Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Quote of the Day

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"[Tilda Swinton] asked me, 'Have you read Auntie Mame?'. I said, 'No, I haven't read the book but I've seen the other version of it made into a film version in the 50s.' She said, 'Would you take a look at it? I want to see if you are interested in writing a modern-day adaptation.' I said yes, because you say yes to Tilda Swinton when she asks if you want to do something. I read the book and it was one of the most fun reads I've ever had. "

In an interview with Vanity Fair Bridesmaids writer Annie Mumulo shares the news that Tilda really wants to get that Mame project off the round. Have any of you read the book? I have neither read the book nor seen the Rosalind Russell movie. Should I get right on it or should I wait for it to be Tilda-ized?
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15 comments:

Walter L. Hollmann said...

Read it. I've been meaning to re-read myself. I think most of the stuff from the movie takes up but a few chapters in the first half.

Mark Alexander said...

You have not seen the Rosalind Russell movie?

TURN IN YOUR GAY CARD IMMEDIATELY.

Walter L. Hollmann said...

Oh my god i think I blanked on the movie bit because my brain would not allow it. JASON.

Jason Adams said...

Haha okay okay! God you'd thinking sucking dick was enough but I'll watch the movie, I wanna stay gay! ;)

Hawt said...

Watch the movie with Rosalind! No excuses!

Pierce said...

Auntie Mame DOES NOT need a remake! The movie with Rosalind Russell is still one of the best comedies of all time, and she is magnificent in it. What needs a remake is the musical version. Lucille Ball was no Auntie Mame. There are a lot of actresses who could do it now, and don't say Meryl Streep. Mame needs warmth. I had hoped when they were talking about a TV version that they would consider Raquel Welch or Ann- Margret. They would have brought the needed warmth and energy it needs. Glenn Close turned it down in favor of South Pacific and Bette Midler wouldn't be as good a Mame as she would a Vera.

Audra McDonald? Jan Maxwell? Allison Janney? Tracy Ellis Ross? Those would be performers to consider for the role in a remake of the musical!

Bill Carter said...

Re-read it about five years ago. It hasn't aged well. Life and humour were very different 60 years ago. A lot of what was "funny" then is offensive today.

There was a beautiful "AIDS play"in the 80s called "Quisbies," written by Leland Moss and produced by San Francisco's Theatre Rhinoceros. One of the characters asks another how a mutual friend got Lucille Ball's autograph.

"He told her she was better than Rosalind Russell as "Mame." She would have signed his dick."

Bucky said...

I hate to disagree Mr. Carter, but funny is funny is still funny. Auntie Mame is my favorite movie of all time. And the book? Even better. Most of the books by Patrick Denis are a hoot, And Auntie Mame isn't even the best. I read Auntie Mame every year at Christmas and it hasn't gotten old after all these years.

As an added pervy bonus, make note of the crazy well hung Forrest Tucker in his riding pants as he walks back from the fox hunt. Damn. Anaconda.

If you haven't seen the movie, see it. It doesn't need a remake, but it is fun to think about who might play all the roles. Bette would be delightful as Vera ("damn, that moon is bright") but not Mame. I'm having a hard time seeing Tilda as Mame as well. And the Lucille Ball musical version was crap. So sad. We do need a new version of that.

And if you can, read the book. It is so much more than the movie and so much fun.

Bill Carter said...

Well, to each his own.

I can usually read an old book or watch an old movie without getting too disturbed by offensive elements that reflect the time the work was created, but I was really repulsed by the racism in "Auntie Mame"--particularly in that chapter set on the plantation--and by the supposedly straight narrator's sneering and judgmental homophobia, especially since it was written by a bisexual author who was primarily gay. (Damn, that was a long sentence!)

That said, the "Mame" in the book is a much more richly-developed, interesting character than the one in the movie.

I doubt I'll read it again. My Must-Read list is already so long that it is a mathematical certainty that it will outlive me. Which calls to mind one of my favourite French jokes:

I’ve always dreamed of being able to read the works of one of the great French philosophers in the original language sometime before I die.

But I suppose that’s putting Descartes before da hearse.


Bucky said...

"Descartes before da hearse"

See, funny.

Yes, racism and homophobia to a degree. Product of the times. But if you read some of Patrick Denis' other works you will see that he was dealing with issues of sexuality and race way, way ahead of his time.

And yeah, the character in the book is soooo much more than the movie version. Even if RR is wonderful.

joel65913 said...

The book was amusing but the Roz Russell movie is a MUST SEE!!! She powers the movie with enough centrifugal force to drive five movies. And she's surrounded by utter brilliance from Coral Browne as Vera Charles, Peggy Cass as Agnes Gooch and Connie Gilchrist as salt of the earth maid Nora Muldoon. One word of preparation: the movie is shot very much like a stage play in that most scenes end with blackouts. Once you get use to it though it no big deal. SEE THE MOVIE!

Do not however see the musical remake with Lucy unless you want seared corneas from the awfulness of it. A sad vile misfire.

Pierce said...

Edward Everett Tanner aka Patrick Dennis had a fascinating life in his own right. Bisexual, but leaning more to being gay, he and actor/photographer Jon Alexander had a long relationship. The character of Mame is based on Tanner's aunt, who was a very generous woman who lived in the village during the 1920s. According to Eric Myers' book, Uncle Mame, when Dennis needed photographs for his book, Little Me, later made into a musical by Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh and Neil Simon, Alexander took them.

A dedicated nudist, among Dennis' books was one which became a TV series starring Phyllis Diller. However, later in his life, he became a butler for several wealthy families in Mexico. Instead of a modern-day remake of Auntie Mame, how about a film version of his life, based on Myers' book, Uncle Mame?

Bill Carter said...

A few years ago, a friend saw a production of "Mame" at the Kennedy Center. When he told me about it the next day, he asked if the author was gay.

I later showed him the picture in the Myers book of 10-year-old Patrick Dennis in full drag, impersonating the great Margaret Dumont. That seemed to answer his question.

Striker said...

Oh! Quickly see the original. One of my favorites of all time. Can't wait to see what Tilda could do with it!

Sean said...

The should not remake this. BAD idea.