 film directed by Mark Goldblatt

The Punisher would be rebooted again in the movie Punisher: War Zone (2008) starring Ray Stevenson and directed by Lexi Alexander..

Nominated for 4 Stunt Awards winning 1 - Best Fire Stunt.

Cost $33m - Box Office $54.7m

IMDB rating 6.4

Ladder 49 (2004) Directed by Jay Russell. 115mins.

Joaquin Phoenix - Jack Morrison
John Travolta - Captain Mike Kennedy

Also starring Jacinda Barrett, Robert Patrick, Billy Burke and Balthazar Getty.

World Stunt Award nomination for Best High Work.

Tagline - A bond forged by fire is never broken.

Cost $60m - Box Office $102.3m

IMDB rating 6.4

Be Cool (2005) Directed by F. Gary Gray. 118mins.

John Travolta - Chili Palmer
Uma Thurman - Edie Athens

Also starring Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Harvey Keitel, Dwayne Johnson, Danny DeVito and James Woods.

Sequel to Get Shorty and based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard, published in 1999.

Halle Berry and Charlize Theron were considered for the female lead but John Travolta called up his Pulp Fiction co-star to join the production.

World Stunt Award nomination for Best Fire Stunt.

Cost $53m - Box Office $95.2m

IMDB rating 5.6

Wild Hogs (2007) Directed by Walt Becker. 100mins.

Tim Allen - Doug Madsen
John Travolta - Woody Stevens
Martin Lawrence - Bobby Davis
William H. Macy - Dudley Frank

Also starring Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Durand and Peter Fonda.

Despite negative reviews this was Travolta's biggest grossing film in years.

World Stunt Award nomination for Best Specialty Stunt.

Cost $60m - Box Office $253.6m

IMDB rating 5.9

Hairspray (2007) Directed by Adam Shankman. 117mins.

John Travolta - Edna Turnblad
Michelle Pfeiffer - Velma Von Tussle
Christopher Walken - Wilbur Turnblad

Also starring Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow and Zac Efron.

Based on the Broadway musical of 2002 which was itself based on the 1988 comedy directed by John Waters.

It took 4 hours each day to make up John Travolta into Edna.

Nominated for 3 Golden Globe Awards - Best Motion Picture Comedy / Musical, Best Actress (Nikki Blonsky) and Best Supporting Actress (John Travolta).

Cost $75m - Box Office $202.5m

IMDB rating 6.9

Bolt (2008) Directed by Byron Howard & Chris Williams. 96mins.

John Travolta - Bolt (voice)

Also starring Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, James Lipton and Malcolm McDowell.

Filmed in 3D

Oscar Nomination for Best Animated Film.

Golden Globe Nominations for Best Animated Film and Best Song.

Cost $150m - Box Office $310m

IMDB rating 7.0

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Directed by Tony Scott. 106mins.

Denzel Washington - Walter Garber
John Travolta - Ryder

Also starring Luis Guzmán, John Turturro, Victor Gojcaj and James Gandolfini.

Based on the novel by Morton Freedgood, published in 1973.

First filmed in 1974, directed by Joseph Sargent and starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.

Cost $100m - Box Office $150.1m

IMDB rating 6.4

Old Dogs (2009) Directed by Walt Becker. 88mins.

John Travolta - Charlie Reed
Robin Williams - Dan rayburn

Also starring Kelly Preston, Lori Loughlin, Seth Green, Bernie Mac and Matt Dillon.

The movie is dedicated to Travolta's son Jett, who died in Jan 2009, and to Bernie Mac who died in Aug 2008.

Nominated for 5 Razzie Awards including Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Actor (Travolta).

Cost $35m - Box Office $96.7m

IMDB rating 5.1

From Paris With Love (2010) Directed by Pierre Morel. 92mins.

John Travolta - Charlie Wax
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - James Reece

Also starring Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden, Bing Yin and Amber Rose Revah.

Tagline - Two agents. One city. No merci

Cost $52m - Box Office $52.8m

IMDB rating 6.4

Savages (2012) Directed by Oliver Stone. 131mins (141mins)

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, Emile Hirsch and John Travolta as DEA Agent Dennis.

Based on the novel by Don Winslow, published in 2010.

Tom Hardy, James Franco and Leonardo DiCaprio were considered for the Aaron Taylor-Johnson role.

Amber Heard, Olivia Wilde and Jennifer Lawrence were on the shortlist for the Blake Lively role.

Cost $45m - Box Office $83m

IMDB rating 6.6