Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

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Is Lady Gaga Just Madonna Redux?

February 11, 2011

Big doings today with the release of Gaga’s new single “Born This Way.” I haven’t seen such excitement in the music world since….Well, I was about to say something about Justin Bieber but I’ll stifle myself. Anyhow, I happen to like her music and, aside from her raw meat outfit, thinks she’s an interesting performance artist.

The question a lot of music critics are asking today is this: Is Lady Gaga merely a ripoff of Madonna, who, years before there was a Gaga, wore shocking outfits and sang provocative lyrics and wrote very danceable tunes that became huge hits?

My take? “Ripoff” is way too strong. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I just think Gaga is this era’s version of Madonna, an artist she’s said to admire. The music business has always had artists who sound like other artists, going back to Bob Dylan who was later imitated by the Byrds and then Tom Petty. Isn’t Beyonce a newfangled version of Diana Ross, both having started out as lead singers of three-girl groups? And going back many years ago, weren’t Simon and Garfunkel a couple of guys with perfect harmony who reminded people of the Everly Brothers? Wasn’t Jerry Lee Louis a white version of Little Richard?

My point is that it’s very unusual to have a wholly original sound and look. Lady Gaga may owe a debt of gratitude to Madonna, but Madonna owes the same debt to somebody, doesn’t she? Who?

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Music Tagged With: Beyonce, Bob Dylan, Byrds, Diana Ross, Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lady Gaga, Little Richard, Madonna, Simon & Garfunkel, Tom Petty

Why Must Every Movie Be Remade/Rebooted/Rewhatever-ed?

January 31, 2011

The other day I read that Clint Eastwood will be directing a new version of “A Star Is Born.” Oh, and he’s cast Beyonce in the role of the woman whose talent eclipses that of her husband’s. Maybe you’ve watched the original with Janet Gaynor and Frederic March. Or maybe you’re a fan of the Judy Garland/James Mason version. (I’m raising my hand here; I love, love, love that one.) Or maybe you fell for Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson as the star-crossed lovers. My question is…Does the world really need yet another retelling of this story, which makes me cry every single damn time I watch it?

(Movie trailers sure were overheated in those days, weren’t they?)

Now HBO is committing the ultimate sacrilege when they unveil their remake of one of my all-time favorite oldies, “Mildred Pierce.” My husband Michael hates Joan Crawford and we argue about this movie whenever it’s on TCM (he says she looks like a drag queen), but I think she was terrific in it. I’ve seen it so many times I can recite almost every line of dialogue.

HBO’s “Mildred Pierce” won’t be a feature film but rather a mini-series that will air in March. I have great respect for Kate Winslet as an actress, but I just can’t picture her as Mildred. Cannot. And I’m trying, believe me.

See what I mean? The mini-series just seems – I don’t know – artificial, as if director Todd Haynes was trying to imitate the look and feel of the original only with more bells and whistles. I’m sure I’ll tune in the night it debuts, but I suspect that I’ll mutter throughout: “Why couldn’t they have left well enough alone.”

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies Tagged With: A Star Is Born, Beyonce, Clint Eastwood, HBO, James Mason, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.

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