“Go. Now. Go.”

TV The Art of the Title finally reaches the credit sequence for My So-Called Life, of the best uses of montage in titles and theme song. They interview director Scott Winant and title designer Kathie Broyles and reveal a titbit about what Claire Danes was like as an actress at this point:

There is also a good deal of movement, lots of swirling of cameras and characters. Was that to represent her metamorphosis?

Scott: When Claire was cast, she wasn’t an experienced actress, so she didn’t know how to hit her mark or stand still while we were shooting. They wanted me to stop her from doing that and I said, “No, I actually want to embrace this.” So we worked around Claire.

If you look at that image of her silhouetted in the street with Brian Krakow, under the trees, I waited to get to that moment because I knew Claire would spin on her toes and spin her purse behind her and it would make a great silhouette. Television allows us to adapt not only to the story but the actors themselves.

After watching the credit sequence again, I want to watch the whole series again. Oh to have the time to have a time.

Life of Anna.

Film Anna Kendrick's Oscar diary is as snarky as you'd hope but also in places has a familiar ring to it. Example:

"I get to present the award for Best Supporting Male Actor, which goes to Jared Leto. When he gets up on stage, the list in his hand is so long I wonder why I let myself be talked into the more painful shoes. However, his speech quickly transitions from a list of agents and lawyers to Pink Floyd, Wayne Gretzky, and all the women he’s ever slept with. His speech is funny and his hair smells like a damn meadow. What a dream."

From Brian Krakow:

"Her hair smelled incredible. Her hair smelled like the orange grove we passed when I was eight on the way to see my grandmother. But I guess that’s just her shampoo. Or something."

Yes, I know he was talking about Angela, not Jordan (and that would have been a whole other programme).  Yet ...

Act Naturally.

Film  This has a fair few "Oh god, I hadn't noticed he/she was in that, nicely making up for the lack of "Before You Were Famous" on television at Christmas this past few years, Bradley Cooper in My Little Eye, or Fassbender in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking.  Oh and it also includes my favourite Christian Bale moment from all his films.  See if you can guess which one.

"I mean, I think about it... all the time, but..."

TV  The AV Club has a rather good essay about My So-Called Life today which doesn't necessarily say anything particularly new but writer Todd VanDerWerff covers the bases in a way which reminds us just how innovative and influential it was:

"Rewatching the pilot—one of the best ever made—it’s amazing how thoroughly Holzman, Winant, and the cast combine the adolescent world with the thirtysomething sensibility to make something that feels all the more vibrant for bringing them together. Pilots are meant to set up the necessary conflicts of the show’s world, often through over-expository dialogue or a new character being thrust into a setting. My So-Called Life sets up most of its necessary conflicts and character points within the first 10 minutes of its running time. It’s a supremely confident piece of work, taking us through Angela’s changed social standing (she starts hanging out with a less straitlaced crowd than she did before); the tensions between her and her parents, especially her mother; and the slowly budding sense she has of her own love life, particularly as it comes to her crush on the always-leaning Jordan Catalano (Leto). Much of this was conveyed via voiceover, delivered by Danes in a disaffected style that made you feel just how much Angela was struggling to be cool."

"Let's ignore Angela. She can't help herself. She's the product of a two parent household."

Film Just watched the Oscar nominations and I'll post some wild guesses later. But how could we ever have thought, back in the day, that:



... would beat ...



... to an Academy Award nomination?

Dustin and Danes.

TV The last series of Homeland began well, fell into a trough that it now appears occured because of the contractual requirement to serve some actors and their regular characters, before triumphing phoenix-like in its final few episodes when it essentially became 24 with a college degree. Which isn't to say Claire Danes wasn't entirely impressive throughout, especially when the material allowed their to sour. Now here's an artifact: it's from last month's Interview magazine and its Danes being interviewed by one Dustin Hoffman, whose clearly a bit of a fan of Homeland but never seen her earlier work or knows much of her back story so she has to fill in the blanks and of course it's how she fills in those blanks, what she decides is important, which makes it interesting. Here she is on My So-Called Life:

"It's kind of fun to watch My So-Called Life when it comes on, though. There are only 19 episodes, which actually seems like a lot now that I do 12 episodes a season on Homeland. But it was a strange, cult thing where we didn't even do a full season, but the episodes that we did do got picked up and were rerun by a bunch of different cable networks, so the show was on for years and years and years—and was discovered by different generations, which was extraordinary. I guess I knew it was special back then, too, but it was my first big gig, so I had no sense of context. But I became close with a lot of people involved—and I am still. It was a seminal experience for me, both professionally and personally. The writer of the show, Winnie Holzman, is still a very dear friend of mine. She's kind of my mentor—my fairy godmother, I call her. But that was wild because I was the same age as the character, and there was an incredible symmetry between us—unlike Carrie Mathison, who in no way resembles me. I would be the worst case officer on the planet. I am so ill suited to Carrie's vocation. But Angela Chase was just another high school student."

There are also the moments when there careers and contacts intersect in interesting ways. Good interview. Also dying to know when they both felt they were being inhibited by directors whose vision didn't quiet match theirs.

Review 2013: Not The Doctor: My Fan Fiction.

TV Back in the late 90s when I didn't have this blog as a distraction, I was under the delusion I could write fiction and after reading many, many My So-Called Life continuation scripts decided it was about time I attempted to write my own. Me being me, and not being able to decide on anything, I chose to simply crossover what were all of my favourite tv shows of the time and some more. Looking back through what's here it's about what you'd expect. This isn't the first time I've eluded to this epic on the blog, but it is the first time I'm posting the whole damn thing, with all the fragments and whatnot having been inspired by Dr Brooke Magnanti's defense of the form. Here's an illustrative graphic which should give some indication of what's to come.



Yes, indeed.

Free Homeland audiobook.

TV Entirely unpublicised by Channel 4 and so no one in the UK media, Audible.com is carrying free spin-off audios for Homeland, the first one explaining somewhat were Brodie's been in the first two episodes of the third season.

Homeland: Phantom Pain is narrated by himself, Damian Lewis.

It's not on the UK flavour of Audible, but can be found on the US site here.

Downloading is bit tricky.

If you have a UK account already with the connected Manager software it doesn't show up. But I did manage to get get it to download onto my Kindle Keyboard by "buying the download" then going into my library and asking it to send it to my device, this sentence making even less sense the more I look at it.

You're probably best visiting the website and having a go yourself, to be honest.

But it is interesting how, despite the UK being in step with the US network broadcast, more isn't being made about this over here. Unless they're hoping to produce a monetised version somewhere along the line.

Hopefully there'll be one for all the characters, especially, obviously, Carrie.

"What I like, dread, is when people who know you in completely different ways end up in the same area. And you have to develop this, like, combination you on the spot. "

That sort of thing.

Danes gains.

TV Another link from The New Yorker I'm afraid, but it's another addition to the My So-Called Life clippings project which has spanned the length of the blog.

  In his profile of Claire Danes, John Lahr talks to casting director Linda Lowy who describes the whole process in more detail including which actress Danes was ultimately chosen over and what it was like to be in the room during her audition:

“From the minute she walked in the room, Claire was chilling, astounding, and silent,” Lowy said. “There was so much power coming out of her without her doing much.” One of the scenes that Danes read—which involved a nervy bathroom breakup with Angela’s best friend, Sharon—required her to cry. “Tell me what I did, Angela. I mean, I would really like to know,” Sharon says. “We get to that line and Claire’s face turns entirely red,” Herskovitz said. “Her body starts to vibrate and tears come into her eyes. You realize that she’s having a physical experience that is beyond acting.” Even then, Danes’s defining quality as an actress—a combination of thoughtfulness and impulsiveness—was on display. “She seemed to have been born fully grown, you know, out of a seashell,” Herskovitz said. Zwick claimed that Danes was his first sighting of a “wise child,” a rare species that show business occasionally tosses up. As he put it later, “What she knows cannot be taught.” Danes also satisfied another quality that Holzman’s script called for: her face could transform in an instant from beautiful to ordinary."

The cancellation's glossed over a bit but then rest? My goodness.

Claire Danes cries. Again.

Film This Claire Danes crying face supercut is going to need updating:



Features a character called Chuck Diamond. That may be symbolic of something.

Dream a Little Dream for Me.

TV In the week, the ATX TV Festival 2013 celebrated My So-Called Life with a reunion. Not everybody, but creator Winnie Holzman, Devon Gummersall (Brian Krakow), Devon Odessa (Sharon Cherski), Wilson Cruz (Ricky Vasquez), and Bess Armstrong (Patty Chase) all turned up. Yahoo! TV has a lengthy article about the Q&A:

"Other than looks, though, the cast agrees that little has changed since the show was on the air for its brief 19-episode run. They'd all have mobile phones, but the stories would remain the same.

"In our hearts and souls, one generation is not that different from another," Holzman said. "It's just the trappings that change."

"The writing was so good and the story, the challenges that the characters were dealing with were timeless things," Gummersall agreed. "It could be pretty much the same now, or it could've taken place at a time earlier."

Most of the cast have stayed in touch. Claire Danes was attending thanksgiving at Bess Armstrong's house until a few years ago. Austin Monthly collates some of the other nuggests:

"At the end of the panel, which like the series was cancelled-too-soon, Ross asked the cast where they saw their characters today. Gummersall said he could see Brian Krakow inventing something very lucrative, like Facebook. Cruz believes Ricky would have gotten “the hell out of there” and gone to New York, where he would have become a successful fashion designer. The best line came from Holzman: “Angela grew up and joined the CIA.”

Kickstarter?

Good Charlotte.

TV One hears so often about Doctor Who's location shoots that it's always surprising when another show pops up and makes news. Local media in Charlotte, North Carolina are positively agog at Claire Danes and Homeland filming in their town, the Charlotte Observer doubling for the Washington Post.

From the Charlotte Observer itself:

"Claire Danes rolled her head around on her neck in slow circles as cameras made last-minute adjustments, and then – just like you’d imagine it happening in Hollywood – someone called out, “Action!”

"With the precision and intensity of an Emmy Award-winning actress, Danes punched out a seemingly flawless take that lasted less than three minutes.

"After the director yelled “Cut,” a bystander turned to a camera operator and asked, “Are they gonna do it again?”

"The crew member nearly fell over laughing.

Newsobserver has many photos of Claire gesticulating and looking frustrated (as usual). Whatever could they mean?

  Meanwhile, the local NBC station speaks to the fans:

"Friends Brendan Shea and Donna MacKay were among the lucky ones. They spotted Homeland's star, Claire Danes, and immediately pulled out their cell phones to capture photos.

"I guess it’s my introduction to being a paparazzi," says Shea, an attorney who works nearby.

"We came down and saw the equipment and saw the buzz going on, decided to take a walk down the street a little, then we saw Claire Danes come out. She grabbed something at the food stand and she was being ushered around with somebody with a script," he said."

Here's the video version of that, which also has interviews with people who've never seen Homeland.  For balance.

Claire Danes cries.

Claire Danes interviewed in The Observer.

TV With everything else that was going on, I forgot to mention the Claire Danes interview in Sunday's The Observer. In truth there's nothing especially new, especially on the My So-Called Life front, or at least new to me, apart from the news that ...

"... she turned down the role of Rose in Titanic. Chasing stardom never seems to have been her priority."

Presumably the producers and James thought they'd bring Leo and her back together after their successful chemistry in BL's WS's R+J but it's weird to think of her in one of Kate Winslet's signature roles.  I'm also reminded that WS's R+J and KB's WS's Hamlet were both released in 1996.  Big year...

She would have been incredible, of course she would, but it seems like an odd fit and indeed it's interesting that Winslet then went on to play just the kinds of roles Danes would end up playing herself.  Going straight into Hideous Kinky suggests stardom wasn't on Winslet's mind either.

Claire Danes's career transformation.

Film  Two years ago, Claire Danes was endorsing paint:



Here's that quote again:

“United States Artists (U.S.A.) is a fantastic artist-advocacy organization. I’m pleased to be working with Valspar and U.S.A. to bring Stephen Burks’ beautiful installation to Grand Central. I appreciate how color can transform a space and I’m excited to use Valspar’s new, richly colorful Hi-DEF Advanced Color System paints.”

Now she's an Emmy Award winner again.  For Homeland.  And starting memes.  Well done, you.

Updated  10/10/2012  It's also worth noting that Mandy was playing a eunuch in the critically derided musical Paradise Found, a role for which he shaved his head:

There's hope for us all.

awards nominations and whatnot

People Not too long ago, Claire Danes was endorsing paint. Now that her new show Homeland has been a hit with awards nominations and whatnot, she's being invited to slightly more fashionable events. But she still finds time to be kissed by students in drag:

"Actress Claire Danes was treated to a day of celebrations after receiving the Woman of the Year award from Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals society on Thursday. The honour, which has been bestowed annually since 1951 to starlets including Elizabeth Taylor and Angela Lansbury, includes a parade through Harvard Square, dinner and a golden Pudding Pot."

Oh the photos. Such photos.

"Brian" and "Cherski"

TV Claire Danes had something new to say about My So-Called Life in this New York Magazine interview:

"My So-Called Life has had such a long afterlife. Did that make you think more seriously about the next TV project you did?
You know, I love the show and I'm still very close with Winnie who wrote it and the two Devons who were in it. It was a momentous event for me, and so I don't feel dogged by it and I'm incredibly flattered that it continues to resonate. I loved Saved By the Bell, but it wasn’t like that; it was a very special show. I’m not remotely embarrassed by it. I got a little bit annoyed when people were saying that, you know, Carrie Mathison is just Angela Chase grown up. That is preposterous."

"Angela" is still great friends with "Brian" and "Cherski" as well as the writer.  How has the reunion film not been made yet?  Also the Bell comparison is amazing.  Not Dawson's Creek?  Really?

"the odd "very special episode" but"

TV Sarah Hughes of The Guardian offers a nice piece about My So-Called Life which underscores that its brilliance was in its lack of sensationalism:

"The plotlines too were refreshingly ordinary. Yes, there was the odd "very special episode" but generally the point of My So-Called Life was that it dealt not with the big issues but with the small ones: will that unobtainable boy ever notice you? What happens when you ditch your best friend? Can you get away with lying to your mum and dad about what you're getting up to at night? Most of all is there any problem that can't be solved by purchasing a pair of Dr Martens boots and dying your hair bright red?"

She also offers the nice implication that Brian Krakow could grow up to be Mark Zuckerberg. I quite like the idea that The Social Network is a secret sequel.

"There have been some cultural adjustments."

People Has it really been five years since Claire Danes graced the cover of The Guardian? Then she was publicising The Family Stone and Shop Girl, but since then she's not been particularly visible, mostly publicising paint, that sort of thing.  She's back in The Guardian today talking about what happened and it seems to amount to marrying Hugh Dancy (something which I missed entirely):

"Dancy is from a family of academics which, Danes says, she felt instantly comfortable with – she did two years at Yale before dropping out to return to acting. (The most valuable lesson she learned while there was "how to hang out with kids my age, which I had not been able to do in high school".) There have been some cultural adjustments. Like a lot of Americans, when Danes went to London she struggled with the drinking culture. "It took me a while to build my tolerance. It was a little startling at first. I was like, wow, you just sit in one place and drink, for seven consecutive hours, without doing anything else – you don't even eat."

... or something.  The spirit of Angela Chase won't ever leave her will it?

all or nothing gusto

Decorating This has made me chuckle for a good couple of minutes. Claire Danes helps launch paint. It's not so much the endorsement, but the all or nothing gusto with which she's thrown herself in. There's the many photos:



And the quotes you can't imagine a real human being saying out loud:

“United States Artists (U.S.A.) is a fantastic artist-advocacy organization. I’m pleased to be working with Valspar and U.S.A. to bring Stephen Burks’ beautiful installation to Grand Central. I appreciate how color can transform a space and I’m excited to use Valspar’s new, richly colorful Hi-DEF Advanced Color System paints.”

It's adorable, frankly.