Q&A: British Ladies, Weary Superheroes, & "The Hours" for Men
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 11:50AM 
I thought we'd experiment with a Q&A column so over the weekend I asked you to ask questions. Despite this summer's attempt to rebrand myself as a mutant telepath to rival Professor X, I can't actually read minds (unless I'm sitting across from you or holding something that belongs to you), so you had to type them.
So here we go. I'm answering half of them chosen somewhat randomly.
Robert: Do you think mainstream audiences will ever tire of superhero flicks? If so, which film will be the straw that breaks the camel's back?
Professor R: Yes, all things being cyclical. I predict it will happen with the Spider-Man reboot after the Spider-Man reboot... in 2019. (The window keeps shrinking, see.) Either that or the Wonder Twins: The Movie in 2016.
eurocheese: We've heard who'll be producing the Oscars (Brett Ratner and Don Mischer). Any guesses on a host?
Professor R: It would be unfair for me to guess since I can see into the future. But I will tell you it's a solo act this year after last year's debacle and it's unfortunately not Andy Serkis covered in motion capture gear backstage and then projected onto the stage by WETA in a variety of famous beastly character guises from cinematic history: King Kong, Mickey Mouse, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Charlotte on a web, Jabba the Hut. (Damnit. That would have been so great. Why don't they let ME produce the Oscars? Fuck Brett Ratner!)
Mark: Is Michelle Williams becoming the next Renée Zellweger? She is showing up in 4 or 5 movies a year and seems desperate to win the Oscar.
Professor R: I don't understand the question. That's like comparing apples to oranges lemons. I don't think Williams is desperate to win an Oscar. She wouldn't be making Meek's Cutoff if she was. If she's desperate to win an Oscar she's doing a terrible job of showing it; quiet and serene on the campaign trail is generally not a winning strategy.
/3rtfull: You're having tea with three famous women. Who are they?
Professor R: I don't drink tea. But since it's tea, I envision old British ladies so let's go with: JULIE ANDREWS, DAME MAGGIE SMITH and MIRIAM MARGOLYES because I think they'd all be pure uncut joy to hang with. If they aren't available my second circle tier would be Joan Collins and Dame Helen Mirren (imagine the stories from Old Hollywood and New!) and maybe Francesca Annis but only if her tea was spiked and she was thus willing to tell me set stories about David Lynch (Dune) and bedroom stories about Ralph Fiennes.
Tea time: Julie, Maggie & Miriam
Dean: Seen The Godfather Part II yet?
Professor R: *hides in shame*
Chris E: Which classic films are you not particularly fond of?
Professor R: I didn't like The Maltese Falcon when I saw it in high school but maybe that's too young for it? The one that pops immediately to mind is The African Queen. You say "Beloved Classic!" I say "Deeply Irritating!"
Julian Stark: In your Lucille Ball post, you said that Stage Door was an actressexual essential. Which film would you say is THE actressexual essential?
Professor R: I wouldn't. Actressexuality demands constant replenishment and refuses to be limited to any one film, genre or decade. Obviously The Hours (2002) is the most recent defining essential but you've also got to have Black Narcissus, All About My Mother, All About Eve, The Women, and the documentary Searching For Debra Winger among many others.
Cecilia (Mia Farrow) the cinephileJorge: I know it's difficult but can you name THE movie (or at least narrow it down to five) that kicked off the cinephile taste in you?
Nathaniel: It was less a single movie then a combo of snowballing actress obsessions (Streep & Pfeiffer & Kathleen Turner from the mid to late 80s) with a side of televised Oscar glamour, a revival movie house that my family went to on occasion, and budding auteur curiousity (mostly Hitchcock, the ideal training wheels for baby cinephiles because it's so obvious that there's a man behind the curtain.) But if I had to name one movie which sent me off that deep end, never to find my way back again, it'd definitely be The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985).
JC: Do you watch, or at least, care about the Philippine film industry in general?
Professor R: I don't know much about Pinoy film but I am interested in all national cinemas for the most part which is why I started tracking the foreign film category at the Oscars and making maps and whatnot. The last one I saw was Serbis -- which I can still vividly recall (huge points in its favor) -- and I've seen a couple of Brillante Mendoza's earlier films, too. I keep meaning to watch The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros.
Another Mark: What color is your hair?
Professor R: It was blonde before the great exodus. Here is a photo of me from the 90s to prove it.
Nathaniel in the 90s. Puppies on loan from a friend.
PeggySue: Do you really like superhero flicks or do you just write about them to draw readers in?
Professor R: Ouch! Trust that if I operated by way of traffic whoring, I'd probably be a) actually successful and b) bored out of my mind and c) you'd get nonsense posts every day about what the plot might be like of The Dark Knight Rises or The Avengers instead of you know, Judy Garland festivals and Best Actress polling ;) Like any film genre, this one has its peaks (I'm wild about Superman 2, Spider-Man 2 and X2), its comfort food (decades and decades and decades of Batman) and its dross. But there was really no way NOT to talk about it this summer, if you get me.
Streep, the Love TargetBrandz: Why all the Streep bashing lately? You know she's a goddess. and don't give me that crap she gets all the best roles, because she doesn't.
Professor R: I do know she's a goddess but I still don't understand the question. Why are Streep fans (a massive throng to which I belong) so hyper-sensitive? I am allowed to love her but have issues with role choices or undeserved nominations or whatnot. Meryl Streep is the Christianity of Movie Blogs. You know how Christians are always feeling persecuted when in reality the entire world caters to them? It's like that! Streep fans need to enjoy their privileged existence: the entire world loves their idol!
Seth: Do you ever visit San Francisco?
Professor R: Not often. I've been there three times (?). Weirdly I've always had a terrible time. I blame Hitchcock's Vertigo after which San Francisco will always feel disorienting. I don't want to fling myself into the bay or fall from a bell tower or be hypnotized by bun hairdos!
QUESTION OF THE WEEK!
Iggy: If there was a project of The Hours caliber with men, which three actors would be your casting choices?
Professor R: You've given me nothing about the roles or the story so I'm just going to assume it's a heavy possibly stylized drama and that we need three men of unusual screen power and performative depth to handle it to make sure it sings. In other words, I'm looking at men who can act like actresses, delivering backstory and subtext and multiple interpretations of their psychology. Just for the sake of argument I'm also going to assume it takes place in multiple time periods so I need men who are good at nailing "period" and who can obviously carry a movie. I'm excluding Michael Fassbender only because he's too obvious a choice and I fear the burnout to come if he decides to be in every single movie greenlit in 2012. So let's go with three big stars who unfortunately aren't getting the blazing brilliant leading roles that they use to and that they still deserve:
I'm going with JUDE LAW, VIGGO MORTENSEN and RALPH FIENNES and I ask that FASSY step in should any of them suddenly become unavailable for this project because he's awesome and can bring it.
If I had to cast an alternate less expensive version of this movie that couldn't afford big names, I might go with Billy Crudup, Cillian Murphy, and Paul Bettany -- hey, someone needs to rescue him from all those B movies -- just to see if they could bring it with that much of a meaty star spotlight. Yes, all of these men are delicious to look at but it's not like that hasn't won Kidman, Streep and Moore the great opportunities over the years.
Feel free to answer that question yourself in the comments. It's a goodie right? Or the one about which three ladies you'd have for tea. Or any of them. (This was fun to write! should we do it again next week?)
Reader Comments (27)
*Margolyes.
We should do it EVERY week. And tis a shame that attractive men don't get as much praise for pulling good performances as gorgeous women do.
SEXISM.
Those are some great choices especially Viggo.
It's probably because I saw the movie again recently but I would pick the ladies of THE FIRST WIVES CLUB to have tea with: Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton & Bette MIdler. Three very funny women who probably have tons of stories from all the work they've done. What more could you ask for?
Sorry dear if I was a little harsh... I'm a stupid stupid bitch! ;)
hi,a blonde,natural i hope - ha ha.
Wow! Question of the week! Such a big honor. Thank you.
Love your choices. I wouldn't have thought of Law, but he's so talented and once upon a time he was the Fassbender of the day anyway. I'd keep Viggo and I'd add McAvoy and Day-Lewis.
And as for the tea, I'd go with Emma Thompson, Bonham Carter and Kate Winslet. I know, they're almost like The 3 British actresses that first come to your mind, but it feels those 3 together must be so funny.
Weird you didn't answer my question, but I wholeheartedly agree with you on The African Queen. In that movie: Bogart is dull (wins Oscar for Treasure of the Sierra Madre), Hepburn is obnoxious (closest to a win for: Silver in 1968. Can't say her silver in 1940 is her "closest" because Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday is so high in the stratosphere of great performances that Hepburn isn't even anywhere close) and John Huston (Best Picture winner in 1948 and 1975, Best Director winner neither time (loses to The Archers (The Red Shoes) and Hal Ashby (Shampoo, one of two noms and his only win) respectively) and has five director nominations total (other than Madre and The Man Who Would Be King, he gets cited for The Maltese Falcon, Beat the Devil and The Misfits) actually makes something really bleeping boring. (Note, though: John Huston has 5 adapted screenplay wins. He's a good director, but he's an amazing writer.) Overall: D-. Can't believe the AFI even it this on their top 100 movies list.
Nat,
Amen on the Meryl critiques. I would certainly put myself as a Meryl partisan, but her casting has been odd as of late. I was really hoping for a different choice for the August Osage County role (Spacek or Sarandon), and right now, just on paper I want Glenn Close to win that Oscar for Albert Nobbs. If you love them so much and so hard you should be able to criticize or question them just as easily.
Having said that, I would love to have tea with the trio of ladies from the Hours like Oprah did when interviewing them all for the film (Whole clips on Youtube btw). Especially since it's been almost a decade since then and I'd love to see the changes and moves they've made since. Nicole was recently divorced, Meryl was staging another one of her comebacks, and Julianne was turning 40. Such a difference a decade makes.
Professor R,
I agree with you about some of the poor film choices Meryl makes, but that hardly deserves bashing. Who hasn't made bad films? As for undeserved nominations, let's look at her performances that were not nominated (The Hours, Marvin's Room and possibly The Manchurian Candidate). Not so convinced it's a privileged existence as there are tons of bashers out there. I interpret the bashers as sour grapes. You?
@brandz: It's one thing to choose a film that looks good on paper but that goes awry for the actor because of poor direction, editing, cinematography, timing, etc. But explain to me how the choice to make The Iron Lady was anything but an Oscar-desperate or chummy-I-want-to-work-with-Phyllida-Lloyd-again move. Or both.
@NatR: Huh. I've never thought about it, but IS THERE even a film that resembles The Hours for male actors? (Or even Persona, for that matter?) By which I mean a full-scale, acting-centric drama that draws parallels between these leading men while stranding them in their own disturbed headspaces?
If there was a project of The Hours caliber with men, which three actors would be your casting choices?
Danny Glover, Johnny Depp, Emile Hirsch: with direction from David O Russell.
It was also fun to read! Please do it again.
When criticizing La Streep in a totally fair and accurate way is considered bashing her, then I guess we should all leave her alone. She's held at such a high regard (justly) and thus absolutely NEEDS to be analyzed and dissected. Nate, myself and many others think she's seemingly miscast in many projects (future or otherwise) or that she's under-performed and just generally not giving too much of a shit when it comes to picking projects to really spread her acting wings. Nobody here @ TFE outright seems to hate her at all, we're just not drinking the stan kool-aid that implies she should be nominated for every performance under the sun or that she's truly challenging herself with proven directorial talent. A good part is a good part but did everyone on the other corners of the internet fall down and smack their little heads on the pavement and totally forgot some of the awful things she's wasted her brilliant talent on in the last decade?
Colin -- i can't really think of one which is why i loved Iggy's question so much. Obviously there are a few two handers but they're almost always about battles of will or brawn rather than about psychological parallels... but i have to think this is because men aren't as good at acting as women ;)
Mark -- thanks for channeling Miranda for that response. LOL
/3rtfull -- i'm kind of dying to know why you chose those three. SO RANDOM. but i get the David O. Russell choice. He sure does fun ensemble.
Drew -- i didn't want to make both "choose three" questions THE HOURS centric but sure... that would be wondrous. Although in some ways it's weird to want to reunite them since they weren't actually acting opposite each other to begin with.
@Colin Low: Regarding your men's version of The Hours, Mystic River initially comes to mind. I always thought it more a drama than a crime thriller, and Penn and Robbins get to some dark places. The men's lives are interconnected but they each battle individual demons. Does that fit the bill?
But then, I guess The Hours spans decades, and Mystic River is one time, one place. Nevermind. :-\
If there was a project of The Hours caliber with men, which three actors would be your casting choices?
If they want to go young: James Franco, Ryan Gosling, James McAvoy
If they want to go a bit older: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Idris Elba
/3rtfull -- i'm kind of dying to know why you chose those three. SO RANDOM. but i get the David O. Russell choice. He sure does fun ensemble.
They're not random for the sake of randomness, they're random because no one in Hollywood builds cast in their heads organically. I also, like these actors. I don't appreciate many male actors because they don't get to be vulnerable; but all three of my picks sure have.
O Russell brings out the humor and softness of Mark Wahlberg, which makes him perfect for helming a male equivalent to The Hours.
Nat, I would love to have you do this more often. I didn't submit a question this time (maybe next) but I loved reading all the original questions and the answers.
I can't even recognize you in that photo, btw.
@Colin Low
My gut tells me Meryl chose The Iron Lady because Maggie Thatcher is a strong female character (love or hate her politics). Thatcher is so very relevant today because of what has been going on in London over the past 3-4 days (some might even say over the past 30 years). Thacter is a seminal female leader over the past 30 years and her policies still wreak havoc on society today. Streep, for whatever reason, has been working a lot lately with female directors. I know we all hated Mama Mia (and is was a very poor choice, i agree, but it did make a bucket load of money), we have not seen The Iron Lady yet, so let's not judge the movie or the performance yet. My guess is The Iron Lady resonates with the masses in UK, and at least with interested Streep fans in the US.
@ Mark
I certainly don't think Streep should be nominated for every performance. I can only think of maybe 2-3 performances she's wasted her talent on over the past decade. Since 2000 she's worked with directors Steven Spielberg, Spike Jonez, Stephen Daldry, Johnathan Demme, Robert Altman, David Frankel, Robert Redford, Wes Anderson. Maybe the question should be what director do YOU want her to work with?
Brandz -- that's a good point. it's just that those directors didn't always use her in interesting ways. Anyway, I'm guessing she did Iron Lady for the character too. But she's also been vocal about supporting female talent so then one must question her taste in said talent.
hey Meryl... how about Andrea Arnold or Jane Campion or Kathryn Bigelow or Sofia Coppola?
Posted an entire argument here defending Christianity, and it didn't get posted. Maybe because we shouldn't be talking about religion on here?
Anyway my casting choice for the manly alternative to 'The Hours' would probably be James Franco, Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn. That seems like an odd combination-- so I want to see it. Though I really like your casting choice.
I've been wondering what would be the actorsexual essential. Mystic River? The Godfather? The departed? I'm so lost here.
As for tea, I'd love the ladies of 'The Hours' to come over. Especially after seeing the Oprah interview.
Nina -- i don't remove posts unless they're spam or too trolly hateful to other commenters so it wasn't me. Must have been a technical glitch.
Nathaniel -- Yeah I thought so. Doens't really matter anyway.
Nat love your line up for a male version of the Hours, but I would have to have James McAvoy in there somewhere. But that would make four men, so - I guess one of them could play the Toni Collette role. (I think of all the supporting performances, her's was one of the strongest, even if she didn't get as much screen time as either Ed Harris or Miranda Richardson (I've never clocked it, though.) I really do think of her as the fourth woman in that film - that scene and the kiss with Julianne were so fraught, so psychologically loaded, and played so devastatingly by both actresses.
It just occured to me that it took ten years for Julianne to follow up that lesbian kiss with a role as a lesbian (TKAA). God, but Hollywood is slow.
I don't know why but I skipped this article last week. Impressive answers all around, Nathaniel.
I think it's curious that for many people (including myself) THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO hits such a sweet spot in our cinephile hearts. Woody Allen circa 1980 was a genius.
Interestingly, the movie that set my cinephilia in motion was a VHS viewing of an old classic, 'All About Eve', one of my parents' favorite movies. And after watching Betty Davis being bitchy in all her glory, I could never go back.
Then I began worshipping your Holy Trinity with the combo of 'The Hours' (the three of them), 'Moulin Rouge!', 'Far From Heaven' and 'Angels in America' and I knew I was hooked for good.
Thanks for answering my question! I'm sorry to hear you haven't had a fun time in SF and hope you give our fair city another chance. If you like moody fog and cold, come in July or Aug. for sun and "summer" come in mid Setp-early nov.
If Vertigo disoriented you last time, you should try this primer of SF Vertigo: Then and Now:
http://www.basichip.com/vertigo/main.htm