And as if that weren't enough, you've got Charlotte Rampling on the inside! A whole huge photogallery of her... "Charlotte in Couture".
The average age of these women is 66. The average fabulousity of these women is ∞. Just saying.
More links...Scott Feinberg interviews Halle Berry
The Evening Class Liza Minnelli interviews and TCM schedule
Deadline Hollywood Toy Story Best Picture spoofing FYC ads. The first is to your left. There's more to come as they campaign for the big prize. I'm really hoping they do Amadeus, The Hurt Locker and West Side Story. Which Best Pictures would you like to see spoofed by the toys?
Man About Town interviews Ryan Kwanten... naked. Ha.
Shadowplay proposes a mid December blog-a-thons about the last films from directors. What a fine idea. Any suggestions you'd like me write about?
Just Jared Anne Hathaway is awesome. She's already dreamt up her own role on Glee and picking songs before they've even invited her.
Moviefone If Lindsay Lohan needs to hit rock bottom to recover maybe this will do it? Malin Akerman of all people is now considered a suitable replacement.
offscreen
Gabby's Playhouse brilliant cartoon about the progression of all "sexism" discussions on the internet
The Post-Game Show on "beefcake" comic art and how it differs from cheesecake...
And finally...
What's your take on Christian Bale's Oscar chances for The Fighter?
I was discussing this with some peers earlier today. Some people feel he's too disliked to win an Oscar (after all, many below the line players vote on Oscars and we all know that Bale has a temper on set) others that "likeability" doesn't matter so much in the face of a certain level of performance. Esquire just published a thorny profile piece. Some journalists think he's an ingrate. Others, like Kris Tapley appreciate his rough edges. My take is somewhere in the middle. Likeability does matter in awards season (a lot) and though I appreciate honesty and strong opinions, I do find that it's incredibly narcissistic when stars of a certain level bitch about their duties as stars... like doing press. Basically they wouldn't have those duties if they weren't hugely successful. If people want to talk to you that means you're more successful. All jobs come with elements that are less joyous for the worker ... but very few jobs have the rewards that star actors receive. Bitching about a tiny amount of drudgery within a life filled with extravagant reward (the only reason that tiny amount of drudgery even exists is because you're successful enough to have been extravagantly rewarded) seems very very petty. So I'm torn. I find it distasteful but on the other hand I believe art should be judged without interference from the personality of the artist.
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28 comments:
my boyfriend(29 years old) always says he may drop me for Helen Mirren or Marcia Gay Hayden (my boyfriend is a b**ch :D)
about Bale,he yet dropped interviews during a french press junket for "empire of the sun"(he was 13-14 years old) but the whole interview is really entertaining and hilarious for me
Does Bale really have a rep for being difficult on set, though? I don't seem to recall him having that reputation before his troubles (one day only?) on the Terminator set.
Bale's issue with interviews seems to stem from a desire to keep his private life private. I think it's a fair request. Actors should have a right to keep a certain amount of their private life private (if they choose) just like every other profession does. If Bale was out promoting himself year round, it would seem hypocritical on his part. But he isn't-he drops off the face of the earth when he doesn't have to promote a film. He's clearly in it to act and is more than willing to talk about his films as promotion. It's when the interviews cross the line that he gets uptight with the interviewer sometimes.
In the Esquire interview, Bale keeps trying to bring the topic to The Fighter and the interviewer keeps trying to psychoanalyze Bale's personality instead. That seems a little out of line on the part of the interviewer to me.
Concerning the Bale article,
I feel like there's a balance that Christian Bale needs to achieve between his private and public life. Like he said, he doesn't have the balls to stand up to the studio and say "no more." He shouldn't take it out on the reporter.
That being said, I feel like the journalist should have been a bit more professional about the whole Q&A format. He was obviously miffed about it coming into the interview.
I think I'm starting to like Hathaway. Could this be? She rocked in that interview!
Mel -- but if he hates doing them THAT much, he needs to just refuse. There have been stars throughout history who just wouldn't do it or would only do very very few interviews. It can affect your bottom line (the stars who are willing to fight for their movies are more in demand of course) but if you want to have integrity about your stance, risk losing a few jobs over it.
I guess with so many people struggling in the world, being wealthy and successful and annoyed that people want to know about YOU just feels so immature/entitled.
anon -- i'm assuming he had a rep before that. a temper is a temper is a temper. I think it's very unlikely that that's the only time he ever freaked out on a crew member. it's just usually we don't hear about these things.
Nathaniel, I'm waiting for your review of Anne Hathaway's brilliance on SNL last night- especially Anne's Judy Garland interpretation. This lady better do that Garland biopic ASAP. Now, I'm beyond confident she can pull-off Judy Garland.
After seeing Hathaway last night, I can't think of another A-list young actress that could have matched her or surpassed her wonderful performances last night- not Carey Mulligan, Michelle Williams, nor Natalie Portman. She even surpassed Betty White & Jon Hamm as SNL hosts. Trust me, I will be following Anne Hathaway's career from now on. I'm still in awe of what she did last night on SNL
Nat!!!
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nicole-kidman-receive-vanguard-award-47933
VIVA CHARLOTTE RAMPLING!
Nathaniel - I agree that people with a career offering so much opportunity and adventure should count their blessings and quit their bitching, but I'd like to point out that there is a distinct chance that perhaps people like Bale and Crowe and those who are vocal about hating press don't actually spend all that much time bitching about doing press. Because the only time we ever hear from them is when they're doing press. I never bitch about raking leaves and showing my mom which remote controls the volume unless I'm raking leaves or showing my mom which remote controls the volume. The price one has to pay for having a nice front yard and surround sound system, but nonetheless, when we deal with things we don't like, we often bitch about them.
Bale was perfectly charming and gracious at a screening of The Fighter here in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon. Effusive and grateful even. And since he's terrific in the movie, I think he'll get his first Oscar nomination this year. He is the definition of overdue. As far as winning goes, I think the category is extremely competitive this year. With Geoffrey Rush, Mark Ruffalo, the Way Back, Social Network and True Grit posses, and who knows who else (Sean Penn? Sam Rockwell?) in the running, Bale will have to campaign or anti-campaign like Mo'Nique if he wants to win.
Nat, you can't just assume his temper is a regular thing on set. From what I've gathered, what happened on the Terminator set was an isolated incident. It's very presumptious to suggest that one incident means he is disliked by Hollywood or the Academy.
tony -- maybe it's presumptuous but in my experience with people. they pretty much behave the same way from year to year ;)
I mean i didn't know that hollywood had issues with Bill Murray until around the time of Lost in Translation when it came up that he wasn't necessarily loved. sometimes the industry doesn't really chatter about this stuff because it's impolite.
Murray got the nomination though but that was used as a reason why it had been difficult before (for Rushmore for example.)
Halle Berry seems to be an eloquent and intellgent woman who knows her stuff which is why I find it absolutely frustrating that she hasn't been getting good projects as of late (save Things We Lost...). Surely, there must be some non-race-specific role that she can sink her teeth into. She's got the clout, so what's the problem? Is it her acting, bad choices or just motherhood?
badmofo -- it might just be her taste level when choosing projects? you never know.
Nat...that's all well and good, but when we're predicting Oscar, you can't use presumptions as a format for an argument that has no facts to back it up. Simply, unless there's something more factual to the notion of "Bale is disliked by his peers," it's silly to use that as a basis for skepticism of his nomination/win.
I do think that Anne Hathaway has the chops for a Judy Garland biopic, but I wouldn't have thought that over that silly "Wizard of Oz" sketch she did on "SNL." There's far more to Ms. Garland than Dorothy. It really wasn't until "Rachel Getting Married" that I thought Anne could handle real dramatic material in a significant way, and there's loads with Judy, sadly.
If you read the interview, you'd see that he doesn't bitch about doing press - he bitches about journalists MAKING THINGS UP i.e. they'd rather be writing novels than interviewing him - they're not there because they're a fan of his, they got saddled with the assignment, found it dull, and decided to spruce it up by INVENTING THINGS THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.
That's obviously totally true and it's total hypocrisy for journalists to pretend it's somehow NOT true. Sure, the guys who are foreign correspondents and out reporting serious news stories or the scientific breakthroughs have integrity and major talent - but the ones writing these celeb profiles mostly ARE would-be novelists whose passion is not for factual rigor.
It's also obvious that the interviewer for Esquire was enjoying himself & if he was truly intimidated by Bale he wouldn't have thrown in the funny little comments he did. They were obviously ENJOYING ribbing each other & seeing how far they could tease the other person. That's why Bale makes the crack about "practicing your novel-writing skills" and the journalists comes back with the joke about Bale and Tom Cruise being two peas in a pod - at which point Bale bursts out laughing. Then Bale admits to enjoying being teased and the teasing, ribbing, & bantering continue... ON BOTH SIDES. The reporter expresses incredulity about Bale's lack of movie lore and Bale, after saying he's never seen X number of classics, waxes nostalgic over Beverly Hills Ninja. It's supposed to be funny and it IS funny: he's a typically British bloke who likes "taking the piss".
Bale is not whining. On the other hand, posts like this do constitute petty griping and whining... and blatant hypocrisy on your part.
I guess with so many people struggling in the world, being wealthy and successful and annoyed that people want to know about YOU just feels so immature/entitled.
Do you see the irony here? You spend your time bitching and moaning about someone else's bitching and moaning - this despite the fact that, unless one is simply tone-deaf, the interviewer's experience was obviously not unpleasant & he actually did - if you bother to ACTUALLY READ THE WORDS ON THE PAGE - learn a good deal of info about Bale, the actual person, what his likes and dislikes are, what kind of scripts he is attracted to, what kind of movies he has no interest in making or seeing, his life as a parent, what brand of beer he drinks, what his childhood experience was like, what his father's personality was like, what the real-life Dicky Eklund is like.... etc. etc. Read the interview carefully and a lot more genuine info is divulged than you generally find in these kinds of celeb profiles, which normally leave you with no solid impression of what kind of person we've just read about. I still know nothing about Tom Cruise, Will Smith, or George Clooney's genuine private self from reading celeb profiles of them. Not a thing. They may SEEM more forthcoming on the surface, but it's ALL surface: they aren't actually revealing much that's true or personal about themselves. Someone like Will Smith may come off as Mr. Friendly, but it's an act: there's no authentic disclosure whatsoever. Someone like Jodie Foster is known as a total pro, & doesn't make any OVERT fuss for reporters.... yet the reporters invariably come away learning NOTHING about the real woman Jodie, not a thing about her private life. Just because she's more "polite" on the surface doesn't mean she's actually telling them a damn thing: she never, ever does.
i cant stand toy story 3 :(
You're right to be worried about Mark Ruffalo. Everyone seems to be assuming that The Kids Are All Right is sustaining its buzz, but it's really not beyond Annette Bening and (to a lesser extent) the movie. Who's talking about Ruffalo's performance anymore? Certainly not anyone I've read.
I'm glad everyone seems to be coming to their senses about Andrew Garfield. Despite the flirtations with Justin Timberlake or Armie Hammer as The Social Network's Supp. Actor nominee, it's Garfield who is truly the emotional gateway for the audience.
I don't think Robert Duvall is even in yellow. Why does everyone assume he's set while Mark Wahlberg, who is in a buzzy movie that's a good bet for a BP nom, is fighting to be put even in the top seven on some lists? Nonsensical to me.
And finally, I think you gotta reconsider the fact that you have Another Year, a movie that did well on the early circuits for Lesley Manville's performance but hasn't been buzzy in quite some time, on your list over the buzziest movie of the fall. Black Swan has insane buzz that has been deafening since its trailer came out (2 million+ views on YouTube alone!) and its from a director that's well-known and well-respected. If I were in your shoes, I'd switch the two.
tony rock -- in the prediction game there is *only* presumption. what's that famous quote. "No one knows anything"
if we can only use facts for something non-factual based (conjecture) it's super boring. It comes down to these are the rotten tomatoes scores and theese are the box office scores. zzzzz.
kevin -- ah but who are you reading ? ;)
HW -- Bale fans are so touchy! I think i was really fair in my comments. I said "this is the way i feel about it BUT I don't feel like personal feelings about a person should come in to judging their art." I have my flaws but this is one area where I feel pretty good about myself. sorry i don't think i'm being overly critical. I think i'm just discussing. I do find it a fascinating thing about famous and successful people though that regular people (like me... and presumably you -- ;) ) want to excuse all of their flaws when we like them. you see it all the time in politics, movies, music, business, etcetera. it's a weird thing about humans: defending the entitled about their entitlements.
Thanks for the link!
HW -- Bale fans are so touchy! I think i was really fair in my comments.
And I don't think you were fair at all in your comments. I think you were, in fact, totally obnoxious and holier-than-thou - not to mention borderline illiterate - in your comments.
Good God, do you want every celeb to be a totally airbrushed, synthetic creation whose responses to questions touch reality at no point? Is your head so far up your own ass you need every single artist to be an air-kissing fake?
I will repeat: Bale delivers the goods. The reporter got what he needed from him: MATERIAL. Most celeb profiles have NOTHING memorable about them.... because the celebs share no genuine opinions about any subject under the sun. Instead of moaning about his plainspokenness, did you ever consider that he GAVE this interviewer exactly what this, and every, journalist needs - memorable material?
You didn't actually respond to or refute any of my points: probably because there is no valid response.
BTW, you have truly terrible taste in film, as well, and actors in particular: over-the-top scenery-chewing and trite campiness do not generally constitute great acting: they constitute emotional fakery.
Well, it's good to know that Bale's fans are as crazy as he is.
Also, I would *not* bring up over-the-top acting when it comes to discussing Bale, if I were you.
HW: it seems like you are trying to bait people into an internet argument and I almost have too much self respect to get into it, thus I will post once and leave it at that...
your charges of holier than thou, illiterate, and hypocrasy are in fact hypocritical. if you don't like the authors taste in film or actors that much, read another site. your baiting ranting, and bullying are unappreciated by the loyal fan basethat reads this website for its light hearted perspective in what is often a rude and uninviting field. if you wanna be a dick...go somewhere else.
and that is all I have to or will have to say about that.
Nathaniel--Fair point! I read Sasha Stone at Awards Daily, the team over at the freshly revamped Gold Derby...and you, who hasn't mentioned Ruffalo in quite some time yourself! But of course, I always keep up with the Gurus, etc.
well I think this is the best interview I have read for quite some time. Christian Bale gives the reporter more than he can handle and we get to know Bale as well. He is really protective about his private life and I respect that. Also the last line about the bar is so funny.
The rumours about him being difficult are so boring
that picture of Christian Bale floating is utterly intoxicating...
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