Film Experience Blog

Streep Nom #9 and Act III: Funny Lady

2009-07-10T20:45:00.000-04:00

Streep at 60: We've been looking at each Meryl Streep Oscar nod and its competition. Previously 78, 79, 81, 82 and 83, 85, 87 and 88

I believe that Meryl Streep's film career can be divided into five chapters or acts (thus far).

Act I (Liberated Lady) 1977-1981
Act II (Chamaeleonidae Erotica) 1981-1988
Act III (Funny Lady) 1989-1992
Act IV (???) 1993-2001
Act V (The Great Entertainer) 2002-present

After the High Drama years it came as a shock to many when Meryl was suddenly making comedies. Some felt it was a career crisis and there was some backlash going on. This is possibly hard to comprehend for her new young fans but great success always leads to it and many people were sick of Streep's total dominance as the Eighties wound down. It was somewhat common wisdom at the time that her run at the top was ending, having turned 40 in 1989. Several younger stars were coming into their own and beginning to hog the attention: Meg Ryan (27) and Julia Roberts (22) were suddenly fighting for the America's Sweetheart crown, Michelle Pfeiffer (31) was beginning her short run as the dramatic actress, Winona Ryder (18) was inarguably in great demand; Melanie Griffith (32), Geena Davis (33) and Holly Hunter (31) were expected to soar in the Nineties; Ellen Barkin (35), Mimi Rogers (33), Madeleine Stowe (31), Mary Stuart Masterson (23) and Laura Dern (22) were question marks. The list goes on.

Though Meryl had often delivered funny beats in dramatic roles, She-Devil (1989) was her first purely comedic screen role. Some felt she was too broad and few liked the movie as a whole but that didn't slow Meryl on her new course. She followed it up with three more comedies: Postcards From the Edge, Defending Your Life and Death Becomes Her (1992). The fourth, very silly and quite entertaining (which I'll talk about next week), was her first substantial hit since Out of Africa (1985).

Off and onscreen mother & daughter duos at the Postcards From the
Edge premiere: Meryl, Debbie Reynolds, Shirley Maclaine & Carrie Fisher.
Photo via Simply Streep

The second, Postcards..., the best and most dramatic of the comedies, was a minor success financially and gave Meryl her ninth Oscar nomination. This historic event put her ahead of Geraldine Page (8 noms) and behind only Bette Davis (10 noms) and Katharine Hepburn (12 noms) as Oscar's all time favorite gal. For a great write up on Postcards I suggest Nick Davis's astute piece on Meryl as Entertainer. I also suggest reading the original book by Carrie Fisher which is much different than the movie but just as entertaining.

1990 the nominees were

Kathy Bates, Misery
Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman
Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge
Joanne Woodward, Mr & Mrs. Bridge

Other 1990 women for context: The snubbed Drama Globe nominees numbered two: Michelle Pfeiffer (Russia House) and Susan Sarandon (White Palace). The snubbed Comedy Globe nominees numbered three: Demi Moore (Ghost), Mia Farrow (Alice) and Andie MacDowell (Green Card). Other leading women that year were: Debra Winger (The Sheltering Sky), Sandra Bernhard (Without You I'm Nothing), Maria de Medeiros (Henry & June), Cher (Mermaids), Goldie Hawn (Bird on a Wire) and Tracey Ullman (I Love You To Death)

Nathaniel's list: I have still not caught up with Woodward's performance (?Why?) but otherwise my 1990 choices are the nominees Bates, Huston and Streep with the other spots going to two of these three: Mia Farrow, Laura Dern (Wild at Heart) and Victorial Abril (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down).

How do you feel about Meryl's first four screen stabs at comedy and who makes your Best Actress ballot for 1990?
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Two Brothers

2009-07-10T17:18:00.001-04:00

Here's the poster for the December drama Brothers.

Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman are married.
Jake Gyllenhaal comes between them. Sort of.

I can already hear Glenn at Stale Popcorn gnashing his teeth over that empty white space up top. He hates that! But I personally love the poster. It strikes me as appropriately minimalist and I love the delicate severity of that thin cleaving white line. The movie spins a rather simple story of a woman whose heart is split between two brothers, her husband (who goes missing in The Middle East) and her brother-in-law (who comforts her at home).

I love the poster but I'm worried.

The trailer is as In Contention suggests, way too shrill. I saw it a week ago and chose to ignore it since I'm eager to see this. It suggests a film that's twice as histrionic as even the climax of the Danish film that this is based on (a film which I've raved about in the past and which you should rent not only because it's good but for compare/contrast purposes). Said trailer also gives far too much of the story away. It's one of those trailers that tells you the whole story from beginning to end. It doesn't even stop at the 2/3rds or the 3/4ths mark.

Tobey Maguire has serious PTSD issues

Nevertheless, we'll hope for the best. Brothers opens almost exactly 5 years to the day since Closer ushered in Natalie Portman's graduation to adult roles. Good sign? Plus, director Jim Sheridan has a way with actors and he's a bit of a gold magnet. He's only made six films prior to Brothers, two of which were best picture nominees (My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father). His films have garnered eight acting nominations with two wins. Quite an enviable track record, yes?

Any hunches on how Brothers will fare?
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Brad Pitt's "Basterd". Uma's "Bride" Could Take 'Em.

2009-07-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

<-- A new (uninspiring) Inglourious Basterds poster for Brad Pitt. He's standing on a pile of dead bodies. Like Katey says, "subtle". My first thought upon seeing it was that The Bride never felt it necessary to pose atop the bodies of the crazy '88s. Oh, sure she claimed that the body parts belonged to her but she didn't actually keep them. She travelled light. And note: she didn't even have a long range weapon like a machine gun to kill off those enemy hordes. In short, Uma Thurman is more of a badass than Brad Pitt.

It would be misleading to suggest that Quentin Tarantino's current sadism is "new". His films have always had blood and body counts. I haven't seen Basterds yet, I do wonder if the sadism hasn't been consistently increasing. Think about Death Proof's carnage, Basterds entire plot, Kill Bill's massacre and death list... compare and contrast to Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown. The early films were deadly, sure, but weren't the characterizations and dialogue the raison d'etre of the films rather than their bloodshed?

When the multiple character posters thing first started taking off, I loved it. I even wished we could have them for movies gone by. Now I'm starting to feel like it's all overkill. Is today's overhyped movie culture a direct result of how early and how often the marketing department is getting involved these days, or am I just an impatient person? I'm willing to concede that it might be the latter but I'm guessing it's a combination of the two. Do you get impatient after a couple of promotional months?

I'm left feeling about Basterds, like I was feeling for Brüno. Stop teasing me already and just open the damn movie.

What's that? Brüno is open?! BYE. I'm off to the movies. I was about to photoshop Brüno posing atop the bodies of vanquished famous homophobes but stopped myself. Perhaps I should see the movie first before implicitly endorsing it as anti-homophobic? As movie|line notes, everyone's got an opinion here on what / who is being mocked and who will have a right to claim the most offense.
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Mel Gibson Likes Beaver

2009-07-10T13:11:00.000-04:00

When I read the news I wondered if we have time travelled back to April 1st. But no, it's still July 10th and Mel Gibson really is going to portray a homeless man (believable) who feels comfort from wearing a beaver hand puppet (er...) in the movie called The Beaver. Don't ask me. For a split second I was wondering if The Beaver Trilogy ( ♥ ) was about to become a quadrilogy. Wouldn't that be something?

a visualization to haunt your dreams

Mel's Maverick co-star and fellow beaver fan Jodie Foster will direct (goodbye Flora Plum... Get thee back to the attic of unfulfilled dreams!) Jodie will also play his wife. Apparently this was once a Steve Carell project so we're assuming comedy. And given that Jodie's previous comedic directorial effort was Home For the Holidays (I'm a big fan) I suppose I should be excited. I'm halfway there. I'm totally A-OK with hand puppets but... Mel Gibson???
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First and Last

2009-07-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

First and Last: Here's the first image after the opening credits.

Can you name the movie?
Oscar nominated Cinematography by Leon Shamroy
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And here's the last image before the end titles. Click to embiggen but this makes it easy.

Théâtre des Vampires

2009-07-09T22:30:00.000-04:00

I wish I were at a jawdropping theatrical event tonight instead of here. Staring off into space. In the absence of excitement, I'm turning in early with a book. You?

Humpday Doesn't Just Mean Wednesday Anymore

2009-07-09T21:00:00.001-04:00

This weekend is gay gay gay what with Brüno opening wide (finally -- doesn't it seem like that should've opened for the holiday weekend? Or earlier? Too much hype) and the most interesting limited release being Humpday starring Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project) and Mark Duplass (Hannah Takes The Stairs) as straight best friends who decide to get it on (together) for the camera.

Here's my Towleroad article on this weekend's movies. Comment there if you feel so moved.

So as not to bog down that article in festival minutiae, I neglected to mention that Duplass, the lead actor who has been making a name for himself headlining these micro indries was also in a tiny film I saw at Nashville called True Adolescents (see previous post) That film was also about a straight guy dealing with identity crises and gay stuff. What an odd twofer. Duplass is talented but that's a tiny niche he's developing there. MTV has a little piece on Leonard, who jokes

I started researching porn on the Internet about ten, twelve years ago, because I knew I would use it for something

He feels they lucked out with the timing on Humpday since it's emerging while there is lots of discussion about bromance, gender roles and gay/straight friendships. Has anyone here read that weirdly stereotypical gay/straight New York Times piece that was about... wait for it... stereotypes coming down?

The Linkover

2009-07-09T19:12:00.002-04:00

Kenneth in the (212) "about face" is a new photography book restricting itself to just men's faces, unretouched. Lots of actors because they're handsome. I threw Jim Caviezel up to the left there. His career sure turned out odd, right?
THR Let the Right One In's director Tomas Alfredson lines up his next project, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy based on the John Le Carre's 1974 espionage novel
/Film Kate Beckinsale sues a newspaper for libel damages, claiming that they gave the impression her career was in decline. This is the type of thing that could so easily backfire. Suddenly we're thinking: Why is she so touchy about her career? Declining?
The Notorious Nikki Finke hates on Nicole Kidman. But then who doesn't she hate on?

All Things Fangirl has a detailed review of Tom Lenk's (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stand up show last night at Don't Tell Mama's. I was also there and it was indeed hilarious.
Big Screen Little Screen who is the real James Franco?
Just Jared Jude Law's tattoos
Movies Kick Ass clicks its heels together for Meryl Streep
Scanners another fine piece about the strangely heated Transformers divide, fans hating on critics for not agreeing with them. This happened last year with Dark Knight but it wasn't quite so widespread since most critics loved the hell out of The Dark Knight. a) why do movie fans need validation in the first place? and b) how boring would life be if we all shared the same opinions?
Erik Lundegaard wants all 14 year old's responsible for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen punished. His plan is so diabolical! Has he no mercy?

Did y'all here about this DVD box set of American classics Barack Obama gave Britain's Prime Minister?

Bright Lights takes issue with the Daily Mail for calling this a lame thoughtless gift (because it wasn't personalized). I sure as hell would be happy to receive it, wouldn't you? So many goodies.

Were you to see receive a box set which movies would you want replaced? And with what?
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Half Breed Prince

2009-07-09T10:08:00.001-04:00

Nobody noticed my tweet on the way to a Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince screening yesterday. I thought I'd get a parade of "I'm so jealous" remarks but I must have obscured the 'I'm about to watch it' message with the corny joke that I hoped Cher would record a theme song

half bloo-oood, that's all i ever heard

half bloo-oood, how i learned to hate the word

that half blood's Potion Book was no good they warned

Hermione was against it since the day it was found*

*I realize that 'found' does not rhyme with 'warned' but Cher can warp any vowels until they rhyme. She's magic. Just think of found as 'foo•wrrr•n'd'.

Of course we're not allowed to talk about the movie just yet -- not that that's stopping 99.7% of critics from posting their reviews. So this will suffice: if you loved the other movies, you'll love this one, too. If they're hit and miss for you, this one will be too. That's my useless you-knew-that-already early review! I'd personally rank the movies like so but, again, I'm not a Potterhead.

Prisoner of Azakaban and/or Order of the Phoenix
Half Blood Prince
Goblet of Fire
Sorceror's Stone
Chamber of Secrets

Alan Rickman continues to be a standout as Snape --->

The first two are the only ones that felt like full movies to me while watching them (i.e. stand alone enjoyments, requiring less reading of the books or watching of the other movies to fill in blanks), the third being a fine "this week on Harry Potter" episode the fourth being a pretty good episode and the 5th and 6th being... Oh hell, let's not talk about the first two. They're supposed to be magical but they're just so mugglical instead (cinematically speaking you understand. I'm aware that they're filled to overflowing with spells and wands and potions and such). I can't even talk about Chris Columbus right now. I'm so mad. Yes, I also saw I Love You, Beth Cooper this week and, no, I don't know why I did that either.

As you noticed in the "Stweep" posts, I love skimming the twitterverse to see random movie reactions. That not-actually-time-consuming past time is suddenly less pleasurable. Now if you type in the name of a current movie, just to see what peeps are saying, you mostly get an endless series of "watch this movie free online!" links. Piracy is bad but, more importantly, SPAM IS BORING. It takes so little time for spam to destroy the joy of any particular social networking site. Now I just have to get sneakier about what I type into search engines and I have to eschew full movie titles. Here's a few Potter tweets to go.

As someone who spends too much time on the internet, mockzallad's dilemma amuses.

Oh and Jim Broadbent is terrific as Slughorn. Such a reliable thesp, that one.

franklinveaux is right. Aside from Dumbledore, it seems to me like every adult in the books and movies -- at least for the first handful of books -- always makes the wrong assumptions and decisions to give the books conflict and to prove that Harry & friends are always right. It makes it easy to follow and plays as wish fulfillment for the bajillions of young readers/watchers. I'm less sure why millions of adults respond to the 'kids are smart, adults are dim' plots, though. Curious.
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Are you excited for the movie? If so, which part?

F&L

2009-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

first and last: here's the first image after the opening credits and the last image before the end credits roll.

Can you guess the movie? It's a tough one probably (though the movie isn't exactly obscure) but I always give you a clue if you highlight the last sentence of the post.
Cinematography by Lee Daniel. The film is from the 90s but it doesn't take place in the 90s.
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Red Carpet: Yo, Adrien. It's Marion and Maid Marian

2009-07-08T21:00:00.000-04:00

Time for our weekly stream of consciousness trip to the red carpet to visit with random celebrities who've been walking it.

First up are two Hogwarts franchise girls. Sartorial madwoman Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix LeStrange) and the delightfully batty Miriam Margoyles (Professor Pomona Sprout) came out for the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince premiere. Helena gets a few wickedly cackling scenes in the new picture but Miriam goes entirely missing. Oh well. Next time, Miriam. What is it with out lesbian actresses that they are all so endlessly adorable? I mean Jane Lynch + Miriam Margoyles + Lily Tomlin + Fiona Shaw... it doesn't get much better than them. They're always an audience treat. But back to Helena. Sometimes I try to time travel back to the late 80s and imagine this current fate for Lucy Honeychurch (sharing a home and hairdresser with Tim Burton) and I'll tell you... it's hard to fathom. Who saw this onscreen/offscreen persona coming for Merchant/Ivory's favorite dress up doll?

Adrien Brody chose to wear a blue cardigan without a shirt to some fashion event which upset the Fug girls quite a lot. Adrien is clearly proud of the sculpted body he's been sporting ever since he played a stripper in Summer of Sam (1999) -- good Spike Lee joint, that. My theory is that Brody shows it off as much as he does because he achieved his greatest fame without the bod, all emaciated for his Oscar winning role in The Pianist (2002). It's just a kindly reminder. He doesn't want us to forget.

Cate Blanchett attended an Armani show looking diva fine. Don't all freak out at once but I saw this photo and experienced a brief moment of temporary amnesia in which I actually thought "I miss you Cate!" forgetting that I was so glad to be having a one year break from The Ubiquitous One. Perhaps this short hiatus will bode well for her return as Maid Marian next year in Robin Hood. Maybe I'll fall back in love? Here's a photo of her in costume [via].

Speaking of Maid Marian... this past month's celebrity death parade was really upsetting to me and I've been thinking about 93 year-old Olivia deHavilland nearly every day. I wish her the best of health. No, that's not enough. I wish her Gandalf-like longevity. I want the Golden Age Maid Marian to hit the red carpet premiere of Robin Hood and have a photo op with the latest in the long line of actresses who've followed her in the role.

Sophie Okonedo came out for the UK premiere of Skin in which she plays the black daughter of white parents in Apartheid-era South Africa. It's been on the festival circuit for a year but there's still no word yet on whether or not it's ever coming to the States.

Look, it's Marion Cotillard and her mama! (up top far right) How cute are they? You'd think Cotillard would be exhausted by the endless premieres of Public Enemies around the globe but she's also showing up at fashion shows and doing commercials and short films and she's got three more movies on the way including Nine (see many previous posts). I fear we're talking about Blanchett level stamina here. J'en ai peur.

Marion Cotillard est très occupée. Photos from May 4th ~ July 6th

Speaking of Top Tens...

2009-07-08T17:30:00.000-04:00

...oh, don't act like you don't speak of them often.

I don't think I'll be getting to "Best of the Aughts" until late this year or possibly March 2010 given what's sure to be a crazed Oscar season but I was looking over those old Actors & Actresses of the Aughts list (compiled to reflect 2000-2005 cinema) and realizing how much can change within four to five years of cinema. Halfway through this decade Meryl Streep hadn't yet reconquered the world, Christian Bale hadn't yet started alienating fans, Scarlett Johansson hadn't yet started boring people, Heath Ledger hadn't left us, Holly Hunter hadn't moved to the small screen, Jude Law's career hadn't receded, Maggie Cheung hadn't vanished...

Here's what the lists looked like in 2005

Actor

Jude Law
Gael Garcia Bernal
Ewan McGregor
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
Johnny Depp
Clive Owen
Peter Sarsgaard
Daniel Craig
Christian Bale
George Clooney

Just Missed: Jim Broadbent, Jake Gyllenhaal
Further down... Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Bill Murray, Cillian Murphy, Brad Pitt and dozens of others who've seen great success (or much less of it) since
Not even in the top 100 We'd just barely met James McAvoy and he had pointed ears and really furry legs in Narnia. Who knew?

Actresses

Nicole Kidman
Patricia Clarkson
Kate Winslet
Kirsten Dunst
Samantha Morton
Julianne Moore
Cate Blanchett
Michelle Pfeiffer
Scarlett Johansson
Toni Collette

Just Missed: Joan Allen, Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert
Further down... Tilda Swinton, Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Evan Rachel Wood and god knows who else... with success and failures of every degree waiting for them in the near future (now our collective past)
Not even in the top 100 In 2004, I still sorta hated Penélope Cruz. HA! What a difference a few years made

I wonder how much these lists will change once 2006-2009 are factored in? Whose career changed the most for you, cinematically speaking, recently? I suppose you'll be wanting a "Directors of the Aughts" list, too?

2009-07-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

F&L

2009-07-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

First and Last: Here's the first image after the opening credits and the last before the end credits roll.

Can you name the movie?
Cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts
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DVD: Push and Knowing

2009-07-07T21:10:00.000-04:00

It's the day you've all been waiting breathlessly for. You can finally watch superpowered Chris Evans, Djimon Hounsou and Dakota Fanning throw things around (with their minds! ooooh) since Push, their flop f/x thriller has arrived on DVD. You can watch it in the privacy of your own dorm room / apartment / house / attic / basement and conjecture about how long Chris Evans career will last now that his agent doesn't want him to do beefcake anymore. Hopefully his agent has seen The Proposal and has realized that beefcake sure isn't hurting Ryan Reynold's career. Or you can watch it and wonder about how well Dakota Fanning will bridge the child star / young adult actress divide.

I don't mean to sound so snarky because against my better judgment I am actually curious to see this. But like I said back in February...

I'm sure it would be better if Mo'Nique was in it.

Much better.

Unfortunately for us, Mo'Nique's buzzy picture Precious, the movie that once shared this film's name, is not available for our viewing until November 6th. We can't wait.

Also on DVD

Box office hit Knowing which I had hoped to see nominated for abundant Razzies including Worst Actor in Perpetuity Nicolas Cage [my review]. Unfortunately Roger Ebert shoved his thumbs way up into its dumb deterministic disaster porn and thus saved it from its deserved fate.
The Unborn, a horror movie about a twin that never made it and is angry about it. Carla Gugino and Gary Oldman appear for reasons that only their managers or bank accounts can explain. Where are the projects for these two actors? But the plot got me to thinking about a fantasy book that spins on this same, malevolent dead twin theme called The Bone Doll's Twin. If you like fantasy books, I recommend.
I had no idea that the stars of the scary Joy Ride (2001), Steve Zahn and Leelee Sobieski, reunited for another thriller. They did. It's called Night Train and it went straight to DVD.
And though it's not its first time on DVD, Kathryn Bigelow's vampire cult classic Near Dark (1987) has also been rereleased today... to coincide with all the hoopla regarding her work on The Hurt Locker? Maybe not. There's been no publicity to celebrate the connection. That's too bad.

August: Osage County (The Movie)

2009-07-07T13:20:00.000-04:00

CAST THIS!

But before the movie... the tour! It starts in just under three weeks in Denver. I'm not getting paid for this but I'm going to shill because live theater needs to be promoted. It's so much cooler than TV ... even if Corporate America can't profit off of it as much (finite audience = number of seats in house) and thus makes it seem uncool by ignoring it or dismissing it as irrelevant.

Oscar winner Estelle Parsons, 81, headlines the August tour

And given that THE MOVIE -- all caps because if it's any good it'll be BIG -- is going to be the subject of much discussion whenever it begins to film and especially once it's in theaters, you'll want to be in the know early on. Even if you're not normally a theater person. If you haven't been following theatrical buzz and awardage these past couple of years, it's the latest from Tracy Letts who also wrote the incredible Bug which was made into a movie that a lot of people misunderstood or outright hated but I assure you that the play itself was phenomenal. They're much different beasts anyhow: Bug was taut, claustrophobic and tiny where August is messy (in the good sense), sprawling and very populated. It's a darkly funny drama about a family in crisis in Oklahoma. The father has disappeared and the daughters rush back home to deal with their abandoned and impossibly difficult pill popping mother. At three hours or so in length it's far more complicated than that but it's a great night out at the theater: funny, involving, memorable, dramatic. In short: if you're near it, get tickets. They're on sale now.

July: Denver August: San Francisco September: LA October: Portland and Seattle November: Toronto and Hartford December: DC January: Tempe, Dallas, Tulsa Feb: Chicago, Michigan, Iowa. It's also in Melbourne and then Sydney, Australia

<-- Parsons on the set of Rachel, Rachel with director Paul Newman

This will also give you the rare chance to see an Oscar winner live on stage. I stupidly missed Estelle Parsons here in NYC when she was playing Violet (one of the two lead roles, a combative mother and daughter) so I'm considering catching the show again in DC or Michigan if I can figures out the $. I always enjoyed Parsons as a comic foil on Roseanne and I love her work as the lesbian friend of Joanne Woodard in Rachel, Rachel (they were both nominated). That's such a fine underseen film so, rent it. Parsons won the Oscar as "Blanche" in Bonnie & Clyde (1967).

But back to August: Osage County
If you're game now, let's think up a dream cast.
Here are the main roles, in descending order of their "screen time" and the age according to the text (though obviously Hollywood will practice some creative license there)

Leads
Violet -Pill popping drug-addled matriarch, fond of devouring her young and filled with rage about her miserable childhood. She's also funny (65). Deanna Dunagan, left, originated the role on stage.
Barbara - Violet's eldest daughter, a college professor. Exhausted but controlling. Her marriage is failing (46)

Major Supporting Roles
Ivy -Violet's middle daughter who has never left home. A secretive plain jane type (44)
Karen -Violet's youngest. Flighty, willfully naive and eager to be loved. Newly engaged (40)
Bill -Barbara's husband, also a professor. He's left her for a student but comes back to Oklahoma with her to deal with the family crisis (49)
Jean -Barbara's daughter. A sexually precocious pot smoking vegetarian (14)
Mattie Fae -Violet's sister. Loud, flamboyant, nervous. Also fond of devouring her young (57)

Minor supporting characters
Charles -Mattie's husband. Calm, good natured (60)
Little Charles -Mattie's son, largely regarded as a shy loser (37)
Beverly -Violet's husband, a pontificating poetry-loving alcoholic. He disappears in the first act, setting the plot in motion (69)
Steve - Karen's insensitive businessman fiancé (50)
Johnna -empathetic Native American housekeeper and cook (26)
Sheriff Deon -Barbara's ex-boyfriend, on the search for Beverly (47)

The two lead roles and at least one of the supporting parts (Mattie Fae) are complete Oscar Bait roles: high drama, sneaky comedy, southern accents, total theatrical fireworks. The nearest film equivalent I can think of is Terms of Endearment but this is darker and more vicious, though also quite funny. And Violet is closer to Annette Bening's character in Running With Scissors in terms of how nightmarish she is as a druggy mother than to Shirley Maclaine's Aurora.

Working actresses in the right age range for the three daughters are too numerous to mention here but every actress in her late 30s to early young-looking 50s would be wise to already be prepping and campaigning for either Barbara, Ivy or Karen (or even Mattie Fae). Acclaimed juicy prestige material like this with so many roles for smart talented women doesn't come along regularly.

Though it's been assumed that Mike Nichols will direct and that Meryl Streep's talent and box office pull will win her the "Violet" role nothing is yet set in stone. The road from announcement to contract signing to pre-production can be quite volatile and with the Weinstein Co involved who the hell knows...

Other actresses in vaguely the right age range for the Violet or Mattie Fae parts (i.e. mid50s to mid70s) include: Judy Davis, Glenn Close, Kathleen Turner, Kathy Bates, Anjelica Huston, Dianne Wiest, Susan Sarandon, Sissy Spacek, Melinda Dillon, Diane Ladd, Jane Fonda among many others. It's an ideal movie for getting underused actresses back in play.

Is this all overwhelming to read? It was to type.

Some people have gone either further than me, like Walter Hollman (who you'll know from frequent comments right here) who has casting suggestions for every role.

I hope the lucky casting director takes this as seriously as one might take brain surgery. It's important! There are so many options. You could go real life mother/daughter (Diane Ladd & Laura Dern) you could experiment with co-stars with proven chemistry reuniting (Thelma & Louise as Violet & Mattie Fae?). You could use math multiplied by Oscar fever to try and create the single most nominated cast in the history of motion pictures. Whether or not you've seen the play, cast away in the comments. Would you cast by pure talent, family resemblance or gut instinct?

I can't remember who suggested it to me but the idea of Kathleen Turner in the Mattie Fae role fills me with utter delight. So let's start there. Comment away!

F&L

2009-07-07T08:30:00.000-04:00

First and Last: The first image after the opening credits and the final image before the closing credits roll.

Can you guess the movie?
Cinematography by Alex Thompson
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Link Shelves

2009-07-06T23:30:00.002-04:00

Self Styled Siren "anecdote of the week" the great Myrna Loy (Manhattan Melodrama) on John Dillinger -- a great choice 0f topic given all the discussion about Public Enemies this week.
PopWatch the future and end of Friday Night Lights, one of the best shows on television. If you haven't yet watched, please do yourself the favor and rent the DVDs.
Kenneth in the (212) on the documentary "My Big Break". A documentarian decided to film his struggling actor roommates and three of the four ended up finding some fame.
Lazy Eye Theater is a patriot. He alerts the authorities to Roland Emmerich's questionable activities. "If you see something, say something!"

The Hot Blog David Poland has some deep thoughts on the audience/critical divide and what we (the audience) need and accept from movies. Good stuff though I'm not so sure about the final Star Wars examples. CGI Yoda not being the problem with the new movies.
World of Wonder Lindsay and Michael Lohan celebrating.
Boy Culture video of Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet' tour changes. Couple of song switches and a Michael Jackson tribute
Cinematical has guarded hope for Indiana Jones Part V. Ouch. Does anyone (anyone?) outside of those who would directly profit by the million$, really think in their heart of hearts that this is a good idea? Why does no one demand more of these people before showering them with money? I'm absolutely convinced that if George Lucas announced Star Wars Episode 7: The Journey of Jar Jar Binks people would still line up in droves. And then complain about it afterwards. Why should filmmakers even try to make good movies when we reward them for hurting us? Current Blockbuster Movie Culture = Stockholm Syndrome.

Finally, Pop Culture Nerd is embarrassed that he's read only 13 of Newsweek's Top 100 Books: The Meta List. I haven't done much better. How many have you read? I'm guessing more than me. The Boyfriend consistently chastises me that I am to books what I complain the general public is to movies i.e. I usually go for the easily digestible ones within my favorite genres (fantasy/sci-fi) and devour sequels even when I think said franchise has become embarrassing.

my goodreads profile. not that i'm that active a reader

I must admit, with some shame, that he's right. I regularly miss the new critical darlings and the old classics to pick up yet another fantasy or sci-fi book, even when I think the author is shamelessly repeating themselves for a buck. My adventurous cinephilia has sadly never transferred over into book form though I usually do love the classics once I actually read them. I've been thinking of bringing back the "cast this" series (a book club for film lovers) but haven't quite decided given all the other projects on hold.

What are you reading right now? Or are summers all about the air conditioned movie theater for you?
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Pieces of Jennifer's Body

2009-07-06T18:39:00.001-04:00

I think the NY Post is rather insane to suggest that Jennifer's Body is going to be the next Heathers. I suspect, though I'm always willing to be wrong, that the edge will feel a little processed. Here's the red band trailer if you're dying to see Megan Fox cuss and devour young boys.

People always forget that Heathers wasn't really riffing on or leapfrogging off of other movies (2007's Teeth beat Jennifer's Body to this satiric punch, I'm guessing). It was just this wonderfully twisted new thing -- it debuted shortly after the John Hughes craze but it didn't feel like a product of, evolutionary step from or satire of. And people also forget that Heathers was largely unanticipated before its release and then thoroughly ignored for awhile. It barely made a million dollars in its theatrical release though I'm proud to report that I contributed my $6 or $7 at that time (or whatever it was they were charging. Today I paid $12.50 to see a movie I didn't really want to see. The cinema is doomed).

My point is this: movies that are trying to be cult movies never feel quite right. Cult movies have to earn it. Showgirls and The Big Lebowski weren't trying to be cult movies. They were just trying to be Showgirls and The Big Lebowski, you know?

But then again this film could be fun. Amanda Seyfried is always a pleasure to look upon. And, at the very least, it's sort of cute (I know they're probably hoping for subversive but I choose my own adjectives) to have Megan Fox turn on the very boys onscreen that she turns on offscreen, if you know what I mean. Plus every couple of years someone has to try and add a new classic "mean girl" to the huge gallery of high school bitches the cinema has offered up over the years, some portrayed more sympathetically than others of course.

One final note. I always assumed this film's title was based on the great Hole tune "Jennifer's Body" but on the soundtrack credit that ends the trailer there's no Hole or Courtney Love mentioned. What gives?

Oscar Predictions Readjustments

2009-07-06T13:28:00.000-04:00

Following Oscar's crazy 'more best pictures! less best songs and old people!' news I've been updating the Oscar predictions very slowly. C'est finis! Discuss.

[please note: I'm aware that there might be a few errors in formatting -- I'm hearing there are problems with the Best Actress page and I'll comb over the html soon. Not sure what's wrong. The Foreign film pages will also arrive later this week]

Streep Nom #7-8: The Abundant Riches of 1987-88

2009-07-05T18:00:00.001-04:00

We've been looking at each Meryl Streep Oscar nod and its competitive field. Previously: 78, 79, 81, 82, 83 and 85

Meryl Streep's first act was the Liberated Lady. The second was The Chameleon in which Meryl was always the lead, always had new hair, voice and body language and basically controlled Oscar's Universe. It was as if there was only 4 spots for Best Actress, one reserved for her in perpetuity. This second act ended with her intense immersion into notorious dingo-hating Lindy Chamberlain in A Cry in the Dark. [Editor's Note: Yes, I'll do a top ten performance list when "Streep at 60" wraps in mid July. I've heard your requests and I've been rewatching all the movies.]

Starting in 1989 Act III of Streep's career began but we'll get to that shortly. First, let's look at her competition in the last two years of her legendary Act II.

1987

the nominees were...

Cher, Moonstruck
Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
Sally Kirkland, Anna
Meryl Streep, Ironweed

I've always loved that "Mary Louise" exchange. But is Cher rewriting history to claim Silkwood as her first movie or was Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean filmed second and released first?

Other 87 ladies for context: The Globe nominees that weren't Oscar nominated were Barbra Streisand (Nuts), Faye Dunaway (Barfly), Rachel Chagall (Gaby: A True Story), Diane Keaton (Baby Boom), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) and Bette Midler (Outrageous Fortune). The year also included: Lindsay Crouse (House of Games), Cher & Sarandon & Pfeiffer (The Witches of Eastwick), Holly Hunter (Raising Arizona), Ellen Barkin (The Big Easy), Robin Wright (The Princess Bride), Mia Farrow (September), Mimi Rogers (Someone To Watch Over Me) and Daryl Hannah (Roxanne)

Nathaniel's List. This is one of the truly rare Oscar years in that I love every single nominated Best Actress performance. I'm not talking just like but love, would-propose-marriage-to deep love. My only sadness then and now is that Oscar doesn't give double nominations (Hunter in Raising Arizona = amazing and possibly even better than in News) and that there wasn't room for Emily Lloyd's fresh and now little seen debut performance in Wish You Were Here. Emily won the NSFC Best Actress prize, a BAFTA nomination and my own heart. No one speaks of her anymore but it seemed like she was going places in 1987. Those places didn't materialize. After a few short years of lead roles her film career withered into occasional supporting parts and then... nothing.

Here's an in-depth article about the many things that went wrong for Lloyd following her breakthrough role. Yet another example of why I usually try to wait before obsessing over newer actresses.

1988
the nominees were...

Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
Jodie Foster, The Accused
Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
Meryl Streep, A Cry in the Dark
Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas in the Mist

Other 88 women for context
The year's most outrageous snub was surely Globe nominee Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. The movie had been a big hit, it lifted her into a new tier of stardom, her reviews were ecstatic and it arguably remains her best work. 1988 also marked the peak of Barbara Hershey's career. In just twelve months on US screens she had a huge hit (Beaches) and saw the release of not but one TWO consecutive Cannes winning performances (Shy People and A World Apart). But outside of the south of France she was only recognized once (Chicago Film Critics).

Oh the rollercoaster of fame! Glenn Close, Kim Basinger and Barbara
Hershey were all smiles in 1984 (they co-starred in the baseball drama
The Natural). Who knew that Basinger, the least acclaimed at the time,
would become the sole Oscar winner?

Globe kudos that didn't transfer to Oscar were the winner Shirley Maclaine (Madame Sousatzka) and nominees Amy Irving (Crossing Delancey) and the awesome trio of Christine Lahti (Running on Empty), Jamie Lee Curtis (A Fish Called Wanda), and Michelle Pfeiffer (Married to the Mob). 1988 also included Gena Rowlands (Another Woman), Bette Midler (Beaches), Geena Davis (Beetle Juice), Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and the debut of Ricki Lake (Hairspray).

<-- Meryl and Don at the March 89 Oscars

Nathaniel's List I consider 1988 one of the richest years of all time for female leads (though I don't much like the performance that won the Oscar. Figures). So without rescreening 7 or 8 films, I can't decide. But of one thing I am reasonably certain: my gold and silver medals would be melted down, mixed together and handed simultaneously to Glenn Close and Susan Sarandon if I were ever allowed the one-time Best Actress tie that Oscar itself gave out (in 1968). Meryl Streep would be in the mix and the remaining two spots would be hard won between...

Don't make me decide right now. I change my mind. This year gives me migraines... of pleasure.

What are your lists like for 1987 and 1988?
Who do you think should have won and which movies top your list of "I must see this!" if you haven't already?

Did You See Fireworks?

2009-07-04T23:00:00.000-04:00

"That was good."
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Happy 4th of July (Starring Actresses, Who Else?)

2009-07-04T12:00:00.002-04:00

Last year at this time I wished you a Happy 4th from the Film Experience's Holy Trinity (American Division) plus one. But in the interest of expanding my cinematic spirituality beyond, quoth reader Robert,

In the name of the Meryl, the Julianne and the Holy Pfeiffer

I've decided I should commemorate this particular patriotic day with photos of a few randomly selected young American actresses I like. Loving rising talent is quite easy (everyone does it) but for me, as an actressexual, it's also fraught with anxiety. Nobody ever quite comes right out and asks me why I'm so continually focused on the 30+ movie star sector but it's for that reason. When actors are teens or twentysomethings you never know if your fandom will be rewarded. They might have long pleasurable careers one can obsess on for years after like the Holy Trinity but they might not. Unfortunate fates are many: flash in the pan popularity, bad breaks, repetitive dull performances, "exhaustion" (usually followed by rehab), marrying Tom Cruise, arrests, TV gigs, scientology, sudden retirement with an eye on politics (I made that one up), no growth talent-wise even though practice should make perfect...

Loving rising stars is a gamble and an investment and, as such, easy to lose. But it's a holiday weekend so... positivity. May all of today's sparkly young stars continue to give off fireworks for years to come.

Happy 4th of July!

Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Natalie Portman (actually born
in Israel but has lived in the States most of her life), Ari Graynor, Kirsten
Dunst, Shareeka Epps, Saoirse Ronan (she was raised in Ireland but born
here in the US... so I suppose I cheated unknowingly in that that's like
calling Nicole KidmanAmerican -- she was born in Hawaii -- when she's
Australian. I have no idea about their visa situations or whether they have
dual citizenships. I was just playing around in photoshop ;)

If you're one of many foreign readers, please excuse this exclusionary post. Obviously some of the best and most fascinating young actresses out there are French, Australian, British and [insert your country here].

After the holiday: foreign film Oscar hopefuls for 2009, August: Osage County casting ideas, new films, vodcasts, Meryl Streep in the 90s, Brüno, Humpday, I Love You Beth Cooper, Grey Gardens and whatever else comes up.

True Story

2009-07-03T23:43:00.002-04:00

WTF??? This was what appeared on my TV tonight when I tried to watch Out of Africa

Yes, that movie is filthy!

Please note: I have no children and have never set any parental levels on any of my entertainment systems. I actually didn't know that you could, outside of, like, blocking cable channels.

Maybe my television is boycotting Meryl Streep? I didn't know there was a quota on how many I was allowed to watch in a month.
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Public Enemies

2009-07-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!

RAT-A-TAT-TAT

Christian Bale actually shoots my (guilty pleasure) Channing Tatum down early on in Public Enemies but I've totally forgiven him because I'm so pleased that he didn't shout at the camera with crazy eyes this time. I was getting so tired of that. My second favorite scene in the movie is totally his lone scene with Johnny Depp through the bars of a jail cell, both men subtly trying to come out on top of the verbal smackdown. Bale is totally intense in the scene without once doing his "LOOK HOW INTENSE I AM!" thing. Well played Bale, well played.

My full review of Public Enemies is up over at Towleroad. In addition to holding forth on Public Enemies (which I heartily recommend to some and not to others) my weekly column offers up new gay movie news and wraps up with the criminal cool of Bette Davis. So, go read it.

But back to PE...

I'm totally fascinated by the diverse opinions I've been hearing and reading. Rather improbably for a straightforward gangster story, it seems to be something of a rorschach test, people reacting to it in completely personal ways. How else to explain nearly exact opposite reactions such as 'this is a character study but the action doesn't work' vs. 'there is zero character development but the action scenes are well shot'.

It's for this very dichotomous reason that I don't subscribe to either of the Oscar race notions floating around out there: the pro 'The Oscar race has begun' or the con 'Dead on arrival. Look at the middling reviews!' It seems obvious to me that it's the type of picture that will need time to settle. I think that's a good thing. Too many movies are instantaneously celebrated or dismissed on their very first day in theaters (and sometimes before that). Christ, let them breathe a little.

But if you've seen it, do add your initial impression to the confusing dogpile. After all, gut reactions come before full digestion.
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