Q&A: It's a zoo in here.
Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 11:27PM 
Hello! It's your host Nathaniel checking in from a screening frenzy. I'm at the Nashville International Film Festival briefly to serve on their New Directors jury but coming back to you, dear readers, on Monday night. Meanwhile here in New York, Jason and Manuel have already lept into Tribeca Film Festival reporting.
For this week's Q&A column I asked readers for a few animal questions since Monty, my baby boy and the world's first Oscar predicting cat (unfortunately he was never a very committed pundit), has been ill. While he's on the mend (hopefully) it's hard to pull my thoughts away from our four legged friends. Herewith 9 reader questions, some animal themed some not...
JAMES: Ever named a pet after an on-screen animal (or human)?
My cat is named after Montgomery Clift and unfortunately the name suited him because he has been quite a moody thing from his teensiest days until now. He was found in the streets of the Bronx, as far as I know, as a tiny mewling mama-less thing and I got him way too young from the shelter. But even grumpy as he is, he is always right next to me no matter what room I'm in and every once in a while he looks at me like I'm Elizabeth Taylor and snuggles up and it's all worth it.
(I was actually going to get a second cat years ago and name it Liz but for various reasons it didn't happen.)
HAAJEN: Which animal should be paired with Julianne Moore, Juliette Binoche and Jennifer Law in a movie?
What a weird freaking question that I love. It's like when Kidman's familiar was a monkey in The Golden Compass. So I'm going to say black panther for Julianne, seagulls for Juliette (I always picture her in the salty air near water -- is this a ghost image of Lovers on the Bridge (1990)?) I would also pay to see JLaw in the Clint role in a remake of Any Which Way You Can (1980) if only because I can't imagine the outcome of an absolute war to steal scenes between JLaw and an Orangutan.
Naturally I have no photos to support this so please enjoy this photo of Idris Elba with a fake tiger.
It is extremely easy to enjoy.
PEARL: What are your thoughts on Barbra Streisand and Barry Levinson embarking on yet another production of Gypsy for a start up studio? My spirit animal (fox) says they likely face a difficult and painful journey.
I see what you did there to stay with the theme and love it. I was going to write up this story anyway so let's talk about it!
First and foremost it is important to understand that Gypsy (1962) is not a traditional classic in that "don't remake this!" kind of pearl-clutching way. Yes, it will be nearly impossible to top Natalie Wood (❤︎) but the rest of that film could be improved upon. Consider that the 1962 movie arrived at the peak of the Oscars love affair for the film musical and it could only muster up 3 nominations (Cinematography, Costume Design, and the now defunct Music, Adaptation or Treatment) What's more Mama Rose (Rosalind Russell in that version) is to musical theater actresses what Hamlet is to male actors, THE role. As such it's impossible to be definitive because everyone will risk playing it before they die and everyone watching any performance of the character will be comparing it to previous performances they've seen and future performances they dream of that are only in their head for now.
People are already screaming that Streisand is too old to play Mama Rose (one assumes she'd be at least 75 before the cameras started rolling since that's only a year away for Babs) and it's true that that's very old for the role. But here's what people griping aren't really registering: Mama Rose is almost always played by actresses that are too old for it, technically speaking. Mama Rose was actually in her late 20s to early 40s when the events of the real life story that the musical is based on took place, though she's generally played by actresses older than that which works for the show. The themes of missing your window, being too old to make a go at showbiz, and living vicariously through your children play a bit better with an older actor in the role.
How those themes can work while played by an instant superstar like Babs (world famous by the age of 26), who never missed her window and whose charisma was never in doubt, it's tough to say though one can imagine her nailing the comedy and aggression of the role. I'm torn: on the one hand I think it's really smart for Babs to attempt one last movie musical. But I wish it wasn't this one, mainly because having recently seen Imelda Staunton in the role and finding her unbeatable, I'll be wishing it was her Oscar vehicle.
EZ: OK Nathaniel, since this is an Animal themed Q&A, I am going to take you back to 1998 with this simple question: which film do you think is better, Antz or A Bugs Life?
Noooo. I do not like 1998. Bad film year. Don't wanna go back. As for those two films, since I didn't like the aesthetic of Antz, I have to go with A Bugs Life but I do think the fact that they're so different within sameness is a nice example with which to understand pitching to a specific audience. A Bug's Life is clearly pitched quite young where Antz is a little up in its head and more adolescent adult skewing? My point is it's not as sure on its feet even though it has the proper number of them.
A Bug's Life also has the advantage of an awesome side character (Heimlich) and one of the last good Kevin Spacey performances before his five years of awesomeness (1994-1999) got to his head, swelling it beyond human comprehension. Or something. What accounts for how annoying he's been ever since I do not know but that's my guess. (Free Advice: Never believe your own hype! Keep feeling like you've got something to prove.)
VOLVAGIA: Do you have a favourite Grim Reaper, regardless of medium? Mine's the one from Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, honestly.
The questions were so weird this week. I approve. I don't have a favorite grim reaper but I do find the image often amusing in cartoons. Nerd alert: I was really obsessed with Piers Anthony's "Incantations of Immortality" as a teenager and wanted On a Pale Horse to be a movie so badly. The main character kills Death and must then assume his grim reaping duties.
JOEL: Have you heard much word on the New Zealand documentary "TICKLED?" It's based on David Farrier's exploration of the world of competitive endurance tickling. I see it's making the rounds a lot of film festivals. Any chatter on this?
This is a horror film right?
- Sincerely, Despises-Being-Tickled.
IAN: What are your three favourite Emile Ardolino films, and do you think the late director will ever be remembered?
This question got me all...
I had no idea who he was even though I'd seen his entire narrative filmography (not a good sign for being remembered, sadly): Dirty Dancing, Chances Are, Three Men and a Little Lady, Sister Act, The Nutcracker, and Bette Midler's TV outing in Gypsy. The problem with directors who work in purely mainstream hit mode is that they have no "stamp" as it were so it feels like anybody might have directed the movies. That's not true of course but the auteur theory has its downsides, the most obvious of which is the devaluing of collaborative achievements as well as the more invisible filmmakers.
But reading a little bit more about him, it's a loss I didn't know about! He was openly gay and died of AIDS complications at only 50. He had a dance background, filmed Broadway plays, etcetera. He even won an Oscar for a documentary called He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin (1983) which is now on my "to watch" list so thanks for this question.
Given the trajectory of pop culture, it seems certain he would have made a gay picture or a full feature musical. And who doesn't love Sister Act?
JOHN T: With Mother's Day soon to come out, do you have a favorite Garry Marshall movie?
I never expected to be asked this question, I'll tell you that. Though the director has a, shall we say, "reputation" among cine snobs, part of the reputation is just sexism because he has spent most of his time in the romcom genre. As I've said over and over genres cannot be assigned a quality. There have been brilliant films and terrible films made in every genre. Not that Marshall's movies are brilliant. I'm just making a broader point. If you look back before his much derided all-star holiday romcom mosaics, the filmography has a lot more variety: star-making smash hits (Pretty Woman, Princess Diaries), really broad comedies (Overboard -- so many people love that one for some reason), weird "really this?" misfires (The Other Sister, Exit To Eden) and even a couple of more ambitious projects tonally (Frankie & Johnny has lovely Pfeiffer moments and is much earthier than his other work, Georgia Rule doesn't 'work' but it has a lot of elements it's trying to hit).
But my favorite is not even a contest even though you're not supposed to love this movie either -- Jesus people are judgmental and sexist when it comes to "women's pictures"! -- is Beaches (1988). I was recently rewatching Spy and one of Melissa McCarthy's aliases is a mega Beaches fan and Melissa is embarrassed to wear this watch (pictured left). LOL.
I feel no such shame. We should probably talk about Beaches sometimes as I'd probably have a gajillion things to say and weirdly maybe we haven't discussed it ever? But why have we been talking about Barbara Hershey so much lately? Weird.
OKAY FINAL QUESTION...
STEVE: Which actor has the most Film Bitch Award wins/nominations?
I really need to compile them all (2000-2015) and do comprehensive book and stats. To end this Q & A because I'm feeling generous I quickly tallied up ONLY the traditional acting categories to get a glimpse and I was quite surprised actually at how it shook out; I've never thought of myself as a Benicio del Toro fan! The most frequent nominees, from 2000-2015, were...
- Nicole Kidman (5 nominations, 2 gold)
- Michael Fassbender (5 nominations, 1 gold)
- Cate Blanchett (4 nominations, 2 gold)
- Kate Winslet (4 nominations, 1 gold)
- Jude Law (4 nominations, 1 gold)
- Samantha Morton (4 nominations)
- Benicio Del Toro (4 nominations)
- Daniel Day Lewis (3 nominations, 2 gold)
I used medals as tiebreakers for the ranking there. There are about 13 people tied with Daniel Day Lewis on nomination count but none of them have 2 golds. The most nominations without ever medalling goes to Patricia Clarkson (3 consecutive nominations: Far From Heaven, The Station Agent, Dogville)... so I guess she's TFE's Thelma Ritter? That makes sense but, sorry, Patty! (FYI: Clarkson would be a gold medalist had we been around in 1998 when she was working that German accent and druggy spiralling in High Art. Wowza!)
That's it for this round. Hope you enjoyed. Please do share your thoughts on animal/actor pairs , favorite Gary Marshall pictures, and more in the comments.
Reader Comments (35)
Every time I see a Mother's Day poster with Sudeikis and those three "generations" of rom-com queens*, I ask myself, "Self, is this a vampire or a zombie movie?"
*please note: Aniston & Roberts are basically the same age, i.e., ten years older than Hudson.
I am also willing to give Barbra the benefit of the doubt, but some of the other Gypsy casting ideas (GaGa or Travolta) ... color me concerned.
Even Momma Rose cannot light the lights on that new adaptation
get well soon, monty!
I've never seen "The Paperboy," but I love the look on Nicole's face in that shot. I keep coming up with crazy scenarios in my attempt to guess what it means. Can someone who has seen the movie please tell me what it means?
Thanks for those FB Award stats. And what a great list of actors! Most I would have expected, but Benicio Del Toro and Samantha Morton surprised me most.
Gotta love those four gold medals for the Australian women, and I believe all four came just recently, yes?
Cash: I don't remember what that look is, but The Paperboy is fascinating AND crazy. You should totally see it.
Oh Yeah A Beachathon is what TEAMFILMEXPERIENCE needs.
Cash and Mike -- she's offering up s box of "exciting correspondence" with a convict
Benicio del Toro is so good. This last snub was terrible. Loved that performance and that performance made me love Blunt because of that terrifying last scene. A good actor always elevates the work of his co-stars.
I have to give it up for Three Men and a Little Lady, if only because Fiona Shaw is spectacularly good in that film. The scene where she attempts to seduce Tom Selleck (?) is just a genius bit of physical comedy. It may be a bit of a low rent sequel, but Shaw treats it like a star-studded Broadway farce
haven't seen the Paperboy but critics ravaged it. I try to stick to the rule of never seeing a film just for an actor/performance. Good performances do not make a good film.
PLEASE do discuss Beaches. I love it unapologetically, and it makes me so nostalgic for Bette Midler as an actress. With all this talk of Gypsy, there's got a be a logical tie-in....
The Paperboy was widely seen and discussed by this community at the time of its release. Well-worth seeing for (most of) four of the performances and for some batshit moments involving Kidman, Cusack, Efron and McConaughey.
Whoa! I *love* Dirty Dancing and Sister Act and HAD NO IDEA who Emile Ardolino was until reading that question and your answer. Mind blown and also a bit sad for a loss I never knew.
My favorite grim reapers are from the short lived tv series Dead Like Me.
I'd LOVE to see the early 00's FB awards...can I view them anywhere?
Yay for Heimlich! We are all going to be beautiful butterflies.
Also, it's already April 17th here, so Happy Carol Day Nathaniel and Dearests!
Oh, 1999 throws a bit of a wrench into the stats. Julianne Moore was a double nominee (The End of the Affair and Magnolia) and Kate Winslet was nominated for Holy Smoke. I believe that would take them both to five FB nominations and Winslet would tie for 1st with 5 nominations and two golds.
I never got into Paperboy so it's not exactly lone wolf territory to pass on it. Animal pairings:
Meryl Streep and many animals in Geek Love
Oscar Isaac and a dog (since he has acted with a cat already)
Helen Mirren with a falcon
Nathaniel, what was Jude Law's gold for? I've been following you since 2001 but that one escapes me.
I love Emile Ardolino's Oscar winning documentary, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'. Ardolino really understands and communicates the joy in dance.
The subject is the wonderful Jacques D'Amboise, who you've seen as the brother Ephram in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Such a gorgeous dancer, and his work in making classes available to children for decades, makes you want to get up and dance too.
A double feature with this movie would be the recent documentary, Tanaquil LeClercq: Afternoon of a Faun. She was D'Amboise's partner in dances Balanchine choreographed for them. LeClercq was too tired to get her polio vaccine with the rest of the company before they went on a European tour, and she contracted polio in Copenhagen. D'Amboise (and the rest of the dance world) were devastated. The clips of their dancing together...
Tim, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Nat gave Jude Law the gold for COLD MOUNTAIN?
I love that back in the day Emile Ardolino was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for... DIRTY DANCING. That would never happen today. And, yeah, he is one of those people that many forget has this other highly acclaimed life. Not only all of the stage stuff, but he won multiple Emmy Awards and DGA prizes and an Oscar and... still, it's hard to go past SISTER ACT.
Regarding Garry Marshall, I think the cine-snob attitute towards him only *truly* descends from the last decade when all he seemingly does is these awful VALENTINE'S DAY, NEW YEAR'S EVE, and now MOTHER'S DAY.
Anonny: I'd say it's better to observe the rule that you should never pass on a movie just because critics didn't like it! And while I would agree that a good performance can't make a good film, it can be the making of a beautiful friendship (or fandom) with the actor who gave it.
I propose we create an urban guerrilla to boycott the shooting of Gypsy. Stay home Babs! Don't you dare Barry Levinson!!
Thanks for answering the question! I've always loved Emile Ardolino's pop sensibility. His films weren't perfect -- but I think I can dare say they have an enduring quality to them. There's a certain joy to his rhythm that I respond to, I was quite sad to find out he had died.
WHO SAYS YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO LOVE BEACHES?!?! WHO!!??
Dunno why but when you say Jennifer Lawrence and spirit animal, I think...... duck.
Jude's gold was for supporting actor in I HEART HUCKABEES. I think he's amazing in that (and the entire cast is really. even Naomi Watts!)
Nathaniel! Elizabeth Taylor the animal lover sends her healing powers to your kitty from above ; )
Regarding Gypsy: I can't see audiences flocking to movie theaters to see a remake of a 60's musical. With a star who will be at least 75 when it comes out--playing a 40ish mother of two adolescent girls! Please. I realize that I live in the real world and not Hollywood, but still...
Realistically, this one will slip away from Streisand's perfectionist dawdling the way The Normal Heart did.
But if it happens, Babs will have the most extensive digital retouching since Pee Wee!
Saw Tickled last night. It's WORTH IT.
I understand why the role of Mama Rose appeals to divas, but I fear Streisand doesn't have the vocal power at this stage to properly do the role justice.
I'm a Streisand fan and my fear is that it's going to look as silly as Lucille Ball in "Mame" - albeit with better singing. Mind you I was reading that Warren Beatty is contemplating a sequel to "Dick Tracy" so Barbra isn't the only aging boomer with a vanity project.
LadyEdith: Really, Warren? I don't buy that will happen unless Beatty concedes the lead actor chair. The Dick Tracy idea was already a leaned into anachronism in 1990, is, conceptually, a splashy blockbuster (even Beatty taking a pay-cut would still likely result in a budget on the large end) and Beatty's nowhere near the star he was then, which probably needs to happen to sell something like this. Streisand's Gypsy, meanwhile? Yeah, she's also not as much of a star now, but Gypsy is a cheaper proposition as far as a major movie goes and it being a low grossing multiple Oscar nominee would suit Streisand just fine.
All the best to Babs if Gypsy finally rolls although I'm not excited about it. If you pop over to Babs fan forum, you will notice how her fans seem to denigrate everyone who has played Mama Rose. They called Imelda Staunton 'dreadful', etc. It's really funny to see how deluded some of her fans are:)
LOL. I used to partake in Streisand's' forum discussion in the past but no more! Not to sound patronizing or anything but that forum has become way too negative and bitchy to even make an objective comment. Like what @Ryan said, they trashed everyone from Meryl Streep to Cate Blanchett when comparing them to Streisand as an actress. It's funny indeed!
so sorry that Monty is ill. Hope he is already on his way to recovery!
There was a (Academy approved) documentary called "Oscar's Greatest Moments" hosted by Karl Malden, and looks at the television broadcast from "Patton" to "Dances With Wolves" years.
You can see Emile Ardelino's win as one of those moments, when all the kids come up on stage with him . (I've never seen the documentary, though.)
It's a must-see for this group, with clips from the movies and the winners, and the fashions, and the performed songs, and the comedy and the goofs and...