Why isn't Taylor Swift following the example of Zendaya?
Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale
Hi Ken: The classic example is Frank Sinatra, who was a great actor when he sang, and a very good actor when he acted. Of the more recent people, Beyonce is a terrific actress, and so is Lady Gaga. And, though I don't know if you could call them singers, all the rap artists who've turned to acting (LL Cool J, Tupac, Eminem, Queen Latifah, Snoop Dogg, Will Smith, 50 Cent) have been really good, too.
Over the years, it's actually an exception when an enormous pop star doesn't at least attempt an acting career. Think of Elvis, David Bowie, Madonna, the Beatles, Mick Jagger and Prince.
Which leads us to another question — where is Taylor Swift's movie career?
Why hasn't she gone the way of Zendaya and taken on major acting roles? It can't be because no one has asked, so I have to assume that, like Michael Jackson and Elton John before her, she's just not all that interested.
Hi Mick: You wrote, "I'd like to see Marilyn Monroe in a good movie where, for once, she doesn't play an idiot." It's been a long time since I watched "The Misfits" but I didn't recall her character Roslyn as being in that mold. What is your impression of Marilyn in this, her last full-length movie?
Kevis Brownson, Alameda
Hi Kevis: She does a good job of playing a woman who is emotionally unbearable and self-centered, who is the only person allowed to have feelings in every room she enters, and who needs coddling and reassurance virtually around the clock.
It was written by her husband, Arthur Miller, and was meant as a celebration of her warm spirit, but looked at objectively, it's a hatchet job. Anyway, I agree that in 'The Misfits,' she's not an idiot, but she's definitely weird, just as she's weird in just about every role she ever played.
That's why my favorite Marilyn Monroe picture is 'Let's Make Love' (1960), even though it's only a borderline good movie. I like it — I'm grateful for it — because for once she got to play a normal woman.
Hi Mick: About your recommendation for 'Juliet, Naked' – to read your review first then watch the movie. Following your instructions precisely, I read, I saw, and I really enjoyed the film. Thanks so much.
Jeannette Ferrary, Belmont
Hi Jeanette: No, thank you. I know you think that you're just saying thanks for a movie recommendation, but you're actually modeling a new and exciting way for people to find happiness. You're showing them that everything will be fine if they just listen to me. You're rescuing them from years of fumbling in the dark.
Dear Mick LaSalle: Orson Welles said Robert Wise "murdered" 'The Magnificent Ambersons' when he changed the ending. What do you think? Or is it impossible to know because we can't be sure what Welles would have done?
Tom Burns, San Francisco
Dear Tom: You're talking about when RKO took 'The Magnificent Ambersons' away from Welles, and they got Robert Wise to edit it and shoot a new ending. So did Wise murder it? Sure, but if he did, he was just putting it out of its misery. After all, the reason for the re-edit is that 'Ambersons' tested badly with preview audiences. And as it stands, the 3/4 of the movie that survived the edit is fairly rough sledding. I can't imagine how a different ending could have turned it into the classic that Peter Bogdanovich and every other Welles idolater has pretended it to be for the last 80 years.
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