Glenn Close Auctions Her Costumes for Charity

Posted on July 15, 2013 at 3:59 pm

Are you a “Damages” fan? Fancy yourself one of Cruella DeVille’s furry fashions? Glenn Close is auctioning off the clothes she wore as Patty Hughes and many other characters to raise money for her charity combating the stigma of mental illness.

It’s a first for me. But I took this step as a means to fight for awareness of something from which millions suffer — the toxic stigma and discrimination around mental illness. It’s a story I know well because its pain has touched lives very close to me.

Over the past 30 years, I have built up a significant costume collection — from Jenny’s Field’s handmade nurses uniform from “The World According to Garp” (my first film) to the evening gown covered with 10 pounds of beads in which I swept down Norma Desmond’s staircase in “Sunset Boulevard;” from Alex Forrest’s black leather coat to Cruella DeVil’s astounding frivolities; from Albert Nobbs’s bowler hat to Patty Hewes’s brilliant reinvention of the power suit.

Bidding goes through July 19.

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Costumes and Make-Up in the Upcoming “Oz the Great and Powerful”

Posted on February 15, 2013 at 8:12 am

Ever since last summer at Comic-Con, I have been looking forward to the prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” with James Franco, Michelle Williams, and Mila Kunis. Here’s a sneak peek.

Comic-Con: Costumes!

Posted on July 18, 2012 at 8:00 am

My most popular Comic-Con post each year is the one with the pictures of the attendees in costume. I took more than 400 photos, and these are some of my favorites. Those are Playboy Bunny Avengers! You can see Thor’s hammer and Captain America’s shield. Superman is waiting in line to order a hot dog. Not sure who that alien-looking guy or blue lady are, but I recognize the Batman villains, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Nurse Joker (with a Spidey back-pack — a bit of a DC/Marvel mash-up) and of course Superman and Clark Kent. The Steampunkers always have great imagination and attention to detail. And I love the tiny Batman with Daddy Robin.

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Kids’ Toys and Costumes for the PG-13 “The Avengers”

Posted on April 30, 2012 at 3:46 pm

“The Avengers” is a PG-13 superhero movie with “intense sequences of action violence throughout and a drug reference,” according to the MPAA. So why is it marketing the film via action figures and costumes for children? Alert reader Andreas U. kindly brought to my attention that once again the MPAA insists that toys and costumes are not a part of movie advertising and thus not subject to the restrictions they impose on other outreach to underage audiences like commercials during programs directed at kids. “Gamma Strike Hulk,” “Ultra Strike Captain America,” “Mighty Strike Thor” and the others, not to mention the ever-popular Hulk hands, are quite clearly intended to get children under age 13 excited about the movie. The movie’s trailer appears on the site for ordering the toys. This is further proof of the need for an overhaul of the MPAA ratings board.

Comic-Con Costumes

Posted on July 23, 2010 at 6:09 pm

Thoughts on the costumes at Comic-Con, composed as I waited in line for a panel that turned out to be full:
There are those who work all year to look good in spandex and those who do not. It is not hard to tell the difference. Spandex gives, my friends, but it does not forgive.
There is something that is just wrong about superheroes on an escalator. On the other hand, zombies seem right at home.
If you’re going for comfort, try the Obi-Wan Kenobi outfit.
I don’t think you can fight crime in high heels. Superheroine boots with stiletto heels don’t seem right to me.
Props to the men who commit to the Wolverine costume enough to grow the facial hair.
I saw hobbit ears for sale in two sizes, Frodo and Sam. The Sam size is larger.
What does a ninja say to a Jedi? I overheard one asking the other if he had a costume repair kit handy as he needed some superglue.
If I do not recognize the character, I assume it is from a game, not a movie or comic book. Especially if it involves cotton-candy-colored or spiked hair.
Comic-Con costumes are the equivalent of a trending topic on Twitter, a leading indicator of the direction of popular culture. There were fewer Captain Jack Sparrows and Jokers this year, more Katos and lots more of the three green guys — The Green Lantern, the Green Hornet, and Kick-Ass.
It takes some height to pull off the Darth Vader look, but the big guys in the Vader outfits really make it work.
No one should wear Renaissance Faire garb to a Comic-Con. We know you didn’t put that together for this event and it just looks wrong. Steampunk, on the other hand, is most welcome. Love that look, and the people who wear it show excellent attention to detail and an appreciation for natural fibers. Rock on.
Get over it, guys. The utlilikilt is not happening.
I like the way that when I ask people in costume if I may take a picture, they strike a pose.
Kids look adorable in superhero costumes.

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