At 75, "Sunset Boulevard" is ready again for its closeup

10-08-2025

There are some movies where just about every line is quotable. Take Billy Wilder's 1950 masterpiece "Sunset Boulevard," which premiered 75 years ago this month.
Gillis: "You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big."Desmond: "I AM big. It's the pictures that got small."
The film was anything but small! The legendary director had Gloria Swanson as the rejected silent film star, Norma Desmond, who seemed to be going quietly out of her mind; and William Holden as the failed screenwriter Joe Gillis, who became her kept man.
"She was 52 at the time; William Holden was 31," said UT Austin film professor Noah Isenberg. "The age difference was extraordinary. Today we might not think much of it, but it was big."
Isenberg says the noir "Sunset Boulevard" tested the limits of what a 1950 audience would bear. The opening scene is gruesome enough, with the murdered Gillis face down in a swimming pool. But the film originally started in the L.A. morgue, with Gillis and other cadavers talking about how they got there. Isenberg said, "It was too dark, too morbid. Audiences weren't ready for it. Instead, you have John Seitz's camera trained on that curb." Appropriately, the film begins in the gutter.
The original film, now restored in glorious 4K ultra hi-def, is available from Paramount.
Nancy Olson was only 21 when she played aspiring writer Betty Schaefer opposite Holden's Gillis. Olson, now 97, says Holden's air of desperation in the film mirrored what was happening in his life. "His career was dying," she said. "And that's the character. If you look carefully, you will see one of the most extraordinary, real performances of a man who gave up his soul for survival."
Still, Olson says they got along famously on set, especially when director Wilder lined them up for their first-ever love scene in a crowded studio where some of the cast's family members happened to be present: "And we got to the end, where Bill says to my character, 'What happened?' And I turn to him slowly and answer, 'You did.' Whereupon he takes me into his arms and gently starts to kiss me.
"Now, Billy said, 'Do not separate until I say cut.' And we both were enjoying this. And all of a sudden, there was a female voice saying, 'Cut, damn it! Cut!' It was Mrs. Holden! I never got over it. But I learned something."
What was that? "Bill and I loved to kiss!"
And moviegoers loved the film: "Sunset Boulevard" got 11 Academy Award nominations. "I was shocked," Olsen said of the Oscar nods. "Now, we didn't win. But we've outlasted everybody."
To watch a trailer for the 75th anniversary release of "Sunset Boulevard" click on the video player below:
"Sunset Boulevard" was later re-born as a musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sir Andrew was intrigued by the story of Hollywood discarding aging stars, and got the blessing of Wilder, who by then was being gently phased out of Hollywood himself – in his own way getting the Norma Desmond treatment. Webber said, "He does tell a wonderful story about him going to see some young movie executive who had just been there. And this young executive says to him, 'Um, well, Mr. Wilder, we're very impressed by this screenplay that you've done, but it would be really helpful if you could tell me what you have done in the past?'"
The director of such classics as "Double Indemnity," "The Lost Weekend," "Ace in the Hole," "Some Like It Hot," and "The Apartment," turned to the young executive and said, "You first."
"Sunset Boulevard," the musical, opened in London's West End in 1993, with Patti LuPone as Desmond; when they brought the show to Los Angeles and New York, Glenn Close played the lead.
And in the latest, radically re-conceived version, Desmond was played by former pop star Nicole Scherzinger.
Asked about seeing Scherzinger in the role of Norma Desmond, Webber said, "I have always rated Nicole as one of the most astounding singers I've ever worked with. And I worked with a few. And I could say that Nicole is right up there with the very, very, very top ones, might even be the best."
Scherzinger brought a new level of intensity to Norma Desmond, and took home a Tony Award this year.
You can stream the Broadway cast album of "Sunset Blvd." featuring Nicole Scherzinger by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):
The show closed last month, and we took Scherzinger back to the St. James Theatre just before they took down all the signs. "I can't believe that this is still up; I want to take it home!" she laughed. "I want to take it home and I want to put this in my garage."
One sign was half-removed from the stage door. "I think someone stole my face!" she laughed.
Asked what she thinks "Sunset Boulevard" says about the entertainment industry and its treatment of older women, Scherzinger said, "It's difficult that the industry kind of puts an expiration date on you when you've actually lived a life and actually, finally, have something really meaningful to say."
Hollywood has changed (and so has Paramount Pictures). But seventy-five years on, "Sunset Boulevard" still holds up. Isenberg said, "For people who love movies – cinephiles and film geeks, whatever we want to call them today – you can just luxuriate in a movie like 'Sunset Boulevard.' It's like a warm bath."
Gloria Swanson herself luxuriated in playing a faded movie queen. Even back then, she somehow knew that "Sunset Boulevard" would make her a legend.
Asked if Swanson was anything like the character she portrayed, Nancy Olson replied, "No. She was much more real and sensible. And she was the only person on the entire set that understood that this movie would live forever and that she would be remembered forever – that it was a story that had a truth to it that would never be forgotten."
Web exclusive: Extended interview - Nicole Scherzinger (Video) For more info:
"Sunset Boulevard," available on VOD and streaming on MGM+, is also available on Blu-Ray/4K disc"Ready for My Close-Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream" by David M. Lubin (Grand Central Publishing), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available August 12 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop orgNoah Isenberg, professor, University of Texas at Austin"A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour" by Nancy Olson Livingston (Author), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Story produced by John D'Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler.
See also:
"Some Like It Hot": From Hollywood classic to the Broadway stage ("Sunday Morning")Gallery: Paramount Pictures at 100"It's the pictures that got small": How movies have changed in the era of streaming ("Sunday Morning")
To tip or not to tip: That is David Sedaris' question
The JFK Files
Extended interview: "Sunset Boulevard" actress Nicole Scherzinger
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13 Times Rich Celebs Insulted Or Complained About People Who Make Wayyy Less Money Than Them

Yahoo

4 hours ago

Yahoo

13 Times Rich Celebs Insulted Or Complained About People Who Make Wayyy Less Money Than Them

Plenty of famous people worked "normal" jobs before making it big. However, once they reach a certain level of wealth — or if they were born into it — they sometimes seemingly forget that people working non-Hollywood jobs deserve just as much respect. Here are 13 times rich celebs were disrespectful towards people working "normal" jobs and got called out: 2019, Lizzo wrongly accused a Postmates delivery driver of taking her food. In a since-deleted (but very public tweet), she said, "Hey @Postmates this girl Tiffany W. stole my food. she lucky I don't fight no more." Postmates Support replied, "Hi! We're sorry to hear you've had a less than satisfactory experience on our app. Would you mind DM'ing the email address linked to your account, so we can look further into this for you?" A spokesperson told Page Six that the driver actually did show up and waited for five minutes. However, after being unable to get ahold of Lizzo, she had to move on. In her replies, people took the driver's side, advising Lizzo that publicly putting her on blast probably wasn't the best idea: Twitter: @animeicon420 Lizzo ended up apologizing, tweeting, "I apologize for putting that girl on blast. I understand I have a large following and that there were so many variables that could've put her in danger. Imma really be more responsible with my use of social media and check my petty and my pride at the door." Tiffany ended up suing Lizzo for emotional distress, libel, and false light invasion of privacy. In her lawsuit, she said that she "feared for her physical safety" and got "direct threats of violence." She also said that she was "scared to leave her house and as a result was forced to stop delivering as a courier altogether." The suit said, "[Lizzo] knew or should have known that her false and defamatory statements would be republished over and over by lacked reasonable grounds for any belief in the truth of her statements and acted negligently in failing to determine the true facts...[She] acted with actual malice and reckless disregard for the truth when she tweeted the false statements of or concerning [Tiffany]." Julia Stiles was a student at Columbia in 2001, she went on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and called the campus cafeteria workers "mole people." Related: The entire campus was upset with her remark. In the Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper, an editorial writer called her a "sloe-eyed Hollywood wench" in retaliation. In a Columbia Spectator op-ed of her own, Julia said, "I have received a lot of criticism, both to my face and in print, about flippant comments I made while appearing on talk shows to promote Save the Last Dance. I was denigrated in one Columbia media outlet and nearly slandered in another, all because I made a joke about the dining hall on national television. Talk shows require a pre-interview, where the guest is grilled for funny the case of my appearance, I was asked about the quality of food at school and told to exaggerate for the sake of comedy. Granted, I was not forced to say anything, but under the circumstances I wanted to get through the interview alive. Having every comment examined under such heavy scrutiny has made me consider the repercussions of what I say. I have apologized in writing to the dining staff; they seem to understand that I wasn't commenting on any particular person. They understand that it is a very common, if not clichéd, joke to poke fun at cafeteria food. Adam Sandler did it, and so did a writer for an on-campus publication that took issue with my comments. I didn't realize that so many Columbia students have made it their cause to go crusading for Dining Services. I also didn't realize that the way to criticize thoughtless jokes was to may be attempting humor to get in good with your audience, but even lunch ladies and Hollywood wenches have feelings." Then, in 2019, she told Glamour UK, "I went on late night talk show; I think it was Conan O'Brien or David Letterman. I was in college at the time and I was talking about college life and they asked me if I ate in the cafeteria like a normal kid. I rambled on because I was insecure and I think I used the term, 'mole people.' But my thought was there was an Adam Sandler song at the time where there was a character on a sketch comedy show where he was playing the lunch lady and she had a hairnet and a mole. It backfired on a very immediate level. The people I was in school with were furious with me. Someone wrote in the school newspaper, 'she's an elitist! How dare she insult the cafeteria workers,' which was so not my intention and not who I am as a person. To know the people who were working hard in the school, cleaning up the garbage, feeding us meals thought I was insulting them was so devastating to me because it was absolutely not my intention. So, I wrote something in the newspaper. I issued a handwritten apology to the cafeteria workers, but I learnt a valuable lesson aside from 'think before you speak'. That kind of thing is so exaggerated now because of social media. You do have to be careful about how what you say is perceived and the impact it will have." 2018, Gwyneth Paltrow told the Wall Street Journal, "Forgive me if this comes out wrong. I went to do a yoga class in LA recently, and the 22-year-old girl behind the counter was like, 'Have you ever done yoga before?' And literally I turned to my friend, and I was like, 'You have this job because I've done yoga before.'" On social media, people criticized and made fun of her comments. Twitter: @whatbunnysaid Twitter: @Annabelera a 2012 appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, Emily Blunt made unkind and unnecessary comments about a server's weight while sharing a story about going to Chili's. The clip recirculated on social media in 2023, leading to a lot of backlash. So, Emily made a public apology, telling People, "I just need to address this head on as my jaw was on the floor watching this clip from 12 years ago. I'm appalled that I would say something so insensitive, hurtful, and unrelated to whatever story I was trying to tell on a talk show." She continued, "I've always considered myself someone who wouldn't dream of upsetting anyone so whatever possessed me to say anything like this in that moment is unrecognizable to me or anything I stand for. And yet it happened, and I said it and I'm so sorry for any hurt caused. I was absolutely old enough to know better." Here's a clip of the original interview, with this part starting a the 1:11 mark: 2019, former The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member Alexis Bellino posted an Instagram picture of the dirty floor under her couch. In the caption, she said, "When your couch accidentally disconnects and you realize your maids aren't doing deep cleaning. Found 2 socks too... 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🤔" Related: Her commenters called her out for publicly shaming her staff rather than simply cleaning it up herself. In a follow-up Instagram post, Alexis claimed she'd been joking. She said, ""To All: I can and WILL post whatever I want on my [Instagram]. My maids are well paid for and I love them. It was a joke. Get over yourselves, stop trolling, find happiness and please unfollow me ASAP as I'm not looking for any of your approval on my [Instagram] and I DON'T need followers." a 2021 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Barker discussed a disagreement that Kourtney had with Kim's nanny while on a trip. However, Kim was quick to call her sister out on how she handled the situation. And she called her out for how she allegedly treats nannies in general, which Kourtney said was all "lies." Watch the full clip below: Related: 2022, Kim Kardashian shared her "best advice for women in business" with Variety. Kim faced backlash across the internet as many people pointed out that her comments failed to acknowledge her privileged background, which gave her a boost. Twitter: @HottyToddyAspen Twitter: @WanderingNoma14 Kim told Good Morning America, "It wasn't a blanket statement towards was taken out of context, but I'm really sorry if it was received that way." Variety denied that the quote was "taken out of context." Here's the full video, with this part starting at the 5:12 mark: 2022, on her podcast Anything Goes, Emma Chamberlain compared being a self-employed influencer to working a more traditional 9-to-5. She said, "Because you're an employee of somebody else, mentally, it's easier for you to disconnect after work so that you can enjoy all of your free time to the fullest without having to think about your job." She continued, "Whereas, when you're never stop thinking about it. You never get to disconnect. You never get to be like, 'Oh, I'm done for now.' It is so hard." In a Reddit thread about the episode, listeners expressed their frustration with her comments. a since-deleted 2018 social media video, makeup influencer Sondos al-Qattan complained about new laws in Kuwait, where she lives, that had been recently passed to provide more protection for domestic help employees, such as housekeepers. She said, "For people who want to go get a Filipino domestic worker, what are these ridiculous work contracts you've got to sign? But how can you have a servant in your house who gets to keep their passport with them? Where are we living? If they ran away and went back to their country, who'll refund me? Even worse is that they get a day off every single week! What's left?" "Honestly, with this new contract, I just wouldn't get a Filipino maid. She'd only work six days a week and get four days off a month," she said. Several beauty brands cut ties with her. Though she deleted the video, it was reposted on Twitter and YouTube, where commenters called her out. Related: In a follow-up video, the influencer said she was glad her post went viral because "maybe that will help her as an employer get more rights." Additionally, on Instagram, she said, "Due to the spreading rumors, it was only necessary to make a responsive clarification. The passport of any expat employee should be in the poseseccesion of the employer to protect the employer's interests. Irrevelant of the employer/employee nationality...I have not [in] any circumstances in present or past... degraded or in any way mistreated an employee of mine. I consider all employees as equal human being [sic]." 2005, Russell Crowe was arrested at a SoHo hotel because, after he wasn't able to get a call to his wife in Australia to go through, he threw the telephone at the concierge, who got a cut under his eye as a result. Afterward, Russell publicly apologized on The Late Show with David Letterman, saying it was "possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in my life." He later went to court. After pleading guilty to third-degree assault, the actor was sentenced to a conditional discharge, which meant he must meet the condition of not getting arrested again for a year. He also settled with the concierge. 2006, Paula Abdul allegedly wanted to change her 7:40 a.m. flight and called the front desk of her Las Vegas hotel. Carol Good, one of the hotel workers, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "I stayed over and printed out the flight schedules." She also said that, just as she was about to call her, Paula called the desk again and "went off on" her and blamed her and her coworker for making her missing the flight. Carol and her coworker were reportedly suspended afterwards. Paula's lawyers didn't respond to the story. 2013, Lady Gaga went to court with her former assistant, Jennifer O'Neill, who was suing her for unpaid overtime. In her deposition, the singer reportedly called her a "fucking hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn't earn." She said, "She's just — she thinks she's just like the queen of the universe. And, you know what, she didn't want to be a slave to one, because in my work and what I do, I'm the queen of the universe every day." "I'm quite wonderful to everybody that works for me, and I am completely aghast to what a disgusting human being that you have become to sue me like this," she said. "Because she slept in Egyptian cotton sheets every night, in five-star hotels, on private planes, eating caviar, partying with [photographer] Terry Richardson all night, wearing my clothes, asking YSL to send her free shoes without my permission, using my YSL discount without my permission...[This job] was essentially a favor, and Jennifer was majorly unqualified for it...I expect there to be a certain level of, like, you know, knowledge and academia about, like, your job." Lady Gaga said, "One of the biggest problems I had with Jen is that I felt like she didn't enough lay out all my stuff for me [when traveling]. "She also said that her former assistant "was asleep until 12:00 most of the time" and "got lazy." "This job is a 9-to-5 job that is spaced out throughout the day. You don't get a schedule that is like you punch in and you can play fucking Tetris at your desk for four hours and then you punch out at the end of the day. This is — when I need you, you're available," she said. "I do six shows a week, and I make a lot of money. I work, I work 24 hours a day. I'm not standing next to Steve holding tea, waiting for him to take a sip, that is not what I do. Not that people who do that don't deserve their hourly pay, but I'm just pointing out that I deserve everything I've worked for. I deserve every dollar of it. And she deserves every dollar of her $75,000 that we agreed to. But she does not deserve a penny more." In her lawsuit, Jennifer alleged that she had to share Lady Gaga's bed while they were touring so that, if the singer wanted the DVD changed in the middle of the night, she could wake up her assistant to do it for her. She also said, "Every day is a work day for her, so every day is a work day for the rest of us. There is no, 'We're going to stay in, we're going to sleep.' There is no, 'Let's put on sweatpants and go out to the movies and be girlfriends.' It doesn't work like that." Eventually, the two settled out of court. finally, Naomi Campbell has been accused of allegedly hitting her staff members multiple times. She pleaded guilty to throwing her telephone at an assistant (in 2000), got sued for throwing the phone at another assistant while having a "tantrum" (in 2003), accused of slapping a housekeeper in the face (in 2004, when she claimed the maid started it), accused of smacking her assistant in the head with her Blackberry (in 2005), arrested for allegedly assaulting her drugs counselor (in 2006), sued by a former maid who accused her of being "a violent super-bigot" (in 2006), and sentenced to community service for assaulting her housekeeper by throwing her bedazzzled cellphone at her head so hard she needed stitches after she couldn't find a specific pair of jeans (in 2007). When she cameoed on Ugly Betty in 2008, the phone incident was treated as a joke. When Naomi answered her cell at a baseball game, everyone else ducked in fear. Likewise, in 2007, after she was arrested for allegedly hitting and head-butting an ex-assistant, Naomi was spotted wearing a "Naomi hit me, and I loved it" shirt. Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity:

13 Times Celebs Complained About People Working "Normal" Jobs

Buzz Feed

4 hours ago

Buzz Feed

13 Times Celebs Complained About People Working "Normal" Jobs

Pulisic Controversy Has Turned Into A USMNT Off-The-Field Soap Opera

Forbes

8 hours ago

Forbes

Pulisic Controversy Has Turned Into A USMNT Off-The-Field Soap Opera

From now until the end of the 2026 World Cup, there will be an intriguing generational competition concerning the U.S. Men's National Team. No, not inside the team, but heroes of the past and the current squad. It has turned into an interesting off-the-field, he-said, he-said soap opera. The most recent bruhaha came after U.S. standout Christian Pulisic decided to sit out the team's involvement in the Concacaf Gold Cup, saying that he needed a rest after a grueling Serie A season for A.C. Milan. He got slammed by critics, including former USMNT stars that have a voice on TV, streaming, podcasts and blogs. His critics have included Landon Donovan, Alexi Lalas and Tony Meola, among others, who have shared their thoughts, opinions and analysis. Donovan makes his point "This is what it means to represent your country," Donovan said on the FOX broadcast of the UEFA Nations League final in June. He then citied Portugal superstar Ronaldo, who is 40 years old. "He's played a long season. He's tired," Donovan added. "He's out there grinding, hurt himself in the process. And I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's p---ing me off." It should be noted that Donovan took time off from the national team in 2013. Pulisic makes his point In the latest episode of the docuseries PULISIC, the talented forward claimed that his critics 'disrespected me in a lot of ways, and just completely forgotten about what I've done for this national team." Pulisic, who turns 27 on Sept. 18, made his international debut in 2016. He has become the team's talisman, making 78 appearances while scoring 32 goals, a current team high. "To talk about my commitment? The commitment that I've given to this game? That I've given to my national team, you know, for 10 years?" said on docuseries. "I have paid the price. That's the only thing that starts to get on my nerves. But to be honest, it just fuels me to get back on the field and just shut everyone up and show everyone what I'm about, at the end of the day." Weah isn't happy Wait! It doesn't stop with Pulisic. USMNT teammate Tim Weah, who recently completed a transfer from Juventus to Marseille, called the former players who have dared to criticize the team as "evil." That's right, evil. "I think those guys are chasing checks, and for me, I just feel like they're really evil, honestly, because they've been players and they know what it's like when you're getting bashed," Weah said. Those are the same guys that'll turn around and shake your hand and try to be friends with you at the end of the day. "Don't get me wrong, I respect all of them. They were players that I looked up to. But quite frankly, the guys before us didn't win anything, either." Well, the earlier generations did set the table for the current team. Meola, for example, backstopped the U.S. in its first World Cup appearance in 40 years in 1990. But we'll have to do a U.S. soccer history in another piece. Mark Pulisic defends his son It should not come as a surprise that Pulisic's father, Mark, a former pro soccer player himself, backed his son. "These guys want clicks," he said. "On social media, it's 'subscribe to my channels, listen to my podcasts,' or whatever. I think they should look in the mirror and look at their last performances for the national team before they start talking s#@t." Lalas' response Those remarks opened the door for a response from Lalas on Fox and Meola on the Call It What You Want podcast on CBS Sports. Lalas wrote "don't bring your dad to a fight. I get that Mark Pulisic, like other dads out there, has been involved directly in bringing up, in this case, Christian. I get that he's a former coach. But who brings their dad to a fight? If you're angry at me or Landon or anybody else that is being critical of you, that's fine. You have a platform, you have a microphone – some would say bigger than anybody else out there – to get that off your chest, but you don't need to bring your dad. "Never once has it even occurred to have my father defend me from the slings and arrows that are inevitable but well done. You got me to watch, and you got exactly what you wanted." Meola has his say Meola and Mark Pulisic were teammates on the Oceanside Navahos team that captured the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Boys Under-19 crown in 1987. Pulisic scored twice that day, including a late game-winner in a 2-1 triumph over B.W. Gottschee. 'I've been friends with Mark Pulisic for a long time. We played together at the youth level. You gotta stay out, Mark," Meola said. 'I know you're a dad, I know you get emotional, your kid is at the top of the heap, right? I've got other friends in other major sports in America that their kids right now are in top of the heap. They listen to this all the time about their kids. You can't respond. "Stay out. Christian is a big boy. He will be able to do this on his own. He will be able to carry this team.' This criticism and replies aren't about to go away anytime soon, if ever. The U.S. men have two friendlies coming up during the September FIFA international window against a pair of top-flight Asian sides. The Americans will face the Korea Republic at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J. on Sept. 6 before meeting Japan at Field in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 9. Like it or not, Pulisic and his teammates will be under the microscopic and then some in those friendlies and anything concerning club or country from now until the end of the European domestic season in May and the first part of the Major League Soccer campaign before it takes its World Cup break. And those criticisms and opinions won't stop with the end of the World Cup. In the media environment that we live in today, it likely will continue forever. Who knows? After this generation of USMNT players retire, they might find themselves in a similar situation when they become media pundits and get an opportunity to share their opinions, criticisms and analysis about another generation.