Friday
Jul202012
Ask Nathaniel...
Friday, July 20, 2012 at 12:30AM 
We're trying to do the Q&A column each and every week so now's the time to gather up your questions. I post this at different times hoping to convince some of you to stop lurking and start participating so this time I'm posting while I'm asleep to get West Coast and Across the Ocean readers. Ask! I shall answer a couple handful of questions -- the ones that spark something.
p.s. no top ten list questions. That's a whole post!
Reader Comments (28)
I miss Cher the actress... if you could see her in ANY role today, what type of role would it be? Who would be directing/co-staring with her?
i MAY be cheating by appealing to your Oscar love, but which film this year do you think is going to be the "J. Edgar" film of 2012, you know, hot oscar bait, widely tipped to win a/several awards and grab nominations for everything else but will fall flat on its face and end up with one or no nominations at all.
For me, I'm not sure at this point but every one seems to be overestimating Argo and i fail to see how life of pi can be translated to screen properly.
Just interested.
Out of interest also, which actress will win the Oscar first out of Kirsten Dunst, Keira Knightley, Amanda Seyfried or Anna Kendrick. (I think Anne's bound for glory this year so have left her off this list of divisive actresses) and what would they have to change/do to their careers right now to do it?
Battle of the adaptations: Dangerous Liaisons (1988) vs. Valmont (1989). Who wins and why?
What will it take for Amy Adams to actually win an Oscar?
Do you think Lars von Trier is an actressexual or is he a misogynist? And now that we are talking about actresses and auteurs. Who are the directors who really love actresses and who are the ones who really hate them?
Misery provided the career defining iconography of Kathy Bates and second Oscars for women in Best Actress can come from playing the same archetype: Viven Leigh as a Southern Belle, Meryl Streep as foreigners, Sally Field as working class struggling against American male oppression, Hilary Swank as tragic masculine female figures — I suggest Yorgos Lanthimos as the writer-director to bring about a female predatory character study and with proper backing (Weinstein) — could the impossible seem possible?—I know she could win in Supporting for just appearing at the right place at the right time circumstantial win—this isn't really a question, but it would be nice to know whether you agree or disagree.
One reason that on the whole I love actresses more than actors is that more actresses than actors amaze me in imaginative ways than actors do. I am constantly moved by female performances, but there are few and far between male performances that move me as actresses do, at least as frequently as actresses. However, I think two of the most promising young actors to be working today, Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender, have delivered more emotionally moving and imaginative performances than actresses. Do you think this is due to these two actors or to a shift toward more human, vulnerable male characters being written for the big screen? Does this "problem" if you will exist because actresses in general are more talented than actors? Or do you think it's a problem with the fact that male roles are written to the extent that it's difficult for male actors to dig deep for subtext and emotional impact?
Do you think hot, young up and comers are a thing that's defining this age in cinema? You know, fresh-faced, good looking actresses but who are also considered talented. We've seen at least one very young woman nominated for Best Actress the last few years (Mulligan, Lawrence, Page, Knightley), fighting for a spot in the "Youngest Best Actress Nominee" list and I wonder if this is new and representative of the appearance-obssessed public of our times (that results in all the media attention these girls get), or if it's a phenomenon that has always existed but has such a short-lasting effect (not all of the girls keep getting good roles and they fail to rise to what was expected of them so most are forgotten) that it's not worth discussing?
And who out of these generation's young actresses (we may add Emma Stone, Mia Wasikowska or practically anyone on those Vanity Fair covers) do you think will stand the test of time, getting cast regularly and becoming one of the greats?
(I hope you get the point, English is not my main language)
Wonder if you've been keeping up with the videos they've been posting at YouTube.com/wigs, it's a lot of short series about women starring a lot of recognizable actors. I've been digging them.
Which current movie actor do you most want to see pull a Buscemi/Dinklage/Close/Bates etc and star in a weekly, Emmy worthy TV Series?
By the way, I am not really equating the qualities of those four series, but you get my idea.
You saw "To Rome With Love", I haven't seen it yet. The Baldwin-Eisenberg segment sounded a bit familiar: have you seen "Walk, Don't Run" (1966)? It also takes place in a foreign city (Tokyo), where Cary Grant "mentors" Jim Hutton into nailing Samantha Eggar, reminiscent of his own younger ladies' man self. What's more, Grant gives a frivolous and zany performance, which quite easily makes you think that the character has a "guardian angel"-like quality.
Could we make a case that Woody Allen may be copying ideas? In all these 40 years, did anyone ever come out and "accused" him of such a thing?
^I'm no fan of To Rome With Love, but I've seen it and Walk, Don't Run (itself a remake) and I can tell you with authority that the two are nothing alike.
After reading your post on the Pixar cop-out with it's latest planned films, I have to ask, what do you think of the ending of The Dark Knight Rises? Seems to me that a door was left open for someone to come and muddy up the fantastic trilogy that Nolan has created with a next installment with JGL front and center?
Thoughts on Anne in The Dark Knight Rises? I thought she was all kinds of fun!
What are your thoughts on Bette Midler? I thought she should've won the Oscar for The Rose, but she went on to make her name as a comedic actress. I think her time is probably way up, but do you think she could ever come back?
Which singer could pull a Bjork and deliver a knock-out debut performance in a movie? Why?
Pick one or more song titles that you'd have liked them be the titles of movies that exist or should exist.
(I hope my grammar made sense)
With all the cheap prosumer camera equipment that produces cinema quality images and sound, do you think we'll see another hayday of independent films that trully comes from those without means or opportunity? Or is the political climate of the movie industry so burdensome to allow golden talent to permeate? Or is the reason simply analogized to the affordable paint and canvas available to any passerby despite the lack of new unveilings of DaVincis or Van Goghs?
(Consider el mariachi, 70s cinema, and monsters among others in your reflection and prospection)
Question two: For what reason - if any suites a man in your position - do you justify not watching Breaking Bad? Mad Men is excellent but Breaking Bad is perfect. I've been reading your blog daily since 2006 and this has been the only discrepancy that has faltered my faithful devotion to you. Is it, on the surface level, not actressexual enough for you?
There's plenty of movie stars (and Oscar winners/nominees) on the Emmy nominations list (Moore, Lange, Kidman, Costner, Cheadle, Close, etc etc). Which 3 other nominees without previous moviestardom advances would you like (or think may have a chance) to see as Oscar nominees sometime.
One of the things that fascinate me in Oscardom is the notion of bait (biopic, deglam, nuns, eversuffering spouses, tragique homo...). Last year I was superexcited about Melissa Mccarthy's nomination because it looked to me like the opposite of bait. And I was then wondering about those "damn, that SO did NOT scream Oscar" nominations, like Robert Downey Jr's Tropic Thunder nom, or Johnny Depp's Jack Sparow nom. I was wondering what are the nominations/wins that you consider the most baitless? Especially in the Best Actress category, because a) you're actressexual; b) I couldn't think of one myself, like I did in other categories. =)
We have heard your opinion on many classical Hollywood actresses. However, you never talk about Greta Garbo, one of my favourites. What are your thoughts on her?
How do you time a post to be published at a certain time? I've tried, but I can't. So I guess is the order in which I do things that is wrong. Help!
Sorry for the OT. But to go back to the topic, it's summer, it's hot, people walk around the house in underwear, or almost. So, choose an underwear moment in the movies: Weaver in Alien or Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut. If you prefer Cruise, it's ok, we won't judge :)
How does a film blogger like yourself respond to the news of the Aurora, Colorado shootings? Do you still advocate theatrical experiences or do you suggest that home viewings? How does it affect your feeling of violence in cinema? Do you feel that the film's violent themes have any association with the tragic outcomes? Should the makers of the movie be slightly accountable? Will you still tell your friends and readership to go out and see Dark Knight Rises in theaters?
For clarification, I'm just curious what your opinion is and in no way Blame Mr. Nolan and the Dark Knight Rises cast and crew for last night's atrocious tragedy
Are you ever going to bring back the Reader of the Day series?
Emma Watson seems to be taking an interesting post-Harry Potter series career: "My Week With Marilyn" (released last year), Sofia Coppola's upcoming "The Bling Ring", "Your Voice In My Head" and now Darren Aronofsky's "Noah".
Do you think she will reach the serious actress status, like Natalie Portman did after Star Wars franchise or do you think she will become just a supporting actress who's part of an ensemble cast movie?
Who will be the next actress or singer to win a Tony, an Emmy, a Grammy and an Oscar who currently hasn't won any of them.
Michelle Pfeiffer is a beautiful actress "from another world". Do you think there's a new "Michelle Pfeiffer" in the new generation of actresses working today? - a stunning beauty with a subtle acting style (I mean, actresses under 30 years old and Hathaway isn't eligible because of her Catwoman role)