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Diminished Capacity
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson
We are Together
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Journey to the Center of the Earth
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
July 18
A Very British Gangster
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July 22
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Nicole Kidman is intending to star in a Dusty Springfield biopic ('60s music, manic perfectionist streak, lesbian longings, drugs and booze, early death) being written by Michael Cunningham. Great, but there's a side issue. It isn't mentioned in this New York "Vulture" piece, but it seems too coincidental for this project to be announced two and a half months after a play about Springfield called "Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield," played for three weeks last February (2.7 through 2.24) at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Many industry people caught this show. CSI's William Petersen was there the night I attended. Previous Springfield biopic projects have come and gone, but a voice is telling me that the idea for the Kidman project probably came from this show. That or the show certainly goosed things along. The star, Kirsten Holly Smith, was excellent in the role. Looked like Springfield, sang and talked like her, etc. I can't imagine Kidman being better than she.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 29, 2008 at 04:24 PM
Posted by Mgmax
at April 29, 2008 05:09 PM
Posted by AH
at April 29, 2008 05:13 PM
Posted by CarloDennis
at April 29, 2008 05:33 PM
comment #4
says ...nice catch, wells.... my partner and i left that show wondering how long before it became film and hoping that maybe, if it went hbo or showtime, smith would be able to reprise the role (btw, smith was hopeing that too)......
that same week, we took in 'thrill me: the leopold & loeb musical'..... i'm guessing that one may take a bit longer to get to the screen......
Posted by scooterzz
at April 29, 2008 05:36 PM
Posted by Todd
at April 29, 2008 05:59 PM
Posted by Gnome de Guerre
at April 29, 2008 06:35 PM
comment #7
says ...I'm sorry, I really can't let this one go.I just watched that clip and having not seen the show in question, I cannot comprehensively comment on it but based on this clip alone, the characterisation looks absolutely ridiculous.Have you ever seen any footage of Dusty, heard her speak, the way she carried herself?She certainly didn't sound like that actress and was in no way 'sweet'.Jesus Christ and if Nicole Kidman plays her I may shoot myself.Or someone else.Sacrilege.
Posted by calraigh
at April 29, 2008 07:00 PM
comment #8
says ...A few years back, when the project was first announced, none other than Kristen Chenoweth was named to the role of Dusty. I thought that idea totally inappropriate, and feel the same way about Nicole Kidman.
Not soulful enough. Wrong tone.
Kirsten Holly Smith does a fine job on these youtube.com clips.
I always thought that Gwyneth Paltrow make a good Dusty. She showed some vocal ability in her "Cruisin" duet with Huey Lewis. She's a good actress, and malleable, and has lived in England.
This could be a wonderful bio-pic if handled correctly. Get somebody who can sing, and juxtapose the heartbreak with the soaring ballads and Memphis sounds, and there you go.
My blond and white female cat is named Dusty.
Posted by Arizona Joe
at April 29, 2008 07:45 PM
Posted by Mr. Blood Vessel
at April 29, 2008 08:20 PM
Posted by Unison
at April 29, 2008 08:32 PM
Posted by PoisonSkin
at April 29, 2008 08:39 PM
Posted by insidah
at April 29, 2008 09:20 PM
Posted by scooterzz
at April 30, 2008 12:15 AM
Posted by Spacesheik
at April 30, 2008 04:19 AM
comment #15
says ...'Scooterzz'-Why don't you comment somewhere else then, where people don't give a shit about anything?I was under the impression that people came to Well's' blog to express/rant /discuss their feelings about film(not, albeit, all the time!)Why don't you worry about your own apathy instead of condescending to others here with vested interest in the topics Wells decides to post?I'm a Dusty fan, I'd like to see her memory served well.
What's your excuse?
Posted by calraigh
at April 30, 2008 06:22 AM
Posted by calraigh
at April 30, 2008 06:25 AM
Posted by calraigh
at April 30, 2008 06:27 AM
Posted by corey3rd
at April 30, 2008 07:35 AM
comment #19
says ...While I'm a fan of both the tiny Chenoweth and the towering Kidman, I can see why some think neither would be a good choice to play Dusty (and with Kristin, you might have had to scale down the sets a bit so she wouldn't appear so absurdly petite). One wishes Joss Stone had a bit more acting experience, because with her chops and sense of soul, she'd have Dusty down pat.
Posted by vp19
at April 30, 2008 08:30 AM
Posted by JChasse
at April 30, 2008 10:05 AM
comment #21
says ...To steal a Howard Stern line, why do they keep making movies about musicians I don't care about?
They should make a biopic about Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica. Oh, what's that? You wouldn't care about that and don't know who they are. Welcome to my world every time they make THE SAME GODDAMN MOVIE, always about the boring rise and fall of some boring boomer icon that no one remembers.
Posted by LexG
at April 30, 2008 11:49 AM
Posted by corey3rd
at April 30, 2008 01:26 PM
comment #23
says ...I have no idea if she can act, but have you heard the Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy? Very Springfield-esque. Springfield's life may not have been all doom and gloom, but it certainly wasn't endless fun. Read DANCING WITH DEMONS, the biography that came out a few years ago. Her drive for perfection led her down some peculiar highways, including recording songs with the Pet Shop Boys one syllable at a time and following a bizarre diet plan that caused her to bring containers of ice cream and cauliflower to a swanky dinner party. It would probably make a fascinating film.
Posted by thatmovieguy
at April 30, 2008 02:04 PM
Posted by Marcello
at April 30, 2008 04:04 PM
comment #25
says ..."Instead of yet another biopic like this, how about a movie where Jim Morrison, Otis Redding, Patsy Cline, Syd Barrett, Jim Reeves and Sylvester team up to pull a big heist?"
Brilliant idea. For some reason it reminds me of that Star Trek episode where this rock creature makes Abraham Lincoln, some supreme space commander from the 2100s and a historical Vulcan guy have to team up with Kirk and Spock to fight something or other..."Help me, Spock!"
Posted by George Prager
at April 30, 2008 04:04 PM
Posted by erniesouchak
at April 30, 2008 06:28 PM
comment #27
says ...Why are they making a Dusty Springfield movie?
Because Dusty is the greatest female r&b pop singer ever. Arguably the greatest pop singer ever. Who is on her level? Peggy Lee. Who else?
Petula Clark said she was the greatest. Most of the girls on the Motown label thought she was the best. The Pet Shop Boys remembered her. And anyone with any taste in music does.
Keith Richards once said that any singer who listens to Sam Cooke feels like going back to pumping gas. And I imagine that's what Madonna feels like when she hears Dusty.
Posted by Arizona Joe
at April 30, 2008 07:45 PM
Posted by scooterzz
at May 1, 2008 12:51 AM
Posted by alan
at May 1, 2008 09:00 AM
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