Turning 55 Today. Natascha McElhone. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 14, 1969 · Surrey, England, UK

Birth name
Natasha Abigail Taylor

Spouse
Dr. Martin Hirigoyen Kelly (May 19, 1998 – May 20, 2008) (his death, 3 children)

QUOTES:

I wanted to know whether the character was going to be ‘the wife’ or ‘the girlfriend’, which bores me to tears and is endemic. I think it’s incumbent on actresses to bring something else to the part which isn’t in the script.

I think I was ambitious. I still am. A lot of the stuff that was coming my way was stuff I just didn’t want to do, so it might have seemed like lack of ambition to shy away from that, but if it sticks in your throat… I just wanted to do what I wanted to do and which I thought said something.

Now I’m the sole breadwinner… I have to work. I have to try and work non-stop, actually, to make things work.

Turning 36 today: Vanessa Hudgens. Happy Birthday

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Born
December 14, 1988 · Salinas, California, USA

Birth name
Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Spouse
Cole Tucker(December 2, 2023 – present) (1 child)

QUOTES:

[on her nude picture scandal] I’m much better now. But truthfully, I don’t like talking about it. It was something that was meant to be private, and even though it isn’t anymore, I’d still like to keep it as private as I can. It was very traumatic, and I am extremely upset it happened. I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions. But I wouldn’t have been able to get through it if it wasn’t for my family, friends, and fans, who supported me all along the way.

Power to the Peaceful.

[on her role in The Frozen Ground (2013)] Ever since I was really young, I wanted to play a prostitute. It’s just, like, thrilling as an actor to put yourself in a situation you, personally, would never be in. At the end of the day, you’re just a kid playing pretend, so if you’re going to do it, might as well go crazy with it.

Happy Birthday: Christopher Plummer (1929 – 2019)

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Born
December 13, 1929 · Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Died
February 5, 2021 · Weston, Connecticut, USA (complications from a fall)

Birth name
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer

QUOTES:

Unless you can surround yourself with as many beautiful things as you can afford, I don’t think life has very much meaning.

I’m bored with questions about acting.

[on working with Dame Julie Andrews] Working with her is like being hit over the head with a Valentine’s card.

[2011, a revised opinion on The Sound of Music (1965)] People were unnaturally sentimental about the film. So I always gave it a tough time. But a few years ago, I went to an Easter party and had to watch the damn thing with these kids. I was a prisoner! And then I thought, it’s got everything – the lovely songs, the Nazis and the nuns and the kids. It’s timeless and I’m grateful for it.

[on receiving a Screen Actors Guild award for Beginners (2010)] I just can’t tell you what fun I’ve had being a member of the world’s second oldest profession. When they honor you, it’s like being lit by the holy grail.

[on the ability to convey a sense of pathos] Very few people have it naturally – Chaplin, Brando. It’s a gift. But you can learn how to fake it.

Ewan (McGregor) doesn’t act, he inhabits a role. And, of course, he makes you not act and inhabit the role, like it’s a competition. I owe that to him.

Happy Birthday: Steve Buscemi

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Born
December 13, 1957 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Spouse
Jo Andres (1987 – January 6, 2019) (her death, 1 child)

Birth name
Steven Vincent Buscemi

QUOTES:

My favorite review described me as the cinematic equivalent of junk mail. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds like a dig.

In the beginning, it wasn’t even a question of deciding I’m going to do independent film and not commercial films — I wasn’t being offered any commercial films, and there wasn’t an independent scene. I did a lot of “so-called” independent films that were really low-budget films trying to be commercial. But you certainly make choices when you have a script written by Jim Jarmusch or the Coen brothers or Alexandre Rockwell; I think any actor would feel lucky to be able to work on projects like that.

It’s weird; I was not a really tough guy in high school, but I end up playing all of these psychopaths and criminals. I don’t really care who they are, as long as they are complicated and going through something that I can understand and put across.

As much as you tell yourself, ‘We made the film and here it is and that is enough,’ you would like to come away with something.

Happy Birthday: Jamie Foxx

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Born
December 13, 1967 · Terrell, Texas, USA

Birth name
Eric Marlon Bishop

QUOTES:

[on wearing prosthetic eyelids which made him blind in Ray (2004)] After six hours of being blind, you lose the sense of how a person is physically. It was amazing to hear the little buzzing voices all around you.

[2005 Academy Awards acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Ray (2004)] I guess we got to do it again. “Oh, ah!” Yeah, you’re ready. That’s for Ray Charles. Give it up for Ray Charles and his beautiful legacy. And thank you, Ray Charles, for living.

I got so many people to thank tonight. First I want to start it out with Taylor Hackford. Taylor, you took a chance, man. I mean that love for Ray Charles was deep, down in the earth. It’s cracked open. And it’s spilling. And everybody’s drowning in this love. I thank you for taking a chance on this film. And thank you for waiting 15 years to get me to do it. I want to thank you. I want to thank Crusader. I want to thank my agents. I want to thank Rick Kurtzman. I want to thank Kim Hodges. I want to thank Steve Smooke. I want to thank my managers, Jaime King [Jaime Rucker King] and Marcus King. Let’s live this African-American dream. It’s beautiful. I’m glad I’m with you. I ain’t never leaving you. I’m glad I’m with you.

I got a chance to meet a whole lot of people, experiencing this. And other people I want to thank, I want to thank my sister. Four feet, eleven inches of nothing but pure love. I want to thank my daughter for telling me just before I got up here, “If you don’t win, dad, you’re still good.

I’m just … I see Oprah [Oprah Winfrey] and I see Halle [Halle Berry]. I just want to say your names. I want to talk to you later. Both of you. Because Oprah got — allowed me to meet somebody by the name of Sidney Poitier. And, yes, Sidney Poitier said, “I saw you once. And I looked in your eyes and there was a connection.” And he says, “I give to you responsibility.” So, I’m taking that responsibility tonight. And, thank you, Sidney.

Happy Birthday: Wendie Malick

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Born
December 13, 1950 · Buffalo, New York, USA

Birth name
Wendie Diane Malick

Spouses
Richard Oscar Erickson(December 29, 1995 – present)
Mitch Glazer(January 1982 – November 19, 1989) (divorced)

QUOTES:

[Commenting on a “National Enquirer” story about her and her husband] They talked about me as if I were Mother Teresa, and that every time I get a paycheck, I go and send it to poor people, and that we spend every free moment helping out people less fortunate.

Happy Birthday: Emma Corrin

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Born
December 13, 1995 · Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK

[on gender and using she/they pronouns] “I think visibility is key with these things. My journey has been a long one and has still got a long way to go. I think we are so used to defining ourselves. That’s the way society works within these binaries and it’s taken me a long time to realise that I exist somewhere in between and I’m still not sure where that is yet.”

Happy Birthday: Taylor Swift

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Born
December 13, 1989 · Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Birth name
Taylor Alison Swift

Height
5′ 10″ (1.78 m)

QUOTES:

There’s more to life than dating the boy on the football team.

I’m intimidated by the fear of being average.

Everyone I know has had fair warning! I’ve always written about who’s spending time with me, so if they get into any kind of a relationship with me, they know what they’re getting into.

There is a strength in letting bygones be bygones. It was therapeutic to write and perform. Sometimes it’s best not to say anything. I just save it for the music.

Love is fascinating. Wishing for it, pining for it and the anger that comes when you lose it. I used to think that I could figure out some pattern to love, like if you don’t text a guy back for a half-hour, he’ll like you more. But there is no pattern. Absolutely nothing is predictable in love.

No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.

Almost every time I put something out, there’s the word ‘too’ put in front of it – too pop, too country, too rock. So I’ve kinda stopped worrying about it. I’d rather be too something than not enough something.

I see myself as kind of this girl who writes songs in her bedroom. You can dress it up all you want and you can put together an amazing theatrical production; you can become a better performer as time goes by, and you can try to excite people. But I’m always going to be a girl who writes songs in her bedroom in my own personal perception of myself.

Today’s Novel Deadline: COMEDY Festival

Submit your COMEDY Book by the deadline. 

Submi your Comedy Novel on the submission page: https://festivalforcomedy.com/comedy-novel-festival/

Watch Novel Performance Readings:

Get FULL FEEDBACK on either the 1st chapter or entire novel book from our committee of Professional Writers, and Writing Consultants. Get your novel performed by a professional actor at the festival.

NEW OPTION: Or, just submit for an actor performance reading transcript of your novel (any 5 pages of your book). Great way to promote the sales of your book if you’re already published. (see examples on the video playlist below)

SUBMIT your novel now (both your 1st chapter or full novel accepted) To be eligible for our Writing Festival Events. Submissions take 3-5 weeks for evaluation

Submit a novel book and get it seen by the world.

Today’s Short Story Deadline: BIOGRAPHY Festival

A biography is a written account of a person’s life that tells the story of their experiences, accomplishments, and challenges. The word “biography” comes from the medieval Greek words bios, meaning “life”, and graphia, meaning “writing”.

Accept only stories that fit into the BIOGRAPHY genre.

Submit your on the submission page: https://storypitches.com/biography-short-short-festival/

Get your short story made into a performance video!