Please don't embarrass yourself, De Niro

Ben Affleck wants you to forget about "Gigli." He wants that entry to be erased on www.imdb.com. He wants you to remember him for "Good Will Hunting," "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma." I'm always of the mind that one bad movie should never ruin an actor's career. Even a few bad films here and there shouldn't mean the death of a career, but when it becomes a streak that's a problem. Sure Ben, I can forget about "Gigli," but what about "Surviving Christmas," "Daredevil," "Pearl Harbor" and "Reindeer Games?" No, sometimes there can be just too much and a reputation develops. Actors should always get a chance to redeem themselves after a bad movie or two. Sometimes actors just need a chance to work their way up. Sure, Jamie Foxx was in "Booty Call," but he was later brilliant in "Ray" and "Collateral." Sometimes actors just do too many movies. Jack Black was in the horrible "Saving Silverman" and "Envy," but since he does so many films, the majority of them are worthwhile. Christopher Walken is the epitome of the overexposed good actor. This guy doesn't turn down roles, because frankly, he has nothing better to do. And can you blame Black or Walken? Doing a movie can sometimes just be fun, so who cares if it isn't a "Best Picture" nominee? Directors should be given the benefit of the doubt as well, but not as much. Actors are sometimes given the wrong role or they just can't do enough to save a bad film. Directors, on the other hand, have a little more responsibility in the process, but a poor screenplay or a shitty actor can sometimes be the problem. Tim Burton made the horrible "Planet of the Apes" remake, but I contend the script was the problem there. Danny Leiner directed the horrible "Dude, Where's My Car?" but "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" was genius, namely because there was no Ashton Kutcher or Seann William Scott. With Francis Ford Coppola and his flop, "Jack" … Well, I don't have an answer for that one. All of these flops seem OK, but the real problem is when acting legends do horrible, horrible films. There's a big difference between Jim Carrey doing "The Majestic" and Robert DeNiro in "Shark Tale." Here's my list of the top five actors who should be a little more selective with their film selections: Robert De Niro
Good: "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas," "The Godfather II," Taxi Driver," "Casino," "The Deer Hunter" Bad: "Rocky and Bullwinkle," "Showtime," "Analyze That," "Godsend," "Shark Tale," "Meet the Fockers" What the Problem is: This guy needs to go back to what he is good at: being a bad ass. Pacino has had no problem keeping his acting career respectable, so De Niro shouldn't either. I'm sorry, but Bobby needs to realize he just isn't a comedian. "Meet the Parents" was decent, but the rest of his comedic resume is embarrassing. Stick to the mob films! Gene Hackman
Good: "Bonnie and Clyde," "Unforgiven," "Hoosiers" Bad: "Welcome to Mooseport," "Heartbreakers," "Antz," "The Replacements" What the Problem is: Hackman has been overshadowed in a lot of his films recently. Instead of being the star, he's had to play second-banana to the likes of Will Smith, Ray Romano and Keanu Reeves. He needs to quit doing films to appeal to younger audiences and promise to never settle for being listed below Jennifer Love Hewitt again. Robert Duvall
Good: "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Godfather," "Network," "Apocalypse Now" Bad: "Newsies," "The 6th Day," "John Q" What the Problem is: This guy is one of the best living actors alive today -- without a doubt. Besides De Niro or Pacino, this guy has no competition when it comes to some of the greatest performances. So, it's a little disturbing when he appears in one of Arnold's worst films. (Worst Arnold line ever: "You should clone yourself while you're still alive … so you can go fuck yourself!") Duvall just needs to just stop trying to be a badass. Lay off the action films, just direct and star in your own films. Jon Voight
Good: "Midnight Cowboy," "Deliverance," "Catch-22," "Zoolander" Bad: "Pearl Harbor," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," "The Karate Dog," "SuperBabies: Baby Genuises 2" What the Problem is: Nowadays, there'd be no reason for George Costanza to buy this guy's car. I mean, this guy's stock has fallen more than Amazon. He's given some great performances early on in his career (and I contend "Zoolander" is great too). There is no excuse for him to be films like "The Karate Dog" with Chevy Chase and Pat Morita. I can see that films such as that and "Superbabies" are made for his kids, but honestly, screw your kids. Don't let them ruin your career. Morgan Freeman
Good: "Se7en," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Glory" Bad: "Bruce Almighty," "Deep Impact," "The Sum of All Fears," "Nurse Betty," "The Big Bounce" What the Problem is: His popularity has just exploded since his classics started to catch on. Since then, the paychecks have been very good to him and very bad for his career. Just a bit of advice: ignore the dollar signs and go for quality. It'll mean bigger paychecks in the future.