mousepd (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Brilliant acting. I have always considered Kilmer to be a gifted performer. Tom Cruise and others are good at being themselves but Val Kilmer can portray anyone he chooses. I loved his role as Jim Morrison as well.

bmiller4930 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Since I have been healed by Christian Science many time over and my life has improved by its love, I know that Mary Baker Eddy was correct. Thanks, Val, for this video.

LucidNation (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Very intriguing. Some of the acting's over the top but of course it's only a demo. Wish the love aspect had been more clearly indicated to be ironic or actual (or both). Eddy ripped off Quimby.

CScares (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I hope this is something Val is doing on his own just because Mrs Eddy didn't want to be idolized by the church or anyone else.

grazeland (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Exactly. Twice. He "imitated" a drunk. The man lived 74 years. Why would Kilmer select these two brief moments to put in the heads of impressionable and uninformed viewers? Sensationalism? If Kilmer is going for obscurity, why not recount the little known story of Warren McGuinn? I have no idea what Kilmer is planning. Like I said, I just hope he does his research and does not take little moments out of context to distort the life of Mark Twain.

Cambria777 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

There are stories online at U.of VA & at U.C. Berkeley describing MT as pretending to be drunk as part of his act. On 12-31-1906 he imitated a drunk at a New Year's Eve party, as described in the NY Times 01-01-1907. He also portrayed a drunk in 1872 at someone's home where he was a dinner guest: "...far from being drunk he was acting as he always did. The dress, speech, and the posture were all part of his characteristic manner-he was after all a humorist." Am guessing Val did his homework.

grazeland (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I wonder what Hal Holbrook would think of this. Maybe he would offer to mentor Val Kilmer and prevent him from making a terrible career move. (We can hope!)

grazeland (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Thank you! If he would just read Twain's autobiography or the Kaplan bio he'd have a clue. I'm hoping this is just a sample of how he will look as Twain, not how he will actually perform. Please, Val, do Twain justice by doing some real research.

grazeland (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Do more research or consult with Twain scholars before finalizing this project. I've always admired Kilmer, but he's tackling an icon -the Lincoln of our Literature. And in 2010 -the 100th year of Twain's death, the 175th year of his birth. Val, do not ride Clemens' coattails if you don't plan to do him justice. I hope this is not a real sample of what's to come - taken him out of context & portrayed him as a drunk. The critics and scholars will eat you alive for this. Please, do your research.

veggiepants (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Val's accent is WAY off. Aside from that, why is he doing a drunk Mark Twain??? I love that man and it's irritating to see his dry humor delivered so sloppily wet (pun intended.) If you ever watch Ken Burns' biography on him you'll see what I mean. This is waaaaay off. Seems like Val just wanted to spew a lot of Twain's wit and wisdom without doing any real homework.