Milos Forman – This Had Oscar Buzz

310 – Man on the Moon

In 1999, director Milos Forman reunited with his People Vs. Larry Flynt screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski for another biopic of an iconoclast, Man on the Moon. Rebounding from the Oscar snub for The Truman Show, Jim Carrey took on the role of Andy Kaufman and according to history, took it a bit too seriously. The film received some strong reviews and plenty of precursor action for Carrey (including another Golden Globe win), but the film proved an Oscar misfire for the twice Oscar awarded director and the still unnominated Carrey.

This episode, we talk about the industry’s (perhaps snobby) perceptions of Carrey and the faux method acting by Carrey that would later be documented by Jim and Andy. We also talk about the Alexander/Karaszewski biopic mold, Carrey’s biker chic MTV Movie Award acceptance speech, and the film’s reverence for Kaufman’s legacy.

Topics also include 1999 Best Actor, R.E.M., and “Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now.”

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293 – Hair (with Natalie Walker) (70s Spectacular – 1979)

The 70s Spectacular comes to a close this week with actress Natalie Walker joining us to discuss 1979 and Milos Forman’s adaptation of Hair. The brainchild of Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, and James Redo, Hair took Broadway by storm in the late 1960s for its narrative and political audacity, presenting the free-love and anti-war hippie movement of the time. Forman wanted to bring the musical to the screen after seeing the Off-Broadway production, but wouldn’t achieve that goal until after his One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Oscar victory. This delay turned the once ripped-from-the-headlines musical into old news when it eventually became a film.

This episode, we discuss the 2009 Broadway revival and the changes made to the film to give the story a more linear structure. We also discuss the best hair of 1970s cinema, Dustin Hoffman being a monster on the set of Kramer vs. Kramer, and Actors Fund Benefit concerts.

Topics also include the follow-up musical Dude, step and repeat falls, and “gliddy glop gloopy”.

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112 – Goya’s Ghosts

Famous among Oscar predictors in the mid aughts, this week’s film had high sight unseen expectations that were thwarted by a prolonged release and dismal reviews. After twice winning Best Director, Miloš Forman followed a biopic heavy run in the 90s with the costume drama Goya’s Ghosts starring Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem. Cradling the period between the Spanish Inquisition and Napoleon’s later rule, the film is a murky rumination on art, religious power, and human corruptability from one regime to the next. Arriving stateside almost a year after its global release, the film was long forgotten by the time Bardem starting sweeping the season for No Country for Old Men.

The film also found Portman at a transitional point in her career, having earned her first nomination for Closer and leaving behind the Star Wars franchise. This week, we discuss Portman’s love of A Choice for better or worse, her 2010 win for Black Swan, and rapping on SNL.

Topics also include our beloved Flora Plum and other long-delayed Oscar hopefuls, the 2010 Hollywood Reporter Actress roundtable, and the film’s wild fake teeth.

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