A legend????
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Annette Bening
vikram8402 — 15 years ago(March 03, 2011 10:36 AM)
I wonder why people call her a legend. Meryl Streep has a career. A Career with those heavy performances. Not all works of great art. But Sophie's choice will stand the test of time for the next two centuries. Bening has never had a great career. She is not a movie icon. Her only truly historical role is in American Beauty, which really was not a sensational performance, let alone one of the greatest. Being Julia was not well promoted and does not have a legacy. Just a little movie with a great performance. I do not know why is she thought of as a legend. May be it is because she married an infamous lecher, and turned him over. Also very good PR. Julianne Moore is far more critically aclaimmed, more prolific, married with kids, a good homemaker, and she is ever hardly considered a legend. All this legend talk for Bening will surely one day get her a honorary Oscar. But I doubt if Moore or even Glenn Close will ever get one of those.
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vikram8402 — 15 years ago(March 04, 2011 08:30 AM)
Agreed. Rather in contrast to Meryl Streep, only Susan Sarandon has had a sizeably long leading lady status. Sissy Spacek preferred to take time out. She did not work for five years after Crimes of the heart. Diane Keaton nobody took seriously and got cocooned into comedy. Jessica Lange (closest to Streep- with two Oscars) made bad choices after a golden turn in Blue Sky, Sigourney never peaked (which is actually good). Glenn Close, a superstar, hit TV too early. I suppose Genn Close is legendary for she has given two of the greatest performances ever, also two of the most villainous and famous. But she was also typecasted in the mid-nineties. Julianne Morre has maintained her career beautifully. She is not an icon, but she gels with younger and older actresses very well (helped because of her face, which rather really is pretty), which does give her a command over time. And hell, she is prolific: she works. Sigourney Weaver too likes to work.
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mediteranean23 — 15 years ago(March 21, 2011 05:54 AM)
I dont think she is that well known outside the US for her work-media tend to focus on her husband,on her marriage and not on her. So not really a legend. Streep or Sarandon on the other hand are way more familiar faces worlwide. Still while they have gained respect,popularity,fame and all i wouldnt go that far as to label them legends for now. I dont knowi think older generation actresses deserve it more Taylor,Lauren,Redgrave etcBut you know,there are ups and downs and its all about marketing so maybe soon Annete B. will be on the spotlight worldwide again after American Beauty.
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vikram8402 — 15 years ago(March 21, 2011 06:15 AM)
Meryl Streep was not internationally famous: I mean she was not a star, until may be 2006. That is the reason of her success: her not being a star for so long (which got her roles without typecasting), and then recently her reason for being succesfull is largely her mainstream success, which is unheard of for an actress at her age. Glenn Close is still a bigger star 'STAR' than Meryl Streep. Streep never had an internationally famous role unlike Close or Weaver.
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y2010 — 15 years ago(March 21, 2011 11:37 PM)
As Annette Bening, she's just a great actress, with Warren Beatty, she's a legend. I believe it has something to do with her husband. Together, they're a hollywood power couple and they're respected throughout Hollywood. I think that's why she's considered a legend. Her talent as an actress with Beatty's films, it's almost hard to ignore this couple in Hollywood.
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vikram8402 — 15 years ago(March 22, 2011 06:58 AM)
Annette was not the stunning American Beauty in American Beauty. She was rather the old OCD wife. She has never had a star-role, something like Jessica Lange in Blue Sky, which could be called her grand classic role. Being Julia was just too crafty and little a movie. But may be it is precisely because she has never had a classic image-making role, she has continued to get feasible work. She has worked so much less, and her marriage to Beatty is a professional blessing. It keep her memory refreshed in the Hollywood circles. Sharon Stone was doomed for failure in her forties and fifties once Basic Instinct hit box-office gold. Jessica Lange, a very thought-provoking case, has always very naturally been considered a sex-bomb. Can not figure why, because she never did steamy roles, and though she is very attractive as a woman, is also a cracker of an actress, a respect she commands which does not mingle well with men's leering eyes.
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vikram8402 — 15 years ago(March 23, 2011 10:06 AM)
Its not that famous a movie, besides Jessica Lange got the best acting reviews for the year. So it becomes more about her acting, than the sexuality in the movie. Thats the mystery about Jessica Lange's great career success, and also her later decline due to bad career roles.
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Prom_Queen_Carrie — 15 years ago(March 31, 2011 09:34 PM)
She just married a legend. I don't consider her a legend on her own, not any more than I consider Laura Linney a legend. Good actress who has had some Academy award nominations. That does not make her a legend. I think her marriage to Warren Beatty has made her become seen as Hollywood royalty though.
"Say anything about me, dahling, as long as it isn't boring."-Talullah Bankhead -
no_gluten_no_wheat — 15 years ago(April 08, 2011 05:52 AM)
The thing to remember is an actor's work is not just in films. Meryl knew she wanted to be an actor rather early. She did stage work and rapidly made the move to films. Better movies were made back then though. But Meryl was a pro in her 20s.
I suspect Bening began her career much later probably in her 30s. And perhaps getting a film role in her mid to late 30s. I find both Streep and Bening to be lovely and talented. But, I don't think an actor alive, male or female, career measures up to Meryl's. She is simply the greatest living actor period. Dicaprio thinks she is the greatest living actor also. And I am including Deniro, Pacino and Jack Nicholson's careers in the judging also.
I enjoyed the Kids are alright because of Annette. It would have been a lesser movie without her. She can still carry a film.
I hope a writer steps up and writes a banger for her. She is an underrated performer.