Happy Birthday, Julie Andrews!

by Cláudio Alves

Julie Andrews accepting her AFI Tribute Award in 2021.

Here, at The Film Experience, we keep to a 10|25|50|75|100 model when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries. Yet, as the world of entertainment lost so many bright lights in the past few days – Maggie Smith, Kris Kristofferson, Gavin Creel, Ken Page, John Amos, and Kalen Gorman – it feels right to take a moment and show some love to those who are still with us. Case in point is the jubilant Julie Andrews, who celebrates her 89th birthday today. This living legend of stage and screen is beyond compare, with a career that spans across eight decades, from entertaining the troops with her parents in the mid-40s to recent voice-over work in such projects as Aquaman and the Bridgerton franchise, for which Andrews has received three Emmy nominations.

All that said, the actress will always have a special place in my heart for reasons that go beyond her body of work. Allow me to share a personal musing…

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Happy 50th, Ewan McGregor, an Eternal Sexpot!

by Christopher James

Heartthrob Ewan McGregor hasn't aged a day, even as he turns 50 today.Everyone remembers their first movie star crush. Ewan McGregor wasn’t my first love, but certainly was an early obsession. Today on his fiftieth birthday, we celebrate a movie star who still hasn’t lost his good looks, effervescent glow and boundless energy.

Ewan McGregor was born on March 31st, 1971 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. In his nearly three decades of work as an actor, McGregor has been a swoon-worthy leading man, a Jedi, and, most importantly, a juicy snack. His performances have sparked the sexual awakening of so many millennial gay men and women, including yours truly. It helps when he either sings or gets naked in every one of his movies. He can do anything (except get that Oscar nomination that has eluded him for so long). True stars only get better with age, and Ewan is no exception. After the jump some of the thirstiest Ewan McGregor moments (NSFW)...

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Happy 75th Birthday, David Lynch

by Eric Blume

David Lynch during quarantine this past summer

One of the greatest living American film directors, David Lynch, turns 75 today, so it's only fitting we take a moment to celebrate this unique visionary and his wonderful contributions to our cinema. Lynch is so rightfully esteemed and exulted that it's easy to forget he's only made ten feature films during his 40+ years in the industry! 

But right out of the box, with 1977's Eraserhead, he delivered a film so singular that it was clear a new voice had arrived.  He followed it with 1980's The Elephant Man, for which he received his first Best Director nomination, and while his second film was a bankrolled studio movie on one hand, it still bears Lynch's dark imagination throughout.  Lynch was the perfect director to see the soul of John Merrick, as he's always seen the beauty in the "ugly" and spent most of the rest of his career blurring those two ideas, visually and psychologically...

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Regina King @ 50: Stealing the spotlight in "Ray"

by Cláudio Alves

Despite having leading roles in her resume and a just-released directorial effort, it feels appropriate that this weekend's birthday-girl Regina King's Oscar is for Best Supporting Actress. From the very start of her career, she's been a consummate scene-stealer, adding energy and blinding charisma to the margins of her productions. One remembers the actress' superb comedic debut in Boyz n the Hood, the unimprovable hilarity of Jerry Maguire, the two awards-winning turning points in her career, TV's American Crime and the big screen's If Beale Street Could Talk. Still, it's hard not to wish that her big break had come sooner since the quality has always been there. In other words, how in the hell did King get next to no awards buzz for her captivating performance in Best Picture-nominee Ray?...

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How Timothée’s Elio Changed Me

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Oscar nominee and Twitter boyfriend Timothée Chalamet celebrates his 25th birthday today. With a film career that spans less than a decade, Chalamet already made a huge cultural mark by becoming the youngest Best Actor nominee since 1939 for his work in 2017’s Call Me by Your Name. Adapted from the novel by André Aciman, the film tells the story of the romance between Elio (Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer) in the summer of 1983 in northern Italy. While Chalamet has continued to do interesting work, he has yet to match the widespread critical acclaim that he earned for this performance. 

It is then just apt for me to celebrate his birthday by recounting the very precious moment of being introduced to him by watching Call Me by Your Name for the first time and its profound impact on me. This is going to be some candid storytelling so fasten your seatbelts...

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