Steve McQueen Winner!

A winner has been selected! Congrats Perfect Number 6 - you won a copy of Steve McQueen: A Biography! She's got a blog too called No Time Like The Past (which includes a really cool post on how to dress like Steve McQueen) - so check it out. Thanks to all who entered and if you didn't win this time, don't worry. I'll have ANOTHER contest up shortly!

When The King Met The President

How’s this for unexpected? Variety has just revealed that Eric Bana has signed on to play Elvis Presley in the new flick Elvis & Nixon. For some reason, I would’ve never pegged Bana as the Elvis Presley type, but now that the casting’s been made, I can sorta picture it! Last time someone portrayed Presley in a high-profile way was when Jonathan Rhys-Meyers won a Golden Globe for the 2005 TV mini-series Elvis.

It’s this movie’s premise that’s the real source of intrigue here, though. Apparently, in 1970, Presley wrote a detailed, six-page letter to President Richard Nixon, requesting a meeting with him. Presley had the notion that Nixon should appoint him “Federal Agent-at-Large” in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Would anyone really trust The King of Rock ‘n Roll with that position? Well, ok, maybe Nixon would.

Presley and Nixon did in fact meet - on December 21st of that year - but unfortunately Presley did not secure the federal agent job. No hard feelings though. The King brought Nixon presents - including a Colt 45 pistol (ya can’t make this stuff up) - and showed him family photos during their brief encounter. Nixon reportedly found the whole thing totally awkward.

Danny Huston is set to portray Nixon in the film, and The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes is making his directorial debut. This bizarre tale seems primed for a big-screen retelling. I certainly had no idea this strange meeting ever went down, but I’m completely and utterly amused that it did.

Source

Contest: Win a Copy of the New Steve McQueen Bio!

Got some good news for all you classic movie buffs/bookworms out there! I’ve managed to snag a copy of the upcoming Steve McQueen: A Biography by Marc Eliot. The book comes out October 25th, but you can win you’re own copy right here on On the Marquee! The in-depth bio chronicles McQueen’s film and early TV appearances, his relationships, his battles with addiction and - here’s something that intrigued me - his obsession with Paul Newman and how it shaped his career.

We’ve talked a couple of times on this blog about which modern day actor should play McQueen in a biopic. While Hollywood seems to have settled on Jeremy Renner, I wanna hear what you guys think! Tell me which actor you believe would be best at playing McQueen and why. Best answer wins the book! Simple as that.

**Leave your answers in the comments section (along with name and email) OR feel free to tweet or Facebook your answers to me!**

I'LL PICK THE WINNER ON OCTOBER 25th!

Special thanks to Crown Publishing for providing On the Marquee with this amazing book!

Coat of Armor

In the film Drive, which opened in theaters September 16, Ryan Gosling plays a Hollywood stunt driver by day, getaway driver for hire by night. He’s a hard-to-read loner without a name, but it could be argued that his identity is right there on his sleeve - the sleeve of his satin scorpion-emblazoned bomber jacket. The jacket is elevated to iconic status by film’s end. He never takes it off, even as it becomes increasingly tattered and bloodstained the deeper into trouble he gets. Needless to say, I was intrigued by this “iconic jacket.” The concept is decidedly retro - and totally cool. Here are my two fave examples.

Marlon Brando as Val “Snakeskin” Xavier in The Fugitive Kind (Instead of a scorpion jacket, he had his prized snakeskin outerwear.)

James Dean as Jim Stark in A Rebel Without a Cause (The red jacket that revolutionized rebellious teens’ wardrobes.)

UPDATE: You can now buy Gosling's scorpion jacket! Halloween, anyone?

Guest-Blogger: Daniel Meets Audrey

Hello, I am Daniel Bayley, a film-student and co-writer for the blog, Bayley and Napoli At the Movie Theater. I am so happy to be able to write for one of my favorite blogs, On the Marquee, and get to share with you a little story about my past week discovering a classic film star everyone adores (and now I do too)... Audrey Hepburn.

A few years back my sister came home with a new purchase from Best Buy. Elated, she showed me her new DVD box-set. To my disinterest, it was only the Audrey Hepburn Collection. She told me I had to see the classic films it included (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, and Sabrina). I told her I would when I got around to it.

Welp, I will estimate it took about 3-5 years for that to happen (wow...time flies), but here I am: A 21-year-old film student discovering Audrey Hepburn as a sheer talent. I know I'm preaching to a choir that has probably seen the entire classic lexicon of Hepburn's films and have admired her screen-talent for years, but let me just say I could not be happier to join this club. Let me take you briefly through my little journey.

I started last week by popping in Blake Edwards' 1961 film, Breakfast At Tiffany's. It was one of those nights where I felt, "Well, I've watched all my dvd's...might as well put on something I've been meaning to get to." With the opening credits set to "Moon River," I was immediately entranced. As Hepburn walks past Tiffany's along the streets of Manhattan, this classic tune plays and I had not heard it til just then. This could easily jump into a personal list for the Top Ten Best Songs for a Feature Film. It fits perfectly. It's quiet, swift, and heart-felt. This is exactly how I felt the film was. Our young Ms. Hepburn meets her charming neighbor, George Peppard, and he falls in love with her. Peppard's character sees her for who she truly is. Sees past her beauty and falls for her, strengths and faults and all. But Hepburn makes this character so likable and so delightfully watchable, the film is completely hers. I could watch the scene of her playing "Moon River" on guitar on a fire-escape all day.

A few days later, I threw on Roman Holiday, with some excitement I might add. This was #4 on the American Film Institute's Top 10 Romantic Comedies List. Gregory Peck was in it. What could go wrong? My answer is....nothing. Nothing went wrong. It was perfect. It's rare to find a perfect film and I feel like I can safely say this is a perfect romantic comedy. Hepburn's breakthrough, Oscar-winning performance is as a princess who escapes her royal agenda for a night out in Rome. She bumps into Gregory Peck's American newsman character who takes her in. They spend the next day together. Peck's character begins to gaze upon her as merely a story and an opportunity of a life-time (getting a close and juicy, in-depth interview with a Princess), but instead finds himself falling in love with her. She is adorable in this film....so we do too. Hepburn handles her character brilliantly. We believe her as an elegant royalty who is just young enough to feel the angst and rebellion of the planned and trapped life set out for her. Watching her delight unleashed upon the city opposite a strong and stern lead like Peck makes this film an experience. Something to fall in love with again and again. William Wyler, our director, photographs the entire film on location in Rome, making it almost a character itself for our two leads to play against. If I have not gotten my feeling across enough yet...let me say it one more time. Roman Holiday is not only a wonderfully captivating film to enjoy Hepburn...it's a wonderful film to just watch. A strong recommendation to throw this at the top of your Netflix Queue.

So finally I found myself watching Sabrina two days ago. This one I found to be my least favorite of the three, sadly. I will just briefly say that Hepburn's character was not my favorite to fall in love with (maybe I was expecting to and that hindered my enjoyment), though she is quite strong along-side the likes of William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. Bogey steals the show here. He plays Linus, who is just a man from a rich family who loves Hepburn's "Sabrina", though she is strongly infatuated with his brother, played by Holden. Your sympathies as a viewer go right to Bogart's strong presence and sad demeanor falling in love with her. Although I found myself only watching Bogart, maybe viewers only see "Sabrina" and therefore this film is a worthy entry into the box-set.

I remember seeing My Fair Lady many years ago in a middle-school music class. I did not pay too close attention to it but I cannot wait for it to reach my DVD player soon. I want to keep my Hepburn-kick going. She just carries something with her when she is on screen. It's a beauty, a class, and a presence I can not put my finger on. All I know is that she carries good movies and has made them something special. As I end this blogpost, I go and Youtube the instrumental "Moon River" film version to play me out. I hope you all will do the same, wherever you are.


"Everything I learned I learned from the
movies."
— Audrey Hepburn

A Star is (Re)Born!

Hollywood most definitely believes in reincarnation. Just look at the never-ending parade of remakes. Moviemakers don’t even have to go back that far in search of subjects. We’ve got a remake of Footloose (ugh) coming out this fall, a remake of Dirty Dancing that's in the works (guess everyone’s agreed to pretend that Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights never happened, eh?)...they’re even rebooting the Spiderman franchise a mere four years after Tobey Maguire peeled himself out of the suit.

But there’s one movie in particular that has never seemed to be able to rest in peace: A Star is Born. It has had numerous incarnations over the years and Hollywood doesn't seem to be sick of it yet! I’ve only seen one version - the original. Released in 1937, it starred Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress taken under the wing of an alcoholic has-been actor played by Fredric March.

The '37 one was the first-born, if you will - yet it’s not even the first search result for A Star is Born in IMDb. That honor goes to the 1954 musical remake, starring Judy Garland as the wide-eyed wannabe and James Mason as her movie star mentor whose own career is on the downward slide.

Cut to 1976 and the story is updated with Barbra Streisand as an up-and-coming singer who falls for a fading rock star (Kris Kristofferson).

Now it’s 2011 and Clint Eastwood is looking to put his own spin on the decades-hopping flick. Get this - Beyonce is being touted for the starring role. First it was rumored that Will Smith might play opposite her, then it was Leonardo DiCaprio, now it’s being reported that Christian Bale is considering the role. But the Oscar-winner has a lot of other options on his plate, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets crossed off the list soon too.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Beyonce’s a good choice? Who would be a good male lead? Dunno about you but I can totes see Hugh Jackman in the role.

It's Always the Quiet Ones!

Shhh! Hear that? It's the sound of Oscar buzz rising up out of the silence. The silence of this particular movie - The Artist. Believe it or not, it's a new silent film set to hit theaters October 19th. It premiered at Cannes this year to rave reviews and has even been garnering some early awards season chatter. The black-and-white film is set in the 1920s and follows a silent movie star dealing with the impending rise of talkies. The official trailer was just released, and I couldn't keep it hush-hush. So check it out, and tell me your thoughts!