Posted on 01/13/2004 2:37:26 PM PST by quidnunc
You usually hear the tune on Oscar night, but not often the lyric, which is more to the point:
Hooray For Hollywood
Where you’re terrific if you’re even good.
When someone’s really terrific, it’s a different story. In a town where everyone from Johnny Depp to Janeane Garofalo is an “artist”, Hollywood doesn’t always know how to deal with the real thing. In 1996, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, mulling over their Career Achievement Award, decided to reject Elia Kazan and honour instead Roger Corman, the director of Swamp Women, Attack Of The Crab Monsters and Teenage Caveman. Swamp Women and Attack Of The Crab Monsters are good, and Teenage Caveman is not only good, it’s also an eloquent plea for world disarmament, at least according to its youthful star Robert Vaughan. But On The Waterfront is terrific. This should not be a difficult call.
But apparently it is. Kazan can make a claim to be the father of modern American acting, the man who brought Stanislavskian techniques to Broadway and then to the silver screen. Insofar as the young lions of our present-tense culture aspire to emulate any of the old guys, it’s not David Niven or even Jimmy Cagney who resonate, but Marlon Brando, James Dean, Rod Steiger — on all of whom Kazan was the greatest single influence. He was a great theatre director, and later a fine novelist, and, when he walked on stage in 1999 to receive a belated Lifetime Achievement Oscar, he might reasonably have expected the orchestra to be vamping Leonard Bernstein’s theme to On The Waterfront for a good ten minutes while Hollywood roared its appreciation. Instead, outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, elderly hack screenwriters led protests and, inside, the likes of Sean Penn sat on their hands. For both Hollywood’s ancient D-list Communists and its A-list anti-anti-Communists, there’s only one thing about Kazan that matters: he “named names”.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
Give Corman a break. Sure, he's not a great artist on the level of Kazan, but he's made some fun films, and discovered a lot of great directors and actors-Martin Scorcese, Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Bruce Dern, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante, etc.
This can happen...but it doesn't happen for me. Lucky me.
I'm not saying I don't notice if an actor is miscast, if he can't properly portray his character. But I don't have to know anything about his personal life to make the judgement...and conversely knowledge of his personal life doesn't affect that judgement. I've seen perfectly straight actors portray wonderful gays...and I'm told that Clint Eastwood is a non-smoker in real life.
Right answer. I just wanted to see if your broadmindedness extended to the Confederacy. With some people, it doesn't, y'know...
And I agree. As a skilled political showman, Adolf Hitler has no peer. Which demonstrates the dangers of voting for skilled political showmen, I suppose...
How could you possible have an objection to pigmeat, fried okra and a mess of greens, with sweet tea, followed by a slab of coconut creme pie?
I, for one, find it disgraceful that certain celebrities rail against this country, without recognizing their wealth is a direct result of what this country stands for. All they can see is everything wrong, without being able to acknowledge how much this country has given them. I'm one of those who have a tough time separating politics and the person. Although I do admit some inconsistency. (face it, "The Princess Bride" is one of the best comedy/fantasies ever put on film)
I do have a tendency to avoid artists I disagree with, as I see no reason they should get my money.
Over the years, a lot of people have been brought down by personal scandal, because character was thought to count. Now look at what celebrity is. Would you really want your son dating Britney Spears? Jennifer Lopez? Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie?
I've been wrong plenty of times. I do love coconut creme pie...if I'm ever down your way I'll try again. :)
A celebrity is not necessarily an artist and vice versa. What a tragedy!
And when I see Ted Hall, I see a geat traitor, and when I see Joseph Stalin, I see a great murderer! ;^)
Makes me laugh...and think about Charlie Chaplin.
Amen.
Human beings have bad judgement?
My son -- certainly not! I'll date them instead!
(I'll just have to ignore the fact that they're air heads. But I'll manage somehow.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.