Features
The Audacity Of Tanna Frederick
By Tommy Garrett
Jul 20, 2008 - 11:15:20 AM

When I first saw Henry Jaglom’s latest film “Hollywood Dreams,” I was left laughing and crying. It’s a film that focuses on the craziness of Hollywood and after watching the film, I am reminded of the phrase “Hollyweird” being used when describing our industry. I love all of Henry Jaglom’s work; the famed director has produced some of the most thought-provoking films on the silver screen. What makes his work stand out is that Jaglom focuses on the characters he’s building a story around, and not on special effects. Special effects dominate storytelling today in Hollywood, which is why movies are so boring today. All movies except Jaglom’s. His are crafted with a brilliant technique only designed and built by movie making geniuses.
   Tanna Frederick is a name that many across America don’t recognize, but I promise you, it’s a name you will become acquainted with. Get your autographs from the actress right now, before they become priceless. Almost like a lightning bolt, I was stunned to see the best actress in my lifetime come flying off the screen and into my heart. Not since Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck has any actress dominated a film that was an ensemble piece. Everyone knows I’m a very tough critic when it comes to actors today. Many care more about what they look like on the screen than what they convey to the audience. Most characters in movies are so one dimensional that you know how the movie’s going to end.
   Not “Hollywood Dreams.” I consider myself a hardened Hollywood insider who has seen it all. I told the actress during our interview that the final scene was a real shocker for me. She was able to grow as a character and yet she kept the deepest part of herself, possibly the darkest part of the character away from the audience until the climax. Then out of the blue came this Bette Davis moment. It was one of those moments that you not only didn’t expect, but could only see this actress play. Have you ever seen “Dark Victory”? "Dark Victory" is the 1939 Warner Bros. film in which studio chief Jack Warner didn’t want Bette to star. He thought the audience would never understand seeing his mega star and biggest box office draw at the time, die on screen. But after you saw 90 minutes of her moving around in every scene, making every scene stand out, you cried with joy at the end when she died, the way she lived her live: with victory. That’s the type of moment you get at the end of this film. “Hollywood Dreams” gives you a payoff that is not well worth the $15 it takes to see a movie nowadays at the theater. But this actress has the ability to reinvigorate movie going in America.
   She is absolutely incredible to look at. The red haired ravenous beauty makes every man pay attention when she’s on screen. But women will love her too. That’s a knack you simply don’t see in Hollywood today. You can’t seem to find an actress who can transcend the sexes. She transcends the sexes, generations and is the must-get for any movie studio looking to revive women’s pictures. Jaglom, like George Cukor, has an edge with actresses that many directors don’t have today. He’s actually good with everyone. So is Frederick.
   Her leading man, Justin Kirk, is very handsome and very talented. But as handsome as he is, she eclipsed every scene they had with a natural edge of skill in acting that was perfected on the silver screen by Olivia deHavilland in 1959’s “The Heiress” playing a role opposite the most handsome man on the screen in the '50s, Montgomery Clift. Tanna Frederick seems to just live in the role. She doesn’t make you think she’s acting, she makes you think she is the character. Her performance in this film is Oscar worthy, her movements are in sync with the story and her emotions are at the surface of her very being. She makes it seem effortless. The New York Times says, “Tanna Frederick is Bette Davis on Crack.” I say, Tanna Frederick is the best actress in 40 years in the industry. Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Halle Berry don’t even compare to this performer. She is simply sublime.
   Frederick loves being compared to Davis. She studied the life of Davis and the lives of dozens of stars of the '30s and '40s era to build her character in this film. “I looked at Bette Davis in ‘Little Foxes’ and noticed that she was very open to how she portrayed her characters. She never gave it away. It was always just who she was in the scene.” That is the way Frederick was in this film. I have rarely told people that when they see a movie, they will be absolutely shocked by the ending. Jaglom is a master of mystery and intrigue and wow, it’s the moment well worth waiting for. The only problem at the end of the film was that I immediately wanted another scene. I felt like I wanted to find out what happens to her next. I know what happens with Frederick. She gave me the news that a sequel to this film is in the works. I have one dream before I die: to work with Frederick in a scene and to be directed by the greatest movie maker since Cecile B. DeMille, Henry Jaglom. I’ll have to settle for seeing the sequel to “Hollywood Dreams” I suppose. I’ll do so with excitement and anticipation.
   Being able to see Tanna Frederick act is like baking a cake. Just when it’s about to come out of the oven, you want to wait and make sure it’s the right time. The anticipation is just palpable. When interviewing Frederick, you realize the Iowa born native has a lot of life experience and dreams. But she manages to perform on screen as if she were born in the role she portrays. Frederick added, “I finally learned to embrace what Hollywood is about. This film was educational for me as well. I love this town, I love this business. I always wanted to be an actress and so I have learned to respect the game that is ‘Hollywood’ and learned to play it as well. But working with Henry [Jaglom] is amazing. He manages to pull a performance out of you; he makes you make it real. I’ve loved working with him the past three years.”
   The game of Hollywood is hers to play. Ms. Frederick will become one of the biggest icons on the silver screen, much like her legend and heroine Bette Davis. I never thought I’d live to say, Bette has been cloned. So The Times can say she’s Bette on crack. I will say she’s Bette incarnate.


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