Best Actress Oscar for 1998

 

I think 1998 is very new and, yet, it is 28 years ago….wowzers! I remember this Oscars because I thought Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress was ugly. It was a pink that seemed to wash her out and her spaghetti straps seemed so low tht I thought her boobs were at her waist. Gwyneth won the Oscar for her turn as the love interest to Shakespeare played by Josef Fiennes, yes, Ralph Fiennes’s brother. I don’t mind the movie, “Shakespeare In Love” and find it quite funny but, you know, I don’t agree with the winner….

1. CATE BLANCHETT IN ELIZABETH

Cate Blanchett wowed me as the future Elizabeth 1st also known as The Virgin Queen. You see her go from a fun loving young woman to the Queen who loses her freedom by ruling one of the greatest nations (at that time) in the known world. She loves deeply and has great intelligence knowing how to keep the ones wanting her to fail, at arm’s length. She is the supreme ruler in a world dominated by men but she rises to the occasion. Cate kept me riveted in her multi layered role as this extremely pale monarch. To me, she deserved the Oscar hands down but I still need to see Fernanda Montenegro in the film, “Central Station” which many felt she should have won. 

2. GWYNETH PALTROW IN SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Yup, this gal won the Oscar and , I do admit that Gwyneth is quite good in the role of a lady betrothed to a jerk ( played by Colin Firth) but wishes she could be an actor. The problem is that no self respecting woman would play…in a play. At this time, other men would play the female parts ( can you imagine some hairy guy playing Juliet?) but Gwyneth decides to play a boy so she can act but she does not expect to fall for the writer and star of the show, Joseph Fiennes. Joseph’s agent is played hilariously, by Geoffrey Rush⁸ and Ben Affleck is one of the actors and he does a pretty decent job, Judi Dench played the aging Elizabeth the 1st who won the Oscar for something like 8 minutes on the screen. This film was the big winner this year but it should have gone to other films and the Oscar for best actress should have gone to Cate.

3. JANE HORROCKS IN LITTLE VOICE

If I had seen “Central Station” I might change this blog post, but I am only going with films I have seen and this tiny gem was just a wonderful watch, it is biographical because Jane Horrocks can sing just like Judy Garland, Edith Piaf, you name it, she can sing just like them which makes the Michael Caine character see dollar signs. He plays a miserable prig who is dating her mother, also not the nicest person. The only person who seems to truly love her is the geeky guy, played by Ewan McGregor. I need to see this film again because I was quite enthralled by all the leads but no one was nominated.

Just so you know, the other nominees in this Oscar year are Fernanda Montenegro for Central Station, Meryl Streep for One True Thing and Emily Watson for Hilary and Jackie. 

Would you choose the same or pick someone else?

April…WTF!

 

The other day, when I got off the elevator to leave work, I saw…snow. Now, I like snow in November all the way through to end of February, but not now. After o said a few…words, I looked down at my phone for 5 seconds, I’m not kidding, and when I looked up, it was raining. I waited for my hubby to pick me up and when he came, 5 minutes later, it was sunny. That didn’t last long before it started to snow again. I surmise that the weather is psychotic and it means to screw us up. I thought of April and the songs written about it and had my own theme for Monday Music Moves Me. Oh, the calendar pussy cat is my Lexi

1. APRIL IN PORTUGAL SUNG BY JANE MORGAN-1953

I know the music well and always loved it but I did not know there were words to it. Bing Crosby does a nice version as well as Vic Damone, but I really like this version with the English lyrics written by Jimmy Kennedy. It was written by Raul Ferraro with lyrics by Jose Galhardo and made famous by the Portuguese singer Amalia Rodrigues. I just enjoyed listening to this song.

2. THE GIRL WITH APRIL IN HER EYES SUNG BY CHRIS DEBURGH-1978

Sorry Anabel:) I do love Chris DeBurgh and this song, from his album, “ Crusador”, just blew me away. I love the gentleness of this song and the fairy tale feel of it. 

3. I’LL REMEMBER APRIL SUNG BY JULIE LONDON-1956

The smouldering Julie London has an album called, “Calendar Girl” and she sang this song which was written by Gene De Paul with lyrics by Don Raye and Patricia Johnston. I had no idea this song made its debut in an Abbott & Costello film, “Ride’em Cowboy” from 1942. I know I heard the song since I watched this movie long ago but I don’t remember it but I like it. 

Here is Amalia’s version of of April in Portugal

Star Of The Month-Anthony Perkins

 ANTHONY PERKINS

BIRTH: April 4, 1932

DEATH: September 13, 1992

AGED: 60 years old

DIED FROM: Pneumonia due to AIDS

MARRIED: Berry Berenson

AFFAIRS: Let me count the ways! Tab Hunter( 4 year relationship), Grover Dale (6 yr relationship), Stephen Sondheim, Rudolph Nureyev, Victoria Principal, plus many, many others. There is now a sad rumour, that he and Paul Newman had an affair. This came out only after Paul Newmn’s death and there is no real evidence to support this rumour. 

CHILDREN: Oz Perkins and Elvis Perkins, both in the entertainment industry 

FAMOUS PARENT: Osgood Perkins

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Best Supporting Actor for “Friendly Persuasion”

OSCAR WINS: Nil…should have been nominated and win for “Psycho”

TALENT: He could sing and was in musicals on Broadway. One song, (Frank Loesser created this song for Perkins because he hated Perkins and, deliberately, wrote this song believing it was shit), “ Never Will I Marry” became a hit and has been sung by many famous singers like Frank Sinatra, Perkins was an excellent impersonator and could do a very funny impersonation of Roddy McDowall. They were gret friends

KNOWN FOR: His quirky mannerisms; his charm and genial personality; his oddly, boyish good looks. He was known to stutter.

I’m late here but it’s been a busy weekend, but I’m still here:) Poor Anthony Perkins will forever be known for his “alter ego” Norman Bates from Psycho, the 1960 film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He should be known for his wider talent of work he has done in film and Broadway creating some mighty fine work heralded by critics and his fellow actors. 

This man was one conflicted, layered man who fought his sexuality to the point where he went to a psychiatrist to change his wish to be with men rather than women. Of course, we now know, this can’t be done, but, back in the day, many people thought it could be taken out of him, sort of speak. I guess, some still think this today, but, this is very wrong. Anyhoo, let’s add that Anthony also had huge mother issues where, as a young child, he wished his dad dead. When his famous dad died ( Osgood was a big actor during the silents and early sound films), Perkins felt intense guilt for wishing this and, later, sought treatment for these feelings. Let’s add even more mental fuck up( sorry, but this word is perfect), when his mom started caressing him including  all the way to, you know where and she continued sexually abusing him into his young adulthood. As he grew up, his mom became great friends with playwright, Marchaela O’Hara eventually moving in with Perkins and his mom. Yup, the consensus is that they became lovers and stayed together. 

Hitchcock must have sensed Perkin’s sexual ambiguity and he was hired to be Norman Bates. Perkins  and Hitchcock got along very well where, for years after, Perkins was invited to Hitchcock’s home for dinners when Hitchcock would entertain other people during the making of other films. Perkins was very well liked by many and found him charming, intelligent and sweet. He would stand up when he saw injustice. When he made a film with Shirley MacLaine, “The Matchmaker(1958)”, Perkins salary was $75,000 but Shirley’s was $25,000, so Perkins went all the way to the head of the studio demanding that MacLaine received the same amount as he, but this fell on deaf ears. During the 50s and 60s, Perkins had 2 major relationships first with Tab Hunter and 2nd with Dancer and actor Grover Dale, where he lived with them, entertaining friends and it was an open secret that Perkins was gay. Perkins, was so conflicted that, in the late 60s, he sought psychological counselling. His first time, with a woman, was with Victoria Principal during  the making of the film, “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.” He soon met Berry Berenson, an actress and photographer, and married her. By all accounts, he did love her but he continued to have sexual encounters with many men during their marriage but never separated. Perkins decided to embrace his alter ego and he directed 3 more films on Norman Bates, Psycho 2, 3 and 4, a TV prequel. I saw 2 and 3 and I just don’t like them especially that poor Vera Miles dies with a Big knife thrown into her mouth. Oops, spoiler alert. 

It was during the making of Psycho 3, that he found out he had AIDS and died from pneumonia with Berry and his 2 sons by his side. Sadly, Berry Berrenson was on one of the planes, on 9/11, that crashed into the Twin Towers. Perkins grew up in a very abusive household and during a time when homosexuality was against the law. Despite this, he became a romantic leading man before doing Psycho cementing his fame in this excellent film. He was genial, generous and a nice man. This is the man we need to remember.

FILMS 

1. Psycho-1960

2. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean-1972

3. The Tin Star-1957

4. Murder anon the Orient Express-1974

5. Pretty Poison-1968

6. Friendly Persuasion-1956

7. On The Beach-1959

8. Green Mansions-1959

9. Mahogany-1975

10.  Desire Under The Elms-1955

Cigars…Cigarettes

 

Today, thankfully, cigarettes are looked upon as unhealthy and a “filthy” habit, no disrespect to the bloggers who still smoke. My mom smoked for over 50 years and, when I was little, I remember my dad giving me $5.00 to go buy a pack of cigarettes for him and mom while he filled up the car with gas. Yes, I was, maybe 6 or 7 when I went up to the cashier, my eyes barely over the counter, asking for a pack of cameo and a pack of export A. This is when a pack cost a little over a buck. During the heyday of Hollywood, just about everyone smoked and the haze one sees in the bar scenes are real. Often, the cigarette was used as a sexual precursor to something more alluring which just made the genes public want to smoke more. This was also when doctors said smoking was healthy and calmed ones’ nerves. I believe it does including calming pain but at a price…greatly increasing the risk of getting heart disease, stroke, COPD, and cancer. Anyways, here are 3 films showcasing 3 great stars known for their smoking…

1. BLONDE VENUS-1932

This is one strange film that stars Marlene Dietrich, directed by her Svengali paramour, Josef Von Sternberg. She plays a cabaret singer married to Herbert Marshall, who is dying from Radium, with a young son, thinking their only hope is to me this physician in Dresden who can cure poor Herbert. The trip is not cheap so Marlene goes back to the stage billed as the Blonde Venus where she meets up with a rich politician, played by Cary Grant. They have an affair, her marriage crumbles and there is a lot of soap opera going on. We see Marlene smoking with a cigarette holder, a sophisticated look to smoking that was an extra gem to have along with earrings, broaches etc… This film is most famous for Marlene’s one performance in a gorilla suit where she takes off the gorilla head to show her in an absurd blonde afro. This is a pre-code film which is a fun watch.

2. NOW, VOYAGER-1942

What can one say, when women swooned over Paul Henreid, when he took 2 cigarettes in his mouth, lit them and handed one to the mesmerizing Bette Davis, who never looked so good. This is considered one of the sexiest moments on screen. The film, starring Bette Davis plays a downtrodden spinster bullied and put down by her shrew of a mother played so well by Gladys Cooper. Enter the ever great, Claude Rains, as a psychiatrist who brings Bette to a sanitarium to heal her mind and soul. He does and the next time we see Bette, she is dressed in one of the best outfits I’ve seen on film…love the hat! She is taking a cruise where she meets Paul Henreid and has an affair shown by the classic cigarette scene(s) plus sharing a sleeping bag. When Bette returns home, she meets up with her mom, confronting her and overcomes the negativity her mom spews forth. This is a classic woman’s picture, well acted and directed with a wonderful score.

3. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT-1944

This film stars Humphrey Bogart( who did die from throat cancer most likely from his smoking) as a boat captain on an island taken over by the Vichy French during WW2. Bogart doesn’t want to get involved with politics only wanting to make a living. He meets up with Slim, played by Lauren Bacall, who sings a little ditty while draped around a piano. Of course, Bogie is holding a cigarette in his mouth looking alluring to us and Bacall. In fact, this is the film where Bogie and Bacall meet, falling in love and marrying. The cigarette seems to be, yet another, sexual metaphor where Bogie lights a cigarette and hands it over to Lauren Bacall. The bar has a constant haze of smoke which lends to the feel of this film about the free French trying to escape from the Vichy.  This is a must see film and the 1st of four they made together.

Which films can you think of with cigarettes taking a dominant role? 

Storms

 

Yesterday, was quite stormy…rain, some hail, lightening, thunder all day long. March went out like a lion, that’s for sure so it works with this week’s theme over at Monday Music Moves Me. I always think of the brilliant songs, “Stormy Weather” sung by Judy Garland and “Riders of the Storm” by the Doors but I went with these songs and hope you enjoy…

1. STORMS SUNG BY FLEETWOOD MAC-1979

This song was written by Stevie Nicks for their album, “Tusk” and was about her affair with Mick Fleetwood which did not help his marriage…obviously. 

2. THE STORM SUNG BY CHRIS DEBURGH-2010

I love Chris DeBurgh, an Irish singer, balladeer, and singing recanteur who has sung about many storms and rain, but I really like this song with the infusion of Irish music.

3. RAIN IS FALLING SUNG BY ELO-1981

Along with ABBA, I love ELO which was another band I really wanted to see but knew my mom would say no since she said no to seeing ABBA when they were on their Voulez-Vous tour( “there might be drugs there”, my mom said). They had an elaborate set back in the 1970s with a space ship and a light show but I loved how they brought in all these classical elements into their music. This song was written by Jeff Lynne which is about loss and sadness, a typical theme when singing bout rain and storms.

Which stormy songs come into your mind?

Birds Are Chirping

 

Stamping Sensations-Spring

Stamplorations-Anything Goes

Simon Says- Anything Goes

I had fun with this card. I used the Sizzex to emboss the flower frame and then I coloured in the flowers using a soft brush with distress inks. I took a purple dye ink pad and brushed it onto the card so that anything raised would become purple. I took a stencil and placed the image onto the middle of the card taping it down so it wouldn't move. I took the different coloured butter spreads and spread it onto the stencil so it creates these loving birds. I think they turned out well and enjoyed making this.

52 Christmas Cards- Slimline

Sparkles Christmas- Snowmen

CCAYR- Frosty

Inkspirational- E is for Easy

This was a quick card because I found the glittery blue scrap of paper and wanted to use it. I stamped Frosty the snowman and the snowflakes. I cut them out and placed them on with pop up dots. The snowflakes have 2 different sizes of pop up dots and the 3rd is glued right on the card for dimension. I have a die cut for the saying and used the sizzex machine to cut it out. 

We Love Stamping-Wildlife

Crafty Animals-Anything Goes

 The Male Room-Blue and Brown

Fab N’ Funky- 4 Legged Friends

I love wolves, they are the first animal I visit when I go to the zoo. I stamped the image onto cardstock and did some colouring with my gamsol pencils. I coloured the background with my distress inks. I got my sizzex out and my different leafy die cuts to cut them out and placed around the wolves framing them. It’s as if you caught a moment through the foliage to see these beautiful animals.

That’s it for now…Have a wonderful, windy day!

Hats!

 

I was thinking about a theme for today and I kept thinking of the debonair Fred Astaire in his top hat that seemed to work with his elongated face. Top Hats were a staple in men’s fancy attire all the way into the 1940s. In fact, men wore hats throughout the centuries and it is only since the late 1960s that men stopped wearing hats. So, I decided to use this as a theme…

1. TOP HAT-1935

You know I would choose Fred Astaire because he made the top hat his own. He made 10 films with Ginger Rogers and this is considered, arguably, their best. Of course, this is the classic “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” theme but it works in so many films. Fred plays a famous entertainer who irks his downstairs neighbour in a fancy hotel when he tap dances all over the room. They meet, Fred is besotted and she is equally enamoured until she mistakenly believes he is married to her best friend, the wonderful Helen Broderick. Mistaken identities ensue all the way to a wild look white Art Deco Venice. She finally gives in to his charms by dancing the most beautiful dance in the “Cheek to Cheek” with that famous feathered dress. In the end, all is revealed and they dance to their hearts’ content. This is a very funny, entertaining film with great Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase, fabulous dance numbers created by Astaire and his right hand man, Hermes Pan and great character actors like Broderick, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore and Eric Rhodes. It’s a must-see film.

2. THE NAKED SPUR-1953

Many western stars had their favourite hats and wore them in all their western films, so I had to go with my favourite actor, Jimmy Stewart who loved this well worn hat, a brown fedora, in most of his westerns in the 1950s. I was lucky to see this hat when I visited the Jimmy Stewart museum in his hometown of Indiana, PA. And wished I could have tried it on. Anyway, in this film, he plays a bounty hunter after a killer, played by Robert Ryan. Stewart enlists the aid of an old prospector, played by Millard Mitchell ( his last role before he died of cancer at 50) and a soldier. They capture Ryan along with his girlfriend, Janet Leigh, who believes the crap Ryan told her. Ryan tells Stewart’s co-hosts that he is not a sheriff and that the bounty is not $1,000 but $5,000. Greed gets the better of everyone but Stewart ( well, a bit murky there) and double cross him. Now, Stewart must capture Ryan again but without the 2 pals..or is there a change of heart? Does Janet see the light and realize what Ryan told her was crappola? This is a gritty, but entertaining western with a hardened Stewart at his best and the beauty of the mountains and country is photographed at its best. 

3. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK-1981

This is not a favourite of mine…sorry, but true even though I love Harrison Ford and had a crush on him back in the day. This franchise (the 3rd film with Sean Connery is my favourite) started with this entertaining flick by Steven Spielberg about an archeology professor who gets himself into some great adventures usually with a couple of pals, played by Jon Rhys Davies and Denholm Elliott. It’s the late 1930s, maybe the early 40s and the Nazis are after the Lost Ark of the Covenant which, they feel, will aid in the domination of the world. In their way is Indiana Jones( Ford) who is trying to locate the Ark for himself and history. He battles natives, runs from huge boulders and has to battle Karen Allen whom he falls for, of course. Throughout the film, you find out he hates snakes and loves his hat, the famous fedora that Ford wears in all the films. It is fun and many love this film where I like it but I am ok if I never see it again. 

What films come to your mind that has famous hats?