John Steiner on Sharon Tate, New Sharon Tate Art, A New Blog on Sharon and More

A little while ago a Sharon fan asked about John Steiner and what he thought of Sharon.  I tried to email him but never got a response so I emailed one of his fans and here is what he had to say:

Actor John Steiner.

Sorry I've been so long in replying. I've been rooting through some old magazines and files to see if I can find anything for you. Sadly, there is very little on the film, which has always struck me as strange. It was pretty much overshadowed at the time by Mel Brook's inferior The Twelve Chairs, and the film has stayed stubbornly unfashionable.

Steiner only mentioned the film in passing in an interview in the early 70's, and quoted that Tate was a "lovely lady."


All the very best, Cranston


For his website go here:

http://www.moviemags.com/main.php?title=JOHN%20STEINER%20ZINE&etos=%

Another artistic blogger has created a nice sketch of Sharon here:

http://celebritysketches.blogspot.com/2010/04/this-drawing-was-inspired-one.html

And another person has began a Sharon Tate blog.  She wrote and complimented me on mine.  Thank you!  Here is the link for her blog:

http://cielostar1969.blogspot.com/

Good luck with your blog!  The more the merrier for fans of Sharon!

Have you ever wondered what happened to Polanski directing Robert Harris' other best seller Pompeii?

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/04/12/ridley-scott-producing-pompeii-mini-series-formerly-developed-as-a-feature-by-roman-polanski/

Here is a video of Author Robert Harris talking about "The Ghost Writer" and comparing Polanski to Hitchcock:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8615081.stm

Happy Valentine's Day to Sharon, New Art from Kerstien, Matt Helm, Lost in the 1960s and More

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!  I found a lovely poem for Sharon.  I wonder if Polanski ever wrote Sharon a poem?

Hazel Eyes (http://www.your-poetry.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=142348)

Your Hazel eyes turn my way

I look at you, thinking of what to say.

you close the distance between us

to stand in front of me.

you tell me my eyes look like an open sea.

Your Hazel eyes are filled with love

a treasure sent from above.

that nothing can ever replace.

You put your hands around my face,

and kiss me gently with no haste.

a kiss I will never ever waste.

Your Hazel eyes smile at me

blinding me so I can't see

drowning in this love you give to me

and you tell me, hearts are the key.

Your Hazel eyes are filled with warmth

cloaking me in a blanket so warm

so that when you leave I shiver from the cold.

but you said, you'll be with me till I'm old

Your Hazel eyes turn my way


Also, Kerstien Matondang, our great artist contributer sent this for me to post for all Sharon fans:

Thanks Kerstien!  Here is her website link: http://www.kerstien.se/sharoninart.htm

Here is a lovely photo and more of Sharon and Dean Martin in "The Wrecking Crew":

http://cinemavortex.blogspot.com/2010/02/matt-helm_13.html

Here is a girl who loves the 1960s and says she wishes she looked like Sharon:

http://thelifeofalostmuse.blogspot.com/2010/02/gypsy-tail-wind.html

More on Roman and his new film being reminiscent of Hitchcock:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61E03C20100215

Photo Comparison of the Week, Sharon Tate and Julianne Moore, Stars before they were famous including Sharon and More on Polanski

Here is the photo comparison of the week:

It is of People Weekly with Celine Dion on the cover.  Her hair and eye make up remind me of Sharon:

Moore in the new Bvlgari Jewelry Ads.

Here is another person who thinks that Julianne Moore is reminiscent of Sharon Tate.  He even says he thinks--that had Sharon lived--she may have had a great acting career like Moores.  The poster says:

"My wife was watching Valley of the Dolls the other night, and I sat down to see what the real Sharon Tate looked like, since I had never seen anything she was in. I was immediately reminded of Julianne Moore, not just in facial looks, but even the scenes were similar to The Hours with Moore taking (or attempting to take) sleeping pills to commit suicide.

"Had that madness never happened with Manson, I can see Sharon Tate having a promising film career, because, from what I could see, she could have had the career that Moore had."

I agree but please ignore some the rude comments he received by some.  Apparently these posters don't have any idea of what Sharon was offered before she passed (Tess, A Untitled Western with Polanski, Le Mans among others?) nor what she was capable of.  :

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/569429-sharon-tate-reminded-me-julianne-moore.html

Stars before they were famous?  Sharon appears here with friend Mia Farrow and two other fine actresses:

http://lost60s.blogspot.com/2010/02/60s-icons-before-they-were-famous.html

Another interesting article on Polanski:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/movies/14polanski.html

And a review for "The Ghost Writer":

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/polanski-adds-a-bit-of-hitchcock-to-the-revival-of-blairs-ghost-1898871.html

Tomorrow a special treat for Valentine's Day...

Will Polanski's Recent Publicity Overshadow his New Movie?

Found this on the web today:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-01-15-polanski15_ST_N.htm

Roman Polanski's detention shadows 'Ghost Writer'

By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY



Roman Polanski's new film, The Ghost Writer, is a murder mystery set amid the clash of international politics and espionage, reminiscent of the best paranoid thrillers from 1970s Hollywood.

But it's a real incident from that era that casts a less flattering shadow on the film.

The Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby filmmaker was arrested in Switzerland in September for possible extradition to the United States, which he fled in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski is now under house arrest and fighting extradition. The Ghost Writer, however, will be released in the USA on Feb. 19.

It remains to be seen whether the scandal surrounding him will influence how his new work is received.

Rob Friedman, co-chairman and chief executive of Summit Entertainment, which is distributing the movie, says it won't.

"People have an infinite capacity to separate art from people's lives," Friedman says. "Moviegoers are going to the movies. They're not making a statement about whether a trial judge in Los Angeles acted properly or whether (Polanski) paid his price to society."

The movie stars Ewan McGregor as a writer assigned to polish the autobiography of a former British prime minister (Pierce Brosnan). McGregor is replacing a previous writer who drowned mysteriously, and when Brosnan comes under investigation as a war criminal, it becomes clear there is something in this politician's story that someone is willing to kill over.

"It's very Hitchcockian," says Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net, who was at a showing of the film Wednesday night in Los Angeles. "Polanski hasn't been making films for a few years, and I hadn't known what to expect. Going in, I was looking for a good drama, but it delivered something different from what I was expecting. It's a good thriller."

Billington notes, however, that the comments section on his website fills with vitriol when he writes about The Ghost Writer.

"I think it's going to hurt attendance," Billington says. "Some people look at it and say, 'I have a viewpoint against Roman Polanski, and no matter how good it looks, no matter who's in it, I can't support his film.' "

Polanski's life has been marked by tragedy. A childhood survivor of the Holocaust, he became one of Hollywood's most prominent directors but also lost his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, in the notorious 1969 Manson family slayings.

The September arrest provoked emotions over his actions that had been simmering for more than three decades.

Polanski, who won an Oscar for 2002's The Pianist, has long been damaged by his arrest and flight because it limited his access to bigger Hollywood budgets and restricted his ability to work in the USA, says Gregory Ellwood, editor in chief of HitFix.com, who also saw the film Wednesday.

"In an alternate universe where this hadn't happened, Roman Polanski would be like Martin Scorsese," he said.

Ellwood also noted that Polanski still managed to continue to make films during this period, and has always found top actors willing to work with him (among them Harrison Ford in his 1988 thriller Frantic, and Johnny Depp in 1999's The Ninth Gate.)

For many years, the 1977 rape case faded to the background and was not a major issue when one of his films would come out.

"There was some scuttlebutt when he was nominated for The Pianist, but it was not dominating that discussion," Ellwood says.

The arrest has reignited the controversy, stirring furious feelings on both sides. It might be less of an issue for The Ghost Writer if it were an art-house film with limited commercial appeal, but as an exciting and accessible thriller, it has mainstream potential.

"This was more than a pleasant surprise," he says. "I think it's one of his more entertaining films, if not one of his best films."

Sounds like this is going to be one of his best films.  I hope it does better than expected.