Appreciation: The Ditziest Greaser
Dody Goodman specialized in comedy. As anyone who saw her muck up Principal McGee’s class schedules in Grease probably surmised.
Goodman’s career dated back to Broadway in the 1940s. For all her creditsnotably, she was an Emmy-nominated performer on Jack Paar’s Tonight Show, and a Fernwood, Ohio, elder in the 1970s cult sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary HartmanGoodman was arguably best known for one word: Grease.
Goodman played Blanche, the scattered front-office assistant, to Eve Arden’s iron-willed Rydell High ruler in the popular 1978 movie musical. The mismatched pair returned for the less-popular 1982 sequel, Grease 2. Arden died in 1990. Goodman kept on, even taking a whirl in the Broadway revival of Grease! in the 1990s.
She was 93 when she died last Sunday at a hospital in New Jersey. Fortunately, Blanche’s smudges are indelible.
Other recently noted passings:
- Kermit Love, 91, was the costume designer from the world of ballet who made Big Bird a big, yellow bird, literally. He also helped create the Sesame Street costumes for Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster.
- Howard Brandy, 79, was a “strong-jawed” publicist, as Variety put it, who was known to cartoon fans, even if they didn’t know it, as the model for the strong-jawed Dudley Do-Right.
- William Vince, 44, produced Capote, and per Canada.com, was the first person thanked in star Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar-night acceptance speech. Recently, Vince worked on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the star-crossed Terry Gilliam fantasy that will go down as Heath Ledger’s final film.
War Of Gods vs. Clash Of The Titans!
As well as discussing 300, producers Mark Canton, Gianni Nunnari and Bernie Goldmann spoke to Collider about another upcoming project of theirs, War of Gods. The movie (not to be confused with the game God of War) is another Greek epic about a war between Gods and humans. They are aiming to start filming at the beginning of 2009, and it will be filmed in a similar style to 300.
Yesterday Variety reported that Warner Bros. have signed The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier to direct their remake of Clash of the Titans. While both War of Gods and Clash of the Titans will have different plots, storylines and subject matter, they both evolve around Greek mythology. This has inevitably caused a battle of epic proportions, with both movies wanting to be released first. If the general public see two trailers for two different movies about similar things, they usually go to see the movie released first. Everyone saw Madagascar over The Wild, and Finding Nemo over Shark Tale. There were also two movies released within a year of each other about Truman Capote. Which one got all the attention and Oscars? The one released first staring Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Obviously other factors contribute, such as the actors and marketing. However, if two movies both include Zeus, Gods and monsters then the one with the earliest release date will have the advantage. At the moment it seems War of Gods has the advantage, as a filming start date is in place, while Clash of the Titans has only just been greenlight with the arrival of Hulk director Louis Leterrier.
May the battle commence!
Angelina Jolie Nominated for Spirit Award
Angelina Jolie Nominated for Spirit Award
She has the cutest kids and the hottest leading man, and now Angelina Jolie is up for a prestigious Spirit Award. Is there anything she can’t do?
It’s not like anyone’s surprised about her acting chops, though. Back in 2000, Ang won an Oscar and Golden Globe award for her role in “Girl Interrupted.”
Dawn Hudson of Film Independent (the giver of the Awards) sung Jolie’s praises at the premiere. “She could make any film she wants. It’s a feat for such a movie star to be so much in that role.”
The complete list of nominees is as follows:
Best Feature:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I’m Not There
Juno
A Mighty Heart
Paranoid Park
Best Actress:
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Sienna Miller, Interview
Ellen Page, Juno
Parker Posey, Broken English
Tang Wei, Lust, Caution
Best Actor:
Pedro Castaneda, August Evening
Don Cheadle, Talk to Me
Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Savages
Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening
Ton Leung, Lust, Caution
Best Supporting Female:
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Anna Kendrick, Rocket Science
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding
Tamara Podemski, Four Sheets to the Wind
Marisa Tomei, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Best Supporting Male:
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Talk To Me
Marcus Carl Franklin, I’m Not There
Kene Holliday, Great World of Sound
Irrfan Khan, The Namesake
Steve Zahn, Rescue Dawn
The Spirit Awards will air live on the Independent Film Channel on February 23rd, 2008.
Gotham Awards Draws Hollywood’s Best
Gotham Awards Draws Hollywood’s Best
Last night in New York City, the Independent Feature Project held the 17th annual Gotham Awards. The year’s best indie flicks were recognized, and plenty of stars showed up to see who won.
Hollywood hotties Maggie Gyllenhaal, Uma Thurman, and Keri Russell all showed up looking fine. And the men were no slouches, either. Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin represented the male gender with pride.
Who were the winners, you ask? Well, Sean Penn’s Film “Into The Wild” won the Best Feature Award, while Michael Moore’s “Sicko” took the honors for Best Documentary.
Don Cheadle’s “Talk to Me” tied with Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” for Best Ensemble Cast.