St. Patty's Day Showdown: Battle of Hollywood's Redheads

Happy St. Patrick's day to you all! Hope everyone is drinking their weight in green beer and shamrock shakes. Last year we celebrated with a list of Cinema's 10 Best Green Looks. This year, I've decided to give the ladies of Ireland a turn. Well, honorary ladies of Ireland. Hollywood has given us many memorable redheads over the years and now it's your turn to vote for your favorites!

Battle of the English Rose

Greer Garson vs. Deborah Kerr

Greer Garson was one of the biggest box office draws in the 1940's. She received 7 Best Actress Oscar nominations and won for 1942's Mrs. Miniver. From 1941 to 1945, she received 5 nominations back-to-back, a feat matched only by Bette Davis. She is also credited for having the longest Oscar acceptance speech at over 5 minutes long.

Deborah Kerr is probably best known for her make-out session on the beach with Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity. She was nominated 6 times for the Best Actress Oscar but never won. She is tied with Thelma Ritter and Glenn Close for the dubious title of Most-Nominated Actress Without a Win. However, in 1994 she was awarded an Honorary Oscar.

poll by twiigs.com

Battle of the Classic Screen Beauty

Maureen O'Hara vs. Rita Hayworth

Maureen O'Hara is the only one on this list that is actually from Ireland. She came to Hollywood in the 30's, but is probably best known for her collaborations with director John Ford. The two filmed 5 films together including the Oscar winner for Best Picture, How Green Was My Valley and The Quite Man co-starring John Wayne. Her work in such family classics as 1961's The Parent Trap and 1947's Miracle on 34th Street has made her known to generations of children.

The Latina Rita Hayworth started off her career as a dancer with her original name of Rita (Margarita) Cansino. Tired of being cast in only "exotic" parts, she went through a Hollywood transformation that included getting rid of her widow's peak and coloring her hair red. She was suddenly a glamorous star and became the most popular pin-up during WWII. She was married to Orson Welles and later, briefly, was a real-life princess. The role that will be forever associated with her is the title role in Gilda. 

poll by twiigs.com

Battle of the Comediennes

Lucille Ball vs. Shirley MacLaine

Lucille Ball began her career in the 30's as a model and chorus girl on Broadway. When she moved to Hollywood she was given bit parts and became known for roles in B-films. It wasn't until the 50's with the new medium of television that she found her place (and success) as an actress. She displayed her natural gifts for comedy on her sitcom I Love Lucy and has since become a comedic legend. She was nominated 13 times for the Emmy in acting (tied only by Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) and won 4 times.

Shirley MacLaine (sister to movie star Warren Beatty) began her career as a singer and dancer on Broadway. She caught her big break when she was the understudy to the lead in The Pajama Game. When the lead broke her ankle, Shirley continued in the run of the show. A producer saw her on stage and signed her to a contract to Paramount Studios. She was nominated 5 times for the Best Actress Oscar and won for 1983's Terms of Endearment. In a career that has spanned 7 decades (and countless previous lives), she has most recently appeared on the popular show Downton Abbey.

poll by twiigs.com

Battle of the Modern Movie Star

Susan Sarandon vs. Julia Roberts

Susan Sarandon has come a long way since her early work in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture  Show. Who could have guessed that the girl in her underwear would be known for her fierce intelligence and activism in addition to her work as a dramatic actress. On her 5th Best Actress nomination, she finally won the Oscar for 1995's Dead Man Walking.

With her trademark smile and infectious laugh, Julia Roberts became one of the biggest (and highest paid) movie stars in Hollywood. Despite having already received an Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias, it was her breakout role in the hit film Pretty Woman that launched her to fame–and a second Oscar nom. She won the Best Actress Oscar for her work as the titular Erin Brockovich in 2000. She and Sarandon appeared together in the film Stepmom.

poll by twiigs.com

Battle of the Auteur Screen Goddesses

Julianne Moore vs. Nicole Kidman

Julianne Moore may have started off her career in soap operas (winning a Daytime Emmy in the process), but when her career really took off was her work in independent films with directors Todd Haynes and Paul Thomas Anderson. Both have directed her to Oscar nominated performances in Anderson's Boogie Nights and Haynes's Far From Heaven. She has received 2 additional nominations and is one of 11 actors to receive 2 nominations in one year, but has yet to win. Her recent work as Sarah Palin brought another Emmy. And her experience growing up as a redhead has inspired a series of children's books she wrote called Freckleface Strawberry. 

Australian Nicole Kidman first came to the attention of America in the film Dead Calm and than as Tom Cruise's wife. Despite a breakout performance in Gus Van Sant's To Die For, she didn't come into her own as actress until her divorce from Cruise and the banner year of 2001's Moulin Rouge! and The Others. Since then she has been known for her bold choices and her wish to work with such artistic directors as Lars von Trier, Noah Baumbach, and John Cameron Mitchell. Nominated 3 times for the Best Actress Oscar, she won for her transformative portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours. A film that co-starred Julianne Moore.

poll by twiigs.com

Battle of the New Oscar Darlings

Amy Adams vs. Jessica Chastain

Despite being a natural blonde, Amy Adams has said that her career really didn't take off until she colored her hair red. And with the combination of her Oscar-nominated turn in Junebug and her role as a Disney princess brought to life in the hit film, Enchanted, Adams was suddenly an A-List actress. With those roles it seemed she specialized in naive, innocent characters. But has since been able to show her range with her gritty work in The Fighter and The Master. Although nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar 4 times now, she has not won. 

Even after training at the prestige Juilliard school, Jessica Chastain didn't break-out onto the scene until 2011 with her roles in 5 very different films, including her Oscar-nominated role in The Help. This past year she was nominated for her second consecutive Oscar for work in the film Zero Dark Thirty. And this past fall she made her Broadway debut in The Heiress. In just a few short years she has already become the go-to actress for strong, dramatic roles.

poll by twiigs.com

Happy Easter!

Academy Award-winner, Anne Baxter, wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter this year through her campy performance as Nefretiri from The Ten Commandments. But, it looks like it's not playing tonight on television (blasphemy! I feel like that's going against one of those commandments: thou shalt have divas on Jesus' resurrection). Luckily, you can see the entire movie here:

Enjoy your Peeps and Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs today!

The Tragically Funny Lady

Easter isn't exactly a holiday that people seem to have a particular affinity for. It's not like Christmas or Halloween, where the mere mention of the word brings back happy thoughts of years past. After all, Santa brings endless presents and Halloween promises enough free candy to gorge on until you're sick of it (never). What does Easter have? A giant bunny that brings hard-boiled eggs in a basket...yeah. Nor does Easter seem to inspire filmmakers all that much either. In fact, the two films (The Ten Commandments and The Sound of Music) I most associate with the holiday don't even have anything to do with it. Thanks to the yearly airing of them on network television around this holiday, I will forever associate Easter egg hunts with Anne Baxter and yodeling marionettes. (Recently, the networks have been trying to make The Sound of Music a Christmas thing. Stop trying to make that happen! Poor Easter. Doesn't Christmas already have enough?!) Even this week's choice for The Film Experience's Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Easter Parade, doesn't really have much to do with Easter.

What it does have is every gay man's favorite singer/actress, the legendary, Judy Garland (Sorry, Liza. Mama came first, so you'll have to settle for being every gay's second fav), and iconic movie-musical dancer/actor, Fred Astaire, in the only time the two teamed up on screen together. It also has some pretty great musical numbers from Irving Berlin, including the titular song (which I always associate with the televised Disney Easter Parade. I didn't even know New York had an Easter Parade and I live here) and perhaps, the most famous number, 'A Couple of Swells', in which Judy and Astaire, while dressed as bums, imagine a grand, MTV Cribs-like, lifestyle.

This was my first time watching the film and I couldn't stop grinning like a fool the whole time. There's not much in the way of plot; it's really just a framework for some musical numbers. Almost the entire first ten minutes of the film is a musical number. You get to hear Judy sing, Fred dance–what's not to love? Everything is so colorful and entertaining, you'd have to be a grinch (is there an Easter equivalent?) not to enjoy it. The film was actually a big success at the time of its release in 1948. In fact, it was MGM's biggest hit that year. They sure don't make 'em like this anymore. (God, that makes me sound like a such a early-bird-special-eating geezer. I'm only 30, y'all. The way they were making them when I was younger is Clueless.)

With so many great production numbers, how to pick a favorite shot? Well, I didn't. Not from one of the musical numbers anyway. Leading up to this scene, Hewes (Astaire) has been grooming Hannah Brown (Judy) to take over as his new dancing partner in his act. She is replacing the glamourous, exotic Nadine, played by Ann Miller. (A woman so talented that her tap shoes make sounds even when her feet aren't moving...)He has changed Hannah's name to Juanita and even started dressing her like his previous partner. You see, Hewes said that he could take any girl and make her a star. After picking Hannah out of some chorus girls at a local club, he's beginning to think differently. And Hannah isn't exactly enjoying the whole Vertigo game he's trying to pull. As a test, he tells Hannah that she needs to turn heads and has her walk in front of him to see if she can do it. After her first attempts:

He notices that she is, in fact, causing quite a stir with the fellas–who seem to be straining their necks looking back at her. We soon learn why:

Comedic genius. It's like a cross between a pufferfish and Angelina Jolie. It was such an unexpected choice that I couldn't stop laughing. And that's what struck me the most about Judy in this film and why I ultimately chose that shot–what an effortlessly adept comedienne she was. 

When I think of Judy Garland, the first thing that always comes to mind is the image of a tragic star. She had such soul in her voice and conveyed such rich emotions that it made you want to comfort her. She was such a talent and so damaged that it was heart-breaking to watch the way she destructed. Her life-long addiction to pills ended her life (and amazing career) too soon. She had even attempted suicide just months before filming Easter Parade. Which is why this scene (and her dance rehearsal scenes and her perfect line-delivery) makes the comedy that much funnier. Even with the troubles in her life, she was still capable of bringing joy and entertaining us with her immense talent. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In addition to drinking, it's tradition on March 17th to wear green to avoid the sting of a pinch. So in honor of this tradition I've assembled the 10 Best Green Looks From Cinema. It may not be easy being green, but these characters certainly pull it off.

10. Ryan Reynolds as The Green Lantern

What's the best way to accessorize a CGIed skin-tight, green suit? With a gaudy green ring from space, of course.

9. Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy 

The movie may have been a disaster (batsuit nipples!), but at least Uma looked good in her plant-couture costumes. 

8. Errol Flynn as Robin Hood

Not every man is able to pull off green tights...

7. Peter Pan and Tinkerbell

Unless you're the boy who never grows up and your best friend is a fairy. Then you can get away with anything.

6. Keira Knightley as Celia in Atonement

I think more people talked about the dress than the actual film. It become a character unto itself.

5. Shrek

Everyone's favorite green ogre is made of green as well. The franchise has made over 3.4 billion dollars at the box office.

4. Vivien Leigh in Scarlett O'Hara's dress made from curtains

One of the most iconic dresses in the history of film. She saw it in the window and just couldn't resist it (this joke brought to you by The Carol Burnett Show).

3. Yoda

Luke Skywalker's Jedi Master: Inspiring jumbled-up word impressions since 1980 he has.

2. The Wicked Witch of the West

Why did she want those Ruby Slippers anyway? With her skin tone, she'd be walking around looking like Christmas. She was just jealous that they went so well with gingham.

1. Kermit the Frog

How could it be anyone else? Nothing brings quite as much joy as this amphibian made of green felt.

Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday!

Got MLK?

Happy New Year!

Let's get all dolled up like Michael Fassbender here and go out on the town! Have a Happy New Year! And I'll be back in 2012 with new posts including my top ten films of 2011 and my most anticipated films of 2012. In the meantime, let Zooey and JGL soothe your soul with their New Year's duet...

Merry Christmas