75th: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Other the years I've been writing for The Film Experience I've realized I'm quite obsessed with chronologies and time. Stars that have been part of our rear view mirror of film history our whole lives were once fresh faces. It's a simple concept but intermittently hard to absorb. I mean, Olivia de Havilland and Mickey Rooney, two of the oldest living film stars, were once newbies! In fact, seventy-five years ago on this very weekend in 1935 the Shakespearean adaptation A Midsummer Night's Dream opened, introducing the world to Olivia, than billed as de Haviland for some reason. She picked up an extra "l" shortly thereafter.

Mickey Rooney playing "Puck" at 14 years of age.

Have any of you seen it? It still looks beautiful in 2010, all black and white and shimmering; the fairy motif helps with the sparkliness.

Rooney, who'd been acting since he was 6, was already famous and his "Andy Hardy" franchise was just around the corner. I know this will read like an exceptionally odd non-sequitor, but if you get a chance to watch this movie soon, I swear that you'll have to wonder whether Leonardo DiCaprio watched this performance directly before playing What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993). I'm not saying that Puck is mentally disabled in this picture, only that there's a shocking similarity of early teenage exuberance and tree branch bounciness, paired with uninhibited squealing and odd vocalizations. (It struck me as entirely uncanny, but perhaps it's only that I watched Gilbert Grape just recently.)

When we first spot the lovely Olivia de Havilland as Hermia, she spots her love Lysander (Dick Powell). This is our endearing introduction to her.

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Actors on Actors: "The Susan Hayward of it All"

Actors on Actors looks at screen moments when stars are name-checked... by other stars! It's very meta. Since we're multi-tasking today trying to catch up, it's also a Tuesday Top Ten! In this episode, a scene from My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

Julia Roberts: I have big plans for dancing. Just give me 30-35 years."
Rupert Everett [the voice on that ginormous cel phone]: The misery. The exquisite tragedy. The Susan Hayward of it all!"

The umimpeachably witty Mr. Everett (aided by that film's wonderful screenplay from Ronald Bass) is, of course, referring to the grand high priestess of exclamatory drama, Miss "I Want to Live!" Herself. It's not just those curtain-chewing performances, the desperate women she played or the trashy films but the gleefully histrionic taglines, too.

For no reason other than that I plan to live my life with exclamation points this week...

10 Best Taglines from Susan Hayward Films

 (We really should do like a Hayward tribute week at some point.)

10 "She made good - with a plunging neckline, and the morale of a tigress"
from I Can Get it For You Wholesale (1951)

09 "LOVE-WRECKED!"
from Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman! (1963)

08"They branded her "Adulteress"!
from The President's Lady (1953)

07 "HARD-MUSCLED! SOFT-HEARTED!"
from The Fighting Seabees (1944)

06 "Do you know what they say about Laura Pember? They say she uses men like pep-up pills!"  from Stolen Hours which is also known as Summer Flight (1963)

05 "Love can make a killer out of a woman... and a fool out of any man!"
from I Thank a Fool (1962)

04 "She fell from fame to shame!" from I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)

03 "The way SHE loved a Man could lead in only one direction - DOWN!"
from They Won't Believe Me (1947)

02 "A FAST BUCK... A FAST BRONC ... A FAST THRILL"
from The Lusty Men (1952)

01 "This story was filmed on location...  inside a woman's soul!"
also from I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
It's not just the greatest tagline from a Susan Hayward picture, it's the greatest movie tagline of the 20th century! And probably the 21st century too!! It deserves so many exclamation points !!!

At the annual convention of TLCOM (Tag Line Copywriters of America) their lifetime achievement prize is called "The Hayward".*

*I made that last part up but it should be the truth.

10th Anniversary: MUSIC

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.




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Screen Queens: Julia and Rupert

MattCanada here with another week of gay cinema. This week's film is My Best Friend's Wedding, one of the most criminally underrated films of all time and, in my opinion, the best comedy of the nineties.


From afar the film's gay credentials seem to amount to just another example of the romantic comedy's stereotypical use of the gay best friend character. However, George (Rupert Everett in a career best performance) is the film's voice-of reason, moral centre, and ultimately the film's unconventional leading man.

The friendship between George and Julianne (Julia Roberts) highlights the special and unique relationship gay men and women can have. In gay film critic (and personal hero) Robin Wood's words

George's maturity, considerateness, and tact are intimately connected to the gayness that sets him apart from social norms, permitting him a wise distance from the practices and conventions in which those around him are entangled

Throughout the film Julianne has two defining men in her life, the mostly absent Michael (Dermot Mulroney) who is her past and George "her best friend these days" who is her present and her future. The final sequence has George surprising Julianne at the titular wedding. She has given up Michael, said goodbye to him for good.

The ending, however, is not sad, very much the opposite. As Julianne and the camera search out George in the crowd of people, the tone shifts from one of melancholy to happiness. The crowd parts, and there is George, as debonair as any leading man, and Julianne every bit the beautiful and independent leading lady. Julianne and George's dance reunion is constructed like any classic happy ending, the only difference being the Happy Couple is not the heterosexual couple but best friends, one gay and one straight.

George's final line...

Maybe there won't be marriage.
Maybe there won't be sex...
But by god there will be dancing.

...is transgressive in its acceptance and extollation of a non-normative union (for mainstream Hollywood, at least). The couple dance off happily, as the singer sings "forever and ever". Here the gay man is not relegated to homosexual pet status, he is the leading man, the moral centre of the film, and ultimately its hero. The relationship between Julianne and George is one of equals, and the film celebrates that at its conclusion.

The relationship between George and Julianne is only one of the many loveable aspects of My Best Friend's Wedding. Julia, Rupert, Dermot and Cameron Diaz all give performances that could be considered either their best work or on par with it. The script is hilarious and its set pieces are endlessly re-watchable. The Karaoke Scene where Julianne forces a reticent and stage shy Kimberly (Diaz) onstage to humiliate her, only to have it backfire and endear her to Michael and the whole room is poetic justice at its finest. Another exemplary comedic sequence is the cat fight in the washroom where Kimberly finally lets Julianne have it. Though indisputably the best moment is the now iconic "I Say A Little Prayer for You" wedding party sing-a-long led by George and the two slutty Southern cousins (this song also accompanies Julianne and George's dance at film's end). Movie moments which deliver pure and perfect pleasure are few and far between, and this is one of them. From the harmonizing, to Julianne's embarrassment, and the ensemble acting work, everything comes together flawlessly for a few minutes of cinematic joy.

Finally, isn't it amazing that a romantic comedy has at its center a character who is flawed and who makes mistakes but is not defined by them? Julianne is complex and Julia Robert confidently makes her both likable and enraging. If it was up to me the film, screenplay, Julia, Cameron, and Rupert all would have been nominated for Oscars that year.

Am I in the minority for finding My Best Friend's Wedding completely brilliant and under appreciated? Are there any other romantic comedies which people think were overlooked because of their connection to the most critically reviled genre?

Screen Queens: Another Country

Hey, MattCanada here with this weeks queer cinema post. I finally got around to watching Another Country. It was not what I expected at all and this did affect how much I liked the film. My expectations going into the movie were of a spy thriller with a hefty dose of gay sex, not PG fondling. What I was confronted with was a drama which explores the British class system through the study of Guy Bennett's (fictionalised Guy Burgess) disenfranchisement from his class because of his homosexuality at an unnamed Boys Public School (read: super posh). The film is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and intelligently written - a Merchant Ivory film in everything but name.

Rupert Everett in his star-making role (first on stage, then on screen)

The lead actors are all strong, especially Rupert Everett's flamboyant toff Guy Bennett. Everett does not overplay him which is a surprise given the actor's subsequent career. For Bennett he finds the perfect balance of class and performative gayness. Though the routines and affected speech of all the schoolboys would have to be classified as dandy-ish, Everett's pushes Bennett to be a little more excessive. There are times, during the cricket games and the military role calls, where his flamboyance will not be contained by the masculine structures of the ceremony, and this is what is eventually so reviled by the prefects. That is to say, it is his indiscretion and public acknowledgement/celebration of his homosexuality which is contemptible, not the actual act of having sex with men. Most of the other boys engage with other men sexually in lieu of female company, but it is not talked about, made public, or acknowledged as enjoyable. Also great are Colin Firth (in his screen debut) as the idealistic Marxist Tommy Judd who veers between petulant and intrepid, and the fascistic Fowler played brilliantly by Tristan Oliver.

Cary Elwes in his film debut (unless you count a bit as "disco dancer")

The look of the film is beautiful, and I'm not just talking about the male leads (although Cary Elwes might be prettier here than the Art Direction). The boarding school, which has many similarities to Eton, is a perfect expression of the other country in which the privileged live. The lush cinematography (Peter Biziou was honored for this work at Cannes) and meticulate costume and set design construct a world that is totally foreign to the vast majority of spectators, and allows the audience to understand how Guy's alienation from this privilege, because of his homosexuality, is enough to turn him towards espionage and treason. When Judd says: "All problems solved, no commies and no queers", he is circumscribing what is unacceptable and what blocks these men from attaining the power they were born to posses, and expresses how alienation and oppression made them bedfellows.

Colin Firth (in his film debut) as "Judd" and Rupert Everett as "Bennett"

[photo src] Everett & Kenneth Branagh in the West End production, 82.
Guess who played the roles in 83? Daniel Day-Lewis (!) and Colin Firth

The script, adapted by Julian Mitchell from his own Laurence Olivier Award-winning play, is nuanced, intelligent, witty and provides a great closing line (featured in F&L a few weeks ago).

Despite everything positive I have to say about the film, and what a fine achievement I think Another Country is, I didn't love it. Maybe I did just want a sex filled spy thriller with double crosses. I'll have to watch it again to really appreciate all the complexities of the script, and beauty of the mise-en-scene. For now I will recommend it, but caution people against expecting a 1930s gay Bond.

Does it make me a bad movie lover for wanting a bit more sex, and some Ian Fleming-style intrigue?


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Come Join the Party!

Hello, Jose here to remind you all that it's Madonna's birthday!

The Queen of pop/ businesswoman/ kabbalist/ mother/ 90's tabloid fodder/ safe sex advocate/ sex advocate/ entrepeneur/ icon is celebrating her 51st birthday today (and with those arms!). But along with everything she's done, many people forget (on purpose mostly...) that she's also an actress/director. The notorious perfectionist has never been able to master the cinematic arts, even if she tries and tries and tries. But since it's her birthday we should acknowledge that not all she's done for the silver screen is bad and since we can't take a holiday to get into the groove with her, here's...

51 Reasons to Celebrate Madonna... in the Movies!

51. Daring to take on a role created by Katharine Hepburn...sort of in Who's That Girl.
50. Her endorsement of Michael Moore.
49. Setting a whole new clothing trend with Desperately Seeking Susan.
48. Her deep love for classic films.
47. Looking cute despite reviews in Shanghai Surprise.
46. She didn't get to play Ginger McKenna in Casino, but we know how that turned out for Sharon Stone.

Madonna & Sean early on... Their birthdays are just one day apart

45. Rupert Everett.
44. She didn't get to play Roberta Guaspari in Music of the Heart, but we know how that turned out for Meryl Streep.
43. The cute anecdote about endorsing Sean Penn's first gay kiss in Milk.
42. The "Vogue" sequence in The Devil Wears Prada.
41. Her delicious line delivery in Dick Tracy.

40. Warren Beatty's cameo in Truth or Dare.
39. She didn't get to play Catwoman in Batman Returns, but we know how that turned out for Michelle Pfeiffer.
38. Dreams of the Chicago that never got made with her as Velma Kelly.
37. She didn't get to play Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys, but we know how that turned out for Michelle Pfeiffer (hmmm am I smelling a thing in the weird fact that the performances she doesn't get end up with Oscar nods...)
36. She didn't get to play Frida Kahlo in Frida, but we know how that turned out for Salma Hayek. She even thanked Madonna, because without her the movie would have never been made.

35. Francis Ford Coppola is a fan of Madge!
34. "Into the Groove" from Desperately Seeking Susan!
33. Her concerts involve video art that make any artsy film flicker in comparison...
32. "Who's That Girl"...the song.
31. That performance of "Sooner or Later" at the Oscars.

30. She didn't get to play Bess McNeill in Breaking the Waves, but we know how that turned out for Emily Watson. It's rumored that Lars von Trier wanted her badly to play this part!
29. "I'll Remember" from With Honors.
28. "This Used to Be My Playground" from A League of Their Own.
27. The Fabier Baron footage from "Erotica" which became an underground documentary of sorts.
26. Introducing us to Adriano Giannini, and his abs, in Swept Away.

25. For being so moving in "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret".
24. Without "Like a Virgin" we'd never have that hilarious prison sequence in the Bridget Jones' sequel.
23....or Jim Broadbent's divine interpretation in Moulin Rouge!.
22. Her homage to Marilyn in "Material Girl".
21. "Crazy For You" from Vision Quest.

20. Making fencing look sexy in Die Another Day.
19. ...and trying to give her cameo some depth by making her a lesbian.
18. Her care for the world as shown in "I Am Because We Are".
17. "Beautiful Stranger" from Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me
16. "Die Another Day" from Die Another Day (does this make her the only artist who's made songs for James Bond and a Bond spoof?)

15. Her decadent Guinness world record from Evita -- most costume changes in a movie -- which had been held before by Liz Taylor in Cleopatra.
14. The original "American Life" video which is more political than anything being done in movies today.
13. She's Gwyneth Paltrow's best friend.
12. Her directorial debut Filth and Wisdom isn't as bad as they say, it has some Richard Lester vibe to it.
11. Playing Madonna in Truth or Dare. Call her what you will but she's a movie star in this one!

10. Reminding us how refreshing the HFPA's choices can be sometimes by winning Best Actress over eventual Oscar winner Frances McDormand in 1996.
9. Both her husbands have been in the movies and are great at their craft...the first one more than the latter, but still...
8. Bringing sexy back to German Expressionism in the "Express Yourself" video.
7. Bringing the musical back, sorta...with Evita and proving she can be a good, award worthy actress when needed.
6. Showing us that documentaries can make profits.
Truth or Dare was huge in its day.

5. Her groundbreaking work with top notch movie directors in her videos.
4. Christopher Walken in the "Bad Girl" video paved the way for his brilliant work in "Weapon of Choice" years later.
3. Her homage to Joan Crawford in "The Power of Goodbye" video.
2. The Luc Besson musical she never got to make inspired "Hung Up" (her greatest single this decade).

1. The video for "Vogue".
It's arguably the greatest music video of all time and its love of cinema is just so evident, it probably encouraged a million people to seek the work of the people she mentions in the interlude. And that is spectacular in every single way!


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A Bizarre Moment of Oscar Trivia with Kyra Sedgwick

Congratulations to Kyra Sedgwick who just got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

Remember when it looked for a millisecond like she might get an Oscar nod for playing Julia Robert's sassy sister in Something to Talk About back in 1995? Stealing scenes from Julia might seem like a hard thing to do and commendable, too, but it pisses Academy voters right off. One must not pull focus from their Pretty Woman!

Future Julia Roberts co-stars consider yourself forewarned! If you steal a movie from the billion dollar grin, you will get media attention. You will get a Golden Globe nomination. But, come Oscar nomination morning, THE BIG SNUB AWAITS YOU.

the case evidence:

• Sally Field, Steel Magnolias (1989)
• Hector Elizondo, Pretty Woman (1990)
• Dustin Hoffman, Hook (1992)
• Sophia Loren, Pret-à-Porter (1994)
• Liam Neeson, Michael Collins (1996)
• Kyra Sedgwick, Something to Talk About (1995)
• Rupert Everett, My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
• Hugh Grant, Notting Hill (1999)

Yes all of them were Golden Globe nominated and then Oscar snubbed.

Rupert Everett was considered a lock in '97. No nomination. Argh!

There is reason to believe that this golden curse has been broken: Natalie Portman and Clive Owen (Closer) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War) all survived pulling Julia's focus in recent years, trading in their Globe hoopla for coveted Oscar nominations. But that said Natalie & Clive won the Globes but still lost the Oscar. So, I still say that Javier Bardem ought to watch his back on the set of Eat, Pray, Love if he wants another run at Oscar in 2011.
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Tuesday Top Ten: The Best of 1984

For no reason whatsoever I have declared today 1984 day! It's a 25th Anniversary Jamboree or some such. (Don't ask questions. Just go with it) Herewith a tripled top ten: What the public liked, what Oscar liked, what I liked from the year that was. All movie title links go to their Netflix page in case you're interested in giving them a looksie. First a little historical entertainment context: Vanessa Williams was not starring on Ugly Betty but resigning her Miss America tiara due to nude photos (the more things change...), Ricky Martin was a new member of Menudo, people were just discovering what Madonna looked like on MTV, and Scarlett Johansson was fresh out of the womb.


What Oscar Liked
The Oscar nominees for Best Picture were the Mozart bio Amadeus (11 noms / 8 wins), the legendary David Lean's swan song A Passage to India (11 noms / 2 wins), Roland Joffé's war drama The Killing Fields (7 noms /3 wins), Robert Benton's farm widow period piece Places in the Heart (7 noms / 2 wins) and the stage to screen transfer A Soldier's Story (3 noms / 0 wins) still one of a scant handful of predominantly black movies to be shortlisted for the industry's top prize. It featured Denzel Washington in one of his earliest roles.

For a speculative AMPAS top ten I'd add these five as "runners up" since they were probably on multiple Best Pic' ballots: Barry Levinson's all star baseball drama The Natural (4 nominations), The River (4 noms and one special Oscar) another farm drama pictured left with Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek as the Mr & Mrs, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (3 noms), John Huston's alcohol-soaked Under the Volcano (2 noms) and maybe 2010 (5 noms... though all were technical).

What Audiences Liked
I'm not using actual box office numbers per se but I am adjusting for inflation (reports differ across the internet) to give you a vague "range" of box office success comparable to today's hits.

1. Ghostbusters & Beverly Hills Cop $400+
   
2. (websites disagree on which film won the year. Both were massive hits)
   
3. Indiana Jones & Temple of Doom $300+
   
4. Gremlins $250+
   
5. The Karate Kid $100+
   
6. Police Academy $100+
   
7. Footloose $100+
   
8. Romancing the Stone $100+
   
9. Purple Rain, Star Trek III and Splash $100+
   
10. (websites disagree on which order those three came in, too)
    

So many franchises were born in the 80s, never to die again. Even the dead franchises are only hibernating. I'm actually surprised it's taken so long for Hollywood to get serious about romancing that stone again.

What Nathaniel liked
This is an unholy amalgam of what loved back then, what I caught later, and how I remember them as an adult. It is by no means definitive. If I could add 8 hours to each day I'd probably use 4 of them for re-screenings of old pictures in order to finally nail down these retroactive lists. The List is Life! Consider these ten pictures rental suggestions if you're the cool kind of movie fanatic (i.e. the kind that understands that cinema is ∞ and exists outside of whatever year you're living in)

Honorable Mention: Careful He Might Hear You was hugely lauded in Australia and made a tiny critical splash in the US. The acting was phenomenal. Wendy Hughes won raves and Nicholas Gledhill offered up one of the best child performances I've ever seen. Alas, I don't remember details, just that it unnerved me something fierce. Netflix doesn't offer this one. So sorry.

10 Splash - Ron Howard's best movie if you ask me. You heard me. He's so much better at fluff than at serious drama. I wish he'd stick to fluff. It's not shameful to be good at that. Why do I love Splash so? Well, I do have a thing for mermaids. But perhaps it just comes down to Madison, her crimped hair, her unpronounceable name and her nude walk on Ellis Island. I've loved Daryl Hannah ever since.

09 Another Country was an English boarding school drama of clashing sexualities and politics. It often gets credited with being the feature debut of three new stars: Cary Elwes, Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Firth and Everett had great chemistry onscreen but they apparently hated each other, only ending their long feud last year (!)

08 Romancing the Stone - previously discussed

07 Gremlins -I looooved this movie at the time and though I haven't seen it in years I suspect it's still richly macabre, clever and weird. If you've seen it recently, am I right? The concept itself was so terrific. One might say it impishly fused Jekyll & Hyde terror with pet ownership angst. We never know what our furry friends are thinking. What demons lurk within them just waiting to get out?

06 Places in the Heart -I remember this movie being quiet and gracefully moving (especially the ending) but it got a bad rap for what I assume were several reasons: Sally Field's infamous "you like me!" acceptance speech, the glut of farm dramas, not being as popular as Benton's previous Oscar hit Kramer Vs. Kramer, and accusations of sentimentality (especially the ending).

05 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes is the style of movie I'm kind of hoping the upcoming The Wolf Man apes. It was a seriously expensive looking, prestige adaptation of a mythic character that's usually treated with haphazard 'make a quick buck' B movie gloves. This film briefly threatened to ruin Andie MacDowell's career (Glenn Close was called in to dub her voice) and briefly made French actor Christopher Lambert an international star. Within the next few years he was co-starring with the likes of Isabelle Adjani and Catherine Deneuve onscreen and Diane Lane offscreen and starring in the Highlander franchise.

04 This is Spinal Tap -It's hard to remember that Rob Reiner directed this film which starred Christopher Guest (among others) and which seemed to birth the whole Guest dominated mockumentary genre but damn if this movie isn't über hilarious. My favorite bits are the whole Anjelica Huston / Stonehenge debacle and the quotable "this one goes to 11" idiocy.

03 The Terminator - I'll discuss tomorrow... we'll use it to wrap up the 1984 party.

02 The Times of Harvey Milk won the Oscar for Best Documentary and, if you can believe it, it's even better and more moving than last year's Gus Van Sant picture Milk.

01 Amadeus, or Salieri vs. Mozart: Death Match, was a "wow" on just about every level in the 80s. Most surprisingly it was a major hit, finishing 12th at the box office for all 1984 films and earning, in today's dollars something like $100 million at the box office. Can you imagine a 160 minute costume heavy biopic with and about classical music doing that well today? Neither can I. I wonder if it holds up. Has anyone seen it recently?
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All that and no room to mention The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension, Irreconcilable Differences, Sixteen Candles, The NeverEnding Story and Birdy. Anyone love or hate those? A few of them I barely remember a frame of but I was into them at one point for better or worse. Two films I should definitely revisit: Blood Simple and Stranger Than Paradise both of which I was too young for when I first saw (not in 84). I didn't "get" them. I have never seen the much loved Paris, Texas and am deeply ashamed.

Were you even alive in 1984? Maybe people have forgotten your birthday. It happens.


Share your movie memories of any of these plentiful pictures in the comments... even if you didn't see them until the 21st century. For those of you who lived through it, put on some Prince or Madonna if it'll help jog your memory.

April Showers, Rupert Everett

April Showers evenings @ 11

Have any of y'all seen Cemetery Man?


It's a schlocky Italian horror flick from 1994 starring Rupert Everett as the titular character who has to fend off zombies including his lover (the busty Anna Falchi) with some regularity. Despite my longtime Everett fandom (I've been with him since the Another Country/ Dance With a Stranger), I've never seen this one. Nick, who loves the movie, showed me the shower sequence while we were in Nashville on account of this here series.

Everett's character Francesco Dellamorte apparently takes a lot of showers and apparently he's used to getting attacked by zombies -- just part of the job. But on this night they come earlier than expected. The lights go out in the shower, he sees one approaching in shadow (shower curtains = scary in movies), and then the zombies, in what looks like boy scout uniforms -- tee hee -- begin to attack. He begin to shoot them in the head. The most hilarious thing about the gorey sequence is that Rupert is attacked in the shower but when he fights back he's suddenly wearing pants. How did this happen? Zombies move slowly but slow enough for their victims to slip on a pair of pants before finding a weapon? It's not for some no nudity clause either -- both Falchi & Everett get naked elsewhere in the movie.

This final post shower attack makes me giggle. Who can blame the little shit for wanting a nibble?

Link With a Stranger

Empire new character shots from Up (so cute!)
Mike Leigh's Oscar Diary fun stuff. Like this

At one, weird moment, some strange force suddenly convinces you that you're about to win, while you affect to look benign and generous for the camera that's suddenly in your face; then you don't win...

I love him. But I don't think he's ever going to win.
Filmbo's Chick Magnet asks if John Williams is a douche
Twitch First look at Zhao Wei as Mulan.


Socialites Life Katie Holmes films a crying scene. They totally neglect to mention that Paul Dano is her screen partner. Try not to get blown off the screen Katie. He held his own with Daniel Day-Lewis for chrissakes. You're toast!
Towleroad Gay Oscar speeches censored in Asia
NYT Great piece on the always thorny / fascinating Rupert Everett. The reporter follows him apartment hunting in NY

“It’s like a place for orgies,” Everett murmured, being led through it. “Thank you very much, it’s very nice, but I don’t think I could really live in it,” he said. Once in the car, he laughed. “Can you imagine having Angela Lansbury back there? I don’t think so.”

I meant to link that over the weekend. Oops
/Film Denzel Washington still from The Book of Eli. Geez how many post-apocalyptic movies are there going to be in the next few years? Hopefully by the time they all arrive we'll all be so optimistic that we can ignore them and chalk them up to a very negative very sad 8 year downward spiral that is OVER.
Defamer on that horrible idea to remake the NeverEnding Story

May Flowers

National Coming Out Day: Queer Hollywood

Hollywood movies would be more dynamic --or at least more surprising --if there were more diversity in the faces, voices, genders and sexual orientations of the people in front of and behind the camera. We could use more people of color, women and GLBT talent willing to bring their own unique perspective to the movies. So today on National Coming Out Day we celebrate one of the underrepresented brave minorities of Hollywood.


Out Writers, Directors
[Links take you to to official sites or IMDB pages]
Pedro Almodovar -Spain's greatest living filmmaker and the man behind the kissable Volver, the Oscar winning Talk To Her the "fag noir" Bad Education and many other amazing films. I like him... a lot. OK, I lurve him
Jane Anderson Writer/director of The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio and the TV movies Normal and When Billie Beat Bobby
Gregg Araki -His most recent critical triumph was Mysterious Skin but he's got the Anna Faris stoner comedy Smiley Face awaiting release. Previous credits include The Doom Generation and The Living End
Alan Ball The creator of TV classic Six Feet Under. His current projects are Nothing is Private (awaiting release) and HBO's True Blood (a vampire series)
Clive Barker Horror novelist who also writes and directs his own adaptations including the famous Hellraiser which is getting a remake

Greg Berlanti He directed the popular gay film Broken Hearts Club but his real contribution is executive producing major television series including Everwood, Dirty Sexy Money and current favorite Brothers & Sisters (related B&S post)
Bill Condon The director of Dreamgirls and Kinsey. Oscar winning screenwriter of Gods and Monsters.
Lisa Cholodenko Director of Cavedweller, Laurel Canyon and the terrific, leztastic High Art with Oscar worthy performances from Ally Sheedy and Patty Clarkson (neither were nominated. grrrr)
Stephen Daldry Oscar friendly director of The Hours and Billy Elliott. He's got two promising films in the works: The Reader with Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes and the ambitious adaptation of Michael Chabon mammoth bestseller The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Er... good luck with that Stephen.
Marleen Gorris Dutch director of Antonia's Line, Mrs Dalloway and the upcoming Heaven and Earth

John Greyson Director of gay indies like Proteus and Lilies (please do see the latter --good stuff). Anyone know where he's gone to since Proteus?
Todd Haynes One of the greatest filmmakers in the world. He'll be expanding his fame and gathering more acclaim when I'm Not There, his Bob Dylan picture opens next month. He's already made at least two masterpieces: Far From Heaven and [safe]. Haynes posts
Nicholas Hytner Theater director who occassionally dabbles in the movies: History Boys, Center Stage, The Crucible among them
Dan Ireland Director of Passionada, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and Jolene
Miranda July The performance art charmer from Me and You and Everyone We Know is dating Mike Mills (Thumbsucker) but has been characterized as openly bisexual and "a queer woman" in many a profile
Tom Kalin He disappeared after Swoon his Leopold and Loeb queer indie but he's finally made another film: Savage Grace with Julianne Moore --coming soon.

Joe Mantello Broadway mover and shaker but no movies since Love! Valour! Compassion!
Rob Marshall Director of Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha and the upcoming musical Nine with Javier Bardem and Catherine Zeta-Jones
John Maybury Director of The Jacket and Love is the Devil... so you have him to thank for that shot of Daniel Craig naked in the bathtub (pre-Bond)
John Cameron Mitchell The multi-hyphenate artistic force behind neo classics Shortbus and Hedwig and the Angry Inch
François Ozon French auteur. He brought you the fabulous gallic divas of 8 Women. Past credits include Swimming Pool and Under the Sand. His new film starring Romola Garai is called Angel

Kimberly Peirce Director of Boys Don't Cry and the 2008 Iraq war soldier drama Stop Loss starring a who's who of young Hollywood including Ryan Phillipe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Victor Rasuk and Channing Tatum
Angela Robinson Director of Debs and Herbie: Fully Loaded
Don Roos Writer director of the highly watchable Happy Endings and The Opposite of Sex. His new project is called Love and Other Impossible Pursuits --JLo is currently set to star
Paul Rudnick Also known as columnist "Libby Gelman-Waxner" from Premier Magazine. His screenwriting credits include the brilliant Addams Family Values and the not so brilliant Stepford Wives remake. He's also a popular playwright
Adam Shankman This director had quite the summer with Hairspray. Previously directed other things best not mentioned now that he's made a really good film.
Joel Schumacher Oft-maligned director of The Number 23, Phantom of the Opera, Batman and Robin, and many more. But he'll always have bragging rights on Colin Farrell's Tigerland breakthrough

Bryan Singer Fanboy favorite director behind Superman Returns the two X-Men movies that are worth anything and The Usual Suspects. Next projects include Valkyrie with Tom Cruise and the mouthwatering possible greatness of The Mayor of Castro Street, a biopic on gay legend Harvey Milk. Please cast well Bryan. Please cast well
Rose Troche(Go Fish, Hung, The L Word)
Guinevere Turner This beautiful brunette acts in Go Fish, American Psycho, The L Word and she writes too. Screenwriting credits include Go Fish, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page
Christine Vachon The legendary producing force behind Killer Films. She's shepherded dozens of the most influential and important American indies of the past two decades onto the screen. She'll be in the history books. Past triumphs include Far From Heaven and Boys Don't Cry and the book A Killer Life.
Gus Van Sant Indie director (My Own Private Idaho) turned Hollywood Oscar force (Good Will Hunting) turned curiousity (Psycho) turned artfilm auteur (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, and the new film Paranoid Park)
Kevin Williamson Writer of the Scream films. Director of Teaching Mrs Tingle. Recently created the "Hidden Palms" TV series
John Waters American treasure. Credits include: A Dirty Shame, Hairspray, Cry Baby, Pink Flamingos and many more


Out Actors and Performers
Chad Allen Credits include Save Me, End of the Spear, Dr Quinn Medicine Woman and the recurring Donald Strachey Mystery movies on Here! television
John Barrowman Charismatic star of "Torchwood", abundant musical theater goodness, and the wonderful "Night and Day" sequence within De-Lovely
Jackie Beat Drag superstar. Films credits include: Adam & Steve, Flawless, and Grief
Simon Callow Beloved British stage star. Frequent film and television work including Phantom of the Opera, "Angels in America", "Rome", No Man's Land, Shakespeare in Love and of course A Room with a View
Craig Chester Indie film actor and best friend of Parker Posey. Starring roles include: Adam & Steve and Swoon

Allan Corduner Fine character actor. He was Sullivan to Broadbent's Gilbert in the fine Topsy Turvy and his many other credits include Vera Drake
Alan Cumming <--click away. His website is fun. Broadway superstar, cologne hawking cheeky celebrity, X2's Nightcrawler and frequent supporting player in films and television
Wilson Cruz TV supporting player. Seen most famously on My So Called Life. Recently: Noah's Arc and Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in all the World
Ben Daniels British theater actor. Film credits: Beautiful Thing, Passion in the Desert
Rupert Everett Enduring celebrity. His beloved supporting role in My Best Friends Wedding didn't bring the expected mainstream lead roles but he's a fine actor and can still get media tongues wagging. Most recently seen in Stardust. Also writes books (More Rupert scribblings)

Harvey Fierstein American treasure. Broadway legend and lifetime activist. Most famous film credits include Mrs Doubtfire and Torch Song Trilogy. Recent Broadway activity includes the smashing revival of Fiddler on the Roof and a TONY win for originated the Edna Turnblad role for the stage version of Hairspray (and yes, he runs rings around John Travolta)
Peter Frechette Theater actor with film and TV credits including Inside Man, Grease 2, and an Emmy win way back when for thirtysomething
Stephen Fry Most famous to movie awards fanatics as the frequent host of the BAFTAs. Also writes hilarious books and acts in films from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to Wilde
Robert Gant -From Showtime's Queer as Folk. He'll next be seen in Kiss Me Deadly with Shannen Doherty
Malcolm Gets Recently starred in the romantic comedy Adam & Steve, most famous for several seasons of TVs Caroline in the City
Jason Gould Son of Barbra Streisand. There's gotta be a movie in that, right?

Neil Patrick Harris "Doogie Howser" finally came out. Currently starring in How I Met Your Mother. And for my money the best part of the Broadway revival of Sondheim's Assassins (great singing voice) though he wasn't the one that got TONY attention.
Cheyenne Jackson United 93 ensemble player and Broadway über hunk: the star of All Shook Up and the colead of the current camp hit Xanadu (More on Cheyenne)
Derek Jacobi Highly acclaimed stage star and frequent film actor. Recent appearances include Underworld: Evolution, Nanny McPhee, Hamlet and Gosford Park. He was also Daniel Craig's keeper (the painter Francis Bacon) in Love is the Devil
T.R. Knight Series regular on Grey's Anatomy
Nathan Lane Broadway megastar. Most famous film roles: The Producers and The Birdcage
Eric Millegan Series regular on TV's Bones and lots of theater

Sir Ian McKellen Gandalf. Magneto. Superstar. Activist. Hero.
Denis O'Hare Broadway star. Recent film credits include Michael Clayton (now playing) and that cynical journalist in A Mighty Heart. Let's not talk about that hideous TV movie version of "Once Upon a Mattress"
Peter Paige Most famous for his series regular role on Queer as Folk but he's kept himself busy since with TV, stage, and indie film
David Hyde Pierce "Niles" on Frasier finally came out. It was about freaking time.
Anthony Rapp An original cast member of Rent. Other films include A Beautiful Mind and 80s guilty pleasure Adventures in Babysitting

Christopher Sieber Star of TV's shortlived gay themed comedy It's all Relative. And you have to give him credit for playing straight man to the Olsen Twins in another one season TV flop Two of a Kind. Will be in next year's romantic ensemble drama See You in September
George Takei "Sulu" of TV's legendary Star Trek . Just got killed off on Heroes but not many people stay dead on that show. We'll see.
Rufus Wainwright this folkrock god has been paying homage to Judy Garland for so long now he's starting to feel like a real actress. Plus he's actually acting in films now including Heights and this year's Canadian Oscar submission L'age Des Tenebres (Rufus! Rufus! Rufus!)
Gedde Watanabe Still most famous for playing "Long Duk Dong" in Sixteen Candles but he's done lots of TV work including a few seasons of E.R.
BD Wong Eternally busy thespian and activist. Lots of Broadway (M Butterfly, Pacific Overtures), voice work, and TV under his belt including major lengthy stints on Oz and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Simon Woods Shy cutie Mr. Bingley in Pride & Prejudice and Octavian on HBO's Rome

Out Actresses and Performers
Alexis Arquette Sister of Patricia and Rosanna. America witnessed her journey towards the big snip on The Surreal Life. Past film credits include: Pulp Fiction, The Trip, Wigstock, and Threesome
Sandra Bernhard Legend. Without her you're nothing. Former comic superstardom
Saffron Burrows Eric Bana's delicious lady love in Troy also loves the ladies. Recurring character work on Boston Legal. Other credits include: Reign Over Me, Frida and Miss Julie. Dated her director Mike Figgis and also Alan Cumming (in the list of men above) but is now partnered with Fiona Shaw (The Black Dahlia) --scroll down for her
Ellen Degeneres Talk show megastar. Former leading sitcom lady
Sara Gilbert "Darlene" from Roseanne. Riding in Cars with Boys, 24, Twins
Jane Lynch Awesome comic supporting player: You'll remember her from For Your Consideration, Best in Show and seductively singing to The 40 Year Old Virgin

Cherry Jones Broadway goddess. Longtime activist. Sarah Paulson's girlfriend. Sometime film actor including: The Village and Cradle Will Rock. Meryl Streep snagged Jones's TONY winning Doubt role for the film version
Miriam Margoyles Wonderful character actress who you delighted in (even if you don't know her name in The Age of Innocence, Magnolia and Being Julia among many others
Heather Matarazzo Treated rather gruesomely in this year's Hostel Part 2. Previously seen in The Princess Diaries and abused in Welcome to the Dollhouse
Tammy Lynn Michaels Melissa Etheridge's partner. Television actress most famous for her role on the defunct series Popular. Recent credits include stints on Committed and The L Word
Cynthia Nixon Sex & the City's Miranda. Currently reprising the role for the film version. Also busy on the boards

Rosie O'Donnell Talk show troublemaker. Former comedic superstardom
Sarah Paulson Fresh off of a leading TV role in the cancelled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Previously rocked stylized period pieces like Down With Love and The Notorious Bettie Page whilst rocking Cherry Jones' world. Her next gig: joining the starry cast of The Spirit directed by Frank Miller
Portia de Rossi From the dearly departed Arrested Development. Formerly of Ally McBeal. Currently on Ellen DeGeneres' arm
Fiona Shaw Stole the show in last year's DePalma oddity The Black Dahlia. Terrorizes Harry Potter every couple of years for a few minutes as Aunt Petunia. Receives endless kudos for brilliant stage work. Next movie is The Other Side with Angelica Huston, Jim Broadbent, Jason Lee, Lili Taylor and many other famous faces. Dating Saffron Burrows
Lily Tomlin Legend. Recently of I Heart Huckabees. Eternally in Nashville. Came out officially in 2000. She's been living with her girlfriend and writing partner Jane Wagner (The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe) since the 1970s

For every A list actor/actress who repeatedly lies about it... For every gay casting director who refuses to consider gay actors for straight or gay roles (grrr and for shame) ... there are a ton of hardworking admirable professionals like these above who aren't afraid to speak their personal truth. They can say the G word with pride ...or at least a minimum of fuss or angst. More power to these brave and awesome entertainers.

Buy tickets to their movies. Watch their TV shows





If you're here for the first time: please check out the most recent postings. There's daily movie-loving hijinx here at the film experience.

Further Reading? If you want to see more complete lists there's also the Wikipedia pages for a MUCH longer list of famous GLBT people . You'll notice that the list you've just read above has more than its share of Brits: they tend to come out in greater numbers over the pond. Here's the pink list --a list of influential gay Britons published last year in The Independent