A Letter to Todd Haynes
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 8:01AM Dearest Todd,
Never ever under any circumstances take another 8 year break from the cinema. The reviews for Carol (2015) read at times like an ecstatic mirage, dehydrated desert critics stumbling upon a Haynes-flavored pool. Its weird ½ an actress prize at Cannes, for the unexpected ½ at that, feels somehow fitting given the prismatic way you like to view identity (Velvet Goldmine, I'm Not There, etc).
I can't tell you the joy I felt this morning waking up to the news that you've added a third project (!!!) to your upcoming slate after so much hibernation. Of the two we already knew about a TV series set in a 1970s commune sounds the most promising; it's an underexplored rich topic in terms of time period and political content -- you're counter culture enough to do it justice. The other project, the Untitled Peggy Lee Biopic is a swell idea, too. You're the one filmmaker who is creatively incapable of making a dully traditional biopic (Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story / I'm Not There) and Miss Peggy Lee lived through all your favorite eras. We already know that its star Reese Witherspoon can sing thanks to her Oscar winning role as June Carter Cash and though we can't quite picture her as one of your muses a la Moore (Far From Heaven / [safe]) or recently Blanchett, we can picture her as a Barbie doll and we know you like those. At any rate, the part is a good fit for her. Peggy has so many classic songs, she was indominatable enough to serve as one of the original inspirations for Miss Piggy and that six decade career / four failed marriages surely contain plentiful dramatic fodder.
But the happiest news may well be the newest. You're planning to adapt Brian Selznick's children's book Wonderstruck for Killer Films??? How wonderful. That bifurcated tale featuring a boy in the Seventies pining for his father and a girl in the Twenties dreaming of an actress should provide ample spark for your formidable creativity.
an image from Wonderstruck
You're 54 now, Todd. There are only so many years in a life. I'm not telling you to rush through these next projects but please never ever under any circumstances whatsoever take an eight year break from the cinema again in which we only get a remake of something that was already more than wonderful enough to begin with (Mildred Pierce). It was a painful drought.
Your forever fan, xoxo
Nathaniel R
Reader Comments (15)
Truer words have never been spoken...
And what is so annoying is that we have to wait until November (here in UK) to see CAROL - I imagine Harvey is holding it back for next Awards Season.
I am likewise glad he has returned and I'm looking forward to the Peggy Lee bio-she had some life. I love Reese although I don't see her as a perfect fit, Peggy had a very sultry somewhat dream like quality and Reese is very down to earth. That's okay since most people don't have a fixed idea of Lee's persona any longer, mores the pity. My concern with it is Reese singing. I'm usually not in favor of casting stars who can't sing and Reese can carry a tune but is any Peggy Lee story without Peggy Lee's actual inimitable singing voice worth seeing?
P.S. Please don't make the same mistakes Scorsese did with Selznick's first book. But I KNOW you won't.
What a lovely letter. I hope you don't mind me co-signing it.
Aw, I liked MILDRED PIERCE, but otherwise cannot agree enough here. I bet that WONDERSTRUCK will return Haynes to his biting, Freudian, layered DOTTIE GETS SPANKED sensibility. Wonderful indeed.
I've been thinking, before Carol premiered at Cannes, how much I consider, more than any other director really, ALL his pictures masterpieces. I really treasure Poison, Safe, Velvet, Heaven and I'm Not There, and consider them unimproveable. (I like to pretend Mildred Pierce never happened - it kind of just lives in my mind as a Melissa Leo highlight reel.)
It's such a strong streak, and so important to me, I had reservations about Carol. I don't want that streak broken. The reviews, though, reassured me, and really, I had nothing to worry about - even if the masterpiece streak breaks, I can be confident I'll always enjoy Haynes movies.
I would be shocked if Haynes didn't read TFE.
The "Source Family" project could be really interesting, although I came away from that documentary thinking they made for a better tableau than a story. Still, it'll be good to see if this brings some humor back to Haynes. I would also argue that he is known more for star turns than ensembles (with the possible exception of "Goldmine"; even the Dylan movie had Blanchett stealing focus) so this might present an opportunity to stretch in that direction.
Add my name to the letter?!!! Lovely!!!!!
I endorse anything that supports and encourages the creative Goldmine that is Todd Haynes, but I have to question the premise that he "took an 8-year break from the cinema." MILDRED PIERCE was an acclaimed mini series for a premium cable channel that starred one of the great actresses of his generation. For most filmmakers that would be a career high!
PS: 54 isn't old! Look what George Miller just did at 70. Or what Mike Leigh just gave us at age 72.
Reese Witherspoon is on a career renaissance!
Wild - Jean-Marc Vallée
Inherent Vice - Paul Thomas Anderson
Untitled Peggy Lee movie - Todd Haynes
She should stop pursuing movies like Hot Pursuit and This Means War. Now that she can produce movies like Gone Girl, she should be more selective with the movies she will star in.
San Fran -- i agree that 54 isn't old. But when it's always taken someone like 3-4 years to make a movie. There's only so many movies they can make in their life and 8 years between them is UNACCEPTABLE. ;)
This was lovely, Nathaniel!
In 3rd grade, my favorite song was "Is That All There Is?" That should have told my parents something...
Peggy Lee was enigmatic, sultry, eccentric, exasperating, understated, and cool. Does any of this sound like Reese Witherspoon? It doesn't to this life-long fan.