Harold Pinter is Dead

This post is a late tidbit of news, and the fact that I just saw it is kind of embarrassing. Harold Pinter died on Wednesday.

It seems that more and more posts on my blog are about deaths, which is a shame, because I only post about the deaths of people I admire or care about.

Pinter has a list of accomplishments longer than pretty much any writer of the last century. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote over a couple dozen plays, as well as numerous screenplays. A lot of his work was great. I studied his play 'The Birthday Party' during college and had never been more confused, yet at the same time, desperate to conquer the material. You guys should read it so we can talk about it.

So it goes.

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RIP Paul Newman

Last night another one of the greats died. He was 83.

This is another loss of a super-talented actor. Butch Cassidy is like the only Western I actually like. The Sting is an exceptionally great movie. Cool Hand Luke, The Color of Money, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Verdict.... He will be missed.

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Don LaFontaine Dead at 68

/Film reports that Don LaFontaine has died. This is a real big deal. Let's think about how much this man has done.

Thousands and thousands of movie trailers have used Don as their voice. He's been doing voice work for years and years, meaning his effort has shaped the movie-going experience significantly. He started work in the late-60s/early-70s, which brings him to and through a revolution of the movie promoting industry. Imagine how different trailers would have been over the years without him, and perhaps how many studios would have made millions and millions less dollars. Think of all the trailers that will now come out and have the voice-over done by someone else.

Movie trailers were his forte it seemed, but Don also did thousands of commercials, among other things. I feel like his death will have a more significant impact on the film industry than most think. Maybe it will be more subtle, but it will be there.

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A Little Ledger Talk

Today 'A Knight's Tale' was on TBS. I hadn't seen the movie in a few months, but it's always a pleasure. Sure, it's not a great film. But it's structured well and is very entertaining. Yet, the real reason 'A Knight's Tale' works so well is because of how great an actor Heath Ledger was. Not only could he perform, but he had a kind of charisma that is matched by few actors around today.

The first role I saw him in was '10 Things I Hate About You.' I majored in English, so we all know I love me some Shakespeare. The movie itself was better than most teen comedies of the late-90s era, but even here one could tell that Heath Ledger was a standout. No one else's career in that film blossomed near as much as Ledgers.

He had a small, but important role in 'The Patriot' -- a film I used to enjoy before I knew much about film. 'The Patriot' is mediocre in every sense of the word, but as always, Ledger was great.

'Monster's Ball' is a fantastic film. I do not think Halle Berry should have won the Best Actress Oscar, but I do think Ledger should have been nominated for Supporting. Sure, his role was small, but very touching, and also very crucial to this film.

Let's not talk about 'The Four Feathers' or 'The Order' (though the latter had some good scenes -- the overall film was pretty bad). It's interesting, though, how 'The Order' had the same writer/director as 'A Knight's Tale,' as well as Shannyn Sossamon and Mark Addy, yet turned out so bad.

I never saw 'Lords of Dogtown' and really have no desire to. Am I missing anything?

'The Brothers Grimm' came in with the wave of 'Van Helsing,' 'Underworld,' and the rising of comic book adaptations. Not awful, but not the best film out there.

'Brokeback Mountain' would be the high point of Ledger's career, spare for his final performance. Brokeback is such an extraordinary film.... It really irritates me when people are ignorant enough to call it a 'gay cowboy movie.' Grow up. It's a mature film with some draining performances. Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved his 'Capote' Oscar, but Ledger's Ennis Del Mar will be long remembered.

Ledger did a few more film until we come to the most recent success, 'The Dark Knight.' Heath Ledger as the Joker is easily the best part of TDK. Yes, easily. And TDK is a great film. But there is such an amazing performance here that if he does not win a posthumous Oscar I will be shocked. And he should not win it for sympathy or nostalgia, but because his Joker is the best performance of the year.

What is my point?

Heath Ledger was a great actor. His death is a tragedy. Why must one of the best actors of this generation meet their death so early, whereas countless untalented men continue to make awful films? Who knows.

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RIP George Carlin

Damnit. George Carlin died today (well, yesterday, Sunday) of heart failure. He was 71. And I am sad. He was quite possibly one of the funniest men ever, and his book Napalm and Silly Putty is one of my favorites. A sad, sad event.

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RIP Sydney Pollack

Cancer claims another victim. Sydney Pollack died Monday, which is pretty unfortunate. Though he hasn't directed a movie in a while, he was still giving memorable performances as an actor. Like in that 'Please silence your cell phones' commercial before movies (sponsored by AT&T), and as Patrick Dempsey's dad in Made of Honor.

No, but seriously. This is sad. What's with all these celebrities dying this year? Heath Ledger, Charlton Heston, Sydney Pollack... if Woody Allen dies I'm just going to flip out. Knock on freaking wood.

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Netflix is Heartless

Okay, not necessarily 'heartless,' but here is their description for the movie Waitress:

Written by director and co-star Adrienne Shelly (who was murdered shortly before the film's selection for the Sundance Film Festival), Waitress is a frank and funny examination of the fears brought on by impending motherhood. Keri Russell plays Jenna, a waitress whose fabulous pies are about the only sweet ingredient in an otherwise dreary existence. An unwanted pregnancy, however, brings unexpected romance in this film co-starring Cheryl Hines.

Am I the only one who finds the mention of Adrienne Shelly in the first sentence a bit unnerving? Why is that even relevant? It seems like they're almost using that as a reason to have people choose this movie as their rental.

But in related news, the movie itself was very good. I was surprised, and Keri Russell is great when she's not playing Felicity. I'll give it a 5.5/7.

For further information on Adrienne Shelly's death (unfortunate, indeed), go here.

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R.I.P. Charlton Heston

Tonight I spent the evening watching 'Blood Diamond.' Sadly, when I returned online, Yahoo!'s main story was that Charlton Heston has died. He was 84.

It's always sad when a legendary screen actor dies, even if one isn't too familiar with their work. For me when I hear 'Charlton Heston' I immediately think of 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Ben-Hur,' two great movies. Of course, he's been in many, many other movies (numerous sites mention 'The Ten Commandments,' which I have not seen). I'm a bit too young, but I'm sure my parents are taking this hard. Either way, R.I.P. one more legend from the golden age of Hollywood. Yippee for morbid news.

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This is my 200th update, and instead of being something special or whatever, it is an unfortunately morbid post.

Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84

I know he was done writing and everything, but this is sad news. Vonnegut was one of the few authors I felt attached to (attached being defined as, 'liking more than one-two of their books, and loving at least one of them'). Sigh.

[I'm going to avoid the obvious SH5 joke.]

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Very interesting, coincidental follow-up to the previous post:

Apparently the comparison of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe isn't too uncommon. In the preface to a book I checked out for class, titled Forever England; The Life of Rupert Brooke, by Mike Read, it says, "James Dean made a handful of films, where others have made dozens, yet he remains the cult figure of films. Marilyn Monroe could never be considered a great actress [Jon's note; she was coming around towards the end], yet her name is still on everyone's lips over 30 years after her death."

I think this was in the preface because Rupert Brooke died quite young, and the author of the biography goes on to compare him to other people in music and such. I just think it's pretty interesting that I should find this book the day after I make a post like the previous one, even though our comparisons are for very different reasons--his being to put context on a biography of a moderately well-known poet, and mine being to unbiasedly show why James Dean is overrated. Obviously my insight is much more important.

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I know I'm going to get shit for saying this, but here it goes: James Dean is terrible.

Okay, that was a mild exaggeration, but he's far from the iconic, amazing actor that some people think of him as. I will admit, having two Academy Award nominations by the time you're 24 is pretty amazing, but both of his performances were mediocore at best. Here's a quote I like, from IMDb.

Director Elia Kazan did not believe that Dean would have been able to sustain the momentum of his career. He felt that Dean's career, had he lived, would have sputtered out, as he was not well-trained and relied too much on his instincts, as opposed to his idol Marlon Brando, who, contrary to what people believed, had been very well-trained by his acting teacher Stella Adler and relied on that training to create his characters.

It's pretty well-known that Dean idolized Brando (any aspiring actor should, since Marlon Brando is pretty much the best actor ever), and also pretty well-known that he would just do his thing, and not rely on actual talent or direction. Dean had a very momentary, free-flowing style of acting. Dean also had a really screwed up personal life (which I won't go into details about, just wikipedia it), which naturally makes it tought to maintain a professional career. But real-life details aside, my whole point is this: You can't base someone's status as a 'legend' on three performances, and think that if they had lived, they would've been the best thing ever. It's been amazingly good for his career that he died how he did.

Now, let's compare this to Marilyn Monroe (this is a loose comparison, but bear with me [plus I love Marilyn Monroe, but this is unbiased, I assure you]). Marilyn Monroe died when she was 36, and I think a lot of her appeal would be gone had she lived a normal lifespan (let's say she lived to be 70), because she would've taken roles as an older woman, and not been so much the sex symbol she was. The fact that she died so young stuck her in history as a permanent super-star and cultural icon, much like James Dean; however, Marilyn Monroe made about twenty movies, and as her career progressed, she became more involved, eventually owning her own production company, taking acting lessons, and by the end, other than her notorious unreliability (sickness, missing work, etc.), she was growing immensely as an actress, and genuinely wanted to improve her life.

James Dean was not--he was too busy making freakish phone calls to Marlon Brando in the early morning hours, had already reached a career high point (he didn't win any Oscars [and rightfully so]), and the only place for him to go was down.

If you're someone looking for an idol, or just looking for a great actor who has a good career that spanned more than two decent movies, don't be lazy--watch the works of any number of other legendary actors: Marlon Brando, William Holden, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracey, James Stewart, Clark Gable, Gregory Peck... that's a short list, and only males. There's also plenty of females, probably even more than the guys.

Alright, end of rant.

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Today at about 10:00 in the morning my Dad called, and I was sleeping so I didn't answer, but he left a very serious voicemail about being safe this 4th of July weekend (well, "weekend"). It was a bit odd. My Mom called around 11:30 and told me some tragic news.

Friday night Allison Angerman died in a driving accident to a drunk driver. I'm not very religious anymore, but her father, Ray, was one of the head Pastors at the church I went to. He helped me in lots of ways, both in and out of church. Allison was his daughter, same age as me, and we went to school together.

Apparently Allison was just sitting at a red light at 11:00 at night and some drunk 44 year-old was trying to evade the cops, driving about 70 MPH, and after hitting another car, ran into Allison's stopped vehicle.

She was very intelligent, always caring, and certainly had a great future ahead of her. I can't imagine how her family feels. My heart goes out to them, and I'll be doing everything I can to be at her ceremony.

Obituary

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