"You still picking your feet in Poughkeepsie?"

I gave The French Connection 30 whole minutes. Never did find out why they kept asking that question. I kept thinking I should really like it, given my obsession with The Wire and my obscene until-now-closet-crush on Roy Scheider. (The way he kills that shark the first time... sigh. RIP Roy.)

It came down to me not being able to watch more than 30 seconds at a time of Gene Hackman, which for me, has been true of any movie he's been in (except for The Conversation, for some reason - that was a great movie). For the life of me I couldn't put my finger on why, so I googled all his past roles.

None stood out, in fact I haven't even seen most of these movies except... Ohhhhh. Lex Luthor in the original Superman. It's all clear now!

But to add fuel to my fire, he was originally offered the leads in Jaws, Close Encounters of the First Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, (allegedly) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Silence of the Lambs, and... the Brady Bunch?... (seriously?)... but turned them down due to insufficient salary offerings.

So that's why I love Jake Gyllenhaal and not Gene Hackman. I don't care who picks their feet where.

And... scene.