Friday, March 13, 2009

Gwyneth Loves Actresses / Sofia Loves Vampires

We have something in common with Gwyneth Paltrow. I use the term "we" because I assume if you're a regular Film Experience reader you are at least partially actress cuckoo. Turns out Gwynnie is too. In a recent GOOP newsletter whilst talking about her taste in film she says...
The films I love best usually contain a breathtaking female performance (The Reader, Sophie’s Choice, Klute), as the genius of a creative woman inspires me in all areas of my life.
That's so gushy/lifestyle guru of her but it's tough to argue with that sentiment. Plus, the latter two of those performances I'd rank in the top ten of all time I suspect, should I ever make such a list.

Oh. Um... distracted by the actresses was I.

The article is actually about five DVD rental suggestions straight from five famous film directors and you can read the whole thing here. (Thanks to BSLS for pointing it out)

James Gray (Two Lovers) recommends Rocco and His Brothers which I have sitting at my desk right here from Netflix (coincidence!), Jon Favreau recommends Kung Fu Panda (which his son likes more than Iron Man. Hee). But my favorite of the recommendations is Sofia Coppola's thumbs up for Let The Right One In.

That makes perfect sense, if you think about it for a few seconds. Let The Right One In favors lonely, dreamy, haunting moods and obsesses over an isolated girlcreature... its just like a Sofia Coppola movie!


Minus Kirsten Dunst, plus snow and bloodlust.
*

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sofia should totally make a girlie vampire movie starring Kirsten Dunst (who was all shades of awesome in Interview with the vampire).

Jason Adams said...

Where the hell is Sofia anyway? Argh!

Anonymous said...

On a side note about loving actresses, rottentomatoes has their "5 Favorite Films" with Carla Gugino this week.

She picks a Fosse and an Almodovar. Love her more now.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/race_to_witch_mountain/news/1801482/five_favorite_films_with_carla_gugino

Anonymous said...

I particularly like the minus Kirsten Dunst part - she just annoys me!

So, Nathaniel, what's it gonna take to get you to rank the top ten actress performances of all time? Huh? You need gifts? Is that it? Or bribes?

Think of the hotbed reactions you'd get to that blog!!

Of course, Streep would win 6 of the top 10 (and Pfeiffer 3 of the other 4 (since you hinted you'd let Fonda have one of the spots which is very open minded of you!)) so you'd better set the rule that an actress could only appear ONCE in your top 10.

I would LOVE to see such a list from you!

But why stop there? How about the 10 most glamorous? The 10 most beautiful? The 10 most scary? The 10 most hideous? The 10 most funny? The 10 most sexy? The 10 most over-rated? Hell, if I had my way, you'd be doing 10 most actress lists every week for the next decade! (Not to be too much of a kiss ass, but you are my king of actressexuals, you know!)

NATHANIEL R said...

billybil. I DO need to do some juicy top ten lists. I been slacking. Shall try to rev that tuesday top ten feature back up to its previous levels of enchantment.

thanks for caring!

Karen said...

I've been meaning to check out Paltrow's site, thanks for the reminder.

Anonymous said...

This is off topic. I'm glad Meryl Streep was mentioned. Just saw SILKWOOD last night. The film is intensely grossing. Meryl is so amazing as Karen Silkwood. She's so sly and, oddly, flirty. I really need to visit more of Meryl's earlier films.

I personally like Jane Fonda in KLUTE more than Meryl Streep in SOPHIE'S CHOICE right now. Meaning it'll probably switch shall I see both back to back. Definitely one of the greatest performances of all time.

Anonymous said...

Hey Nat are you a Julia Roberts Fan?
I am just so excited about the fact that she's in a movie!finally!

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, Kent, I think Silkwood is definitely one of Streep's very best performances. I feel her character is truly specific in the way she moves, the way she talks, even the way she uses her face. I also probably prefer Silkwood to Sophie's Choice because I find the toughness of Silkwood more impressive than the fragility of Sophie.

fjelsted said...

Let the Right One In is an amazing film. Anyone who claims to love films must see it as soon as possible. And I agree with Felix - Dunst was so good in Interview with a Vampire that she outshone Pitt and Cruz at 12 years old. Sofia, Dunst & Horror is a combo I would stand in line for.

Anonymous said...

Interesting comment by Gwyneth, i wonder if she ever watched Elizabeth.

Anonymous said...

If the genius of a creative woman inspires Gwynnie so much, why is there only one woman in her list of "brilliant filmmakers"? Whose name she misspell, on top of it. So much for lip service.

Glenn said...

Maybe Sofia can direct the remake of Let the Right One In?

Anonymous said...

Wow! Who knew you could find something so interesting on Gwyneth Paltrow's web site? These filmmakers have some great suggestions. I hope she does more posts like this in the future, rather than that lifestyle guff. I am so envious that she gets to discuss movies with the likes of Coppola, Andersen and Spielberg!

gabrieloak said...

I assume Coppola likes the original Heartbreak Kid, not the remake?

I was surprised by some of Wes Anderson's picks. I know he said he really liked Small Change by Truffaut in the Times when they used to do that series with actors watching movies with a Times writer.

Anonymous said...

James Gray recommends Tokyo Story... I like him!!!

NATHANIEL R said...

Confession: I have never seen a James Gray movie. But Nick is so crazy about him that I feel like I am really slacking.

Rich Aunt Pennybags said...

If the genius of a creative woman inspires Gwynnie so much, why is there only one woman in her list of "brilliant filmmakers"? Whose name she misspell, on top of it. So much for lip service.

For the record, she also misspelled Seth Rogen's name too.

Over at the Crown Princess Marie Chantal of Greece Messageboard, which was where many posters from Fame Tracker went to after they closed, there's a lot of snark over POOP and Paltrow in general, and right away posters caught the Sofia (Sophia) error and the Rogen (Rogan) one.

Every Thursday now, her thread never fails to be on the first page of the celebrity section as she shares her wonderful knowledge about the world that is when she's not having her friends list their favorite things. Some of the things I remember learning: peas can actually be steamed!; a pair of socks costing more than a hundred dollars is a great Christmas present!; that bowel elimination is paramount for correct detoxification!

I can't believe she ever thought becoming a lifestyle guru was a great idea since I think what works best for her is her mystique, and talking about bowel movements certainly doesn't leave much to mystery. If she's trying to appeal more to the common person that doesn't work either because GOOP is so full of BS that it shows how out of touch she is with the regular person.

I think she can be a good actress sometimes, so I just wish she would have stuck to that instead of doing GOOP even if it does provide much laughter every week.

Anonymous said...

New vanmpire movie called Thirst. It's from the director of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Lady Vengeance, JSA and Oldboy.
Here's the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG2NCsz1mFc