He flirted with Oscar but never wholly embraced the way the industry, and probably he himself, thought he deserved. The icon who had one eye on the mirror as he watched himself walk by was known for so many things. A pretty boy who got serious fairly quickly and who seemed to be embodied so many times over – was he Bud Stamper from Splendor in the Grass? Was he Clyde Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde? Or was he John McCabe or George Roundy from Shampoo? Joe Pendleton from Heaven Can Wait and of course, Jack Reed from Reds? Dick Tracy? Bugsy? He was so many cinematic icons – he became them, didn’t he?
Anne Thompson has written, I think, the best sum up of last night’s AFI tribute to Beatty at the Kodak:
A luminous Jane Fonda started out the evening saying that she knew Warren longer than anyone, 50 years, from his days playing piano bar in New York. “We did our first screen test together,” she recalled, a love scene for a Josh Logan movie that never got made. She kicks herself for not realizing at the time that this great-looking man surrounded by smart gay friends was actually straight. “It’s nice to know somebody else who shares the same chunk of this town’s history,” she said.
Still, no tribute to Beatty is complete without my own personal favorite role – Lyle Rogers in Ishtar. Beatty was perfectly cast as the dumb one, the less charismatic but sweet one. Sweet though? Not sure about that. Growing in Southern California over the ’70s my older sister encountered Beatty once while she was the checkout girl at a market. He took one look at her tits and loudly thanked her. He never hid who he was but of course, this was all before Annette Bening changed him into his final metaself, husband and father.
Woody Allen once famously said that when he died he wanted to be reincarnated as Warren Beatty’s fingertips. It’s true that he was known for his taste for women and his taste in them. Natalie Wood, Julie Christie, Diane Keaton, Michelle Phillips and famously, Madonna who appeared to scare him out of bachelorhood forever as he met and hooked up with Bening shortly thereafter. Maybe he realized, after appearing in Truth or Dare, he was just getting too old for that shit. But he nailed her. He nailed Madonna. If he weren’t married, though, and maybe ten years younger I feel certain he’d make a play for Angelina Jolie. He seemed to seek out the girl of the moment. Someone once said about him that winning an Oscar was a great way to get to date Warren Beatty.
Beatty was always good on film, always good behind the camera. He only faltered later when he seemed unable to let go of his own narcissism and insisted upon being filmed through a silk screen. He has to know that there is value to growing old and value in playing older characters. He just needs to get his old self out of the way. I sound like I’m writing a horoscope.
No Response for "Oh Warren"
I don’t think people who only pay attention to movies post-Star Wars really get how big Beatty is. That story about your sister is funny. Yeah, he was being a pig, but at least he was direct about it and didn’t apologize for it.
I love Heaven Can Wait….and yeah, though it is much maligned, there are some great moments in Ishtar. He did befuddled while managing to remain charming better than anyone since Cooper.
You know, I’ve never seen ISHTAR fully, except I know this one shocking fact: Each of Beatty and Hoffman’s salaries could have individually completely funded PLATOON…which came out also in 1986, and was a box-office/Oscar winner.
As for Beatty….never saw HEAVEN CAN WAIT (no interest really) but I really thought REDS was a great, if slightly uneven, movie that was pushed by ambition, ego, and keeping that docu-drama narrative in the final cut. Not as directorial great as say RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, which is my vote for 1981, but I don’t have a problem with Beatty winning the Best Director Oscar that year.
Also quite liked BULLWORTH.
Its just, all of Beatty’s projects, the fucker just spent money like it was water or something, especially with DICK TRACY.
Warren still has a brilliant mind and, during the 60s/70s, there weren’t many that had more searing magnetism or were hotter physically.
I never believe peoples’ PR. But I’m sure he was quite the king bee amongst the lovely flowers.
Yeah, he should have had his (beautiful) ass kicked for what he said to your sister, Sasha. But possibly he thought it would make her laugh. I wasn’t there. Maybe it really was that grotty…?
I must admit that I’ve been very, very curious about ol’ Warren and it kills me that that curiousity will never be…um, SATISFIED. I need a cold shower before I get out of here tonight.
But he was supremely talented as a director and producer. He always knew how to cast the right person. As an actor he often cruised on his considerable charisma but he could deliver the goods.
I love your “one eye on the mirror” remark, Sasha. VERY clever. I adore that song madly…and I’ve been there a few times.
I had some dreams/They were clouds in my coffee…
Indeed…
Yes, RRA, it’s pretty amazing to think that Chariots of Fire defeated the raw ambition of Reds and the brilliant perfection of Raiders of the Lost Ark. God, the ’80s were a horrid decade for AMPAS Best Pictures, save for Amadeus.
Alexander, at the time I applauded the win of CHARIOTS OF FIRE over REDS, even though I still loved the latter quite a bit, especially the interview segments. We had a wait a long time for that Paramount DVD.
Now, over 25 years later, I am not so sure the right decision was made, even if I still seem to like CHARIOTS more than a number of others do. It seems the exhilarating-at-the-time win of the British cinderella film is now the butt of ridicule, for those who present the all-time worst Oscar decisions. Yet a number of our finest critics loved CHARIOTS, including the nearly impossible-to-please Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic.
His best performances, in my view? Jack Reed, Clyde Barrow and Joe Pendleton.
And like Miranda, I was aghast at that Beatty confrontation at the market. I loved the way you conveyed that Sasha! LOL!
so many of my friends hated REDS. one took a date to the movie. the girl later told me that my friend left part way through and didn’t return until the end…playing video games for 2 hours. and that was in the days of Pacman and Caterpiller. me? I loved it. saw it several times. most impressed with the passion of Jack Reed’s character–hoping for a better world when Russia threw off its monarchy–only to see it go to hell. it mirrored Beatty’s passion for the film and filmmaking period. he also drew out of Diane Keaton her best performance ever. the guy is impressive. yes, god gave him good looks, but his talent and drive are what stand out.
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