October 11, 2016

"She wasn't concerned so much about my behavior, being 'appropriate,' or not being exposed to things that may be unsavory."

"There were no boundaries around those things. But yeah, she was a very concerned parent otherwise, when it came to keeping me alive. What was — I hate this word — but 'normal' for me is what most people consider marginal and extraordinary in their childhoods. So I didn't think about these things as being anything other than what I encountered in my everyday life."

 Says the actress Gaby Hoffman, whose mother was Viva:

Posted by Ann Althouse at 9:09 AM
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3 comments:

Paul Snively said...

I had no idea she was still working (and apparently she didn't, for quite a stretch, after "Field of Dreams.") I love that film—the mythmaking, the question of when passion becomes obsession, Burt Lancaster's gentleness, James Earl Jones booming out "Do we have a learning disability here?" as he moves possibly to beat the living crap out of a hapless Kevin Costner. And, of course, that closing monologue that only James Earl Jones could deliver.

And of course, the crucial scene with Burt Lancaster and Gaby Hoffman.

10/11/16, 10:14 AM
Ann Althouse said...

Thanks for the link to the film (which I saw when it came out).

Boy, the acting is bad. Kevin Costner really isn't not a good actor. And how did he get his hair so perfectly, featherily styled out there on that farm?

10/11/16, 12:13 PM
Paul Snively said...

Dr. Althouse: Boy, the acting is bad. Kevin Costner really isn't not a good actor.

Phil Alden Robinson seems to have a thing for sincere-seeming average Joes having some sort of epiphany, and their sincerity and averageness is supposed to sell it, but it often descends into treacle. "Field of Dreams" certainly has that problem. "Big" could have, but Penny Marshall is (sorry, Phil!) a better director, and Tom Hanks is a better actor.

I'll forgive Phil a lot, though, for directing "Sneakers," still the best cybersecurity-oriented film yet made (yes, including "Snowden," which Oliver Stone showed amazing restraint in). Also, Phil seems to like to work with certain people: "Sneakers" also features a bad-guy Timothy Busfield, and an ambiguous-guy James Earl Jones.

And how did he get his hair so perfectly, featherily styled out there on that farm?

What, you don't believe it's just the Iowa winds and humidity?

10/11/16, 12:48 PM

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