Critics who slammed Katherine Heigl’s comedy “One For the Money” may have been affirmed in their position after the film opened in third place at the box office. Those lackluster movie ticket sales have seemed to become the backdrop of yet another career move for Heigl, who has expressed interest in returning to the medium that made her famous — television.
While audiences may not expect to find Heigl short listed for Oscar nominations any time soon, she is one of many actresses who left television at the peak of her career to pursue movie roles and found early success that would either continue or not based on her ability to exploit a new image. As Heigl may have realized, the television to film transition can sometimes be a less than stellar move for any actress whose big-screen performances do not excite audiences as much as her small-screen fare.
Katherine Heigl appeared to have a promising career as a film actress when her leading role in Judd Apatow’s highly successful romantic comedy “Knocked Up” was praised by critics. The actress’ subsequent movies such as “Killers” opposite Ashton Kutcher, however, have seen a somewhat dismal reception at the box office and among film reviewers. Based on the hit-or-miss trend that Heigl is experiencing in film, it may be refreshing for TV viewers and moviegoers alike to see the actress’s wish of reprising her role as Izzie Stevens on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” granted.
The ABC show brought Heigl a 2007 Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress, but pursuing more daring roles in film that surprise audience may prove to gain more favor among movie fans than returning to a program that she is famous for criticizing before making an early departure in 2010. Choosing roles that surprise audiences is a strategy that has seemed to work for other actresses who left their television spotlight to claim a place in the film industry. Jessica Biel shed her image as the wholesome Christian girl-next-door when she left the popular family prime-time drama “7th Heaven” and starred in the 2003 remake of horror film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
Biel continued her film career by playing a lawyer fighting for gay rights in the comedy “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” Biels’ films do well at the box office, despite not being on movie critics’ must-see lists — so she can be considered a bankable actress based on movie ticket sales alone. “That 70’s Show” star Mila Kunis was no stranger to long-form entertainment, having appeared in television movies such as “Gia” by the time her Fox comedy series ended. However, Kunis’ foray into motion pictures full-time took her toward action movies that audiences and critics did not expect to see her attached to including “Max Payne” with Mark Wahlberg and “The Book of Eli” with Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington.