Friday
Nov182011
Ask Nathaniel...
Friday, November 18, 2011 at 1:57PM 
So last week we did two Q & A columns, parts 1 & 2 to make up for our late late lateness with this column. (sigh). But here we go again. Curveball: No questions about legendary actresses this week! We talk about them all the time anyway.
Ask away: no multi-part questions, no top ten lists... the more succinct the question, the more chance it gets answered. Go!
Reader Comments (65)
Any thoughts on Jean-Jacques Beineix' 'Diva'?
You're cast in a film version of American Horror Story and you have to choose a famous male actor from this past decade to be a ghost who will possible have sexy time with you, who would you cast? Lol
You have been given the greenlight to cast a gritty 1 hr Showtime series following the lives of 3 Las Vegas sex workers and their jaded, tough-as-nails former call-girl boss. Cast the ladies!
Go!
No top ten, any number will do: Favorite actors (male) who are not conventionally handsome?
If you were in charge of the Emmy awards how many nominations/wins would Buffy the Vampire Slayer have received?
Sharon Stone (Crazy!!!) and Helena Bonham Carter (Crazier!!!) are starring in a stage musical of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" Who plays which part and wy? :-)
I recently watched Kiss of the Spider Woiman for the first time in 3 years... I know you loved William Hurt in it, but what did you think of Raul Julia in that movie and in general?
Like George Clooney, which current television actors would you see having a successful career on the big screen?
I know you're a fan of European cinema, but... how much do you know about Portuguese cinema (or another way to put it: how many Portuguese movies have you seen?)
With three summer releases still alive in the Best Picture race (The Help, Midnight in Paris, The Tree of Life) and fall Oscar-bait movies seemingly underwhelming left and right (J. Edgar, The Ides of March, Carnage, A Dangerous Method, etc.), do you think the so-called "Oscar season" will become less relevant in the coming years?
For some reason, I remember you saying a while ago that you hadn't seen "The Lives of Others". Did you get around to seeing it since then? I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially on the role of the actress (i.e. the character, not the actress who played her) in the film.
Call the next Oscar winners now in acting now. No guts, no glory. Don't think too much about it. Just say how do you feel about these races.
If seeing a film in a theater with another person, how long do you wait before discussing it? Credits, walking out, drive home, next day over the phone, never?
These three actresses are only an Oscar away from the illustrious EGOT. What type of project would you put them in or what type of character should they play that would win them the award? The women are: Lily Tomlin, Bette Midler, Cynthia Nixon.
What film would you give the most personal nominations for acting? Or maybe what film has the most great performances?
Since you don't allow yourself to change your personal award winners/nominees later on, which are some of your choices that you regret the most in retrospect? The only one I remember you talking about is nominating Kate Hudson back in 2000.
With nudity from stars being such a stigma, but with Kirsten Dunst, Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslet showing it's no big deal, what actress needs to bare all to break into the big time?
I once heard Alexander Payne say at a meet-and-greet that if he ever has children, the only movies he would let them watch, until they were ten, would be old silent classics. When he said this, I laughed, and he shot me a look and said, "I'm serious." In your hypothetical rules on child-raising, what movie watching rule would you impose if your goal was to raise kids who loved movies?
Argh, I had an ideal legendary actress question this week (I shall have to save it):
Which legendary male actor would you like to pull a Christopher Plummer and make a comeback and get his first nomination-must be 65 or older to enter.
Which contender in any of the acting categories would you have least expected to see end up with an Oscar nomination when you were first watching his/her career get started?
have you seen any filipino film that you liked or loved?
Cinematic knowledge: who was the first ever director to act in his own movie? And I mean, like, 5 minutes of dialogue, not e.g. the Hitchcock cameos. And if you have a favorite performance of the kind, please do tell. :)
Are there any legendary performances (like, Vivien Leigh as Scarlet O'Hara-type legendary) that you just don't get what all the fuss is about?
What writer/director combo that would likely never work together would you love to see do so? One set alive, one no longer with us.
I say a clip of the Directors Roundtable the other and the interviewer asked Steve McQueen why white directors never cast minorities in leading roles of thier film and Steve snapped back ask them and they couldn't come up with a anwser. So my question is do you think it was sad they couldn't come up with an anwser?
What's your favorite/least favorite thing about going to the movies? I personally am a sticker (was gonna say Nazi, but I don't want Kirsten Dunst to be embarrassed by me) for movie theater seating. I have a rather amusing story about an afternoon showing of Road to Perdition, an empty theater, and two talkative old ladies.
Sally Kirkland, Sean Young, Ellen Barkin or Anna Thompson, witch one of these Diva (or another) would you like to see being directed by the GREAT John Waters?
As an avid reader of TFE for the last two years, I finally had my first Nathaniel dream...in it, you were moving to California...obviously, the dream has more to do with me than anyone else, but it got me thinking...would you consider moving to CA to be closer to the industry, the events, possibly more money, or does New York suit you just fine?
What is more likely to you? Tina Fey getting Oscar nominated for her acting or her writing?
Yes @ Sean D's Buffy question!! I wanna know the same thing.
What does Drew Barrymore need to do to become an Oscar nominee?
ALL ABOUT EVE or SUNSET BOULEVARD? Which vote would you cast for the 1950 Best Picture? Both equally great films with two stunning performances from its leading ladies, as well as a wonderful supporting cast. How would you choose?
John T: Most of the truly legendary ones manage to pull at least one nomination by that point. The one I think of most readily is Eli Wallach, who had an insanely strong early career, and elevated films, like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, with performances that they didn't fully deserve. His career unfortunately petered out by the mid 70s.
Courtney Love wants Ryan Gosling or James McAvoy to play her dead husband and Scarlett Johansson to play herself in the upcoming biopic about Kurt Cobain (that will be directed by Oren Moverman), but do you agree? Who would you cast as Kurt and Courtney?
Which film or character do you personally relate to the most?
or for a less personal, more mean-spirited question,
You have the chance to permanently end someone's career in Hollywood. (Actor, Actress, Director, etc, are all fair game.) Who do you choose?
What do you think about the Occupy Wall Street movement? What would make you occupy Wall Street?
Why do you think Claire Danes never really had a super successful transition to movies? She seems to thrive in television (My So-Called Life, Temple Grandin, Homeland) but something about her career never really took off on the big screen. Do you think she's just in need of the right project or her style of acting is better suited to tv? Do you see her ever winning an Oscar? Should she already have one?
Do you love Charlize Theron? If so, when did you realize it? For me, I thought her performance in Monster was one of the best ever, but it wash;t until those Dior commercials.
I loved re-reading your interview with Kirsten Dunst and am very, very happy that her career seems to be back on track after a momentary setback and that she appears to be getting roles worthy of her talent. My question is: What current, young actress (in the age range of Dunst, aka 20s-early 30s) is in dangerous need of a career rebirth like Dunst? And what do they need to do to be taken more seriously as an actress (aka what projects should they start taking to help them utilize their gifts more effectively, etc.)?
What was your favorite experience of seeing a movie with an audience, where the audience's reaction actually enhanced your viewing?
Yay, I've never gotten my question in in time before.
What will it take to get Lindsay Lohan's career back on track? If you were advising her, what direction would you steer her in? (Theater? Edgy indepedent film? sitcom?) Would love to hear your thought on Lilo's next move! :-)
Vanity Fair will be releasing their Hollywood Issue soon (probably shot it already). If they were to do a cover like the 2001 cover (Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Catherine Deneuve, etc) but with men that are legendary and younger actors established/establishing themselves, who would you choose?
That should be "whom" not "who". How embarrassing.
If you won a trip to any film festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
No offense to Kristen Stewart, but which young actress would you have casted instead in Snow White and the Huntsman?
You just got the greenlight to cast and start filming you TV Comedy Pilot about a girl starting college and have to cast an actress in the leading role who would you cast that definatley needs an career boost?
Which recent film would make the leap to television and prove a MASH-ing success? And which television series has the bones to make a great film?
Take the five nominees from one of the main four acting categories of your most recent Film Bitch Awards and cast them in an ensemble drama, who does each person play and why?
Actors/actresses whom, despite being not very talented or having a memorable career, you enjoy immensely because of their outstanding personal persona? The first names that pop into my head are Channing Tatum and Chris Rock.
If you had the power to make Focus Features adapt a book, which of your favorite novels - not yet already adapted into a film - would you choose? Who would you cast? And who would you pick for director?
Side Question: there was this excellent sounding book you once wrote about, it had a forsaken city in a sort of giant ball in the sky, and the city was ruled/overseen by this vicious angel character. There were several gods/angels in this story. And there was one particular god/angel/demon that came around every hundred years and the city/angels were waiting for it and that's where I forget what else happened.
ANY idea at all what book that could have been!!!?? (thank you!!)
From all the CW shows, whats your favorite?