Christmas Comics

My Christmas present from my partner Jerry this year was to be let loose in a comic book store where I could spend up to $100. Yes, that is what this boy wanted most of all. I chose The Time Machine on 14th Street on the 2nd floor because the owner Roger usually has a fine selection of older Silver Age stuff. I've already gone through all of his cheaper DC and Marvel, so I was looking for higher-end, rarer pieces to fill in my collections of odder, less popular heroes such as The Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, etc. There were two GLs I specifically wanted, but he had already sold them when we got there last Saturday. I got over my disappointment and picked out three Atoms I needed--16, 18 and 26. The attraction of The Silver Age Atom is the magnificent art by Gil Kane and Sid Greene and the bizarre situations the world's smallest superhero finds himself in. I wonder if at the DC editorial meetings, they would come up with a weird concept and then have to write a story to fit it. In No. 16 from 1964, a deranged scientist has captured the Atom and ironed him flat. (He doesn't look too happy about it.) Something to do with pressing all the energy out of the Atom so the villain can absorb it.

Another highlight of the Time Machine haul was an early Superboy from 1953, one of the earliest comics in my whole collection. The guy (Roger was out that day) said it was worth $50, but he would give it to me for $25 since I was buying a bunch of books. I also enjoyed the Spectre # 4, this short-lived 1960s series focused on a supernatural hero fighting the forces of astral evil with great Neal Adams art and get a hold of the masculine, super-hot villain in the sexy helmet and cape on the cover (He only appears briefly inside because he's mostly a force of destruction possessing the little boy playing with the world to his right.)

I still had some money left in the gift, so the next day, we went to St. Marks Comics on 8th St. where they were having a Xmas/New Years half-price sale. They always have one around a holiday at that store. They were also cleaning out their Copper Age stock for $1 a piece (For non-comic obsessives, Silver Age is 1950s into the early 1970s, Bronze Age extends into the 1980s, we are in the Copper Age now, some call it the Modern Age)

The Amazing Race 21: Finale

The kiss-smack heard round the world

It's weeks later, but I just have to write about the two-hour finale of The Amazing Race Season 21. I was totally in shock about the outcome of the Beekmans winning. (I feel as if I know them because I did meet them in person at the Hudson Farmers Market, we both have houses in upstate NY, and I watch their other reality show on the Cooking Channel, plus we're all gay.) The underdogs almost never win on that show, it's always a team that has finished first many times--like Rachel and Dave on Season 20. That's why I loved this season, obvious alpha teams like the rock musicians and Team World Domination got eliminated and anyone could have won, no one team dominated throughout like Rachel and Dave.

There have been many comments on the internets that the Beekman Boys did not deserve to win, that it should have been the Chippendales because the strippers won more legs or worked harder or something. Balderdash, as they used to say. The only thing that matters is who crosses the finish line on the very last leg and Josh and Brent accomplished this feat.CBS sort of suckered us into thinking the Jamae would win because every five minutes both strippers were talking about their parents and how much the money would mean to them. Well, they both got a free product-placement car out of it. (I wonder if the producers told the contestants to make a big deal out of the trunk-opener feature on the Ford Escape.)

It was especially sweet to see the Beekmans win after the Sri Lankan twins tried to push them out in France and seeing Team World Domination cheering lustily was gratifying. Ryan and Abby were obviously ecstatic that none of the teams who connived to U-Turn them would triumph. The first part of the two-hour finale was a race to the bottom between the twins and the Beekmans with the twins attempting to convince Texas and Chippendales to join with them in keeping Josh and Brent down. Their reasoning did not make sense, why should the two Jameses and Trey and Lexy want to keep the Beekmans out of the final three? The Sri Lankans were saying "They don't deserve it, they're just coasting along, we want it more!" I'm sorry, but if I were the Chips or the Texans, I'd want the Beekmans because they would be less competitive (or so it seemed.) At least the twins did not get all grouchy and self-pitying when they were eliminated like Ryan and Abby did the previous week.

The last segment in NYC was lots of fun with pizza deliveries, dangling from a crane upside down in a straitjacket, and the final challenge which tied together all those hellos and goodbyes from every episode. It was really neck-and-neck and Josh figured out that it was math problem rather than a memory problem and gained a few vital extra minutes. I loved the big kiss Josh gave Brent right on the mouth as they were declared the winners. I remember on the very first season of TAR, the Guidos did not kiss, not even on the cheek when they hit the mat. You could see one of them was about to kiss his partner, but stopped himself for the cameras. This was in 2001 and now gay people are kissing openly on reality TV.

The new Amazing Race season is scheduled for Feb. 17 and Project Runway (the real thing, not this All-Stars crap) starts Jan. 24.

Jack Klugman and Charles Durning Tribute

Jack Klugman with Tony Randall on Password,
with Allen Luden hosting

Of course as as soon as I post my end-of-the-year list of notable passings in the entertainment world (posted Dec. 24), two more great performers pass way before Dec. 31. Jack Klugman, 90, best known as Oscar Madison on the long-running TV sitcom "The Odd Couple," died on Christmas Eve and Charles Durning, 89, Tony winner and multiple Oscar and Emmy nominee, passed away on the same day. Both were around the same age and rose to prominence in the 1970s. Klugman had been a reliable character actor since the 1950s, appearing in such films as "Twelve Angry Men" as the lower-class juror, as Judy Garland's agent in "I Could Go On Singing," and as Jack Lemmon's A.A. sponsor in "Days of Wine and Roses." His highest pre-Oscar fame came from starring opposite Ethel Merman as Herbie in the original Broadway production of "Gypsy." He won an Emmy for a guest-starring role on The Defenders as a blacklisted actor. Then he was cast as the sloppy Oscar Madison, winning two Emmys when everyone thought Carroll O'Connor would be honored for his iconic Archie Bunker on "All in the Family." Playing off Tony Randall's super-prissy Felix Ungar, Klugman was natural and unforced in his put-upon reactions to Felix's neurotic neatness. They later appeared on Broadway for Randall's National Actors Theatre in "Three Men on a Horse" and "The Sunshine Boys." Even though Klugman's voice was nothing but a harsh whisper because of throat cancer, he put across his characters' crotchety energy.

I had just seen Durning in a cable broadcast of David Mamet's "State and Main" as the obsequious mayor of tiny Vermont town putting up with a crazy film crew. He could basically play anything. He first came to prominence as part of a stunning ensemble cast in Jason Miller's "That Championship Season" which transferred from the Public Theater to Broadway. Whenever you needed a father, a villain, or a best friend, he filled the bill. A rare instance of his playing a leading role was "The Dancing Bear," a 1977 TV drama for PBS's Visions series (a short-lived attempt at producing original American dramas). He played a version himself, a hard-working, average-looking actor trying to make a living, standing in line at unemployment, humiliating himself at an audition. Tyne Daly co-starred.

I saw him onstage in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (he won a Tony for his Big Daddy), opposite George C. Scott in "Inherit the Wind," and as Dianne Wiest's father in Wendy Wasserstein's "Third."

Notable Passings 2012

Maybe it's my age, but it seems a lot of celebrities and actors who were prominent when I was a kid have passed away this year. There are the more recognizable names such as Ernest Borgnine, Phyllis Diller, etc. but there were also people like Dick Turfeld who did the voice of the robot on Lost in Space, Dick Beals who did the voice of Gumby and Speedy Alka-Seltzer, Doris Singleton who had a recurring role on I Love Lucy. Individual tributes and reminiscences will follow in later blogs.

Here is an alphabetical listing of entertainment figures who left us during the year. 

Ian Abercrombie, 77, character actor best known as Elaine’s eccentric boss on “Seinfeld,” other credits included “The Wizards of Waverly Place,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Desperate Housewives.”

Richard Adler, 90, Broadway composer-lyricist, with his partner Jerry Ross, he wrote the scores for two of the longest-running hits of the 1950s, "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees," he won a Tony for the score of "Kwamina" in 1961.

Norman Alden, 87, familiar TV and movie character actor whose credits ranged from the voice of Aquaman on “Superfriends” to one of the Joker’s henchmen on “Batman” to recurring roles on “My Three Sons,” and “Mary Hartman Mary Hartman.”

Cris Alexander, 92, musical actor, appeared in the original Broadway productions of "On the Town," "Wonderful Town," "Present Laughter," and "Auntie Mame," later pursued a career as a photographer, working in that capacity for New York City Ballet and Interview Magazine. 

Theo Angelopoulos, 76, award-winning Greek filmmaker, his most acclaimed movies were “The Bee Keeper” and “The Suspended Stride of the Stalk.”

R.G. Armstrong, 95, character actor who specialized in sheriffs and deputies in western films and TV shows such as “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” “The Westerner,” “Ride the High Country,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Have Gun Will Travel,” his numerous additional credits include “The Fugitive Kind,” “The Great White Hope,” “Predator,” “Heaven Can Wait,” and “Reds,” also appeared on Broadway in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Orpheus Descending,” and “The Miracle Worker.”

Jean Banks, 77, senior director of jazz and musical theater at BMI.

Billy Barnes, 85, composer-lyricist whose satirical revues “The Billy Barnes Revue” and “Billy Barnes’ People” played Broadway, Emmy nominated for his musical contributions to “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” “The Danny Kaye Show,” Goldie Hawn’s “Pure Goldie” special, and Cher’s variety series.

Dick Beals, 85, actor whose boyish pipes provided the voice for such characters as Speedy Alka-Seltzer and Gumby.

Zina Bethune, 66, actor and dancer who balanced careers in both fields, starred in the TV series “The Nurses” from 1962-65 and danced with the New York City Ballet as a teenager, appeared on Broadway in “Grand Hotel” and opposite Harvey Keitel in the film “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?”

Etel Billig, 79, Chicago-based actor, co-founder of the Illinois Theatre Center.

Anita Bjork, 89, Swedish actor, for a time hailed as “the new Garbo,” shot to fame for starring in a 1951 film version of August Strindberg’s “Miss Julie,” starred in American films shot in Europe such as “The Long Search” and “Night People,” was directed by Ingmar Bergman in the film “Secrets of Women” and the play “Madame de Sade.”

Ernest Borgnine did the voice for Mermaid Man (left)
and Tim Conway was Barnacle Boy

Ernest Borgnine, 95, "average-joe" star whose imposing physicality could be either menacing or endearing, won an Oscar for his performance as a lonely butcher in "Marty," headlined the sitcom "McHale's Navy" from 1962-66, and had a recurring voice role on "Spongebob Squarepants." Among his over 200 film and TV credits were "From Here to Eternity," "Bad Day at Black Rock,"  "The Catered Affair," "The Dirty Dozen," "The Poseidon Adventure," and "The Single Guy." He won a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Ray Bradbury, 91, iconic science-fiction author who also wrote for the screen (John Huston's 1956 film version of "Moby Dick"), stage ("The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit," "The World of Ray Bradbury"), and television ("Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "The Martian Chronicles," "Ray Bradbury Theatre"). He won an Emmy for an animated adaptation of his novel "The Halloween Tree" and a special citation from the Pulitzer board in 2007.

Steve Bridges, 48, comic impressionist, playing President George W. Bush, he toured with Barbra Streisand and appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Frank Cady, 96, TV character actor best known as general-store owner Sam Drucker on "Green Acres," "Petticoat Junction," and "The Beverly Hillbillies," also had a recurring role on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."

Thoughts on Mayan Apocalypse, Guns, and the Fiscal Cliff

So my partner Jerry and I woke up yesterday morning in our Upstate NY house glad that the world hadn't come to an end. The Mayan calendar had predicted either human civilization would cease or there would be a major change starting at 6:11 AM on Dec. 21, 2012. We were laying in bed at about 9 AM and thinking, "I guess those Mayans were wrong" when suddenly the power went out. It was as if those Mayans or God or someone was saying, "Don't be so sure!" So we had to spend the next 24 hours in darkness, warming the house with a fire in the fireplace, and going out to eat since the stove is electric. We went to sleep in a cold, totally dark house with the only illumination provided by the light of my Kindle as I read about the relationship between President James Madison and his slave-valet Paul Jennings.

Power was restored this morning and we are back to normal. But maybe the Mayans were right in a way. Perhaps there is a major change in our world. We seemed to be moving towards more reasonable gun laws. The New York Post, usually a bastion of right-wing ideology, labelled Wayne LaPierre, the VP of the NRA, a "gun nut." While the NY Daily News called him "the Craziest Man on Earth." LaPierre gave a press conference yesterday in response to the horrendous mass murders in Newtown, CT. The NRA exec called for an armed police officer in every school in the country and blamed the killings on a culture of violence proliferated by video games and movies. Hello, isn't his organization contributing to that culture by glorifying guns--even military-style assault weapons--and lobbying to make sure everybody has one.

Some states are even passing laws to require all teachers, administrators, and yes even janitors to be fully armed in schools. That's a step further than LaPierre's position and I believe would definitely lead to more violence, accidents, and deaths. If every faculty member was packing heat, kids would find a way to get a hold of those weapons and somebody will get hurt.

In the Newtown case, it's impossible to tell what might have happened if we had strong gun control laws, or if there were at least one armed guard at the school, or if the violent video games the shooter played were not available. His mother bought the guns and I suppose she went through a background check. But if she hadn't been able to buy the assault weapon, would her son have killed as many people? You can drive yourself crazy with such guessing games. But banning assault weapons for civilian purchases isn't going to hurt anybody, except the gunmakers.

Another world changing development happened yesterday--Speaker John Boehner was not able to get enough votes for his futile Plan B budget to make it to the floor of the House. The bill was a symbolic one anyway since Harry Reid vowed it would not pass the Senate and Obama said he would veto it. I believe Boehner wanted to put it to a vote so he could say to the Tea-Party nutbags, "See I tried to compromise, I tried to get something done, but the Democrats stopped me." Now he can't even say that because the radicals in his party refuse to raise taxes on anyone, even if it's just those that earn $1million and over. I just don't get it. If we are in such a bad way financially and the tea-partiers want to fix it as much as they say, shouldn't the sacrifice be shared among those who depend on Social Security and Medicare and those who are rich (and yes, one million a year is rich!)

The change is the Republican party is split and the two pieces are falling apart. This latest fiasco demonstrates their failure to come to grips with reality. They lost the last election and are now desperately clinging to power by refusing to compromise with the President on the budget. BTW, the President has moved to their side more than halfway and the Repubs STILL won't move an inch.

Are we in a new world? Will assault weapons be banned? Will the GOP split and created two weaker halves? We can only hope.

Independent Spirit Noms

Bill Murray, Frances MacDormand, Edward Norton, and
Independent Spirit nominee Bruce Willis in Moonrise Kingdom 

Just to complete the list of film awards and nominations, I added the Independent Spirit Awards nominations which were announced just after Thanksgiving. The winners will be presented the night before the Oscars. Maybe I wasn't paying attention that day, but they didn't get as much press as the Critics Choice, SAG or GG nominations this week. There is some overlap between the indie world and the general-release studio world with Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and The Sessions receiving recognition from both.I haven't heard of a lot of these pictures including Keep the Lights On, The Middle of Nowhere, and End of Watch. Moonrise was one of my favorite pictures of the year and it is kind of weird and wonderful to see Bruce Willis and Matthew MaConaughey nominated alongside of hard-working non-big name people like Ann Dowd, Lorraine Toussaint, and Michael Pena. There's still the BAFTA Awards, the British equivalent of the Oscars.

Picture: Argo (AFI, cc, gg)
Amour (LAFCA)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (AFI, cc, is)
Bernie (is)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (gg)
The Dark Knight Rises (AFI)
Django Unchained (AFI, cc, gg)
Keep the Lights On (is)
Les Miserables (AFI, cc, gg)
Life of Pi (AFI, cc, gg, LV)
Lincoln (AFI, cc, gg)
The Master (cc)
Moonrise Kingdom (AFI, cc, gg, is)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (gg)
Silver Linings Playbook (AFI, cc, gg, is)
Zero Dark Thirty (AFI, Bos, cc, DC, gg, NBR, NYFCC, NYO) 

Actor: Jack Black, Bernie (gg, is)
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, gg, is, NBR, sag)
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (Bos, cc, DC, gg, LV, NYFCC, NYO, sag)
Richard Gere, Arbitrage (gg)
John Hawkes, The Sessions (cc, gg, is, sag)
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables (cc, gg, sag)
Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On (is)
Matthew MacConaughey, Killer Joe (is)
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (gg)
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson (gg)
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (cc, gg, LAFCA)
Wendell Pierce, Four (is)
Denzel Washington, Flight (cc, gg, sag)

Actress: Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (gg) 
Linda Cartellini, Return (is)
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (cc, DC, gg, NBR, sag)
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere (is)
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone (cc, gg, sag)
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (gg)
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, gg, is, LAFCA-tie, LV, sag)
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (Bos, cc, LAFCA-tie, NYO)
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (gg, sag)
Maggie Smith, Quartet (gg)
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs (gg)
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (cc, is)
Naomi Watts, The Impossible (cc, gg, sag)
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea (gg, NYFCC)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed (is)

Supp. Actor: Alan Arkin, Argo (cc, gg, sag)
Javier Bardem, Skyfall (cc, sag)
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, sag)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained (gg, NBR)
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFCA)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (cc, DC, gg, sag)
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (cc, gg, LV, NYO, sag)
Matthew Maconaughey, Bernie and Magic Mike (cc, is, NYFCC)
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Bos)
David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere (is)
Michael Pena, End of Watch (is)
Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths (is)
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (gg)
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom (is)

Supp. Actress: Amy Adams, The Master (cc, gg, LAFCA)
Judi Dench, Skyfall (cc)
Rosemarie DeWItt, Your Sister's Sister (is)
Ann Dowd, Compliance (cc, is, NBR)
Sally Field, Lincoln (Bos, cc, gg, NYFCC, sag)
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables (cc, DC, gg, LV, NY, sag)
Helen Hunt, The Sessions (cc, gg, is, sag)
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (gg, sag)
Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice (is)
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (sag)
Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere (is)

Director: Ben Affleck, Argo (cc, gg)
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (LAFCA)
Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom (is)
Katheryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty (Bos, cc, DC, gg, LV, NBR, NYFCC)
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables (cc)
Ang Lee, Life of Pi (cc, gg)
Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet (is)
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, is)
Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On (is)
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (cc, gg)
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (gg)
Bein Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (is)

AFI=American Film Institute Bos=Boston Society of Film Critics; cc=Critics Choice Award nomination; DC=Washington DC Film Critics Association; gg=Golden Globe nomination; is=Independent Spirit Awards nomination; LAFCA=Los Angeles Film Critics Assoc.; LV=Las Vegas Film Critics Society; NBR=National Board of Review; NYFCC=New York Film Critics Circle; NYO=New York Film Critics Online; sag=SAG Award nomination

Golden Globe Noms and Vegas Crix

The last BIG pre-Oscar awards announcement came this morning from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe Awards. Lincoln got the most nominations with seven. Daniel Day-Lewis is now the most popular candidate with five wins from critics' groups and three nominations. Django Unchained and Argo received five GG noms each. I discovered on FB that Django did not send out its screeners until the first week of December which may explain why it didn't do so well with the SAG noms yesterday. 

Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith continue to rake in the noms with Dame Judi garnering a Best Actress in a Comedy nom for Marigold Hotel and her co-star Dame Maggie gaining recognition for both Downton Abbey and Quartet.

I also added the Las Vegas Film Critics Society which bucked the trend of its fellow critics' group and award Best Picture to Life of Pi rather than Zero Dark Thirty. How many film critics are there in Las Vegas anyway? I also just realized that I completely missed the Independent Spirit Awards noms. I went looking for them on line and saw they were announced back on Nov. 28. They didn't get much press. I will add those later, right now I have two articles due today. 

Picture: Argo (AFI, cc, gg)
Amour (LAFCA)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (AFI, cc)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (gg)
The Dark Knight Rises (AFI)
Django Unchained (AFI, cc, gg)
Les Miserables (AFI, cc, gg)
Life of Pi (AFI, cc, gg, LV)
Lincoln (AFI, cc, gg)
The Master (cc)
Moonrise Kingdom (AFI, cc, gg)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (gg)
Silver Linings Playbook (AFI, cc, gg)
Zero Dark Thirty (AFI, Bos, cc, DC, gg, NBR, NYFCC, NYO) 

Actor: Jack Black, Bernie (gg)
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, gg, NBR, sag)
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (Bos, cc, DC, gg, LV, NYFCC, NYO, sag)
Richard Gere, Arbitrage (gg)
John Hawkes, The Sessions (cc, gg, sag)
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables (cc, gg, sag)
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (gg)
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson (gg)
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (cc, gg, LAFCA)
Denzel Washington, Flight (cc, gg, sag)

Actress: Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (gg) 
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (cc, DC, gg, NBR, sag)
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone (cc, gg, sag)
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (gg)
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, gg, LAFCA-tie, LV, sag)
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (Bos, cc, LAFCA-tie, NYO)
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (gg, sag)
Maggie Smith, Quartet (gg)
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs (gg)
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (cc)
Naomi Watts, The Impossible (cc, gg, sag)
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea (gg, NYFCC)

Supp. Actor: Alan Arkin, Argo (cc, gg, sag)
Javier Bardem, Skyfall (cc, sag)
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, sag)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained (gg, NBR)
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFCA)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (cc, DC, gg, sag)
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (cc, gg, LV, NYO, sag)
Matthew Maconaughey, Bernie and Magic Mike (cc, NYFCC)
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Bos)
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (gg)

Supp. Actress: Amy Adams, The Master (cc, gg, LAFCA)
Judi Dench, Skyfall (cc)
Ann Dowd, Compliance (cc, NBR)
Sally Field, Lincoln (Bos, cc, gg, NYFCC, sag)
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables (cc, DC, gg, LV, NY, sag)
Helen Hunt, The Sessions (cc, gg, sag)
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (gg, sag)
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (sag)

Director: Ben Affleck, Argo (cc, gg)
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (LAFCA)
Katheryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty (Bos, cc, DC, gg, NBR, NYFCC)
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables (cc)
Ang Lee, Life of Pi (cc, gg)
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (cc)
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (cc, gg)
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (gg)

AFI=American Film Institute Bos=Boston Society of Film Critics; cc=Critics Choice Award nomination; DC=Washington DC Film Critics Association; gg=Golden Globe nomination; LAFCA=Los Angeles Film Critics Assoc.; LV=Las Vegas Film Critics Society; NBR=National Board of Review; NYFCC=New York Film Critics Circle; NYO=New York Film Critics Online; sag=SAG Award nomination

SAG Noms Announced; Plus AFI and DC Crix

Dame Maggie Smith reacting to her SAG nominations: "Only four?"

Award season continues with the announcement this morning for the SAG Awards and just for giggles, I added the results of the Washington DC Film Critics Association voting and the American Film Institute Awards which only go to the best picture. The biggest SAG snubs were probably Joaquin Phoenix being overlooked for The Master and Emmanuelle Riva getting a cold shoulder for Amour, but that latter is probably understandable since its a little-known foreign film adored by critics and not seen by as many thousands of members of the randomly selected SAG nominating committee.For once, Zero Dark Thirty did not dominate, garnering fewer SAG noms than Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Les Miz. New contenders who have not shown up in other award lists are Helen Mirren in Hitchcock, Maggie Smith in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy (huh?, that last one came and went really quickly in October according to imdb). Smith is also nominated as part of the Marigold ensemble and for Downton Abbey (individually and as part of the ensemble) in the TV categories. The tightest race for the Oscars look like best actor with only six credible candidates emerging from all the critics and SAG awards. 

Another interesting thing: We saw The Sessions last night and to me Helen Hunt is the leading actress of that movie, not supporting. The Golden Globe nominees are announced tomorrow.

Picture: Argo (AFI, cc)
Amour (LAFCA)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (AFI, cc)
The Dark Knight Rises (AFI)
Django Unchained (AFI, cc)
Les Miserables (AFI, cc)
Life of Pi (AFI, cc)
Lincoln (AFI, cc)
The Master (cc)
Moonrise Kingdom (AFI, cc)
Silver Linings Playbook (AFI, cc)
Zero Dark Thirty (AFI, Bos, cc, DC, NBR, NYFCC, NYO) 

Actor: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, NBR, sag)
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (Bos, cc, DC, NYFCC, NYO, sag)
John Hawkes, The Sessions (cc, sag)
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables (cc, sag)
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (cc, LAFCA)
Denzel Washington, Flight (cc, sag)

Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (cc, DC, NBR, sag)
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone (cc, sag)
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, LAFCA-tie, sag)
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (Bos, cc, LAFCA-tie, NYO)
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (sag)
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (cc)
Naomi Watts, The Impossible (cc, sag)
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea (NYFCC)

Supp. Actor: Alan Arkin, Argo (cc, sag)
Javier Bardem, Skyfall (cc, sag)
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook (cc, sag)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained (NBR)
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFCA)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (cc, DC, sag)
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (cc, NYO, sag)
Matthew Maconaughey, Bernie and Magic Mike (cc, NYFCC)
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Bos)

Supp. Actress: Amy Adams, The Master (cc, LAFCA)
Judi Dench, Skyfall (cc)
Ann Dowd, Compliance (cc, NBR)
Sally Field, Lincoln (Bos, cc, NYFCC, sag)
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables (cc, DC, NY, sag)
Helen Hunt, The Sessions (cc, sag)
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (sag)
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (sag)

Director: Ben Affleck, Argo (cc)
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (LAFCA)
Katheryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty (Bos, cc, DC, NBR, NYFCC)
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables (cc)
Ang Lee, Life of Pi (cc)
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (cc)
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (cc)

AFI=American Film Institute Bos=Boston Society of Film Critics; cc=Critics Choice Award nomination; DC=Washington DC Film Critics Association; LAFCA=Los Angeles Film Critics Assoc.; NBR=National Board of Review; NYFCC=New York Film Critics Circle; NYO=New York Film Critics Online; sag=SAG Award nomination

Changes in Broadway Revivals Lessen the Drama

Carrie Coon, Tracey Letts, Amy Morton, and Madison Dirks
in the current B'way revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Credit: Michael Brosliow 

Two major Broadway revivals have slight alterations in their scripts which result in softening their more ferocious characters and lessening the impact of the productions. In Pam McKinnon's staging of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, there is the fairly expected cut in the second act. The lights go down after Martha and Nick go off to the kitchen to copulate, leavening an enraged George, Martha's husband, to declare, "I'm going to get you for this, Martha." In the 1962 original, there is an additional scene between George and Honey, Nick's drunken wife, in which reveals-- SPOILER ALERT--he plans to kill off his and Martha's imaginary son (Hope I'm not ruining anything, but the play is 50 years old and you should know this by now.)   It's understandable, Virginia Woolf is VERY long and the cut scene doesn't significantly add to our understanding of the characters; Honey does get a bit more stage time, but that's the scene's biggest plus. This cut obviously has Edward Albee's approval and was used in the 2005 revival with Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner.

The really significant change comes earlier in the second act when Martha humiliates George in front of their guests by repeating her father's long-ago threat to fire George from the university if he publishes a potentially scandalous novel about a young man who accidentally kills his parents.In the original and the 1966 movie version with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Martha's coup de grace is to reveal that her husband told his father-in-law the novel is autobiographical, thus exposing the truth about a similar story George has earlier told Nick in private. In this new revival, Albee has rewritten this sequence to make Martha explicitly angry with George for caving in to her father and burning the manuscript. "Coward," she screams at her husband. This change makes Martha more conventionally sympathetic--she's not out to just embarrass George, she's furious that he's so weak-willed and furious with herself for loving him. I think this change weakens the play somewhat because I don't think Martha would be so self-aware at this point in the action. The war between George and Martha is at its midway point and Martha has not yet hit rock bottom in her self-realization (that comes in the third act). Now it's too early for that and the battle is less intense as a result. This is still a powerful production, but I prefer the original dialogue in this section.

Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale in Glengarry Glen Ross
Credit: Scott Landis

In the just opened Glengarry Glen Ross, director Daniel Sullivan and star Al Pacino have shifted the focus to Shelley Levine, the broken down salesman played by Robert Prosky (original Broadway production), Jack Lemmon (movie version), and Alan Alda (2005 revival). Here's a link to me review for ArtsinNY.com. Aside from Sullivan's staging which often places Pacino squarely center stage, I'm almost positive there have been subtle changes in the script. In the original, Levine mentions his daughter once in a bid for sympathy from the office manager Williamson. Here, she comes up a total of three times, thus giving Levine more of a family background and hopefully gaining more audience sympathy. In the original production, I recall a line that Ricky Roma (a slick Bobby Cannavale in this revival) delivers at the end of the play in which he demands a cut of all the office's sales. This has been cut, I guess to make Roma less of a shark and more human. Just as Martha is less of a ferocious fighter in the new production, Mamet's salesmen are not quite as predatory and dangerous.