Meryl Soaring! Michelle Slumming?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 1:24PM By now I am quite used to the twin 80s blondes trajectories of "Meryl: still preeminent; Everyone Else: struggling." Meryl Streep and Michelle Pfeiffer are a decade apart in age so they're only conjoined in my own mind as the formative blondes of my cinephilia though they aren't directly correlative. Meryl's true contemporaries are the Close / Lange / Weaver / Weist / Sarandon / Field / Keaton super-pack (all born between '46 and '49... a vintage crop.)
But let's check in with both of my blondes very briefly today.
Dan Zak, who is a very fine writer that I am acquainted with, wrote kind of a frosty profile of Pfeiffer when Chéri came out (which made note of her still robust online Pfandom -- guilty! -- though we ringleaders went unnamed) but he's made amends with this profile of Streep to coincide with her Kennedy Center Honors. It's a beauty.
There is nothing to say about her handshake, her mood, her carriage. She has no smell. Her eyes, obscured by modish rectangular glasses, seem dark and colorless — until she begins to recite a verse by 8th-century poet Wang Wei to prove a point about an artist’s individual voice.
“I seem to be alone on the empty mountain,” Streep says in her silvery contralto, shifting her posture as if bracing for a blast of high-altitude air.
She pauses...
Really good big piece with nice payoffs throughout, so read it.
On to Michelle. We hope that she's great in 2012's supernatural Dark Shadows (though given that it's a contemporary Burton film our expectations be low) and familial drama Welcome to People (but given that it's a directorial debut from Alex Kurtzman who has mostly written TV procedurals and action films, our expectations are none because the worth of debut efforts are impossible to guess at) but we've never expected that New Year's Eve was going to be anything other than a cash grab.
Michelle Pfeiffer venturing out for New Year's Eve premiere without her Armani black (gasp). It's Dolce & Gabbana this time.
Ultra Culture has a hilariously damning quote piece on "How the cast of New Year's Eve pick their projects" in which none of the stars tell the truth. Would it kill one of them to say "for the money"? I bet they'd even get some fun extra media attention for saying so. I keep forgetting that New Year's Eve is arriving. But the photo above reminded me of this series of tweets 'tween two British based critics and myself. (Ultra Culture doesn't know who I am but MaryAnn is an old friend.)
@UltraCulture New Year's Eve, incredibly, as bad as you'd expect.
@MaryAnnJohanson No, it's even worse.
@NathanielR at least tell me La Pfeiffer emerges unscathed. Wait... don't. NERVOUS
@MaryAnnJohanson Ummm...
Ah well, at least La Pfeiffer is looking predictably great on the red carpet.
DC, Kennedy Center, Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer, New Year's Eve, Twitter
Reader Comments (29)
Just wanna point out a few stats about actress birth year distribution:
1. Other big-name actresses also from the 46' ~ 49' span: Cher, Bates and Spacek; that makes a combined 55 noms and 12 wins;
2. 1945 has Mirren, Midler, and Hawn;
3. The 57' ~ 60' pocket is not too shabby either: McDormand, Pfeiffer, Hunter, Bening, Thompson, Clarkson, Keener, Gay Harden, Moore, Swinton, Scott Thomas, and Leo; (combined 32 noms, 6 wins)
4. 1934 has 4 legend: Smith, Dench, Loren, and MacLaine (combined 20 noms, 5 wins)
Nathaniel, maybe you should consider doing a timeline. =)
Please trust me that Meryl will win the Oscar this year. Not only are critics raving about the performance, she has the BIG MO...
Being Pfeiffer's stylist mut be one of the easiest jobs, not much left to do. She seems to have finally understood that the best way for directors to notice you is being there, even if it takes being in movies like New Year's Eve. Though to be honest I don't see her playing ... Angela Merkel in ten years. That'd still go to Streep.
I've always found weird that young directors, those who grew up drooling over her Catwoman or Suzie Diamond, don't get roles for her. Was Basinger a more straight forward choice?
Meryl winning NYFCC and Kennedy Center plus raves of her Thatcher performance should put her in the winners circle for Oscar #3.
I think it's a battle between Davis and Streep, not Streep and Williams. Streep has the entirely big mo, and if she ends up winning either the SAG or the Golden Globe this year, the award is hers. The only way she's getting stopped is by a stampede similar to Mirren/Winslet/Bullock through the precursors, and I don't see Williams having the goodwill and popularity yet to do that. Davis, on the other hand, has the big momentum and could theoretically pull it off, but The Help needs to be included in the Best Picture race for that to happen, and The Iron Lady will have to be only about Streep when it comes to nominations. Of the three ladies, though, Streep has the most in her corner at this point, imho.
I hate Cher's Oscar win. Not because of her or the performance but the fact she beat Hunter for Broadcast News -- Glenn Close isn't my choice for Fatal Attraction but I'm not ok about Cher beating her for it. I love Ironweed Streep -- same as I do Silkwood Streep. Haven't seen Kirkland's performance.
I hate that Sigourney Weaver is without an Oscar. I hate that Jodie Foster fans feel she deserves to be in contention again. I'm pulling for Huston to receive her 4th nomination come early next year. Pfeiffer can be so fucking indifferent to her career Nathan -- you can't blame then when she makes it so easy for them to choose someone else over her.
Last night Pfeiffer was asked what she was planning on doing when she and her husband become empty nesters next year, she replied that she planned on working more. Hooray!!!! Now let's just hope that she gets offered lots of good work.
Ric H. -- i am cooking up something timeline-esque for next year. Stay tuned!
Michael -- i'll believe it when i see it.
brandz & med -- i've seen the performance and yeah, it's a big enough performance to win. But Viola could still take this given that
a) The Help is a phenomenon
b) Meryl all but asked Hollywood to give Viola a big glowing showcase like The Help
c) The Help is going to get way more Oscar nominations than The Iron Lady.
d) Michelle Williams will be pulling votes away from Streep, not Davis, as the two "___ IS ____" performances for voters who are inclined to vote based on such things (which is many of them)
/3rtfull - i've never claimed otherwise with Pfeiffer. I know she treats her career indifferently.
When are you posting your Iron Lady Review?
And why am I in the minority on THE HELP Hollywood? It was an "OK" movie that I saw this summer with a respectable performance by Viola Davis. Is this really a performance or film for the ages? Give it 5 years and the whole thing will look like Fried Green Tomatoes....remember that one?
Jamie -- i respectfully disagree especially after a second viewing. I get the comparison truly but Viola Davis's performance IS something special. It's not a Fried Green Tomatoes situation of good actresses doing a decent job. It's a remarkable performance. If the movie was as good as she is, it'd be a classic movie ;)
Pfeiffer and Streep have a similar, unfortunate predilection in that they tend to eschew auteurs in favor of populist directors (even those who are, by and large, not all that popular). Come on, if you're going to reteam with a director, 'chelle, and make an ensemble, at least opt for doing one with Demme or Nichols vs. hack-y Marshall. Rubbish!
P.S. Pfeiffer looks pfabulous in purple.
Ugh, if only they could get away w/ saying "New Year's Eve" was all about the price tag! As much as people complain about Hollywood liberalism, these stars are definite 1%ers, and they have to play by the corporate rule that an odd definition of loyalty (i.e. to the studio and not the audience) trumps honesty any day. If Pfeiffer were to say she was in it for the money, they'd think it was going to cost the movie money, and financiers would worry about backing projects with her in it. And since it's not that easy to get a role anyway...
Sorry Nathaniel but Michelle Pfeiffer can no longer be in the same conversation with Meryl Streep. They are on two different levels. Sadly it's over for her as it is for all older actresses who were once known for their beauty. Streep never had that problem and continues to thrive. Charlize Theron has really taken over as the great blonde beauty we can count on turning in killer performances.
nathaniel I'm waiting for your Albert Nobbs review. Do you think Glenn is out of the game?
Fried Green Tomatoes is a superior. The Help is a Tyler Perry movie written, produced, and directed by white people.
Michelle is really gorgeous in that outfit. I agree with Nathaniel. Anyways, this blog is really great. Can't wait to read more of your buzz news.
Kym: Whaaaaaaaat?
Pfeiffer wasn't known (only) for her beauty. Her performances in Dangerous Liasons, Baker Boys, Frankie & Johnny, Married to the mob, Batman Returns, Age of Innocence, What Lies Beneath, White Oleander and Chéri are incomparable. She is unique. She is different from Streep. Streep is more like Katahrine Hepburn, Pfeiffer is more like Garbo. Different planet, different kind of stars.
Nathaniel:
I have only watched The Help once....about to have my second viewing tonight. So...maybe you are right. But these were my thoughts when I first watched it....1) Wow....Violoa is playing the same role as Doubt (really from an acting point of view...what is she really doing differently?) and 2) She should win the BESt SUPPORTING OSCAR. I did not come away from the movie thinking she would be LEAD or that the movie would be nominated for BEST PIC...it certainly would not be if we followed the old academy rules of only 5. Why is it when a supporting actress is really good we all want to put in the best actress category? Meryl has done this herself. I do not undertsand the category confusion the last few years.
I totally agree with Jamie.
Pfeiffer does not have to do anything for the money. She has her money as well as David Kelly's money. Perhaps she wanted to do a popcorn film with a director she's admittedly enjoyed working with before. Remember, it ain't over til it's over, so don't count Pfeiffer out just yet. Even Streep went thru a slump before reemerging with The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia (two roles Pfeiffer herself turned down).
What is up with all the haters people need to relax and stop bitching :)
hmmm - having seen The Help twice I remain confused how anyone could view her as "supporting"... but then, I am the type of person who believes that movies can have two leads of the same gender. because who is lead and who is supporting is about story, not genitalia or campaigns. It is only awards that have skewed people's ideas about what a "lead" actor is. And the Help is about Aibilene and Skeeter. everyone else is supporting them.
Ferdi -- well said on Pfeiffer. it's totally true (never was the same kind of star as Streep)
Mareko -- it's so true. (about Streep and Pfeiffer). That much they do have in common. I actually think that personal taste problem hurts Pfeiffer much more than Streep though because Streep can elevate really substandard movies by sheer enormity of her ACTING whereas Pfeiffer excels when people understand her otherworldly beauty and soulful mystery and those things aren't easy to come by when it comes to roles in standard mainstream fare.
I agree with Kym about Charlize Theron.
To Nathaniel, hasn't Marilyn Monroe been done before? Many times before? Nobody's done Thatcher before. Meryl begged Hollywood to give Viola more roles, not Oscars. A nomination would be validation for Davis. Streep is pretty much the entir film of Iron Lady. My guess is Harvey is getting behind Streep, in a big way.
I also think Viola's deserves the Best Supporting Actress award, and I also see a lot of similarity with her work in Doubt so I think Meryl deserves the Oscar by far of course as the lead, and Viola de"srves it for supporting, I really don't get why the hype is so big for Viola this time as a lead in "The Help" when her character is obviosly not the lead or at least, not the only lead in the movie.
I'm interested in "welcome to people" isn't that the script Hilary Swank was talking about in last years actress roundtable? The one she really wanted and was offered to Amy Adams.
brandz -- the buzz here in media circles is that Weinstein is 100% behind Michelle Williams. That may change of course if Streep gathers steam but Iron Lady's NY's Eve bow doesn't exactly spell "it's our top pony in the race!"
jake -- so you've already seen The Iron Lady?
OH...to wake up to "reality" this morning.
Well, I did watch THE HELP last night and upon 2nd viewing Nathaniel...this is how I feel....
I still think the movie is "Disneyfied" and has some flaws. It does feel a little long. It is very much an ensemble drama so I guess upon my first viewing I can see the confusion about putting Viola in lead. However, upon 2nd viewing and looking at it from an Academy Award standpoint....Abilene really is the "heart" of the story and she is the character we want the camera to keep coming back to. She opens and closes the movie and also narrates. So if there was going to be a lead in this jam packed ensemble it would have to be Viola Davis.
She does a brilliant job and is a tremendous actress. I loved her work in Doubt....not so much in Eat Pray Love. She will be nominated for Best Actress....and upon 2nd viewing has a real chance at winning the Academy Award.
Being a Streep fan....it pains me to say it. However I feel i want her to win that third oscar more than she does at times. But the truth is this....Meryl is the BEST ACTRESS....Hollywood knows this....Academy Awards knows this...she will win a 3RD OSCAR even if its long after she is gone. Streep wil also be nominated again....this is true...will bet money on it...and you cannot say that about many actresses working today...especially one in their sixties...
But as always happens at the Oscars...the performance matters some but not all.....overall Meryl in Iron Lady may be the better challenging performance ....one could argue Whoopi or Angela Bassett could have done Viola'sperformance, not many could do Thatcher....but Viola will not get many roles like this in Hollywood and as great as she is may never be nominated again...there are just not that many opportunities for an African American actress. Now I believe that Viola's defining role is yet to come...but Hollywood sadly does not work that way. Instead in a few years she will either be a secretary in SEX AND THE CITY 3 or playing the lead in a SHOWTIME series...so this may be her only chance and the only chance for Hollywood to honor her. That is all...that is why the push for the win is so hard, I get it. I just did not want to admit it.
My poor meryl....always a bridesmaid :(
It also does not help much that Meryl is singing Viola's praises in the new Entertainment Weekly......only she would campaign for someone else. And Viola wins...can totally see Meryl leaping up from her seat just like she did for Cher. Oh...streep!
Work it, Miss Pfeiffer!