3.31.2006

"Anyone That Wears It Becomes A Super Stud" (Homo Heritage Fridays)


From Blueboy: The International Magazine About Men, December 1979, page 66.

Do
we all know the advantages of a cockring?

3.30.2006

Supporting Actress Sundays: Coming Attractions...

It's official:
Supporting Actress Sundays in April will be devoted to (drumroll please) 1958.
  • 1958: Wendy Hiller in "Separate Tables", Peggy Cass in "Auntie Mame", Martha Hyer in "Some Came Running", Maureen Stapleton in "Lonelyhearts", Cara Williams in "The Defiant Ones"
Actually, it was a tie -- smack dabnabbit right between 1958 and 2003 (with 1967 & 1994 just behind). So StinkyLulu had to go all executive-privilege & decide on 1958.

A few things factored into the decision:
1. Michelle Pfeiffer was born in 1958. Seems only appropriate...
2. Maureen Stapleton's 1st (of not 2 but 3) "It's An Honor Just Being Nominated" peformances came in 1958.
3. Lu just snagged a dvd copy of the elusive Some Came Running.
&
4. MrStinky just loves Auntie Mame.
(And -- to you Amir UK, who actually voted against 1958 -- StinkyLulu says sorry!)

For the various aficionados of 2003, StinkyLu may offer some opinage on one or the other of Lu's favorites that year. Plus, because of StinkyLulu's predisposition to gluttony, there may be some comment on one or another great (but unnominated) Supporting Actress performances from 1958.

So, hunker down, lovely readers -- it looks like April will be a hoot.

3.29.2006

StinkyLulu's WednesDAY OF BEAUTY: Lion's Mane


The Lion's Mane • Menaul & Eubank • ABQ • March 2006

3.28.2006

Maureen Stapleton in INTERIORS (1978) - Supporting Actress Sundays

Okayokay. StinkyLulu knows it's Tuesday but sometimes life intervenes. Plus, this dispatch comes to you live from the glory of StinkyLulu's favorite place in all NYC: HousingWorks Bookstore on Crosby Street in SoHo.

So without further ado, it's time for the second installment in StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sundays: Maureen Stapleton in Woody Allen's Interiors.

Interiors is one of those movies that's nearly too excruciating to watch, but remains endlessly fascinating to contemplate. Sorta like a soap opera for folks in therapy. It's barely a surprise that Joel Schumacher did the costumes for this flick (his directorial oeuvre suggests anything but subtlety) -- it's prolly his handiwork that makes Interiors one of those pictures where pretty much everything you need to know about a female character is conveyed by a quick glance at her hairdo.

Geraldine Page as Eve, the mother = severe topknot.
The sisters = Frizzy, Blunt, & Feathered, or Diane Keaton (Renata), MaryBeth Hurt (Joey) and Kristin Griffin (Flyn) respectively.
Finally, Maureen Stapleton as Pearl, the stepmother = Hot Roller.

Again, Maureen Stapleton sticks out like a sore thumb. But, here, that’s the point of the character. Woody Allen’s only tragedy, Interiors is rightly alleged to be an homage to Bergman, what with the the assemblage of contrasting female protagonists, the conspicuous use of mirrors and window panes, and the preciously posed profiles. To StinkyLulu's mind, though, Interiors is most interesting as a study of both structure and character that clears the forest for the genius of Hannah And Her Sisters (1986). But Hannah And Her Sisters derives from a palpably Chekhovian dramatic sensibility (an architecturally configured universe of characters, all impassioned mediocrities, who stagger around and occasionally bump into each other). Interiors, on the other hand, becomes more Strindbergian, a dramatic world in which even the arbitrary intimacies of life bear jagged edges. In Chekhov, it's a sport of survival and stamina even amidst the soulcrushing disappointment; in Strindberg, the mere fact of human connection effects spiritual violence.

In Interiors, Allen's characters turn tragic, in an epic fashion. Geraldine Page's Eve emerges as the voracious Medea-mother, sacrificing her children, devouring them for the lost love of of their father. In comic contrast, Maureen Stapleton’s Pearl blows into this family -- like the proverbial bull in a china shop, even destroying some heirloom crockery along the way. The contrast of Page/Eve and Stapleton/Pearl is stark. Sarah Vowell describes it this way:

“Geraldine Page is all beige this and bland that so her husband divorces her and hooks up with noisy, klutzy Maureen Stapleton, who laughs too loud and smashes pottery and wears a blood red dress to symbolize that she is Alive, Capital A." (Assassination Vacation, 5)


Geraldine Page (who got a Best Actress nom for her Eve) seems oddly miscast here. Sure, she’s doing her patented shtik – the one where she bravely puts forth a mask which is working less and less, and from behind which she peeks with intermittent ferocity. And, to be sure, it can be thrilling to see those ugly emotions lash out from behind those imperfectly maintained façades… Yet, as always, Page's performance seems to dissemble the very illusions that her character needs for her very survival.

Strangely, though, it's Stapleton's performance of a loose sloppy woman that emerges as a marvel of precision and, once again, Stapleton's immediate palpable presentness anchors Pearl as an indelibly Stapleton character. Indeed, Stapleton's Pearl blows like a hurricane into this family of the walking wounded. (See, each of the girls -- Frizzy, Feathered, & Blunt -- is nursing her wounds, as evidence of a lifetime of slights and disappointments.) Maureen Stapleton’s Pearl, on the other hand, is a creature who doesn’t need to be right. And while Pearl can so clearly be hurt (remember Stapleton's stricken expression when Mary Beth Hurt's Joey shreiks and calls her an animal), Stapleton's Pearl provides proof positive of the possibility of healing. And that astonishing fact of life fully-lived tosses the whole family into a fresh disequilibrium.

StinkyLulu's rushing now...
But it's a powerhouse performance, Stapleton's Pearl. And just as Pearl breathes life into a nearly drowned Joey, so too does Stapleton infuse this odd Woody Allen marvel with a profound and powerful force. That Maureen, she could be real good.

3.25.2006

Don't Fergit to VOTE for April's Supporting Actress Sundays!!!

Sitting here in the ABQ Sunport, readying to board a flight eastward. (In case you're wondering, StinkyLulu still hates flying Southwest.)

But Lu did want to put out (!) another plea:
Don't fergit to cast your vote for April's Supporting Actress Sundays. The votes already cast (thanks!) have the race in an even 8-way tie... So, help???

(And if the internet goddesses are kind, StinkyLulu should be able to post this week's Supporting Actress homage to Maureen Stapleton in Woody Allen's Interiors, 1978. Keep your digits crossed.)

3.24.2006

Cupcakes!

Yes, lovely readers, it's been a strange swim...
Funerals. Flaming Assholes. And now:
FROSTING!


After months of tempting, taunting & teasing rumors, ABQ has its own Cupcake Shop! (Melissa over at Cupcake Planet will be proud...) Introducing...
Cake Fetish!

(Pic of "Cupcake Carrie" by Marilyn Martinez via DukeCityFix)

So. Lu's thinkin' that the Stinkys might try to make a grab for a fancypantsy NYC cupcake on Tuesday and then run a taste test when back in the 'Querque on Wednesday. Somethin' to look forward to, in any case.
(Cuz ya know: when times are trying, few things are happier than a carefully crafted cupcake...)

The Flaming Asshole (Homo Heritage Fridays)


From Blueboy: The International Magazine About Men, August 1981, page 65.

3.23.2006

Miss Lulu Regrets...


Stevee Postman's "Nitegarden" from the Incarnation Series, circa 2003.

Lovely Readers,

There may be some disruption in StinkyLulu's postings over the next few.
MrStinky's eldest brother passed away just before noon in New York City on Thursday, March 23. As soon as circumstances permit, Lulu'll be joining MrStinky & his family in New York.
Be sure to share your love today.

Blessings,
StinkyLulu

3.22.2006

StinkyLulu's WednesDAY OF BEAUTY - Hair Fashions WIGS

Today seems like one of those days, the kind where a whole new persona might feel mighty fine... So Lulu offers you:

Hair Fashions Beauty Salon WIGS ~ San Mateo & Menaul ~ ABQ ~ March 2006

What kind of wig would help you through today?

3.20.2006

Cher Does West Side Story?!?

StinkyLulu's been thinking about Cher today. (Can't think why...)

So just imagine Lulu's surprise when what should arrive in today's mail? But Cher's 1998 "stream of consciousness" (aka ADD) autobiography, The First Time.

It was sorta a surprise cuz Lulu got it via PaperBackSwap -- StinkyLulu's latest bookfiend obsession -- so, even though Lulu ordered it, the vicissitudes of media mail mean that one just never knows when which wondrous tome will arrive... And lo, today, it was CHER!!!

But, lovely reader, StinkyLulu needs your help!
On page 37, LaCher shares (say that 3-times-fast!) about "My First Broadway Fantasy":
My mom loved to buy cast albums...but my favorite was West Side Story. The others were period pieces with older characters, but West Side Story was about young people in a modern setting; I could relate to it. I'd never been to New York, and the movie version didn't come out till years later, but I could look at the album cover and visualize the rest.

I was shy but I loved to put on shows for my mother and sister. Except for West Side Story; that one was always private for me. I'd wait till nobody else was home, and then I'd turn up the volume on the record player full blast, and I'd dance around the living room singing all the parts. I identified with every character, not just the women. It takes a long time to learn a whole cast album, and I kept working on that musical for months. I never showed it to anyone, not even my mom. Years later, I played all the parts of West Side Story in a TV special I did. (Those months all alone in my living room really paid off.
Cher? All the parts in West Side Story? Wowiekazowie!
Does anyone know which Cher special this happens in?
StinkyLulu needs to know...

3.19.2006

Maureen Stapleton in AIRPORT (1970) - Supporting Actress Sundays


Watching Maureen Stapleton among the huge cast in Airport (1970) feels at times like a cinematic version of that game/song they used to do on Sesame Street: One of these things is not like the others..."


Nifty pic via Castastrophe In The Movies

Stapleton plays Inez Guerrero, the incrementally hysterical wife of the guy who's trying to take down Trans Global Airline's flight 2 to Rome -- you know, the really sweaty, totally twitchy schlub in 23A who's clutching his attache case with a curious intensity? LaStapleton starts out the flick normal enough; indeed, her first scene, in the coffee shop where she waitresses, plays like someone in the projection booth switched in a reel from another picture. The boozy banter & cosmopolitan cast is suddenly shoved aside for Stapleton's sweet, exhausted, loving Inez. Stapleton's work in this first scene is a master-class in how to make the most banal, expository dialogue rich with emotion and revelatory of character. Even more than Brando's glove bit in On the Waterfront, Stapleton's first scene in this popcorny pic -- simple yet complex; electric with emotional clarity -- is exemplary of what Actor's Studio types contributed to the craft of screen acting.

Soon after, though, Stapleton's Inez begins to unravel the mystery of her husband's departure and each scene has Stapleton spooning out another heaping helping of hysteria. She's rushing through crowds. She's staggering from gate to gate. She even runs into a wall. (Right into a wall, promise.) Even here, though, Stapleton's pretty good and playing these scenes mostly alone, with few technical tricks from the cinematographer or sound guy to support her. Somehow Stapleton's able to hold the focus of the scene, wordlessly, even in long-shots of her amidst a sea of extras or on a vast concourse. (Edith Head has her outfitted in a simple brown coat -- albeit with her hair, scarf & waitress uniform all complementary shades of burgundy/auburn.) Finally, when everything's all figgered out that Inez' hubby's trying to blow up the plane, when Inez is finally integrated among the other characters, Stapleton's Inez merely blubbers -- poor catatonic Inez. (But not before she gets to do one of those "caterwaul-slides" -- where she gets to start weeping full-on to camera, her back to the wall, sliding down as she begins to wail... Love those.) Stapleton's final and somewhat incongruous scene -- in which she bursts upon the spectacle of the ravaged passengers deplaning -- is at once hilarious and heartrending. She goes up to these people, grabbing them (mostly by the face) and babbling: "I'm sorry. He didn't mean it. I'm sorry. He didn't mean it." Thanks, Inez... They'll keep that in mind next time they fly.

Yes, LaStapleton's performance in this flick is strange and not infrequently silly. But sheesh, if the woman doesn't bring on the emotional intensity... And by the end, Inez is one of the only characters that the audience is left wondering about. Sure, Maureen got beaten out by co-star Helen Hayes for the trophy. (Unfair contest really, Helen Hayes is doing a Bugs Bunny number while Maureen's being a serious actress...and everyone knows how the Academy just loves Bugs Bunny.)

But, hey: Stapleton kept it real. That's the sign of a true diva.
Sometimes, it's the greater honor just being nominated.

3.18.2006

"She's A Bitch" Video ReMix ala TheFilmExperience

Lovely reader, you really must click on over to Nathaniel's glorious video remix tribute to cinema's greatest ballbreaking divas, damsels and dames... A must see...

(That's all for today -- but in the meantime, thanks -- lovely reader -- for your patience over the last few. Blogger's been having some technical issues, apparently the direct result of its parent company Google's quest for global domination. Things're tough all around, 'spose.)

In the meantime, don't forget to vote for April's roster of Supporting Actress Sundays. Just pick the year & StinkyLu'll take it from there...

3.17.2006

The Hook Up: "Indicate On Which Side You Like Your Pocket" (Homo Heritage Fridays)


From Blueboy: The International Magazine About Men, July 1979, page 28.
(click image for larger view)

Hmm. Wonder why he needs so many keys at poolside...

3.16.2006

Cast Your Vote for APRIL's "Supporting Actress Sunday" Series

StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sunday begins this week! (This Sunday, Lu'll offer a thought or thirteen about the work of the glorious Maureen Stapleton in the gourmet cheese platter, Airport.)

And, from here on out, each Sunday, StinkyLulu will offer commentary on one of the five nominees (in no particular order) from a given year in Oscar history. Additionally, on the final Sunday, Lu'll discuss the "field" of five. So, it'll be one nominated performance per week (April has five Sundays this year!) with a wrap-up on the field at month's end.

As an extra bonus, from time to time, Nathaniel at FilmExperience and Nick of Nick's Pick Flicks will join up with the Lu for occasional tandem reviews -- sometimes of a particular performance, sometime of the whole roster of a given year's nominees. (Should you, lovely reader, want to join in the filmfreakfestivities -- just
give Lu a holler!)

But now:
StinkyLulu Needs Your Vote for APRIL's Screening Schedule!
Below you will find a somewhat arbitrary sampling of Supporting Actress nominees, arranged by year. Your task -- should you choose to accept it -- is to
let Lulu know -- either in comments or via email -- your preferred YEAR. A simple majority of votes cast will determine StinkyLulu's screening schedule for April...

So, choose wisely, lovely reader.
The power is in your hands...

  • 1940: Jane Darwell in "The Grapes of Wrath", Judith Anderson in "Rebecca", Ruth Hussey in "The Philadelphia Story", Barbara O'Neil in "All This, and Heaven Too", Marjorie Rambeau in "Primrose Path"
  • 1949: Mercedes McCambridge in "All the King's Men", Ethel Barrymore in "Pinky", Celeste Holm in "Come to the Stable", Elsa Lanchester in "Come to the Stable", Ethel Waters in "Pinky"
  • 1958: Wendy Hiller in "Separate Tables", Peggy Cass in "Auntie Mame", Martha Hyer in "Some Came Running", Maureen Stapleton in "Lonelyhearts", Cara Williams in "The Defiant Ones"
  • 1967: Estelle Parsons in "Bonnie and Clyde", Carol Channing in "Thoroughly Modern Millie", Mildred Natwick in "Barefoot in the Park", Beah Richards in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", Katharine Ross in "The Graduate"
  • 1976: Beatrice Straight in "Network", Jane Alexander in "All the President's Men", Jodie Foster in "Taxi Driver", Lee Grant in "Voyage of the Damned", Piper Laurie in "Carrie"
  • 1985: Anjelica Huston in "Prizzi's Honor", Margaret Avery in "The Color Purple", Amy Madigan in "Twice in a Lifetime", Meg Tilly in "Agnes of God", Oprah Winfrey in "The Color Purple"
  • 1994: Dianne Wiest in "Bullets Over Broadway", Rosemary Harris in "Tom and Viv", Helen Mirren in "The Madness of King George", Uma Thurman in "Pulp Fiction", Jennifer Tilly in "Bullets Over Broadway"
  • 2003: Renee Zellwegger in "Cold Mountain," Shohreh Aghdashloo in "House of Sand and Fog," Patricia Clarkson in "Pieces of April," Marcia Gay Harden in "Mystic River," Holly Hunter in "Thirteen"

3.15.2006

StinkyLulu's WednesDAY OF BEAUTY: Hairs To You


Hairs To You • Carlisle & Montgomery • ABQ • March 2006

3.13.2006

Maureen Stapleton (1925-2006) in THE FAN - A Great BM Tribute



News just hit that the indomitable Maureen Stapleton passed away. StinkyLulu's long been quite fond of Miss Stapleton, that rare kind of movie star who always looked a little like someone Lu knew, and probably loved. (In tribute, StinkyLulu's first installment of Supporting Actress Sundays this week will offer commentary on one or another of her many many nominations in the category.)

But StinkyLulu will probably always remember Maureen Stapleton best for her performance as "Belle Goldman" in the deservedly unsung -- and largely unremembered -- "thriller" The Fan. The 1981 flick was ostensibly a vehicle for Lauren Bacall, then flush with a revival of her stardom through her surprise success in the Kander & Ebb musical, Woman of the Year. In The Fan, Bacall plays a stage actress, Sally Ross -- still glamorous and tone-deaf after all these years -- who's the unwitting subject of an increasingly crazed fan. The movie's nearly noxious for its gay-baiting homopanic & is precisely the kind of movie that Vito Russo loathed most. ("The Fan" is a pretty blond music-store guy, whose fey masculinity is almost a prototype for all 80s homo characters to follow.) Indeed, this Sally Ross "fan" reads mostly as a big ole Sally Ross "queen" -- and the flick is basically a woman-in-peril slashy, with all sorts of folks getting offed as murdering queen/fan makes his way to Bacall.

A tweenage StinkyLu fell in love with this flick for three main reasons. First, it's ostensibly about BroadWAY!!! with Betty Bacall tunelessly klomping through several insipid musical numbers. Second, "the fan" has a buncha near nudie scenes & even an almost sex scene with another man (who -- this being the early 80s -- he kills right as the sex starts). And, third, StinkyLulu fell in love with Maureen Stapleton, who played Bacall's tough-cookie secretary who catches "the fan" -- in possibly the only murder scene with actual suspense and emotional tension in the whole flick -- & dies trying to protect Boss Bacall. (Then, in a wierdo Dirty Harry turn, Bacall ends up going all vigilante on "the fan" -- mostly cuz he made the mistake killing her beloved Belle.)

Maureen Stapleton is brilliant in this stupid little part in this idiotic little movie. StinkyLulu can hear her voice in the part now. And it's classic Stapleton. Like that tough old aunt, the kind who drinks like a sailor before she has her way with one. Tough as nails, sweet as pie. And -- oddly cuz Stapleton carries all those Actor's Studio behavioral quirks -- somehow was always able to seem real.
Totally real. Totally fabulous. Totally Maureen.

3.12.2006

SUPPORTING ACTRESS ARCHIVE (formerly, "Honoring Grand Dames, Serious Actresses, & Sweet Young Things...")



Supporting Actress Sunday ARCHIVE
1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 19391940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1944 •
1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 19491950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953
1954 • 19551956 • 1957 • 19581959 • 1960 • 19611962
1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 19661967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971
1972 • 1973 • 197419751976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 •
1981 • 19821983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 •
1990 • 1991 • 19921993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 •
1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 20062007
20082009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 •
  • SMACKDOWN '93
  • SMACKDOWN '83
  • SMACKDOWN '92
  • SMACKDOWN '08
  • SMACKDOWN '45
  • SMACKDOWN '69
  • SMACKDOWN '59
  • SMACKDOWN '76
  • 10.5.08: Beatrice Straight in Network (1976)
  • SMACKDOWN '66
  • 9.30.08: Vivien Merchant in Alfie (1966)
  • 9.21.08: Wendy Hiller in A Man For All Seasons (1966)
  • 8.24.08: Jocelyne Lagarde in Hawaii (1966)
  • 8.17.08: Geraldine Page in You're a Big Boy Now (1966)
  • 8.10.08: Sandy Dennis in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
  • SMACKDOWN '49
  • 7.30.08: Elsa Lanchester in Come to the Stable (1949)
  • 7.27.08: Ethel Waters in Pinky (1949)
  • 7.20.08: Ethel Barrymore in Pinky (1949)
  • 7.13.08: Celeste Holm in Come to the Stable (1949)
  • 7.6.08: Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men (1949)
  • SMACKDOWN '39
  • 6.29.08: Geraldine Fitzgerald in Wuthering Heights (1939)
  • 6.22.08: Olivia De Havilland in Gone with the Wind (1939)
  • 6.15.08: Edna May Oliver in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
  • 6.8.08: Maria Ouspenskaya in Love Affair (1939)
  • 6.1.08: Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind (1939)
  • SMACKDOWN '99
  • 5.28.08: Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich (1999)
  • 5.24.08: Chloë Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry (1999)
  • 5.18.08: Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense (1999)
  • 5.11.08: Samantha Morton in Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
  • 5.04.99: Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted (1999)
  • SMACKDOWN '53
  • 4.30.08: Thelma Ritter in Pickup on South Street (1953)
  • 4.30.08: Geraldine Page in Hondo (1953)
  • 4.20.08: Grace Kelly in Mogambo (1953)
  • 4.13.08: Marjorie Rambeau in Torch Song (1953)
  • 4.6.08: Donna Reed in From Here To Eternity (1953)
  • SMACKDOWN '07
  • 2.24.08: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton (2007)
  • 2.17.08: Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone (2007)
  • 2.10.08: Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There (2007)
  • 2.3.08: Ruby Dee in American Gangster (2007)
  • 1.27.08: Saoirse Ronan in Atonement (2007)
  • SMACKDOWN '67
  • 12.30.07: Katharine Ross in The Graduate (1967)
  • 12.30.07: Mildred Natwick in Barefoot in the Park (1967)
  • 12.24.07: Beah Richards in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
  • 12.16.07: Carol Channing in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
  • 12.9.07: Estelle Parsons in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
  • SMACKDOWN '55
  • 12.12.07: Betsy Blair in Marty (1955)
  • 11.28.07: Marisa Pavan in The Rose Tattoo (1955)
  • 11.21.07: Natalie Wood in Rebel without a Cause (1955)
  • 11.11.07: Peggy Lee in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
  • 11.04.07: Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden (1955)
  • SMACKDOWN '40
  • 10.31.07: Judith Anderson in Rebecca (1940)
  • 10.28.07: Barbara O'Neil in All This and Heaven Too (1940)
  • 10.21.07: Ruth Hussey in The Philadelphia Story (1940)
  • 10.17.07: Marjorie Rambeau in Primrose Path (1940)
  • 10.07.07: Jane Darwell in The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
  • SMACKDOWN '90
  • 10.06.07: Annette Bening in The Grifters (1990)
  • 9.30.07: Mary McDonnell in Dances with Wolves (1990)
  • 9.23.07: Diane Ladd in Wild at Heart (1990)
  • 9.16.07: Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas (1990)
  • 9.9.07: Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost (1990)
  • SMACKDOWN '71
  • 8.30.07: Ellen Burstyn in The Last Picture Show (1971)
  • 8.26.07: Ann-Margret in Carnal Knowledge (1971).
  • 8.19.07: Margaret Leighton in The Go-Between (1971).
  • 8.12.07: Barbara Harris in Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)
  • 8.5.07: Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show (1971)
  • SMACKDOWN '88
  • 7.29.07: Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl (1988)
  • 7.22.07: Frances McDormand in Mississippi Burning (1988)
  • 7.15.07: Joan Cusack in Working Girl (1988)
  • 7.8.07: Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
  • 7.1.07: Geena Davis in The Accidental Tourist (1988)
  • SMACKDOWN '78.
  • 6.27.07: Meryl Streep in The Deer Hunter (1978)
  • 6.20.07: Dyan Cannon in Heaven Can Wait (1978)
  • 6.17.07: Penelope Milford in Coming Home (1978)
  • 6.13.07: Maureen Stapleton in Interiors (1978)
  • 6.06.07: Maggie Smith in California Suite (1978)
  • SMACKDOWN '50.
  • 5.30.07: Hope Emerson in Caged (1950)
  • 5.27.07: Celeste Holm in All About Eve (1950).
  • 5.20.07: Nancy Olson in Sunset Boulevard (1950).
  • 5.13.07: Thelma Ritter in All About Eve (1950).
  • 5.6.07: Josephine Hull in Harvey (1950).
  • SMACKDOWN '85.
  • 4.30.07: Margaret Avery in The Color Purple (1985)
  • 4.23.07: Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple (1985).
  • 4.15.07: Amy Madigan in Twice in a Lifetime (1985).
  • 4.8.07: Meg Tilly in Agnes of God (1985)
  • 4.1.07: Anjelica Huston in Prizzi's Honor (1985)
  • SMACKDOWN '06: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 2006
  • 2.25.07: Rinko Kikuchi in Babel (2006)
  • 2.21.07: Adriana Barraza in Babel (2006)
  • 2.18.07 Cate Blanchett in Notes on a Scandal (2006)
  • 2.14.07: Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls (2006)
  • 2.11.07: Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
  • 1.23.07: If StinkyLulu Were the Oscar Fairy: Best Supporting Actress 2006
  • 1.21.07: Blanca Portillo in Volver (2006)
  • BLOGATHON: Supporting Actress Blogathon - The Class of 2006
  • 1.06.07: Lindsay Beamish in Shortbus (2006) - Supporting Actress Blogathon
  • SMACKDOWN '75: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1975
  • 12.31.06: Lily Tomlin in Nashville (1975)
  • 12.27.06: Ronee Blakley in Nashville (1975)
  • 12.17.06: Sylvia Miles in Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
  • 12.10.06: Brenda Vaccaro in Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough (1975)
  • 12.4.06: Lee Grant in Shampoo (1975)
  • SMACKDOWN '74: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1974
  • 11.26.06: Talia Shire in The Godfather, Part II (1974)
  • 11.24.06: Valentina Cortese in Day for Night (1974)
  • 11.22.06: Diane Ladd in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
  • 11.12.06: Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles (1974)
  • 11.05.06: Ingrid Bergman in Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
  • SMACKDOWN '82: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1982
  • 10.28.06: Kim Stanley in Frances (1982)
  • 10.22.06: Glenn Close in The World According to Garp (1982)
  • 10.18.06: Lesley Ann Warren in Victor/Victoria (1982)
  • 10.12.06: Teri Garr in Tootsie (1982)
  • 10.10.06: Cast Your Vote for NOVEMBER's "Supporting Actress Sundays"
  • 10.08.06 Jessica Lange in Tootsie (1982)
  • 10.02.06: Supporting Actress Sundays in October: 1982
  • SMACKDOWN '36: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1936
  • 9.30.06: Gale Sondergaard in Anthony Adverse (1936)
  • 9.24.06: Beulah Bondi in The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
  • 9.17.06: Bonita Granville in These Three (1936)
  • 9.13.06: Maria Ouspenskaya in Dodsworth (1936)
  • 9.10.06: Alice Brady in My Man Godfrey (1936)
  • 8.30.06: Mary Badham in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
  • SMACKDOWN '62: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1962
  • 8.23.06: Thelma Ritter in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
  • 8.20.06: Shirley Knight in Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
  • 8.15.06: Cast Your Vote for SEPTEMBER's "Supporting Actress Sunday" Feature
  • 8.14.06: Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
  • 8.10.06: Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker (1962)
  • 7.31.06: More Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1961: Canadian Ken Weighs in...
  • 7.31.06: Supporting Actress Sundays in August: 1962
  • SMACKDOWN '61: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1961
  • 7.30.06: Una Merkel in Summer and Smoke (1961)
  • 7.23.06: Judy Garland in Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)
  • 7.20.06: Ruby Dee & Diana Sands in A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
  • 7.16.06: Fay Bainter in The Children's Hour (1961)
  • 7.09.06: Lotte Lenya in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)
  • 7.02.06: Rita Moreno in West Side Story (1961)
  • 7.01.06: Supporting Actress Sundays in July: 1961
  • 6.28.06: Barbara Hershey in The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
  • SMACKDOWN '96: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1996
  • 6.24.06: Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets and Lies (1996)
  • 6.18.06: Joan Allen in The Crucible (1996)
  • 6.11.06: Lauren Bacall in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
  • 6.04.06: Juliette Binoche in The English Patient (1996)
  • SMACKDOWN '42: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1942
  • 5.28.06: Agnes Moorehead in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
  • 5.21.06: Dame May Whitty & Teresa Wright in Mrs. Miniver (1942)
  • 5.15.06: Cast Your Vote for JUNE's "Supporting Actress Sunday" Series
  • 5.14.06: Gladys Cooper in Now, Voyager (1942)
  • 5.07.06: Susan Peters in Random Harvest (1942)
  • 5.03.06: Carmen Miranda in Springtime in the Rockies (1942) - CouldaWouldaShoulda Wednesdays
  • 5.01.06: Supporting Actress Sundays for MAY: 1942
  • 4.30.06: Maureen Stapleton in Lonelyhearts (1958)
  • 4.26.06: 1958's CouldaWouldaShouldas (+ mini-profile of Angela Lansbury & Lee Remick in The Long Hot Summer)
  • SMACKDOWN '58: Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1958
  • 4.23.06: Cara Williams in The Defiant Ones (1958)
  • 4.19.06: Tina Louise in God's Little Acre (1958) - CouldaShouldaWoulda Profile
  • 4.16.06: Wendy Hiller in Separate Tables (1958)
  • 4.15.06: Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees (1958) - StinkyLulu's 1st Coulda/Shoulda/Woulda Profile
  • 4.11.06: Cast Your Vote for MAY's "Supporting Actress Sunday"
  • 4.9.06: Martha Hyer in Some Came Running (1958)
  • 4.2.06: Peggy Cass in Auntie Mame (1958)
  • 3.30.06: Supporting Actress Sundays: Coming Attractions...1958
  • 3.28.06: Maureen Stapleton in Interiors (1978)
  • 3.25.06: Don't Fergit to VOTE for April's Supporting Actress Sundays!!!
  • 3.19.06: Maureen Stapleton in Airport (1970)
  • 3.16.06: Cast Your Vote for APRIL's "Supporting Actress Sunday" Series
..............................................................................................

Instigated by Nathaniel's obsession with all-things-Oscar, and inspired by Nick's own Best Actress Project, it seems only appropriate to join in the fun & to channel StinkyLu's innate desire to gather -- yea, to hoard -- nearly irrelevant cultural effluvia toward similar ends. (And since StinkyLulu has an abiding fondness for such folk as Mercedes McCambridge, Sylvia Miles, Eileen Heckart, Diane Ladd, Celeste Holm, Frances McDormand and Marisa Tomei -- the focus of this project seemed nearly preordained.)

So:
StinkyLulu hereby announces a new endeavor...
Supporting Actress Sunday!
(AKA "The Thelma Ritter Project")

Starting next week, each Sunday morning, StinkyLu will publish scintillating opinage upon a recently rescreened "Best Supporting Actress" nominee's performance. As this crackpot scheme hatched quite suddenly, the details (as to sequence, chronology, "rules", etc) remain a little blurry. The category's only been around since 1936 so that makes -- what -- only 300 or so nominated performances to peruse, which means StinkLu'll only be doing this for -- oh -- 6 or so years. Whatever. StinkyLulu does love lists. And projects. And Shelley Winters.

It'll be sweet, silly & (not occasionally) completely obscure.

So be sure to tune in next week, lovely reader, for the premiere installment of
StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sundays!(It'll prolly be thomething Thelma.)

3.10.2006

Maurizio: "Ready to explore old ruins or new relationships" (Homo Heritage Fridays)


From Mandate: The International Magazine of Entertainment and Eros
November 1979, page 56.

3.08.2006

Yay. Chloe. Yay.

So, Yay!

Over the last coupla episodes, StinkyLulu started wanting Santino to win.
And the Lulu sorta fell out of love with Daniel.
But Lu's thought Ms.Dao "the one to beat" since way back to episode 2.

So even tho the Lu was worried that the fabric looked a little bridesmaidy,
DirtyDiana's golden babydoll rocked (complete with pockets) and
Ms.Chloe was the only finalist to make her girls' boobies look happy.

And, indeed, Lulu likes happy boobies.
So...
Yay for happy boobies!
Yay for "woman-friendly" as a defining aesthetic!
Yay for Chloe!

StinkyLulu's WednesDAY OF BEAUTY


Gilbert's Hair Fashions • North 4th • Albuquerque • March 2006

3.06.2006

Lulu Lied, or StinkyLulu's Oscar Reflux

Hello, Lovely Reader.
A few of you caught StinkyLulu's pre-Oscar post -- the Barfys -- wherein StinkyLulu promised once again that the "Best Picture" contest mattered not a whit.

Well.

Lulu lied.

See, Lulu never truly thought it could happen that the insipid Crash would take it -- but there ya go. Lulu's beginning to come around to MrStinky's theory -- that wherever Sandra Bullock goes, unimaginable potential for crap follows... And how perfect was it that Oscar's own resident face of Satan was sent to deliver the news.

Crash?

That.
Plus Dolly actually didn't win.

Intellectually, StinkyLu acknowledges that the whole frickin' overrated movie was about cutting that winning track & so the song was the only song that actually had narrative significance. (A criteria StinkyLulu has spent many an Oscar defending as the reason to prefer "awful nominated song A" over "awful nominated song B.") But who'da thunk that StinkyLulu's own Oscar-song-rationalization'd be brought to bear against Dolly?!?! Dolly!?!?

(And why didn't Dolly get a nice trannie interpretive dance?!?! In the interest of fairness?!?)

But GoshGollyMissDolly -- she sure did look like Bobble-Head Dolly, didn't she? (Thanks for the pic, fourfour.)

So, those -- "Best Pic" & "Best Song" -- were the big moments of Oscar reflux. The "Best Actor" nausea -- had ample warning, there. Actually tried to tally the number of Barfys won -- lost count after Geisha got its third prize. Ack! And things just started getting kuh-razy...

Other moments of note from StinkyLulu's Oscars'06:

• Did anybody else catch the shot of "latino row" where JLo, Marc Anthony, and Salma were all stuck in the same 2nd row? Almost cute. Almost.
• Speaking of JLo -- she looked great.
But didja really need all the bronzer J?

Looked almost like Will Ferrell in that actually-pretty-funny makeup intro.

• Likewise -- Salma? Gorgeous. But what that dress did to her girls!

Or really her left girl. A cruel squish job on lefty there...

• And poor Naomi. Someone really should remind her not to use her garment bag as a cat-carrier. 'Specially not on Oscar night.


• Really, the only one to come out looking scary good was George.

He should host next year. Or run for President. Or something.

StinkyLulu was gonna go on a rant about "Cute Props" (ie. Matching Bow-Ties for Oscar &/or Stuffed Penguins) but then started to think about Rachel McAdams' bedazzled dress & Betty Bacall's inabilities (Those FancyFeast & TuesdayMorning endorsements have lost all credibility Betty!).

But really. The Oscars -- for 2 years running now -- just made Lulu sad & tired. Ah well. The Lu'll be back next year. (Now would be a perfect moment for an "Ah Wish Ah Cud Quit Choo" line to describe StinkyLu's feelings for Oscar -- but that's about as fresh as comments about how Ryan Phillippe is so starting a garage band with Nick Lachey & Chad Lowe.)

See you next year, Lovely Reader.
Maybe by then they'll be able to put Gil Cates in the necrology.
(That's TERRible, Lulu!)
Yeah?!? Well, so's Crash.

3.05.2006

Lulu's Last-Minute Oscar Party Links

As you know, StinkyLulu's not hosting this year. But years upon years of previous hosting experiences have Lulu's muscle memory in overdrive. (How oh how did all this ever happen on a Monday?!?) So, lovely reader, StinkyLu offers...

Lulu's Links for Last-Minute Oscar Party Prep:

  • For those of your preparing your OscarVoting, Nathaniel's Predictions and Analysis come in so very handy. The best Lu's ever seen. (And just because Nathaniel's one of the ModFab6, that doesn't mean that Lu's at all biased.)
  • For those of you wanting to go all OscarSnob and feel very smarty about one of "lesser" awards, be sure not to miss Julia Turner's Why Costume Designers Hate The Oscars over at Slate. 'Tis very cool.
  • For those of you still not sure OscarFood to make for the masses arriving to your abode this evening, check out the wealth of fast, fun & fag-pleasing recipes over at
  • BlogHungry.
  • For those of you warming to snark on OscarFashion, limber up with the divas over at
  • Go Fug Yourself. They really do reinvent the genius of the artful snipe.

3.04.2006

StinkyLulu's Barfy Oscar Predictions

Twas the night before Oscar & all over the net.
Filmfags were spinning theories & laying their bets...

But StinkyLulu long ago stopped trying to predict what would or should win at the Oscars. Others (upon others) are much more skilled than little ole Lulu. Nevertheless, StinkyLulu does have passionate opinions about all matters Oscar. Further, for the first time in years -- nay decades -- StinkyLulu's not watching Oscar in the context of an Oscar party. Nor is Lu participating in any sort of betting pool. Nor is Lulu watching along with millions of others who share a hi-speed internet connection. No, lovely reader, StinkyLulu will be enjoying the OscarCast in the relative peace, quiet and internet-free-zone of GrannyStinky's house. (See, StinkyLu stays with GrannyStinky 3-4 nights a week & Sunday's one of Lu's regular nights.) All of which means that StinkyLulu is without the traditional sense of Oscar community this year.

So -- even though StinkyLulu tries not get all snarkymean too too often -- the Oscars are a special occasion & StinkyLulu has elected to inaugurate a new Oscar tradition. A tradition of community, comradeship and hilarity through which you -- lovely reader -- might share some of Lulu's inevitable pain on Oscar night.

StinkyLulu's BARFYs!!!
Wherein StinkyLulu anticipates throwing up just a little if the following names are called on Oscar night. (Nothing against the individual nominees, mind you -- at least not in most cases.)
  • BEST ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman. Yeah, yeah. Uncanny. Also boring, obvious, & emotionally bereft showboating. What's really uncanny is how well that man plays self-obsession.
  • BEST ACTRESS: Judi Dench. Luv huh. But the Dame farts & scores a nomination these days.
  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Frances MacDormand. Not quite a Dench-syndrome, but close.
  • BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Paul Giammatti. If none of the other nominees were any good, to make up for Sideways and American Splendor -- MAAAAAAYBE... But not in this field. Sorry. Plus when you're a not-pretty actor working in Hollywood you pretty much HAVE to be as good as you were in this movie. So nopers.
  • BEST SCORE: John Williams. Now, this one won't be a little throw-up -- this'll be a "batten down the hatches" barf-o-rama. Goldarnit, nnnnoooooooooooo!
  • BEST DOCUMENTARY: March of the Penguins. Never thought the wingnuts could get the Lulu mad at penguins, plus the movie's contributed several new iconic moments of lame.
  • BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Paul Haggis, Crash. Multiple storylines cleverly converging around a unifying theme of social and emotional significance don't automatically make something great -- if you doubt, watch any episode of 7th Heaven. Plus StinkyLulu still hates you for the fact of Million Dollar Baby.
  • BEST DIRECTOR: Paul Haggis, Crash. See Best Original Screenplay.
  • BEST SONG: Anything but Dolly. O'course.
and don't forget about the
  • SPECIAL TECHNICAL BARFYs: Any award going to Geisha, War of the Worlds or King Kong. Which means that vomit's guaranteed during Best Sound Editing.
For most of the rest of the biggish categories, and skipping over the shorts (cuz hey who doesn't), Lu wouldn't gag if any of the nominees won, including Best Picture. But there's really just one category where Lu truly liked everything.
  • THE ONLY TRULY SAFELY NO-BARF CATEGORY: Best Animated Feature. All pretty great, really.
Can't wait for the broadcast.
And do think of StinkyLulu anytime a Barfy is awarded.
It promises to be a technicolor night.

3.03.2006

For the Gay who has Everything...


ALSO from Mandate: The International Magazine of Entertainment & Eros
February 1980, page 48.
(Note the address.)