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True Grit, actor Hailee Steinfeld

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20 Responses to “True Grit, actor Hailee Steinfeld”

  1. Robert Hamer says:

    “You’re in virtually every scene, every frame…”

    Since you point out that obvious fact, I do wonder how she feels about being campaigned for Best Supporting Actress even though she plays – unquestionably – a lead role in True Grit. I’m sure that as a young newcomer, she doesn’t want to bite the hand that feeds her (in this case, the studio campaigning her) and jeopardize her chances at major publicity.

    Nevertheless, does Steinfeld feel like she’s “cheating” her way to an Oscar, or does she think it’s perfectly fair of her to compete with actresses who had to develop their characters and make an impression with just a few scenes?

  2. JPK says:

    Well, she’s just adorable. I know that sounds ageist and sexist but I don’t care.

  3. David Poland says:

    Robert… if I thought for a second that she was conscious of such distinctions, I would have asked her about it.

    I left the opening sequence in, in part because it was the explanation of the first question of the formal part of the interview, but more so because it shows that this is, really, a 14-year-old girl, poised and precocious, but still silly and maturing and putting on a little bit of a show about her comfort with all this attention.

    At one point, off camera, a reference was made to an unpleasant piece of gossip history with another young actor… and she had no idea what we were referring to… and smartly (and kindly), her publicist felt no need to stick something ugly in her brain.

    She texts a lot and I am sure she will end up reading blogs and such that make an issue of her category. And I don’t disagree that it’s an issue. But for this young lady to be in serious contention for any acting award in any acting category for a role that was almost as verbally complex as Jesse Eisenberg’s in The Social Network (almost) is a real achievement and I can live with the categorization.

  4. Rob says:

    Guys, I don’t get True Grit. It’s fine but so minor. Is there subtext I’m missing?

  5. christian says:

    The Coens are the subtext.

  6. Rob says:

    As in, “If you don’t get the subtext, this movie could’ve been directed by Ron Howard?”

  7. You mean The Missing? It was a good/not great film back in 2003, but I imagine it would feel like a breath of fresh air by today’s standards. Ironically, and this isn’t a slam on True Grit (also good/not great), but the Coens made a somewhat more kid-friendly, almost innocent (up to a point of course) coming of age western, compared to Ron Howard, who’s own western was dark and brutal and quite cynical. Right or wrong, if you did a blind taste test-type thing, I imagine quite a few would tell you that the Coens directed The Missing and Ron Howard directed True Grit. Random thought for the moment…

  8. LexG says:

    She’s cute!

  9. hcat says:

    I would disagree with you on that Scott, Howard’s earnestness is evident in every scene of the Missing. Mattie is earnest but the movie is not. I agree Grit is innocent, and almost kid-friendly (I was watching it thinking I can’t wait to watch this with my daughter, then came the knife to the chest, and I revised the watch date back a few years), and while humorous it is not the usual Coen humor, but there is nothing in The Missing that would make someone expect the Coens. The Missing screamed IMPORTANT EPIC MOVIE in every frame, which is Far and Away a dead Howard giveaway.

  10. Tim says:

    While watching the movie, at first, I thought, “She’s like a really good high school musical actor.” But as the movie went along, she grew more and more credible and endearing. Loved the movie and loved this interview with her.

  11. LexG says:

    Hailee is the niece of ’80s fitness icon JAKE STEINFELD.

    Talk about burying the lead. That’s like finding out Chloe Moretz is related to Jacko the Energizer Guy or something.

  12. LexG says:

    Hey asshole, why didn’t you ask the most obvious of questions and find out if she actually watched the original TRUE GRIT?

  13. LexG says:

    hey THE REAL LEXG here who Poland knows and loves:

    I didn’t post the above comment.

    One of the flaws of Poland’s new software is you can log in as anybody.

    I didn’t post that and I wouldn’t call Poland an “asshole.” The IP or email log in will bear that out.

  14. Johnny Luckett says:

    “…Yes, I think that Hailee Steinfeld is just wonderful!­!! Her on-screen work will just blow you away. I think she is the Best Actress of the year.’True Grit’ is a great film and a must see. Also, I must note that Jeff Bridges & Matt Damon keep on showing us what great acting is all about.” – Johnny Luckett http://www.imdb.com/rg/s/3/name/nm3974084/

  15. oil says:

    Good, she’s just beautyful. I know ageist.

  16. bluraymovies says:

    The Coens are the subtext.

  17. Sole F80 2011 says:

    I fall in love with her. So pretty

  18. Bird says:

    She is so pretty, nice smile. I become to be her fan club for now.

  19. psp says:

    Princess ^^

  20. Jerry Cook. says:

    Well, I am her fan as well. I really like her.. actually, I just watched her shows more than 2 times.

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

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