Showbiz History: Wrecking Balls, Two Commandments, and Makeup & Hair Nods
Friday, November 23, 2018 at 7:48AM 8 random things that happened on this day (November 23rd) in showbiz history
1923 Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments premieres. He would of course remake it as the infinitely better-remembered 1956 camp? technicolor classic of the same name.
1934 Romantic drama The Painted Veil starring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall opens in movie theaters. It's later remade (quite well!) in 2006 with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton.
1979 "Another Brick in the Wall (Pt 2) single from Pink Floyd released. Their classic album "The Wall" which will also be a movie, follows a week later.
1988 The Bill Murray Christmas comedy "Scrooged" opens in movie theaters. Carol Kane was awesome as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The film received one Oscar nomination for Best Makeup.
1991 Freddie Mercury releases the following statement:
Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.
He dies the very next day. The new film Bohemian Rhapsody fudges with the timeline of his life quite a bit.
1993 HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO MRS DOUBTFIRE, a huge hit released on this day. If you were a kid at the time did you go with your family?
2005 Rent the misfire screen adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon opens.
2018 Two of the best films of the year, Japan's Shoplifters (our interview) and the new actress-triangle comedy The Favourite (our review) open in movie theaters in limited release today. Expand them to expand as Oscar buzz builds.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 26th birthday to Miley Cyrus. Remember when Anne Hathaway did that amazing lipsync to "Wrecking Ball"?
What are your favorite Miley Cyrus songs? My favs in no particular order: Wrecking Ball, Rainbowland (w/ Dolly Parton), Can't Be Tamed, Week Without You, We Can't Stop, Maybe You're Right, and Malibu.
Other Celebrity Birthdays Today
Oscar Winners: Songwriter Johnny Mandel (The Sandpiper), Screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown)
Oscar Nominees: Cinematography Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain), Screenwriter James Toback (Bugsy)
Actors: Susan Anspach, Vincent Cassel, Maxwell Caulfield, Oded Fehr, Michael Gough, Boris Karloff, Harpo Marx, and Franco Nero
Other Show People: Model Matthieu Charneau, Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12), Screenwriter Joe Esterhasz (Basic Instinct), Newscaster Robin Roberts, Comic Bruce Vilanch (The Oscars)
Reader Comments (13)
That Freddie Mercury statement is quite something. I forgot he died the very next day. By the way, your Bohemian Rhapsody was very good.
Of COURSE I saw Mrs. Doubtfire in the theater! I was young enough to be sad at the serious parts and gasp when Mara Wilson says "We're hjs goddamn kids, too!" It won the Oscar for Best Make-Up and I was excited because I knew Ve Neill from my Batman Forever book. I was a dork in 1995.
I shamefully love We Can't Stop because that year I was in love with a man who was as complicated as he was attractive and he usually friend zoned me but whenever that song came on we danced like SLUTS and it was always glorious. Then he broke my heart and every time it played, I had a Tai in Clueless moment.
Jakey -- ❤️
Peggy Sue -- "my bohemian rhapsody"?
Shoutout to "Party in the USA" and "The Climb".
Mike -- just outside my list ;)
Oh the genius of Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire,I would have nominated him,any1 else?
Doubtfire still makes me cry. I blame Sally Field.
The remake of The Painted Veil is really very good. I'm not the biggest fan of either Naomi Watts nor Edward Norton but both were exceptional in this. There was also a 50's version called The Seventh Sin with Eleanor Parker and George Sanders which was enjoyable if not quite as good as the other two.
The first Ten Commandments is interesting if a bit stiff but nothing compared to the wonderfully florid Chuck Heston/Anne Baxter one.
It's also the birthday of the "Queen of the Extras" Bess Flowers. She has an amazing 915 credits on her IMDB page!!!
Batman Forever came out two years after Mrs. Doubtfire so I should have said I was excited once I figured out Ve Neill won the Oscar for it! She was nominated for BATMAN RETURNS, too.
The Hollywood Reporter has a new podcast where they interview Joe Eszterhas about BASIC INSTINCT and SHOWGIRLS and the man is a he'll of a character.
Mrs Doibtfire was probably the first movie I saw in the theater with a friend instead of family. At 12/13 years old we couldn’t get into anything “cooler” but it turned out to be so much fun!
Wish your Birthday Suit was Oded Fehr! Woof.
The Ten Commandments remake is one of my favorite movies. I remember staying up late each year and watching it.
The original Painted Veil is also quite good. Garbo is of course great but so is Herbert Marshall, an underappreciated character actor of the 30's and 40's. He was so heartbreaking in The Letter.
Can't watch The 10 Commandments from 1956 without thinking about the way Anne Baxter constantly and so dramatically pronounces "MOSES" every few minutes when she is on the screen... Classic camp. (Not that there is anything wrong with Anne Baxter...)
Franco Nero! Apparently my mom had a crush on him in "Camelot" and saw that movie 6 times in the theater when it came out.