Big Little Lies in the Media

[Guest]

She doesn't need to.  I just think she's coming off like she's hoping for an Emmy for what a tough job she had and thinks if she keeps the focus on her and her bruises and her pain and her Advil and Keith's torment, it's more likely.  

It's not so much "OMG you guys suck for liking her" as just "If I were her publicist I'd suggest some things because she's not making me want to rush out and find more stuff she's in", unlike maybe Witherspoon or Kravits or even Skarsgard, who appears to be humble and polite and not a diva.  

It's just more normal for the soundbites about their experience to include some positive words about working with the others involved, I think.  At least a bone for Kelley or Vallee or Moriarty, who aren't her competitors.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Guest

[madam magpie]

I doubt she needs to do much campaigning for an Emmy nom for this role, but even if she were campaigning, I don't see why it matters. She's explaining her experience making the show. She doesn't necessarily need to praise some men or even women she worked with too. That said, I've seen and read multiple interviews where she does do that, so this criticism makes no sense to me. 

Edited March 31, 2017 by madam magpie

[Guest]

I'd read those if they were linked here but I don't like her enough, even going in, to go hunt down justification.  Based on what I've seen in the show and in the media from reading here, I'm not her biggest fan.  

It doesn't matter and it doesn't have to make sense to you.  It's just my take.  It's a place to discuss our take on things.  I don't suggest anyone else should share my opinion or that anyone who loves her work is wrong or has bad taste.  I like my stars humble.  Once they ping my diva-dar in the media, I have little interest in them.  I think it's a very common feeling.  It's just people differ in where their bar is set.  I guess mine's high.  

[madam magpie]

Right, and what I'm saying is my opinion. Why do you feel the need to keep saying that? I've got it. My opinion is mine; yours is yours. I think we all know that. I get to say what I think too, believe it or not.

[Guest]

I know.  I just feel like sometimes if I post an unpopular opinion the topic of conversation becomes the validity of my opinion, not the show or the article.  Like I said before, I don't think it needs to get to TWOP levels of 'don't ever say a word about another post, keep your comments about the SHOW', but it'd be nice if peoples' opinions didn't come under attack.  I would love it if everyone posted their opinion of Nicole and the show and the media all they want.  It's a subtle difference... "I love Nicole and find her gracious."  vs "Your opinion makes no sense to me and why anyone would expect her to say ___."

I probably should've made an Unpopular Opinions thread weeks ago.  It seems like on those you're more likely to be able to voice your opinion without it being disputed as being unfounded by those who don't share it.  

If I posted "we know the dead person is a man", I would expect people to argue with that opinion because we don't know that.  But if I post, "I don't like Kravits", I would expect people to voice alternate opinions if they have them (which they always do) but not bother going down the path of questioning my dislike of Kravits.  That latter is what I'm trying to explain when I say it's just an opinion.  It's not really anything arguable.  Mine doesn't make anyone else's wrong, unlike the 'the dead guy is a man' statement.  

Edited March 31, 2017 by Guest

[Optimist48]

7 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I know.  I just feel like sometimes if I post an unpopular opinion the topic of conversation becomes the validity of my opinion, not the show or the article.  Like I said before, I don't think it needs to get to TWOP levels of 'don't ever say a word about another post, keep your comments about the SHOW', but it'd be nice if peoples' opinions didn't come under attack.  I would love it if everyone posted their opinion of Nicole and the show and the media all they want.  It's a subtle difference... "I love Nicole and find her gracious."  vs "Your opinion makes no sense to me and why anyone would expect her to say ___."

I probably should've made an Unpopular Opinions thread weeks ago.  It seems like on those you're more likely to be able to voice your opinion without it being disputed as being unfounded by those who don't share it.  

To clarify, I was referring to the Vulture interview that was linked to in the article.  http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/nicole-kidman-big-little-lies-alexander-skarsgard.html

She has plenty of praise for her co-stars.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Optimist48 said:

To clarify, I was referring to the Vulture interview that was linked to in the article.  http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/nicole-kidman-big-little-lies-alexander-skarsgard.html

She has plenty of praise for her co-stars.

Thanks!  She really does.  I will revise my dislike downward.  ; )

[Keepitmoving]

5 hours ago, QuinnM said:

I notice that HBO has Legend of Tarzan on heavy rotation as well.  Cheesy as someone said but really nice eye candy. 

HBO has also been running films with Reese, Kidman, Shailene/Zoe in that Divergent Series, I had forgotten that Zoe was in that as well. I'm waiting for them to start running that moving on Johnny Cash that Reese won an Oscar for, now she was great in that and so was Joaquin Phoenix. HBO does this all the time, if they have any new show, movie etc.. they'll  run old movies from the actors starring in that show. 

Edited March 31, 2017 by Keepitmoving

[madam magpie]

5 minutes ago, Keepitmoving said:

HBO has also been running films with Reese, Kidman, Shailene/Zoe in that Divergent Series, I had forgotten that Zoe was in that as well. I'm waiting for them to start running that moving on Johnny Cash that Reese won an Oscar for, now she was great in that and so was Joaquin Phoenix. HBO does this all the time, if they have any new show, movie etc.. they'll  run old movies from the actors starring in that show. 

I realize this is off topic...apologies! But as far as you can tell, is HBO running the whole Divergent series?? I saw only the second one on my HBO Go list, but not the others and it's driving me nuts! I haven't seen any and don't want to start in the middle!

[stagmania]

OMG the cuteness. The actor who plays Ziggy is an American theater critic.

[Keepitmoving]

23 minutes ago, madam magpie said:

I realize this is off topic...apologies! But as far as you can tell, is HBO running the whole Divergent series?? I saw only the second one on my HBO Go list, but not the others and it's driving me nuts! I haven't seen any and don't want to start in the middle!

I'm not sure, because like I said, I'm never able to focus long enough to watch an entire move let alone the series, I don't know what it is. I think at first glance it reminds me of that series that Keanu Reeves was in I can't remember what it was called, oh, The Matrix, but I couldn't get into that either. I will say this though, if you have HBO, just go to HBO on Demand and watch it, it's free, if you already have HBO. I'm pretty sure they have all the movies in the series that have come out so far stored there. 

Edited March 31, 2017 by Keepitmoving

[ProudMary]

5 hours ago, madam magpie said:

I realize this is off topic...apologies! But as far as you can tell, is HBO running the whole Divergent series?? I saw only the second one on my HBO Go list, but not the others and it's driving me nuts! I haven't seen any and don't want to start in the middle!

I just checked HBO.  Currently they only have Allegiant (2016) available, which is the third film in the series.  I checked both Netflix and Hulu for Divergent (2014) and Insurgent (2015) but neither platform has them available.  Wish I had better news for you!

[madam magpie]

45 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

I just checked HBO.  Currently they only have Allegiant (2016) available, which is the third film in the series.  I checked both Netflix and Hulu for Divergent (2014) and Insurgent (2015) but neither platform has them available.  Wish I had better news for you!

I appreciate the help!

[Ms Blue Jay]

Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon did Instagram live (?) and said they actually want to do more Big Little Lies episodes.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/big-little-lies-second-season_us_58deb91de4b0b3918c8361c1?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004

Edited April 1, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'll be interested to see if they end up making a S2 with a new murder/mystery. They were able to do it with Pretty Little Liars (which is about to air the seventh and final season). The pilot episode was basically the first book in the series and then over the courses of the first season, they covered several other storylines from later books but from S2 on the writers just created completely new plots/characters that were never in the books. Same thing with The Vampire Diaries (which just finished the series after eight seasons). I wonder how long it would take to get an entire season written and ready to shoot though. I've seen how long we've had to go between seasons for Broadchurch and Sherlock, so hopefully they can get a second season of BLL together a little more quickly!

For what it's worth, what I took away from Nicole Kidman talking about her bruises, etc. was simply that this role was more intense than she thought it would be and it affected her more than she had anticipated. A friend of mine started a new (non-acting) job a few months ago because she thought it would be less stressful than the job she'd had for the last few years (related fields, but different jobs/roles) and now that she's been at her new job for a while, she's realizing how stressful it is too. I saw some of what Nicole said as similar - "I thought I was signing up for X, Y, Z and I got that plus A, B, C."

[Mabinogia]

I would love a second season of this show. They don't even need the murder mystery angle for me, since I keep forgetting this is a murder mystery. It's the least appealing thing for me. I'm way more interested in what will happen with Ed and Maddie's marriage, will she confess, will they work through it, I think they will. I want to know if Jane will finally get the help she needs to work through what happened to her. I want to know how Celeste deals with life once/if (god I hope it's once) she gets away from Perry. I want to see how Perry reacts to her leaving him. Or maybe not. He's scary enough already. I don't need that kind of tension in my viewing life. I want to see Jane and Renata forge a sort of friendship. I think they could, and it would be interesting to see how Jane deals with her two rival friends. I want to see the aftermath of the murder, how it affects them all. I have really come to love watching these characters and feel invested in their lives.

[Guest]

I would probably watch if it came back because (like so many shows) I love the clothes, sets and real estate.  But I would vote they leave it be and move on.  Even 7 hours was a bit much for this story, I thought.  

I think Orange Is The New Black is one show that was well-suited for a multi-season show from one book due to the nature of showing back stories of the women in prison and the ease of rolling in new characters.  But that stumbled after a few seasons in not finding good stories for the longer arcs.  If this show had to keep coming up with new dramas for Renata and Maddie and all, I think it would feel forced.  To me, the show had a simple but good message about appearances and secrets and it handled it.  But I prefer the mini-series format.  

I would say maybe the AHS model of bringing back the cast in new roles but I feel like it'd be hard with these actors.  They're all playing pretty much versions of the same roles they play often.  I don't think any of them has Sarah Paulsen's chameleon ability, for example.  

[Razzberry]

I could listen to Skarsgard speaking Swedish all day long.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Razzberry

[madam magpie]

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I would love a second season of this show. They don't even need the murder mystery angle for me, since I keep forgetting this is a murder mystery. It's the least appealing thing for me. I'm way more interested in what will happen with Ed and Maddie's marriage, will she confess, will they work through it, I think they will. I want to know if Jane will finally get the help she needs to work through what happened to her. I want to know how Celeste deals with life once/if (god I hope it's once) she gets away from Perry. I want to see how Perry reacts to her leaving him. Or maybe not. He's scary enough already. I don't need that kind of tension in my viewing life. I want to see Jane and Renata forge a sort of friendship. I think they could, and it would be interesting to see how Jane deals with her two rival friends. I want to see the aftermath of the murder, how it affects them all. I have really come to love watching these characters and feel invested in their lives.

I'm with you. The murder is a very catchy frame, but it's not the most compelling part of the story for me. I'd love to watch these women continue through the next chapters of their lives.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Article in W Magazine with the Costume Designer.

http://www.wmagazine.com/story/big-little-lies-mommy-style-costume-designer-alix-friedberg?mbid=social_twitter

[chocolatine]

An article on People.com about the BLL real estate. I can't stop laughing at the idea that Madeline and Ed's house is supposed to be representative of a "lower economic standing". We should all be so lucky.

[Mabinogia]

Yikes! If Madeline is in a "lower economic standing" I must be poverty stricken. Even in my moderately desirable for the area town a condo on the water is half a million. A house with a kitchen like that on our crappy little Long Island Sound beach would be several million. They need to stop pretending that Madeline isn't filthy rich.

[Atlanta]

I want to be 'poor' like that. Bwahahaha!

[madam magpie]

52 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

An article on People.com about the BLL real estate. I can't stop laughing at the idea that Madeline and Ed's house is supposed to be representative of a "lower economic standing". We should all be so lucky.

They definitely have different ideas of "lower economic standing" in Malibu (and Monterey).

[Sayla Vee]

On ‎3‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 2:31 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'd read those if they were linked here but I don't like her enough, even going in, to go hunt down justification.  Based on what I've seen in the show and in the media from reading here, I'm not her biggest fan.  

It doesn't matter and it doesn't have to make sense to you.  It's just my take.  It's a place to discuss our take on things.  I don't suggest anyone else should share my opinion or that anyone who loves her work is wrong or has bad taste.  I like my stars humble.  Once they ping my diva-dar in the media, I have little interest in them.  I think it's a very common feeling.  It's just people differ in where their bar is set.  I guess mine's high.  

Not sure how high your bar is set when Nicole sets off your diva-dar for something she didn't do, but Reese Witherspoon doesn't for her "do you know who I am" comments to the police.  And if that didn't bother you, how about when she got her own little police cap to have her picture taken in as a way to apologize to the officer?

I  am a Nicole fan (and also of Reese & Laura), but of course, not every one is.  I just wonder why you think your bar is set so much higher than mine because I am a Nicole fan.  I hope I'm misunderstanding your comments.

[Guest]

I think you are.  I mentioned Reese's comments to the police affected me, too.  Her performance has made me more of a fan.  I was lukewarm on Kidman coming in, maybe due to plastic surgery, and am lukewarm leaving.  Some people don't care about those things.  That's all I meant.  

I remember in the Fargo season 1 threads someone linked to an article where Freeman said he hates when he's approached by fans.  That made me dislike him.  A lot of others couldn't care less.  Me being sensitive to their remarks (or lack of) to the media doesn't mean others being less sensitive is somehow inferior.  

As far as 'something she didn't do', she didn't mention any co-stars or co-creators in the first few interviews I read.  The tone felt very self-congratulatory.  Obviously, mileage varies.  I'm glad others like her.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Guest

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Laura Dern was on Build discussing her new movie Wilson and there are a few clips about Big Little Lies.

Costumes on BLL:

 

The meeting about Avenue Q:

 

Ed's beard was Adam Scott's idea:

[madam magpie]

http://tvline.com/2017/04/03/big-little-lies-season-2-nicole-kidman-interview-celeste/

[Guest]

Kidman comes across much more likable to me in that one.  ^

http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/2/15123422/big-little-lies-season-finale-recap-you-get-what-you-need-kidman

Interesting theory about why the three all dressed as Holly Golightly. 

[Razzberry]

21 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I remember in the Fargo season 1 threads someone linked to an article where Freeman said he hates when he's approached by fans.  That made me dislike him.

As much as I love Freeman, hearing something like that makes me think they probably shouldn't be in the entertainment business.  Not that I blame him, really, but some things are best left unsaid.

[Atlanta]

4 hours ago, Razzberry said:

As much as I love Freeman, hearing something like that makes me think they probably shouldn't be in the entertainment business.  Not that I blame him, really, but some things are best left unsaid.

Yep, it comes with the territory. And then when careers stall, they call paps on themselves.

Wonder how true this is:http://blindgossip.com/?p=84372

[Guest]

If that's true my guess would be Woodley wouldn't come back.  It says the two producer women would, so that's Kidman and Witherspoon, and Dern I think has said she would.  Of Kravitz and Woodley, I think Woodley probably has plenty of lead roles to pick from and no need for an ensemble show follow-up season with no big name writer or director on board.  

[Atlanta]

4 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

If that's true my guess would be Woodley wouldn't come back.  It says the two producer women would, so that's Kidman and Witherspoon, and Dern I think has said she would.  Of Kravitz and Woodley, I think Woodley probably has plenty of lead roles to pick from and no need for an ensemble show follow-up season with no big name writer or director on board.  

It would be cool to have a small series of how Celeste is dealing with the aftermath of Perry's death and Tom and Jane. But if SW doesn't want to come back, would they recast?

[Llywela]

Vulture has a nice round-up of the show here.

[Mabinogia]

13 hours ago, Atlanta said:

But if SW doesn't want to come back, would they recast?

She is the only one I wouldn't be upset about being recast, honestly. I need Reese and Nicole and Laura and I think Zoe was great as Bonnie. Shay was okay as Jane, but I don't feel like she fully lost herself in Jane the way I feel the others became their characters, so if they could find someone else who isn't too glaringly different, I say by Shay, good luck, you won't really be missed all that much. But please, let the kid who plays Ziggy stay. I love that kid! All the kids, really, they were great.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hee, maybe S2 can take place with Jane going home to Santa Cruz for some kind of family emergency so she is not seen and Ziggy gets to stay with Madeline. No recasting necessary!

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Llywela said:

Vulture has a nice round-up of the show here.

Interesting comments.  I like that she pointed out the female detective is the one who can't excuse the women.  

I didn't really get the impression the Greek chorus was suggesting Celeste was 'asking for it'.  Did others?  

[JBC344]

Well to be fair to all the actresses careers, a second season would be a limited season as well I guess so, they could probably get the production schedule down to about 4-4.5 months of shooting so I don't think doing other projects would be a big conflict.  Now if they were doing a regular network show I would say no way would you get this talent to commit to a 9 month schedule. 

Personally I would rather watch this cast take the anthology route and adapt another one of Lianne's novels for another limited series than do another season of BLL.

Edited April 4, 2017 by JBC344

[ElectricBoogaloo]

For what it's worth, Adam Scott said it took them six months to film this mini series (which is how long he had to live with the beard).

[Stella]

18 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

If that's true my guess would be Woodley wouldn't come back.  It says the two producer women would, so that's Kidman and Witherspoon, and Dern I think has said she would.  Of Kravitz and Woodley, I think Woodley probably has plenty of lead roles to pick from and no need for an ensemble show follow-up season with no big name writer or director on board.  

It is fun to speculate on this blind. I looked at the IMDB for each actress and for whatever it's worth it seems Woodley and Kravitz have the least going on. But ZK does have a pretty big role I think in the next Fantastic Beasts so I could see her as the no. I think SW may be in a bit of a career stall since the Divergent series was so mediocre.

[Keepitmoving]

If that blind item is about this show, then I see Zoe Kravitz being the no. If it comes back I hope Shailene returns, her character was my favorite character.  I enjoyed her portrayal of the character.  I also think Bonnie and Nathan are the easiest to remove, they even had Nathan bring up moving so....maybe they move away. Although, I would like more backstory on what I think was Bonnie's abusive past which motivated her to run in and save another woman, Celeste, from being kicked and stomped on the ground to death. 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Keepitmoving

[JBC344]

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 11:26 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

For what it's worth, Adam Scott said it took them six months to film this mini series (which is how long he had to live with the beard).

Yeah, I heard this took six months.  I mentioned 4-4.5 for a second season because they wouldn't need to "initiate" production like they did for the start of the show. A lot of the crew and the "groove" of the show would be in place so less production time.

[Atlanta]

On 4/4/2017 at 3:36 PM, Keepitmoving said:

If that blind item is about this show, then I see Zoe Kravitz being the no. If it comes back I hope Shailene returns, her character was my favorite character.  I enjoyed her portrayal of the character.  I also think Bonnie and Nathan are the easiest to remove, they even had Nathan bring up moving so....maybe they move away. Although, I would like more backstory on what I think was Bonnie's abusive past which motivated her to run in and save another woman, Celeste, from being kicked and stomped on the ground to death. 

Though I thought Zoe was inspired casting in that role, but since hers wasn't a big one she'd be the easiest to recast or to make an excuse of why her and Nathan aren't around. The story centers on the three main women.

[Mabinogia]

If it did come back I'd think Bonnie's story should be told. Jane's story is pretty much over. Her rapist is gone, she's got a new love interest and Ziggy was cleared of all charges. Celeste's story is just stating. Her husband/abuser is dead, she has a kid who learned too much from his dad, she's probably going back to work, etc. Her story would be the most interesting. Madeline kind of still has the affair hanging over her head, and dealing with her blended family which would include Bonnie. And Bonnie, well, she just killed a man. That's got to do things to a person, even if that man deserved it.

I'd really hate for any of them to go, but as far as storyline, Jane's is the only one that was pretty much wrapped up. What would she do in the second season? Date? Be happy that Ziggy is doing well? Maybe they could have her go to therapy, but I don't think it will be nearly the level of Celeste's therapy sessions so I don't know why they would go there. Any ideas of what they could do with Jane now?

[Razzberry]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

Any ideas of what they could do with Jane now?

Maybe something to do with this guy  :-o

 

[Athena]

How Many Times Does Nicole Kidman Have To Prove Herself?

[Stella]

2 hours ago, Athena said:

How Many Times Does Nicole Kidman Have To Prove Herself?

Thank you for posting this link Athena. A great piece, very in depth and thoughtful. Nicole has had a fascinating career.

(When it took me to Buzzfeed I figured it would be some sort of nonsense, tabloid fare. Now I realize I really knew nothing about Buzzfeed.)

[NutMeg]

6 hours ago, Athena said:

How Many Times Does Nicole Kidman Have To Prove Herself?

Thank you for this article. The comparison with men actors who can coast for years on one good performance is spot on and I had never realised it before... This should almost be mandatory reading :) (and at the very least should be referenced to in the Gender in movies thread).  

[MaggieG]

This might be just me but does anyone feel like the article is reaching? Just a little? I have never felt that Nicole needed to prove herself. I've always been a huge fan of hers. She has definitly made some not so great movies over the years, but her perfomances have always been top notch in my opinion. She has never been afraid to get ugly or naked or vulnerable. She made that awful Grace of Monaco worth watching. Just thinking back now to all the Nicole Kidman movies I've watched over the years, I've never been dissapointed in her performance and she absolutly killed it as Celeste. Idk, that article just made me a little sad that people think that she needs to prove herself over and over again, because in my eyes, she has never had to.

[Guest]

She won a best actress Oscar 14 years ago.  If that's not validation, what is?  She's been getting plum roles steadily for almost 30 years.  I never felt she was underappreciated or that Hollywood is more appreciative of men's work overall.