Just watched Across the Universe last night for the first time. Surprised myself with how much I loved it. I mean, I love Julie Taymor's work and visual sensibilities and of course, Beatles, but given the Mama Mia!-like genesis in terms of let's create a story that we can fit the songs into, I was a little concerned. Mind you, I love MM!, it's good, cheesy fun, but taking into consideration the setting for AtU, I was just a wee bit concerned. Shame on me. So didn't need to be. I loved the not-so-subtle references to iconic figures from the era, loved the casting (Dana Fuchs is a total doppelganger for Joan Osborne and I barely recognized Joe Anderson, who I loved in Becoming Jane), and of course, loved the music.
Very cool. I'll quit babbling now.
That news bums me out.
Newman was a fellow Kenyon College alum and returned there fairly often to support the school. The summer I spent there working on the grounds crew, he and Joanne were around town as she played in Hayfever with the Kenyon Festival Theater. You'd see him around town all the time. He helped the school fund a new theater and directed the first production there.
Aside from that connection, he seemed like the last star to really come out of the studio system. I can't really think of another great movie star after him that had such iconic roles in black and white films as he did with The Hustler and Hud.
Early on he was a great movie star and leading man. Later, he really became a fine, subtle, complex actor. I think his best performance was in The Verdict - an underrated movie that still lingers in my memory. He was also excellent in Nobody's Fool.
And, you know, he seemed like such a mensch.
I loved his performance in Nobody's Fool. That's the kind of old man I want to be.
If it weren't for Paul Newman, the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament would never have made it from LA to DC. When the parent organization (which promised us Club Med across America on foot) went toes up, the state would not let us move our camp without our own sanitation services.
Newman gave us the money to build the porta-potties that served us well for 3742 miles and the funds to buy a 'honey wagon.'
He saved us. And given his renowned scatological humor, it always seemed appropriate that he helped us get our shit together.
Bless him.
And Joanne, who directed a one woman play called The Depot, starring Shirley Knight as a suburban woman who dedicates her life to nuclear disarmament.
They are both noble folk.
bonny, that is so cool! I love hearing about people who made good and insist on giving back in meaningful ways with personal attention, not just throwing money at things hoping they'll go away.
Whoops! Finger too quick on the trigger.
and let's not forget his sauces and dressings. Paul Newman's Own is delicious stuff and proceeds go to charity, so even more delectable.
