Supporting Actress Smackdown 1990

For those of you who love the wonders of actressing on the edges, Stinkylulu's Supporting Actress Smackdowns need no introduction. This month, Stinkylulu tackled the lovely ladies of 1990, and yours truly is one the panelists. Make sure to head over there and discuss Oda Mae Brown, Marietta Fortune, Karen Hill, Myra Langtry, and Stands With a Fist (seriously, has there ever been such variety in the names of the supporting ladies?)

I, who have to admit I wasn't greatly impressed with the film output of 1990, will readily proclaim that my favorite of the ladies was Ms. Annette Bening, turning in one of her (to date) three Oscar-nominated performances. Bening's delicious con artistl in The Grifters was a true delight, and a nice throwback to the supporting actresses who have populated the film noir genre (my personal favorite film genre). When I first started looking into Bening's perf, I kind of figured that noir, like most genre pieces, would have largely been ignored in this category. Boy was I wrong! Roles as diverse as Angela Lansbury's floozy maid in Gaslight to Cathy Moriarty's childlike bride in Raging Bull have been recognized by the little golden guy. Winners, as Bening illustrates, are far less common; only Claire Trevor's lush mistress in Key Largo has come out on top of the category.

And yet, as any Oscar watcher knows, nitpicking must ensue when discussing Oscar's rather fickle choices. And when it comes to film noir supporting actresses, Oscar's dismissal of Marlene Dietrich in Touch of Evil was one of his biggest mistakes. Granted, 1958 was a year filled with snub miscalculations (Jimmy Stewart and Orson Welles were not included amongst the Best Actor lineup), but Dietrich's snub is particularly grating because she does so much with so little screentime. She can't be onscreen for more than ten minutes, but she flies to mind when I think about the film. The ladies of The Grifters (particularly Anjelica Huston) seem to have borrowed a bit from the world-weary Tanya; each has a history that is alluded to in the film more than actually viewed, leaving the plot largely in the hands of the male protagonists. Dietrich's whisky-worn vocal timbre indents each line-reading, and her eyes and eyebrow raises with Welles show that she's the only true equal to Hank Quinlan in the film. While Charlton Heston may be able to one-up Quinlan due to circumstance, Dietrich's Tanya is his equal, and therefore her place at the stunning conclusion of the tale seems fitting.

Unlike Touch of Evil, Bening's Myra is not the equal to Huston's Lilly Dillon, but she is definitely her only challenge in the film. The real genius to Bening's performance is that one is never quite sure how much this woman is capable of; whilst we know that Huston has a lot of tricks up her sleave, the enigmatic, seemingly bubbleheaded Myra doesn't show her cards, leaving the audience and her co-grifters guessing what she would do for success. Sometimes this is a bit problematic (at times, I wonder if even Bening herself knew Myra's intentions), but as a whole this is a wildly entertaining performance, and a grand counterpart to Huston's epic turn.

I personally would have handed both Dietrich and Bening Oscars in their respective years, but what about you? Head over to the Smackdown and voice your opinions on the actresses of 1990's edges!

TV's Trek to the Big Screen

Sex and the City is one of those shows that somehow managed to be as beloved in my world as the movies that I obsess about on an almost second-by-second basis. I think it might be the whole saga of the show-seriously, the soap operatics of this show on paper must seem a tad bit obscene, and yet with characters as brave and strong as Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha to fall in love with, everything seems to give over to a believable reality. Countless hours I have spent curled up with these fabulous ladies, obsessing over which one of them I'm most like (Charlotte, to the point where people I hardly know have insinuated I have a bit of Ms. York in me) to the countless string of Jimmy Choos the ladies click-clacked all up and down Lex. And yet, their recent movie news has got me thinking: which of my other favorite television series needs to get itself to the big screen?

Some of the movies that I would list have already (successfully) made their ways to the big screen (South Park and The Simpsons). Almost certainly the one that I most long for onscreen, and yet wouldn't happen in a million years, would be having my most beloved of teenage shows, Ally McBeal, return to the screen. I know that Calista Flockhart is on another hit television series on ABC (Brothers & Sisters, and yes, you should be watching it), Jane Krakowski is likely hoofing it up on Broadway, and Courtney Thorne-Smith is demeaning her worn, but sharp personality opposite Jim Belushi, but really, it's time these actors lawyered up and gave me what I've been waiting years and years for-a return to the courtroom. Hell, I'd settle for simply an office meeting and a show tunes medley down at the bar (with dancing baby in tow). Alas, David E. Kelley's best series won't be seeing the big screen anytime soon, so can I at least send out a plea-release the DVD's in a Region 1 version! I can't stand my lack of Ally anymore!

If Ally seems a pipe dream, perhaps a more believable fantasy would be the recently offed series Gilmore Girls coming back to me. Yes, yes, I know that it just went off the air, but I'm still in denial that I won't be able to see my Lorelai and Rory again. I'm specifically keeping my Tuesday nights busy at the moment, so as to not notice that my girls are no longer traipsing to town meetings and having disfunctional love lives. The movie could perhaps have Luke & Lorelai once again preparing for the wedding, with Emily barging in and Rory finally making a decision between Jess, Dean, and Logan. CW, you owe me this-the fact that you made me say goodbye to my girls in a season without its genius creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is unforgivable; this would make everything right.

What about you? Which TV shows do you want to see on the big screen?

William Wyler: A Director of Few Words

I've been thoroughly been enjoying the many entries in the William Wyler blog-a-thon that Goatdog has so graciously put together, so I thought that I would add my two cents on one of Hollywood's most accomplished auteurs.
To think of William Wyler, one will inevitably think of actors, and the myriad of performers he has left his brand upon. Picking one of them seemed a Herculean task-how does one pick between the star-is-born (both on-and-off-screen) antics of Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, the crushed naivety of Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress, the mannered perfection of Greer Garson’s Mrs. Miniver, Audrey’s joyous vacation in Roman Holiday or the wounded veterans of The Best Years of Our Lives? I couldn’t possibly pick between the bunch, but one thing struck me about each of these films when I first thought about them. The wordless, haunting and effective scenes that first came to mind when I thought about the movies; Wyler, more than hardly any other mainstream director, knew the power and effectiveness of a quiet moment.
Recall, perhaps The Best Years of Our Lives. Is there anything in Myrna Loy or Fredric March’s performances that is as telling as those haunting glances they give each other showing a sense of lost intimacy and fear that it has forever been lost in a blood-washed field across the ocean? Or perhaps Cathy O’Donnell’s mingled looks of compete adoration and desperation as she undresses the love of her life?
Best Years may in fact be Wyler’s most emotional film (I mean that as a high compliment), but each of his films have that moment where the heart soars or crumbles or thumps, and each of these scenes are largely wordless. Olivia de Havilland’s horrifying ascent up the stairs (and obvious descent into a black depression she will never retreat from) is all about her determined, moon pie eyes and strong lower lip. Greer Garson’s steely face as she’s being robbed is a harried, steely pierce that shows the audience that she’ll be able to survive anything, even as she’s being held captive.
Wyler’s characters also tell their heartbreak with little more than a curt sentence or fake smile. Streisand’s stone-faced gazes at her Nicky show that she knows that she’ll never be this happy again, and it could so easily slip away. Laurence Olivier captures the eternally hungry character of Wuthering Heights, exhibiting his complete misguided devotion to Catherine with hardly a word, but more a vengeful array of huffs and darting eyes.
To conclude this laundry list of moments, I should probably present my favorite, that being the final scene of Roman Holiday. Wyler’s script is largely relegated to anonymous members of the press corps, coming to grab a last moment with Princess Audrey before she leaves behind Rome, and yet Wyler spends most of his camera time balancing between the delicate beauty of Audrey Hepburn and the chiseled beauty of Gregory Peck. Hepburn’s face shifts only slightly through the scene, and yet the audience is able to experience a gamut of her emotions, ranging from confusion at first to betrayal to adoration and finally true heartbreak. As Audrey Hepburn turns around and gives her one true love a gaze, her heart broken, all that she can do is smile a wide grin, covering up the internal tears. A less capable director would have shown the beginnings of tears, but Wyler doesn’t saturate the scene, instead letting it simmer. He’s already hit every emotional button, now all that is left is to fade to black. It’s a near flawless moment from a director who more than once flirted with silent perfection.

Ask and ye shall receive...

Apparently, this has turned into the magical wishing blog. I asked last week asked for Jeanne Shaeen and Mark Warner to both run for the U.S. Senate, and lo and behold, within the last 24 hours both Mark Warner and Jeanne Shaheen have announced their intentions for the U.S. Senate, thus insuring the Democrats have an incredibly good year in the Senate in 2008. And, since the blog fairies are now granting me my wishes here, I'd like an Oscar for Kate Winslet, an Emmy for Kelly Bishop, Al Gore to retroactively win the 2000 Presidential Election, and possibly a pony.

Love at the Movies: A Guessing Game

The fifty most romantic lines from my fifty favorite movie romances-do you know where they're from?

1. "We'll always have Paris."
2. "Of course, you idiot. I always wear it; I've always worn it; I've always loved you."
3. "I'll never let go Jack, I will never let go."
4. "I wish I knew how to quit you."
5. "No, I only know that I love you."
6. "I'll tell you one thing, Fred, darling... I'd marry you for your money in a minute."
7. "Tale old as time, true as it can be, barely even friends, then somebody bends, unexpectedly."
8. "Your girl is lovely Hubbell."
9. "Let's never come here again because it will never be as much fun."
10. "My husband and son are on that train. I want to get on that train. Did you hear me? I want to get on that train."
11. "I'll give you the moon, Mary."
12. "Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live."
13. "This is a story about...love."
14. "It was the nearest thing to heaven."
15. "Love is too weak a word for what I feel - I luuurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you."
16. "I still sometimes dream that I'm the mother of your children."
17. "Well, first of all, the two hundred pairs of eyes aren't focused on me. They're focused on you. And the answers are Sydney Ellen Wade, and because she said yes."
18. "I've already wasted my whole life. I want to tell you with my last breath that I have always loved you. I would rather be a ghost, drifting by your side as a condemned soul, than enter heaven without you. Because of your love, I will never be a lonely spirit."
19. "I went from being all alone to being a fiancee, a daughter a granddaughter, a sister and a friend."
20. "My heart is, and always will be, yours."
21. "And don't forget, I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."
22. "Take me with you, Peter. Take me to your island. I want to do all those things you talked about."
23. "Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me; small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me."
24. "Oh Scottie, don't let me go."
25. "And would you dare to say, 'let's do the same as they.' I would, would you?"
26. "The most beautiful sound I ever heard-Maria, Maria, Maria."
27. "Oh Dexter, I'll be yar now, I promise to be yar."
28. "You're my knight in shining armor, don't forget it. You're going to get back on that horse and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight and away we're going to go, go, go!"
29. "I've grown accustomed to her face."
30. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."
31. "Longing. Longing for a wave of love that would stir in me. That's what makes me clumsy. The absence of pleasure. Desire for love. Desire to love."
32. "How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?"
33. "I sacrificed three years for you. How could you love him after only three days?"
34. "Oh Jerry, let's not ask for the moon; we have the stars."
35. "Some day, they'll go down together, they'll bury them side by side, to a few, it'll be grief, to the law, a relief, but it's death for Bonnie and Clyde."
36. "Say it again, it keeps me awake." "I love you."
37. "He smashed all the lightbulbs with the heel of my slipper." "And you let him? Didn't run, didn't scream?" "Actually, I was sorta thrilled by it."
38. "Meet me in Montauk."
39. "I'd like to see you with your pants off, Mr. Reed."
40. "This is the night, it's a beautiful night, and they call it belle notte."
41. "Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road."
42. "The moon is reaching for me."
43. "It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic."
44. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
45. "Charlie, that's a nice name."
46. "I just want to find a fish who isn't afraid of my dark chocolate layer... and of course she'd have to love my cookie too."
47. "Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but - well, there haven't been any quiet moments."
48. "Can you see now?" "Yes, I can see now."
49. "No I despise you myself, for allowing myself to love you once."
50. "This is not life, Will. It is a stolen season."

How many can you name? And which lines/films should have made the list?

Jane Wyman, 1914-2007

Apparently death comes in threes, or so the adage goes, as one of those last remaining greats of Hollywood's Golden Age has passed away. Jane Wyman, who passed away today at the age of 93, was possibly best known for two non-movie related items, first being her marriage to future President Ronald Reagan and the second would be her stint on Falcon Crest. However, her film career was easily enough to distinguish her on her own. My first filmic date with Ms. Wyman was in Pollyanna, as Aunt Polly, and then as the girlfriend role in The Lost Weekend. Wyman would receive four Academy Award nominations, for The Yearling, Johnny Belinda, The Blue Veil, and Magnificent Obsession. If you want to get involved with her filmography, those four would be a great way to start. And of course, she is also extremely well-known for her wry and clever Oscar speech, where, after winning for playing a deaf-mute in Johnny Belinda, "I won this award for keeping my mouth shut, so I think I'll do it again now." If only today's actresses could be so clever. So, RIP to Angela Channing, Aunt Polly, Orry Baxter, and Belinda McDonald-you will be missed.

Oh, and in a plea to all of my favorite celebrities, keep eating your vegetables. This has been an awful summer for my favorite entertainers passing away.

Time for a Senate Update

It's been a while since I've ranked the 2008 races for the Senate, so here are some updates on the five most competitive seats (the number one seat is the one most likely to switch at this point).
1. Virginia: Republican Sen. John Warner's (Liz Taylor's ex for all those people who read this blog for the film content) recent retirement was far more damaging to the Republicans than the entire Larry Craig and Thomas Ravenel scandals combined. Warner, probably the most beloved senator amongst his fellow senators, easily held this seat for the Republicans, and would have again in 2008. However, with his retirement, Gov. Mark Warner, the popular former Democratic governor, has been making heavy hints that he will run, and as the most popular politician in the state (his approval ratings when he left office were over 70 percent), he will be damn near impossible to beat. Warner is popular enough that his support and his investment in his own state party have led to Democrats holding the governor's mansion and winning a Senate seat in 2006. To compound that, Republicans appear to be headed toward a bitter primary between moderate Rep. Tom Davis and conservative former Gov. Jim Gilmore. And, proving that the GOP is in truly dire straits, Davis's House seat is also likely to head to the Democrats as well.


2. Colorado: It's been months since Sen. Allard has retired, and the candidates are now set, and as is traditional of 2007, it seems as if it's bad news for the Republicans. The Democrats have received their first choice, Rep. Mark Udall, whereas the Republicans are stuck with their primary loser in 2004, Rep. Bob Schaffer. Both of them are solidly liberal and conservative, respectively, which in traditional Colorado would mean that Schaffer would be headed toward a win, but the recent trend toward the blue that Colorado has been doing means that Udall should have an edge (particularly if the presidential candidate targets Colorado, which he/she most certainly will). This should be tight, but right now it appears as if the Democrats have a real edge.


3. New Hampshire: This seat could very easily skate up to Number 1 or 2 in the next month should the Democrats manage to get their dream candidate, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen has been toying around with running for months, and while she seems like she'll get in, her dragging her feet up until this point has Democrats nervous. Should she run, she could very easily beat one-term Republican Sen. John Sununu; she's been defeating him by twenty points at the polls and New Hampshire has had the sharpest turn blue in the last few years of any state in the country. If Shaheen doesn't enter, the Democrats could still win this with either Mayor Steve Marchand or Katrina Swett, wife of former Rep. Dick Swett, but it will be much tougher and divert attention from races listed below.

4. Minnesota: This race will be decided more in the Democratic Primary than in the general election. Norm Coleman has to be sitting at home and praying that the Democrats nominate comedian Al Franken. Should they do this, one has to assume that first-term Sen. Coleman has an edge over the comedian, especially considering that Minnesotans have "celebrity fatigue" due to the horrible tenure of Gov. Jesse Ventura. However, if millionaire attorney Mike Ciresi is the nominee, the Democrats will probably have the edge, particularly since this is a presidential election and Minnesota has the longest current run of picking Democrats for the White House (every single D since 1972).

5. Oregon: Sen. Gordon Smith is the last remaining Republican West Coast senator, since Slade Gorton lost in 2000. Smith had somewhat of a pass in 2002, but in a presidential year, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley should be able to get the money to run competitively here, particularly since DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer has been fundraising something fierce. Smith would in a normal year have a distinct edge here, but the combination of a strong Democratic climate, plus the Democrats possibly having easy wins in Virginia and New Hampshire (particularly if they tie up things early and they have money to pour into this race) means that this could very much be a tossup.

6. Nebraska: This was the big, bad news of the weekend for the GOP. Two-term Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) announced that he would be retiring, thus setting up a free-for-all in the typically Republican Cornhusker State. Attorney General Jon Bruning is currently the frontrunner, on the condition that former Governor and current Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns gets into the race (though that could cause Johanns to explain his participation in the Bush administration). The Democrats wouldn't normally have a shot, but former Gov. and Sen. Bob Kerrey, a beloved icon of Nebraska politics, is considering a run for this seat, and that would automatically make him the frontrunner. Should he run (Kerrey's a maverick-there's no way to tell if he'll actually get in), he'll become the frontrunner for the seat, and thus giving the Democrats another seat that they could fairly safely hold. If Kerrey isn't in the race, Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey or former congressional candidate Scott Kleeb will be the nominee.

7. Louisiana: The first (and only) Democratic seat on this list, Sen. Mary Landrieu has been the GOP's number one target for the entire duration of this cycle. However, it would be one thing if Landrieu was competing Rep. Richard Baker or Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, but instead there is no challenger announced against Sen. Landrieu. State Treasurer John Kennedy, who just recently joined the Republican Party, could be the candidate to take on Landrieu, but he will face flip-flopping charges, particularly since he was a left-of-the-middle Democrat. Additionally, Kennedy could face a primary challenger from a more conservative Republican. All-the-while, Landrieu is stockpiling campaign funds a plenty, and, as the Republicans' only target, she'll be getting a lot of support from her fellow Democratic incumbents.

8. Maine: Sen. Susan Collins is a two-term incumbent with incredibly high approval ratings. In a normal election, she wouldn't be anywhere near this list. However, she is a Republican in a state that hasn't gone for a Republican for president since 1988; the extremely poor conditions for Republicans, particularly with money from the DSCC being shovelled here, MN, and OR all means that Sen. Collins will be in for a tough reelection. This is particularly true since the Democrats have recruited their number one choice for the seat, Rep. Tom Allen. If the climate continues, Allen could take this in an upset, but Collins is the most formidable of the four blue-state GOP senators.

9. Alaska: Sen. Ted Stevens is a legend in Alaska, and hasn't had a tough election since 1968, but his current FBI probe has been costing him in both loyalty and and in his invincibility. It seems as if he might be getting a primary challenge from a myriad of challengers, though former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman or St. Sen. John Binkley both appear to be the highest profile challengers. Even if Sen. Stevens makes it through the primary, there is still Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D), son of former Rep. Nick Begich, who is the toughest potential Democratic challenger that Stevens has ever had.

10. North Carolina: Sen. Elizabeth Dole had one of the worst tenures as the NRSC Chairs in recent memory, and is noted as one of the worst campaigners in the Senate (note her horrid candidacy for president in 2000). Luckily for her, she is from a fairly conservative state, particularly because she has been one of Bush's biggest supporters. However, since her SurveyUSA polls are teetering in the low 50's and polls have shown her before 50 percent against two state legislators (St. Sen. Kay Hagan and St. Rep. Grier Martin), one has to assume that this is definitely on the Democrats to watch list.

States also considered for this list: South Dakota, where Sen. Tim Johnson's Democratic label could be a problem in the conservative Mount Rushmore State, Idaho, where Sen. Larry Craig's recent scandal could have an effect on the race, and Oklahoma, where St. Sen. Andrew Rice will be hoping to turn Jim Inhofe into the next Jim Bunning/Conrad Burns.

Madeleine L'Engle Finds Her Wrinkle in Time

Growing up, I was not that into children's literature. I was all obsessed with taking on those classics of literature with a capital L; Dickens, Austen, and the Brontes were a mainstay on my bookshelf. So, during my junior year, I decided to investigate all of the classics of children's literature, and bar none, one of my favorites were the books of Madeleine L'Engle. A Wrinkle in Time, A Wiind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time, all of the books of the Time Quintet, are marvelously in-depth works of literature for any age, and well worth a trip to your local library or B&N. The author, Madeleine L'Engle, passed away on September 6th (not a good summer for entertainers I love), and with this, she has left a gaping hole in the world of letters.

A Plea to Jeanne and Mark

Dear Jeanne and Mark:

I know that you both have done wonderful things for your states. You have served with distinction, and were both excellent governors. Ms. Shaheen, you are a master campaigner, and did wonders for the Gore & Kerry campaigns. Mr. Warner, you have managed to almost single-handedly revive the flailing Virginia Democratic Party and given the Dems a governor's mansion and a Senate seat. Now, I'm going to ask you both for one more favor. Please, oh please, run for the U.S. Senate seats in your states. The country needs you-the Democrats currently have a razor thin margin in the Senate that basically depends on how Joe Lieberman feels that week. The education, environment, and well-being of the country could hinge on whether or not you continue your excellent service to the country. You both would be superb senators, and I, along with the rest of the Democratic community, am begging you to run for these seats.

Much love and hope to see you at the ballot box,
John

RIP to a Legend

The world has lost one of its greatest artists, and one of the finest singers of all-time (and one of my personal favorites). My love affair with opera made me want to investigate all sorts of opera stars, but there was a soft spot for the one whose voice made me want to open my own in hopes that I could produce the heaven that he was bringing to my ears. When the King of the High C's hit his signature note, I would collapse in amazement and imagined this must be what that angel chorus would sound like. Alas, I couldn't ever reach the beautiful notes that the master could hit, but that didn't stop me from constantly listening to him. He costars were varied and consisted of everyone from Joan Sutherland to Barry White, but most importantly, he sang beautifully opposite his fellow tenors Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo. Luciano Pavarotti, who died on September 6, 2007, was and is one of the finest entertainers in the history of the medium of opera, and I will sorely miss him.

Please, whether you're a devoted fan or new to Pavarotti or the world of opera, please investigate some of these links-if it's your first or 1000th time hearing them, they still have a magic that is unsurpassed. There's of course Ave Maria, La Donna e Mobile, a performance of the Norma Trio in two parts with the equally glorious Dame Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne, a Three Tenors rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone, and not one, but two versions of Nessun Dorma.