Gossip Central

John Adams on HBO

The great achievement of the new 7-part HBO miniseries to begin on March 16 is that it gives history a human face. That face belongs to Paul Giamatti, whose grimace in “Sideways” changed the fate of merlot forever. In the episode premiered Monday night at MOMA, John Adams leads Congress into making the definitive decision to declare independence. Sage Ben Franklin (Tom Wilkinson) and Adams help Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane who stars in the soon to be released “Fugitive Pieces”) compose the famous Declaration providing the term “self-evident” as in “we hold these truths to be self-evident,” and I must say that I enjoyed the sly humor of their editing process, but also shed a tear at seeing true integrity in the soft-spoken David Morse as George Washington, so fine in “The Seafarer” on Broadway, here accessorized with a bulbous nose, as he accepts “the honor” of leadership. Laura Linney plays Abigail Adams whose scenes inoculating the Adams children against smallpox so gruesome and heartrending, parallel on the domestic front the difficult options  facing her husband and our country. The segment was a reminder of pride in our democracy that few have experienced in a long time. Based upon the book by David McCollough, the miniseries is directed by Tom Hooper, and produced by Tom Hanks. Taking the podium, each one emphasized the art and language of this work, every detail, each wig and wagon authentic to the period. Among those in the packed theater were Mike Nichols, Hanks' director for Charlie Wilson's War, and actors Candace Bergen, Peter Gallagher, Mamie Gummer. All stayed for supper, Thanksgiving fare lit by colonial lanterns, appropriate to a celebration of the founding fathers.
               Meantime, a few blocks away, Mel Brooks was holding court at the Rainbow Room, where Guild Hall was presenting their Lifetime Achievement Awards to Brooks, playwright Joe Pintauro and artist David Salle. Among the well-wishers munching on caviar and blinis and sipping mimosas were 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin and filmmaker Albert Maysles. Brooks said he was contemplating the difficulties of opening “The Producers” in Austria, Hitler's home turf. Don't ask. You had to be there.

Regina Weinreich            

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura

John Adams on HBO (trailer)

It's Good to be King

            One thing about Henry VIII: Not only was he a womanizing glutton, his story has commanded a slew of fiction and non-fiction in books and films. His 6 wives are remembered in the ditty: Divorced Beheaded Died/ Divorced Beheaded Survived. I cannot think of a more documented English king, or one whose corpulent image is more indelible. Played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers in a new miniseries for Showtime, The Tudors, to premiere this Sunday, he is now lank and lean, his lust near pathological. When was the last time you heard the words in flagrante delicto on television?

At a screening hosted by the magazine Marie Claire, the star told a story about working on Woody Allen's Match Point, imitating the nasal New Yorkese of the famed reclusive director. Between takes, thumbing through a catalogue, he came upon a resort in Patagonia, high atop a hill, secluded, serene. He told Woody he'd be going there after the shoot. Woody looked at the photos politely and said, "That's my worst nightmare. I would never leave the room."

In portraying Henry, Rhys Meyers said, "My life was none of my business." Impressed with his intellect, the actor relished the role of a monarch who spoke five languages and wrote music. That, however, is the off-screen Henry VIII.

            Forget the fowl and mutton. I can still see him, his linens loose, licking the ankles of his wife's hand maid.

                                                                                                             Regina Weinreich

The Tudors (trailer)