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Things You Could Never Know About Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer used to once work in a clothing store. This is ironic as well as inspiring when you realize that she was ranked #39 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. At one point, Michelle Pfeiffer  was so keen to become  a mom that she actually considered looking for a man to father a child. But as there is no such thing as a relationship with “no strings attached,” she decided to adopt instead. Her adopted daughter is ‘Claudia Rose’.

Michelle Pfeiffer is known to be relatively cool headed and never lost her temper even when her name was misspelled in the credits of TV film, Callie & Son (1981). She once dated Fisher Stevens who considered himself lucky when she came in third in Empire magazine’s 100 Sexiest Stars in film history list. One of Michelle Pfeiffer’s most atypical roles was as Catwoman in Batman Returns but she would not have got this as Annette Bening was initially signed for the part.

Michelle Pfeiffer is something of a singer and has been able to successfully sing as per the requirements of her roles in films such as Grease 2 (1982), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Prince of Egypt (1998) and Hairspray (2007). In fact she was in intensive voice training for several months as she was being considered for the role of Eva Perón in Evita (1996), which eventually went to Madonna.

Wonder if anyone has asked her if she regretted turning down the lead role in Basic Instinct (1992)? The role was then offered to Sharon Stone who catapulted to success overnight once the film was released. Michelle Pfeiffer  is no way lacking in sexy as she learned to tie maraschino cherry stems in knots with her tongue while she was a teenager.

Michelle Pfeiffer had to undergo the embarrassment of having pissed off the film’s star when she accidentally cut Al Pacino with broken glass while auditioning for Scarface (1983).

Michelle Pfeiffer has two younger sisters Lori Pfeiffer, and Dedee Pfeiffer. Amongst people who have a crush on her, actor Val Kilmer has written and dedicated poetry for her. They say that people of mixed blood have the most interesting looks and this is definitely the case with Michelle Pfeiffer who is of Dutch, German, Irish, Swedish and Swiss descent. Barbara Walters agrees as she has called her and Julia Roberts the most beautiful people she has ever interviewed.

Things You Could Never Know About Michelle Pfeiffer is a post from: Michelle Pfeiffer

The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence was written in 1920 by Edith Wharton. The book went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1921. In The Age of Innocence, we visit upper class New York City in the 1870s. The Age of Innocence did well with well known critics such as the one who wrote for the Times Book Review said it was “a brilliant panorama of New York’s 45 years ago. The novel is in demand mostly at public libraries and a best seller in the bookstores.” Even today, the book falls into context as almost 80 years later, the Modern Library ranked The Age of Innocence 58th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

In The Age of Innocence an upper class couple is about to be married when a scandalous woman’s entry into New York society turns their world upside down. The Age of Innocence is interesting because though it is a critique of the restrictive and hypocritical social mores of 1870s’ New York society, it leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions. This might be because Edith Wharton had written this novel to make up for an earlier, more brutal work, The House of Mirth. Particularly noteworthy is the exquisite detailing of the charms and customs of the upper caste through the narrative. Because of its realistic portrayal of the lives of 19th-century East Coast American upper class along with the social tragedy that is effected by the life that the protagonists are trapped in, Edith Wharton won the first Pulitzer to be awarded to a woman. Edith Wharton’s historical accuracy can be attributed to her intimate knowledge of the New York upper class as she had lived in it and seen its transformation by the end of World War I. The title is ironic, of course and brings attention to the difference between outward appearances and the inward machinations that defined that era.

In a complete departure from the somewhat violent themes and subject matter he preferred, Martin Scorcese of Raging Bull and Casino fame, decided to make a filmic adaptation of The Age of Innocence. The film stars Daniel Day Lewis and Michelle Pfieffer in the lead roles of  Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska.

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Dangerous Liaisons

1988 drama film Dangerous Liaisons is adapted from the Christopher Hampton play, Les liaisons dangereuses. This too has been adapted for theatre from a French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses which was written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in the eighteenth-century.

Dangerous Liaisons was directed by Director Stephen Frears who had previously directed British cinema successes such as My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Prick Up Your Ears (1987) and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987). Dangerous Liaisons was his Hollywood début.

Dangerous Liaisons was very highly appreciated by audiences. Whether it was the performances of the cast comprising Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer, or the cinematography of Philippe Rousselot, the costume design by James Acheson, or the film’s screenplay by Christopher Hampton, critics could not stop raving.

In the film Swoosie Kurtz and Mildred Natwick played supporting parts. This was also one of the first parts for then unknown actors such as Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman. Both actors would become famous in films such as Speed (1994) and Pulp Fiction (1994).

Critical acclaim is usually followed by awards and this did not prove untrue for Dangerous Liaisons. The film garnered many nominations for Academy Awards such as  for Best Picture, to name one of the six Oscar nominations. Dangerous Liaisons won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction.

In Dangerous Liaisons, the vicious Marquise de Merteuil, Glenn Close, calls on her lover and accomplice in all manner of misdeeds, the Vicomte de Valmont played by John Malkovich. She dares him to seduce Cécile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) so that she can revenge herself on a former lover who Cecile is affianced to. Valmont however has other plans on his agenda, namely seducing the virtuous Madame de Tourvel played by Michelle Pfeiffer. But when he learns that Cecile’s mom has been informing Madame de Tourvel about his licentiousness he decided to jump in on the plan. What ensues is a sordid, sad story of love, seduction, manipulation and the fallibility of human nature.

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Some of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Best Roles

Michelle Pfeiffer has had a stellar movie career, during which she has done a great job with many tough roles. But some of her best roles have been in films where she had been cast against type. In Married to the Mob she plays a murdered gangster’s widowed moll on the run. In this film, she stars opposite Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl. Donning a curly brunette wig and a Brooklyn accent, Michelle Pfeiffer was almost unrecognizable as Angela de Marco. She was well appreciated in this role and received her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Best Actress Award nominations for this. Her next role was as a chic restauranteuse Jo Ann Vallenari in Tequila Sunrise (1988). The shoot for this was difficult as she experienced many difficulties with creative and personal arguments with the director who on his part described her as the “most difficult” actress he’s ever worked with.

Another memorable role of Michelle Pfeiffer’s was in Stephen Frears’s Dangerous Liaisons (1988) alongside Glenn Close and John Malkovich. In it she plays a virtuous victim of seduction who ends up making the seducer the victim.. Her performance as Madame Marie de Tourvel was widely appreciated with Hal Hinson of the Washington Post saying that ” Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it. “For her performance, Michelle Pfeiffer was awarded a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and even received an Academy Award nomination for the same.

Michelle Pfeiffer has also acted as Susie Diamond, a hard-edged former call girl turned lounge singer, in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989). For this role, she took intensive voice training so that she could sing all the character’s vocals herself. Though the film did ok, Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance got rave reviews. Even the head hearted Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in Gilda and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot. In Variety Magazine, a review wrote that Michelle Pfieffer “hits the spot in the film’s certain-to-be-remembered highlight… crawling all over a piano in a blazing red dress. She’s dynamite.”

Some of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Best Roles is a post from: Michelle Pfeiffer