I’ll Be the Judge of That: Who Will Be the Next Action Star?

Even with NBC’s decision not to air Episode 9 of Next Action Star, Gumshoe Gil still managed to write up a recap (or in this case, a first “look”) at the episode. You can read it here if you want.

With four finalists left — Sean, Jeanne, Corinne, and Jared — let’s see who has the best chance of winning:

Sean : Sean has been the cool one most of the time. Aside from a couple of spats, including getting on Jared’s case about not naming a partner when given the chance, Sean hasn’t really made all that many waves. He’s let his acting do the talking for him, and it’s been talking up a storm. Overall, he is generally one of the judges’ favorites and was also the first guy to receive a call back in Episode 9, which bodes well for him. He has a very real shot of winning. 2:1 odds of winning

Jeanne: Jeanne is a good actress; of that there is no doubt. If she weren’t, she wouldn’t have made the Final Four. The question is: is she a good action actress? The judges don’t seem to think so. Casting director Victoria Burrows keeps mentioning that she wants to see more sex appeal and vulnerability from her. Additionally, neither producer Alan Schechter, nor director Louis Morneau was impressed with her last performance, although they admitted that she has done well in the past. She really has to nail this last screen test and show the judges she can give them exactly what they want if she hopes to win the female lead in the movie. 4:1 odds

Corinne: Considering her background as a professional boxer, Corinne has an edge on Jeanne to play the female lead – a relentless female bounty hunter. Whereas Jeanne has more of an attractive look to her, Corinne has more of an all-business “don’t mess with me or I’ll kick your face in” look, which will definitely work to her advantage in this case. Add to that her solid acting skills, and she stands a real chance of getting the role. The only thing that might hinder her is her problem with intimate scenes. Like it or not, they’re part of a lot of action movies today. It remains to be seen whether this is a deep-seeded fear or just something to which she, as a former boxer, has yet to become accustomed. On the show, it seemed like the former, but to her credit she did manage to overcome her fear and pull off a halfway-believable scene. 3:1 odds

Jared: Jared is the dark horse to win this competition. He has the acting chops and the looks to win, but he doesn’t always bring his A-game. Out of all the finalists, his experience has been the biggest emotional roller coaster. One week, he’s trying to console a fellow finalist (Viviana); another week he’s making fun of the guest chef. One week he turns in an excellent performance; another week he overacts in a big way. One week he wins the Casting Card for doing the best exercise; another week his exercise seems fake and forced. Should he pursue a relationship with Mélisande or be faithful to Christina, his girlfriend back home? All this up and down really takes its toll on a guy, and this has come through in his behavior. Even Howard made mention of it during one of the more recent acting classes. How then will Jared handle shooting a movie on location, if being in the company of strangers for ten weeks exacts such a toll on him? The shortest principal photography shoots take ten to 12 weeks to complete, and that’s not even taking into account movies like Lord of the Rings and Eyes Wide Shut which took a whole lot longer than three months to film. If he can get his act together for this final screen test, I think he may be in with a chance, otherwise he’s just a long shot at best. 8:1 odds

There you have it. Sean and Corinne look like the best bets to win the lead roles and accompanying title of Next Action Star. Make sure to watch the finale this Wednesday at 8 p.m. to find out who becomes the Next Action Star.

Gil Sery is a freelance writer based out of San Diego, CA. You can reach him at movieman26@hotmail.com.

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