Random Movie Notes on TV's Emmy Nominations

I really should get TIVO or something akin to it. Still wouldn't make me a television aficionado but if the good stuff was all presented in an easy to digest 'on my time' format I might become less allergic and more complimentary. And then I could bitch about the Emmys with more authoritah. @ Zoom In I looked at the top six categories but here on this movie blog, let's look at movie actors who made the cut slumming (I know I'm not supposed to call it that anymore but it's fun to see TV faces go red) and a few other random notes

ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
James Spader, "Boston Legal," ABC
Kiefer Sutherland, "24," Fox

Spader and Sutherland have essentially given up their movie careers. I don't miss them. Spader always skeeved me out in the movies. Yes, he was often hired to do just that but he was an overachiever if you ask me... The only time I ever loved him Spader was in sex, lies and videotape (1989) wherein the skeeviness served but didn't overpower the character. The rest of that movie was damn good, too.

ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES:
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer," TNT
Sally Field, "Brothers and Sisters," ABC
Minnie Driver, "The Riches," FX Network
Patricia Arquette, "Medium," NBC

If TV could be applauded for one thing it should be this: it gives movie B listers meatier character than they're ever going to get offered on film and it gives former big screen A listers a second shot at mass adulation once they've passed the half century mark.

ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES:
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock," NBC
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men," CBS

Alec Baldwin just gets better and better as an actor, doesn't he? His talent is aging well. There's a reason why Charlie Sheen's career never really took off on the big screen. There's NO reason why it should on the small screen either. What the hell is going on with Emmy's love for this series?

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES:
Lorraine Bracco, "The Sopranos," HBO
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES:
Elizabeth Perkins, "Weeds," Showtime

Remember when Bracco and Perkins were scene stealers in the movies instead of on TV? Yeah, the memory is fuzzy for me, too.

ACTOR, MINISERIES OR A MOVIE:
Robert Duvall, "Broken Trail," AMC
Jim Broadbent, "Longford," HBO
ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR A MOVIE:
Queen Latifah, "Life Support," HBO
Helen Mirren, "Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre)," PBS

Oscar winning Duvall is kind of a workaholic isn't he?
Oscar winning Broadbent needs another plum movie role stat. 2001... (sigh) good times.
Oscar winning Mirren could easily pick up yet more trophies in 2007
Oscar nominee Latifah... here's my thing with the (other) Queen: I adore her as a celebrity but I wish she would try a little harder as an actress. I often feel she's coasting on general charisma and pleasantness (of which she has plenty). "Motormouth Maybelle" for instance in Hairspray. Shouldn't that character have been played with more gusto?

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR A MOVIE:
Greta Scacchi, "Broken Trail," AMC
Anna Paquin , " Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee," HBO
Samantha Morton, "Longford," HBO
Judy Davis, "The Starter Wife," USA
Toni Collette, "Tsunami, The Aftermath," HBO

This is the silveriest (er...?) screen category for Emmy night even if none of them are "movie stars" per se. They've got buckets of talent between them not to mention 1 Oscar and 5 more nominations.

SUPPORTING ACTOR, MINISERIES OR A MOVIE:
Aidan Quinn, " Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee," HBO

Aidan was always thisclose to becoming a huge star. So TV should embrace him. Or rather he should embrace TV. Someone get him an excellent dramatic series role.

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES:
Martin Landau, "Entourage," HBO
Sir Ian McKellen, "Extras," HBO
Stanley Tucci, "Monk," USA
Giovanni Ribisi, "My Name Is Earl," NBC
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES:
Forest Whitaker, "ER," NBC
David Morse, "House," Fox
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES:
Salma Hayek, "Ugly Betty," ABC
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES:
Marcia Gay Harden, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC
Leslie Caron, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC

The "guest" categories at the Emmys always get a lot of flack for their star-f***ing tendencies. There is so much television and so many hours of each series to fill with guest actors that it's difficult to determine how well they're doing in this realm. Maybe they're f***in the wrong stars. Maybe not. I wouldn't know.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM:
Ellen Degeneres, "79th Annual Academy Awards," ABC

I hope they bring her back next year, don't you?

MAKEUP FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL (NON-PROSTHETIC):
PROSTHETIC MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL:
STUNT COORDINATION:

I bitch about the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences a lot but in this particular way they are very smart: technical categories. You have to divide up makeup achievements --otherwise as Oscar voters prove, only prosthetic work is deemed noteworthy. Oscar should have two categories. And Oscar should have a stunt category.

ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS:
"Family Guy, Peter's Two Dads," Song Title: "My Drunken Irish Dad," Fox
"MADtv, Episode 1209," Song Title: "Merry Ex-Mas," Fox
"Saturday Night Live, Host: Justin Timberlake," Song Title: "Dick In A Box," NBC
"Scrubs, My Musical," Song Title: "Everything Comes Down to Poo," NBC
"Scrubs, My Musical," Song Title: "Guy Love," NBC

Of these songs I've only heard "Dick in a Box" but I'm willing to bet that this lineup is as good as Oscar's choices in any given year in the frequently ear bleeding category.

NONFICTION SERIES:
"Inside the Actors Studio," Bravo

I've said it before. I'll say it again: brilliant concept, boring (drooling) execution. Decide if you're a tribute / toast show or a real examination of the actors craft. It doesn't work to pretend that that's the same thing.

More Emmy Chatter:
Full list of the Emmy Nominations @ The Envelope
Top category brief thoughts @ Zoom In
Emmy Nominee Reactions from Defamer
Co-miserate with ModFab and Low Resolution

20:07 (Someone in Moscow)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC
"Who? Why?"
"What?"

I love this one because it articulates how random and abstract this 20:07 series can be. Who Why What indeed! Where, how, and when would also be good questions.
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Now Playing

L I M I T E D

Cashback An art student delevops insomnia after being dumped by his girlfriend. This leads him to a wacky night job at a supermarket. I relate... well, to the insomnia part only in my case what follows the dread condition isn't so much wacky comedy as existential horror

Goya's Ghost Milos Forman once made movies as good as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus. So why am I so suspicious of this movie? On a more shallow note: combine this film with No Country For Old Men and Javier Bardem is really having a bad hair year at the movies.

W I D E

Hairspray -Better than Dreamgirls? Not as polished but maybe. "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" translated means: the one and only Michelle Pfeiffer is back on the silver screen [my review]

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry -I still don't know what to make of the homophobic / not homophobic split amongst gay critics (discussed in previous link post) but for my money the concept itself is homophobic [or at least insulting --see good discussion in the comments below --ed.] whether or not the execution is.

Sunshine -its release date has been inexplicably tossed from early spring to late winter and now it's thrown back to midsummer like some celluloid hot potato. I'm eager to catch it.

oops

<--- it's so easy to piss her opf

Things have been a little hard to manage on my end this week on a number of levels (pity party!). Obviously I'd planned more festivies for Pfeiffer Week... more blogging overall. Maybe that postponement of her Inside the Actors Studio episode (now for August) was a sign. Anyway: my apologies faithful readers. Maybe we'll try again when Stardust opens? Talk amongst yourselves, rent a movie, or continue the other conversations below until my time management skills return and other troubles depart.

Posting will be light for a bit but why don't you screen a few of these (especially if you've never seen them) since we'll be discussing them soon: All That Jazz, Sweet Bird of Youth, Darling, and Network. Late summer is usually pretty bland at the movie theaters. Time to check back in with classics while we wait for "prestige season" (and with it the Oscar race!) to kick off.

20:07 (Bob and Ted)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

“OK, OK. I think your hair looks ridiculous. It’s silly!”

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"Good Morning Moviegoers" Hairspray is here

Oh, oh, oh Woke up today
Feeling the way i always do
Oh, oh, oh Anxious for something
I rarely screen: A musical’s first scene!

The rhythm, the gowns --my frown’s upside down
It's like a message from high above
Oh, oh, oh Pulling me in
To the story, this genre I love

Good morning moviegoer
Each new Hairspray’s an open door
Each new Tracy a fantasy
Each new version a symphony

You’ll excuse this corny oversell opening because we’re talking about musical comedy. You gotta sell it! [Read my full review @ Zoom In]
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Tell Me That You Link Me

cinema
Self Styled Siren Barbara Stanwyck: The Professional's Professional
Awards Daily is high on Charlie Wilson's War. Strangely, despite phrases like 'audiences won't be disappointed', there doesn't seem to be any actual statement that the writer has seen the movie. Has he...or is this just typical Oscar buzz presumptuousness that all awards enthusiasts are guilty of (myself included)?
Cinematical you know how I'm always harping about director Kathryn Bigelow needing to work more? Well, looks like I can shut up for awhile. News surfaces re: her next project: an Iraq drama which will star rising actors Jeremy Renner (Dahmer, 28 Weeks Later) and Anthony Mackie (Half Nelson, Million Dollar Baby)

chuck and larry
IDLRZ thinks I Know Pronounce Your Chuck and Larry is abundantly homophobic and that GLAAD has been bought. Green Cine collects a few other reviews that disagree. One common note even in the positive reviews: it's dumb. The really strange thing is that some of the pro reviews (from gay writers) play like they find the obvious gay jokes (don't drop the soap!) funny. Makes you wonder what the same writes thought of Another Gay Movie's aggressive stereotyping too.

offcinema
Brieuc75 Apparently Djimon Hounsou (right) will be modelling undies for Calvin Klein next fall --the first actor in ten years to do so it says (if I'm reading the French correctly...or rather if The Boyfriend is)-- a line called "Calvin Klein Steel"
The Gilded Moose closes up shop. *sniffle*
QueerSighted The History Channel is busy erasing gays from history
Big Screen Little Screen has interesting buzz about the new fall HBO series Tell Me You Love Me starring Jane Alexander (!) as a therapist.
Defamer Fame (still) "not conducive to total happiness" Defamer (still) cracks me up
Low Resolution hands out his personal Emmy nominations. Inhale deeply my friends for tomorrow's real nominations will stink to high heaven by comparison.

20:07 (The Life Aquatic with Steve Eleanor Zissou)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC


Steve Zissou: She’s a rich bitch you know. She was raised by maids. Her parents paid for this island and two of my worst movies. People say she’s the brains behind Team Zissou.

Ned Plimpton: People say a lot of things.
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Michael Ballhaus and The Fabulous Baker Boys

It's Pfeiffer Week

Ten (semi-randomly selected) reasons why the cinematography of The Fabulous Baker Boys (one of the best films of its decade) should've won Michael Ballhaus the Oscar. [click to enlarge]

10. It understoods how to introduce Susie Diamond and (re)Introduce Michelle Pfeiffer

09. It has gorgeous but subtle recurrent motifs...

08. ...that also serve to reveal character. These shots nail Jack Baker's relationship to women (as often as Jack nails women).

07. It understands how cold and lonely Jack Baker really is.

06. The camera movement has a sense of humor (This right to left pan has a funny punchline)

05. "Making Whoopee"
Michelle is exquisite. So is the choreography of the camera and lights.

04. The production's consistent color palette is superbly served through the soft lighting. Speaking of soft... you never get the sense that Baker Boys is lit with anything less than full purpose and yet it never strains for grandeur or effect.

03. ...see what I mean?


02. The cinematography consistently fires on all cylinders: composition, lighting, movement all serving the emotion, the characters, the very soul of each scene

01. Michelle Pfeiffer's beauty is properly mythologized.

DVDs: Avenues, Factories, and Errant Confessions

This week I'm arranging the DVD releases in the order of my interest. You might feel differently.

Race You to the Bottom -I really had intended to watch this already --the DVD eyes me with guilt trip intent. It stars Amber Benson as a straight woman who begins a sexual affair with her gay best friend. I like Amber Benson by Buffy association and for her devotion to GLBT roles and films. Maybe it's the only thing she's offered given that her breakthrough role was as a lesbian witch but she could say no. And she doesn't.

Esther Williams Collection I've never seen one of her films. This compilation of the novelty act movie star (she swims!) includes Neptunes' Daughter, Dangerous When Wet and more...

Factory Girl -They tried to get us interested by claiming Sienna Miller was Oscar worthy. But I don't trust the Weinstein's when it comes to cagey split second releases for Oscar buzz. I don't trust them at all. They tried to get us interested with sexual escapade rumors circling Sienna and Hayden Christensen. I suspect that was a turn off for more people than just me (Hayden?) The sole point of interest for me is the subject matter: Edie Sedgwick and the Warholian 60s. We'll see. (Any older readers remember when Warren Beatty and Molly Ringwald were threatening to make a movie about Edie together? Bit of 80s trivia for you there... too bad that didn't come to pass)

Perfect Creature B list hotties Dougray Scott (the almost Wolverine) and Saffron Burrows (Scott's Enigma co-star) star in this vampire thriller. Lots of vampire films this year. Maybe they're sick of zombies taking over as the favored movie monsters?

Premonition -Sandra Bullock sees dead people. Or rather...she sees people dying in the near future. Or something. The part in the commercial where she writes "Jim Dies!" in red marker on her calendar and underlines it always makes me laugh. For I, too, scribble on homemade calendars with markers and wield exclamation points too freely (I also sometimes use Hello Kitty stickers. Yes I am ashamed) Thankfully my scribbling is less morbid. It's usually stuff like "Finish All That Jazz Article!" or "Rewatch Network!" and I almost always ignore the messages once I've written them down. Why then do I do it? I do not know. "I wake up and he's dead. I wake up and he's alive" Sandy and I are both so very lost.

Showgirls: Fully Exposed Edition - As gullible as I am in many consumer respects the land of endless "special editions" does not fool me. I stop at the first special and if there isn't one I wait until there is so as to not be fooled the first time. Sorry Hollywood bean counters.

Dynamite Warrior -Has Thai gonzo action cinema replaced Tony Jaa already? *sniffle* Who is this Dan Chupong guy?

Avenue Montaigne -This might be of interest to Francophiles and Oscar Watchers (it was almost a nominee last year) I belong to both categories of moviegoers but I didn't much like this film. It plays like a lukewarm Gallic attempt at an Altman comedy. The most I can offer to recommend it is that Valerie Lemercier (pictured left, some of you will remember her from Claire Denis' Vendredi Soir) is mouthy and hilarious as an actress desperate for a role in Sydney Pollack's latest film (he plays an American director)

The Hills Have Eyes 2 My friend Rob gleefully told me about one particular scene (grotesque sexual violation + gruesome violence) because I think he likes to see me squirm. Just hearing it reinforced my fears about the psyche of moviegoers who love this genre. Sorry Rich...

20:07 (Sound Advice)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC


Mr Robinson: I uh –I was just telling…

Ben: Ben.

Mr Robinson: …Ben here that he ought to sow a few wild oats, have a good time while he can. Do you think that’s sound advice?

Mrs Robinson: Yes, I do.

Ben: I’ve got to go.
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Like Mother Like Daughter?

It's Pfeiffer Week!

This Friday when Brittany Snow will be joining a line of 18 other young actors who've pretended to be birthed from the glorious DNA of Michelle Pfeiffer. Brittanny plays Amber Von Tussell, Tracey Turnblad's chief rival for dancing glory and Link's heart in 60s Baltimore. Here's the thing: If you remove the matching hair and outfits, the frothy pink lipstick, and sourpuss demeanors, Michelle and Brittany don't really look like mother and daughter.

This is exceedingly minor quibbling, yes. It's nowhere close to the egregious "huh?" that greets a lot of parent/child casting (the most recent horrid example was in The Upside of Anger wherein not one of Joan Allens' daughters looked anything like her or anything like each other) and it's better than the mother/daughter casting of White Oleander, which was La Pfeiffer's last foray into the realm of matched set performances. Truly Alison Lohman didn't match her looks at all: Alison's eyes are close together, Pfeiffer's are wide set, the faces and lips are very different shapes. It was sort of the point of the film that Lohman wasn't alien gorgeous like LaPfeiff, but still...

Here's my ideal casting for a mother/daughter combo in a future film --yes, I'm a giver. Free Advice! to Hollywood's casting directors even though I covet their jobs-- this is Pfeiffer and Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Big Love) pictured @ roughly the same age.


Wide set blue eyes, flattish blonde hair, full cheeks and lips. Plus: both talented. It's not an exact match but it's closer than the movies have gotten with the exception of Jonathan Jackson (geez, what happened to his career?) who was exceedingly believeable as her son in The Deep End of the Ocean: same angularity of beauty and good chemistry in performance, too, both of them tight skinned with unarticulated rage and sadness.

The other actors who've played Michelle's children are Saoirse Ronan (from the eternally unreleased I Could Never Be Your Woman and soon to challenge Dakota Fanning's throne with a bunch of film projects), Claire Danes (To Gillian on her 37th Birthday), Chase Mackenzie Bebak (I am Sam), Katharine Towne (What Lies Beneath), Jake Sandvig and Casey and Dylan Boersma (The Story of Us), Cory Buck and Ryan Merriman and Michael McElroy (Deep End of the Ocean), Alex D Lindz (One Fine Day), and five towhead blond tykes (The Wiches of Eastwick --her character "Sukie Ridgemont" was very fertile, part of the plot) who were mostly never seen again.

But anyway. This is all just me blabbering about casting because I like to champion Amanda Seyfried (who'll soon be playing Meryl Streep's daughter in Mamma Mia! ) but here they are again... like (fictional) daughter like (fictional) mother.

British Muggles

So many famous Brit actors have been in the Harry Potter movies that one wonders about the no-shows. Where were Kristin Scott Thomas, Rupert Graves, Terence Stamp, Brenda Blethyn, Charles Dance, Julian Sands, Emily Lloyd, Jeremy Northam, Ian McKellen, Rupert Everett?

Not interested or snubbed? More on this & Imelda @ Zoom In. It's "Harry Potter and the Order of the British Thespians"

20:07 (Guest Vocalist)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC



Frank Baker: I just wish she'd get here.
Jack Baker: She's here.
Frank: Oh Christ. Look at her.

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Pfeiffer Week has arrived. It's also the day of the return of the popular series 20:07. They weren't planned to coincide (and they won't after today) but since they both kick off now I figured this image, which is all about Her without actually starring Her was... just right.

Day of Rest?

Yeah, so much for the weekly day of rest. It was more like a day of restlessness. And now it's a night of insomnia! Wheeee. This week @ The Film Experience: Hairspray, a few words on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Fabulous Baker Boys and lotsa Pfeiffer (duh) but I'll try to take a break until Stardust for the brave nonpfans who continue to read (god bless ya), and the return of daily 20:07.

Top Actress: What Are They Up To? (2 of 2)

One of the most successful projects from Film Experience history was the mid decade review of Actors and Actresses of the Aughts (2000-2005). The plan is to revisit in a few years for an official "best of decade" list. In the meantime let's check in with our top 10. When we looked at 20 thru 11 we were reminded that the film world moves quickly... it already looked out of date. This particular lineup (10-1) feels more contemporary. That's either a nod to their collective dominance as talented stars or their younger median age. It's probably both. Hollywood still isn't kind to 40something women.

How have these ten women managed their careers since the list was published in the fall of 2005?

10-6

Toni Collette
"always makes the most of her material, even in thankless roles"
Age: 34
Toni has kept up a remarkable work pace for a long time now while rarely letting stock roles feel stock. And she's added rock singer to her busy schedule, too. The stamina on this woman! Her career is still missing that true against-type breakthrough that would serve as corrective eye surgery for Hollywood. They still only see her as "unattractive unhappy girl" (as is evidenced again by her work in Evening and The Dead Girl). Luckily Toni shrugs off such limited views with her expansive talents. Wasn't she great in Little Miss Sunshine? Prediction: She'll fight to keep this top ten spot.

Scarlett Johansson
"her best performances have a fascinatingly still quality"
Age: 22
Whoa nellie! Scarjo has become the very definition of ubiquitous. Since hitting this top ten she's made match Match Point, The Prestige, The Black Dahlia, Scoop, a Justin Timberlake music video and posed for many advertisements, leading me to believe that she's cloned herself. I'm not sure the ubiquity is doing her favors. What once read as mystique seems to now read as "wrong for this role" Because I like her, I'll blame this one on Hollywood who, having succumbed to their insatiable lust for her, wants her to appear in every movie. She has two movies coming out in 2007 (The Nanny Diaries and The Other Boleyn Girl) and three more scheduled, including a reunion with Woody Allen (Midnight in Barcelona). But I suspect she'll do something great again soon and be in movies for the long haul.

Michelle Pfeiffer
"her semi retirement is causing me actual grief"
Age: 49
It is now officially "Pfeiffer Week" on the blog, sponsored by the happy news that she is on the big screen for the remainder of the summer (Hairspray and Stardust. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you). New movies mean she'll hold her position ~ though she'll always be #1 to me.

Cate Blanchett
"the next Meryl Streep"
Age: 38
Cate and I have broken up. I know you think we should get back together but I exhausted her with my ultra specific demands and she exhausted me with her technique --we weren't right for each other! Since the list was compiled two years ago we've seen her in Little Fish, Babel, The Good German, and Notes on a Scandal. I liked her best in Hot Fuzz. She made me giggle with instant recognition and then she was mercifully gone a minute later... which is really unlike her. Even after announcing that she'd take time off from her annual Oscar assault she kept announcing new films.

Julianne Moore
"when she returns to roles worthy of her, she'll regain her place atop any actress list"
Age: 46
The bad film parade continues: Trust the Man, Freedomland, Next. ARGH. We hope that Children of Men [are you sitting down? You need to be sitting down: Julianne Moore is in a GOOD movie! one of the year's best] signifies a change in direction. Upcoming lead roles in Savage Grace (solid reviews at Cannes) and Blindness (great book) and a supporting spot in I'm Not There for her greatest collaborator writer/director Todd Haynes, indicate she realizes she's moved too far from the type of pictures that won her her fame. Still... until I see evidence that she hasn't forgotten how to play anything outside of disturbed and/or childless mothers, I'm going to worry. I'm going to worry a lot.

5-1

Samantha Morton
"The magic and the alien grandeur of this actress comes from the way that she seems forever concealed."
Age: 30
Morton has made several movies recently but none of them seem to be in release. The next one you will be allowed to see is The Golden Age (Cate Blanchett's rival queen) Will she snag another Oscar nom?

Kirsten Dunst
"the sparkliest young actress working"
Age: 25
My most controversial choice in the initial list and her detractors have only multiplied since the publication date. She's the young actress everyone loves to hate. She wasn't playing it safe with Marie Antoinette, taking on a character that only emphasized what already turns people away. But I'm not blind. I get the hate. I'm as bored with her work in Spider-Man 3 as you are and as she is. Pull it together Kiki. Time's a wastin'! She's making a comedy next How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (with Simon Pegg from Hot Fuzz) and I think that's a smart move. She hasn't brought the funny in a good long while and she can.

Kate Winslet
"I love Kate Winslet. No, let me rephrase...I worship Kate Winslet"
Age: 31
Kate doesn't work enough for my taste but she does choose her projects carefully. You have to respect that. She recently tried romantic comedy (The Holiday) a genre she hadn't dabbled in and then did what she does best: slightly bohemian feminine angst in Little Children. Next up: Reuniting with Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road, ten years after Titanic made them household names (related post). Prediction: She looks set to battle it out with Kidman as the definitive Actress of the Aughts.

Patricia Clarkson
"We don't so much experience movies through her like we do with passionate movie stars, we experience it alongside her; We're in it together, just Patty and us"
Age: 47
Patty's superb run of confidantes, mothers, and wives in the decade's first gave her a deserved high rank. Supporting stars have trouble maintaining their casting profile so she'll likely be falling when the list is revised, unless a few more magical roles and neo classics come her way. But really how lucky can one talented actress get? Up next: No Reservations (with CZJ), Lars and the Real Girl (with Ryan Gosling), Married Life (with Chris Cooper and Rachel McAdams), Blind Date (with Stanley Tucci), Elegy (with Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz), Midnight in Barcelona (with Scarjo and Javier Bardem), and what sounds like an Oscarbait crusading mother role in Hurricane Mary --if she is in fact the Mary of the title. Who knows. Her character's name is Mary. IMDB can be maddeningly incomplete. Dakota AND Elle Fanning will star as disabled twins (?!?)

Nicole Kidman
"the machinery and chutzpah of her star-making has been a jaw-dropping sight to behold"
Age: 40
It's been quiet in Kidmanland. Fur was only a whisper and more ambitious in concept than successful in execution. But Kidman fever should spread again with her upcoming triple: The Invasion, The Golden Compass (both with Daniel Craig) and Margot at the Wedding (presumably her next Oscar bid). After that we might see her in Need opposite longtime best friend Naomi Watts. But the thing everyone is waiting for is Australia which will reunite her with the person most responsible for her mega stardom --outside of herself I mean-- Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!). She only just turned 40 so if she plays her cards right she still has a few more years atop Hollywood's actress food chain.

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To read more articles about any of these women, chase the labels below...

Linkadu

"Is it a crime to look at Lange?"


You guys... All That Jazz is kicking my ass. I have all this guilt about how far behind I am on those fundraiser movie requests (still have 10 to go) and every single time I sit down to write about this Bob Fosse spectacular I feel like Jessica Lange is mocking me, all serene but flirtatious with confrontation. Damn you Lange! The movie has so much going on that it's maddening to write about if quite awesome to watch. When I saw this for the first time many years ago I thought a solid B/B+ but on a second and third spin these past two weeks we're obviously in A territory. More later... if it ever stops distracting me with mental loops and structural leaps.

Anyway: LINKS
Big Screen Little Screen "(Re)Visualize Blade Runner and I'm Not There"
Michael Moore "An Open Letter to CNN"
Empire Online And When Did You Last See Your Father (trailer starring Jim "Zidler" Broadbent)

What's Good... "Heaven on Roller Skates, Indeed" Xanadu is now open on Broadway and Cheyenne Jackson will pick up many new fans. Wheeee. Kerry Butler in Olivia Newton-John's role is looking very Sarah Michelle Gellar, isn't she? My mind reels ~ too many popculture associations at once. But won't critics please stop dissing the movie version in every review? It's sooo obvious. Be a little more creative in your angle please. (y'all know I love the silly oft incompetent movie)

Also: Kenneth in the (212) has photos of ONJ herself at the premiere. God I love that woman.

Oscar Predix Updates Complete

Just a heads up that I've been toiling away to complete the halfway mark predictions for Oscar. We still know very little but why not... Big gains for In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis won't go away!), Ratatouille, and No Country For Old Men (let's hope the buzz is correct and the Coen Bros really are back) and drops for There Will Be Blood (looks awesome but perhaps Oscar still won't quite be able to appreciate P.T. Anderson's genius as they should)

Commentary and updates in almost every category. Start there or go directly to Best Picture. Return and discuss if the Oscar spirit is all up inside you.

now playing 07/13

all links go to trailers

L I M I T E D

Hula Girls This was Japan's Oscar entry last year
Interview Sienna Miller (left) and Steve Buscemi play talking heads in this indie. I don't know how to phrase this heavily qualified question but re Sienna: Isn't she now the most famous actress in the world to have worked consistently whilst never deriving any portion of her fame from her actual film work? I'm genuinely curious. I don't think she's a bad actress but the fame level is really high considering...
My Best Friend Daniel Auteuil in a French comedy about a businessman who discovers he has no friends. I like Auteuil but my Francophilia is heavily drama based. Comedy is another story though I should note that the first French movie I ever saw was Les Comperes in 1984 with Gerard Depardieu and I thought it was rilllly funny (at the time)

Talk to Me Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) takes on another true story, this time it's lighter: the story of "Petey" Greene Jr, a DJ and social activist in DC. Is it wrong that when I see him going for laughs in period garb all I can think about is his sad but comic character beats in Boogie Nights --god, he's so good in that one.
Time (right) Kim Ki-Duk's (3-Iron, spring summer fall winter and spring) intriguing looking tale of a desperate woman, plastic surgery, and the evolution of romantic relationships

W I D E

Captivity [no link on purpose] I'm so sick of hearing about this movie. I don't wanna say another word except this. I laughed at this line on Reel Fanatic "I had originally intended to list the 100 or so things I'd rather do with Elisha Cuthbert than torture and abuse her..." hee

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I get confused by the public hysteria over this series. I understand why people love it having read two of the books... but I don't understand the L-O-V-E. I found the first book super fun and the second exactly like the first so why continue? --this conversation is brought to you by 2001 it's 2007 I'll shut up now --here's my point/question: the accompanying fervor for Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) and Emma Watson (Hermione) offscreen...? Huh!? They haven't made other movies. They're completely unterrible in the roles but neither are they exactly [ahem] Oscar worthy --it's easy to imagine dozens of other young actors being just as good or better. So... yeah... no. don't get it. I can only assume it's like television fame: you're super famous but only in connection with your character and as soon as you're off the air the fame evaporates into "he was in that television show!" which is a vaguely eternal but unhysteric fame and far more comprehensible to the non fan.

I'm probably only talking about this because I'm still just freaked out by how awful Daniel looks in that new Details photo shoot. He's suddenly like an ugly mutated version of Elijah Wood at his freakiest looking. When did that happen? Who approved that shot?

Promises Promises (Pfeiffer The Tease)

There's a good article over @ Shared Darkness about Pfeiffer's response to the I Could Never Be Your Woman release troubles. It ends with this titillating quote.

Pfeiffer insists that fans needn't worry about her totally disappearing. Apart from the forthcoming Stardust, she's also eyeing a couple other projects. "I’ve actually been working the last two years, it’s just that now everything is coming out," she says. "It’s kind of natural that I was due to take a break. It wasn’t a conscious decision... but I’d worked pretty hard for a long time, and it probably made sense for my psyche."

Such a tease.

I'll believe those "couple other projects" when I see them. Look how long that Chasing Montana situation has dragged on --it's getting pretty Flora Plum up in there. But I'm not complaining given the veritable Pfeifferpalooza of summer 2007! (The complaining can wait til 2008 when she vanishes again)