Debra Winger

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 3:56am

Did anyone catch the interview “Debra Winger: Undiscovered”
on CUNY TV on Friday or Saturday night? She was interviewed by Janet Maslin. The interview concerned her new book, "Undiscovered," in which she explains how she resisted the lure of Hollywood and created a life for herself beyond acting. The thing about Debra Winger that I never really got until this week is that this is a woman who does not care about Hollywood in the least. She loves to act (and even said that if you have to ask the question should you become an actor then you shouldn't because it is the type of life that chooses you) but hates the business. She made most of her movies before the town become obsessed with box office and youth and she just got out because she had other things she wanted to do with her life. I found her in to be so real, introspective and inquisitive. I think she's a great actress, and I miss seeing her in films.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 7:44am

I wish I had seen it, she used to be one of my favorite actresses.

However, what happened to her career I don't necessarily believe was all Hollywood machinations. A friend of a friend (Yeah, yeah, I know...) worked on THE SHELTERING SKY with Miss Winger and the stories he told about her were....um, not very nice.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 7:59am

She came off a bit surly on her last appearance on The View to me. However, maybe she's just too "real" for me.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 12:50pm

I heard her speak at the Port Townsend Film Festival and she came across to me as being a sincere artist who did not care for Hollywood's commercialism. She actually spent more of her attention promoting Copper Canyon Press, originally a tiny independent publisher in Port Townsend that over the years has become one of America's premier publishers of poetry. What can I say about her personally? How much can you know about a person from a public talk? (An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed in Port Townsend years ago. It was a sort of "homecoming" occasion for her and more specifically, for the town.)

[D2]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 1:00pm

She recorded a radio spot for me once - aside from some initial scheduling problems, she was friendly and professional in the studio and the recording session went off without a hitch.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 1:04pm

Didn't her problems in Hollywood start after she wrote that book where she said she once ate a whole meatloaf?

[BWF]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 2:55pm

She's one of those people I always wonder about whenever a 'whatever happened to' thread comes up.

If my memory serves me well, she was an extremely difficult person to work/deal with. Shirley Maclaine covers her work experience with her very well in one of the her books.

There are a lot of similar types, they're tolerated until they no longer put bums on seats, at which time they are dropped like proverbial hot potatos.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 3:51pm

I never worked with her and only met her briefly, so I can't form an opinion. I have learned that when looking at a person through the eyes of another person things can get filtered and distorted by that person's own personality and relationship with the subject. In other words, I've learned to take it with a grain of salt and trust my own instincts.
Updated On: 7/21/08 at 03:51 PM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 8:08pm

There is a shot in Sheltering Sky that just made me hit replay repeatedly because I couldn't believe it. It's when Malkovitch has just been put into the truck to take him out /home. Winger climbs into the truck and ( he is lying down, sick unto death) PUNCHES him in the crotch! AND he never flinched. Knowing the conditions the cast and crew would have been working under I though it was very unprofessional. I know Malkovitch has a rep for"excentric behavior" but REALLY!! WHAT could he have done? and obviously the director wasn't able to reshoot it.