you did it
marika
I smell pr payoffs
"You are right. I missed
the point :)"--Denis duplan
NY POST/By MEGAN TURNER
----------------------------
IF Chloe Sevigny is a
legend, then I'm a
cheese-and-tomato
sandwich. Vanity
Fair's decision to include
one of the most
over-exposed cynosures of
our time
on the same page as an
actress like Vanessa
Redgrave as a Hollywood
legend is
more than misguided - it's
deranged.
The glossy's seventh
annual Hollywood Issue,
out tomorrow, has broken
with its
annual tradition of
identifying actors on the
verge of super-stardom in
favor
of rounding up 10
actresses who are supposed
to personify the term
"legend."
From prophecy to lunacy.
How else to describe the
inclusion of Penelope Cruz
alongside immortal screen
sirens such as Catherine
Deneuve, Sophia Loren and
Meryl Streep?
Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole
Kidman, Cate Blanchett and
Kate Winslet are all fine
actresses, with noteworthy
turns in "Shakespeare In
Love," "To Die For,"
"Elizabeth" and "Titanic,"
respectively.
But legends?
Lauren Bacall, Katharine
Hepburn, Anjelica Huston
and Jane Fonda - even
Julia
Roberts - must have been
washing their hair on each
of the three days
photographer Annie
Leibovitz shot the cover.
Webster's dictionary
defines a legend as "a
notable person whose deeds
or
exploits are much talked
about in his or her own
time."
Sevigny's, Cruz's,
Paltrow's and Kidman's
deeds and exploits are,
indeed,
well-documented - but do
bold-faced appearances in
People really count?
Admittedly, deciding what
constitutes a legend is as
arbitrary as defining an
"It Girl." But surely
assembling an impressive
roster of quality films
counts
for more than showing up
at the right parties,
wearing eye-catching
outfits and
having high-profile
relationships.
(Ironically, the Hollywood
issue features a
letter from a reader
calling the magazine to
task for overusing the
word
"legendary.")
VF notes that, between
them, these 10 actresses
have notched up 399 films
and
27 Oscar awards and
nominations.
Those numbers are skewed
rather heavily toward the
bona fide legends: 85
films
are attributable to
Vanessa Redgrave, 98 to
Sophia Loren and 47 to
Meryl
Streep.
Sevigny has worked on a
total of 10 movies,
including the legendarily
bad
"Gummo" and "Julien
Donkey-Boy," and has
received one Oscar
nomination, for
"Boys Don't Cry."
And what a difference a
year has made for Penelope
Cruz: last year the
magazine
considered her a rising
young talent; this year,
she's a legend.
You may remember Cruz (or
not) from Spanish-language
films such as "Belle
Epoque" and Pedro
Almodovar's "All About My
Mother." Her first
American star
vehicle "Women on Top"
flew under most people's
radar and the less said
about
last year's "All the
Pretty Horses" the better.
Vanity Fair's features
editor Jane Sarkin, who
has produced the Hollywood
issue's cover since its
inception, yesterday
defended her picks.
"There's certainly a huge
list of people we could
have included," she said.
"Obviously, we couldn't do
them all, but these are
the ones we wanted and the
ones we ended up getting."
But Chloe Sevigny a
legend?
"I'm not calling Chloe a
legend - I'm saying she
has what it takes to
become a
legend. Some of these
women are legends, some
are on their way to
becoming
legends and some may or
may not become legends,
we'll have to see."
Glad that's cleared up,
then.