It's All About Jessica Chastain

Somehow Jessica Chastain is taking over Cannes week news despite not having a film in competition (though The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is eligible for the Camera D'Or for her friend/director Ned Benson). She was nearly gone with the wind at a premiere the other night...

That's less a Marilyn than a Dorothy, don'cha know.

And then, the adorable starlet held court with students at the American Pavilion in Cannes, answering questions about her career.  And all this Cannes activity was swirling about during the big tornado of confusing news that she'd been offered the lead role in Season 2 of True Detective. Oh no wait a minute, actually she hasn't or she said no and they're pretending she wasn't offered. Or something.

We don't know.

Given that an Oscar statuette seems right around the corner, and she already does stage work maybe she'll have her sights set on the Triple Crown and hit the small screen as well?

I think it's worth noting that in the future EGOTs and Triple Crowns (TFE's preferred accomplishment since Grammys are such a different non-acting beast and who needs 'em?) will be much easier to win for actors with all the lines blurring between media and new shorter modes of television and new "limited run" stage shows becoming the norm. The length of the contracts is one reason, among others of course, that movie stars didn't used to regularly stick their toes in other mediums all that often. Now the water's the perfect temperature. 

If she was in fact offered it, do you think Jess should have said yes to True Detective? We still don't know the female lead but if you could have your choice of movie actresses for the miniseries, who would it be?

Rita Moreno turns 82

Anne Marie here with some happy news: It's Rita Moreno's birthday! The Puerto Rican showbiz legend has a list of awards as long as her gorgeous legs, and soon she's going to add to it! As Nathaniel reported earlier, the Screen Actors Guild is adding the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award to her much-deserved accolades in January.

In addition to being the third Triple Crown winner (Emmy, Tony, Oscar) and one of twelve EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), Rita Moreno has had an absolutely fascinating career for its depth and diversity. She's said that her success in West Side Story was actually a double-edged sword, after winning an Oscar in 1962 for her firey performance as Anita, most of the film roles offered to her were as the token minority. As a result, she refused to appear in film for another seven years. Moreno instead turned to television and theater. As part of the cast of The Electric Company (along with a very young Morgan Freeman), Moreno won her Grammy in 1972. In 1975, Moreno won a Tony for the play The Ritz. Then she completed her EGOT with two Emmy wins: first in 1977 for The Muppet Show, and again in 1978 for The Rockford Files. But her career didn't stop there. She's done everything from voice work (Carmen Sandiego in Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?) to TV Drama (Oz), and even an occasional Law And Order episode in the past few years. One thing she's never been in is a rut.

Today in honor of Rita's birthday, here are clips from her EGOT winning performances.

Emmy: The Muppet Show (1977)

Grammy: The Electric Company (1972)

Oscar: Anita in West Side Story (1961)

And finally her incredible Tony acceptance speech for The Ritz (1975)

What's your favorite performance by Miss Moreno?

Creative Arts Emmys: Lily & Melissa & Liberace

The Emmys have 5 bajillion categories so they can't announce them all on their PrimeTime ceremony (next Sunday! We'll live blog or something?) so last night they did their 'not ready for primetime' prizes for shows on... uh... primetime

And the winners are...

Guest Actress, Comedy: Melissa Leo as "Laurie" on Louie
Guest Actress, Drama: Carrie Preston as "Elsbeth Tascioni" on The Good Wife
Guest Actor, Comedy: Bob Newhart as "Arthur Jeffries/Professor Proton" on The Big Bang Theory
Guest Actor, Drama: Dan Bucatinsky as "James Movack" on Scandal
Voice Over: Lily Tomlin, An Apology to Elephants (HBO) 

File it under "if only it were a triple crown". Before 30 Rock popularized the notion of the "EGOT", the only multi-prize haul that the general public cared about by nickname was "The Triple Crown" (Oscar, Tony, Emmy) which still makes more sense as an aspirational haul for celebrities. Anyway, Lily Tomlin adds another Emmy to her trophy haul which includes 2 Tonys and a Grammy so the only thing preventing her EGOT is that she lost the Oscar for Nashville... (sniffle).

The LEOgend, Liberace, and more more more after the jump

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Rita! Rita! Rita!

Rita made the cover of "Life" in 1954 Congratulations to "Anita" herself, Rita Moreno. The EGOT winner, West Side Story MVP, and showbiz legend will be honored with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award this coming January at the SAG Awards Ceremony live on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. Unlike the Academy Awards (for shame) the Screen Actors Guild still understands the importance of honoring the giants of showbiz history each year on their broadcast, bless them.

Rita was the third actor to win the coveted "Triple Crown" (Tony, Emmy, Oscar) and coincidentally also the third performer to manage an "EGOT" (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). What's most impressive about both achievements is that the awards were spread out over two decades and came for entirely different things (it's possible, after all, to win Grammys and Oscars for the same film and theoretically possible to win Emmys for performing on a Tony Awards show ;). This indicates true staying power and a lovely capacity to evolve. And, in Rita's case, she did this in an industry that was notoriously difficult for actresses of color to navigate. It still is to some degree but less so thanks to people like Rita. 

The Puerto Rican triple threat first made waves via movie musicals -- Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1954), West Side Story (1961, Oscar) -- but maintained her fame through work on stage (The Ritz won her the Tony in '75), and television in such memorable shows as The Muppet Show (Emmy),  Electric Company (Grammy), HBO's Oz and so on and so on. Children's Television, Immortal Musicals, and Racy Maximum-Security Drama; that's some range! And she's still working. She recently wrapped filming on a little movie called Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks which co-stars other wonderful older actresses like Gena Rowlands and Jacki Weaver. 

Now about the award... while my personal preference is to give lifetime achievement and honorary prizes to people who haven't logged a lot of hours holding golden statues up in triumph, we all know this is not how Hollywood works. They love a winner so you have a lot better shot getting a lifetime achievement for your career if you've already won prizes for that career over the years and don't need the lifetime honor for anyone to remember you. In this case we don't mind so much since Rita is a truly special figure and breakthrough in Hollywood history. Bring this on.

Rita celebrating WSS's 50th anniversary a couple of years back

Anita's gonna get her kicks,  SAG Nii-iiii-iiiight ♩ She'll have a private little mix, SAG Nii-iiii-iiight

Tell us how much you love Rita in the comments. You know you do. 

Curio: Liza Love

Alexa here. Liza Minnelli turns 67 today. (Nathaniel is seeing her in concert tomorrow!).  Count me among the disappointed that this year's Oscar telecast, said to be a tribute to movie musicals, didn't at least acknowledge Cabaret.  Seems they meant to celebrate only the revival of the form, but still, couldn't we get Liza to join the other divas for a number instead of making time for Seth Macfarlane's ode to boobs?

Oh well, count me amongst the grumbling olds. Suffice it to say that I love me some Liza. I can't wait until Arrested Development Season 4 premieres in a few months since I think Lucille Austero is one of her best roles.  In the meantime, here are some curios that celebrate her film life.

Watercolor by OhLaLaGalerie.

EGOT accessories, and more Cabaret and Arthur after the jump...

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