#Norma Rae

[submersivemedia]

Let's go

#norma rae #wga #writer's strike

[byneddiedingo]

Sally Field in Norma Rae (Martin Ritt, 1979)

Cast: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Barbara Baxley, Gail Strickland, Morgan Paull, Robert Broyles, John Calvin. Screenplay: Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr. Cinematography: John A. Alonzo. Production design: Walter Scott Herndon. Film editing: Sidney Levin. Music: David Shire.

If Norma Rae were made today, it would have to end with the owners closing the textile mill after the pro-union vote and shipping the jobs to Sri Lanka. Only two years after the movie was released, Ronald Reagan fired the striking air traffic controllers, giving impetus to the anti-union movement that persists to this day. Which is not just to say that Norma Rae is dated -- it was a bit that way at the time -- but that it persists in the memory largely because of Sally Field's breakthrough performance. It won her her first Oscar, and a well-deserved one: She carries the movie as few actresses have done before or since, freeing her from the trap that the TV series Gidget (1965-66) and The Flying Nun (1967-70) had caught her in. She had proved herself with the 1976 TV miniseries Sybil, for which she won an Emmy, but nothing demonstrated her ability to hold an audience in her grasp like Norma Rae. The screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. also earned an Oscar nomination, but it's scattered and sketchy, only touching lightly on the many elements of union organizing in the South -- racism, political chicanery, violence -- which are probably more important to understand than what the film focuses on: the grit and determination of one young textile worker and one stereotypically lefty Jewish organizer (Ron Leibman).

#Norma Rae #Martin Ritt #Sally Field

[nerdy-alto]

Conventions!

To my Fellow Nerds:

If you're going to a con only to see That Famous Person From The TV, and That Famous Person is unable to attend due to a strike for fair compensation, you can still have a shit-ton of fun.

The best guests are usually the authors.

Comic book writers and artists aren't covered by WGA rules.

Go appreciate the cosplay! People worked for hours and spend hundreds of $$$ and a crapton of skill to make those outfits. Hit the masquerade/costume contest/whatever they're calling it. Practice giving compliments in a non-creepy way to those who did a great job.

There are usually tons of activities that do not revolve around sitting in the back of a convention ballroom and passively watching a performer you've seen a million times deliver a slightly different performance. There's often gaming, robot wars, music, film screenings, etc - not to mention after hours things like dances and concerts.

Not that I want to encourage rampant consumerism, but the dealers room probably has some pretty great stuff, not all of which is the same crap you can find online.

Artists alley also - get yourself some signed original art to frame and hang in your house like the Fancy Bitch you are. You deserve it.

Isn't just being in a place where there's no possible way you could be the biggest weirdo there enough? Bask in the warm glow of a whole bunch of other nerdlings and dorkenheimers, knowing you are at last among a mass of people who won't expect you to have an opinion about whatever sportsball tournament is happening, who will not make fun of you for your Koopa backback. And if they do, tell them to fuck off in Klingon and be confident in your status as one of the elite.

#convention #con #san diego comic con #dragon con #sag aftra #wga solidarity #sag strike #norma rae

[petersonreviews]

Sally Field, who played the title character in Norma Rae, with the woman, Crystal Lee Sutton, on whom the character is based, 1980

#norma rae #crystal lee sutton #martin ritt #1970s #70s #1980s #80s

[nellarw95]

Happy Birthday Sally +77 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

Buon Compleanno 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

#sally field #actress #old hollywood #worldcinema #cinema #cinemetography #filmography #movies #film #comedy movies #drama movies #tv shows #60s movies #70s movies #80s movies #90s movies #2000s movies #norma rae #forrest gump #mrs. doubtfire #the amazing spider man #brothers and sisters #legendary actress #legendes #legend #celebrity #happy birthday

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

#Norma Rae #Ron Leibman #Beau Bridges #Pat Hingle #Barbara Baxley #Martin Ritt #1979

[yetihideout]

A baby Grace Zabriskie in Norma Rae, 1979. 🧡

#grace zabriskie #Norma Rae #1979

[pygartheangel]

#sally field #ron leibman #norma rae #playgirl

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #377

Kenneth Ascher and Paul Williams were nominated for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards for "Rainbow Connection," but lost to David Shire and Norman Gimbel for their song "It Goes Like It Goes" from Norma Rae.

Sources:

"Ryan Murphy Is Still Haunted by The Muppet Movie's Best Song Oscar Loss" Halle Kiefer. Vulture. February 22, 2017.

52nd Academy Awards. Wikipedia.

#jim henson #the muppets #muppets #muppet facts #muppet facts oc #fun facts #Kenneth Ascher #Paul Williams #rainbow connection #Halle Kiefer #vulture #it goes like it goes #norma rae #david shire #norman gimbel #academy awards

[crowdvscritic]

round up // APRIL 22

Kidnappings, murders, and million-dollar heists, oh my! My favorite pop culture from April featured quite a few crimes and quite a few star-studded casts. Natch, most of my picks are narrative movies, and now that Oscar season is over, I’m back to theater for brand-spanking new releases. But you can also find two documentaries (okay, 1.5 documentaries), a selection of live performances, some long reads, and of the Beatles on this list, so if crime doesn’t pay your interests well, there’s still plenty more to entertain and make you think this month.

April Crowd-Pleasers

1. Death on the Nile (2022)

My love for Agatha Christie adaptations is well-documented, so it’s no surprise the latest adaptation was right up my alley. (Er, right up my river?) Kenneth Branagh’s detective Hercule Poirot is investigating Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Gal Gadot, Rose Leslie, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright, and more, and there are nearly as many twists as cast members. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. Ambulance (2022)

I could not capture in words how delightful Ambulance was, but I tried really hard with phrases like "majestic chaos" and "symphony of mayhem.” Read my full review for ZekeFilm about Michael Bay’s latest, which is exactly what you want from him if you don’t care about bots, body builders, or Benghazi. It’s the first movie I’ve seen twice in theaters since Jojo Rabbit in 2019, and it’s great to be back, baby! Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 6/10

3. Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022)

Is this “documentary” shameless advertising for its star, Olivia Rodrigo? You bet. Is it also a collection of killer performances, fun making-of-the-album clips, and gorgeous Southwest vistas? You also bet. If you’re a fan of Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR, don’t miss this concert rockumentary that’s a time capsule of teenage-dom and of coming into your own artistic voice. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

4. Nine to Five (1980)

Ever been frustrated with management at your office job? Nine to Five is the catharsis you need. (Not that I’m speaking from experience.) Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, and Lily Tomlin are fed up with their boss Dabney Coleman’s harassment, mismanagement, and general unpleasantness, and after a few misunderstandings, it turns into…kidnapping? I love a plot that escalates to bananas, and all three of these ladies (and that Oscar-nominated theme song) are in top form. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

5. Brewster’s Millions (1985)

April means baseball is back, and that means it’s time for baseball movies between games. I rewatched some of my favorites this month (like Moneyball and Take Me Out to the Ball Game), and Brewster’s Millions was my favorite of the new ones I checked out. Minor leaguer Richard Pryor has to spend $30 million in 30 days to get a $300 million inheritance, but he can’t tell anyone (including BFF John Candy and manager Jerry Orbach) what’s going on. Hijinks ensue! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

6. The Lost City (2022)

What’s more enjoyable than a Sandra Bullock rom-com? We’ve gone without them for over a decade, and this action-adventure is a refreshing and hilarious return to form. Bullock is a fading romance novelist, Daniel Radcliffe is the eccentric billionaire who kidnaps her, and Channing Tatum is her handsome dum-dum cover model who tries to rescue her. Oh, and Brad Pitt shows up—why not? Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

 7. John Mulaney: From Scratch Tour (2022)

If you get the chance, don’t miss John Mulaney live. He performed a 90-minute set at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and I laughed so hard I cried—what more can you hope for? I also left understanding rehab and addiction better than I when I sat down (see his recent SNL monologue for a taste), which made it feel like an intimate sharing of his most vulnerable moments as much as a comedy show. It’s a fascinating art-imitates-life performance I hope makes it to Netflix soon so I can say I’m not interested in science “from magnets to ducks” and people know what I’m referencing.

8. SNL Round Up

Season 47 of Saturday Night Live is getting close to wrapping—don’t miss these before the finale.

"Paw Patrol" (4714 with Oscar Isaac)

"Home Repair Show “ (4714) — I’m not sure why, but Kyle Mooney’s dry delivery made me laugh so hard I cried

"Short-A** Movies" (4716 with Jerrod Carmichael) - Pardon their French, but I am fully on board with this category of movies

"Story" (4716)

"Post-Covid Game Show" (4716)

"Cabaret Night" (4717 with Jake Gyllenhaal) - Pardon a few NSFW comments, but I really connected with this embracing of our mediocre achievements like finishing a chapstick before losing it

"Black Eyed Peas" (4718 with Lizzo)

9. Double Muppet Feature: The Muppet Movie (1979) + The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Everyone handles stress differently. I handle it by watching Muppets movies and eating ice cream for dinner. The Muppet Movie (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10) chronicles the origin story of Kermit meeting his pals, and The Great Muppet Caper (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10) sees Kermit and Co. solving a mystery about missing diamonds. (Caper would also been a great double feature with Death on the Nile.) John Cleese, Elliott Gould, Charles Grodin, Bob Hope, Cloris Leachman, Carol Kane, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Diana Rigg, Orson Welles, and more make appearances, and I sleep better at night when I lie in bed thinking of the Muppets instead of work. 

10. Hotel Artemis (2018)

Jodie Foster and Dave Bautista run a secret Los Angeles hospital for criminals including Jeff Goldblum, Sofa Boutella, Sterling K. Brown, Jenny Slate, and Zachary Quinto. And on a night when the whole city is rioting, what could go wrong? While the dialogue is a little too obsessed with exposition (seems like we could’ve shown instead of telling some of these things), the plot coasts on the cast’s charisma into something fun. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6/10

April Critic Picks

1. Rushmore (1998)

Another Wes Anderson film, another romance with an age gap. Jason Schwartzman’s intense prep schooler obsessed with extracurriculars is a car wreck you can’t look away from as he attempts to beat out Bill Murray for the affections of a teacher at Rushmore Academy (Olivia Williams). The aesthetically-pleasing eye of Wes Anderson transforms a story of teenage ambition, rebellion, and revenge into something entirely charming. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Double Feature - Classic Screwball Rom-Coms: Midnight (1939) + Ball of Fire (1941)

In Midnight (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), chorus girl Claudette Colbert and taxi driver Don Ameche are crossed in love in Paris as she schemes to marry rich. In Ball of Fire (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9.5/10), nightclub singer Barbara Stanwyck and encyclopedia writer Gary Cooper are crossed in love in New York as she schemes to marry a mobster (Dana Andrews). Pair these for an evening full of witty banter and unexpected love triangles.

3. Hamilton

Guys, it took two extra years, but I’ve finally seen Hamilton, and it lives up to the hype. That’s it—that’s the tweet.

4. Good Reads

When I travel, I dig into my Pocket to catch up on longer reads. To and from Denver I dug into thoughts on the chaos the Internet creates in our culture and the plot holes of…Air Bud. Yes, Air Bud.

“Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid,” atlantic.com (2022) 

“Stop Firing the Innocent,” atlantic.com (2020)

“The New Puritans,” atlantic.com (2021)

“Frankly, My Dear, the Whole Thing is a Stench in My Nostrils,” ListOfNote.com (2022)

“Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’t,” wired.com (2021)

“How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student,” NewYorker.com (2022)

“Watch John Oliver Unravel the Legal Arguments of Air Bud,” vulture.com (2022)

“Viola Davis Says Critics ‘Serve No Purpose’ but We Do – and It’s Not to Sell Tickets,” TheGuardian.com (2022)

5. The Endless Summer (1966)

Get yourself in a summer #mood with a documentary about surfing in the ‘60s! Filmmaker Bruce Brown is following two surfers searching for an endless summer, following warm weather around the globe through Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. While a few moments have aged weirdly, these surfers are approaching new waves and cultures with an open mind and heart, ready to make new friends and improve their skills on the board. Be careful or you might head out the door with no itinerary or suitcase because this doc will ignite such a strong wanderlust! Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

6. Norma Rae (1979)

Grab your union pins, cardboard, and markers—we have a movie you need to get behind! This month on SO IT’S A SHOW?, Kyla and I checked out Sally Field’s first Oscar-winning role. In the Gilmore Girls episode we’re covering, Lorelai is sticking it to the man just like Norma Rae (or should we say Crystal Lee Sutton?), so we’re sticking Sally Field, a tiny North Carolina town, and a union movement to your podcast feed. Listen to the ep. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

7. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

I can find a few quibbles with this sci-fi action comedy (e.g. few of those NSFW moments felt more provocative than consistent with the theme), but this genre-defying adventure is an ADHD trip through what-ifs, kung fu, hot dog fingers, googly eyes, and bagels, which is to say, I have zero idea how to explain this movie about Michelle Yeoh hopping through the multiverse. (Mild spoiler alert) “In another life I would've really like doing taxes and laundry with you,” is one of the most honest, romantic lines I've heard in a minute. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

8. Paul McCartney!

After listening to the Licorice Pizza soundtrack on repeat for weeks, I had to do a deep dive into the source of one of my favorite tracks on the compilation. After listening to McCartney (1970), Ram (1971, with Linda McCartney), Band on the Run (1973, with the Wings), McCartney II (1980), and Flaming Pie (1997), I have come to some unexciting conclusions:

Paul McCartney writes great love songs

Paul McCartney writes great lyrics

Paul McCartney is a great musician

Keep reading Crowd vs. Critic to stay up to date with hot takes and groundbreaking writing like this! 

Also this April…

On another episode of SO IT’S A SHOW?, Kyla and I checked out a movie and a show inspiring Paris’s work banter on Gilmore Girls: Working Girl and Just Shoot Me! Would the work-place banter in these productions really help her be a better server at Rory’s DAR event? We discuss if an average TV show is better or worse than a movie with some icky undertones and an award-winning theme song.

At ZekeFilm we watched major movies from the 1920s we missed. For me, it was the first talkie, The Jazz Singer. Read what has and hasn’t aged well from the musical, and see our team’s full selection of films (including a Best Picture winner and a John Ford classic) at ZekeFilm.org.

Photo credits: Hamilton, Good Reads, Paul McCartney. All others IMDb.com. 

#Round Up #Saturday Night Live #SNL #Ambulance #Death on the Nile #Olivia Rodrigo #driving home 2 u #Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u #Brewster's Mlillions #The Muppet Movie #The Great Muppet Caper #Nine to Five #The Lost City #Hotel Artemis #Paul McCartney #Norma Rae #Rushmore #Midnight #Ball of Fire #The Endless Summer #Everything Everywhere All at Once #John Mulaney #Hamilton

[meret118]

In the film, a labor organizer from New York named Reuben Warshowsky (played by Ron Leibman) arrives in North Carolina hoping to unionize the workers at a local factory. Inspired by the cause and frustrated in her job, Norma Rae joins Reuben in handing out leaflets and rallying coworkers to sign union cards. Although Reuben assures Norma Rae that she can’t be fired for promoting unionization, she loses her job while trying to expose management’s attempts to thwart the effort. The bosses’ tactic: posting an inflammatory letter on the factory bulletin board in a bid to drive a wedge between white workers and black workers.

Norma Rae was based on a true account. In 1973, The New York Times ran a profile of Crystal Lee Jordan, a mill worker from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, who joined the Textile Workers Union of America—and who really did stand on a table, sign in hand. Although Martin Ritt, the director, once said that his primary interest was in Jordan’s personal tale and that he “couldn’t have cared less about labor unions,” the real story behind Norma Rae was one of solidarity. Intended or not, the film has as much to say about the forces that threatened to destroy the U.S. labor movement through racial division as it does the individuals who helped make the movement possible.

#Norma rae #Movies #Unions

[iateabunchofsmartiesandnowimdumb]

So I've started watching a little bit of The Donna Reed Show as some research for something I'm working on and in one of the episodes Donna's starring as Nora in a local production of A Doll's House which, I mean, it makes sense because it's a classic play, but for a show with the kind of reputation this one has, I find this really interesting. I'll admit I don't know a ton about The Donna Reed Show, and much of what I knew about it until more recently comes from that one episode of Gilmore Girls, but it's clear the show falls into the nuclear family sitcom category, and as a result carries a lot of - we'll say socioeconomic/political baggage because for now because I'm a little too lazy to go into depth about it.

What interests me about the choice to reference A Doll's House in that episode is well, for one thing, Ibsen's proto-feminist themes in the play (though if I remember correctly, Ibsen never officially proclaimed himself a feminist; I think he referred to himself and his work as humanist, taking the stance that women's rights are an issue of humanity at large. A side note but I believe Martin Ritt had a somewhat similar stance and I think you can kind of see that in Norma Rae). In many ways the themes in A Doll's House feel extremely relevant for a situation as set up in a nuclear family sitcom centering the housewife as the main character, but a lot of the aforementioned political baggage of a show like this (perhaps seen in the episode "Male Ego") could easily feel like it would be in opposition to Ibsen's work. But the other thing I find interesting about this, and The Donna Reed Show in general, actually came from a little bit of research I was doing about women screenwriters around the 50s/60s. I'd found the name Barbara Avedon, and she wrote for shows such as The Donna Reed Show and Bewitched, and later, she co-created Cagney & Lacey; she was known explicitly as a feminist, which feels kind of fitting in a way. Avedon also founded the antiwar organization Another Mother for Peace, which Reed co-chaired.

Now, to be fair, the episode that references A Doll's House wasn't written by Avedon. In fact, I don't see any women screenwriters credited for that episode. But there's an inkling of a spirit there that made my brain go on this tangent.

#brain went brrr #oopsy #donna reed #the donna reed show #barbara avedon #women screenwriters #screenwriting #a doll's house #henrik ibsen #ibsen #plays #martin ritt #norma rae

[cinemaquiles]

TOP 5: A face perversa do trabalho em cinco filmes disponíveis no streaming!

#work #falling down #michael douglas #joel schumacher #work day #el metodo #eduardo noriega #spanish movie #trabajo #le couperet #marion cotillard #pablo echarri #norma rae #sally field #Deux jours une nuit #Jean-Pierre Dardenne #Luc Dardenne #belgian movie

[workersrightshellyeah]

Norma Rae!!!

#Norma Rae #film #unions #the Oscars #oscar winner #Sally Field #labor #workers rights

[whosafraidofvirginiawoolf]

#the norma ray one looks like its for a silly romcom lmao #anyway! important posts on tumblr dot com #sally field #*rae lol

[smokycinderella]

Norma Rae (Martin Ritt, 1979)

#sally field #norma rae 1979 #mine