Images that endure
Chris Morris’ caricatures of this year’s Oscar nominees (“And the Oscar Goes to…,” Feb. 26) got me thinking that if Morris had been around in early 1940, whom would he have drawn? Folks such as Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, James Stewart and Claude Rains, or Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Greer Garson, Olivia de Havilland and Vivien Leigh? Not to mention directors such as Frank Capra, Victor Fleming, John Ford, Sam Wood and William Wyler?
Looking at Morris’ drawing, I couldn’t help but notice that the only two caricatures that seem to belong with the 1940 crowd are Meryl Streep and Woody Allen. Maybe that’s why no one goes to see “Hollywood” movies any more.
Kennethturan’s defense of “The Artist” (“May We Suggest,” Feb. 26) ignores the reason I was disappointed in the film: the plot. We’ve seen it before, particularly in “A Star Is Born” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” Successful star meets young hopeful; the latter rises as the former descends. Combine that with the actor who is a star in silents and succeeds in talkies (Gene Kelly), while others in the former category (Jean Hagen) fail and newcomers (Debbie Reynolds) succeed.
Distinctive plot and script must contribute to a great movie. Both are sadly missing in “The Artist.”
Newport Beach
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I agree with Betsy Sharkey but I think she sold the ending of “The Descendants” short. In the final scene, Morgan Freeman is narrating the part of “March of the Penguins” in which he says Antarctica used to be a warm continent before it moved south and froze over. It seems to me that this is the metaphor of the film, as
Aquabats: A Feb. 26 caption under a photo from the kids’ series “Aquabats” transposed the names of cast members Christian Jacobs and Chad Larson. Larson is on the left, Jacobs is on the right.
Mark Salzman: A Feb. 26 article about author Mark Salzman said his most recent book, “The Man in the Empty Boat,” grew out of a performance piece he developed for Idaho’s Squaw Valley Writers conference. The correct name is the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.
Book review: A Feb. 19 review of Tracie Mcmillan’s “The American Way of Eating” said Bill Bryson wrote a book about working in a restaurant kitchen. Bill Buford was the book’s author.
Emir Kusturica: A Feb. 5 article about Sarajevo-born filmmaker Emir Kusturica misspelled Nobel Prize as Noble.
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