Sissy Spacek and The Biopic | 1981

Sissy Spacek won an Oscar for playing Loretta Lynn in a biopic - a genre that is growing in popularity. In this video I break down the history of the genre and how it can affect an actor's career.
THANK YOU to my Patrons!
patreon.com/bkrewind
bkrewind
bk_rewind
Music from Epidemic Sound

[@SisterWomen]

"No one from 9 to 5". You're my heroine. Swoon.

[@alpe1987]

Kleopatra Caesar it didn’t even win best original song 😞

[@SisterWomen]

@@alpe1987 it did in my book. That's one hell of a song. Parton is probably the most under rated artist of all time. But she's worth a cool 500 mill so she got there.

[@HelloHello-tm7uc]

YES! Thankfully the film has surpassed the all expectations and become a must of 80s cinema!

[@kostajovanovic3711]

@@SisterWomen hardly

[@TimeIdle]

Ha. But that was more of an ensemble piece and none of the 3 women stood out from the others.

[@vincentvangogodancer]

Fun fact: Fred Astaire wrote in his will that he didn't want a biopic done of him. He said they wouldn't get the facts straight. No one could dance like him anyway so it's for the best.

[@ginao6810]

vincentvangogodancer haha do you think there is some greedy Hollywood producer out there thinking “Fine! I’ll go a Ginger Rogers biopic and have a supporting Fred!” Hope Fred wrote a few contingency lines in that will!

[@vincentvangogodancer]

@@ginao6810 How sneaky! But they'd have to get the rights from his family, right? Idk but I'd love a Ginger biopic. She had an interesting life.

[@kkay3784]

@@vincentvangogodancer Yes! Underrated for her work outside the Astaire-Rogers canon.

[@hydrolito]

Guess if they do Ginger Rogers biopic his character will go unnamed, what would they think of that?

[@sarahgranger7780]

Yeah Ellie Wiesel said he didn't want a film about him either and if one was made he wanted to be long dead before they made the film so he'd never have to see it.

[@vickhs]

I do think it's interesting that Sissy is one of the best actresses of her generation yet never achieved superstar levels of fame as some of her counterparts. She's an Oscar winner, was nominated other 5 times, has a handful of other awards, basically started the trend of Stephen King adaptations and yet she's still underrated. It's quite baffling, to be honest.

[@michaelpatrick7888]

i dont think she's underrated -i think peoples focus is on particular stars or actors who don't necessarily measure up to the old standards of days gone by,,e.g. actors like shirley maclaine who acted their whole lives and now live in a life of where is she?actors' jobs are to act not to become famous in my opinion,,,,i think alot of them have it backwards,,,shirley maclaine gave up alot to attain it and well ,,we'll always remember her!!,,today we we will remember other noteworthy stars who become famous for lets say drug rehab or overdoses or bad marriages --things like that..another example of a sissy spacek type is kathy bates a true diehard actress ,,sorry for long reply

[@jeffreyturner7678]

she is a bit underrated- but its relative- she should have more Oscars- but she is magnificent...

[@lordofthemound3890]

I always kind of forget about her. When they went through the list of her ‘70s films, I was like, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that . . . oh yeah, she was in ‘Carrie’ . . . oh, ‘Badlands,’ etc.”

[@JimmyZoole]

I honestly feel like it has a lot to with her not being particularly glamorous.

[@maxipazz8214]

Not underrated at all

[@nikkichapman7646]

I'd be interested to see a video on Kathy Bates winning for Misery, especially with the Academy's aversion to horror movies.

[@MrOwl-hk7my]

From your mouth to God’s ears.

[@pdzombie1906]

What Nikki said!!!

[@Shadow-zf5uc]

YESSSSS!

[@j.brandon1851]

THISSS!!!

[@marianserra8371]

Katy Bates= Fabulous actress! Totally agree.

[@highwind1991]

This is becoming one of my favorite KZbin channels. A channel where every single time I get a notification of another upload, I get excited :)

[@toastlover]

I just came to the comments to say the same thing.

[@heaintloveu]

Same!

[@giorgigugenishvili2226]

It is by far my favorite channel. Do you know any other similarly good film history channels?

[@margolane8529]

@@giorgigugenishvili2226 coldcrashpictures recently did a video on gone with the wind that was pretty nuanced

[@mariezenaida]

SAME

[@toddwaters3187]

This is one of the best channels on KZbin. You do an incredible job describing the cultural implications of the Academy Awards, and the actresses nominated that year. You elevate the whole "let's talk about good actresses" into an exploration of how these women are/were positioned in a sociological, gender, and cultural context, which makes these videos captivating and educational. I have learned more from these videos about the Oscars, actresses, and Hollywood/filmmaking than I ever did from my film classes. Keep up this good work!

[@drjulia6860]

Endorse 100%.

[@Pistolwhipperz]

I agree Todd. I love it here.

[@homhable]

In my opinion Sissy Spacek should have won for "Carrie" already, even over Faye Dunaway. She was mesmerizing as Carrie.

[@alexmeyer5260]

No, Faye deserved that Oscar.

[@folkosire]

@Mrs. Phyllis Stephens So you A) are a completely biased Dunaway-Fan or B) never have seen "Carrie". Dunaway was okay in "Network", maybe a little over the top. Spacek's performance as Carrie was just masterful.

[@Paul_Wetor]

"Carrie" made me a Sissy Spacek fan. I had read the book beforehand and knew what was coming, yet was completely charmed by her prom date scenes with William Katt. The movie was part of a double feature. It affected me so much that I left before the second movie. The power and believability of her performance was extremely moving.

[@beverlyledbetter9302]

I certainly agree. Spacek is the best; she should have got something for Badlands. She was great in that movie, as was Martin Sheen!

[@kingamoeboid3887]

@@beverlyledbetter9302 Bette Davis said that Spacek could play anything.

[@martiabigail7290]

came for some academy award history and I leave knowing where did THE oprah gif came from. this channel truly has it all

[@fadhilramadhani1847]

One of my most favorite Best Actress wins ever. So well deserved and her career should have gotten at least two Oscars by now. Sissy Spacek is the epitome of ageless beauty!

[@kristopher1799]

Yes, for either Crimes of the Heart OR In the Bedroom.....

[@HelloHello-tm7uc]

Yes I agree... In the Bedroom ^

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

In the Bedroom is very overrated but I suppose if acting by certain stars is what you about maybe some people would enjoy it.

[@kostajovanovic3711]

@@sarasamaletdin4574 overrated by who?

[@anmol96titoria]

I adore Sissy Spacek’s performance in Coal Miner’s Daughter. And not for the sappy reasons of “oh my God she was exactly like Lorretta!” But more that she plays her from 13 to 40 (I think) without any makeup or extravagant changes. It’s a life captured perfectly.

[@TeganX7]

I've always, unconsciously, known about the issues of the lack of minority nominations for the Oscars, but your data particularly comparing men nominated for playing a boxer to all women of color playing real women was mind numbing! Your last bit of advice is correct: the surest way to get more movies about stories and people you like is to buy tickets.

[@frenztrue3216]

Could you maybe do a Video on Sophia Loren becoming the first actor to win based on a foreign language role? I feel like that might be really interesting :)

[@katejunita8353]

YES!!!!

[@jjh2456]

Oh yeah!!!

[@kostajovanovic3711]

It'll come

[@sayakchoudhury9711]

Yes!! Up vote this comment

[@wildwind5571]

yes please

[@YoutubeSun1]

MTM, in Ordinary People, was chilling. She was cold as ice. She reminded me of how a mom can freeze you out, and may God be with you if that mom is against you instead, of FOR you.

[@GGiblet]

She did an AMAZING job It was a fabulous year in film!

[@flower_girl4983]

Ik what that like 😔 It's sucks so much

[@kleerude]

I read an article years ago (I think on the AV Club) where the writer speculated about different changes that could be made to the Academy’s categories. They proposed splitting acting into “best adapted performance” and “best original performance” to account for the very issue you bring up, that biopic performances often get an advantage over performances of original characters because it’s easier to judge what’s “good” if you have something to compare it against. It’s an interesting thought. There are certainly more differences between actors portraying real people and fictional people than there are between actors of different genders (honestly, though, you’re only getting rid of best actress by prying it out of my cold dead hands). tl;dr.. Great video, as usual!

[@tatioliveira8598]

IMO the split should create the categories "best imitation" and "best actor", because, let's be honest: Rami Malek, e.g., didn't win as best actor because he was the best actor, just because he did a wonderfull job imitating Fred Mercury. That's why his winning is so bittersweet for so many.

[@bliss66]

@@tatioliveira8598 Did he though? The idea that Rami Malek did a wonderful job either imitating or acting Freddie Mercury is, like so many other cultural statements these days, so reductive. (Like the idea that Joker has anything to do with Taxi Driver - propagated mostly by people who've never seen Taxi Driver or The King of Comedy. Todd Phillips basically goes, "...#TaxiDriver," and people wonder why Scorsese himself felt compelled to come forward and clarify the reductiveness of that claim and the genre from which it sprang.) Back to Freddie, who in reality was a sweaty, hairy man of exotic good looks who exuded a ferocious, primal sexual energy often signified by the bulge in his pants and much of his own flesh on display coupled with a voice of operatic power and range that connected with outliers and mainstream audiences alike - fronting Queen, whom with many releases, redefined the culture of the day. Rami Malek sauntering through the background of a Queen biopic is nothing like the real Freddie, just a commodified Mattel version of the original.

[@Wired4Life2]

Yeah...those categories sound stupid.

[@giangvo7555]

@@tatioliveira8598 Well I guess there are good and bad imitations then. Because Sally Field as Norma Rae, Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Marion Cottilard as Edith Piaf, and Sissy herself as Loretta Lynn here were more than mere imitations, they became their characters. They studied the story of their characters and conveyed all the ups and downs, pain and glory in their lives. Audience actually believe that was Edith singing La Vie En Rose on screen, not Rami Malek trying so hard to imitate Freddie, nor Meryl Streep desperately trying to convince people that she was Margaret Thatcher/Florence Foster Jenkins/Julia Child with terrible, forced accents.

[@gauravw6947]

@@giangvo7555 I agree with you about Rami trying so hard to imitate Freddie, but I definitely don't agree about Meryl... As you said about becoming characters, she became Margaret Thatcher and there wasn't anything 'desperate' about that performance... Further, she is one of the few actors who could actually nail different accents...

[@siddharthnaagar7028]

Sissy Spacek according to me is one of the Greatest actresses of all-time, right there with Streep, Foster, Hepburn

[@rnw2739]

Hepburn??!! Come on, Sissy Spacek leaves her for dust!

[@AndreiGromit]

Too bad, there are not as many Gena Rowland/John Cassavetes films as there are biopics.

[@paillette2010]

They are a future biopic.

[@jmnny85]

Love the movie Gloria!!😍🥰👍👏

[@marymitchell6257]

Gloria is such a strange one though

[@clasiusclay]

@@paillette2010 God, I really hope not.

[@GGiblet]

Gena Rowlands was luminous & terrifying like a beautiful angel

[@Megan-wf2yv]

I genuinely screamed out loud mid conversation with my housemate when I got this notification!!!

[@Megan-wf2yv]

just went as Carrie for Halloween lol this is perfect

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Don't do that, you are going to scare the housemate

[@JM-bv4hc]

Did they all laugh at you? Lol

[@pla5730]

You won't get her attention ... She rarely responds

[@nomine4027]

Just throwing it out there that Timothy Hutton won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for "Ordinary People," also.

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

Got a book that one of the Old Hollywood Biggies (Bette Davis maybe?) told a journalist he should have been potty trained before win an Oscar, because he was really young. Love him in Leverage tho.

[@alexmeyer5260]

And he still remains the youngest-ever winner in the category.

[@daffyphack]

Does anyone else get an uncanny valley feeling when they see young Tommy Lee Jones?

[@khif13]

I figured the man was never born. He just appeared one day, mid 40's, tired and wearing slacks.

[@RNCHFND]

Yeah, looks like some sort of deepfake of him

[@jeremyud]

How Josh Hartnett never played a young version of him, I'll never understand.

[@thegirllikesmovies7389]

@@jeremyud Thank you I have been saying this for YEARS

[@jodiegrief7473]

I love the demographics break-down. One of my biggest beefs with the category is women getting nominated every year for 'sad wife' roles, wherein they are the supportive, patient partner to some abrasive genius. They do a good job, but it is so telling of the types of roles available for women.

[@sweetpeabee4983]

I really wish 'sad husband' roles were more of a thing, 'cause we don't get to see that role reversal happen much and I just think that would be neat.

[@jjh2456]

sweet pea bee They do, they are just considered supporting roles. Jim Broadbent’s win is the perfect example of this.

[@gabeguarin1096]

@@sweetpeabee4983 Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People is that to a tee. And he wasn't even nominated. Which is a crime.

[@danielachamorro8783]

Oprah meeting Mary Tyler Moore was exactly like Tiffany Haddish meeting Oprah ❤️

[@ricardorame]

But Oprah is scary af. Haddish is only playing the game.

[@dabigdikdangler]

Oprah's producers would spring her favorite people on her because she'd always make that reaction

[@cchevy936]

Oprah is all about Oprah. Mary affected ALL of us, not just Oprah. Quit celebrating a narcissist and glutton named Oprah. 🤮

[@icvip9753]

@@cchevy936 damn you made huh 😳

[@gauravw6947]

@@cchevy936 This is so rich coming from a glutton like you. 😁

[@cookingandtrickswithmarios3779]

Gena Rowlands one of the greatest actresses of all times.

[@angelcastaneda529]

That’s a fact.

[@champagnesocialist3716]

PERIODTTT

[@jmnny85]

Her performance in the movie Gloria!😍👍👏

[@collinsje5]

Underrated and phenomenal

[@SpenceR-jp7mb]

Totally. But like so many others, she's not getting the recognition that she deserves.

[@STLmurphy20]

“Coal Miner’s Daughter” remains the gold standard for how to do a musical biopic. Have you ever seen one done better? The acting, plus the original song recordings, make this movie pure magic. The film’s excellent soundtrack, I would argue, is actually better than the original Loretta Lynn recordings. P.S. It was an absolute travesty that Beverly D’Angelo (A) did not receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination, and (B) was not offered the role in “Sweet Dreams.” Her brief but unforgettable appearance in “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is proof that D’Angelo had a better grasp and understanding of Patsy Cline than Jessica Lange had. Lange may have been the more “bankable” star, but D’Angelo would have brought so much more to the role.

[@DW-vd9mp]

I agree with the exception of Ray. Coal miners daughter and Ray are my favs.

[@ImnotassweetasIusedtobe]

Sweet Dreams had production issues too. Patsy Cline was famously sexually abused by her biological father, and Lange and the director wanted to include that in the film, but the studio said "hell no." How very hypocritical and Hollywood of them....

[@arthurgearheard4701]

I was in awe of Tina Turner's Biopic " What's Love Got to do With It! "

[@FerrariCarr]

Gloria seems like a really interesting film. I’ve never seen it, but the description sounds pretty badass.

[@Nikki-tx6kh]

It is a great movie, go for it

[@lunacarmin]

"Uhhh she wants an Oscar" LOL my very thought on Natalie Portman when starring "Jackie"

[@monmothma3358]

Jackie was still a good movie, though, and Natalie already had an Oscar, for Black Swan, so I doubt that was her primary motivation.

[@anihtek]

I think Natalie did what she possibly could with that role, however the script was just not that interesting. No good storyline really, it was almost like they expected Natalie's performance to carry the whole film

[@thedivination]

Coal Miners Daughter is one of my favorite movies. Grew up watching it with my Mom!

[@morganstarchild5359]

Same!

[@69johndz]

"Meryl"..."Not Meryl" Best pie chart ever! 🤣

[@nujeru99]

Mary’s performance as Beth Jarrett is one of the finest in film history in my opinion. The layers of nuance she gave to Beth’s absolute coldness towards her son Conrad, as well as her need to maintain a facade of perfection....was breathtaking and chilling (especially to anyone who’s had a mother with similar traits). Such a shame that the male press focused more attention on how it was a stark departure from the sweetheart roles she played on tv....than to the incredible performance she turned in. I thought she should’ve won the Academy Award that year

[@josephosullivan9891]

LOVE these video essays. I so appreciate your analysis of all of this and educating us on some historical cultural circumstances. Well done. Can't wait for your next vid.

[@AbbeyGurl44]

Coal miners daughter is my all time favorite film. I think it is outstanding and she did a great job portraying Loretta

[@michaelcain9324]

A wonderfully unvarnished look into Loretta’s life. Loved it. Maybe someday you might do a video about best actresses who were snubbed-or had their film tanked by their own studios-for even a nomination for their best work. I’m thinking Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction, Uma Thurman for Kill Bill Volume 2... I’m certain you would know so many moor.

[@MrS98VAC]

Sissy should have won for "In the Bedroom", too!

[@mattbernabe]

Absolutely!

[@King-hz2uj]

Haha. I liked the video first before watching because 21minutes of BKR is sure to be fun.

[@BBB-ew4wu]

Omg girl, please make a video for every single Best Actress/Supporting Actress match up, because I will watch all of them, multiple times. You are an ace at what you do. Seriously, if you offered a film course I would absolutely be enrolled. So thank you!

[@BrokenSocialScene23]

You research your topics so well and unlike other channels that just "present facts", you actually go a step further and make logical inferences, critiques and connections. I honestly enjoy every one of your videos but the stats and subsequent analyses just elevated this one into one of your best.

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Other channels being?

[@champagnesocialist3716]

Please make a video about Diane Keaton’s win in 1978! Comment under this who you want a video on

[@NJCUJan]

J S yes!

[@paillette2010]

Yes!

[@marjaiiii]

How Angela Bassett lost😭 I just wanna know howwww

[@champagnesocialist3716]

Marjai Rose yesss!!! I love holly Hunter but that Oscar belonged to Angela

[@oscarcamachoromero9397]

Louise fletcher

[@kristi4113]

Coal Miner’s Daughter is a true gem of the movie industry. Anyone who hasn’t seen it absolutely should.

[@musicmage4114]

The first 30 seconds of this are pure gold (and the rest is, of course, awesome as well). Well done as always!

[@user-ye8zk8ku7s]

Another thing to note about Coal Miners Daughter: it premiered in NYC and Nashville the same night. NYC shows virtually sold no tickets. Nashville sold out and demanded three more encore showings. It was the first time Southerners, particularly southern women, had been portrayed with any sort of dignity.

[@steamboatwill3.367]

What about Gone With The Wind? ( well ok, I guess there's little "dignity" to see in there now... But at the time of it's release ) No offense to your commento, it just sounds like a stretch to me.

[@jmnny85]

Ellen Burstyn's performance in Ressurection is stunning👏any other year she would have won hands down.

[@kaelinf7840]

Oh I love Sissy's work. She's freaking amazing 😍

[@matiasg.forero7419]

Damn... I truly only knew Sissy from Carrie. I have some classics to catch up on.

[@tae523]

Lol

[@TomRipley7350]

I can see your dirty pillows. Everyone will.

[@renatateofilo9887]

Please make sure to watch the ones in here and "In the Bedroom", with great perfomances by her and Marisa Tomei. Plus: "The missing", "Night, mother" and "The long walk home".

[@kostajovanovic3711]

@Jarred Knox he is?

[@graceelaine698]

Kosta Jovanovic ya kinda harsh. He’s probably a troll.

[@manthony225]

I love Coal Miner's Daughter but I'm so burned-out on bio pics, I'd rather see a good documentary ( tho they can be just as cliched as bio pics)

[@eamonndeane587]

It depends on how you edit and direct the documentary.

[@lilchicklets]

I hear ya on that.

[@bill000]

She is my favorite performance of all time. I really think she needs another role that will re introduce herself to newer audiences who might revisit her work and see that she’s a very rare talent

[@JeromeGentes]

The excellence of your research on this channel and this particular video is beyond impressive. In this case, I'd also add that Spacek provides a link between the progressive, maverick 1970s moviemaking (Malick, DePalma, Altman) and 1980s conglomerate, studio-driven, bottom-line driven moviemaking, and that Coal Miner's Daughter represents its own bridge between that as well. Michael Apted, the British director, also straddles the territory between tradition and innovation, old school (David Lean) and cutting-edge (Mike Newell). Interesting that all four major English-language markets (US, UK, CAN, ANZ) went through the same cinematic (r)evolution at almost the exact same time.

[@noahbruckshen5009]

What timing! I just dressed as Carrie for Halloween, love Sissy Spacek! And love your videos!

[@scattygirl1]

IMDb is filled with glowing reviews of Resurrection- so it's nice to see that sometimes, time just needs to pass before a film can be properly judged or appreciated.

[@johnstevenson4611]

You did it again! You are amazing! Love this channel!

[@vitord2005]

Every time I watch a video of your channel I find myself having the exact same thought: "jesus, she is soooooo good!" Thanks (again) for the master class

[@blupunk01]

The already culturally ingrained public appeal of certain celebrities seems to lend unusual weight to certain biopics. Even when it's a by-the-numbers formulaic film that tells us nothing particularly new or interesting about the subject, if an actor can as you point out successfully mimic a beloved icon, the role seems destined for awards buzz.

[@johndeless3948]

Is it fair to call “Bombshell” a biopic? I was always considered a biopic to cover the subject’s life for a substantial portion of their lives. “Bombshell”, to me, is similar to “Spotlight” - it follows the subjects during a brief portion of their lives as they deal with a major event. Loved the video, nonetheless. I’ve never disliked one of your videos.

[@bkrewind]

Fair Q! I'm sure there's a debate in film scholarship - but I count it personally because it's real people, real events, the criteria for judging/researching the performance will largely be the same (ppl are already lumping Charlize T and Renee Z's performances together).

[@Wendell_Lee]

I LIVE for your videos. They're always so eloquently done!!! I'm definitely about to do a Gena Rowlands movie marathon. ♥️

[@MartinHomeVideo]

Another excellent addition from you! THANKS A LOT!

[@littlelizzyann]

"Next time you see a big budget biopic come out, and your first instinct is 'ooh, she wants an oscar,' at least you now have some context for how and why that thought comes to mind." You're brilliant.

[@jcancer2011]

I'll start by saying i wish you made more videos your research and outlook has honestly changed my opinions on how i look at movies but entertainment in general. This video i believe you should your X Factor and i want to say im a fan! Please put out more videos!!!

[@zacharybelgard2107]

“Ordinary People” was released around the same time that Mary Tyler Moores’ own son tragically passed away. I can’t imagine what she must of been enduring in that period of time. What a wonderful actress.

[@Headmankc]

At the end of each video, i feel like i can proudly say i have B.A. in Film Studies (Major in Feminism and the Media) and I am truly appreciative....ALSO...THE GRAPHS!!!! THE TABLES!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

[@craiglomax8230]

One of my favourite channels. Thank you

[@danielmonroe10]

I really love this channel. You go in-depth on a subject I know little about - Best Actress awards at the Oscards, but you infuse each video with great content and presentation that makes me excited every time you upload.

[@johnyzero2000]

I finally saw Cactus Flower and she deserved that Oscar for she was a total delight.

[@itsHavvik]

Maybe my favourite of your videos. I really like the amount of time you dedicate to shine some light on the nominees. Adds some nice context.

[@lexis4490]

I always felt that biopics also had a built in audience. Thus why Hollywood is so willing to green light these movies. I saw bohemian rhapsody because I love Queen music, ignoring all the controversy around it. Great video as always.

[@cat1mouse2]

I definitely get excited when you post and squealed yesterday when you said a new video was coming out. I would love to know your research process it’s so fascinating to me how much you know and how well thought out your scripts are

[@edcarlosilva12]

Thank you so much for this. Love your channel.

[@MsMSB2012]

This channel is amazing. Thank you so much for your work.

[@Kristi__xo]

Omg, I'm so glad I found your channel. My Grandmother passed away a decade ago but one of the things I remember about her the most was her love for this movie. She grew up in a rural area ( like pop 80) part of SW Virginia and this movie reminded her of her childhood. Before she passed (probably in like 2002ish), my mom and I traveled to dozens of stores to find this on VHS for her to watch. We did and she repeadly watched it until her last years.

[@saltoftheegg]

Hearing words like” typify” and “bungle” made me soooo happy

[@marvel096]

Your videos are the highlight of all my day!! I love them so much ❤️

[@arnesahlen2704]

I still recall the deep impact of seeing this film at its theatrical début - and the similar 'knockout' with Carol Burnett in Friendly Fire. They both were heart-wrenchingly, tormentingly brilliant.

[@larrydirtybird]

I like that you mentioned the difference between a biopic where everyone knows how the protagonist walks, talks, looks, and others where they don’t. Susan Sarandon’s Oscar win for Dead Man Walking is one of my all time favorite wins, but it wasn’t until recently that I saw Sister Helen Prejean being interviewed on TV and I was struck how, not only did Sarandon look nothing like her, but she never attempted to capture Prejean’s tough, spunky, feisty nature. Sarandon created a much more soft-spoken, genteel Sister Helen. It made me think that it Helen Prejean had been like Loretta Lynn or Margaret Thatcher, Sarandon would have been roundly criticized for failing to capture her persona. An actor has so much more freedom when the famous person she or he is playing is someone whose voice and mannerisms are unknown. I would love to ask Helen Mirren which Queen was more challenging to portray, Elizabeth I or Elizabeth the II and how her approach to playing each one differed. Everyone can tell how well she mimicked Elizabeth II. The opposite is true of Elizabeth I, who to most moviegoers is just a painting and paragraphs in history books.

[@bluedasher74]

Sarandon did the same thing in the miniseries Feud where she played Bette Davis. She sounded NOTHING like Bette. Bette had a very distinct Mid-Atlantic accent (she sounded almost like she was British) whereas Sarandon did not even attempt to make her accent or her voice sound like Bette's.

[@jessicarayner693]

You are my fave channel by far! I am always super happy when I see a new episode. Thank you so much :)

[@anthonydjuan]

Love this. Love your work. Thank you so much for your insight.

[@garyrodriguez1]

What an important and exciting channel this is! We need this type of deep, critical view, not only in the movie industry but in every single social aspect. Thanks for sharing. The horror movie topic that you slightly talked about in the video sounds so interesting.

[@billybee9659]

Your content is too good for this platform. Honestly. It's really brilliant and on another level entirely. Well done.

[@HelgaCavoli]

The quality of your work (analysis, historical callbacks) is unbelievable. So so great!

[@suzieq722]

Your videos are always so well done! I look forward to the next one, every time!

[@Starkardur]

1980 was the year of the biopic. Keep in mind the same year Sissy won for portraying loretta Lynn, Robert De Niro won an oscar for playing Jake La Motta, who like Lynn was at the oscars

[@SpitefulRennie]

It's unreal how good your channel is 😍

[@ibrahimabarry4937]

Just wanna let you know, I really love your channel, and how much research you put into your videos, they are really interesting

[@macc.1132]

Your videos are gold, as always. I'm glad you decided that by covering Sissy Spacek's win for Coal Miner's Daughter, you dove into the biopic "trend" that really kicked into overdrive about 20 years ago with Hilary Swank and Julia Robert's wins. Biopic performances rarely (if ever?) go down as "best of all time" like portrayals of fictional characters do. Years from now, you will not find fans, books, articles or mythologies about Spacek playing Loretta Lynn like you do Leigh playing Scarlett O'Hara or Garland playing Dorothy Gale or Davis playing Margo Channing or Weaver playing Ellen Ripley or Taylor playing Martha (from Viginia Woolf). I think that's because, if a person really wanted to find out about a non-fictional character, they's just read a biography or research online to get the REAL take on someone's life. It's unfortunate when these performances garner accolades at the expense of ones in which a fictional character has been created, roles that come closer to what cinema is all about. Most of the time, the Oscar winning performance from a biopic gets by on the audience's willingness to get swept up on seeing one famous person playing another famous person (think of Malek playing Mercury) and how much nostalgia it induces. It's too much of a gimmick.

[@tudorjason]

I am enthralled with biopics and I usually love to watch them, except for ones that focus on war.

[@bookaufman9643]

I just wanted you to know how much I like your channel and the really good videos you make. They are thoughtful and very professional. Keep it up.

[@seb61709]

Knowing this about Jenna Rowlands really makes me respect her a lot. She really did what she loved. That’s amazing

[@tribudeuno]

The most artistic film that I worked on during my 30 year career was the psychodrama, ‘Night, Mother, with Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek. It was a first time film directing job for the director, who had been the Broadway stage director. Since it was his first time, he broke a lot of rules of cinema. He wanted to shoot it in absolute emotional continuity. He had delayed rolls, where, perhaps starting in a completely different room than the camera, the actresses were acting like two minutes before even turning on the camera. And I would think that would be annoying, since they were using an Arriflex BL3, which gives a loud BEEP when the camera turned on. I would have sought some way of defeating that beep. That emotional continuity took its toll, since it was the only movie that I worked on where I saw the actresses cry when the director asked them for another take. They were losing their voices...

[@AliciaNyblade]

"Oooh, she wants an Oscar!" I don't always think that when a biopic trailer pops up, but it crosses my mind every single time an able-bodied actor is cast as a character with a disability. I'm a playwright/actress who happens to be visually impaired and the lack of people with disabilities being involved in the industry is a huge problem. So much for "diversity in the workplace", Broadway/Hollywood!

[@eamonndeane587]

I Hope Lauren Ridoff from Eternals becomes as Mainstream as possible. Eternals may not be perfect but she was Awesome as Makkari.

[@Annayasha]

I'm really impressed about your dedication and research in your videos. Just too good 👌 I'd say better than most tv programs. Super interesting

[@michaelhope8899]

Incredible content as always. You have to be one of the underrated channels here

[@bender6261]

I'm dying to see one for Audrey Hepburn's win! Love your videos, thank you so much for sharing!!

[@xatyr]

Kinda can't wait for the Monster review. :)

[@ahyan6681]

One biopic we need to see is about Mary Pickford, for you that don't know she was like the most popular actress of maybe all time, she was the highest paid too and she grew up from poor to one of the richest women in the 1910s and 20s

[@AvantaGarden]

You need wayyyy more subscribers!! Your work is phenomenal!

[@monicacarranco8525]

As always, love the video. Keep up the good work

[@71gmf]

It's strange. For me, Gena Rowlands is one of the best actresses ever. First time I saw "Opening night", it was a punch in the face. "Gloria" became a commercial hit in Portugal. I believe it stayed for almost a year on the big screen. And not because of the Oscars. Because it was good! Woody Allen's "Another woman" (starring Gena Rowlands) was one of the most underrated movies of all time. She was again brilliant. That was the last time I saw her starring... An american actress who became an icon in Europe... until the 80's that is. Sadly, newer generations don't know anything about her...

[@outinsider]

Thank you for these videos, and these statistics. I look forward to your videos and get excited when I see a new video.

[@Klymenthis]

I know youre going to get to her eventually but I cannot wait for your Ellen Burstyn video! Not just one of the best actresses since the 1970s but one if the most prolific she’s made a film basically every year for fifty years

[@BFA100]

Mary Tyler Moore started in 1970 and ended in 1977, Cactus Flower was released in 1969, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore came out in 1974.

[@rosselliswilkinson]

Alice was released in 1974, the oscars for 74s films are held the following year, 1975.So she did win in 1975.

[@Sbaxter1989]

I'm loving these videos, keep it up !

[@Restless_Hermit80]

And yet again... Excellent video.

[@christopherramon-reid2000]

Fantastic documentation!

[@darcylyons4313]

Coal Miners Daughter is my favorite movie of all time. So much so I wore the first VHS out because I watched it so much!