"We're not shrinking violets!" said Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last week of her three fellow women members.
Twenty years on the bench and Justice Ginsburg, age 80, is still doing push-ups and working into the wee hours, according to USA Today.
"What has become of the Court's usual restraint?" she asks. Reporter Richard Wolf reports that this diminutive dissenter is "at the height of her power."
•I saw Rosie O'Donnell recently at an afternoon recital of Rosie's Theater Kids in the Broadway district at its 47th street building. The outspoken actress took this over, so some NYC kids can get a grounding in drama, arts and music. The 30-odd teenagers we saw in recital started together in classes when they were ten and they gave us a show of musical virtuosity that was great!
First, I want to compliment the young Kyle Pleasant whose direction and choreography have to be noticed. Although these actors/actress/ students have voices still to develop fully -- their diction, unison, charm and talent can't be praised enough.
With public schools offering very little art or music anymore, Rosie has tried to fill the gap. When she isn't dealing with her own five children, she is reaching out to unknown wannabes. And what's more, 100 percent of Rosie's Theater Kids graduate from high school; 100% get accepted to colleges. This keeps them off the streets, out of drugs and crime and offers Broadway and off-Bway fresh talent.
The discipline is something else again! On September 25th at the Marriott Marquis, RTK will hold a fund-raiser honoring HBO's great documentary chief, Sheila Nevins. They'll give Rosie "The Velvet Seat Award" and Rosie says with a new baby, she needs a velvet seat.
After the flawless recital the other afternoon, a few shy sweet students came to me and asked which number among all the hit musicals I'd liked best. I couldn't answer but later thought that the females singing "I Feel Pretty" (from "West Side Story") were just charm itself. Plus, the males plainly admiring and turning around them. I will hope for more on September 25th and hope you will call 914-579-1000 about buying tickets. Join us and this wonderful civic work.
• "I only have about fifty bucks on me."
"Fifty?!"
"I could give you a check."
"A check? No, no, no. What are we going to do about this Joel?"
So it went in "Risky Business" between young Tom Cruise and young, luscious Rebecca De Mornay, the morning after. Miss De Mornay played a highly paid prostitute and Mr. Cruise, no matter how attractive, wasn't wooing her with his boyish ways and killer smile. She wanted her money. Fans of the film, which rocketed Tom to a stardom that he still enjoys today, recall how Cruise found a way to pay back Miss De Mornay--and then some!
• For all of Tom's appeal in "Risky Business"--including the famous tighty-whitey dance and lip sync to "Old Time Rock and Roll," most critics were more impressed with the seductive Rebecca De Mornay. She, not he, would be the lasting star.
It didn't quite turn out that way, although De Mornay has never stopped working, and scored in features such as "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" "A Trip To Bountiful," "The Sluggers Wife" and the TV movie "An Inconvenient Woman," based on the Dominick Dunne novel. She was last seen--still looking good--in "The Hatfields and McCoys."
Ever since the success of "Risky Business," there's been a persistent rumor that the film would spawn a sequel--the further adventures of those two clever capitalists, Joel and Lana. Nothing has ever come of it. But now, once again, that old rumor is circulating. Perhaps it is merely wishful thinking or could bear some semblance of truth. (In Hollywood, a "semblance" of truth is the most--more, really--than you can expect.)
The latest plot supposedly has Joel unhappily married and about to lose his shirt in divorce proceedings. He runs into Lana, who has kept a shapely leg in her old business. They re-team to form a high-end Internet-based escort service. It might seem a stretch, but if you know the plot of the original, it's not. And let's face it, the Internet has taken over every aspect of our lives--from finding out where the nearest Kentucky Fried Chicken is, to sex, to making a fool of yourself on Twitter or Facebook.
I also see that De Mornay has a film in pre-production titled "Escort Service." Perhaps that's the basis of this new rumor? But it would be interesting if something sprang from the tale. Even if it's just a screen reunion between the pair that has nothing to do with "Risky Business." (Come on, Tom, time for a real leading woman.)
Whether or not Mr. Cruise re-enters her professional life, Miss De Mornay seems happy in her real-life as the hands-on mom of two daughters.