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Buzz Gift Guide: Gifting Granny

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:45:34 PST

Welcome to the next installment of my Buzz Gift Guide series for all the entertainment lovers in your life. I've already thought up some holiday gifts for mom and dad this week, so today we're moving onto a very special lady: Grandma!

It can be hard to think of entertainment-related gifts for grandmas because of generational (not to mention maybe technological) gaps. But I thought of some gifts I know my grandma would get a kick out of, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind receiving a few of these myself!

For example, take this collection of movies starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart - a pairing that captivated an entire generation on and off the silver screen once upon a time. I'm ordering this up for my grandma and I look forward to viewing them with her.

And how cute is this I Love Lucy merchandise? My favorites are the purses. I've also included The Price Is Right on DVD (Bob Barker's entire final week!), a great Ella Fitzgerald Christmas album, a subscription to Soap Opera Digest, and a DVD set of classic Paul Newman films (grandmas still swoon, ya know).

Soap Opera Digest ($37.44)	Bogie & Bacall - The Signature Collection ($29.99)
The Films of Paul Newman ($15.99)	Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas ($10.99)
I Love Lucy Purse: Great Minds Think Alike ($29.95)	Best Of The Price Is Right ($34.99)

Check out HolidaySugar for all of our holiday coverage and gift guides.

Bella Donna: Lauren Bacall

BellaSugar — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 06:00:47 PDT

Welcome back to our newest BellaSugar feature, Bella Donna, where I'll pay tribute to beauty icons through the ages. A Bella Donna could be an actress, a model, or another prominent historical or modern figure. The only requirement is that she have a distinct and influential look. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with ideas for Bella Donna subjects, and an especially big thanks to Krampalicious for suggesting today's featured beauty, Lauren Bacall.

Bacall rose to fame as an actress in the 1940s and 1950s, starring in such film classics as The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not. In 1945, she married her frequent co-star, Humphrey Bogart, and became half of one of Hollywood's first power couples. Now 82, Bacall has continued acting over the decades, recently sharing the screen with Nicole Kidman in Birth.

As a beauty icon, the icy-eyed Bacall struck a stunning balance between girlish spunk and sultry siren. Trademarks of her look include expertly arched brows, side-swept hair with large waves, and flawless skin, which looks remarkable even now. To see a gallery of photos,

View 14 Photos ›

Source

Reminder: Recast Casablanca!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:00:53 PST

Hey guys, don't forget to submit your ideas for this week's challenge to recast Casablanca. I know, I know: No one can do it like Bogey, but if you had to recast the movie with new actors in the roles originated by Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains, who would you cast?

We've already got some great entries, so leave yours in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature next Tuesday, Dec. 19, complete with a "new" cast photo.

Characters to recast:
Rick Blaine
Ilsa Lund
Capt. Renault

Recast Casablanca!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 07:50:15 PST

Ever wonder what a movie or TV show would be like if you could be the casting director? Well, now's your chance. Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, we'll be posting a Recast challenge, where we'll ask you to recast a classic TV show or movie for these modern times.

This week's challenge: The legendary 1942 film Casablanca. I know, I know: No one can do it like Bogey, but if you had to recast the movie with new actors in the roles originated by Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains, who would you cast? Cate Blanchett as Isla? Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capt. Renault? Leave your entry us in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature next Tuesday, Dec. 19, complete with a "new" cast photo.

Characters to recast:
Rick Blaine
Ilsa Lund
Capt. Renault

Ewan McGregor and Mike Mills Tell Us the Lessons They Learned Filming Beginners

Annie Scudder — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:15:00 PDT

In the movie Beginners, out last Friday in limited release, we meet Oliver, played by Ewan McGregor, after the death of his mother and then again after the death of his father. His mother's passing prompts his 70-something father Hal (Christopher Plummer) to come out as a homosexual man determined to dive into LA's gay culture and experience everything he missed while in the closet. Soon Hal finds out he has terminal cancer, but he's set on continuing his new life like he never got the diagnosis. The movie follows in parallel Hal's final years, as well as his son Oliver's life after Hal dies. Once the father he was just getting to know is gone, Oliver is shrouded in a cloud of grief. He meets Anna (Melanie Laurent), a French actress, and we see him struggle to let himself fall in love.

I recently had the chance to interview Ewan McGregor and Mike Mills, the movie's writer and director. Beginners is based on Mike's experience with his own father, who came out of the closet after his mother passed away. Here's what they told me they learned while making a film about love, loss, and the promise of new beginnings.

Humor can help you break free from difficult circumstances. Mike describes what he learned through his parents' subversive sense of humor: "I think in my family humor has been used as a way to get out of different boxes. The box of being in a hospital, the box of being in a sad situation. It’s a way to dismantle the rules that are holding you down."

It's liberating to speak a different language. "For Melanie [Laurent] acting in English for the first time," Ewan recalls, "she said she felt this incredible sense of freedom because she wasn’t acting in French. She was like a live wire, all over the room. You never knew what she was going to do next."

You can still learn from and connect to your late family members. Mike said that his mother knew his dad was gay and was "a super complicated Humphrey Bogart of a woman." He says making the movie helped him unpack the complexities of both of his parents: "I really enjoyed writing from their perspectives. Sometimes when I watch the movie, I kind of feel my dad. I don’t think Christopher is my dad, but I kind of feel my dad or like I’m talking to my dad about what Christopher’s doing. And I cherish that."

Sexuality is only one part of what makes each person who they are. Ewan, who has appeared in various movies dealing with gay themes, explained, "I think there’s a mistake that’s made when you’re playing a homosexual character that you’re playing a gay character. No, you’re playing a character. That’s it. You're playing a character who likes to sleep with men. They’re whole human beings. So sexuality would be a part of that."

Anyone can surprise you. Ewan says Christopher Plumber "became a skinny jean connoisseur. He looked all right in them."