Thursday, November 17, 2005

Keep Your Enemies Close

IMDB brings us the news regarding Beelzebub's Hilary Swank's next movie project, Freedom Writers. The first half of this news was already known to me --they say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, so I watch Persephone Mrs. Chad Lowe's every move. But the second part, the casting of Imelda Staunton in a supporting role, is new. This is rather like asking Toni Collette to 'support' Nia Vardalos in Connie & Carla last year. I just aint having this world where the former is a lesser star than the latter. Stop the world I want to get off.

Freedom Writers will be directed by Richard LaGravanese, who first rose to fame for his terrific Oscar-nominated screenplay The Fisher King (1991). He has only directed one fiction feature previously. That was the criminally undervalued Living out Loud (1998) which features an amazing awards-ignored central performance from Holly Hunter and the first real inkling that Queen Latifah was the kind of actress that would eventually end up Oscar-nominated. You know the kind: warm, easy to root for, engaging.

But back to Imelda & Hilary... Recount! The 2004 Best Actress race will never cease to haunt. What a world. What a world.

22 comments:

Calum Reed said...

OMG please. We don't need to know that again. Such a terrible terrible award. I can't understand what on earth she actually did, never mind compared to Imelda Staunton. In fact comparing them is a crime in itself. Aargh I'm still mad even now lol.

Anonymous said...

WHAT were any of them thinking? "Oh, we loved that film. Let's vote for it in as many categories as we possibly can."

Jerks.

Rob

adam k. said...

I'm telling you, Imelda, Annette, and to some extent Kate split the artistically discerning, thinking-people vote, leaving all the sheep to vote for Swank. I do think she only had a plurality though, I don't think most of them voted for her. But the trinity of goddesses totally killed each other's chances; none of them ever had a chance.

Ash said...

hehe your Swank hating always makes me laugh....but then I remember that she has more best actress oscars than Madame Streep has and that just makes me sick...don't get me started on the fact that Winslet and Julianne have none...truly...what kind of world do we live in when Renee Zelweeeeger, Jennifer Connolly, and even Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman all have Oscars and Winslet and Moore - our greatest "young" actresses...have NONE..shocking really.

adam k. said...

With reference to the new Streep Shrine... I hate to be predictable and a follower, but really, god how I love Meryl Streep. What a gift to the cinema. There is truly no female actor in the world who I enjoy watching more. She is my idol. Everytime I watch one of her movies, it just makes me want to give her a big hug or something, she's just so great. And has the greatest off-screen personality/persona of just about any actor I can think of. Down-to-earth and humble, yet unabashedly diva-esque at times, and SO funny, and so nice, and so smart, it seems. Plus she's friends with Cher. That's AWEsome.

Javier Aldabalde said...

wa-wa-wait a minute nicole deserved that oscar! even if it was for the wrong film (MOULIN ROUGE would have been more appropriate)

John T said...

I've been having nightmares since the last cartoon about Hilary giving an Oscar to Phillip Seymour Hoffman-this just compounds it.

Ash said...

Re Kidman: Yes she deserves an oscar..not for The Hours (both Streep and Moore were better) but for Moulin Rouge, The Others, Birth, To DIe FOr..and even a nom for the underatted Dead Calm...she's a treasure...miles above Mme Swank...

Anonymous said...

I knew you'd get a kick out of that when I sent it to you!

When I read it I couldn't help but picture the advertisements.

STARRING TWO-TIME ACADEMY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST ACTRESS... HILARY SWANK. andalsosomeoldgeezercalledimeldastauntonwhoshouldhavewon

or, actually Nicole would have won for me last year BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.

It is weird that they can advertise anything with Swank as starring two-time academy award winner (for best actress no less) Hilary Swank. The silly thing about it is that if it were someone just slightly less famous, it would've gone Supporting.

anyway. That's old news.

Red Dust goes into Advance Screenings this week in Australia! Advance Screenings are just like in the states where they preview a movie in a small portion of cinemas before going wide, except whatever money they make goes towards the total of the actual film, not some other film from the same distributer.

...cause i know you wanted to know how the Australian industry works.

-Glenn

adam k. said...

Maggie in M$B would never have gone supporting. It was the title role. And with such a popular film and no one else to push as lead, why would they hedge. It was a leading role.

Anonymous said...

hmm, maybe I can't remember it very well. It's been nearly a year and that time was very busy movie-going wise.

-Glenn

Calum Reed said...

It was leading, though I honestly believe that if Sandra Bullock had been in the starring role as first intended she too would have won the oscar. I'd rather have seen her there actually.

John T said...

Agreed-I would have much rather seen Bullock clutching an Oscar than Swank, if only because I find her a thousand times more tolerable, and I wouldn't have had to hear the, "I was poor" speech again.

Anonymous said...

I know we're busy slaughtering the Swank here, and it's a highly esteemed pastime of mine. However, another name got mentioned in the mix - that of Zellweger. And she's another consistent recipient of my "why do they keep handing her awards?" wrath.

However. Random comment, but I just re-watched One True Thing about a week ago, and... remember when Zellweger in a movie was a good thing? Remember when she shared a screen with Meryl Streep and was STILL noticeable? I think of One True Thing, and Nurse Betty, the first Bridget moive and Jerry Maguire, and... Do I need to repent?

Rob

Anonymous said...

HOW DARE YOU!?!?!?! HILARY SWANK IS GOING TO GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS ONE OF THIS GENERATION'S BEST ACTORS! WHILE THAT UGLY BRITISH CHICK IMADLA STANTON IS GOING TO DIE ALONE. I WISH HILARY WAS IN SOMETHING THIS YEAR BECAUSE SHE DESERVES MORE AWARDS.

Joe R. said...

Mrs. Swank, please!

Ash said...

TeeHee...maybe we could play.."Saving Her From Herself: Movies Our Hil Didn't Make It Into This Year"

imagine...Hilary Swank as June Carter Cash (I just know some studio hack would love it) or Hilary Swank in Capote (teehee Nathaniel would die a thousand deaths)

sometimes we just have to be thankful..

Anonymous said...

Oh god, if Hilary had Catherine Keener's role...

And, I too, would have prefered to see Sandra Bullock win. Especially now, having seen Crash and knowing that she is capable of such work.

The think with Swank is, I think she is a good actress when the movie is good. I liked her in M$B, I just thought about 12 other women were better candidates for Best Actress.

And same for Renee Zellweger. I hope that she'll gain some weight out of pure "I want to look healthy" motives and not "I need to pig out so I can cash in on Bridget Jones" and make a great movie like the ones Rob mentioned.

Although, I think I'd die of laughter if she ever had to revert back to Texas Chainsaw Massacre like movies to make a buck and a dime.

And, Joe! Nice call on Hilary. I just knew she was stalking around here as this ubiquitous "Anonymous" person.

-Glenn

adam k. said...

Um, Renée made $20 million on Bridget 2. She can live off that for the rest of her life. She could buy a really nice house for, say, $5 million and then just limit herself to $333,333 a year for the next 45 years of her life, and she'd be set. And that's if she never works again. I don't think she'll ever be back to having to make crap movies or something, unless she seriously splurges, which I suppose she could do if she wanted to.
Really, how some stars can manage to go broke after having literally millions of dollars in the bank is beyond me. Put a few million in a lockbox, and you're set forever. It's not that hard.

Anonymous said...

It was sort of a joke, that I thought would be humourous if it turned into fact.

But I have no real hope that it will happen.

But I am certain that she will one day be cast as a Dianne Weist in Law & Order type thing.

You know who I'm really glad is getting great work. Kyra Sedgwick. The Closer is a great tv show and she is stellar in it. I need more Kyra in my life, really.

-Glenn

adam k. said...

Well I was sort of just having fun talking about Renee's money. It would be funny if somehow she lowered herself to Law-and-Order epsidoes... I guess Wiest did, so anything's possible.

Anonymous said...

Nathaniel, I agree with you on Swank most of the time, but come on, she doesn't deserve to be compared to Nia Vardalos! No one does... unless your name is Andie McDowell.

-Ali