The Fighter In ContentionSports Illustrated names The Fighter "the best sports movie of the decade." I guess they're using that 2001-2010 definition. Hate that. I like to end with the 9s. Low Resolution Speaking of The Fighter. Check out Joe Reid's awesome post "The Art of the Skank"
Cartoons Milo oh, this is lovely. Toy Story 3 by the numbers. Tons of infographic pleasure... if thinking about how bank accounts of Pixar executives gives you pleasure that is. The Exploding Kinetoscope FYC: Arguments for the Extermination of the Human Race. (Wow, someone hates Shrek even more than I do!) EW Inside Movies Anne Hathaway knows her awards history. Texts Jake Gyllenhaal on his first Golden Globe nom. (Even I had forgotten that he wasn't nominated there for Brokeback) Blog Next Door What the Disney villains teach us.
Mackie & Washington. Yay.
Randomness Invisible Woman asks you to see Night Catches Us starring Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie. We plan to, yes we do. Soon. popbytes Oprah Winfrey must be stopped; Hugh Jackman injured Salon "Why is Disney hiding the original Tron?" Little Gold Men the Coen Bros talk to Vanity Fair about True Grit
The Social Network
Remember when everyone was writing about that movie nonstop? It's happening again. Scanners does a comparison with Carlos, another richly layered movie winning critics prizes, and Nick at Nick's Flick Picks has shared ten intriguing thoughtsin two parts.The Toronto Film Critics Association just gave it another "best of the year" citation.
Year in Review Vulture "25 Best Performances That Won't Win Oscars" from Tom Hardy (Inception) to Alexander Siddig (Cairo Time). It's a great list overall but totally spoiled by two little girls, one of whom was genuinely great in another movie this year, so why not make it that one (Yes, Mia Wasikowska's The Kids Are All Right performance is > Alice In Wonderland times 1,000,000) Twitter "The 10 Most Powerful Tweets of 2010" from Haiti relief to Conan O'Brien half-assed 10 Best and 10 Worst from one of our favorite critics Tim Robey at the Telegraph.
Finally...
Remember way way back (ok, only two years ago) when I invited you to the wedding of "Boobs & Abs". They've split. Yes, The Green Lantern and The Black Widow are divorcing. Speaking of Scarlett Johannson, Jon Favreau is leaving the Iron Man franchise. Given that ScarJo's performances feel more listless than ever these last few years, how about Sofia Coppola for Iron Man 3's directors chair. Maybe the fanboys wouldn't appreciate it but at least they'd get some great shots of Black Widow's ass. Plus that f/x related scene in Coppola's Somewhere, with Stephen Dorff interminably stuck in the makeup chair, is one of the best moments in that inside Hollywood movie.
People still use blackberries? That's one gadget too many.
update: Here's an interview with Kerry by friend of the film experience Kurtis. Also "The Pretentious Know It All" says forget an iPhone. What Kerry needs for Christmas is a role worthy of her gifts. That's SO true.
Jim McKay's Our Song (2000) was one of those New York high school coming-of-age films that often crop up from time to time. There were plenty on the late'80s/early '90s indie scene, but nowadays they're few and far between. The film follows three girl friends experiencing formative tribulations on their paths to adulthood. They navigate themselves through a summer of issues - teen pregnancy and suicide, their school's impending closure, family strife - in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, all whilst practising with The Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band in local parking lots for a Labor Day parade. It's a languorous, amiable film that, despite the surplus of social topics it raises, doesn't hammer any of them home with undue force.
Girl Power: Washington, Anna Simpson & Melissa Martinez in Our Song
Kerry Washington, in her debut movie role, is Lanisha. She spends her time talking music with her estranged doorman dad, band practice and hanging out with the girls (Melissa Martinez, Anna Simpson). It's a great role, and Washington must have been joyed so early in her career at the chance to play a part so real and unfettered by many of the usual over-explored woes attributed to troubled teens in these kinds of films.
Get on the bus: Washington as Lanisha in Our Song
Like Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. ('92) and McKay's Girl's Town ('96) before it - and Half Nelson and Raising Victor Vargas since - Our Song avoids the obvious pitfalls of the coming-of-age sub-genre. And as with - particularly - those first two films mentioned above, it should've received much more exposure than it did. It's an open-hearted - but never overly sentimental - portrait of three inner-city girls literally banding together. Washington was standout, and adroitly showed in her debut role an indication of her talents to come. With natural ease she encapsulates the hopeful, determined tone of both Lanisha's worldview and that of the film itself with a simple, "today is a good day."
Take Two: The Roommate
Who saw The Dead Girl (2006)? Anyone? People, come hither and spout forth your thoughts upon it. It rarely garners much mention or praise, when in fact it was a great deal better than many of '06's bigger indie flicks. (Perhaps its limited release over the Xmas period hampered its chances of reaching a wide audience.) But boy did it have one of the most tantalising casts, especially for us character-actor buffs: Toni Collette, Piper Laurie, James Franco, Mary Steenburgen, Josh Brolin, Marcia Gay Harden, Giovanni Ribisi, Rose Byrne, Brittany Murphy, Bruce Davison, Mary Beth Hurt and, of course, Kerry Washington. A good roll call by any standards.
Split into five segments the film follows the discovery, autopsy, possible killer, friendships and - ultimately - last moments of the titular murdered girl through five women's differing perspectives.
Washington appears in the fourth part as Rosetta, a prostitute roommate and friend of dead girl Krista (Brittany Murphy). Gay Harden, as Krista's estranged mother, comes looking for information about her daughter's life before death, and pays Rosetta to look around their shared apartment. Unkempt and twitchy on drugs, Rosetta's life is laid bare in only a handful of scenes. Washington is too good an actress to trade in usual, over-worked hooker mannerisms; she's a real, deeply troubled and life-worn woman. Rosetta breaks free of the typical Hollywood BS when it comes to depictions of prostitution on film.
In one outburst - in answer to Gay Harden's questioning - she gives it straight: "My mom's dead. She was a junkie. She got shot in the head in a parking lot. My dad: I never knew him... Now I live here and suck off assholes for cash. What do ya think about that?" We're a long way from Pretty Woman. The tears in Gay Harden's eyes, as she responds with, "I think it's sad" speak volumes; she's thinking of Krista, but also of how she could now help herself by helping Rosetta.
In under fifteen minutes of screen time Washington crafted a truthful, memorable character. It was all in her face and voice - and in the way she clearly believed in Moncrieff's script and delivered a believable and affecting contribution to the film.
Take Three: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour's... new luxury pad and happy relationship just because thou hast deranged personal issues
Controversy-baiting playwright/director Neil LaBute likes to prod audiences with thorny issues in his film work - and he takes a stick to the hornet's nest of race relations in his 2008 film Lakeview Terrace.
Grumpy cop Samuel L. Jackson has a right bee* in his bonnet over new couple Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington having moved into his neck of fire-threatened LA: he certainly doesn't plan on keeping up with the Joneses. The impending blaze has nothing on hot-tempered dudes Jackson and Wilson, at loggerheads over property rights and interracial snafus.
Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington find their Lakeview Terrace not as homely as they'd hoped
Washington's character, Lisa, is a bit of a daddy's girl, a stay-at-home homemaker keen on starting a family; Wilson's Chris is white collar management (not that you'd know it as he rarely wears any clothes in the film), drives a fancy car and mopes about a bit. I don't know about you, but usually when a smug, affluent, middle-class couple play house in a movie my first reaction is to want to smack them in the face. Here, notsamuch - but thanks only to Washington. Indeed, Jackson and Wilson flirt around a punch-up for the film's first hour when they really should've been listening to Washington's well-reasoned Lisa all along. I was glad she was at hand to attempt moderation of their macho tempers.
Washington & Regine Nehy having a much-needed girl talk in Lakeview Terrace
Washington's several scenes with Jackson's daughter (Regine Nehy) are the most carefree and affecting of the film. They create a break in all that one-upmanship and, through a moment of female bonding (a shared emotional connection - and, well, a dance to a Destiny's Child track), show that if the men had just darn well tried communicating the whole sorry business could've been cleared up in half the time. Tsk. Proof that Washington's scenes were prompts for the answers LaBute strained at seeking over the remainder of the film, I'd say. She may have started the film as The Concerned Other Half, but Washington avoided the put-upon-wife-role trap that others often fall foul of in such movies. She makes her character count.
Washington of course added solid characterful goodness to a wide range of films in between these three: as Idi Amin's youngest wife in The Last King of Scotland and Ray's wife Della Bea Robinson (I reckon she was robbed of an Oscar nod here) especially; and more recently as the adoptive baker in Mother & Child; and she fantastically played blind sculptress Alicia Masters in two Fantastic Fours (as well as appearing in Save the Last Dance, The Human Stain, Mr & Mrs Smith, Life is Hot in Cracktown and Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna and She Hate Me). Let's hope that her central role in Sundance and LAFF period drama hit Night Catches Us ushers in a plethora of future lead roles for the uber-talented Washington.
* Yes, the terrible hornet-/bee-related puns are inspired by Nic Cage screaming, "OH, NO! NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES! AAAAAHHHHH! OH, THEY'RE IN MY EYES! MY EYES! AAAAHHHHH! AAAAAGGHHH" in LaBute's ever-so-watchable remake of The Wicker Man
The day in which Nathaniel got sick (cough sneeze), wanted to jump on Ari Graynor (with love!), saw Paul Dano at a party (quite adorable), went to a gay party by himself (absolute torture) and saw a few movies. Which is what we're here to talk about. So here goes...
Holy Rollers I've seen more than enough drug dramas in my lifetime but this one is about an ecstasy smuggling ring with Hasidic Jews as couriers. So ...that's new. Movies with unusual premises or angles win initial "potential" points right off the bat. Jesse Eisenberg plays Jesse Eisenberg again... only with payot. (somebody needs to start stretching. I'm just sayin'). He plays Sam Gold who, despite the fact that he's living an Orthodox life, he soon dives deep into crime with an older friend and fellow Hasid (Justin Bartha), as his guide. Ari Graynor, whom I love yet more with each new movie, plays their bosses arm candy. She enjoys torturing (i.e. flirting with) the Jewish boys and delighting me in my theater seat. There's a certain punch to a couple of the performances and the milieu is interesting, but I wish the movie were stronger. It lacks a certain urgency that's necessary for crime dramas (even non-violent ones like this) but the religious backdrop was refreshing. Holy Rollers also accepts and doesn't judge the way that people often retreat into religious ritual and habit, whenever they feel threatened by the waters they've tested outside. C+
P.S. At one point Ari Graynor offers Jesse ecstasy on her tongue. I've never done E but I've never been more tempted. I am becoming obsessed with Ari Graynor. Help me!
Mother and Child The premise goes like so: Mother "Karen" (Annette Bening), pregnant when she was only 14, gave up Child "Elizabeth" (Naomi Watts) for adoption. Both of them live the next 37 years deeply affected by this decision. Mother spends the rest of her life thinking about this girl and who she might have become. Bening's performance, typically strong, is all brittle self-punishing defeat. Karen's anger isn't only internal, she's got enough of it to spread around, keeping potential friends and would be lovers at a (safe) distance. Bening has played icy women before but Karen feels like a fresh creation. There's no theatricality to her rudeness, no joy in her solitude.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, has become a skilled successful lawyer. Like her mother she also lashes out, only she knows she's doing it. There's an unsettling 'I dare you' challenge in her gaze and she seems to greatly enjoy undermining the happiness of neighbors and angling for power in her relationship with her boss (Samuel L Jackson). It's a difficult unlikeable character to wrap your head around. Watts is typically intense but she doesn't find a way to make the ice queen thaw feel like more than a forced screenplay choice. There's a third would be Mother in the film "Lucy" (Kerry Washington) and the film also runs into some trouble here. All the parallels and connections began to feel too schematic and less than organic.
Writer/director Rodrigo García's career from Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her through his television work and to Nine Things suggests that he loves actresses as much as I do. I thank him for that but next time I hope he loves them more spontaneously and energetically. Mother and Child has both sorrow and warmth but it needed more fire in its (pregnant) belly. C+
The Runaways Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart all came to town for the festival to promote this rock star bio film. And Sunday night Jett even performed -- she still loves rock and roll -- but I was not invited. The universe is cruel that way.
Though I had my worries about Kristen Stewart portraying this iconic 80s rock star, the mimicry seems to have encouraged her to drop some of the usual tics that she brings with her when playing fictional characters. She's fine here even though, as it turns out, she's nearly a supporting character despite her top billing. We meet Joan first but by the time Dakota Fanning takes the mic as the "ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb" jailbait, the catalyst for their success as the film argues, the film is hers. Or maybe it's Michael Shannon's? He gives the only comic performance in the film as their manager.
Director Floria Sigismondi has fashioned a visually exciting bio that is refreshingly punk in spirit: she doesn't shy away from the unsavory reckless behavior, the sexually fluid promiscuity (yes, Dakota & Kristen get it on), or the money-minded exploitation of underage Cherie. Speaking of: what will people make of the parallel exploitation of Dakota Fanning in this role? For all the snap of the music, the fun of the period details and the colorful aesthetic, The Runaways is hit and miss. Like many biopics, it suffers from a repetitive nature and some missed opportunities in focus and character development, particularly within the supporting castwho barely seem to exist. B
Catfish The next day sidelined by general sickness miserabilism, I only took in one movie: the extremely buzzy documentary about... well, here's the catch. You're not allowed to talk about what it's about. I wrote a little bit more about it in my weekly Tribeca column. B+
What have you been watching this past week? Have you ever been to Sundance. *
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they've picked up the TIFF hit Mother and Child starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Samuel L Jackson and Kerry Washington. The Rodrigo García adoption drama prompted more than one pundit to declare that The Bening would most definitely be back in the Best Actress Oscar race. But the press release makes no promises about when SPC would be showing off their new bundle to the public.
<--- Her Hotness Kerry Washington and Shady Naomi Watts work it out in San Sebastian, promoting Mother and Child
Sadly we'll have to assume it's not for another year (sigh... All these movies completed and placed on shelves). After all, SPC is already octomom of the Oscars for 2009. So very fertile they are. Eldest children include: An Education, Moon and Coco Before Chanel. But there's a whole litter about to drop (and now I promise I'll quit with this pregnant metaphor): The White Ribbon, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Broken Embraces and The Last Station.
A few readers have noticed the absence of "The Bening" from the blog this year. I have no idea why she hasn't piped in or what's going on with her. Maybe her stage work has been keeping her busy but she hasn't been on the red carpet as much as usual and she wasn't on the festival ride with Mother and Child either. Kerry, Naomi and Samuel did starpower duty in San Sebastian and Toronto but there's nothing quite like having Hollywood royalty at big premieres. Mr. Beatty and The Bening were missed. At least by obsessives like me.
In fact, one of the most recent non-set photos I could find of Annette on Zimbio was 12 whole months ago for a stage reading of All About Eve. But, old photo or no, I LOVE it.
Intentionally or not, she's totally replaying her bitchtastic Being Julia climax, blocking co-star Keri Russell's limelight with a swirl of her extra fabric. Hee. I love The Bening so muchly but every once in awhile I need these reminders. Can't wait to see her back in action... whenever that may be. *
GawkerHarry Potter pr strategy: well behaved role model stars TransGriot excerpts from Kerry Washington interviews. She's on the circuit for her transsexual role in Life is Hot in Cracktown. SLatIFR 'The Kings of Cinematic Schlong' ...and yes Ewan McGregor is accounted for Cinematical a certain heiress is being sued for not promoting a movie that paid her a cool million. Serves the filmmakers right, really. Roles in movies are meant to be played by actresses. Old Hollywood a classic quippy moment with Shelley Winters, also known as Shirley JoBlo first still for Fantastic Mr. Fox The Playlist is tired of Henry Cavill missing out on every A-List role he's been considered for (The Green Lantern being the latest). They have a point. He does look like this...
I Need My Fix yet another product endorsement for Scarlett Johansson. You know, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she retires at 30 to raise children with her gazillions of dollars In Contention yet another Oscar contender from within An Education? I'm feeling good about predicting it in several places since April I am. But this is the first I'm hearing about supporting actress. Probably should add Rosamund Pike to the list. Risky Business doesn't get where Entourage is going with their latest fake movie, The Great Gatsby directed by Martin Scorsese.
off cinema Getty Images Cat Island! Somebody book me a ticket Towleroad has a great lengthy interview with military hero Daniel Choi (he's one of the guys being kicked out because Obama is so fond of inaction on "Don't Ask Don't Tell") Movie|Line looks at the new contestants on Project Runway. This show has been gone so long that I almost don't care. Which is really weird for me. Finally... Fin de Cinema shares a list of the 'Best films of the 90s' from the Criterion Forum. It's somewhat bizarre. On first glance it skews difficult, hipster, art film, cinephile with Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man and Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express up top.
But if this is the type of films they're going for why the hell is [safe] not in the top ten? It's better than either of those. Beau Travail's low ranking #63 -- on an art film list no less -- is also completely unacceptable (though I count that as a 2000 film since that's when it arrived in both France and America after 1999 festival showings) *
Vanity Fair briefly killed my enthusiasm for the "Hollywood project" when they nixed the traditional cover for 2009. But time heals most wounds and I have reanimated the project's corpse. 2004's cover had 13 already peaking actresses on it. How'd they follow it in 2005? With another batch of goddesses, 60% of whom had already graced their "Hollywood" cover. In the case of the C/Kates, it was now thrice. Was Vanity Fair running out of ideas? Given the idiosyncratic pool the covers regularly pulled from you'd think there were only 40 actresses in Hollywood... but then, it's probably all in who you know who represents you when it comes to face time here. It's definitely not only about the fame. Consider this: this cover series lasted from 1995 - 2008 and Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Michelle Williams and Tilda Swinton never appeared on them (just four chronologically appropriate examples off the top of my head).
click to enlarge for maximum beauty
For reasons that only pop culture archives will be able to fully explain to future generations this cover was called "Not So Desperate Housewives". Only two of these actresses were even married at the time (the C/Kates) and only six kids had sprung from their enviable DNA (two kids each for Cate, Kate and Uma).
Uma Thurman, about to turn 35, had appeared on VF's very first Hollywood issue back in1995. Back then she was celebrating her deserved Oscar nom for Pulp Fiction. I like to think that her get up here, white shirt and black pants (the only one of the ladies eschewing a gown), was a nod to "Mia Wallace" in Pulp Fiction. It would make sense. Director Quentin Tarantino had just finished (momentarily) resuscitating her talent and fame with those thrilling Kill Bills and she was about to risk memories of that film with the John Travolta dance number in Be Cool. She had divorced Ethan Hawke in 2004 and the three films coming out (Prime, Be Cool and The Producers) were a nice range of drama, comedy and musical... on paper. Onscreen it didn't work out so well. More flops followed. Uma turns 40 in 2010, and she's undoubtedly looking for that third career wind. Next up: Motherhood, Percy Jackson and Eloise in Paris.
Cate Blanchett had just been won an Oscar (The Aviator) and was about to turn 36. Aside from the Oscar win, 2005 was quiet. Blanchett never stays quiet. The next four years would be jam packed full of Oscar bait and trips down the red carpet culminating in the two biggest non-Hobbity hits of her career (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). No films in 2009 (shocker!) but she'll be back in 2010 as Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood [see previous posts]
Kate Winslet was 29 years old, still Oscar-less and an old pro at the "Hollywood" covers. Uma & Cate are her superiors when it comes to behaving like models in photoshoots (think about it), but she wasn't letting them pull all the focus with her sleek über sexy look here. Her inarguable triumph in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) was about to prove very difficult to follow. Fascinating time capsule note: 2005 is the year wherein she guest starred on "Extras" as a foul mouthed narcissistic "Kate Winslet", bitching about having to do a Holocaust drama to win an Oscar.
Despite that hilariously written and performed prophecy, her next several films didn't truly catch on (The Holiday, Little Children, Romance & Cigarettes, Revolutionary Road and All the Kings Men). The happy ending punchline arrived earlier this year when she won her Oscar for the holocaust drama The Reader. Up next: Nothing. With Oscar in hand, I'm guessing she lays low for the next couple of years. She was never a ubiquitous celebrity to begin with.
Scarlett Johansson was just 20 and already a back to back Hollywood covergirl. She had skyrocketed in 2003 with the global success of Lost in Translation, the critical success of Girl with a Pearl Earring and her high profile relationship with another Young Hollywood star, Josh Hartnett. And though nothing in 2004 had added much to her mystique she had the lead in a would be summer blockbuster for 2005 (The Island, which flopped). No one at the time saw her Woody Allen's muse status coming, but Match Point (their first collaboration) was about to debut at Cannes and become the legendary director's biggest hit in over a decade. Cut to several Scarlett roles and three calendar years later: she's beloved as a celebrity, newlywed and spokesperson but who loves her as an actress, any more? Can she turn that around with her stint as The Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (see previous post)
<-- Rupert Everett, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup at the premiere of Stage Beauty in October 2004
Claire Danes, turning 26 appears to have been slain by ScarJo. And maybe she was. Hollywood only has room for a handful of young superstar blondes in any given time period, you know. Perhaps she's prone as sacrifice for Cate, Kate and Uma none of whom have ceded much space for up and comers, holding onto big fame with that iron grip combo of talent, beauty and the favor of important filmmakers. Or maybe Mary-Louise Parker had snuck in to lay her down? It had only been a year since the gossip machine had ground and spit Claire Danes and Billy Crudup out for splitting with their partners -- in Billy's case, the several months pregnant Parker.
Which is all along way of saying that her cover girl status was slightly puzzling. Despite Danes' absolutely stellar start in television's My So Called Life and a promising initial silver screen transfer (Little Women and Romeo + Juliet), the movie career never really worked out. Her career had slipped in the late 90s and the Aughts brought nothing but a string of well performed but small supporting roles (The Hours, Igby Goes Down) or lead parts that didn't do much for her (Terminator 3, Stage Beauty). This trend continued after this cover, too: The Family Stone, Stardust, Evening and Shopgirl haven't provided breakthroughs. Up next: Temple Grandin in which she plays an autistic scientist. Should she try headlining a TV series again?
Rosario Dawson about to turn 26, had been on the cover before and had just caused a mini-fuss with her scene stealing nudity and feral performance in Alexander (2004). Vanity Fair's cover indicated a good sized year for her and it was: Sin City and Rent "I wanna go ouu--uuuuuttt, tonight" both premiered.
Zhang Ziyi newly 26, had enjoyed a high international profile since her breakthrough in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, five years earlier. The preceding months had been very good to her with three well received successful imports: 2046 (her best performance if you ask me), Hero and House of Flying Daggers. But she was undoubtedly on this cover because everyone in the world seemed to be anxiously awaiting Memoirs of a Geisha, then only a blockbuster book and not yet a disappointing movie. She was making lists like People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful, she was a frequent object of lust in men's magazines. Once the Memoirs craze ended, things went quiet, though one can still spot her on red carpets or in paparazzi shots with venture capitalist boyfriend Vivi Nevo. Is an international comeback going to happen? She's only 30. Next up: Sophie's Revenge and possibly the romantic drama Waiting which would reunite her with her Daggers co-star, Takeshi Kaneshiro, her only co-star to ever challenge her for "prettiest person in this movie" contests.
Kerry Washington, 28, had just appeared in the Oscar nominated biopic Ray and was still dating actor David Moscow (pictured together right, Jan. 2005) Many people, including yours truly, were pulling for major stardom for Kerry. She's still high profile and highly castable (young, beautiful, talented, speaks multiple languages including very handy ones for the cinema: French and Spanish) and yet the cinema can't seem to figure it out. 2005 brought only bit parts in Mr & Mrs. Smith and Fantastic Four. When will Hollywood ever figure out big careers for the top black actresses? It seems hopelessly beyond Tinseltown's capabilities. Things are still about the same for Kerry. She'll give a great performance (The Last King of Scotland, Dead Girl) and it's like it didn't happen at all in the larger scheme of the star hierarchies. It's so frustrating. Will her new projects turn the tide? Next up: A Thousand Words with Eddie Murphy and a possibly plum possibly Oscar-bait supporting role in Mother and Child starring Annette Bening.
Kate Bosworth, 22, was fresh off the underrated romantic comedy Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! and the flop biopic Beyond the Sea starring Kevin Spacey. She was very high profile in the celebrity-watching sector as Orland Bloom's girlfriend and Hollywood seemed to have faith in her. She was soon given the Lois Lane role in Superman Returns (unfortunate casting, that). Her film career has long since been smaller than her celebrity and she hasn't actually been making many movies. Next up: The Warrior's Way.
Sienna Miller, at 23 was, like Kate Bosworth, far more famous than her filmography would imply. She was Jude Law's new fiancé -- they had just made Alfie (Oct 2004, left)-- and he was at the peak of his celebrity. A few months after this Hollywood cover they broke off the engagement and their on and off again relationship has provided tabloid fodder for years now. She followed Alfie by romancing Heath Ledger in Casanova. She's been working a lot ever since (Factory Girl, Stardust, The Edge of Love, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh) but it looks doubtful that her movie career will ever equal her celebrity. Or not. Maybe she's just the right role away from more legitimate stardom? Next up: playing "The Baroness" in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
PLEASE NOTE: If you'd like to read more about any of these stars, click the names in the labels section below.
* median age: 27. Blanchett was the eldest, Scarlett the baby. noticeably absent: Who else was topical 'round mid 2004 to mid 2005? Let's see... Monica Bellucci (international profile raised with The Matrix films and The Passion of the Christ), Jennifer Garner (transferring to movies with 13 Going on 30 and Electra), Eva Mendes (had 4 movies coming out including Hitch), Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls) and maybe Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) collective Oscar stats before cover: 7 noms / 1 win (all by the front cover girls. Blanchett won for The Aviator) collective Oscar stats after cover: 5 nominations / 1 win (3 for Cate, 2 for Kate) fame levels in 2009, according to famousr, from most to least: Uma Thurman, Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, Kate Bosworth, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Rosario Dawson and Kerry Washington. Not listed in famousr for some bizarre reason:Kate Winslet & Zhang Ziyi. previous episodes:1995 ,1996, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003and 2004. *
I'm so far behind on the Cannes coverage! The festival wraps on Sunday. So, without further ado some red carpet beauties and some links to get you caught up if you haven't been online much or were trusting me to bring you the best bits ...so sorry to have kept you waiting.
First up is Imelda Staunton at the photocall for Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock. There was some very very early Oscar buzz for Imelda for her comic portrayal of Dimitri Martin's mom. Rosengje wasn't sold, writing...
I think people are going to be very divided about Imelda Staunton. It was a technically perfect performance and likely imitated the real life counterpart, but the character is written as too much of a caricature. Excluding one great scene involving some.. special brownies she is excessively shrill.
Saïd Taghmaoui, all in white, attended the Vengeance premiere. I feel like I haven't seen him in a movie in forever but I like him. Next up for Saïd is G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra. Kristin Scott Thomas remains a classy red carpet must have. Michelle Yeoh and Kerry Washington, two undervalued actresses that we've always loved here at the Experience, have both been valiantly working the charity circuit at Cannes.
Kerry's getting muscled out of this picture by Brad Pitt& Angelina Jolie, mega-stars (heyyyy, just like she was in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. You're entirely forgiven if you didn't realize Kerry was in that movie. She barely is). Brad was in Cannes for Inglourious Basterds which seems to have a left a lot of people underwhelmed.
All Cannes! All the Time! Go Fug Yourself salutes Penélope's game face after her food poisoning this week. Eating the Sun Lots of Philippines upset abotu Roger Ebert's 'worst film ever' comments about Brillant Mendoza's Kinatay IndieWire on why Cannes still matters Living in Cinema is jazzed for the new Tsai Ming-Liang film Face. The early stills and the trailer do look like pure eye candy. NY PostDid you know that Antichrist's end credits cite a "misogyny consultant" Ha! Lars Von Trier continually delights me... and I don't even need to see his movies (not that I don't -- love them, too) for this delight to take place. But then, I've always had a thing for artists who loved to push buttons just to be pushing them and/or to mock themselves or have fun with perceptions of their persona. Madonna used to be in this camp, too. Twitch rumor has it: Universal is going to ask Tarantino to trim Inglourious Basterds down after the mixed reaction at Cannes. Hey, a little trim probably wouldn't hurt most QT movies. Getty points to the trend for the red carpet at Cannes and elsewhere: nude (coloring that is) Obsessed With Film enthusiastically offers 5 reasons to see Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell IndieWire Director's Fortnight winners... a big night for the Quebecois film I Killed My Mother My New Plaid Pants is waiting impatiently for each new bit on Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon Risky Business thinks that Haneke's film is going to win the Palme D'Or.
Will these two films be the big winners?
As to who might win... Haneke seems like a good bet but it's not the only film that's been wowing them. Others are saying Jacques Audiard's Un Prophete could take it. (If you don't recognize the name just think of the lively, tense French hits The Beat That My Heart Skipped and Read My Lips... both of which did well in their US runs). But remember Cannes watchers... no one knows anything. The winners are never exactly predictable. This ain't the Oscars. It's a juried competition where they're encouraged to spread the wealth. No one knows who might win what... except maybe Isabelle Huppert. *
We haven't done a fashion lineup in a while, so here goes...some ladies walking the flashbulb-lined red this past week.
Even though Rumer Willis (who turns 21 this summer) is not what you'd call traditionally beautiful I admire that her public persona often screams "I'm hot shit!" I think you have to respect that. Martha Plimpton is hot shit on Broadway (where she's currently enjoying her 3rd consecutive TONY nomination) if nowhere else. But isn't Broadway enough? She seemed to give up on her dwindling movie career just as the new decade began. It pisses me off that most people only think Goonies! when they see her because, helloooo, she was so good in other 80s gems like Shy People, Mosquito Coast and Running on Empty back in her River Phoenix days. And though I barely recall it I seem to remember that she was hilarious in 200 Cigarettes (1999). Does anyone remember that holiday comedy?
Anne Hathaway is fierce. It's like she just stepped out of the opening credits of Dynasty -- loves it.
Audrey Tatou is... I have to admit I don't really get her though she was cute in Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie. I'm vaguely curious about (Le Fabuleux Destin de...) Coco Avant Chanel but isn't it weird how there's always a glut with bios? First the Shirley Maclaine TV movie and now this AND Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky. No Coco and then Coco tripled.
And I have to give credit when it's due: Renée Zellweger looked amazing at the Met Costume Ball. I'm totally confused. Gone is the weird 'she'll break in half' hot mess we've been seeing for years. The skin looks fresh, the dress is flattering... the eyes are open! It's a small miracle.
I've hidden Kerry Washington behind Renée because none of us should have to see that dress full on. Y'all know I've been rooting for Kerry for years but if she doesn't ascend in some memorable way in the next two years I don't think it's ever going to happen. She's got three movies on the way: Life is Hot in Cracktown with other semi-famous B & C listers, A Thousand Words with Eddie Murphy and what looks like an important supporting role in the acting showcase Mother & Child starring Annette Bening and Naomi Watts.
Marisa Tomei is here because I'm addicted. Why isn't everyone? I don't understand why she doesn't have 12 projects lined up post Wrestler. And as StinkyLulu pointed out -- here's to her longevity. She's been Oscar nominated in her 20s, 30s and 40s -- a rare feat. It's like Cher with #1 singles. Here's to a fourth Oscar nomination once Marisa hits her fifties.
And finally, one more note on "Miss Golden Globe 2008" (that'd be Rumer). She co-stars in her mother's directorial debut, a short film called Streak (pictured right). Brittany Snow plays an uptight sorority girl who is always counting calories and making herself miserable. One day she meets free spirit Rumer. There's some lesbo subtext/teasing and eventually the girls end up streaking together across campus. Streak beats you over the head with a 'love your body no matter what you weigh!' message but then when Brittany finally does love her body, stripping off her clothes in a moment of joyous abandon, we only see her from the neck up. It's total Message Dysmorphia. It's... unfortunate.
A random sampling of celebs from premieres, parties and events this past week...
image sources
I made fun of Sharon Stone this week but I did it with love, I assure you. In truth I think the world would be a far better place if more celebrities tried as hard as she (still) does. Take Scarlett Johansson for example. This tent jacket is what she wears to her own premieres now? Sometimes she doesn't even try. You gotta try. It's Hollywood. Tinseltown... tinsel is, like, shiny -- get it Scarlett? No? Well, if you don't try on the red carpet at least try on screen. [sigh] I worry about that one... it's been 5 years since a particularly memorable pair of performances made her A List. So many films since then and so little to remember from them. If I were King of Hollywood, I would appoint Sharon as Headmistress of the Academy for Aspiring Movie Stars and I would warn her that Scarjo is a natural who just ain't applying herself.
A private message to both Kerry Washington and Jay Hernandez: Please start making some movies I'd actually like to see because you're extraordinarily scrumptious. Pleez & thx, - N.
Rachel Weisz loves zebras and Darren Aronofsky so she has reasonably good taste. I'm hoping you'll see her at the Oscars... because that would mean her auteur husband was finally recognized for something and why not start with The Wrestler. It's so good... I'm next to finished with all the big ticket Oscar hopefuls and The Wrestler just keeps looking better and better in comparison. Luca Argentero... I had some reason for including him but it's already escaped me. Ciao Italia. Angelina Jolie would love to stay and chat but she's busy. busybusybusy. The question is will she & Brad stay so active red carpet wise once the multiple global Changeling and Benjamin Button premieres are over? Will we see them at the Globes and Oscars? That depends on the fates of their vehicles, his & hers.
A brief glimpse at this week's movie star fashions on the carpet for those cinephiles among you who don't troll gossip blogs or who might if they weren't littered with so many worthless celebrities who aren't famous for anything cinematic or encumbered by talent --there's so many these days. Why do people care about the talentless? It remains a mystery to me. But not the type of mystery you can't put down for hoping to solve, the kind that makes your eyelids very heavy.
Kate Beckinsale is a midget! No offense to midgets: she pretty [imagesources mostly]
from left to right:Brad Pitt, Brad's lucky left hand & Angelina Jolie at NYFF's Changeling premiere. For Oscar-Watchers: I wouldn't worry so much about the sudden influx of mixed/negative reviews from NYFF for this Eastwood pic. Once the mainstream critics get to it, it'll be raves. That's how it goes. Some of them even called Flags of Our Fathers a 'masterpiece'... and this movie is better than that. Expect its RT percentile to move up when it opens proper. Jennifer Lopez and Kate Beckinsale pretty in white at Elle's "Women in Hollywood" event. FYI: JLo is ending her strange and rather sudden 3 year break from acting. (Oh right, infants) She has two movies in pre-production.
Tangent Gripe: Jane Fonda and Kerry Washington were also there and if I could've found a photo of them full length (at the time I prepared this photo - I've seen one now), I would've included them in this red carpet mashup in order to declare my love for the 188th and 41st time respectively. But, as it turns out, photo services and gossip blogs have 3,000,000 photos of a certain heiress and various reality TV stars to every 1 photo of Kerry f'ing Washington and sometimes this just makes me want to die. What a world if Kerry be not prioritized?!
Maggie G favors black for the "Fashionably Natural" Gen Art and SoyJoy show. Kristin Scott Thomas, having quite a year, at the Seagull opening on Broadway. My BFF who saw Dianne Wiest onstage in the same role earlier this year gives the thumbs down in comparison. Actually he does the cat poo scratch but that seems awfully harsh --I've seen neither performance so I can't say. But it is what it is. Kristin is on Broadway run and Dianne wasn't. This Broadway gig will raise her acclaim and profile for that Oscar run for the upcomingI've Loved You So Long. TONY run to follow for The Seagull? Campaign synergy!
And finally we get to Saoirse Ronan and Nicole Kidman since we needed a little color with everyone leaning heavily on black & white. Saoirse was promoting City of Ember (now open) and Nicole was also at that starry Elle event. Isn't her increasingly strawberry hair begging to darken? Take back that head o' hair: Come Back to the Red or Ginger Nicki Kidman Nicki Kidman. *
Shouldn't red carpets have some kind of quota or maximum capacity on beauty? Not too much all at once lest we all be blinded from the sight of it. This photo is from Cannes last summer. I'm confident that the only reason my eyes are still working is that time has destroyed the purity of the photograph thereby creating an effective actressexual ozone layer against all the radiance.
tuesday top ten. for the listlover in you and the listmaker in me yes, I'm aware it's thursday
A reader sent me this interesting snippet of Essence's December feature on Hollywood's black actresses and their unique career issues. It's a minefield of a topic and for more reasons than just race. There's also the combustible issues of gender inequality in acting careers (no matter your skin color) and then there's the fun sticks of dynamite I like to call 'Generic Celebrity Entitlement.' (hereafter referred to as GenCelEnt)
To explain. Features on the troubled careers of actors always walk a tightrope between generating valuable discussion of the issues at hand and snarky dismissal along the lines of 'Let me get this straight: You're complaining.' Chances are there are tens of thousands of young actors (of various colors, persuasions and genders) who would trade places with the employed covergirls here: Nia Long, Sanaa Lathan and Gabrielle Union. These three may not have their dream careers but they make their living from acting which automatically puts them in the top 10 percentile of their profession, doesn't it?
Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this and it is a topic worth hashing out. I also checked out this trailer to a documentary about black actresses called Angels Can't Help But Laugh which I'm already willing to love in the hopes that it will be as richly hilarious and rewatchable as its white girl counterpart Searching For Debra Winger (a must see of the highest order, particularly for actressexuals and folks who enjoy the double edged sword delights of GenCelEnt... 'you're complaining and also: good point')
The topic of black actresses always makes me long for the lean muscle and forcefully clipped dramatic annunciations of one Angela Bassett, who I fell madly in fandom with in the early 90s only to realize that her ascendance was also her finale. How does that happen? The beginning is not the end --that's not how things are supposed to work! She falls into the exact same age and talent bracket as Annette Bening and Holly Hunter and she is nowhere to be seen damn-you-Hollywood! So the following list is dedicated to her. It is not dedicated to Halle Berry who has somehow become the most successful black actress ever despite not being half as interesting as the ones who came before her or many of those struggling to unseat her from her throne. Anyway...
10 Black Actresses I Wish Had Bigger Careers
10 Anika Noni Rose From her good sportsman participation in the dreadful From Justin to Kelly (my torturous recap) to her outstanding TONY winning 'children are our future' hope in Caroline or Change on Broadway to her chipper girlgroup backup in Dreamgirls, she brings infectious joy to her material. Soon: The voice of a Disney heroine in Princess and the Frog
<--- 09Regina King It perturbs me that I get unwelcome unfunny flashes of Miss Congenality 2 lately when I think of her (I watched it on a plane or something in a fit of buddy comedy masochism? What was I thinking?) but she can't be blamed. When she gets saleable material --like that potent "hit the road Jack" scene in Ray or basically everything about her good natured matchmaker in Year of the Dog, she knows just what to do with it.
---> 07 Hazelle Goodman I enjoyed her very brief roles in Hannibal (freaky) and Deconstructing Harry (cookie) and I'm always rooting for strong stage personalities to make it in the cinema.
06April Grace I know she's made a living with television gigs, hell, in preparing this list I realized that TV has plentiful opportunities for black actresses even if the great roles are still missing. April is even playing "TV Personality" in the upcoming I Am Legend. (oops, typecasting) but after her sensational head-to-head with Tom Cruise in Magnolia (also as a television personality) --not everyone can survive let alone resonate in scenes with megawatt performers-- how is it that no other filmmakers have thought to capitalize on her steel? Are they blind?
05Tonya Pinkins You've just seen her as a near divorcee in Enchanted (the one with the sparkly eyes, Enchanted discussion here) but really. That's beneath her. I'll just say this. Her star turn in Caroline or Change on Broadway is among the best performances I've ever seen. In any medium. If some A list director ever handed her a movie version of same, an Oscar nomination would follow. But considering how shabbily Hollywood treats musical talent, I'm sure they'd replace her with someone who can't sing who is already a "name". What a world.
04Audra McDonald Another Broadway diva. She's a four time TONY winner. That's right. At the relatively young age of 37 she's in second place for most TONY awards ever. She's like the Kate Winslet of stage (only Kate hasn't won any Oscars yet), racking up nominations consistently while still young. Audra is raising her profile (and presumably bank account) as a regular on Private Practice but it's hard for me not to feel like it's a waste. How will she have time for Broadway? I mean, have you heard her sing? She's not just any actor with musical ability --her vocal and theatrical talents have landed her comparisons to legends like Barbra Streisand. Someone cast her in a musical right now.
03Gabrielle Union Sometimes I am in wary awe of her like T-t-t-t-t-orrance was in Bring It On but I should probably see more of her movies. My bad.
02Viola Davis How do you have a year like Viola Davis had in 2002 where she gifted audiences with a rich trinity of supporting performances in Antwone Fisher, Far From heaven and Solaris (I gave her a gold medal for this triple triumph) and NOT be swimming in Hollywood offers therafter?
The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel Rogers, gemini, actressexual and cinephile. All material herein is written and copyrighted by him, unless otherwise noted.
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