Curio: Alan Cumming Snaps

Alexa here.  I've always enjoyed a bit of Alan Cumming; he seems to pop up every now and again, bringing a smile, even if it's just catching him hosting Masterpiece Mystery. As I'm not in New York I can't catch his one-man Macbeth currently at Lincoln Center, something I'd love to witness.  But we can all own a little piece of Alan's vision: turns out he is quite an avid photographer. 

"Listening To The Snow Falling"

Alan apes the look of old Polaroids by altering all his images to create saturated colors and a square format: as he says, "my life is a colorful blur, and so I think it only appropriate that the pictures I take embody that too."  If you have a few hundred dollars to spare, you can purchase signed prints here.  Here's a sampling of Alan's world. 

"Lustrous Pinnacle"

Here's a sampling of Alan's world... 

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Curio: Gypsy Rose Lee

Alexa here.  In honor of Magic Mike opening this weekend and Nathaniel's Stripper Week -- yes, the blog is going there -- I thought I'd celebrate my favorite film stripper, Natalie Wood as the titular Gypsy Rose Lee (née Louise Hovick). Of course, the film is far from one of the best musical adaptations put on film; if only Ethel Merman had been given the chance to put her Broadway signature performance of Mama Rose on screen (Rosalind Russell was such a drag).  But it is probably the rabid Natalie Wood fan in me that can't see anyone else as Gypsy.

Here are some curios (and one of my own) in celebration of the charming ecdysiast.

My vintage tie-in paperback, complete with striptease filmstills.

Click for more including a gorgeous illustration and a bizarre marketing tie-in from 1962.

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Curio: Overlook Ephemera

Poster design by Matt HightowerAlexa here. 32 years ago this very week, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining opened in theaters. Kubrick's masterpiece received mixed reviews and, at least initially, the audience was similarly befuddled.  (My parents love to tell me that when they saw it opening weekend the audience frequently erupted in laughter.)  

It was nominated for two Razzies and zero Oscars.

Despite Stephen King's continued distaste towards it, the film's intrigue continues to grow (for evidence, just watch Room 237). I thought it the perfect time to mention one of my favorite Tumblrs, The Overlook Hotel, a wonderful archive of ephemera, fan art, interviews, and video related to the film.

Like this Scatman Crothers portrait "Shine Baby Shine" 

“Shine Baby Shine” by artist Quyen Dinh.

Click for more Overlook treasures including caricatures and letterhead. 

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6 Thoughts I Had While Staring at Tom Cruise's W Cover

The Rock of Ages push has begun...

• The model to the left must have heard our theory about Tom Cruise's magic sperm: it unlocks great actressing powers ... time-delayed. The effect is only triggered once you are no longer in contact with the stuff (see Mimi Rogers, Penélope Cruz, and Nicole Kidman who all began to do magical work after dumping him)

• Dragon tails are the new nipple clamps.

• Of all the movie stars who have ever worn guyliner, Ewan McGregor wins.

• Why do they photoshop movie stars -- who, generally speaking, are the best looking people on the planet -- to the point where they're barely recognizable? No matter what you think of Tom Cruise he looks pretty great for someone hitting the half century mark.

• What do you suppose the model to the right is whispering in his ear? I'm guessing "Xenuuuuuuuu"

• If Paul Thomas Anderson's 2012 release The Master is really a thinly veiled Scientology movie, do you think it was inspired by his time with Cruise on the Magnolia set. And if so, is Mr. Cruise going to be pissed?

Artist & Muse via Robert Doisneau

Today marks the centennial of the great French photography Robert Doisneau and though he wasn't a celebrity photographer --  the kind we obviously have the greatest use for as film obsessives -- he did them on occassion. I love this shot of one of the great auteur/muse pairings (both onscreen and off) actor Jean Marais (left) and Jean Cocteau (right). 

Here's another of Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot.

Remember when Anthony Hopkins and Natasha McElhone pretended to be them? I know I know. No one saw Surviving Picasso (1996)... but I did because Julianne Moore was Dora Maar (another Picasso victim... excuse me, lover!) and with Julianne I martyr myself to completism. 

If you could photograph one auteur/muse pairing, who would it be?