Why didn't Belinda Carlisle become a movie star?

I never ever gave a shit.

She auditioned for Howard the Duck but lost the role to Lea Thompson.

Priscilla Presley did it better and had the ability to stay on her mark and focus.

Probably too busy snorting half of Peru up her nose.

She couldn't act.

Her music career kept her busy and once that was past its peak, there wasn't buzz about her to help a movie career begin.

Sniff sniff sniff

Some people should stay in their lane.

Hollywood already had a blonde singing ingenue.

She dated Jonathan Demme and married the producer of Sex, Lie and Videotape so she should have at least given it the ole Susanna Hoffs try.

Too chubby.

Howard the Duck was the end of Lea Thompson’s career.

R11, she stopped being chubby in like 1984.

[quote]Howard the Duck was the end of Lea Thompson’s career.

Huh?

It could have been worse. She could have guest starred in Miami Vice.

Belinda is quite pretty, but between the weight fluctuations and the coke, well...

The 80s were a weird era for movie actresses. (Men carried the day, in general.) Kelly McGillis and Ellen Barkin would never have been cast as female leads in another decade, for example.

Not true. The 1970 was the really odd era - Streisand, Karen Black, Shelley Duvall etc.

*1970s

I can see her in Adventures in Babysitting or Mystic Pizza.

Could she have pulled off Amber von Tussle in HAIRSPRAY?

Could she have pulled off Amber von Tussle in HAIRSPRAY?

She was too old for Amber. She later played Velma in the London stage production.

Because she was, is and always will be a huge cunt

Her memoir "Lips Unsealed" could be adapted into a way better movie than Madonna's forthcoming life story, but even with CGI it's way too late for Belinda to play herself.

She's a drug addict. And a musician.

Seth Rogen just nailed musicians in his new book. He says they're on a different level of crazy than actors. Actors are forced to interact with tons of normal people on sets in the process of making movies and tv. Musicians can go years without interacting with normal people if they dont want to.

Why is being a musician a hindrance? Singers have to interpret song lyrics, which is a form of acting so it often lends itself well to performing in front of the camera. Think of all the singers-turned-actors like Streisand, Garland, Cher, Sinatra, Gaga...

[...]

She was a terrible singer, an even worse actress and she had no charisma and nobody was interested in her OP.

That's why.

[...]

As stated in her auto-bio, she is inherently very shy. That's why in so many of the gogo's group interviews, she appears aloof and above it all, while the other three are hyped up and "on." That, plus her on-again off-agin struggles with booze and drugs, aren't a good foundation for an actress who has yet to prove herself.

R30 the other FOUR of us!

I won't be forgotten again!

She did a spot on Grace Kelly in....

Bitchlinda is now in the Hall of Fame.

That cunt.

R32 Spot on Reese Witherspoon

Watch her delivery in the Go Go’s Bugle Boys commercial and you’ll understand why. I can’t imagine a whole movie of her ‘acting.’

I'm the ONLY movie star in The Go-Go's, assholes!

That is a lie, Jane.

I think it's not what she wanted. She certainly photographed beautifully with those amazing cheekbones.

Amazing cheekbones on a head as wide as an Edsel.

Only suitable on a Cinerama screen

Ain't too late to play Rizzo.

She could do Gypsy now.

She could have done Working Girl. I mean, didn't Melanie take a rehab break in the middle of filming?

Could she have done Evita?

I've never heard of her.

It’s still so strange to me how her solo career fizzled out here, but she continued to have hits for years around the globe. She was still putting out good music. Well, for what it was, Runaway Horses was a great album.

I think Belinda had potential. She should have done a sensual thriller like Sea of Love.

Fat, ugly, druggy, bitch-ass. Nuf said.

No R43. For a start - she couldn't sing.

Belinda's singing is remarkable!

Honestly, she’s never seemed very smart (all those drugs probably took their toll on her), and I can’t imagine her trying to memorize scripts and act out scenes. She just seems kind of dull.

Stunning R49!

She was one of the music industry's greatest beauties.

R45: I’ve always wondered why Runaway Horses wasn’t big for her in the US singles/album-wise like it was comparatively in the UK and Australia. It’s one of the best pop albums ever I think and the songs were perfect for radio at the time. All I can think is that it was down to her attitude/drug use and radio programmers/her record company didn’t like her so they didn’t give her airplay/didn’t bother promoting her.

R49: her version of this always makes me laugh for how bad it is. I give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she hated the song so much she put in an awful effort for the demo so she’d never be asked/made to properly record it.

[Quote] She just seems kind of dull.

Rip her to shreds!

She was twice Grammy nominated.

What are some roles you think she could have played? Maybe Camille Claudel or Madame Susatzka?

The kid sister in A League of Their Own.

R24 She said she would want Florence Pugh to play her if any movies about the Go Go's or her book come to fruition.

R49 that was just awful!

Why are we talking about this has been? You can tell from the 12 seconds of her in Swing Shift that she has no acting ability. The Go-Gos remain the most ridiculously overhyped group. Their significance is truly nothing, but every five years they haul their asses out and talk about their history. Their Broadway musical was one of the most embarrassing things I've ever seen....

I'm guessing she couldn't act for shit. She's not the most compelling speaker. But she was absolutely stunning from about '85 to '95 and photographed beautifully, so she could have gotten some small but glamorous roles if she had really wanted it.

Belinda would have been a HUGE star during the studio system. She'd have been a competitor with Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable. Check out her beauty in this video.

A huge star like June Haver?

Because she looked good and could sing, she should be an actor too? I know the place is littered with such types, but please no, thank fuck for one less bad actor.

[quote]What are some roles you think she could have played? Maybe Camille Claudel or Madame Susatzka? . Crowd scene.

Corpse #3.

Girl crushed by falling concrete in disaster movie.

^Crowd scene.

She'd have been wonderful in a remake of Moon Over Miami or Gilda. Seriously.

She could have done Pretty Woman.

R61: agree on the Go Go’s, I’ve never understood how they did so well or why they’re held up as being so great, and I love most of Belinda’s solo stuff. Vacation is their only song I can listen to.

The Go-Go's are iconic.

I'd watch a film starring Belinda Carlisle. She might have been able to pull off Something Wild.

There’s enough real up and coming actresses in Hollywood to cast without widening the net to include wannabe actresses.

There isn’t room at the table for everyone.

Part of her appeal is how ordinary looking she is. Well styled, well made-up, not ugly, but nothing special.

Unless she was a terrific actress what could she play? Styled like a character (rather than a lead singer) she would fade into the woodwork.

Disagree. Her bone structure is pretty incredbile.

*incredible

The only Go-Go who stands out in the videos is Jane Weiden. But they all are so awkward that it is hard to imagine any of them acting.

The GoGos what the number one girl group and she was a cutie among a crew of haints! She was the best looking of the GoGos. But in Hollywood she would have had to compete with other hotties who could actually ACT. She was good for commercials but I doubt she coulda carried a movie during that period due to other qualified actors.

If she were to come along today she woulda been a star! Acting doesn't matter as much now and her beautiful face and name recognition woulda been enough to get butts in the seats!

If Cindy Crawford got a movie lead, or Paulina Porizkova, why not Belinda?

Cindy Crawford at that time was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She was a step above even very very nice looking women. Someone like that is always gonna get cast. Belinda was nowhere near that level of beauty.

It is kinda like Arnold Schwarzenegger and that magnificent body. Most actors have nice bodies now, but few people in the world had a body like that during that time period. Everybody knows why he was cast - and it damn sure wasn't for his acting skills.

Who ever remembers what Cody Horn looks like. She was a lead in Magic Mike. Plenty of "undeserving" people get cast as leads.

R77 I think Jane is prettier than Belinda.

R81 That was then, this is now. Cody Horn was not around when Belinda was making her splash (almost 30 year age gap). Apples and Oranges.

Jane March was dreadful and Hollywood tried to push her briefly. There are lots of names that can be thrown out.

Mid-'80s Belinda offered us some major Ann-Margret swagger.

Why did Runaway Horses underperform for Belinda?

R86: I’ve always wondered this. The singles were all radio friendly and very ‘of the time’ in terms of what did well. Catchy, well-written, great choruses. All I can think is her drug use/attitude at the time made people not want to promote or support her at radio or at her own record company. I don’t know how Summer Rain especially wasn’t a #1 or at least a top ten hit.

^ I’m talking US charts above. The album did well in the UK and Australia

Total nothing booger

She was and is so beautiful.

I'd pay to watch a movie with Belinda. She could have done Working Girl or something similar with a good director.

⛷ ❄️ ⛄️. She was dedicated to her favorite pastime

She married actor James Mason’s son (Morgan Mason) and has one son who came out to Herat age 14.

Morgan Mason worked for Ronald Reagan and was involved in Sex, Lies and Videotapes.

(Are they Republicans?)

Anyhoo, they left LA and moved to Southeastern France in the early 1990s. Then in 2017, they moved to Thailand!

The move outside the US may explain why Carlisle’s career performed better internationally.

Surprising that her marriage lasted given her intense drug and alcohol use. Has anyone here read her biography? Her home life (pre Go-Go’s) sounds tumultuous.

Always thought she was attractive, but her substance abuse, eating disorders and time appear to have taken a toll....

[R62], that youtube clip is mesmerizing. She so clearly has to force herself to even speak. The way she kept looking down and away seems to reveal an awkwardness most performers would have managed to overcome by that stage of their career. And the interviewer spent most of the time drilling her with questions about her recovery, wh. was just idiotic. It wasn't an N/A speakers meeting, for fuck's sake. She was there to promote her album.

R93 She supported Bernie Sanders in the lastest Democratic primary.

So gorgeous. She'd have been breathtaking on the big screen.

Ugh I hope the Dead or Alive music video troll and the Belinda C stan who posts a different thread on her weekly—spontaneously combust.

She tried but Irene Cara got all the roles meant for Belinda.

No relent

No talent

When you look like this, you don't need to have Meryl's acting ability.

Irene Cara had nicer breasts. That’s why.

OP, can she act?

R103, does it matter? Julia Roberts can't act and she's a huge movie star because she looks a certain way.

Belinda Carlisle is June Allyson in Incontinence.

How about a rock musical version of Morning's at 7

Could Belinda Carlisle have played Breathless Mahoney as well as Madonna?

she was very glamorous in the late '80s. I can see that transitioning to big screen stardom.

I'm surprised Herbert Ross didn't latch onto her and cast her as Shelby in Steel Magnolias.

I can't see Belinda carrying off any type of accent other than her native Valley Girl.

R110, she recorded an album in French without a Valley girl accent.

Cocaine.

Belinda was up for Viola Davis's part in "The Help" but Jane Weidlin talked her out of it.

If she'd stayed with Jonathan Demme, maybe he'd have directed her in Something Wild.

Belinda turned down the girlfriend role in Rain Man.

The most airbrushed photo set Playboy ever published.

"Quite big tits"

R93 whoa 😳

R116: wow. She must have had a stipulation that the photos would be made to look like paintings though surely. That can’t just be ‘iron out a few wrinkles’ air brushing.

It's tricky to find non-childhood, pre-nosejob pics of Belinda.

It's surprising that she got one while still in her punk era.

Who are the 3 year-olds that ask all these stupid questions?

Great fake tits but why the bush? I thought women wanted to be hard wood floors downstairs ?

A bush allows them to basically only pose topless. Not every woman wants to show lotsa pink.