A Naked Girl on the Appian Way.Clayburgh is having a comeback on Broadway this year. She was in an unsuccessful Richard Greenberg play with Richard Thomas in the fall (the tiitle escapes me).
Running with Scissors
AfterElton has an interview with Augusten Burroughs, and here are some comments about the film version of Running with Scissors:
AE: How does it feel to have your work brought to the big screen for the first time?
AB: Amazing. I was actually never going to option Running With Scissors because I felt it would be so easy to make a really bad movie, but Ryan Murphy was really persistent. I finally agreed to lunch and he talked about his mother the whole time. She sounded so much like mine. He had such a deep empathy for the material, it was as if he wrote it. So I did a 180° and went with my gut instinct. I never rationally think things through—I just blurt it out.
AE: How involved were you with the film?
AB: Although Ryan was the screenwriter, he called me every day for input. I felt very much part of the process. He wanted to know what the tables and couches looked like—even the fabrics. I briefed the actors. There's a lot of me in that film. I'm really lucky, because most writers do not come out of this experience feeling the way I do. On set, the saying was, “That's how it is in the book.” Ryan was very loyal to the story.
AE: Were you pleased with the result?
AB: It's not like any movie I've ever seen. It doesn't feel American, or anything that came out of Hollywood, that's for sure. I honestly don't know how to describe it, but I love it. The performances were outstanding. Joseph Cross [who plays Augusten] is a fine actor, I just adored him. He's an unknown, but not for long.
AE: How did they portray the gay aspect of the story?
AB: They handled it brilliantly. I don't want to give it away, but it's so much cleverer than you'd think. It's really not explicit—you don't see dicks swinging or simulated sex. But what you do see is more shocking. It just makes you go, “Oh my God!” It just drives it home. It's a visceral movie. You really go through an emotional, rollercoaster journey. Test audiences have responded incredibly to it. There was lots of boo-hooing.
AE: How does it feel to have your work brought to the big screen for the first time?
AB: Amazing. I was actually never going to option Running With Scissors because I felt it would be so easy to make a really bad movie, but Ryan Murphy was really persistent. I finally agreed to lunch and he talked about his mother the whole time. She sounded so much like mine. He had such a deep empathy for the material, it was as if he wrote it. So I did a 180° and went with my gut instinct. I never rationally think things through—I just blurt it out.
AE: How involved were you with the film?
AB: Although Ryan was the screenwriter, he called me every day for input. I felt very much part of the process. He wanted to know what the tables and couches looked like—even the fabrics. I briefed the actors. There's a lot of me in that film. I'm really lucky, because most writers do not come out of this experience feeling the way I do. On set, the saying was, “That's how it is in the book.” Ryan was very loyal to the story.
AE: Were you pleased with the result?
AB: It's not like any movie I've ever seen. It doesn't feel American, or anything that came out of Hollywood, that's for sure. I honestly don't know how to describe it, but I love it. The performances were outstanding. Joseph Cross [who plays Augusten] is a fine actor, I just adored him. He's an unknown, but not for long.
AE: How did they portray the gay aspect of the story?
AB: They handled it brilliantly. I don't want to give it away, but it's so much cleverer than you'd think. It's really not explicit—you don't see dicks swinging or simulated sex. But what you do see is more shocking. It just makes you go, “Oh my God!” It just drives it home. It's a visceral movie. You really go through an emotional, rollercoaster journey. Test audiences have responded incredibly to it. There was lots of boo-hooing.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Trailer's up and it looks great. Love the "Benny and the Jets" in the background. Look at Jill Clayburgh and Annette Bening for possible nods. And Joseph Fiennes might make an interesting Neal Bookman from the looks of it after all.
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
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Mister Tee
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Even worse -- Tony Roberts in the Kasznar/Boyer role. What drugs were they on when they cast that thing?Damien wrote:Clayburgh is having a comeback on Broadway this year. She was in an unsuccessful Richard Greenberg play with Richard Thomas in the fall (the tiitle escapes me). And she's now in previews with a revival of Barefoot In The Park playing -- brace yourselves -- the Mildred Natwick role.
Augusten also singled Clayburgh out for praise as well, and I, too, would love to see Jill get a comeback nomination (I still think she wuz robbed for An Unmarried Woman--I love Jane Fonda in Coming Home, but Jill was so much more deserving that year). Clayburgh's role is clearly Supporting, and since Bening's role in the book is Supporting, it'll be interesting how it all plays out (assuming they're Oscar-caliber)--whether they'll attempt to push Bening for Lead or have both Clayburgh and Bening in Supporting.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Reza wrote:Hustler wrote:I hope to see Clayburgh nominated
Yes that would be a pleasant surprise to see her make a ''comeback''.
Clayburgh is having a comeback on Broadway this year. She was in an unsuccessful Richard Greenberg play with Richard Thomas in the fall (the tiitle escapes me). And she's now in previews with a revival of Barefoot In The Park playing -- brace yourselves -- the Mildred Natwick role.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
If Bening is nominated, the question now is will it be for Lead or Supporting? Running with Scissors is Augusten's story, and his mother disappears for long stretches of the book. It all depends on how Ryan Murphy adapted the tale.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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VanHelsing
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i don't know... but perhaps we might see Bening vs Swank (for The Black Dahlia) round 3 next year?...
With a Southern accent...
"Don't you dare lie to me!" and...
"You threaten my congeniality, you threaten me!"
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"You shouldn't be doing what you're doing. The truth is enough!"
"Are you and Perry?" ... "Please, Nelle."
"Don't you dare lie to me!" and...
"You threaten my congeniality, you threaten me!"
-------
"You shouldn't be doing what you're doing. The truth is enough!"
"Are you and Perry?" ... "Please, Nelle."
Wonder if this rave translates into an Oscar nod for Bening next year?Penelope wrote:Just came back from a lecture by author Augusten Burroughs and he says that he recently saw a rough cut of the film Running with Scissors, based on his memoir, and he was effusive in his praise for the film, saying it was funny, sad and shocking, in just the right way, and he also had wonderful things to say about the actors, especially Annette Bening, who, he says, asked him many questions about his mother, and that "she nails the part, she IS my mother."