Thursday
Oct102019
Three Little Links
Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 4:24PM
• The Guardian - an excellent profile of Pedro Almodóvar by Xan Brooks
• /Film Daveed Diggs to play Sebastian in the live-action Little Mermaid. But Sebastian is a crab so this is probably not fully live-action but half and half style.
• Vulture - 15 essential Judy Garland performances. Solid list with some strong points made, though I think dead wrong about why Zellweger is awards worthy in Judy (as noted on the podcast I liked her performance quite a bit but what’s missing is exactly what’s cited here as the chief strength, the capturing of Judy’s once in a century kind of talent.
Reader Comments (12)
You call this Zellweger campaign a cloud over the land. But you made the weather (derided her for years) and then you stand in the rain (the Renéessance) and say “Shit, it’s raining!”
Honestly, the people assigned to write pieces like Vulture's are probably not students of Garland so likely have merely a rudimentary understanding of what made her a one-of-kind singer/entertainer. It's therefore easy to project onto Zellweger one's own synthesis of Garland's unique magic.
Ruby Thewes: I'm...dude: OF COURSE Zellweger was going to fade. It'd take an Ingrid Bergman level talent to tank an Oscar for a performance like Ruby Thewes and NOT have casting directors turn on her. If it had been a Lead win for Down With Love, that career...it goes differently, let's just say. Also: Not sure this can be called a Reneesance yet. "The McConnaissance" amounted to seven of eight appearances or performances over a three calendar year span that were at least respected. Not saying this can't be the start of one, just...get back to me when Renee has held it together that long.
Volvagia, we won’t get back to you and would rather you don’t get back to us. We’ll summon you when we need your particular “passionate” oddball rants.
@Volvagia: Since you're an expert, has Marcia Gay Harden "held it together" since winning in 2001? Sure, she won a Tony and was good on Damages—both 10 years ago now.
But who could forget that Amanda Knox TV movie? The 50 Shades franchise? Her unforgettable star turn on Law and Order: SVU? Surely we've all seen her most recent performance: Dee Dee Blanchard. Yes, that's the role Patricia Arquette just won an Emmy for playing, in the HBO version. Marcia did the Lifetime version. Is that better or worse than temporary retirement?
It sounds like I'm dragging Marcia, but I'm not! Careers go astray. If Harden came out of nowhere with a killer Best Actress vehicle I don't think we'd be pulling our hair out debating whether or not she was *qualified* to win a second Oscar on the basis of her filmography. That's dumb and unfair.
I'm into Daveed Diggs as Sebastian - he made one preposterous accent into an iconic character via Hamilton, he can do it again.
Realistically, I'll never see the movie.
JF - I have to disagree with you there. I don't think Marcia Gay Harden could ever win a second Oscar, no matter how great the performance. She doesn't have that type of career. (Hilary Swank may have won two Oscars, she won for a popular Best Picture winner in a year when their only real other options were Winslet in a film that was weird by comparison and Bening in a tiny movie.)
People judge actors' careers when it comes to multiple Oscars all the time. There was a lot of judgment going around about whether Denzel deserved a third or Portman deserved a second in 2016, and honestly, it probably hurt both of them.
I do wonder about the Zellweger fans who want her to win. Have you thought about the fact that her career may be better off if she loses, just like Swank may have been better off if she had lost the second one?
I'm not predicting a Best Actress comeback for Marcia Gay Harden. I'm just pointing out that her existence as a working actress doesn't drive people insane. We'd be happy to welcome her back any time and wouldn't hold a messy decade or two against her. We'd probably spin it as a homecoming, of sorts. Which, by the way, is how Zellweger's being treated by most sensible people.
As for Denzel: A third Oscar win was the argument /for/ him in 2016, not against. Best Actor was open and shut for Affleck /except/ that people thought Denzel deserved the historic career milestone. Portman had strong competition. We'll see if Renee does, as the race heats up. She might!
If Hilary Swank had lost for Million Dollar Baby, would Amelia have been good? I don't think the cause-effect relationship you think exists, exists. And furthermore, who cares if Hollywood goes back to not knowing how to use Renee?
And furthermore, who cares if Hollywood goes back to not knowing how to use Renee?
Exactly. She earned her comeback recognition on merit not nostalgia of her it girl heyday.
"If Hilary Swank had lost for Million Dollar Baby, would Amelia have been good?"
No, but she might have been cast in something better. She would have been the woman who just led a Best Picture-winning vehicle instead of the weakest two-time Oscar winner ever.
What's with the Marcia Gay Harden shade doesn't she hold the title "most shock acting win ever."
What's with the Marcia Gay Harden shade doesn't she hold the title "most shock acting win ever."
Marisa Tomei's whole cinematic legacy is that she won an Oscar over more prestigious rivals. And the Tomei legacy crosses over into other award bodies and ceremonies like Merrit Weaver at the Emmys. Marcia Gay Harden winning her lineup without televised precursor support was evidence of a dying standard of voter bodies making up their own minds outside of preordained hype.