The press tour is nothing new for celebrities, but Rutger Hauer came prepared for his American press interviews for the 1982 release of BLADE RUNNER with a stealth co-star -- an amazing sweater that upstages any question that could possibly be asked. This was obviously an intentional decision, as there were at least two different interviews recorded in one day in the same office setting.
The first, by John C. Tibbetts, addresses the sweater right away, and does manage to enter into some interesting discussion about the nature of villainy. (It's not stated on the YouTube link, but I believe this comes from an interview made for Kansas City's CBS affiliate, for whom Tibbetts worked at the time.)
The second interview, conducted by Bobbie Wygant for the Dallas/Fort Worth NBC affiliate, is even more entertaining, as Wygant dispenses with any notable questions about the film itself and instead asks repeatedly about how Hauer feels about special effects. He's a professional, but he's clearly ready to get off the tour. (The elephant in the room of Hauer's choice of garb is never addressed.) Stay tuned for the ending, in which Wygant records additional reaction shots - not an uncommon thing in TV interviews, but very strange to be watching without any type of editing.
Before the Real Housewives and the Paris Hiltons (but after Zsa Zsa Gabor), there was Angelyne, a celebrity solely because she said she was a celebrity. Technically an actress (who had bit roles in the likes of Brian De Palma's PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE and the bawdy sketch flick CAN I DO IT 'TILL I NEED GLASSES?), Angelyne rose to a very specific type of fame when she started promoting herself via billboard in 1984 in conjunction of the release of her second album. According to Robinson (THE WOMAN CHASER) Devor and Michael Guiccione's long out-of-print documentary ANGELYNE, the billboards were financed by a wealthy backer in exchange for all of the profits she'd make from her newfound celebrity, though, like everything related to Angelyne, whether or not that's the truth is questionable.
The album may not have taken off (see the music video above), but the billboards became a ubiquitous part of Los Angeles culture. The Angelyne character continues to be a fixture of the city, as she drives around town in her pink Corvette. She's even become, well, technically an actress, with bit roles in EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY, HOMER AND EDDIE and in countless television shows and music videos. She always plays herself, or a character that is essentially a version of herself, even when she's playing Barbara Bush in 1991's THE MALIBU BEACH VAMPIRES. It's no surprise that she's one of the "personalities" visible in the music video for Moby's "We Are All Made of Stars" along with Kato Kaelin, Corey Feldman, Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman and Ron Jeremy.
Even with the benefit of Devor's documentary and brief profiles like the one below, Angelyne remains a completely vapid enigma. The living, committed embodiment of the "blonde bombshell airhead," Angelyne is Anna Nicole Smith without the depth (or tragedy), a bizarre cult phenomenon inspired by simply being the living persona of a Barbie doll. She's not a character that can really be examined or analyzed -- she simply is, and there's no depth beyond the surface. Whether or not this is just an act is irrelevant, as if it's an act, "Angelyne" is so far into character that I doubt there's a "there" there anymore.
(It's not that surprising that she's inspired drag personas like Stangelyne and Trixie Mattel as well, as she's essentially a drag queen without the gender-bending.)
Angelyne is the rare example of a celebrity famous entirely because she says she is -- unlike the current incarnation of the psuedo-celebrity, she didn't even have a reality show to cause her rise to fame. And a TV show about Angelyne probably wouldn't be interesting anyway, as she's so committed to her character that she doesn't really DO anything.
It's a persona exemplified by this exchange in a 2012 interview with Alex Israel in his (deliberately) odd YouTube series "As It Lays:"
Israel: What do you want the world to know about Angelyne?
Angelyne: Absolutely nothing! Oooo!
That's Angelyne in a nutshell. But for the sake of seeing at least a taste of Angelyne not being Angelyne, here's her sharing the screen with John Candy in CAN I DO IT 'TIL I NEED GLASSES?
Sorry the site has been on a bit of a holiday hiatus, but I did want to point out this great interview with Margaret Keane, the subject of Tim Burton's new film BIG EYES. It's a testament to the ability of Amy Adams, who plays Keane in the film, as Keane's reluctant, people-pleasing nature is so evident in the film itself. Here, Douglas talks to her about her story, her influences, and how she came out from under her husband's shadow.
Downey (a prince) jokes that his latest release, TOO MUCH SUN, would be his last (it wasn't), but the director of GREASER'S PALACE, PUTNEY SWOPE and POUND certainly has plenty to say in this 1991 interview. Havey's "Night After Night" was a great forum for guests like Downey, as the informal style and long-form discussions were a welcome departure from the more quick-entertaining-story focus of most late-night talk shows. This nearly 15 minute interview would be a welcome addition to any Downey retrospective. (Havey can more recently be seen as Lou Avery on "Mad Men.")
Here's a pre-Mothers of Invention Zappa (or "Zoppa," as it's pronounced by the squares on the show) talking about his work on the Timothy Carey film THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER and plays the bicycle, much to the confusion of host Steve Allen.
Not nearly enough attention has been paid to the fact that 2014 marks the 30th anniversary of Bob Clark's great American classic RHINESTONE, in which Dolly Parton makes Sly Stallone into a country singer. This segment from "Entertainment Tonight" features a brief interview with Parton, who's very excited about the project.
Don Lake was one of the busiest Canadian actors of the '80s, his affable face gracing countlesscommercials in addition to roles on plenty of TV shows and movies (including TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, BLUE MONKEY, POLICE ACADEMY and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN), many with his frequent collaborator Bonnie Hunt. And today is the actor's 58th birthday, so here he is on "The Bonnie Hunt Show," just being himself and talking about working as a clown at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Today marks what would have been the 77th birthday of Hammer Horror actress and sex symbol Ingrid Pitt, whose presence made the likes of VAMPIRE LOVERS and THE WICKER MAN such joys. Here's a brief interview with her, conducted some time in the early '70s, that takes a look at the fascinating life she had even before she went before the cameras.
Sergio Aragones' work has been seen in the pages of Mad Magazine and in the likes of his most famous creation, "Groo the Wanderer" for decades, and his style is unmistakable. In this interview from 1991 shot for a USC film school short, Aragones talks about his history with overcoming the language barrier, his teaming with the equally-great Mark Evanier (who is also interviewed) and more. (Sadly, he doesn't talk about his role in NORMAN, IS THAT YOU?, but maybe that's on the cutting room floor.) I believe the director is the Michael Markowitz who later served as a supervising producer on "Duckman."
