Natalie Wood (1938-1981)

29 years ago today we lost 3 time Oscar nominated actress Natalie Wood. 
She is virtually the namesake to my blog and the inspiration for it's point of interest. 
Let's remember her with this sweet clip from the 50s and 60s game show "What's My Line?".

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Icon: Emma Caulfield

                                                                                      video by the dish rag
    
    Any fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (specifically seasons 3-7) is very
familiar with and probably loves the Madeline Kahn-esque vengeance
demon Anya, played by the talented Emma Caulfield.  Emma is one of
those actresses that I feel a strong affinity with. Whenever I learn
that she likes the same things I like I get giddy and gushy with
fandom. For example, in the video above Ms. Caulfield reveals that she
is a fan of the flawed, but hypnotic Francis Ford Coppola movie,
"Bram Stoker's Dracula ... “
      Me too!!!
She's a self-proclaimed sci-fi fan and thinks "Battlestar Galactica" is maybe one of the best shows 
"ever ... ” 
      Oh my GAWD! I totally agree...I totally agree.
In a companion video she reveals that she is also an Aries.
      Me toooo! I can't believe it....it's kismet!
I wonder if she likes sugar cookie scented candles?
I just LOVE sugar cookie scented candles...

  All that aside, here is the reason why I posted the random video and wrote some silly, amateurish ramblings: Emma Caulfield is quite an under appreciated actress and I want as many people as possible to know who she is. She really was Buffy's emotional center and at times spoke for the viewers that didn't always agree with the Vampire Slayer, all with her Carole Lombard level of comedic timing. Also, who didn't love her 40s inspired wardrobe?! In the video above, she talks about the weight of being associated almost exclusively with the
cult show, which I imagine is a burden. I do have to say though, her
evolution as Anya is incredible. It's no wonder people still crave for the character that Emma brought to life.  Emerging as an emotionally abstruse and socially obtuse
character starting with the episode "The Wish".  Ending her run as Anya on the
series finale, "The Chosen," as a beloved heroine going to battle for the greater good and breaking our hearts in the end when she makes her unforeseen exit.  Since Buffy, Emma has enjoyed box office success (Darkness Falls),  co-created a successful web-comic strip called "Contropussy,” a possible modern female take on Fritz the Cat, done voice work for Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken". She will be working with Buffy alumni Felicia Day in the Red Riding Hood retelling "Red", and also has a new show premiering next month on Nickelodeon called "Gigantic, which is produced by Marti Noxon who also produced Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  
     Emma is indeed a busy and accomplished woman, but I seriously think we need to see more of her. I feel she's exactly what the "leading and supporting lady" assemblage is missing. Maybe I'm being heavy-handed in my opinions, I just think a lot of the roles Parker Posey or Winona Ryder have done in the last handful of years could have been played by Emma with striking effect.
Don't get me wrong I'm not hating on Posey or Ryder, if you know me, you know that I love Parker Posey and Winona Ryder...I have seen "Mermaids" more than I would like to admit. Maybe it's because Caulfield is not easy to "peg" or "label", or she's not dating the upincoming comedic actor in the new Judd Apatow movie, or she very well may be exactly where she wants be.

   I just want to acknowledge that this actress is special in her field and we need more variety in film and tv when it comes to casting. Cast Emma! I really don't mean to be distasteful, but if I see one more "Coming Soon" poster at the local cinema with Jennifer Aniston or Reese Witherspoon on it I will be forced to stand in the lobby and do this. 
      I'm not joking....I will.  
  
  Regardless,  Emma is more than just "bunny hating Anya from Buffy", she is an actress who created a liberated heroine for a generation. That's powerful and nothing to belittle. I hope that the new generation that has sprung will see Emma in her new show "Gigantic" and feel inspired to take a look at Emma's past work. They will see, undoubtedly, what has made me and many more like me care so much. "Gigantic" may bring a new female TV icon to worship soon.


While you're here...

Check out Emma's award-winning performance in the short film, "Hollow" and her sci-fi romantic comedy "Timer" on Netflix's Watch Instantly.

"As I watched kids' programs with them, I became concerned about gender balance and stereotypes. Boys take up much more space on TV than in real life."

      - Geena Davis (after watching a tv show with her kids)

Turner Classic Movies picks Natalie Wood as their Star of the Month for June

Well, it seems Turner Classic Movies finally answered my prayers and chose Natalie Wood as Star of the Month for June. They will be showing her movies every Monday this month, starting June 7th. Starting with the movie, "Tomorrow Is Forever" (costarring Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert),a movie that became a milestone for Natalie. The role would be little Natasha Gurdin's first credited role and would give birth to her new name, Natalie Wood. TCM will also be showing movies that are hard to view otherwise due to the fact that they are not available on DVD (yet) such as, "A Cry In the Night", "The Burning Hills", and "The Girl He Left Behind". Some of my favorites are "Love With a Proper Stranger", "Gypsy", "Inside Daisy Clover" and the Elia Kazan classic "Splendor in the Grass". The final movie they will showing in the month long series will be Natalie's final film before she died, "Brainstorm", a science fiction movie co-starring a Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher (otherwise known as Nurse Ratched). Natalie would die tragically from drowning shortly after the filming of "Brainstorm" ended. Here Natalie's co-star, close friend, and former high school classmate Robert Redford remembers her.

Click here for TCM's complete roster of Natalie Wood's films showing this month.

Lovers on the Lam

Movie of the Moment, Part 2: "Times Square"

The beginnings of "Times Square" started when director Allan Moyle found a ratty journal inside a couch he had purchased second hand. The found journal consisted of details about a mentally disturbed woman living on the streets in NYC. Inspired, Moyle teamed up with Carly Simon songwriter Jacob Brackman and wrote a screenplay together following with a production produced by entertainment mogul Rob Stigwood. Stigwood seemed to be the bane of the movie's production and makers from the get-go. In the film's DVD commentary Moyle and the film's star Robin Johnson each tell stories of their dysfunctional working relationship with Stigwood. It seems Johnson got the shit end of the cherry flavored lollipop. After being "discovered" on the steps of Brooklyn Tech High School, Johnson auditioned for "Times Square" and was told she would become an actress. Promised a film contract (which included the female lead in the sequel to Grease co-starring with Andy Gibbs and an additional movie written especially for her), Johnson was poised to be the new It-girl with teen magazine spreads already in the works. During the film's production Stigwood removed the lesbian storyline from the movie, which appeared to be the centerpiece of the movie. Originally, Johnson's character Nikki falls in love with Alvarado's character Pam, but now only a faint hint of that story remains in the movie. Stigwood also wanted the movie to become the next "Saturday Night Fever", a movie he also produced. He wanted the movie to have a double LP soundtrack (like, Saturday Night Fever) and wanted to recruit bands for the soundtrack that Moyle didn't find appropriate. Moyle wanted to keep with the punk and new wave sound. For the most part, he got his wish, but there are a few Saturday Night Fever-ish songs that stick out like sore thumbs in the movie. When the movie came out it tanked and Johnson was left to fend for herself. After "Times Square" she only appeared in a couple more movies including the Rosanna Arquette 1960s romantic drama "Baby It's You" and a if-you-blink-you-will-have-miss-it-entirely role as "Punk Girl" in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours". She also starred in a Charlie's Angel remix/espionage/bitches with machine guns type show called "Codename Fox Fire" where she played a character by the name of "Danny O' Toole"...yes you heard me correctly. 1/3 of a female spy super group, Danny was supposed be the "best driver in the world" and in addition, a great cat burglar...with a heart of gold. It's no surprise it didn't even last a whole season, but could clearly have been the inspiration for a very iconic piece of dialogue in a classic 90s film (jump to 1:50 mark). After the show's demise, Johnson went on to do a couple more guest starring roles on TV shows, but then disappeared. In the 90's Johnson resurfaced as a California radio Traffic Correspondent, but that's all of what is known of the actress Robin Johnson. An actress that Times Square fan and rock singer Courtney Love once called "Mick Jagger plus Marilyn Monroe." As for Allan Moyle, in 1990 he went on to direct "Pump Up the Volume" starring the hottest actor of the moment, Christian Slater. The movie is now considered a 90s classic and a rite of passage for teenagers. Five years after "Pump Up the Volume", Moyle cemented his teenage auteur title even more with the grunge-teen classic, "Empire Records". In both films you feel Time Square's "truth be told" influence and pop inheritance. While Moyle's teen screen anthem's of the 90s may hold impact and cover heavy topics of its time,"Times Square" is gritty, dystopian, and does not in any way, sugar glaze over how young people (specifically young women) feel when they are not being heard. It's easy to say, with the tepid climate in teen movies in recent years, that "Times Square" is a jagged relic of a movie. Or maybe it's not so easy to say. Movies like "Times Square" aren't made anymore, especially with young people in the starring roles. Why is that? In an era full of vapidness and sleaze where are the new Sleez Sisters? Where are our new Mick plus Marilyns?

Movie of the Moment: "Times Square"

A definite and defiant precursor to his teenage pirate radio movie, "Pump Up The Volume", Alan Moyle directed, "Times Square", a teenage love song to girls rudely interrupted. A misunderstood film from the very start, "Times Square" is the story of two girls trying to escape from their lives to create new ones. One is a girl who lives on the streets of NYC (Robin Johnson) and the other is a girl of East Coast privilege (Trini Alvarado). Both cosmically come together at a NYC hospital where both are being treated for mental illness and before either one can learn each other's names, they escape together. Along the way they make a connection with a radio dj (Tim Curry), start a band called The Sleez Sisters, and strike a chord with the dj's young and embittered listeners. The final act finds the two girls performing a one and only show on top of a theater marquee in Times Square.

Sounds like a movie you would wanna watch? That's only a fragment of what the movie is and is truly about.

Tune in next week (or possibly the week after that) for more in depth details about the origins and controversary surrounding this underrated movie!!

Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you're a human being, you feel, you suffer. -Marilyn Monroe

The name of my blog is derived from something Natalie Wood said shortly before she died...

" You know what I want? I want yesterday."