We Love You, Betty White

Posted on May 8, 2010 at 7:54 pm

Here’s to tonight’s host of Saturday Night Live! Ms. White has been on television since the very beginning, in 1939, when television was just an experiment and no homes had sets. She co-produced and starred in one of the first sit-coms when television began broadcasting, “Life With Elizabeth.” She appeared in an early talk show and in commercials and other series and game shows. And she found romance on television in her real life, marrying Password host Allen Ludden.

My favorite of her roles was Sue Ann Nivens, the “Happy Homemaker” on the fictional Minneapolis television station where Mary Richards produced the news on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Her ribald and often acid humor contrasted delightfully with her dimpled smile and musical voice. She put them to good use as a murderer on “Boston Legal.” Many people remember fondly her addled but always sweet and optimistic Rose on “The Golden Girls.” And she all but stole “The Proposal” from Sandra Bullock. Her faux “behind the scenes” video, where she pretended to be a demanding diva, was far better than the movie it was promoting.

A group dedicated to making her the host of “Saturday Night Live” got half a million supporters. It wasn’t the producer of the show they had to persuade. It was White herself, who had turned down previous invitations to host. She graciously accepted this time, and it is a great way to end the season. If only she could join the cast as a regular!

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MVP of the Week: Aaron Johnson

Posted on April 16, 2010 at 3:57 pm

British actor Aaron Johnson appears in two films that open this week. He plays the title role in Kick-Ass (featuring previous MVP Mark Strong) and he is very good both as the wimpy would-be superhero and the resilient, lithe almost-action star. And we see him in a small but crucial role in The Greatest as the beloved teenage son of Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon and the all-too-brief boyfriend of Carey Mulligan. Witnessed mostly in flashback, he still makes a strong impression, making us feel his loss and connect to those who miss him.

In his next film, Johnson plays John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy.” Here’s a sneak peek:

Tribute: Dixie Carter

Posted on April 11, 2010 at 8:27 am

Dixie Carter, the lovely and elegant star of Designing Women, died yesterday at age 70. I am a huge fan of the show and its portrayal of successful, independent, outspoken women who shared a deep and loyal friendship as well as a thriving business. The show addressed many controversial topics during its run including one of the first sympathetic depictions of a gay man with AIDS as well as many variations of the ups and downs of male-female relationships, aging, loss, family, and racism. It was a rare program set in the urban South. Its theme song was “Georgia on My Mind.”

Carter played the oldest of the group, Julia Sugerbaker, sister of the self-involved beauty queen played by Delta Burke as Suzanne. Carter was known for her outspoken rants on liberal subjects, though Carter herself was quiet and conservative. Her real-life husband, the distinguished actor Hal Holbrook, played her boyfriend in many episodes. Here is one of my favorite moments on the show, where Julia, despite her misgivings about the superficial and undignified aspects of beauty competitions, comes to her sister’s defense.

Some of my other favorites included the women’s impulsive trip to Graceland and the time they came up with an exceptionally clever way to stop the local construction workers from taunting and insulting them as they walked by. And I quote this line quite often:

Carter was also a cabaret performer and appeared on stage. I was privileged to meet her once at a Broadcast Film Critics Association event and it was an honor to be able to tell her how much her performance on “Designing Women” meant to me. She was every bit as gracious and kind as I could have hoped.

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The Brat Packers Are In Their 40’s

Posted on April 10, 2010 at 12:54 pm

A new book by Susannah Gora takes a look at the group of young actors who appeared in the John Hughes films that seemed to define a generation — and certainly changed the way teenagers were portrayed on screen. You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation is the story of Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, John Cryer, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estavez, and Anthony Michael Hall and the movies they made with Hughes and others. It was New York Magazine that termed them “The Brat Pack,” a nod to Frank Sinatra’s famous “Rat Pack” of performers who played Vegas and made movies together in between drinks and parties. Hughes’ movies include The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink (I still want Andie to get together with Duckie!), Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Gora quotes Roger Ebert’s description of writer-director Hughes as “the philosopher of adolescence” and talks about the impact the movies and their music had on the culture and on the teenagers who appeared in them. The highlight of this year’s Oscar ceremony was the tribute to Hughes from his favorite performers, concluding with Matthew Broderick’s just-right thank you: “Danke Schoen.”

You can listen to Scott Simon’s interview with Gora and the brat pack actors she covers in the book on NPR.

Interview: Karley Scott Collins of ‘Amish Grace’

Posted on March 25, 2010 at 3:59 pm

Karley Scott Collins stars in Amish Grace, the real-life story about the Amish community in Nickel Mines, which responded to unthinkable tragedy with compassion and forgiveness. Five little girls were shot and killed and five others severely injured by a man who then took his own life. Hours after the shooting, an Amish neighbor comforted the man’s family. The Amish set up a charitable fund for the family and attended his funeral. Their example of grace and forgiveness has been an inspiring example for people around the world and became a book. And now this movie tells the story.

Karley, just 10 years old, is an accomplished performer, and she spoke to me about her role as the sister of one of the murdered girls.

Amish Grace

Tell me about the character you play in this film.

I play Katie Graber. I’m trying to deal with the loss of my sister, Mary Beth (Madison Davenport), and just like everyone else, I’m having trouble forgiving the man who killed her. And I have guilt because I’m still alive, and I think maybe I shouldn’t have ran out of the school, I shouldn’t still be here. So I have lots of emotions mixing together and I am having trouble with it. If she’s having a hard time forgiving herself than she is not going to be able to forgive others. She has to learn, the reason she forgives, is that Mary Beth when she was dying had forgiveness in her heart. If you don’t forgive him, the only person it hurts is yourself. It doesn’t hurt him, it only hurts you.

Did making the movie teach you something about forgiveness?

I think it’s a really touching movie and it’s really important that you do forgive.

Did you know anything about Amish people before you made the movie?

I didn’t know as much as I do now. I admire them. They just want to be closer to God and I think that’s wonderful. But it would be hard for me because I would not be able to call my friends and my family on the telephone. I like the clothes, though. They have no zippers so they use pins. They are very, very simple, but they are very comfortable. I think that’s pretty cool.

What do you like about acting?

I love that whatever you get in a character becomes a part of you. I love making friends on set and watching it when it’s finished. I find out new things about myself whenever I portray somebody else.

Your mother in the movie is one of my favorite actresses, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. What was it like working with her?

I loved her! In between the scenes she would help me make grass flutes. And everything she did was so real. I really believed she was a mother whose daughter was murdered. And she is so sweet.

Did you get to meet her husband, Brad Paisley?

No, but I did get to go to one of his concerts!

Was there something you saw in a movie or on television that made you want to act?

When I was like five or six, I am not sure which one made me want to act but I loved the Bernie Mac show so it might have been that one. I loved acting like a princess! I had this Aurora outfit and every time I went to Disney, I was Aurora!

What’s the best advice you ever got about acting?

Don’t think about it, just have fun with it!

What do you do for fun?

I love to draw! My favorite artist is Jasmine Becket-Griffith. She draws fairies. I love reading. I fell in love with the Percy Jackson and The Sisters Grimm books. And I love to swim. With my friends we play the Wii, we love Rock Band, and do each other’s nails and dance.

What’s on your iPod?

I love Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. I also love Guns n’ Roses! “Sweet Child o’ Mine” is my favorite. I also like Rihanna and BeyoncÃ©.

You’re in another new movie, based on a true story, “Letters to God.” What can you tell me about that?

It’s about a boy who has cancer. When he dies, his dad finds all the letters he wrote to God. It’s very touching. I play one of his friends, who sits with him every day at lunch. They call me liverwurst girl, because I love liverwurst. And I am in “Open Season 3,” and I play a little deer. It was so much fun! And it’s hilarious. One of my favorite scenes is where there’s a little bear and a rabbit but I can’t tell you any more about it!