Word: jacksons
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...watching oneself is, as Jackson claims, all actors' secret pleasure, Jackson distinguishes himself from his peers in two ways: he cops to vanity, and his vanity has a track record for dovetailing with popular taste. "My agent is always looking for movies to get me the Academy Award, but I don't think like that," says Jackson, whose films have taken in more money at the box office than those of any other actor in history. "I want the movies I'm in to remind me of things I spent Saturday afternoons watching as a kid and then went home...
...story of how Jackson wished and willed Snakes aloft is already a legendary bit of movie lore. After production began, the studio, New Line, tried to change the title from the so-stupid-it's-brilliant Snakes on a Plane to the hopelessly generic Pacific Air 121 while also cutting out the geysers of scripted violence to get a PG-13 rating. Jackson summoned his "Am I the only sane man on earth?" streak of indignation to encourage like-minded moviegoers--who want to see snakes bite people in painful places while they try to join the mile-high club...
Snakes may cement Jackson's status as the multiplex's great populist--a title he has pursued for years. His early career, like those of most actors, was a series of frustrating absurdities. Jackson originated the role of Boy Willie in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson but was shunted to understudy when Charles S. Dutton became available. Jackson also spent two years as Bill Cosby's on-set stand-in for The Cosby Show. (He does a formidable Cos impression.) After Pulp Fiction made him famous in his mid-40s, Jackson settled into his current rhythm of mixing prestige...
...occasions when filmmakers don't take their material as seriously as he does (the phrase "best thing in a bad movie" has a way of lingering near him), Jackson is unafraid to get vocal. "The majority of producers and directors do maybe 12 movies in their careers," Jackson says. "I've done over 100 already. I've got a pretty good idea of what audiences want, and when my character dies for no goddam reason"--as has happened more times than he can count--"or we pull punches on the action, or the thing just doesn't make logical sense...
...course, Jackson mostly wants to entertain himself. So he will make sure to get to a Snakes screening on opening weekend--"I'm looking for a full theater, hopefully where people will shout at the screen," he says--and he remains in the hunt for his personal filmic holy grail. Not an Oscar-winning role ("Uh, have you seen some of the people who have Academy Awards?" he asks, laughing) but a genuine old-fashioned western. "I want horses," he says. "I want to stand in the middle of the street and see if I'm faster than somebody...