by Nathaniel R
"The Trinity" - Christy, Naomi, and Linda
Happy half-century birthday today to the one and only Naomi Campbell. For those of you who were born in the 1990s or later you might have missed what a huge supernova deal models were to pop-culture in the late 1980s to late 1990s. Household name models had existed for some time before of course (Twiggy in the 60s / Paulina in the 80s, etcetera) but it was in the 1990s when the term "supermodel" was coined and when the models who could legitimately be called household names began to truly multiply. "Supermodels" infiltrated rock and roll (via a constant presence in music videos) and tranferred to movies and tv by becoming their own brands and trying their hand at acting... or merely playing themselves (often superbly) in fashion-related movies or documentaries.
MODEL/MOVIE TRIVIA AFTER THE JUMP... HOW MANY CAN YOU GUESS IN 10 MINUTES?
The first wave was "The Trinity" (Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista) whose careers were closely connected. Magazines and runway shows were still quite racist at the time and Christy and Linda famously fought for Naomi's inclusion 'if you dont use Naomi, you don't get us'. The Trinity became the "The Big Five" (those three + Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patziz) and then "The Big Six" (hello, Kate Moss and Clauda Schiffer, bye Tatjana for some reason). The simplest way to time-stamp the era's explosion is to watch George Michael's "Freedom '90" music video in which he does not appear but Christy, Naomi, Linda, Cindy, and Tatjana headline. Supermodels became more and more famous, their ranks then-ever growing: Tyra Banks, Eva Herzigová, Elle MacPherson, Kate Moss, Clauda Schiffer, Shalom Harlow, Amber Valetta, etc...
Linda Evangelista's instantly infamous quote from the early '90s:
“We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”
ANYWAY...
For Whiskey Cat's movie trivia night last night, we wrote a guest round based on Models & Film. Here were the questions plus a few extra.
WITHOUT CHEATING (I.E. NO GOOGLE) HOW MANY CAN YOU GUESS CORRECTLY IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES. TEST YOURSELF BEFORE SCROLLING DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS!
- What actress played a fictional supermodel in a Woody Allen movie before winning an Oscar in real life?
- What male actor and two-time Oscar nominee started as a model in the 1980s and appeared in music videos from Madonna and Paula Abdul?
- Who is the only person to win an Oscar for Best Actress playing a supermodel?
- Brooke Shields was a very popular child model before starring in films. What was her breakthrough film?
- Naomi Campbell served as visual inspiration for which Disney character?
- Veruschka appears as a model in which 60s art film about a fashion photographer involved in a murder mystery?
- Many famous actresses have played Joan of Arc over the years? Which model turned actress attempted the role in 1999?
- Andie MacDowell's southern accent was so distracting in her film debut Greystoke (1984) that her dialogue was dubbed over by another actress (who was Oscar nominated that same year) -- who was it?
- Model turned actor Channing Tatum has yet to be nominated but he has appeared in one film where both of his main co-stars were Oscar nominated. What was that film?
- How many Best Picture nominees has model-turned-actress Uma Thurman appeared in?
- Household name of the 1960s "Twiggy" starred in what 1971 film taking over a role that Julie Andrews had originated onstage?
- Acting wasn't in the cards for Aughts supermodel Gisele Bündchen. But which blockbuster 2006 comedy does she appear in?
READY FOR THE ANSWERS?
HOW WELL DO YOU THINK YOU DID?
OKAY HERE WE GO...
1. Charlize Theron played a fictional supermodel in Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998) before winning the Oscar for her deglammed prosthetics and weight-gain in Monster (2003)
2. The answer is Djimon Hounsou who appears in Madonna's "Express Yourself", Paul Abdul's "Straight Up" and (most famously) Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do Without You" in the 1980s all before he hit movie screens.
He was later Oscar nominated for both In America (2003) and Blood Diamond (2006).
3. That would be Julie Christie in Darling (1965) who skyrockets to fame via an ad campaign within the film.
4. Pretty Baby (1978). Brooke Shields played a child prostitute and Susan Sarandon headlined as her prostitute mother. Listen, the 70s were a different time... (Shields had made one film before it, the horror drama Alice Sweet Alice)
5. The answer is Pocahontas (1995)... various sources will tell you that Christy Turlington and Kate Moss also served as visual references. Disney wanted Pocahontas to be extraordinarily beautiful so naturally they used supermodels for a visual guide. We love Pocahontas.
6. Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966) starring David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave. It's so great. We've written about it before here at TFE.
7. The answer is Milla Jovovich who starred in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
8. Glenn Close dubbed over Andie MacDowell's dialogue in Greystoke. But it's Andie who got to enjoy the bedroom seductions of a growling Christopher Lambert so basically Andie wins.
This was a huge time period in Glenn Close's career as she received three consecutive nominations in Supporting Actress (The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, and The Natural). Glenn Close is one of only two actors, male or female, to achieve three consecutive supporting nominations. The only other is Thelma Ritter who managed four consecutive nominations... a record that's never going to be bested given that that happened in the 1950s and here we are in the 2020s and nobody but Glenn Close has even come close to even equalling it (in supporting -- consecutive nominations are more common in lead).
9. The movie is Foxcatcher. Mark Ruffalo may have been Supporting 'best in show' but Channing was more worthy (if you ask us) of a Best Actor nomination than the actual lead nominee from the film, Steve Carell. But you know Oscar --they prefer a prosthetic face to a beautiful one (see also trivia question #1 above)
10 Two (Dangerous Liaisons and Pulp Fiction)
11. Twiggy starred in the musical The Boyfriend (1971)
12. The Devil Wears Prada was Gisele Bündchen's second and last appearance in a motion picture.
We hope this was fun for you.
Do you remember the supermodel era of the 1990s or are you young enough that yourreferences are primarily Cara Delevingne or Bella & Gigi Hadid?