Showbiz History: Greta Garbo, R Crumb, Bill Murray, Cameron Diaz

6 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history

1797 Mary Shelley born. She lived in infamy during her time as a disgraced woman who ran off with an already married man but she'll live forever due to her epistolary novel "Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus," which has had countless editions since its first publication when she was only 20 years old. The book has inspired countless other works of art and the classic Frankenstein monster itself has shown up in over 50 films. Did any of you watch the Mary Shelley biopic starring Elle Fanning earlier this year? Murtada interviewed the director right here. 

← 1935 Greta Garbo is Anna Karenina, new in movie theaters. Garbo will win the NYFCC prize, the first of two Best Actress wins in a three year span. Surprisingly, that's not all that rare of a trick...

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Soundtracking: "My Best Friend's Wedding"

by Chris Feil

Time has been kinder to My Best Friend’s Wedding than what my memory of its initial response was: the film was too mean-spirited for a mainstream romantic comedy, Julia Roberts’ heroine’s reprehensible behavior at odds with her America’s Sweetheart status. Now the film’s legacy shows just how wrong those initial hot takers were, with its dismantling of genre fairy tale illusions being the core of its peak genre genius. Oddly, one of the primary ways it cracks open our expectations of cinematic romance is one of its most pleasing and digestible: its soundtrack of gold standard, Burt Bacharachian love songs.

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Showbiz History: Dutch Men, Dark Knights, and Queen Bitches

We need escapism now more than ever so on this July 18th let's looks back into history for easier things to think about then the here and now.

Verhoeven on the set of "Showgirls"

10 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...

1938 Infamous Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) born on this day. Elle, his most recent feature, might be hard to top as late career provocations go but the 80 year-old master will certainly try with his next, Benedetta, a 17th century lesbian nuns drama starring Charlotte Rampling. The film is due in 2019.

1967 Mark Vincent Sinclair born in New York City. He later becomes Vin Diesel... 

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Beauty vs Beast: Grande Dame Guignol

Jason from MNPP here with a new edition of "Beauty vs Beast" that was so obvious, so "sitting right there and staring me dead in the eyes," that I couldn't believe I hadn't done it already and had to do three searches just to make sure. But no, it's true, we have somehow never used What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? for this series. Perhaps our minds had blocked it off until Ryan Murphy's Feud became a reality? Well much like Emmy nominations for Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, its moment has come. Of course now it might be tougher than ever to sort through all the extraneous on-set shenanigans to get to the ladies behind the ladies - the Blanche and the Baby Jane behind the Bette and the Joan. It's always about billing, you know. But let's try.

PREVIOUSLY The now classic rom-com My Best Friend's Wedding is celebrating its 20th very soon and you can tell the movie still works because it still has the ability to divide our sympathies among its two extremely charming leading ladies - while the numbers went back and forth over the course of the week in the end it was the pretty woman in the lead who walked away with just over 53% of your vote. Said brookesboy:

"This is one of Julia's best performances. The way she combines ruthlessness with charisma is unique. You realize how awful she is all along, but you still can't help relating to her. That's a pretty nifty trick. And this is a comedy that's actually kind of a tragedy. I hate myself, but I'm Team Jules. GAWD!"

Beauty vs Beast: My Fiancée's Best Friend

Jason from MNPP here for another round of "Beauty vs Beast." I was doing my umpteenth (literally, my umpteenth) post on Muriel's Wedding over at my own site this past week when I realized that I really do not give enough attention and affection to director PJ Hogan's masterful follow-up film, 1997's deliciously cold-blooded Julia Roberts rom-com My Best Friend's Wedding. Which turns 20 in June! That's nuts!

On the page the character that Julia plays is a selfish and manipulative monster, but Roberts pushes the star wattage to full-tilt (has her hair ever been bigger and bouncier?) and charms us even as she's being despicable. (God do I understand and empathize with Jules, much to my horror.) Meanwhile Cameron Diaz, one year before There's Something About Mary, gave her own off-the-charts effervescence to the woman we were supposed to, but it was impossible to, hate. Take your corners...

PREVIOUSLY We tackled Fake News and the folks who make and fight it with our Broadcast News poll last week - y'all came down on the side of truth of the Albert Brooks sweaty sort with 64% of your vote. Asked Marco:

"Is the film on either man's side? Aaron is infinitely smarter and more genuine than Tom, and in a fair world his talent and knowledge would win him the news anchor job ahead of his more traditionally handsome and charismatic colleague. But he's also, to quote Tom, a prick (in a great way), supercillious, arrogant, and very needy. When he informed on Tom's fake tears during the date rape report, it seemed less of a moral stance and more of a desire to torpedo his relationship with Jane after she spurned his own interests."