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| Emma Thompson, Golden Globes 2014 The "Louboutin-Martini" speech |
The Hollywood award season is underway, and it will culminate on Sunday March 2, with the 86th Academy Awards. For us movie fans, it is a fun time of year.
Some of us get excited about favorite movies; actors and actresses. Others tune in, so they can gawk at designer-clad celebrities, walking down the Red Carpet.
We watch - and occasionally cringe - as TV hosts greet famous guests, pouring out of black limousines.
During the show (it never seems to end on time,) we all yawn at overdrawn speeches; the endless list of "Thank you's;" or the disingenuous declarations: "I did not expect this. I did not prepare a speech…" (You have been nominated. Isn't it part of your job to prepare a speech?)
We watch the prestigious audience laugh nervously at the host's jokes. Some good; some awkward; some plain mean.
We endure commercial breaks. And long musical numbers.
We reminisce about Old Hollywood glamour. Grace, and Audrey. Rita. Katharine. Liz. Never mind that we are too young to actually remember the good old days. The well-oiled Hollywood machine has conditioned us for years. These glamorous stars are part of our lives; almost part of the family.
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| Grace and Audrey, presenters at the 1956 Academy Awards... |
But the good old days are gone. Welcome to the time of hyperactive social media and unbridled paparazzi power! Glamour has faded, replaced by gossip; unflattering photos of celebrities on their coffee runs (Can you picture Grace Kelly toting around her tall, non-fat latte in a Starbucks paper cup?) -- There are so many celebrities (famous for being famous,) and so few artists, it seems. So be it. Times change.
Still, as a long-time movie fan, I am grateful for movie stars, and the stories they tell. I see talent, and on rare occasions, I see grace. I still dream; laugh and cry with them.
This week, as I browsed online, I spotted a few shots of my favorite actors and actresses. And they made me smile. I hope you enjoy them, as much as I did.
Long live le cinéma. Long live Hollywood. This French Girl, for one, will keep watching.
Les complices. Accomplices. Meryl Streep. Julia Roberts. And you thought your family was dysfunctional. If you have not seen them (and the rest of the stellar cast) in August: Osage County, you are missing something. Good friends or consummate professionals promoting a movie? Does it matter?
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| The Blues Brothers had nothing on these two sisters! |
And talking about friends…
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| Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson |
Emma is one talented lady, (Saving Mr Banks, anyone?) and from what I hear, a fun broad. A good mom too.
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| Emma and "Mini-Me" daughter Gaia |
All right. I admit it. Most of my favorite ladies are over 40. or 50. Et alors? So what?
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| Sandra, so happy to see you laugh. Please don't do anything to your beautiful face! |
Of course, I do not forget les Boys. How could I ever forget les Boys?
Look at these two handsome fellows. Real men take their moms to Award shows.
I like them just fine too when their moms are not around…
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| Ben, Ben, Ben… Bradley, Bradley, Bradley... |
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| You clean up nice, Colin F. |
Yes, thank you, movie stars. You can walk around holding a Starbucks paper cup; or look sweaty when you leave the gym; wear no make up as you get their groceries. We like to think you are just like us, professionals; friends; lovers; mothers and fathers…
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| Cate Blanchett and her two leading men Critics Choice Awards, January 2014 |
… but the truth is, you are not . You have that little extra something; the ability to inspire and captivate; the power to make us dream. And that is a good thing.
A bientôt.
I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night, 'There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me dreaming of being a movie star.' But I am not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest.
-- Marilyn Monroe
I love a good movie and I could not agree with you more about the glamour of old Hollywood. It saddens me to think of all of the people who are famous for being famous, sadly some of them have not class, ok many of them.
ReplyDeleteYour favorite leading ladies are also mine. I love the fact that these wonderful women are professional and talented and we do not see their life splashed daily across the tabloids.
Merci, Elizabeth. Aren't *my girlfriends* wonderful? How I would love having dinner (or, if it's Emma,) a Martini, with them, one day… I get the feeling you would not mind either ;-)
DeleteDommage que le passe/the past n'ai pas ete nomine tout de meme....
ReplyDeleteLe Passé… Je ne l'ai pas vu. Je ne sais même pas s'il est sorti à Seattle. C'est dommage. Il ne souhaite qu'à espérer qu'il sorte sur Netflix tôt ou tard…
Deletev you have the absolute best way with words....I do not watch the award shows I do not really know why I do not and most of my movies well really all of them are viewed at home (Netflix)-but I love a good story -I have trouble with suspense or action packed films I get too "keyed up" but I do love interesting plots and the twist or two-we are in the middle of another deep freeze and this was the perfect ending way to end the day after shoveling....enjoy the rest of the week dear v-
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup g. So we are both Netflix customers :-) I do make the most of my subscription, that is for sure. So sorry about your weather on the East Coast. I would absolutely hate that much cold. I think Netflix, with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa, is the way to go, don't you? I can recommend a few French movies that recently came out. In fact, I just thought of a new post idea for next week. Hang in there, g, help is on its way! :-)
DeleteCANNOT WAIT-yes yes to the recommendations-- right you are-- coffee and film; right now Agatha Christie-Death in the Clouds(a poirot mystery) on a side note a local museum in a suburb of Philly is having an exhibit of Grace Kelly's cloths etc-a styling type of thing-will let you know how it is -a Philly girl-she would cringe at my saying that-PHILADELPHIA--sounds better don'tcha think ;-) waiting with baited breath for the next post/film selections!! as always thank you-for your art-of writing!!!
DeleteOhhhh… I would *love* attending that exhibit. Do let me know what they had there, please, g. You will be the fearless reporter this time! :-)
DeleteJe ne suis pas très fan du cinéma américain actuel, par contre, celui de Grace et Audrey me fait encore rêver, c'est certainement une question d'age.
ReplyDeletePeut-être Alain, peut-être… Moi, j'ai toujours aimé le cinéma, et je ne suis pas trop regardante sur l'époque des films, ou leur pays d'origine… Merci de votre visite !
DeleteUn bien joli post qui va ravir tous les fans de ciné, dont je suis, tu le sais . HA, Bradley, Bradley, Bradley... :o)
ReplyDeleteIci, nous n'avons que de petits morceaux des cérémonies. A une époque , je me levais à 3h du matin pour regarder les oscars en direct sur Canal!
C'est vrai qu'il y a moins de glamour, que les stars paraissent plus proches de nous à cause d' internet, des medias, que c'est plus difficile de trouver de vrais bons films ou de vrais bons acteurs...Mais l'essentiel est de pouvoir continuer à rêver grâce au cinéma . Et ça, ça n'a pas de prix!
Bisous et à bientôt!
Ah, je pensais bien qu'il te plairait, celui-ci, Marie. Je sais que nous partageons une passion commune pour le [bon] cinéma américain et les grandes stars… Et comme tu le soulignes très justement, certains d'entre nous continuent de rêver et de s'évader grâce au cinéma, alors tout va bien. Bisous (le soleil est revenu sur la Côte, je crois…)
DeleteWhat wonderful images you've collected here! Love them all!!!
ReplyDeleteMerci Heather. I was hoping my readers would like these images too. Glad I was right :-)
DeleteEmma Thompson was great, like a breath of fresh air! And I had never seen those photos of Audrey and Grace before, how lovely. Thanks for posting them!
ReplyDeleteEmma rules! A beautiful English rose she is! Thank you for visiting and for leaving a message... Come back soon.
Delete"Personalities" is what I call some actors who become famous WITHOUT being good at their craft, but "celebrities" is a good word too. A lot of those "celebrities" are just good at promoting themselves, hiring the most expensive publicists, stylists…
ReplyDeleteI love Emma and Meryl! They are not only good actors and nice, they also choose their scripts very carefully. In the true sense of the word, they are pros and deserved awards and oscars...
"Personalities." I like that a lot, Nadege. And of course, you get to meet a lot of them in sunny Los Angeles, in your line of work. Have you ever met Meryl or Emma? I certainly would enjoy doing that! Thank you for stopping by...
DeleteDearest Véronique,
ReplyDeleteBoth of us (my husband Pieter and I) are quite illiterate about movies of the last two decades. Due to our extensive travel we were mostly gone, somewhere else in another continent. That's one reason for not being able to keep up with it and frankly, I don't even admire those late so-called movie stars. A few exceptions like I LOVED Patrick Swayze and maybe a few more. But there is no class, no style and all the glamour looks so FAKE! They certainly are bad role models for our young(er) generations. We used to get carried away when watching old day movies and cried. You watched them over and over again, without any loss of admiration. That is gone and as a matter of fact, being an International Consultants has made us more often feel embarrassed for the USA exporting all that Holywood crap. Most of you have never worked in so many countries as we did in all continents but if you would have, you would have felt embarrassed too. THAT'S how those countries look at the USA; judged by the poor, very poor image these Holywood 'stars' left for us.
Hugs,
Mariette
Well, that's depressing, Mariette, and I can see your point, but I like to think that Hollywood also exports great movies, like "Saving Mr Banks;" or "August: Osage County." You should go and see them now that your traveling days are over. You might enjoy them :-)
DeleteFun wrap up. I loved watching the Golden Globes. Really looking forward to seeing Osage County, love both of those women {and every other one you showed.. Audrey, Grace, sign}.
ReplyDeleteAh, so you watch those shows too… :-)
DeleteWhat a fabulous photo of Audrey and Grace (who will be featuring on my blog next week!) I love the old school glamour. You have included many of my favourites here, Meryl, Julia, Emma not forgetting Bradley of course who really impressed me with his French in one of your much earlier posts. There have been TV advertisements for 'August: Osage County' this week and it's a film I intend seeing. (I would prefer to se it in our local old-fashioned cinema but we may have to be a little patient as the modern multi screens have the new films first) I like the Marilyn Monroe quote which is new to me - another coincidence too as there is a photo of her on my blog post this week too!
ReplyDeletehttp://missbbobochic.blogspot.co.uk
Great minds think alike, miss b. Great minds think alike… :-)
DeleteLike you, I prefer old-fashioned movie theaters, but here in suburbia, we have to drive to the *big* city to find one… or we have to be ok with the giant local cineplex (neon lights are bad enough, but the popcorn smell… Ewwww… :-)
Will pop over to your blog to see the posts you mentioned. A bientôt !
I am, indeed, old enough to remember all those fabulous Ladies (with a capital "L"), and I miss them terribly. Hollywood will never be the same without them. I do love Emma Thompson, as does Dan, although am not wild about her blonde hair. I don't think it suits her. As to the wonderful Sandra Bullock, unfortunately, your plea comes a little too late. It's obvious, at least to me, that she's already had some work done on her face, but, so far so good. Hope she stops before she ends up in Meg Ryan territory. How utterly sad to ruin that adorable face.
ReplyDeleteGreat post comme d'hab, ma chère.
Big bisous, M-T
Bonjour M-T. Well, Emma should listen to you. Style is your specialty, after all :-) I think I'd like her even with a ski hat on, but I am a bit biased. Agreed about Sandra Bullock. My comment was a bit cheeky. She needs to stop whatever she is doing, or things might get ugly. A bientôt M-T. Hugs to Dan.
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