It's a brand new week. Ready to get this one started with some pizazz?
Five showbiz anniversaries for May 8th as mood boosters
2009 Julia opens in limited release in the US. It's arguably Tilda Swinton's greatest performance and also as against-type as it comes for the actress who was surprised Erick Zonca thought of her for the motor-mouthed titular sociopath. If you haven't seen it, what in the universe are you waiting for?
In its honor today: Do something totally atypical today, surprise yourself!
1992 Poison Ivy opens in theaters, serving as Drew Barrymore's buzzy "comeback"... yet she was only 17 years old. Child stars grow up fast, y'all...
In Drew's honor today: Flirt with someone who reminds you of either Sara Gilbert or Tom Skeritt
1958 Christopher Lee takes his first bite at the immortal Dracula role, new in theaters.
In their honor today: Start something you plan to stick with and perfect!
1920 Saul Bass, one of the all time great graphic designers, born in New York. His influence is still all over showbiz, albeit usually in credits sequences like Feud or Catch Me If You Can rather than in movie posters where it belongs. I mean is there a movie poster better than Vertigo?
In his honor today: Think graphically. Embrace dynamic lines and bold colors today
1912 Paramount Pictures was founded on this very day though they weren't called "Paramount Pictures for another 2 years. At first they were "Famous Players Film Company". Rank their 12 Best Picture winners: Wings (1927), Going My Way (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Pt II (1974), Ordinary People (1980), Terms of Endearment (1983), Forrest Gump (1994), Braveheart (1995), Titanic (1997), and No Country For Old Men (*Paramount Vantage, 2007) in the comments.
In their honor today: You are the mountain. Imagine the stars orbiting you all day -- you're just grand!
TRY THOSE MOOD BOOSTERS IF YOU DARE AND REPORT BACK
OTHER BIRTHDAYS:
Phyllida Law (Emma Thompson's actress mom!), Lex Barker (briefly Tarzan), Roberto Rossellini (Journey to Italy), Melissa Gilbert (of Little House on the Prairie and SAG presidency fame), Miyoshi Umeki (the only Asian actress to win an Oscar *sigh*), Stephen Amell (TV's hunky "Arrow"), and underappreciated Jodhi May (of Last of the Mohicans and A World Apart fame... currently onscreen in A Quiet Passion).
WHERE'S HER BIOPIC?
In honor of Hidden Figures we need to start highlighting minorities who deserve biopics. There are more stories worth telling than just famous musicians and politicians! How about a movie on Phillis Wheatley, born around this day in 1753 who became the first published African-American poet? She was sold into slavery as a child but to a family that, though slave owners, recognized her gifts and encouraged her education. It's a fascinating complicated and ultimately sad story (she died very young in poverty) but one worth telling.
OTHER ANNIVERSARIES:
Hot Pursuit (2015), Tomorrowland (2015), Star Trek (2009), Deep Impact (1998), Gardens of Stone (1987), The Corpse Vanishes (1942), and In this Our Life (1942, the third of Bette Davis & Olivia de Havilland's six film collaborations) all opened on this day in US theaters