The nominees were SNL, At Home with Amy Sedaris, and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Robinson’s show won.
The award was presented tonight at the Edison Ballroom, a few blocks away from 30 Rock...during SNL’s dress rehearsal.
Tina, Amy, Rachel, and Fallon were in attendance. Paula Pell got an honorary award.
SNL has been nominated for this award numerous times and has won three times.
I watched Marathon Man for the first time last night and I was amazed. Not so much by the film itself, although it is very good, but more by the performance of the great Sir Laurence Olivier.
Now I know that Marathon Man is perhaps not his most prestigious role or even his best, but I do think his performance is something to behold. I also know that a lot of people may sometimes prefer to talk about Dustin Hoffman in the film, as he is great in it too, but to me Olivier is the scene stealer.
It’s interesting to see these two great actors perform next to each other, not just because they are two of some of the best, but because they have polar opposite acting styles. Hoffman is perhaps one of the most well known Method actors whereas Olivier is a little more traditional in his style. I love a quote he had about it where he said “I though each of us had our own method”.
Olivier is menacing and sinister in the film, which is exactly what you want when playing an ex Nazi war criminal. There are plenty of standouts in the film with him, the torture scene, Szell and Babe’s final confrontation, and my favourite scene in which Szell is being chased down the street by an old lady who recognizes him.
But what really makes his performance stand out to me is the context behind it. For those who don’t know, he was suffering from cancer at the time of filming and only did the film because he wanted to leave more money behind to his family when he died. During shooting he was undergoing treatment and had to take painkillers in order to perform. Although the painkillers ended up affecting his memory and he had a hard time memorizing his lines. Now I’m not really an actor but I have acted before, and it’s hard enough to act convincingly even when you’re just sick with a cold or a headache. Olivier was in pain almost everyday during filming and although a lot of it was masked by his painkillers, that further gave him trouble. And when you watch the film none of this seems apparent as you just see a great performance by a legendary actor.
Now that is masterclass acting!
I have been feeling so awful. Olivier's Hamlet made me feel so much better. It is such an extraordinary film. A powerful, masterful adaptation - one of the most atmospherically stunning works of the '40s. Of course - Laurence Olivier, the beautifully damaged egotist, smolders.
I basically became obsessed with the film for a time. I made an entire video discussion and analysis about it.
You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/bn7AV1bgfaU
I think the video is actually pretty good. I'm proud of it and I'm exhausted having completed it.
And just to preemptively address the Kenneth Branagh sized elephant on the room - I really love his film too. I must be honest and say that it truly doesn't compare to Olivier's version in my eyes but it's nevertheless masterful in its own right and on its own terms. One of the more fascinating elements of it is how Branagh's combative composition directly conflicts with the play's themes of inaction and self-obsessed irresolution. Branagh's direction is always present, available, balanced between mania and virtue. A captivating take.
For an in-depth study of Olivier's fim, click this: https://youtu.be/bn7AV1bgfaU
If you're interested in Olivier's craft or in Shakespeare's most ambiguous tragedy, I feel you will enjoy the video.
What do you guys think of Olivier's interpretation?
When will we see a proper US blu ray release?
Are you an Olivier or a Branagh man?
Who was Olivier's Hamlet?
https://preview.redd.it/40uo4x67v0441.jpg?width=432&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d97e8879381c5de70a2f85bda52fb6456a79b995
Hey book people. My other half is looking for a book or story she read recently.
The title was something like The Killing of Laurence Olivier, or The Shooting of Laurence Olivier.
As you can probably guess, it involves a fictionalised attempt to murder Laurence Olivier during the filming of either Richard the Third or Henry the Fifth.
A quick Google search has been no use, so we turn to you.
SYNOPSIS
These are actually about two different Kevins, but after a while you can't tell them apart. This story involves a community theatre of my acquaintance.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
KEVIN is a well-meaning young man in his late 20s or early 30s. He is playing a well-meaning but nervous young man in the play: a French door farce. Think of it as the live-theatre equivalent of those cartoons where characters come out of one door and go in another, usually during a pursuit. Later, KEVIN changes to become an actor in his early 40s who auditioned for another play, but KEVIN is always KEVIN.
THE PRODUCER is your humble narrator, in his 30s or early 40s.
LEADING LADY, BUSINESS MANAGER, and other characters, as needed.
ACT I
Scene 1
Interior, theatre stage. The work lights are on. The set is unpainted, but all the doors are up. DIRECTOR is in the audience. THE PRODUCER is off-stage. KEVIN and LEADING LADY enter from upstage-right door.
KEVIN: He wasn't there! Maybe he got here ahead of me? (KEVIN opens up-center door, peers into connecting room.) No! (KEVIN slams the door...on his thumb.) OW!!!
DIRECTOR: Hold it! What happened, Kevin?
KEVIN: I slammed my thumb in the door! It's bleeding!
DIRECTOR: Your thumb shouldn't be anywhere near the door.
THE PRODUCER: OK, it looks pretty deep. I'll run him to the emergency room.
DIRECTOR: OK, folks, I guess we're skipping to the next scene...
Scene 2
Interior, theatre stage. The set on the stage is complete and the theatrical lighting is on; it is the opening weekend. KEVIN and LEADING LADY are on stage. The remaining cast, including THE PRODUCER and MATRIARCH, are in the "audience" (the actual first row of the audience may be used for this).
MATRIARCH: (Sitting next to THE PRODUCER and whispering.) I can't believe how much Kevin's opening kills the energy of the show. I know the director is done, but you seem to have a handle on comic timing; will you please give Kevin some tips?
THE PRODUCER: I'll give it a try. (To KEVIN and LEADING LADY.) OK, let's just see how you are going so far. Start at the top of the show. (KEVIN and LEADING LADY exit through up-right door.)
KEVIN: (Enters up-right door, with LEADING LADY behind him.) I just don't understand where he could be! I went to pick him up, and he wasn't there! My boss is going to kill me! I'll be fired!
LEADING LADY: (Soothing but distracted.) Maybe you need to go back and look? But I h
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