Playbill Julie Andrews and Dolly Parton are both getting special Grammys this year. Pixar Blog another FYC ad for Toy Story 3 as Titanic. Hmmm. I gotta say, I am not sure about the taste level on this one. What'cha think? BBC Anne Hathaway discusses that Judy Garland biopic. There's some hesistancy about the singing. Here's a clue. If you can sing as well as Anne Hathaway (very well) star in a musical, not a biopic with one of the most famous voices of all time that you won't be able to replicate. Argh. Old Hollywood, my favorite tumblr, gives a rooftop view of the filming of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1931). IndieWire The Year of the Actress. 60 Women FYC.
Off Cinema THR whoa. Broadway stars are on the attack after injuries on that Spider Man set. But wait there's more... AV Club heated meetings and cancellations follow latest injury. Wet Asphalt on "slipstream" and the continuum between genre fiction and mainstream fiction. I'm linking up to this because I read my first China Miéville novel earlier this year and am still... uncertain... about it. Playbill HBO will film Pee-Wee Herman's current Broadway show for broadcast. BlogStage actress audition alert: wanna be Kathleen Turner's understudy?
The New York premiere of Black Swan was held last night at the Ziegfeld which is the theater for premiere's here in Manhattan. I have so many fond memories of the place. All the stars were in attendance including Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Cassell and Barbara Hershey. Plus the deliciously dark rival ballerinas Mila, Natalie and Noni.
I think it goes without saying but I'll say it: Winona Ryder is still one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Those eyes. That coloring. Gah.
Why Noni is wearing a tux we can't be sure but we love that she did. Why Aronofsky refuses to shave that Flynn mustache we can't be sure but we wish he would. Why Natalie is carrying around Nabokov's Lolita* we... wait, what?
There's got to be a story there. I hope it does not involve obsessive fans of The Professional.
*Okay, it's apparently a clutch by Olympia Le Tan - thx Dom - fashioned as a replica of the literary classic. The replica costs only $1,321.00more than the real thing. But can the real thing hold your lipstick, keys and money?
Low Resolution "22 Short Thoughts on Burlesque" #20 is an idea for a sequel that I would entirely fund myself were I a gazillionaire even if I knew I'd lo$e it all. That's how badly I want it to exist. Boing Boing Forged Disney Art on eBay. You really can't cheat with Ursula, the sea witch; people are way too obsessed with that bitch, you know? Cinema Blend Michelle Williams as Marilyn, again. Dear Old Hollywood revisits Joan Crawford's early residences in California. The Hollywood Reporter in praise of Lesley Manville (Another Year) and the Best Actress race. (Though I must say I think the consensus about locks and slots is kind of a mess. I think no one is safe beyond Bening & Portman as there's 5ish strong contenders for the other 3 spots. Thus, no safety.) Serious Film laments the non-adaptation of Harry Potter books in the making of Harry Potter films. Nick's Flick Picks talks up 10 films he liked more than you'd expect. Yet another example of how generous of spirit my pal Nick is, while never losing his critical acumen.
Jeff Bridges - Style Icon GQ has a slide show. I love this photo above wherein he's reading something generically titled "Western Story" given that there is a noticeable west/southwest line running through several of his movies (though he was born and raised in LA which we don't really think of when we think "Western"). FWIW, True Grit starts screening in force in about one week's time so you'll be hearing a lot more about it here and elsewhere soon. GQ That's part of their "Men of the Year" issue which also features James Franco & ScarJo.
Offscreen Hilarity Confessions of a Book Fiend by Grant Snider Hyperbole and a Half "Dogs Don't Understand Simple Concepts Like Moving". I seriously got the giggles while reading this - the very audible giggles. Trying to surpress them for the benefit of my Thanksgiving guests who were still asleep from their food comas did not work. My apologies to everyone roused by my cackling.
Quick show of hands. How many of you have read the fantasy classic GAME OF THRONES by George R.R. Martin? HBO is making it into a series now which comes as such a relief. Long novels are so much better suited to series format than movies and yet they're rarely adapted that way. You can follow the production diary here. I'm only 650 pages into the first novel -- god this is long -- but it's a page turner: superbly paced, tense, multi-layered, fine prose, and unpredictable plotting (a rare thing in fantasy novels).
Peter Dinklage has quite a role in his hands. He plays Tyrion Lannister, the manipulative, whip smart "imp" of the royal house of Lannister (the Lannisters are the villains mostly... Martin does a fine job of making sure your allegiances shift on occasion.) Tyrion is possibly the most complex character in a book that's teeming with vivid personalities. Not all of them are multi-faceted exactly but they all pop out from the page. Do you think other vertically challenged actors applaud or resent him? There aren't that many roles out there and doesn't he gets them all. I remember registering shock when I saw Jordan Prentice in In Bruges. I was like "Peter Dinklage missed out on a role?"
EW has a new photo gallery of the characters. Looking through it I'm a bit worried about the budget (something about the costumes or armor seems too simple?) and I don't like how they've visualized Daenys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) at all though that whole thread is my least favorite part of the stories many tentacles.
It's hard not to lose your heart a little to Never Let Me Go at the start. Carey Mulligan, making good on that An Education promise, stares through you with big caring soulful eyes. She even confirms that look with dialogue about being a "carer". Andrew Garfield stares back, through glass, with an uncomplicated smile on his face. He's prone on an operating table and obviously in need of her caring. Never Let Me Go uses a definitive plea as title. Not to be to cruel when faced with so much neediness but can we do some haggling first? May we keep parts of you and discard the rest? Never Let This Piece of Me Go? Consider it a deal.
Cathy H, Tommy D, and Ruth ???
I'd personally like to keep the actors. I've even written up a "Best in Show" column on Andrew Garfield for Tribeca Film. The set decoration has its moments, too. I'll even keep the screenplay so long as I can jettison at least a third of Cathy H's redundant narrated bits and a truly atrocious final speech which ruins the heartbreak of the scene preceding it. You know the type of final speech I'm talking about "Let me spell out the theme for you in case you were two hours late to the movie or took a really long bathroom break." The narration is actually a bit baffling for a film that does, in fact, trust you to fill in some of the blanks. If you're trusting the audience to infer meaning on several occasions, haven't you already decided your audience is a smart one?
More than any film this year, I want to fuss with everything. The first donation needs to be Rachel Portman's score. Give that away immediately. One can half imagine the creative meetings "This is the climax of the film. Make it important." ...only they forgot to mention which scene. The score even treats transitional bits like cars pulling up to buildings as perfect moments to remind you that this is an ominous dystopian tale that is Breaking Your Heart. For all of the inherent power in Never Let Me Go's compelling premise, clever images and nuanced performances -- that seems to be the exhausting directorial mantra for the entire creative team: 'this is the climax, make it important!' But not every scene can be a climax - just as with life, they only happen once. C+
Ten years ago today, Madonna's Music (2000), one of her very best records, dropped into record stores. Director Guy Ritchie, to your left, was then her new man. He was advertising -- the record I mean! See the "Music" logo on his tanktop? Ever the selfless altruist, Madonna wore a black t-shirt promoting his project, Snatch (2000) which had opened the month before in the UK and was soon going to the US. It would become his biggest hit. Until Sherlock Holmes (2009) that is.
But back to 2000. Ah, the heady days of early romance. She had given birth to Rocco, her only biological child with Guy, the month before. They were married by December.
Madonna was of course, no stranger to loving alpha male movie men since actor/directors Sean Penn and Warren Beatty preceded Guy. Famously, she's now entered their realm. Paparazzi are basically snapping Madonna daily now while she films W.E. (2011) starring Abbie Cornish (see previous post). There must be a lot of outdoor shots. I suspect she wanted to do this much earlier than her first feature Filth & Wisdom (2008) -- I remember her discussing it back in the early 90s when she was still trying to become a film star and mentioned how much she loved Sally Potter's Orlando! It's curious that she didn't start with her own music videos. That career path has no stigma anymore given how many hipster cinematic giants have transferred over from music videos: David Fincher, Mark Romanek, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze etcetera...
The videos (and movie connections) in order of release.
Music
Is you Madonna? You babylons look less big than they do on the telly but I still definitely would.
With this video, directed by Ray of Light man Jonas Åkerlund, Madge introduced Americans to Sacha Baron Cohen before HBO's Da Ali G Show and Borat and Brüno.
The actress Debi Mazar makes her fifth Madonna video appearance. They've been friends since they were both hitting dance clubs in the early 80s (before the Fame hit). To your left is a private pic of them from Fire Island which Debi showed Wendy Williams. It's around the Dick Tracy time period since they were flying there in a private plan with Warren Beatty. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, you know.
Don't Tell Me
This one comes from frequently collaborator Jean-Baptiste Mondino. It was a huge success worldwide and parodied by Kirsten Dunst and Jimmy Fallon at the MTV Movie Awards. The costumes are by DSquared and Oscar nominee Arianne Phillips. Phillips is also a frequent Madonna collaborator and is working on W.E.. There was a fascinating interview with her in the New York Times when she was promoting A Single Man (2009) that you should read if you haven't. Phillips has only been nominated for one Oscar (Walk the Line) but her filmography includes costuming gems like The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 3:10 to Yuma, Tank Girl and The Crow. Oscar's costuming branch doesn't regularly have an eye for iconic contemporary or genre wear, preferring superbly executed period pieces for the bulk of their nominations and especially their wins.
What It Feels Like For a Girl
The third and last official single was directed by Guy Ritchie and banned on MTV for violence. Not that banning on MTV meant anything by this time since they weren't really showing videos. But the song largely tanked, ending the singles release from Music.
The spoken word portion is by singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg from this scene in the film The Cement Garden (1993). As you know I thought she was pretty fantastic as the Bob Dylan-proxy's abandoned wife in I'm Not There's (2007). Other people went nuts for her recent turn in Antichrist.
American Pie
This is not an official song from Music but is on some of the CDs depending on the country. It's from the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing (2000) which is why you get then Madonna BFF Rupert Everett himself -- Sean Penn introduced them when Penn had just started dating her -- on back-up vocals and dancing with Madonna toward the tail end. They were very tight and though Rupert claimed in a revealing and typically prickly interview (he can be such a handful) that they're friends again, most sources say they she did not react well at all -- in a permanent way -- to his book in which he claimed that she dropped gay friends due to Guy Ritchie's homophobia.
I've only ever read Rupert's first book Hello Darling Are You Working? Has anyone read the one that caused the rift? If you own Music are you about to put it in for a 10th anniversary spin? [tangent: I'll use it today for workout soundtrack. I've finally gotten back to the gym. But I can't be proud of it until it becomes an actual habit rather than a once a quarter "maybe this time" delusion.]
Speaking of the now... Rupert Everett will be back in cinema's next month opposite Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt in Wild Target. But wouldn't his brutal Brit wit be a perfect fit for the Sherlock Holmes franchise in some capacity? Ah well, something tells me Guy Ritchie won't be casting him any time soon. The untitled sequel starts shooting next month (?) with Noomi Rapace and Daniel Day-Lewis joining RDJ & Jude. The Guy Ritchie film will be opening for Christmas 2011. No word yet on when his ex-wife's movie will arrive.
Put the tunes in your headphones for an anniversary spin.
Behold: The Poster for Burlesque. I think the marketing department deserves kudos for managing to pay homage to both of their leading ladies simultaneously in a way that's flattering to both. Although the hot pink "they airbrushed my face" quality won't be a sale for everyone.
Linques MTV Whoa! Darren Aronofsky originally conceived of Black Swan and The Wrestler as a single film. Now I'm even more intrigued. Hollywood Crush Bradley Cooper and Ryan Reynolds as action co-stars? Media to swoon. In Contention Isabella Rossellini to head Berlinale jury Stale PopcornGypsy 83. I never hear anyone talking about this movie so I had to link up. Way too underseen for something so heartfelt. MNPP Good morning. Hey, I love bookshelves, too. They scream "I am what I am." Serious Film "Pulled from the Wreckage" Fine acting in terrible films Cinematical freaks out over the amount of stunts in Mad Max: Fury Road Awards Daily on the current cynicism and the Oscar race. Movies Kick Ass picks his favorite Emmy dresses. Christina Hendricks was probably mine. But I'm a sucker for attention grabbing cleavage ... and lavender come to think of it... and redheads (come to keep thinking of it). Triple success.
Go Fug Yourself on Diana Agron's (Glee) Little Women look on the red carpet. PopWrap first official image of Kristen Bell in Burlesque. They think she'll be the most quoted character. Geekscape asks "What if The Expendables had an all female cast?" Answer: Nathaniel would've seen it twice already. (P.S. A female version is so not a bad idea.)
And finally The Awl asks a question that's really been haunting me lately "Why is American selfishness so widespread now?" It's been a disheartening summer -- lack of empathy everywhere. I think you can even see this in reviews of movie dramas. People just have no time or patience for other people's heartache.
OK that's too depressing to end with.
How about By Ken Levine's (who knows from television) Emmy recap:
You realize of course that you watch a lot more television than the people who made these decisions? If it weren't for screener DVD's, many Academy members would still be voting for HILL STREET BLUES.
Ha. Good one.The only reason they're lazier than Oscar voters is they can be. Movies tend to be, like, ineligible after their debut year.
Though the headline may come as a shock, it's true... and not unprecedented.
I'm not sure what today's teen and 20somethings know of Joan Collins if anything. Her sister Jackie, the romance novelist, seems to have stayed in the spotlight a bit more this past decade. But anyone who lived through the 80s just heard the opening theme of Dynastytrumpetingin their head. Ms. Collins was a 20something starlet of the 50s who migrated to television, peaking as a 50something with a Golden Globe win as bitchtastic icon "Alexis Carrington Colby" and the series becoming the #1 TV show in the land shortly afterwards. Alexis terrorized the feebler entities (i.e. everyone) on that soap for eight years. She was nominated at the Globes six consecutive times. Emmy voters didn't like the powerhouse serial as much, giving Collins and the show only won chance at the Actress and Series statue (needless to say they lost).
Now in 2010, Collins has won her first acting prize in ages. The New York International Film Festival (this city has so many mini festivals I can't keep track) screened a creepy comedic short called Fetish (2010) in which Collins plays a faded star in conflict with a talk show host (played by Charles Casillo who also wrote the screenplay). The audience was apparently wowed by her deglammed nuanced portrait.
From the set of Fetish, photo by Kelvin Dale.
Now, you can't win Oscars for performances in short films, but the short itself is playing Oscar qualifying festivals so maybe you'll hear more of it later in the year? I'm reading conflicting reports but it's on the long-short side, if you will, coming in somewhere between 25-30 minutes.
I hadn't thought of Collins in a good while until earlier this year when I began reading Star. She's a major figure in the early parts of that Warren Beatty bio. Yes, she was his lover. "Who wasn't?" you shout snarkily in unison. But listen. There are lovers and then there are LOVERS. And Collins was the latter sort, and a crucial figure in foisting the young and impossibly pretty Warren Beatty upon the world in 1961. So crucial, in fact, that she shows up in the very first paragraph of the first chapter of that book.
But I wander...
I hope to catch up with this Fetish film soon. Congratulates to "The Bitch" herself, who, at 77, could maybe somehow possibly if-she-wants-to drift back into the pop culture atmosphere again. Who knows?
If you'll allow me a train of thought digression, this news reminded me of a passage in Quentin Crisp's amazing book How To Go the Movies (1984) . I'm quoting a big chunk but it's too wonderful not to. Crisp is discussing the fall of the studio system (and the unfortunate rise of television). Joan is name checked.
"..in fact it provided a stable atmosphere in which an actress could perfect her skills with at least some assurance that they would be used. Her studio would carry her through at least one flop, and by the time her contract was well under way, she had usually acquired her own secretary, her own makeup artist --in some cases, her own camera man. In other words, a leading lady became a kind of queen bee attended by five or six drones who had no other function than to enhance her assets and conceal her defects. No wonder so many of them became permanent stars. What keeps a woman young and beautiful is not repeated surgery but perpetual praise. They were eternal mistresses of their public. In deference to the art directors of their films, they changed their costumes occassionally, but only as ballerinas wear tights and tutus to remind us that they are first and foremost classical dancers but, if spoken to nicely, will don a turban to show that for the moment they are the playthings of cruel Turks. A movie star never deprived her public of the thrill of instant recognition at her first appearance on the screen.
This happy predictability no longer prevails. Now, every new picture is a desperate gamble, deafeningly publicized, with its mounting costs broadcast like news of a forest fire. If a film fails, even though its star may have been judged by the critics to have been the only good thing in it, when her name is mentioned, some movie mogul will growl, "Isn't that the broad that costs us thirty-four million dollars?" In these circumstances, actresses have decided to be different people in different roles; they have taken to acting -- a desperate measure indeed.
Though television has wrought all this havoc in Hollywood, it is no real substitute for the movies. It has its star; it has Miss Collins, who remains through all vicissitude of plot the last of the "vamps." If she ever appeared on any screen, large or small, as a nice home girl, the world would come to an abrupt and ignominious end."
From what we hear of Fetish, she is less cartoonishly vampy than before, but still not exactly a sweet wallflower. The world will keep spinning... for now. *
Box Office MojoThe Tourist with Depp & Jolie will be opening in 2010. Time to adjust those Oscar charts? Yeah, yeah. I'll try to start this weekend. Rope of Silicon mixes Inception music over Black Narcissus images for a 2010 trailer for the 1947 classic. Neato (if a bit spoilery) Mighty God King P.S.A: Fozzy vs. Pac-Man (?!) I Need My Fix pics from the premiere of The Switch. In a just world Juliette Lewis would be 1,000 times more famous than Jennifer Aniston. You know it's true. Dennis Cozzalio just turned 50 and celebrates with a funny post. (Mmmm, brains.) Go wish him a happy 1/2 century year! I mean it.
Camp BloodTrue Blood "Rolling Stone" cover now made extra gay! DListed Speaking of... Alexander Skarsgard cracks me up. So casual about his scorchingness. What would Daddy Stellan think of all of this? popbytes has my favorite reaction to this whole sockless news. How do you really feel about this "news" Jeremy? Quit hedging! Ginger Williams made nesting dolls of Golden Girls and Steel Magnolias. Wha...? The Entertainment Junkie remembers Lost in Translation and thinks Sofia Coppola's Oscar is a bit of a cheat (in a complimentary way!) BlogStage Jenelle meets Dennis Quaid. I love it when writers meeting their acting idols. Sweet.
Off Screen Tom Scott I love these warning labels to place on bad journalism. My favorite is the press release one. So many blogs are like that. Sigh. Though you can't really stick stickers on a blog. Can you? You wouldn't be able to see your screen when you click away! Just Jared Ricky Martin's memoir is called Me. That's all they could come up with?
And finally, for no reasons other than it made me laugh, excuse me, lol -- and I am the type that reads scifi/fantasy novels -- and I'm in a juvenile mood (sorry!) try this hilarious raunchy ode to sci-fi novelist. NSFW unless you're on headphones.
Heh. I am going to be very disappointed if that isn't the title of Demi Moore's forthcoming memoirs. I'm just saying.
Some context for those too young to have seen Demi's 80s breakthrough, released twenty-five years ago on this very day. Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire is a story about a group of college grads who are struggling through their quarter-century life crises together. Jules (Demi Moore) is the messiest (and most fabulous) of them all. In the middle of the night she calls her most responsible friend in a panic. "I'm with these Arabs and they've been forcing me to do coke all night. I'm not sure because I don't understand much Arabic but I think I heard the word gangbang. You've gotta come and get me!" He rushes to her rescue only to find a tame unthreatening party. She refuses to leave with him and starts making booty calls instead. He tries to reason with her, until she lobs that delicious dismissal his way.
"And waste all this good coke?"
I have loved Demi Moore ever since. Which was not always a wise life choice, but what can you do? We love the actresses we love.
Because I can't quit there -- this movie is so addictive -- a Monday Monologue from the same film.
Uptight Leslie (Ally Sheedy) and Frumpy Wendy (Mare Winningham) have convinced Wild Jules to eat lunch at the soup kitchen where Wendy volunteers. This is not, shall we say, Jules' natural environment. It turns out her girlfriend's have an intervention in mind. They're worried about her obsession with her stepmother and her crazy-making sexual dalliances.
"Moi?" Jules asks, caught off guard. After a quick silent beat with a flash of 'how to navigate this?' worry on her face, Demi unleashes Jule's defensive fabulousity posturing.
Forrester? Come on, he's wonderful.
Forrest is her married boss. But she's got it all figured out.
This is the 80s. Bop him for a few years. Get his job when he gets his hand caught in the vault. Become a legend. Do a Black Mink ad. Get caught in a sex scandal. Retire in massive disgrace. Write a huge best seller and become the fabulous host of my own talk show.
"Well, it was silly of us to worry," Wendy says in disbelief and the kind of snark-free sarcasm only found prior to the late Nineties.
It really is. He's helped me so much. He's come up with so many alternatives for my stepmonster's funeral.
It turns out cremation is just as expensive as the non torch method and if I don't come up with a cheaper solution, I'm going to end up a bag lady...
Of course I'll have alligator bags.
A head toss, the laugh of the self-amused and then a look at the time get me the hell out of here avoidance of the real issues she's just been so flippant about.
And she's outta there... and every time she's outta there the movie deflates a little. Demi's comedic skills are underrated and paired with that famously husky voice and needy screen energy, she turns out to be the perfect match for this charismatic trainwreck.
A parting shot just to underline Jules' trying-too-hard fabulousity -- this is her apartment.
Art Direction by William Sandell / Set Decoration by Robert Gould & Charles Graffeo
Naturally she's wild about her decorator "Gay became very chic in the Seventies!" *
Apparently yesterday marked quite a milestone. According to /Film, the Harry Potter series concluded filming just yesterday.
(How cute. They're at the cinema!)
I've never been part of Hogwarts mega-legion of boosters but it's still an historic moment that I thought we should mark here. I only wish that the series -- which has already earned more money than anyone could ever count or need -- hadn't popularized the greedy "split the last film into two" grab that every studio will now employ for all popular franchises. We haven't seen the results yet but one assumes the filler-to-substance ratio will be off the charts and you know it won't end with The Twilight Saga and Potter. I couldn't get through even the first Twilight book (my god the whining) so I can't speak for Breaking Dawn but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows definitely doesn't need 300 minutes to tell its story, especially since the middle section of the book is filler itself. I wouldn't worry if these films were 90 minutes but you now they'll stick with the traditional Potter length which, six films going, average out to 150 minutes or 2½hours exactly. I did the math. When the series is over Harry Potter will have lasted about 1,200 minutes... or roughly the length of two seasons on a pay cable drama. And isn't that what all these multi-film stories essentially are, ginormous television series that you have to pay for?
All that said, I hope the last two films miraculously turn out great for the fans and I also hope that there's enough of Maggie & Helena and such to get me through before the movies pull an Avada Kedavra on me with their bloat. And on that note I should quit typing. If I'm claiming that nobody needs that extra 150 minutes of Potter or another 378 minutes of Twilight in their lives than I probably shouldn't whine so much that I'm mistaken for Bella Swan. Maggie Smith Helena Bonham Carter
<--- Mrs. Best Actress and Mr. Best Actor, 1954. But OOPS. Marlon Brando won but Judy didn't.
Judy Garland breaks my heart every time she warbles a note. Someone once ridiculed me in college for this. "It's an old school gay cliché," He said. "You weren't born in the 1940s for goddsakes." But, reader, I firmly believe it's a sign of weak (or dull) character when people only care about the culture and entertainment that's happening in their own lifetime. The best people always transcend space and time, allowing whatever will speak to them to speak to them, no matter the country of origin, decade or even century. I mean if kabuki theater, Gregorian chants, 90s sitcoms or silent film divas are your things, obsess on them please. Life is too short to let cultural experience be completely defined by the day's studio heads, record executives or marketing gurus... not to mention peer pressure. Enjoy what you enjoy.
So anyway, this morning I must bow down to Nick who completed his Best Actress Project by screening Judy's A Star is Born (1954). Though I don't recommend YOU save it for your last one (just save it until later this month when the newly restored edition of the film arrives for home viewing). It's an accidentally perfect closing film because it is...great
contains phenomenal actressing
actually about the movie industry
Oscar obsessed. Oscar Night is a big plot point
TRIVIA BUFFS: Come to think, regarding #4, has anyone who ever pretended to win an Oscar in a movie, won one? I can't think of a single example. Maybe it's a curse? But then only two cases spring immediately to mind Matt Dillon in In & Out (1997) and Judy in A Star is Born. Are there more? Have I forgotten something obvious?
Anyway. You must see Nick "Faye" Davis's 'Morning After' staged photo as well and please comment there to encourage him to expand all of this into a print book. Here's what I had to say.
I would buy a copy of the book every time I met another actressexual and give it as a 'Hello New Friend' gift. And I would buy a copy for every 5 star actress that I also think is 5 star and ship it to her management.
And I'd keep 4 copies for myself: One signed by you; One for note taking; One to keep in pristine condition; And the final one to use as bludgeoning device should I ever meet an Academy member who doesn't take their voting in this category seriously.
And I meant it! (Well maybe not the first paragraph. That might get expensive in my line of work.)
But back to Judy. In his article, Nick says what will surely be fighting words to some
Garland is beyond being the best of her group, which is hardly a shabby one. She's one Blanche DuBois away from being the strongest nominee of her decade.
I wholeheartedly agree that she's the best of the '54 crop and I'd rank them like so: Garland, Wyman, Hepburn, Dandridge, Kelly... yes, the winner being my least favorite is not an uncommon trend. And Kelly was better in Rear Window (same year) anyway.
But Nick's provocative statement got me thinking about the 50s performances that I still haven't seen and the ones I'd rank as very best. From what I've seen so far, my 5 favorites from the decade are (in alpha order).
Bette Davis, All About Eve (50)
Judy Garland, A Star is Born (54)
Judy Holliday, Born Yesterday (50)
Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire (51)
Anna Magnani, The Rose Tattoo (55)
Gloria Swanson, Sunset Boulevard (50)
Oops, that's 6! But who to leave out? I already had to part with the Woodwardian amazement that is TheThree Faces of Eve. What is your list like for the 1950s? And if you haven't seen many -- you gotta start somewhere and maybe it isn't in the 50s -- which performances are you most curious about based on what you've heard and read over the years you've been actress-curious?
The Film Experience book club is returning. Hell, I figure I'm turning the pages anyway. Reading is a great subway activity and we New Yorkers spend much time on subways. So why not hold those monthly weigh-ins with readers about 'who should play who?' in imaginary movie versions of novels. We've done this a few times in the past: the historical fantasy The Curse of Chalion, the corporate satire/drama Then We Came to the End and one play August: Osage County. The latter turned out to be one of the biggest comment threads ever (109!) at TFE .
So, the next selection will be Scar Night by Alan Campbell. I'm about a fifth of the way in and have already met enough interesting characters to make it a worthwhile casting discussion. So, if you like fantasy novels, pick it up and read this month. We'll discuss casting on Wednesday, June 30th. This is a debut novel which takes place in the chained city of Deepgate (it's a bit steampunk flavored) and stars two very different angels (the last of their kind), a sinister theocracy, and all sorts of secretive unsavory business and dark magic. An intriguing read so far.
Assuming you've seen the excellent The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (my review here)...
Who's your favorite, book-to-screen, spy so far this century?
Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander (as played by Noomi Rapace).
OR
Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne (as played by Matt Damon).
Discuss!
For all you European readers who've already seen the entire Millennium trilogy how does it fare when compared with the amazing Bourne series? How do these two fare when compared to the books?
multiplex Movie|Line suggests that Lindsay Lohan stay in France. International diplomacy is admittedly not their strong suit The Onion Ridley Scott and Tim Burton switch action figures. 'No tradebacks!' (this article is a couple weeks old but if you haven't read it, experience the hilarity)
The Big Picture questions the hypocrisy of dissing Shia Labeouf for dissing Steven Spielberg. Good piece. There's too many "yes people" in Hollywood and Crystal Skull stank. The Hot Blog Poland waxes philosophical about revivals of genres, musicals, and cartoons A Socialite's Life I wouldn't normally link to a Robert Pattison on set! thing (who cares?) but in truth I have read this book they're making into a movie Water For Elephants. The whole time I was reading it -- even though it wasn't great or anything -- I kept thinking 'this should be a movie.'NatashaVC an evocative Harvey Keitel story I Need My Fix on the Demi Moore ♥ Ashton Kutcher romance. In truth they're one of my fav Hollywood couples, too
arthouse In Contention Guy Lodge on Cannes winding down Vulture The Fug Girls uncover and display the 10 loopiest outfits at Cannes. Their quote on Kate Beckinsale who isn't wearing anything crazy in the picture is lol
...tends to prefer either short prom dresses or really long prom dresses; ergo, for her, this is practically Gaga City.
Scanners With Jean Luc Godard's Socialisme premiering, Jim Emerson neatly summarizes the critical conversations about Godard over the past... entire career David Germain on Sony Pictures Classics at Cannes and with Oscar YouTube Have you seen this "Chlöe Sevigny" dragster yet? Funny. Love the coyness when dropping Tilda's name
great white way Just Jared Paul Reubens still in process of bringing Pee Wee Herman back. Yay.
the page Cooley! "Inappropriate Golden Age Book: Movies R Fun" [via]
the boob tube Antenna an interesting piece on the Joss Whedon episode of Glee just past, which gives answer to the question i had while watching it: this doesn't feel like recent episodes. Why?
in the life The Onion "New Social Networking Site Changing The Way Oh, Christ, Forget It Let Someone Else Report On This Bullshit."
I saw Carrie Fisher's one woman show Wishful Drinking on its closing weekend so I didn't write about it. I didn't want to recommend something that was unable to be seen. However, if you're in the New York/New Jersey area, you have one last chance to see it live. She's filming it for posterity in June. Here's the info.
No word yet on exactly what it's for. I suspect some sort of pay cable airing. Maybe short theatrical?
The show is very funny whether you're into self-deprecated celebrity wit, Old Hollywood lore or Star Wars trivia. The highlight of the show for me was an absurd celebrity genealogy chart that springs from one of Hollywood's most legendary scandals: the breakup of Carrie's parents Eddie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds ("America's Sweetheart") once La Liz wanted Eddie for herself.
Fisher also picks at Princess Leia like a scab. I'm sure the Princess Leia / Star Wars bits were the hook for any Broadway tourists who picked up tickets during the show's initial run but for me it's the weakest setpiece of the show. Still funny though, don't get me wrong...
Leia and double get some sun in the Yuma desert on the set of Return of the Jedi
My biggest gripe with the one woman show is that it was too short. I could listen to Fisher yammer on for at least twice the length. I would totally love a sequel or better yet a miniseries wherein Carrie delves deeper into her onscreen Warren Beatty fling in Shampoo, or the making of Postcards From the Edge (but Debbie gets a lot of attention in the show so perhaps she felt she covered that).
There wasn't a peep about that Wizard of Oz riff she starred in called Under the Rainbow that everyone has long since forgotten about. Seriously, mention that one aloud anywhere and people will be like "what? never heard of it"! ...even if they lived through the 1980s. And isn't there anything to say about antics on the set of When Harry Met Sally?
I suppose I should buy Wishful Drinking in book form since I've read all of her other books. Her best, if you ask me, is Surrender the Pink which was the follow up to her bestselling debut Postcards... (which is quite different than the movie version though Carrie wrote both of them).
Stephen here, from Peel Slowly. Today we celebrate the birthday of an American treasure.
Besides John Waters’s many virtues as a filmmaker, commentator, cultural archivist, and so on, he’s also an excellent writer and teacher. His 1981 book "Shock Value," which traces his life through film, up to and including Desperate Living, is an invaluable education in how to write, direct and make films, inside and out. He didn’t create such a body of work without being a smart and driven man, and gratefully he shares his hard-earned knowledge with us. If you want to learn more about filmmaking or if you just want a great laugh-out-loud read about a simpler time, I heartily recommend "Shock Value" by the Birthday Boy!
I bring this up, however, because of how he ends the book’s final chapter, “Do You Have Parents?” (which he claims is his most frequently asked question). In the final sentences, Waters defends his films and their questionable content:
At least I’ve never done anything really decadent, like waste millions of dollars of other people’s money and come up with movies as stupid as The Deep or 1941. The budgets of my films could hardly feed the starving children of India.
As sensible defense if there ever was one.
In 1988, he did an abridged book-on-tape version and gratefully updated it for the 80s:
So, as we celebrate the living legend today, I ask: If John Waters wrote that book today, what films would he cite as being “stupid”? (Bonus points if you pick films with titles that would sound particularly snarky coming out of his mouth!) *
I'm kicking off the Oscar predictions for this new film year. (Have you entered the actress psychic contest yet?) So let's talk about the year's screenplay contenders. Ah, the screenplay... the architectural blueprints of entirely visual buildings. An invisible art to some degree, which is why it's so hard to judge and why films with great dialogue or good dialogue elevated by great acting often get the lions share of the praise in this field. But we can't let that stop us from awards season guesswork. I put up a page with possibilities for both Original and Adapted work.
As per usual there's a few titles that might switch categories eventually whether because of unavailable information, confusing Oscar practices or fluid definitions. I don't remember any sequel not based on a novel or somesuch prior to Before Sunset (2004) claiming itself to be Adapted... but now that seems to be the norm when campaigning films dealing with "pre-existing characters" even when you did write it yourself rather than basing it on material (which seemed to be the case with Jane Campion's Bright Star last year). This year there's a number of True Stories that have been written about already though the screenplays seem to be original. We'll see. The new fluidity probably makes Toy Story 3 this year "adapted" even though it's not adapted from anything and even though the original Toy Story (1999) was campaigned as "original" and some of the characters in it were obviously "pre-existing" (just ask Hasbro). The more you think about it the more confused you can become.
Here's two more confusing ones: The Illusionist, the new animated film from Sylvain Chomet (Triplets of Belleville) is based on an unproduced screenplay by Jacques Tati. But obviously Chomet would have had to have rework it (they're both listed as writers) so is it an "original" or an "adapted"... see the fluidity? I've seen other sites mention The King's Speech, a baity sounding thing about a royal with a speech impediment, as an adapted screenplay. Not so concrete. Though conceived as a stage play, at least according to Wikipedia, it headed for the screen first which may mean it has plenty of wiggle room in this day and age of calling yourself whatever it is you'd like to call yourself. So I'm guessing "Original"? One tangentially related tidbit... last night on twitter I asked followers for some book recommendations. Only one person mentioned a book that's soon to be a movie (Never Let Me Go). Here's some upcoming adapted situations, though not the entire picture of this year's crop.
"Now a Major Motion Picture"
Eat Pray Love - Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt refashion these memoirs around the radiant Julia Roberts for this summer journey. (previous post)
London Boulevard -Ken Bruen's novel about a criminal (Colin Farrell) and the reclusive actress he works for (Keira Knightley) is the directorial debut of The Departed scribe William Monahan.
Rabbit Hole - David Lindsay-Abaire rewrites his own award winning play for a director who knows his way around both stage and screen (John Cameron Mitchell).
Norwegian Wood - Murakami's coming of age story about a group of college students gets visualized by The Scent of Green Papaya's Anh Hung Tran. Should be lovely. Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) stars.
The Rum Diary - Actor/writer Bruce Robinson gives Johnny Depp a chance to return to the Hunter S Thompson crazy fountain.
Fair Game - Valerie Plame's memoirs get Naomi Watts' face. Easy casting.
The Tempest - Julie Taymor sets her imagination loose upon William Shakespeare for the second time (she previously attacked Titus).
Never Let Me Go -This sci-fi tinged bestseller by Remains of the Day author gets reworked by Alex Garland for music video director genius Mark Romanek to make his way back to the cinema for the first time since 2002's One Hour Photo.
And then we've got more confusing situations where the title has been changed but they are adaptations anyway.
"a rose by any other name..."
"Prince of Thieves" gets no less generic sounding with its new title The Town. The screenplay is by Ben Affleck, Peter Craig and last year's Oscar nominated screenwriter Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)
"A Very Private Gentlemen" still keeps his name hidden. He's now simply The American in the screenplay by Rowan Joffe.
"Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman" is a punny title for a book. But punny won't do for eternal Oscar-seeker Edward Zwick who renames this the also clever Love and Other Drugs. Good title. Especially considering how addicted so many of us are to both stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.
"The Adjustment Team" gets a major reworking as The Adjustment Bureau. Hollywood never tires of adapting Phillip K Dick short stories
"The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom" this true World War II story is retold by the great Peter Weir as The Way Back
"Accidental Billionaires" the screenplay based on this founding of Facebook tale is by Aaron Sorkin and it's now called The Social Network.
Have you read any of these books that'll be visualized soon? Would you recommend others pick them up? And what do you think of the screenplay predictions? *
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