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2009 | 2008 | 2004

20 articles from 2009

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Norma Shearer: Proudly and Inescapably Neurotic

28 November 2009 1:56 PM, PST | Alternative Film Guide | See recent Alternative Film Guide news »

Two radically different Norma Shearer characters: as loving (ditched) wife and mother in The Women, with Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell (top); as a woman with a penchant for pointed feathers in Lady of the Night (bottom). She also enjoyed to be slapped around by Clark Gable in A Free Soul (below right) Mike Lasalle on Norma Shearer: "Shearer was at her best in the films no one sees: her silents. When you see her in the masterpieces she made with Monta Bell – or even in fluff, such as Lady of Chance – there’s no question that she was a great silent-film actress. In the talkies, the work is uneven, sometimes in curious ways. … Generally, I think the mistake [...] »

- Andre Soares

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Amelia | Film review

14 November 2009 4:06 PM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

Amelia Earhart, the great pioneer aviatrix, has been impersonated on screen by numerous actresses, among them Katharine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Diane Keaton and Amy Adams. But never as convincingly as she is by Hilary Swank in this immensely enjoyably biopic from the Indian director who made her name with Salaam Bombay!. With the right short haircut, some orthodontic effects and sporting her regular radiant smile, Swank bears an uncanny resemblance to Earhart and the film borrows the device Billy Wilder used in his Lindbergh film, Spirit of St Louis, of telling her story in flashbacks from an epic flight. In her case, it's the doomed round-the-world trip she embarked on in 1937 in her 40th year, accompanied by ace celestial navigator Fred Noonan.

The film chronicles her early fascination with flight, her companionate marriage to publisher and publicist George Putnam (Richard Gere at his most charming), her two record-breaking transatlantic flights, »

- Philip French

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Oscar quiz: Which gals did naughty Golden Boy jilt the most?

6 November 2009 4:23 PM, PST | Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news »

Two of these stars below are tied for suffering the most Oscar snubs among actresses: six defeats, no wins. Can you name them? To see the answer, click the "Continue Reading" link underneath the photos. Answer: Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter. Oscarless Rosalind Russell and Barbara Stanwyck lost four times each, Liv Ullmann twice. Two male stars lost more times than all of these women: Peter O'Toole (eight times) and Richard Burton (seven). Photos: Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, United Artists, Paramount More Gold Derby Awards Quizzes Can you spot the Oscar nominee for best actor? Can you spot the Oscar nominee for best picture? Who turned down Kevin Spacey's Oscar-winning role in 'American Beauty'?... »

- tomoneil

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AFI's 100 Years ...100 Movie Quotes

4 November 2009 4:45 AM, PST | Extra | See recent Extra news »

"Extra" brings you AFI's 100 Best Movie Quotes of all time! From "The Wizard of Oz" to "Taxi Driver," see if your favorites made the list!

AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie QuotesGone with the Wind (1939)

“Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.” —Said by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara.

The Godfather (1972)

“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” —Marlon Brando as Don Corleone.

On the Waterfront (1954)

“You don’t understand! »

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Oscars quiz: Can you spot the only best actress nominee?

31 October 2009 5:10 PM, PDT | Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news »

Just one of the four roles pictured below earned an acting bid for its star. Which one? Here's the answer. Answer: Eleven years after she won in the supporting race for "Cactus Flower," Goldie Hawn was nominated in lead for a featherweight comic role widely dismissed as not worthy of the Oscars' attention in 1980. The other three performances pictured in this quiz were all iconic screen turns outrageously snubbed by academy members. "My Fair Lady" won eight Academy Awards in 1964, including best picture, but its "lady" wasn't even nominated, probably because voters resented the fact that Audrey Hepburn lip-synched to Marni Nixon singing. Rosalind Russell never won an Oscar, but was nominated four times. Unfortunately, she was snubbed for her greatest role — as the brazen stage mom Rose in "Gypsy." The role is so dramatically showy that it usually nabs awards attention. On Broadway, Angela Lansbury (1975), Tyne Daly (1990) and Patti LuPone »

- tomoneil

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Free Flick of the Day: His Girl Friday

31 October 2009 3:02 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

By now, you've had your fill of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. You've cleaned up pumpkin guts, peeled off your skin along with your spirit gum prosthetics, hoping OxyClean gets fake blood stains out of your carpet. You need a movie with class, wit, and Cary Grant. You need Howard Hawks' classic His Girl Friday, which is playing right now on SlashControl.

There's nothing I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. Rosalind Russell's Hildegard "Hildy" Johnson remains one of the gutsiest heroines to ever grace the silver screen, and the fact that Cary Grant's Walter Burns loves her for her byline makes him one of the sexiest men of all time. The romance, the scheming, and the race to the presses will still leave you dizzy and laughing. Oh, and let's not forget the clothes. Oh, to spend »

- Elisabeth Rappe

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Toronto: Getting high on 'Up in the Air'

12 September 2009 10:09 AM, PDT | EW.com - The Movie Critics | See recent EW.com - The Movie Critics news »

Here are a few of the kinds of movies I wish that Hollywood made a lot more often (or maybe even two or three times a year): a romantic comedy that's not just about situations but behavior, with two flawed and fascinating adults trying to figure out how to act around each other; a movie that connects to a large audience because it taps, in a rich and bold and immediate way, into the fears and anxieties of our time; a comedy in which the dialogue pings with wit and imagination and verve, yet without calling too much attention to itself (so that it doesn't make your teeth hurt the way that Duplicity did); a movie that keeps surprising you because its characters keep surprising themselves. The beauty of Up in the Air, the new film directed by Jason Reitman (Juno), is that it's all those things at once. »

- Owen Gleiberman

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Tilda Swinton Plans Redo Of Auntie Mame

8 September 2009 12:28 AM, PDT | EmpireOnline | See recent EmpireOnline news »

If things work out how she wants, Tilda Swinton will be Auntie Mame.The Oscar-winning British actress has been in Venice this week, plugging her new film, Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love, and the Italian director told Variety that the duo plan to reteam on a remake of Auntie Mame, the 1958 Rosalind Russell-starring drama that was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar."This is an Sos for Warner Bros. to give us the rights for this remake, which only Tilda could do justice to," he said.If Warners relent, then Swinton would take the title role once played by Russell; that of an eccentric and fast-living socialite whose life is transformed when her ten year-old nephew is placed in her care.Russell was nominated for an Oscar for her feisty, funny performance, and the hope for Swinton is that she can repeat the trick. Guadagnino also mentioned that »

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Free Flick Fridays: His Girl Friday

7 August 2009 1:00 AM, PDT | TribecaFilm.com | See recent Tribeca Film news »

His Girl Friday Dir. Howard Hawks (1940) Travel back to a time when the news was glamorous - not an endangered species - and reporters were sexy with today's pick, His Girl Friday. Howard Hawks' nostalgic picture, based on the play The Front Page, stars the dreamy Cary Grant as Walter Burns, editor of a major Chicago newspaper. When Burns' former wife and top notch reporter, Hildy Johnson (played by four-time Oscar nominee Rosalind Russell) informs him of her pending nuptials to insurance salesman Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy, perpetual Baxter) and subsequent retirement from the paper, Burns resolves to get her to stay, whatever it takes! With his pranks and pratfalls, Burns creates a very tangled web in this charming comedy from a long-gone era. If you're hankering for Grant on the big screen, check out Bam's Cary Grant Film Festival, which has screenings until August 20. Watch the film now »

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New On DVD This Week

4 August 2009 10:15 AM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

Here’s a list of some of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases this week we’re particularly interested in. Plus, some old favorites (and not so favorites) coming out this week for the first time on Blu-ray.

Movies

Race to Witch Mountain ~ Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb, and Alexander  Ludwig (DVD and Blu-ray)

The Soloist ~ Robert Downey, Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, and Stephen Root (DVD and Blu-ray)

Obsessed ~ Beyoncé Knowles, Idris Elba, Ali Larter, and Jerry O’Connell (DVD and Blu-ray)

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 ~ Tommy Lee Jones, Brian Dowling, Vic Gatto, and Frank Champi (DVD and Blu-ray)

My Cousin Vinny ~ Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio and Marisa Tomei (Blu-ray)

Mutant Chronicles ~ Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, and John Malkovich (DVD and Blu-ray)

The Tigger Movie ~ John Hurt, Ken Sansom, Kath Soucie, and John Fiedler (DVD and Blu-ray)

Ulysses ~ Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Franco Interlenghi, and Daniel Ivernel (DVD)

Fragments ~ Marshall Allman, »

- Joe Gillis

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Why Hollywood hates career women

3 August 2009 9:00 AM, PDT | AfterEllen.com | See recent AfterEllen.com news »

If contemporary feminism taught me anything growing up, it was that I could be whoever and whatever I wanted to be. A doctor? Why not! First woman president? Sure! Over the years, women are in more powerful career positions than ever before (in America, at least) and while workplace sexism clearly still exists, we can’t help but wonder why Hollywood continued to wage war on career-minded ladies.

NPR tackled the issue this week in an episode of Fresh Air, featuring commentary from movie critic John Powers. Powers realizes that the demonization of working women in Hollywood movies has always existed, but took his opportunity on Fresh Air to discuss the recently released romantic comedies that many consider misogynist: The Ugly Truth and The Proposal.

Despite the fact that both films are executive produced by their stars — Katherine Heigl and Sandra Bullock, the film still reeks of sexism. Powers explains:

In The Proposal, »

- jen sabella

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July 24: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings

24 July 2009 2:11 PM, PDT | www.flickfilosopher.com | See recent FlickFilosopher news »

We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but have you seen the price of a ticket these days? That’s the real “ugly truth” at the multiplex. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you see that new flick about the James Bond-wannabe hamsters?” you can reply, “No, I prefer my cinematic rodents not to be 25 feet tall.” Instead Of: The Ugly Truth, an ugly “battle of the sexes” would-be comedy about a mismatched couple (Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl) who hate each other until they don’t... Watch: An actual classic of the screwball comedy genre, such as 1940’s His Girl Friday, in which Cary Grant’s hard-edged newspaper editor squares off against his star reporter, played by Rosalind Russell... who also happens to be his ex-wife. »

- MaryAnn Johanson

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The Trailer for 'Amelia' Takes Flight

26 June 2009 8:02 AM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

A biopic of Amelia Earhart is like every girl's dream come true. Did any woman not grow up idolizing her, spend hours covering her gorgeous flight jackets, and wondering just where her plane vanished to? She has a story just made for the big screen, and if there was an actress who could pull it off, I do think it's Hilary Swank. She has the physical resemblance, and I know she has the talent, if only because I still love her as Maggie Fitzgerald.

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing much promise in Amelia. The first trailer for Mira Nair's biopic has gone online at Yahoo! Movies. (I've embedded a version below the jump to make it easier, but be sure to go visit Yahoo! for the HD version.) While it's beautifully costumed and lushly filmed, it looks a little too teary and overwrought. Admittedly, my image of Earhart is one »

- Elisabeth Rappe

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Ellen Byerrum's 'Killer Hair' on TV June 21 - comedy, mystery, romance, murder, and ... women

19 June 2009 2:20 PM, PDT | Pretty/Scary | See recent pretty-scary news »

Author Ellen Byerrum's mystery/comedy/fashionsploitation novel Killer Hair (which unfortunately is not about hair that kills you) has been adapted for TV! (Sunday, Lifetime Movie Network, 8 Et/9 Pt) Killer Hair (along with June 28's Hostile Makeover, 8 Et/9 Et), is based on Byerrum's Crime of Fashion novels and feature fashion columnist/murder solver Lacey Smithsonian. All you really need is a good pun and the rest of the story practcially writes itself (see Terror Firmer and/or Poultreygeist.)

"Somebody asked me what you would call it and I said, 'A crime-edy, I guess.' I thought that might sum it up a little better than comedy or procedural or romance," says Maggie Lawson (Psych) to USAToday, who plays Washington, D.C., fashion columnist and amateur sleuth Lacey Smithsonian...

Lacey and a friend (Sadie LeBlanc) become convinced that a suicide is actually murder when they see the corpse has a horrible haircut. »

- Superheidi

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Unprincipled Hacks and Imperious Haughties

29 April 2009 11:50 AM, PDT | Vanity Fair | See recent Vanity Fair news »

In the trembling aftermath of the Specter defection, Nate Silver (whom I met last week at a swinging loft party on the Lower East Side that was enlivened at one point by an interpretive free-form dance solo) asks: [I]f you're a Democrat, would you really want Arlen Specter to be anything other than a soulless, unprincipled hack? Hell, no. Or to put it another way, Hell, no! For a man of his years, Specter's political pliancy would make him the marvel of any Ineygar yoga class, his joints so lubricated with oily calculation that he can take as many positions as there are positions to take, then add in an extra one to express his eccentricity. Every institution needs its unprincipled hacks to prevent a crippling arthritis of integrity that leads to stasis and false pride. For example, let's say a magazine needs an extended caption on a young stunner »

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DVD release inspirations including How To Lose Friends...

16 March 2009 4:40 AM, PDT | Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news »

Hello and welcome to another dose of film fun Boxwishers. After the kick-ass action of Watchmen fortnight, we’re toning it down a bit this week. We’ve got four of the sunshine styles as worn by Jennifer Aniston in comedy/ drama Marley & Me that are just perfect for your summer wardrobe and all the gossip on how to get the sophisticated look of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in saucy spy thriller Duplicity. But before all that, let’s check out some of the new DVD releases coming your way from today and it’s certainly a mixed bag of goodies certain to please all tastes. There’s period splendour, goofy comedy hijinks, non-stop chase action and fashionable women getting bitchy – what more could you ask for?

If you see… Beloved Brit comedy star Simon Pegg “go Hollywood” in hilarious fish out of water chucklefest How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. »

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Don't you wish old photos came with audio tracks?

3 March 2009 1:44 PM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Or that you could time travel into the room as they were being taken.

[photo src]

And if either of those things were possible, wouldn't you grab every Old Hollywood candid you could find in order to listen in or join the party? What exactly would Rosalind Russell, Greer Garson and Merle Oberon chat about anyway? Roz only cares about the camera but who are Greer and Merle all smiles about?

I mean just fantasize for a moment about a night at ... on the bar with Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert.

[photo src]

How much would you have to drink to not be starstruck and join right in. Too much. Too much I say. The mind clouds. The hangover would be epic.

Here's a photo I've cherished my whole life from an old out of print Natalie Wood book from the 80s. It's Dennis Hopper and Wood discussing acting styles as they screen A Streetcar Named Desire »

- NATHANIEL R

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Live blogging the Oscars

22 February 2009 12:07 PM, PST | Gold Derby | See recent Gold Derby news »

Make this blog item your home page for the rest of Oscar day. Tom O'Neil and Paul Sheehan are blogging live continuously all day. Keep hitting "refresh" for constant updates about what's happening at the Kodak Theatre.

9:06 p.m. — As with all of the past seven Oscars held at the Kodak Theater, the Governors Ball takes place in the adjoining Grand Ballroom which is 25,090 square feet. The menu for the Governors Ball was created by Wolfgang Puck for the fifteenth consecutive year. He promises the return of old favorites like tuna tartare in sesame miso cones and Maine lobster as well as, of course, caviar. And pastry chef Sherry Yard will once more be creating her gold-dusted chocolate Oscars as consolation prizes for those who didn’t get one of the real ones. Music will be spun by Kcrw radio host Jason Bentley who will alternate with The Impulse »

- tomoneil

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[DVD Review] The Natalie Wood Collection

7 February 2009 12:58 PM, PST | JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news »

I didn’t really know I liked Natalie Wood until about a week ago. Setting into the Warner Brothers Natalie Wood Collection I had no real idea what to expect. I’d already seen Inside Daisy Clover and Love with the Proper Stranger, and to be honest I only liked the latter. So her track record with me was 50/50. When I put those films up against all the other classic cinema I enjoyed, Inside Daisy Clover just seemed to fall short. Luckily, in the Natalie Wood Collection the quality is a pretty even split.

Bombers B-52 (1957)

I felt that the inclusion of Bombers B-52 in the Natalie Wood Collection mislead me. Considering the plot revolves around Sgt. Chuck Brennan (Karl Malden) and his grudge against Col. Jim Herlihy (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) – why is this considered a Natalie Wood film? Her role, as Brennan’s daughter, may get a maximum screen »

- Lex Walker

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DVD Review: ‘Natalie Wood Collection’ Offers Glimpse at Movie Legend

3 February 2009 7:43 AM, PST | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0 Chicago – When I hear phrases like “screen icon” or “Hollywood legend,” one of the first people that I think of is Natalie Wood. Six of the famous star’s films have been compiled for the “Natalie Wood Collection,” a great starter set for classic movie buffs intrigued by this timeless star or collector’s looking to enhance their catalog.

Gone way too soon, Wood appeared in 56 film and television roles, becoming an internationally recognized star before she was even old enough to drive. Wood first appeared on screen when she was only five and won acclaim when she was only nine for her work in “Miracle on 34th Street”. She would go on to start in irrefutable classics like “Rebel Without a Cause” and “West Side Story”. She was nominated for three Academy Awards and seven Golden Globes, winning three of the latter.

One of Wood’s Oscar »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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2009 | 2008 | 2004

20 articles from 2009

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