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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:30:13 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. Also out this week: The Haunting in Connecticut and ER: Season 11.

Grey Gardens
Like so many others, I am endlessly fascinated by the Beale women whose lives were captured in a 1975 documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. Between their odd lifestyle on a once lavish estate and their familial connection to Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the stories of both Edith Beales beg for a biopic. Now the HBO movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange is out on DVD and both turn in outstanding performances as daughter and socialite mother. If you didn't catch this when it aired on television, now's your chance to settle in and enter the bizarre and transfixing world of the Beales.

Special features include audio commentary with executive producers Michael Sucsy, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Rachael Horovitz, a featurette titled "Grey Gardens: Then and Now," interviews with Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange and the Emmy-winning director of the documentary, Albert Maysles.

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Two more up next, just read more.

The Edge of Love
I feel like I was just writing about this movie and then - bam! It's out on DVD. I guess it didn't get a real release here in the States. Well, I still want to see it.

The film follows the true story of a love triangle between the poet Dylan Thomas (played by Brothers and Sisters' Matthew Rhys), his wife Caitlin (Sienna Miller) and a woman named Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley). Vera eventually married William Killick (Cillian Murphy) but still couldn't tear herself away from her poet - despite becoming close friends with Caitlin. In the strange real-life story, the jealous William ultimately attacked Dylan and Caitlin's house.

Special features include commentary with director John Maybury and Matthew Rhys, a "Looking Over The Edge of Love" featurette, outtakes, and the theatrical trailer.

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Mad Men: Season Two
I'm so excited for Mad Men to return to my TV on Aug. 16! I might even shake up a commemorative martini to drink during the premiere. If you missed the second season, well, now there is no excuse for not experiencing the awesomeness of this show. Then again, I have to say watching these episodes back-to-back without a week-long breather is probably intense. In this season so much happens, it makes the head spin.

Special features include feature-length audio commentaries on all episodes, a "Birth of an Independent Woman" featurette examining the rise of female independence in the 1960s, and a featurette titled "An Era of Style" that takes a close look into the fashion of the 1960s and its influence on designers today.

Link Time! 4/21

BuzzSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:30:35 -0700

Jack Black and Michael Cera talk cavemen dating tips in this exclusive Year One clip. - MTV Movies Blog
Has Jamie Foxx's career jumped the shark? - Cinematical
Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up" video: Love it or leave it? - PopSugar
Ten actors ready for a breakthrough. - TV.com
Why is it hard to like Lady GaGa? - Vulture
Do you love or hate HBO's Grey Gardens interiors? - CasaSugar
Which books have made you cry? - Popwatch

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Grey Gardens: Appropriately Bleak, Yet Illuminating

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:30:30 -0700

It takes serious moxie to make a feature film from an excellent documentary, especially one as cultishly beloved as Grey Gardens. But, hey, it worked for Milk, and dare I say, it works for the new HBO movie, premiering this Saturday night and starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

Like the 1975 documentary by Albert and David Maysles, this Grey Gardens zooms in on "Big Edie" (Lange) and "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale (Barrymore), aunt and first cousin to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The story follows the pair from their flossy socialite (if emotionally unstable) beginnings to the bizarre codepedence of little Edie's adults years, spent living with her mother in their decaying Hamptons mansion, surrounded by diseased cats, feral raccoons, and armoire-size mounds of filth.

The making of the documentary is a plot point in HBO's rendition, so die-hard fans will appreciate the movie's ability to illuminate the once dark and murky parts of the Beales' story. For what I thought, read more.

Speaking of die-hard fans, I suspect Barrymore is one of them: she turns out an eerily accurate portrayal of Little Edie that is authentic, disarming, and far from impersonation. At times, I forgot it was Barrymore, which is something I've never thought before about her acting. Her face perfectly conveys Edie's flightiness and fear, as she feels obliged to stay with her mother yet lacks the wherewithal to live another life.

Like the documentary, Grey Gardens succeeds by not being strictly linear, flashing backward and forward to form the story's beginning, middle, and end. As Big Edie's husband leaves and the meager allowance runs dries, Little Edie's shaky big city dreams are dashed; on the night she returns, her mother's first question is, "Did you get the cat food?"

In Jackie O. accents, the movie answers a question asked by anyone who has seen the documentary: how did it get this bad? Watching the HBO movie, we learn that it got even worse before their famous cousin (portrayed in a cameo by Jeanne Tripplehorn) bails the Beales out. Unfortunately, but perhaps expectedly, the updated film can't match the raw masterpiece of the original. In its musical score and its vision, Grey Gardens lacks the artfulness of its source. To see this movie without also seeing the documentary would be like not reading Lolita because you already saw the movie. Both offer very different interpretations and, taken together, they form a fascinating biography.

Photos courtesy of HBO

HBO Movie Preview: Grey Gardens

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:30:50 -0700

I've never understood how the ridiculously compelling 1975 documentary Grey Gardens ended up as a Broadway musical. (Given, I haven't seen it, but the whole concept seems wrong somehow.) But now that the trailer is out, I'm getting used to - maybe even fond of - the idea of Grey Gardens as an HBO movie starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore.

Debuting on April 18, Grey Gardens reinterprets the raw slice-of-life captured so gracefully by the Maysles brothers, the documentarians behind Gimme Shelter. Like the documentary, the movie follows the funny, sad, bizarre, and baffling daily lives of "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, aunt and first cousin to Jackie Onassis.

But while the documentary was haunting for its lack of background, explanation, or even captions, the movie offers glimpses into the women's past, so that we might actually learn how they ended up living in squalor in a decaying Hamptons mansion surrounded by countless cats. The Beales' story is so intriguing that after seeing the documentary, I wanted to know much more, so I'm encouraged that the movie might offer that. Also intrigued? Then watch the trailer when you read more.

Source

Jeanne Tripplehorn to Play Jackie Kennedy Onassis

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:28:04 -0800

Wow, I probably never would have thought of this, but now that she's been cast it makes sense: Jeanne Tripplehorn, known mostly for her role on Big Love, will play Jackie O in HBO Films' production Grey Gardens.

Based on a 1975 documentary, the story follows Big Edie and Little Edie (played by Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, respectively), the "aunt and cousin of Onassis who made headlines when the health department threatened to raid their flea- and raccoon-infested 28-room East Hampton, N.Y., mansion."

I am always drawn in by Tripplehorn's performances on Big Love and I'm curious to see what she does with this role. Like any movie character based on a high-profile public figure (Idi Amin, Queen Elizabeth II, etc.), it's a pretty tall order.

Tripplehorn photo source

Announcing the 2009 Emmy Winners!

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:32:15 -0700

Well, the Emmys are over, and we have our full list of winners. Were you guys surprised by this year's picks? (Check out all my Emmy polls here.) I thought the show started out pretty unexpectedly when underdogs Kristin Chenoweth and Toni Collete took home trophies, and there were a few other surprises along the way. Towards the end, though, the big wins seemed pretty predictable with Mad Men for drama, 30 Rock for comedy - no surprises there.

I had a lot of favorite moments of the night - more on those later - but mainly, I just enjoyed seeing Neil Patrick Harris as host. I loved everything from his opening to Dr. Horrible, and most of you thought his opening number was pretty great, too.

For the full list of 2009 Emmy winners, just read more.
COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Mad Men

MINISERIES
Little Dorrit

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Toni Collette, United States of Tara

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close, Damages

MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
Grey Gardens

REALITY HOST
Jeff Probst, Survivor

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Brendan Gleeson, Into The Storm

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Michael Emerson, Lost

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Ken Howard, Grey Gardens

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Cherry Jones, 24

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House Of Saddam

WRITING FOR A COMEDY
30 Rock ("Reunion," Matt Hubbard)

WRITING FOR A DRAMA
Mad Men ("Meditations in an Emergency," Kater Gordon, Matthew Weiner)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Steve Bodow, Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Josh Lieb, Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Jason Ross, Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Sam Means, Rob Kutner, J.R. Havlan, Rich Blomquist, Wyatt Cenac, Elliott Kalan, Rachel Axler)

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Little Dorrit (Andrew Davies)

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
The Office ("Stress Relief," Jeff Blitz)

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Little Dorrit (Dearbhla Walsh)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
American Idol ("The Final Three," Bruce Gowers)

ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS
81st Annual Academy Awards" ("Hugh Jackman Opening Number")

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ER ("And in The End," Rod Holcomb)

LIST OF WINNERS IN THE CREATIVE ARTS CATEGORIES

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Michael J. Fox, Rescue Me ("Sheila")

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2008

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: SVU ("Swing")

GOVERNORS AWARD
Sheila Nevins, HBO Documentary Films

ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING ONE-HOUR OR MORE)
Destination Imagination (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)

ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING LESS THAN ONE HOUR)
South Park ("Margaritaville")

ART DIRECTION FOR MULTI-CAMERA SERIES
How I Met Your Mother ("Shelter Island, Not A Father's Day")

ART DIRECTION FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Pushing Daisies ("Dim Sum Lose Some")

ART DIRECTION FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Grey Gardens and Little Dorrit

ART DIRECTION FOR VARIETY, MUSIC, OR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
American Idol ("Episode 821-822") and 2008 MTV Video Music Awards

CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock

CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
True Blood

CASTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Little Dorrit

CHOREOGRAPHY
81st Annual Academy Awards ("Musicals Are Back") and So You Think You Can Dance ("Adam and Eve/Silence")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A HALF-HOUR SERIES
Californication ("In Utero")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A ONE-HOUR SERIES
The Tudors ("Episode 303")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Little Dorrit: Part 1

CINEMATOGRAPY FOR NONFICTION
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations ("Laos")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING
Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment ("What Did I Sign Up For?")

COMMERCIAL
"Heist," Coca-Cola

COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
Pushing Daisies ("Bzzzzzzzzz!")

COSTUMES FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Little Dorrit: Part 3

COSTUMES FOR A VARIETY/MUSIC PROGRAM OR A SPECIAL
So You Think You Can Dance ("Episode 415-416A")

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony" (Bucky Gunts)

DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (Marina Zenovich)

MAIN TITLE DESIGN
United States of Tara

MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL (PROSTHETIC)
Grey Gardens

MAKEUP FOR A SINGLE CAMERA SERIES (NON-PROSTHETIC)
Pushing Daisies ("Dim Sum Lose Some")

MAKEUP FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL (NON-PROSTHETIC)
MADtv ("Episode 1405")

MAKEUP FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE (NON-PROSTHETIC)
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation)

MUSIC DIRECTION
"Streisand: The Concert"

MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
Legend of the Seeker ("Prophecy")

MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL
Into the Storm

ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
Great Performances

PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES (SINGLE-CAMERA)
Breaking Bad ("ABQ")

PICTURE EDITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
30 Rock ("Apollo, Apollo")

PICTURE EDITING FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE (SINGLE-CAMERA)
Taking Chance

PICTURE EDITING (SHORT FORM)
81st Annual Academy Awards and "Stand Up to Cancer"

PICTURE EDITING FOR A SPECIAL (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger"

PICTURE EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
This American Life ("John Smith")

PICTURE EDITING FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING
Project Runway ("Finale Part 1")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Mad Men ("The Gold Violin")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL
Dancing With the Stars ("Episode 709")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Grey Gardens

CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA - NONFICTION
"The Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Digital Experience," nbc.com

CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA - FICTION
"The Dharma Initiative," DharmaWantsYou.com.

LIGHTING DIRECTION (ELECTRONIC, MULTI-CAMERA) FOR VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY PROGRAMMING
American Idol ("Finale")

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"The Kennedy Center Honors"

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAMS
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony"

SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTING ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," drhorrible.com.

SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
"Writer's Draft"

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
Wizards of Waverly Place

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PROGRAM
Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver and Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Coming Home: When Parents Return from War

NONFICTION SPECIAL
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

NONFICTION SERIES
American Masters

REALITY PROGRAM
Intervention

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING
The Memory Loss Tapes

WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

SOUND EDITING FOR A SERIES
Battlestar Galactica ("Daybreak: Part 2")

SOUND EDITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization

SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
House ("House Divided")

SOUND MIXING FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization"

SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR AND ANIMATION)
Entourage ("Pie") and Weeds ("Three Coolers")

SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC SERIES OR A SPECIAL
81st Annual Academy Awards and The 51st Annual Grammy Awards

SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A SERIES
Heroes ("The Second Coming/The Butterfly Effect")

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization

STUNT COORDINATION
Chuck ("Chuck Versus the First Date")

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A SERIES
American Idol ("Episode 834A")

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony"

VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
The Simpsons ("Father Knows Worst")

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Chris Rock - Kill The Messenger"