The actress talks about her showbusiness family, her five husbands and why she never ignores her sister Jackie's advice
I blame my grandmother for encouraging me to become an actress. She taught me to sing, tap dance and even do the splits – which I can still do. "Oh, Grandma, what bendy legs you have!" I squealed when, at Christmas at the Collins abode, she performed her famous splits to a packed room. It was a trick she had learned as a dancer and soubrette while touring the capes of South Africa with her two sisters, entertaining troops on leave from the Boer war. My father, Joe, followed her into the business and became a successful variety agent – our house was always full of performers. But he strongly discouraged me from becoming an actress and warned I would be washed up by 23.
My grandmother spoiled my father rotten and he grew...
I blame my grandmother for encouraging me to become an actress. She taught me to sing, tap dance and even do the splits – which I can still do. "Oh, Grandma, what bendy legs you have!" I squealed when, at Christmas at the Collins abode, she performed her famous splits to a packed room. It was a trick she had learned as a dancer and soubrette while touring the capes of South Africa with her two sisters, entertaining troops on leave from the Boer war. My father, Joe, followed her into the business and became a successful variety agent – our house was always full of performers. But he strongly discouraged me from becoming an actress and warned I would be washed up by 23.
My grandmother spoiled my father rotten and he grew...
- 10/25/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox was one of the most original theatrical releases of 2009. This adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel of the same name was thankfully in the hands of a director who knows almost exactly how quirky and edgy a family-friendly film can be. Combine that with fabulously detailed sets and unusual use of puppet-animation and you have a film that is clever and fun. Younger children might prefer the adventures of Woody and Buzz but for anyone else Fantastic Mr. Fox could be a surprising animal not that it's arrived on Blu-ray.
Want to know more? One of the great advantages of being a home entertainment reviewer is that you can plagiarize the words your theatrical reviewers used if they say pretty much exactly what you would say yourself. With that in mind, here's what CinemaSpy's Kimber Myers said about Fantastic Mr. Fox when she...
Want to know more? One of the great advantages of being a home entertainment reviewer is that you can plagiarize the words your theatrical reviewers used if they say pretty much exactly what you would say yourself. With that in mind, here's what CinemaSpy's Kimber Myers said about Fantastic Mr. Fox when she...
- 4/11/2010
- CinemaSpy
Fantastic Mr. Fox is what you would expect from a Wes Anderson film set to the hip beat of stop-motion animation that's based on a book by Roald Dahl. Dark humor fused with hipster shenanigans and a playful dialogue, Fantastic Mr. Fox is not just one of the best animated features of 2009, which -- that's an easy assessment -- it's also one of the most irresistible movies to arrive in theaters, and now your Blu-ray player, in some time.
If Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox are not reason enough for the Academy to open up their Best Picture category, then a good reason will never come.
Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney), is, by design, a chicken thief. Yet he, like most men, animal or not, domesticates himself when he enters family life and makes a decent living penning a column for the "rag" paper. Married to his lovely wife Mrs.
If Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox are not reason enough for the Academy to open up their Best Picture category, then a good reason will never come.
Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney), is, by design, a chicken thief. Yet he, like most men, animal or not, domesticates himself when he enters family life and makes a decent living penning a column for the "rag" paper. Married to his lovely wife Mrs.
- 4/9/2010
- Denver Movies Examiner
Up front, just know that I don’t consider The Royal Tenenbaum’s to be a masterpiece or even Wes Anderson’s best film. From the perspective that the quality of Anderson’s films declined sharply after Rushmore, which is terrific, Fantastic Mr. Fox seems like a glorious return to what made Anderson’s original style so endearing. The hipsters among us relish the small flourishes of style Anderson adds to his films; maybe a character wears a hat at all times, makes all his clothes out of duct tape, or something equally “hip”. Rushmore featured a balance of these pretentious sentiments while still managing to deliver a perfect blend of levity and melancholy. Between Rushmore and Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson’s style got bogged down in catering to that nuanced sensibility – but he went overboard. The film’s became little more than mediums for demonstrating how precocious he could be.
- 4/2/2010
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
Roald Dahl’s imagination is to be celebrated. His books never repeat themselves and offer readers a vivid variety of ideas and images, memorable characters and incredible situations. Thankfully, technology today allows the works to be adapted with an eye towards retaining as much of his creations as is possible. The latest such adaptation is Fantastic Mr. Fox, another stop-motion production.
Available this week through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, the fall 2009 movie is available in the combo package of Blu-ray, standard DVD and digital copy. Directed by Wes Anderson, making his first animated foray, the movie is a largely satisfying and entertaining production.
With an all-star vocal cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray it tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep), who live a poor but happy life with their eccentric son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting nephew Kristopherson (Eric Chase Anderson). That is until Mr.
Available this week through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, the fall 2009 movie is available in the combo package of Blu-ray, standard DVD and digital copy. Directed by Wes Anderson, making his first animated foray, the movie is a largely satisfying and entertaining production.
With an all-star vocal cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray it tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep), who live a poor but happy life with their eccentric son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting nephew Kristopherson (Eric Chase Anderson). That is until Mr.
- 3/27/2010
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
The movie Fantastic Mr. Fox is director Wes Anderson's first animated film, and Anderson's uniquely skewed sensibilities work well in the film's stop-action animated universe. From its snarky dialogue to its catchy vintage pop soundtrack, the film shares many Anderson hallmarks with the director's much-loved other films such as Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Based on the Roald Dahl children's novel, Fantastic Mr. Fox -- now available on DVD and Blu-ray -- is not a complicated story. Mr. Fox (George Clooney), who has a penchant for daring squab thefts and other nocturnal adventures, promises to give up his reckless ways when his wife, Felicity (Meryl Streep), announces that she's pregnant. He keeps his promise for a couple of years, settling into a life of responsible parenthood with Mrs. Fox and their growing son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman).
All is mostly well until the Foxes move from their cozy den...
Based on the Roald Dahl children's novel, Fantastic Mr. Fox -- now available on DVD and Blu-ray -- is not a complicated story. Mr. Fox (George Clooney), who has a penchant for daring squab thefts and other nocturnal adventures, promises to give up his reckless ways when his wife, Felicity (Meryl Streep), announces that she's pregnant. He keeps his promise for a couple of years, settling into a life of responsible parenthood with Mrs. Fox and their growing son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman).
All is mostly well until the Foxes move from their cozy den...
- 3/25/2010
- by Don Clinchy
- Slackerwood
Wes Anderson's funny, fabulous Fantastic Mr. Fox feels like a book that's been missing from his library, an all-ages comedy with tender life lessons gently imparted by lovable characters. For all I know, Roald Dahl is spinning in his grave, but the British author's book has provided Anderson with a badly-needed spark that reignites his creative juices.
Not that Anderson's post-Owen Wilson collaborations with Noah Baumbach have been complete disasters. Somewhere alone the line, though, perhaps midway through The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and all the way through The Darjeeling Limited, it felt like Anderson's playfully twee tone wore thin. His characters, who have always teetered on the brink between self-absorbed and self-pitying, fell hard toward the irredeemably murky end of a perpetual personality crisis.
It made you downright concerned that somebody might really kill themselves.
All such thoughts are happily banished in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Reformed...
Not that Anderson's post-Owen Wilson collaborations with Noah Baumbach have been complete disasters. Somewhere alone the line, though, perhaps midway through The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and all the way through The Darjeeling Limited, it felt like Anderson's playfully twee tone wore thin. His characters, who have always teetered on the brink between self-absorbed and self-pitying, fell hard toward the irredeemably murky end of a perpetual personality crisis.
It made you downright concerned that somebody might really kill themselves.
All such thoughts are happily banished in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Reformed...
- 11/25/2009
- Screen Anarchy
Like Coraline, Spirited Away, and Where the Wild Things Are before it, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a children's film that doesn't treat its pint-sized audience with kid gloves. Though Wes Anderson's previous directorial outings have had their fair share of man-children, this is the first film that the hipster favorite has created with kids in mind. However, this smart adaptation of a Roald Dahl classic never talks down to its viewers, and its fun, feisty adventure proves to be Anderson's best work since The Royal Tenenbaums.
Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) has ambition. He gave up the life of a bird thief 12 fox years ago (that's two years, to you and me), and he now spends his days as a corduroy-suit-clad newspaperman. He, Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep), and their rebellious son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), have finally moved up in the world: instead of calling a hole their home,...
Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) has ambition. He gave up the life of a bird thief 12 fox years ago (that's two years, to you and me), and he now spends his days as a corduroy-suit-clad newspaperman. He, Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep), and their rebellious son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), have finally moved up in the world: instead of calling a hole their home,...
- 11/22/2009
- CinemaSpy
Director: Wes Anderson Writer(s): Roald Dahl (book), Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach (screenplay) Starring: (voice) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Jarvis Cocker, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Helen McCrory Once upon a time…we find Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and Mrs. 'Felicity' Fox (voiced by Meryl Streep) as they prepare to raid a local farm. The heist (orchestrated beautifully to the Beach Boys’ “Heroes and Villains”) is successful – that is until Mr. Fox’s overconfidence causes him to trigger a trap and the two foxes find themselves caught in a cage. Felicity reveals that she is pregnant, and Mr. Fox promises to find much more respectable employment…if they survive! (They obviously do.) Two human years later (14 years in fox years)…Mr. Fox is now a respectable yet poor newspaper man; he and Felicity now have a grown son named Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman). The family lives,...
- 11/19/2009
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
The new tools filmmaker Wes Anderson puts to use in his first animated film, a wonderful adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1970 children's book "Fantastic Mr. Fox" are miniature sets, hand-built models and stop-motion photography. The materials may be fresh to Anderson and appear somewhat revolutionary in the era of 3D digital animation from Pixar and DreamWorks. On the surface, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a quaint throwback to the stop-motion world of Gerry Anderson and his "Thunderbirds." What's fantastically fresh and irreverent are the ways Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach blend Dahl's magical storytelling with their American take on the English countryside and family themes drawn from past Anderson movies "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." Finally, Anderson's childlike spirit finds the perfect canvas in "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the result is a classic family adventure. Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep...
- 11/12/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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