Haley Joel Osment Movies
For audiences around the world whose ears ring with the haunting and fateful revelation of a child tortured by terrifying visions of the afterlife, Haley Joel Osment may forever be linked to his role in what would rank among the most popular supernatural thrillers ever made, The Sixth Sense (1999). An Oscar nominee at the age of 11, Osment quickly became one of the most recognized and versatile young actors working in film, proving to audiences that his talents exceeded typecasting by constantly tackling new and challenging roles and characterizations.Born in Los Angeles, CA, on April 10, 1988, Osment set his acting career into motion, as many actors do, by appearing in commercials and taking small roles on television. Accompanied by his father to an audition for a Pizza Hut commercial and initially discouraged by the overwhelming amount of children vying for the role, Osment eventually stuck out the wait at his father's request and landed the role that would launch his career. Soon making his feature debut as the son of the titular shrimp slinger in the phenomenally successful Forrest Gump in 1994, Osment alternated between television (Murphy Brown and The Jeff Foxworthy Show) and film (Mixed Nuts and Bogus) while frequently appearing in such made-for-TV movies as The Ransom of Red Chief before making his breakthrough in director M. Night Shayamalan's The Sixth Sense.
Following the success of The Sixth Sense with the well-intended but fatally flawed feel-good failure Pay It Forward, Osment escaped relatively unscathed as critics recognized the young actor's exceptional performance in what was otherwise a flop with critics and audiences alike. Imagination was the key to Osment's next project: director Steven Spielberg's long-anticipated, much-hyped A.I. An elaborately futuristic tale of an android that aspires to experience human emotion, A.I. was the first and only collaboration of two of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, the late Stanley Kubrick (who conceived the story based on Brian Aldiss' short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long) and Spielberg. In addition to appearing onscreen, Osment lent his voice to a number of animated films in 2000 and 2001, including the Disney sequels The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and The Jungle Book II. After once again providing voice work for the comedy musical The Country Bears, Osment returned to the screen body intact with Secondhand Lions in 2003. Cast as an intorverted youngster whose irresponsible mother sends him off to spend his summer with his eccentric uncles in Texas, Osment's onscreen abilities were key in making his character's transformation from withdrawn child to responsible young man believable. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A holiday comedy with dark overtones, Mixed Nuts presents a supposedly humorous look at the behind-the-scenes events at a crisis hotline on Christmas Eve. Philip (Steve Martin) runs Lifesavers, a Venice, California organization dedicated to helping the depressed and troubled. Unfortunately, Philip is a bit down himself, having learned that Lifesavers is on the verge of eviction. His staff isn't feeling particularly helpful either, with Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) giving gruff, often insulting advice, and Catherine (Rita Wilson) obsessing over her own unspoken love for Philip. As the holiday approaches, various weirdoes of all shapes and sizes -- from to a pregnant clothing store owner (Juliette Lewis) to a disenchanted Santa Claus (Anthony LaPaglia) -- begin dropping in, throwing the already strained office into utter chaos. Director Nora Ephron followed her smash success Sleepless in Seattle with this remake of the cult 1982 French comedy Le Père Noël est une Ordure, co-authoring the script with her sister Delia Ephron. However, Mixed Nuts met with little box office or critical approval, with most viewers finding the film's manic farce disappointingly forced and abrasive. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, (more)
- 1994
Larry (Garry Shandling) was already skating on thin ice with the network following his departure from the show, and now the suits upstairs are quickly tiring of Larry's constant on-air barbs made at their expense. Despite Artie's (Rip Torn) persistent pleas for him to let up, Larry's venom only becomes more potent. When Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) is injured during a skit, the network bigwigs finally decide to draw a line in the sand. With Artie's job and the future of the show on the line, Larry finally relents and offers an on-air apology...though Hank's subsequent threat to sue the network brings about an even more troublesome dilemma. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
"Stupid is as stupid does," says Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks in an Oscar-winning performance) as he discusses his relative level of intelligence with a stranger while waiting for a bus. Despite his sub-normal IQ, Gump leads a truly charmed life, with a ringside seat for many of the most memorable events of the second half of the 20th century. Entirely without trying, Forrest teaches Elvis Presley to dance, becomes a football star, meets John F. Kennedy, serves with honor in Vietnam, meets Lyndon Johnson, speaks at an anti-war rally at the Washington Monument, hangs out with the Yippies, defeats the Chinese national team in table tennis, meets Richard Nixon, discovers the break-in at the Watergate, opens a profitable shrimping business, becomes an original investor in Apple Computers, and decides to run back and forth across the country for several years. Meanwhile, as the remarkable parade of his life goes by, Forrest never forgets Jenny (Robin Wright Penn), the girl he loved as a boy, who makes her own journey through the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s that is far more troubled than the path Forrest happens upon. Featured alongside Tom Hanks are Sally Field as Forrest's mother; Gary Sinise as his commanding officer in Vietnam; Mykelti Williamson as his ill-fated Army buddy who is familiar with every recipe that involves shrimp; and the special effects artists whose digital magic place Forrest amidst a remarkable array of historical events and people. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
- 1988
Making its first appearance on November 14, 1988, the long-running, Emmy-winning CBS sitcom Murphy Brown starred Candice Bergen as the title character, the driving, driven, often overbearing but essentially likable star reporter of the Washington, D.C.-based TV magazine "FYI." A thorough professional, Murphy never gave less than her best before the cameras -- but behind the cameras, it was a different story. Constitutionally incapable of doing anything by halves, Murphy told her colleagues exactly what she thought of them at all times, seldom made a comment that wasn't laced with sarcasm, and was addicted to tobacco and, for a while, booze (this last shortcoming required her to do some time at the Betty Ford Clinic). Though the rest of the "FYI" staffers were accustomed to Murphy's mood swings and idiosyncrasies, outsiders tended to be scared off by our heroine: indeed, one of the series' most famous running gags was the fact that Murphy had a different secretary in practically every episode! Also in the cast were Charles Kimbrough as "FYI"'s uptight, humorless anchorman Jim Dial; Joe Regalbuto as the show's gonzo (and obviously toupeed) investigative reporter Frank Fontana, Faith Ford as "FYI"'s voluptuous, somewhat vacuous cub reporter and ex-Miss America Corky Sherwood, who considered Murphy to be her role model (often to Murphy's dismay) and who eventually married staff writer Will Forest (Scott Bryce), thereby becoming -- are you ready? -- Mrs. Corky Sherwood Forest; and Grant Shaud as "FYI"'s nebbishy executive producer Miles Silverberg, not exactly what one would call a born leader of men (or of Murphy!).
When not on the set of her show, Murphy could be found in her townhouse apartment, often conversing with quirky, philosophy-spouting house painter Eldin Bernecky (Robert Pastorelli), who spent day and night trying to finish redecorating Murphy's living room -- a job he still hadn't entirely completed when he left the series in season seven. Murphy also hung out with her co-workers at a neighborhood bar owned by another erstwhile philosopher named Phil (Pat Corley), at least until he reportedly died, whereupon Murphy and company purchased the bar themselves (as it turned out, reports of Phil's death were slightly exaggerated -- by Phil!). Additionally, Jay Thomas appeared intermittently as Geraldo-like journalist Jerry Gold, with whom Murphy frequently clashed -- when they weren't romancing one another, that is. As the series progressed, the basic throughline, and the characters, underwent a few changes. After her divorce from Will Forest, Corky eloped with Miles Silverberg, though she stayed in Washington when he left to run a CNN-style news service in New York. Murphy's brief fling with her ex-husband, Jake (Robin Thomas), produced a baby named Avery (who apparently grew up rather quickly, since he was played during the final season by Haley Joel Osment) -- and also stirred up a controversy when no less than Vice President Dan Quayle chastised Murphy Brown for eroding "family values" in America by bearing a child out of wedlock. Later on, dashing international reporter Peter Hunt (Scott Bakula) joined the "FYI" staff, sweeping Murphy off her feet and ultimately asking her to marry him (she didn't). Other additions to the cast included Garry Marshall as new network president Stan Lansing, who waged an ongoing war with Murphy over her non-PC attitude; Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) as Stan's whiny nephew Andrew, who was forced upon Murphy as her secretary -- and actually kept the job for more than a single episode; Christopher Rich as "FYI" co-anchor Miller Redfield, just the sort of gorgeous-looking, empty-headed TV personality whom Murphy despised with every fibre of her being; and Lily Tomlin as Kay Carter-Shepley, "FYI"'s imperious, and not altogether competent, new executive producer. In addition to the main and supporting cast, the series featured a number of real-life news personalities as "themselves," among them Walter Cronkite, Connie Chung, Larry King, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn. The series' tenth and final season found Murphy undergoing treatment for breast cancer, an outwardly grim situation that, amazingly enough, never intruded upon the laughter. Murphy Brown ended its network run on August 10, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When not on the set of her show, Murphy could be found in her townhouse apartment, often conversing with quirky, philosophy-spouting house painter Eldin Bernecky (Robert Pastorelli), who spent day and night trying to finish redecorating Murphy's living room -- a job he still hadn't entirely completed when he left the series in season seven. Murphy also hung out with her co-workers at a neighborhood bar owned by another erstwhile philosopher named Phil (Pat Corley), at least until he reportedly died, whereupon Murphy and company purchased the bar themselves (as it turned out, reports of Phil's death were slightly exaggerated -- by Phil!). Additionally, Jay Thomas appeared intermittently as Geraldo-like journalist Jerry Gold, with whom Murphy frequently clashed -- when they weren't romancing one another, that is. As the series progressed, the basic throughline, and the characters, underwent a few changes. After her divorce from Will Forest, Corky eloped with Miles Silverberg, though she stayed in Washington when he left to run a CNN-style news service in New York. Murphy's brief fling with her ex-husband, Jake (Robin Thomas), produced a baby named Avery (who apparently grew up rather quickly, since he was played during the final season by Haley Joel Osment) -- and also stirred up a controversy when no less than Vice President Dan Quayle chastised Murphy Brown for eroding "family values" in America by bearing a child out of wedlock. Later on, dashing international reporter Peter Hunt (Scott Bakula) joined the "FYI" staff, sweeping Murphy off her feet and ultimately asking her to marry him (she didn't). Other additions to the cast included Garry Marshall as new network president Stan Lansing, who waged an ongoing war with Murphy over her non-PC attitude; Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) as Stan's whiny nephew Andrew, who was forced upon Murphy as her secretary -- and actually kept the job for more than a single episode; Christopher Rich as "FYI" co-anchor Miller Redfield, just the sort of gorgeous-looking, empty-headed TV personality whom Murphy despised with every fibre of her being; and Lily Tomlin as Kay Carter-Shepley, "FYI"'s imperious, and not altogether competent, new executive producer. In addition to the main and supporting cast, the series featured a number of real-life news personalities as "themselves," among them Walter Cronkite, Connie Chung, Larry King, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn. The series' tenth and final season found Murphy undergoing treatment for breast cancer, an outwardly grim situation that, amazingly enough, never intruded upon the laughter. Murphy Brown ended its network run on August 10, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Candice Bergen, Charles Kimbrough, (more)
