The Last Movie Star, or: how Newman's death represents the impending close to a great era

From James over at ReelThoughts:

With Paul Newman's death, they're almost all gone. By "they," I am referring to the movie stars - the legends of the silver screen whose images lit up the darkness for decades in movie palaces, drive-ins, and multiplexes across the country and around the world. Their names are legendary: Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Steve McQueen, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Gene Kelly, Paul Newman. There are, of course, many others, but a need for brevity demands that I stop somewhere. Newman's death is another reminder how few of these "great ones" remain among us, their memories living capsules to a fading era. Kirk Douglas, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Sidney Poitier� Are there others? (Of course, but not as many as you might think.)

We don't have movie stars anymore. At least not in the way there once were movie stars. Today, the biggest names in cinema are media stars. The mystique is gone. Film has become just another form of disposable entertainment. In 2008, we have Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and countless here-today-gone-tomorrow flavors of the month. All are photogenic and capable, but none has the luminescence we associate with a true star. It's not their fault. Time moves on and eras change. Movies are not what they were in the '40s or '50s or '60s or even '70s. The capacity of a performer to become a star in the truest sense of the word no longer exists. People still love movies, but they don't treasure them the way they once did. Norma Desmond said it's the pictures that got small. Now, the magnitude of the stars has downsized to keep pace.

Read more here.

I'm not much for writing goodbyes. There are many others out there who are infinitely more knowledgeable about Paul Newman's career and his influence on the American cinema. But Mr. Berardinelli manages to write a fitting epitaph not to Paul Newman, but to all the movie stars of a far gone era.

And thanks to Steve for being more eloquent and classy than I could ever hope to be.

Sketch Comedy Masters, or: the lost comedy stylings of Palin & McCain

Over at the Chicago Sun-Times scanners blog, Jim Emerson illustrates just how easy Palin makes it for Tina Fey to show her genius. Palin and McCain are indeed masters of comedy in their own right. They were making comedy gold way before SNL, MadTV, and Fox News. Thanks Jim.



Mr. Sondheim,

Can you please make this into a musical? Thank you.

I'll cover you, Amanda; but you owe me 20 bucks, or: Rent (Live) at the Movies

If you're like me and Chris and express a disappointment for the movie version of the musical Rent, then you will indeed be happy to know that the new filmed version of the now closed stage production is vastly superior. Titled Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway, the new cinecast still has the flaws of the material, but mostly, it provides an engaging preservation of the landmark show.

Rent, in my opinion, is a show that hasn't aged as well as other 90's musicals. While it provides a mostly ballerific score, a lot of the production seems dated. There are a few scenes that are incredibly bad (Chris mentions the post funeral scene - "you have to learn to love yourself". The duet scene between Mark and Roger arguing - "the filmmaker cannot see/the songwriter cannot hear" - is cringe inducing to me.) and some clunkers of songs (once again, Chris mentions "Happy New Year" and I completely agree.) The sanitized movie version further emphasized the inherent badness of much of the show. However, despite my reservations for the show itself, I headed to the movie theater to take in the filmed last performance. And I am very happy I did.

I found myself really moved periodically. And as a result, I was reminded constantly how good the show really is: the staging is very well directed, the songs are uniformly complex (if not all necessarily good), and the subject matter - while a bit dated - is still engaging thanks mostly to the fresh new cast.

To start, the standout is Will Chase as Roger. Chase provides a deeper and more conflicted portrayal than original cast member Adam Pascal. He is in fantastic voice, and his musicality shows. He also is more believable as a young adult. Reneé Elise Goldsberry makes for an endearing Mimi. And Justin Johnston Angel is a riot, finding unprecedented humor in the part.

Adam Kantor is a bright Mark. And yes, even Eden Espinosa is effective as Maureen. Tracie Thoms makes a return to the role of Joanne (one of the few good things about the movie version was Thoms' dynamic performance). I was not as enamored with Michael McElroy as Collins. Perhaps it was his relatively weaker vocal performance throughout the show. None of his songs soared for me, musically or dramatically.

The camera work by Declan Quinn is effective without calling too much attention to itself. The wizards at radical.media have utilized state-of-the-art high-definition video and digital audio technology to make the show come alive.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone expresses an enthusiasm for Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway and for future possibilities for the new format of live performances filmed for the movie theater:

You can't see this kind of magic without dreaming of what's next on The Hot Ticket, from the same Sony Company that released the dreaded 2005 Rent [movie]. Is this version karmic payback? If so, it's working.

I can think of so many shows that Hollywood botched (The Producers, Gypsy, South Pacific, A Chorus Line) being captured in a cinecast. Or how about shows still on Broadway that may never make it to the big screen, such as Spring Awakening, In the Heights, Jersey Boys and the youth-centric production of Hair that played in Central Park this summer? The list goes on. You probably have your own. Start listing.

I share his praise and excitement for the format. I only hope a DVD deal can be met so I can enjoy this final performance forever.

Some favorite shows...

I like lists. I find that kind of funny considering I hate them, too. There's something appealing to me to see a clear and focused objective. It has the illusion of being definite. Final.

The truth of the matter is that lists are anything but final or definitive. Countless individuals and organizations have created an infinite amount of Top 10 and Greatest of All Time lists of such varying topics as film, theater, books, coffee shops, art, tourist attractions, actors, directors, dancers, etc. The list (no pun intended) goes on and on. And even with established groups and titles like "American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Greatest Films," the lists still manage to not be 100% final. AFI's 100 Years... series just refreshed its 'definitive' list this year - adding, shifting, eliminating numerous films to/within/from its list. (I can't describe the heartache and anger I felt when CASABLANCA, my favorite movie, moved down the totem pole to number 3 from its previous perch at number 2 - switching spots with THE GODFATHER.)

Chris, over at Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals, has his own list of the 100 Best Musicals. It's one of my most frequently visited pages on the web. He's very clear about the purpose of his list and precedes it with a focused disclaimer of sorts essentially stating that the list is a gimmick, a cop-out, a lazy way of throwing out some quick information to satisfy the needs of his readers. And so it does. It provides us with a profile of Chris' taste in musicals, albeit with little to no explanation. But that's what reviews ans essays are for, in-depth thoughts, analysis, and opinions on specific subjects. Chris even knows that his last isn't definitive as is evidenced in his current contemplation of the musical "Hair."

Chris seems to follow the philosophy that his list is more of a living, breathing list - one that changes over time and grows with his growing taste. The same can be said of James Berardinelli's list of the Top 100 Movies. James takes this approach to a bit more comprehensive level. Every movie on James' list links to his review from his database of thousands of reviews, built up over 10+ years of online writing. In addition, he adds a brief capsule summarizing his thoughts on the film and the influence it's had on him, the film industry, and the impact it contributed to the art of film.

It was an almost 2 year project. Every week, Mr. Berardinelli revealed a new film on his list, starting with #100 and subsequently proceeding in a reverse chronological order for the next 100 weeks.

His list has changed multiple times over the years - adding new films to the list which he considers to be of the finest mold.

I wish to do the same with my own lists of musicals and movies. WISH. I am not a dedicated enough blogger to promise such a project. I also don't consider myself a fine writer. And my insecurities as a writer lead to me spending large amounts of time on even trivial posts. It's all very time consuming; and a lot of my time is spent on doing other things (just refer to the name of my blog). I really love the idea of having more hours in the day in order to support all my creative endeavors.

But I think if I start with a list similar to Chris' (much, much shorter length for now), it'll get my creative juices flowing and perhaps help to motivate my left hand to pick up a pencil and just write (or, more appropriately, my ten fingers to grace the keyboard and post). Not a definitive list int he least bit, but a living, breathing reference that will grow and modify with time. Not comprehensive (I know a lot, but not enough to consider myself an expert. At all.). Mainly, I'm posting some shows just for the hell of it. Hopefully as my knowledge expands, as my tastes grow, as my time stretches, I'll be able to provide a more in-depth perspective. Hopefully.

Some of my fav musicals of ever. No thought put into this. Compiled this list in 10 seconds. Maybe seven:

Cabaret
Carousel
Company
Guys and Dolls
Gypsy
My Fair Lady
Oklahoma!
Porgy and Bess
She Loves Me
Sunday in the Park with George
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (my numero uno)
West Side Story

What to Expect...

• Wednesday - my 2002 and 2003 movie posts.
• Thursday - my 2004 and 2005 movie posts.
• Friday - August Osage County review

If I find time...

• August thoughts
• [title of show] review and thoughts
• updated site thingies
• any worthwhile news that pops up
• album reviews
• NYC trip stuff