You guys... All That Jazz is kicking my ass. I have all this guilt about how far behind I am on those fundraiser movie requests (still have 10 to go) and every single time I sit down to write about this Bob Fosse spectacular I feel like Jessica Lange is mocking me, all serene but flirtatious with confrontation. Damn you Lange! The movie has so much going on that it's maddening to write about if quite awesome to watch. When I saw this for the first time many years ago I thought a solid B/B+ but on a second and third spin these past two weeks we're obviously in A territory. More later... if it ever stops distracting me with mental loops and structural leaps.
Anyway: LINKS
Big Screen Little Screen "(Re)Visualize Blade Runner and I'm Not There"
Michael Moore "An Open Letter to CNN"
Empire Online And When Did You Last See Your Father (trailer starring Jim "Zidler" Broadbent)
What's Good... "Heaven on Roller Skates, Indeed" Xanadu is now open on Broadway and Cheyenne Jackson will pick up many new fans. Wheeee. Kerry Butler in Olivia Newton-John's role is looking very Sarah Michelle Gellar, isn't she? My mind reels ~ too many popculture associations at once. But won't critics please stop dissing the movie version in every review? It's sooo obvious. Be a little more creative in your angle please. (y'all know I love the silly oft incompetent movie)Also: Kenneth in the (212) has photos of ONJ herself at the premiere. God I love that woman.
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5 comments:
Nat if you're fond of Xanadu (as we know you are) check out the article about it in Entertainment Weekly. It's a surprisingly interesting read about the mess that the production was, how the script was literally being written on the fly, and the Michael O. Perry tragedy.
I did check out the play's website (briefly) a few weeks ago, and it's odd how the homepage is dominated by a rather cartoon image of a blond woman who is obviously NOT ONJ, but it's her version of "Xanadu" that we here playing. The movie may have been a disaster but some of the songs (especially Xanadu and Magic) were and are masterpieces of late '70's pop music. The play is not going to be able to improve upon that.
Maybe this will generate some belated ONJ love culturally. (She was my idol when I was a teenager. Can't explain why, so don't ask.) I thought the comments about her new boyfriend and her former one, blah blah, that went with the premiere photos were really snide and unnecessary. (What, is she supposed to consign herself to a life of chastity because her boyfriend went missing? Whether he disappeared or is genuinely dead, the incident caused genuine grief for some people.)
RedSatinDoll
No reason not to look at that Lange pic you posted but the face of Jessica Lange of today is enough to scare little kids!
Speaking of faces, from those photos of ONJ, it's looking like she's had a lift. What a shame! Just a few years ago, she looked older and still naturally gorgeous. Now she's all stretched and jokerish around the mouth.
Nice to know my challenge has stumped someone else. I can't even write about it and it's my favourite film of all time (and obviously an A+ piece of work). Every time I go to write about it I just can't string more than two sentences together.
Nice to hear you've realised how it is completely amazing. And better than Kramer vs Kramer no doubt.
Kamikaze I assume you're referring to All that Jazz (not Xanadu); I always thought that Kramer vs. Kramer robbed All that Jazz of the Best Picture Oscar. ATJ is watchable and rewatchable, continually yielding fresh delights - and seems ever more prophetic and poignant since Fosse's death. The other (shrugs) who can rewatch that one, seriously? An old fashioned Hollywood weeper with the genders reversed. What seemed a big deal at the time seems almost reactionary now.
RedSatinDoll
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