Anne Hathaway vs Michelle Pfeiffer

[BatLobsterRises]

Originally Posted by milost

How about Michael Keaton? "Oh yeah, those are all great" one minute, then the next, "nah, I haven't seen them, haven't even completed mine". That's the truth, you think these actors and actresses watch the films at the premiere? Do you think all of them watch their own films?

Michael Keaton could not seem more genuine about the fact that he likes the direction the Nolan movies went in. He went on and on about it on a recent podcast (heard by no one), while fully admitting that he hasn't seen the movies in their entirety.

And Nolan praised Burton's films as "visionary" and "brilliant". Is that all just an act too? Or when Hathaway said she was at first intimidated to follow in Michelle's footsteps? When Ledger praised Nicholson? Etc. etc.

I think sometimes there's such a thing as being too skeptical. At the end of the day we have to make up our own minds about who's genuine and who's not, and I've made up mine. Or we can just not care about their opinions at all, which is perfectly valid too.

But as Batman fans, we ALL like to see what various people have to say about various incarnations. It's natural.

[regwec]

BatLobster, I don't think anyone is willing themselves to disbelieve the veracity of Michelle's words: it is just that they are merely what professional protocol demands. They might be genuinely meant, or not. There is no way to know. It would be a huge deal if she had said of Hathaway, "no range, no class, no charisma", because that just isn't what's done.

This is why Nicholson's bizarre comments about Heath Ledger were so troubling.

All this means is that Michelle's words, in this context, are meaningless. It doesn't mean that they are wrong per se.

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Look I'm sure Michelle thinks that Anne is a great actress and has been full of nothing but praise for her.

Believe me... I've seen enough Michelle interviews to know when shes being genuine and yeah, she genuinely wishes Anne well.

But it's also clear that she was being courteous. During the promotion of Dark Shadows and People Like Us last year she was bombarded with Catwoman/Batman Returns/Anne Hathway questions... and by the end it was obvious she was done talking about it. What else could she say...

- She's a good actress
- I'm sure she'll be wonderful
- That the nature of these characters. They have to reinvent them.
- I hope she had fun with it.
- I wonder how she handled the whip

She was being genuine but she was also being polite.

[BatLobsterRises]

I agree with all of that PP. No objection from me.

And as I said regwec, there were ways she could have sidestepped the issue while still being diplomatic if she didn't feel that way about Anne's ability. She could have just said, "I can't wait to see her in the role, I love that character and can't wait to see how they reinvent it", etc. etc. But she went the extra mile and specifically mentioned her ability to go dark places, her ability to do comedy, the fact that she thought she had all the right tools to do the part justice and that she was a big fan of her. There is a difference there. If it came across as an obligatory professional courtesy to me, I wouldn't have referenced it in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say "because Pfeiffer said this, it's true and Anne is good!". That's not the point at all. It's just about certain people in this thread needing a wake up call and realizing that just because they think Hathaway is a bad actress doesn't mean other people (with talent and good taste) feel the same *cough OutRiddled*. I like Pfieffer a lot, in part because she does seem quite genuine to me. Which, ironically, is precisely what a lot of Anne Hathaway haters feel Anne isn't.

[regwec]

Let's not resort to the 'haters' label. Hathaway does little for me, but I don't know her, much less hate her.

[BatLobsterRises]

I'm not labeling you at all regwec. My apologies if it came off that way. I don't presume anyone who doesn't like Hathaway much is a "hater". But there very much is a movement of Hathaway hate out there, and someone who's been active in this thread is flying the flag for that particular crowd/school of thought. The poster I was addressing in the first place.

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Anne does come across very stage school... but I don't care. She's talented, hard-working and clearly strove for loftier ambitions than being a Disney girl (Which she acheived).

It's fine to compare both actresses with the role of Catwoman but thats where you should draw the line.

Michelle will be 55 this year (This month... she really need to stop aging). Their careers aren't something you can really compare. While Michelle was in her 20's the movie industry was a different beast.

[BatLobsterRises]

Originally Posted by Pfeiffer-Pfan

Anne does come across very stage school... but I don't care. She's talented, hard-working and clearly strove for loftier ambitions than being a Disney girl (Which she acheived).

It's fine to compare both actresses with the role of Catwoman but thats where you should draw the line.

Michelle will be 55 this year (This month... she really need to stop aging). Their careers aren't something you can really compare. While Michelle was in her 20's the movie industry was a different beast.

[Just_Human]

Anne will be in the next Nolan movie

It'll be starring Matthew McConaughey and (recently) Anne Hathaway just agreed to be in the film as well!

The Plot:


An exploration of physicist Kip Thorne's theories of gravity fields, wormholes and several hypotheses that Albert Einstein was never able to prove.

[OutRiddled]

Originally Posted by BatLobsterRises

It's just about certain people in this thread needing a wake up call and realizing that just because they think Hathaway is a bad actress doesn't mean other people (with talent and good taste) feel the same *cough OutRiddled*.

When did I ever say she was a "bad actress"?

I am only judging her performance as Selina Kyle/Catwoman..

To be honest, I have only seen her in Havoc, Alice in Wonderland and The Dark Knight Rises.

[Schrute]

Just watched Returns last night, and it has to be Pfeiffer. I just don't think Anne's Catwoman has anything memorable to do in the film besides killing Bane (which I thought was a pretty weak death imo). She helps trap Batman, but all I can think about while watching that scene is that Bane and his men know Batman is Bruce Wayne and could have stormed in on him and Talia when they were sitting by the fireplace 5 minutes earlier.

She does help Batman save the city which I like, but it was kind of predictable but not in a bad way. I just love that you don't really know what Pfeiffer's Catwoman is going to do at the end of the film, instead of going back with Bruce she attacks him and kills Max and is just gone.

I've said this before but I don't think Rises gave Hathaway anything really juicy to chew on as an actress, while Returns gave Pfeiffer a lot to work with.

[lililatigresse]

Well, I don't like Catwoman and to be honest, I also don't like Hathaway.
Pfeiffer's Catwoman is the only Catwoman I like. When I was little, I was fascinated by her she's what made me interested in Batman but then I realized that the Catwoman is the comics was definitely not as cool. Maybe that's why I have never been a fan of Catwoman, the disapointment was huge.

Anyway, this one is easy to me, as I would place Pfeiffer next to Ledger. Pfeiffer's Catwoman is with Emma Peel and Ellen Ripley my favorite female character in a film/television.
Even though I don't like Hathaway, I admit that she was not the disaster I thought she would be, she did what she could with what she was given but sincerely, there's nothing iconic about this performance. Honestly.

[Szetsilya]

Anne was good enough but she came off as more like ScarJo in Iron Man 2. Michelle bought the character chewed it up and devoured it.