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.
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.
In 1977, Winger appeared in an episode of the sitcom, Szysznyk. Ned Beatty starred as a former marine who takes over management of an inner city playground. Winger played a teenage runaway in the episode, Run, Jenny, Run.
In 1978, Winger appeared in the TV movie, Special Olympics, and in an episode of the crime drama, Police Woman, which starred Angie Dickinson as a female police officer. In the episode, Battered Teachers, Police Woman investigates a teenage gang that terrorizes the teachers at a high school.
Later that year, 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.”
Winger capped of 1978 with an appearance on the youth drama, James at 16. The show starred Lance Kerwin as a teenage photographer whose family moves from Oregon to Boston. In her episode, Winger plays a fellow student who convinces James to run for class president. She then runs his campaign like a real presidential race.
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. And also Howard the Duck.
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.
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.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYn9AoHHR_8]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. According to Winger:
“I did not have a great time on that set. Studio mishegoss. I was being really jerked. And most of those guys are dead now. So I don’t feel bad. People like Don Simpson — they were pigs. I’m sorry, may he rest in peace, but he’d go to dailies and bring me a water pill. They treated girls very badly. I was trying to stand up to it. And it was hard. I was really young. “Is she fuckable? Do I want to fuck her? Will I get to fuck her?” That’s all it’s about in that world. And I don’t go to the movies for that. It wasn’t about finding a guy I wanted to fuck. It was about dreaming about life.”
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 1982, Winger appeared in the biggest movie of the year. But most audiences didn’t notice her.
Steven Spielberg asked his good friend Debra Winger to record the voice for E. T. on the rough cut of the movie. Winger did do the original voice recording of E.T. which is why you will frequently see her credited. But before the movie was released, Spielberg put together another vocal track for the extra terrestrial. In the theatrical version of E.T., the voice was a painstakingly made creation of the English spoken words voiced by a woman named Pat Welsh mixed with breathing, snorts, burps, and other sounds of 18 different contributors some of them animals. It is possible that some portions of Winger’s original recordings were used. But Winger was not the actual voice of E.T. contrary to what you might have heard.
She did actually appear in the movie though. During the Halloween scene, Winger wore a zombie mask and carried a poodle.
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.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSEH_bVRz8]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.
Michael Douglas offered Winger the female lead in Romancing the Stone. Douglas met Winger at a Mexican restaurant to discus the movie. But apparently they didn’t get along. Douglas claims that Winger bit him. The role ultimately went to Kathleen Turner instead.
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. Winger played an androgynous spirit guide (she’s the one on the right in the picture above).
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, Betrayed.
Winger played an undercover FBI agent investigating Berenger’s character for a racially motivated murder. She starts to fall for the big lug who is way too charming to be a Klan leader. In spite of mounting evidence, Winger’s character insists that Berenger is innocent until she gets in too deep and starts to see his dark side. Turns out he has some disturbing hobbies.
Reviews were mostly negative and the film was not a hit at the box office. But Berenger has stated it is one of his favorites. He defends the movie against critics saying, “It was exactly what it was meant to be.”
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 spent two weeks in Ireland filming The Divine Rapture with Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp.
Never heard of it? That’s because after two weeks, the movie’s financing fell through. The movie was shut down and no one was paid but Brando who had secured $1 million of his $4 million fee up front.
Winger was set to star as a woman who is believed to have died and come back to life. Brando played a priest who validated her claims. Depp played a skeptic sent to investigate the alleged miracle. The project came together when Brando decided he liked the script. He was interested in using the movie to become an Irish citizen. The Irish, he told people, reminded him of Native Americans.
Brando called Depp with whom he had worked previously on 1994’s Don Juan DeMarco. Depp was in awe of Brando and agreed to make the movie primarily to hang out with his idol. Brando also personally recruited Winger. The cast and crew settled down in the Irish fishing village of Ballycotton. The townspeople welcomed the Hollywood production with open arms. They were expecting the movie to be a big boon to the local economy.
Almost immediately, Brando began his eccentric behavior. He called director Thom Eberhardt for a meeting the night before shooting began. According to Eberhardt:
“He said, ‘I’m going to shave my hair off and wear an orange wig’. Panic set in: ‘Get me a car!’ As I pulled in, the hair and make-up people were leaving. This guy comes down the stairs looking like a dick with ears. Bald as a buzzard. Barry and his partners were in Ballycotton celebrating because, at long last, their movie was going to start shooting. I stumbled in and must have been white as a sheet because they asked me if I was sick. I said, ‘We have to talk about Marlon Brando.’ I thought I could handle this guy, but after one meeting, I wasn’t so sure.”
But the production had bigger problems than its extra-large and recently shaven star. Turns out that the $12 million dollars the producers thought they had secured for the budget wasn’t there. When Winger’s agent went to collect the first payment of her salary from the escrow deposit company in Los Angeles, only to discover a parking lot at the given address.
Winger was crushed when she realize that everyone associated with the movie had been conned:
“I looked around at these people I had gotten to know. We used someone’s fishing boat every day. You don’t do this to people. I couldn’t stand the thought that this is what showbusiness does. It was devastating for them – not only had we not paid them for the rental of the houses and fishing boats, but they hadn’t made the money they would have made catching the fish.”
Brando was the first to sense that something wasn’t right. He pocketed his $1 million dollars and hopped on a plane leaving Ireland without his Irish citizenship. No one else saw a penny and the village was devastated by the financial losses.
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, Arliss Howard. Howard starred as an alcoholic Vietnam vet who is struggling with his career as a writer. Winger, played his character’s ex-wife whom he owes back alimony and child support payments.
When Winger returned for Big Bad Love, she was asked about her absence. She replied:
“I wanted out for years. I got sick of hearing myself say I wanted to quit. It’s like opening an interview with “I hate interviews!” Well, get out! I stopped reading scripts and stopped caring. People said, “We miss you so much.” But in the last six years, tell me a film that I should have been in. The few I can think of, the actress was so perfect.”
Big Bad Love played the film circuit where it received mixed to negative reviews. After working with Winger, co-star Rosanna Arquette, 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.
Arquette was slightly sneaky about her intentions when she made the movie. She didn’t tell Winger that she was anything more than one of many interview subjects. According to Winger:
She went around interviewing everyone, including myself, for a film called State of the Art. Then several months later she called me and said, ‘I have to admit I have another title I was always going to call it. Do I have your permission?’
I told her she didn’t need my permission because my name is public domain. I understand that it was a lovely film but I decided that I wouldn’t see it so that I wouldn’t have to comment on it. It was deeply embarrassing because after I had spent eight years seeking some amount of obscurity, in one fell swoop she obliterated that possibility by putting my name in the title.
If Winger seems less than enthusiastic, Arquette found the experience of sharing her experiences with other actresses to be cathartic:
I felt much more comfortable in my own skin and not so isolated. It was like hooking up with this tribe of women and artists.
The movie showed at Cannes and then was bought by Showtime for a run on the cable channel.
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.
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.
DW defended Polanski?!? Some “feminist” she is! So if you’re a Great Director then rape is somehow excusable? If Polanski is NOT guilty, let him return to the US for trial.
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/4kl4bm/elijah_wood_speaks_out_on_child_abuse_in/d3g04r1
Disturbing Interview with Roman Polanski & A list of celebrities that support him
http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/1135421-Disturbing-Interview-with-Roman-Polanski-amp-A-list-of-celebrities-that-support-him
That one time Hollywood gave a pedophile named Roman Polanski a standing ovation at the Oscars, because ART always tops victim allegations…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXnNOBj26lk&feature=youtu.be
Why does Hollywood keep defending Roman Polanski? http://nypost.com/2017/10/05/why-does-hollywood-keep-defending-roman-polanski/ On Monday, director Roman Polanski gave a rare interview to The Hollywood Reporter, addressing charges that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl in 1977. “As far as what I did: it’s over,” Polanski said. “I pleaded guilty. I went to jail. I came back to the United States to do it, people forget about that, or don’t even know. I then was locked up here after this festival [in 2009]. So in the sum, I did about four or five times more than what was promised to me.” On Wednesday, German… Read more »
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… Read more »
“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.
Absolutely right lebeau. What is sometimes left off in these movie costs is promotion of the film which can sometimes equal the cost of the film itself. I would be very surprised after adding this in if it even made a fifteen percent profit. I DON’T KNOW this it’s just supposition on my part.
Excellent point. I get this all the time when people want to argue that a movie was a hit because it’s gross was larger than it’s production costs. It is nowhere near that simple. There are deals on the back end that come out of the gross. Production costs don’t cover marketing costs which are often sky high. Of course at the end of the day, most movies will likely break even with residual income. But breaking even is a disaster in Hollywood. The name of the game is big profits. If all you did was break even, you failed.… Read more »
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).
8 Great Actors Whose Bad Experiences Caused Them To Quit Hollywood: http://whatculture.com/film/8-great-actors-whose-bad-experiences-caused-quit-hollywood.php/7 Escaping Hollywood’s Obsession With Youth And Image – Debra Winger These days, the name Debra Winger is a far cry from a household name – many younger film fans are unlikely to have heard of her at all. But back in the 80s and 90s she certainly was – having earned 3 nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for films like An Officer and a Gentleman and Terms of Endearment, she was arguably the hottest actress working in Hollywood. Then, in 1995, she turned her back… Read more »
Well I loved her!
Part of Debra Winger’s downfall may have to do with her being too intelligent for her own good. Yet at the same time, she lacks a certain emotional intelligence, if that makes sense. In essence, Debra’s must have decided long ago that she is the smartest person in the room and because of that, can’t suffer any fools. While Debra is none the less, a great acting talent, she still blew her career due to being too smart to play the game. There are plenty of actresses who are just as talented as she is who do not behave like… Read more »
To put things as nicely as I possibly can, Debra Winger strikes has as one of those actresses who likes to march to the beat of her own drum. If I’m not mistaken, Debra didn’t even bother to go the the Academy Awards when she was first nominated for Best Actress. She didn’t want to go because couldn’t do it for *that* film, “An Officer and a Gentleman”, because she’d had such a miserable time making it. And she actually she had to be dragged to the Oscars for her “Terms of Endearment” nomination. Supposedly, her chaperone was one of… Read more »
Debra Winger, despite her numerous issues on the set and unprofessionalism likely kept getting work for so long because at the end of the day, she still turned in a great performance. But still, even if you keep turning in wonderful performance after wonderful performance, if you haven’t grown enough as a person to stop being a self-absorbed, spoiled pain in the ass, people aren’t going to want to work with you anymore.
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman: http://oscarnerd.blogspot.com/2012/01/debra-winger-in-officer-and-gentleman.html Debra Winger received her first Oscar nomination for playing Paula Pokrifki, a girl falling for a man who’s training in her town to become an aviator in the box office hit, An Officer and a Gentleman. When Debra received her nomination, her father went on record and said that they were very happy about her nomination and all of them (including Debra) believed that Meryl should win the Oscar. Since I can’t officially agree or disagree with him (since I have two other ladies left), let me just say how cool… Read more »
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.
Really? Do tell.
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.
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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.
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… Read more »
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.
One thing I won’t do in life is forget Diane Lane:-). Actually, I didn’t like Richard Gere AT ALL (I mean, “King Richard”? Then again, I do like “Power”), but “Pretty Woman” and the films he did with Diane Lane changed my mind. Hey, if Diane Lane likes him, then I like him (this was easier for me when it came to Elizabeth Perkins:-).
Diane Lane changed my mind about Richard Gere; if she likes him, then I like him!
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.
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.
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
Debra Winger in Terms of Endearment: http://oscarnerd.blogspot.com/2011/05/debra-winger-in-terms-of-endearment.html Debra Winger received her second Best Actress nomination for playing Emma Horton, a woman having a very difficult life, an overbearing mother and an unfaithful husband in Terms of Endearment. In 1983, no one was stopping Shirley MacLaine from winning her overdue Oscar, not even her co-star, Debra Winger. But I think she got many votes, too and was second. I’m wondering if she had won had Shirley won earlier. I think she wouldn’t have as they probably would have picked Jane Alexander. Or not? I already expressed some of my feelings towards… Read more »
re: Debra Winger Still Can’t Stand Shirley MacLaine’s Guts
But what about the rest of her anatomy?
Sorry, a cheap pun, but I couldn’t resist…maybe someone will make a movie about the making of that movie, a la “My Weekend With Marilyn.” It could be called “Hell is a Woman Named Debra” or “Debra & Shirley: It Was A Gas.”
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… Read more »
Derailed Film Stars: The Determination of Debra Winger:
http://www.twcc.com/entertainment/galleries/2015/09/derailed-film-stars-the-determination-of-debra-winger
Does Debra Winger Still Have Legs?
http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/features/5708/
Whatever happened to the sexy Hollywood bad girl who starred in An Officer and a Gentleman, Urban Cowboy, and Terms of Endearment? For one thing, Debra Winger’s been quietly raising a family right here in New York, and this month she’ll return to the screen in her first starring role in six years. Luckily for us, time doesn’t seem to have mellowed her one bit.
Why didn’t Debra winger have a better acting career?
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/295292.page
Former Chargers & Pats safety Rodney Harrison once described former teammate Ryan Leaf as “a nightmare you
couldn’t even imagine”,adding that he went through another year like that,he might’ve retire………bet you most
filmmakers & execs feel the same way about Winger,only she hasn’t ended up in prison like Leaf has……….yet!!!
In fairness, there are some former collaborators who speak very highly of Winger. It just depends what kind of working relationship you’re able to establish. And also, whether or not she was having substance abuse issues at the time.
Debra Winger was interviewed by Alec Baldwin on MSNBC last Friday night:
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3219531-up-late-with-alec-baldwin/#entry16070209
Wow. Baldwin asked her some tough questions. He talked about the career she could have had.
I see a “pattern” in WTHHT’s — turkey movies + unpleasant personality = aborted career Sandra Bullock, for one, has been in LOTS of turkeys — she’s even admitted that a couple of the sequels she’s done were not good. BUT dog-gone it, PEOPLE LIKE HER. She seems like a pleasant person, she doesn’t pull any “star shite” on-set like SOME folk listed herein, etc. It seems Hollyweird will cut you SOME (not a lot, but some) slack if you’re not a “difficult” personality, but if you’re “difficult” AND star in lots of under-performing or bomb movies, to quote Archie… Read more »
Personally I adore her as a actor and as a person. I think we all have some kind of behavior problem. Regardless I give her 5 stars. Sorry, the rest can’t except this kind of behavior. Its ridiculous when you people comment on debra because she has a behavior problem who doesn’t. I will call anybody a lair. we may not no your weakness but Nobody is the perfect.
Debra was at last night’s CDG awards which celebrates the best in costume design……check
Wireimage of Getty Images for shots!!!!
I LOVE YOU DEBRA, U WON ME OVER WITH URBAN COWBOY AND CEMENTED IT WITH OFFICER! BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED, NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK UR MIND…I WISH U ONLY HAPPINESS
Let’s bid Deb a happy 59th today!!!!!!
i think she do well in sitcom family comedy