Once a co-host of “At the Movies,” Rex Reed is a film critic, author, music journalist and columnist for The New York Observer. Over the course of his career, he has befriended many of the eccentric personalities of stage and screen. On Sunday, Reed comes to Actor’s Express for An Evening with Rex Reed, where he will recount some of his interactions with the likes of Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury and Raquel Welch with the kind of anecdotal humor that could only be provided by someone who knew them in their prime. Here, he talks about the show, his Oscar predictions and the show business of yesteryear.
Q: What exactly can people expect from An Evening with Rex Reed?
A: I decided recently to do an entertaining talk about all the really interesting, fascinating and controversial people that I've known. If somebody like myself doesn't talk about them, I'm afraid they're all going to be forgotten soon. There's a great history that young people today have not even bothered to investigate. I just feel sad that these people have been ignored because these are much more interesting people than anybody today. I'm going to tell stories and personal anecdotes about Tennessee Williams, Betty Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Myra Breckinridge, Tallulah Bankhead. … Young people today don't even know who Tallulah Bankhead was, and she was one of the most interesting women who ever came out of the South. [Bankhead was named for Tallulah Falls in north Georgia; Bankhead Highway in Atlanta was named for her grandfather, John Hollis Bankhead.]
This is kind of an eclectic visit with all of these famous people from the past. Not too many contemporary people because I don’t find the contemporary people all that interesting. I couldn’t get up and tell you a wonderful story about Brad Pitt. I mean these people are just a big yawn.
Q: Will you focus more on people from the South since this show is in Atlanta?
A: I'm from the South [born in Texas, grew up in Louisiana], so I've always been interested in Southerners who go to New York or wherever and make it big. So I always do some of them, and I try to do some of these things in their voices and it's much easier for me to do Southern accents. I do a great Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and I even do Tallulah Bankhead. I don't do all these people perfectly, but you certainly get the message. It turns out to be entertaining, and [the audience] learns something.
Q: You've spent many years in the film industry, most notably as a movie critic. What are some of your Oscar predictions this year?
A: I think it was a pretty sad year, but I was able to cobble together a ten-best list. "The King's Speech" is a great film. I thought "127 Hours," the film about the real-life experience of the guy who was trapped under a rock in a canyon and had to cut his arm off to survive, was a wonderful film, with James Franco giving a terrific performance. The Clint Eastwood film was very good, and I loved an animated film called "The Illusionist." I loved Ben Affleck's true comeback in "The Town." I like "The Social Network." It's about something I'm not even remotely interested in, but I thought it was a very well made film. So people can't say I'm an old fogey who's out of it.
I think the greatest performance of the year will also be awarded the prize, and that is Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech.” There’s another movie called “The Kids Are Alright” [and] I think Annette Bening will win the best actress award for that. I think the supporting awards are going to go to people in “The Fighter,” which is also a very interesting movie. Christian Bale gives a remarkable performance in it. The crazy, big-haired mother is played by Melissa Leo and she may win an Oscar. Or they could go in a different direction and give Julianne Moore the best supporting actress award for her role in “The Kids Are Alright.” The best movie is going to be between “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network.”
An Evening with Rex Reed
7:30 p.m. Jan. 23. $30.
Actor’s Express
887 W. Marietta St., Suite J-107
Atlanta, Ga. 30318
404-607-7469
www.actors-express.com
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