Emma Thompson blasts Audrey Hepburn

[kokoro]

Emma Thompson's been trying to get together a new adaption of My Fair Lady, or rather Pygmalion with the same music, but now she's taken things too far! Speaking badly about Audrey is a sure fire way to raise my ire, and I need people to rage with me!

Some (http://spicezee.zeenews.com/articles/story68133.htm) sources (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1300986/Audrey-Hepburn-twee-mumsy-really-act-Emma-Thompsons-scathing-appraisal-My-Fair-Lady-star.html):

Audrey Hepburn is considered a screen and style icon but Oscar winner Emma Thompson says the `The Breakfast at Tiffany's' star could not act.

Thompson, who is writing a new movie version of Hepburn starrer 1964 classic 'My Fair Lady,' describes the Hollywood icon as 'mumsy' and 'twee' in an interview to Variety and the Hollywood reporter.

"She can't sing and she can't really act, I'm afraid. I'm sure she was a delightful woman - and perhaps if I had known her I would have enjoyed her acting more, but I don't and I didn't, so that's all there is to it really," the 'Sense And Sensibility' star said.

The 51-year-old actress is also not a great fan of the Hepburn and Rex Harrison starrer movie, which was adapted from George Bernard Shaw`s play 'Pygmalion.'

"I'm not hugely fond of the film. I find Audrey Hepburn fantastically twee. Twee is whimsy without wit. It is mimsy-mumsy sweetness without any kind of bite. And that's not for me.

Hepburn won an Oscar for her role in the 1953 'Roman Holiday' and her films 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' and her role of Eliza Doolittle 'My Fair Lady' is considered an all time classic.

But her voice was dubbed over and musical's most classic songs such as 'I Could Have Danced All Night' and 'The Rain in Spain' are by American singer Marni Nixon.

Thompson is thrilled to be writing the new version of the musical but her screenplay will be more of 'Pygmalion.'

"I find it chocolate-boxy, clunky and deeply theatrical. I don't think that it's a film. It's the theatre piece put onto film. It was Cecil Beaton's designs and Rex Harrison that gave it its extraordinary quality."

Thompson also doesn't like the way Eliza Doolittle was portrayed in the film, a part she hopes British actress Carey Mulligan will play.

"I don't do Audrey Hepburn. I think that she's a guy thing. I'm sure she was this charming lady, but I didn't think she was a very good actress. It's high time that the extraordinary role of Eliza was reinterpreted because it's a very fantastic part for a woman," said Thompson.

--

Seriously, Emma? I love you, but I can't believe you would be so classless as to make public comments like this about Audrey or anyone for that matter. It's one thing to dislike a movie (in fact, I think My Fair Lady is far from Audrey's best movie myself), but before you go trashing a person you've neither met nor worked with, you should see all of their movies, which you clearly haven't. Otherwise you would know that Audrey is both a good actor (The Nun's Story, Two for the Road, and Wait Until Dark being the best examples in my opinion) and a good singer (she's no Julie Andrews, of course, but her singing in Funny Face and Breakfast at Tiffany's was enjoyable). It's called an informed opinion. I know you've made some bad movies, and I bet you would hate for us to judge you based on those alone. I expected better from you. This is not the way to stir up interest in your adaption.

And Audrey is a "guy thing?" Honey, you're not living in the real world.

[darklinensuit]

"I don't do Audrey Hepburn. I think that she's a guy thing."

Of course that's rubbish. Hepburn has always been popular with women.
Thompson is a fine actress, but she does not have half the charisma of Hepburn.
Of course, Audrey was a star, and I suspect that's a big part of what a "serious" actress like Thompson looks down on.

I'm not offended that she criticized Hepburn; it's not like she hit below the belt or told lies. She just expressed a professional opinion. But I agree with you that she's not going to win many fans with this kind of talk, and now audiences will feel free to hold her acting to a higher standard.

- Jake

[Dodfather]

[QUOTE=kokoro;904731]Emma Thompson says the `The Breakfast at Tiffany's' star could not act.



"She can't sing and she can't really act, I'm afraid.



"I'm not hugely fond of the film. I find Audrey Hepburn fantastically twee. Twee is whimsy without wit. It is mimsy-mumsy sweetness without any kind of bite. And that's not for me.



But her voice was dubbed over and musical's most classic songs such as 'I Could Have Danced All Night' and 'The Rain in Spain' are by American singer Marni Nixon.

I couldn't agree with these comments more. Sorry, but Audrey really wasn't a talented actress, and certainly not a musical one. The fact that Julie Andrews had the role on Broadway and then had it taken away from her and given to Audrey really was shocking. Julie sung every word on her own and no dubbing would have been needed. Daryl Zanuck, head of Fox, took the film away from her because she wasn't enough of a "big name" for the lead. Instead, Julie did Mary Poppins and got the last laugh when she and Audrey were both up for the lead actress Oscar the following year, which Julie rightly won: "and my biggest thanks go to Daryl Zanuck who made all of this possible".

Before you say that I'm basing this opinion purely on Breakfast At Tiffany's (which I don't like) I have seen several other films with Audrey (Charade, Roman Holiday, The Children's Hour, Sabrina etc) and I'm really not a fan.

Where I think Emma is mistaken, and so I agree with you, is that she says that Audrey is a "guy thing". Her status as a style icon surely has more to do with her enduring appeal as a fantasy figure for women rather than men - in a similar way to what Sarah Jessica Parker has now.

In terms of acting ability though, in my opinion Emma Thompson is one of the most taleneted English actresses of the past 30 years. She is incredible, and let's nto forget she is an Oscar winning writer as well.

Sorry - just not an Audrey fan here!

[Dodfather]

Of course, Audrey was a star, and I suspect that's a big part of what a "serious" actress like Thompson looks down on.



I don't think she looks down on someone having qualities of stardom and having those over and above any perceived "acting" ability. Look at some of the people she has worked with, many of them are very much completely within the Hollywood machine and function as stars in that way: Kate Winslet, Arnold Schwarzenegger (?!), Dustin Hoffman, Hugh Grant, John Travolta, Will Ferrell. I'm not saying that they can be compared to Audrey Hepburn in terms of stardom (especially because the way Hepburn was created as a star was from a system that doesn't work in the same way any more: the big studios), more that they have a star image as well as a differing amount of acting ability alongside that.

Her comments seem more directed soloely towards Audrey Heopburn rather than any point about%2

[GypsySorcerer]

I agree that My Fair Lady is terrible, and my complaint has always been the same as Thompson's -- all the bite from the original Pygmalion is gone. I don't think Audrey's performance is bad, however, given the script. And as far as the dubbing, well, Marni Nixon sang for many of the musicals made at that time, except for Julie Andrews, of course.

I have always loved Audrey. She had a certain charm and magnetism on the screen that is unmatchable. I'm not sure if Audrey herself thought she was a "great actress." From what I've read about her, she was rather self-deprecating about both her looks and talent.

And yeah, I don't think Audrey's appeal is a "guy thing" at all. To me, she has a much larger female following. :shrug:

And just to note, I like Emma Thompson too.

[TrueFaith77]

That's hilarious since Emma Thompson sucks.

[kokoro]

I couldn't agree with these comments more. Sorry, but Audrey really wasn't a talented actress, and certainly not a musical one. The fact that Julie Andrews had the role on Broadway and then had it taken away from her and given to Audrey really was shocking. Julie sung every word on her own and no dubbing would have been needed. Daryl Zanuck, head of Fox, took the film away from her because she wasn't enough of a "big name" for the lead. Instead, Julie did Mary Poppins and got the last laugh when she and Audrey were both up for the lead actress Oscar the following year, which Julie rightly won: "and my biggest thanks go to Daryl Zanuck who made all of this possible".

Before you say that I'm basing this opinion purely on Breakfast At Tiffany's (which I don't like) I have seen several other films with Audrey (Charade, Roman Holiday, The Children's Hour, Sabrina etc) and I'm really not a fan.

Audrey insisted that Julie get the movie part, but the head honchos refused. If Audrey turned it down, it would have just gone to Elizabeth Taylor who was next in line, so Audrey felt she deserved it just as much as the next actress. Julie certainly didn't hold anything against her. And Audrey's snub and Julie's Mary Poppins win was just one more disgusting example of politics in the Academy. That comment by Julie sure was great though! :D However, it was aimed at Jack Warner, not Daryl Zanuck.

I really do recommend that you see The Nun's Story, Two for the Road, and Wait Until Dark. It sounds like all of the Audrey movies you've seen are the lighter ones (aside from The Children's Hour). But, hey, if Audrey is not your cup of tea, then she isn't your cup of tea.

I agree that My Fair Lady is terrible, and my complaint has always been the same as Thompson's -- all the bite from the original Pygmalion is gone.

The thing is, the movie is based on a musical play that's based on Pygmalion. Audrey was just following the script, so it's hardly her fault that it lacks bite.

And it's completely contradictory of Emma to say "I find it chocolate-boxy, clunky and deeply theatrical," and then proceed to say that Cecil Beaton's clothing and set designs and Rex Harrison's performance make the movie great. They were the ones that made it overly theatrical, not Audrey! But she praises them and talks smack about the girl.

She just seems to have it out for Audrey for no reason. Also, it's one thing to not be a fan of someone, but you don't resort to name calling in an interview like this. Audrey certainly never did such a thing.

Frankly, I think Emma is a great actress (though I didn't like her Oscar winning role in Howard's End), but more recently, I've found myself less fond of her personality.

[louielouie2000]

That's hilarious since Emma Thompson sucks.

I've only seen Emma in a few movies (The Remains Of The Day, Brideshead Revisited, the Harry Potter movies, etc), but I can safely say she far from "sucks." I've found her to be a quite powerful actor, personally :shrug:

[kokoro]

I've only seen Emma in a few movies (The Remains Of The Day, Brideshead Revisited, the Harry Potter movies, etc), but I can safely say she far from "sucks." I've found her to be a quite powerful actor, personally :shrug:

No doubt, Emma is fantastic. She just needs to keep her mouth shut and not talk smack about people in interviews. Especially elegant, wonderfully kind people who happen to be well-loved icons. It's likely to alienate people, and it just makes her seem classless.

[Dodfather]

[QUOTE=Dodfather;904737]

Audrey's snub and Julie's Mary Poppins win was just one more disgusting example of politics in the Academy. That comment by Julie sure was great though! :D However, it was aimed at Jack Warner, not Daryl Zanuck.



My God! Reading this back I see that I did say Zanuck - that's terrible! Of course it was Jack Warner!! Here is an embarassed :sorry: I don't know where that came from...

But no, you're right - she just isn't my cup of tea. For me there's only one Haepburn and it's gotta be Kate.

[GypsyBlueEyes]

I think Emma Thompson is brill. I don't feel one way or the other about Audrey. I've seen some of her stuff...not the particular film in question though. From what I've seen of her, I've always had an "aww, she seems sweet" kind of reaction...but I've never looked at her and thought that she's one of the greatest on screen actresses we've ever had.

This isn't any different than Katharine Hepburn criticizing Meryl Streep and saying that she didn't like her and that you could see the wheels turning in her head insinuating that she has a cold and totally method approach to her acting. I hate to get on the bad side of any Katharine Hepburn fans here, but that just screams of jealousy on her part as nothing could be further from the truth about Meryl's acting. In fact, if Katharine's "click, click, click" quote is true about anyone, it's about herself...I've never watched a film of her's where I felt like she generated any warmth.

In the end, it's all about perspective...we all get different vibes from different people. :)

[GypsySorcerer]

The thing is, the movie is based on a musical play that's based on Pygmalion. Audrey was just following the script, so it's hardly her fault that it lacks bite.

And it's completely contradictory of Emma to say "I find it chocolate-boxy, clunky and deeply theatrical," and then proceed to say that Cecil Beaton's clothing and set designs and Rex Harrison's performance make the movie great. They were the ones that made it overly theatrical, not Audrey! But she praises them and talks smack about the girl.


I hate the musical as well. :nod: Like I said, I think Audrey was fine considering the material. And I agree about Rex Harrison. Thought he was awful.

[rubytuesday]

100% agree with Emma Thompson who, by the way, is the funniest and most charming woman to have ever lived! I don't know why people equate age with quality. Hepburn's acting was kinda crap whereas Emma Thompson is brilliant and on top of that it's only something she fell into after writing and performing comedy. She's from the Cambridge Footlights!!

[Ghost_Tracker]

Maybe I'm biased by these comments, but come to thing of it, I can't actually recall one single performance by Emma Thompson in which I thought to myself,
"Oh my GOD she can act!!!" . . . . :distress:

Intelligent: Check.

Well-Trained at a Great Acting School: Check.

Great Actress? :shrug: