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Chicago Tribune
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Groucho Marx, playing one night only in the Loop
Groucho Marx has been dead since 1977, but to hear his grandson talk about him, one can imagine a smile on his face, those remarkable eyebrows raising 'He and I became very close in his later years,' Andy Marx was telling me Sunday night. 'We spent a lot of time together, working on various projects, every day at his house for two or three years, having lunch. I used to run into a lot of people who knew my grandfather. But that's rare now.' On the telephone with us was Frank Ferrante, who is in a career-long business of being Groucho, whose full name was Julius Henry Marx. For 40 years and counting, he has been Groucho in many foreign countries, in 47 of our 50 states, in theaters large and small. He will be Groucho again on June 11, when he performs his critically acclaimed one-man, two-act show, 'Frank Ferrante's Groucho,' at Teatro ZinZanni, that lively theatrical oasis in the Loop. He has been here before, serving off and on as Caesar, the emcee of Teatro ZinZanni's dinner circus show, since it opened in Chicago in 2019. He's also played Groucho in the suburbs many times. No surprise. He's been almost everywhere. This will be his 3,500 performance as Groucho, give or take, so I wasn't reluctant to ask him to take yet another trip, back to where it all began. He says this 'remarkable experience' started when he was nine and saw the 1937 film comedy, 'A Day at the Races,' the seventh movie to star Groucho and his brothers Harpo (Arthur) and Chico (Leonard Joseph). 'I was entranced and exhilarated by his behavior on screen,' Ferrante told me. 'Remember, I was 9, and so it was real, he was a real person. That mustache, eyebrows, so free and wild, so brash and irreverent. I wanted to be just like him.' And so did he begin (pre-Internet age, remember?) to devour any books or magazine articles he could find, including the dozen of so books that Groucho wrote, even though his formal education stopped after the sixth grade. He watched the Marx Brothers movies (there were some 13) and explored Groucho's time as the host of the game show, 'You Bet Your Life,' from the late 1940s to the 1960s, and everything else he could find about the man. As a theater major at the University of Southern California, he created as his thesis a show, 'An Evening With Groucho,' and, boldly, invited as many of Groucho's relatives and friends as he could find to attend his production. Among the 100 people in the audience were Groucho's daughter, Miriam, and his son, Arthur. 'I would say it went well, very well,' Ferrante told me. 'Arthur told me after the show, 'If I ever put together a show about my father, I'd like you to be in it.'' It didn't take long. Within a year of graduating, the 22-year-old Ferrante was cast as Groucho in Arthur Marx's 'Groucho: A Life in Revue' (written with Robert Fisher). Featuring actors as his brothers and other characters in Groucho's life, it was an off-Broadway smash, playing for more than a year before heading to London, where it was also a hit and earned Ferrante an Olivier Award nomination. Though Ferrante had found a career, he says, 'My friendships with Arthur and his sister Miriam provided me with an understanding of the man beyond the movies. This was a complicated guy and I am passionate about him. I almost feel like I am doing missionary work, moving from town to town, spreading the word.' As well as Ferrante knows Groucho, there is likely no living person who knew him as well as Arthur's son, Andy, who recalled the first time he saw Ferrante as Groucho, saying, 'My father (Arthur) told me there was this guy at USC and I saw Frank and it was mind blowing, incredible. A little freaky but cool.' The two have become friends over the decades as Andy would fashion a fine career as writer, musician and photographer and Ferrante would keep playing Groucho in his own show while sometimes tackling other theatrical roles and ventures. They live in separate California homes but rightly consider Chicago a special place in the Marx story. This is where what would be the Marx Brothers (in addition to Groucho, Chico and Harpo, there were Gummo and Zeppo) lived from 1911 to 1920. Their ambitious and canny mother, Minnie, chose the city because its central location was within the vaudeville circuit, enabling the 'boys' to hone the shenanigans that would make them world famous. That was a long time ago but the movies obviously continue to attract fans, to spread and keep alive the Marx Brothers, Groucho most prominently. That's in large part due to Ferrante's energetic and artful 'missionary' work. Doesn't hurt that for the last few years a filmed version is available on PBS. Or that he is ever expanding the improvisational portion of the performance, interacting with audiences. And Ferrante will be interviewed following his performance by my colleague Chris Jones. How long can he go? Audiences are drawn to characters of the past, especially to those who might be able to evoke memories of good times. Think of all the Elvis impersonators out there. (When Groucho died in 1977, his obituaries were overshadowed by those of Elvis, who died three days earlier.) In the theatrical world, think of Hal Holbrook, who performed his 'Mark Twain Tonight' more than 2,000 times, from 1959 until retiring in 2017 at 92. There's also James Whitmore, who brought to stage life Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Teddy Roosevelt. Closer to home, there's Ronnie Marmo, who has performed his terrific 'I'm Not a Comedian … I'm Lenny Bruce' more than 450 times, many on Chicago stages. Doesn't really mean much, I guess, but I just learned that Groucho and Lenny Bruce are buried near each other in Mission Hills, California, at a place called Eden Memorial Park.
Hans India
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Stalwarts from the world of entertainment live on forever
The art of acting has flourished across platforms, such as the silver screen or the movie world, the small screen or television and theatre or drama. In addition, many extremely innovative forms of entertainment have taken shape in different parts of India and elsewhere in the world. The Tamasha in Maharashtra and the Burrakadha/Harikatha in Andhra Pradesh in India are, for example, very popular. I remember attending a Burrakatha once, which was staged as a fundraising campaign for the victims of the unprecedented floods in the Godavari River in 1956. The theme was the slaying of Abhimanyu, the son of the Pandava Prince Arjun, in the Kurushetra war in the epic Mahabharata. The manner in which the lead performer and his two assistants described the scene, with rhythmic movements and melodious singing, was most moving, and brought tears to one's eyes. Elsewhere in the world, similar forms of street art and public performances, which do not require a formal stage, are in vogue. Busking, for instance, is a form of street performance, popular in parks, squares, and beaches, in countries like Italy and France. Likewise, London is known for its vibrant street art, as are San Francisco and New York, for a thriving street art scene, with many murals and public art projects. Similarly, the dramas and street plays, enacted in the rural roadsides, reflecting the arts and lives of countryside of the country, are a big attraction for tourists, in Indonesia. For over a century, movies have remained easily the most popular form of all performing arts. The movie industry in America, popularly called Hollywood, traces its beginnings to the late 19th century. A galaxy of exponents of the art of acting, as Ben Kingsley, Alec Guinness, Lawrence Olivier, Doris Day and Julie Andrews have entertained audiences around the world with their unforgettable performances. Among those delighted the movie goers with their fun and laughter, Charlie Chaplin leads a memorable list, with Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers and the Bud Abbott and Lou Costello combinations, also finding a place in the august league. Nearer home, the Hindi movie industry, also known as Bollywood, began in India in 1913. Great actors, such as Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar of yesteryears and Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have carved a niche for themselves. And the dazzling list of their female counterparts includes unforgettable heroines like Meena Kumari, Madhubala and Waheeda Rahman of the bygone era, Vijayanthimala, Nutan, Rekha, Jaya Bhaduri and Hema Malini, in later years and Rani Mukherjea and Kareena Kapoor making a lasting impression on movie goers from the current generation. The rib tickling performances of comedians like Agha and Johnny Walker in Hindi films and Relangi and Nagesh in the Telugu and Tamil movie industries, will forever be cherished. Down South, Shivaji Ganesan, MGR, Raj Kumar, NTR, Akkineni Nageswara, Rao, Sobhan Babu, Savitri, Anjali Devi, Jamuna and Bhanumathi from the earlier periods and Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR and Sarada and Jayaprada, in later times, are some of the great actors and actresses, who adorned the celluloid world. Perhaps the most difficult genre of acting is that of portyaing the role of a villain. People such as Pran, and K.N. Singh of the earlier generation were outstanding in this genre. While heroes, heroines, villains, and comedians may come and go, it is the character artists who will remain forever in the hearts and minds of the audience, with their versatility in essaying a variety of roles with consummate ease and the ability to 'live' the character. The great actors in this category include Om Prakash in Bollywood and S.V. Ranga Rao in Tollywood. The movie world has seen many exclusive, and highly talented, members of the tribe of artists known as playback singers, especially in Bollywood, and Tollywood, not to mention those from other regional languages. Indelible memories of Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar will remain immortal for the aficionados. As will be those of Ghantasala in Telugu and Soundara Rajan in Tamil. In the western world, it has for long been the practice for actors to lend their own voice to songs enacted by them on the screen. In the Indian context, however, it is often the playback singer who does that for the actors. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard are some names that spring to mind as regards Hollywood. To the rare breed of actors who needed no playback support in the Hindi movies, belong the inimitable Kishore Kumar, Talat Mahmood, and Mukesh in Hindi films and Bhanumati in the Telugu field and other languages. In Mahabharata, the epic which reference has been made earlier, the Pandava Princes lose in a game of dice against the princess of the Kaurava clan. As a result, they are required, in accordance with an agreement reached before the commencement of the game, to spend a year in exile. They choose the court of Virata and spend that year, with each of the Pandava princes, in different forms of disguise. Arjuna, in the garb of Brihannala, a eunuch, teaches dance to princess Uttara, the king's daughter. In modern times, institutes have come up in India, as well as other countries, which train the aspirants across disciplines. Many of them have proved fertile grounds for talent to blossom. Some of the finest in this genre are the remarkably gifted actors like Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, and Shabana Azmi. Many distinguished Indian painters were also great teachers. Names like Rabindranath Tagore, the Mullick genius, Raja Ravi Varma the artist par excellence in the field of painting, come to mind. And in providing humourous relief to readers, while simultaneously touching sensitive themes, Sankar, Mario Miranda and the Bapu-Ramana duo, excelled. I had the privilege of knowing maestros who excelled in renditions of many musical instruments. A gifted guitarist Richard Gnanakan, for example, taught me to play the guitar. Likewise, the Mridangam maestro, Yella Venkateswara Rao, put me through my paces during the initial stages of my learning to play the instrument although it proved a futile exercise. As my father observed, in the case of my learning to play the guitar, enthusiasm was more in evidence, than expertise! Another great teacher, who taught singing to my daughter Aparna was Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, the well-known exponent of Carnatic classical music. Likewise, my granddaughter Gayathri was fortunate enough to be a disciple of Rajeshwari Sainath, the famous danseuse and teacher, thanks to whose efforts she was able to reach the stage of an Arangetram, and go on to make public performances in India and abroad. And it was the legendary Vempatl Chinna Satyam, dancer and teacher par excellence, who had the honour of being asked to train NTR to portray the role of Brihannala, referred to earlier, in the runaway hit Telugu movie Nartanasala. Very few playwrights have the ability to mould their works with an eye on the efficacy with which the script can be converted into a play. And it was undoubtedly William Shakespeare, who was a master of that art. The stage has also often served as an incubator for budding film actors. Several popular Telugu actors such as Akkineni Nageswara Rao were known to have started their careers on stage. Readers will probably have read the story in this column earlier. Still, its relevance to the subject under discussion is so significant that it is impossible to resist repeating it. The story goes that Charlie Chaplin once entered, out of a sense of sheer curiosity, a competition he found being conducted for imitating him. And guess what? He came second! (The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)
Wall Street Journal
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
How a Trio of Comedy Masterminds Cracked the Workplace Generation Gap
The three creators of the hit show Hacks are squeezed onto the same deep blue velvet couch like it's throuples therapy. They chose to sit this way. There was an open chair. But closeness is not threatening to them—it's what got them here in the first place. Hacks, now returning for its fourth season, has birthed one of the industry's most sought-after writing teams, a Hollywood threesome—but professional. Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, who are married, and longtime friend Jen Statsky, who officiated at their wedding, have defied expectations not just with their success but with a work arrangement that few could replicate. A collaboration among three people is rife with potential for trouble, whether it's two-against-one battles, three-way competition or gold-silver-bronze status anxiety. But on a recent afternoon at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Downs and Aniello sitting on either side of Statsky, no one lets another's joke go by without a laugh. 'We're not the first to do this,' Downs says, not-quite-correctly citing the Marx Brothers. 'Weren't they two?' Aniello asks. 'No,' Downs says. 'There's three of them: Groucho, Harpo and the other one.' (That would be Chico, though there were a couple more.) Vaudeville isn't their wheelhouse: The writers are all millennials roughly the same age. But in their work, they've gained acclaim by delivering sharp commentary on those much older and younger. Since its debut four years ago on the streaming service Max, Hacks has jumped headlong into the generation gap at work. In season 1 of the show, fading Las Vegas stand-up legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) odd-coupled with outcast young comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) on a shared quest for career reinvention. In season 2, the pair hit the road to work out new material in the age of cancel culture. In season 3, they campaigned for a late-night talk show despite Deborah's age and Ava's lack of experience. In the new season premiering this spring, the writers drop their characters into a workplace comedy, a tinderbox of baby boomers, millennials and Gen Zers. Deborah makes history as the first female late-night talk show host, while head writer Ava wrangles a staff of comedic up-and-comers. Intergenerational sparks fly over Mr. Coffee—why is it gendered?—and work hours for young staffers who consider 'me time' a medical absence if it boosts their self-esteem. The trio doesn't divide writing labors in any formal way, they say, and they note that their odd number gives them a built-in tie-breaker. On Hacks, Statsky mostly writes, Aniello writes and directs, and Downs writes, directs and acts, playing the forever-panicked manager, Jimmy. The show has won nine Emmys, including for writing, directing and best comedy series. Work infuses the personal lives of the showrunners. Statsky says she does not get drawn into marital disagreements or feel outnumbered. 'I don't know if people think they're going to be kissing and decide in the kissing that they're going to go with their pitch, not mine,' Statsky says. 'It never really comes into play in that way.' Aniello looks at Downs: 'I hope we're not talking about pitches while we're kissing.' 'We said at the beginning, we can't let this show ever get in the way of our friendship,' says Statsky. 'And obviously they have a relationship, a marriage beyond friendship.' 'We said it could get in the way of that,' Downs says. In the new season, Deborah, a lone wolf who has her first real boss in the form of a network chief, is on notice that she needs to find her own version of 'Carpool Karaoke' and dominate late-night ratings within three months or her show will be in jeopardy. The fight for attention in an oversaturated media market is as pressing for the writers as it is for their characters. 'We did create this season knowing that we were writing at a very specific time when there is tremendous pressure for all of these companies to be maximizing profit at all times,' says Statsky. 'One could assume, 'Oh, it's very inside baseball. It's the inner workings and behind the curtain of a late-night show.' And yet I think it's allowed us to most clearly talk about the state of the world than we've ever been able to do before.' Half-hour comedies are scarce in a risk-averse Hollywood, and the show's writers want to use their clout to take on the realities of their industry—the demand for instant hits, the dwindling pool of comedy jobs, the worries about the nature of future work. Writers are pushed to spend more time explaining what's on-screen, at the expense of the plot, to accommodate viewers who are also on their phones. 'This is what's happening to storytelling in our industry,' says Aniello. 'We might be insulated from it at this specific moment, but it's coming for all of us.' Statsky, 39, grew up outside Boston and attended New York University before getting her first paid job as a writer on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. She loves junk food, devours internet memes and married comedy writer Travis Helwig at a drive-through chapel in Las Vegas. The comedic foil of the group is Downs, 42, a potty mouth with perfect diction. He grew up in rural Sussex, New Jersey. At school, he was a slightly unusual child in patent-leather wing tips and a tie with buttons glued on it. He went to Duke University and lost some eccentricity over time. Aniello, 42, left Italy as a baby and grew up in Hadley, Massachusetts, where her parents ran an Italian restaurant. At Columbia University, she joined a sorority and played varsity tennis. She's got a scratchy laugh and used to have a habit of kissing her own shoulder for self-care when she got stressed, though she hasn't done that for a while. Downs and Aniello met at an improv class at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York in 2007. Two years later, Aniello and Statsky bonded as two of the only women in an indie sketch group. Aniello and Downs were dating, churning out digital shorts in New York while Statsky, now their good friend, moved to L.A. and landed on the writing staff at Parks and Recreation. The couple began cc'ing Statsky on their domestic to-do list emails. It was a comedy bit designed to keep her in their lives—one made funnier by the fact that no one ever said a word about it—but as a result Statsky always knew when her friends needed toilet bowl cleaner. In 2015, after Downs and Aniello had started writing on the millennial comedy Broad City, Statsky joined them. The Comedy Central show about two young women not making it in New York proved a further springboard for the writers. The idea for Hacks was born in 2015 when the three were on a road trip to a monster truck rally in Portland, Maine, where Downs was shooting a sketch for a Netflix special. The talk turned to funny women of a bygone era. Why weren't talents like Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers more appreciated in their day? The series wasn't written specifically for Smart, 73, who nevertheless didn't need to audition. The part requires incredible stamina, and the production got a scare when Smart underwent a heart procedure in 2023. But she jumped back into work, taking an extended rest only when the strikes by writers and actors happened to shut down Los Angeles. She has won three Emmys for her performance. With stars like Nicole Kidman, 57, and Julianne Moore, 64, continuing to work steadily into their AARP years, older women are faring better in Hollywood than they ever have. But there's a cutoff, it seems, determined by whether an older woman can still look younger while playing an older woman. On Hacks, there's no fudging it: Age is central to the plot. To write with authority on comedy veterans, the team has hired advisers including Merrill Markoe, the original head writer for Late Night With David Letterman who also has a small part in the new season. Other consultants have included Janis Hirsch, who wrote for Frasier and Will & Grace; Carol Leifer, who wrote for Seinfeld and Saturday Night Live; Lisa Albert, a writer on Mad Men; and Susie Essman, the foul-mouthed friend from Curb Your Enthusiasm. 'We love writing for funny actors, and that has led us to hiring a lot of people who tend to be older women,' says Aniello. 'It's not undiscovered talent, but underutilized talent.' The Hacks writers think a lot about the indignities of show business. The constant scrapping, the ruthlessness, the fact that even a rare success doesn't guarantee happiness. Though plenty of 24-year-olds in L.A. already feel as battle-tested as Deborah, there's a different connection for older viewers—'people who are like, 'I'm standing on the couch screaming YES!' ' Downs says. The show argues that to stay still in show business is to die. 'A lot of comedians like Deborah stay relevant because they are challenged,' says Statsky. 'You have to keep challenging your point of view as you get older. 'That thing I thought a decade ago, do I still think it? Do I still believe it? Does it still feel true?' To be a good comedian and speak truth to power and comment on culture, you have to be constantly questioning yourself.' Downs chimes in: 'Which is exhausting.' On Hacks, the script is paramount. By the time the cast gets it, the writing team has examined every word choice and punctuation mark. Each show contains a lot of material—it's only a half hour because everybody talks so fast. The trio point out that each episode's run time includes 80 seconds of credits, so actually they write even tighter than it looks. The showrunners say the writers' room horrors featured in this season come from their friends on other comedy series, not themselves. 'Thank you for your trauma,' Statsky says. Every writers' room has a group text chain that leaves out the bosses. Aniello doesn't know the name of the one that excludes them. 'I hope it's, 'I wish they were on this,' ' she says. Aniello, Downs and Statsky see one more season of Hacks after this, and they say they already know how it will end. All three have overall deals at Warner Bros. (Aniello and Downs have one, Statsky has another) as well as two separate production shingles. But for the foreseeable future, as they pursue several joint projects, including a comedy series about regional theater starring Kaley Cuoco, three is their magic number. Or maybe it's four—Aniello and Downs had a baby boy in 2022, and Mom continued to direct an episode of Hacks between contractions. Smart and Einbinder threw her a baby shower. (Later, Einbinder, 29, gave the baby a copy of the novel Infinite Jest.) The toddler's parents are intrigued by what makes their son laugh when he wanders into the Hacks editing room. 'Chicken? What chicken?,' a manic question delivered by Downs's character in the new season, is the toddler's favorite line. He doesn't know what it means, he just knows it kills. Some laughs cross even the steepest age divides. 'There are things that are universally funny to people,' says Downs, 'and that's actually a really exciting thing.' Aniello: hair, Derek Yuen; makeup, Fiona Stiles. Downs: grooming, Sonia Lee. Statsky: hair, Eddie Cook; makeup, Courtney Hart. Production, Abigail Aragon.
The Guardian
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Five Great Reads: Micky Dolenz; postcards from a tram; and the meaning of life
Happy Saturday! My favourite part of the week is here: bringing back five great reads that deserve a buoy in the rapids of this week's news cycle. Take a beat, digest and, if you have a favourite read, tell us here: There is a surprising trend happening under our noses: beard transplants – something I'd never heard of before sniffing out Simon Usborne's story on this growing industry, where transplant tourism and illicit clinics are rife and the stakes are high. Are the risks worth it for the chance of a thicker, fuller beard? Yes (for some): Franck Fontaine feels 'much more confident' after his transplant, aside from when his six-year-old daughter begs him to 'shave it off'. Words of warning: Spencer Stevenson, a prominent mentor for balding men, urges caution. 'You can have a bad hair transplant and sometimes get away with it, but with a beard it's a whole new kettle of fish because it's on your face,' he says. 'You can't put a hat on it.' How long will it take to read: five minutes. Following in philosopher Will Durant's mail trail, James Bailey decided to write to some well-known people to hear their thoughts on the ultimate existential question: what is the meaning of life? Their answers are fascinating and funny – but could they help us frame our days on Earth? From the hundreds of comments left on this story, perhaps yes. Susan Pollack, Holocaust survivor: After a British soldier rescued and placed her into an ambulance, Pollack has taken nothing for granted. 'I remember the effect and appreciation this first helpfulness had on my life,' she writes. 'It gradually removed the heavy iron cover on me, and sparks of 'I can do' and 'I want to do' gradually came into my existence.' Hilary Mantel, late author: 'You use two terms interchangeably: 'meaning' and 'purpose'. I don't think they're the same. I'm not sure life has a meaning, in the abstract. But it can have a definite purpose if you decide so.' How long will it take to read: 10 minutes. Just shy of his 80th birthday, Micky Dolenz spoke to Alexis Petridis about being in one of the biggest music groups in the world – and its last surviving member. John Lennon described the Monkees as more 'like the Marx Brothers'. The original advertisement for their show called for 'folk'n'roll musician/singers … four insane boys'. My only real appreciation for the group was their impact on mainstream music: from I'm a Believer (thank you, Smash Mouth) to Daydream Believer (thank you, grandma). 'It was not a boyband. It was the cast of a television show, like when the cast of Glee made albums.' – Micky Dolenz The legacy: the Monkees 'weren't supposed to have such staying power', Petridis writes. 'The TV show was cancelled in 1968 after two seasons … But [it] is a kind of period piece, a last transmission from a more innocent era of 60s pop that was about to be overwhelmed by psychedelia and more serious-minded artistic ambition.' How long will it take to read: five minutes Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion Each week, I eagerly await the Guardian's Washington DC bureau chief's latest analysis on Donald Trump. The themes are always disturbing. But I find something comforting about being privy to conversations the experts are having. This time around, David Smith warns 'America is sleepwalking into authoritarianism'; that Trump's actions are edging closer to those of Hungary's Viktor Orbán's; and he hears we may be approaching 'Defcon 1'. I've forgotten what I found comforting … A political strategist and former campaign operative for George W Bush and John McCain, says: 'Donald Trump is producing a Washington television show from the Oval Office that's authoritarian in nature. You go on TikTok and see the deportations scored to songs and videos released by the administration. It's a theatre of the absurd. It's a theatre of malice. All of it is desensitising people to the use of authority and power.' How long will it take to read: six minutes. Further reading: Smith's analysis was before the White House's catastrophic security blunder on Signal. For more on that, Andrew Roth's take on the depths of the Trump's administration loathing of Europe is worth your time. Sketching tram route 35, Josh Nicholas sees a whole new side of the city he has lived in for three years. Before the experiment, he walked the same Melbourne streets, caught the same trains. 'I must have hundreds of sketches of Flinders station alone. So I decided to be a tourist,' he writes. 'I caught some of the energy': Nicholas sketches fellow passengers crammed inside the stuffy tram. It's chaotic at the best of times but the effect it has on his watercolour works is stunning. How long will it take to read: three-and-a-half minutes. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Robert Altman Mastered Social Satire with Large Ensemble Casts
The New Hollywood movement introduced audiences to more than a few memorable filmmakers, from hard-boiled crime directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese to genre enthusiasts like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. While these filmmakers played a significant role in shaping American films of the '60s and '70s, viewers shouldn't look past the contributions of lesser-known directors as well, like Hal Ashby, Michael Cimino, and Robert Altman. In the latter's case, Robert Altman's movies broke new ground in the '70s film circuit, pioneering the use of rambling cinematic storylines populated by large casts of characters. A prolific director who worked in the comedic, mystery, crime, Western, and war genres, Altman ranks as one of the most multifaceted directors of his generation, a guiding light for later filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Richard Linklater. Check out a roundup of all the best Robert Altman movies. Altman's deconstruction of the '70s folk rock industry continues to serve as a pillar in the New Hollywood movement. Opting for a threadbare storyline with little in the way of plot, Altman instead put the narrative focus of his film on his disparate cast of characters (with a total of 24 main characters identified in the film). A stylistic precursor to later works like Boogie Nights, critics, cinephiles, and film scholars persist in singling out Nashville as Altman's magnum opus. An early entry in the Western revisionist genre, Altman shattered endless conventions regarding McCabe & Mrs. Miller. In a cinematic genre known for constant gunfights, horse chases, and clear-cut heroes and villains, Altman presented a cast of ambiguous characters known for their moral complexity and self-interested motives. The resulting film laid the groundwork for the revisionist Western moving forward, existing alongside other notable films like The Wild Bunch and Little Big Man. Altman's breakthrough film, M*A*S*H broke a multitude of rules regarding the traditional war film. Opting for a more sentimental, pacifistic message, Altman presented the Korean War with inherent absurdity, focusing on individual soldiers' attempts to alleviate boredom and homesickness. The most important film in Altman's young career, M*A*S*H also established numerous signature elements associated with Altman's later movies, from a liberal use of dark comedy to massive ensemble casts (Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, and Robert Duvall). A return to form for Robert Altman movies, 1992's The Player features dark comedy so biting and cynical, it makes M*A*S*H seem as light-hearted as a '30s Marx Brothers film by comparison. A vicious takedown of the film industry, Altman takes special care when ripping apart the more callous side of Hollywood, poking fun at the shallow-minded directors, the easily-annoyed actors, and the unscrupulous, profit-obsessed executives who reign over the entire business. A postmodern riff on the noir genre, The Long Goodbye acts as a contemporary adaptation of Raymond Chandler's famous hard-boiled novel. Featuring a charismatic Elliott Gould as mild-mannered private eye Philip Marlowe, The Long Goodbye traces Marlowe's constant attempts to do the right thing, even at the cost of his own safety, personal happiness, and well-being. The Big Lebowski of its day and age, Altman's work on the film helped The Long Goodbye transcend the noir genre, juxtaposing the '40s detective story with the counterculture of the 1970s. Perhaps the final great entry among Robert Altman movies, Gosford Park acts as a whodunit in the same mold as an Agatha Christie novel. Set in early 20th century England, the movie involves the events leading up to the murder of an influential aristocrat (Michael Gambon), and the subsequent investigation overseen by a buffoonish inspector (Stephen Fry). A social satire probing into the severe contrasts between the upper crust of British society and the lower-class workers catering to their every need, Gosford Park makes for one of Altman's most exciting titles in his 2000s-era career. A rare surrealist film from Altman, 3 Women illustrates the director's profound range as a cinematic artist. An ambitious cross between psychological horror and absurdist drama, 3 Women's dreamlike tone sets it apart as a movie unlike any other in Altman's filmography. A far cry from the ensemble movies that characterize Altman's career, 3 Women's sparse, ambiguous storyline may frustrate some, but it no doubt makes for one of the more interesting additions to Altman's career. An ideal companion piece to Nashville and M*A*S*H, Short Cuts sees Altman return to the larger-scale productions of his earlier years. Taking plenty of inspiration from the short stories of Raymond Carver, Short Cuts follows a massive lineup of characters, tracking their day-to-day lives in idyllic Los Angeles. An effective follow-up to The Player, Short Cuts finds Altman at the peak of his creative output, cementing his long-awaited return to mainstream cinema. One of the most subtle and affecting Robert Altman movies, Altman disguises California Split as an outright comedy film, centered around Elliott Gould and George Segal's misadventures in Southwestern America's various opulent casinos. As the movie rolls along, though, Altman manages to underscore the two men's slow descent into gambling addiction, their initial bouts of fun and fancy transforming into something far more sinister and serious. The last film Altman ever made, A Prairie Home Companion also makes for a bittersweet conclusion to Altman's entire career. Melding comedy with drama, A Prairie Home Companion focuses on the final performance of a fading radio theater music troupe. Rather than meditating on the finality of their last performance, A Prairie Home Companion's large cast delights in the closing moments of their time together, bringing Altman's entire filmography to a fitting and powerful farewell. Though Popeye's underwhelming critical reception left Altman in industry limbo until The Player, Altman remained hard at work cranking out several lesser-known films, including the 1990 biographical film, Vincent & Theo, a stirring biopic centered around Vincent van Gogh (Tim Roth) and his brother, Theo (Paul Rhys). Polar opposites in temperament and personality, Vincent and Theo nevertheless harbor similar longings for life, with Altman illustrating their struggles with addiction, religiosity, and long bouts of mental despair. An engrossing film from Altman's overlooked '80s period, Fool for Love adapts Sam Shepard's stage play of the same name. Starring Shepard and Kim Basinger as a former couple thrust together once again by either chance or providence, Altman uses Shepard's electric screenplay to probe into the deep-seated questions about romantic entanglements, including examinations over chance, fate, and plain old bad luck. A faithful adaptation of Edward Anderson's novel of the same name, Thieves Like Us traces the surprising romance between two criminals (Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall) on the run from the law in the 1930s Southern U.S. A film that bears plenty of similarities to the decade-defining Bonnie and Clyde, Altman manages to present his own take on the lovers-on-the-lam subgenre, right down to a meaningful exploration of how systemic poverty feeds rampant criminality. If The Player mocked the practices of Hollywood, Cookie's Fortune does the same for the idea of the 'perfect family.' After their wealthy aunt Cookie (Patricia Neal) takes her own life, her insecure family members attempt to cover up the incident, hoping to preserve their respectful standing in the community. A humorous satirization of small-town gossip and Southern communities, Cookie's Fortune delivers the same bountiful laughs as The Player or M*A*S*H. Rebounding from the shortcomings of Popeye, Altman turned his attention to the theatrical world, directing several stage plays on Broadway—including Ed Graczyk's Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Soon after the show's theatrical debut, Altman wound up adapting the show into a feature-length film, partnering with Cher, Sandy Dennis, and Karen Black in order to do so. An outside-the-box production for Altman, the film set the standard for his more theatrical films of the 1980s (which includes Fool for Love and Secret Honor). Altman's most minimalist film, Secret Honor utilizes a simple plot set-up: in his secluded country home in New Jersey, disgraced ex-president Richard Nixon (Philip Baker Hall) espouses on his abundant failures in his personal and professional lives. A one-man show with a single setting, Secret Honor's greatest characteristic involves Hall's energetic performance as the controversial commander-in-chief. Released the same year as M*A*S*H, Brewster McCloud established Altman's proficient ability to work between conflicting genres. Experimental in nature, the film showcases several loosely connected segments, all of which revolve around a young man (Bud Cort) attempting to construct his own pair of angelic wings. Among Altman's funniest films, the movie's surrealist nature also marked one of the earliest forays into absurdist storytelling as far as Robert Altman movies go. Most audience members have tended to view Images with a divided response. Some feel it one of Altman's weakest films, others his most underrated. A psychological horror film that owes plenty to Roman Polanski, Images nevertheless makes for a fascinating project from Altman. His sole foray into the horror genre, Altman's ethereal treatment of horror can get under viewers' skin in a way no other Altman movie can. One of the biggest failures of Altman's career came with 1980's Popeye. A live-action adaptation of the animated icon Popeye, Altman's take on the spinach-chomping cartoon sailor served as Altman's most significant disaster up to that point in time, earning scathing reviews from critics. In more years, however, Popeye's critical reception has considerably warmed, with many praising the movie for capturing the spirit and tone of the original animated shorts. Like McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Altman uses Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson as a more intrinsic deconstruction of Western antiquity. Portraying such iconic figures as Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley as people rather than folkloric characters, Altman frames the historical backdrop of his story with realistic clarity, likening itself more to the Indigenous American perspective of Westward Expansion.
