Jimmy Fallon has to be a very pleasant guy who is great to work with. Because he certainly didn't base his career on talent. And I think being a decent person is under-appreciated in the entertainment industry. So I don't mean this as a slight to Fallon. I just don't see much there on the screen -- ever.
In interviews, I haven't been impressed with Firth. He seems a bit too much like some of the characters he plays. But I love his work. He will always be my image of Mr Darcy! I wouldn't mind seeing this film. Maybe I can get Andrea to watch it with me since she's long had a bit of a crush on Firth. I'll let you know!
But not tonight. We are watching Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens, the first film of Jim Sharman, who directed The Rocky Horror Picture Show (film and original production -- he's more of a theater director).
Fallon does that "look how cute it is for a grown man to act 11 years old" act I've always found insufferable. And him fluffing Trump's hair was gross.
Most actors are kinda boring in interviews. Maybe it's just boring doing interviews. They all have to do a ton of them to promote things. This one about dropping acid with Peter Capaldi is great: https://youtu.be/J0d9k4S8XEo?si=jXijsCwtJtkyVRDX
Andrea might like this one. It’s not really about sports at all. In England, the Fallon movie was called "Perfect Catch" to avoid confusion. The book was a huge bestseller there.
Good actors used to be terrible in interviews. I've noticed over the last couple of decades that many of them now treat interviews as playing a part. But I remember when I was younger, I was a huge fan of John Hurt, who was absolutely one of the best actors of his generation. And he was absolutely terrible in interviews. And I think it is because the best actors will be something of a blank canvas. But I don't know. The truth is, I see interviews as basically the same as TV commercials. I like to think that I can tell something about the interviewee, but the truth is they couldn't be more fake.
I should look that up. The only thing I know about her is that she picked up a flute that belonged to James Madison (?) and played the beginning of Poulenc's Sonata for Flute and Piano. And she was great! As a flutist, I know how ridiculously difficult that piece is. Poulenc wrote it for Jean-Pierre Rampal. But then I heard that conservatives were upset because a sexy black woman played a flute belonging to a slave owner. It shocked me because I was thrilled listening to the 20 seconds or so she played. It reminded me that most people into classical music really don't like it. Ben Shapiro, who plays the violin well, trashed her. It never occurred to him that this pop musician happened to have memorized one of the best and most difficult pieces in the flute catalog. I suspect that like most pretenders, Shapiro had never even heard the piece.
Here is Rampal playing it. As I recall, at the premiere, Poulenc himself played the piano.
Update: According to Wikipedia, it wasn't written for Rampal, but he did give the first performance of it with (as I had correctly remembered) Poulenc on paino.
That's roughly what I remember. What bugs me is they flipped out because of who was playing the flute without any thought to how fucking great she was. And let's face it, *many* of the complainers are guys who say things like, "Hitler was a bad guy but you have to admit that he was a good artist." (He was passable; but he was nowhere near the level that she is as a musician.)
Jimmy Fallon has to be a very pleasant guy who is great to work with. Because he certainly didn't base his career on talent. And I think being a decent person is under-appreciated in the entertainment industry. So I don't mean this as a slight to Fallon. I just don't see much there on the screen -- ever.
In interviews, I haven't been impressed with Firth. He seems a bit too much like some of the characters he plays. But I love his work. He will always be my image of Mr Darcy! I wouldn't mind seeing this film. Maybe I can get Andrea to watch it with me since she's long had a bit of a crush on Firth. I'll let you know!
But not tonight. We are watching Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens, the first film of Jim Sharman, who directed The Rocky Horror Picture Show (film and original production -- he's more of a theater director).
Fallon does that "look how cute it is for a grown man to act 11 years old" act I've always found insufferable. And him fluffing Trump's hair was gross.
Most actors are kinda boring in interviews. Maybe it's just boring doing interviews. They all have to do a ton of them to promote things. This one about dropping acid with Peter Capaldi is great: https://youtu.be/J0d9k4S8XEo?si=jXijsCwtJtkyVRDX
Andrea might like this one. It’s not really about sports at all. In England, the Fallon movie was called "Perfect Catch" to avoid confusion. The book was a huge bestseller there.
Good actors used to be terrible in interviews. I've noticed over the last couple of decades that many of them now treat interviews as playing a part. But I remember when I was younger, I was a huge fan of John Hurt, who was absolutely one of the best actors of his generation. And he was absolutely terrible in interviews. And I think it is because the best actors will be something of a blank canvas. But I don't know. The truth is, I see interviews as basically the same as TV commercials. I like to think that I can tell something about the interviewee, but the truth is they couldn't be more fake.
Sometimes, when they're on a show, they'll have a funny anecdote. But it's usually something prepared.
I really laughed hard when Seth Myers did day drinking with Lizzo, though!
I should look that up. The only thing I know about her is that she picked up a flute that belonged to James Madison (?) and played the beginning of Poulenc's Sonata for Flute and Piano. And she was great! As a flutist, I know how ridiculously difficult that piece is. Poulenc wrote it for Jean-Pierre Rampal. But then I heard that conservatives were upset because a sexy black woman played a flute belonging to a slave owner. It shocked me because I was thrilled listening to the 20 seconds or so she played. It reminded me that most people into classical music really don't like it. Ben Shapiro, who plays the violin well, trashed her. It never occurred to him that this pop musician happened to have memorized one of the best and most difficult pieces in the flute catalog. I suspect that like most pretenders, Shapiro had never even heard the piece.
Here is Rampal playing it. As I recall, at the premiere, Poulenc himself played the piano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG0DafrYNdM
I just had a thought: Maybe conservatives were *really* upset because she played a piece that was written by a gay man!
Update: According to Wikipedia, it wasn't written for Rampal, but he did give the first performance of it with (as I had correctly remembered) Poulenc on paino.
I remember that outrage, but the version I heard was upset that Vulgar Black Lady played a sacred Founder's flute.
Never mind that it was the museum which owns the thing who loaned it to her. And it was probably a smart successful publicity move for them!
That's roughly what I remember. What bugs me is they flipped out because of who was playing the flute without any thought to how fucking great she was. And let's face it, *many* of the complainers are guys who say things like, "Hitler was a bad guy but you have to admit that he was a good artist." (He was passable; but he was nowhere near the level that she is as a musician.)