An Account for Taste

Dear Stephen,

As you know, I've gone back to work full time and have had my time to see movies and write about them cut severely.  My hope is that after a week of my new schedule I'll sort out my life a bit better.  

You brought up documentaries I'm looking forward to seeing and the truth is that I tend not watch that many documentaries in the theater.  Sometime that's because the film is being shown on HBO or Netflix, and therefore I have to watch it at home, or because I just don't make it to the movies as much as you do.  With that said, I average about one every year, which I usually go to in the summer.  

The most obvious choice for documentary of the summer is Weiner, which I will absolutely be seeing in the next coming weeks.  But ESPN is also releasing an eight hour OJ Simpson Documentary, OJ Simpson: Made in America, that will be briefly in theaters, and chronicles OJ's rise to cultural icon and ends at the trial.  ESPN’s dip into feature documentaries further blurs the line between film and tv.  I'll talk about this more when the doc comes out, on tv that is, because I'm not sitting in a theater for eight hours so that ESPN can add Oscar nominated to its rap sheet.  

I wanted to talk a little bit about personal preference and how it affects our views on films.  These past weeks I have seen Love & Friendship TWICE, and that was before it was released on Amazon Prime.  As I stated earlier this month, I love Jane Austen and I love Whit Stillman.  This film was made for my repeated viewing pleasure and somehow it surpassed my expectations.  But it has me thinking: is it good or just good for me?

I sincerely believe that Love & Friendship is a quality film.  The dialogue is very funny and the film making is inventive (especially when you compare it to other costume dramas).  I thought back to last year’s Far From the Madding Crowd, which was dreadfully boring and slow, even for a costume drama enthusiast like myself.  L&F managed to be snappy where where others might be sappy.  Lady Susan happens to be a difficult piece of fiction to adapt because it is written entirely in letters back and forth between characters rendering it almost un-readable. I am ready to make the call right now that L&F will be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay this winter.  

Although I loved the filmaking, especially the character introductions, I think some of the supporting acting falls short-- most notably Xavier Samuel as Reginald DeCourcy and (I hate to write this) Chloe Sevigny as Alicia Johnson, and Stillman’s directing must be blamed for this.  I think there was a decision to tone them down to make Kate Beckinsale’s Lady Susan soar even higher and appear to be living in another world.  None of this was needed.  Beckinsale was perfection and honestly no one chews more scenery than Jenn Murray in any film she’s in (good in Brooklyn-- a dash too over the top as Lady Lucy Mannering in Love & Friendship).

I know you have different feelings about this film, and I will be the first to admit, I’m blinded by my love for this type of film.

Yours in Love and Friendship,

Hilary

Summer Movie Not So Extravaganza!

My Dear Hilary, 

   Trumbo was one of my favorite movies of last season. I even saw it twice! It looks like this year might be the worst bio-pic year to date. They have all been pretty shitty films. Maybe they wanted to get all the crap out of the way so the exciting bio-pics can shine in the fall. Can FloFoJen pull the bio-pic genre back from the dead? I am sure we will chat about that later.

   The Free State of Jones will have a strong following in the "Make America Great Again" states! Walmart's isles will be empty during this films run and Stuckey's parking lots will be void of domestic rust buckets with trunks held shut by a clothesline! The women folk will wanna see McConaughey, because, McConaughey, and the men folk will wanna watch how they too can start their own independent state because," 'bama is comin' fer my guns!"  and "those Homo-Queers wanna pee on my wife and daughters in Target!" That being said, I will probably be seeing this movie if it comes to town.

   My choice for Ticking Time Bomb of 2016, which I might regret, is, Nice Guys. Hear me out. The producers have been pushing this acting duo SINCE this year's Oscars. Brainwashing the combo of Crowe and Gosling into the minds of the masses. This action, having two co-stars from a summer movie presenting at a winter awards show, is a desperate attempt by the producers to get people interested early because they know the film sucks. And who wants to watch a bloated Russell Crowe, who is giving Val Kilmer a run for the Brando Award for Fat Bastard, go around and punch people. Boring. Also, I am not in the Ryan Gosling camp. He just does not do it for me. The only reason I will be seeing this flick is the art direction. I LOVE movies set in LA in the 70s. There is something comforting about it. The colors, the textures, the drugs, the seediness, the blatant disregard for any natural fiber in clothing. I adore it. Maybe in my past life I was a hustler or street junkie on Santa Monica Boulevard in the mid 70s.

   Does MGM own the rights to Ben Hur? The studio produced the 1925 and Oscar winning 1959 versions, now this abomination?  The first productions broke records and won awards. I doubt this remake, starring Jack Huston, who is from an Oscar royal family (great-grandfather, Walter Huston; grandfather, John Huston; and aunt, Angelica Huston are all Oscar winners) will receive any nods. The only nominations will be from the Razzies! If Ben-Hur does do well, will this be the beginning of studios remaking the classics? Are we going to suffer thru Casablanca starring George Clooney and Gone With the Wind featuring Megan Fox opposite Casey Affleck? Will the Oscar's go the way of the Tony's and start awarding awards for best revival?!? Now that's a novel idea!

   My pick for How Did This Get a Greenlight??!??!? is Warcraft. This shit show of a movie was greenlit 10 years ago, then went thru ten grueling years of development hell and premiere delays. When it was greenlit, World Of Warcraft was at the height of interwebs gaming. Everyone was playing, apparently. But today there are only 5.5 million players. Even if all of the current orcs and wizards left their basement lairs in their mother's house and watched the movie on opening night, the movie would bring in roughly 70 million. It cost 160 million to make. As I watched the trailer, all I could think of was "What is this Shrek meets Tolkien meets Games of Thrones tomfoolery?" I have a feeling this will rank as one of the worst and underwhelming movies of the year.

   Let me go fill my Sodastream, because I know I'm gunna be thirsty talking about the furry chested, sun kissed, Zac Efron. That hypnotizing smile. ::sip:: Those blue eyes to get lost in. ::sip:: That hirsute chest that makes me purr. ::gulp:: Those thick, juicy thighs that would make the Colonel proud ::glug:: And that ass, that perfect pert ass. ::chug:: I love Zac. I just do. I think he is a fine actor who will be bestowed several Oscar nominations and at least one win before his career is over. As for his films this summer, I have to say I am most excited to see Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates over Neighbors 2. Adam DeVine is right up there in the Zac stratosphere for me. He is adorable. From Modern Family to Pitch Perfect, Adam has always caught my attention on screen. His delivery of any line makes me giggle. Add Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza to the mix, and you get a fucking funny ass summer movie that I am looking forward to and i predict will be a box office hit. Can't wait to be in the AC cooled theatre with a large, cold Sprite in my hand, a large warm buttery popcorn by my side, cooing at a shirtless Zac Efron.

   One question for you before I go, are you looking forward to any documentaries this summer? There are a few out there on my radar.

   Now, Hil, back to you.

Cheers
Stephen

   

Summer Movie Preview, part II: The Stinkers

Dear Stephen,

I don’t want to dive too deep into bio-pics, because I’m sure we will have our hands full with whatever arrives in the fall, but I did want to respond a little to what you said about the movies so far this year.  What is interesting about Miles Ahead, The Man Who Knew Infinity, and I Saw the Light (and the upcoming or never-to-be-seen-in-theaters The Program) were that all of the named films were supposed to be part of last year’s awards season, but got pushed to different releases.  If you remember last season, there weren’t ANY bio-pics among the best picture nominees.  Trumbo might have been the closest to a critically praised one.  Had these movies been released following their Toronto Film Festival premieres, we might have had (along with Black Mass) the worst bio-pic awards season ever recorded.  Were the studios afraid that all these stinkers would kill the awards-baiting genre for good?  One can only dream.  

I too am looking forward to Florence Foster Jenkins.  A Stephen Frears directed film is like a stamp of approval in my book.  Besides the films that you listed, two of my all-time favorite under-appreciated films are High Fidelity and Dirty Pretty Things.  

Now on to a different sort of list: The Films We Are Least Looking Forward to.

Summer films tend to be filled with good intentions and high expectations, many of which are never realised.  These Ticking Time Bombs may have glitzy stars, well respected directors, and film festival write ups, but they fail to connect with audiences in a big way.  For my Ticking Time Bomb of 2016 I bring you The Free State of Jones.  Starring Matthew McConaughey and directed by Gary Ross (Pleasantville and Seabiscut) give us a Civil War drama of a poor farmer and confederate soldier who rebel against the confederacy in Mississippi and forms his own state.  Maybe this ultra-American message will resonate with audiences hungering to make America great again?  Or maybe a Civil War era drama will end the McConaughey hot streak.  

Summertime is always filled with reinventions of old classics, gone horribly wrong.  The past few summers has brought us such bombs as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Lone Ranger.  And recently someone in hollywood said “you know what we haven’t done in a while? Another Tarazan flop!”  But my pick for How Did This Get a Greenlight?!?!? Is the remake of Ben-Hur.  It stars poor Jack Huston (who I dearly loved as Richard Harrow on Boardwalk Empire) and has the tagline “First to Finish.  Last to Die.”  Who is the audience for this?  Is there anyway that this movie is not the laughing stock of August?  

One thing you and I both share an interest in is the charismatic and perfectly sculpted Zac Efron.  For some reason on more than one occassion we have ended up watching one of his movies the morning after longs nights of revels.  Hopefully one day his agent and studios will realize that deep down inside that broze, six-pack toting, bro is a movie star with great potential to delight and amaze audiences.  Unfortunately that time is not now and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and the Zac Efron Movies we have to chose from this summer.  Overtime I will absolutely see both of these movies (see descriptions of Zac Efron above) but as I am unemployed at the moment I will only fork over $15 to see one in the theater.  Although Mr. Efron will probably wear less clothing in Neighbors 2, I am going to chose Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates as my Efron movie pick. I gather from the title that it’s about weddings and also stars Anna Kendrick!  As a movie, my expectations are for it to be somewhere between the terrible Bride Wars and funniest-summer-wedding-movie ever Wedding Crashers.  

Well Stephen, what are your smelly-like-rotten-garbage-not-fine-french-cheese stinkers?  

Best,

Hilary

Summer Movie Extravaganza!

My Dearest Hilary,

  Sorry to say, but you have a comic filled summer ahead of you. Marvel, they are a juggernaut in the comic book movie world. And poor DC, who can only do Batman movies well. Will Suicide Squad be DC's redemption film? More on that later. I will be seeing Captain America soon, and will see what ever numbered X-men movie when it comes out. I refuse to go opening weekend; I tend to go to weekday, early matinees! I maybe in my 30's but i have the movie viewing habits of a 70 year old! Also, if I did not have my MoviePass, I would not bother seeing these movies in the theatre; I would wait for the DVD. I am not gunna lie, I am not a die hard Marvel lover. I was interested in them in the early 90's; I collected the cards, had all the holograms, watched the X-Men cartoon, had the action figures and I read the Infinity Gauntlet Series, which this Avengers movie stuff leads up to. Do my panties get wet over every new comic book movie like the rest of geek-dom? Nope. My 'Looms are dry on this one.

  As for summer movies, I love all the genres from the big action blow 'em up CGI flicks, to the quiet indies that show up in the corners out of no where, like The Spectacular Now and Kings of Summer, both movies that also came out in summer of 2013. Summer and movies make sense to me. While everyone is baking their misshapen moles into future skin cancer, I am inside in AC, with a cold, fizzy drink, in the dark. Screw sunlight. Summers trapped in a theatre SM'ing really left an impact on me!

   You said film, I picked films, with an "s". Only three, but these three I feel will be talked about till December, right thru Award Season, taking home a few nominations and wins along the way. I chose, The Founder, Florence Foster Jenkins  and Suicide Squad. ALL are possible Oscar contenders in several categories.

   First, The Founder. I had no clue what this movie was until I watched the trailer. I thought it was about a founder of a cult! Where has this film been hiding?! This looks simply amazing! It has Oscar written all over it. What's with the Michael Keaton push in the recent years, tho? He is a great actor who has had a long career, not really known to do Oscar caliber movies. Now look at him! Birdman, Spotlight, now The Founder??! And the topic is so intriguing, the shady business dealings that started one of America's most well known symbol's, McDonald's? Also, a period piece set in my favorite modern design period, the 1950's! Not to mention Nick Offerman without a mustache. Is that even legal?! As you stated tho, it is about a older white dude. SNOOZE!! Where is the bio pic about Sister Rosetta Tharpe?! That could be Queen Latifah's Oscar winning role. 

   Side note: Is 2016 the year of the boring male bio-pic? I have seen: I Saw the Light, Miles Ahead, Born to Feel Blue, and The Man Who Knew Infinity.  At least not every film is about a white male. All male, bio-pics, all mediocre, except Miles Ahead which has been the shittiest movie I have seen this year, so far. Dear Don Cheadle, stick to acting.

  The Founder is the perfect summer film to me. Something about fast food reminds me of summer. Coming home from a long day at the beach, grabbing dinner on the go because no one wanted to cook due to the heat. This could be a reason behind sticking The Founder where it is. Moreover, McDonald's will be everywhere come Olympic time. Aren't they a sponsor of the Olympics? This could be subliminal advertising! McDonald's will be on everybody's tongues literally and figuratively this summer, so why not go to see the origin story of their burger. Seems smart to me. 

   Now on to Florence Foster Jenkins. Meryl Streep, That Guy From That Science TV Show with High Ratings, The Guy With the Hair from the 90s Who Got Caught With a Hooker, directed by your favorite Stephen Frears and written by a BBC TV period piece screenwriter. What could go wrong? Only a handful of people know who Florence Foster Jenkins is/was. I heard about FloFoJen before the interwebs were in every home. I searched for her album but never found it. Fast forward 20 years, that Broadway musical came around; I stage managed a version upstate before I retired from theatre and now this film. FloFoJen was so counterculture for many years, now you can find her hit songs on YouTube!

  What I love about the trailers for Florence Foster Jenkins is the fact you never hear Flo sing! That is what will get people in the seats. Not to mention it is costume after costume after costume. Philomena and The Queen are quiet movies that leave a large impact on you after watching them. I know FloFoJen will not be quiet by any means, but I am sure it will leave a huge impact on audiences this summer, enough to keep this film alive well thru December. Rack another Oscar Nom notch for Streep.

   Finally, your least favorite movie genre, the comic book movie. Suicide Squad could be the only way DC saves itself from being know as a shitty comic book movie producer. A bunch of villains teaming up and tearing up shit. Sounds like a kick ass movie to me. I am looking forward to Jared Leto's take on The Joker. Sending used condoms to your cast-mates sure is Method! In the trailers they tend to hid The Joker, but luckily push Harley Quinn. Finally, a female bad-ass villain who is crazy as fuck and does not give a fuck. Expect Halloween costumes galore from Suicide Squad.

   Suicide Squad fits into the Mad Max realm of movies. Action packed, punk-ish, steam-punky, money making film that will land on the Academy's radar and people will be running to buy the DVD or streaming or what ever merch the studio is pushing for that dreaded December holiday. Suicide Squad has staying power. It is up there with Deadpool, which is the best non-comic book, comic book movie to date.

   After going over the films opening this summer, my Pre-Season Favorite has to be Maggie's Plan. A modern, screwball comedy starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawk, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, with Julianne Moore doing an accent!! Not to mention the director, Rebecca Miller was in Kate Hepburn's last movie, Love Affair. I just adore Greta Gerwig! Mistress America was such a sleeper hit from last year. She is a strong actress that has a long career ahead of her. Ethan Hawk is everywhere recently. Luckily I do not have issue with him as an actor. When Maya and Bill do straight roles vs comedic roles, I love them 100% more. Both have this energy that brings something fresh to the screen that actors without a comedic background can't do. And don't forget Julianne Moore with an accent. Need I say more? My other pick? Absolutely Fabulous! I sure do miss those broads and welcome them back with open arms and champpers!

   Sequel, sequel, sequel. That is the message for the Tent Poles of the summer. I say Independence Day 2 and Finding Dory will bring people out in droves to the theatres. No Will Smith, no big deal to me; I will be going to see Judd Hirsch do what he does best, play a cranky, old Jew. ID2 reeks of popcorn. It was been 20 years since aliens have invaded.That is a HUGE, new movie viewing demographic. People who grew up watching the VHS or DVD of the first film will be dragging their tweens and teens to the movies this summer. Same goes for Finding Dory. Finding Nemo was the movie I realized there needed to be recognition for voice over actors at the Oscars. You do bring up a valid point in The Jungle Book post discussing big name actors doing roles just to get a nomination, leaving the faceless, voice-over actors in the dark; no one really knowing them. The BFG and The Ghostbusters also appear on my list of Popcorn scented movies.
   My Summer Sleeper pick is Swiss Army Man. People will hear about the movie, basically Castaway with Wilson as a corpse played by Harry Potter and buy a ticket. Maybe it is the crazy ,odd world I live in, but I feel people will connect with this flick. Don't forget Weekend At Bernie's is still a cult hit and people refer to it in pop culture to this day! Swiss Army Man will not be nominated for anything mainstream, maybe an Spirit Award or two; I will not be surprised when this film is left off awards lists, but makes it on the best movies of 2016.

  You have some great picks, and are more often than not spot on since you know your shit; I am looking forward to seeing how your predictions turn out. I guess baseball movies are my favorite sports movie. Sandlot and A League of Their Own are two of my all time favorite films!

  Now on to our predicted least liked movies of the summer season! Can't wait to read what you have to say!

Cheers,
Stephen

Summer Movie Preview part I

Dear Stephen,

The latest Marvel movie invaded our pop-consciousness last weekend and thereby marks the beginning of Summer Movie Season.  Although buzz is quite good, The Advengers movies are just not my thing (Begin rant: yes, I have tried watching them, and yes, I ride hard for Robert Downey, Jr., please just let me enjoy every other type of movie on the planet, I JUST DON’T LIKE THEM, OK? End of rant).  This doesn’t mean that I don’t like summer movies.  I find that 50% of the time it’s a film released between May and August that is my overall favorite at year end.  2013 was one of my least favorite Oscar Seasons to date, but that summer included such gems as Blue Jasmine, The Bling Ring and The Way Way Back.  Without further rambling (I shouldn’t say that because we all know there will be more rambling), I give you Part I of my Summer Movie Preview:

Prestige Summer Film or Most Likely to Still Be Discussed in December:  I originally thought I would name this category “Prestige Drama” but looking about at past nominated films that debuted in the warmer months, it usually isn’t a prestige drama that captures our hearts.  Looking at the nominated summer films  of the past few years include: Mad Max Furry Road (2015), Boyhood (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), The Help (2011), Midnight in Paris (2011), The Tree of Life (2011), Inception (2010), The Kids are Alright (2010), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Winter’s Bone (2010), the only thing that can be said is that you can’t lump them into one genre of film.  

With all that said, I’m picking The Founder as 2016’s Prestige Summer film.  This is actually a more interesting pick than it appears on the surface.  Yes, it is a bio-pic of an American businessman, starring an older white Academy Award nominated actor (Michael Keaton), but when was the last time a film like this was released in August?  Either it’s terrible and Harvey Weinstein (The Weinstein Company is the distributors, not producers of this film) wants to hide it in the doldrums of summer vacations or after Carol failed to get a Best Picture nomination Harvey is sick competing in the fall and wants to try something new or he doesn’t want it to compete for attention with The Weinstein Company’s Lion, which comes out this fall.  In a way it reminds me of 2012’s The Master, which came out in early fall, in that it is about an anti-hero that we have a preconceived notion that what he has accomplished is bad.  

Pre-Season Favorite: In contrast to the Prestige Summer Film, this category is for the movie that I can already tell you will be my next favorite movie, even if it doesn’t have award pedigree.  It might be because I have an extreme personal interest in the topic of the film (musicals, costume dramas, favorite books, food, ect.) or because it is from a filmmaker and/or writer whose works I consider to be must-see-no-matter-what (Sofia Coppola, Joe Wright, Aaron Sorkin).  The best examples in recents years of this would have been Midnight in Paris or The Bling Ring.  There was no way that I was not going to see those movies opening weekend and there was no way that I wasn’t going to enjoy myself (and no way that I wasn’t going to own hard copies once they came out on blu ray/dvd).  

This summer brings quite a whammy for me.  It’s a costume drama, of a Jane Austen novel, directed by a filmmaker I adore: Love & Friendship.  I’m not going to talk about this too much now because I hope to make you suffer through a much more in depth conversation later, but I am so excited for this film.  It’s an adaptation of the lesser-known Lady Susan and reunites Whit Stillman with his The Last Days of Disco leading ladies Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny.  I admit that Stillman films are not everyone’s cup of tea and that there could be some VERY, VERY bad accents on display, but I won’t hear any of it, I am there opening day.  

Fresh Popcorn:  Can you smell it?  That’s the distinct scent of fresh, but soon to be irritating, movie theater popcorn.  This category might not win any awards, but people will know the film you are talking about because previews were shown during the super bowl.  As I stated above, I don’t particularly like Marvel films, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like franchises or big-blockbusters (or as they are now referred to: tent poles).

In 2016 Matt Damon will make his return to the Bourne franchise and I’m as happy as Julia Stiles’ agent cashing the check.  The trailer for Jason Bourne tells us almost nothing, but we do know that writer and director Paul Greengrass is back along with crazy car crashes and mystified government agents in suits.  What I like about the Bourne movies is that they are made for adults, something that I am finding rarer by the minute. Its a cohesive world building franchise that you actually have to pay attention and engage with to follow the plot. My honorable mention goes to the lady-version of Ghostbusters, which I am eagerly anticipating and will absolutely be seeing in theaters.  

Summer Sleeper: Summer has a long tradition producing “sleeper hits” or good films that movie studios made but didn’t promote because they forgot that adults/women like to go to the movies too.  For our purposes this can be a film that people don’t think will make any money and will be a “sleeper” hit (Bridesmaids) or a sleeper prestige film that might not make any money, but will be too good to be ignored (Boyhood).  

As my pick, I’m going to choose a likeable sleeper, that I hope will be good enough for us to be talking about in December, but I’m not quite willing to say it will get nominated for anything.  I don’t know if I stated this when we discussed Everybody Wants Some!!, but baseball movies are my favorite of the sport genre (followed by hockey and football).  It is this reason that I am choosing Undrafted as my likable sleeper film.  Joseph Mazzello (the annoying little kid from Jurassic Park) wrote and makes his feature-length directorial debut about collegiate baseball players coming to grips with not becoming professional baseball players.  It stars EWS hottie Tyler Hoechlin and fellow Ithaca College Theatre Arts Alumni Aaron Tveit.  

So what are you looking forward to?  In Part II I’ll discuss some of the films I’m less than enthusiastic to see.  

Your Friend,

Hil

Where are those damn calla lilies I ordered?!?

Dearest Hilary,

     Guess what day today, May 12th, is?! It is the Great Katharine Hepburn's birthday. I know she is not a current Oscar topic, but I thought she would be a fun topic to discuss for a throw back Thursday topic. Kate would have been 109, and I am sure still as feisty as she was in her 80's in the 80s. Why do I have this strange obsession with America's greatest actress? Where did it start you ask? I blame the book sale, working over nights, and the love of reading. I had always known who Katharine Hepburn was; she grew up and lived roughly 45 minutes from where I grew up in Connecticut, and knew she held the record of most Oscars for Best Actress, but that was about it. Oh, I had watched On Golden Pond in middle school after seeing the play at the local senior center with my grandmothers.

   It was not until I was working over nights at a hotel and bought a bunch of entertaiment biographies at the local book sale, that I found the wonder, the depth, the glory of Katharine Hepburn. The first of about 12 books dedicated to Kate that I explored was Garson Kanin's Tracy & Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir; a gossipy, slightly trashy inside look at the legendary relationship between Kate and Spencer Tracy. Kate had worked closely with Garson, his wife, Ruth Gordon, on several screenplays for the magical screen duo. The couples had bonded over dinners, shared their lives with one another, and poured over scripts together. Then in 1971, Kanin published the tell-all book and Kate flipped her wig! At this point she was still very much a private person; it was not for another 15 years or so before she started talking to the media about her personal life. (She did, however give a lengthy interview with Dick Cavett in 1973) Spencer had died in 1969, his passing must have been still fresh on her mind. Her sorta dirty laundry was aired, she was in the right not to speak to Garson for over 20 years after the book came out. And who cares if he only lived a few blocks away from her in New York City! Speaking of which, here are some pictures I took when I visited Kate's townhouse in Turtle Bay, Manhattan. It was empty and for rent at the time.

  I always admired Kate for her forthrightness, such a Yankee attribute to have. Kate grew up in Hartford, the same area my paternal grandmother was raised. Even tho my grandmother was 12 years younger than Kate, she and her siblings could have been contemporaries of the younger Hepburn brood. The Hepburn's were a family of comfortable means; Kate's father being the head of Urology at Hartford Hospital, and her mother being a member of the Houghton family, a prominent New York family associated with Corning Glass (you know how much I love vintage Pyrex; I love this connection to Kate!) 

   With Kate's well-to-do background, she still had to fight for most things in her life. All during her childhood she was shunned by most other children in the neighborhood because of who her parents were, who they associated with (Mrs. Hepburn was close friends with Margaret Sanger, a fore-mother of the birth control movement.) and what they dabbled in. Dr. Hepburn was on the forefront of educating the public about venereal diseases and Kate's mom, well, she was a HUGE women suffragette and a founding member of what would become Planned Parenthood. With Planned Parenthood in the news recently, I am 100% sure that Kate would be out there, like her mother, taking swings at the morons who have been trying to take down Planned Parenthood. She would tell it like it is and would not care would others would have to say about her. Another event that shaped her actions for the rest of her life was the suicide of her older brother, who she idolized. He hanged himself in a family friend's apartment in New York. It was not until she published her autobiography in 1991 that her real birthday of May 12th was revealed. She has been using her brother's birthday, November 8th, as her own, her whole career.

   Kate's directness and her ability to take control of the situation is one of the many things that keep me coming back to her. When she was labeled box office poison in 1938, she took time off from Hollywood, found a play just right for her, opened it on Broadway, then toured the country with the show. The show was so popular, Hollywood was calling to get the rights of the play. Since Howard Hughes bought the rights for Kate, she could sell the rights to the highest bidder, and she did. MGM won the battle; Kate winning twice since she had the most creative control over the movie. And that, Hilary, is how The Philadelphia Story came about and how the Great Kate burst back into America's heart. 

   Out of her 44 feature films, 10 made-for-tv movies and 2 short movies Kate did, I have only seen 23. I have seen all her Oscar winning movies, Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981) and I believe she deserved every single one! I even made a special trip to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D. C. to see her Oscars which are on display next to Kate's favorite portrait of herself. Take a look at them yourself! 

   Notice how the Oscar on the left is shorter and darker than the rest? Two reasons; (a), the early Oscars were of different design, and (b), the award was buried under the sands of Long Island Sound during the Hurricane of '38. Kate and her mother barely escaped their family house in Old Saybrook, Connecticut as the house was pulled into the ocean. Kate spent the next few days digging thru the sands searching for her family's possessions. She found her Oscar, the family tea service, and other family items buried under the wet sand of the Connecticut shore. Kate showed true New England spirit; she did not let Mother Nature defeat her. She rose to the challenge and played Mother Nature's cruel game of hide-n-seek and won! The two stories I have heard about where she kept her Oscars are: she lent them to the Empire State Building to be on display and one from her housekeeper and cook, Norah, who once showed the statuettes to her daughter. The golden statues were in an upstairs bedroom closet, tucked away from prying eyes. Upon her death, the Hepburn family donated the Oscars to the Smithsonian for public display.

   Kate never once showed up to receive one of her Oscars. Ever. On her surprise interview with Dick Cavett in 1973, she admitted she was afraid she wouldn't win. In Kate's words "too gutless." But she was far from gutless in 1974 when she surprised the Academy with an Oscar ceremony appearance. She was there to present Lawrence Weingarten with the Irving G. Thalberg Award. If Weingarten was not so ill, and Kate not such a loyal friend, she would have never showed her face at the Academy Awards. At this appearance, I LOVE how she wore her gardening sandals. The Academy offered to send over outfits to wear, but she refused, and wore something comfortable and sensible, in true Hepburn fashion.

   We know Kate had the most Oscar nominations of her time. 12 noms. Meryl Streep is reigning champ in that department with 18. Meryl has three wins under her belt, and probably another good 25 years of acting left in her. Will she beat The Great Kate in award count? Yes. Meryl has to win three more Oscars to properly beat Kate, in my opinion. Kate has four Best Actress awards. Meryl has only TWO Best Actress awards and a Best Supporting Actress award. Yes, Meryl has three statues on her mantel, but she only has TWO, while Kate has FOUR Best Actress awards. Will Meryl get a nom for the Florence Foster Jenkins biopic coming out soon? The GOWD's at the Academy love her! Maybe 19 for Meryl, I would not be surprised!

   While Meryl is the Kate of her generation, I believe that Jennifer Lawrence is the Kate of her/our generation. All three actress were awarded an Oscar early in their careers. Meryl and J-Law both show Hepburn-esque qualities. They are not the normal Hollywood types. They do not shun the shininess of SoCal as Kate did, but they are not fully splashed everywhere. Well, J-Law does get splashed around in the press sometimes, but she handles it in stride and has fun with the media, much like Kate did when she was younger. One of my favorite press quotes from Kate is when she was asked if she had any children and she replied "Yes, two white and three colored." Imagine if J-law said that today in this day and age?!? All Hell would break out in the media and J-Law hung out to dry! I think Jennifer Lawrence will have a very long career, similar to Streep's and Hepburn's.

  One of my favorite Kate Oscar stories was told by Jane Fonda. Both Jane and Kate were nominated for On Golden Pond. At that point in their careers, Kate had three Oscars and Jane had two. If Jane won, she would be tied with Kate. Jane lost while Kate won. After the Oscar's, Fonda received a phone call. It was Kate, who cackled "You'll never catch me now!"  in to the phone and abruptly hung up. What a fucking bad ass!!! If Jane wants another Oscar, maybe she should redo On Golden Pond opposite Bruce Dern with Laura Dern playing the daughter. I smell Oscar nominations all around!

   Hollywood has come along way since 1932. From powerful studios owning the actors and basically the whole movie making process, to the 100's of indie film production companies running rampant nowadays, could Katharine Hepburn survive in the film industry today? She would still have a niche, but I doubt she would be a household name like she was. She would be nominated here and there for an Oscar, but twelve times? Probably not. Since Kate did not want to play the Hollywood publicity game, she would have a hard time being in a major Hollywood blockbuster; she would HATE the press junket. A small indie film is where Kate would fit right in.

  So to you Hil, what do you think of The Great Kate? Think she would be a star if she started her career today? Is she the greatest actress of American cinema like most notable lists and institutions seem to say? Will Meryl and/or J-Law surpass Kate's winning record? Only time will tell.

Cheers to you for making it thru all my ramblings,

Stephen

Is the Walt Disney Corporation the Elephants in This?

My Dear Stephen,

It’s interesting that you bring up “Disney kids.”  I was very much in the Disney camp growing up.  I consumed every movie, watched Saturday and weekly cartoons, was devoted to The Magical World of Disney, which was a Sunday evening program of made-for-tv movies, including numerous sequels to The Parent Trap, owned all sorts of merchandise (two favorite pieces: a stuffed Figaro the cat that I bought at Disney World and an audio tape of Sebastian the crab sings Bob Marley), and have been to the parks, multiple times.  With all this said, I lost interest in Disney over the past decade.  I’ve seen a smattering of the recent animated films and live action films, but I just haven’t had the same enthusiasm for the brand that I once did.  

With all this said, I think Disney is still the gold standard.  The worst part about of seeing a family-friendly movie in the theater is having to sit through trailers for more sub-par family friendly films.  Flatulence and cultural misappropriation jokes abound!  I’ve never been so happy to not have children as when I had to sit through the trailers for the recent Ice Age animated mess.  But then that CAD tracking shot of Cinderella’s Castle came on screen and I found myself comforted and excited for what I was seeing.  

It’s the above reasons that Disney continues to receive recognition from the Academy in a variety of categories.  Although voters are not the intended audience of these films, they still identify and react to the brand of Disney.  Even though corporate Disney ruined so many things in the entertainment/media industry I hold dear (canceled My So-Called Life, forced Harvey out of Miramax, shut down Grantland) I still feel something when I see that magnificent castle.  

Keeping this in mind, director Jon Favreau is the perfect match for Disney.  His movie make you feel something.  Through excellent performances and subtle camera work he evokes fear, joy, desire.  If we look at the scene where Kaa is hypnotizing Mowgli, the camera circles Mowgli to the rhythm of Kaa’s movements.  It is downright terrifying.  If we were just watching the snake coil itself around the child I don’t think it would have the same effect.  I have great hopes for Favreau’s future.  Disney has already announced he’ll direct Jungle Book 2, but I hope that he can get back to his roots and use his talents for more interesting films.  

The visual effects in The Jungle Book are astounding.  As someone who really loves wildlife I felt such joy at seeing them come alive on screen.  My favorite work was done on Bagheera, the panther.  Usually when you see animation of big cats, it fails to convey their weight when jumping, but Bagheera has muscle and power.  I also enjoyed the diversity within the Jungle Book’s ecosystem, including the weird and adorable pangolin.  But would it have killed them to make Baloo look a little bit like a sloth bear?

Can we talk about the songs?  Yes, when I think about the original animated feature I can only remember The Bare Necessities and I Wan’Na Be Like You, but they seemed so out of place in this version.  Is there legality that every Disney version of The Jungle Book must include these songs?  Furthermore, if they were going to include them, why not write a new song and go for that original song Oscar?  

I agree with your thoughts on the voice work done in this film.  Scarlett Johansson’s casting was ingenious and by far the best work that was done (although I also like Bill Murray’s Baloo).  I’m somewhat hesitant to award to the performances because of the shift that has already taken place in the industry to use so many recognizable voices in these parts.  My fear is that there would be an even bigger deal made of “stars” doing these parts to get awards, and take away the many faceless actors out there already struggling to make it in this industry.  

My final thought on this film is that I liked it … ok.  The Jungle Book is a strange piece of literature celebrating the romantic notion of being raised outside of civilization.  There’s a lot in the book about man being at the top of the food chain because of guns (versus fire in the film)  and if you’re going to emphasize fire as the great danger, I feel they could have gone a bit more into the escalating danger of deforestation.  Although the film gets rid of the book’s imperialist themes of man conquering beasts, I wanted it to say something about the world we live in today.  More interesting analogies to conservation or conflict could have moved it beyond being just a family friendly film with beautiful visual effects.  

I’m off to do some light hibernation.

Yours,

Hilary