And in an (always) related story...

uwe · March 08, 2016, 11:09:53 AM

Unless you are Meryl Streep, Hollywood has no decent acting roles for you once you're past 40 and can no longer convincingly look like you are in your mid-twenties. All Hollywood actresses struggle with that.

westen44 · March 08, 2016, 06:29:06 PM

Quote from: uwe on March 08, 2016, 11:09:53 AM
Unless you are Meryl Streep, Hollywood has no decent acting roles for you once you're past 40 and can no longer convincingly look like you are in your mid-twenties. All Hollywood actresses struggle with that.

Barbara Hershey is one of the few actresses I can think of who could pull of looking like she was in her 20s when she was already in her 40s. I'm sure there must be others, but she is the one that stands out in my mind the most. I think Gwyneth Paltrow has aged fairly rapidly.

uwe · March 09, 2016, 05:05:04 AM

But what is the point of someone in his 40ies trying to look and act like a twen in a script that is asking for a twen? Why not have a real twen play that role? It really is the dearth of suitable roles and screenplays.

westen44 · March 09, 2016, 07:45:37 AM

Quote from: uwe on March 09, 2016, 05:05:04 AM
But what is the point of someone in his 40ies trying to look and act like a twen in a script that is asking for a twen? Why not have a real twen play that role? It really is the dearth of suitable roles and screenplays.

I've asked myself that question before, too. The only answer I can come up with is maybe if you're putting millions into a movie, you might not want to have to deal with unpredictability. In general, an adult is going to be more dependable than a teenager. Personally, I'd most likely go for authenticity. But my input into Hollywood movies is pretty slim.

Highlander · April 09, 2016, 01:08:15 PM

Dave... you'll be saddened to hear that Jackie wouldn't let me get these books to send over to you to ease the cabin-fever...

Dave W · April 09, 2016, 06:15:50 PM

Quote from: Highlander on April 09, 2016, 01:08:15 PM
Dave... you'll be saddened to hear that Jackie wouldn't let me get these books to send over to you to ease the cabin-fever...

Please give Jackie my thanks. The pages would have been usable as tinder for my fire pit, though.

No cabin fever here.

Highlander · April 10, 2016, 03:38:56 AM

Plenty more trees in the forest...

uwe · April 12, 2016, 06:52:02 PM

Quote from: westen44 on February 19, 2016, 09:09:03 PM
The name "Apple" made 17 on this list.

http://www.cracked.com/article_15765_the-20-most-bizarre-celebrity-baby-names.html

I think Bono's kid has the most stupid name on that list, but it does have a lot of competition.

I'm not sure he alluded to "Memphis, Tn" and "Christmas Eve(ning)" when he named his daughter Memphis Eve. In Egyptian mythology, Memphis was the daughter of the Nile river god. And Eve hung around a lot with Adam (hopefully not Clayton though!), long before there was a Christmas. Names with religious connotations might just be the namegiver's thing.

Incredibly, I just came up to the defense of Bono of all people. Achtung Baby!

westen44 · April 12, 2016, 09:42:45 PM

Quote from: uwe on April 12, 2016, 06:52:02 PM
I'm not sure he alluded to "Memphis, Tn" and "Christmas Eve(ning)" when he named his daughter Memphis Eve. In Egyptian mythology, Memphis was the daughter of the Nile river god. And Eve hung around a lot with Adam (hopefully not Clayton though!), long before there was a Christmas. Names with religious connotations might just be the namegiver's thing.

Incredibly, I just came up to the defense of Bono of all people. Achtung Baby!

I looked it up once out of curiosity. It is my understanding that the reference was to Memphis the city.

However, I have a confession to make. I was flipping through the channels and chanced across that movie called "A Perfect Murder" with Michael Douglas and Gwenyth Paltrow. It was actually better than I was expecting. On the other hand, watching it made me realize that Gwenyth reminded me of one of my bosses from way back. Both seem spoiled and rich with a certain similar look on their faces, which although harmless, is still not very appealing to me.

But I have an even worse confession to make. Several days ago I was listening to some U2 songs and I inexplicably kind of liked them. This has never happened before. I honestly don't know what is happening to me. For the first time, I'm beginning to question my taste in music.

uwe · April 13, 2016, 01:48:45 AM

Don't worry, you're just getting old. You'll grow out of it.

There is a reason why the Edge's guitar orchestra layers and Bono's crooning have their zillions of fans though it never struck a chord with me, the Joshua Tree album being maybe an exception, the tunes on that were just too good.

As for Gwyneth in a Perfect Murder, she played the disenchanted wife (with some survivor instincts!) well in that. But to me her most outstanding performance is the one in 2005's Proof where she plays the psychologically troubled daughter of a once brilliant mathematician gone mad who validates a contested theory of his. Sounds boring, but isn't. Anthony Hopkins puts in a stellar performance too as her dad. And you don't have to like math to like or understand the movie!!!

westen44 · April 13, 2016, 08:25:56 AM

Some of those songs I was listening to were from "Joshua Tree," that's true. However, it really was the first time I've ever been able to realize that maybe their music wasn't quite so awful as I had thought. It's still highly doubtful I'll ever be spending much time listening to U2's music. The thing about this is I actually have made an earnest attempt through the years to understand why people like U2. Now I feel I'm closer and maybe the mystery has been partially solved. Part of it, though, has to do has to do with being able to identify with the lyrics. I'm sure that could be said about many songs from many artists.

As for GP, that movie "Proof" does sound interesting. If I get a chance, I might want to see it sometime.

uwe · April 13, 2016, 12:16:00 PM

If you liked A Beautiful Mind, you should like this. It's basically a play adapted for the screen and doesn't really need more than 4 actors (1. intellectually towering dad that went mad, 2. normal and successful sister with high displacement instincts, 3. not so normal and not so successful sister, yet daddy's girl, wondering whether she needs to go to the funny farm too, and 4. her male math student love interest, all of them casted great in the film version).

Frau Paltrow played it on stage in London for a while before committing to the movie version, maybe that is why her performance is so good.

westen44 · April 13, 2016, 01:16:08 PM

This reminds me of a real life situation in which a friend befriended the daughter of an English professor. It had nothing to do with math, though, but English and philosophy. The movie sounds good. I looked up the playwright. He also wrote the screenplay to "The Lake House."

lowend1 · April 14, 2016, 12:14:49 AM

Never mind that stuff - have we covered this here yet? It's over a year old...
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/gwyneth-paltrow-women-steam-vaginas-article-1.2096571

uwe · April 14, 2016, 04:18:20 AM

Yes, we have, in depth. But steamed clams aren't for everyone.