Van Damme After Timecop
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frankduxvandamme — 11 years ago(October 22, 2014 07:18 PM)
No argument here. He had a good thing going and he screwed it up. However, it does seem like he's making a decent living off of the half a dozen straight-to-video garbage piles he does every year. So he didn't completely give up or throw it all away, like many other former stars.
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jhtg — 11 years ago(December 30, 2014 08:52 AM)
the only good films he made after this was sudden death and maximum risk. beep like double team and universal soldier 2 killed his career. which is a shame because he has been in good films like double impact and hard target
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thxk5 — 9 years ago(June 30, 2016 11:46 PM)
The 3 pic dea was offered by Universal after Street Fighter, he made a big mistake also he ego was right only about the studio isnt give you so much creative freedom, but in the same time he needed a big studio behind so bad!
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TMC-4 — 9 years ago(October 12, 2016 11:36 PM)
https://lebeauleblog.com/2014/01/12/what-the-hell-happened-to-jean-claude-van-damme/5/
In 1994, Van Damme starred opposite Ron Silver and Mia Sara in Peter Hyams sci fi thriller, Timecop.
Timecop is set in the distant future of 2004, ie the year before my first kid was born. In 2004, time travel is a reality. It is also a crime. So time cops like Van Damme police the time stream. Sara played Van Dammes wife who is murdered when he joins the Timecop project. Silver played a politician who runs the program and, because he is a politician, is shady as hell.
Timecop was based on a story from Dark Horse Comics.
Reviews were mixed rather than universally negative. Many critics, whether they liked the movie or not, noted that it was better than Van Dammes usual fare. Timecop was Van Dammes biggest hit at the box office grossing almost $60 million dollars domestically and over $100 million world wide.
Universal offered Van Damme a three-picture contract at $12 million dollar per movie. Van Damme demanded $20 million. Years later, he laughed at his own arrogance:
I was beep up, man. But you know, it was not about the money. The people in the UK will read this and say, What a beep piglet. Sorry about my expression! I was making movie after movie, and in between movies I was doing promotion. I was tired. Everything I was touching was making money. Jim Carrey was being paid a fortune. And I wanted to play with the system. Like an idiot. Ridiculous. I was on the blacklist. That was it.
https://lebeauleblog.com/2014/01/12/what-the-hell-happened-to-jean-claude-van-damme/10/
So, what the hell happened?
First off, Van Dammes rise to fame was part of a wave of action heroes in the 80s and early 90s. That wave crashed. Action movies went away from guys like The Expendables as Jason Bourne became the new face of the genre. Like all the other action stars of the time, Van Damme rode that wave and then got left behind by changing tastes.
But Van Damme will be the first to tell you that to a large degree he did himself in. Fame did a number on his head. He was partying too hard. His ego and his personal life were out of control. He very nearly ruined his family and his career. Even if the action genre hadnt changed, Van Damme probably cooked his own goose with his behavior.
However, I think you have to give the guy some credit. He owns his mistakes. Sometimes very publicly. And you can tell the guy is still busting his ass to be a star. Hes got heart and a sense of humor. As that Volvo video shows, JCVD is still kind of relevant. -
bigbadwolf666 — 8 months ago(July 16, 2025 09:43 AM)
This is an overstated rant.
Did he make some mistakes, sure,
But he still had a lot of upside.
Without strife, your victory has no meaning.
Without strife, you do not advance.
Without strife, there is only stagnation.