Ethan Hawke at 50: An Appreciation

by Lynn Lee

If I had to pick one actor who most perfectly embodies the spirit of Generation X, the choice would be a no-brainer.  With all due respect to other 40 and 50something stars (Leo, Brad, Johnny, Keanu) or dead icons (River, Heath) in his peer group, it could never be anyone other than Ethan Hawke.  Not because—or not only because—of Reality Bites, which made him the poster child for cynical, disaffected (but secretly vulnerable) Gen X slackers everywhere.  Rather because his career exemplifies the quiet independence and under-the-radar achievements of that not-quite-lost, but certainly liminal, generation.  He’s been working steadily since his debut, at the age of 14, in Explorers (1985), yet like any good Gen Xer, has successfully eluded easy characterization.  He reaches the half century mark today having assembled one of the most intriguing and eclectic bodies of work of any currently living actor... 

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Showbiz History: Dead Poets, The Crown, and Annie Potts' Debut

Happy birthday June 2nd-ers! Here's what was happening in showbiz or showbiz-related history on the day you were born...

1740 The Marquis de Sade is born. Lives on in immortal infamy and morphs into Geoffrey Rush in 2000 for the SAG & Golden Globe nominated Quills. I always forget that that movie WON Best Picture at the NBR and then wasn't even Oscar nominated for Best Picture (a thing that doesn't happen super often.)

1865 The American Civil War reaches a major turning point signalling the end (basically) when the final Confederate army ceases to exist with a surrender in Missississippi. There's a million movies on the matter (well, not that event in particular). The wounds have obviously become reinfected of late, so expect even more.

1904 Athlete and movie star Johnny Weismuller born in Austria-Hungary (in what is now Romania)...

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Stage Door: "Dead Poet's Society"

Andy Warhol's prescient statement 'in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes' has been requoted to death. If he had been even more specific in his prophesies he could have added '...and every movie made in the 80s and 90s movie will become a stage play.' The latest film to make the jump is Peter Weir's boy's school drama Dead Poet's Society which was a big hit with the public and Oscar in 1989. For those who've never seen it (I'm sure you're out there somewhere) Robin Williams plays an unconventional teacher who convinces high school boys to "carpe diem / seize the day!" but this inspirational message has unintended tragic consequences when one boy's dream (Robert Sean Leonard) clashes with his reality in the form of a disapproving father. In the new play film actors Jason Sudeikis and Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Stanford Prison Experiment) get those two marquee roles...

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Links: Feat. the Totally Awesome 80s

Movie Mezzanine 'History of Film: Best of the Sixties.' They polled lots and lots of film critics including me. And you can see our individual lists. I appear to be the only person who listed West Side Story but some of my other choices are appropriately snooty if you need that.
THR most tweeted tv shows and events. Naturally the Oscars are #1 for specials (Golden Globes in #3 behind the Grammys).  
VF Hollywood celebrates the 25th anniversary of Dead Poets Society (1989) by getting all up in preppy nostalgia

/Film Whaaaaa? The War of the Roses (1989) is getting a sequel. Pity that we can't have Kathleen Turner back but that would be impossible. Unless it's also a supernatural sequel
Serious Film how many of these Eternal Sunshine details have you noticed on your multiple views? 
/bent blog Kyle Turner looks at the roles of mothers in the films of Xavier Dolan
Hero Complex Sigourney Weaver reminisces about her time as Lt. Ellen Ripley in the Aliens franchise
Michigan Live Detroit gets its official RoboCop bronze statue today and RoboCop will also throw the first ball at the Detroit Tigers game tonight.  He's come a long way since his 1987 debut.
Variety The next Woody Allen film (with Joaquin Phoenix - who is really getting around with the auteurs! - and Emma Stone) starts shooting in a couple of months. In Rhode Island. More cast tba very soon.

Stage Door
Can you believe the Tonys are on this weekend? So fast. 
Adam Shankman announces his cast for Hair at the Hollywood Bowl in August. Given the names (Kristen Bell, Benjamin Walker -- yaasss, and various TV stars) I'm guessing they don't do the big 'entire cast gets naked for one song' thing that most productions do.
Boy Culture Crazy story about an audience heckler at a California production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof unfortunately leads to actors departing the show and bad blood with producers. As a regular theatergoer, I would have applauded the actor who left the stage to handle this. An unruly audience member can really ruin a play.

Today's Watch
And this is unexpected but delightful. Bianca Del Rio, the Queen of Mean, wants to star in a feature film comedy about a teacher who is fired for being gay. For revenge he returns to the school as a mean "lady" and gets hired again. Shades of Tootsie only without the you know, Oscarworthy acting or depth.

But still! As a huge fan of Bianca, I approve of this becoming a movie though in truth I was hoping for a sitcom. I guess I should've dreamed bigger.