Tom Hanks, Posterized

Tom Hanks was often likened to a 'new Jimmy Stewart' during his peak years. I never thought the tag quite fit because, though Hanks is a likeable "everyman" lead, he doesn't have the same range. Hanks, unlike Stewart, rarely tests the darkness at the edges and when he did in Road to Perdition it was one of his flattest portraits. In comparison, can anyone watch Vertigo and not come away fully aware of how comfortable Jimmy Stewart was burrowing into the skin of rather squirm-inducing psyches? The following lineup only includes lead or huge supporting roles and no voice work. (I'm not sure how one would categorize The Polar Express. How would one?)

So... sorry, Woody. You'll make it up at the box office this weekend with Toy Story 3 [my review] playing everywhere. Rest assured that you're still one of his most iconic roles.

Because the posters have to be divisable by three for this particular series, I had to choose one non lead role to leave out so I opted for That Thing You Do! (96) instead of A League of Their Own (92) because I love the latter, though That Thing is way more of a Tom Hanks movie since he also directed it. I've also left out his very first movie, the slasher flick He Knows You're Alone (80) --any horror fans know if he gets killed grotesquely in that one? -- which preceded Hanks's breakthrough on TV's Bosom Buddies. After that sitcom, he was an immediate lead player in the cinema with the breakout smash known as Splash.

Splash (84) | Bachelor Party (84) | The Man With One Red Shoe (85)

Volunteers (85) | The Money Pit (86) | Nothing in Common (86)

Every Time We Say Goodbye (86)| Dragnet (87) | Big (88)

Punch Line (88) | The 'Burbs (89) | Turner & Hooch (89)

Joe vs. the Volcano (90) | Bonfire... (90) | A League of Their Own (92)

INTERMISSION
Volcano and Bonfire were both seen as flops which was not something Hanks had been accustomed to. Thankfully the reception of Volcano didn't turn anyone off to the idea of a Meg Ryan rematch (while it's popular to hate on her now, they really played wonderfully off of each other and unlike most modern screen pairs with terrific chemistry, who throw that rare gift away, they actually made use of it in multiple films.) But first Hanks blazed back while supporting Geena Davis during her brief cinematic reign in a women's baseball flick. It became a big hit. Mega Stardom and back-to-back Oscars followed for Hanks. But for me, this mini comeback (he wasn't really over... just had a slow couple of years) was the peak. A League of Their Own is my favorite of his comic turns. "There's no crying in baseball!"

Sleepless in Seattle (93) | Philadelphia (93) | Forrest Gump (94)

Apollo 13 (95) | That Thing You Do! *not pictured* (96) |
Saving Private Ryan (97) | You've Got Mail (98)

The Green Mile (99) | Cast Away (00) | Road to Perdition (02)

Catch Me If You Can (02) | The Ladykillers (04) | The Terminal (04)

Da Vinci Code (06) | Charlie Wilson's War (07) | Angels & Demons (09)

His three best performances according to me: Big (88), A League of Their Own (92), Cast Away (00). My three favorites from his filmography: Splash (84), A League of Their Own (92) and Sleepless in Seattle (93)... give or take Apollo 13 (95) in both categories.

Speaking of Apollo 13... we often equate Tom Hanks with the Oscars, but he's only appeared in 4 Best Picture nominees. That's nothing to scoff at and very difficult to achieve (or at least it was when there were only 5 nominees) but the record holder is probably someone you've never heard of. I hadn't. Her name is Bess Flowers and she was a bit player. She appeared in 22 Best Picture nominees the last of which was Judgment at Nuremberg (61) where she played "concert attendee". Ha! To put it in context, her record is twice that of Jack Nicholson's (!) the movie star with the best Best Picture track record (11 nominees/ 3 winners). Hmmm, I sense a follow up post coming on. Any takers?

The Hanks filmography has earned 3.5 billion thus far with more to come. He's been tweeting from the set of his next film Larry Crowne (2010) and maybe another hit awaits? His films got more serious over the years to match his mammoth stardom but if you ask me, he lost quite a bit of his sparkle when he ditched comedy for Serious Acting. So, it was egood to see hear him as Woody again.

How many have you seen? Which do you love best?
*

25th Anniversary: Prizzi's Honor(s) and the 1985 Best Picture Race

Every once in a while (i.e. constantly) I'll pick up the classic Inside Oscar to double check an awards factoid. Sometimes I like to hold actual books in my hands rather than play search engines like a piano. So retro! I was looking at 1985 recently -- any '85 babies reading? Happy quarter-century mark -- for Kurosawa's section of that foreign film article. The Best Picture nominees for 85 were The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Out of Africa, Prizzi's Honor and Witness.

"What the hell, Charley, the calendar takes care of everything"

I'd venture to say that from that particular vintage John Huston's Prizzi's Honor is the least discussed now, so I thought I'd give it a spin to celebrate its anniversary on this very day.

Given the overall 1985 nomination field (the Picture nominees hogged 42 nominations all told) it's tough to imagine that any film came close to breaking up that party o' five. But it's always fun to conjecture about 6th place. Perhaps it was actually Kurosawa's Ran (four nominations, though foreign films rarely make that top competition) but maybe it was the surprise Oscar favorite Runaway Train (which showed up in three key categories). It certainly wasn't the critical pet of the year Brazil (too weird for AMPAS) or Woody Allen's miniature masterpiece The Purple Rose of Cairo, shamefully recognized only in Screenplay. It's possible that neither of those classics would have even made a ten wide Best Picture field though perhaps Back to the Future would've, since it was a big enough hit to break into the screenplay field despite being much sillier than Oscar allows.

But I digress.

Aside from the gay arthouse smash Spider Woman, Prizzi's Honor is the most atypical of the nominees. To start with it's a comedy, which automatically makes you the odd man out in any lineup.

"Do I ice her? Do I marry her? Which one of these?"

The film follows the confusion and misadventures of hitman Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson, winning his 8th nomination) and the troubles that erupt from his dim trust in untrustworthy women: the thieving hitwoman Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner, the preeminent Shady 80s Lady) and his former girl Maerose (Anjelica Huston, Nicholson's real life partner at the time) who both have complicated histories with the Prizzi family that Charley serves. Since it's a comedy and quite eccentric at that, it's tough to imagine Oscar responding had it not come from such a legendary auteur (Huston was 80 by the time the ceremony rolled around and this would be his fourth Best Picture nominee).

I mean it's a strange movie, at once both expansive (multiple characters, multiple cities, and plentiful plot turns) and intimate (most of its spark comes from the nuances of its romances, both sexual and familial) and nearly always arrhythmic. Though the screenplay is whip smart and packed with clever flourishes and exchanges, it's also strangely dull and the pacing is just bizarre. Sometimes there are long passages where nothing is happening (the opening sequence at a mafia wedding goes on for quite some time offering up much less plot and characterization than the time would allow for) and then there'll be too much information all at once in short snappy scenes: Wait, who iced who? who's on whose payroll? What's a pieceman? Who stole whose money and they're hiding it how exactly? So the strangest among its plentiful Oscar nominations might actually be Directing and Editing.

That said, my single favorite beat in the movie is expertly timed, with the direction and editing (and star performers of course) coming together in quite a satisfying manner: I love the abrupt dissolve from the seemingly eternal static shot of Irene & Charley's foolhardy declarations of love (on their first date, mind) to the athletic perpetual motion shot of a marathon f*** in progress, scored with comic bombast. If you're thinking "but dissolves aren't abrupt," well, the beauty is that this one is.

Jack feigns stupidity with comic panache throughout the film and one recurring joke about his sexual shyness works superbly. Kathleen exudes confidence and sex (what else is new) but neither are 'best in show'. The movie is owned by the scandalous Prizzi daughter (Anjelica Huston) and her grandfather, the don (William Hickey) both of whom received Oscar nominations. Anjelica won giving her father the unique distinction of having directed both his father (Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and daughter to Oscar wins in his lifetime. Hickey and Huston are both doing heightened, funny, weirdly unnerving turns that mix well with the movie's ambitious comic tone. Still, in keeping with the slippery oddness of the whole enterprise, their one scene together doesn't really pop the way it probably ought to.

Prizzi's Weirdness.

"My gift to you is not only the pictures, but also what they mean."

Despite any reservations one may have about its honored place in the annals of 80s Oscar history, it's maddening that it got such a shabby DVD transfer. This is part of the filmography of one of cinema's most enduring directors. Show a little respect, studios. I'm wondering if there's a good DVD release that did the film justice and I just got the weak one? Anyone know?

Also: Have you seen all of the 1985 Best Picture nominees? Which one gets your vote?
*

Revised Experience: The Longest Best Picture Titles

tues top ten: for the list maker in me and the list lover in you

Your life isn't complete without knowing the answer to the following question:
What Are the Ten Longest Titles of Best Picture Nominees? We've answered it once before but Precious... which is officially titled Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire has shaken up the rankings. Plus, new readers haven't read this. So, it's new to you!

There are several ways to count the titles and they result in different orders. I've opted to do it by character count, not including spaces.

point of contention: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope used to simply be called Star Wars. Now, people add the episode tags because there are so many of them... If you allow for the revised official titling, Star Wars makes the top ten, tying for #9

10 Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) Just barely makes the top ten but it's an appropriate choice. It's so long winded it clocks in at 3 hours. Hey, it takes a long time to shove in all those celebrity cameos, people. The Player was an hour faster with the same task but Michael Anderson is no Robert Altman.

09 (tie) Best Picture winner One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), still beloved today, may be Jack Nicholson's finest crazy hour. It won Jack the first of his three Oscars but it was the fifth of his 12 nominations (the record of male actors). Then there's Best Picture nominee I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932). Even the tag line of this drama about a wrongly imprisoned man is a mouthful "Six sticks of dynamite that blasted his way to freedom... and awoke America's conscience!" But, with a 93 minute running time, it's actually the quickest sit in this top ten.

08 (5 way tie) The wordy titles being Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), Meredith Wilson's The Music Man (1962), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954). The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) rounds out the list. My favorite from this list is Woolf which is one of most exhilarating films of all time. Sierra Madre is the only one of these five that I haven't seen. In my defense there's not an actress in it and since I'm first and foremost driven by actressing... Well, that's my excuse. Side note: While attending the junket for Elegy a couple of years back Dennis Hopper listed this as one of the five best/most important movies ever. He was caught off guard by the question and answering on the fly but still...


07 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Paul Newman was Butch (RIP). Robert Redford is still "The Sundance Kid" (did you read the Sundance coverage last month?)

06 (tie) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
You knew the Rings trilogy would be here. And even if you didn't know the title, you'd assume Button had a long one while watching it, wouldn't you?

05 Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004) Oh, wait. Riiiiight. (sigh) the Oscars suck.


---> Elijah Wood has seen too much. He is terrified to watch all of the Rings movies back to back.

05 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) takes the five spot. Incidentally, Return... is one of the very longest Oscar winners at 201 minutes. (Only Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur have numbed more asses. The last Rings film is even one minute longer than The Godfather Part II). And it's the longest film on this here list.

04 Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
The newest addition to the list.

03 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
I realize this title is lifted from the novels but I think it's awkward at best and unintentionally funny at worst.


But it's a good movie so who cares.

02 (tie) The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming (1966) and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

01 Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Not only does this classic comedy have the longest title ever from a best picture nominee, it has one of the best titles period. Ever. All time. Don'cha think? It's also a merciful 95 minutes long. Comedies are funniest when they're short, timing being everything. One day filmmakers and audiences will come back to their senses and the bloated Judd Apatow movies of the world.

I can do without most ":" subtitle situations... but wouldn't it be great if more titles were this creative, funny and movie-descriptive? Remember when that Nicolas Cage romantic comedy was called Cop Gives Waitress 2 Million Dollar Tip which was a fun "ripped from the tabloids" descriptive title and then it became the utterly generic sounding It Could Happen to You, a title which could fit only three hundred thousand other movies with ease. zzz.

So, here's to short movies with long titles like Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb. It's easy to sit through them and it's fun to say their names aloud.
*

De Niro to the 7th? (Oscar's Male Hierarchy)

Have you been buying the minor huzz (hype+buzz) 'Robert De Niro's 7th Oscar nomination' for the holiday film Everybody's Fine? My friend txt critic saw it last night and sent the following note by phone...

it's, well, fine. most definitely a drama (despite the trailer) and conceptually a cross between About Schmidt and Four Christmases. nice, sweet and somewhat forgettable.

might, MIGHT be a nomination for DeNiro, but i wouldn't bet on it.

I dunno. I wasn't betting on it either but Best Actor sure seems vacant this year with only Colin Firth (A Single Man) and George Clooney (Up in the Air) catching any sort of real fire. As I've been saying for months, Fox Searchlight shouldn't have even hesitated to position Crazy Heart for a 2009 release. Jeff Bridges would have a clear shot at the career trophy given the field (if -- and it's always a big if since distributors routinely call upcoming performances "the performance of a lifetime" -- the star turn is as good as they say). I'm glad to hear that release is still a possibility... though the hour is getting late. UPDATE: Fox finally came through. It'll be released on December 16th. Why must everyone wait until December? Good smaller movies routinely get crushed when they're released at the same time, the heavyweight big budget contenders sucking the air out of the room as they do.

Aside from Firth and Clooney, the rest of the men are all still assumed rather than proven contenders. Anything might happen in that category.

Incidentally, if De Niro miraculously manages a seventh nod this year, it doesn't disrupt Oscar's actor hierarchy so much, it just switches who De Niro is tied with. The 22 Most-Favored list currently goes like so [please note: this is for competitive acting statistics only... some actors moonlight as producers, writers, directors, what have you]

1. Jack Nicholson (12 noms, 3 wins)
2. Laurence Olivier (10 noms, 1 win)
   
3. Spencer Tracy (9 noms, 2 wins)
4. Paul Newman (9 noms, 1 win)
   
5. (tie) Marlon Brando and Jack Lemmon (8 noms, 2 wins)
6. Al Pacino (8 noms, 1 win)
   
7. Peter O'Toole (8 noms, zero wins)
   
8. Dustin Hoffman (7 noms, 2 wins)
9. Richard Burton (7 noms, zero wins)
   
10. (tie) Robert De Niro and Michael Caine (6 noms, 2 wins)
11. (tie) Robert Duvall and Paul Muni* (6 noms, 1 win)
    
12. (6 way tie) Tom Hanks, Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington and Sean Penn (all of them with 5 noms, 2 wins)
13. (tie) James Stewart and Gregory Peck (5 noms, 1 win)

There are three obvious living threats to this list that come to mind: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio (3 noms, massive stardom, gainfully employed well into the next decade) and Morgan Freeman (4 noms, 1 win and still working regularly at 72 years of age). But cross your fingers that Jeff Bridges and Albert Finney (with 4 and 5 noms respectively) get another shot at the competitive gold soon.

*depending on how you count those "unofficial" deals in the early years. If I made any mistakes in the chart -- i'm only human -- I assume you'll let me know in the comments.

Oscar... Now With More Spirit Fingers

Shankman's got spirit!

Do you follow the Oscar show news in the way you follow the Oscars? I don't so much, despite this life I lead constantly writin' about the awards themselves. I care who hosts to some degree but I tend to ignore the rest. But I found it interesting this week when director Adam Shankman (Hairspray) was named as one of the producers and his choreography skills were noted as a reason to be enthused about this assignment. At least he has a sense of humor about his, um, limited history with the big event

I was one of Paula Abdul's 'Under the Sea' pirates," Shankman said. "The last time I was at the Oscars, I was in Lycra, with a pirate hat on.

Shankman's presence must mean more musical numbers. I'm all for musical numbers provided they rehire Hugh Jackman as host. He was so fine last year.

But Shankman's involvement suddenly had me worried that John Travolta would present Best Picture or something. If any Shankman connected star gets that honor, it sure as hell better be Michelle Pfeiffer (look how cute they are together).

I am so sick of the lack of imagination the AMPAS producers have when it comes to the Best Picture presenters. They don't give directors the honor all that often but even if you're an actor it's not even a matter of being a legendary A lister. Some people, for what we assume must be insider reasons, have a stranglehold on this particular honor on Hollywood's High Holy Night.

Seriously, this is how it's gone done in the past 20 years:

2008 Steven Spielberg
2007 Denzel Washington
2006 Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson
2005 Jack Nicholson
2004 Dustin Hoffman & Barbra Streisand
2003 Steven Spielberg
2002 Kirk & Michael Douglas
2001 Tom Hanks
2000 Michael Douglas
1999 Clint Eastwood
1998 Harrison Ford
1997 Sean Connery
1996 Al Pacino
1995 Sidney Poitier
1994 Robert DeNiro & Al Pacino
1993 Harrison Ford
1992 Jack Nicholson
1991 Elizabeth Taylor & Paul Newman
1990 Barbra Streisand
1989 Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson

Yes, Jack Nicholson has had the honor 20% of the time in the past twenty years. 20%! I love Jack as much as anyone. It's great to see him sitting in the front row with his shades on each year ... but there are other legends in the house. Let's show some imagination, not to mention respect. Once you get past Jack (7 times altogether) you're still stuck with Spielberg, Streisand, Douglas or Pacino lately, you know? Enough.

In 81 Years of Oscar Nights...

Minorities (all 4 of them) who've had the honor
Akira Kurosawa, Eddie Murphy, Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington

Actresses (all 14 of them) who've had the honor
3 times: Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn
2 times: Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand
Once: Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Janet Gaynor, Ingrid Bergman, Olivia de Havilland, Lillian Gish, Loretta Young, Carol Burnett, Diane Keaton and Cher

Important actors and/or mega stars who have not presented Best Picture and wouldn't any of them be fine choices (hint hint... things I'd most love to see in red)?
Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer, Vanessa Redgrave, Julia Roberts, Catherine Deneuve, Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Bette Midler, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Maggie Smith, Goldie Hawn, Jodie Foster, Sissy Spacek, Christopher Plummer, Will Smith, Mia Farrow, Liza Minnelli, Drew Barrymore, Joan Fontaine, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Sally Kirkland*, Joanne Woodward, Peter O'Toole, Glenn Close, Jessica Lange, Julie Christie, Mickey Rooney, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Susan Sarandon
_____________________ ... and a little nobody named Jane Fonda.

Breathe deep Oscar. Be brave. Envision a world beyond Jack. Spread your golden wealth.


This post is a few months too early, yes. I hear you. But please stop interrupting my lucid fantasy that Shankman and other movers and shakers read this blog daily, poring over its every awards culture command. 'Yes, Nathaniel, yes. We shall obey!'

Who would you love to see close out the 82nd Oscars with an enthusiastic line reading of "and the Oscar goes to..."

*just wanted to see if you were paying attention
*

Before There Were Websites... (Pt 2)

...there were scrapbooks (prev. pt 1)

Let's continue that silly reveal of my "Movies of the Eighties" scrapbook. I'm still hoping to locate the "Movie Stars of the Eighties" companion volume in which I ranked all the actors and actresses of the decade. Wouldn't that be a ROTFL experience? If I can find it I will share, despite the loss of dignity it will surely occasion.

Behold! To your left is the tv guide cover that started it all. I guess it wasn't an actual TV Guide as my personal mythology has always relayed but whatever television magazine thingie was inserted into the Detroit Free Press back in the day. That cover right there started my whole Oscar obsession -- look how worn, damaged and fingered it is. I thumbed through it so many times. What is this naked gold man they call Oscar??? This cover unlocked my latent awards mania. I had seen Tootsie and E.T. (massive family friendly hits both) but it was the center statue that seized my imagination. Soooo shiny.

Shiny shiny sha-na-na-na.
Shiny shiny bad times behind me

From there I became more and more movie obsessed. Based on the "everything I've seen" scribblings it looks like I was seeing about 25-40 films a year. Not all of the clipping collages matched the screening lists. I can't recall exactly what dragged me to theaters back then, but Dennis Quaid was a factor.


Do you know the 14 films displayed there? Some of them I barely remember...

The 1988 and 1989 pages are heavily Burtonesque with a late blooming burst of Pfandom by way of The Fabulous Baker Boys. I thought this clipping below was an interesting time capsule: a note about who might play The Joker before Batman (1989) was even filming. It was superhero casting speculation before steroids the internet.



It's smudgy but it reads

Although an unknown will be considered for Batman, Jack Nicholson (far right) has been mentioned in connection with the Joker. _____'s personal picks for the role are Ray Liotta (Something Wild, left) or Willem Dafoe (Platoon, center).

For the Record: Heath Ledger was 10 years old when Tim Burton's Batman arrived in theaters. Who imagined that Nicholson's Joker would eventually have to stand down?

If you want to see more of this scrapbook, say so in the comments.

But I wanted to wrap up this part 2 peak with this: Lists! Apparently I thought the best "losing sanity" performances of the 80s were:

Jack Nicholson Batman
Meg Tilly Agnes of God
Glenn Close Fatal Attraction
Meryl Streep Plenty

With the distance of time, I'd only feel comfortable standing by the bunny boiler. Not that there isn't much to admire in Streep's 1985 performance. But why only four performances? The magic number is five, Nathaniel, hello. Everyone knows that.

Stranger still is the "best sequels of the decade" ranking

5. Superman II 4. Star Trek IV 3. Aliens 2. The Empire Strikes Back 1. Return of the Jedi

That order is ALL wrong: Jedi is a sorry sibling to Empire, The Wrath of Khan crushes other Trek adventures and sentient humans and drooling monsters alike recognize that Aliens is the sequel of the 80s as well as one of the best action flicks ever. I like to think that somewhere inside I knew this and thus felt compelled to scribble A-L-I-E-N-S in large capital expanding letters.

Finally, there's the list of the movies I saw most often, "Again and Again and Again" This one honestly surprised me. I don't remember seeing some of these movies multiple times. I never see things more than twice in the theaters now. Unless the movies are called Moulin Rouge!

(4 times) A Chorus Line, The Empire Strikes Back, Dreamscape, Fire and Ice, The Lost Boys, The Princess Bride, The Secret of My Succe$s, Romancing the Stone, The Karate Kid, The Little Mermaid, Beetle Juice and Ladyhawke
(5 times) A Room With a View, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Clue, St. Elmo's Fire
(6 times) Batman
(9 times) Return of the Jedi
(10 times) The Breakfast Club

You know what question I am forced to ask now: What movie did you see the most in grade school, junior high and high school?
*

Alice in Teaserland

Maybe "Tweedle Dee!" should be the new "Squeeeee!" for excited exclamations. You've probably seen the new images via USA Today and the info on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? But I'd like to talk about the cast and the polish. One of the only pluses of mainstays like 'Wonderland' being retold each decade over original work is to see how the different eras and visual artists interpret them.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Wonderland. If you click over to USA Today you can move
around in the gardens with your mouse. For what it's worth it looks like
Edward Scissorhands has been hired as Wonderland's landscape artist.

Mia Wasikowska as Alice (the oldest Alice since Meryl Streep?) and
Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedleydum

Helena & Anne Hathaway as Red & White Queens. Depp as Mad Hatter.
I love what My New Plaid Pants says about the latter: "if Elijah Wood
and Carrot Top had a baby" Ha!

The look is certainly eye-popping and I will be there on day one (March 5th, 2010 to be exact) but maybe the saturation (will it be garish onscreen?) and practically-an-animated-movie CGI smoothness is worrisome. Is Burton moving too far into George Lucas 'make it up on the computer later!' green screen terrain as a filmmaker? And given that we're seeing a batch of teasing photos a full 270 days before this is opening is this going to be one of those movies (like Terminator Salvation or Spider-Man 3) that shows and tells all prior to its release?

What, me? Worry???

I'm thinking about Burton's oeuvre today because i09 is remembering the game changing public mania that surrounded the release of Tim Burton's Batman 20 years ago tomorrow (June 23rd, 1989). Yes, long before Nolan made that crazy successful The Dark Knight, Burton was largely creating our current movie culture. Supermans I-IV beat him to the superhero game but their very rapidly diminishing returns didn't make the superhero franchise idea all that viable. It was Burton and that yellow and black symbol, plastered on everything, that did it.

Remarkably that particular Batman starred neither Johnny Depp (the star of literally 50% of Burton's filmography) nor Helena Bonham-Carter (who appears in 6 of Burton's 14 features). If the film were remade today they'd be your Batman Joker and Vicki Vale replacing Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger.

<-- You know they would!

I'm exaggerating a little since their absence was a given. Burton probably hadn't even met them. In 1989 Depp was still on 21 Jump Street and Helena Bonham Carter was that tiny corseted Merchant/Ivory dress-up doll.

Burton's Troupe O' Players

Johnny & Helena aren't the wild haired auteur's only favored thespians. He isn't quite Woody Allen or Scorsese in the steady faces game, but here's a list of his other pets. I personally think he's underused Sarah Jessica Parker who aced both of her Burton roles, totally understanding his peculiar comic tone.

6+ collaborations
Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham Carter

5 collaborations
Lisa Marie (Burton's ex) - Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Planet of the Apes, Sleepy Hollow and the short Stainboy

4 collaborations
Christopher Lee - Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice
Deep Roy -Planet, Big Fish, Charlie, Corpse Bride

3 collaborations
Danny DeVito -Batman Returns, Mars, Big Fish
Jeffrey Jones -Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, Sleepy
Michael Keaton - Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns
Glenn Shadix - Beetlejuice, Planet plus Stainboy

2 collaborations
Albert Finney -Corpse Bride, Big Fish
O-Lan Jones -Edward Scissorhands, Mars
Martin Landau -Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow
Jack Nicholson -Batman, Mars

Sarah Jessica Parker -Ed Wood, Mars
Vincent Price -Edward Scissorhands and the short Vincent
Paul Reubens -Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Batman Returns
Alan Rickman -Sweeney, Alice
Winona Ryder -Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands
Timothy Spall -Sweeney Todd, Alice
Missi Pyle -Big Fish, Charlie
Sylvia Sidney -Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks!

Who are your favorite Burton players? Share in the comments. Do you think he should keep reusing people or move on like Paul Thomas Anderson when he left all his regulars behind for There Will Be Blood?

Click here for main page
previous post: "60 Appropriate Ways to Celebrate Meryl Streep Today"
*

Streep Nom #3, 1981

Streep at 60: Let's talk each Streep nomination and its competition.

Meryl Streep won the BAFTA, Golden Globe and the LAFCA prize for her two part role in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) but she lost the Oscar anyway. The nominees were:

• Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond
• Diane Keaton, Reds
• Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
  
• Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City
  
• Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman

<-- Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep in September, 1981 when The French Lieutenant's Woman opened.

On Golden Pond made Katharine Hepburn a four-time Oscar winner. She's still far out in front of everyone in the acting Oscar derby save Jack Nicholson who has three and could conceivably join her. He is 72 and still works far more often than Hepburn was working in her 70s when she won this.

The snubbed in '81? Sissy Spacek in Raggedy Man and Sally Field in Absence of Malice were Globe Drama nominees and Bernadette Peters was the Musical/Comedy Globe winner for Pennies From Heaven. update: And then there's Kathleen Turner in Body Heat who I am deeply ashamed I forgot when originally typing this, since she's probably be my winner for the year. What was up with awards bodies neglecting her? What's your ideal lineup in 1981 and who do you think deserved the win?

Frances Ethel Gumm at 87

Had Judy Garland not died tragically at 47 of an accidental overdose she would be turning 87 years-old today. Okay, so she might have died by now but we would have had much more of her work to enjoy. To give you an idea of how young that is for a world class entertainer, consider people who outlived her.

Had Frank Sinatra died at 47 his career would have ended with The Manchurian Candidate. He'd have never recorded his signature song "My Way" or any of his live records. Had Shirley Maclaine died at 47, she would never have sent up Debbie Reynolds in Postcards from the Edge or made Terms of Endearment which was arguably her greatest screen triumph. Had her co-star Jack Nicholson died at 47, Terms... would have been his last film: no Prizzi's Honor, Witches of Eastwick, Ironweed, The Departed, About Schmidt. Had Paul Newman, only three years Judy's junior, died at 47, "Judge Roy Bean" might have been his finale. No classics like The Sting, The Verdict or that long awaited Oscar win for reprising his role from The Hustler. Had Meryl Streep died at 47, The Bridges of Madison County would have been her swan song. No "Miranda Priestley", The Hours or Angels in America, no miraculous rebirth as a top box office draw in her late 50s. She would never have become the most nominated performer in Oscar history.

This is all a long way of saying that Judy Garland's death, while providing a fascinating spark to rush the gay liberation movement (more on Stonewall when it hits its 40th anniversary in a couple of weeks), was a great loss to the world. So here's to Judy in the celluloid heavens. Her cultural immortality is greatly deserved.



Related post: Nathaniel's 100 favorite actresses of all time. His harem (?) imaginary celluloid mansion (?) actress castle (?) has many wings but Judy's throne is very elaborate. She rules the afterlife wing alongside Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood.

The Witches of Eastwick in 2008

La Pfeiffer, Cher and Sarandon... photographed in 2008

I'm aware that John Updike did not like the film version of his classic novel The Witches of Eastwick. But now that he's written its sequel, set three decades later appropriately titled The Widows of Eastwick... can we please have a movie sequel? Pretty pretty pretty please. I know the experience wasn't exactly a happy one for the actresses involved or the author himself but could you imagine seeing these three legends together again one last time? Who needs the devilish Jack Nicholson?

photo by Richard Corman

I mean Alexandra Jane and Sukie dumped him in the first movie anyway. When does filming start? Oh come on! LET'S GO HOLLYWOOD, LET'S GO. Which devil do I have to sell my soul to to make this fantasy happen? My soul is available at a discount for this one.


This post may not seem scary enough for Halloween but I bet you Veronica Cartwright is pretty damn unnerved whilst staring at it. She may even projectile vomit!

Vanity Fair's Hollywood ~ Episode 9 (2003)

Missed previous episodes? See: 1995 , 1996, 1997, 1998 , 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005

In April 2003 Vanity Fair brought us only the second all male lineup in their nine years of this special issue. The idea here was the "Alpha List" and here they were...


Obviously, when VF isn't speculating about who might be hugely famous someday there's less to discuss in terms of what happened to their careers. But it can be thrilling to see so many megawatt stars in the same room together when VF goes "classic". Unlike many group photoshoots these "Hollywood" events rarely seemed to be the product of Adobe Photoshop. In other words, the oxygen is believably shared.

Tom Hanks, about to hit 47, was fresh off another hit (Catch Me If You Can) but his career was slowing down. His two Oscars and the occasional blockbuster (DaVinci Code) can warm him if he isn't feeling the warmth of mass adoration quite as much anymore. Here's my quibble: for someone who enjoyed favorable comparisons to the great Jimmy Stewart for so long, where are Hanks' late career stretches? Stewart was doing his best work ever in his late 40s and 50s. Has Hanks challenged himself at all since Cast Away which he made when was 44?

Tom Cruise, turning 41, was still Hollywood's Top Gun/Dog. His ex-wife had just barely won the Oscar that had always eluded him despite three nominations. He was readying The Last Samurai (note the longer locks) and dating Penélope Cruz. He was approximately one year away from firing his longtime publicist, setting off a series of bizarre media events which would damage his reputation and possibly his legacy.

Harrison Ford, turning 61, a longtime powerhouse draw, was slowing down and had famously turned down a role in the Oscar hit Traffic (2000) indicating to some that he wasn't really eager to stretch as he entered his golden years. He had moved to a one film every two years schedule. Michelle Pfeiffer had rightfully gotten much of the credit for his last big hit What Lies Beneath (2000) and when this cover debuted his only recent film K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) had been an uncharacteristic flop. Like Cruise -- only to a much smaller degree -- he was starting to have publicity problems. In 1998 he had added that solitary earring that people like to joke about, his second marriage began to dissolve in 2000 and his engagement to Calista Flockhart, who was just entering her difficult post-Ally McBeal period, was fresh at the time of this shoot. They haven't yet married.

Jack Nicholson, 66, who has been in pictures since '58 had just lost the Oscar Best Actor race for About Schmidt (his 12th and last Oscar nom to date) to upstart Adrien Brody for The Pianist. But with three Oscars already, what more could he want? How about two more huge hits this very year (Anger Management and Something's Gotta Give). '03 was the last the screen would see of Jack until The Departed (2006). That's an uncharacteristically long break for this prolific actor but he's now in his 70s so we'll let it slide.

Brad Pitt, 39, was still married to Jennifer Aniston and had just put a brief period of media swiping about his bankability behind him. The Oceans franchise and his resultant enormous payday ($30 million -- just for the first one) settled that one. More hits would soon follow and then... Angelina Jolie.

Edward Norton's career was going up up up at the age of 33. The previous year had brought ubiquity (four movies and Salma Hayek as girlfriend) and he was about to help deliver The Italian Job. Things got strangely quiet thereafter and he continues to have problems with a "difficult" reputation. Recent highlights include the underappreciated The Painted Veil and another hit, The Incredible Hulk.

Jude Law, 30, had officially and unarguably arrived in his late 20s with his portrayal of a callow golden boy in The Talented Mr Ripley (1999). Ever afterwards he was expected to become a major lead star even though he'd continued with the riveting supporting parts rather than going straight for the franchises or headlining work. Unfortunately the box office didn't cooperate so much on the intermittent lead gigs that he did take. Cold Mountain, hyped to be an Oscar frontrunner long before its debut (it failed to get a Best Picture nom), was on the way. Unfortunately the latter remains his last true hit, grossing nearly $100 million.

Samuel L Jackson, 54, often in enormous hits even if he's not exactly responsible for their success, had just added another billion dollar franchise to his resume with his turn as Mace Windu in the Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. Is he a household name more for his ubiquity than for his performances? His career is rather like that of Michael Caine and Gene Hackman before him: a sprinkling of blazingly good work here and there keeps the reputation intact despite the filmography also containing huge swaths of disposable filler. He can't say no! Jackson began to find steady employment as an actor in 1987. He's amassed a frankly astounding number of credits since then in everything from features, tv, to DVD fare, 108 of them in fact. Seven more films coming our way in the next two years. He's not going to be ignored. He's stalking us.

Don Cheadle, 38, was at this point a highly valued supporting actor, beloved by other thesps. He hadn't yet been rubber stamped with an Oscar nod or a lot of fame but he'd turned in vivid work in many good films: Oceans 11, Boogie Nights, and The Devil in a Blue Dress among them. He was soon to graduate to lead roles. Hotel Rwanda and his first Oscar nom would soon follow.

Hugh Grant on his way to 43, had recently delivered another semi-hit (Two Weeks Notice) and a critical success featuring his best work (About a Boy). The king of romantic comedy was beginning to threaten retirement in interviews but he didn't quit. Instead he made the Bridget Jones sequel for 2004. Oops! He doesn't work too often now but his next film is, you guessed it, another romantic comedy with a much younger woman.

Dennis Quaid, 49, was suddenly experiencing a real comeback -- not just the hyped kind. The late 90s had been bumpy for his star status and the breakup with Meg Ryan at the turn of the decade had been messy for both, public relations-wise. But in 2002 he had carried the crowd pleaser The Rookie with a winning star turn and almost won an Oscar nomination for his performance stretch in Far From Heaven. By the time of this cover, he was suddenly in demand again though it would take a couple of years before new movies started hitting theaters.

Ewan McGregor, 32, was soaring. The success of Moulin Rouge! (2001) and the Star Wars prequels had lifted him from well regarded daring British thespian to star. He had two movies coming out: Down with Love was a welcome change of pace as far as romantic comedies go but not something the public was interested in, Big Fish another serio-comic fantasy for Tim Burton performed reasonably well but seemed to fade quickly from public consciousness. It's been semi-rough since, with flops for which he was unjustly blamed (The Island) and strange choices (second fiddle to Renee Zellweger for Miss Potter?) piling up and a distinct lack of the edgier roles that made him a rising star in the first place. It's easy to imagine a resurgence, though: Eight new films coming your way in the next two years.

Matt Damon, 32, had just struck gold with The Bourne Identity (2002) and that franchise, together with smart choices for follow-ups (goofy cameos for friends, stretching for auteurs, working on smarter-than-usual mainstream projects) has served him exceedingly well. Until the Bourne franchise he was always connected to his best friend Ben Affleck, a bigger star (at the time). Nobody would argue that he's not a movie star on his own now. Five movies are on their way including a fourth trip into Bourne territory.

PLEASE NOTE: If you'd like to read more about any of these stars, click the names on the labels below.


*
median age: 43. Jude was the baby boy @ 30 and Jack the papa @ 66.
noticeably absent: Since VF tagged this the "alpha list" it's hard not to notice missing heavy hitters like Denzel, Johnny, Clint, Russell or Leo (see, you didn't even need their last names) ... though obviously you can't fit all A listers on one cover.
collective Oscar noms before this cover: 26 nominations and 5 wins for acting (Hanks & Nicholson share that trophy count. Damon has an Oscar but it's for screenwriting Good Will Hunting)
collective Oscar noms after this cover: Only two nominations followed: Jude Law for Cold Mountain (2003) and Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda (2004). Both of them lost. Grant, Quaid and McGregor have all been snubbed by Oscar voters on more than one occasion. What a shame.
fame levels in 2008, according to famousr, from most to least: Cruise, Pitt, Hanks, Nicholson, Ford, Damon, Grant, Law, Quaid, Norton and Cheadle. Neither Samuel L Jackson nor Ewan McGregor are listed on the famousr site.
previous episodes of 'VFH': 1995 ,1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
*