Saturday, August 08, 2009

de Havillink

Go Fug Yourself "well played" Kirsten Dunst & Demi Moore
Noh Way for counter programming purposes, here's a good piece from a writer who is not joining the Meryl Streep Julie & Julia love-in
Slate "the many accents of Meryl Streep" I wish this video was quicker and more inclusive but it's still kinda cool to hear the voices in close succession
My Internet... finally sees Reservoir Dogs
babblebook is not happy about the revisions to The Time Traveller's Wife
Cinema Blend Iron Man 2 footage leaked
Deep Focus on Dollhouse Season One. I'm itching for Season Two to start, aren't you?

three John Hughes pieces
NYTimes AO Scott's fine appraisal of John Hughes (RIP)
We'll Know When We Get There "Sincerely, John Hughes" an article from a John Hughes' fan turned pen pall
The Spy in the Sandwich on the poetry of John Hughes writing

Finally...


Finally, I neglected to spot this lengthy interview with the great Olivia de Havilland (The Heiress, Gone With the Wind and many more classics) when it was published last month. She's 93 years old and still trying to finish her memoirs. She wants people to understand what the 30s were really like in Hollywood, the sexual mores, the fame, the studio control. Unfortunately it sounds as if this book will exclude her much gossiped about multiple decades estrangement from her sister Joan Fontaine
That is one subject on which I never speak. Never.
Oh gods, please let her finish this book before she passes away. One nitpicky note, though. She is not, as this article implies, the oldest living Oscar winner. I believe that's Luise Rainer who, like Olivia, is a two-time winner (The Great Ziegfeld) who is still walking this good earth. She's 99 years old.

12 comments:

Andrew K. said...

Whenever I hear Olivia D. for some reason I always think of Ingrid Bergman. I suppose it's the innocent beauty thing. I do hope she finishes her memoirs. I love the shout out to Rainer's The Good Earth...which I've never seen actually. Have you? Is It any good?

That Dunst/Moore conversation is strangely funny.

Andrew K. said...

OH Damn. Nathaniel I read that Streep article and I can imagine how much it took to post that. I mean I don't like her but if anyone was so cold about my beloved Kate Hepburn. I would...ok I wouldn't do anything but I wouldn't put a link to it. Kudos for your commitment or whatever you'd call it.

Wayne B said...

"She is not, as this article implies, the oldest living Oscar winner."

Would Shirley Temple (Black) count? I think she won like 2-3 years before Luise Rainer.

Bernardo said...

This has nothing to do with any of the links, but whilst cruising through Nat's old reviews I came upon a very interesting sentence...

"since it's really all about Renée and her considerable charm, it works fantastically" (on Bridget Jones's Diary)

Quite funny how taste evolves... or more like how Zellweger was brilliant at the beginning of the decade.

Derreck said...

I have always liked Kirsten even though people love to rag on her. I can't wait till she goes back to the red hair. Speaking of the red hair, I'm praying that in Spider-Man 4, Mary-Jane at least buys herself a gun to keep in her purse. She's been kidnapped by three different super-villains now. Homegirl needs to be more proactive.

with The Time Traveler's Wife (a movie i'm extremely excited to see because i have nothing but love for the book), i knew they were going to have to revise some things, but most of the buzz surrounding the revisions has not been positive.
i'm curious about what they changed (i heard the ending was a big one) but i'm too scared to read anything. I would much rather be surprised and make my own opinion about the changes.

Benji said...

Luise Rainer turns 100 in January (hopefully!). That deserves a big party!

NATHANIEL R said...

wayne b...
shirley temple is only 81 years old (she was a tiny thing when they gave her that special juvenile award)

Ritzo said...

The fact that de Havilland is a fan of la Streep made me smile. Her good friend Bette Davis also was a huge Streep fan.

Anonymous said...

The cut-throat article written against Meryl Streep just keep the buzz going for Meryl's third and long overdue Oscar...

amir_uk said...

Loved some of those links, Nathaniel. Thanks...

Also - Meryl absolutely, no way, CANNOT win her third in supporting. I just can't allow it. I know everyone had a go at me for saying this last time round, but it would just be plain wrong when she's only had 3 supporting noms (out of 15) so far - 2 of those right at the beginning of her career. I think she herself would be a little disappointed if that happened to be the case. Let's hope for a Mo'Nique steamroller season...

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

That interview with Olivia de Havilland was divine.
Having rewatched "Gone With the Wind" a few weeks ago I have to agree when the writer says it's not easy to make a flesh and blood saint, but Olivia's Melanie does just that.
I didn't like her the first time I saw the movie, I distrust the selfless goody two shoes and always expected her to pull off a big revenge on Scarlett, by film's end when she didn't I felt ashamed of myself.
I would've given her the Oscar that year in a heartbeat, even if Hattie's win is something nobody can disagree with!

Vertigo's Psycho said...

I was fortunate enough to see DeHavilland in L.A. three years ago at a showing of The Heiress, and the legend definitely still had it together. During a discussion preceding the film, a very well-prepared DeHavilland talked about her career, specifically focusing on the making of The Heiress. She looked and sounded great, and her observations were insightful and wonderful.

Even the ultra-precise Jeopardy forgot about Rainer several years ago. The "Final Jeopardy" question/answer asked for the first peformer to win two Best Actress Oscars before the age of thirty. Jeopardy stated Jodie Foster was the correct response, but unfortunately over fifty years before that Rainer won Oscar #2 at age 28 (luckily, no one had the right answer, so the outcome was not affected).