RECENTLY VIEWED: MICHAEL

Growing up in the 1980s, Michael Jackson was everywhere. My sister loved his music, and we both grew up with the Jackson sound. This past weekend with my daughter we went to see the Michael Jackson bio pic Michael. It follows the life of Michael Jackson, covering his involvement in the Jackson 5 in the 1960s to the Bad tour in the late 1980s. Jackson is portrayed by his nephew Jaafar Jackson and as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi, both in their film debuts. The supporting cast includes Nia Long, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo.

Development began in November 2019, when it was reported that the producer Graham King had secured the rights to produce a film about Jackson, with Logan attached to write. Lionsgate announced the film in February 2022. In January 2023, Fuqua was announced as the director and Jaafar was cast as Michael. Further casting took place from January to April 2024. After delays caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, principal photography took place between January and May 2024. After a clause was discovered in a legal settlement, references to the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson were removed, the third act was revised, and reshoots took place in June 2025.

The result is a really great movie. The movie ends in 1988, before the dark side of Michael Jackson's life happens. The end of the film leaves an opening for a sequel, but I would much prefer it to end here. The movie shows the abuse that Michael had to endure at the hands of his father. His father is played by Colman Domingo, and Domingo should win an acting award for his portrayal of Joe Jackson. Yes, there was a dark side of Michael Jackson, and not to take away from that, but the movie does an excellent job laying the ground work for why possbily Michael Jackson did what he did in later years. If you like Michael Jackson or solid movie biographies, then I think you'll enjoy Michael...

MY RATING: 9 out of 10

MARION COTILLARD AS EDITH PIAF

Marion Cotillard was chosen by director Olivier Dahan to portray the French singer Édith Piaf in the biopic "La Vie en Rose" (2007) before he had even met her, saying that he noticed a similarity between Piaf's and Cotillard's eyes. Producer Alain Goldman accepted and defended the choice even though distributors TFM reduced the money they gave to finance the film thinking Cotillard wasn't "bankable" enough an actress, preferring Audrey Tautou, hot from appearing in "Amélie" (2001) to play Piaf. Dahan was willing to reduce his budget by $5 million to get Cotillard.

To help portray Piaf, Cotillard shaved back her hairline and shaved off her eyebrows, which were later penciled in, to better resemble the singer. She shrank her body from its petite 5'6" frame to Piaf's minuscule 4'11" stature by crippling and curling her form. When Cotillard played the older Édith Piaf, make-up could take up to five hours.

"I couldn't leave the character on 'La Vie En Rose.' It was weird because I used to kind of judge actors who would stay in character on set or who would have a hard time leaving the character behind when the movie was done. I had this very dumb idea that "Okay, it's a big part of your life but it's your job. Go home and go back to yourself." It turns out it's not that easy. In the process I was in character almost all the time. Even when I went home, there was something that was not entirely me."

Cotillard's performance earned her several accolades including the Academy Award for Best Actress — marking the first time an Oscar had been given for a French-language role — the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the César Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance. The film also won the Academy Award for Best Makeup, the BAFTA Award for Best Makeup, Costume Design, Film Music, four additional César Awards and grossed $86.3 million worldwide...

RECENTLY VIEWED: SATURDAY NIGHT

 

Wow, I just had the opportunity to watch the excellent film Saturday Night on Netflix. What a great movie! Saturday Night is a 2024 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, about the night of the 1975 premiere of NBC's Saturday Night, later known as Saturday Night Live. The film stars an ensemble cast portraying the various Saturday Night cast and crew, led by Gabriel LaBelle as the show's creator and producer, Lorne Michaels. Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J. K. Simmons also star.

On October 11, 1975, up-and-coming producer Lorne Michaels arrives at NBC Studios in New York City to prepare for the airing of the first episode of NBC's Saturday Night.

The evening is fraught with accidents and a dysfunctional cast and crew. Michaels' boss, Dick Ebersol, warns him that David Tebet has brought executives from across the country to come and view the broadcast. Despite Tebet giving encouraging words to Michaels, Ebersol makes it known that Tebet has no faith in the show and is ready to replay a taping of an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to fill in the time.

Garrett Morris, who has a background in operatic theater, ponders his place among a cast of comedic performers; John Belushi remains detached from everyone and constantly initiates fights; Jim Henson complains over how his Muppets segment is being treated by the writers; the writers themselves are at war with censor Joan Carbunkle and her demands; host George Carlin thinks the whole show is a sham; and everyone is trying to figure out what exactly the show is about. Meanwhile, Chevy Chase confronts Milton Berle when he begins to hit on his girlfriend, Jacqueline, gets told off and is warned that he will become nothing. Michaels soon receives a call from Johnny Carson himself, who gives a very unsupportive warning.

Despite Michaels warning him not to, Ebersol attempts to sell the idea of performing a sketch with a Polaroid camera for product placement purposes. Belushi becomes enraged and storms off set with the intention of quitting. As everyone looks for him, assistant Neil Levy is given a joint by Paul Shaffer and panics, locking himself in a closet. He is eventually coaxed out by the cast. To ease the stress, Michaels heads to a local bar, where he comes across comedy writer Alan Zweibel and hires him on the spot to become a writer on the show. He, along with Gilda Radner, later find Belushi ice skating and convince him to return to the show and sign his contract. Michaels is further motivated to continue with the show after having a brief chat with Henson.

Tebet arrives, demanding that the show be shut down unless Michaels shows him exactly what it entails. Andy Kaufman performs his Mighty Mouse skit, which makes everyone laugh. Michaels then tells Chase to take over Weekend Update, which he had planned to host himself. Chase does an impromptu version of Weekend Update using Zweibel's newly written material, which lands. The audience arrives and fills the venue as cast and crew finish all the sets and get into place. Tebet allows the live show to proceed on air. Michael O'Donoghue and Belushi perform the Wolverine sketch, which is well received by the audience. In the film’s final moments, Chase enters the scene and announces, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

Nicholas Braun amazed me in a dual role as Jim Henson AND Andy Kaufman. He gained fame on the HBO series "Succession". The real scene stealer for me was J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle. He not only captured how Berle acted but he looked so much like him. The whole cast did well, and while they were not the famous first season cast, they all resembled and acted like the original stars enough that you forgot for a moment this was a bio film and not a documentary. I recommend this movie for anyone who was a fan of the early Saturday Night Live, and also just a fan of a good biographical film...

MY RATING: 9 OUT OF 10

RECENTLY VIEWED: MAESTRO

Last night I watched the movie bio Maestro, which was the biography of conductor Leonard Berstein. I was amazed that actor Bradley Cooper, not only starred in the film but produced it, directed it, and co-wrote it. It was an amazing accomplishment in cinema. The film centers on the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein, played by Cooper, and his wife Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan. The supporting cast includes Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, and Sarah Silverman. The film was produced by Martin Scorsese, Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Fred Berner and Amy Durning.

The movie flashes back and forth between from 1940s and 1950s; when he was an upcoming composer and conductor, and when he met his wife, to the 1970s and then even later to the 1980s. The romance between Berstein and his wife really touched me. However, the movie did not shy away from how his fame hurt their marriage as well as his bi-sexual affairs. Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan deserve to win an Oscar for their portrayal of these complicated characters.

The project had been in development at Paramount Pictures, with Martin Scorsese initially planning to direct the film. He stepped down as director to work on The Irishman, allowing Bradley Cooper to join the film in May 2018 as director and to star as Bernstein. Scorsese continued as producer alongside Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was also initially considering directing the film and had approached Cooper to star, but offered the director position to Cooper after a screening of A Star Is Born. In January 2020, the project was moved to Netflix, with filming expected to begin in 2021.

Although Netflix does not publicly report box office grosses, IndieWire estimated the film made about $200,000 from eight theaters in its opening weekend (and a total of $300,000 over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), which would make it the most successful debut for the company since at least 2019. The movie has mostly received great reviews. other than a little controversy in regards to Bradley Cooper using a large prosthetic nose to portray Bernstein, who was Jewish, was criticized by some as an example of "Jewface", Bernstein's children defended Cooper's use of prosthetic makeup to portray him, stating that they worked with Cooper throughout the filmmaking process and that their "dad would have been fine with it."

It is hardly noticeable, and I am amazed at how Cooper was able to become Leonard Bernstein. It is one of the closest physical portrayal of a real person on film since Robert Downey Jr played Charlie Chaplin in 1992's Chaplin bio film. The movie does a good job of having you like as well as hate Leonard Bernstein. He was severely flawed as all geniuses are, but he truly loved his wife. I have to admit by the end of the movie, to my wife's annoyance, I had a look in my eye looking at her and realizing how lucky I am. Even though I think this is a great movie, the movie is shot a little artsy for my tastes and is sometimes hard to follow, but the acting is superb. I never followed the career of Leonard Bernstein much, but I learned a lot about him just from this film. Bravo Bradley Cooper!

MY RATING: 9 out of 10

RECENTLY VIEWED: BLONDE

I think I have only stopped watching a movie two or three times without finishing it. Even the worst movies like Jaws 3, I am usually able to suffer through. However, for the Marilyn Monroe biography Blonde, which was shown on Neflix, I had to turn it off. It is an unwatchable piece of film garbage. The film is a fictionalized take on the life and career of American actress Marilyn Monroe, played by Ana de Armas. The cast also includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, and Julianne Nicholson.

Along with shifting aspect ratios, most of the film is presented in black and white. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, Brad Pitt, and Scott Robertson produced the film, which, after a lengthy period of development that began in 2010, entered production in August 2019 in Los Angeles. Production wrapped in July 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The film also garnered controversy and notoriety for its lead casting, graphic sexual content, and status as the first NC-17-rated film to be released via a streaming service.

Blonde premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2022, and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 16, 2022, before its streaming release on September 28, by Netflix. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with De Armas's performance being praised, while Dominik's depiction of Monroe's life was criticized as being exploitative, sexist, and dehumanizing.

Real footage from Monroe's filmography is used in this movie mixed in with scenes recreated by Ana de Armas, who was placed in the films All About Eve (1950), Don't Bother to Knock (1952), Niagara (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and Some Like It Hot (1959). Andrew Dominik said that he initially didn't get permission from MGM to use footage from their films, so he had to shoot backup versions, such as for the scene with de Armas and Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot, which he shot with an actor playing Curtis in case he couldn't get permission to use the original footage. Dominik was allowed to use the footage after an MGM executive got fired and was replaced by Michael De Luca, who finally gave him permission to use it.

The only good part about this movie was Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe. She was perfect in the role, but the plot is horrible, and the movie was graphic just for the sake of being graphic. Don't waste your time on this horrible film. It will be 166 hours of your life that you will never get back...

MY RATING: 2 OUT OF 10

SPIDER-MAN ACTOR TO PLAY FRED ASTAIRE

“Spider-Man” star Tom Holland is swapping his web-shooters for dancing shoes. The 25-year-old officially confirmed on Sunday that he’ll portray legendary actor, dancer and singer Fred Astaire in an upcoming biopic for Sony.

In a recent profile for GQ, Oscar-nominated producer Amy Pascal teased that she wanted Holland for the part of Astaire in the forthcoming movie, as well as another trilogy of “Spider-Man films.” But during an interview with AP, at an event promoting the upcoming “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Holland confirmed that he’ll step into the entertainer’s dance shoes for the project, which is still in its early stages.

“The script came in a week ago,” Holland told reporters. “I haven’t read it yet; they haven’t given it to me.”

Pascal has received the script though, Holland noted. “She FaceTimed me earlier. I was in the bath,” he said with a laugh. “And we had a lovely FaceTime, but I will be playing Fred Astaire.”

News that Holland will take on the persona of the iconic song and dance man comes as little surprise, given his own background as a performer. Holland began his acting career on the London stage, playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical on the West End from 2008 to 2010.

Then there’s the now-viral clip of Holland performing on “Lip Sync Battle” in 2017, where he sang and danced to a mashup of “Singin’ in the Rain” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” Sure, that number was Gene Kelly’s showcase in the 1952 musical, but it certainly got the point across that Holland’s dance skills were undeniable.

Touted as the one of the greatest popular music dancers of all time, Astaire starred in more than 30 film musicals, in addition to his stage career on Broadway and the West End over the course of a seven-decade career. Astaire is usually remembered for his pairings with Ginger Rogers, who starred in several films with him, including the classics “Swing Time,” “The Gay Divorcee” and “Top Hat.”

The Holland-starring movie is not the only Fred Astaire project in the works at the moment. Jamie Bell (who coincidentally originated the role of Billy Elliot in the Oscar-nominated 2000 movie) will play Astaire opposite Margaret Qualley’s Ginger Rogers in an upcoming movie from Amazon Studios and Automatik. Bell and Qualley will also produce the biopic, which traces the dance duo’s partnership, starting with “Flying Down to Rio” in 1933 and ending with “The Barkleys of Broadway” in 1949.

Until it’s time to suit up as Astaire, Holland is focused on his latest outing as Peter Parker in Sony and Marvel’s “No Way Home,” his seventh appearance as the web-slinging superhero...

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RECENTLY VIEWED: JUDY

I was off today so I went to see the new film biography of Judy Garland called simply Judy. It starred Renée Zellweger. I have to admit I am not a Zellweger fan, and the last movie I saw her in was 2002's Chicago, which was also a musical. Renee Zellweger did not just do well as Judy Garland in the film, she became Judy Garland! I am so glad I took the time to go see the movie, all be it by myself. It was a great movie experience that I have not had in a long time.

The film uses flashbacks to tell the story of how young Judy Garland became worn out Judy Garland. The head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer tortured the young Garland, and the studio was first responsible for getting Judy hooked on drugs and afraid to eat. They called her ugly and fat, and Mayer made it out like Judy was his favorite, but all she was to the studio was a money maker. Mayer has been dead over sixty years, but I hope he is rotting in hell for what he did to Judy Garland and many other young stars at MGM.

Most of Judy takes place in late 1968/early 1969. By this time, even though Judy Garland was only 47, she had burnt most of her bridges. No record company or big name venue wanted to use her. She had gone through four husbands, and all she wanted to do was be with her children. To do that she needed to make some money, so she embarked on a strenuous stint in London, England. The English revered Garland much like the French did for Jerry Lewis. Judy by this time could not function without her pills and booze. The first few performances turned out well for Garland, but soon her old demons got the best of her. The movie ended like Judy's own life did, on a sad note.

Judy Garland and fifth husband Mickey Deans

There is not much wrong with this film. I was nervous to hear Renée Zellweger do her own singing. I mean who can compare to the singing of Judy Garland, but she does a great job. She did not imitate Garland which was wise, but she did her own version. There were a couple mistakes in the movie. In a flashback scene with a young Judy and Mickey Rooney in the late 1930s a song from 1953 is heard in the background. There is some changes to the story about the marriage of Judy to piano player Mickey Deans (her fifth and final husband). The film had that they got married during her performances in London, but they got married after. Also, the film depicted Mickey Deans leaving Judy, when in reality he stayed with her, and it was he who discovered Garland died on the morning of June 22, 1969.

Still, this film is one of the best movies I have seen in years. I went during an early matinee showing, and the theater was nearly sold out. It was filled with mostly older women, but I was happy to see some couples, and some people younger than I. If you love Judy Garland go see this movie. If Renée Zellweger does not win the Oscar for Judy, then it is the biggest rip off since Judy Garland herself did not win the Oscar for 1954's A Star Is Born. The movie Judy is a film biography that should not be missed...

MY RATING: 10 OUT OF 10

COMING SOON: THE NEW JUDY GARLAND FILM

It's admittedly pretty early to start making Oscar predictions for 2020, but if you feel so inclined, Renée Zellweger is looking solidly like a Best Actress contender for her performance in the biopic Judy. Chronicling the final year in the tumultuous life of Judy Garland, the film will depict Garland's struggles with addiction, depression, and stage fright, as well as her relationship with her fifth husband Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock). It'll also be released in late September, a.k.a. right in the thick of For Your Consideration season.

The film is slated for release in U.S. theaters on September 27, 2019 with Zellweger is, of course, the star of the show as Judy, and her remarkable transformation is clear in the photos and trailer that have been released so far. 17-year-old British actress Darci Shaw plays the younger Judy. Rufus Sewell plays her second husband Sidney Luft, while Finn Wittrock plays her fifth husband Mickey Deans, and Michael Gambon plays manager Bernard Delfont, who managed the London nightclub where Judy performed her last concerts.

In case you're not familiar with the extraordinary real story of Garland's life, she started acting as a child, and became famous practically overnight at the age of 20, after starring as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. She subsequently struggled throughout her life with depression and drug addiction, and died at the age of 47 from an accidental drug overdose.

Judy takes place in 1968, the year before Garland's death, and focuses on her final series of concerts in London. Here's the full synopsis as reported by Deadline:

Set in winter 1968, the story takes place 30 years after Garland played the iconic role of Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz. When she arrives in Swinging London to prepare for a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town, she battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans, her soon to be fifth husband. And yet Garland is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood and gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids.

In other words, it sounds like this movie is going to break your heart.

“When there’s a better understanding of what it takes for a person to continue under certain circumstances there is a level of empathy and respect that you can’t help but feel,” Zellweger told People about the role. "What she had to overcome in a time when women didn’t necessarily feel that they had power over their own lives in the way that we do today. That stayed with me and I hope folks will be moved by that as well.”

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CATE BLANCHETT AS LUCILLE BALL

Cate Blanchett is hotly tipped to win an Oscar for playing the fictional 1950s heroine of Todd Haynes’s film Carol, but her next role could be one of the real life stars of the period: Lucille Ball.

The Australian actor is set to play the American TV sweetheart in a new biopic written by Aaron Sorkin of The West Wing and The Social Network, reports the Wrap.

The film will cover Ball’s 20-year marriage to Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, who also played her husband in I Love Lucy, the first show of its kind to be filmed in front of a live audience.

Ball won four Emmys as a performer and went on to become one of Hollywood’s first female TV executives when she founded the studio Desilu, which produced the original Mission: Impossible and Star Trek series.

Blanchett is no stranger to biopics, winning her first Academy award for her turn as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator.

Audiences will next see her as journalist Mary Mapes in Truth, a newsroom drama about the controversial 2004 CBS report investigating George W Bush’s military service. Blanchett also recently completed films with directors Julian Rosefeldt and Terrence Malick.

The Lucille Ball project has the blessing of Ball and Arnaz’s children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr, who will produce the project with Escape Artists, the company behind the Jake Gyllenhaal drama Southpaw and The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington.

While there was no confirmation from either Blanchett or Sorkin’s camps about the film, Blanchett’s husband, theatre director Andrew Upton, confirmed to Guardian Australia “they have been talking about it for a while”.

“It’s a project that is dear to [Cate’s] heart and a great story to tell,” he said at a theatre event in Sydney on Thursday...

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RECENTLY VIEWED: THE EDDIE CANTOR STORY

After the life stories of Al Jolson and George M. Cohan were turned into successful movies in the 1940s, Hollywood was trying to find their next subject. The life of Eddie Cantor had everything that would make a good movie, and it is one of those movies you really want to like. While the real life Eddie Cantor is seen going into a screening room at Warner Brothers to watch this movie with his beloved wife Ida, you sort of have to wonder what he really thought about it. The story and songs are there, but it is really an imitation of his life with a poorly cast Keefe Brasselle (1923-1981) in the title role. He's sort of creepy for the most part with enlarged eyes that seem to parody Cantor rather than portray him, and even without the eyes, he really doesn't resemble Cantor, with a speaking voice too shrill to match Cantor's real voice for those of us familiar with the real deal.

What starts off as "The Bowery Boys Meet Banjo Eyes" turns into "Cantor Sings Again", covering his discovery by Gus Edwards as a child (after being used by some street gang members to distract audience members from their pick-pocketing), his struggles to get into the "Ziegfeld Follies", and then his moving on to light-hearted book musicals like "Kid Boots" and "Whoopee!". Dramatically, it also tells of his childhood romance with Ida, their issues with his constantly being away, and finally some health issues which threaten to curtail his career for good.

There is also of course, his use of blackface, but it never really goes into detail of why he chose that route since he had been popular as himself. Certainly, that aspect of his entertainment personality is dated now and quite offensive, but it is a part of our history that we can't change and certainly shouldn't repeat. Of course, there's going to be comparisons to "The Jolson Story", and the one good thing which can be said is that Cantor didn't have Jolson's massive ego, and mentions of him in Broadway and Hollywood memoirs describe him as a very giving performer. What is interesting is Larry Parks was supposed to recreate his role as Al Jolson for this Cantor film, but Parks was blacklisted during the Red Scare and was dropped from the film.

Cantor's marriage to Ida (Marilyn Erskine) wasn't nearly as troubled as Jolson's to Ruby Keeler, but the real love of his life seems to have been his delightfully spry grandmother (lovingly played by Aline MacMahon). One very touching moment in the film is Cantor's Follies debut where he looks out into the audience and sees only her.

As Cantor does get to do all his own singing, there are all those great numbers, and Brasselle, at least in the black face, does capture his glove hand clapping and prancing routines downpacked. The various Ziegfeld production numbers, however, seem more 50's in style than 20's and 30's. When the movie came out, it was not successful and many people blamed Brasselle himself. It is not entirely his fault, because it is virtually impossible for anyone else to capture the real Eddie Cantor. (On HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” Stephen DeRosa portrays Eddie very convincingly though).

The soundtrack to the movie is the big draw, and even as Eddie’s health was beginning to suffer in 1953, he still could sing his songs. The movie is not good, but it is worth watching. Eddie Cantor’s personality was so much more than this movie managed to capture. His movies, his recordings, and his generosity to charities and social issues really make one think that Eddie Cantor was the true greatest entertainer of all time...

MY RATING: 4 OUT OF 10…

RECENTLY VIEWED: CHAPLIN

I have to admit, I am a big fan of movie biographies. I even like so called film bios of the 1940s like Jolson Story (1946) - the life of Al Jolson and Words And Music (1948) - the life or Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers. However, I was excited to see my all-time favorite film bio again! The movie Chaplin (1992) I believe is by far the best so-called biography ever to be put on film. The movie is not perfect, but I think Robert Downey Jr was one of the few people able to capture the magic that was and is Charlie Chaplin.

The film was adapted by William Boyd, Bryan Forbes and William Goldman from the books "My Autobiography" by Chaplin and "Chaplin: His Life and Art" by film critic David Robinson. Associate producer Diana Hawkins got a story credit. The original music score was composed by John Barry. It was produced and directed bythe great Richard Attenborough.

The film is structured around lengthy flashbacks as the elderly Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey Jr.) (now living in Switzerland) recollects moments from his life during a conversation with fictional character George Hayden (Anthony Hopkins), the editor of his autobiography. Chaplin's recollections begin with his childhood of extreme poverty, from which he escapes by immersing himself in the world of the London music halls, after which he relocates to the United States.

There are references to some of his many romantic episodes (including Hetty Kelly, Mildred Harris, Georgia Hale, Marion Davies, Edna Purviance, Lita Grey, Paulette Goddard, Joan Barry and Oona O'Neill), his professional collaboration with Mack Sennett and friendship with Douglas Fairbanks.

Downey was not the only great actor in the movie. Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie's daughter, played her own grandmother in the film, and she captured Charlie's mother's decent into insanity very convincingly. Kevin Kline was in great form as Charlie's swashbuckling friend Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Also rounding out the cast was the underrated Nancy Travis as Joan Berry - a troubled woman who accused Chaplin of having a child with her out of wedlock. The child was proven not to be Chaplin's but he was forced to support the child until the baby turned 21.

Although the film was criticized for taking dramatic licence with some aspects of Chaplin's life, Downey's performance as Chaplin won almost universal acclaim. Attenborough was sufficiently confident in Downey's performance to include historical footage of Chaplin himself at the end of the film. The film was lauded for its high production values, but many critics dismissed it as an overly glossy biopic. One critic wrote that the screenplay "endeavors to cover too much ground. The life of Charlie Chaplin was so vast and varied that a film is far too restrictive a format to give it justice.

My major complaint with the film was the make up for Robert Downey Jr that was used to age him to an 80 year old man at the end of the film. At the time of the film Downey was only 27, so to age him over fifty years was a daunting task. However, they made Downey look more like a burn victim than an elderly man. Maybe it is just me, but it does not look realistic. However, that barely takes away from the quality of the film and the portrayal of the subject. My wife is not a silent movie fan. I showed her this movie, and she wanted to watch a Charlie Chaplin movie after seeing it. Everytime I catch this movie on television, I am inspired by the film, by the superb acting of Robert Downey Jr, and by Chaplin himself - who I believe was one of the film industry's greatest geniuses...

MY RATING: 9 OUT OF 10

NICOLE KIDMAN AS GRACE KELLY

More than three decades after her untimely death at the age of 52, movie fans are still in love with Grace Kelly. And the Weinstein Company seems certain that love could add up to some serious box office returns and awards season recognition.

The Weinstein Company announced Monday that they have secured American distribution rights to "Grace Of Monaco," in which Nicole Kidman plays the luminously beautiful movie star who became a real-life princess after marrying Prince Rainier III of Monaco (played in the film by Tim Roth). The film was directed by Olivier Dahan, whose 2007 picture "La Vie En Rose" (about the life of the great French singer Edith Piaf) won international acclaim and earned leading lady Marion Cotillard an Academy Award as Best Actress.

In a statement, TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said, "More than thirty years after her death, Grace Kelly’s story continues to be one of insurmountable allure, and we are so happy Olivier Dahan has brought it new life. As always, Nicole Kidman’s commanding performance is the perfect portrait of a woman who was not only royalty but who also remains a legend of the silver screen and fashion icon."

Weinstein has a reputation for shrewd campaigning for his movies during Oscar season, and during his tenure as head at Miramax, he helped promote "The English Patient," "Shakespeare In Love," and "Good Will Hunting" into Best Picture winners. After co-founding TWC, Weinstein helped do the same for "The King's Speech" and "The Artist." With "Grace Of Monaco" scheduled for a late-December release, Weinstein may well believe this project has just the sort of allure that will add another Oscar to his trophy case (and a few bucks to the studio's bank account).

"Grace In Monaco" depicts an episode in Grace's life during the 1960s in which both her marriage and the stability of Monaco were hanging in the balance, as differences with her husband coincided with a standoff between France and Monaco. Prince Albert II of Monaco has been critical of the film's screenplay, and Monaco's royal family released a statement reading in part, "It recounts one rewritten and needlessly glamorized page in the history of Monaco and its family with both major historical inaccuracies and a series of purely fictional scenes."

"The royal family wishes to stress that this film in no way constitutes a biopic," they added.

Kidman responded in an interview, saying, "This is not a biopic or a fictionalized documentary of Grace Kelly, but only a small part of her life where she reveals her great humanity as well as her fears, and weaknesses."

Director Dahan also weighed in. "I am not a journalist or historian," he said in response to the royal family's statement. "I am an artist. I have not made a biopic. I hate biopics in general. I have done, in any subjectivity, a human portrait of a modern woman who wants to reconcile her family, her husband, her career. But who will give up her career and invent another role. And it will be painful." Dahan added, "I understand their point of view. After all, it is their mother. I do not want to provoke anyone. Only to say that it's cinema."
Regardless of how Monaco's royal family feels, with Kidman in the lead and Roth, Parker Posey, Frank Langella, Paz Vega, and Milo Ventimiglia in the supporting cast, "Grace of Monaco" should be a fascinating look into the life of an international icon, and there's no doubt TWC will see to it we hear plenty about it before the movie opens in December...

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FILM BIOS AND THEIR CASTING

Since almost movies began, the industry was interested in making film biographies of famous people. Especially in classic Hollywood, the movies were not truly factual, but "based on" the life of a famous person. Some of those film biographies like Pride Of The Yankees (Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig) or The Spirit Of St. Louis (Jimmy Stewart as Charles Lindbergh) are famous to this day.

I have always been interested in who can be cast as a famous person. For years I said to people that Kevin Spacey bears a striking resemblance to crooner Bobby Darin. Then Spacey (although too old) made and starred in a movie of Darin's life called Beyond The Sea (2004). My wife gets tired of me constantly telling her I had the idea for the movie even before Spacey did!

Through the years interesting casting has been announced like Tom Hanks as Dean Martin, Forest Whitaker as Louis Armstrong, and Reese Witherspoon as Peggy Lee. As of this article, the movies have not came to be - but the casting ideas are still interesting.

Here are some movie casting ideas I have been thinking about for years and you heard it here first if they ever happen!

STEVE BUSCEMI as PETER LORRE
No two actors in film history are more bug eyed and sickly looking than Steve Buscemi and the great Peter Lorre (1904-1964). Lorre's life might not be the story Hollywood is looking for, but Buschemi could play him. Lorre's later years was filled with constant gall bladder pain and an addiction to morphine, so maybe there is a movie there.

NATHAN LANE as LOU COSTELLO
I think both Nathan Lane and legendary comedian Lou Costello (1906-1959) are truly great entertainers. At one point in Lane's career I think he could have played funny man Costello. The time might have passed now that Lane is in his mid 50s, but I think the similarities and even voice to a degree are uncanny.

HALLE BERRY as LENA HORNE
Berry has already played famous actresses like Dorothy Dandridge (1922-1965), but of all of the great black actresses out there I think only Berry could play legendary singer Lena Horne (1917-2010). When Horne was alive it was proposed that Janet Jackson would play her life, but Horne was against it. Berry of course can not sing, but she can act.

CHRIS ROCK as RICHARD PRYOR
Now I know this is stretching it a bit, but I always thought Chris Rock has more acting chops than his movies have shown. He is a great comedian, and I believe he can capture the essence of fellow funny man Richard Pryor (1940-2005). Pryor's life could make a trilogy of movies not just one film, but again Chris Rock is not yet viewed as a capable dramatic actor.

KELSEY GRAMMER AS JACK BENNY
I am a big fan of both Kelsey Grammer and Jack Benny (1894-1974), and it is amazing at the similarities in the comic styles of both actors. Looking at Grammer on the television series "Cheers" and "Frasier", you see a lot of Jack Benny in Grammer's mannerisms. Grammer even hosted a great special on Benny for NBC in 1995. I am not sure of Kelsey Grammer looks enough like Jack Benny, but I think it would be a great role to do. Unfortunately, Jack Benny was such a nice guy, it would probably be boring doing his life story.

For every great film movie like Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray (2004), there is Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981). Still Hollywood will continue to make film biographies because where else but Hollywood could the town get the best ideas and stories. The stars' lives are often more interesting than the movies they were in.

What casting ideas do you have...

MARY PICKFORD BIOPIC TO BE MADE

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The late Hollywood legend Mary Pickford will return to the big screen in a film based on Eileen Whitfield's biography, "Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood."

Poverty Row Entertainment and producer Said Zahraoui have acquired the rights to the book, which revisits the life of one of the industry's earliest and greatest stars.

"With no intention of creating a conventional biopic, we will use the language of film to hopscotch through time, in order to tell the story of a woman so ahead of her time who was living one of the most romantic love stories of all time," Julie Pacino and Jennifer DeLia, who run Poverty Row, said in a statement. "Mary Pickford's story is one of intense emotion, astute intuition, dedicated artistry, and about the creation of Hollywood."

For those who didn't major in Hollywood history, Pickford was famous both for her work in films like "Pollyanna" and "Rosita," as well as her marriage to Douglas Fairbanks, another star of silent cinema.

The iconic couple surreptitiously began a relationship while Pickford was still married to Owen Moore, later marrying and living at the famous "Pickfair" mansion. The couple eventually divorced.

DeLia will direct and Josh Fagin will adapt the book...

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FORGOTTEN FILMS: BEAU JAMES

Probably one of Bob Hope's least remembered films, BEAU JAMES (1957) was probably one of Hope's most dramatic efforts. In the forgotten movie, Bob Hope plays Mayor James J. Walker. New York City is known for choosing colorful characters for its mayors. One its most illustrious was the wise cracking, dancing and singing Mayor James J. Walker who helmed the Big Apple in the 1920s. This biopic chronicles his surprising rise to power and is adapted from a book by Gene Fowler. Walker owed his mayoral post to Tammany, a powerful political organization that used its tremendous clout to get him installed. Walker, who never takes his job seriously, then becomes a figurehead for Tammany, and while he is in power, corruption in the police force and other city offices runs rampant. Meanwhile Walker wrangles with his lover, dancer Betty Compton (played by Vera Miles), and his jealous wife (played by Alexis Smith), from whom he is separated.

Hope does very well as Walker. He does have a serious role where his flippant jokes match the character. He also shows the right degree of serious behavior, panicked when Betty is spirited away by Paul Douglas and Tammany Hall, or when he tells off the citizens of New York at Yankee Stadium for electing him. But the gaps in the script - the unwillingness to show the uglier side of the corruption - prevent one from taking it too seriously. Hope deserves recognition for his performance here, but he didn't merit (nor receive) an Oscar nomination for BEAU JAMES.

This is a celluloid version of Gene Fowler's valentine to his old chum Jimmy. It tries to make a case that Walker did not realize his taking the bribes/gifts was wrong. Walker knew it was wrong, but he never admitted it - he had been brought up in a city run by the Hall, and he was doing business there exactly as every boodling Mayor of New York had done since the 19th Century. Walker (a good Catholic, presumably) also knew that he was committing adultery when he took up with Ms Compton. Later, after he left City Hall, he divorced his wife and married Betty. Interestingly that marriage eventually failed, although Jimmy and Betty did adopt a girl. Compton died in 1941. Jimmy died in 1947.There was also terrific cameo appearances by stars that met and knew the real May James Walker including: Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, and George Jessel. American prints of this film are narrated by Walter Winchell; in Britain, the film was narrated by Alistair Cooke. One of the most memorable lines is when Walker is asked at a baseball game of a personal conduct scandal was "my comment, and you can quote me is I hope the Yankees win."

While Bob Hope's acting is not really Oscar worthy in this 1957 film, it is his best acting effort. Bob is the star of the fim, but he shares the spolight with the City of New York as well. Jimmie Walker was New York City in the 1920s, and it really comes across here. The movie was not a box office hit, and although Dean Martin recorded the title song, not many people remember this film. It has not been released on video or DVD. Bob Hope, Jimmy Walker, and the City of New York deserve it to be released...