A Voyage to the Link
Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 3:15PM Retronaut Amazingly sexist rejection letter from Walt Disney to an aspiring female artist
Technicolor Disney has reference photos for animation mashed-up with final art. Cool
LA Times AMPAS may expand past 6,000 members this year. They're talking about diversifying and may relax their membership cap
Cinema Blend 80s/90s hitmaker Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction) to return after a long absence for another sexual thriller, this one about an open marriage and a trail of bodies. Expect big stars to headline as the troubled couple.
Out Soderbergh interviewing Soderbergh? The director's gay brother talks to him about Behind the Candelabra. (Someone remind me why this isn't opening in movie theaters again?)
Empire Ryan Reynolds for Tarsem Singh's Selfless? This only leads to one logical question...
My New Plaid Pants what kind of revealing costumes will Tarsem put him in?
Variety Jane Fonda about to get the immortalizing hand-in-cement treatment
Playbill the revival of Cabaret on Broadway already has Alan Cumming returning as the emcee but they're obviously looking for a starry Sally. Initial rumors said Anne Hathaway but now Emma Stone is the rumor
Slate "the secret autobiography of Tom Cruise" ...what's behind the grinning mask?
Guardian Pedro Almodóvar calls I'm So Excited his "gayest film ever". Hmmm. It's also supposed to be some sort of metaphor for Spain's economic crisis.
one more thing...
I was just bitching about Into the Woods but the idea of a new movie musical version of Guys & Dolls sounds great. Especially since the original film version isn't exactly a "classic" outside of being, well, old. It's especially good news if both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum really are on board. But if it doesn't get a good director I'll worry. A lot.
off cinema
i09 huge breakthrough in artificial skin. How long until we see Blade Runner style replicants?
Gothamist last three days to see Edvard Munch's "The Scream" at MoMA. When I was last there I wrote about Tilda Swinton in a box but I neglected to tell you how embarrassed for everyone I was when I went to see The Scream. People were not looking at it but posing beside it with their Scream Face on (which always ended up looking more "Home Alone Face"). some people were so confused about the pose/provenance that they were doing Monkey See, Monkey Do. TRAGIC!
Watching "Hugo" at MoMA
In the middle of a nearby exhibit about architecture, there's a 3D screen showing pieces of Hugo because of the famous train station set. My bestie snapped a photo of me unawares looking on (above). Some of the scenes they played weren't even set-specific though. Unfortunately this meant that I couldn't even escape Chloe Moretz at MoMA.
Also tragic!
Reader Comments (24)
Apparently my issues with Emma Stone are akin to your issues with Chloe Moretz. How does she read as a Sally Bowles in any way? Like I'm thinking from a Jill Haworth perspective, a Liza perspective, and a Natasha Richardson perspective and I'm drawing a blank. The Anne Hathaway rumor (who to me can read as all of the above but so specifically Liza) was too good to be true. The world is trolling me putting an actress I really don't get in one of my favorite musicals. Also, I think we forget how much vocal training and rest is necessary in a musical. When I hear Stone I hear raspy. What could she sound like with all of that vocal work?
I'd love to hear reports on how Behind the Candelabra reads on the big-screen in Cannes. Soderbergh seems to have avoided the big studios consciously but with this one he really did want a theatrical release and delayed it for that reason until realizing studios were too homophobic than he initially thought.
Also, Jane Fonda getting the hand in cement NOW? Was the Hanoi Jane stuff really that much of a hindrance? Like I would expect her doing this in 1993.
Very happy to hear Adrian Lyne is working again. He certainly knows how to make Pretty and Provocative Movies!
That piece on Almodóvar is spot on. Though I hate when directors feel the need to explain their movies or the subtext in them. The movies should talk by themselves.
About the piece on Cruise, I find it doesn't really add anything. Sometimes I feel that so much talking about Cruise, and the audience not listening apparently, is only doomed to produce a comeback to prestige and/or Oscars as soon as any semi-baity role gets in his hands.
Apparently like a number of others, when I heard of Channing Tatum and JGL being up for Guys and Dolls, I thought Tatum for Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) and JGL for Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra). But it's the other way around with JGL doing the romantic lead of Sky and Tatum the comedic lead of Nathan. Will they add more dancing for Nathan?
I'm not against this. I'm just puzzled by it. Maybe Ewan McGregor doing the part on the London stage inspired others to think this was a good and timely idea.
The Walt letter affirms why we should appreciate the present day we live in.
That's good for Emma Stone, I guess, but yeesh... She's a major step down from Anne Hathaway, especially for that part.
A couple of months ago, Anne Hathaway starred and hosted a very well-received Cabaret stage revue benefit for the NY Public Theatre at Joe's Pub. Eddie Redmayne, Audra McDonald, Linda Lavin , Raul Esparaza, and Harvey Fierstein also starred in this event. I wish I could have seen it, unfortunately, it was only a one night event. This first show sold out, so they added another show for that night. I was told Harvey Weinstein, Tony Kushner, Kathleen Marshall, and the original composer and lyricist of Cabaret were also in the audience. All the cast portrayed didn't characters, but, of course, Hathaway played the Sally Bowles's role -all to rave reviews.
Emma Stone is likable and pleasant, but she is not much of an actress - very similar to Jennifer Lawrence. They are nice to watch, but they have no depth and they are not trained actresses , nor do they come from the theatre. I truly hope this Stone casting for Cabaret is only a rumor. She may fail more than Julia Roberts' NY stage debut ( the critics ate her alive ) . Emma Stone may only be interested in theatre, because her boyfriend, Andrew Garfield, starred in Death of A Salesman to rave reviews ( and he comes from a theatre background ) . Emma has to understand that not everyone can act or perform on stage. The poor girl needs to know her limitations.
Channing Tatum is one of the worst young movie stars on the planet- no discernible acting ability, no charisma, and no presence. I still don't understand why people find him drop dead gorgeous. Tatum is more lightweight than Christopher Atkins. Man, he is boring, and he cannot sing whatsoever. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has acting talent , but he is too boyish and his singing style is only passable. I would love Patrick Wilson , Hugh Jackman, Jeremy Renner ( surprisingly has a lovely voice ) , Robbie Williams , Aaron Tveit, Michael C. Hall ( he did Cabaret on the NY stage ) and Raul Esparaza , to be seriously looked at for these roles.
Adrian Lyne is one of the best stylish and provocative directors working today. I really wish he would do more movies. His work on Fatal Attraction, Unfaithful, and Jacob's Ladder are quite astonishing. And Indecent Proposal is one of my guilty pleasures.
Pauline: Really? Tatum? Not, say, Taylor Lautner, who, to be fair, had fairly strong vocal presence in two episodes of Danny Phantom, but has shown that he's a total block of wood in live performing?
I will defend Jennifer Lawrence in the fact she is much better than Emma Stone. Emma Stone could absolutely not do a Winter's Bone and even though I was not too wowed by SLP, Emma in the Tiffany role is a frightening thought.
Wait a minute? Channing isn't Sky? What is this nonsense? I was already silently accepting JGL as Nathan despite the fact I always thought Nathan should be at least a decade older than Sky. I would have had Robert Downey Jr. as Nathan and swapped Channing back into the Sky role. Anna Kendrick or Brie Larson for Sarah Brown and stunt cast Lady Gaga for Miss Adelaide. Boom. Done! Casting is over. Now let Joe Wright or Richard Linklater somebody direct it like the good old-fashioned musical it deserves in its treatment. Better yet, Soderbergh out of retirement because he always wanted to do a musical and is The Channing Whisperer.
I write this adoring the original movie even though it is LONG. I like that Brando and Simmons just went for it, in their own separate movie practically due to the structure. I don't care if they were not the strongest singers, I loved their rapport and it actually looked like they were having a good time (which is a rare context to see Brando ever). Brando likened his voice to a water buffalo mating call or something like that in a very self-deprecating manner. Can you imagine any of the singers in musicals today saying that about themselves and their publicists and the studios going beserk? I think Russell Crowe could have won a lot of people over if he said such a thing.
I also forgot about how fickle NY theater critics are when movie actors come in. Daniel Radcliffe in How To Succeed.. had some pretty oddly, territorial negative reviews from Ben Brantley. Even Jessica Chastain in The Heiress, despite a lot of good will coming her way in those months, had some critics like Branley again who seemed annoyed that another rising up the ranks Hollywood starlet got thrust upon them again (despite the fact she got her first real notice on the NY stage) and wrote a review mostly in that vein. People still hold the Tony that ScarJo won against her because she **clearly won for name recognition** and the idea her co-star Jessica Hecht deserved it more. It's a shame. There is this odd notion by some in the theater world that you have to be 'one of them'. Even Hathaway might have to deal with this.
Breaks my heart just to think how incredibly disappointed you will all be when Los amantes pasajeros gets released.
P.S. I don't think Emma Stone is ready for Sally. Anne was the perfect choice.
CMG: Um, actually, I would have much preferred to see a world where Jennifer Lawrence was in The Help and Emma Stone was in SLP. Those would grow their personas without being too much of a radical departure from their usual fare.
"Um, actually, I would have much preferred to see a world where Jennifer Lawrence was in The Help...."
I'll stop there and agree. Skeeter being interesting would make the movie so different. Not better per se as that movie has 100 different issues and a half but Skeeter might as well not exist in the movie with how Stone plays her.
And no, nothing can convince me that Emma Stone would have been right for Tiffany. Still too young for the role (not to mention the role would be a year in which she played a high school student) plus her as aggressively over-sexualized also still feels off. I thought the reaction to Lawrence was the shock in seeing Katniss in such a different role (which I thought she mostly pulled off aside from the age difference but it was just fine, not award-worthy).
I have no problem with them remaking Guys and Dolls a show I love whenever I see it live and a movie that no matter how hard I try I can never get more than 15 minutes into without realizing how much I loathe it. Can never put my finger on why since Jean Simmons is an actress I adore and Sinatra seems so right as Nathan Detroit, must be Brando or the direction.
I agree that JGL should be Nathan Detroit he just fits the part, at least if they are going younger otherwise Hugh Jackman would be terrific. I have no strong feelings about Channing Tatum, he can dance but I've never heard him sing but then neither could Brando, oh wait that's right he was wrong for the original.
I can see Carey Mulligan as Sarah Brown at least physically and she sang in Shame but it was sad and bluesy whereas Sarah's G&D songs are more upbeat and rangy if she can pull that off I'm sure she'd be excellent. Please no Anne Hathaway!! For Miss Adelaide at one time Kristen Chenoweth would have been perfection but with JGL and Tatum she won't fit. However Megan Hilty could be ideal, how nice to have a talented professional SINGER actually be cast in a musical! If not her and they want to go with marquee value Scarlett Johansson would be both believable in the part and can carry a tune.
I agree with everyone, Emma Stone is a fine comedienne, but she is nowhere near the level of Jennifer Lawrence or Carey Mulligan. She has a niche, but I'm sure she would like to be seeing the roles those two are.
Anyway, Adrian Lyne is underrated and I'm happy to see him back.
Remaking Guys & Dolls just sounds like a terrible idea, regardless of who they want to cast. It's so resolutely a show of its time. It can't be updated without losing the music, and I don't know that it can be done as a period piece without coming off as either kitsch or camp, neither of which appeal to me at all in this particular case. That's leaving aside that neither Tatum nor JGL are right for their mooted parts. They're both way too contemporary.
I am the first to admit that there is a huge difference between acting for the camera and acting on the stage, but I don't understand why everyone thinks Emma Stone would fail miserably as Sally Bowles. I think it's kind of an off-beat choice, but the girl has a background in musical theatre. Is she Audra McDonald? I would say highly unlikely, but Natasha Richardson wasn't a strong singer either and really didn't have a background in musical theatre but she pulled it off majestically. And just because Stone isn't classically trained doesn't mean she doesn't have talent or is able to stretch herself...would we say that Elizabeth Taylor, Carey Mulligan, Richard Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, Bobby Cannavalle, or Johnny Depp are untalented and unworthy because they didn't have any formal acting training? No.
I love the theatre, but the theater snobs really kind of turn me off. I didn't see The Heiress, but I found it strange how several critics just ripped apart Jessica Chastain, with many disparaging her as a "movie star". She has a huge amount of theater experience and a degree from Juilliard for chrissakes, so I just don't get it. It's one thing to critique the performance and another to take swipes at your background or, according to many theater critics, your "worthiness" in order to be a stage actor. It's kind of a club. And it's ironic that Broadway has pretty much become saturated with stage film adaptations and franchise rip-offs...it pains me to say it, but I think there are more challenging and interesting works being developed in the cinema right now than the current state of Broadway.
I feel absolutely suffocated in my hatred of Streep: I am a parody of myself. Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons has shattered my life. I want to be her right now not when I grow up.
^lol
I was completely unaware there was a new battle in between Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone fans. There must be one every year, I suppose. If I have to take sides, I'm on team Stone.
what was smash last night? I have no words.
I don't understand the appeal of emma stone, and I'm afraid I never will.
If they're casting a new Sally Bowles in Cabaret, how about that luminous new actress Karen Cartwright? She'd be magical.
ScarJo as Sally?
ScarJo as Charity for Sweet Charity would have me sprinting to a TKTS booth, and I live in Upstate NY.
adri -- LOL. best laugh of my night!
I really do wish that someone would cast Mr Tatum in another dance musical.