Daily Loaf

It was Sept. 12, 2001, and New York – along with the rest of the world – was still numb with shock from the terrorist attacks of the day before.

America’s royal acting couple was at a hushed Manhattan restaurant. Life as we knew it had changed. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward ate quietly, until Newman set down his knife and fork, dabbed his mouth with a napkin and stood. Without introduction or explanation, he began singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Within a few moments, the other diners stood and sang along with the National Anthem. At the end of the song, Newman bowed, sat and returned to eating dinner with the woman he loved so dearly.

Something about that little story, which appears in Shawn Levy’s new biography, Paul Newman: A Life (Harmony, $29.99), perfectly sums up the late actor. He was a pure product of America, renowned as a philanthropist and citizen as much as for his screen presence. And no matter what he did, we always seemed to trust his judgment and follow him.

If you liked Paul Newman – and really, who didn’t? – then you will love Levy’s biography. Don’t come here looking for dirt. It’s not an obsequious, fan-worshipping biography, but Levy obviously likes the man.

That’s no crime. Reading a biography written by someone who loathes the subject is no fun.

Even though Levy never had an interview with the Blue-Eyed One, we still get a rich and full portrait of the guy.

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Very few filmmakers are known for their casting power. Woody Allen may be one of the best. He is always great at getting Hollywood’s biggest movie stars and the latest indie up and comers into his films (and with perfect timing). He worked with Sally Hawkins and Samantha Morton right when they were about to hit it big. His latest, Whatever Works, has some of the most coveted actors around (Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David, and Patricia Clarkson). Here are my 15 favorite performances in a Woody Allen film:

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When actors play real-life, well-known people, they either set themselves up for Oscars (Sean Penn as Harvey Milk) or ridicule (Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes). Consider these two casting coups: Anne Hathaway as Judy Garland in the Weinsteins’ Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland and Julianne Moore as Hillary Clinton in Special Relationship (by Peter Morgan of The Queen and Frost/Nixon fame), with Dennis Quaid as Bill. Hathaway’s Oscars duet with Hugh Jackman showed she could sing, and she did some Garland-worthy scenery-chewing in Rachel Getting Married, but Moore seems a little too ethereal to play a tough customer like Hillary. (Quaid, however, can do devilish charm in his sleep, so his Bill should be fun even if it means he probably can’t show off his abs like he does in every movie he’s ever done.) Anyone want to bet on who’s going to rock and who’s going to flop?

Note: If you haven’t done so already, make sure you enter our Oscar contest for a chance at free dinner and a movie from Creative Loafing. And don’t miss our live-blogging of the show itself, starting 7 p.m. on Sunday night, right here on The Daily Loaf.

Now, we continue our countdown to Oscar night with a look at a major award up for grabs on Sunday. (Yesterday was Best Supporting Actress.) Today, we break down:

BEST ACTOR
Nominees: Richard Jenkins, The Visitor; Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon; Sean Penn, Milk; Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Vegas odds: Rourke is even money, with Penn fractionally behind. Early fave Langella has fallen to 8-1, but even that far outpaces dark horses Pitt (20-1) and Jenkins (50-1).
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The wait is over. Joe and I return to the studio for our fourth Reel Projections podcast, 20 minutes of windbagging about the best films of the year (most of which we didn’t see), the biggest moneymakers and my utter lack of preparation for the show. Special Listener Bonus: another appearance by singer/songwriter Clint Eastwood.

Don’t call it a comeback: Tired of hearing about Mickey Rourke’s return to form in critics’ darling The Wrestler? Well, you’ve got company, ’cause apparently so is Mickey.

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Here it is, true believers: episode three of the Reel Projections podcast. Joe and I kick things off by talking about the Golden Globes nominations (including Clint Eastwood’s from-beyond-the-grave performance of Gran Torino’s title song, and then we chat with CL Editor David Warner about his review of Milk, in which he praised both Sean Penn and Josh Brolin for their performances.

Download.