WEIRDLAND

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Jake Gyllenhaal will play double role in "An Enemy" (based on Jose Saramago's novel)

Jake Gyllenhaal out for a walk in Downtown Manhattan (NYC) on March 14, 2012

Jake Gyllenhaal is set to pull double duty as the two leads in the thriller An Enemy. Variety reports that Gyllenhaal is in negotiations to star as “a dysfunctional history teacher who accidentally discovers his exact double on a rented DVD, seeks him out and ends up turning both of their lives upside down.” Denis Villeneuve, who was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for his pic Incendies, is onboard to direct. The film is based on the novel The Double by Jose Saramago, and Javier Gullion is set to write the script.

Jake Gyllenhaal - Berlin Film Festival Portrait on February 8, 2012

Gyllenhaal most recently wrapped the gritty cop drama End of Watch, and considered taking the lead in Motor City before bowing out. Villeneuve recently committed to directing Hugh Jackman in the vigilante thriller Prisoners, but production on that film won’t begin until next January due to Jackman’s busy schedule. Villeneuve is expected to shoot An Enemy this year. Hit the jump to read the synopsis for The Double. Source: collider.com

Gene Kelly ("Let the good times roll") video

Gene Kelly surrounded by Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg in "Les Girls" (1957) directed by George Cukor


Gene Kelly ("Let the good times roll") video, featuring stills with Gene Kelly, Vera-Ellen, Cyd Charisse, Betsy Blair, Lucille Ball, Deanna Durbin, Marsha Hunt, Teresa Celli, Diana Adams, Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, Esther Williams, Marie MacDonald, Barbara Laage, Natalie Wood, Nina Foch, Shirley MacLaine, Carol Haney, Catherine Deneuve, Tamara Toumanova, Debbie Reynolds, Judy Garland, Kay Kendall, Mitzi Gaynor, Taina Elg, Leslie Caron, Rita Hayworth, Kathryn Grayson, etc.

Soundtrack: "My Memories of You" by Hank Snow, "Let the good times roll" by Roy Orbison, "Walk & Talk it" by Lou Reed, "I'm gonna love you too" by Buddy Holly, "Be My Angel" by Mazzy Star and "Chantilly Lace" by Bobby Lee Trammell.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Robert Rossen Anniversary, John Garfield, Gene Kelly, Film Noir Collection ("D.O.A.")

Happy Anniversary, Robert Rossen! (March 16, 1908 in New York City - February 18, 1966 in
 Hollywood, California, USA) 
  Paul Newman as "Fast" Eddie Felson created in The Hustler a classic antihero, charismatic but fundamentally flawed. A pool player from Oakland, CA, as good as anyone who ever picked up a cue, Eddie has a double-edge Achilles' heel: insecurity and arrogance. The Hustler follows Eddie from his match against billiards champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) as he falls in love with Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie), an alcoholic would-be writer and sometime prostitute. Slowly, Eddie falls under the spell of the shady character Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), a heartless manager of gamblers who offers to take Eddie under his wing and teach him how to play in the big leagues.
  Piper Laurie and Paul Newman in “The Hustler” (1961) directed by Robert Rossen.

Eddie: You don’t look like a college girl. 
Sarah: I’m the emancipated type. Real emancipated. 
Eddie: No, I didn’t mean that… whatever that means. I mean you just don’t look young enough. Sarah: I’m not. 
Eddie: So why go to college? 
Sarah: Got nothing else to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Eddie: What do you do on the other days? 
Sarah: I drink.
  John Garfield and Priscilla Lane in "Dust Be My Destiny" (1939) directed by Lewis Seiler, written by Robert Rossen and Seton I. Miller, based on Jerome Odlum's novel.
  Lizabeth Scott and Van Heflin in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" (1946) directed by Lewis Milestone, written by Robert Rossen and Robert Riskin, based on John Patrick's story "Love Lies Bleeding"
  Burt Lancaster and Lizabeth Scott in "Desert Fury" (1947) directed by Lewis Allen, with screenplay by Robert Rossen and A.I. Bezzerides, based on the racy novel "Desert Town" by Ramona Stewart. It was produced by Hal Wallis. Music was by Miklós Rózsa, and cinematography in Technicolor by Charles Lang.
  Jean Seberg as Lilith Arthur in "Lilith" (1964) directed by Robert Rossen. Director Robert Rossen, who had been working in films since 1937, was to direct only one more film, "Lilith" (1964), before his death in 1966. In 1986, Paul Newman returned to the role of "Fast" Eddie in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money", for which he finally earned an Academy Award as Best Actor.
  John Garfield as Charley Davis in the boxing drama "Body & Soul" (1947) directed by Robert Rossen, written by Abraham Polonsky.
  Director Abraham Polonsky's expressionistic, politically-subversive "Force of Evil" (1948) starred John Garfield as a corrupt mob attorney.
  More Definitive 40s Noirs: Early classic non-detective film noirs included Fritz Lang's steamy and fatalistic "Scarlet Street" (1945) - one of the moodiest, blackest thrillers ever made, about a mild-mannered painter's (Edward G. Robinson) unpunished and unsuspected murder of an amoral femme fatale (Joan Bennett) after she had led him to commit embezzlement, impersonated him in order to sell his paintings, and had been deceitful and cruel to him - causing him in a fit of anger to murder her with an ice-pick.
  And the nightmarishly-dark, rapid-paced and definitive D.O.A. (1949) — from cinematographer-director Rudolph Maté — told the flashback story of lethally-poisoned and doomed protagonist Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien), a victim of circumstance who announced in the opening: "I want to report a murder - mine." Source: www.filmsite.org

Edmond O'Brien as Frank Bigelow in "D.O.A." (1950) directed by Rudolph Maté Frank Bigelow: I want to report a murder. Homicide Captain: Sit down. Where was this murder committed? Frank Bigelow: San Francisco, last night. Homicide Captain: Who was murdered? Frank Bigelow: I was.  A new collection of classic noirs on DVD features: "D.O.A", "Beat the Devil", "Impact", "The Stranger", "Scarlet Street", "Shock", "Port of New York", "They Made Me a Criminal", "Whirlpool", "Quicksand") brings together some of the best directors — Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, John Huston — and actors — Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield, Gene Tierney, Edward G. Robinson, Beverly Garland — in ten spine-tingling tales of hard-boiled detectives, seductive women, mistaken identity and suspense, in the best tradition of Film Noir. 

Pamela Britton and Edmon O'Brien in "D.O.A." (1950) 
  Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, John Garfield, and Maria Montez honor President Roosevelt’s birthday (January 30, 1943)
  Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly in "Du Barry was a lady" (1943) directed by Roy Del Ruth
  Danny Kaye, Phil Silvers and Gene Kelly campaigning for F.D. Roosevelt. On November 6, 1944, the night before the election (Truman vs Roosevelt) many artists participated in a CBS Radio Program conducted by Norman Corwin.
  In Tinseltown, John Huston, then vice-president of the Directors Guild, met with director William Wyler and screenwriter Philip Dunne to create a group called the Committee for the First Amendment.
   CFA organized Hollywood's liberals and left to resist HUAC, and lyricist Ira Gershwin hosted a star-studded anti-witch-hunt party that included Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Danny Kaye, Billy Wilder and others. Their position was that the impending inquisition had nothing to do with communism per se but was about civil liberties, especially free speech.
  CFA organized a flight of the stars aboard Howard Hughes' plane to fly to D.C. John Garfield, Sterling Hayden, Marsha Hunt, Jane Wyatt, Paul Henreid, June Havoc, Larry Adler and Evelyn Keyes joined Gershwin, Bogart, Bacall, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, etc. Gene Kelly, who had stopped over in Pittsburgh at his parents' home on the trip to Washington, had missed the photo taken before the Capitol.
  In his autobiography “Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist”, Walter Bernstein (contributing writer for The New Yorker, and former screenwriter) claimed that while he was working at Columbia Pictures, he and Director Robert Rossen, would set out deliberately to include some social commentary (sometimes leftist) in a particular scene.
  Broderick Crawford as Willie Stark in "All The King's Men" (1949) directed by Robert Rossen, based on the Pulitzer Prize novel by Robert Penn Warren - published in 1946. They left it up to studio head Harry Cohn to delete the unwanted scenes. Rossen, an overt Communist, was perturbed at his exclusion as one of the original Hollywood Ten! He never got over “being snubbed in such an unsavory manner!” -“Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist” by Walter Bernstein (1996)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Donald O'Connor: Make 'Em Laugh!


Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) sings about the merits of being a comedic actor in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952). Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

"It's not easy working with a genius - but Gene was very patient with me." -Donald O'Connor (1988) on his "Singin' in the Rain" co-star, Gene Kelly

Donald O'Connor Interview for Warner Home Video ("Singin' in the Rain" 50th anniversary):

-Your signature number in "Singin’ in the Rain" is “Make ‘Em Laugh.” How did it develop? Did you work with the choreographer to add all the wonderful bits of business?

Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor attending The American Ireland Fund Gala Dinnery on November 19, 1992

-Donald O'Connor: When Gene got the music for “Make ‘Em Laugh” he said to me, “Why don’t you take the girls”— by which he meant his assistant choreographers — “and see what you can come up with?” So I got a pianist and took the girls into a rehearsal hall, and I began to sing and did a pratfall. They laughed, and I said, “Write that down.” Whatever they laughed at the most, that’s what we did on the screen.

-How long did it take to film “Make ‘Em Laugh”?

-Donald O'Connor: I had to do it in one day, because I was doing those pratfalls on cement, and my body — my knees, ankles, and toes — everything started to hurt. We saw right then that we had to shoot fast, and we did. It was absolutely miraculous. Two days later, when I walked onto the set, I got applause from everyone with the lights way up high, like the opening of a Broadway show. Stanley said, “That number is just great. Do you think you could do it again”’ It turned out the aperture on camera had been open too wide, and the whole number was fogged out. I looked like a ghost.

-Other than the title song, “Make ‘Em Laugh” is the most memorable number in the movie. It was generous of Gene Kelly to let another actor have the showstopper.

-Donald O'Connor: I think so, too. It shows you the true character of this man. He was not afraid of competition. He wanted it, and he was happy when you were better than he was, not only professionally but personally. He loved the idea that someone was working hard and paying attention.

-Debbie Reynolds was quite young and inexperienced when she signed on for Signin' in the Rain, compared to you and Kelly. Did that make things difficult during the filming?

Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds in "I Love Melvin" (1953) directed by Don Weiss

-Donald O'Connor: Debbie was quite a remarkable girl. She was so giving and so open that you wanted to take her into your arms. At the same time, she had experienced enough rejection in her life to make her interesting. It was hard to believe she'd never taken dance lessons before 'Singin' in the Rain', but she hadn't. She had to learn all that stuff with Gene and me really pushing her, because we only had a limited amount of time to prepare for the film. But she picked up on everything and managed to keep up with us. I can't imagine who else they could have gotten who would have been as perfect for that part.

-The stunts you do in “Make ‘Em Laugh” are fantastic, even by today’s standards. Did you have any acrobatic training?

-Donald O'Connor: I come from a circus family. We were in vaudeville. That’s where I learned everything. As soon as I was born, I joined the act. I started out dancing and singing a little bit, then I worked up to acrobatics. The family taught me how to balance on my hands. But after my sister was hit by a car and killed, the family became overly protective with me. So I never got to learn all those great tumbling tricks that my brothers Billy and Jack could do. But I did pick things up as I went along. I brought in Jack to teach me how to do all those flips in “Make ‘Em Laugh.”

-When you made Singin’ in the Rain, did you ever envision that you would be talking about it in a forum like this 50 years later?

-Donald O'Connor: No one ever thought it would be this big, though we all knew it was going to be a wonderful picture, because everybody worked so hard on it. Then, when it started taking off, of course everybody was excited. Now, with this new DVD format, it’s a kick to see it coming alive again in a new way. Source: video.barnesandnoble.com

Donald O'Connor and Marilyn Monroe arriving at the “Call Me Madam” premiere (1953)

Donald O'Connor singled out his favorite performance "Call Me Madam (1953): "my favorite number is in there with Vera Ellen. It's the number I do out in the garden with her to 'It's a Lovely Day Today'. It's a beautiful lyrical number. I think she was the best dancer outside of Peggy Ryan I ever danced with."

His 1944 marriage to Gwendolyn Carter ended in divorce 10 years later. They had a daughter, Donna.

His second marriage, to Gloria Noble in 1956, lasted for the rest of his life. They had three children, Alicia, Donald Frederick and Kevin.

Donald O'Connor and Judy Garland rehearse for premiere production of "The Judy Garland Show," their first TV appearance together.

Donald O'Connor as Milton Haskins, Martha Stewart as Bunny La Fleur and George O'Hanlon as Buster, performing the musical number "Daddy, Surprise Me" in "Are You with It?" (1948)

Mr. O'Connor prided himself on being forward-looking, and he was not inclined to dwell on his past. "I'm no longer a superstar," he said in 1992. "Now I'm working on being a quasar, because stars wear out. Quasars go on forever." Source: www.nytimes.com


Joseph Gordon-Levitt - SNL Opening Monologue ("Make 'Em Laugh") On November 21st, 2009

He explained that "Singing In The Rain" is his all-time favorite musical and that he's always had a fascination with the song "Make 'Em Laugh."

How to build Emotional Muscle (Kerry Kelly)

"An American in Paris" is best known for its wordless 17 minute ballet sequence at the end, the most visually striking in the film.

In another number, the romantic courtship dance to “Our Love is Here to Stay”, Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) is attempting to woo the resistant Lise (Leslie Caron), who leans shyly against a wall. When the violins start, Jerry pulls Lise into a gentle embrace, and the two begin a balletic exchange that is at once sinuous and chaste.

Gene Kelly as Jerry is fleet-footed, graceful, athletic, and undeniably masculine. No matter how many grand jetés he executes, you never for a moment forget he’s a guy (muscular and passionate).

Gene Kelly representing Toulouse-Lautrec's Chocolate Dancing in Achille’s Bar painting

"Emotional Muscle: Strong Parents, Strong Children" by PHD Kerry Kelly Novick & Jack Novick (2010). Kerry Kelly Novick (Gene Kelly's daughter) received degrees in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Berkeley and Psychology from University College, London. Kerry and her husband Jack Novick, PhD, have been working with children and families on thoughtful, positive parenting techniques for more than four decades. Psychoanalysts and psychologists, they are the founders of the innovative Allen Creek Preschool in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"All parents want their children to have healthy bodies with strong physical muscles. They also want their children to grow up to be successful, kind, responsible, creative, and good. 'Emotional Muscle' provides parenting tips for the first five years of your child’s life, offering opportunities for emotional muscle-building at every stage". Source: www.buildemotionalmuscle.com

Gene Kelly bottle feeding his daughter Kerry (1942)

Gene Kelly's first two wives were dancers. Actress Betsy Blair met Gene in the "Diamond Horseshoe" (Billy Rose's nightclub) where he was a choreographer and she was a chorus dancer.

Carol Haney, Gene Kelly, and Jeanne Coyne Rehearsals for "Singin' in the Rain" (1952)

Gene Kelly's second wife Jeanne Coyne had worked as his dancing assistant for many years before they married in 1960. A major talent in her own right, her dazzling footwork can be seen in the "From This Moment On" number alongside partner Bobby Van, Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Carol Haney and Bob Fosse in "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953).

Gene Kelly and Tamara Toumanova in "Invitation to the Dance" (1956) directed by Gene Kelly

Ballet routine traditionally starts with barre exercises, corner travelling work, centre exercises which tests the students stability without the barre for support. Tap dance focuses on percussive rhythm and precise patterns of sound. It is a rhythmic dance (with syncopation and improvisation) that helps build muscle control, and it's performed with shoes that have metal taps underneath. It's important to know how to build muscle while practising dance and training in its varieties of tap, ballet, jazz, etc.