Meryl Streep Was Told She Was Too Ugly for 'King Kong'

Well that's simply untrue, M would have been perfect as 'The King of the Apes", with a pitch perfect accent andvery little time in make-up as always.

That was a mean thing to say but you have to understand Mr. De Laurentiis: he was married to Silvana Mangano, who was one of the most gorgeous screen sirens of all time. Next to her Meryl really looked like a crooked nose bore.

And I believe his son, who brought Meryl to see his father, died in a plane crash in a Alaska a few years after that.

It's just as well Meryl didn't get cast in King Kong. It was a huge flop and it took Jessica Lange's career years to recover from it.

The absurdity of men: a woman needs to be "hot" to play a monkey's love interest?

[quote]And I believe his son, who brought Meryl to see his father, died in a plane crash in a Alaska a few years after that.

Coincidence?

Casting directors on that movie certainly had some weird ideas - I've read somewhere that Barbra was also offered the role. That movie turned out to be a piece of shit but Jessica looked beautiful in it. Can anyone imagine Meryl or Barbra in that famous topless scene?!

I see she's dining out on this again. She trots it out every few years.

R6, if only imagination were all that was needed.

Eye-Clorox, anyone?

Well she was certainly no Jessica Lange. And despite all the accolades, she only has 1 more Oscar than Lange...which was for a hammy piece of revisionist history.

R8--what the hell? Is that photo real?

R2 There is no excuse for ignorance. Not ever.

[quote]It's just as well Meryl didn't get cast in King Kong. It was a huge flop and it took Jessica Lange's career years to recover from it.

You're right. She only won a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer and was starring in a Best Picture nominee within a few years. Because of King Kong she had to wait a whole 6 years before her first Academy Award nomination (and 7 until her first win).

Once they put the monkey suit on her, no one would have known about Meryl's looks.

"That was a mean thing to say but you have to understand Mr. De Laurentiis: he was married to Silvana Mangano, who was one of the most gorgeous screen sirens of all time."

Hold on... is this Silvana Mangano the grandmother who sometimes appears on Giada DeLaurentis's TV show? The one who's so dismissive and bitchy that she should be a Datalounge icon?

Giada looks a bit like her.

Laurentis may have been a nasty son of a bitch but most of his remarks were true: Meryl really was ugly and Jodie Foster really had zero sex appeal as he once was famously said.

[quote]That was a mean thing to say but you have to understand Mr. De Laurentiis: he was married to Silvana Mangano, who was one of the most gorgeous screen sirens of all time. Next to her Meryl really looked like a crooked nose bore.

I just love the purely datalounge reasoning here. "Well, that might have sounded nasty to call someone ugly right in front of them, but you have to understand, his wife was pretty."

If Meryl had been offered that movie, she might have turned it down because there was concern about it being a joke at the time.

Lange recovered because she really was a great beauty and became a very good actress. Most importantly, she also had brass balls and refused to give up.

Had Meryl done the movie, she would have been in no position to give a good performance. Nobody could have made that movie work. Whoever did that movie was going to take a lot of crap for it.

It energized Lange and made her determined to become the actress she is today.

It might have set Meryl back because she might not have had the intestinal fortitude to withstand the ridicule.

What r17 said.

It was a typically nasty italian thing to say but being italian american and speaking italian it's something they do all the time thinking they're not being understood. Hell they'll do it even if they know you understand what they're saying!

And next to Jessica Lange, Silvana Mangano and Fay Wray he was right she was not beautiful enough for that role.

'Twas beauty that killed the beast.' Charisma, striking good looks and talent yes. But a beauty that would destroy a man or ape, no.

Meryl's not ugly, she was beautiful. But she's too patrician looking to be a "babe". There's something "carefree" looking about a "babe". Meryl, despite her talents, can't pull that off and her looks don't match.

Streep was your average pretty girl next door. Lange was so stunningly beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.

Streep should leave this story in the past.

Here's Mangano doing the famous El Negro Zumbon number in the 1951 movie Anna.

She had the sexiest figure I've ever seen. Her hips put even Sophia Loren's to shame. I'm sure if she wanted to she could become as big as Loren but she prefered the arthouse cinema (Visconti, Pasolini...) She never divorced her husband but they were estranged at the time of her death. She abandoned acting in her later years and opened a tapestry workshop in Madrid. She was buried in the US next to her son who died in that plane crash mentioned above.

Meryl often expressed her admiration of Italian actresses, especially Anna Magnani. But there's a huge difference between Meryl and those idols of hers: whereas all the emotions those actresses showed on the big screen felt very pristine, everything Meryl does on screen feels mannered and calculative.

Meryl has always been attractive and has a very sweet fragile look in her earlier films. But I think that is one of the reasons for her continuing success.

If she were a great beauty in the conventional sense, she wouldn't work as much or get cast in the most interesting roles. Yes, she's brilliant as an actress, but I think her success is also based on her unconventional looks.

"It was clicking killed the beast!"

Now that comment is just silly.

Actually despite King Kong being a mega turkey, it did bring quite a bit of attention to Jessica Lange.

True about Jessica Lange's beauty. She was absolutely stunning back then.

[quote]"It was clicking killed the beast!"

I don't get it.

She was a Goddess.

[quote]Since Streep, 65, knew Italian, she understood Dino's words as he asked his son, “Why do you bring me this ugly thing?” She then responded in Italian, saying, "I’m sorry I’m not beautiful enough to be in King Kong.”

I doubt she ever said to him "you are right, I'm not beautiful enough". Obviously, she thought she was beautiful enough when she accepted the call for an audition.

She didn't say "You are right". She just responded in Italian so he'd know that she knew what he said. She was being sarcastic, not agreeing.

for chrissakes it was SARCASM

That's even worse, R31, because she was NOT beautiful enough to be in the film.

[quote] And despite all the accolades, she only has 1 more Oscar than Lange...which was for a hammy piece of revisionist history.

Wow. You anti-Meryl loons don't even make the attempt any longer to be reasonable or credible.

Comparing Meryl's and Jessica's careers based on how many Oscars they've won? If you're going just by Oscars, how about how many nominations they've each had?

Film careers are about more than just Academy Awards. How about longevity and sustainability? As much as I enjoy watching Jessica Lange on AHS, there's a reason she's doing episodic television instead of feature films. Just ask Glenn Close (all M and G jokes aside).

I'll bet Lange would gladly trade in her 2 Oscars for a career like Streep's.

Well, she seems to have recovered, R33.

Very often I don't get what's beautiful to Americans... I don't get this adoration many Americans have for Sophia Loren (classy and beautiful? Really?) Mangano was... good, but beautiful? How about a real Italian goddess, Virna Lisi? Now, THAT was a classy and beautiful woman, and talented too.

Or how about Monica Vitti, ten thousand times more talented than Loren or Mangano.

"King Kong" was not a flop, at least commercially. It was among the top ten highest-grossing film of 1976-77, and made Paramount triple its budget. However, it came out on the heels of "Jaws" and "Star Wars" right after it, so its legacy is dwarfed (or crushed) by those two giant blockbusters.

Lange had a seven-year contract with De Laurentiis, but they couldn't agree on her next picture. He envisioned more of the same blonde bimbo roles for her, even a sequel to King Kong, but she refused. She eventually accepted a small part in "All That Jazz" without consulting De Laurentiis. He terminated her contract, freeing her up to do other things.

The mid-70s was the era of the "jiggle queens," with Farrah, Suzanne, Lynda, Angie, and Adrienne gracing us with their beauty and curves on television. That's the type De Laurentiis had in mind for Dwan. Streep simply didn't fit the bill.

Can someone please send this annoying overrated bitch on a one-way trip to the Sun?! And she's more than welcome to take her ugly daughters with her.

Lucille Ball was actually considered for the Dwan role in King Kong, but Gary Morton advised her against it.

r10, you really need to grow up and get out of the house more.

R40 Funny you should mention Lucille - after Silvana Mangano became a worldwide sensation with her role in Bitter Rice Lucy did a spoof of that movie in one of the I Love Lucy episodes where she auditions for an Italian movie called Bitter Grapes.

Wasn't she auditioning for the title role when they told her she was too ugly?

So much bullshit on this thread.

The 1976 remake of King Kong was the 5th highest grossing film of 1977, making $80M - 3x its budget for Paramount Pictures. You have to remember how different film distribution was back then - this was pre-Star Wars. That was a big hit in those days.

De Laurentiis had Lange under a three year contract so after King Kong she didn't have to work as she was paid weekly regardless. She chose to continue her actor training. She wasn't a figure of ridicule. As noted up thread she won a Golden Globe for her performance (though granted those were even more ridiculous back then). What people were not prepared for was that Jessica Lange - the beautiful blonde in the palm of an ape would emerge within a few years as the formidable actress that she is. But why would they? That was their prejudice against her not about her performance.

Yes some journalist remarked -- after the fact -- that King Kong nearly killed her career (based in part on the extended absence she took - again, because she was collecting a salary from De Laurentiis) and that certainly made for a good angle when she re-emerged, slowly, in Fosse's All That Jazz, Rafelson's Postman and eventually Frances and Tootsie.

Jessica Lange is nobody's fool. There's no point in discounting her.

What the hell is this thread even about: Meryl's ugliness, Silvana Magnano or the 1976 version of King Kong?

"Patrician beauty, my ass. Meryl Streep has a face like a chicken."

Nothing else puts me in such a good mood as a good old DL Meryl bashing thread does. Carry on, girls!

Poor Meryl, continuing to trade on sympathy after all these years.

A famous porn star was hired to be the boob double. But then she says Jessica Lange decided she did want to show her own tits after all so the porn star just hung around the MGM lot for a few weeks. :) It's in that "Other Hollywood" book that I love, ha.

It's true though that she was too ugly to play a leading lady when she was young. Just like Maggie Gummer would never be cast as a sexy leading lady now. Once you're old, it doesn't matter so she gets all the rolls now.

[quote] Once you're old, it doesn't matter so she gets all the rolls now.

I can't wait till I'm older so I can get all the rolls! Yummy!

Gabby, your body has more rolls than you have chins.

[quote] I can't wait till I'm older so I can get all the rolls! Yummy! -- Gabby Sidibe

You got em, baby, under that shirt! Now come take care of Mama!"

Seeing as De Laurentiis was a pig and used to getting BJ's from starlets, I totally believe that he said this. Jessica could play Fay Wray although her performance and nudity with a mechanical ape were ridiculed by many at the time.

I am happy for Graham Norton that Streep went on his show.

Meryl being in King Kong would have been ridiculous. She is a dog. No way around that fact.

Although now Streep at 65 is better looking than many of those other starlets, including Jessica Lange.

Monica Vitti was extraordinary but 10,000 times? You haven't seen many italian films with Loren and Mangano.

Back then a beauty could be a great talent.

Now, never.

Streep is good looking, but no way is she prettier than Jessica Lange.

I find Jessica's face hard too look at now due to plastic surgery, but to each their own.

But her character's transformation into her beautiful younger self in INTO THE WOODS is pure silver screen magic!

Oh, wait...

No wonder actors are so crazy. Even the best ones have to deal with so much rejection and disappointment. I know I couldn't. You have to be an egomaniac just to survive.

"She gets all the rolls" -- That explains it all.

[quote] I am happy for Graham Norton that Streep went on his show.

What a patronising comment. He's the top Talk Show host in the UK.

Oh god this thread makes me think that Lange actually gave Dino De a bj to get the job.

You really do have to be psychotic to be an actor or actress.

That's disingenuous bullshit on Streep's part.

She should have been told that, and if she was a true pro, she would know how Hollywood works and not take offense (certainly not enough to be repeating the anecdote 35 years later).

Why would she even mention it?

Why do women get pissed off at this? You're not all beautiful and sexually desirable to men, who are the main audience for films. I'm not agreeing with it, but it's the way it is. Really, people gravitate towards beauty.

More women need to be in film, but not at the expense of denying reality.

You mean King Kong the movie or the animal?

If you watch the video, you'll see that Streep didn't mention, Norton brought it up. She just answered his question about it.

The striking thing is that Streep understands and speaks Italian!

Meryl Streep was very beautiful in The Deer Hunter. And she probably spoke Italian because of her relationship with John Cazale.

Cazale was italian american so not a necessity.

The woman is enormously talented and might as well have a talent for languages and studied it. In my own experiences and I am a man who has studied italian and french women generally have a better ear for foreign languages than men do. I have no idea why.

[quote]Lucille Ball was actually considered for the Dwan role in King Kong, but Gary Morton advised her

Wasn't Lucille Ball too old for the role?

Lucille Ball had discovered an anti-aging remedy. It's called chicken fat and works a treat when smeared over every available camera lens.

Dino was right of course. Meryl Streep IS INDEED UGLY.

Her face is a homely char woman's face. And anyone who says otherwise is deluded. She is a homely woman. And just because she dyes her hair and wears sexy dresses doesn't mean she's a raving beauty.

At this time in Meryl's life she is a matronly frump beneath all that make-up and hair manipulation. I bet you wouldn't want to see how she really looks when she wakes up in the morning, her face make-up free, her wigs/hair pieces off, laying on the carpet next to her bed, tossed there when she stripped herself while drunk, shouting at her husband, accusing him of cheating on her, cussing at him like a sailor.

Her false teeth in a glass.

Now you just think about that. Dino knew of beauty.

Italian men know what is beautiful and WHAT IS NOT!

I mean he wasn't lying...Meryl is not a pretty woman. She can act but she shouldn't get beauty roles.

Just look at Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. Now, that's a beautiful woman!

Sad, bro

She IS ugly. She does great with flattering make up and lighting and wigs, but other than that "stare off into the middle distance" look she's got, what else? Even as Madeleine Ashton I would hardly have called her "beautiful."

Jessica Lange was gorgeous in King Kong but Streep was beautiful enough to have played the part. Here she was (top few photos) in Manhattan just a few years after KK. In that film, Woody Allen refers to her as being too beautiful to divorce her - even though her character was a lesbian.

Meryl is just as pretty as Jessica.

More Meryl.

Meryl could have played Joan Crawford too!

Oh please. In 1975-76, Meryl Streep would not have been considered movie-star beautiful, and she wasn't. Movie-star beautiful was Faye Dunaway, Lauren Hutton, Cybill Shepherd, Catherine Deneuve, etc. Meryl was actually quite typical of the era, when unconventional looking men and women were getting cast in New York-based films, but not for a Hollywood sci-fi/fantasy/adventure film where an ape goes ape for a ravishing beauty.

M's good plastic surgery has given her an advantage as she's aged. Her contemporaries have either avoided it and faded away, gotten it too late, or overdone it. Few her age now look as good. I'm still waiting for her doctor's name...anybody know?

M's problem has always been she simply isn't magnetic. Watch Daniel Day-Lewis. He's a hugely compelling and fierce screen presence. In the Name of the Father is the best performance I've seen him give. He was unforgettable.

R81 says it well - Streep is attractive, and she pulled off that '70s look via Kramer v. Kramer to perfection. But she's not movie star beautiful and never was - come on, fantastic actor or not, a woman who appears in movies does not hide her face or voice unless she knows both not to be her greatest factors.

May I remind you that I was in a movie that year, too! Hung Kong!

But they were too busy giving a big build up to that crap you were turning out!

[quote] M's good plastic surgery has given her an advantage as she's aged. Her contemporaries have either avoided it and faded away, gotten it too late, or overdone it. Few her age now look as good. I'm still waiting for her doctor's name...anybody know?

I don't think it's primarily down to PS. It's due to the fact that Streep usually has a little extra weight on her. It makes a big difference - as any scrawny middle aged woman demonstrates.

Did Meryl also mention in her interview that she lost the role of Patsy Cline to Jessica Lange as well? Bet she didn't.

What did he say after that, how did he react? That is what I want to know.

This is just Meryl humblebragging again. Oh, he thought I was so ugly, but I speak Italian you know? And here, I'll speak some more for you.

Gay men are obsessed with her.

Wasn't Meryl also up to playing France Farmer, but lost to Jessica Lange?

"what the hell? Is that photo real?"

Of course it isn't. If it had been, you can bet that it would caused quite a stir a long time ago.

In her younger day, Meryl Streep was quite lovely. she had a unique attractiveness. Jessica Lange always had the looks of your average blonde sexpot chippie; nothing interesting about her looks at all. Obviously Hollywood has always had a thing for that type.

Why are the fuglies the ones that always have the strongest opinions on looks?

Just googled this Dino, and he should have been mindful that a face transplant would have been necessary to reach Meryl's league.

Bette Davis was not considered a great beauty either.

And Meryl portrayed Sophie in Sophie's Choice. In the novel, Sophie was a great beauty. Meryl made her believable.

Have you seen Bette Davis' earlier films? She was quite a looker.

R93 Yeah, but at least Davis had some sex appeal. Meryl on the other hand has none (even when she was younger).

I'm sick of Daniel Day-Lewis getting all the good roles. He's ugly and his nose is crooked. He's insufferable. Click click click. Who does he think he is?

A younger Bette Davis.

Bette Davis also had a distinctive voice with a lot of character. Streep just sounds nasal to me.

How many perfect-gorgeous people are great actors? They tend to be rather bland.

More Bette.

Bette Davis Eyes!

R90, I don't know about "Frances," but she was up for a part in "The Postman Always Rings Twice," which went to Lange.

There's another story involving Meryl and another De Laurentiis, Dino Jr. She was being considered for a part in Dino Sr.'s latest pic "King of the Gypsies," but Junior told his dad, "But she's not beautiful." The part went to Sarandon.

R85 I wouldn't say that actually - she can look matronly when she's on her heavy side. I would actually say its her cheekbones that have made her age well.

[quote]" but she was up for a part in "The Postman Always Rings Twice," which went to Lange.

I turned it down.

[quote]There's another story involving Meryl and another De Laurentiis, Dino Jr. She was being considered for a part in Dino Sr.'s latest pic "King of the Gypsies," but Junior told his dad, "But she's not beautiful." The part went to Sarandon

No, that part went to Brooke Shields.

R103 His son's name was Federico, not Dino Jr. He was kind of cute and looked like James Franco a bit. He had nice hairy chest too.

Those shots of Bette Davis are so photoshopped it's impossible to know what she really looked like before all the retouching. But she was never considered a beauty but more interesting looking.

R105, No. According to Meryl, when she was told she would have to do nude scenes, she responded, "I will, if he will!" and then, "I didn't turn it down.  He turned me down."

[quote]Did Meryl also mention in her interview that she lost the role of Patsy Cline to Jessica Lange as well? Bet she didn't.

Streep has made no secret of this in previous interviews, Anti-Meryl Loon, so what's your point?

You're a bitch, r110.

I never thought that Jessica Lange was all that beautiful when she was younger. IMHO she looks a lot like Robin Wright, another actress that other people think is stunning, and I just don't see it. Maybe I just don't like square-shaped faces on women beautiful.

And Meryl may not have been beautiful as a young woman, but she was attractive anyway. She had stunning thick blonde hair and luminous skin, and if anyone ever benefitted from having youth soften their features, it was her.

I agree. Lange was attractive. Not stunning.

The real question is how did Meryl manage to blow her audition for "How to Beat the High Cost of Living", which also went to Jessica Lange? That was a real loss, the film if freaking hilarious!

Is that why Meryl has never worked with Jessica? Forever, and bitter, rivals? I remember Jessica getting quite snarky a few years ago when asked about what she thought was the best Meryl performance.

They should team up for a Whatever Happened to Baby Jane remake.

I think that Meryl and Jessica are always compared with each other, because they are both blondes, great actresses, and the same age.

R112, Jessica had an easy, breezy, beautiful kind of beauty, not an impossibly beautiful goddess beauty. And combined with her long legs and curvy figure, it's very easy to see why straight men fell head-over-heels for her.

M is such a PR princess. Every time the camera caught her on the Globes she was smiling. She also said that she was going to miss Amy and Tina. Please.

I do not think she liked being in that North Korea skit though. Hope the North Koreans don't turn around and hack her for it...oh wait, I kind of wish they do.

Cate Blanchett amazes me, she's actually rather odd-looking, but she's convinced people she's beautiful.

What she is is talented, charismatic, and stylish, but beautiful? Her features are massive, especially her nose, the proportions of her face are very odd. Still, I have to admire any actor who can play beautiful women, regardless of her actual looks.

It's true, Streep is not attractive. The joke about her Witch in Into the Woods is that when the Witch is transformed, she doesn't look much different from her ugly Witch.

While Jessica Lange wasn't a knockout per se, she was very sensuous and sexy, a quality Streep is lacking. Dont' believe they're enemies, they're friendly.

[quote]It's just as well Meryl didn't get cast in King Kong. It was a huge flop and it took Jessica Lange's career years to recover from it.

Three years later, I was the Angel of Death in [italic]All That Jazz[/italic].

Meryl might have been able to fit in the ape suit. Notice I said "might."

R28 it was a reference to Hepburn's comment about Streep's acting. Hepburn once said that when she saw her acting, she thought, “click click click” implying that she saw the wheel’s turning in Streep’s head; that she saw Meryl act the acting, instead of just acting.

Has that Hepburn quote ever been verified? or is it urban legend?

[quote]Is that why Meryl has never worked with Jessica? Forever, and bitter, rivals? I remember Jessica getting quite snarky a few years ago when asked about what she thought was the best Meryl performance.

It was GoldDerby who interviewed her and asked that question. Lange didn't even answer it. Instead, she went on a tangent about how Kim Stanley was the greatest actress ever and that her most favorite performance is Stanley's in THE GODDESS.

Meryl was never conventionally beautiful. She's handsome, like Glenn. Nothing more.

It's in Scott Berg's book about Hepburn, R124.

Meryl used to have a lovely, full head of hair, but for the past decade or so it looks very thin. She should consider wigs or hairpieces for public appearances, since she prefers them so much in movies.

Again, she was a frumpy mess on the Golden Globes. Does nothing with her hair, wears those boring glasses that shouldn't be seen outside of her house, and a weird, unflattering dress.

HIRE A FUCKING STYLIST ALREADY. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT YOU. THINK OF THE CHILDREN.

Meryl really needs to cut her hair short. Long hair on old women makes them look like a bag lady. You don't see Glenn or Sigourney with waist length hair. And for good reason.

I think Meryl grew into her looks and peaked around 40. She hasn't dropped off that fast either. But she should've known the role required a stunningly beautiful blonde, not just an attractive one.

Heavens, you all seem to under the misconception this post is in regards to a role in the famous film remake , and I can assure you all it certainly is not .

It was a blind date.

I don't mind the long hair, but like someone else said, she needs to enhance it as it's very thin. And then she needs to style it. She's got a bajillion dollars, is supposed to be the movie star of our lifetime, and doesn't bother to look nice at dressy, televised events.

I don't understand just not bothering. Part of the whole movie star thing is being seen at these events. She has no problem showing up for them so obviously that's not the issue. If you're showing up, have the self-respect to take the time and effort to look like you belong there. She looks like the school principal at the prom.

Actually M is only worth $65M, tops. hehe

[quote]She's got a bajillion dollars, is supposed to be the movie star of our lifetime, and doesn't bother to look nice at dressy, televised events.

Oh, she bothers alright. It's all part of the act. Streep is nothing if not calculating. She knows she'll get more press dressing up in a sack or some gold lame nightmare than if she wnet chic and looked like all the other ageing stars a la Helen Mirren, or G.

I wondered about that, R135. But then I thought no one could be THAT calculating.

Gross.

I am a serious actress above the fray of fashion and trends. I wish to encourage the value of women to be found in what they do, not what they wear.

Streep is one of those "above it all" stars who are anything but. People who are, actually, above it all don't turn up to awards ceremonies every time their nominated (eg Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Terence Malick), particularly for dreck like August: Osage County. Streep is as big a fame and attention whore as the best of them, but comes off so superior and condescending. Her Oscar acceptance speech for the awful "Iron Lady" was so faux self deprecating as to be sickening.

She's too ugly for anybody. Soul black as pitch.

Exactly, R138. After all the faux campaigning she did for Viola Davis (because she's so humble!) her acceptance speech should have been brief, gracious, and to the point. That ridiculous joke about the statuette holding up a wobbly coffee table leg was incredibly tacky considering, again, she had been "campaigning" for Davis all over the place. I've said it before - I wish Viola had tracked her down and bashed her over the head with the thing, Serial Mom-style.

That moment was my Meryl Streep tipping point. I can't stand her anymore.

I saw some of "King Kong" with Jessica Lange on TV the other night, and even accounting for the ridiculous script, her performance is indescribably bad. It's amazing she ever came back from that.

Lange acknowledged that her performance was terrible in King Kong. The reason she disappeared for 3 years was because she moved to Paris to study acting (she came to King Kong as a model, not an actor). Unfortunately, Paris made her maddingly mannered (her performance in Tootsie is awful, Oscar notwithstanding; all tics and lip chewing), but she did become a competent, though never great, actress. She's certainly survived longer than much more talented actors.

So many confused folks here

First of all, Meryl already told this story several years ago on David Letterman. She keeps bringing up that stupid boring story (see 6 year old Youtube clip!)

OK, now

Meryl is beautiful but not SEXY even when she was young. Today Meryl is still beautiful and still not sexy.

Jessica Lange was beautiful AND sexy due mostly to her youth which she quickly lost but acting wise she was terrible in KK.

Silvana is beautiful but there are boatloads of Italian actresses who where hotter than her, including the stunning Virna Lisi, who died recently.

Monica Vitti is beautiful but not in the same league as Sophia or even Gina. Come on.

[quote]She keeps bringing up that stupid boring story (see 6 year old Youtube clip!)

In Meryl's defense, it was Norton who brought it up this time, and she clearly wasn't expecting the question.

R130 ugh that's such bullshit. Yes, someone like say Dyan Cannon needs a major intervention, but not every woman "of a certain age" needs to get a dyke haircut.

Older women (or any women really) cutting their hair is a fairly recent phenomenon. It wasn't until post-WWI that women began chopping their locks. It started with daring young ones, but the older ladies eventually followed suit. Before then, women never cut their hair and just wore it piled on top of their heads. After 1920, more and more women bobbed their hair, so that by the 1950s it gave rise to the little blue haired ladies with their permed hair.

R142, Jessica Lange did not move to Paris to study acting. She was modeling in Paris before "King Kong," came back to NY to study acting, and landed "King Kong" before she was good and ready. And I think she's a great actress, not just "competent." But to each his own.

R129, Speaking if which... didn't I look fabulous that night?

(Btw, please ignore the crooked old man behind me. He must've wandered in from the WW2 Veterans convention across the street.)

Tootsie is a glorified sitcom, it didn't elicit a strong performance from any of them. Her Oscar was really for Frances, everyone knows that.

The young Streep looks like a total Vassar girl. Which she was.

And while she didn't achieve the fame of Loren ... Monica Vitti was in a class of her own. Exquisite.

I'm interested in Jessica Lange... has anyone met her, recently or back at her peak? What is/was she like? (besides the booze and Misha)

R129 Meryl likes to pretend that she doesn't really care about fashion and looking good, but the reality is she cares about NOT looking bad. She has said that after she turned 40, she kept getting offered roles for witches but found it demeaning and vowed to herself to never play such a role. The only reason she accepted INTO THE WOODS is because the Witch reverts to her former youth and beauty. She doesn't remain a crone forever. Thus, she wouldn't have accepted the role otherwise, because at 65 she doesn't want to play "old ladies" yet.

[quote] the reality is she cares about NOT looking bad.

She's an odd one, that Meryl.

R142 and R149 are fools plain and simple. Tootsie is one of the greatest movie comedies of all time. The writing and acting are uniformly brilliant.

Jessica Lange is fantastic in the movie - smart, charming, vulnerable. Perhaps she would have won for Frances in any other year but she also deserved the Oscar for Tootsie. The other nominated performances were good (Teri Garr, Kim Stanley, Lesley Ann Warren and G. for Garp) but none were better.

Everyone knew that Meryl was going to get the Oscar for Sophie's Choice. If Jessica had been nominated for Frances the year before or the year after, she would have won.

R154 she couldn't have been nominated in 1981 or 1983, because FRANCES was released in 1982. Oscar rules stipulate that a movie is only eligible on the year they premiere in the US.

Poor R154. So dumb.

R155 was just making the point that Jessica gave a performance that was good enough to have won Best Actress against almost any other competition.

But M. in Sophie's Choice is one of the greatest female performances of all time and Jessica had the bad luck to have had Frances released the same year.

Why is that dumb r155? Jessica would've won if Frances had been made the year before or after, certainly. There was no way she was going to beat Meryl.

'Tootsie is one of the greatest movie comedies of all time. The writing and acting are uniformly brilliant.'

You need to see another movie comedy. Like maybe just about any other ever made.

Is Frances good? I was young when it came out and remember commercials with her screaming in it, which made me not want to watch it.

Sophie's Choice is horribly overrated. That accent is a total mirage. Lange was so visceral in Frances. You feel her literally COMING OUT OF HER SKIN at times. She takes you within. Streep just protects herself with the accent and the coquettish idiosyncrasies.

Kim Stanley should have won Supporting for Frances and Lange should have won Lead.

See link to American Film Institute's list of the funniest movies of all time.

Tootsie at #2.

Tootsie? One of the greatest movies of all time? Oh my god. If you mean the Dustin Hoffman Overacting Ham Lifetime Achievement Award - yes. A thousand times yes. He got all of this glory for supposedly making Dorthy Michaels a "real lady," but he's never anything more than Dustin In A Dress.

Just because somebody made a list, doesn't mean it's a fact r162.

Well preferences are subjective R162 so I guess you're right. But that's not a particularly compelling argument. At least a few people seem to think Tootsie is a great movie.

Wow, people can't even get their facts right for recent history.

Streep has told this story before, but Graham Norton asked her about it again recently so she told it to him, again. It's not even news really, except lazy press outlets and DataLoungers picked up on it as if it was new.

Streep was always off-beat in her looks, and it's not a surprise to me that producers would initially not want her for movies. Once Manhattan came around, the camera figured out how to film her and she has looked gorgeous in plenty of movies. Her unique look has ended up helping her to play everything under the sun, from ugly to beautiful women, and have a really long career.

Jessica Lange is terrible in King Kong. It was really before she knew how to act. She has also ended up successful on television, because movies were never her thing. As a lead, she never could sell a film.

Yeah, movies were never Jessica Lange's thing . . . Aside from 2 Oscars and another 4 nominations.

[quote]Once Manhattan came around, the camera figured out how to film her and she has looked gorgeous in plenty of movies.

Bitch, please! Streep has never been gorgeous.

Marlene Dietrich said of Meryl Streep: 'In the old days such an ugly person would have played the maid, or not even have gotten a screen test.'

Streep looks her best in the movie Plenty, which actually has a similar premise to Frances. It's about a mentally disturbed woman who rebels against the patriachy.

Dietrich is full of shit. If what she said was true, Norma Shearer would never have been a star. Never mind Bette Davis.

Streep isn't beautiful but she does indeed look beautiful in Manhattan. Her bone structure, her elegance, her gorgeous hair ...

Bette Davis was never a sexpot, but she wasn't homely either. As a young woman, she was quite pretty.

That list is quite a doozy.

Only goes to show you the havoc drugs have wreaked on Hollywood for the last 50 years.

Everybody I know would put Safety Last, Seven Chances, and The Bank Dick in the top 10. I don't think they even made the top 100.

And Keaton doesn't make it until 18 and Chaplin until 25?!!!

Please tell me you don't take this list seriously.

r171, see the film Plenty. Streep looked beautiful AND sexy. There's a moment where she riding Sting on the couch, slowly. You'll not forget it in a hurry!

How old are you R173? Your taste is rather specific.

I'll just say that when I saw Birth of A Nation on opening night I told David that what he had done would change movies forever. I didn't say that he stole a lot from the swedes because everyone would have been really pissed and I didn't want to ruin the evening.

R167 pretty sure r166 meant in terms of carrying/selling a film. Which Lange (by her own admission) has NEVER been able to do on her own.

Bette Davis was only attractive in heavily retouched still photos.

Meryl Streep has been sarcastic about Woody Allen, and I give her points for that. She said the only thing she likes about her role in Manhattan is she looked pretty. I agree, and I don't think that taught anybody anything about how to film her. It's the best she's ever looked before or since.

I didn't think she OR Lange were great beauties back then. Now I look back and see the bone structure on both of them and I get it; don't look at either through classic movie actress lenses anymore. But, upthread is right, Lange's a babe, and Meryl isn't. Lange also said, at one point, that as much as people made a fuss over her being "pretty", she wishes the "pretty" thing had been an issue when she was trying to get modeling jobs and told she wasn't pretty enough.

But that helps as an actress. Julianne Moore can look glamourous and alluring or she can look rather ordinary. Not so Cindy Crawford.

R179 theres never been anything remarkable about Lange's bone structure. She was a babe (for a short time), and she was pretty enough, but she has also always had a bit of that plain Midwestern look to her.

Ultimately, while I agree on the lack of sex appeal thing, I have always found Streep's beauty more ethereal and striking.

Ethereal? With a nose like that?

Hey, r64. I don't know if she Jessica blew Dino, but I know he fucked her on the partners' desk in his office.

Lange was a babe until she got the eye surgery or whatever she did to fuck up her face. But she's always had raw sensuality and sexuality, qualities which are rare among American actresses. She wears her passions on her sleeve, which makes for a compelling big and small screen presence.

As others noted, Lange will take you on a journey with her character, unlike Streep who will show you what her character is experiencing. This is not to diminish what Streep can do as an actor; I think she can be masterful at what she does; but it's two very different ways of delivering a performance.

I don't believe Meryl Streep speaks italian as well as she claims. She probably understands a few words here and there, knew the italian word for "ugly" and spoke to DeLaurentis in English.

She took two semesters of Italian at Vassar.

OK, while I'm glad Streep is getting her long over-due share of attention being a peer of the DeNiro generation of actors, she has got to be one of the most boring interviews I've ever seen. This is where I compare listening to her to listening to someone like Kate Mulgrew talk. At least Kate is passionate, funny, and speaks directly. Streep is just so...bland!

Why are gay men obsessed with Meryl Streep?

Who gives a shit what Dietrich (who was an old crone at the time) said? It just shows she was a c___.

King Kong came out in 1976.

Get a hobby!

I've met Kate Mulgrew socially and she is a fucking RIOT! Love love love her!

R189, you are very lucky! I've never seen her do a bad interview, not once. She seems incredibly charming and very intelligent.

r190, Kate Mulgrew has personality with a capital "P." Just a completely charming, fun and gracious woman. She loves life and people and it shows. I met her with my bf and she shook both our hands and complimented us on "being so damn good-looking." Very friendly, down-to-earth and obviously loves gay guys. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Sorry, I didn't mean to go OT on this thread, but I just wanted to respond quickly.

If anyone deserved an Oscar for Tootsie it was Terri Garr. Frances and Sophie's Choice were both awful melodramatic messes and have both been largely, and thankfully, forgotten. Streep is a great actress, but that was not a great performance; it was an endless audition showing off her 'range'. All Lange did in Frances was scream and get raped on in a lunatic asylum; Frances Farmer was no tragic victim; she was a psychotic mess who self-destructed.

Streep was far better in A Cry in the Dark, Devil Wears Prada, hell even The River Wild. She was all horrible accent and soft focus ham. Both Lange's Oscars were for mediocre, or worse,performances. Blue Sky was appalling, and her tenth rate Marilyn Monroe in Misfits impersonation was simply embarrassing. Let's face it, she won because it was a terrible, terrible year for lead actresses (Jodie Foster in Nell? Susan Sarandon in The Client for goodness sakes? That movie wouldn't have looked out of place on Lifetime). The damn thing sat on a shelf for 3 years. And for good reason.

R192 well good or bad (and I'm somewhere in the middle on her performance) the movie was shelved because of Orion.

And I agree you about Garr, and to an extent about Lange's Frances performance. But I still think Streep was leagues better.

R182 there was one funny review of K v K (don't remember by whom), where, as an aside, the critic wrote something like: although, with Hoffman and Streep's DNA, how Justin Henry miraculously got that button nose is beyond me.

[quote]Sophie's Choice were both awful melodramatic messes and have both been largely, and thankfully, forgotten.

Sophie's Choice has not been forgotten. People reference at all the time.

[quote]People reference at all the time.

Yes, as a film that has not aged well, at all.

Only time Sophie's Choice is ever mentioned - it's make fun of it.

[quote]it's make fun of it.

oh my

Come on... the movie is a little script challenged (that awful voiceover for Sam) but Lange's work in "Frances" gets better with age. The scene with the shrink, the angry court scenes (where she isn't yelling the whole time, not by a long shot), the sweet ending when she has been "cured" and is on the talk show -- and after with Sam...

It's still a classic performance. Had it been held back even one year, she could've won Best Actress too. And, weak movie or not, the "Blue Sky" work is nice too -- though that shoulda been Linda Fiorentino's one and only year. Damn HBO technicality.

Don't get me started on Garr yet again. Meet her and you'll never root for her to win even a turkey again.

Can't read through all the M drama, but the whole GN episode is great... And I had no idea James McAvoy held on to his thick Scottish accent in real life.

[quote]Had it been held back even one year, she could've won Best Actress too.

nah Shirley MacLaine would have still won. Too bad they didn't release Frances the year before or 2 years after.

Yeah, good point -- but the NEXT year, she could've easily beat Sally Field. With the "Frances" performance anyway. (I've written here that I knew her assistant back then and her reaction to Field then was "I can't believe they gave it to that woman for that performance in that movie." ha).

Meryl Streep looked very attractive in Woody Allen's "Manhattan".

Jessica must have had quite the attitude back in 1984. "Country" is like a Lifetime movie and while Places in the Heart is no masterpiece Field is so much better than Lange. In Spacek's movie The River they actually named the cow "Jessica" after Lange who quit the film and then made her own version of it.

The funny part of M in Manhattan is that you can totally feel her disdain for Allen.

I guess that is how she really felt, she sure used it.

There must be different concepts of beauty in Europe and America, R36. I just started watching "Les Enfants du Paradis". I'm guessing Arletty is meant to be a great beauty, not jolie-laide. I don't see it. To me, she's got a bit of a bitchy, shrewish look about her.

Hi anti-Garr troll at r199 - even if your stories are true, how does that take away from her being a great comedic actress - who has inspired many, including the great Tina and Amy?

So now only nice actors deserve awards (which would likewise eliminate Lange, in any case)?

Yes, R206 probably got it right. I was a teenager when Streep seemed to suddenly burst all over in 1978-79. And I remember the impact she made on people. Reading a report about the Venice film festival of ’78, where The Deer Hunter had its European premiere, the writer was rhapsodizing about this new major talent and her rare and exquisite beauty who everybody was talking about. I believe words such as patrician, eternal and Madona-like were used. And this fascination with her looks continues into the ‘80s. Great (non American) cinematographers such as Nestor Almendros and Vilmos Zsigmond were singing her praises. Here’s what was written about her in the book The Movie Stars Story which was published in London in 1984, which, while can be seen as somewhat over the top, still very much convey a widespread sentiments of the time:

“No one has any doubts about Meryl Streep’s class as an actress, but people are divided about her Beauty. The features, it is said, are too elongate. There is a problem with that nose of her which, in full face, is thought by some (falsely, in the event: it is straight as a prow) to be croocked. No one, however, disputes the beauty of her skin, transparent mother of pearl with the faintest flushings of rose, and the dignity of her clear blue eyes. Born and brought up in America, she brings to her roles a sort of European elegance, allowing her somehow, beyond her birthright, to share in the glamour of a Garbo or a Bergman. She is one of those actresses – the very definition of a beauty – who brings out the painter in directors, urging them on to rival feats of portraiture. So the fierce red hair of The French Lieutenant’s Woman (Karl Reisz, 1981) is Pre-Raphaelite; While paler and creamier colours in Sophie’s Choice (Alan J. Pakula, 1982) hint at the Renaissance and Botticelli.”

So yes, she was not a Christie Brinkley’s doppelganger, but for some she indeed was a great beauty.

[quote]I am happy for Graham Norton that Streep went on his show.

She goes on everything now. Her standoffish days are about two decades in the past.

[quote]I believe words such as patrician, eternal and Madona-like were used.

How is that possible? Madonna was a 20-year-old unknown in 1978. She didn't begin her singing career until circa 1983. And I would never consider Streep and Madonna to be in any way similar, physically.

BTW: I guess it's ironic that Madonna ended up getting EVITA and not Streep. Streep was apparently not pleased, and openly bitched about not being cast.

[quote]I bet you wouldn't want to see how she really looks when she wakes up in the morning, her face make-up free, her wigs/hair pieces off, laying on the carpet next to her bed, tossed there when she stripped herself while drunk, shouting at her husband, accusing him of cheating on her, cussing at him like a sailor.

We saw that in August:Osage County, thanks.

R210, Oh, honey. The Madonna that you see in Christian art.

Madonna only does Kaballah Art.

You're right, R207, she's a very talented nightmare woman.

Has Teri Garr always been a nightmare? Or just when she decided she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress (all those bad TV movies)? Or just since the MS?

The truth hurts.

That being said, Streep doesn't seem to be as bad a person as Lange who has been extensively documented on the DL to be a raving alcoholic bitch. No doubt amusing as an icon but a royal pain in the ass in real life.

R208 are her eyes blue? I've never been able to figure out what color they are. They seem almost colorless to me.

Jessica had a 10 year or less run in the movies, but the offers for her dried up when movies like Everybody's All American kept bombing at the box office. Streep, DeNiro and Lange were all considered box office poison, but then Meryl turned things around with the help of Kevin Huvane. Jess could never could bring in the box office bacon, so it's good that Ryan Murphy threw her a TV bone late in her life.

People like me.

McAvoy seemed a little "look what I can do!" in that Graham Norton clip.

Bless your heart, R210.

R210 should get an unintentional W&W.

Jessica also bad mouthed her directors, which wouldn't have endeared her to them when she was looking for work. She was particularly nasty about Taylor Hackford and her role in Everybody's All American (which wasn't actually that bad a film; certainly a step up from "Hush" and "Cousin Bette"). Streep has never been so tactless about the people she worked with. The only negative thing I ever heard, and not from her, was the working relationship she had with Charles Dance on the set of "Plenty".

[quote]The only negative thing I ever heard, and not from her, was the working relationship she had with Charles Dance on the set of "Plenty".

Is that who Tracey Ullmann was referring to in this AFI tribute to Streep?

Yes, R224. Streep and Ullmann are as thick as thieves and it started on the set of "Plenty" over their mutual loathing of Charles Dance who, in their defense, does look like a right smug prick.

R225 if they're so close then why was Ullman making faces when Streep was defending Russell Crowe? What was that about?

Dance directed Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in Ladies in Lavender and they had nothing but good things to say about him. Maybe he really was nasty to Streep but that's probably because he's more used to work with Dames, not some Jersey trash that Streep is.

Jessica Lange had an amazing run in the movies from 1981 (the Postman Always Rings Twice) through 1994 (Blue Sky). 6 nominations and two Oscars.

A few years later she won an Emmy for her performance in Streetcar. She did a lot of mediocre movies with an occasional success (Cape Fear) and some well reviewed stage work. But she was in her late 40's/50s, an age when many once successful actresses can't even get a job (Joan Allen, Mary McDonnell).

She won another Emmy for Grey Gardens in 2009, continues with supporting parts in movies now and then and has a couple Emmys for American Horror Story.

I'd say that's a pretty good career.

There can NEVER be enough posts that assume she was up for the part of the gorilla... NEVER!!!!

By all accounts, Charles Dance was a pr&ck on the set of Plenty. He was very new and socially clueless. Streep and Ullman have vowed to never talk publicly about him, but I don't think it's a mystery that it's him.

The video of Ullman listening to Streep talk about Russell Crowe is funny. You can see she is going through surprise, recognition, and then maybe a return of confusion.

Jessica has had a great career. I would say that she and Streep are equally great.

Streep's career is far better than Lange's. Lange pretty much stopped making (decent) feature films 20 years ago and has since been relegated to TV and camp like Hush and Cousin Bette. Streep has never stopped making movies and has basically won an Emmy for every TV performance she's ever given (that is: 2). Susan Sarandon's career has been better than Lange's, as has Glenn Close.

R228 Lange didn't win the Emmy for STREETCAR. Helen Mirren won for PRIME SUSPECT 4.

Lange got a second Emmy nod for NORMAL in 2003 but didn't win her first Emmy until GREY GARDENS in 2009. Since then, she's received three additional nominations for AMERICAN HORROR STORY, winning for two of them.

I love Susan Sarandon but she is in danger of turning into a joke. She hasn't done a decent film since she won her Oscar 19 years ago but she may win a Razzie this year for Tammy!

Charles Dance on working with Streep: "Let's just say I found her a little distant. I hardly got to know her. We had dinner a couple of times, but she only spoke about work. I didn't find her easy to work with, but it's not her job to make it easy for me."

And again while talking about Shirley Maclaine: "Where Meryl Streep is intellectual, Shirley follows her gut. I like that better."

Dance played opposite Jessica Lange in the critically acclaimed West End production of "Long Day's Journey Into Night," and they got along pretty well. But then again, Lange, like Maclaine, tends to go with her gut instincts and doesn't like to over-think a scene. So maybe Streep's process intimidated him.

Don't forget Streep's early advice to Cher, "Never work with R_____".

Who ended up being Roy Scheider. By all accounts.

Was one of the witch roles she was offered when she turned 40 "The Witches of Eastwick"? If so, someone needs to tell her about John Updike.

It sounds like Our Lady of Accents does a lot of behind the scenes badmouthing herself.

Surprise, surprise. Not.

[quote] So maybe Streep's process intimidated him.

Click, click, click...

Streep is a count, everyone knows it.

Is it true that Cher and Meryl were very good friends for a while but then one day Meryl just stopped returning Cher's phone calls (I've read that on some other DL thread once). If that's true than she's a bitch!

R236 what about Updike?

No, it was the other way around R240. Meryl said Cher was her BFF after Silkwood, and then suddenly stopped returning her calls.

Meryl lies about everything.

R242 how soon after? When Cher won Best Actress in 1988 (5 years after SILKWOOD), Streep made a spectacle of herself, jumping up and applauding like crazy before anyone else.

BTW: Check out Sally Kirkland's reaction. Like the bitch had a chance.

[quote]Streep is a count, everyone knows it.

Count Streepula?

R234 I wouldn't trust the opinion of anyone who got along better with uber cunt MacLaine over Streep.

[quote]Is it true that Cher and Meryl were very good friends for a while but then one day Meryl just stopped returning Cher's phone calls (I've read that on some other DL thread once).

I remember the opposite story, which I believe came from Streep - that Cher would not return her phone calls. I wonder why.

Cher forgot they were friends. She's a millionaire but a little slow and hides in her bedroom. Plus Cher likes the operating table.

Meryl Streep auditioned for a role im an early Jackie Chan movie, but he said she was too ugly for Hong Kong.

I read this article years ago, and what De Laurentis said was , 'Why have you brought this woman? She is not beautiful'. He did not call her ugly. Unfortunately, nothing has changed here in Italy. People are given jobs based on their looks (and youth) not ability. That is why you can go into a mobile phone store and the sales staff are all gorgeous but have no clue as to how the phones actually work.

R251 are you Italian or a transplant living in Italy?

My crush told me that I was not beautiful enough for him. A few days later I saw him stranded at the bus stop and realized that he was too ugly to ride my car, so I just gave him an old fashioned wave....

Hi, I am a transplant.

Can anyone really blame Cher for blowing this annoying bitch off?!

Looks like this bullshit story paid off for her.

She snagged Amy Adams's Oscar nom.

Bitch works hard and plays cutthroat.

[quote]I remember the opposite story, which I believe came from Streep - that Cher would not return her phone calls. I wonder why.

After her "Moonstruck" win, Cher took her time choosing her next role, and, believe it or not, she really wanted to do "She-Devil," but lost out to Meryl. Years later, she was on the shortlist of actresses being considered for "Bridges of Madison County," another role she really wanted. Maybe she stopped calling because she was pissed that Meryl kept taking the parts she wanted.

Cher has traded up in friends, to Kathy Griffin.

She is not a great beauty. She simply is not. She isn't even uniquely beautiful like Kate Hepburn was. Kate was hassled a lot for her looks too when she first started making movies. Bette Davis - by her own admission, not a great beauty either. They all had great careers. Meryl is interesting to look at and is photogenic but she is not model pretty. And she doesn't have to be. But I do get sick and tired of her getting nominated every year for something. She is good but not that good.

I could have told her that.

[quote]Don't forget Streep's early advice to Cher, "Never work with R_____". Who ended up being Roy Scheider. By all accounts.

Yeah, NOW she tells her!

What was wrong with Roy Scheider?

[quote]She snagged Amy Adams's Oscar nom.

No she didn't. Amy Adams would have been in Best Actress. Streep is up for Supporting. She took Rene Russo's nomination.

I'm sure Meryl's going to be wearing another Jacques Marcel burlap original to the awards.

I think Streep is beautiful in a unconventional way which is refreshing. Streep is much prettier than her daughters. I don't believe that nude photo of Streep is really her. Someone just pasted her head onto someone else's body. I don't believe Streep would do a completely nude photoshoot. She appeared nude for a nonosecond in Still of the Night when she was really young.

Wasn't she?

This was back in the days where movie stars had to be good looking.

[quote] It's just as well Meryl didn't get cast in King Kong. It was a huge flop and it took Jessica Lange's career years to recover from it.

Yeah, exactly three. Like the same number of words in the name of the movie that saved her career: [italic]All That Jazz[/italic]. That got a Criterion special edition. The movie that beat it for Best Picture did not.