Quite a night at the New York Film Festival as Mike Mills’ wonderful and certain to be nominated for many Oscars “20th Century Women” debuted to a massive standing ovation. Star Annette Bening leads a terrific ensemble, and she was there with husband Warren Beatty, whose first movie in 16 years– “Rules Don’t Apply”– will be unveiled shortly.
Noting that this looks like the year of Warren and Annette I asked Beatty at the after party dub the couple a combined name a la “Brangelina” (except of course the Beattys are married 25 years, with 4 kids, and nothing is changing). Warren pondered for a moment and pronounced “Warnette” as the moniker. “It sounds tough,” he said. “Yeah!”
I asked Warren if Annette guided their own brood they way takes hold of the hilarious makeshift family in “20th Century Women.” In typical Beatty fashion he stammered, then said: “Well, you know, there is a father in our family.”
This was the second time he’d seen the film, and he was overcome. “My quote?” he said. “Annette Bening is the best actress in the world. Anywhere,” he said, emphatically.
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“20th Century Women” features substantial performances from Billy Crudup, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig, not to mention a 15 year old named Lucas Jade Zumann who is absolutely extraordinary. There’s also a great soundtrack from 1979 that features the Talking Heads’ “Don’t Worry About the Government” and “The Big Country” from their first two albums.
Annette was beaming through the party, accepting kudos for playing Dorothea, a very complex, beautifully drawn character. “I can’t tell you how satisfying it is that people like this movie,” Annette told me. She is blown away.
What a great season for films! “20th Century Women.” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Lion,” “La La Land,” “Hell or High Water,” “Jackie,” “Moonlight,” “Birth of a Nation” plus three films we lost during the spring — “Captain Fantastic,” “Sing Street,” “Everybody Wants Some.” And many more to come…
Photo Showbiz411 c2016 by Paula Schwartz
