Curio: Hollywood's Garage Sale

Alexa here.  The 2012 Hollywood Legends Auction, held recently by Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, made some news because it included the first sale of Whitney Houston's belongings since her passing. I recently perused the catalog and was interested to see many items from Rue McClanahan's estate (Golden Girls caftans!) and artifacts from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's life together (including some patio furniture). There were hundreds of interesting film curios, including costumes, original artwork and odd, lifelike mannequins. Also fascinating was how much many of the items went for.  Why did Debbie Reynolds' Singin' in the Rain Costume fetch $10,000 more than Natalie Wood's Gypsy ensemble? Who knows.  Here is a small selection of the hundreds. You can flip through the catalog here.

Orson Welles self portrait, sold for $8,960.

Eyes Wide Shut mannequins, sold for $1,408.

Cabaret, Cleopatra, Gypsy and more after the jump...

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April Showers: "Home For the Holidays"

waterworks each weeknight at 11. This particular installment of April Showers was first published in 2009.

One of the greatest disconnects I've ever had between consensus response to a movie and my own reaction was in 1995 when Jodie Foster's second film Home for the Holiday debuted. It was mostly ignored by the public and the critics were out for blood. Maybe Jodie Foster had just been too successful and too lauded and it was time for the pendulum to swing back? Perhaps the undercurrent was along the lines of 'Does she have to be good at making movies in addition to acting in them?'

Even Robert Downey Jr playing Tommy got bad reviews for his performance as teh gay brother to Holly Hunter's Claudia. Though his performance is pretty out there with his needling rapid fire joking -- he's consistently pushing things too far -- it's also exactly in line with the movie's own sense of humor. And Bonus points: the sibling chemistry between Claudia and Tommy is pretty damn credible. If you're not familiar with the movie I urge you to rent it. You protest: But it's one of thousands of quirky dysfunctional family holiday comedies! I counter: it arrived before that ultra specific genre was wildly over saturated and it's actually very funny.

Holly's shower scene is fairly typical of the movies fast, funny and familial nature. Anne Bancroft, playing Adele the mother, is talking at Claudia but not really with her. Claudia is talking at Adele but not listening. They're on different pages and both of them never shut up. The older woman exits the scene leaving her daughter showering in an open bathroom...

Mom, close the door behind you okay?
No?
okay, no problem, I usually shower in public.
I have no pride.
I have no rights.
I'm only four years old.

I don't need to tell you that Holly Hunter is one of the funniest people in the movies and she was still in her incredible prime at the time (roughly 1987-1998). She makes every pause and emphasis count in a line reading. So many laughs to be had in four sentences. After Claudia is done complaining about the unplanned exhibitionism, she gets down to business. She's vigorously shampooing, suds flying, until she freezes in place with a gasp. Her mischievous brother is lumbering towards the shower curtain like some comic monster.

I swear to god, Tommy, I'm naked in here and I am too old...

*FLASH*

Holly's blind recoil from the polaroid flash is the split second punchline and Foster immediately cuts to the next scene, no time to waste... more rapid fire joking to follow.

Coming Soon to "Hit Me..."

Have you been following along with season three of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"? This series thrives on your comments and/or visual participation and dies without them. So don't leave us in solitary confinement staring at the movies obsessively. In season three we've already covered Snow White (30s Disney), Easter Parade (40s musical), Bonnie & Clyde (60s landmark) and Ladyhawke (80s fantasy). Because we aim for a true variety of genre and time periods in this series, here's the next six weeks of the movie schedule.

Please consider joining the fun.

Apr 18th Serenity (2007) and/or Firefly (2005)
Joss Whedon is having a huge film year (Avengers, Cabin in the Woods, Much Ado About Nothing) so we're looking back at his directorial (feature) debut. Or if you have never seen the TV series on which Serenity is based for this episode only of the cinematic series you can do "best shot" with a television pilot. Both are available on Netflix Instant Watch.

Apr 25th Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
This Oscar nominee and arthouse hit helped make international sensations out of the legendary director/muse pair Zhang Yimou & Gong Li. We love them both so let's dive into this sad gorgeous concubine's den in 1920s China.

May 2nd  Pariah (2011)
We've never done a brand new movie just as it hits DVD so I chose this one about a closeted lesbian teenager because it's a) very good b) underseen and c) not principally acclaimed for its visuals and those films can be interesting challenges in this series which tends to focus on more visually ambitious pictures.

May 9th  The Exorcist (1973) 
It was just voted the best horror movie of all time, it's a massive touchstone film, and if I don't force myself to watch it (I know I know) I never will. Will our heads spin until we're vomiting trying to choose the single greatest shot? Currently available on Netflix Instant Watch.

May 15th Edward Scissorhands (1990)
With Dark Shadows in theaters, we'll look at the Burton/Depp collaboration that started it all.

May 23rd Possessed (1947) 
I've been itching for some Joan Crawford lately and this acclaimed noir brought her her second Oscar nomination (shortly after the win for Mildred Pierce). I've never seen it so join me as Joan obsesses so hard over a man that she ends up in a psychiatric ward.

You'll be possessed by the love-madness of POSSESSED

Will you be joining us for any of these? Truly it's the more the merrier with this series. I can't be the only best shot participant that loves loves loves seeing the wide range of opinions when a lot of people look at the very same piece of art.

Sound off on this series in the comments. What do you think of it?

Katniss on the Catwalk.

Jose here. You know you've made it when your movie not only is the number one movie in the planet, but you also start influencing fashion. If you disagree, I have no trouble doing Meryl's "Cerulean monologue"...or quoting anything Effie Trinket says in The Hunger Games.

Effie's movie isn't only on its way to becoming one of the top grossing movies of all time, it's also becoming an influence for fashion designers. Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa has just designed a lovely dress inspired by Katniss Everdeen (the heroine played by Jennifer Lawrence in the movie).

The peach colored, silk-crepe dress perfectly embodies Katniss' simplicity with the rich fabrics one would imagine they wear at the Capitol but with its hefty price tag of $5,000, isn't the dress a bit of an oxymoron? It would be like having a bread brand named after Marie Antoinette.

Any way, what are some of your favorite movie-inspired, real life style trends?

That Linking Feeling

Go Fug Yourself riffs hilariously on a photo of Noomi Rapace & Charlize Theron at the Prometheus premiere. Guldbagge!
Film Studies for Free "all that pastiche allows" looks at Far From Heaven, All That Heaven Allows and other examples of pastiche
The Kid in the Front Row discusses "the scene that made it all worth it" in Friends With Kids. I still haven't seen this one but love the cast. Same deal with Salmon Fishing... What's keeping me?
Liz Smith on all that's riding on the product known as Jeremy Renner who'd rather be "a good human" 

The Guardian Darth Vader and son. Tee hee
Indiewire wonders if Matthew McConaughey could be an Oscar contender for Magic Mike. I wish I had done a post about this last week. It occurred to me and I even wrote a wee note about it on the supporting actor page but my then original thought will now be lost in groupthink.
Clutch have you heard this shady catfight rumor re: Michelle Obama vs. Kerry Washington?
Metro on Kathleen Turner still touring with the play High. Love this quote from her on her many health problems and continuing on through all of them. I wish one of my other favorite actresses [ahem] felt similarly committed to her gift:

There has been a lot of work that had to be done to be able to continue and carry on and I can’t imagine not being able to act. It’s what I set out to do when I was a kid and I love it so much... I know that I would find another work for myself if I really couldn’t (act), but until I’m completely, physically incapable of acting. I am not giving it up.

Cinema Blend has a gallery from the digital artist TXE (name?) which illustrates 93 (!) characters from the Game of Thrones franchise
The Mary Sue has a piece on actors who have starred in multiple franchises. "Get Over It"... I know most people enjoy this but I can't be the only person who hates hates hates the same actors starring in everything? I am too much of a polyamorous film slut? I need some variety up in here! I really do. I don't like the idea of Storm being Catwoman and Iron Man being Sherlock Holmes and so on. 

Randomness: Here is the new poster for Rust & Bone. J'adore Jacques Audiard movies. I mean Read My Lips, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, A Prophet...

What a roll, huh?

If Rust & Bone is as good as those it'll be one of 2012's highlights for sure.

offscreen just for kicks
Monkey See "I died on the Titanic" a personal memoir 
Boooooom shows you impossibly tinyfood sculpture
The Mary Sue animal mating rituals described in humanoid cartoons. Isabella Rossellini is surely sporting wood reading this.