January 25, 2009

Meryl not Kate. Sean not Mickey.

Surprises in the top acting categories for the Screen Actors Guild Awards tonight.

I loved the way Meryl was all breathless and surprised. "I didn't even buy a dress." And, she assured us, there really is no such thing as the greatest living actress. But, deep down, didn't she know that she is that woman?

51 comments:

Buford Gooch said...

And who is the greatest dead actress?

traditionalguy said...

Those are two very good winners. Don't you wish "Comrade" Penn was on our side?

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

I am glad Meryl and Penn won.

I love Meryl and Penn was the best actor performance I saw this year.

And not because it was a gay movie. I normally hate gay movies. But he was fucking good in Milk.

Meryl is fabulous. How can you not love her. I was surprised that she only won the SAG award one other time.

Did you guys read that Ted Haggard is back again and did some other guy in his parish. Thats not hot.

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

Ted Haggard did admit to having sex with other men, since he was 16 but he did say that he is definitely heterosexual. I guess I am hetero too.

Wince said...

Mickey to SAG:

I'm an old broken-down piece of meat. And I deserve to be all alone.

I just don't want you to hate me.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

But, deep down, didn't she know that she is that woman?

She certainly is..

She played did Bridges of Madison County character very very well,

Hey - Was that Madison County Wisconsin?

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

People are kind of depressing on here tonight.

Whassup with that?

Being depressed is Bullshit. There is too much going on in the world to be depressed.


If I will cheer anyone up i will talk about my loaves?

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

Madison County Iowa.

Madison, Wisconsin is in Dane County.

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

John Legend is hot. He dresses fierce. Love the suits with tennis shoes.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

There is too much going on in the world to be depressed.

Like a plane landing on the Hudson and people cheearing the pilot like he was Julius Ceasar?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Thank God the pilot had too much class to come out and join in to whatever it is people want.

Ann Althouse said...

Madison is in Dane County. That "Bridges" thing takes place in Iowa.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

This John Legend?

I'm cheared up..

Althouse allways saves a little for us ;)

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

That "Bridges" thing takes place in Iowa.

Thanks profe..

That Life Magazine line must have been better than Costansa's "I'm an Architect"

Host with the Most said...

And who is the greatest dead actress?

Of course there is no single one.

But there are those who have an extra measure of the natural gift - something that most others cannot achieve even through their best efforts and study. And at the front of that line:

Katherine Hepburn.

Bette Davis

Geraldine Page.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It has to be Bette Davis...

Don't get up. And please stop acting as if I were the queen mother!

Ann Althouse said...

Yeah, I was thinking Bette Davis. Katharine Hepburn is a cool star, but her acting can actually even be bad.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Remind me of the time I looked tru the hart of an artichoke..

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

Definitely Bette Davis.

She was amazing. Jezebel and All About Eve are the most amazing performances ever.

I think Vivian Leigh is a close second.

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

Vivian Leigh in Streetcar is incredible.

She does crazy so well.

The sad part of her life is she did go crazy.

Liz Taylor in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe are great performances as well.

And Yes, That John Legend-he is absolutely beautiful and his music is so sexy and soulful-it just makes you want to fuck.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I remember Geraldine Page from Interiors..

God was that movie gloomy.

She did good thought.

the line that I remember from the husban leaving her is, "it's not irrevocable".

Chip Ahoy said...

A friend does an imitation of Bette Davis whenever he drinks which is often. He has the speech pattern spot on with 12% of exaggeration. His bit goes like this:

"Blanch is having a bad day taday."

pause

"She's in a wHeeeeel chairh."

pause

"She fell down the stairhs."

pause

"I know -- I puuuuushed herh!"

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

You know what else is a really bad song, "Knock Three Times On The Window"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Liz Taylor is not dead yet is she?

Meade said...

Excuse me... does Bette Davis have a hybrid tea rose named after her? I'm afraid not.

Enough said.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

At some poin tor other we all have to slave to love..

Matt Brown said...

I love watching Meryl on film, but I find her annoying in real life, in the same way that some of the theater people in high school were annoying.

blake said...

She's probably glad for the attention again. I think she's gotten better over the years, but her big accolades came when she was younger.

chuck b. said...

I've always wanted to see that dingos ate your baby movie.

BJM said...

Blake, I so agree. "Sophie's Choice" will always be Streep's tour de force for me.

Titus: I recently watched "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe" for the umpteenth time; Mike Nichols at the height of his powers.

The scene when George aims the rifle at Martha is both hilarious and chilling. Anyone who has been in a long term relationship has been in that place at some point.

chuck b. said...

And the River Wild. That one too.

OSweet said...

Raddest living actess is Faye Dunaway.

fivewheels said...

Never been much of a Streep fan. Felt she benefited too much from critics' tendency to underrate actresses who are beautiful and overrate those who are ... less so. Hence the instant Oscars for actresses who take roles that obscure their beauty: Charlize Theron in Monster, Nicole Kidman in The Hours, even a borderline terrible actress like Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. It's as obvious an Academy pattern as voting for any Brit or voting for anyone depicting any kind of disability.

My favorite current actress is probably Julianne Moore, for consistent and diverse good work.

Host with the Most said...

Julianne Moore IS good, but I disagree that she is consistent. There have been too many times that you can see the wheels turning.

Any time I'm taken out of the movie narrative, I equate that with faulty acting.

I like Harrison Ford's story; something to the effect of:
When Ford was a young actor standing in front of Jack Warner in Warner's office, Warner told him that Tony Curtis was a bell hop in a movie, but when you saw Curtis in the scene, you thought "now there's an actor!"

Harrison replied "I thought you were supposed to believe he was a bell hop!"

THAT'S the standard.

Host with the Most said...

I can actually get angry when watching a film where I don't believe that the actor is working up to their potential, or at least a minimum of 90%.


1) Today's finest actresses:

Toni Collette

Helen Mirren

Vanessa Redgrave

Meryl Streep

Judi Dench



2) Top Tier, but sometimes miss hitting the right notes:

Jodie Foster

Cate Blanchette

Julia Roberts

Nicole Kidman



3) With great talent, but often getting by on the name, celebrity, boobs, whatever (they could be so much better!):

Angelina Jolie

Halle Berry,

Charlize Theron

Hillary Swank (obviously not the boobs)



IS it asking too much of an actor to give the performance of a lifetime every time they make a film, no matter the role? Musicians are expected to do it, Stage actors - not celebrities filling roles - are expected to do it.

blake said...

If you want 100% commitment every time, go with someone who started out a comedian.

Anonymous said...

I knew she was great the monment I saw her sitting naked, crying, against that shower wall. I don't know of another actress that could have pulled that scene off the way she did. Since then she nailed part after part after part.

KCFleming said...

Gran Torino remains at #3, pulling in $97,576,000 over 7 weeks. The Dark Knight made $531,039,412 total.

Meanwhile, Doubt made $26,757,000 in 7 weeks, The Reader pulled in $9,674,000 in 7 weeks, and Milk made $21,632,000 in 9 weeks.


SAG and the Oscars are prize shows I don't watch where they give awards for movies I will never see.

Yeah, yeah, popularity doesn't mean much, I know. But it used to mean something.

TitusInTheNameofLoveYeah said...

I like it when an actress shows her tits.

I think the actress we have seen most of her tits is Helen Mirren. She has nice tits.

I think all parts for actresses should require a tit scene in every movie they make. Also, a little bush would be nice. I don't want to see any actors hogs though, well maybe a couple.

ricpic said...

I can't get past Meryl Streep's nose.

KCFleming said...

I believe one could accurately select the winners of these contests based solely on:

1) the politics of the actor
2) the politics of the movie

Maybe they could move to a format of proposed movies, where they give awards for the best ideas, but then actually make movies people will go to. Right now it's just a circle jerk anyway, why not just go the next step?

ricpic said...

The biggest grosser over the weekend was a film about a mall cop with Kevin James. Ya know, those fun malls where there's a chance you might be beheaded by a member of the vibrant immigrant community, ha ha.

Henry said...

Pogo wrote: Yeah, yeah, popularity doesn't mean much, I know. But it used to mean something.

You must love the grammys.

KCFleming said...

You must love the grammys.
Heh.

MadisonMan said...

"I didn't even buy a dress."

Translation: A couture house has given me one to wear for free. Stop bragging Meryl.

Ann Althouse said...

MM, she wasn't wearing a dress. She was wearing completely nondescript black pants and a not very pretty black top. Seriously, it didn't seem as though any attention had been paid to her outfit. Big open neckline and no necklace too.

MadisonMan said...

Maybe I should watch to get the details before snarking away!

There was a time when Hollywood meant glamour. Maybe Meryl Missed the Memo.

knox said...

I watched "Cinderella Man" the other night, and it confirmed for me that Renee Zellweger doesn't need to be doing anything but romantic comedy. It was painful to watch scenes between her and Russell Crowe.

submandave said...

Penn was an easy one to call. I mean, given the option to do so, when has any awards show failed to give the nod to someone playing a sympathetic gay character?

blake said...

Milk made $21,632,000

Really? That much! I'm surprised; I didn't think it would get that far without an Oscar. (I still don't think it's going to break $30M, though.)

Anonymous said...

"I knew she was great the monment I saw her sitting naked, crying, against that shower wall."

What movie was that? It sounds like Glenn Close in The Big Chill. (I noticed she is not making anyone's list. Fortunately. Who ever seriously bought her as more desirable than Ann Archer in Fatal Attraction?)