MovieChat Forums > Annette Bening Discussion > A legend????

A legend????

posted 14 years ago by vikram8402
9 replies | jump to latest

I wonder why people call her a legend. Meryl Streep has a career. A Career with those heavy performances. Not all works of great art. But Sophie's choice will stand the test of time for the next two centuries. Bening has never had a great career. She is not a movie icon. Her only truly historical role is in American Beauty, which really was not a sensational performance, let alone one of the greatest. Being Julia was not well promoted and does not have a legacy. Just a little movie with a great performance. I do not know why is she thought of as a legend. May be it is because she married an infamous lecher, and turned him over. Also very good PR. Julianne Moore is far more critically aclaimmed, more prolific, married with kids, a good homemaker, and she is ever hardly considered a legend. All this legend talk for Bening will surely one day get her a honorary Oscar. But I doubt if Moore or even Glenn Close will ever get one of those.

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[–] vikram8402 14 years ago

Agreed. Rather in contrast to Meryl Streep, only Susan Sarandon has had a sizeably long leading lady status. Sissy Spacek preferred to take time out. She did not work for five years after Crimes of the heart. Diane Keaton nobody took seriously and got cocooned into comedy. Jessica Lange (closest to Streep- with two Oscars) made bad choices after a golden turn in Blue Sky, Sigourney never peaked (which is actually good). Glenn Close, a superstar, hit TV too early. I suppose Genn Close is legendary for she has given two of the greatest performances ever, also two of the most villainous and famous. But she was also typecasted in the mid-nineties. Julianne Morre has maintained her career beautifully. She is not an icon, but she gels with younger and older actresses very well (helped because of her face, which rather really is pretty), which does give her a command over time. And hell, she is prolific: she works. Sigourney Weaver too likes to work.

[–] vikram8402 14 years ago

well?

[–] mediteranean23 14 years ago

I dont think she is that well known outside the US for her work-media tend to focus on her husband,on her marriage and not on her. So not really a legend. Streep or Sarandon on the other hand are way more familiar faces worlwide. Still while they have gained respect,popularity,fame and all i wouldnt go that far as to label them legends for now. I dont know...i think older generation actresses deserve it more Taylor,Lauren,Redgrave etc...But you know,there are ups and downs and its all about marketing so maybe soon Annete B. will be on the spotlight worldwide again after American Beauty.

[–] vikram8402 14 years ago

Meryl Streep was not internationally famous: I mean she was not a star, until may be 2006. That is the reason of her success: her not being a star for so long (which got her roles without typecasting), and then recently her reason for being succesfull is largely her mainstream success, which is unheard of for an actress at her age. Glenn Close is still a bigger star 'STAR' than Meryl Streep. Streep never had an internationally famous role unlike Close or Weaver.

[–] y2010 14 years ago

As Annette Bening, she's just a great actress, with Warren Beatty, she's a legend. I believe it has something to do with her husband. Together, they're a hollywood power couple and they're respected throughout Hollywood. I think that's why she's considered a legend. Her talent as an actress with Beatty's films, it's almost hard to ignore this couple in Hollywood.