Steve hobnobbing with art people in NY


The New York Sun
May 17, 2004 Monday
ON THE TOWN; Pg. 24
OUT&ABOUT With A.L. GORDON

At Dia:mBeacon's one-year anniversary gala Saturday, the transition to dinner from cocktails took much longer than expected: No one wanted to leave the galleries, which glowed with warm afternoon sunlight.

Or maybe guests were lingering by the large and colorful John Chamberlain sculptures because they wanted to meet actors Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, and Phoebe Cates.

One of the last guests to enter the dining room was the chairman of the museum, Leonard Riggio, who is the founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble. He spent the cocktail hour (actually, two-and-a-half hours) taking friends through the 300,000-square-foot exhibition space, formerly a Nabisco factory, in Beacon, N.Y.

Finally, as the sun began to set, some 350 guests settled in for dinner. Fittingly, they were surrounded by Andy Warhol's "Shadows." The tables were covered with light-gray cloths and yellow programs and lit by small votive candles.

The meal, prepared by SoHo caterer Olivier Cheng, consisted of a salad of smoked trout with grapefruit and watercress, maple-glazed roast chicken with fresh and dried corn pudding, and chocolate panna cotta with expresso sauce.

Gallery owner Perry Rubenstein sat with Laura Paulson of Christie's and the actor crowd. Marc and Andrea Glimcher of PaceWildenstein dined with art dealer Harry Blain and photographer Bing Wright. The vice chairwoman of the museum, Ann Tenenbaum, sat with gallerist Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn. Table no. 16 had Hope Atherton, Donna Karan, and Ingrid Sischy. Collector Frances Dittmer sat with the head of Creative Time, Anne Pasternak.

While the evening had many hosts, the most triumphant was the director of the Dia Art Foundation, Michael Govan, whose wife, Katherine Ross, looked stunning in Prada (the label for which she works). Since opening a year ago, the museum has hosted 150,000 visitors. It is located about 80 minutes north of the city.

Also attending the event, which raised about $320,000, were art dealer Barbara Gladstone, photography Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, the head of the Storm King Art Center, David Collins, arts supporters Ben and Donna Rosen, and Tommy Tune.

- posted by sookeyjane 5/26/2004 12:31:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve being honored at the Museum of Modern Art


The New York Sun
May 25, 2004 Tuesday
NEW YORK; Pg. 18
Pulitzers at Columbia, Schulberg at 90
GARY SHAPIRO

****

KNICK-KNACKS The Museum of Modern Art is honoring actor Steve Martin at its 36th annual "Party in the Garden," which will be held June 7 at Roseland Ballroom. Mr. Martin was among those honoring Michael Caine at a Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute. At that event, Mr. Martin said, "Michael, there have been very few times in my life that I've worked on a film and woke up in the morning and thought, 'Oh boy, I get to spend all day with that person.' One is when I was working alone; the second, when I was working with Goldie Hawn; the third, when I worked with you on "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
- posted by sookeyjane 5/26/2004 12:28:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Cinematheque salutes Martin


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20040524/va_fi_ne/cinematheque_salutes_martin_2
Cinematheque salutes Martin
Sun May 23, 8:00 PM ET
Variety on Yahoo
Jill Feiwell, STAFF
This article was updated at 7:51 p.m.

The American Cinematheque will salute Steve Martin during its annual benefit gala Nov. 12.

The org's 19th recipient, Martin was the selection committee's unanimous choice. Since 1986, the org has annually feted an actor, director or writer who is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion picture.

"Steve Martin is a unique Hollywood star -- a Renaissance man," American Cinematheque Board chairman Rick Nicita said. "His eclectic career has brought him to the forefront of Hollywood as both a writer and actor in some of the most memorable comedies of the past 20 years."

Tribute, to be held at the BevHilton, will be executive produced by Paul Flattery and Barbara Smith, and produced by Irene Crinita. Co-chairs will be announced as they are confirmed. AMC will telecast the ceremony on Jan. 23.

Event is earmarked as the Cinematheque's most important benefit, providing funds for the org's programs throughout the year and for the operation of the landmark Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard as well as the soon-to-open Aero Theatre on Montana Avenue.

Martin joins previous recipients including Eddie Murphy, Ron Howard , Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nicole Kidman.

Martin is lensing "Birth of the Pink Panther" for MGM. He is co-writing the script, and plays Inspector Clouseau.

Martin has also wrapped Touchstone's "Shopgirl," which he adapted from his novel of the same name.

- posted by sookeyjane 5/25/2004 11:56:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

77 Photos of Steve


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040525/film_nm/film_martin_dc_3

this is the website for the article posted just below and also it has a link for a slideshow of 77 photos of steve. check it out.
- posted by sookeyjane 5/25/2004 11:51:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve gets a new award


Steve Martin the Toast of Hollywood
Tue May 25, 1:51 PM ET
Gregg Kilday

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Steve Martin (news) will be honored with the 19th American Cinematheque Award at the Cinematheque's annual benefit gala in the fall, organizers said Monday.

The tribute, set for Nov. 12 at the Beverly Hilton, will air Jan. 23 on AMC. Last year's recipient was Nicole Kidman. The American Cinematheque is a nonprofit group dedicated to the preservation and promotion of movies.

Martin scored the highest-grossing film of his career with 20th Century Fox's Christmas release, "Cheaper by the Dozen," which earned more than $135 million domestically.

Martin has completed work on Disney's "Shopgirl," which he adapted from his best-selling novella and in which he also stars opposite Claire Danes. He is in production on MGM's "Birth of the Pink Panther," which he has co-written and in which he is playing the role of Inspector Clouseau, originally made famous by Peter Sellers


- posted by sookeyjane 5/25/2004 11:44:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

More and new stuff about Steve's role in the Pink Panther


http://www.comingsoon.net/news/pinkpanthernews.php?id=4617
The Pink Panther Begins Production Source: Edward Douglas Friday, May 7, 2004

Forty years ago, The Pink Panther introduced Peter Sellers' bumbling French detective Inspector Jacques Clouseau to the world, and over the next fifteen years, Sellers followed it with 1964's A Shot in the Dark, and three more movies during the seventies, turning Clouseau into his most memorable character. In 1980, Sellers passed away and though there were a number of attempts to revive the character with other actors, MGM Studios may have finally found a suitable actor to don the overcoat and the accent, bringing Clouseau into the 21st Century. That actor is none other than Steve Martin, who both stars in and scripts the latest movie starring the character, which is slated for a summer 2005 release.

After getting the part, Martin brought on director Shawn Levy who helmed Martin's recent family hit, Cheaper by the Dozen, as well as a new partner named Ponton, played by French star Jean Reno. The updated The Pink Panther also stars Kevin Kline as Clouseaus' boss Dreyfus and Emily Mortimer as his shy secretary, Nicole. The story revolves around a murdered soccer coach and his pop star girlfriend, played by Beyoncé, and Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth will be making her film feature debut in The Pink Panther as the "French tart", Cheri.

Martin complete with moustache grown just for the part, was joined by Shawn Levy, producer Robert Simonds and the entire principal cast for a press conference in New York to announce the start of production on the movie, which will begin shooting in New York City on Monday, before moving to Paris in a few weeks.

Martin and Kline kept the audience and the rest of the cast in stitches with their quick wits and sharp humor, but the many fans of the original movies and character wanted to know the direction of the new movie and how it would relate to Sellers' quintessential character.

Producer Robert Simonds had this to say on the subject. "It's not a sequel, prequel or remake. What Steve has done is taken the essence of the characters and come up with his own reinterpretation of them. We're trying to do something that is very contemporary, fresh and original." Director Levy added, "Part of what makes this interesting is that Steve is both playing the role and writing the screenplay, so the whole tone of this reinvention is distinctively Steve's."

Levy continued: "Clouseau is still this absurdist, bumbling character, but now, he's also at the mercy of today's technology and the things that exist in a world today that weren't around thirty or forty years ago. There are a lot of new playthings for Clouseau to screw up. The sense of humor is very much loyal to the original, but thanks largely to Steve's writing, it has a level of wit and very clever, sharp observations about the way the world is now. With the idea of Clouseau unknowingly stumbling through that world, it just feels fresh." And of course, Clouseau had never been shown in Manhattan before.

Kline's take on it was that it was a "frog out of water movie."

"It's being said that I'm going to be the Inspector Clouseau for the 21st Century," Martin joked. "It's not quite that much. I'm just going to edge into it four or five years and then I'll be dead." Martin had qualms at first, but when he found "his own voice", he began to feel more comfortable with the role. Some wondered what Martin thought Sellers might think of this remake, to which Martin quipped, "I met him once and he was very nice to me. I think that says it all. He spoke to me comedian to comedian, and he was very friendly and under a lot of health pressure at the time, too. I often hear that people are going to remake 'The Jerk' and I have no qualms about that." Martin's attempt at levity that there had been different James Bonds was met with complete silence as it went over the heads of most of the press in attendance.

Martin hadn't seen the Begnini interpretation, but he had grown up with the original Pink Panther movies. One of the reasons he took the role was because he wanted to create some of the same twenty-year memories that Sellers provided in his movies, calling the idea of Clouseau "timeless and classic." While he didn't study the Sellers movies intensely, Martin said that he knew them pretty well.

On the other hand, Beyoncé was familiar with the Pink Panther cartoon character, but had not seen any of the original Clouseau movies. She felt honored to be brought on board, having worked with Levy six years prior on his Disney Channel show, "The Famous Jett Jackson." She also was a fan of Martin, saying that she had trouble getting through her lines in rehearsal because he was so hilarious. Besides acting in the movie, Beyoncé will be performing two songs for the movie, including one she will be writing and producing herself. She wasn't daunted about filling the shoes of Martin's last female co-star Queen Latifah either. "I'm so happy for her, since she is helping open the doors for young, black, female actresses. I knew that I would be around all this talent and I'd be able to learn so much, so this is a great experience for me." Beyoncé felt that while her role as a pop singer wasn't that big of a stretch, her character, Zanya, is a bit different from herself.

When asked about the rating and whether they'd include the randy humor expected from a Pink Panther movie, producer Simonds thought they would be going for a PG-13 rating, and Levy assured that the film would be "rife with the double entendres and innuendo humor" of the original. While some ratings have an "L for Language" or "N for Nudity", Martin jokes that The Pink Panther would have a "DJ" for "D*ck Jokes".

As screenwriter, Martin made sure that he put in lots of love scenes with his three beautiful co-stars, who were dubbed "Bond girls with a sense of humor." Emily Mortimer's character, Nicole, would find herself in "many interesting sexual positions" with Clouseau, including a "gymnastics scene". Kristen would be juggling two careers, shooting the movie during the day and appearing on Broadway in the hit musical "Wicked" at night.

Martin talked a bit about how Levy came onto the project. "The genesis of the movie is not that interesting, but I ran into Shawn in a parking lot, while I was doing some looping for 'Cheaper by the Dozen'." Martin ran a few scenes by Levy for his opinion, and the next thing he knew, he was directing the movie. "What's been a treat with this is that we've had a process over a bunch of months working on the screenplay together." said Levy, "It's gotten the benefit of us having spent the last year working together, so hopefully, the streak will continue."

As far as Clouseau's noble sidekick Cato, originally played by Burt Kwouk, he had been written out of the script before Martin and Levy came on board, possibly due to political correctness. Levy stated that Cato had been turned into Jean Reno's character, and he promised that the "spontaneous attacks" were "alive and well" as reinterpreted through that character. Martin made another perfectly timed joke about the homosexual subtext between the two men.

Levy stated that the Pink Panther theme music written by Henry Mancini would be used in the movie in its original form and in several reinterpretations. Soccer superstar David Beckham had to drop out of the movie due to scheduling problems, but they would have a replacement-a British actor--announced shortly for the role of the soccer coach.

When asked, Levy mentioned that the movie wouldn't mention the political issues between the United States and France in the movie, although the movie was very much of the moment with its sense of humor and the things it references. Martin added quickly, "Actually, MGM thinks we're doing a comedy, but we're doing a heightened political film. We have two scripts, the one they see, and the one we're shooting."

Martin and Kline gave the audience a taste of the French accents they had been working on for the movie. Jean Reno was able to keep his regular accent.

Martin wrapped up with a statement about how positive he felt about the movie's progress so far. "This movie is like getting ready for a sporting event, like an athlete. I feel like we're building up for opening night of a show. When we're rehearsing, we feel the energy building, and I'm starting to have sleepless nights, and it's a little bit different from any another movie. There's a real energy of confidence and a feeling of fun."

- posted by sookeyjane 5/23/2004 01:04:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve Talks to Tina -- In his own words


CNBC News Transcripts
Topic A with Tina Brown
May 2, 2004 Sunday
Steve Martin discusses his career as a comedian and author
TINA BROWN

(Excerpt from "Saturday Night Live")

TINA BROWN, host:

Welcome, Steve.

Mr. STEVE MARTIN: Thank you.

BROWN: I love having you here.

Mr. MARTIN: What a way to start.

BROWN: I know. What a way to start. I mean, those were some of the most iconic moments in American comedy. If you were starting your act now at this moment, would you do that kind of comedy?

Mr. MARTIN: I don't think so. I think I--I get a lot of enjoyment now, like last weekend they gave a tribute to Michael Caine and, you know, they asked me to do three minutes to tribute Michael Caine. So I do enjoy that. It's much more straightforward and sort of--sort of lines. And it's--it's not as active as this. But I--I--it's more suited to me now.

BROWN: Do you think that some of that wild, crazy comedy that you used to do in the very beginning, was it almost a reaction to the family that you grew up in, do you think? Was it a response to this very static kind of almost homogenized suburban existence?

Mr. MARTIN: No, no. It was much more a reaction to the kind of show business that I grew up with, which by the way this is not a criticism of it because we always have to rebel against our forebearers. It was kind of old--it had become old-fashioned. And also another thing that was happening--this would be the late '60s--e--everybody was--you know, there was the war and there was a lot of earnestness and anger. And al--almost--I would say all com--comedians were political. And--and I decided we've had it, and that was part of the influence that made me do what I did, which was just sort of, you know, zany...

BROWN: Breaking out.

Mr. MARTIN: Yeah, yeah. Zanier, non-relevant, just about having fun.

BROWN: So what makes you laugh now?

Mr. MARTIN: Well, let's see. That's a good question, because I was laughing. We--but mostly, you know, it's friends.

BROWN: You laugh with friends.

Mr. MARTIN: Friends, yeah. I--I love funny people. I've been hanging--I hang out with Marty Short, who's very funny, and now I'm working with Kevin Kline on "The Pink Panther" movie, and he's very funny. And I like that sort of banter that goes on.

BROWN: You're working now on this Clouseau movie. You're going to actually re-create "The Pink Panther" character.

Mr. MARTIN: Right.

BROWN: Right. And, I mean, how--is it--is it--h--what has led you to kind of want to go back into this kind of mythic kind of comedy role that's already been created by Peter Sellers?

Mr. MARTIN: I knew that Peter Sellers--and I've watched, and I've loved him my whole life--that he knew--he was inside that character. He could be funny in a second. In an ad-lib, he could be--anything could be thrown at him; he would be Inspector Clouseau. And I knew that that--that's what had to happen, that I couldn't imitate Peter Sellers, I had to like, 'OK, I can be funny. Let's see--let's see if I can figure out a way to feel funny in the role,' because if you feel funny, g--generally you are. And so I started working with it and working with it and finally...

BROWN: And what hap--did it start to happen with the moustache?

Mr. MARTIN: No--well, that helps to see yourself. It does--it does help.

BROWN: It's also quite a good time to be satirizing the French--Right?--because there's so much anti-French feeling in the world.

Mr. MARTIN: I'm staying away from the obvious, though.

BROWN: I think what I find very interesting is the way you've managed to compartmentalize so much of your creative life into these different areas with such success. I mean, you do now--really most of the movies you do now, I would say, don't really tax your intelligence.

Mr. MARTIN: Yeah. Yeah.

BROWN: I mean, they're very mainstream, commercial comedies.

Mr. MARTIN: Right.

BROWN: And then you have your very sort of witty and sophisticated New Yorker pieces, and then of course you have your novel writing, which has really become, you know, very much part of your life...

Mr. MARTIN: Right.

BROWN: ...which is again literary writing of a--of a very kind of in a way refined kind. How do you keep all these things separate?

Mr. MARTIN: Well, I--I--I--I don't know. I don't think about it, but I--I do know that I--I would say that the books, like "Shop Girl" and "Pleasure of My Company," sort of represent what I will humbly call a more lyrical type of writing. And--and now that I'm working on "The Pink Panther" script, it was really just jokes and physical gags and--and I realized how far those two are apart because there's absolutely no--there's timing in a joke, but there's no sentence structure, you know. It's whatever--whatever works. Whatever...

BROWN: It's almost like there's a disjunct in a sense between the kind of material you're writing and sort of spending a lot of your--your sort of heart on, I feel. And, I mean, do you think that the--are movies now really a business chore? I mean, do you decide that you are going to deliberately pick...

Mr. MARTIN: No.

BROWN: ...the more mainstream comedies because--and just separate it out in terms of passion?

Mr. MARTIN: No. I'll--I'll tell you, I--first I--I just did a movie of "Shop Girl" which I was very, very pleased to do, and it's a very poignant story, as you know. But I also--I like these movies. For example, "Cheaper by the Dozen."

(Excerpt from "Cheaper by the Dozen")

Mr. MARTIN: It's a--I--as I watch movies that are violent, which I enjoy, you know, I also realize, you know, there's got to be some up--uplifting in a way material for people. And I--and I want to be--I--I don't want to go to my grave going, 'Just look at those ugly films I made.'

BROWN: So in a way, I mean...

Mr. MARTIN: 'Look how many people I killed. Look how many stomachs I eviscerated,' you know?

BROWN: But in a way your--then your comedy's taken you right back to the kind of comedies that you were growing up with, that you kind of rebelled with--with the wild and crazy guy.

Mr. MARTIN: Right. Well, actually the--"The Jerk," my first movie, was--looking now was quite soft. This really is about jokes.

(Excerpt from "The Jerk")

Mr. MARTIN: You know, it's all physical gags and jokes and happiness, but also I don't get offered complicated material, you know--meaning, you know, great mysteries or psychological thrillers, which I--I really enjoy.

BROWN: Steve, it was great to have you with us today.

Mr. MARTIN: That's it?

BROWN: Thank you so much.

Mr. MARTIN: Oh, my God. I had so much to say.

BROWN: I know.

Mr. MARTIN: So much to reveal.

BROWN: I know.

Mr. MARTIN: OK. Thank you very much.

BROWN: Up next, selling out your family, your lovers, your boss. Will cashing in ever be out?
- posted by sookeyjane 5/21/2004 11:26:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve on the set of the Pink Panther


The New York Post
May 11, 2004 Tuesday
All Editions; Pg. 41
TICKLED 'PINK' - ON THE SET WITH THE NEW INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU
RUSSELL SCOTT SMITH

YESTERDAY was Steve Martin’s first on the Manhattan set of "The Pink Panther," and the comedian has already fallen on his face.

But such pratfalls are to be expected, since Martin is playing one of filmdom’s great bumblers - French Inspector Jacques Clouseau.

Sporting a disturbingly pencil-thin mustache, Martin stumbled down the steps of the subway stop at 28th Street and Seventh Avenue, as a massive film crew began shooting the first Clouseau movie since Roberto Benigni’s "Son of the Pink Panther" in 1993.

The movie, which will film in New York through mid-June, is a modern look at the classic Peter Sellers character, best known from Blake Edwards' directed movies like "The Pink Panther" (1963) and "A Shot in the Dark" (1964).

Reinventing the character is a longtime dream project for Martin, who co-wrote the screenplay for the new "Pink Panther" and gave it a 21st century spin.

"Clouseau is still this absurdist, bumbling character, but now he’s at the mercy of today’s technology," says the movie’s director, Shawn Levy.

"The sense of humor is loyal to the original's but with Steve’s screenwriting, there’s a level of wit and sharp observations of the way the world is now.

"With Clouseau stumbling through that world, it just seems fresh. There are a lot of new playthings for him to screw up."

The movie also boasts a stellar cast backing Martin, led by Kevin Kline, who plays Clouseau’s put-upon boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus.

The film’s chief bombshell is Beyoncé, fresh off her own worldwide concert tour, as an international pop-music sensation/murder suspect named Xania.

In the scene shot yesterday, Clouseau was tailing Xania with help from his straight-man partner, Ponton (played by French actor Jean Reno). Clouseau and Ponton tried to hide behind newspapers, but of course Clouseau flubbed the job, and wound up falling down the subway stairs - a shot the 58-year-old Martin had to do three times before Levy was satisfied.

Martin and company will be filming on sound stages and on location around the city, including in Central Park, in front of the New York Public Library and at the Plaza Hotel, before moving on to Paris and Prague, with plans to deliver the film to theaters next summer.

"It’s only the first day," said film publicist Rachel Aberly. "But so far, so good."
- posted by sookeyjane 5/15/2004 04:44:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve loans a painting to the Tate Gallery in London


The Guardian (London) - Final Edition
May 15, 2004
Guardian Home Pages, Pg. 9
Only the lonely: Tate Modern to put on first British display of Hopper's haunting and iconic work for almost 30 years
Maev Kennedy

The work of Edward Hopper may be instantly recognisable, beautiful, haunting, and among the most admired and imitated of all 20th century American paintings - but the artist is about as funny as toothache.

Which makes it odd that the comedian Steve Martin, who is lending to the exhibition soon to open at Tate Modern, is among the many celebrities who covet his work.

The years since Hopper's death in 1967, aged 84, have seen the steady rise of abstract, conceptual, video and computer-based art, yet the influence of the painter of quiet, scoured interiors, voyeuristic night scenes and eerily lit landscapes has grown equally steadily.

Night Hawks, his iconic view through the window of a near-deserted late-night diner, has been imitated in several films and innumerable ads.

Contemporary admirers include the novelist Annie Proulx; the film-makers Wim Wenders and Sam Mendes, who consciously gave a Hopperish look to his film Road to Perdition; and John Squire, a former guitarist with Stone Roses, who is also a painter, and whose most recent album, Marshall's House, consists of 11 tracks all named after Edward Hopper paintings.

The exhibition, the first in Britain in almost 30 years, will include another celebrity Hopper, Two Comedians, the last painting, made within 18 months of his death, which was owned by Frank Sinatra.

It may also have uncovered the only Hopper painting in a British collection: the typically enigmatic Sea Watchers, painted in 1952. In the hands of another artist this could be a jolly scene, of a couple on a beach house bench, gazing out to sea. In Hopper's hands it feels as if one will have to murder the other, just to break the silence.

When curators began research for the exhibition, they believed that apart from some superb etchings in the British Museum, made during the brief period in the 1920s when the artist mastered and then abandoned the form, there was no work by Hopper in any public or private collection in the country.

The curator, Sheena Wagstaff, does not herself know who owns Sea Watchers. It is very privately owned, and was offered to the exhibition through an intermediary, another collector, but there is evidence to suggest that the painting is in a British collection.

The exhibition will also bring together for the first time Hopper's first-known and very last paintings, Solitary Figure in a Theatre, from 1902, and Two Comedians. Both are strikingly dark, lonely theatre scenes, without a teaspoon of glitter or glamour.

Two Comedians shows two small figures taking their final bow before being swallowed by the darkness of a cavernous stage. Jo Hopper, the tiny artist wife of the spindly Edward, later said they were the comedians.

Ms Wagstaff suspects it is the element of storytelling which seduces people who have worked in film or theatre, including Sinatra, whom she described as "the consummate showman".

Hopper's characteristic trick - formed by his love of cinema, and an influence on generations of later film-makers - is to construct the scene and the viewpoint so that the viewer is transfixed in front of a frozen moment from a narrative which seems to stretch far beyond the picture plane.

Steve Martin has loaned Captain Upton's House, dating from 1927 - one of the vertiginous architectural paintings which influenced Alfred Hitchcock - and Hotel Window, from 1955.

The latter is a typically desolate scene: a surviving drawing shows that Hopper removed the companion he originally gave the lonely middle-aged woman by the dark window.

Ms Wagstaff has discussed one of the bleakest paintings in the show at length with its owner, another private collector who wishes to remain anonymous.

Excursion into Philosophy, dating from 1959, shows a fully dressed man perched uncomfortably on the edge of a very hard bed, on which a half naked woman lies with her back resolutely turned. Hopper's helpful explanation was: "He has been reading Plato rather late in life."

Ms Wagstaff said carefully: "It's not at first sight a composition that I personally would consider very comforting."

However, the owner does not find it depressing: it was inherited from his father, and is loved for that, and hangs in a prominent position in his house.

"He says that looking at the painting gives him a sense of not being alone which is often the opposite of what people say when they see this picture. Many have seen in this disconnected state some conflict or bitter post-coital argument, but he sees it as a painting of two people who are alone, but comfortable in being alone. There is comfort in knowing that everyone is as alone as you are."

Hopper was certainly something of an outsider for much of his life. He was a shopkeeper's son from Nyack, in New York State, interested in art and books from childhood, and by his early teens already over 6ft tall. He studied art in New York and Paris, but had to earn a living as a commercial illustrator.

He never sold a painting until he was 30, and drew a jokey trade bill offering his services in French as a painter, engraver and repairer of electric lamps, ending, ironically in view of the endless debate over his state of mind, "rapid healing for those in low spirits, along with lightness, frivolity and self respect. Reduced prices for widows and orphans".

In 1924 he sold 16 watercolours at an exhibition, and married the painter Jo Nivison. The argument continues as to whether he suffered from depression, and if so whether she caused or cured it.

Edward Hopper, sponsored by American Airlines, May 27-September 5, Tate Modern. 020 7887 8888
- posted by sookeyjane 5/15/2004 04:40:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

More adventures on the set


Frequently in movies, script revision continues after the beginning of the shoot...


- posted by sookeyjane 5/14/2004 08:37:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

The first day of shooting on the Pink Panther


The inside scoop (with affection)


- posted by sookeyjane 5/14/2004 06:04:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

He walks, he talks, he appears in video


Sent to me by M. Jacques Clouseau -- merci, monsieur.

You will need quicktime to see this, but it's worth the effort. It's a big file and takes a while to load.

http://a1834.g.akamai.net/7/1834/6694/v0001/mgm2.download.akamai.com/6694/Theatrical/PINKPANT_vnr_hi.mov


- posted by sookeyjane 5/12/2004 11:29:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

For those who asked what Beyonce looks like


This pic is from their press conference last Thursday. Beyonce is in the middle. (Just so you'd know). Kevin Kline is in the front.

Steve is obviously taking the fact that she's playing his love interest seriously :)



- posted by sookeyjane 5/11/2004 11:51:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

A bit more Pink Panther


United Press International
05-08-2004

UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News 'Pink Panther' to start filming in NYC

NEW YORK, May 08, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Kevin Kline, Beyonce and Steve Martin are the new stars of the latest "Pink Panther" movie, the stars announced during a New York news conference.

"Inspector Clouseau seduces Beyonce? Yep. That's in," Martin told the media Friday at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Martin co-wrote the screenplay and will take over the role of French police Inspector Jacques Clouseau, made famous by Peter Sellers, reported the New York Post.

Beyonce said the movie's rehearsals were "a wonderful experience." She added, "I don't know how I'm going to say my lines, I'm laughing so hard."

The feature film is set to being filming in New York City next week.
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- posted by sookeyjane 5/11/2004 02:12:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

More Pink Panther -- that Steve is a funny guy


The New York Post
May 8, 2004 Saturday
All Editions; Pg. 15
MOVIE STARS IN THE PINK
Jennifer Fermino

Kevin Kline, Steve Martin, and Beyoncé let the cat out of the bag at the Waldorf-Astoria yesterday - announcing they'll star in a new "Pink Panther" movie, due to start filming here next week.

"Inspector Clouseau seduces Beyoncé? Yep. That's in," joked Martin, who co-wrote the script and will play the role made famous by Peter Sellers, Inspector Jacques Clouseau.

Beyoncé seemed to adore Martin, too, saying the rehearsals were "a wonderful experience."

"I don't know how I'm going to say my lines, I'm laughing so hard," she said.
- posted by sookeyjane 5/10/2004 10:30:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve talks about Pink Panther


The Boston Herald
May 8, 2004 Saturday
ALL EDITIONS
THE EDGE; Pg. 027
Legends of the pratfall: `Pink Panther' set to shoot
By STEPHEN SCHAEFER

NEW YORK - Steve Martin is updating Inspector Clouseau for the 21st century in a new ``Pink Panther'' film that begins shooting Monday and will co-star Kevin Kline and Beyonce.

At a press conference yesterday, Martin said he began writing his script as he was finishing up ``Cheaper by the Dozen'' and successfully pitched it to ``Cheaper'' director Shawn Levy.

``I grew up with the `Pink Panther' movies and (remember) just laughing and laughing,'' Martin said. ``And the thought of having other people have those 20-year movie memories is what I do it for.

``And the money.''

But how to update a series that has had little success since its star, Peter Sellers, died in 1980?

``Basically, by being filthy,'' Martin joked, adding, ``The idea of Clouseau is timeless and classic.''

``Clouseau is still this absurdist, bumbling character, but he's also at the mercy of today's technology,'' Levy said. ``There are a lot of new playthings for Clouseau to screw up. The sense of humor is loyal to the frothy originals, but with Steve's screenwriting, there's a level of wit and sharp observations of the way the world is now, and with Clouseau stumbling through that world, it just feels fresh.''

Beyonce will play a singer - no stretch there - named Xania and will co-write two songs. The cast includes Kline as the put-upon Chief Inspector Dreyfus, Kristen Chenoweth, Emily Mortimer (``Young Adam'') and Jean Reno (``The Professional'').

Levy gave Beyonce one of her first professional acting jobs, she said yesterday, in a 1998 episode of the kid series ``The Famous Jett Jackson.''

Martin told a group of reporters and photographers, ``I was thinking, they have different James Bonds,'' and was greeted by silence.

``No response,'' Martin said, as if subtitling the press conference. ``I was expecting a standing ovation.''

The stars all discussed the training necessary for the physical comedy.

Martin said, ``I've been doing a lot of yoga and walking and biking. You do need to be in shape to do it.''

Added Beyonce, ``I just got off tour. That's a huge workout every day.''

Kline said, ``Just the usual: It's high calorie, high carbohydrate, high fat, low energy. But I just, I don't want to give anything anyway. I just do a lot of falling down, and that's the best exercise so far. I fall out of the shower and fall into the press conference and fall out of the movie and thank you very much.''
- posted by sookeyjane 5/10/2004 10:24:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Good on you, Steve


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119151,00.html
Barbra, Neil, Bette Will Sing for Kerry
Thursday, May 06, 2004
By Roger Friedman

The likely Democratic presidential nominee is about to get some big gun help from some major pop stars.

Next week it will be announced, I am told, that Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond will perform a one off-concert for John Kerry. The pair, who had a huge hit many generations ago with "You Don't Send Me Flowers," will be sending bouquets of cash Kerry's way on June 7 in Los Angeles. Streisand isn't likely to stop there. She performed for Al Gore in the 2000 presidential race and is expected to start pitching in all over the place later this year.

Meantime, New York will reciprocate three days later on June 10 when a gaggle of superstars hits the stage at Radio City Music Hall for Kerry. Expect to see Bette Midler, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg among the many names at that show. (If the latter two are there, Billy Crystal can't be far behind.)

(Interestingly, I'm told that both Steve Martin and Jerry Seinfeld have each turned down entreaties to host other Kerry fundraising shows this year. "They don't do political material," explained a source who tried to corral them.)

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- posted by sookeyjane 5/06/2004 04:41:00 PM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS

 

Steve on Tina Brown's talk show


http://www.gawker.com/topic/topic-a-the-morning-after-people-are-old-edition-015818.php
3May2004
Gawker

Topic A: The Morning After, People Are Old Edition
We feel vaguely guilty that we never watch former Talk/New Yorker editor Tina Brown's Topic A chatfest on Sunday nights -- but we have a poker game on Sundays! Hello, priorities. Then later, when we see it waiting on the TiVo, Topic A seems so cold and unloveable, like last-night's going-to-mold sushi.

So we're making our intern Henry watch Topic A every Sunday. You guys have to get some interns! It's like a feudalistic society, or like having your very own servant-children! Here's Henry's first report:

Last night's "Topic A with Tina Brown" was a geriatric pow-wow. Tina's promise of providing John Kerry "a prescription for political Viagra" during her first panel-- Hillary Clinton biographer Gail Sheehy, The Washington Post's Richard Cohen, Robert Zimmerman of the DNC, and Republican strategist Rick Davis--instead spewed out last month's conventional wisdom. Their conclusions: be likable, be macho, and sell Teresa as an exotic doll. Tina's cure to Kerry's prostate problem: "Go on Bill Clinton's book tour."

Next, Steve Martin, with weird wispy mustache, self-described as "zanier, non-relevant," explained to Tina how it is possible to be successful with books and The New Yorker. At the end, he's puzzled: "That's it?"... and Tina chatted with Senator John McCain about courage thirty years ago.

- posted by sookeyjane 5/04/2004 12:56:00 AM PERMALINK 0 COMMENTS