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d-criss-news · 3 months

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Evan Rachel Wood, Darren Criss on Stepping Into ‘Little Shop of Horrors’: “We’re Both These Little Theater ’90s Nerds”

The 'Westworld' actress and 'American Crime Story' star open up about deciding to take the stage together, personal connections to their characters, and their love for Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

It’s early afternoon on a Friday when Darren Criss and Evan Rachel Wood pick up the phone, just five days before the duo is set to debut as the new Seymour and Audrey in off-Broadway‘s Little Shop of Horrors. Both are on their way to the Westside Theatre stage for their first top to bottom run-through, taking over the complicated but beloved characters based on Roger Corman’s 1960 horror comedy and deftly adapted for the stage by theater legends Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (music). Now in its fifth year, several notable names have left their mark on this U.S. revival of the dark goings-on of a Skid Row flower shop: Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Conrad Ricamora, Corbin Bleu, Constance Wu, Maude Apatow, Tammy Blanchard, Lena Hall. But none quite like this, as an intentional leap together among friends.

As the interview begins, Wood — who is already at the theater — openly wonders whether she should take the elevator down to where she’ll soon meet co-star and friend Criss, before quickly interjecting that “you might lose me for two seconds.” Meanwhile, Criss declares he opted to skip the subway after realizing he was running behind, as he briefly turns on his Zoom camera to reveal himself in the backseat of a car.

Later, his voice will drop out for a few minutes, before reappearing, sounding winded. “I have my ear pods in, and so I just got out of the car talking to you guys, and you cut out,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Then I looked at the car driving away, so I just sprinted down the block to grab it.” This frantic energy is reminiscent of what you can find within this kind of scrappy, fast-paced, off-Broadway musical environment in the final days before curtains go up. As replacements, Criss and Wood will do so with less time to rehearse and no preview audiences on which to test their performances, but that doesn’t seem to phase either of them. Instead, with their easy and fun rapport, the duo celebrate the challenge of what it means to be passed this mantle for a three-month run, beginning Jan. 30. On Tuesday, Wood will make her New York theater debut, a long-awaited moment for the actress who grew up with a father (Ira David Wood III) as an actor, playwright and theater director in her hometown of Raleigh. With her early stage ambitions sidelined by a burgeoning film career — later including movie musicals like Frozen II and Across the Universe — the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Wood will finally return to her performance roots, a year after news of her attachment to a possible Thelma & Louise musical adaptation for Broadway.

Little Shop of Horrors will also mark Criss’ first return to New York’s musical theater world since a multi-week replacement run in 2015 as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. On the phone, he’s adamant that, absent traditional musical theater training, he’s fooled the world into thinking he’s more than an “actor trying to act like he knows how to sing.” But with several EPs, a Christmas album, Billboard-charting work with StarKids Productions, and roles in musical-driven screen projects like Glee and Hazbin Hotel, it’s hard not to believe that the Emmy and SAG award-winning performer, like Wood, will be right at home. Ahead of their debut, the duo spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about sharing the stage, the impact of Little Shop of Horrors across the stage and screen, their love of Ashman and Menken, and why these roles are personally resonant and remain culturally timely. Darren, you said in a previous interview that you had been begging Evan to come do theater in New York for years. How did you make that happen now and for you both together? CRISS Let me just start by saying as much as I can before she can hear me. I’m in a regular habit of just exalting Evan for her talent. I’d done this before I even had the great privilege of getting to know and become friends with her. I’m always talking about how wonderfully talented she is and how I’ve always really loved her voice and her breadth of ability. When I meet people who are these wonderful triple threats that have a really strong theatrical background — people who can sing and don’t have as many opportunities as I wish they did — I get off on the idea of people who didn’t know that they could do this thing finally getting to see that they could do this thing.

Evan has done a lot of singing in her life. She’s literally a Disney princess for Frozen II and there’s obviously Across the Universe. But knowing that she has this really strong theatrical background, I’ve always been hell-bent on getting her on a stage. As a friend, she has popped up on many gigs with me in my personal life just for fun and parties I’ve thrown. She showed up for me on the Christmas album. She’s said yes to me far more many times than I frankly deserve. So when this came around, a lot of my colleagues — a lot of my friends — have been Seymour, and who loves theater that doesn’t love Little Shop of Horrors? It would be a really fun time for me, but the thing that would make it really, really special is if I had got the chance to do it with an Audrey that not only I thought really could bring something spectacular to the role, but on a personal level, this is off-Broadway. We’re all doing this scrappy theater thing in a basement together. If we’re going to live on top of each other might as well be someone but I’m also personally very fond of and have a wonderful relationship with. So short story that’s way too long, I went to Evan and said “Hey, I have an idea. Would you be available to do this?” and thank my lucky stars, she said yes. I’m just a pig in shit, getting to do this with her. It’s an absolute joy. Evan, what’s your response to that glowing review, but also, why did you want to make this show your off-Broadway New York theater debut?

WOOD Funny enough, I have been so close to being on Broadway a handful of times and something has always come in the way of scheduling or something falls apart. It was actually my dream as a kid. I went back and read some old interviews of mine when I was around 12 or 13, and I completely had forgotten that my dream was to go live in New York, go to NYU, and do theater in New York. That was where my sights were set before my life sort of got derailed for a moment. So it’s always been in my sights. It’s gotten increasingly harder over the years to make it work, especially if you have kids, to be away from home for such long periods of time. Usually, the theater commitments are an amount of time that I was just never able to do and so the timing was perfect because I was thinking to myself, “God, I wish I could go to New York and do a play, but maybe not a six-month run. Maybe something around three months. A classic musical that’s going to be really fun.” Darren called me maybe a week later and said, “I’d love for you to come and do it with me,” and it was like an instant yes. To piggyback on what Darren said, I feel very similarly about Darren and that whenever he’s asked me to do something, I just know it’s going to be great. I know it’s going to be fun and I fully believe in everything that he does and his talent. We’re both these little theater ’90s nerds that just hit it off in so many ways, and we collaborate well together. I just felt like we would like this project. It’s made so much sense for both of us that it was a no-brainer.

Little Shop of Horrors is one of those musicals that even people who aren’t big fans of musical theater and attend regularly are aware of, both in terms of story and music. Among the many adaptations of this, whether it was a professional or high school staging or even any of the movie versions, was there one that made you want to do this show? CRISS I’ll say this. As hip of an aura as I’ve tried to give off, make no mistake, I think the biggest gateway to this property for everybody is hands down the movie. I was not seeing off off Broadway theater in the 1980s. I wasn’t there, and that’s why I love movie musicals so much. As much as I love going to the theater, being able to go to a Broadway show is a very specific and privileged situation tied to being in New York City. But whether it’s a liked or celebrated movie, it is still going to be the most accessible thing in perpetuity for everybody. So definitely the movie and those songs. Before you can really understand the complexities of the thematic, Faustian elements and high dramaturgical elements of the story — and before you even get the comedy — you get the music. Especially when you’re really young and your parents are playing you things that you go, “OK, well, kids can get behind music.” It doesn’t take much to understand that the music from that show is beloved. I mean, this music and this show are like proto-Disney Renaissance. It’s like what got [Jeffrey] Katzenberg to ask Alan Menken and Howard Ashman to help them out. It was like, “We want to do some Disney musical fairy tales.” Now, because of the show, we have The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast.

I grew up in the ’90s, as me and Evan tend to relate upon a lot. With The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and these films that I loved so much, as I got older, I really wanted to know more about the people behind them. I became obsessed with, and I talk a lot about, Howard Ashman and how much of an influence he’s had on the musical theater genre ever since the popularity of those films. So I wanted to go back to the start of that, and that’s when I started to dive into Little Shop and discover how this was the sort of nexus — the genesis — of everything. WOOD Yeah, same. I grew up watching the film and being so terrified by it, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I grew up doing theater. My father runs a theater in Raleigh, North Carolina, and so that was my childhood. I was always listening to show tunes, and as Darren said, the classic Disney albums, acting out plays in my living room and Little Mermaid was certainly one of them. Ellen Greene’s performance always stuck with me, and I am also a major Howard Ashman-Alan Menkin nerd for similar reasons as Darren. Those were all things that drew me to it. I was really terrified about and still am terrified about being eaten by the plant because it was like a deep seated childhood fear of mine that I had to conquer to do this show. It’s stuck with me since childhood. It’s not as bad as you would think. But it’s still pretty scary. Also just a fun fact, I was cast as Audrey in the seventh-grade school play, but I couldn’t do it because I was doing movies. (Laughs.) So I got pulled out of school, but I was almost Audrey in seventh grade.

CRISS You aged into it well. This is a much more appropriate time in your life being Audrey than in seventh grade, so worked out just great. (Laughs.) I just have to say, this production, we both have our careers going on and different dragons that we’re chasing in our professional and personal lives that committing to a big Broadway production is a huge investment. What’s so wonderful about this is, the way the show is set up, we can kind of come in for just a little bit. It’s really high output but like low stakes — and I don’t want to say that to be reductive of the production. I mean that the show is beloved. There are people that know this show but have never seen it, and have heard of it and know the songs without ever even having tried to listen and know the songs. So it’s so culturally ubiquitous, that it’s a very, welcome accessible thing for all kinds of folks and that might cross-pollinate between me and Evan’s demographic of people who might be interested in us. Also, it’s been running for long enough that I feel protected. I’ve seen this production several times. Evan and I went just last night. It’s something that you don’t have to figure out. One of the hardest parts about getting a show up on its feet is like, does it work? Do we want this song in? We got to do with an audience and you really have to workshop stuff for a long time. Shows take years before they’ve reached mainstream Broadway, so the fact that all that legwork is taken out is a no-brainer for us. It’s just this really like warm snuggle from something that we really love.

You’re right in that this is not a traditional production experience for you, as you’re coming in after others, and you have less rehearsal time, no previews. What have the challenges or exciting elements of that been for you so far? WOOD I don’t know about you, Darren, but I feel like one of the reasons why I said yes to doing this with you is because this is kind of where you and I thrive — in the fast-paced chaos. I need a challenge sometimes. I need that adrenaline and I need that fast pace, especially if I’m coming in to do theater. That’s where I grew up, and that’s what I’m used to. That’s where home is for me. So coming back into the theater into the organized chaos of it all feels right. My brain loves it and thrives off of it. When somebody says “Oh, this is a really hard number to learn,” I think, “This is going to be my favorite number.” (Laughs.) I love figuring something out, and picking it apart piece by piece and putting it back together, then conquering it. There’s just such satisfaction that comes from doing that there, Darren, and I think it’s similar for you. CRISS It is kind of a party trick some people are quick studies of, for better or for worse. I think this kind of pace suits us. I think it’s something that we wear pretty well, and I think we do that a lot in our own lives. But to do it together is pretty fun. I’ve thrown Evan into all kinds of things where she’ll just show up knowing a whole song last minute. That’s not too dissimilar, and it’s not like we’re learning new music. We know these songs.

In the theater world, you learn a track. It’s literally a track — there are little railroad tracks set around the stage because there’s no follow spots. The lights are where they are. You don’t have to do hours of tech rehearsal, figuring out where the lighting cues are. They’re there. It is our job to jump into a machine that is already very well-oiled and running. So in that regard, you’re kind of free from having to worry about that stuff. But you can just focus on your characterization and nuance within these very, specific directives. I’ve done a few put-ins. I think this is probably your first, Evan, for a show that’s already going. Correct me if I’m wrong. WOOD I did learn, for the record, Baz Luhrmann in one night and performed it the next night. CRISS Case and point. So yeah, doing a put-in — I’ve done it a few times for Broadway — it’s nice because then you can just focus on the little things that you really want to play with and not worry about these big macro things. What’s funny is that people always say, “Oh, I love Broadway music. I love Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.” The word Broadway is often conflated with the music from narrative storytelling, whether it be from films or TV. This show was always an off-Broadway darling. It was only really on Broadway for a little bit in 2003. Beyond that, it’s the movie and this off-off-Broadway show, which started in the ’80s and ran for a pretty long time. Then in just so many regional and school productions. But it’s actually only been on Broadway for a minority of the time.

WOOD And that was intentional, right? It was really important to them to keep it off Broadway because that was the spirit of the show. It was on Skid Row. It wasn’t supposed to be a big huge glitzy production. CRISS When you contextualize it, it’s a famous show now, but if you’re in the ’80s, and you’ve got some big Broadway musicals happening uptown, and you’re trying to tell your friends, “Yeah, I saw this thing downtown. You got to come. It’s kind of this doo-wop that’s based of this Roger Corman B-movie. There’s a plant that’s a puppet but it’s hard to explain. You just got to come down and see it.” (Laughs.) Trying to contextualize that, it makes you realize this really is a weird thing, man. It’s a weird, off-the-beaten-path, outlying renegade show. You’ve both done musicals in different mediums, which is, obviously, a different process. Was there anything you brought in with you about doing it on-screen to your performances now? WOOD It’s kind of the opposite for me. I’ve carried theater into my film work because I started in theater, so I learned how to do things fluidly and without stopping. There’s a lot of stop and start in TV and film and sometimes that’s nice. But sometimes it’s frustrating, especially when you come from a theater background. There’s something so satisfying about telling the story from beginning to end and playing the entire arc of the character in one go. There’s just a certain energy and an aliveness that comes with that that you can’t have when you have the camera in the room and it’s constantly moving and starting and stopping and changing.

CRISS I would say the same thing. I don’t know if this math checks out, but I think I’ve spent in my collective hours working in any kind of performing art more time in a theater than I have on a set. That might not be true, but in my mind, it feels that way. I constantly feel like I’m bringing what I know in the theater to film and television. I’d always prefer to be doing theater, but these days, listen, I’ll work anywhere, anyhow. As long as, hopefully, it’s positive, and additive to the world in some way. The theater, without getting on a total spiritual kick, it is a holy place. It’s an ancient art form. It is catharsis. It is sharing something with people in real-time before your very eyes. It’s why, despite the fact that we have TV and film and every possible AR, VR medium to displace our reality, theater is still around. It’s why we go to church, why we go to temple, why we go to the mosque — so we can experience something that we collectively want to believe in. We’re strangers and we want to elevate ourselves to something that’s bigger than the sum of our parts. I realize I said I didn’t want to get into a whole spiritual thing with it, but there you go. That can only happen after the fact, months if not years after you do it in a film set.

Evan and I are about to do our first put-in rehearsal, which is to say, we’re going to do the whole thing top to bottom, but there will be a key character missing, and that is the audience. The audience is one of the main characters of any show. And as much as you’d not want to break the fourth wall — that they’re not supposed to be there — of course, they’re there. Of course, that’s why we’re there — to have that kind of sacred communion with an audience giving you the privilege of their presence. You have a responsibility and a duty to make sure that you are sharing some kind of worthwhile experience with them. So getting to renew that experience every night, to me, is the most noble vocation that you can have as an artist.

WOOD I learned how to sing before I learned how to act because I wanted to do musical theater. So this is my favorite thing to do. Of all the mediums is being able to marry the singing and the acting together. Always my first love. CRISS I’m still learning how to do those two things, which is why Evan Rachel Wood is in this production — to teach me how to do those things. (Laughs.) Part of why shows like Little Shop go on for so long — why they can get this many revivals or adaptations — is that there’s something timeless about the story and its characters. For you, what is most timeless about Seymour and Audrey? Amid all the other actors who have taken on these roles, what are you most connecting to? WOOD From what I understand, everybody that’s come in to do the show brings their own energy and spin on it. Especially with Audrey — Ellene Greene, her performance is so iconic. The look, the voice, the songs. So stepping into that is figuring out how I pay homage to the parts of this character that people love and expect to see, but also bring my vibe and energy to it. That’s exciting to figure out what my Audrey looks like. For me, it’s also hard not to relate to her and her struggles because, unfortunately, those are very timeless — poverty, abuse, patriarchy. She’s sort of a victim of all of those things. Not to get too real for a second, but I am a domestic violence survivor playing this character who is going through similar struggles, who has these similar feelings and dreams of getting out and going to a better place and getting far, far away from her past. They’re all very real things, but they’re in this setting of campiness and horror. What’s amazing about the show for me is that it is fun. It is campy. There are man-eating plants. But there’s such sincerity to it as well. Especially with Audrey, Seymour, and their relationship. There are so many beautiful real moments between the two of them. Themes of poverty and capitalism are still just so prevalent that that’s why it’s so timeless because these things just are not going away.

CRISS I’m glad Evan mentioned her own experience and what that brings to the show. I think, for my money, pathos is a dish best served sweet. Comedy and fun are a wonderful support system for really heavy themes. WOOD Exactly. CRISS I think I’m that I’m more likely to take something more seriously if it’s not shoved down my throat. This is a comedy and to me, there’s not a lick of fat on this thing from Howard Ashman who was just such an extraordinary dramaturg. He took this really silly B-movie, and managed to hone in on the very ancient themes. You’re asking what makes Seymour so timeless. It’s a Faustian tale. This is the one of the oldest fables asking what is the price of greatness. What is a man willing to do, willing to give up, willing to trade to get what he wants? WOOD He literally sells his soul. CRISS Yeah, he sells his soul. The plant is Mephistopheles in this parable of Little Shop. But, of course, if you’re going go downtown and say, “I’m going to do a show. It’s like a Faust thing, and Mephistopheles shows up,” you can see people’s eyes glaze over. Well, how about it’s this guy, there’s music that is evocative of what was popular in the late ’50s, but the plant sings. It’s sci-fi, but it’s horror, but it’s fun, and it’s comedy. Now you have my attention, now I’m subscribing to the fun and the music. But by the end of it, I’m experiencing a classic, traditional, academic tale in a really fun way. When you said there’s been millions of iterations of this show, my mind went to, there’s been millions of iterations of this story. This is probably just one of the funniest ones I can think of.

There is ancientness to this tale. I’ve realized recently I’ve made a lot of my roles, especially in the Broadway world, about people who would do anything to accomplish greatness. To varying degrees of evil or good or compromise, people are always trying to figure out what it is they have to do, and what they have to give up. What line they would cross to get it. A lot of times people are kind of conflicted [watching Little Shop of Horrors] because you are rooting for this guy doing this thing, but he’s doing something terrible. Does that make you complicit? Are you a bad person for wanting this? All those things are the bread and butter of good old-fashioned drama.

#darren criss #evan rachel wood #the hollywood reporter #little shop of horrors #little shop of horros bway #press #jan 2024

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vintagestagehotties · 6 hours

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Round 1 is officially over!

Congratulations to the actresses who made it to Round 2!

Round 2 will begin on Saturday, May 4th

The winners of Round 1:

Maude Adams

Anna Maria Alberghetti

Julie Andrews

Angela Baddeley

Hermione Baddeley

Lauren Bacall

Olga Baclanova

Pearl Bailey

Josephine Baker

Lucille Ball

Anne Bancroft

Tallulah Bankhead

Theda Bara

Mona Barrie

Jessie Bateman

Polly Bergen

Claire Bloom

Mrs Patrick Campbell

Diahann Carroll

Lina Cavalieri

Helen Chandler

Geraldine Chaplin

Ruth Chatterton

Claudette Colbert

Constance Collier

Gladys Cooper

Katharine Cornell

Phyllis Dare

Zena Dare

Ruby Dee

Judi Dench

Stephanie Deste

Marie Doro

Geraldine Farrar

Maude Fealy

Edwige Feuillère

Susanna Foster

Trixie Friganza

Jane Froman

Eva Gabor

Zsa Zsa Gabor

Mary Garden

Greer Garson

Dusolina Giannini

Hermione Gingold

Dorothy Gish

Lillian Gish

Frances Greer

Mata Hari

Dolores Hart

Olivia de Havilland

Jill Haworth

Audrey Hepburn

Libby Holman

Lena Horne

Sally Ann Howes

Ethel Irving

Diane Keaton

Lisa Kirk

Eartha Kitt

Angela Landbury

Carol Lawrence

Vivien Leigh

Lotte Lenya

Beatrice Lillie

Bambi Linn

Gillian Lynne

Heather MacRae

Jayne Mansfield

Mary Martin

Jessie Matthews

Siobhán McKenna

Meng Xiaodong

Helen Menken

Ethel Merman

Cléo de Mérode

Evelyn Millard

Liza Minnelli

Rita Moreno

Odette Myrtil

Pola Negri

Julie Newmar

Nichelle Nichols

Maureen O’Sullivan

Aida Overton Walker

Anna Pavlova

Bernadette Peters

Lily Pons

Rosa Ponselle

Lee Remick

Diana Rigg

Thelma Ritter

Chita Rivera

Ginger Rogers

Lillian Russell

Rosalind Russell

Diana Sands

Lizabeth Scott

Maggie Smith

Emily Stevens

Susan Strasberg

Barbra Streisand

Yma Sumac

Inga Swenson

Laurette Taylor

Hilda Trevelyan

Monique Van Vooren

Fannie Ward

Ethel Warwick

Elisabeth Welch

Mae West

Anna May Wong

Diana Wynyard

Yoshiko Yamaguchi

#vintagestagehotties #vintage tournament

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brokehorrorfan · 1 month

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Sci-Fi Chillers Collection will be released on May 21 via Kino Lorber. The Blu-ray set features three sci-fi/horror films: The Unknown Terror, The Colossus of New York, and Destination Inner Space.

1957's The Unknown Terror is directed by Charles Marquis Warren and written by Kenneth Higgins. John Howard, Mala Powers, Paul Richards, and May Wynn star.

1958's The Colossus of New York is directed by Eugène Lourié (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) and written by Thelma Schnee, based on a short story by Ray Bradbury. Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, and Kenneth Tobey star.

1966's Destination Inner Space is directed by Francis D. Lyon and written by Arthur C. Pierce. Scott Brady, Gary Merrill, Sheree North, and Wende Wagner star.

All three films have been have been scanned in 4K by Paramount Pictures. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

The Unknown Terror audio commentary by film historian Stephen Bissette (new)

The Colossus of New York audio commentary by film historians Tom Weaver, Larry Blamire, and Ron Adams

Destination Inner Space audio commentary by film historians David Del Valle and Stan Shaffer

The Colossus of New York interview with film historians Tim Lucas and Steven Bissette

Destination Inner Space interview with film historians Tim Lucas and Steven Bissette

The Colossus of New York theatrical trailer

In The Unknown Terror, a millionaire (John Howard) leads a remote jungle expedition to find the legendary “Cave of the Dead” where his wife’s (Mala Powers) brother had disappeared long ago. Instead, they stumble upon a mad doctor who has created a horde of foam-spewing, fungus-covered monster-men. In The Colossus of New York, when a brilliant scientist (Ross Martin) is accidentally killed, his preserved brain is transferred to the body of a giant robot so that it can continue to serve mankind. But when it gains awareness of its own hideousness, this steel colossus embarks on a rampage of destruction. In Destination Inner Space, when an object of unknown origin is detected in the area of an underwater laboratory, scientists investigate and come face to face with the object—an extraterrestrial saucer! They board the craft and discover a mysterious cylinder, which they take back to the lab for closer inspection. It is then that events take a monstrous turn!

Pre-order Sci-Fi Chillers Collection.

#the unknown terror #the colossus of new york #destinaton inner space #sci fi #science fiction #kino lorber #dvd #gift #50s sci fi #1950s sci fi #ray bradbury #john howard #scott brady #mala powers #gary merrill

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justforbooks · 5 months

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The actor Brigit Forsyth, who has died aged 83, made her name as Thelma in the BBC television series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? One critic described Thelma as so prim that she could turn the lifting of a lace curtain into an art form.

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’s creation, which ran from 1973 to 1974, was the sequel to the popular 1960s sitcom The Likely Lads, which starred Rodney Bewes and James Bolam as Bob Ferris and Terry Collier, two single north-east England factory workers who share a flat and the same interests – women, drink and football.

Thelma Chambers was brought in as a girlfriend for the upwardly mobile Bob, now in the white-collar class with a house, car and annual holiday on the Costa Brava, scoffed at by Terry, who clings on to his working-class roots. Thelma and Bob were married halfway through the two series of the show.

“Up until then, I had done a lot of drama on telly,” said Forsyth. “If I wasn’t being murdered, I was murdering somebody or I was a disturbed art teacher. I was playing quite a lot of deranged people, so comedy was a nice change.”

She created laughs again with the sitcom Sharon and Elsie (1984-85), in which she co-starred as the middle-class Elsie Beecroft alongside Janette Beverley as the more down-to-earth Sharon Wilkes, two employees in a greetings card manufacturing company.

But Forsyth’s own favourite television part was Francine Pratt in Playing the Field (1998-2002), the on- and off-pitch women’s football drama created by Kay Mellor. Her character, who hates the game, is married to the Castlefield Blues’ sponsor, played by Ricky Tomlinson, and keeps him happy in return for designer clothes and other luxuries.

“I have never played awful glamour before,” she said. “I had a blond wig, six-inch heels, makeup and my bosom hitched up high.”

Forsyth was born in Malton, North Yorkshire, to Scottish parents, Anne (nee Forsyth), an artist, and Frank Connell, an architect and town planner, and brought up in Edinburgh. She was mesmerised by Stanley Baxter’s performances as a pantomime dame at the city’s King’s theatre and, aged 18, landed her own first lead role, as Sarat Carn, on her way to the gallows, in Charlotte Hastings’s play Bonaventure with the Makars amateur drama group.

But when she left St George’s school, Edinburgh, her parents insisted she learn a skill, so she trained as a secretary. After a couple of jobs, she headed for London and Rada (1958-60), where she won the Emile Littler prize.

She began her professional career back in Edinburgh with the Gateway theatre company (1960-61) before moving on to the Theatre Royal, Lincoln (1961-62) and the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone (1962). With other actors already named Brigit McConnell and Bridget O’Connell, she changed her professional name to Forsyth on her return to Lincoln in 1962.

At the Edinburgh festival three years later, she played one of the witches in a headline-making production of Macbeth. “That show caused an absolute uproar because they wanted the witches to have the bodies of young girls and the faces of old women, and they wanted us to have our top half naked,” Forsyth recalled. “But the Earl of Harewood, who was running the EIF at the time, said ‘No’. So they put nipple caps on us, which looked absolutely disgusting – and they used to drop off each night. It was absolutely hysterical.”

Later, in the West End, Forsyth played Annie in The Norman Conquests (Globe, now Gielgud, and Apollo theatres, 1974-76) and Dusa in the feminist play Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi (Mayfair theatre, 1976-77). She put her TV breakthrough down to cutting her hair short. “It proved a tremendously lucky omen,” she said.

That break came with Adam Smith (1972), in which she played the younger daughter of the title character, a Scottish minister (Andrew Keir). The director, Brian Mills, then worked with Forsyth on the psychological thriller Holly (1972), when she took the part of a young art teacher kidnapped by a mentally unstable student. Forsyth and Mills married in 1976.

Television roles kept on coming. She was Veronica, one of the product-promotion team, in The Glamour Girls (1980-82), Harriet in the inter-generational sitcom Tom, Dick and Harriet (1982-83), and Helen Yeldham, a hotelier, in the 1989 series of Boon.

There were also appearances in soap opera: as GP Judith Vincent in The Practice (1985-86); Babs Fanshawe, Ken Barlow’s escort agency date who dies of a heart attack, in a 1998 Coronation Street episode; Delphine LaClair, a sales rep for a French company interested in buying Rodney Blackstock’s vineyards, for two short runs in Emmerdale (2005 and 2006); Cressida, mother of the millionaire Nate Tenbury-Newent, in Hollyoaks in 2013; and three roles in Doctors between 2000 and 2012.

Forsyth also played the miserable Madge, who frustrates her sister Mavis’s attempts at a relationship with Granville, in the sitcom sequel Still Open All Hours (2013-19).

A cellist from the age of nine, Forsyth starred as the real-life virtuoso Beatrice Harrison in a 2004 tour of The Cello and the Nightingale. Also on tour, she was a remarkably believable Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (2000) and played Marie in Calendar Girls (2008). “I’m Mrs Frosty-Knickers, the one who doesn’t approve of it all.”

In 2017, she played a terminally ill musician in the stage comedy Killing Time, written by her daughter, Zoe Mills, who acted alongside her. At the time, Forsyth revealed that her maternal grandfather, a GP in Yorkshire, had helped dying patients to end their lives. Declaring herself a supporter of euthanasia, she said: “He bumped off probably loads of people with doses of morphine.”

In 1999, Forsyth separated from her husband, but they remained friends until his death in 2006. She is survived by their children, Ben and Zoe.

🔔 Brigit Forsyth (Brigit Dorothea Connell), actor, born 28 July 1940; died 1 December 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Brigit Forsyth #in memoriam

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aromanticbuck · 9 months

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Burzek + Mine (part 3 of the Speak Now series)

do you remember all the city lights on the water? you saw me start to believe for the first time you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter you are the best thing that's ever been mine

Exactly a week after she'd helped drop her brother off at the airport, Kimberly was starting to feel the loneliness. Without her best friend by her side, she had to do things alone - everyone knew the truth about her birth, and how it came about, and no one really wanted to associate with the girl who was barely a Gerwitz if they didn't have to. Those kinds of things made people whisper, and Thelma hated when people whispered.

So she went to the mall alone, and the library alone, and the café alone... it wasn't so bad.

She ordered her mocha and sat off in the corner of the dimly lit room, reading from the book she'd picked up only a few hours before. It was public, and she was sure a few pictures would be snapped before she left again, but it was better than being at home. At home, she would be locked up in her room, doing the same thing she was doing just then but with headphones in her ears instead of a stereo system in the ceiling. She might as well get some sun and a drink out of it.

On that day in particular, she even got to make some conversation when she was between chapters. It was with probably the only person in Chicago who didn't know who she was from just a glance at her face, a busser clearing the next table over with a little nametag that said ADAM in a stylized font. It was almost identical to the font on the chalkboard menu, the one that listed the flavors they had to choose from for each of their drinks, and it was cute, sticking to a theme that most people would think was a little over the top...

Adam offered her a few extra napkins the first time he passed by her table, and then collected her empty cup when she was done with it, and then she was still sat at the table with her book for another hour. He offered smiles and friendly questions and another drink if she wanted it. He even brought it out to her table so she didn't have to return to the counter and interrupt her train of thought. He was sweet, and let her talk about the characters in the novel in her hands, and made jokes that made her laugh for the first time since the drive to the airport a week before.

When he asked if she wanted another drink, this one when he was off the clock and didn't have to find time between tasks, she accepted without a second thought. It meant she didn't have to sit in the dim corner alone the next time she went in for a drink and some time away from the house. They could even walk down the street together and do more than just drink coffee and talk.

It didn't even occur to her until he offered to give her a ride home that it was a date, and certainly not one she could share with the family she had to return to. She couldn't exactly show up at the house in a beat up Jeep driven by a bus boy at a coffee shop that her stepmother would never even set foot in. That would only cause whispers, and no one wanted that.

Instead, she made plans to meet up with him again, and again, and again...

She had to keep the relationship a secret, but that didn't mean they had to keep secrets from each other. By their fourth date, a lunch at a little deli by the lake, Kim didn't bother trying to hold anything back. She talked about her mother, the woman she missed every single day, and the father she lived with, and the brother she didn't, and everything else that bothered her.

In return, he talked about his own father, and the worry he couldn't share with anyone else when it came to the job he did. He talked about the schools he couldn't get into and the ones he couldn't afford. He talked about his job at the coffee shop, and how it paid enough to keep food on the table when his father was working a case and he had to fend for himself.

It was the only relationship she'd ever been in, and she knew she was lucky that it was with someone who listened to her the way that Greg always had. It was nice, having a sounding board again, someone to hide with when things at the house got to be too much, even if she just sat in the corner with a coffee until he was done with his shift.

And, when a night out to dinner continued with a walk along the lake, and then ended with a soft kiss in softer light reflecting off the water, it was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

#one chicago #kim burgess #adam ruzek #burzek #cpd #chicago pd #alex does moodboards #sntv au*#hey look some actual plot for this universe!#anyway i love them look how cute they are

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andrasta14 · 11 months

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So the cover of my book journal has me feeling like uncultured swine again, because all the book titles on it are famous couples/duos in literature, tv shows and movies etc and at least half of them have me like: ?????

I'm enough of a nerd to want to know where they're all from, and it's been bugging me for years. But Googling them feels somehow unsporting to me. lol (Plus I think some of the spellings are French?)

So...see a pair you recognize? Let me know. 🙏

~ Couples Listed ~

Fanfan & Alexandre = ???

Lana & Clark = Superman

Paul & Joanne = ???

Andromacue & Hector = The Iliad/Greek Mythology

Leonard & Salaì = ???

Orpheus and Eurydice = Greek Mythology

Lisbeth & Miriam = ???

Mathilde & Manech = ???

Chimène & Rodrigue = ???

Emma & Dexter = ???

Yves & Pierre = Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé

Arlequin & Columbine = ???

Julien & Mme de Rênal = The Scarlet and the Black

Edward & Vivian = ???

Edith and Marcel = ???

Marty & Jennifer = Back to the Future

Franck & Ava = ???

Jack & Rose = Titantic

Elisabeth & Richard = ???

Chouchou & Loulou = ??? (The hell kind of names are those? lol)

Roger & Jessica = ??? (Idk the first thing that jumped to mind was Roger & Jessica Rabbit lol)

Figaro & Rosine = The Marriage of Figaro

Christian & Anastasia = 50 Shades of Grey

Leeloo & Korhen = ???

Abelard & Héloïse = medieval historical romance, unsure of details

Valmont & Cecile = Dangerous Liaisons

Sam & Molly = ???

Gaston & Melle Jeanne = ???

Drazic & Anita = ???

Don Juan & Charlotte = Don Juan/Don Giovanni

Mike & Susan = Desperate Housewives

Helen & Paris = The Iliad/Greek Mythology

Quasimodo & Esmeralda = The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Rachel & Ross = Friends

Marilyn & John = Marilyn Munroe and John F. Kennedy?

Satine & Christian = Moulin Rouge

Dorian & Henri = The Portrait of Dorian Gray

Tarzan & Jane = Tarzan

Edward & Bella = Twilight

Nino & Amélie = Amélie

Mulder & Scully = The X-Files

Arthur & Paul = Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine

Harry & Sally = When Harry Met Sally

Sandy & Danny = Grease

Benny & Joon = Benny & Joon

Toi & Moi = ???

Maverick & Charlie = Top Gun

Candy & Anthony = ???

Odysseus & Penelope = The Odyssey/The Iliad/Greek Mythology

Thelma & Louise = Thelma & Louise

Titus & Berenice = Titus and Berenice is a 1676 tragedy by Thomas Otway.

Ariane & Solal = ???

Paul & Virginie = Paul and Virginie by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1788).

Johnny & BB = ???

Cyrano & Roxane = Cyrano de Bergerac

Marius & Fanny = ???

Chloe & Colin = ???

Adam & Eve = The Bible

Tristan & Iseult = Tristan and Isolde

Bonnie & Clyde = the historical Bonnie & Clyde

Popeye & Olive = Popeye the Sailor Man

Simone & Yves = ???

Buffy & Angel = Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Lauren & Humphrey = Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart?

Carrie and Mr Big = Sex in the City

Harry & Ginny = Harry Potter series

Clarence & Alabama = ???

Alceste & Célimène = ???

Lancelot & Guinevere = Arthurian legend

~*~

Edit:

From @theduchessofboredom

#arthur & paul could be art (arthur) garfunkel and paul simon #paul & virginie is the title of a famous 18th century novel #nino and amélie is definitely Amélie :) #yves & pierre are yves saint-laurent and pierre bergé

From @that-laj

Marty & Jennifer are from Back to the Future, if they’re the Marty and Jennifer I think they are.

@didoscity

Mike and susan are from desperate housewives (embarassed to know this). Also arthur and paul are definitely, to me, arthur rimbaud and paul verlaine. sorry for simon and garfunkel 😂

oh and titus and berenice is the name of a tragedy by corneille!

#I don't know what to tag this 😅#my random ramblings #books #literature

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bolllywoodhungama · 3 months

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Critics Choice Awards 2024: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer, Barbie, Succession, The Bear lead the wins

The Critics Choice Awards 2024 celebrated cinematic and television excellence on Sunday night, January 14, 2024. Chelsea Handler returned as the host for the evening. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer shone, securing eight wins, including Best Picture and Best Director though Cillian Murphy missed the Best Actor win. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie claimed six awards, winning in categories like Best Comedy and Best Original Screenplay. Emma Stone earned Best Actress for Poor Things. On the TV front, Succession, The Bear, and Beef led the wins.

FILM BEST PICTURE American Fiction Barbie The Color Purple The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer - WINNER Past Lives Poor Things Saltburn

BEST ACTOR Bradley Cooper, Maestro Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon Colman Domingo, Rustin Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers - WINNER Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

BEST ACTRESS Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall Greta Lee, Past Lives Carey Mulligan, Maestro Margot Robbie, Barbie Emma Stone, Poor Things - WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer - WINNER Ryan Gosling, Barbie Charles Melton, May December Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple America Ferrera, Barbie Jodie Foster, Nyad Julianne Moore, May December Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers - WINNER

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Ariana Greenblatt, Barbie Calah Lane, Wonka Milo Machado Graner, Anatomy of a Fall Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers - WINNER Madeleine Yuna Voyles, The Creator

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE Air Barbie The Color Purple The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer - WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR Bradley Cooper, Maestro Greta Gerwig, Barbie Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer - WINNER Alexander Payne, The Holdovers Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Kelly Fremon Craig, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers Cord Jefferson, American Fiction - WINNER Tony McNamara, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Samy Burch, May December Alex Convery, Air Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer, Maestro Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach, Barbie - WINNER David Hemingson, The Holdovers Celine Song, Past Lives

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Matthew Libatique, Maestro Rodrigo Prieto, Barbie Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon Robbie Ryan, Poor Things Linus Sandgren, Saltburn Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer - WINNER

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Suzie Davies, Charlotte Dirickx, Saltburn Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman, Oppenheimer Jack Fisk, Adam Willis, Killers of the Flower Moon Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer, Barbie - WINNER James Price, Shona Heath, Szusza Mihalek, Poor Things Adam Stockhausen, Kris Moran, Asteroid City

BEST EDITING William Goldenberg – Air Nick Houy – Barbie Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer - WINNER Yorgos Mavropsaridis – Poor Things Thelma Schoonmaker – Killers of the Flower Moon Michelle Tesoro – Maestro

BEST COSTUME DESIGN Jacqueline Durran, Barbie - WINNER Lindy Hemming, Wonka Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, The Color Purple Holly Waddington, Poor Things Jacqueline West, Killers of the Flower Moon Janty Yates, David Crossman, Napoleon

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP Barbie - WINNER The Color Purple Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things Priscilla

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS The Creator Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Oppenheimer - WINNER Poor Things Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

BEST COMEDY American Fiction Barbie - WINNER Bottoms The Holdovers No Hard Feelings Poor Things

BEST ANIMATED FILM The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - WINNER Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Wish

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Anatomy of a Fall - WINNER Godzilla Minus One Perfect Days Society of the Snow The Taste of Things The Zone of Interest

BEST SONG “Dance the Night," Barbie “I’m Just Ken," Barbie - WINNER “Peaches," The Super Mario Bros. Movie “Road to Freedom," Rustin "This Wish," Wish "What Was I Made For," Barbie

BEST SCORE Jerskin Fendrix, Poor Things Michael Giacchino, Society of the Snow Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer - WINNER Daniel Pemberton, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Barbie

TELEVISION BEST DRAMA SERIES The Crown The Diplomat The Last of Us Loki The Morning Show Stark Trek: Strange New Worlds Succession - WINNER Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Kieran Culkin – Succession - WINNER Tom Hiddleston – Loki Timothy Olyphant – Justified: City Primeval Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us Ramón Rodríguez – Will Trent Jeremy Strong – Succession

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show Aunjanue Ellis – Justified: City Primeval Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us Keri Russell – The Diplomat Sarah Snook – Succession - WINNER Reese Witherspoon – The Morning Show

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Khalid Abdalla – The Crown Billy Crudup – The Morning Show - WINNER Ron Cephas Jones – Truth Be Told Matthew MacFadyen – Succession Ke Huy Quan – Loki Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Nicole Beharie – The Morning Show Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown - WINNER Sophia Di Martino – Loki Celia Rose Gooding – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Karen Pittman – The Morning Show Christina Ricci – Yellowjackets

BEST COMEDY SERIES Abbott Elementary Barry The Bear - WINNER The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Poker Face Reservation Dogs Shrinking What We Do in the Shadows

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Bill Hader – Barry Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows Drew Tarver – The Other Two Jeremy Allen White – The Bear - WINNER D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – Reservation Dogs

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary Ayo Edebiri – The Bear - WINNER Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere Devery Jacobs – Reservation Dogs Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Phil Dunster – Ted Lasso Harrison Ford – Shrinking Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows James Marsden – Jury Duty Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear - WINNER Henry Winkler – Barry

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Paulina Alexis – Reservation Dogs Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Janelle James – Abbott Elementary Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary Meryl Streep – Only Murders in the Building - WINNER Jessica Williams – Shrinking

BEST LIMITED SERIES Beef - WINNER Daisy Jones & the Six Fargo Fellow Travelers Lessons in Chemistry Love & Death A Murder at the End of the World A Small Light

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Finestkind Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie No One Will Save You Quiz Lady - WINNER Reality

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Matt Bomer – Fellow Travelers Tom Holland – The Crowded Room David Oyelowo – Lawmen: Bass Reeves Tony Shalhoub – Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie Kiefer Sutherland – The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Steven Yeun – Beef - WINNER

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Kaitlyn Dever – No One Will Save You Carla Gugino – The Fall of the House of Usher Brie Larson – Lessons in Chemistry Bel Powley – A Small Light Sydney Sweeney – Reality Juno Temple – Fargo Ali Wong – Beef - WINNER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Jonathan Bailey – Fellow Travelers - WINNER Taylor Kitsch – Painkiller Jesse Plemons – Love & Death Lewis Pullman – Lessons in Chemistry Liev Schreiber – A Small Light Justin Theroux – White House Plumbers

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Maria Bello – Beef - WINNER Billie Boullet – A Small Light Willa Fitzgerald – The Fall of the House of Usher Aja Naomi King – Lessons in Chemistry Mary McDonnell – The Fall of the House of Usher Camila Morrone – Daisy Jones & the Six

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES Bargain The Glory The Good Mothers The Interpreter of Silence Lupin - WINNER Mask Girl Moving

BEST ANIMATED SERIES Bluey Bob’s Burgers Harley Quinn Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - WINNER Star Trek: Lower Decks Young Love

BEST TALK SHOW The Graham Norton Show Jimmy Kimmel Live! The Kelly Clarkson Show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - WINNER Late Night with Seth Meyers The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

BEST COMEDY SPECIAL Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool Alex Borstein: Corsets & Clown Suits John Early: Now More Than Ever John Mulaney: Baby J - Winner Trevor Noah: Where Was I Wanda Sykes – I’m an Entertainer

#Barbie #Barbie (English)#Christopher Nolan #Critics Choice Awards #Critics Choice Awards 2024 #Hollywood #International #Oppenheimer #Oppenheimer (English)#OTT #OTT Platform #Succession #Television #The Bear #TV #bollywood hungama

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boardchairman-blog · 3 months

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2024 Oscar Predictions

Best Picture

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

Best Director

Jonathan Glazer- The Zone of Interest

Yorgos Lanthimos- Poor Things

Christopher Nolan- Oppenheimer

Alexander Payne- The Holdovers

Martin Scorsese- Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Actress

Lily Gladstone- Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller- Anatomy of a Fall

Greta Lee- Past Lives

Margot Robbie- Barbie

Emma Stone- Poor Things

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper- Maestro

Leonardo DiCaprio- Killers of the Flower Moon

Paul Giamatti- The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy- Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright- American Fiction

Best Supporting Actor

Robert De Niro- Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr.- Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling- Barbie

Charles Melton- May December

Dominic Sessa- The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt- Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks- The Color Purple

Penelope Cruz- Ferrari

Sandra Huller- The Zone of Interest

Da'Vine Joy Randolph- The Holdovers

Best Original Screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall- Justine Triet and Arthur Harari

The Holdovers- David Hemingson

Maestro- Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer

May December- Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik

Past Lives- Celine Song

Best Adapted Screenplay

American Fiction- Cord Jefferson

Barbie- Noah Baumbach & Greta Gerwig

Killers of the Flower Moon- Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese

Oppenheimer- Christopher Nolan

Poor Things- Tony McNamara

Best Animated Feature

The Boy and the Heron

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Elemental

Nimona

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Documentary Feature

20 Days in Mariupol

American Symphony

Beyond Utopia

Bobi Wine: The People's President

The Eternal Memory

Best Foreign Language Film

20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)

Fallen Leaves (Finland)

Society of the Snow (Spain)

The Teacher's Lounge (Germany)

The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)

Best Original Score

Jerskin Fendrix- Poor Things

Ludwig Göransson- Oppenheimer

Mica Levi- The Zone of Interest

Robbie Robertson- Killers of the Flower Moon

John Williams- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Best Original Song

“Dance the Night” from Barbie

“The Fire Inside” from Flamin' Hot

“I'm Just Ken” from Barbie

“It Never Went Away” from American Symphony

“What Was I Made For” from Barbie

Best Cinematography

Hoyte Van Hoytema- Oppenheimer

Matthew Libatique- Maestro

Rodrigo Prieto- Killers of the Flower Moon

Robbie Ryan- Poor Things

Łukasz Żal- The Zone of Interest

Best Film Editing

Jennifer Lame- Oppenheimer

Yorgos Mavropsaridis- Poor Things

Thelma Schoonmaker- Killers of the Flower Moon

Laurent Sénéchal - Anatomy of a Fall

Kevin Tent- The Holdovers

Best Costume Design

Barbie- Jacqueline Durran

Killers of the Flower Moon- Jacqueline West

Napoleon- David Crossman and Janty Yates

Oppenheimer- Ellen Mirojnick

Poor Things- Holly Waddington

Best Production Design

Barbie- Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer

Killers of the Flower Moon- Jack Fisk and Adam Willis

Oppenheimer- Ruth De Jong and Claire Kaufman

Poor Things- James Price, Shona Heath, and Zsuzsa Mihalek

The Zone of Interest- Chris Oddy, Joanna Maria Kuś and Katarzyna Sikora

Best Sound

Barbie

Ferrari

Maestro

Oppenheimer

The Zone of Interest

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Golda

Maestro

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Best Visual Effects

The Creator

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Poor Things

Society of the Snow

Overall

Oppenheimer: 13

Killers of the Flower Moon: 11

Poor Things: 11

Barbie: 10

The Holdovers: 7

The Zone of Interest: 7

Maestro: 6

Anatomy of a Fall: 4

American Fiction: 3

Past Lives: 3

20 Days in Mariupol: 2

American Symphony: 2

Ferrari: 2

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: 2

May December: 2

Society of the Snow: 2

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denimbex1986 · 3 months

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'...These savvy prognosticators from major media outlets have chimed in with their first round of predictions, and they say the race is between Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers“) and Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer“)...

Eight other awards pundits think Murphy will prevail: Anne Thompson (Indiewire), Christopher Rosen (Gold Derby), Eric Deggans (NPR), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Susan King (Gold Derby), Thelma Adams (Gold Derby) and Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby).

In Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy takes on the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, aka the father of the atomic bomb. The film made a whopping $952 million worldwide, cementing its status as one of the most lucrative biopics in box office history. Its 13 nominations are for picture, director, adapted screenplay, actor, supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.), supporting actress (Emily Blunt), cinematography, costume design, film editing, makeup & hairstyling, production design, score and sound...'

#Oscars #Oppenheimer #Paul Giamatti #The Holdovers #Cillian Murphy #Christopher Nolan #Emily Blunt #Robert Downey Jr.#Jennifer Lame #Ludwig Goransson

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frankbelloriley · 4 months

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Here's some of the best things I've watched in 2023.

New releases (an incomplete list because I'm gonna catch up on more stuff in January, so I'm only going to put seven):

Godzilla Minus One - An absolute hoot of a time at the movies. A human melodrama interrupted by a giant city destroying lizard. A fascinating deviation from Shin Godzilla which is more of "what if the bureaucracy of In The Loop had to deal with a radioactive monster" satire, while this goes for pure thrills and audience pleasing moments. Between this and last year's RRR, how are other countries better at pure audience pleasers than us?

The Boy and the Heron - I walked out of The Wind Rises in 2013 thinking, "Yeah, that perfectly caps Hayao Miyazaki's career. After telling the story of how a man's imagination ran away from him and questioning the impact of his life's work, what else does he need to say?" I walked out of The Boy and the Heron thinking, "So that's what."

Barbie/Asteroid City - I'm putting both together because Greta Gerwig has joined Wes Anderson in making movies with one singular moment that seem genetically engineered to wreck me (I will not say what they are here because chill bro, I don't know you like that.). That and both telling their stories through production design. I would hope that the lesson from Barbie making a billion dollars would be, "maybe shoot things on actual sets instead of green screen studios," but it's going to be, "find me another doll to make a movie from." As for Wes Anderson, it's so weird that the criticism he gets is, "it's too Wes Anderson-y." You want him to dilute his voice and make it...what exactly? Look, you like what you like, but why do some people want Wes Anderson to make less what he likes? Anyway, I thought this movie was Wes's clever way to be introspective about his storytelling process, and it's one I'm going to revisit soon.

Killers of the Flower Moon - I've seen this twice, and while I never thought the three and a half hours dragged the first time, it flew by the second time. I also never thought The Irishman dragged on either, almost as if Thelma Schoonmaker and Martin Scorsese know what they're doing, but then again I don't have a two second attention span (some of y'all need to get off the damn TikTok and quit making me feel older than seeing the startling amount of grays I see on my head and in my facial hair in the mirror when I say that). The criticism that it should have been centered on Mollie instead of Ernest almost willfully misunderstands what Scorsese's artistic choice to focus on one of his most unsympathetic protagonists in his career. Scorsese is placing you in Leonardo DiCaprio's shoes because you in the audience are more likely to be Ernest than you will ever be to Mollie, and he wants you to sit with that uncomfort. That and Martin Scorsese knows the limits of empathy in that while he can understand Mollie's pain and the trauma endured by the Osage nation still felt today, he cannot truly know it to tell their side of the story. That should be clear from the start if people knew what empathy actually was, but some of y'all think empathy is binging a season of Ted Lasso in a weekend (wow, 2023 really left me cranky).

Ferrari - My joke to a friend coming out of this movie was, "you will believe Adam Driver is Italian," but Michael Mann's latest has hung around in my head ever since. Some call Driver's performance stilted or stiff as if that isn't a creative choice of needing to seem still while anxiety and peril go on behind his eyes in the face of very real peril and danger in 1950s motosports. Almost as if Mann has history of exploring themes of masculinity as a mask that both helps and hurts depending on the context. Penelope Cruz is also incredible here, adding life to a role that, played wrongly, makes the movie fall apart, but ties the whole thing together emotionally. I haven't seen two actors play off this well against each other since James Gandolfini and Edie Falco when I finished The Sopranos earlier this year.

Oppenheimer - Like this year's Miyazaki and Scorsese's works, feels like a culmination of all of Nolan's previous films. Great stuff, in addition to being a movie you can say, "hey, it's that guy" literally five minutes. I've written too much on all these already, so I will say is: Christopher Nolan is never going to work for Warner Brothers ever again.

Some new to me watches in 2023 I really loved:

Written On The Wind - This by Douglas Sirk was a revelation to me. I had no idea white people were emotionally capable of making Telenovelas.

Rio Bravo - Every time I've watched a Howard Hawks picture, I come away thinking they're among the most entertaining things I've watched. A Western that is less about the codes of honor than it is just hanging out.

The Heroic Trio/Magnificent Warriors/Royal Warriors - all of these were part of Criterion Channel's Michelle Yeoh collection, and they're all great with fantastic action set pieces. Michelle Yeoh stars in, respectively, a comic book movie, a period serial kind of like Indiana Jones, and a cop action drama that starts with her foiling an airplane hijacking.

Mississippi Masala - American independent movies used to be "find two hot and talent actors that have chemistry and build a movie around it." We used to be a proper country.

Decision To Leave - Probably would've been my favorite movie of 2022 if I had gotten around to seeing it then.

The Yakuza - In recent years, Robert Mitchum has become one of my all time favorite actors. We used to have guys with lines on their faces that would tell a story without saying anything (RIP director Sydney Pollack's Michael Clayton castmate Tom Wilkinson while I'm at it). The story of friendship and duty between Mitchum and Ken Takakura is the stuff of Dudes Rock (Melancholy Edition).

Strange Days - Incredibly prescient in how we would use phone cameras and how social media would rot our brains back in the 1990s. Doubles as the origin of a Fatboy Slim song. Worth a watch for Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett's chemistry alone.

Going to throw in a rewatch that blew me away this year, and that was Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure. I hadn't seen it since a Horror In Film class in undergrad, and it is an utter clinic in how film editing can make a viewer feel dread at any moment. The final shot is incredible.

#i wrote this post on here in my drafts so i could post to facebook and figured 'why don't i post it on here?'#the facebook post also has my 2023 reading but since i already posted about that kinda didn't see the point

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