Tag Archives: movies

August 13, 2012 · 5:31 pm

Jeremy Renner Slams The Kardashians

I’m loving Jeremy Renner more and more as time goes by…..

Especially as television reality shows get worse and worse….

We all need to stand up against this celebration of cultural decline….

I’m still in shock over something called the Honey Boo Boo Child that apparently has a TV show.  At least according to some very scary posts I saw on FaceBook….

I really wish I didn’t know about these things–Kardashians, the Jersey Shore People and Honey Boo Boo’s…..

It’s all one big celebration of being vulgar, tacky, trashy and just plain common….

Where are Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy and Grace Kelly when you need them?

From The Huffington Post:

Jeremy Renner joins the growing list of actors to express an extreme distaste for the Kardashians.

In a recent interview with the U.K. paper The Guardian, the “Bourne Legacy” star claimed that he never wanted to be famous, and while discussing the pitfalls of fame he unleashed his disdain for the reality TV family.

When the Kardashian name was mentioned by the interviewer, Renner reportedly rolled his eyes and then called them “ridiculous people with zero talent who spend their lives making sure everyone knows their name,” adding that they are “stupid, stupid people.”

via Jeremy Renner Slams The Kardashians As ‘Ridiculous People With Zero Talent’.

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July 6, 2012 · 7:19 pm

Happy Birthday, Jennifer Saunders! Edie Monsoon of “Absolutely Fabulous”

Edina Monsoon, of “Absolutely Fabulous” fame, is 54 today….

Only a few months older than me….

Jennifer Saunders is a comic genius…

And not just because she so accurately portrayed me in my 30’s and early 40’s….

And I had several friends trying out for the role of “Pats”….

One was more successful than others….but wait for the book!

 

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July 4, 2012 · 9:18 am

“Magic Mike” and the History of Male Strippers

I’ve always been a student of History, so I’m excerpting a bit from a very interesting article on the history of male stripping from Slate.com…

Hot topic- in more ways than one- since “Magic Mike” opened last weekend.

Being a History major in College, I was there the first day “Magic Mike”  opened to be sure it was historically accurate.  That was a a key concern for me.  I’ll probably have to watch it a couple of more times on DVD to double check a few things…

And, all kidding aside,  it really is a surprisingly good film….

With some really hot guys who strip…

When Magic Mike shimmied its way to almost $40 million at the box office this past weekend, it wasn’t the first time that men stripped down on screen. Male strippers have been a recurring plot point in recent decades, tearing off their pants in everything from Summer School to The Full Monty to a wide range of sitcoms and a legendary Saturday Night Live skit. This past May the New York Times even declared that male stripping was finally “hitting the mainstream.”

When did men start stripping professionally?

The mid-to-late 1970s. While musclemen have been paid for popping their pecs and otherwise showing off their bodies since at least the late 19th century, it’s only in the ’70s that stripping became a co-ed profession. And there are only a few known reports of male strippers before the late ’70s. In 1973 Jet told of one such dancer who “peeled down to a black G-string, handcuffed himself to the fence outside” Big Ben and bore a banner labeling him as “The body divine—Angel, the lovely male stripper. Book him.” According to the article, no producers came calling, but the cops did. This was a common problem for the early male stripper. Another early appearance of the term comes in a 1974 report on Deviant Behavior, mentioning male strippers in a report on “Marginally Illegal Occupations and Work Systems.” Through the mid-’70s men who took off their clothes in public were likely to receive a citation for indecency.

However, over the course of the late 1970s male dancers became a regular feature at strip clubs across the country. Some strip clubs reserved a few nights each month for male strip shows, with audiences restricted to “ladies only.”

More:  The real Magic Mikes: Who were the first male strippers? And what are male strip shows really like?.

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July 3, 2012 · 12:38 pm

Rest in Peace, Andy Griffith and Lonesome Rhodes

The news just broke this morning that Andy Griffith has died….

Most people will always remember Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry….

I’ll always remember him for his great performance as Lonesome Rhodes in the great film “A Face in the Crowd.”

He should have at least gotten an Oscar nomination for this….

And I wish more people would watch the film today….

Rest in Peace, Andy….you won’t be forgotten….

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June 26, 2012 · 10:55 pm

Cher Developing Broadway Musical Based On Life and Career

This is truly scary…

Who knew Cher could write?  Period?

Still, I would be so tempted to see this….

Or run from it…

From Playbill.com:

Producers are at work developing a Broadway musical based on the life of Academy and Grammy Award-winning performer Cher, the pop star recently tweeted.

The star states that the musical will incorporate songs from her career, with three different actresses set to play her at various stages of her life. One actress will play a young Cher through her “Sonny and Cher” years, while another will play the icon through the “Believe” tour, with a third to inhabit the star at the current point in her life.

The show will incorporate a theatrical conceit that allows all three actresses to talk to one another and perform together.

Cher also revealed that she is part of the writing process on the musical, which has been in development for “quite a while.” Broadway is the goal.

via Cher Developing Broadway Musical Based On Life and Career – Playbill.com.

Of course, I always thought she had already told her story in song:

Just kidding!!!

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February 14, 2012 · 5:16 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day!

If you haven’t gotten your loved one a gift yet, here is some timeless advice from the Goddess of Valentine’s Day…

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January 21, 2012 · 8:00 pm

Julia Roberts, Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer and Alec Baldwin Join THE NORMAL HEART Film

I was one of the lucky people to see the recent Broadway production of this wonderful, heartbreaking play….

I’m so pleased it looks like it is finally headed to the big screen and thrilled with how the cast is shaping up….

Jim Parsons was a standout in the Broadway production and I’m so glad he’s repeating his role in the film.  This is a great break for Matt Bomer, who I just love in “White Collar”.  I think he’ll be just right in this part.   I can see Julia Roberts being very, very good as well.  This will be a challenge for her, but I can see it working.  And Mark Ruffalo can do no wrong….

I’m so excited that this film is being done and apparently being done right!

From Broadway World:

Julia Roberts, Jim Parsons, Matt Bohmer and Alec Baldwin have joined Mark Ruffalo in the upcoming film adaptation of THE NORMAL HEART, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Larry Kramer will adapt his script for the movie; Ryan Murphy, best known for creating FOX’s musical show GLEE, is set to direct the film. It’s being produced by Plan B.

Ruffalo is to play Ned Weeks, while Roberts will play Emma Brookner (the role for which Ellen Barkin received a 2011 Tony Award) and Bomer will play Felix Turner (the role for which John Benjamin Hickey received his Tony). Baldwin is set to play Ben Weeks, and Parsons will reprise his Broadway role as Tommy Boatwright.

The Normal Heart played a 12-week limited engagement on Broadway from April to July 2011. The production won three 2011 Tony® Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play (Ellen Barkin) and Best Featured Actor in a Play (John Benjamin Hickey). The play has also been honored as this season’s Best Revival of a Play by the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards and has received Drama Desk Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Direction of a Play, along with a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle.

The story of a city in denial, The Normal Heart unfolds like a real-life political thriller — as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. First produced by Joseph Papp at New York’s Public Theater, the play was a critical sensation and a seminal moment in theater history. So ahead of its time was this play that many of the core issues it addresses – including gay marriage, the healthcare system and, of course, AIDS – are just as relevant today as they were when it first premiered.

via Julia Roberts, Jim Parsons, Matt Bohmer and Alec Baldwin Join THE NORMAL HEART Film.

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January 21, 2012 · 10:50 am

Happy Birthday, Robby Benson!

Another icon of my youth….

He’s 56 years old today….

Here are a few of clips from some of his greatest hits to celebrate his birthday….

And, little known fact, he was the voice of the Beast in the Disney cartoon “Beauty and the Beast”.

Here is a clip from 2010 where he discusses that and where he is today:

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January 13, 2012 · 6:26 pm

Mommie, uh, Maggie Dearest?

I haven’t yet seen the film, but this clip from “The Iron Lady” with Meryl Streep couldn’t help but make me think of  Faye Dunaway in “Mommie Dearest”….

I’m going to have to force myself to see this movie.  I can’t imagine 2 more hours of Margaret Thatcher after we had to deal with her for 11 years in power….

I just hope  I’ll be pleasantly surprised and “The Iron Lady” is at least half as entertaining as “Mommie Dearest”- even if I’m sure it’s not as campy….

At least Faye delivers the message more succinctly, if less elegantly….

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January 12, 2012 · 8:15 pm

Kristy McNichol Comes Out

It must be so sad to finally come out of the closet and no one cares….

We all knew….

All I can think is she really must need some cash and really want a new sitcom and is hoping the publicity will make her marketable again…

So sad….that I am so cynical.

She is a really talented actress.  I think she could have been as great as Jodie Foster if she had been more secure…

But Gay people of our generation had a different journey.  I can understand her fears, but it’s just too late to matter that she’s coming out….

Most of us who are Gay and her age bit the bullet and came out years ago.  She could have, too.

While I always want Gay Actors to come out, it would have meant so much more if “Buddy” had confirmed our knowledge that she was Gay years ago.

Still, we can’t judge and look back…

I wish her the best….

Gay people always love a comeback!

From People Magazine, of course:

 

 

Kristy McNichol has been out of the public eye for 20 years. Now she’s chosen to come out – to try to help kids who are being bullied.

McNichol, 49, who has lived with her partner Martie Allen, also 49, for the past two decades, decided to make a statement about her sexuality and share this photo because she is “approaching 50” and wants to “be open about who I am.”

She “is very sad about kids being bullied,” her publicist Jeff Ballard tells PEOPLE. “She hopes that coming out can help kids who need support. She would like to help others who feel different.”

Best known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Buddy Lawrence in the ’70s show Family and later as Barbara Weston in Empty Nest, McNichol left it all behind when she dropped out of Hollywood to focus on her health.

Done with acting, McNichol spends her time focusing on tennis, yoga, travel and raising her beloved miniature dachshunds. “She is very happy and healthy,” says Ballard. “And she enjoys living a very private life.”

via Kristy McNichol Wants to ‘Be Open About Who I Am’ – Kristy McNichol : People.com.

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