What the Hell Happened to Debra Winger?
Debra Winger has received three Academy Award nominations. She’s been nominated four times by the Golden Globes. Not to mention numerous nominations for various critics’ awards and a couple of wins. But despite the acclaim, she had a toxic reputation for being “difficult” – a reputation which she reinforced by trash-talking co-stars and directors.
After over a decade as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses, Winger walked away. Even among actresses where this sort of thing is common, Winger’s disappearance was perplexing. So much so that it was the inspiration for a documentary titled What the Hell Happened to Debra Winger?
No wait, that’s not right. It was actually called Searching for Debra Winger. but it might as well have been the original What the Hell Happened?
So, what the hell happened?
At a young age, Winger was in a serious car accident and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. This left her partially paralyzed and blind for ten months! Doctors told her she would never see again. During this time, she decided that if she recovered she would move to California and become an actress. When she did recover, Winger did exactly that.
Winger got her start in the sexploitation pic, Slumber Party ’57 which was actually released in 1976. She played a high school girl named Debbie who spends the night at a slumber party with her friends. The girls tell stories of their first sexual experiences. It’s every bit as cheap and cheesy as it sounds.
Winger’s next role was equally improbably. She appeared opposite Lynda Carter on three episodes of the TV show Wonder Woman. She played Carter’s little sister and sidekick, Wonder Girl.
In later years after Winger had established herself as an Oscar contender, she had fun with the role on talk shows. This clip from Letterman is a classic:
Winger had nothing good to say about Carter. She frequently told the story of how Carter would not allow her to have the same kind of support that she had in her costume. She also made an off-color reference to a scandal Carter was going through at the time which elicited stunned gasps from the audience. Years later, Carter responded to Winger’s accusations on Larry King:
In 1978, Winger got her first role in a mainstream Hollywood movie. It was the disco extravaganza, Thank God It’s Friday.
Winger played the new girl in town who is naturally seduced by the irresistable allure of disco and a club owner played by Jeff Goldblum. TGIF was less of a movie than a feature-length music video for the triple-album soundtrack featuring disco acts like The Commodores, Donna Summer and Thelma Huston.
Donna Summer’s hit, Last Dance, won Best Song at the Academy Awards leading film critic Leonard Maltin to call Thank God It’s Friday “the worst film ever to have won some kind of Academy Award.”
The following year, Winger appeared in French Postcards, a coming-of-age drama about American students discovering themselves in France. It was co-written and directed by Willard Huyck & Gloria Katz who co-wrote American Graffiti.
Winger got her big break in 1980 opposite John Travolta in Urban Cowboy.
Urban Cowboy was to country music what Saturday Night Fever was to disco. Only less so. Urban Cowboy got decent reviews and was a modest hit at the box office. It helped popularize country music (and mechanical bulls), but didn’t become the cultural touchstone that Fever did.
Speaking of mechanical bulls, wanna see Winger ride one? Of course you do. Here’s a clip:
That sexy bull riding helped Winger get noticed by critics and the Golden Globes. She was nominated for several awards including the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Originally, Sissy Spacek was cast in Winger’s role. But production was postponed when Travolta was bit by his dog. The delay caused Spacek to drop out. Michelle Pfeiffer was also up for the role, but Winger was ultimately cast.
Director James Bridges described a fight with Winger:
”She refused to play a scene, and I had to shut down the set for a whole day. I was furious with her, but then I looked at the scene and realized that there was something wrong with the dialogue. Her instinct had been right.”
In 1982, Winger starred opposite Nick Nolte in the romantic comedy, Cannery Row.
Cannery Row was adopted from two John Steinback novels, Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. The film is set in California’s skid row during World War II. Nolte plays a marine biologist who forms a relationship with a drifter played by Winger. Winger’s character works as a prostitute but her abrasive personality puts off her customers. This will turn out to be a case of art imitating life minus the literal prostitution.
Raquel Welch was originally cast in Winger’s role but was fired after five day’s of filming. Supposedly, Welch took to long to prepare each day. Welch later sued the studio and was awarded a settlement.
Cannery Row received mixed reviews and bombed at the box office. Fortunately for Winger, she had another movie coming out later that year.
Winger’s next film was An Officer and a Gentleman opposite Richard Gere.
Gere played a candidate in the Navy’s Aviation Officer Candidate School who is subjected to trials by a drill instructor played by Louis Gossett, Jr. (who won an Oscar for the role). Winger played a local factory worker who wins Gere’s heart. The ending, in which Gere arrives at Winger’s factory and carries her off into the sunset to the tune of the Academy Award-winning song, Up Where We Belong is a classic.
So, are they just going to leave her hat on the factory floor or what?
Gere had reservations that the final scene was too cheesy. And he’s right. that ending never should have worked. But it did because of the incredible chemistry between Winger and Gere.
Given that chemistry, you might assume that Gere and Winger got along. You might assume that, but you would be wrong. Winger fought with Gere and director Taylor Hackford throughout the production. She called Gere “a brick wall” and Hackford “an animal” to the press.
Winger later described making An Officer and a Gentleman as the worst experience of her career. She spoke poorly of the movie and refused to promote it when it was released.
Winger objected to changes in the script and also to the way she was treated on the set. ”I’m not sorry I did the film, because it brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. ‘But the making of it was treacherous. I don’t need much when I’m making a movie, but I do need respect, and I didn’t get it.”
Originally, Sigourney Weaver was offered Winger’s role. When Weaver dropped out, the role passed to Angelica Huston and later Jennifer Jason Leigh. Leigh eventually dropped out to make Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Winger was cast.
An Officer and a Gentleman received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office. It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Winger’s first nomination. She was also nominated for her second Golden Globe.
In 1983, Winger starred opposite Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson in James L. Brooks’ drama, Terms of Endearment.
The movie centers on the rocky mother-daughter relationship between MacLaine and Wingers’ characters. It follows the relationship through their lives up to an emotional, tear-jerker ending.
The difficult relationship carried over into real life. Winger and MacLaine fought throughout filming. Winger’s on-set behavior has been described as “erratic”. There were rumors of cocaine use.
Hollywood legend has it that at one point during filming, Winger lifted her skirt and passed gas at MacLaine. Winger reportedly fought and cussed like a sailor on the set. Eventually, this lead to a physical altercation with MacLaine.
Both actresses were nominated for Best Actress against each other. MacLaine won. When MacLaine got up to accept the award, she reportedly whispered “Half of this belongs to you” to Winger. Winger responded, “I’ll take half.”
In her acceptance speech, MacLaine offered a back-handed compliment saying she “wanted to work with the turbulent brilliance of Debra Winger.” She ended her speech declaring “I derserve this.” which some have interpreted as a slam on her co-star.
Following the Awards, Winger checked herself into rehab.
In 1984, Winger reunited with her Urban Cowboy director, James Bridges for the thriller, Mike’s Murder.
Winger played a woman with who has a one-night stand with a tennis instructor who is later murdered. As Winger’s character investigates the murder, she discovers disturbing secrets about him. The film was originally intended to unfold in reverse order. But the studio go nervous and insisted that the story play out in chronological order.
Mike’s Murder got mixed reviews and flopped at the box office.
Winger auditioned for James Cameron and was cast in the lead role in The Terminator. But she later changed her mind and dropped out of the project.
In 1986, Winger starred opposite Robert Redford and Daryl Hannah in Ivan Reitman’s Legal Eagles.
Hannah played an accused art thief. Winger played her lawyer and Redford played the District Attorney. The plot becomes very convoluted. Several different endings were filmed in which Hannah’s character is found both innocent and guilty. There are even multiple endings in which she is found guilty of different crimes.
Winger clashed with Redford and Reitman and trashed the movie to the press. ”I’m glad that some people are enjoying it,” Winger said. ”But I was horrified to see it edited with a chainsaw. Legal Eagles is the kind of film that takes audiences and shakes them up until $6 falls out of their pockets.”
She went on to describe how the movie changed from a comedy into a thriller during filming, “I had a lot of disagreements with Ivan as the film changed character. But he’s a very strong personality, and he made the movie he wanted to make.”
Reitman, for his part, labelled Winger as “difficult”: ”She’s historically been a difficult actress to work with. Talk to her other directors. Debra works out of a nervous tension, and she thrives on that tension.”
Reviews were mixed to negative. Although Legal Eagles turned a profit, it was a disappointment relative to expectations at the time.
At one point, Winger was attached to star in Peggy Sue Got Married. Penny Marshall was the original director. But when Marshall got fired, Winger left the project. Kathleen Turner eventually starred and Francis Ford Coppola directed.
In 1987, Winger starred opposite Theresa Russell in Bob Rafelson’s thriller, Black Widow.
Russell played a woman who married and murdered rich men. Winger played a Justice Department agent who befriends Russell in order to catch her in the act. The two play a cat and mouse game as Winger tries to save Russell’s latest victim.
Winger was offered her choice of roles. But ultimately, she decided on the agent role because she could not understand the motivation of the femme fatale.
Black Widow opened to mixed reviews and so-so box office.
Later that year, she had a cameo role in the reincarnation-themed romantic comedy, Made in Heaven. Made in Heaven co-starred Winger’s then-husband, Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis.
I remember watching this movie in a high school creative writing class. Our teacher was really into reincarnation and talked about it all the time. At the end of the year, she showed this movie provided that the entire class signed a waiver allowing her to show it. The alternative was to do more school work, so every class agreed to watch it.
Winger married Hutton in 1986. They divorced in 1990. During that time, they had a son, Noah. Winger dropped out of James’ L. Brooks’ Broadcast News when she became pregnant. She also had to pass on Elizabeth Perkins’ role in Big due to pregnancy.
In 1988, Winger starred opposite Tom Berenger in the thriller, The Betrayed.
Winger played an undercover FBI agent investigating Berenger’s character for a racially motivated murder. The film got mixed reviews and did so-so at the box office. Although Berenger calls it one of his favorite films.
In 1990, Winger reunited with her Cannery Row co-star, Nick Nolte for Everybody Wins. Ironically, everybody lost. The movie got bad reviews and flopped at the box office.
Later that year, she starred opposite John Malkovich in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky.
The movie was based on a novel by author Paul Bowles who narrates the film and appears in a cameo role. In 1998, Bowles wrote a new preface to the novel in which he stated “the less said about the film now, the better.”
Once again, Winger clashed with her co-star. She described Malkovich as “nothing more than a catwalk model.”
The Sheltering Sky got mixed reviews and bombed at the box office.
In 1992, Winger starred opposite Steve Martin and Liam Neeson in the comedy-drama, Leap of Faith.
Originally, Micheal Keaton was cast as the fraudulent faith healer. Martin stepped in when Keaton quit the film. Leap of Faith received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box office.
The next year, Winger starred opposite Dennis Quaid in the comedy, Wilder Napalm.
Wilder Napalm was written and directed by Moonlighting creator, Glenn Gordon Caron. Quaid and Arliss Howard played brothers with telekinetic powers. Winger played Howard’s wife. Eventually, the couple married in real life as well.
Wilder Napalm got bad reviews and was a box office bomb.
During this time, Winger was cast in Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own. A few years earlier, Winger quit Peggy Sue Got Married after Marshall was fired. She quit A League of Their Own when Marshall cast singer Madonna in a supporting role. Geena Davis eventually got the lead role.
Winger’s career was not going well. But in late 1993, she received critical acclaim for two films. The first was A Dangerous Woman co-starring Barbara Hershey and Gabriel Byrne.
The film was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal who cast his children, Jake and Maggie, in small roles. Yes, they are those Gyllenhaals.
For her role as a mentally challenged woman, Winger was nominated for several awards including the Golden Globe.
A few weeks later, Winger starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in Richard Attenborough’s Shadowlands.
Hopkins played famed Christian writer, C. S. Lewis. Winger played American poet, Joy Davidman, whom Lewis married. Her death challenged Lewis’ faith in religion.
Hopkins preferred to learn his lines by himself whereas Winger preferred to rehearse on the set. As a compromise, director Attenborough ran lines with Winger while Hopkins practiced on his own.
Winger actually got along with Attenborough and Hopkins. But a reporter tells a story of interviewing Winger on the set. The reporter later recalled, “She insisted on doing her interview standing up and in the open air. This meant, I was told, that she could walk away at any time should she be offended by any of the questions. It did not make for the easiest of conversations.”
Shadowlands received positive reviews. While it was not a hit at the box officer, Winger was nominated for more awards including her third Best Actress Oscar nomination.
In 1995, Winger co-starred opposite Billy Crystal in the romantic comedy, Forget Paris.
Forget Paris was written and directed by Crystal. Crystal played an NBA ref. Winger played his wife. The idea was that the movie would start with the “happily ever after” and deal with the difficulties of making the relationship work.
Unfortunately, romantic comedies are equally difficult to work out. Forget Paris got mixed to negative reviews and fared poorly at the box office.
A couple of years prior, Winger had turned down the Meg Ryan role in Sleepless in Seattle. You have to wonder if making a romantic comedy with Ryan’s old When Harry Met Sally co-star was an attempt to rectify that career misstep.
When Forget Paris failed, Winger made a decision to walk away. According to Winger:
“My mother was passing, and I wanted to be there for that. And that segued into a big reflective period. I’d never liked show business, and I just wasn’t finding the kinds of stories I wanted to tell, especially weighed against the drama happening in my life.”
Winger didn’t make another movie for six years. When she returned, it was in Big Bad Love which was written and directed by her husband. Even then, she was reluctant to return to acting.
Big Bad Love co-starred Rosanna Arquette who got the idea to make a documentary about the challenges actresses face in Hollywood.
Arquette interviewed several actresses for her documentary. It’s a veritable who’s who in What the Hell Happened? In addition to Winger, Arquette sat down with Patricia Arquette, Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, Melanie Griffith, Daryl Hannah, Salma Hayek, Holly Hunter, Julia Ormond, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meg Ryan, Ally Sheedy, Sharon Stone and numerous others.
The title of the documentary was Searching for Debra Winger based on the actresses long absence from the big screen. But all these years later, Winger is more active than many of the subjects interviewed in the film including Arquette.
In 2003, Winger returned to mainstream movies with a supporting role in the drama, Radio, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr.
Unfortunately, Radio got poor reviews and was not a hit at the box office.
Winger continued getting supporting roles in movies like Eulogy in 2004 and the HBO film, Sometimes in April in 2005. She was nominated for an Emmy for her lead role in the Lifetime Movie, Dawn Anna.
In 2008, Winger appeared opposite Anne Hathaway in Jonathan Demme’s drama, Rachel Getting Married.
In a reversal of Terms of Endearment, Winger played the mother role and Hathaway played the troubled daughter. While the film was not a big success, Winger and Hathaway both got great reviews from critics and were nominated for several awards.
Since then, Winger has appeared on TV shows like Law and Order and In Treatment. In 2012, she also appeared in the romantic comedy, Lola Versus.
So, what the hell happened?
I mean, come on, you’re kidding right? Winger had a bad reputation. Some of it well-deserved. In addition to her disruptive on-set behavior, she trash talked her films and co-workers.
Additionally, Winger passed up on some big roles like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Accused. She missed a few big parts while she was raising her family. And ultimately, she took herself out of the game.
What’s amazing is that in spite of her absence, Winger has managed to come back years later and still win critical acclaim if not box office success. If she wants it, the fiery actress could still have a long career ahead of her.
More “What the Hell Happened?”
Kim Basinger Thora Birch Matthew Broderick Nicolas Cage Chevy Chase Kevin Costner Geena Davis Bridget Fonda Brendan Fraser Mel Gibson Cuba Gooding Jr. Heather Graham Melanie Griffith Steve Guttenberg Daryl Hannah Helen Hunt Michael Keaton Nicole Kidman Val Kilmer Jude Law Jennifer Jason Leigh Penelope Ann Miller Demi Moore Rick Moranis Eddie Murphy Mike Myers Michelle Pfeiffer Molly Ringwald Meg Ryan Winona Ryder Arnold Schwarzenegger Steven Seagal Elisabeth Shue Alicia Silverstone Christian Slater Mira Sorvino Wesley Snipes Sharon Stone Mena Suvari Uma Thurman John Travolta Kathleen Turner Robin Williams Debra Winger Sean Young Renee Zellweger
Posted on February 2, 2013, in Movies, What the Hell Happened? and tagged Academy Award, an officer and a gentleman, Debra Winger, entertainment, movies, shadowlands, terms of endearment, Urban Cowboy. Bookmark the permalink. 49 Comments.
She sounds like a real asshole. No wonder why people can’t stand her and don’t want to work with her. And when she came out in support of Polanski the rapist turned me off even more from her or her “work”.
There are a few who speak well of her. And most everyone praises her talent. But, yeah, she had issues. She repeatedly broke the unwritten rule that you don’t trash your movie or your co-workers in the press.
I left the Polanski thing out. But she did indeed come to his defense.
Well you did a great job on it just the same. I love your blog and just recently started following it. I don’t typically like to be so blunt or crass when describing people as my opening line comes off, but sometimes that word just fits. Poor Lynda Carter but what a class act. Deb could learn a thing or two from her!
Hey thanks.
Don’t worry about being crass. In this case, the shoe fits. Even Winger’s defenders admit she completely lacks tact. If she weren’t such a talented actress, she never would have gotten away with this kind of behavior.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Debra Winger’s “self-imposed” exile from Hollywood really had to do w/ the powers that be in Hollywood pretty much blacklisting her due to her bitchy reputation!
One great analogy that I found regarding Debra Winger’s alleged antics on the set of “Terms of Endearment” to that of Lindsay Lohan’s on the set of “Georgia Rule”.
Here’s a thread on Debra’s IMDb message board that discusses her difficult to work with reputation:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000700/board/flat/74640565?p=1
She definitely had a bad rep. I think more than her on-set behavior, the thing that hurt her was trashing her movies and co-stars in the media. That is really biting the hand that feeds you. Why on earth would you want to hire Winger – no matter how talented she is – if there is a good chance she’ll go on Letterman and trash you and your movie. Or refuse to promote it at all. Even Lohan knows better than to do that.
Having said that, I think Winger largely showed herself the door. Few were sorry to see her go. And I’m sure the limited offerings helped Winger with her decision. But if she had wanted to continue working, she would still have found work.
“If Debra Winger’s “self-imposed” exile from Hollywood really had to do w/ the powers that be in Hollywood pretty much blacklisting her due to her bitchy reputation!”
Winger was not blacklisted for Hollywood. She choose to retired in 1995, only to come out of retirement like so many actresses do.
And FYI while her last film before her originally retirement was not a huge critical success. Forget Paris was not a huge failure at the B.O., at least not as big as you claim it was.
Who said Forget Paris was a huge failure? I said it “fared poorly” which I feel is accurate. I couldn’t find anybody claiming the movie was a bomb. Did I miss something?
“Forget Paris got mixed to negative reviews and fared poorly at the box office”.
Well it actually did okay at the B.O. 33 million, and an opening weekend of 5 million, plus decent legs (it saw a 32% jump in its second weekend).
Wasn’t a big success, but I wouldn’t say it fared poorly at the Box Office. A disappointment maybe?
As for critics, I know Siskel and Ebert were big fans of the films (although I’m not really keen when it comes to critics admittedly).
Surprised to see you respond so quickly.
Decent article by the way. I just don’t agree with some of your points (as you can obviously read).
Glad you liked the article. All opinions are welcome whether they agree with my own or not.
Quantifying movies that were neither big hits nor flops always gets me in trouble with someone. It’s definitely a judgment call. At the end of the day, a movie like Forget Paris performs how the majority of movies perform. No one lost their jobs over Forget Paris. No one celebrated either.
I happened to be here. Lucky you, right?
I consider “disappointment” and “fared poorly” to be roughly equivalent. It turned a small profit. Counting marketing costs, it probably just about broke even. It definitely wasn’t a success. Not even a modest one. But it wasn’t a flop either.
Okay! (Not much else to say).
Great post! You know what’s weird? I get Winger mixed up with Sean Young all the time, and attribute Young’s antics to Winger in my mind.
As I was writing this and looking at clips and pictures of Winger, I kept thinking how much she looks like Young. She’s like Young with more talent.
Really excellent installment!
I never really understood how she kept coming up with so much high profile work. She’s a good actress with decent on-screen appeal, but how many people were going to films based on Winger being in them? Not many, I’m guessing.
Gere was right about that final scene of An Officer and a Gentleman. That is a good example of the odious cheese that was way too prevalent in the 70s & 80s. But Winger was also right in her estimation of Gere as an actor. That guy is way too often more aware of the camera than he is of his acting partner.
When my family flew to Europe for a vacation in 1983, An Officer and a Gentleman was our in-flight movie. My memory says that it was completely unedited. How times have changed.
Forget Paris is a little underrated in my mind. I really like the way the script is structured and the way that allows the film’s supporting performers to shine. But I understand why it wasn’t much of a hit. Romantic comedy audiences tend to enjoy seeing younger actors fall in love instead of older actors dealing with its disappointments.
I wonder how she’s getting along with her co-workers nowadays? Her type could make her very employable for a long time if her behavior has ‘leveled off.’
Thanks, Daffy.
As I was researching this installment, I got more and more excited to write it. So much good stuff!
Gere was right and wrong about Officer and a Gentleman. He was right that the ending is pure cheese. And it shouldn’t have worked in a million years. But it did.
Winger was wrong about a lot of her co-stars, but right about Gere to a large degree. I have often said that Gere has little chemistry except with himself. The exceptions that come to mind are with Winger and Roberts.
I haven’t re-watched Forget Paris since it came out. It is on my DVR, but time prevented me from rewatching it before writing the article. I do intend to revisit it when time permits. My memory of it was that while it was flawed, it had a lot going for it. So I can agree that it is somewhat under-rated.
The impression that I get is that Winger has mellowed with age. She’s still unapologetic about anything she has said in the past. But she downplays it now. She says she and Gere joke about their past.
I actually think she’ll continue working in supporting roles for a long time. She’ll probably continue to get great reviews and awards recognition until a ripe old age.
Given her talent you’d think her filmography would be a lot stronger but it’s quite poor, really; very few of her films are likely to stand the test of time.
Off-topic but why have you included Nicole Kidman in your poll of potential subjects? As of late she hasn’t been headlining big Hollywood movies but she’s still sought after and certainly qualifies as A-list: an actress with a lesser reputation would not be nominated for a film like ‘The Paperboy’.
I think a lot of actresses would kill for Winger’s filmography. She hit a rough patch post Terms of Endearment. If she hadn’t been exiled/exiled herself, she could have a stunning filmography. But on the whole, I wouldn’t say her career is poor.
Kidman is still considered A-list, but I’m not sure she really is. You kind of answered your own question there. She hasn’t been headlining big Hollywood movies. And she has even had some go straight to video.
She’s far from washed up. But she’d definitely peaked.
Kidman has become incredibly unlikeable in the last few years. I wish she’d retire.
Really? Do tell.
Ridiculous work done on her face, annoying girly husband, vanity projects like the indie flick about Grace Kelly, and overall she does not give a sincere vibe anymore.
She was married to Tom Cruise. I never got a sincere vibe off her. I never really formed a strong opinion of her one way or another except that she was a presence on screen. Still is even if a lot of her movies are terrible. I’m sure I’ll form a stronger opinion of her whenever I get around to writing her up.
To be honest, I had no idea Kidman had remarried. I wonder if this one was arranged too.
Lol, I don’t think that kind of information will ever be revealed. It kind of sucks for Cruise, though, with all these rumors so “out there.”
Kidman is not on her A-game but she is coming back for it. There are good signs – she was brilliant in Rabbit Hole. And that Grace Monaco is an Oscar bait, the movie’s director was the 1 behind La vie en rose – the Piaff biopic that got Marion Cottillard her Oscar. Plus she also has “The Danish Girl” stuck in development hell, but if it got made properly it looks like it will be an Oscar bait too.
Don’t count her out yet (as long as she doesn’t mess up her forehead too much) And her appeal is never about likability, it was her icy queen and because she is a brave performer who chose fearless material.
In the end, she is always a talented character actress that thanks to her “marriage” failure got really lucky at the box office for a while without never being the main draw of her movie. Then she decides to chase the paycheck & the quality just sucks. Her new movie, Stoker, looks awesome btw.
Oh, I like Forget Paris too – it has a bit of Woody Allen & When Harry met Sally influence in it. Very enjoyable, however the character happen to makeup then breakup then makeup again so many times that by the end their ultimate makeup doesn’f feel climatic enough. Also, Billy Crystal plays the same character in WHMS so it could be a turnoff 4 audience. I think I should track down the movie to see it again. And u forgot Diane Lane among Gere’s chemistry partners.
I think you have summed up Kidman’s career pretty nicely. She’s not down and out like Kilmer or Young. And a return to respectability seems likely. She’s even considered by many to still be A-list, but I think that’s largely because there are so few actresses in contention for the A-list. She had a long run of critical and commercial disasters. I just watched Trespass the other day and if that isn’t rock bottom I don’t know what is!
For Kidman, asking WTHH is less about her disappearing and more about her rise and fall. She was a Hollywood darling largely because of whatever arrangement she had with Cruise. Marriage/business deal, you decide. And for a while, she was the rare actor who was critically acclaimed with a good track record at the box office. But like you said, she started saying “yes” to big paychecks and all that went away. I find that to be a compelling narrative.
It’s funny. WHMS is credited with reinventing the rom-com. And in a way, it did. But really, it was Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron shamelessly ripping off Woody Allen. Forget Paris mined the same territory. But it had two big obstacles. 1. Without Meg Ryan, Crystal isn’t much of a romantic lead. 2. People didn’t want to see what happens after the “happy ending”. I need to rewatch Forget Paris. I remember thinking it was okay and being surprised by how many people really disliked it.
I also need to watch The Cotton Club. I have kind of avoided Richard Gere movies.
I like Nicole Kidman in general tbh. I also kinda love underdog stories so I dfinitely root for her to comeback. And I agree about Billy, without Meg he will never be appealing or likable enough. I think yes, WHMS is definitely influenced by Woody but there are aspects unique too, mostly aspects coming from women’s views. (And sometimes it is considered “reinventing” simply because it made a shitload of money and made audiences pay more for future movies!) But without the storyline of between friends and lovers, there would be no romcom today I think. Tbh, that line alone is pretty much a classic.
People also don’t like seeing what happens after the happy ending too unless it’s drama, I sadly think so. A movie I saw last year, 5-year engagement, was actually smart & warm and much better than the reviews I read. (I saw it because I like the 2 leads, Jason Segel & Emily Blunt)
I was on the fence with Kidman until To Die For. That won me over. But I also kind of get the impression that in a lot of ways, she is the smart version of that character. She will do anything to climb that ladder. Even marry Tom Cruise.
I read somewhere that Debra Winger also turned down Kidman’s role in To Die For, in addition to Silence of the Lambs and Thelma & Louise. By the way, I can see a younger Sean Young (or maybe Debra Winger) playing Faye Dunaway playing Joan Crawford.
Just about everyone in Hollywood turned down Silence of the Lambs at some point. Jonathan Demme was desperate not to cast Jodie Foster for some reason. But most actresses were turned off by the violence – specifically the violence against women. For Thelma and Louise, they had to cast two strong female leads at a time when it was hard to cast even one. So once again, just about everyone was attached at some point. Not sure about To Die For, but I know a lot of actresses were considered.
According to Kidman’s E! True Hollywood Story, she was “up for” the lead roles in Ghost, The Silence of the Lambs and Thelma & Louise before her marriage to Cruise. I’d take that with a BUCKET of salt, but that’s what the show said.
Pretty much everyone was considered for those roles at some point. On Silence of the Lambs, Demme was desperate to hire any body but Jodie Foster. So he saw everyone in town. With Thelma and Louise, they had to cast two lead actresses. So you can imagine what a scramble that was at a time when movies rarely starred women. I can definitely see Kidman being considered for Ghost. Especially since she starred in My Life a few years later. It seems likely she had made a connection during her Ghost audition.
Kidman was an incredibly ambitious woman which probably lead her to Cruise in the first place. She was an up and coming actress from Australia who had made a bit of a splash in Dead Calm in 89. I can definitely see her being considered for a lot of roles in the early 90s.
I have never seen any movie that she’s been in (though she was undeniably a star for some time). Not to be mean, but she’s really unattractive…I don’t know what Tim Hutton saw in her.
When I was younger, I didn’t see the attraction. Watching her movies now, I have changed my mind. She’s a different kind of sexy.
Really? I think this woman is pretty cute.
She had me at Wonder Girl.
I think her strength was lighthearted rom=com. She and Redford played off each other very effectively in Legal Eagles, hit or no. Yes I went to see it in the theatre.
It sounds like the movie worked better as a rom com and Reitman messed it up just like Winger said.
Another great WTHH post!! You forgot Diane Lane as one who gets along with Gere (who I do admire as an actor). Winger was very talented. I remember seeing Terms of Endearment at the movies; my girlfriend at the time dragged me to see it. I actually got into the movie; it was THAT good. But Winger’s character was so captivating.
Gere has had a long career. I’m sure there are a lot of other actresses he has had good chemistry with. Eventually, I’ll write him up and I expect I will gain a new appreciation for him as an actor. Or maybe I’ll agree with Winger that he really is a brick wall. Time will tell.
Terms of Endearment is just a great movie. James L Brooks is awesome.
Good write-up, as usual. It’s funny, but I remember really liking Cannery Row when I was a kid. That’s always the movie that I think of first whenever Debra Winger or Nick Nolte come up. I really need to watch it again and see how it holds up.
Confession time. I have never seen it. I remember passing it in the video store about 1,000 times. Remember video stores? Good times.
Just discovered this blog today. You answered a lot of questions for me. One I’ve been curious about is Robin Williams. He was HUGE for a while and then sort of faded away. I hear he’s got a TV pilot up at CBS. Obviously he hasn’t gone away completely, but this seems like a huge step down from what once was.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DarthWiki/FallenCreator
In The Nineties, Robin Williams (having built himself up from being just a stand-up comedian / sitcom star) was one of the most beloved comedic actors. He was doing it all: Adult comedies, kids’ films, a few dramas here and there. And for one film in that last category, Good Will Hunting, he won an Oscar. And then he made Patch Adams, which wasn’t even a bad movie, but many people were turned off by the combination of overly-zany humor and saccharine drama, and many also believed that the other doctors in the film were right. From then on, many television shows viewed him as a kind of walking punchline rather than the jokester. People started to focus on his less-than-stellar career choices like RV, License To Wed, and Old Dogs while ignoring his better output such as House Of D, The Big White and World’s Greatest Dad (it doesn’t help that the former three are major studio films while the latter three are from independent studios). The exceptions are films like Insomnia & One Hour Photo, where he plays the villain.
Williams has regained some measure of respect by returning to his roots with a number of well-recieved stand up specials.
10 Actors Who Are Nowhere Near As Great As They Used To Be:
http://whatculture.com/film/10-actors-who-are-nowhere-near-as-great-as-they-used-to-be.php/7
4. Robin Williams
Robin Williams is a god. He is comedy royalty. He changed the face of comedy into something more than just pie-in the-face, although he was still good for a pie-in-the face laugh. Robin Williams, the comedian, is an icon.
He also seems to have created the “comedy actors career trajectory path.” This path leads from struggling stand-up comedian to TV success to movie success to curious movie choices (usually heavy dramatic fare) to attempts to reclaim the funny but never rising again to the top, leaving said actor stuck in a purgatory of sorts between past comedy fame and drama. He suffered from audience and bipolar. He wanted to make movies that touched upon the human soul and condition and succeeded in tugging at the heartstrings in Mrs. Doubtfire, Awakenings and Patch Adams. Williams won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Good Will Hunting. However, we also wanted the explosive verbal diarrhea Robin Williams, as in Aladdin or Good Morning Vietnam. So he decided to provide us neither ever again.
So what happened?
The 2002 ‘Stalker Trilogy’. Although he received critic points for again stepping out of his acting zone, audiences were luke-warm to the lone killer in Insomnia, the weird Photo booth guy in One Hour Photo and murderous kid’s show host in Death to Smoochy. After 9/11, America needed a good laugh and their once go-to guy for laughter was coming off as a bit of a creepy perv.
After that, nobody has ever looked at Robin Williams as the guy who once played a grown-up Peter Pan or shook the foundations of prep school establishment in Dead Poet’s Society. Now, he’s just the guy who plays an animated yet subdued Teddy Roosevelt in Night at The Museum and according to your parents was quite funny at one time.
Williams is definitely coming soon. I don’t know when I’ll get to him, but it will most likely be sometime this year. Sooner rather than later I would guess.
He’s still around. But to go from Good Will Hunting to Old Dogs and RV is crazy!
Glad you enjoyed the Debra Winger article! Thanks for reading.
After All These Years, Debra Winger Still Can’t Stand Shirley MacLaine’s Guts:
http://defamer.com/5014822/after-all-these-years-debra-winger-still-cant-stand-shirley-maclaines-guts
It’s been 25 years since Terms Of Endearment arrived in the multiplexes of America, turning virtually everyone who saw it into an emotional basketcase. And while the film swept most of the major awards at the 1984 Academy Awards, there was one integral member of the cast who left the L.A. County Music Center that night less than thrilled. That person was Debra Winger, who was none too pleased that her co-star and arch rival Shirley MacLaine took home the coveted Best Actress Award. Not only were the two on-set rivals (one potentially tall tale had Winger farting in MacLaine’s face), but MacLaine famously shouted “I deserve this!” when her name was called over Winger’s that night.
Flash forward to today’s episode of The View, which featured an appearance from none other than Winger herself. Being the gossipy yentas that they are, The Ladies Of The View weren’t about to let an opportunity to grill Winger on one of Hollywood’s most famous rivalries pass them by. Well, you know the old saying that “Time heals all wounds”? Let’s just say that it’s not applicable in this case.
When Joy raises the issues of Debra Winger’s notorious reputation in Hollywood, both Elisabeth and Sherri pile on in an attempt to get Debra to spill the beans about the legendarily cantankerous kook. But instead of taking the opportunity to be the bigger person and diffuse the situation by saying words to the effect of “what’s done is done”, Winger stood defiant by refusing to turn the other cheek. And proving that her case of sour grapes isn’t solely limited to her narrow Oscar loss, Winger almost let us in on the (seemingly not-so-pleasant) secret of what really turned little Troy Bishop Huckleberry Fox into a blubbering mess on set. While it sadly appears that we’ll never find out how many licks it took to get to the center of that Tootsie Pop, we can only speculate that it had something to do with threats of broken wind.
What ever happened to Debra Winger?
http://filmsmol.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/what-ever-happened-to-debra-winger/
Debra Winger was the must see star of the 80′s. She played Sissy opposite John Travolta in the hit Urban Cowboy ( 1980). As Sissy, she taught the world that riding a mechanical bull can be truly sexy. She went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards, one for An Officer and A Gentleman in 1982 and then for Terms of Endearment in 1983. Three hits back to back to back. This woman was supposed to bring greatness for the rest of her film career. Her reputation as a great talent, as well as her reputation as a difficult actress kept growing as her career hurdled on. She was known to throw tantrums on set, throw things, be uncooperative and just plain being a bitch. She infamously hit Shirley MacLaine on the set of Terms of Endearment, at least that’s what MacLaine wrote in her autobiography My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir. But according to Winger it was all good fun. She went on to decline many roles that could have won her a few Oscars. The movie Broadcast News was supposedly written just for Winger, but after looking as the script she walked away from the production. The role of Jain Craig was given to Holly Hunter, and it was the role that made her famous. Broadcast News very well may have gotten Winger that long anticipated Oscar. Another role she turned down was Dotty Hinson in A League of Their Own.
She found love on the set of the film Wilder Napalm (1993) when she co-starred opposite Arliss Howard, who became her next husband. The film flopped but their marriage lasted. She got good reviews for A Dangerous Woman (1993), but it was Shadowlands (1993) which finally brought her renewed respectability and her third Academy Award nomination as Best Actress.
At 40 I guess Winger felt that there were no good roles for her so she became a suburban wife taking care of her two young sons. In 1997 her six-year absence from films inspired a documentary by Rosanna Arquette titled Searching for Debra Winger (2002), which is about ageism in Hollywood. In 2001, she returned to acting for her husband’s film Big Bad Love (2001), which she also co-produced. It renewed her love for acting, and she has ventured out into television as well by earning her first Emmy nomination as Best Actress for Dawn Anna (2005) (TV) directed by her husband.
In 2008 she published a sort of memoir of her life called Undiscovered. This was promoted by news shows as a tell-all novel, but Debra shot that down right away during an interview on The View. I went out and bought the memoir the first day it was out in the book stores and I was pleasantly surprised. Actually, I loved it! One thing that repeats its self in the book is that she loved the work, but hated the business.
So, we might see Debra break back into film in the coming years. There is a movie coming out this year called Rachel Getting Married, where she plays the mother of a drug addict, and it will give a chance to see is Debra still has it!
But there is no denying it, Debra Winger is one of the greatest actresses of our time.
Why didn’t Debra winger have a better acting career?
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/295292.page