Kate, Barbra, and Oscar Part 2: The Diva

Anne Marie with the second half of the two-part post on the Best Actress tie for 1968. Part One is here if you missed it.

The audience of the 41st Academy Awards roared its approval when Ingrid Bergman announced that Hollywood newcomer Barbra Streisand had tied Katharine Hepburn for Best Actress in a Leading Role. But though Streisand has since achieved immense popularity and icon status, this win is still questioned by some. After all, Hepburn was a giant among giants, giving the performance of her career in The Lion in Winter alongside a stellar cast with a sizzling script. Barbra was certainly the best part of an otherwise unremarkable musical. As a highly fictionalized version of famous vaudevillian Fanny Brice, Stresiand packed a ton of charm, chatter, charisma, and chutzpah into one role. But is that enough to warrant an Academy Award?

Actually, yes it is...

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Kate, Barbra, and Oscar Part 1: The Queen

As a bit of context for the impending Supporting Smackdown (get your votes in), we'll be celebrating 1968 daily at Noon for the rest of the month. Here's Anne Marie on a favorite Oscar moment.

It was the night of April 14th, 1969. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was packed with stars for the 41st Academy Awards. When it came time to award the Oscar for Best Actress, presenter Ingrid Bergman stuttered with shock as she announced that two women had tied. Her surprise was understandable; there had been no tie in the acting branch for over thirty years. Barbra Streisand, only 26 years old, tripped over her sparkling sailor suit as she approached the podium to accept her Oscar for Funny Girl. Katharine Hepburn was characteristically absent for her historic third win, so the director of The Lion In Winter accepted on her behalf. This joint win was more than just a peculiar footnote in Oscar history. This was a rare case of the Academy getting it exactly right twice with one award.

As has been extensively documented here at The Film Experience, the Academy is often maddeningly predictable in its awards-giving. However, at its best an Oscar can be a celebration of an explosive newcomer on the cusp of an incredible career (e.g. Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind) or a salute to a seasoned veteran for a risky performance at her artistic peak (e.g. Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire). In 1969, both happened: Katharine Hepburn won for the second time in a row for a virtuosic, against-type performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion In Winter, and Barbra Streisand won for her instantly-iconic turn as Fanny Brice in her very first film, Funny Girl. While these two women can share that Oscar win, they certainly cannot be confined together to a single blog post. If you'll forgive my fangirl squeals of excitement, I'll start with Hepburn.

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You're Gonna Link Me When I'm Gone

Erik Lundegaard "find the future movie star". This was really fun and hard... I briefly thought I saw James Cagney but that wasn't it... (here's the answer if you can't figure it out)
Los Angeles Times Lincoln Center honored the one and only Barbra Streisand this week. I was not invited though I sought an invitation which I have to admit depressed me. In related news: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARBRA!
i09 the new After Earth trailer proves M Night Shyamalan doesn't know how evolution works
Salon YouTube's eighth birthday brings classic time-wasters 
Gawker Ben Affleck to spend only $1.50 a day for five days in honor of movie blogge... oh I'm sorry, as part of the "Live Below the Line" challenge meant to draw attention to Global Poverty. 

Speaking of Affleck...

i09 Marvel got the rights to Daredevil back from Fox. Will they use them. And how soon? I really wish they'd consider a TV series for at least one of their characters. Lawyers belong on TV. Surely they got the industry mandate on that?
Slash ...and speaking of Marvel Studios. Lee Pace, whom we love here at TFE, is in final talks to play the villain in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. I don't know that series but this is terrible news since his perfect perfect mug will undoubtedly be buried in some weird unrecognizably villainous makeup. Stop making beautiful people ugly, Hollywood! Ugly actors need jobs too.

and more non-Marvel links
In Contention Dallas Buyers Club goes to Focus. Will it be their prime Oscar contender for 2013? 
Towleroad Downton Abbey: The Musical 
Welcome to Twin Peaks amazingly creepy mashup of Twin Peaks and The Shining
Empire Chloe Moretz, uncontent to haunt me in every Hollywood picture is considering working with one of my favorite European auteurs Olivier Assayas for a film called Sils Maria. I have to admit the plot sounds super interesting (especially since the Irma Vep auteur is behind it) with Moretz possibly playing an actress currently playing one of another actresses (Binoche) defining roles.  
Cinema Blend Entertainment giant and sort of retired director Mike Nichols returning with One Last Thing Before I Go. Ugh. why didn't he just say yes to August: Osage County then?!? 

and look!

Anna Kendrick made a music video. The song will be familiar if you saw Pitch Perfect. There's a funny reaction to this on Videogum.

and Tweet of the Day goes to Dwayne Johnson "the Rock" who sent his fans this pic from his hospital bed after hernia surgery.

Ha! (The Superman t-shirt is perfect since he's already practically a cartoon superhero)

Happy Earth Day: Actressexual Edition

Happy Earth Day! (It's April 22 where some of you are, still.)

 Andrew here. Isn't it s a shame that even though the earth is made up of so many natural, renewable resources we tend to get so few films about characters who are particularly interested in it? Lawyers, doctors, nurses, writers - those jobs tend to roll of the tongue easily from movie scripts. Environmentalists? Umm, not so much. When you think of how to celebrate Earth Day through film there doesn’t seem to be a large pool of cinematic options to choose from. Every now and then an An Inconvenient Truth type film will appear tackling earth related issues, but it’s not just the films completely devoted solely to the earth that telegraph the message of caring for our environment best. Oftentimes, an incidental character trait revealing an appreciation for the earth can do wonders.

Here at The Film Experience we all worship the deity that is Actresses (we're not very picky, good actresses all are welcome) and what better way to celebrate Earth Day, original Mother Earth Day than by recognising three women to celebrate both our Actressexual urges and our love for the Earth which the live on?

1. Julia Roberts in ERIN BROCKOVICH

three (plus) more divas after the jump

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Oscar Can You Link Me?

Big Screen 
The Advocate Barbra Streisand to sing at the Oscars for the first time in 36 years - she'll do "The Way We Were" over the in memoriam segment. There sure are going to be a lot of musical performances on Oscar night. 
Variety Jessica Chastain to star in new screen version of Miss Julie. Chastain being cast is something isn't exactly news (she's everywhere) but LIV ULLMAN is directing this oft-filmed Strindbergh tale.
Gawker Rich Juzwiack on the mainstream appropriation of "shade" and Paris is Burning (That documentary on NYC's ball culture is still one of the largest blights on Oscar's documentary branch. It was critically raved at the time and is still must-see viewing 20+ years later but Oscar ignored it)

The New York Times  on the still heated atmosphere of all Les Miz conversations. Stanley Fish wonders if it's the film's lack of irony that so enrages people?
Empire Will our dream of seeing Viola Davis & Denzel Washington reprise their Tony roles in Fences onscreen come true? It turns out Denzel is planning to direct a film version. If he doesn't bring Viola along, I'm going to freak.
CHUD The Muppets... Again is already shooting. Here's a synopsis and cast list
The Carpetbagger on Spielberg's ACE prize from the editors in Hollywood 
Guardian Charlize Theron will co-star in the Seth McFarlane comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West which is said to be an homage to Blazing Saddles.
The Playlist first pic of Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston (god, what a pairing) in Only Lovers Left Alive  

Hey Look.... Jodie Foster in Elysium

Coming Soon ...the movie's title refers to a pristine space station. She plays a government official out to protect the wealthiest citizens from their dirty Earth-bound counterparts who wish to emigrate. (The last time Jodie did sci-fi it turned out well, I think, don't you? Love Contact.) 

Small Screen 
A Blog Next Door says goodbye to 30 Rock with an encyclopedic memory of the show. What will we do on Thursdays now? I always want to go to there.
BuzzFeed 'How Smash became TV's biggest train wreck.' If you're a Smash obsessive this is a must-read... though it's more than a shade shady. The biggest shocker for me was hearing that Steven Spielberg wanted to replace Megan Hilty!!! Good God, are his eyes and ears working? She's the single best thing on the show by an embarrassing margin.