total prep time: 30-45 minutes
chill time: 2 hours
4 avocados
1 fresh jalapeno, diced and de-seeded
3/4 tomato, diced
1/4 onion, diced
juice of 1/2 lime
1/3 cup (pre-chopped) cilantro, then chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
1/4 tsp. salt
add all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl in that order (or thereabouts), mix and toss well until avocado becomes a paste. chill in refrigerator 2 hours before serving. should be mild-medium spicy.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
An Open Letter to Gary Oldman.
Well, my friends, I've been blessed to bat 1.000 with the last two blogs I've written about high-profile members of society, in that both Christine Ha and Keerych Luminokaya have been made directly aware of writings I did about them and have, in a fashion, approved. So I said "What the Hell; it's time to cowboy up, defy the odds and write a good old-fashioned fan letter to my very favorite actor of all time: Mr. Gary Oldman."
Dear Gary Oldman -
My name is Jonny Lupsha; I'm a freelance journalist and author in Richmond, VA. I've been an avid proponent of your acting work since the mid-1990s, when I first realized the breadth of characters you had successfully - even masterfully - portrayed, even at that point in time. Since that point, I've been overjoyed to see your acting portfolio - and your popularity - soar to the point of your Oscar-nominated performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But I'm getting ahead of myself - I'd like to discuss just some of your work over the last 25 years or so and tell you why you're my favorite actor past or present.
As a lifelong Sex Pistols fan, I was initially turned on to your work through a VHS rental of Sid and Nancy. I thought you perfectly captured the bottled chaos of one of classic punk's most iconic figures and his tragic and bizarre life. Your onstage chemistry with Chloe Webb was so akin to the co-dependency chronicled of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen it was almost frightening. I recall an interview with Benicio Del Toro in which he mentioned that after appearing in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, he had trouble finding acting work due to the sheer insanity of that role for several years after the fact, and I was happy to see that your career continued without a hiccup after Sid and Nancy.
I'm not nearly the Shakespeare scholar I should be to discuss your role in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, nor the Beethoven expert required for legitimate praise of Immortal Beloved, so please take it on faith that, as usual, you executed both roles at a level of at least expert. On the other hand, your next performance that caught my eye was in Oliver Stone's JFK as Lee Harvey Oswald. Like many of your roles to follow, you handled Oswald with a very delicate release and restraint of emotion. Every time I watch JFK, I'm amazed with how much of a patsy Oswald can seem in some scenes, and how frightening he can seem in others, and find myself leaving the film with as strongly mixed emotions of enjoyment and apprehension over Oswald as I've had with any contemporary film character, rivaling Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight 15 years later.
Of course immediately following JFK you were cast in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. Even putting aside the more feral iterations of Dracula you played very briefly in the film (the werewolf, the bat-like creature, etc), you brought to life three separate and extensive angles of the world's most famous vampire and his personality: the bloodthirsty Romanian warrior in the introduction, the lecherous old count alongside Keanu Reeves and the young prince stealing the heart of Winona Ryder. I would have to imagine these would be a challenge similar to a "multiple personality" role, a la Edward Norton in Primal Fear or John Lithgow in Raising Cain, in that the difficulty would be balancing such different facets of one human being in a way that wouldn't pull the audience out of the experience - a challenge you rose to and passed with flying colors, in my opinion and that of innumerable others.
Where would the next step lie, after playing an iconic horror character? A white pimp in True Romance. I thought Dexter Spivey had a really clever presence about him. Some of Dexter's personal jargon sounded practiced, or rehearsed - but rehearsed by Dexter Spivey, not by Gary Oldman. I mean that phrases such as "We got everything here from a Diddle-eyed Joe to a Damned if I Know" sounded more like what Clarence and Alabama described him as - essentially, a wannabe with misplaced confidence - than anything else. Whenever my friends and I discuss True Romance, someone will always bring up how well you portrayed Dexter, who was living his own act as what he thought a "tough Detroit black pimp" would be like, with traces of his real self bubbling under the surface.
Oh, and every once in a while we can't help but ask one another if it's White Boy Day.
Your back-to-back roles as corrupt police officials in Romeo is Bleeding and Leon were fascinating in that Jack Grimaldi is closer to being a likable antihero resurrected from classic noir and the latter is the purely evil drug-addled Stansfield. I still watch both movies whenever I get the chance, but I'd like to applaud you for making a mob-bought cop with a mistress as pitiable as you did by the end of Romeo is Bleeding and for everything that makes Stansfield who he is in Leon. From the sociopath, whiplash range of emotions to the unreal bathroom scene confronting Natalie Portman, who has come to the precinct to kill you, he remains one of the most jaw-dropping and memorable villains in the crime sub-genre. Excellent job, playing both characters from such a familiar trope so differently and strikingly.
Leading up to the turn of the millennium was like a smorgasbord of versatility for you, it seems, and specifically to two of my favorite characters you've played. The first is The Fifth Element's Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg. Zorg's southern accent was spot-on, feeling part Carolinian and part Kentuckian, and bringing an overbite into his dialogue - a convincing nuance that returned just as successfully with Mason Verger in Hannibal - was a nice touch. It's hard to pinpoint just one or two scenes to discuss about Zorg, but I was very impressed by the balance of him acting like a "big fish" to Right Arm and the Mangalores but being (rightfully) terrified of Mr. Shadow. On that subject, I've always been a big fan of Tricky's music as well, and was wondering what it was like working with him on a film? Your scenes with him are some of the coolest filmmaking I've seen: my favorite actor and one of my favorite musicians sharing screen time is just utter fun.
Out of all your performances, I think The Contender's Shelley Runyon is one of my very favorites. I know you were born and raised in England, which is where you got your start, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see just how convincingly you were able to play a born-and-raised Republican senator of America's worst kind. Even though you first came to America 30 years ago, and you've immersed yourself in the culture so much, it's still a feat, in my opinion. Relentlessly spearing Joan Allen scene after scene, and the tension between you in a couple scenes in particular, when you and she ceaselessly talk over and against the other, was palpable and thick. I'm not sure whose idea it was to have Runyon eating a rare steak when Allen sits for her lunch with him, but that was also an excellent play.
Which brings us up (or back) to Hannibal. The subtle differences between Verger's accent and Zorg's are really impressive to me, having spent half my life in the south, and his dark humor and attitude about his private life leading to his present condition are penetrating and lasting. Verger is a stand-out role, as many of yours have been before and since, and cemented your place at the top of my list of actors when Hannibal was first released.
In the last ten years, the world has seen you repeat several roles, for one of the first times in your career. Sirius Black, Jim Gordon and Viktor Reznov have all seen multiple performances from you as their franchises have released their intended sequels. Obviously the Harry Potter and Batman films were intended to feature you many times, and maybe even the developers at Treyarch told you in advance that Reznov would return in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Has it been a difficult or odd change, returning to a role? Most of your career has been focused on one-time performances of a character, so I was curious how it felt to step back in a character's shoes after a year or two out of them.
I'd be remiss now not to mention Gordon specifically. I thought I heard in a Batman Begins-era interview with you that you said you liked playing Jim Gordon because it was one of the first times you'd played a character who was wholly good, as opposed to the more villainous roles you've played in the past, and it was a great change to see you bring an iconic comic character like Gordon to life. Usually, any comedic dialogue in a dramatic movie sticks out like a sore thumb, but from sideswiping a car in the Tumbler to feigning ignorance of Harvey Dent's nickname, your ability to play Gordon by-the-book and to-the-point lends him well to the humor written into the Batman movies.
When it comes to movies adapted from comics, the level of research actors do to prepare tends to vary much more than many other films. Some actors are big fans of the source material, others have never read it. What did you do to get into Gordon's head? I sense a lot of Batman: Year One from the storyline of Batman Begins, not to mention your age and the Gordon kids' in the first two Christopher Nolan Batman movies, but in that comic Jim was actually less honorable than some others, so it always made me wonder. One of my favorite lines in all of The Dark Knight is when Gordon screams after Batman, "We have to save Dent! I...have to save Dent!" The way that line is delivered speaks volumes about how much Gordon is putting into Batman's hands and how much it means to him to turn their situation around, both for the city and so Jim can sleep at night.
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge your performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Like so few movies before it, I thought Tinker Tailor did an excellent job of not wasting a line of dialogue or a frame of film. It was concise - almost to a fault - and subtle, and made for a perfect home for your take on Smiley. Unlike almost any role you've played before, Smiley was seemed to be at an end. He was retiring, Ann had left again, his glory days and his legacy were fading and at the beginning of the film he seemed remanded to the simple acts of life - taking an outdoor swim, purchasing new eyeglasses and so on. I felt more restrained sadness in Smiley, more subtle passion under a surface of withdrawn coolness than I'd seen you play since at least Dexter Spivey if not Sid Vicious - two characters about as far removed from George Smiley as one could imagine. My wife and I saw Tinker Tailor in the theaters and she, who has a degree in directing, was as floored as I was by your portrayal. I was also pleased to hear on the Tinker Tailor blu-ray interview with you that you'd been so impressed by Tomas Alfredson's work on Let the Right One In that you jumped at the chance to play Smiley in Alfredson's take on Tinker Tailor. How good was Let the Right One In?! I saw it for the first time a year ago and was thrilled with the whole thing. I think Alfredson's ability with quiet, long takes in Let the Right One In led into a perfect fit for you in Tinker Tailor.
Also, big thumbs up for your "Actors Against Acting Athletes" commercial. Hilarious!
Well, I think that's about it, Mr. Oldman. The Dark Knight Rises comes out in less than three days and we've got our tickets for our nearest IMAX midnight premiere. Keep up the excellent work; you're an inspiration for all broad-range actors in film today. Oh, if you ever happen to find yourself in Virginia, feel free to drop me a line: I've spent some of my free time the last year or two learning how to cook up some pretty bitchin' meals and my wife and I would be happy to treat you and your family to dinner.
All my best,
-Jonny Lupsha.
Dear Gary Oldman -
My name is Jonny Lupsha; I'm a freelance journalist and author in Richmond, VA. I've been an avid proponent of your acting work since the mid-1990s, when I first realized the breadth of characters you had successfully - even masterfully - portrayed, even at that point in time. Since that point, I've been overjoyed to see your acting portfolio - and your popularity - soar to the point of your Oscar-nominated performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But I'm getting ahead of myself - I'd like to discuss just some of your work over the last 25 years or so and tell you why you're my favorite actor past or present.
As a lifelong Sex Pistols fan, I was initially turned on to your work through a VHS rental of Sid and Nancy. I thought you perfectly captured the bottled chaos of one of classic punk's most iconic figures and his tragic and bizarre life. Your onstage chemistry with Chloe Webb was so akin to the co-dependency chronicled of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen it was almost frightening. I recall an interview with Benicio Del Toro in which he mentioned that after appearing in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, he had trouble finding acting work due to the sheer insanity of that role for several years after the fact, and I was happy to see that your career continued without a hiccup after Sid and Nancy.
I'm not nearly the Shakespeare scholar I should be to discuss your role in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, nor the Beethoven expert required for legitimate praise of Immortal Beloved, so please take it on faith that, as usual, you executed both roles at a level of at least expert. On the other hand, your next performance that caught my eye was in Oliver Stone's JFK as Lee Harvey Oswald. Like many of your roles to follow, you handled Oswald with a very delicate release and restraint of emotion. Every time I watch JFK, I'm amazed with how much of a patsy Oswald can seem in some scenes, and how frightening he can seem in others, and find myself leaving the film with as strongly mixed emotions of enjoyment and apprehension over Oswald as I've had with any contemporary film character, rivaling Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight 15 years later.
Of course immediately following JFK you were cast in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. Even putting aside the more feral iterations of Dracula you played very briefly in the film (the werewolf, the bat-like creature, etc), you brought to life three separate and extensive angles of the world's most famous vampire and his personality: the bloodthirsty Romanian warrior in the introduction, the lecherous old count alongside Keanu Reeves and the young prince stealing the heart of Winona Ryder. I would have to imagine these would be a challenge similar to a "multiple personality" role, a la Edward Norton in Primal Fear or John Lithgow in Raising Cain, in that the difficulty would be balancing such different facets of one human being in a way that wouldn't pull the audience out of the experience - a challenge you rose to and passed with flying colors, in my opinion and that of innumerable others.
Where would the next step lie, after playing an iconic horror character? A white pimp in True Romance. I thought Dexter Spivey had a really clever presence about him. Some of Dexter's personal jargon sounded practiced, or rehearsed - but rehearsed by Dexter Spivey, not by Gary Oldman. I mean that phrases such as "We got everything here from a Diddle-eyed Joe to a Damned if I Know" sounded more like what Clarence and Alabama described him as - essentially, a wannabe with misplaced confidence - than anything else. Whenever my friends and I discuss True Romance, someone will always bring up how well you portrayed Dexter, who was living his own act as what he thought a "tough Detroit black pimp" would be like, with traces of his real self bubbling under the surface.
Oh, and every once in a while we can't help but ask one another if it's White Boy Day.
Your back-to-back roles as corrupt police officials in Romeo is Bleeding and Leon were fascinating in that Jack Grimaldi is closer to being a likable antihero resurrected from classic noir and the latter is the purely evil drug-addled Stansfield. I still watch both movies whenever I get the chance, but I'd like to applaud you for making a mob-bought cop with a mistress as pitiable as you did by the end of Romeo is Bleeding and for everything that makes Stansfield who he is in Leon. From the sociopath, whiplash range of emotions to the unreal bathroom scene confronting Natalie Portman, who has come to the precinct to kill you, he remains one of the most jaw-dropping and memorable villains in the crime sub-genre. Excellent job, playing both characters from such a familiar trope so differently and strikingly.
Leading up to the turn of the millennium was like a smorgasbord of versatility for you, it seems, and specifically to two of my favorite characters you've played. The first is The Fifth Element's Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg. Zorg's southern accent was spot-on, feeling part Carolinian and part Kentuckian, and bringing an overbite into his dialogue - a convincing nuance that returned just as successfully with Mason Verger in Hannibal - was a nice touch. It's hard to pinpoint just one or two scenes to discuss about Zorg, but I was very impressed by the balance of him acting like a "big fish" to Right Arm and the Mangalores but being (rightfully) terrified of Mr. Shadow. On that subject, I've always been a big fan of Tricky's music as well, and was wondering what it was like working with him on a film? Your scenes with him are some of the coolest filmmaking I've seen: my favorite actor and one of my favorite musicians sharing screen time is just utter fun.
Out of all your performances, I think The Contender's Shelley Runyon is one of my very favorites. I know you were born and raised in England, which is where you got your start, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see just how convincingly you were able to play a born-and-raised Republican senator of America's worst kind. Even though you first came to America 30 years ago, and you've immersed yourself in the culture so much, it's still a feat, in my opinion. Relentlessly spearing Joan Allen scene after scene, and the tension between you in a couple scenes in particular, when you and she ceaselessly talk over and against the other, was palpable and thick. I'm not sure whose idea it was to have Runyon eating a rare steak when Allen sits for her lunch with him, but that was also an excellent play.
Which brings us up (or back) to Hannibal. The subtle differences between Verger's accent and Zorg's are really impressive to me, having spent half my life in the south, and his dark humor and attitude about his private life leading to his present condition are penetrating and lasting. Verger is a stand-out role, as many of yours have been before and since, and cemented your place at the top of my list of actors when Hannibal was first released.
In the last ten years, the world has seen you repeat several roles, for one of the first times in your career. Sirius Black, Jim Gordon and Viktor Reznov have all seen multiple performances from you as their franchises have released their intended sequels. Obviously the Harry Potter and Batman films were intended to feature you many times, and maybe even the developers at Treyarch told you in advance that Reznov would return in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Has it been a difficult or odd change, returning to a role? Most of your career has been focused on one-time performances of a character, so I was curious how it felt to step back in a character's shoes after a year or two out of them.
I'd be remiss now not to mention Gordon specifically. I thought I heard in a Batman Begins-era interview with you that you said you liked playing Jim Gordon because it was one of the first times you'd played a character who was wholly good, as opposed to the more villainous roles you've played in the past, and it was a great change to see you bring an iconic comic character like Gordon to life. Usually, any comedic dialogue in a dramatic movie sticks out like a sore thumb, but from sideswiping a car in the Tumbler to feigning ignorance of Harvey Dent's nickname, your ability to play Gordon by-the-book and to-the-point lends him well to the humor written into the Batman movies.
When it comes to movies adapted from comics, the level of research actors do to prepare tends to vary much more than many other films. Some actors are big fans of the source material, others have never read it. What did you do to get into Gordon's head? I sense a lot of Batman: Year One from the storyline of Batman Begins, not to mention your age and the Gordon kids' in the first two Christopher Nolan Batman movies, but in that comic Jim was actually less honorable than some others, so it always made me wonder. One of my favorite lines in all of The Dark Knight is when Gordon screams after Batman, "We have to save Dent! I...have to save Dent!" The way that line is delivered speaks volumes about how much Gordon is putting into Batman's hands and how much it means to him to turn their situation around, both for the city and so Jim can sleep at night.
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge your performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Like so few movies before it, I thought Tinker Tailor did an excellent job of not wasting a line of dialogue or a frame of film. It was concise - almost to a fault - and subtle, and made for a perfect home for your take on Smiley. Unlike almost any role you've played before, Smiley was seemed to be at an end. He was retiring, Ann had left again, his glory days and his legacy were fading and at the beginning of the film he seemed remanded to the simple acts of life - taking an outdoor swim, purchasing new eyeglasses and so on. I felt more restrained sadness in Smiley, more subtle passion under a surface of withdrawn coolness than I'd seen you play since at least Dexter Spivey if not Sid Vicious - two characters about as far removed from George Smiley as one could imagine. My wife and I saw Tinker Tailor in the theaters and she, who has a degree in directing, was as floored as I was by your portrayal. I was also pleased to hear on the Tinker Tailor blu-ray interview with you that you'd been so impressed by Tomas Alfredson's work on Let the Right One In that you jumped at the chance to play Smiley in Alfredson's take on Tinker Tailor. How good was Let the Right One In?! I saw it for the first time a year ago and was thrilled with the whole thing. I think Alfredson's ability with quiet, long takes in Let the Right One In led into a perfect fit for you in Tinker Tailor.
Also, big thumbs up for your "Actors Against Acting Athletes" commercial. Hilarious!
Well, I think that's about it, Mr. Oldman. The Dark Knight Rises comes out in less than three days and we've got our tickets for our nearest IMAX midnight premiere. Keep up the excellent work; you're an inspiration for all broad-range actors in film today. Oh, if you ever happen to find yourself in Virginia, feel free to drop me a line: I've spent some of my free time the last year or two learning how to cook up some pretty bitchin' meals and my wife and I would be happy to treat you and your family to dinner.
All my best,
-Jonny Lupsha.
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