CelluloidKid

*Happy Birthday Joan Crawford!!!! - March 23, 1905 - May 10, 1977 -!!*

I had a hard time sitting through Grizzly Man (2005) ... It chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. The film consists of Treadwell's own footage of his interactions with grizzly bears before he and his girlfriend were killed and partially eaten by a bear in 2003, and of interviews with people who knew or were involved with Treadwell. ......I saw this in theater ...and walked out with tons of questions in my head .....even to this day....I still can't decide if the man was a lunatic ...or if he really thought he could live with bears. What was interesting was that Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers among wild brown bears at Katmai National Park in Alaska. A very haunting documentary. Sad. BTW, Murderball was an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature! I also liked the documentary _You See Me Laughin'_ (2002) ... It's a personal journey into the lives and music of the last of the Mississippi hill country bluesmen - farmers and laborers first, musicians second - men who, year after year, congregated on back porches and in tiny juke joints to drink and sing and play guitar .... I saw this in all of places ...Memphis, TN one night in a local movie theater after a night of dinner and sightseeing....Very intersting if U love music! Also check out _Shine a Light_ (2008).... Martin Scorsese turns the camera on the legendary Rock 'N Roll band, The Rolling Stones! HEAVEN!

*TORONTO - The Canadian Film Centre will cap a series of 20th anniversary events with a two-night tribute to its founder, Norman Jewison, in Los Angeles next month.* The tribute kicks off April 17, 2009 with a panel discussion involving Jewison and a group of film stars at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The centre says the 90-minute discussion, to be moderated by film critic Leonard Maltin, will be followed by a screening of Jewison's 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night. The next night will feature a screening of the director's 1971 classic, Fiddler on the Roof. Jewison founded the Toronto-based centre in 1988 as a way to offer emerging filmmakers training programs in film, television and new media. Its 20th year was also marked by Toronto events including the centre's annual barbecue last summer and an auction last month. Los Angeles County Museum of Art 5905 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 Tel: 323-857-6000 Fax: 323-935-9699

*Howard Hawks directing Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford .._Today We Live_ (1933)*

*_Sharon Tate Films_:* 1961 _Barabbas_ uncredited 1962 _Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man_ uncredited 1963 _The Beverly Hillbillies_ Janet Trego occasional appearances From 1963 until 1965 1964 _The Americanization of Emily_ Beautiful Girl uncredited 1967 _The Fearless Vampire Killers_ Sarah Shagal 1966 _Eye of the Devil_ Odile de Caray 1967 _Don't Make Waves_ Malibu 1967 _Valley of the Dolls_ (1967) Jennifer North 1968 Rosemary's Baby Girl at Party uncredited 1969 _The Wrecking Crew_ Freya Carlson 1969 _12 + 1_ (AKA:The Thirteen Chairs) In 1995, the "Doris Tate Crime Victims Foundation" was founded as a non-profit organization to promote public awareness of the judicial system and to provide support to the victims of violent crime. Patti Tate also confronted David Geffen and board members of Geffen Records in 1993 over plans to include a song written by Charles Manson on the Guns N' Roses album "The Spaghetti Incident?". She commented to a journalist that the record company was "putting Manson up on a pedestal for young people who don't know who he is to worship like an idol." After Patti's death from breast cancer in 2000, her older sister Debra Tate continued to represent the Tate family at parole hearings. Debra Tate said of the killers, "They don?t show any personal responsibility. They haven?t made atonement to any one of my family members." She has also unsuccessfully lobbied for Sharon Tate to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ms. Richardson began her screen career in an uncredited role of "Flower girl at wedding" in the 1968 film, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), with mother Vanessa Redgrave. As the years progressed, she made a name for herself with her role as Patricia Hearst in Patty Hearst (1988), and followed it up with challenging dramas like The Handmaid's Tale, lighter family fare like The Parent Trap remake, and indie art with Chelsea Walls. And, of course, she won a Tony award for the 1998 revival of Cabaret, where she played Sally Bowles. But beyond her roster of films and projects, Richardson had a true talent and power to her. As Paul Schrader once said (via Washington Post), she "had an essential quality of mystery about her. You can watch her for the better part of two hours, and still think that she'll show you something new." It's a terribly tragedy that we'll no longer experience this mystery, and we wish her family all the best in this trying time. Rest in peace, Ms. Richardson. We'll miss you!

Joan Crawford March 23, 1905 - May 10, 1977 - Would be 102 this year! Also the book, _Mommie Dearest_ is pure trash .....If U believe it or the film than it's a sad day after all ... Think about why Christina wrote the book "AFTER" Joan passed away....so Joan couldn't defend herself....Well Thanks for Cathy and all the kind words she has said over the past few years! I find it blasphemy that TCM would allow Christina to speak at all during the TCM Original documentary, _Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star_. It such a back stab! Go read something written with more intelligence and love ....a book called: _Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, a Personal Biography_ by Charlotte Chandler ...this book will change your outlook!!! _Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford: A Personal Biography_ is a fascinating new biography of screen legend Joan Crawford, Charlotte Chandler draws on exclusive and remarkably candid interviews with Crawford herself and with others who knew her, including first husband Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and _Crawford's daughter Cathy_. As a result, this biography is fresh and revealing, a brand-new look at one of Hollywood's most acclaimed stars. Told with a fresh perspective....Cathy Joan's other daughter...has nothing but good and kind things to say...and Cathy thinks Christina was a "Crack-Pot" ..and doesn't know why Christina wrote the things she did or said. *Or the "Brand-New" Joan book which came out last month.....* _Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star_ The first visual book to reclaim her place in the canon of glamour. Crawford pioneered a new depth that had not been seen before in roles for women. Focusing on the often overlooked first half of her career, this is the first visual book to reclaim her place in the canon of glamour. *"It's likely that most people younger than 35 only know the lady as the rumored, child-abusing clean freak...But all that is about to change. Peter Cowie's beautifully illustrated JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ENDURING STAR offers a fresh revaluation of the legend's legacy that should undo much of that damage." ~Instinct Magazine* Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star by Peter Cowie.

Another good documentary is: _Murderball_ (2005)!! A film about paraplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs - overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece I have seen these guys live in person her in Phoenix....They are amazing!! ...They blow me away every time!!! BTW _Tupperware!_ ...you will just walk away with a history of the company...I knew more about Tupperware than ever before! Very interesting!! The one documentary film I didn't like was Man on Wire (2008) ....I saw this in theater ...interesting .......needs to be seen ...a time capsule of a buidling we will never have again....The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center and is based on Philippe Petit's book, To Reach the Clouds, which has recently been released in paperback with the new title Man on Wire.

*Who cares about Manson...I don't ...why do a thread about a murder!??!* Remember .....something more important was lost .....SHARON TATE!! ;

*_Two-Lane Blacktop_ (1971) - March 20th ,2009 - 11:30 PM (PT) Arizona Time - Check Local Time.* I LOVE THIS FILM.....the ending will "BLOW" you away...It's 1 of those "****!" moments! *Interesting cast...Interesting plot!* *Easy Rider for Car Freaks!* *_Stars_:* Singer-songwriter James Taylor, _Beach Boys_ drummer Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird. *_Directed by_:* Monte Hellman *_Cinematography by_:* Jack Deerson *_Release date_:* July 7, 1971 *_Interesting Side Notes_:* Two-Lane Blacktop is notable as a time capsule film of U.S. Route 66 during the pre-Interstate Highway era, and for its stark footage and minimal dialogue. As such it has become popular with fans of Route 66. Two-Lane Blacktop has been compared to similar road movies with an existentialist message from the era, such as Vanishing Point, Easy Rider, and Electra Glide in Blue. Esquire magazine declared the film its movie of the year for 1971, and even published the entire screenplay in its April, 1971 issue, but the film was not a commercial success. A verysad note to the film is that In 1979, Laurie Bird committed suicide in the apartment she shared with Art Garfunkel in New York.

*RIP Betsy Blair!* She published her autobiography, _The Memory of All That_, in 2003....I will have to find a copy!!! What is interesting about Miss. Blair is that in the 1950s, Blair was under investigation from HUAC and blacklisted for several years. She almost lost one of her signature roles, that of Marty's girlfriend in Marty (1955), but was restored to the role after Kelly threatened to pull out of It's Always Fair Weather. For her performance, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and prizes from the Cannes Film Festival. *Woo Hoo Gene Kelly!!*

*Vanessa Redgrave and daughter Natasha Richardson* Do not grieve at the passing of mortality, for life's but a thing of terrible gravity. And the planets gravitate around you,and the stars shall dance about you, and the angels in heaven adore you, and the saints all stand and applaud you. So faraway,so faraway and yet so close. Nick Cave, "Far Away, So Close"

Robert Altman and Warren Beatty on the set of: _McCabe & Mrs. Miller_ (1971)

*This is so cool. I used to live in Denver..and have lots of friends still there..& I go back to the Denver Film Festival each year. A friend of mine saw this bike...and met Karen Green ...I can't wait to see the photos when they are sent to me!* *Woman changes jobs to pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe* Posted by: Dan Boniface written by: Jamie Kim 9NEWS.com - ‎Mar 12, 2009‎ *DENVER - There are lots of Marilyn Monroe fans out there. But probably not many can say they changed their career in order to pay tribute to the Hollywood legend*. One woman in Aurora did just that so she could create a Monroe masterpiece on two wheels. Karen Green has idolized Marilyn Monroe for years. She also has a love for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Her dream was to combine the two passions. "Well my house is done in Marilyn Monroe, so I thought the only thing to add to it is to have a motorcycle in the living room, and make it out of Marilyn Monroe," Green said. Three years ago she started to make that happen. She gave up her job as an agent with ReMax and started working at Mile High Harley-Davidson in Aurora. That way, she could get discounts on custom parts and labor to build the bike of her dreams. It took a year to transform a Harley Sportster into a Monroe masterpiece. Even with discounts, the custom work cost around $30,000, not including the cost of the bike. "Everything you can do to this bike's been done with this," Green said. There are several features she is especially proud of. "The favorite part that I have is the back fender, there's a picture of her, and my brake lights are her lips," Green said. Green will be showing off her creation, on a float in this Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade in Denver. She herself will be on the float, dressed up, of course, as Marilyn Monroe. "I'm just glad and proud to do this," Green said. *_TO SEE THE VIDEO_:* http://www.9news.com/seenon9news/article.aspx?storyid=111608&catid=509

*Hey some better films that TCM should have shown for St. Patty's Day would have been:* Waking Ned Devine The Commitments Once (2006) The Snapper (1993) Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) In the Name of the Father Michael Collins The Field

*RIP!* *At approximately 7:00 p.m. EDT 18 March 2009 , Liam Neeson's publicist issued this statement to the press:* Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.

The strangest documentary I saw was: _Tupperware!_ (2003) .... Harvard historian Laurie Kahn-Leavitt (A Midwife's Tale) writes and directs the documentary film Tupperware!, narrated by Kathy Bates. She and her team spent a year doing research at the Smithsonian Archives and interviewing around 300 people involved with the company. The story starts with the invention of Tupperware by scientist Earl Silas Tupper.

I met Natasha Richardson at the Denver film festivale 2xs....Very nice lady very funny....Out of all the celebrities I have lost in my lifetime ...this affects me the most. Do not grieve at the passing of mortality,for life's but a thing of terrible gravity. And the planets gravitate around you,and the stars shall dance about you, and the angels in heaven adore you,and the saints all stand and applaud you. So faraway,so faraway and yet so close. Nick Cave, "Far Away, So Close"

Another documentary I liked about film...which was a Encore Orginial documentary (Now on DVD!) was: Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco . I caught this late one night ...very interesting information! While Los Angeles has been the capital of major studio filmmaking in America since the early ears of the 20th Century, in the northern part of California, San Francisco has become home to a different breed of filmmaker -- artists who treasure their independence and carefully guard their creative vision, even while working in the highest echelons of the commercial movie business. Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas are just two of the best-known directors to emerge from the San Francisco film community, and Fog City Mavericks is a documentary which pays homage to a number of important filmmakers from the City by the Bay. In addition to Coppola and Lucas, Fog City Mavericks profiles directors Clint Eastwood, Carroll Ballard, Philip Kaufman and Chris Columbus, pioneering independent auteur John Korty, experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner, producer Saul Zaentz, editor and sound designer Walter Murch, cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel, digital animation moguls Brad Bird, Pete Docter, John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, and actor Robin Williams, and many more. While examining these individuals, the film also embraces the whole of the San Francisco film scene, and explains why these artists remain so loyal to their hometown. Fittingly, Fog City Mavericks received its world premiere at the 2007 San Francisco International Film Festival.

*_Other documentaries I enjoyed were_:* *_Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream_ (2007)* *_Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills_ (1996)* *_The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters_ (2007)* - If U grew up in the 70's/80's and played arcade video games...then U need to see this!! *_Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt_ (1989)* *_The Times of Harvey Milk_ (1984)* Needs to be placed into theaters again!!! *_Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story_ (2007)* - Chronicles the last great American showman, filmmaker William Castle, a master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks ..I *finally* saw this at _Sedona International Film Festival_. Very fun. Wish this was on DVD! *_The Kid Stays in the Picture_ (2002)* - The life of high-living showman Robert Evans - famed egotistical Hollywood producer at Paramount Pictures. *_Fast, Cheap & Out of Control_ (1997)* - It's about four eccentric individuals (a topiary gardener, a lion tamer, a mole-rat expert, and a robotics scientist/inventor), ....I saw this in theater and loved it! This is "Before" the TV show "Dirty Jobs"! *_Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse_ (1991)* - IF U "CLAIM" to be a film buff....then U need to see this.. Eleanor Coppola provided a behind-the-scenes look at the disaster-ridden making of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979)! *_Inside Deep Throat_ (2004)* - Another film I saw at the _Sedona International Film Festival_. With controversial, sexually-explicit scenes from the original 1972 film, told the story of the most notorious (and successful) porn film of all time with Harry Reems and Linda Lovelace. It frankly recounted the cultural phenomenon that resulted, and how it became a rallying cry for both censors and free-speech advocates ..... Some people walked out ....but very interesting! *_A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies_ (1995)* personal four-hour documentary with film-maker Scorsese providing commentary on dozens of carefully-chosen film clips from some of the greatest examples of US cinema......I own this on DVD!!! GREAT STUFF. I Love Marty! *_The Atomic Cafe_ (1982)* - Great retro stuff.... I own this on DVD.....hard to find now ...very rare... assembled 1940s-50s footage from US governmental sources about the atomic bomb to show the falsity, naivete, and absurdity of many of the statements about radiation danger during the Cold War. *_Capturing the Friedmans_ (2003)* - Graphically portrayed the issue of child sexual abuse and molestation within a dysfunctional middle-class Long Island family, while examining the elusive and conflicting questions of guilt and innocence. .......*THIS IS WHAT A DOCUMENTARY IS "SUPPOSED" DO ...MAKE YOU ASK QUESTIONS LONG AFTER U LEAVE THE THEATER!!!* *_Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography_ (1992)* - Saw this late 1 night on PBS. WOW! Wish this was on DVD! *_Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood_ (2009)* - Brand new PBS documentary! Saw it 2xs. Very interesting ...again needs to been seen ....U will never look at Casablanca (1942) the same way again!!!!

Another good documentary is: _Paper Clips_ (2004). The movie features interviews with students, teachers, Holocaust survivors, and people who sent paper clips. _The Paper Clips Project_ is a project by middle school students from the small southeastern Tennessee city of Whitwell who created a monument for the Holocaust victims in Nazi Germany. It started in 1998 as a simple 8th-grade project and evolved into one gaining worldwide attention. At last count, over 30 million paper clips had been received. Another documentary ....I enjoyed ..but I "_wouldn't_" say it "IMPACTED" my life was: _Phoenix Lights Documentary_ (2005) ...This documentary plays every few months in the local art house theater here in Phoenix...I also shows on TV arounnd Halloween....it has become a Phoenix "Legend"....It's kinda retro fun... I was living in Denver, Co at the time the "event" happend..LOL! Celebrating the historic and still unexplained Arizona mass sighting of 1997 this critically acclaimed and internationally award winning Documentary is based on the bestselling book, "The Phoenix Lights...A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone". Over 30 credible eyewitnesses, children, scientists, military, pilots and experts give compelling testimony to the reality of these mysterious global visitations, including former AZ Gov. Fife Symington who discloses that he witnessed the event and it wasn't military! Astronaut and moon walker Dr. Edgar Mitchell, Sc.D. confirms that these phenomena are real! A Commercial & Vietnam pilot witnessed the silent, mile wide craft glide above his head. A Veteran 911 Phoenix Police operator tells all about that fateful night. NASA footage confirms that these phenomena are here. UFO buffs call it the most documented and important mass sighting ever recorded. But still today, the military and government can only offer questionable explanations as to what the anomalous lights truly were. In over 11 years, the strange phenomena have never been duplicated or re-enacted [although the military tried fruitlessly, three years later]. Many experts and witnesses insist that what appeared in the Arizona skies was something beyond this world. Check out the _Phoenix Lights Documentary_ (2005)

*Yes I mentioned this else where ...but I thought this would be more fitting to place for this mention. I'm very excited to finally see The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) come to DVD for the 1st time....from research I see that it was never even placed on VHS!* *A lost Mitchum Classic sees the light of day!!* *_The Friends of Eddie Coyle_ starring Robert Mitchum & Peter Boyle is one of the 1970's lost crime/cop movies of it's era...& NOW... 'FINALLY" IT GETS RELEASED ONTO DVD!* *I have been wanting to see this Robert Mitchum forever it feels like. I have heard nothing but good thing about this film. I can't wait to snatch up this film once it hits DVD in May of 2009!* The film is highly praised in the book: _The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son_ by David Gilmour. *I know The Friends of Eddie Coyle has been on a lot "Films that need to be released onto DVD" lists.* Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is an aging, low-level gunrunner for the Irish Mob in Boston, Massachusetts. Facing several years in prison for a truck hijacking and hoping for a sentencing recommendation, he informs on a non-mob gun buyer - only to learn that is not enough. *_Directed by_:* Peter Yates *The movie will be released on DVD by the Criterion Collection on May 19, 2009.* The Friends of Eddie Coyle Theatrical Trailer

I just loved the twists and turns....I had to watch Gumshoe (1971) just to catch everything! Gumshoe lands somewhere between Robert Altman's gleefully cynical Chandler adaptation The Long Goodbye and Carl Reiner's broadly goofy Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, though this film actually came before either of those. Part of the time, it seems as if the film wants to be a mockery of the noir genre. Those around Eddie often roll their eyes at his catchy hard-boiled dialogue, and it's pointed out on numerous occasions that Eddie is a bit of a nut case who is receiving psychiatric treatment. The rest of the time, Gumshoe acts as if it actually wants to be an honest-to-goodness noir flick, albeit a rather amusing and preposterous one. For every time that Eddie gets teased by one of his friends, he finds another person willing to play his noirish game without missing a single beat. Goofy fun...so who cares if the plot is off balance...doesn;t make a lick of since..but that is what "Film Noir" is all about. It's about the style and atmosphere (like so many noir films, and like some of Chandler's novels). Interesting that the score for Gumshoe is the first of two films to be scored by Andrew Lloyd-Webber !

*Natasha Richardson part of legendary acting family* *_Story Highlights_* *Actress Natasha Richardson granddaughter, daughter of Britain's famed Redgraves* *Richardson is married to actor Liam Neeson; they have two children* *Richardson has worked hard to establish her own name, is renowned for stage work* *Actress injured in ski accident in Canada, now hospitalized in New York* *(CNN) -- Natasha Richardson, who is hospitalized in New York following a Quebec ski accident Monday, comes from an illustrious British acting family -- one whose name she's often found a challenge.* Richardson, the daughter of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson ("Look Back in Anger," "Tom Jones"), has said, more than once, that she found it difficult to live up to the family reputation. "The names Richardson or Redgrave didn't help," she told About.com's Rebecca Murray in 2007. "But the last thing you want is to ride any coattails, because you don't want people to be accusing you of nepotism. You want to be able to learn and practice, and not to be thrown into a spotlight before you're ready for it." But Richardson, 45, was practically born to the stage. Besides her mother and father, several members of her family are performers: Her grandparents were Sir Michael Redgrave, a famed British actor, and actress Rachel Kempson; uncle Corin Redgrave, aunt Lynn Redgrave and sister Joely Richardson also are noted actors. She's even married to an actor, having been wed to Liam Neeson ("Schindler's List") since 1994. Watch as Natasha Richardson is hospitalized. She first appeared in a movie when she was 4, earning a bit part in her father's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1968). By that point, her parents had divorced, and she was living with her mother, who already had dazzled movie audiences with her work in "Morgan!" (1966), "Blowup" (1966) and "Camelot" (1967). Despite her mother's success, Richardson said that the family was sometimes in financial straits because the politically controversial Redgrave gave away money to various causes, according to the BBC. Though Richardson appeared in regional theater and a CBS television miniseries by the time she was 22, she first gained renown for her performance in Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" in a 1985 production that featured her mother and Jonathan Pryce. The performance earned her the London Drama Critics' most promising newcomer award. She's earned her strongest notices for her stage work. She won a Tony for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 revival of "Cabaret" and earned raves for her Blanche DuBois in a 2005 production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Other productions include a 1993 production of Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie" and the original 1999 production of Patrick Marber's "Closer," later made into a film with Julia Roberts. Critics have turned into fans. "Her Sally Bowles is a dazzling example of how star power can be harnessed to create a devastating portrait of someone who is definitely not a star," wrote The New York Times' Ben Brantley on "Cabaret." "Born-to-lose characters can be tedious, but Richardson turns this one into an electrifying triumph." On screen, Richardson deliberately has picked a wide range of roles, many in independent films. She makes no apologies: "I am attracted to the darker places than I am to the lighter, frothier stuff and I'm not sure why that is," she told the Web site Filmfreakcentral.com in 2006. "I do think that it's certainly more challenging to play the dark places. But it's the part, primarily, and on the whole I'd rather play a wonderful part in a movie that few people see rather than a sort of cosmetic role in a blockbuster. Not that I've been offered many of those." There have been a handful of major Hollywood productions, however, most notably the 1998 version of "The Parent Trap" and the Jennifer Lopez vehicle "Maid in Manhattan" (2002), which she took as "a laugh," she told Filmfreakcentral.com. "You'll have to blame Ralph [Fiennes] for that one. He's the most wonderful actor, a good friend; we thought we'd have a laugh." Richardson met Neeson during the 1993 Broadway run of "Anna Christie" and later made the film "Nell" with him. When the two met, Richardson was married to producer Robert Fox, but that marriage ended. She later married Neeson. The two have generally stayed out of the tabloid press, but they won a 1998 libel suit against the London tabloid The Mirror over a story that claimed their marriage was a sham. The newspaper apologized, and Neeson and Richardson were awarded $85,000, which they donated to victims of a Northern Ireland car bombing. Richardson has come to terms with her famous name -- and, having worked with her mother more than once, greatly appreciates her abilities. "What's always different about my mother is that there's always something unexpected about her work, because she's sort of fearless," Richardson told About.com's Murray. "When she hits it, then it sort of is just incandescent." She added that "her children have entirely forgiven her" for the difficulties when they were younger, "because she is a great mother." Richardson and Neeson have two children: Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12.