Goodbye Peacock. And Other Links
Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 11:16PM Los Angeles Times AMPAS elects their first African American president in Cheryl Boone Isaacs
IndieWire on how newcomer Annie McNamara landed a supporting role in the otherwise starry cast of Blue Jasmine
Filmonic John Williams will score the new Star Wars trilogy
Maps to the Stars on the Cronenberg exhibit at TIFF this year
Fashionista thinks Claire Danes has lost a leg in this photoshoot
IndieWire on the 25th anniversary of Midnight Madness at TIFF this year
Empire another big get for rising star David Oyelowo who was so good in Middle of Nowhere and also eye-catching in The Paperboy - he joins the increasingly crowded Insterstellar for Christopher Nolan
The Backlot on HBO's new gay series starring Jonathan Groff. Is it "special"?
In Contention A Most Wanted Man could put Philip Seymour Hoffman back in the Oscar race
/Film oh dear god. they can't leave well enough alone. Dexter might get a spin-off series after 8 looooong seasons
Salon Before Fruitvale Station there was Boyz n the Hood
Cinema Blend new teaser poster for Gravity
Finally, you have undoubtedly heard that the fine comic actress Eileen Brennan passed away earier today at 80 years of age. I have to admit a weird unfamiliarity with the most acclaimed turn in her filmography (unlike me I know!) as I never saw her Oscar-nominated work in Private Benjamin. I remember people being really into it when I was a kid but it was rated R and I somehow never caught up with it when I was old enough. I'll personally remember her most fondly as Peacock in Clue with her frazzled manner, soup sipping, and ungainly hat. Others will cherish her work in The Sting or The Last Picture Show or any number of TV appearances including time on Laugh-In with her future Benjamin co-star Goldie Hawn. What will you remember her for? RIP Mrs Peacock.
Reader Comments (17)
Mrs. Peacock was my favorite! I've been trying for twenty years to do her "break the ice" speech.
Watched The Sting tonight in memory of Eileen. She was perfect as the madam Billie.
I also remember her fondly as Jack's acting teacher Zondra on Will & Grace :)
But of course, I'm a fan because of her Miss Peacock. "But look what happened to the Cook!"
Private Benjamin. She was wonderful. Grabbed the role and ran with it which is as much a tribute to Goldie's professionalism as anything as many lead actresses with producer pull would have tried to tame down such a potentially scene stealing performance from a support. However, they both got Oscar noms as a result and def warranted.
If it hadn't been for the car accident, we would have a lot more work to admire.
I love love love love that PSH collaborated with Corbijn, that is such a gifted director of leading performances. Both Riley and Clooney were outstanding under his direction. And I love how PSH never disappoints me: he ALWAYS picks the best projects and the best directors. He is absolutely committed to his art, and not to paychecks.
I loved her so much in everything I saw her in from The Last Picture Show to Will & Grace, but her work in Murder by Death is my favorite, personally - impeccable line delivery.
I guess my parents were either careless or totally liberal because I saw Private Benjamin hundreds of times as a kid. I loved it. She was also brilliant in The Last Picture Show and as Zandra in Will & Grace.
Such a great character actress. The gravelly voice and no nonsense manner always made her stand out no matter how good the cast was around here. Of course Mrs. Peacock was a great performance among so many others but the first thing that came to mind for some reason was her role as Mother in the film FM. Not a great movie although loaded with great music and she just seemed so right as a DJ.
So many mixed emotions about the Interstellar casting growing and growing. On one hand some of my favorite people are working on it (Chastain! McConaughey! Hathaway-Nolan reunion!) and on the other hand we have seen these large impressive Nolan casts get short-changed by their material. Some rise above it (Michael Caine since The Prestige has literally had nothing to do in Nolan's movies but he does not seem to mind) while others suffer (Ben Mendelsohn, Ellen Page in inception, Marion Cotillard in TDKR).
Corbijn doing an adaptation of Le Carre means my father surely will have his favorite movie of 2013. My dad appeared to be the only person who like The American and Le Carre adaptations are his cocaine.
RIP Mrs. Peacock
My favorite Eileen Brennan performace was in the much-maligned "At Long Last Love". The film was recently vindicated at the BACIFI Film Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the Director's Cut was screened to great acclaim. At the time I remember reading in "Films in Review" that Brennan in the kitchen, with a cigarette dangling from her mouth and interacting with a hilarious John Hillerman, was the best think to happen to a kitchen since Thelma Ritter! I whole heartedly agree.
I love her dying concerened sister role in white palace,which also inc a fine sarandon turn.
joel, I forgot she was in FM! Great soundtrack. I'm going to play the magnificent Steely Dan title song today in her honor. That crooked smile got to me everytime.
You've got to watch Private Benjamin. It is a "classic" that is very easy to watch. Funny and easy to follow. Heck, watch it when you're drunk. Goldie and Eileen's finest hour.
It's been a few years since I last saw Private Benjamin, but I clearly remember her performance was the best thing about the movie.
"Take your hands off me, I'm a Senator's Wife!" RIP Mrs. Peacock.
Marcos, I have been dying to see At Long Last Love, but I can't find it anywhere. Its notoriety as the film that killed Bogdonavich's career--along with my fascination for Cybill Shepherd's early stardom--has made me long to see it. The director definitely liked working with Eileen--she was in TLPS and Daisy Miller, another lost gem. Thanks for reminding me I need to track this one down.
Brookseboy, you can get the At Long Last Love blu ray direct from Amazon. I don't know if it's the Director's Cut or not, but in any case it's really worth it!
peggy sue -- my parents were very very conservative so i was not allowed to see anything r rated hence missing it though i remember people talking about it.
@cal roth -- I couldn't have said it better myself. Hands down the best actor making films today.