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- “You can’t be on top all the time. It isn’t natural.” — Olivia de Havilland
- “If I don’t feel it, I can’t play it.” — James Cotton
- “I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.” — Lena Horne
- “But man has always succeeded in rising again.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Category Archives: Actors
Happy Birthday, Thomas Mitchell
Interesting that Thomas Mitchell and Bruce McGill were born on the same day (scroll down). I said in the piece about Bruce McGill that McGill is in “the Thomas Mitchell tradition” and the “Thomas Mitchell tradition” is quickly vanishing from … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Bruce McGill
Bruce McGill is one of those actors who would have fit in perfectly with the old studio system: a first-rate support player, a guy who can do anything: drama, comedy, farce, who can fit into any context. He’s in the … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television
Tagged Bruce McGill, Michael Mann, Quantum Leap
28 Comments
“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” — Sylvester Stallone
Old-timers here will remember the Rocky phase that took over for a while. Of course the movies weren’t new to me. As a matter of fact, I know the first movie by heart, practically shot for shot, and there was … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged mirrors, Rocky, Sylvester Stallone
6 Comments
“To me, Martha Graham is one of America’s few authentic geniuses.” – Bette Davis
For Martha Graham’s Birthday: First: Joan Acocella wrote a wonderful profile of Graham for The New Yorker. I discussed it – and Graham – here. In researching this post, I came across a beautiful piece about the time Helen Keller … Continue reading
Jacob Elordi and Gena Rowlands for the win
So I dislike sharing pictures of myself but I shared this on Instagram and figured, oh well, what the hell. These have been dark days and I am doing what I can to not just keep my spirits up but … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, Personal
Tagged Frankenstein, Gena Rowlands, Guillermo del Toro
8 Comments
Dynamic Duo #43
Kyle MacLachlan and David Lynch
“The notion of ‘building a career’ had never been heard or dreamed of when I was young.” — Vanessa Redgrave
My friend Dan Callahan wrote the first major biography of Vanessa Redgrave, and he is voluminous on the topic: her career, her gift as an actress. Dan is one of the best writers today on the art of acting (and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, On This Day, Television, Theatre
Tagged England, friends
3 Comments
2024 National Society of Film Critics Awards
In my second year as a member of the NSFC, we met this morning at Elinor Bunim in Lincoln Center and voted on this year’s films. These things can be pretty grueling – and today was no different – just … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies
Tagged documentary, England, India, literary adaptation, Palestine, Radu Jude, Romania, short films, women directors
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2024 Roundups
The New York Film Critics Circle Awards for 2024 Ebert: The Best Films of 2024 Liberties: My Top 20 Films of 2024 Ebert: The Great Performances of 2024, Part One Ebert: The Great Performances of 2024, Part Two 2024 in … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies
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