marlene dietrich Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Gwyneth Paltrow as Marlene Dietrich? How About...
Filed under: Drama », Casting »
Gwyneth Paltrow as Marlene Dietrich... I won't say that it's the most ridiculous notion I ever heard. There are lots of casting choices to top it -- like, say, Queen Latifah or Steve Buscemi. But still. Is it, in any worthy way, possible? Ms. Paltrow would have to pull off one killer transformation of Val Kilmer/Jim Morrison proportions to embody the iconic, ninth greatest female star of all time.
According to WENN, Paltrow is going to play the actress in a BBC drama based on the 1992 biography Marlene Dietrich, written by her daughter, Maria Riva (and adapted by scribe Andrew Davies). There's certainly much to work with, from her start in Berlin, to her move to the American screen, to her bisexuality and famous loves like Frank Sinatra, and finally, to Dietrich's staunchly guarded reclusion at the end of her life.
Marlene Dietrich's Daughter Stops Dietrich Box Set From Being Released
Filed under: Classics », Universal », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
Even at 77-years-old, the daughter of screen legend Marlene Dietrich is as vigilant a watchdog over her mother's image as ever. The Guardian newspaper reports that Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva has yanked permission from Universal (in the form of an injunction) to release Marlene Dietrich: The Movie Collection. Riva was angered to find that Universal had not packaged the DVD's as agreed, and considered it a serious enough contract violation that the estate may end up in court over it. The German head of the collection's estate said, "This is important for us. Marlene Dietrich was and remains the only world star that Germany has ever produced. There is no other Marlene Dietrich - she is unique". This is not the first time Riva has headed to the courtroom over the use of her mother's image. In 1999, she took Toshiba to court over a photocopier ad and then she sued EMI over bonus footage in a concert DVD. Universal hasn't really commented on the possible litigation, but their PR rep had stated that "It's been withdrawn due to a minor error on the packaging, but it's being sorted out". Luckily, there are already plenty of Dietrich films on DVD, because it might be some time before Riva lets Universal off the hook.
Marlene Dietrich's Pathetic Last Years
Filed under: Classics », Foreign Language », Music & Musicals », Celebrities and Controversy », Cinematical Indie »
Can we not remember our screen legends well? Just yesterday, Erik told us of the sad end to Alfred Hitchcock's career. And I've still never gotten over the late voice work of Orson Welles (never mind The Transformers: The Movie; have you heard this before?). Now, from a new book coming in April, we learn that Marlene Dietrich was so desperate for money that she would ... I can't even write the words of what she had to do. Let me just say it involved singing and a stranger and, well, don't worry, she didn't completely prostitute herself. I just don't understand the world that let Dietrich go broke and out of work for so many years leading up to her death. Couldn't she at least have been hired for special appearances, cameos, walk-ons or something? She didn't even get a role in a Muppet movie. With her and Welles so miserable, they should have made more films together. Alas, she did not act much in her final thirty years, and sadly, her memory is to be tarnished because of some desperate measure. And so, apparently, is Greta Garbo's, too.
Cinematical Seven: Wildest Wilder Moments
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Cinematical Seven »
"Funny, how gentle people get with you once you're dead."
The above quote is from the 1950 film Sunset Blvd, directed by Billy Wilder. It's Wilder's 100th birthday today; sadly, he died in 2002. Wilder co-wrote directed some of the funniest American movies ever-- Some Like It Hot is probably the one people remember best -- as well as dramas like Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd, and The Apartment. Even his less successful and lesser-known films include some wonderful moments. So in honor of Wilder's birthday, here's a Cinematical Seven on the creme de la creme of fantastic, memorable scenes in Wilder's films.
Interview: Danny Huston of 'The Proposition'
Filed under: Action », Drama », Independent », New Releases », Interviews », Cinematical Indie »
Danny Huston may have a famous Hollywood last name, but not a lot of movie fans know who he is. It would seem, however, that all that is about to change for the 43-year-old actor, whose father is late director John Huston and is half-brother of the lovely Anjelica Huston. In John Hillcoat's Australian western, The Proposition, penned by fellow Aussie Nick Cave, Huston plays a killer outlaw whose brother, played by Guy Pearce, is sent into the Outback to kill him to save their simpleton brother (Richard Wilson) from the gallows. All comparisons to Brando's maniacal Col. Kurtz in Coppola's Apocalypse Now aside, Huston puts his nice-guy looks aside and steps confidently into the role of the film's key character and makes a lot of those inevitable comparisons valid ones. He took the time to talk with Cinematical during a promotional stop in Boston last week.
News from Slackerwood: Boogaloo, Hoops, and Shanghai Express
Filed under: News From Slackerwood »
I believe the title of this entry tells you everything you need to know about the variety of films screening in Austin this week. In addition, there seem to be more free-admission films than usual this week, so if you're worried about scraping up money for your taxes, you can still see some good movies around town.
- Austin filmmaker Kyle Henry's film Room, which screened at Sundance and Cannes last year, will be playing all week long at Alamo on South Lamar. This week's Austin Chronicle includes an interview with Henry and actress Cyndi Williams.
- That quirky documentary about Texas sex-toy laws, Dildo Diaries, is getting a short run at Alamo Village, from Friday-Sunday 4/7-9. It's not only a fun movie, it's a good reminder of how insane the Texas Lege can be.
- All I know about Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is that the sequel title has spawned more silly parody titles than any other film I can think of, including Highlander 2: The Quickening. If you're a fan of these movies, Alamo Downtown is showing them on Saturday 4/8 with actor Michael "Shrimp" Chambers and producer David Zito both making appearances.
Upcoming classic DVDs provide cut-rate glamour
Filed under: Universal », Home Entertainment »
The good news is that Universal will release
three DVD boxed sets on April 4 as part of a new series called The Glamour Collection: one set each of films starring
Carole Lombard, Mae West,
and Marlene Dietrich. Nearly all these movies are being released on DVD
in the United States for the first time.The Carole Lombard set contains lesser-known films from her earlier years, when studios tried to bill her as glamorous rather than funny. I'm particularly interested in seeing Hands Across the Table, a 1935 film directed by the underrated Mitchell Leisen that stars Lombard and Fred MacMurray. The Mae West set includes My Little Chickadee with W.C. Fields and the wonderfully witty I'm No Angel with Cary Grant... but not She Done Him Wrong, unfortunately. The Marlene Dietrich collection contains the long-awaited Blonde Venus and Morocco ... but not my beloved A Foreign Affair, perhaps because Universal feels she was less glamorous in 1948 (they'd be wrong).
The bad news is that all of these are two-disc sets; more than one movie on each DVD, no special features apart from theatrical trailers, and probably no opportunity to buy the movies separately. However, each set will cost less than $30. It's cut-rate glamour, but I'm happy these movies are finally making any appearance on DVD at all. The Gary Cooper Collection that Universal released last year as a two-disc set is supposed to be excellent, so hopefully these DVDs will equal that quality level.
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