The Scarlet Linker
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 11:36AM 
Hollywood Reporter on the highlights from the Gotham Awards. Patton Oswalt and Elizabeth Olsen were apparently big hits.
Tom Shone Best Performances of 2011. Love this fluid quick take annual feature.
I Need My Fix Is Christopher Meloni joining True Blood for Season Five? Could that show possibly contain yet more explosive sexiness?
GQ interviews director Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows) and yes he actually talks about Madonna and the divorce.... which...
Lainey Gossip has an interesting take on what he means when he says "I'm glad I made money" in the interview with which I would totally agree if that's what I was sure he meant. But it seems highly interpretable to me. Maybe that's not what he meant at all.
Stale Popcorn Glenn speaks out on Meryl Streep's anti-auteur tendencies and what's going on with the quest for that third Oscar. Good piece.
Coming Soon Lizard concept art from The Amazing Spider-Man
Alt Screen get yourself to Film Forum over the next two months and bone up on the silent film masterpieces they're showing.
Liz Smith shares a funny e-mail from showbiz widow Tita Cahn about J. Edgar.
Worst line ever spoken between two men in a movie - 'will you be my number two?' "
Hee. That's just one piece of it.
Telegraph TFE friend Tim Robey pays tribute to the one and only Ken Russell, remembering their last encounter at a screening of The Devils.
Perez Hilton Wow. Apparently Meryl Streep donated her Iron Lady salary to the National Women's History Museum
Movielicious offers up this poster comparison, Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War (which I'm not hearing good things about) and Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey (which I am).
Hmmmm...
My New Plaid Pants Have you heard about this reboot of The Munsters. I'm trusting JA to keep me informed as he's knowledgable on all things Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls) one of the best and most idiosyncratic TV minds out there.
MTV Charlize Theron's 2011 Tour of Comedic Movie Star Amazement continues whilst discussing Snow White and the Hunstman.
I haven't really worked with [Kristen]. I've done some small things with her, but we're about to shoot our big showdown, and fingers crossed for me. It's the big battle. I'm just really, really, really hoping I get to kill her. That is how the story ends up, right?"
[For more on her awesome Tour of Tours check out the Actress Roundtable post and the DGA screening of Young Adult.]
Finally...
Movie|Line has a great interactive Shame map. You can follow Brandon's ritual around the city. It beats an expensive trip to the Museum of Sex here in NYC.
Reader Comments (23)
Here's a link to Wikipedia and a poster to a 2009 RPG game Dragon Ade: Origins. Doesn't it look familiar?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dragon_Age.jpg
- Loved the piece on maryl Streep. That's it, except that she should have won for The Bridges of Madison County, give or take Elisabeth Shue. It's a major, towering work, with one the greatest auteurs of American Movies (when he is not lazy as he's been recently).
- Please, we can't start any conversation about the best performances of the year without Juliette Binoche in Certified Copy. The year hasn't begun in September, sorry.
Charlize is giving me more reasons to love her every day.
I actually liked "The Flowers of War" a lot more than "In the Land of Blood and Honey". They are both very contrived and manipulative, with some incredibly cheesy lines. But the former at least have some truly breathtaking sequences with a great ensemble of first-time actors. The latter to me just feels like a more violent and simple-minded version of "Lust, Caution" or "Black Book"...
cal, on Streep winning for Bridges of Madison County: Against who was nominated? Sure, it was a three way race that could have gotten justified wins for Streep, Sarandon or Shue. Against the entire year? Julianne Moore in Safe!! Lili Taylor in The Addiction!! See them, and then we'll talk in the next open thread. And as for Eastwood: Good director with a couple of almost undeniably great westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven) but not really one of the "greatest auteurs of American cinema", especially not when compared to a Todd Haynes (primary theme: the disparity between reality and pop consciousness when it comes to time periods), a David Lynch (primary theme: the difference between reality and dreams, focus on surrealist/metaphorical imagery), or a Darren Aronofsky (primary theme: the destructive quality of ambition). I wouldn't even view him as an auteur, mostly because, to me, that implies not only that you're a director (that's everyone who makes a film) but that you have similarity of theme between films and/or recurring motifs. The director who released Gran Torino and Changeling in the same year does not qualify as "auteur" in my mind.
Glenn's article on Meryl begs the question.....what scripts do these auteur heavy-hitting directors have for a 62 year old woman who can carry a movie all her own??? THe article makes the assumption that she has been turning down these directors and opportunities...but WAKE UP....they do NOT exist....that is why Streep has to make her own way...and I think she is doing great....where is Sarandon? Pfeiffer? GLenn, what 62 year old woman is working around these auteur directors???
I don't know if Meryl could handle working with some of the celebrated auteurs right now, I do think it's an ego thing and she just doesn't want to give herself over. She's not a young, starry-eyed IT girl anymore. I think she likes to work how she likes to work and finds directors who will comply. Although, I'm willing to bet that if she made it clear to certain directors that she wanted to work with them in some way, they would try their best to get her in their movies.
BIa- can you prove that? I do not think the issues are directors. My gut tells me she would love to work with ANYONE if the script has a good part for her. Looking at her movie choices over the decade...i think that last sentence is true.
Yeah-I tend to agree on the count of which auteur directors have roles for her? Look at some of the recent work from "auteur" directors and women her age or thereabouts-Charlotte Rampling was onscreen for minutes in Melancholia, The Tree of Life had no significant roles for women other than 30-year-old Jessica Chastain, even someone like Marty (who tends to get great performances from women) hasn't had a role that would be suited for her in years and years. Aronofsky had Requiem, but that was a decade ago and Meryl was too young for that role.
Thank you John T. It is all about what choices are available to her. I would love anyone to make a list of the last couple films that an autuer director has made that would have a substantial role for her. Now I may be a Streep fanatic...but what gets me are those streep fans out there who love her work...think she is amazing...but seem "disappointed" in her recently with her choices of film or who she works with. THAT IS HOLLYWOOD! I am sure she may be dissapponted as well that there are not enough good sripts for her in an auteur director's hand. In the meantime...she has muddled thru in the last decade...making one disappointment after another... :( Oh, but did I mention that in the last decade she has been nominated for a Oscar 4 times...made huge box office hits in Devil, Mamma Mia, Julia, and Complicated....that she is highly marketable..can open and carry a film and has broke the glass ceiling for all actresses over the age of 50 in Hollywood.....oh, but that does not compare to all the successes of those who work with auteur directors like Bullock in Blind Side or
Viola Davis in the HELP!
Someone brought it up before, but it's a great point that's worth repeating. Maybe Streep is at the point in her career where she realizes that even the "veteran female" film roles are few and far between (even if she's the one who gets them 90% of the time). It seems to be such an interest for her to work with the "auteur directors," but maybe that's not a priority for her. If she had to choose between playing Margaret f'in Thatcher in a biopic by a no-name director where she can shine in vs. playing someone's thankless mother/grandmother in a Scorsese film for 20 minutes that frankly she's above doing at this point in her career, which do you think she'll choose? What will be the greater challenge that reaps the most benefits for her both professionally and commercially? Where is Paul Thomas Anderson or the Coen Brothers or Woody Allen or Lars von Trier offering her the showcase lead roles that Phyllida Lloyd offered her? That's right, they don't exist. So until those guys step up (and I'll throw in some ladies too since Streep is so fond of working with them lately -- like Lynne Ramsay, Courtney Hunt, and Sarah Polley), then let Meryl do what she wants to do with her damn career. She'll be fine either way. It'll be an additional kick if/when she wins an Oscar under the direction of no-name Lloyd instead of one of these anointed "auteurs."
Also, Streep would have been fully deserving of a win for "The Bridges of Madison County" had that been in the cards for her that year.
I think it's a combo of all things, auteurs not having lead roles for her and Meryl's own reluctance to work with people who might be more difficult to work with. Someone of Meryl's stature could always develop projects and enlists auteurs to helm them but it's easier to just work with the Phyllida Lloyds and Nancy Meyers and whatnot. I think it's SO cool that she wants to work wtih women but why not throw a little of her marketing muscle behind a project for say Jane Campion or Lynne Ramsay? And why sign up for an August: Osage County without demanding a formidable auteur as her director? Don't think they wouldn't kowtow to her in these ways.
it's a combo of problems.
Streep doesn't have power like that to do all that you're suggesting. She does have to work within the system of things as a 60+ year old woman in Hollywood, and if these theoretical starring roles don't exist, she's not going to will them into existence just on her star power alone with the "right" directors behind those efforts.
When I read that Glenn talks about Meryl, I thought you ment Glenn Close, which would have been just to awesome for my head. I did like Glenn's article though.
But why does she need to work with a auteur director at all? To finally win an Oscar? To show us she is a good actress? Because we want her to ? Why? Her career plan has certainly not hurt her and she starts off the new decade with a New York Film Critics Award.
What hurts Streep most, as far as Academy Awards go, is NOT who she works with. Streep does not campaign and pound the pavement as hard as the others. And that is what the best actress Oscar has become about these days....
Volvagia, I have seen Safe and Addiction and Streep is still my favorite. She gives my favorite performance of the decade, give or take Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves.
I have talked about the Clint a lot, including what makes him an auteur, but this is getting tiresome, specially because I havent been loving his latest movies, just like Allen. When he makes a good movie again I get enthusiastic to have energy to defend him.
it's a combo of problems
So, Nathaniel, is that reason enough to deny Streep an Oscar? I have to agree with Jamie, there just are not very many roles for a 60+ actress.
Samson: That's what I said...a fair shot of taking, and deserving to take, the Oscar only against the PERFORMANCES THAT GOT NOMINATED. But against Julianne Moore in Safe or Lili Taylor in The Addiction? If either of those performances actually got nominated, everyone else would have had a snowball's chance in the Sahara.
Well, I haven't seen those performances, so I have no opinion on either. But the comment that Streep didn't deserve the win for "Bridges" just stuck in my craw. And nothing against Sarandon either. She's a wonderful winner. That was a fine year for lead actress. One of the best (if not the best) rosters of that category in the 90s. I think I would have put Stone in supporting and replaced her with Jennifer Jason Leigh, but l Ioved all five nominees, even Thompson.
samson -- agreed that Meryl is MARVELOUS in Bridges of Madison County. but yeah that was an absurdly strong best actress year.
you can make a case for so many people and practically all of the actualy lineup (oscar chose well despite leaving Julianne Moore out... but then that was the not the type of performance that would have ever gained recognition. Too alienating too minimalist Too arthouse for Oscar.
I am 1000% for what Jamie and Samson said. I am so sick of the word auteur ( so snobby ) ... I sure don't see other actresses her age ( or younger for that matter ) holding a movie together on their own., I read Glen's piece and couldn't disagree with him more.
I think meryl is not that interested in thinking of awards.. I feel she just loves what she is doing. I still feel when she wins her next Oscar, her career will be over. Look at all the winners ... they have not held up too well after their wins ( most... that is )