Cinematic Crush: Ryan Gosling

It's not often that a former Mousketeer gets nominated for an Academy Award. In fact, before this year, it never happened ... or was even considered. Leave it to the multi-talented Ryan Gosling to defy the odds.

Gosling began his show biz life as one of the 90's batch of Mickey Mouse Clubbers (along with the likes of Britney, Justin, Christina and Keri), but it wasn't until this decade that we truly saw what he can do. After a typical teen role in Remember the Titans, Gosling erupted on the screen as a self-loathing Jewish neo-Nazi thug in The Believer. It was clear his child star years were over.

More challenging roles followed in The Slaughter Rule, Murder by Numbers and The United States of Leland. It appeared that Gosling had the angry youth market sown up, but his next project broke that mold. The Notebook, a mainstream tear-jerker, was the last thing you would have expected from him, but he nailed the obsessive love of his character and the onscreen chemistry he shared with co-star Rachel McAdams was palatable (and carried over off screen; the two have been together ever since).

Half Nelson, his next film, was yet another revelation for Gosling. He played a drug addicted high school teacher who was his own worst enemy, netting him his first (but far from last) Oscar nomination. Not one to rest on his laurels, this year Gosling faced off against Anthony Hopkins in Fracture and fell in love with a sex doll in Lars and the Real Girl. Next up: the grieving father of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones for director Peter Jackson, and possibly the Batman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie (that is, if you believe the rumors).

Whether or not he dons the cape and cowl of the Dark Knight, it is easy to assume that whatever Gosling does next, we will be there to see him do it.

Links via Imdb.com, EW.com, MoviesBlog.MTV.com and CinemaFusion.com.

Three 'Women'

George Cukor was known as a director of "women's pictures" (sometimes derogatorily -- the phrase was a thinly veiled euphemism for gay directors), so it is not surprising that he directed a picture known simply as The Women. And oh, what a picture it was.

Easily the cattiest comedy ever committed to celluloid, this comedic camp fest (based on the play by Clare Boothe Luce) starred an all-female cast (rumor has it that even the animals seen in it were all female) headlined by Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. To say that these two dueling divas (one at the beginning of her illustrious career, the other at the end of hers, arguably) did not get along is putting it mildly. They loathed each other. (I'm sure the above picture was not the first -- or last -- time Cukor had to get in between them). Rounding out the cast was Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Marjorie Main and even real-life gossip doyenne Hedda Hopper.

A musicalized remake, called The Opposite Sex, added men into the mix as well as some musical numbers. June Allyson, Joan Collins, Delores Gray, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, Joan Blondell and Agnes Moorehead starred, along with Leslie Nielsen and Jeff Richards as their objects of affection. Sadly, this often-overlooked gem is not yet on DVD, but it does appear occasionally on the Turner Classic Movies channel (keep an eye on "The Latest on TV" here at Movie Dearest for future airings).

The long in the works third feature version of The Women is currently shooting in Boston, with Diane English (of Murphy Brown fame) writing and directing. Just like the original, English has assembled an impressive all-star cast (back to "for ladies only" again): Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Annette Bening (in the roles played by, respectively, Shearer, Crawford and Russell), Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, Candice Bergen, Carrie Fisher, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Joanna Gleason, Ana Gasteyer, Lynn Whitfield and Debi Mazar. (Yeah, I know. Wow!)

So far, it is not clear if this latest remake has been updated to the present day. Let's hope not; I saw a dreadful production of the play that transplanted the action to the "swinging 60's" and, believe me, the story only works in the period in which it was originally produced, the 1930's.

We will have to wait and see if the third time will be another charm for The Women, but with such an impressive ensemble, hopes are high on this end. These new recruits best be in top form though; they sure have big (shamefully expensive) shoes to fill.

Click here to purchase The Womenon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com, TCM.com and Variety.com.

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.

Klaatu Barada ... Woah!

We all have what I call our own "cinematic nemesis". They are the actor or actress who, single-handedly, can ruin a whole for us.

Mine is Keanu Reeves. Seriously, why does this guy have a career? I know he's very popular for the most part, but, put simply, he doesn't do much for me. Sure, there have been movies that he has been in that I have enjoyed despite his presence (River's Edge, Speed, Something's Gotta Give). Heck, I even liked Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (mostly because it was filmed at my high school though).

However, to me, Reeves is alarmingly inept for such a big, A-list star. His performances range from the misguided (Dangerous Liaisons) to the miscast (The Matrix) to the outright mistaken (Bram Stoker's Dracula). So how does he keep getting cast in high profile movies, I wonder. The answer is as elusive as a comprehension of the Matrix sequels.

And if the idea of a remake of the classic science fiction parable The Day the Earth Stood Still isn't bad enough for you, to add insult to injury, Keanu (or, as I like to call him, "Ka-nu-nu") will play Klaatu, portrayed in the original by Michael Rennie. Do they honestly expect us to believe him as the savior of our planet? God help us all.

In other remake news, Naomi Watts in The Birds or Denzel Washington in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three don't sound too bad, but who could they get to top Roddy McDowall in another Fright Night? And don't you dare say Ka-nu-nu.

Click here to purchase the original The Day the Earth Stood Stillon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com, Coronadodons.org, Variety.com, ShockTillYouDrop.com, EW.com and Cinematical.com.