How's Dianne? Still Great.
Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 12:00PM Lukewarm off the presses! In a theater article at the New York Times a week ago about the new play Rasheeda Speaking starring Tonya Pinkins, her co-star, the two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest made a statement that quickly raised eyebrows that she didn't have enough work to pay her rent. It came when the actresses discussed the difficulties of finding good roles, which is surely depressing when you're basically a genius. (Tonya Pinkins, for what it's worth, gave one of the all time best theatrical performances I've ever seen in the musical Caroline or Change a decade ago. Idina Menzel winning her Tony was basically as ridiculous as say Benigni taking the one that shoulda gone to Norton or McKellen.)
Photograph by Damon Winter
Ms. Wiest said that she finds it difficult to find enough work to pay her rent. “I have to move out of my apartment soon,” she said.
Ms. Pinkins, a positive and proactive sort of woman, works on cultivating relationships with young writers, encouraging them to create roles for her. She’s also begun to direct more and has plans to write a film.
“I’m always having to reinvent myself,” she said.
Ms. Wiest, by contrast, isn’t such a go-getter. “I think that if it’s meant to happen, it will happen,” she said. “Which is I guess a real sign of stupidity.”
My initial reaction was horror since I think Wiest is one of the finest actresses of all time. That was quickly followed by a less charitable reflex "well, god. why haven't you bought a place with all your previous movie/tv money?" and "how far above her means is she living?" That's not a nice thing to think or say but if you're going to be THAT talented and then slum it on a two year Law & Order role, surely you were in it for the money; TV regulars make a lot of that. What's more, famous actors don't do too badly on stage either and Wiest isn't exactly lacking for work there. She's fairly regularly in something. I last saw her in "The Forest" in 2010 and she was amazingly funny.
So what gives?
Dianne Wiest in The Humbling (2014)Now her reps say her quote was taken out of context and she's not about to be homeless. Whew.
May all of this strange real estate drama only serve to remind people that no two time acting winner in the history of the Academy Awards (other than Meryl Streep) has ever demonstrated as much range between his or her two winning roles. How can you typecast THAT? Weist can do anything. Calling all writer/directors: if you want your movies to be better, write something incredibly good for an underused giant. It worked for Paul Weitz with Lily Tomlin this year and it's kind of insane that only Woody Allen ever seemed to fully harness the range of Dianne Weist's gift.
She can currently be seen in a tiny film called The Humbling, an Al Pacino vehicle that got one of those stupid one week qualifier releases last year despite zero in the way of profile, only to open regular a few weeks later. I wasn't the hugest fan of the film but she's great in her two scenes. And this happens practically every time someone casts her. (See also: Rabbit Hole, Synecdoche New York) WAKE UP, FILMMAKERS AND CASTING DIRECTORS.
Reader Comments (10)
I say we go meta and mount two comebacks at once, get Cameron Crowe on board for "Dianne Wiest Bought a Zoo".
Dianne Weist is incredibly talented and never fails to deliver......on stage or screen. But there is often a reason very talented actors don't get offers that has nothing to do with the quality of their work.
Boo hoo hoo... What a tough life she has....there are plenty of talented, undiscovered actors that have it far worse than her...
I don't really have much sympathy for her. Sure, she's not getting roles she used to get, and that sucks. And it speaks volumes on the way this industry values women. But she's steadily working in the theatre and that's more than many could hope for.
Also, she had to have a good amount of money at some point and she should've been smarter with it if she's having living issues. There are plenty of people that don't have steady work or places to live and it doesn't make headlines because they aren't famous or in the industry. It's called being either your average lower class or working class citizen.
In Treatment was a blessing considering that in film she only gets two or three scenes per movie. Such a waste. We want more! HBO are you listening?
She deserves a posterized. I want to show off ;)
All I'll say is I know how Dianne Wiest feels like. The tragic part is I don't even have two Oscars to my name.
I love Dianne Wiest.
Thank you, Nathaniel.
"Norton or McKellen"; certainly you mean Nolte?
The readers here disappoint me. This is Dianne Wiest. You have nothing to add but dismissive scorn. Never ever again bitch about the lack of appreciation of other actresses not named Streep. Because when you have someone like Wiest who has never given a bad performance on film---and you can sort of take her or leave her---you don't deserve nice things. Because you have no idea how to appreciation the best.