Sunday, September 02, 2007

Recycled Experience: Jodie Foster

[In between Boyd's Venice postings I'm posting choice reruns for new readers. Why? I'm prepping Fall Goodies for the Film Experience --behind the scenes stuff " pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" -- so I need some time away from the daily grind. Be back with original stuff in a few days -Nathaniel]

Original published in March 2006. I might revive the "a history of..." series this Fall.


1962 Wee infant Alicia Christian Foster is born in Los Angeles. She will be known, very quickly I must add, as "Jodie". Her mom will pimp her out just two years later for her first professional gig. Over the next 40+ years Alicia will flash a lot more than her Coppertone tan.

1968-1973 Jodie on the lam! The young actor skirts child labor law authorities by accreditation as two different actors "Jodie" and "Jody" (her imaginary twin brother?) making 33 TV appearances and 4 movies.

1974 Jody and Jodie make a big impression as a tomboy in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

1976 At the tender age of 14, whilst peers are having slumber parties and talking about cute boys, Jodie stars in three enduring films: One classic,Taxi Driver, and two family favorites, Bugsy Malone and Freaky Friday. Fearing she had accomplished too little that calendar year, she makes two more films, begins work on Flora Plum, hosts Saturday Night Live, and moves to France. C'est tout.

1981 Crazy John Hinckley Jr shoots President Reagan in what he claims is an attempt to impress Jodie Foster. It becomes The Subject That Dare Not Speak Its Name in interviews with the actress. Stephen Sondheim later speaks its name in his musical "Assassins." Meanwhile she attends Yale and adds another undiscussable to her resume: The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name. Sondheim stays mum.

1984 Jodie emerges from college related obscurity to repeatedly f*** screen brother Rob Lowe in The Hotel New Hampshire. Hey, he looked like this. You would too.

Yes, even if you were a lesbian.

1988-1989 Jodie stars as rape victim Sarah Tobias in The Accused and steals the Oscar from its primary 80s lady-in-waiting Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons whose performance is, by rough estimation, 413 times better. Freaky Friday Monday, March 29th --That same night Rob Lowe dirty dances with Snow White, wishing it were Jodie all the while.

1991 Anthony Hopkins chews scenery and downs a nice quianti as Hannibal Lecter. Foster becomes Clarice Starling. They both take home Oscars. But what she really wants to do is direct (Little Man Tate).

1993-1999 Jodie enters her "romantic" phase, wherein she pleads for the suspension of your disbelief while jumping Richard Gere's bones, flirting with Mel Gibson, trembling with Matthew McConaughey, and making goo goo eyes at Chow Yun Fat. She is more convincing whilst playing Nell, a freaky twin. Her other half is dead. Hmmmmm. What did happen to little Jody, anyway?

1997 She offed the wrong brother. Buddy Foster publishes an unauthorized biography, Sister Dearest "Foster Child"

2002-2006 Enters her "trapped in confined spaces in thrillers" period.

... wherein she phones it in from within a high-tech bomb shelter and a big airplane. She mixes it up in The Inside Man by being outside of the confined space (a bank) where others are trapped. That Jodie ...always surprising us.

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

ugh...i really, really, really do LOVE Contact.

Jodie's also on the cover of Entertainment Weekly this week...

Anonymous said...

I second matt's sentiments. Contact is brilliant.

Anonymous said...

top 5 jodie perf's

1 - nell
2 - the silence of the lambs
3 - taxi driver
4 - contact
5 - bugsy malone

lawyer tony fernando said...

well, mr. N, Hollywood reporter says that Jodie hasa big shot at the OScars, so I´m just saying this: YOU KNEW ALREADY MY FAVORITE BITCH!

Brazilian fan!

NicksFlickPicks said...

Most underrated film featuring Jodie Foster: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.

And a big shout-out for Home for the Holidays.

And for this completely hilarious write-up. It's as funny now as when you wrote it! (I hear, by the way, that the screenplay of Flora Plum stole its story idea from someone else without credit or compensation, and that going into production would have immediately triggered a legal fiasco.)

Anonymous said...

i thought jodie's 88 in was a fave amongst fans,a well deserved award admittidely the look on weaver's face is one of shock a double nominee who lost the award she was fave for and close 5 for 0 but even though she beat out those other 2 better perfs i always assumed most film fans did not mind due to her being great in it,what's the deal,will she be nommed for the brave one its looking likely.

NATHANIEL R said...

anonymous, really? not in the circles I travelled at least. Everybody wanted Glenn Close to win (she was very disappointed to have lost for fatal attraction and that one/two punch is usually a big hook for getting your Oscar.

lawyer tony. thx. i just had a feeling. still do. i dont think she's gonna win but another nom. yes

kate said...

It's "Chianti" not "Quianti"

Anonymous said...

weaver must've been more pissed she was the first actress to loose both in the same year i prefer close in fa to dl.