Streep Nom #13: Adaptation (2002)

Thirteen wasn't exactly an unlucky number for Meryl Streep. Though she didn't win the Oscar, her thirteenth Oscar honor brought her the title of Most Nominated Actor. It's difficult to imagine anyone ever surpassing her since she's widened the gap considerably since (Jack Nicholson is stalled at 12, tied with Katharine Hepburn and the only other living/working rivals for super frequent Oscar honors Al Pacino and Peter O'Toole are much further behind with 8 nominations each).

<-- Splendor in the grass. Spike directs Streep in Adaptation (2002)

This was also the number that coincided with what was arguably her most challenging big screen role in the Aughts in the Spike Jonze/Charlie Kauffman collaboration Adaptation (2002) and the first time she'd competed as a supporting actress since the 1970s.

Each time I watch Adaptation I seem to have a different reaction to it ranging from wild love to 'stop obsessing over yourself!' annoyance but I've never been less than enthralled with what Meryl's doing as the writer Susan Orlean whether she's playing Orlean herself or some projections of Orlean. And that dial tone reverie may well be Meryl's best screen moment from the Aughts.

The 2002 Nominees were...

• Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
• Queen Latifah, Chicago
• Julianne Moore, The Hours
• Meryl Streep, Adaptation
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
  

At the time I was rooting for Zeta-Jones and probably still would (I blame her thrilling rendition of "I Can't Do It Alone") but I could just as easily have voted for Streep had I had an Academy ballot.

Other Women For Context
The big snub here, the one that stung, was Michelle Pfeiffer's scary self-generated cult of personality in White Oleander. She had my vote as best of the year and it stands as one of the three crown jewels of her career (a worthy companion to The Fabulous Baker Boys and Batman Returns). She was SAG nominated but couldn't get past the Chicago juggernaut for an nomination. The Golden Globes, who once loved Michelle wildly, killed her momentum by snubbing her rather inexplicably for what may well be Cameron Diaz's weakest performance in Gangs of New York. That Diaz was in the conversation at all is another reminder of how powerful momentum can be (perceived snubs for Being John Malkovich and Vanilla Sky) and how the pre-ordained "buzz" for a Best Picture contender can have a potent affect on other categories.

The only other women who generated anything like "Nominate her!" discussion that year were Toni Collette (BAFTA Nominee for About a Boy), Patricia Clarkson (NYFCC and NSFC winner for Far From Heaven) and arguably Susan Sarandon (Globe nominee for Igby Goes Down). Though the year had other interesting supporting work from the likes of Samantha Morton (Minority Report), Bebe Neuwirth (Tadpole), Edie Falco (Sunshine State), various French divas (8 Women) and Viola Davis (Solaris), it was basically a seven or eight woman race with Pfeiffer's best work in a decade presumably landing in the dread six spot.

Your feelings on 2002's supporting women?

"Streep @ 60"
Previous Nominations Discussed
78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 90, 95, 98 and 99

she'snotme. shedoesn'tlinkmyname. she'llneverlinkwhatihave. itwon'tbethesame.

Antagony & Ecstasy says these 10 are the best performances by an actress in history. Love the bookend choices so much.
i09 Megan Fox poses with her lesbian mannequin. This is easily my favorite Megan Fox performance
Cinema Blend Katey wants to see Christopher Nolan duke it out with James Cameron in a 3D debate. Me too
Movie|Line has updates on those Wizard of Oz projects


Mediaite Adventures in mispronounciations with Catherine Zeta-Jones. She's just a girl who c*** say no. She's in a terrible fix.
Low Resolution Joe Reid begins to count down his favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes. Consider it a corrective to Logo's Spike crazy countdown. Read it because you love Buffy! [I'm guessing because all cool people do.]
My New Plaid Pants JA also makes a Best of Buffy list
PopEater talks to Carrie Fisher about Wishful Drinking. She always gives good interview
Socialite's Life Dakota Fanning has her priorities straight

And yes... I am aware that the first Sofia Coppola trailer "Somewhere" teaser debuted yesterday (while I was at dinner). I am unable to post about it right this second. Let's discuss several hours from now. It'll still be there.

Off Topic Just Cuz
Have you seen this mashup of Madonna / Gaga set to Madonna's underappreciated "She's Not Me" tune. It may be a slam on Gaga but it's still fun.



The way I kind of look at it is that I miss Madonna ALL THE TIME so if Madonna (my fav celeb ever) isn't going to make epic videos anymore -- and she hasn't been really trying in that realm, her very own kingdom (!), in awhile -- I need the Gaga.

P.S. I think there should be some sort of title moderation on YouTube. So many videos label themselves official this or that when they're something quite different. It can be absolutely maddening to search for a new movie trailer and have to wade through hundreds of bad fan videos or cheap gags first. The world OFFICIAL is more grossly overused on YouTube than "Exclusive" is on movie news sites or the naughty F word is in a Mamet play. That's how overused it is. For the love of search engines, please stop lying to the world.

Tony Awards Live Blogging 2010

6:49 Hi kids. Tonight is Tony night! The arrivals have been going on NY1 for approximately 45 minutes now but what do you now? Turns out my cable was all messed up so I spent the first 45 on the telephone with Monique trying to fix this damn thing. I was distracted by occasional glimpses of the stars. It's finally back on so I get the GLEE team.


Matthew Morrison, Lea Michelle and Jonathan Groff. Basically here's what happened

• Matthew Morrison is going to try to make the PBS taping of South Pacific before it closes (he originated the often shirtless Joe Cable role in the revival) but he doesn't know for sure if he'll be able to do it. Translation: I am way too important now. Everyone must cater to my needs.
• Lea is busy. She's singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" tonight. Didn't she sing that on Glee? She has no return to Broadway planned. Too busy. Translation: Pay me lots for a short run.
  
• Jonathan is about to do the revival of Death Match (fun play -- Christopher Reeve played this role in the 80s movie version) and hopes he can bring it to Broadway, too. "If it's any good," he says. No translation required.... so points for honesty.

6:57 Michelle Williams -- not the great actress but the Destiny's Child -- is on screen right now. "Broadway is a new form of expression for me." Translation: "I'm famous enough for stunt casting. Yay!" She's playing Foxy Roxie Hart in Chicago right now. That role is basically The Slut of All Time (sorry Liz). Everyone has played that role. Chicago is currently the 6th longest running show of all time.

7:00 A few minutes ago the legendary Bernadette Peters was on the screen (left) and proclaimed that she has a Mutual Appreciation Society going with Elaine Stritch. Incredibly they are both going to be taking over for Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury in A Little Night Music. Translation: It's going to be impossible to get tickets. They're both pure magic live. The legends are fully earned. Trust me. I've seen both live and would never trade those experiences.

7:18 Marian Seldes = Greatest Acceptance Speech of All Time. And it's not even being broadcast. I hate CBS and the way they treat the Tonys. She just won the lifetime achievement award. Made this expression...


...and then walked away from the podium.

Awesome, amazing, awezing. Amazsome?

Marian hasn't made that many movies but she's a stage legend. The last time I saw her on stage was in Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby which is basically an abstracted version of his own Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

While Marian awezed in that show, I would also like to say that David Burtka performed completely starkers. And then Neil Patrick Harris went and snatched him up in the real world. Well, maybe it didn't happen in that order but David Burtka is a beauty, clothed or starkers, is my point and who wouldn't snatch him up? is my second point.

7:31 Memphis and Red are winning lots of tech prizes. Maybe they'll take Musical and Play, tonight? Fela just won Costume Design. American Idiot won lighting design. They are just speeding through these awards. Strangely they are playing CAMELOT's ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You" to celebrate a win for Greenday's "American Idiot" musical. Is there a round table in that show? Or a virtuous knight who gets a lot of royal action?

7:40 Somebody just threw glitter on stage at the Tonys. As if the Tonys needed any encouragement!

7:43 I keep missing things. Live Blogging is hard [/whine]

7:45 I'm always surprised when men thank their wives at the Tonys. I apologize for my reflexive homonormativity.

Now the show proper is being broadcast on CBS

8:02 Wow. They opened with a piano medley which broke into "Blue Suede Shoes" And Sean Hayes can really play the piano. Who knew? Kristin Chenoweth joins him to sing "Say a Little Prayer" and then we get a little Sherie Rene Scott. If I were someone famous, people would say... things ... about my love of blonde divas. I'm insatiable for them.

pint size greatness | regular sized greatness

It's like I'm Alfred Hitchcock only I don't want to visualize them as pretty corpses or terrorize them. Unless you count forcing them into a lifetime servitude of singing, dancing and acting for my entertainment as terrorizing. And you shouldn't. I'm a good grateful fan. Love those two girls.... so... much.

8:10 Green Day is performing. When one of their songs isn't playing I always forget that I like them. I also L-O-V-E that song that Billie Joe Armstrong did with the Go-Gos "Unforgiven". If you don't know that Go-Gos song, you must download it now. It's a beaut. Shoulda been a massive hit.

8:13 Mandatory reaction shots from movie stars: Will Smith, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones. We'll get a lot of those tonight.

8:16 Sean Hayes just tongued Kristin Chenoweth. Hee. Kristin is highlarious as usual although her voice was not in great form earlier. Never heard her voice that weak. Maybe Sean Hayes has cooties.

8:19 Brilliant point from The Boyfriend. Look at Sean Hayes... He could play John Edwards "And you know that's a TV Movie waiting to happen." Look at him. You'll see it.

8:20 Katie Holmes is presenting "Film goes by at 24 frames per second..." Like you know that, Katie! If not for the teleprompter...

<--- OhMyGod. Scarlett Johansson is now a Tony Winner (Best Featured Actress, A View From the Bridge). She just called Ryan Reynolds "My Canadian who I live with" That's quite a weird new way to say "Husband."

8:32 Now that commercials are playing I am forced to consider that Scarlett Johansson may one day be a Triple Crowner. She just needs a deglam movie in about 6 years for the Oscar. The Emmy is easiest.

8:36 ----> Eddie Redmayne just won Best Featured Actor (Red). You've seen him getting randy with screen mommy Julianne Moore (Savage Grace) and trying to kill Cate Blanchett (The Golden Age) and now you just saw him win a Tony. And, as In Contention points out, he'll probably be the lead in Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2012). Could Oscar follow Tony?

8:40 Charming performance from La Cage Aux Folles which I've heard is great. "Zaza" targeted Matthew Morrison and Will Smith in the audience. Really really funny bit with being unable to tear herself away from Matthew Morrison but of course Will Smith had to act horrified that "she" sat on his lap. I hate it when Will Smith reminds me about what an ass he was about the kiss in Six Degrees of Separation (1993).


8:51 I totally can't keep up with this show. It's so speedy. Antonio Banderas was on a few minutes ago and he's SO going to have a major career revival: a Broadway starring role (Zorba the Greek revival) and a new Almodóvar role. Score times two.

8:53 They're talking about Next Fall which I think must be closing any second. I really want to see it. That was cute banter. Maybe it'll sell a few more tickets?

8:56 The Lovely Laura Linney is promoting her play Time Stands Still (I went to an evening where she spoke of this, too) which is returning to Broadway in the fall. But do you think she's thinking about ScarJo right now? Like 'Damnit. She won a Tony before me?'

8:57 That was generous. Jon Bon Jovi just did a live feed intro for Memphis from a stadium concert.

9:00 Commercials. Breathe.

9:04 Angela Lansbury. If she wins tonight, I think that's a record.

---> 9:07 Nope. Katie Finneran wins the category Best Featured Actress in a Musical Promises Promises. No record breaker for Lansbury just yet. I hear from everyone that Finneran is amazing. GREAT speech about focusing on what you love. This bit was so cute. 'Kristin Chenoweth lent me her eyelashes.' And she also informs that Angela Lansbury took her out to dinner. Classy.

9:10 Memphis performance "Never let anyone steal your rock n roll" Fun number but I feel like someone has stolen my showtunes tonight. Not that many yet.

9:20 Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes, co-stars in Promises Promises are practically co-hosts tonight. She's SO much better in this setting than she was on the BFCA awards. She's just hilarious collapsing when she hears she wasn't even nominated. I guffawed, dear readers. (That means I literally LOL'ed, youngsters). She may have lent Finneran her eyelashes but she keeps several spares. Obviously. These lashes are extreme.


9: 24 Catherine Zeta-Jones singing "Send in the Clowns". Just sublime. Nobody can write a song like Stephen Sondheim. I love that he gets these huge birthday extravaganzas every few years. People are scared of losing him. Me, too. It's going to be so so sad. But if Luise Rainer can keep on ticking past 100, so can some of these other showbiz troupers. Random! I know that was random... but Send in the Clowns can send you spinning into all sorts of heartrending places.

P.S. I love CZJ as a musical star. I wish she would star in movie musicals all the time.

9:43 Commercials. But first we had a little Tony sponsored tribute to the NYPD from Kerry Washington. I love Kerry quite a lot as you know. But loving actresses is way more fun if Hollywood plays along. They need to give me more Kerry to love.

9:53 Best Actor and Best Actress went to Fences. That'd be Denzel Washington and Viola Davis (yay! Though I'm sad for Laura Linney who always loses both Oscars and Tonys despite being one of the most amazing actors on the planet).

I find it so odd that none of August Wilson's cycle plays have been made into movies. Don't you find that odd? Is there a playwright of similar stature that has never been translated?

Viola wins her second, Denzel wins his first

Viola gives a beautiful speech but part of me couldn't quite fall in love with it because when people talk about God in their acceptance speeches I always think "Does that mean God loves you more than the other nominees?" And in this case. Well... I'm pretty certain that God loves Laura Linney because, I mean, look at all the gifts he gave that woman! Anyway. I love Viola Davis, too. Denzel's speech was annoying. He didn't know the names. Denzel now has two Oscars and a Tony. But he's never going to be a triple crowner because he just doesn't do television. Not since St. Elsewhere.

10:11 SERIOUSLY? Promises Promises, a full on musical, just did a dance number with Sean Hayes sitting at a desk. Lame. This night is bereft of show tunes.

10:15 Sad Face. In Memoriam... the people the theater lost this year. The theater may lose me tonight if I don't get some show tunes. SAVE ME GLEE PEOPLES.

10:18 It happened ages ago but it's already burned into my mind so it's only fair that it's burned into yours, too. Sean Hayes with padding and Sean Hayes as Lil Orphan Annie.


The sun will not come out tomorrow.

10:20 Cate Blanchett and her Need To Be Ubiquitous share the stage to present Best Revival and Best Play. I kid, I kid. Fences wins Best Revival.

<--- EXCLUSIVE: CATE BLANCHETT TO PLAY TILDA SWINTON IN BIOPIC

10:22-10:35 It just occurred to me that I asked a television show to save me from the lack of showtunes at the Tony Awards. Something is amiss. That said, thank God (who loves Viola Davis more than Laura Linney) for Glee! Lea and Matthew perform actual showtunes. YAY.

P.S. I TOTALLY caught Will Smith enjoying Lea Michelle's Barbra Streisand number. Won't he worry that people will think he is... well... you know?

10:43 La Cage Aux Folles won Best Revival and now American Idiot is performing. This show looks fun.

10:47 I am not a fan of Sean Hayes but I think he's doing a really good job tonight. Here's why I know: I keep giggling about things he did minutes before minutes later. It's a hosting job that keeps on giving. That Spider-Man singing "don't rain on my parade" bit was priceless -- especially when he was scared of the spider on his chest after taking the mask off. Ha!

Well, you probably had to be there. But funny it was.

10:57 Someone much less composed than CATHERINE ZETA-JONES has possessed the body of Catherine Zeta-Jones. That was as spastic a reaction as I've ever seen at an awards show and that includes Meryl Streep marathon hug run at the SAGs and Ally Sheedy's freakout at the Indie Spirits twelve years back. CZJ was crazed. She almost did a spinning heehaw jig after hiking up her dress. She'll be calling her agent tonight demanding an HBO telefilm so she can grab that triple crown.

I'm sad for people who aren't movie stars tonight. Especially my Sherie Rene Scott. So much star-f***ing tonight.

11:02 Memphis closes the night with a Best Musical win. God loved Memphis most. Now I depart for the comments section to try to catch up with y'all.

Tony Nominations Or, Hollywood on Stage

There are so many movie and television faces nominated for the Tony Award this year that one begins to worry about how any stateside stage actor can earn a living. The answer, appears to be get famous in another medium in order to get plum stage roles.

Jude Law (Hamlet) is equally at home on screen or stage

This can work against the audience, this self destructive drive to only see the familiar, if it robs them of great stage trained actors in meaty roles. But thankfully this isn't a problem with actors who are adept at changing their "scale" for any medium. Take The Lovely Laura Linney, for instance, who no one would dare accuse of being out of her element whether she's on the silver screen, the living room telly or treading the boards on Broadway.

Lead Actor in a Play
Jude Law, Hamlet
Alfred Molina, Red
Liev Schreiber, A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington, Fences

There's 9 Oscar nominations and 3 wins between these nominees and even the Tony contenders from this shortlist that haven't contributed to that movie-centric total (Liev & Alfred are both still waiting for Oscar's approval) are familiar screen actors. Who would you root for, sight unseen for this Tony race? Or if you're lucky enough to have seen any, who did you find deserving?

Lead Actress in a Play
<-- Viola Davis, Fences
Valerie Harper, Looped
Linda Lavin, Collected Stories
Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family

Viola Davis made her name on stage some time ago so this lead role isn't as 'Look what Doubt did for her!' specific as you may suspect. But it's still great that her career is going so well. Valerie Harper carried Looped on her glamourous shoulders and made it sing with her filthy mouth. I'd say I was rooting for her but hers is the only one I've seen AND it's also movie-related (it's all about Tallulah Bankhead's final looping session) so that's perhaps unfair.

And we're always rooting for Laura Linney in one way or another. And another. And another.

Lead Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball, Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!

I'm kind of horrified that Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) is nominated but maybe pickings were slim? When I last saw him on stage in Damn Yankees it was like a textbook case of how unfortunate it is that tv stars get Broadway parts over stage stars. Stage acting requires different skills or at least a different discern about how to deply the shared skills. He was basically just doing "Just Jack" only in longshot as opposed to closeup. Didn't work for me at all.

I assume it doesn't matter since one of the La Cage boys will probably win. I keep hearing that this revival is wondrous... but it's revived so often that I'm still struggling to generate any excitement about seeing it.

Lead Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
<--- Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music

The immediate noticeable snub is Bebe Neuwirth in Addams Family though people weren't really expecting that nomination to happen given the critical reception. The sad snub is arguably Broadway darling turned TV star Kristin Chenoweth in Promises Promises. People say she's miscast but that you still can't take your eyes off her. (What else is new? I mean the 'can't take your eyes off her' part is always the case) Since I haven't seen any of these shows -- I hate being poor! -- I'm rooting for Sherie Rene Scott, one of my all time favorite Broadway babies, in her personal memoir show. Finally, I was always hoping that CZJ would get another musical post Chicago. I guess I just didn't expect it would be on stage and that I wouldn't be able to afford to see it.

Here she is singing one of musical theater's most iconic numbers...



Featured Actor in a Play
David Alan Grier, Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken, Enron
Eddie Redmayne, Red

Superior Donuts is the latest play from August: Osage County genius Tracy Letts. It didn't get the "instant masterpiece" status of that epic play but at least it won this acting notice. Elsewhere in the category Film Experience readers will recognize Eddie Redmayne as Julianne Moore's gay son/incestuous plaything in Savage Grace.

Featured Actress in a Play
Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht, A View from the Bridge
Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor

Who could have ever imagined that Scarlett Johansson, with that movie face, would get Tony nominated before she was Oscar nom'ed. Strangeness.

Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime

If you're curious, Chamberlin plays Uncle Fester in The Addams Family, De Jesus plays La Cage's always scene-stealing housekeeper (Hank Azaria in The Birdcage is the reference point if you've never seen the stage musical) and Bobby Steger played the younger brother in Ragtime (if you've seen the film version -- which is not a musical, pity -- this role is played by Brad Dourif, it's not the same supporting role that was Oscar nominated from that movie back in the day)

Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!

If Lansbury wins this one she becomes the #1 most Tony winning actor of all time. Right now she's merely tied for that honor. But she has stiff competition from Katie Finneran who, according to all reports, steals Promises Promises from its stars. When acting with Cheno that has to be regarded as a miracle. This might also well go to Barbara Cook, one of those most revered of all Sondheim interpreters.

Best Play

In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play (Sarah Ruhl)

Next Fall (Geoffrey Nauffts)

Red (John Logan)

Time Stands Still (Donald Margulies)

I keep hearing great things about Next Fall which is a gay relationship drama between an evangelical and an atheist. Here's an audio piece on the movie which makes it sound like the kind of thing I should see, having had my own religious upbringing drama before coming out as a gay man. Time Stands Still already closed. When I heard Linney speak at that Linneyganza a month back I definitely regretting skipping it. But -- good news -- it's coming back to Broadway in the fall thanks in part to these nominations.

Best Musical

American Idiot

Fela!

Memphis

Million Dollar Quartet

Best Book of a Musical

Everyday Rapture (Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott)

Fela! (Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones)

Memphis (Joe DiPietro)

Million Dollar Quartet (Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux)

Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

The Addams Family (Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa)

Enron (Music: Adam Cork Lyrics: Lucy Prebble)

Fences (Music: Branford Marsalis)

Memphis (Music: David Bryan Lyrics: Joe DiPietro, David Bryan)

This was a controversial category this year because few thought that Addams Family was deserving but there weren't a lot of eligible shows available since many of the acclaimed musicals were using previously written material. Two of the nominees here aren't even musicals. Not that plays can't have worthy music. I suspect Memphis will win this.

Revival of a Play
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family
A View from the Bridge

We'll let Scarjo and Liev describe their Arthur Miller redo for ya...



Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

La Cage will win this easily since it's a) still open and b) winning rave 'you must see it' praise.

Have you seen any of the shows? Do you watch the Tonys each June?

A Little Link Music

Everything I Know... Will Catherine Zeta-Jones star in A Little Night Music on Broadway?
Slog Oopsie. a joke billboard for Inglourious Basterds causes offense [thx]
<--- Starblinx (500) Days of Summer illustrated. teehee [thx]
Just Jared Dollhouse Season 2 promos
Scanners overheard at the movie theater
fourfour reconsiders Project Runway. His mind isn't changed but to his credit he does make Models of the Runway, the spinoff, sound about 5,000 times more interesting/funny than it actually is.
Read Roger on Miyazaki's Ponyo
A Blog Next Door Leonardo DiCaprio's one-two punch rule


Finally, Cozzalio doesn't like the ads for Bruce Willis' new scifi picture Surrogates. You know the ones... "human perfection. what could go wrong?"


They're plastered all over the city now. The internet has been kind of mum on this film, which opens shortly (Sept 25th) so I was interested to finally read someone's reaction. Unlike Dennis, I rather like the ads. I appreciate that they feel as vapid as clothing ads so they're sort of subverting / mocking the idea of clean airbrushed beauty. What could be wrong with that? Quite a lot, you know. But maybe I'm just a sucker for android/cyborg stories (a la Terminator / Blade Runner). In some hierarchal geek place in my mind that's just a notch or two below vampires as a subgenre that immediately wins my attention. Holding the attention is another matter. We'll see what reviews are like.

Oscar and The Jesus Year

I'm really trying to leave the gold man behind but he never unclenches his grip. Have you noticed the arms? Plus he has a sword... so, one has to move slowly away. Tip toe. Tip toe. I advise against sudden movements.

Anyway, for fun I thought I'd dedicate a post to the dozen acting Oscar winners who won when they were 33 years of age. Why? Because it's all about Kate Winslet right now! Here they are...

• Harold Russell, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946... the only man! they make them wait longer. He was also the first disabled Oscar winner if my trivia is correct)
• Olivia DeHavilland, The Heiress (1949... second Oscar)
• Donna Reed, From Here to Eternity (1953)
• Sally Field, Norma Rae (1979)
• Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice (1982... second Oscar)
• Jessica Lange, Tootsie (1982)
• Geena Davis, The Accidental Tourist (1988)

• Emma Thompson, Howards End (1992)
• Juliette Binoche, The English Patient (1996)
  
• Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich (2000)
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago (2002)
  
• Kate Winslet, The Reader (2008)

You know this list makes Mel Gibson seethe with jealousy.

No Best Actor nominee has ever won during his Jesus year. In fact no actor who has ever risked playing Jesus has won an Oscar either before or after that Only Begotten Moment (and that includes actors as acclaimed as Ralph Fiennes, Max von Sydow -- whom I interviewed and asked about the "spiritual thread" in his career, Willem Dafoe and Christian Bale all of whom you'd think would have a statue by now) so maybe it's an Academy curse.

If I am struck by lightning after posting this, I'll try to film it so David Fincher can use it in his next movie.

If your Jesus year is still ahead of you you can use this trivia as a goal post. How will you work towards winning an Oscar by then? Make a plan and get busy! If you're older than 33 try not to feel desperately unaccomplished.
*

The 9th Day of Christmas

Some 'Ladies Dancing' to kick off your weekend. Is there anything better than dancing ladies? That's a rhetorical question. There's not.

I Link I Do

Thompson on Hollywood is Jon Hamm the next George Clooney? It's a great question
Goatdog Kate Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933)
Nick's Flick Picks is in London having an interesting time
Coming Soon Spider-Man 4 might get a Pulitzer'ed writer. Hopefully the acclaimed playwright won't be asked for a retread of the last three. It's time for a new emotional arc
Club Silencio highlights from the great Mad Men
Welcome to LA "still my idea of scary"
Hollywood Loves Broadway This Saturday, Catherine Zeta Jones hosts a benefit in California with a ton of stars doing show tunes (Hugh Jackman, James Marsden, Amy Adams and more. Wheeee)
Stale Popcorn gets angry about AFI's treatment of festival hit Three Blind Mice
i09 Four reasons why you need to be watching Pushing Daisies
In Contention chooses the ten best directors working in the English language
BBC News Magneto & Charles Xavier to star in Waiting for Godot
*

Paging Miss Cleo

JA from MNPP here. I know Nat doesn't often do stories on Breaking News!-type topics, but I just cannot resist hearing what y'all have got to say on this bit from today's Variety:

"For his next directing effort, Steven Soderbergh is plotting a 3-D live-action rock ’n’ roll musical about Cleopatra.

He is courting Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the Egyptian queen and Hugh Jackman to play her lover, Marc Antony.

... The music has been written by the indie rock band Guided by Voices, and the script is by James Greer, a former bass player for the band and an author."

I literally opened my calendar to check the date upon seeing this news to make sure it wasn't April 1st. That is the oddest thing I have read in quite some time.

What do we think? Genius, or this-movie-will-devour-us-all- and-implode-the-very-fabric-of-space-and-time?
.

Cavalcade & Chicago

The Letter of the Day is "C". It's episode 6 of "Best Pictures From the Outside In" and Nick, Goatdog and myself take on the Frank Lloyd stage-to-screen history epic known as Cavalcade (1933) and the stage-to-screen musical Chicago (2002)

You're familiar enough with Chicago but you probably haven't seen the earlier film --it's a hard-to-find title. No one seems eager to release it on DVD. (If I ran the world all movie studios would receive much pressure to have all of their films available on new formats, regardless of profit potentials *sigh* ...but I don't run the world.) Cavalcade is based on a Noel Coward play and it follows the Marryots (Clive Brooks and Diana Wynyard headline), the Bridges (Una O'Connor and Herbert Mundin support) and all their children through 32 years of British history. It begins with the Boers War sails on through the death of the Queen. It pauses for the sinking of the Titanic and trudges on through World War I. That's only the history part. They make room for family drama and romance, too. If that sounds like a chore, well, luckily our conversation wasn't.

Read the discussion @ Nick's Flick Picks
*

Cell Block Tango

YouTube is drowning in badly edited, poorly imagined movie mash-ups now that everyone and their sister's nephew's second cousin once removed knows how to make them (um, thanks Apple). This one, "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago featuring the Disney villains, is terrif, though. (The same can't be said for the other 'Cell Block Tango's online --even similarly themed Disney ones). Enjoy...

Blogosphere Multiplex: Dylan Meconis

We normally do the Interviews on Monday but that's a holiday, sillies. So enjoy this early "quirky" bird. Readers who followed me over to my guest posting gig @ Modern Fabulousity will remember I was breathless over some illustrations of the Battlestar Galactica cast as Simpsons characters. That witty fusion was brought to you by Dylan Meconis, an illustrator hailing from Oregon. You can read Dylan's blog, see her website, or visit the communal pants press sketchblog that she frequents.

Dylan is very talented and, as turns out, really fun to chat with. Here's the interview:


10 questions with Dylan Meconis

Nathaniel:How often do you go the movies?

Dylan: Two to three times a month, although since I've moved to Portland, I've been going more often. I live within shooting distance of three or four excellent old-time movie houses that show second-run and classic shows for a pittance, and serve pizza and microbrew beer. It's kind of hard to resist seeing Mary Poppins for three dollars, especially with an IPA and a three-cheese pizza backing it up.

Nathaniel: Dear Lord! If I wasn't so happy with Manhattan that'd be like an effective recruiting campaign for Oregon. I hear you just got back from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. What did you see and what is your favorite Shakespeare film adaptation?

Dylan: This year I only saw three plays. This time it was Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, Intimate Apparel (a contemporary play), and a really fun production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.

As for my favorite Shakespeare film - the one that has made the biggest impression on me is Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. I went to see it as an 8th grader at the local arthouse theater in my Seattle neighborhood, and I came out with eyes the size of dinner plates. I just thought it was marvelous and vibrant and that Branagh wasn't afraid to be very bold in his directing choices - but he avoided any big gimmicks with the setting or staging.

Really I like all of Branagh's Shakespeare films - Henry V (the prologue, read by Derek Jacobi, striding through all the studio equipment...gah! Awesome!), Much Ado About Nothing, Othello...all very enjoyable. As for my least favorite, well, She's The Man was pretty horrifying.

Nathaniel: Which movie stars would you switch teams for?

Dylan: Ooh...tough one, since I've played both sides... However, let it be known that I would totally marry Alan Rickman and Catherine Zeta-Jones. At the same time. The ceremony would be lovely.

Nathaniel: Ha ha. love it. Though I must say I find the combo baffling. I'm reading on your blog about your kung fu injury... Goodness you're a girl of many talents. Which martial arts heavy films do you love?

Dylan: I've never been much for the martial arts genre, so I'm mostly lame and like the Kill Bill movies. I have to say that all the wire-fighting, super-fast kung fu stuff doesn't do it for me - I really prefer stage combat to have weight and consequence. Kill Bill was obviously fantasy, but at least I believed in the physical damage being inflicted. I think I'm the one person on earth who didn't like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Don't hate me.

Nathaniel: It's too late. No I kid. I can't hate you after reading that post you did on Tony Jay and his voicework on Hunchback of Notre Dame. I totally agree. I love pieces of that movie so much. What are you favorite films or characters from animated films?

Dylan: Oh, well, obviously Frollo from Hunchback, and for that matter, Phoebus and Clopin from that movie, as well. Such great character animation and voice acting! I was completely obsessed with that movie as a teenager, and I still adore it.

Probably my favorite animated film of all time is The Incredibles, though. It's just flawless. I could watch it on loop and never get sick of it. I also think Spirited Away is pretty amazing. The rest of Miyazaki is pretty and I enjoy it, but he's not very good at telling coherent stories, and Spirited Away is just abstract and dreamy enough that you don't mind so much. For classic Disney, you can't beat Sleeping Beauty ---gorgeous, with all of those painstakingly researched and handpainted backgrounds. And Maleficent, who's another magnificent cartoon villain.

As for things I can't really justify in any way, I really like the Korso character (voiced by Bill Pullman) from the inescapably mediocre Titan A.E. I have no idea why. Maybe it's an illness.

Nathaniel: I have just started looking at Bite Me!, your webcomic. I am a huge fan of vampires. Who are your favorite cinematic vampires and why do you think they never go away from pop culture? It's not like frankenstein is continually in vogue.

Dylan: I love vampire stuff too, but I also realize how ridiculous it all is. Which just adds to the fun, really. Favorite cinema vampires...well, that's easy enough. I'm not a Tom Cruise fanatic by any stretch of the imagination, but he was brilliantly cast as Lestat in the original Interview film. (Brad Pitt as Louis was a sad mistake; I hold that Johnny Depp would've been much more accurate casting.) Other than that, you have to give props to Christopher Lee's nine million Dracula appearances. And on the anime front, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is still one of the most perfect vampire flicks ever. Still waiting for a decent female vampire role; Parker Posey in Blade 3 was at least funny.

As for eternal appeal (ha, ha), well, vampires are cool. They are sexy. They dress fashionably. They can be heroes OR bad guys. They can live forever, but die with extreme flare. There's just a lot of immediately enjoyable features to draw from, and you can pick and choose. Whereas Frankenstein's monster kind of, what? Lumbers, and throws small children into lakes, and groans with pathos? Only so much you can do, there.

Nathaniel: Hee. so true, though I have to say we part ways on Tom Cruise as Lestat. That movie hurts me. And not in the good way.

OK. last time I interviewed an illustrator I had to ask this and I will again. What's your feeling on movies about artists -- Girl with a Pearl Earring or artist biopics like Friday. Any general or specific feelings about the genre... hate? love?

Dylan: I can't say as I seek them out. I really enjoyed Frida, but in general, something bothers me about artistically interpreting an artistic interpreter. It seems a little bit like a snake eating its own tail. And, frankly, a lot of wildly famous artists are depressing, narcissistic jerks.

Frida I enjoyed in part because the artist herself was actually decent as a human being and a woman, despite all of the hardships life threw at her. Even when her art expressed pain, it was vibrant and joyous, and the film captured that. I adore Julie Taymor, who did such a wonderful job at turning the whole look of the film into a sort of living Kahlo painting in that way. Of course, now I look at Kahlo art and have a false impression that I "know" Frida Kahlo, which isn't true. I know an impression of her as presented by the people involved in that film. That bugs me.

Nathaniel: Interesting. But to some extent isn't that true with all biopics?

Dylan: Sure it is, but's it particularly extreme in the case of artists - art about art is kind of a dangerous feedback loop if not done very well.

Nathaniel: That "knowing" affect is true of our culture of celebrity, too. We feel like celebrities aren't complete strangers...which of course they are. If you could hang out with an actor, director, or a movie character who would it be?

Dylan: If I could hang out with an actor, I'd honestly be interested in somebody like Hugo Weaving, who's played a really wide variety of roles in everything from huge stupid American smash-up movies to Australian fringe theater. I sort of want to be him when I grow up, and it'd be neat to hear his war stories. For dead actors, Leslie Howard, who gave Bogart his big break.

For directors, I know the folks I admire, but they all strike me as being a bit intense and possibly unpleasant. Glen Keane is directing for Disney now, though, and he would be really fun to hang out with and talk animation. And movie characters...can I be a total dork and say David Thewlis's portrayal of Professor Lupin, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Not to make out with him, just to chat quietly and roam about Hogwarts. That sounds nice.

Nathaniel: You are always welcome to be a total dork! Speaking of: Here's a geeky sophies choice for you: Arwen or Eowyn?

Dylan: Hell-oooooo, Eowyn! I have little use for a lady who can't be described as "feisty". Arwen is mostly good for weeping crystal tears and having somber visions shot through gauze, whereas I get the feeling Eowyn would be totally down for wacky roadtrips, boxing classes, and cuddle sessions in fleece pajamas in front of old Tracy/Hepburn flicks. Also, she would buy me a pony and I would ride it with her across the great plains of Gondor. That would be hella romantic.

Nathaniel: That's great. OK. Wrapping up now: They make a movie of your life. Who plays you? Who directs? What's the title? rating?

Dylan: Playing me: Since Winona Ryder can't really act and is in career hell, I'm going to have to go with Johnny Depp in yoga pants drag. It would be amazing. Really. I would trust no one else to portray me with such honesty. However, they will probably cast Natalie Portman: it could be worse.

Directing - well, me, of course. Unless I'm dead, in which case, Rian Johnson. My only stipulation to him would be the inclusion of the musical saw and the theremin in the score, and at least one original David Bowie song. The title: Heroine of the Hour: the Dylan Meconis Story Rating: Oh, let's go with a PG-13. Enough to make it edgy, without cutting into ticket sales. I want this in the art house AND the multiplex.

Thanks Nathaniel! I had fun.

Nathaniel: Thank you. And best wishes on a blooming illustration career.


Film Experience (for newbies):
Previous Interview w/ Martha of Cinematical * An Object of My Obsession -Moulin Rouge! * Far From Heaven vs. Brokeback -Whose side are you on? * She's a Bitch (@ the Movies) * The FB Awards -My Annual Prizes *

Tags: movies, Shakespeare, Frida, Hamlet, The Incredibles, Interview with the Vampire, cinema, Hugo Weaving, film, animation, celebrities, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Oregon, vampires, Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp