Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Whilst i normally reserve this work for hardcore actors and people exclusively involved with fictional television and film, however no one was more hardcore than Joan Rivers, and despite her now being known for fashion police, and her work with Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers started out as an actress, appearing in The Swimmer, Rabbit Test and even facing off against Miss Piggy in Muppets Take Manhattan.

However Joan really became an icon in the 70's with her appearances on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Carson, becoming a regular and even standing in for Carson on many occasions, Joan was subsequently given her own show, Late Night with Joan Rivers on Fox, the show lasted only a year, lead to a rift with Carson, and was subsequently a factor in the suicide of her husband, who was the producer on the show, Rivers spoke of feeling 'raped' by fox.

Rivers next worked on her standup career, and in 1994 she was hired by E! to host the Golden Globes pre-show red carpet. Rivers became known to younger viewers for her appearances on the red carpet, sometimes working with  her daughter, Melissa. Joan originated the phrase 'who are you wearing' and became known for her dry, sharp wit, her acerbic humor and her fearlessness, Joan was a woman who was unafraid to offend or upset, and a woman who made fun of everyone, especially herself.

To younger, modern viewers, Rivers is known for her work on Fashion Police, a weekly news style show in which a panel dissect and analyze the fashion looks of the week.despite my reservations about the show itself, which i found to be judgmental and catty, the advantage of this show was that it provided Rivers visability, and it allowed her fans to see her every week, so in that respect the show was a great forum for her. Fashion Police was great viewing because it gave Rivers a platform to show off her best assets, and the entire show was infused with her personality.

In 2010, before Fashion Police became a real hit, Rivers starred in a documentary, entitled A Piece of Work, the documentary showed Joan at her best, and at her worst, it showed her as someone who could be brilliant, funny and uncensored, but also as someone who was brattish, self centered and spoilt, in short it was a true portrayal of a true woman. A part of me expects Joan to sit up and say "fooled you!", a world without Joan Rivers seems unthinkable, she was a woman who never stopped fighting, who overcame every obstacle and who never stopped or slowed down, she laughed till the end, and the world is one star dimmer now that this legend has been laid to rest. Rest in peace Joan, you were truly an icon.

“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.” - Joan Rivers

Remembering Robin Williams

This is a very tough post to write, if there was one actor who defined the ninties and growing up for me, it was Robin Williams, we didn't have many VHS tapes when i was growing up, probably only about fifteen, but of those fifteen we had Hook, Flubber and Jumanji, in addition we had Aladdin, featuring Williams as the Genie. Williams' passing is a huge tragedy for the film industry, so soon after the tragic loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman we have lost another actor to this toxic cocktail or drugs and depression.

Robin Williams defined my childhood, his role in Aladdin will go down as one of the greatest pieces of voice work ever heard on celluloid, tied perhaps only with Ellen Degeneres in Finding Nemo. Williams improvised most of his lines and the character is iconic and funny, the film showcases Williams' skills as a stand up comic and his work is one of the best things about this movie. Flubber, is also a film which i watched over and over again, the tale of a mad scientist who creates a substance with a life of it's own, in Hook he plays a grown up Peter Pan, and in Jumanji he plays a man sucked into a video game for fifty years.

Despite being a comic actor, Williams was a thespian of incredible depth, an actor whose performances were rarely one note, and who always brought humanity to any role that he played. His background as a stand up comedian is showcased in films such as Aladdin and Good Morning Vietnam, he shows us a softer side in Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society. His attitude to drag was shown in The Birdcage and Mrs Doubtfire.

His filmography shows him to be an actor of huge skill and he appeared in a huge variety of movies, but i will remember Robin Williams, simply as the man who taught me how to laugh, the man who defined my childhood and the man who was fearless in the way he accomplished his craft, and the man before whom i could sit for hours watching the escapades of a mad scientist, an AWOL radio journalist or a blue genie dressed as Pinocchio. Thank You. You will be sorely missed.

Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman

Yesterday was a sad day for anyone passionate about cinema and about acting, Philip Seymour Hoffman, was found dead in his apartment of an apparent drug overdose. He was 46. Philip Seymour Hoffman was extraordinary, an actor, producer and director both on stage and on the screen, he captivated audiences for over two decades with his versatile and deft performances in entertaining movies ranging from indie dramas to popcorn movies, starring in films at each end of the spectrum such as 'Synecdoche, New York' and 'Magnolia' to 'The Hunger Games', and 'Mission Impossible III'.

Philip Seymour Hoffman will be remembered as one of the greatest actors of a generation, a man unafraid to take risks, and play characters so incredibly different. From rebel Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire to Scotty J. In Boogie Nights. Philip Seymour Hoffman was nominated for four Oscars and three Tony Awards, never afraid to take risks, Hoffman discussed risqué topics in films like Doubt, where he played a pedophile, and in Flawless, in which he played a drag queen. Philip Seymour Hoffman's career in retrospect will be defined by risk taking and versatility, and a fearless ability to take on even the lightest of roles with a surprising amount of dedication.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is perhaps best known for his Oscar winning performance in the 2005 film Capote, which he also produced. In this film Hoffman plays novelist Truman Capote, as he attempts to write 'In Cold Blood', perhaps his most defining novel. Hoffman truly becomes Capote, taking on his voice, poise and mannerisms. Capote was a flamboyant and lavish homosexual, a fact that would have daunted most actors, but Hoffman seems unfazed by this, and slips so seamlessly into this figure that we soon forget which actor we are watching on screen. Hoffman gives one of the best performances of the decade in this historical drama.

Hoffman is also known for his roles in The Master, in which he played a charismatic leader attempting to recruit an ex navy soldier into scientology, Charlie Wilsons War, in which he played a soldier in the afgan-soviet war and in Doubt, in which he played a pedophillic priest attempting to convince a nun of his innocence. Younger readers will perhaps recognise Hoffman from The Hunger Games Franchise, in which he plays Plutarch Heavensbee, a role he will reprise in Mockingjay, given that he had completed most of his scenes before his death.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is an actor who will be defined by his daring, risk taking roles, a genius who refused to be typecast and who played the most diverse roles of any actor on stage and on screen, who illuminated the screen with his merest presence, and who managed to be simply mesmerizing with the smallest of gestures, a legend who lives on in the films and stories that we all love.

"Actors are responsible to the people we play." - Philip Seymour Hoffman