Interview with Eva Beale in Lula magazine

Earlier this week, we heard that Lula magazine had a feature on Edie Beale and Grey Gardens. It's an interview with Eva Beale. And now, here's the article in its entirety.

A big thanks to Kath for sending this in!

From Lula magazine, on Spring/Summer 2009

Edie Beale at Reno Sweeney in Washington, DC

Starting on Thursday, March 5, this "revival" of Edie's cabaret show runs in Washington, DC. We heard about this before, but it's nice to get such a thorough article about it!

From Washington Post, by Ellen McCarthy, on February 27, 2009

Ganymede Revives Short-Lived Stage Act of 'Little Edie'

It was late 1977 when theater producer Gerald Duval got a call from a manager at the New York cabaret Reno Sweeney.

"There's a gal in here for an audition," Duval remembers being told. "She's got a skirt on her head, and she's fallen off the stage twice."

And her name was Edith Beale.

Book her, Duval told the manager.

People would pay, he knew, for a chance to see "Little Edie" — the peculiar cousin of Jackie Kennedy and younger half of the mother-daughter duo made famous by the documentary "Grey Gardens" — in person.

"I frankly just thought it would be a freak show," Duval recalls. "But I got captivated just immediately upon meeting her. It became clear that she was just totally authentic and eccentric and not mad at all."

Beale needed work to pay taxes on Grey Gardens, the Hamptons mansion memorialized in the documentary and later in the play, most recently produced at Signature Theatre. So Duval helped her cook up an act combining standard songs and an audience Q&A. It ran for exactly eight performances early in 1978.

Now, 31 years later, Duval is bringing Little Edie's show back to life.

"After the Garden: Edith Beale Live at Reno Sweeney," produced by Ganymede Arts, is a re-creation of those eight performances, which were panned by critics but live large in the annals of Edie Beale lore.

Duval, 67, who moved to Washington six years ago, wrote the script from memory, as there are no known recordings of Beale's nights at Reno Sweeney. And he had always intended to have a woman play Beale. But then he met Jeffrey Johnson, Ganymede's artistic director, who is best known for his drag character Special Agent Galactica.

Duval happened to be watching one of Johnson's Galactica performances and recalls thinking, "My God, he could do Edie Beale."

Johnson, 40, was equally obsessed with the Beales. He rented the documentary a few years ago "and watched it 11 times in one weekend," he says. He later dove into research on Edie, including her Reno Sweeney act, and decided to write a play about the period.

"So it was kind of odd when Gerald walked in and said, 'I want you to read this script.' And I was like, 'Oh, wow. You wrote the play I wanted to write,'" Johnson says.

Johnson and Duval wanted a nontraditional performance space for the original show and, after searching, settled on the back room of Miss Pixie's Furnishings and Whatnot on 14th Street NW. Whatever old chandeliers and chaise lounges the secondhand store brings in that week will be used as the show's backdrop.

And rather than just limit the show to a strict reenactment of the Reno Sweeney performances, Duval is using the opportunity to tell the rest of the story of the idiosyncratic woman who became his friend.

"I want [the audience] to experience the authentic, vibrant experience of being with Edie Beale," he says.

After the Garden: Edith Beale Live at Reno Sweeney
Miss Pixie's Backroom Palace, 1625 14th St. NW 202-390-1502
http://www.ganymedearts.org/
Thursday-March 29. $25.

Source

Edie Beale and Grey Gardens in Lula Magazine

There is a feature on Grey Gardens in the current issue of Lula Magazine, issue 8.

This image of Edie wearing Chanel appears in the issue.

From Flickr, by Jonas Löfgren Bildmekanik, on February 22, 2009

A Perfect Mess

A Perfect Mess by fish_bear.

Illustration by Jonas Löfgren Bildmekanik for Lula Issue 8 Spring/Summer 2009

Lula Magazine has a web site, which doesn't showcase the current issue, but which has information about where you can get a copy in your area.

Source

Informative press release for HBO's Grey Gardens

This has been out since January, but I've only just gotten my paws on it now. It contains quotes from much of the creative team of HBO's Grey Gardens.

Enjoy!

On January 9, 2009

To Beale or not to Beale...That is the Question

For Immediate Release

How do you take two beautiful actresses, age them 40 years on screen, change their voices, facial features and the texture of their skin and hair, dress them in period clothes from the 1930s to the 1970s, and have them recreate several iconic musical numbers, while staying painstakingly true to the real-life women they are portraying and the documentary in which they are featured?

Transforming Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange into "Little Edie" and "Big Edie" Beale required a top-of-the-line team of hair stylists, makeup artists, an award-winning prosthetics designer, a talented costume designer, dialect coaches, a singing coach and a choreographer. Add a director who, through four years of meticulous research, came to know the Beale women in and out, as well as two executive producers with an eye for detail. Bring on documentarian Albert Maysles as a production advisor who, along with his brother, spent six weeks chronicling the life of the Beales in the 1970s. And cast Barrymore and Lange - two of the industry's most talented actresses, who are known to immerse themselves in whatever characters they take on.

Barrymore was willing to jump through hoops to portray "Little Edie" Beale in HBO Films' Grey Gardens, debuting in April.

"I love the challenge of spanning the ages, going from 18 to 61 in this story," says Barrymore. "I thank God for Vivian Baker, who applied the prosthetics every day. And for Bill Corso, who designed the makeup - they did such a phenomenal job!"

Referring to the Beales, Academy Award®- and Emmy®-winning makeup artist Bill Corso says, "I saw it as an opportunity to recreate two of the most original and stunning female characters I have ever seen. The dedication and commitment that the actresses had to getting lost in their characters, to achieving as much of the 'warts and all' reality of the Beales, was one of our strongest assets."

Corso viewed the documentary a dozen times and assembled a massive amount of photo reference needed to match the looks of the Beale women. Working with Sucsy, he was able to Photoshop the different looks as they pertain to the different stages and ages of the women in the story, and then design and build the sculptures for the two characters. Corso utilized a relatively new process of water-based, paper-thin, translucent prosthetics called "transfers" that could be applied in minutes, last an entire shooting day and not destroy the skin with chemicals upon removal. Vivian Baker then came in to supervise the daily prosthetic transformation of the two actresses into "Little Edie" and "Big Edie" Beale. Working in tandem, Baker, makeup supervisor Linda Dowds, Sean Sansom, and their teams applied prosthetics and makeup to Barrymore and Lange that took, on average, three to four hours to apply and another hour and a half to remove.

''These were real people, and we really wanted to honor and be respectful to that," explains Dowds. "It was very special to watch what everyone did to keep the integrity of "not only the original Maysles film, but the integrity of the women themselves."

Jessica Lange had never worked with prosthetics before, yet was dauntless in the face of the time-consuming task of applying all the different pieces to turn her into "Big Edie" Beale. A fake forehead, fake eyebrows, jowls, a sagging neck, a new nose, mouth, teeth and even ear lobes all went into the construction. Despite the discomfort and havoc the glue played with her sensitive skin, Lange was eager to transform her smaller nose to the patrician one that the older Mrs. Beale woman had, knowing that would make a difference in the character.

Transforming Barrymore and Lange into the Beales was truly a team effort. When prosthetics are involved, it is imperative that the makeup and hair departments work closely with the wardrobe department, mindful that neither one's work impair that of the other.

Costume designer Catherine Marie Thomas was in frequent discussions with Vivian Baker and hairstylist Jenny Arbour, especially with "Little Edie"'s various head coverings.

"Working with the prosthetic pieces, we had to look at the way the scarves would frame Drew's face," explains Thomas. "Something that's stretchy changes the prosthetic versus something that is silk."

Recreating the style of the early years of the story was a creative endeavor for Thomas, as she crafted elegant gowns and party attire germane to the 1930s, based on researched photographs. Jessica Lange's spirited wardrobe for that period was based on Michael Sucsy's finding that "Big Edie" was once a playful maverick, looking to defy the social convention of her pedigreed status. The oversized yet tasteful hats and colorful palazzo pants were a wink to her rebellious nature.

In addition to the scope of costumes that span four decades, Barrymore's character of "Little Edie" goes through 42 costume changes in the film, from her eyecatching black and white debutante gown in the 1930s, to her outlandish get-ups in the 1970s, when the documentary was shot. To create the look for both actresses, Thomas relied on a wealth of photographs that director Sucsy had amassed during his research while writing the script. For "Little Edie," Thomas looked to design dresses with a bit of a twist, feeling that the daughter's penchant for the avant-garde started early in life, although it reached its apex in the 1970s.

"Everyone, including fashion designers and costume designers, is fascinated with 'Little Edie''s unique way of putting things together," explains Thomas. "It was a creativity born from her own unabashed disregard for what anybody else thought."

"Little Edie"'s ability to concoct outfits from whatever she could scavenge from her house - tablecloths mixed with her sweaters, pants and skirts worn in unconventional ways - was what Thomas refers to as a "decoupage effect." It was also a source of fascination for Barrymore, who would study the documentary over and over with Thomas in an attempt to figure out the geometry of Edie's clothing.

According to Thomas, it is conceivable that "Big Edie"'s look in her later years was a result of her having her outlandishly creative daughter, her caretaker. "Little Edie" dressed her mother, as well as herself, in this eclectic manner, utilizing clothing from their past and mixing all worlds that led up to the present. In one scene, "Big Edie," who is for the most part bedridden, wears a turtleneck sweater tied around her chest by the sleeves, and in another, sports a silk dress coat she is seen wearing earlier in the 1950s. As seen in the documentary, "Big Edie" is always wearing jewelry, perhaps a personal preference or a choice of her accessory-conscious daughter.

One particularly offbeat task for the wardrobe department involved the birdseed breasts sewn into a body suit that Lange donned for "Big Edie" in the later years. "We needed to bulk her up," explains Thomas. "We tried the traditional fat suits, moved on to rice, and ultimately found the right look with birdseed."

"Since the documentary came out, there have been so many fashion stories," says Barrymore. "So many designers have done couture lines dedicated to 'Little Edie.' I think she had creative innovation that was beyond anything we can comprehend."

It was Edie's combination of items or use of clothing that wasn't intended to go where she put it that seems so mind-boggling today. She would take two shirts and put them on opposite ways, tie them in the middle and create a dress. Other times she would wrap a tablecloth around her waist, or flip an old skirt upside-down and close up any holes with a few large safety pins. Edie's trademark headscarves were sometimes shirts or sweaters elaborately tied up by the sleeves with old packaging twine and other times concocted from a simple tea towel and adorned with her famous broach. Had the Maysles not made the documentary, perhaps "Little Edie"'s stamp on the fashion world might never have been realized.

In addition to capturing the look of the Beales, it was imperative to the actresses and filmmakers that they capture the sound of the Beales. Seasoned dialect coaches guided Barrymore and Lange through the myriad of tones, cadences and timbres of their characters' voices as "Little Edie" and "Big Edie" aged 40 years in the story. Dialect coach Liz Himmelstein worked diligently with Barrymore two hours every day for many months before production began.

"This is a project where the dialect is so much a part of the fabric of the characters," says Himmelstein. "There was a great pressure to get it right, as there was a concern to honor Miss Beale fully."

In addition to the documentary, Barrymore studied "Little Edie"'s voice by listening to her many interviews. Each vowel, each diphthong, the consonant changes, her lengths, her rhythms and her melody, along with her use of pause and intonation, were all broken down as part of the daily drill. When filming began, Himmelstein turned over the on-set coaching to Howard Samuelsohn, who instructed Lange as well.

Describing the Beales' accent, Samuelsohn says, "It's an upper-class Long Island/New York City sound, with aspects of New England in it. It doesn't really exist anymore, but you can hear it in the recordings of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Ruth Gordon and in many other old movies and recordings. The Beale ladies; of course, gave the accent a quality of its own."

Gelling the actresses to talk like the Beales was one thing; getting them to sing fell to singing coach Bob Garrett.

For Lange, the major challenge was the "Tea for Two" number. Because it is such an iconic moment in the documentary, Lange thought it was too famous a scene to put her own stamp on and chose to reproduce "Big Edie" in that sequence. After many, many hours of working with Garrett, who projected the documentary into a mirror, she was able to do exactly the same thing vocally and physically.

"It was meticulous, specific work, and Jessica became 'Big Edie' and was magnificent," says Garrett. "If you were to run the documentary with the film in that sequence, you would have trouble figuring out which was the original."

In assessing his pupils, Garrett says, "I found it very moving to watch Drew and Jessica dive into this material in a fearless way. Drew once said she sounded like two cats mating when she sang. Her hard work has turned her into a real singing pro. Jessica had never sung on film before, and I think her musical triumph is especially impressive."

To put the final coat of polish on recreating "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Beale, Lange and Barrymore also received dancing instruction, as well as period etiquette lessons, ensuring that the subtle differences between ladies' behavior in the 1930s and 1950s would be accurate.

It is safe to say that no stone was left unturned in Grey Gardens.

Grey Gardens, the house, from HBO's upcoming film

This raccoon just received the following 2 amazing images of the exterior set of Grey Gardens from HBO's upcoming film starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. The house looks perfect and this raccoon is especially pleased to see that the front porch is accurate, which is something lacking on the actual Grey Gardens currently!

The first image is Grey Gardens in all its 1936 glory, and the second is the house in its 1973 decrepit state.

Amazing!

From HBO/Peter Stranks

The musical comes to Cleveland

Whoops! I neglected to remind you all of this before the recent premiere!

From Broadway World, on February 19, 2009

Grey Gardens Makes Its Cleveland Premiere 2/27- 3/29

What happens when American royalty falls? Beck Center presents the Cleveland premiere of Grey Gardens, the three-time Tony Award-winning musical, in the Studio Theater February 27 through March 29. Based on the 1975 cult-documentary of the same name, Grey Gardens is the hilarious yet heartbreaking story of Jackie Kennedy's delightfully eccentric aunt and cousin, Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter "Little" Edie. Show times are 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3:00 p.m. Sundays. There is no performance on Saturday, February 28.

Tickets are available here.

Source

East Hampton reviews of Eva Beale and Walter Newkirk's Grey Gardens books

From East Hampton Star, by Ellen Keohane, on February 17, 2009

In the Ruined Gardens

It all started with a documentary released in 1976 about a mother and daughter living in a dilapidated estate with a menagerie of cats, raccoons, and fleas on West End Road in East Hampton. The film, by two brothers, Albert Maysles and the late David Maysles, is named after the women’s home — Grey Gardens. But its inhabitants steal the spotlight as they bicker and sing as the walls literally fall down around them.

More than 30 years after the documentary’s release, the story of Edith Bouvier Beale (Big Edie) and her adult daughter (Little Edie) continues to influence artists of various mediums. Most notably, the film recently inspired a Broadway musical, which has since closed, and an HBO movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange scheduled to be released this year.

Yet the appeal of Grey Gardens lies not only in the women’s circumstances, but also in the public’s fascination with whom they are related to — Big and Little Edie were the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Americans’ adoration of the Kennedys was not lost on Walter Newkirk, who titled his 2008 self-published book memoraBEALEia: A Private Scrapbook About Edie Beale of Grey Gardens, First Cousin to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

A hard-core Grey Gardens devotee, Mr. Newkirk’s book picks up where the documentary leaves off. In fact, Mr. Newkirk’s first meeting with Big and Little Edie comes soon after watching the Maysleses’ film for the first time. Like any go-getting student journalist (Mr. Newkirk was attending Rutgers at the time), he calls directory assistance to track down the Edies’ phone number. In memoraBEALEia, Mr. Newkirk reprints the hard-hitting questions he took with him on the big interview day. (One ponders why he crossed out Do you watch television? ) He indicates in the text that interested parties can purchase a recording of his interview on compact disc from Amazon.com.

Following this initial meeting, Mr. Newkirk facilitates a friendship with Little Edie. The book presents a meticulous record of his encounters with her over the years of their acquaintance, dating from 1976 to 1987 and from 2000 to 2001. Much of memoraBEALEia reads as mundane musings: I was unable to contact Edie by telephone for a while. Mr. Newkirk also periodically expresses his concern for Little Edie’s well-being: It crossed my mind that perhaps a sleazy carnival barker type might be exploiting Edie as a circus sideshow freak for these cabaret shows, but there was no way to know.

In many ways, we learn more about Mr. Newkirk in memoraBEALEia than Little Edie, who remains an enigmatic and sporadic presence in his life. Throughout the book, Mr. Newkirk remarks on articles he has read that mention Little Edie and even includes copies of letters he has written to her. In one he tells her, not a single day has gone by when I haven’t thought about you. He even includes the last letter he sent her, which Little Edie never opened as it arrived after her death.

If Mr. Newkirk starts his book where the Maysleses’ documentary ends, then Eva Marie Beale’s Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens: A Life in Pictures could be considered a prequel to the film. Published by Verlhac Editions late last year, the limited edition coffee-table book features almost 200 pages of photos, portraits, and documents from the private collection of the Beale family.

Combing through her husband’s aunt’s belongings following Little Edie’s death, Ms. Beale describes finding an astounding number of photographs, letters, and poems from her childhood, presenting quite the contrast to the cats and decrepitude of Grey Gardens during the 1970s.

The book has dozens of restored images, including shots of Little Edie dressed for various soirées and Ladies Village Improvement Society fashion shows. In one photograph, Little Edie stands in a two-piece bathing suit with her hand tucked under the arm of a man in a sailor uniform identified as her boyfriend, Johnny Robinson. A tall hedge looms behind them (a possible harbinger of times to come?). The caption reads, Edie broke this engagement.

Ms. Beale articulates her reasons for publishing her family’s personal photographs and documents in the book’s afterword: We hope this book will help [the reader] see Edie differently and with a deeper appreciation of how she grew into the familiar character from the Grey Gardens documentary. We hope to not only restore her dignity, but also make known her sensitivity.

For the most part, she lets the documents and photos speak for themselves. Captions offer names, dates, and brief descriptions. The photographer Peter Beard, a family friend, provides a short foreword, as does Ms. Beale’s husband, Little Edie’s nephew Bouvier Beale Jr. And various documents — including a frankly worded letter about the family’s finances from Little Edie’s father to her mother — provide greater insight into how two women from such a privileged background ended up living in a house on the verge of condemnation.

When compared side by side, the Newkirk and Beale books present wildly disparate portraits of the Beale women, and particularly Little Edie, who was in her mid-50s when the Maysleses shot their documentary. Yet both provide new lenses — one through a fan and the other family — with which to view these women.

Eva Marie Beale lives in California. She is the founder of Grey Gardens Collections, an online retailer.

Walter Newkirk runs a public relations firm in New Jersey.

Ellen Keohane, a former reporter at The Star, is a senior associate editor at Earnshaw’s and Footwear Plus, two trade magazines in Manhattan.

Source

Grey Gardens the musical comes to Boston

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston is putting on the Grey Gardens musical from May 8—Jun 6, 2009

From The Lyric Stage Company of Boston

Grey Gardens

Outrageously Funny, Heartbreaking Musical

Book by Doug Wright
Music by Scott Frankel
Lyrics by Michael Korie
Directed by Spiro Veloudos
Musical Direction by Jonathan Goldberg
Choreography by Ilyse Robbins

New England Premiere

This riotous and touching Tony-nominated musical tells the story of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' eccentric relatives, Big Edie Beale and her daughter Little Edie. The two shared a dysfunctional and codependent relationship that dragged them from their perch atop high society to a life of squalor and isolation as East Hampton, Long Island’s most notorious recluses. Based on the famous documentary of the same name, this musical offers theatrical magic: the actress who portrays the mother in the first act takes on the role of the daughter in the second. The New York Times calls Grey Gardens "an experience no passionate theatergoer should miss."

And don't forget: The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts' production opens on March 17.

Source

Jerry Torre's letter to the East Hampton Star

This is a letter published in the East Hampton Star in response to Lois Wright's letter that appeared a few weeks earlier.

The disagreements between Torre and Wright continue. One excellent way to clear this up would be for Al Maysles to speak up. Why doesn't he?

From East Hampton Star, by Jerry Torre, on January 30, 2009

Marble Faun

New York City

January 30, 2009

To the Editor:

My name is Gerard (Jerry) Torre. The Marble Faun was a name given to me by Edie Beale when I lived at Grey Gardens. Mrs. Beale, who guided me through many tender moments as a youth, expressed concern that in my lifetime our friendship would be questioned; I suppose because the two of them had such an odd relationship, as was evident in the Maysles film “Grey Gardens.” Our friendship was based on concern for each other, especially since neither Mrs. Beale nor her daughter, Edie, received very much help from anyone else.

Fate had directed me to the front porch years before the Maysleses or Lois Wright and I were acquainted. Neither the Maysleses nor Mrs. Beale used me as a prop, as claimed by Ms. Wright.

The years at Grey Gardens were precious years to me. Mrs. Beale had protected me, and I had hoped to protect Mrs. Beale.

I was an invited guest on Ms. Wright’s show on LTV recently, and it was actually delightful to see Lois after all the years had passed. If she had any complaints she should have mentioned them to me then.

Sincerely yours,

GERARD TORRE

Source

Washington, DC ode to Little Edie Beale's cabaret show

DC readers, do let us know how this is!

From Broadway World, on February 2, 2009

Granymede Arts Announces Their Upcoming Shows For 2009

Granymede Arts Announces their upcoming productions, starting with After the Garden Edith Beale Live at Reno Sweeney by Gerald Duval, with Jeffrey Johnson as Little Edie Beale. Directed by Rick Hammerly and Jeffrey Johnson.

Inaugural performance at Miss Pixie's Backroom Palace - 1626 14th Street NW

Thursday, March 5th at 7:30PM (the only Thursday in the run)
Fridays at 8:00PM & 10:30PM

Saturdays at 8:00PM (with viewings of the films Grey Gardens and The Beales of Grey Gardens show alternating Saturdays at 10:15PM)
Sundays at 7:00PM

Performed at Pixies Backroom Palace - located in the back warehouse of Miss Pixies on 14th St. NW just south of R Street, NW

Pre-NYC Limited Engagement Run

Little Edie Beale, of Grey Gardens fame, performed a cabaret act at Reno Sweeney in New York City over the New Years week of 1978. Gerald Duval, producer of Little Edie Beale during the time of her appearance at Reno Sweeney has re-created the essence of those magical nights using dialogue, songs, and text from the historic event in addition to conversations that took place following the 1978 appearance creating an intimate evening of theatre. Enjoy, experience, and witness the continued story of what happened "After the Garden".

March 5th-29th, 2008
World Premier Production

Source

Grey Gardens documentary editor Muffie Meyer reflects on the film

This comment from Muffie is from 5 months ago, but I've only just seen it now. It's quite interesting to hear her perspective!

From Also Like Life, by Muffie Meyer

Hi!

As one of the directors and editors of Grey Gardens, I compliment you on your commentary...you really understood the way the story was built. It took us two years to work with material and figure out the structure. I have not read much that discusses it with the depth and level of perception that you do.

Some other reactions...

You are quite right that the film was structured without sticking to strict chronology...we were interested in revealing human truths, not chronological truths.

Regarding the Maysles' appearances in the film—remember that they too were "structured" into the film. They are included at key points usually to make certain (albeit subtle) points. If the film was structured to gradually reveal an understanding of the Beale's relationship, the presence of the Maysles played various roles for us in that unfolding. At times they were a third point in a kind of triangle that occurred when a third person was present (Big Edie, Little Edie and XXX)...sometimes Jerry was the third, sometimes it was Lois Wright (who was in the footage quite a bit, but only appeared in the film in the "birthday party" scene), and (in the past) Tom Logan, etc. These visitors were the catalysts for both arguments and performance; at times the Beales "played" to the Maysles, and at times the Beales interacted with each other through them (often using them to "push each other's buttons"). Another thing that the presence of the Maysles showed us was the kind of flirtation that Edie had with men...we thought that the way Edie reacted to the Maysles (particularly David) was probably pretty much the way she acted with the other men who entered her life. Remember when Big Edie derides little Edie's flirtations and tells the Maysles, "you are the safest men in America"! David occasionally wondered if Little Edie would leave Grey Gardens with the Maysles and come to NY...but for Ellen (Hovde) and I, there was never any question that her attachment to her mother was much too strong for that to ever be even a remote possibility.

My only gripe is that the titles within the clip only lists David and Albert Maysles...leaving off my name and Ellen's...we were directors of the film along with the Maysles....and were also the editors (with Susan Froemke). Alas, this happens all too frequently.

When it came to the editing, neither Maysles participated in the structuring of the film, although David was interested in the editing process, understood its importance, and patiently watched many of our often torturously long) cuts over the course of the two years. Albert (and he will tell this to anyone who asks) has no interest at all in editing.

Thanks!

Muffie

Source

Little Edith Bouvier Beale, flower girl

Read the full article at the source for the whole story. I love the notion of Little Edie as a flower girl! Big Edie sounds elegant as well.

Thanks to Sara for sending this in!

From Ancestry.co.uk, by KarimaAllison, on January 11, 2007

Michelle BOUVIER ~ Henry Clarkson SCOTT ~ 1926

Another sister, Mrs. Phelan Beale, was matron of honor. Her gown was of mauve satin and her flowers were blue and yellow. The other attendants, who wore yellow satin frocks and carried mauve and blue flowers, were Misses Rosalie Leans, Frances Miller, Nancy Voorhees, Lois Kingsley, Jane Keck, Mrs. Winslow Lovejoy of New York, Miss Mary Stewart of Montclair and Mrs. Scott Kenyon of St. Louis, a sister of the bridegroom.

The eight-year-old niece of the bride, Edith Beale, was flower girl. She wore a mauve frock and carried a yellow basket hat filled with flowers.

Source

Interview with Vivian Baker, makeup artist for HBO's upcoming Grey Gardens

Thanks to Vivienne Boulanger for sending this in!

From Sparkle and Gloss, by Amanda, on February 9, 2009

Featured Artist: Vivian Baker

Artist Relations spoke with Head makeup artist, Vivian Baker about working on Grey Gardens and Amelia.

How long have you been working in the film industry?

Ohhh... A long time... over 20 years

What research did you do when designing the makeup looks for the period films Grey Gardens and Amelia?

For both films, I bought every book and spent countless hours on the internet downloading images, pouring over books and of course watching the DVDs for Grey Gardens. I already had a number of books regarding the period and I know the periods as I have worked them before but digging deeper always brings an even greater understanding.

What challenges did you have to overcome?

Grey Gardens: Prosthetics on 2 well established movie stars! Designing looks that make them younger and older and on a very ambitious schedule.
Amelia: Both the Actress and the Subject are very identifiable.

Which character’s Makeup look was the most difficult to design and why?

Bill Corso was the designer of the Prosthetic/Makeup’s for Grey Gardens.

The prosthetic makeups are clearly more complicated.
But, that being said, anytime you change a well- known Actor/Actress into another Icon, there is always the tendency for comparison. That actual makes the makeup’s so exciting and knuckle biting as well.

What advice would you give to artists starting a career in makeup?

Humility

What are your favorite tools and why?

Because every tool has its day… each makeup calls for a new favorite.

Of all the characters you have created, which was the most challenging and why?

There are so many factors that can make a makeup challenging. I do not think that it is far fetched to say that every makeup is challenging. But most recently, Grey Gardens was the most technically challenging.

When creating looks, do you keep the actor in mind and if so, why?

With out a doubt!! It is their performance that brings to life the character. The makeup is a MAJOR tool in the Actor/Actress arsenal.

Describe your own creative process?

I Pray!

Where do you find inspiration?

Everywhere!

Which makeup artists do you admire?

Anyone who is still passionate about Makeup, especially after many years in the business.

Name your 3 favorite MUST-HAVE M•A•C products:

• Micronized Airbrush Formula. All the colors and especially the primaries- in triplicate!
• Blot film - they are in every pocket in my kits
• Fluidline Gel liners

Source

Al Maysles reflects on Grey Gardens at LACMA

Al Maysles was recently at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for a screening of Grey Gardens, which included a Q&A session.

From V Magazine, by Linlee Allen, on February 5, 2009

The Maysles Way

Legendary filmmaker Albert Maysles sits down with his buddy Liz Goldwyn and offers some golden nuggets on movies and life

All hail Albert Maysles! The 82-year-old documentarian flew into Los Angeles recently (direct from Venezuela where he was tagging alongside Oliver Stone on a film project profiling Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, and a gang of other South American leaders) for a Q&A session with friend Liz Goldwyn at LACMA's Bing Theater. The occasion? A screening of the newly restored 1976 cult-classic, Grey Gardens. Here, a few golden quotes from the visionary himself.

On what the world lacks today

There is a certain closeness between people that doesn't exist as much as it should these days. I think that people aren't ready to accept one another's eccentricities as much as they should and that's a sad thing. I'm very much an advocate of television, it's a way in which we get to know one another that much better. I'm looking forward to creating more projects for television in the future.

On the Grey Gardens phenomenon

When Grey Gardens was first released, even The New York Times deemed Little Edie and Big Edie 'too crazy' to be represented on film. It took twenty years before it was even screened on television and even longer for Salesman (1968). When the film came out, critics asked Little Edie what she thought of it. 'There's nothing more to say,' she responded. 'It's all in the film.' Someone recently contacted me and said in London, gay men have parties and dress up as Little Edie whilst reenacting the conversations, which is wonderful.

On the boundaries of portraying sensitivity on screen

I make these kinds of films so that others are able to experience the people and fortunately I have managed to remain friends with all of the subjects I have filmed. I don't take sides and I credit my background in psychology for giving me the ability to do so. Take Michael Moore for instance, as well intended as he is, he ends up taking advantage of the people and what he ends up with is a piece of propaganda. I try to stay openminded. Concerning Grey Gardens, I think the result is an honest, truthful, and loving portrait of two women who happen to be the product of American aristocracy, living a confined life in the best way they know how. With documentaries like this at certain stages of filming it becomes a matter of exploitation, and as a filmmaker, realizing the difference between knowing what to film and what not to film boils down to discretion. Every day before we would go into the house and start filming Grey Gardens we would park the car and spray ourselves in the bushes so that we wouldn't get bitten by fleas. Most days we could overhear conversations between Little Edie and Big Edie about the previous day's filming. We had a general idea that we were on the right track but listening to them discuss everything confirmed it for us.

On long-time work endeavors

For the past forty years I've been working on a project surrounding long distance train travel where I encounter different people embarking on a voyage somewhere and ask to document their journey. A recent passenger allowed us to film her traveling to Pittsburgh where she was going to meet her mother for the first time. The reason behind the project relates back to my search of finding common ground when exploring human values. I have always said my dream project would be to create a television commercial for Kleenex tissues featuring an assortment of women giving birth and capturing those first tears that fall once the baby enters the picture. That's what life is all about.

Update!

David Crotty sent in some photos he took of this event.

Source

Village Voice overview of HBO's upcoming Grey Gardens

According to this article, it seems like the movie is told in flashbacks.

From The Village Voice, by Michael Musto, on February 3, 2009

Grey Gardens Blooms Again

The squalid yet strangely uplifting story of the Beales—the mother/daughter duo who went from being Jackie Kennedy's fancy shmancy cousins to living in filth in a decayed Hamptons mansion filled with raccoons—rises again. The original Maysles brothers' documentary was made into a musical, which was then the subject of another documentary, and now it's an HBO movie starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as the two generations of wackiness whose willingness to expose their squandered show biz aspirations afforded them a whole new chance to claw at the spotlight.

Malcolm Gets—whom I interview in the next column regarding his role in the risky Broadway musical The Story of My Life—plays accompanist George Gould in the film and told me what he knows about it: It doesn't recreate the documentary, it starts with the making of it, with actors playing the Maysles brothers, who became captivated with the two Edies while doing a proposed documentary commissioned by Lee Radziwill. It then goes back and tells the Beales' story, using actors like Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jackie O and Daniel Baldwin as little Edie's main squeeze Julius Krug, the characters serving as traffic guards on the boulevard of broken dreams.

I feel like I've probably seen enough of these two riveting nutjobs to last several lifetimes, but Gets assures me that the performances seem spot-on, the result of a full year of research and dialect coaching and presumably turban fitting. Jessica Lange, he said, "is so gutsy, she forces you to go with her."

So before you say "feh," let's put on our revolutionary costumes and go to Grey Gardens one more time. The cat food is divine!

Source