"LIFE SEEMS to me now to be reduced to anecdotes," says the genius Elaine May. (I may have used this quote before. It tickles me every time I think of it.)
ONE OF this columnist's favorites is actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He is heading into the final season of "The Tudors" on Showtime. He will now appear as the older, more debauched Henry VIII. I am told that Jonathan has actually consented to "some aging." After all, he was, from the beginning, such an unlikely -- though brilliant -- choice for the role of the red-haired English monarch and he got through most of this amazing series looking ravishing.
Jonathan is one of those dark-night-of-the-soul kind of guys. Very intense, full of "issues," but one can break through and not have a total nervous collapse while interviewing him.
He was a challenge at first. But if one just concentrates on his lips, his eyes, his boldly exposed chest, one gets through it. (It was cold and wintry when this column sat with Jonathan, but his T-shirt dipped distractingly low.) And he seemed to like it that this interviewer knew just a bit about English history.
P.S. "The Tudors" drives scholars half mad. It is not always authentic. But it's great film drama. And you never will forget some of its torture scenes -- people wrapped in oiled bandages for the fire, red-hot pokers up the backside, the rack reducing pathetic humans to crawling remnants as they approach the headman's axe. But after all, this part of "The Tudors" is authentic. Unfortunately.
HEY, GANG -- The artist Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, is going on tour for the first time in 33 years.
Here's your chance to see him in Dublin, Ireland on Nov. 15, in Birmingham, England on Nov. 23, in the Liverpool Echo Arena on Dec. 5 and in London's Royal Albert Hall on Dec. 8.
But that would mean you'd have to go to Great Britain where a month's worth of rain fell in only one day last week. It's damp.
SING! DANCE! THRILL! ENJOY! What a kick to see a Broadway musical and be able to sing along (silently, of course) with such classics as "That Old Devil Moon," "Look to the Rainbow," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" and "If This Isn't Love."
That's what you'll be doing if you go see the truly sparkling production of the beloved "Finian's Rainbow" just opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway.
There's a wonderful cast, starring the one and only Jim Norton. (Broadway awarded his performance in "The Seafarer" with a Tony in 2008!) This Irish gent bears laughter and tears on his humble shoulders magnificently throughout.
Then, there's the endearingly lovely Kate Baldwin as his daughter. Ms. Baldwin is a big winner with her rich voice and charming looks, performing in this 62-year-old classic by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg. And, of course, there's the smolderingly sexy Cheyenne Jackson as her love, sending sparks up around both of them. Everyone in this show is great and what's more, you can bring your children.
WHEN THE United Nation's gives away the Children's Fund "Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award" on Dec. 10 at the Beverly Wilshire in L.A. -- well, guess who'll be stepping up to accept as "Man of the Year"? Our old pal, Jerry Weintraub. (Listen, I can recall the past, when Jerry was getting "Man of the Year" awards and the president was George Walker Bush.)
Maybe you just think of Jerry as the movie producer who revived the "Oceans 11" franchise, much to our delight. But he is also the philanthropist who co-founded "Not On Our Watch," which donated $400,000 to help at-risk Zimbabwean children.
Do you want to see in person -- George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Willis, and others equally elusive? Call 310-201-5033 for more information on how to go to the UNICEF BALL.
AMERICA'S young Amanda Seyfried was so good as the somewhat bewildered daughter in the movie hit "Mamma Mia!" and she found happiness while making that movie with her leading guy, the handsome Dominic Cooper. They carried on over into private life.
But Amanda says she has to go to England to see Dominic and though she is willing to put on a British accent in order to work in Great Britain, nobody really asks her to do so. "A lot of people I love most in my life live in England!" says she.
Meanwhile, her heartthrob, Dominic, who became very well regarded for appearing in the play "The History Boys," says he is not interested in leaving his native land to work in the U.S. You can see Dominic in the new movie "An Education," but he ain't moving.
Something's gotta give for these two!
OUR SMART editor friend, Maureen O'Brien, gave up New York for the sweet life in Ojai, Calif. She writes that since she left Harper Collins, she has been busy working with Alanis Morissette, as well as with the son of the late AIDS hero, Elizabeth Glazer.
Young Jake Glaser turned 25 last week. Maureen just loves hanging with him and his crew of skateboard buddies in Venice. So, there are second acts in American lives!
QUOTE OF the weekend from the New York Post's Reed Tucker: "If you're anything like us, you're getting tired of being ordered around by Oprah all the time. Read this book! Lose weight! Vote for this guy! Rub my feet!"
(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)
