Sarah fans had SO MUCH to look forward to.
Revelover (The Return)
Southland Tales
The Grudge 2
Happily Never After
The Girls Guide To Hunting And Fishing (Suburban Girl)
The Air I Breathe
Addicted (Possession)
Were all in the works for her.
Remember?
You, a salty water ocean wave.
Knock, me down and kiss my face.
A lot of those choices she made back then contributed to the way her career has ended up, though. Double edged sword.
She has had some bad luck along the way with the way some of her films were released/distributed, no doubt, but I have to say, with hindsight and everything, I question quite a few of her (and her agent's, possibly?) decisions.
"Sweetie, go get mommy's bazooka."
Well yeah, we know how most of these indie movies ended up...
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We cant blame her for the push backs and terrible promo though.
You, a salty water ocean wave.
Knock, me down and kiss my face.
Well, I did say she had some bad luck in that regard. But I don't think fullscale promo campaigns, etc. would've saved many - or any of these films. She had a not-so-good run. I wouldn't say any of her post-"BtVS" movies are outright terrible, but most of them are pretty middling.
I've often wondered if Sarah was either too used to being the lead after 7 years on "BtVS", or was paranoid about maintaining a sort of 'leading lady' status, at that time, and this influenced her choices somewhat.
She had such a strong start with "The Grudge", as well. 😞
"Sweetie, go get mommy's bazooka."
She wasn't the lead in either Southland Tales or The Air I Breathe. Nothing to suggest she had issues not being the star.
Her problems are easy to see. 1) Some poor choices. 2) All the damned breaks.
Make a film, 6-month break. Film/break. Film/break. When making indies, there's as good a shot they'll never see the light of day as there is it'll be released. You have to constantly work if you want hopes of exposure. She chose not to and as a result of some bad luck, the general public thinks she died in 2004.
She wasn't the lead in either Southland Tales or The Air I Breathe. Nothing to suggest she had issues not being the star.
It can't be a coincidence that the two movies with the most logical reasons for doing them, Southland Tales (director's followup to Donnie Darko) was an obvious yes for quite a few actors and The Air I Breathe (very good cast, films with interconnecting stories were at least of interest around that time) were the ones that feature ensemble casts. I think Sakura might have a valid point that actors sometimes feel that they have to be the lead or at least co-lead of a film when they have a certain status in the industry.
Her problems are easy to see. 1) Some poor choices. 2) All the damned breaks.
Make a film, 6-month break. Film/break. Film/break. When making indies, there's as good a shot they'll never see the light of day as there is it'll be released. You have to constantly work if you want hopes of exposure. She chose not to and as a result of some bad luck, the general public thinks she died in 2004.
Not sure about "all of the damned breaks" since I dont know when she filmed certain films compared to when they were actually released. If problem number 1 was making bad choices working more often could have just meant more bad choices. You are correct that if an indie film does not make it to one of the top film festivals, chances are the film is barely going to get released to theaters before coming to DVD. Which actually was mentioned during this TV drama actress roundtable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTD0u-O1uvM.
I think Sakura might have a valid point that actors sometimes feel that they have to be the lead or at least co-lead of a film when they have a certain status in the industry.
Sometimes, sure. There isn't much in her choices to suggest that was a problem for her, however. Those are the times when she had about as much pull as she ever would, in 2004 and 2005. I haven't read anything to support she ever didn't do a project because she wouldn't be top billing.
Most of the reasons she has ever given are taking breaks or it was her husband's turn, which I believe is why she turned down Stardust. Obviously it could be covering.
It's only my speculation, but I think her experience on Buffy and later on The Grudge's promo tour burned her out. Since those commitments she made prior to that were filmed, she's barely worked much at all. Whether it's by choice or fallout from lack of success is up to the reader. Comments made during that suggested to me she did not enjoy the minutia of the film promo circuits.
'Posession' wasn't even fully released, and when it was released on small scale in 2009 it was marketed it as a horror.
The entire performance of that film would have been different had it been released when it was meant to be in 2008 and Sarah promoted it.
You, a salty water ocean wave.
Knock, me down and kiss my face.