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Post by smith on Jan 29, 2006 7:15:48 GMT -5
I think we all agree that Katharine was a fantastic actress but does everybody else agree that she also had enormous charisma as well not just in the movies but in real life . Reading the early interviews it is clear that Katharine was a person of enormous interest to the public - even when she was box office poison people still wanted to read about her and find out about what she was doing .
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Post by karina on Jan 29, 2006 10:23:31 GMT -5
I certainly do agree. Kate had - and has - tremendous charisma, without which we might not all be here discussing her today. I mean charisma tends to sort "merely" good actors from those who become true legends/icons whatever you want to call them. Kate was an inspiration to thousands, both in her film roles and in her real life opinions & actions.
And it's rare - there are excellent actors out there with no real charisma or fascination for the public and there are also some surprisingly charismatic personalities who can't act for toffee. I'm reluctant to give examples, as I don't want to start up a million post thread comparing like with (un)like a la imbd!
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Post by gypsygem81 on Jan 29, 2006 11:42:02 GMT -5
Absolutely! I'd seen a couple of her films, and I thought she was a good actress, but I didn't really become a big fan until I'd read about her in the Berg book. She's a completely individual character, and so ahead of her time. She's a wonderful role model for women today, fantastically inspirational to me, not only in the way that I want to be like her (though I do, obviously!), but more in the way that she lived by her own rules and she saw nothing wrong with being different.
Love Gem
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kathfan88
Full Member
Kate Hepburn... nuff said.
Posts: 238
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Post by kathfan88 on Feb 3, 2006 16:14:13 GMT -5
Nicely put everyone, you took the words right out of my mouth. Kate definately has charisma. I thought about it a while and decided that it takes talent to be fine actress, but it takes charisma to be a star. Or a legend in this case. And Kath had plenty of it. What was it she said when asked what star quality was? Something like, "It's either some energy or electricity, but whatever it is I've got it." Whatever the quote is, she was right.
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Post by Shaun on Feb 3, 2006 16:50:54 GMT -5
Yeah that was the quote, and how true it is!
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Post by Cate on Feb 3, 2006 22:00:37 GMT -5
Charisma is a good word... It's because of Kate's personality off-screen that I became so fanatical. Karina's hit it right on the nail. The actors you tend to remember are the ones who have that rare combination of personality and acting ability. Which is why Kate is such an icon. A lot of it is because people probably like to think they are seeing a little bit of the real Kate onscreen. I read that somewhere... perhaps it was here? There goes my selective memory again. But yeah... there are a handful of those kinds of actors now and the sad thing is they don't seem to be recognized as much as they should be. Youth seems to be the central focus right now... doesn't matter if you have talent.
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Post by HollywoodHepcat on Feb 3, 2006 22:11:00 GMT -5
Yeah, I agree with all you guys have said. Kate is the finest example of what being a legend really is. It also helped that she picked roles that had at least a few facets of her own personality. Well, I guess maybe not Mary Tyrone. Or Violet Venable. But even then, there's tiny things that you notice and think *snap* that's so Kath. Like when she snorts, for example. Some people are really stupid (like snotty film historians) and say that Kath wasn't as good as the likes of the other Hepburn or Bette Davis because she didn't stretch her range when it came to the roles she played. Excuse me, what was Shakespear? Chopped liver? Ass. Sorry.
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Post by smith on Feb 3, 2006 22:16:34 GMT -5
Metrostah ,
I think the comments about Katharine picking roles that are most like her is a bit patronising and misleading . I mean was Katharine ever religious or sexually repressed like some of her 1950's roles . No of course not . I guess she had to pick roles that she could identify with but that's a different issue . Was Katharine in real life anything Alice Alice Adams ?
I guess the public thought Katharine was from a very rich family like some some of the roles she played but she really wasn't that rich either . As she said she had enough .
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Post by Judy on Feb 4, 2006 14:13:52 GMT -5
Charisma is a good word... It's because of Kate's personality off-screen that I became so fanatical. Karina's hit it right on the nail. The actors you tend to remember are the ones who have that rare combination of personality and acting ability. Which is why Kate is such an icon. A lot of it is because people probably like to think they are seeing a little bit of the real Kate onscreen. I read that somewhere... perhaps it was here? There goes my selective memory again. But yeah... there are a handful of those kinds of actors now and the sad thing is they don't seem to be recognized as much as they should be. Youth seems to be the central focus right now... doesn't matter if you have talent. I was surfing around and found this book of star photos. The design of the book jacket is sort of a "then and now" thing. So at the top, there's a photo of Kate on the left and a separate one of Bogart on the right. At the bottom, there's one of Hallie Berry below Kate and one of Tom Cruise below Bogart. Your honor - and ladies and gentlemen of the jury - I rest my case. Judy
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Post by Judy on Feb 4, 2006 14:32:54 GMT -5
Metrostah , I think the comments about Katharine picking roles that are most like her is a bit patronising and misleading . I mean was Katharine ever religious or sexually repressed like some of her 1950's roles . No of course not . I guess she had to pick roles that she could identify with but that's a different issue . Was Katharine in real life anything Alice Alice Adams ? I guess the public thought Katharine was from a very rich family like some some of the roles she played but she really wasn't that rich either . As she said she had enough . Hi, Smith - there's a photo on eBay - actually I think it's a page from a magazine. One of these studio posed shots of her with a big sun hat standing by a railing...Anyway, the caption is something like: Katharine Hepburn - heir to the Hepburn millions - 15 of them to be exact.... So that was the image - which she, no doubt, fostered. Another Cavett moment I love (oh, hell, I love em all) is when she was talking about her selectiveness and said: I had money enough to say no. I didn't have nearly as much as people think, but I had enough to say no. She was no dope. She knew what they thought of her and played along. And, as Cukor said, ultimately she MADE the audience come to her. Did she do it by softening her image a bit? Maybe. Still, it was an enormous achievement. After the B.O. poison thing, she could have been gone forever. But she was one smart cookie.... There are too many writers with too little imagination, who - because her personality was so strong - just didn't get her as an actress. Were there strains of her personality that ran through her movies? Of course. Olivier had em, too. Did she have some mannerisms? Of course. Tracy had em, too. There seems to be a concerted effort by writers who are not fond of her as an actor to claim that she was not one. To each his own, I suppose. But one brief look at the characters she played visavis, say, those of someone like the person everyone seems to compare her to - Davis (whom I also love) - and there is every bit as much diversity. Could Hepburn have played the low-life waitress in OF HUMAN BONDAGE? Maybe. SHOULD she have? Probably not the best idea. Could Davis have played Susan Vance? Maybe. SHOULD she have? Probably not the best idea. So aren't we lucky to have both? My own view - which I'm sure will come as an enormous shock to you guys - is that Kate was not only an exceptional actor, but (and here's the dreaded word) an artist to boot - maybe even in spite of herself. One look at ALICE ADAMS, ADAM'S RIB, THE AFRICAN QUEEN and LONG DAYS JOURNEY (and as legend has it, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA) is all the proof I need. Judy
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Post by smith on Feb 4, 2006 16:05:43 GMT -5
Hi Judy ,
I have seen that picture myself and Katharine didn't foster that image . What happened was that Katharine did Bill of Divorcement and she didn't tell the studio very much about herself . She then went away with Luddy to Europe after she had finished filming . The film was a bit hit and she came back to find that the studio in the absence of any facts just made up a lot of stuff and told people she was the heiress to the Chase Manhatten Bank or something like that . Apparently his surname was Hepburn. Katharine wasn't impressed
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Post by Judy on Feb 4, 2006 23:17:12 GMT -5
Hi Judy , I have seen that picture myself and Katharine didn't foster that image . What happened was that Katharine did Bill of Divorcement and she didn't tell the studio very much about herself . She then went away with Luddy to Europe after she had finished filming . The film was a bit hit and she came back to find that the studio in the absence of any facts just made up a lot of stuff and told people she was the heiress to the Chase Manhatten Bank or something like that . Apparently his surname was Hepburn. Katharine wasn't impressed Yes. I know all that. Saying she fostered it wasn't a criticism. I didn't say she created that stuff or that particular story. Only that she did very little to disuade the stuff that was written about her once it was in the air. As far as she was concerned, the less truth they knew about her life, the better she liked it. We all know that statement. So that stuff proliferated about her. Her manner and carriage led them to trump up this stuff about her and she did very little to deny it - because she could have cared less. Even at that early stage of her career, she knew how to play the press. Judy
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kathfan88
Full Member
Kate Hepburn... nuff said.
Posts: 238
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Post by kathfan88 on Feb 8, 2006 17:58:58 GMT -5
Kate totally knew how to play the press. It's kinda like she was thinking, why even bother telling them anything? They're just gonna turn it into a big ol' fat lie anyways.
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