Film Art: Edie in Oil

Has there ever been an odder pop culture phenomenon then Grey Gardens? The seminal Maysles Brothers documentary about Edith and Edie Beale, the black sheep cousins of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis who were filmed living in squalor in a broken-down East Hampton estate circa the 1970's, has inspired everything from fashion to art (such as the oil painting above by Pacifico Palumbo).

The film also spawned a sort-of sequel, The Beales of Grey Gardens, and a Tony Award-winning stage musical (click here to see Best Actress winner Christine Ebersole all decked out in "The Revolutionary Costume for the Day", with the added bonus of Patrick Wilson as presenter).

Rumors of a non-musical, fictional feature based on the original doc, starring Jessica Lange as "Big" Edie and Drew Barrymore as "Little" Edie, have been circulating for some time now. Questionable casting aside (I'm not so sure about those two actresses as these two women), now comes word that the "sort-of" remake will indeed be made, via HBO Films.

Although it is not clear if the new film will be released theatrically before airing on the pay cable giant or not, either way one thing is clear: it will be just the latest addition in the long line of all things Edie ... and Edie.

Click here to purchase the Grey GardensDVDs from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com, styleteria.com, PacificoPalumboFineArt.com, YouTube.com and HollywoodReporter.com.