Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe, by Robert Matzen
Posted on December 21, 2016 at 2:43 pm
Copyright Paladin 2016Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe by Robert Matzen, tells the story of the extraordinary war service of the man we all know as the genial actor who always seemed to exemplify American values. He seldom spoke about his combat missions, so the stories of his war service in this book are new and the impact that experience had are critical in understanding his body of work. the first in-depth look at Stewart’s life as a Squadron Commander in the skies over Germany, and, his return to Hollywood the changed man who embarked on production of America’s most beloved holiday classic, reflecting his more sober, complex, but still hopeful view of the world, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Matzen sifted through thousands of Air Force combat reports and the Stewart personnel files; interviewed surviving aviators who flew with Stewart; visited the James Stewart Papers at Brigham Young University; flew in the cockpits of the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator; and walked the earth of air bases in England used by Stewart in his combat missions of 1943-45. If he had not been an Oscar-winning actor, we would still recognize him as a war hero.
The introduction by film scholar Leonard Maltin notes:
It’s a Wonderful Life was a challenging project for him and his director, Frank Capra. Both of them had been reshaped by the war and were understandably nervous about resuming their careers. It is fitting that Matzen bookends his story by describing Stewart’s return to the world of make-believe that this job represented in 1946.
This is not to say that he was a one-trick pony in the 1930s and early 40s. His earnestness was his stock in trade, but he reveals a comedic cynicism in The Shop Around the Corner and an unexpected sophistication in The Philadelphia Story, which earned him his only Academy Award.
But It’s a Wonderful Life calls on him to express a range of emotions he had never tapped into before. After all, here is a man so overcome by despair and the feeling of failure that he tries to commit suicide. The scene in which he breaks down while sitting at Nick’s Bar was so draining that the actor begged his director not to make him do it a second time. After the first take, Capra wanted to do another and have his camera push in toward Stewart; he accomplished the effect with a laboratory blowup instead.
This meticulously researched book provides important insights into one of the finest actors — and, as we now know, one of the finest combat pilots, in history.
Copyright 2016 Nell MinowKevin Costner almost turned down his role in “Hidden Figures.” Based on the remarkable true story of African-American women mathematicians at NASA in the 1960’s, it is an inspiring, uplifting story of the triumph of intelligence, hard work, dedication, and integrity, despite the powerful obstacles they faced as women of color. But the supervisor character played by Costner was the weakest part of the original script. “My character was one they didn’t have the rights to. So he really was an amalgamation of three people and it read like that. I almost didn’t do the movie because the character didn’t make a lot of sense to me, his contributions weren’t enough to prop up the girls. It was just kind of moving from room to room and saying things that were very contradictory. So when I approached the director about that I said, ‘Look, I like the movie, I think the girls are written beautifully. It’s not an MO of mine to want to increase my part or do whatever but there’s something very schizophrenic about this, and Theodore Melfi said, ‘Well you got me.’ and I said, ‘Okay, explain,’ and he said, ‘I couldn’t get the rights to that character, I spend the least amount of time with him and he is not one person. I know, it reads like three.’ And so I said, “That character doesn’t survive in this screenplay that well and he is also not propping other people up because he is saying some inconsistent things. He is giving some mixed signals. So we don’t have to make him better, we don’t have to make him bigger. We have to make them real.'”
He researched the era to understand how limited the technology was. The film shows the first mainframe computer being installed at NASA at a time when “computer” was the term assigned to the women who performed complex calculations by hand. “That was a first click, it was interesting to see that. It was a very crude time. We tend to think of it as very sophisticated, but my children have some toys at home that are more sophisticated than all the technology they had in that room.”
Even though the technology was very limited, Costner related to the role of a man supervising engineers and mathematicians. “I have technologies that I have supported and own and funded, so I deal with scientists and engineers. So I know what it is like to prop them up so that they can do their best work. I know their mindset and I know that they are not always possessed of managerial skills. They’re very individual and they are very creative. I think of them as artists but they have to be managed. But I can’t talk their language because once I quit doing percentages I was done with math.”
The haircut and the clothing helped him imagine the past, but some elements of the story are timeless. “There some things that are constant when it comes to behavior, when it comes to people who are insecure, who are selfish, who can’t give credit. That kind of person has emerged throughout time, the one that’s insecure, so the men are somehow not allowing the cream of the crop to have a chance. The best are not getting through the eye of the needle because of insecurity, not necessarily racism. There’s a big difference but the reality is, that’s a very human quality. So that existed in the 60’s and racism exists now, too. We can be very pleased with looking back and being happy that the story is told and how absurd it seems that woman had to be off-campus so to speak, how absurd to see that they had to be divided. Then the separate bathroom, the separate coffee pot and things like that. I hope people are feeling how absurd it was. I hope they are feeling a sense of shame because every time they do that means we have a chance to go forward. When they walk out of the theater they just have to hold up a mirror to where we are at today and we can still be found wanting in a very severe way. Ask yourself and then answer honestly. We have come a long way but there are other areas where we’ve just not. We have not evolved enough. There are more evolved people now than ever. There are more people that don’t want to accept racism, don’t want it to be here. There are more people that want to protect the planet now than ever. But the noise of the people that are not thinking that way is just louder. There are more of us than ever but they are louder than ever and it’s disappointing that people can’t have a level of empathy.”
Even with all of his experience and honors, Costner finds something new in every project. “I am still learning. I think I’m a better actor than I was three years ago because I tried.”
Thanks to Rogerebert.com for including my tribute to Viola Davis in the annual round-up of especially memorable performances. Many of these performances were in film that are small-budget or genre and thus are usually overlooked when it comes to awards. Each of the write-ups is a gem. Be sure to check out Angelica Jade Bastién on Natalie Portman, Sheila O’Malley on Trevante Rhodes, Simon Abrams on Stephen Lang, Alan Zilberman on Joel Edgerton, Christy Lemire on Lily Gladstone, Odie Henderson on Hugh Grant, Nick Allen on Tika Sumpter, Noah Gittell on Sarah Paulson, Brian Tallerico on Adam Driver, Sean Mulvihill on Alden Ehrenreich, Scout Tafoya on Gabriel Byrne, and Matt Zoller Seitz on Susan Sarandon.
We mourn the loss of one of the 20th century’s most glamorous figures, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who went from teenage Hungarian beauty queen to much-married movie star and died today at age 99.
Long before social media and personal brands, she was a master of self-promotion, including perpetuating and mocking her own image. She said, “I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” Her nine husbands included hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, actor George Sanders, and the one who survives her, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, who paid a princess to adopt him when he was in his 30’s so he could (arguably) gain a title and who claimed to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s child (he was not). He was more than 20 years her junior.
In later years, her sister Eva Gabor was better known because she starred in the popular television series “Green Acres.” But Zsa Zsa had a lead role in “Moulin Rouge,” directed by John Huston and also appeared in “Gigi” as the subject of the song, “She’s Not Thinking of Me.”
Where You’ve Seen Them Before — Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Posted on December 16, 2016 at 8:00 am
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens today, introducing a whole new set of characters to the extended Star Wars universe, played by some actors who may look familiar.
Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso) appeared earlier this year with Tom Hanks in “Inferno,” but is probably best known for “The Theory of Everything.” Her breakthrough was in the lovely romance, “Like Crazy,” and she played Miranda in the Helen Mirren production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”
My favorite character in the new film is the reprogrammed droid voiced by Alan Tudyk. He is a very successful voice actor — he provided the squawks for Moana’s chicken sidekick and was Duke in “Frozen” and Duke Weaselton in “Zootopia” — but he has also appeared on screen in a variety of roles, from “Firefly” to “A Knight’s Tale.” I especially liked him as a three-card monte carny in “Hearts in Atlantis.”
Another favorite was the renegade Empire pilot played by Riz Ahmed, who had a breakthrough role this year in HBO’s “The Night Of.”
Forest Whitaker is the Oscar-winning actor from “The Last King of Scotland” and has had an extensive and widely varied career in film and television. You may also recognize him from “Platoon” or “The Butler.” I’m especially fond of his performance in “Phenomenon” with John Travolta.
Ben Mendelsohn is an Australian actor of superb skill. He’s made big-budget and prestige films like “Exodus: Gods and Kings” and “The Place Beyond the Pines.” He is superb in a small film with Ryan Reynolds called “Mississippi Grind.” He’s played a lot of bad guys and will play one again in the upcoming Robin Hood movie, starring Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx.
Donnie Yen is one of Hong Kong’s top martial arts superstars. His fight scenes are electrifying.
Diego Luna has been an immensely charismatic actor on screen since “Y Tu Mamá También” when he was barely out of his teens. Be sure to see him in the twisty con man movie “Criminal” and with Sean Penn in “Milk.”
