It's not a crime to look at Lange. So herewith, Frances Farmer in her prime (surrounded by... hmm, levitating flowers?) and the woman who played her in 1982's Frances, Jessica Lange. There are no flowers in this old photograph of Lange but I think you'll agree that she was in full bloom.
I've never seen any of Frances Farmer's movies (she didn't make many. Any suggestions?) so maybe that was a minor obstacle for me, but I am not a fan of the film. But I do enjoy a good Old Hollywood biopic. It's the one type of biopic that holds immediate appeal for me. So, can we please get some more of them about old Hollywood? Like... a lot more of them. Let's immortalize the immortals.
Didn't you love those lavish scenes in The Aviator when Jude Law was pretending to be Erroll Flynn and Cate Blanchett was pretending to be Katharine Hepburn and neither of them had to break a sweat to drip Old Hollywood charisma? I almost wish Scorsese had let a few other directors onto those sets to film other Old Hollywood biopics simultaneously.
But back to Frances... If the 1982 movie is to be believed Ms. Farmer was a self sabotaging volatile handful. Have you ever stopped to wonder which of today's superstar actresses are actually crazy people under their carefully constructed public personæ? On that note, you know there'll be an Angelina Jolie biopic by 2056!
My vote for a modern actress that deserves a stellar bio is Mia Farrow. My vote for an old Hollywood glamor movie (a la The Aviator) is Jean Harlow or -- I'm too predictable -- Norma Shearer... but especially if Joan Crawford figures prominently in that screenplay.
I promise I'm not going to mock up every potential Green Lantern in shiny emerald spandex but I go weak at the knees for opportunities to photoshop ... and for Green Lantern, too, as you must know. I don't secretly dream of a Hollywood career but if I did, The Green Lantern is at the top of the list of superhero properties I'd want to pitch. That said, I'd rank it up there with Wonder Woman under the heading Will Be Nearly Impossible To Pull Off. Good Luck! so I'm not particularly excited about seeing Hollywood try.
So, this is Shawn Roberts (pictured left) who was all the rumor-rage a couple of weeks ago, round about the same time as the Bradley Cooper rumor that IMDB stamped. But, recent casting of Thor aside, Hollywood almost never goes with relative unknowns for expensive franchises (despite stars being expensive and the properties themselves being the selling point) so I never took the Roberts rumor seriously. I suspect if the movie ever happens, and if it's not Cooper, it'll be a very familiar face bathed in green light.
Anyway -- my god get to the point, man! -- some people are far more skilled with visual trickery than I. If you haven't yet watched this fan-made Green Lantern trailer which is basically a very enthusiastic campaign for the casting of the always charming Nathan Fillion, you should.
Vanity Fair briefly killed my enthusiasm for the "Hollywood project" when they nixed the traditional cover for 2009. But time heals most wounds and I have reanimated the project's corpse. 2004's cover had 13 already peaking actresses on it. How'd they follow it in 2005? With another batch of goddesses, 60% of whom had already graced their "Hollywood" cover. In the case of the C/Kates, it was now thrice. Was Vanity Fair running out of ideas? Given the idiosyncratic pool the covers regularly pulled from you'd think there were only 40 actresses in Hollywood... but then, it's probably all in who you know who represents you when it comes to face time here. It's definitely not only about the fame. Consider this: this cover series lasted from 1995 - 2008 and Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Michelle Williams and Tilda Swinton never appeared on them (just four chronologically appropriate examples off the top of my head).
click to enlarge for maximum beauty
For reasons that only pop culture archives will be able to fully explain to future generations this cover was called "Not So Desperate Housewives". Only two of these actresses were even married at the time (the C/Kates) and only six kids had sprung from their enviable DNA (two kids each for Cate, Kate and Uma).
Uma Thurman, about to turn 35, had appeared on VF's very first Hollywood issue back in1995. Back then she was celebrating her deserved Oscar nom for Pulp Fiction. I like to think that her get up here, white shirt and black pants (the only one of the ladies eschewing a gown), was a nod to "Mia Wallace" in Pulp Fiction. It would make sense. Director Quentin Tarantino had just finished (momentarily) resuscitating her talent and fame with those thrilling Kill Bills and she was about to risk memories of that film with the John Travolta dance number in Be Cool. She had divorced Ethan Hawke in 2004 and the three films coming out (Prime, Be Cool and The Producers) were a nice range of drama, comedy and musical... on paper. Onscreen it didn't work out so well. More flops followed. Uma turns 40 in 2010, and she's undoubtedly looking for that third career wind. Next up: Motherhood, Percy Jackson and Eloise in Paris.
Cate Blanchett had just been won an Oscar (The Aviator) and was about to turn 36. Aside from the Oscar win, 2005 was quiet. Blanchett never stays quiet. The next four years would be jam packed full of Oscar bait and trips down the red carpet culminating in the two biggest non-Hobbity hits of her career (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). No films in 2009 (shocker!) but she'll be back in 2010 as Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood [see previous posts]
Kate Winslet was 29 years old, still Oscar-less and an old pro at the "Hollywood" covers. Uma & Cate are her superiors when it comes to behaving like models in photoshoots (think about it), but she wasn't letting them pull all the focus with her sleek über sexy look here. Her inarguable triumph in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) was about to prove very difficult to follow. Fascinating time capsule note: 2005 is the year wherein she guest starred on "Extras" as a foul mouthed narcissistic "Kate Winslet", bitching about having to do a Holocaust drama to win an Oscar.
Despite that hilariously written and performed prophecy, her next several films didn't truly catch on (The Holiday, Little Children, Romance & Cigarettes, Revolutionary Road and All the Kings Men). The happy ending punchline arrived earlier this year when she won her Oscar for the holocaust drama The Reader. Up next: Nothing. With Oscar in hand, I'm guessing she lays low for the next couple of years. She was never a ubiquitous celebrity to begin with.
Scarlett Johansson was just 20 and already a back to back Hollywood covergirl. She had skyrocketed in 2003 with the global success of Lost in Translation, the critical success of Girl with a Pearl Earring and her high profile relationship with another Young Hollywood star, Josh Hartnett. And though nothing in 2004 had added much to her mystique she had the lead in a would be summer blockbuster for 2005 (The Island, which flopped). No one at the time saw her Woody Allen's muse status coming, but Match Point (their first collaboration) was about to debut at Cannes and become the legendary director's biggest hit in over a decade. Cut to several Scarlett roles and three calendar years later: she's beloved as a celebrity, newlywed and spokesperson but who loves her as an actress, any more? Can she turn that around with her stint as The Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (see previous post)
<-- Rupert Everett, Claire Danes and Billy Crudup at the premiere of Stage Beauty in October 2004
Claire Danes, turning 26 appears to have been slain by ScarJo. And maybe she was. Hollywood only has room for a handful of young superstar blondes in any given time period, you know. Perhaps she's prone as sacrifice for Cate, Kate and Uma none of whom have ceded much space for up and comers, holding onto big fame with that iron grip combo of talent, beauty and the favor of important filmmakers. Or maybe Mary-Louise Parker had snuck in to lay her down? It had only been a year since the gossip machine had ground and spit Claire Danes and Billy Crudup out for splitting with their partners -- in Billy's case, the several months pregnant Parker.
Which is all along way of saying that her cover girl status was slightly puzzling. Despite Danes' absolutely stellar start in television's My So Called Life and a promising initial silver screen transfer (Little Women and Romeo + Juliet), the movie career never really worked out. Her career had slipped in the late 90s and the Aughts brought nothing but a string of well performed but small supporting roles (The Hours, Igby Goes Down) or lead parts that didn't do much for her (Terminator 3, Stage Beauty). This trend continued after this cover, too: The Family Stone, Stardust, Evening and Shopgirl haven't provided breakthroughs. Up next: Temple Grandin in which she plays an autistic scientist. Should she try headlining a TV series again?
Rosario Dawson about to turn 26, had been on the cover before and had just caused a mini-fuss with her scene stealing nudity and feral performance in Alexander (2004). Vanity Fair's cover indicated a good sized year for her and it was: Sin City and Rent "I wanna go ouu--uuuuuttt, tonight" both premiered.
Zhang Ziyi newly 26, had enjoyed a high international profile since her breakthrough in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, five years earlier. The preceding months had been very good to her with three well received successful imports: 2046 (her best performance if you ask me), Hero and House of Flying Daggers. But she was undoubtedly on this cover because everyone in the world seemed to be anxiously awaiting Memoirs of a Geisha, then only a blockbuster book and not yet a disappointing movie. She was making lists like People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful, she was a frequent object of lust in men's magazines. Once the Memoirs craze ended, things went quiet, though one can still spot her on red carpets or in paparazzi shots with venture capitalist boyfriend Vivi Nevo. Is an international comeback going to happen? She's only 30. Next up: Sophie's Revenge and possibly the romantic drama Waiting which would reunite her with her Daggers co-star, Takeshi Kaneshiro, her only co-star to ever challenge her for "prettiest person in this movie" contests.
Kerry Washington, 28, had just appeared in the Oscar nominated biopic Ray and was still dating actor David Moscow (pictured together right, Jan. 2005) Many people, including yours truly, were pulling for major stardom for Kerry. She's still high profile and highly castable (young, beautiful, talented, speaks multiple languages including very handy ones for the cinema: French and Spanish) and yet the cinema can't seem to figure it out. 2005 brought only bit parts in Mr & Mrs. Smith and Fantastic Four. When will Hollywood ever figure out big careers for the top black actresses? It seems hopelessly beyond Tinseltown's capabilities. Things are still about the same for Kerry. She'll give a great performance (The Last King of Scotland, Dead Girl) and it's like it didn't happen at all in the larger scheme of the star hierarchies. It's so frustrating. Will her new projects turn the tide? Next up: A Thousand Words with Eddie Murphy and a possibly plum possibly Oscar-bait supporting role in Mother and Child starring Annette Bening.
Kate Bosworth, 22, was fresh off the underrated romantic comedy Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! and the flop biopic Beyond the Sea starring Kevin Spacey. She was very high profile in the celebrity-watching sector as Orland Bloom's girlfriend and Hollywood seemed to have faith in her. She was soon given the Lois Lane role in Superman Returns (unfortunate casting, that). Her film career has long since been smaller than her celebrity and she hasn't actually been making many movies. Next up: The Warrior's Way.
Sienna Miller, at 23 was, like Kate Bosworth, far more famous than her filmography would imply. She was Jude Law's new fiancé -- they had just made Alfie (Oct 2004, left)-- and he was at the peak of his celebrity. A few months after this Hollywood cover they broke off the engagement and their on and off again relationship has provided tabloid fodder for years now. She followed Alfie by romancing Heath Ledger in Casanova. She's been working a lot ever since (Factory Girl, Stardust, The Edge of Love, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh) but it looks doubtful that her movie career will ever equal her celebrity. Or not. Maybe she's just the right role away from more legitimate stardom? Next up: playing "The Baroness" in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
PLEASE NOTE: If you'd like to read more about any of these stars, click the names in the labels section below.
* median age: 27. Blanchett was the eldest, Scarlett the baby. noticeably absent: Who else was topical 'round mid 2004 to mid 2005? Let's see... Monica Bellucci (international profile raised with The Matrix films and The Passion of the Christ), Jennifer Garner (transferring to movies with 13 Going on 30 and Electra), Eva Mendes (had 4 movies coming out including Hitch), Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls) and maybe Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) collective Oscar stats before cover: 7 noms / 1 win (all by the front cover girls. Blanchett won for The Aviator) collective Oscar stats after cover: 5 nominations / 1 win (3 for Cate, 2 for Kate) fame levels in 2009, according to famousr, from most to least: Uma Thurman, Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, Kate Bosworth, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Rosario Dawson and Kerry Washington. Not listed in famousr for some bizarre reason:Kate Winslet & Zhang Ziyi. previous episodes:1995 ,1996, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003and 2004. *
Self Styled Siren has a fascinating quote from William Wellman on the psychology of actors <--- THR A relaunch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the Scoobies, Gellar or Joss Whedon. Ewww. Remember what happened last time they revived Buffy from the dead? She weren't too happy 'bout it, y'all. Learn from past mistakes or be doomed to repeat them. Big Picture on Ulmer Scale of Bankability. Re: Nicole Kidman
Even overseas, people see her choice of roles as very erratic. She'll do a studio film, but followed by several films that don't even register overseas. She's just too unpredictable. A French executive I spoke to said, "I find her fascinating, but she's too quirky." That makes her a very risky bet.
Fabulon has some clips from a Bette Davis sitcom The Decorator Risky Biz on marketing Palme D'Or winner The White Ribbon
---> Elizabeth Banks has fun posts up with personal pics and views from Cannes.
...I just got back from the Festival de Cannes. It was pretty good...
We saw UPin 3-D (adorable) and Precious (the opposite of adorable, but great). So I guess it was better than good.
Hell on Frisco Bay sees a documentary about the Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). I want to see this toot sweet. DListed Cher & Christina Aguilera as co-stars? I Need My Fix Heather Graham has some words for the producer of her latest
Corbis has a fun brief article by Fran Lebowitz on this ancient Warhol portrait of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I link to this because the grim box office of Terminator Salvation (less than T3 many years of ticket price inflation later) suggests that without Ahnuld, there is no interest in Terminators. CGI Ahnuld need not apply. If your personal lack of interest involves the lack of a James Cameron behind the wheel, you can click over to Market Saw to whet your appetite for Avatar. The shot they have is supposedly of body armor worn by humans attacking an alien village. It's reminiscent of Ripley in her exoskeleton in Aliens, don'cha think?
Enjoy your day off. We'll be back early tomorrow to kick off one last week of May featuring: updated Oscar predictions, daily May Flowers posts, Cannes fallout, and more.
Adam of Club Silencio here with another look at my favorite actresses and their distinguishing claims to fame.
Who can blame Catherine O'Hara for leaving Macaulay Culkin home alone... twice... on Christmas... in major metropolitan cities. Artists have other priorities. And as an artist who's consistently playing other artists, Catherine O' Hara certainly knows the bittersweet sides to success. It's all for her art.
From SCTV to her ensemble comedies with Christopher Guest, Catherine O'Hara's donned many different and hilarious characteristic quirks. For me the most beloved is watching her catch the creative bug. Regional theatre, folk music, film production and sculpture - all the more opportunities for Catherine to find her greatest inspiration and internal expression. Somehow, amidst all the neurotic pursuit of fame and and shallow self-service that comes with being an artist, Catherine's always understood that less is more.
"Less is More" Method Acting:
When you're talking to someone you close your eyes - and then you look at them when you're not talking to the person. I mean you open your eyes when you're looking away, but then when you talk to the person you go like that - and you open your eyes - and then you look back at the person, but you never open your eyes when you're talking to them.
Perhaps "less is more" can also be applied to the way that Catherine provides even her most hysterical and horrifying characters with the subtlest shades of heart and humanity. It's a shame that we've only heard the "for your consideration" buzz and never the award win she wholly deserves. But then Catherine's not the type do just anything to win an Oscar, even if her characters are.
I do have trouble doing jobs that I don't really believe in. After Home Alone, another actor might have jumped on that and said, 'I am the reason this is such a big movie.' But I guess I've always been only half-ambitious -- kind of resentfully, after-the-fact ambitious. I'll see something and say, 'How did she get that? I could have done better.' Maybe it's an Irish thing... to hold back from putting yourself on the line and then say, 'That should have been me.'
At this point she's a comedy veteran with the refreshing ability to laugh at the business and take pot-shots at her botoxed peers. Her humor is a craft in itself. Catherine O'Hara is the rare and glimmering artist who's always avoided becoming trapped in her art... Almost always.
This is my art, and it is dangerous! Do you think I want to die like this?!
OFFICIAL COMPETITION Jury president was French actress, deity, provocateur Isabelle Huppert Palme D'or:The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke. Cannes loves him long time. And so does Isabelle Huppert, his La Pianiste leading lady. Sony Pictures Classics has US distribution rights to this black and white costume drama about German village and school prior to World War I. It sounds like something of a departure for Haneke since his films are usually contemporary and often tightly focused on small casts. The extensive German voiceover will be rerecorded in English for that release.
Michael Haneke nabs the top prize
Grand Prix:Un Prophèteby Jacques Audiard. Sony Pictures Classics also has this one -- winner and runner up prepping for release? Not bad, SPC, not bad. Jury Prize: It was a tie between the family drama Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold and vampire drama Thirst from Oldboy director Park Chan-Wook Special Jury Prize:Director Alain Resnais won this special prize for Wild Grass. He's 86 and he's still making movies. His most famous film is probably Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) but, rather incredibly, he's never had a film nominated for Oscar's foreign language race and he's only had won prize winner at Cannes, Mon Oncle d'Amérique (1980) Best Director: Brillante Mendoza competed last year with Serbis and for this prolific Pinoy director, the second time is the charm. He won the prize for his violent drama Kinatay. This award will cause a ruckus. Many people detested the film, including Roger Ebert who declared it the worst in Cannes history.
Best ActressCharlotte Gainsbourgh for Lars Von Trier's Antichrist. This film just keeps adding fuel to its media fire. Well done Lars and your latest actress victim. You continue a grand tradition. Best ActorChristoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (see previous post for Rosengje's very similar enthusiasm) Best ScreenplayFeng Mei won for writing Lou Ye's explicit gay romantic drama Spring Fever Palme D'Or (Short Film):Arena by Joao Salaviza CAMERA D'OR This award goes to the best first film. Warwick Thornton's buzzy Australian feature Samson and Delilah (pictured right) took the prize. He's previously made three short films. Special Mention went to Ajami by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
FIPRESCI Competition:The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke Un Certain Regard:Police, Adjective by Corneliu Porumboiu Directors Fortnight:Amreeka by Cherien Dabis
UN CERTAIN REGARD Jury president was Italian writer/director Paolo Sorrentino Prize:Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos. The synopsis sounds vaguely Virgin Suicides-ish, three teens are cut off from the outside world by their parents. Jury Prize:Police, Adjective Two Special Prizes:Father of My Children by Mia Hansen-Love and No One Knows About the Persian Cats by Bahman Ghobadi
CRITICS WEEK Grand Prix:Goodbye Gary by Nassim Amaouche SACD Prize:Lost Persons Area by Caroline Strubbe Cash Prize, Young Critic Award and Regards Jeunes Prize:Whisper in the Wind by Shahram Alidi Canal Plus Grand Prix (Short Film):Seeds of the Fall by Patrick Eklund Kodak Discovery (Short Film):Logorama by Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain
DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT Art Cinema, 7e Prix Regars Jeunes and the SACD Prize: Twenty year-old (!) actor Xavier Dolan-Tadros ' (pictured right) won an incredible three prizes for his directorial debut, a coming out mother-son drama called I Killed My Mother (J'ai Tue Ma Mere) Special Mention: La Merditude des Choses by Felix van Groeningen Europa Cinemas Label:La Pivellina by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel French short film:Montparnasse THE SNUBBED Whether you're in the main competition or outside of it in the sidebars, when reaction is very positive the snubs have to sting. The following films won coveted buzz but no hardware: Lee Daniel's Oscar hopeful Precious, Marco Bellochio's Vincere andJane Campion's Bright Star.
FURTHER READING Indie Wire live blogged the event. Time Warner Cable of New York wanted me to pay $9.95 per month for the French language station so sadly I couldn't gaze at Huppert and her fire-starter jury myself.
Pass the cigars. I've had a lovechild ... a baby Vodcast with Cinema Blend's Katey Rich. You've heard her on the TFE podcast and now you can see her. She's more practical than I and talked me off of the ledge of my extravagantly ambitious ideas. Basically I always try to do acrobatics before learning to crawl. For the first vodcast I was thinking ornate costumes, visual effects, multiple camera angles, original score. She suggested a more dogme 95 approach -- less frills, more talking at the camera --smart girl.
The topic: Terminator Salvation and the franchise. Four movies, three spoilers, two opinions and one ass shot (Michael Biehn's, 1984).
This will function as Part 3 of my Terminator Special. I'm worn out and I don't wanna watch Rise of the Machines again. I don't wanna so I don't gotta. In cased you missed it: Part 1 (Tech Noir, The Terminator) Part 2 (Model Citizen, Judgment Day)
Our correspondent Rosengje caught 22 films during her Cannes trip. Before Isabelle Huppert's jury bestows the coveted Palme D'Or, I thought we'd let Rosengje offer up her own jury-of-one highlights. She had to miss Precious, Broken Embraces and Un Prophète due to time constraints.
Her five favorite films were...
Marco Bellochio's Vincere. More on this further down.
Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank. This family drama was a major hit with the critics and could be up for prizes today. If Andrea Arnold sounds familiar just think Wasp, Oscar's 2004 short film winner about an irresponsible mother (Natalie Press) and her brood of babies. That was a stunning 26 minutes of film so I'm eager to see this one.
She also wanted to name '10 things that stuck with me most' with honorable mentions going out to Up's use of 3D (see post), Vincere's unapologetically dramatic score, David Lynch’s interview footage in Great Directors (see post), and the beauty of Alden Ehrenreich in Francis Ford Coppola’s misfire Tetro (see post). Now, on to her personal 'top ten'...
10Eric Cantona in Looking for Eric Soccer great Cantona’s presence in Ken Loach’s ebullient film avoids camp, instead elevating the fulfilling film into a strangely compelling absurdist realm. His scenes reliably brought the audience to applause, and one involving dancing had the entire Lumiere in hysterics.
09Sound Effects in Thirst As anyone familiar with Park Chan-Wook’s previous Grand Prix winner Oldboy can attest to, much of the director’s haunting power is drawn from what is not seen. The implication of horrifying action is nonetheless impossible to escape, primarily because of the explosive sound. This funny, gory Korean vampire flick ultimately delves into camp in its last third, but the grotesque noises accompanying scenes ranging from lovemaking to vampire creating made it a memorable film experience.
08 Brad Pitt’s accent in Inglourious Basterds This had me concerned in the trailer, but Pitt’s Tennessee hick persona is crucial to the success of Tarantino’s latest. In the initial introduction to the Basterds, the portrayal seems over the top and cloying in its attempt to generate laughs. All is forgiven, however, later in the film. Adopting a phony Italian accent, Pitt’s Aldo Raine is introduced to Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa, and delivers an impeccable line reading that still has me giggling days later. Perfection.
07Michael Fassbender Pictured right with director Andrea Arnold ---> Yummy. I could not sit through the entirety of Hunger, which I found immensely disturbing, but Fassbender capitalizes on his breakthrough status in two Cannes films. He excels in Tarantino’s Basterds and in Fish Tank he is the perfect blend of charm and sleaze. He leaves the audience and characters confused about the character’s intentions until the very end. It's a credit to his screen charisma that I desperately wanted to believe in his sincerity until the last possible second.
06 Abby Cornish & Paul Schneider in Bright Star 05 Rachel Weisz in Agora 04Liev Schreiber in Taking Woodstock Discussed in earlier posts.
03 Giovanna Mezzogiorno in Vincere Rounding out the impressive list of female accomplishments is Giovanna Mezzogiorno’s performance in Marco Bellochio’s operatic Vincere. She left me cold in last year’s Palermo Shooting but sheshines as Ida Dalser, Il Duce’s lover during his rise to power in fascist Italy. When she is carelessly tossed aside by the ambitious politician, Dalser is at first isolated and then imprisoned in an insane asylum. Taking the abuse suffered by Angelina Jolie in Changelingto the next level, Mezzogiorno never loses the audience’s sympathy, even as she plunges further into despair. Many of Dalser’s statements against Mussolini remain in question, so the actress must constantly balance the character’s clear logic with the murkiness of her claims. If the film receives a considerable stateside release, I would not be surprised to see Mezzogiorno embraced by critics. The performance is more accessible than Marion Cotillard’s work in La Vie en Rose and the lack of public familiarity with Dalser decreases the burden of representation.
02 Technical accomplishments of Bright Star Costumes, art direction, cinematography...
01Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds Without the success of his multi-lingual, comically terrifying performance the film would have failed. Oozing the debonair sophistication most would want to deny the vicious Nazi figure, Waltz makes an indelible impression in the film’s very first sequence that lingers throughout the film’s lengthy running time. He's completely deserving of a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
So much to consider. Rosengje's write up has me wondering if Mezzogiorno will one day expand her global fame (she's a regular nominee at the Italian Oscars) -- especially if Vincere tours. I expect Oscar buzz for Bright Star to follow the Cannes hoopla rather closely. I'm much much less bullish on Basterds. Rosengje obviously enjoyed the star turns a great deal but Oscar voters have long since cooled on Tarantino's style and, more strangely, seem to have turned a blind eye on his inarguable talent for tapping into the unique strengths of nearly every actor he works for.
The great thing about personal movie loves and communal movie discussion is that one man's treasure is another's... so I thought I'd include additional perspective. These four critics in particular were fun to follow during Cannes: Mike D'Angelo, Eugene Hernandez, James Rocchi and Karina Longworth. If you couldn't get enough Cannes coverage, click to embiggen for a few sample tweets on Basterds, The White Ribbon, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Face and sidebar films like Dogtooth.
Which Cannes film are you most longing to see at this point? *
Before the Palme D'Or is handed out, I've got two last bits from our buddy in Cannes but first (sigh) a big old frowny face in regards to the following nugget.
<--- Maggie Cheung and her boyfriend Ole Scheeren in 2008
Maggie Cheung's scene in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds was cut before the Cannes opening and will not be restored even though Tarantino is returning to the editing room. Presumably he's tinkering for maximum audience playability. The cutting room floor is a regular habitat for actors with small roles but this time it really hurts: Maggie still works the red carpet, but never the silver screen. She retired from movies afterClean and 2046 five long years ago. Basterds was going to provide us with a rare chance to see one of the most bewitching living actresses on the big screen again. Damn! * On to cheerier topics.
The generous take on Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock appears to be that it's a "minor" effort. Rosengje found it charming and especially enjoyed the first "fun and frothy" hour, but understands why people aren't taken with it
...the movie loses a lot of momentum toward the conclusion, with the actual music festival not quite coming together in a cohesive manner. Ang Lee makes the puzzling decision to not include any concert footage. The managed chaos that defines Taking Woodstock's first hour feels like it has been building toward something that viewers are ultimately denied access to.
Liev Schreiber is the movie's real standout as a transvestite security guard -- the audience interrupted his first scene with boisterous applause. The actor has limited screen time, making probably around four substantial appearances. Demetri Martin was extremely enjoyable, giving a nuanced performance that belies his limited screen experience. He has great comic timing and definitely suggested the character's muted sexuality (he's closeted) effectively. The supporting cast is generally impeccable, with Emile Hirsch and Paul Dano making the biggest impressions in small roles.
Rosengje also notes that she thinks age will play a heavy factor in reaction to the movie. She admits that some of the details and mythos escaped her (she's in her 20s) but thought the movie was a pleasant diversion, nonetheless.
She also told me about a documentary I hadn't yet heard of from Angela Ismailos called Great Directors.
One of the treats of Cannes is the ability to see sprawling epics alongside small, intimate pieces. The endearing and informative Great Directors falls into the latter category. Pic focuses on nine directors that have influenced Angela's life: Bernardo Bertloucci, Agnes Varda, Stephen Frears, Todd Haynes, David Lynch, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater, Ken Loach and John Sayles. A mixture of new interviews, archival footage, and well chosen film clips craft winning portraits of each of the auteurs. David Lynch proves most memorable, putting forth a charmingly gregarious personality that bizarrely contradicts his films. Trying to reconcile clips of Eraserhead and Inland Empire with the man telling anecdotes about Mel Brooks is one of the film's chief pleasures.
The mix of genders, ages, and nationalities of the directors ensures that the topics discussed do not become repetitive, but are constantly revisited in fresh and innovative ways. Despite the unique elements and perspectives, common threads do emerge. Hearing Sayles discuss working on Hollywood scripts to finance his own efforts evokes and contradicts Frears’ and Loach’s development through the BBC. Though the documentary is interview heavy, Ismailos varies her visuals to correspond to the character of her subjects: Bertolucci is shot primarily in formal interviews, while Linklater and Haynes are shown in a variety of interactive locales (i.e. driving, perusing books).
I wish the film shed more light on the Angela herself, who remains an enigmatic presence throughout “Directors,” occasionally revealing her presence during interviews or walking through shots on perilously high heels. She grants the directors a platform for expressing their own inspiration and intentions, but never really delves into the specifics of her own. With such unusual and impeccable taste in auteurs, I constantly wanted to know more about her own pursuits.
Indie Wire has more on the screening and the yacht party that I also sent Rosengje too.
The film sounds intriguing and it certainly prompts a completely necessary! commenting exercize. If I were making a documentary about nine living auteurs that influenced my life (not necessarily my favorites) I might have to go with: Tarantino, Haynes, John Hughes, Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, Paul Thomas Anderson, Woody Allen, James Cameron and Pedro Almodovar... but it's tough to say.
What about you?Which nine men or women would you choose if you were making a personal documentary about auteurs that shaped you? *
"Lady Dior" that is. Oscar-winning Marion Cotillard is starring in a new online serial for her La Vie En Rose director Olivier Dahan.
You can see the first arch chapter here... "The Lady Noire Affair". Dahan still doesn't seem even remotely interested in (capable of?) coherency but that shouldn't surprise. I didn't love this blend of glamor, mystery and possibly shady ladies but it's short so I'll give the second chapter a whirl when it premieres.
Running serials as a cinematic medium are totally underutilized. I hope the web brings them back in vogue. More specifically, I wish they'd throw Clive Owen back behind the wheel for more adventures as The Driver, don't you? God, those were fantastic shorts.
Didn't you love those lavish scenes in The Aviator when Jude Law was pretending to be Erroll Flynn and Cate Blanchett was pretending to be Katharine Hepburn and neither of them had to break a sweat to drip Old Hollywood charisma? I almost wish Scorsese had let a few other directors onto those sets to film other Old Hollywood biopics simultaneously.
