Winona Ryder

Part 2

I love that movie and I loved Winona in it, but Angelina Jolie was a phenom in it. I thought Brittany Murphy stole every scene she was in as well.

That was the end of Winona’s ingenue roles — kind of crazy it went as late as 1999.

She could have survived the Angelina usurping but the shoplifting thing made her seem crazy and people got scared of hiring her.

And she handled the shoplifting thing so poorly. She fought it all the way and had sleazy lawyer Mark Geragos represent her. She'd mouth off to the judge.

A guilty plea and a tearful apologetic interview with Oprah or Diane Sawyer or Barbara Walters would have erased the whole thing from people's mind but it dragged on for like a year or more.

According to an old blind item I read a few years ago, when working on the set of Black Swan with Natalie Portman, she supposedly confided in her that Johnny Depp was violent towards her during their relationship and she was terrified of him at the time (thus, her public statement after Amber Heard accused him was a lie).

This what I wrote in the op of a thread I started on her a few years ago:

Love Winnie. Even through the shoplifting days. So happy she came back.

Beetlejuice, Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands, Heathers, Little Women, Reality Bites, Girl Interrupted, Age of Innocence, Boys, The Crucible, Autumn in New York.

The rewatchable factor of her films is amazing.

[quote] I thought Brittany Murphy stole every scene she was in as well.

She was better than both of them, though Jolie was aces. This moment always cracks me up 😂

R5 - yes, she was in some amazing movies and always played intense characters to some extent; sometimes quietly intense with her eyes doing the work. I’d forgotten about the crucible! She was such a vixen in that movie!

She was also in some bombs—like Autumn in New York. She had zero chemistry with Richard Gere and he hinted as much by calling her a “flibbertgibbet” and “nervous Nellie.” I’m sure she appreciated that...

[quote] And she handled the shoplifting thing so poorly. She fought it all the way and had sleazy lawyer Mark Geragos represent her. She'd mouth off to the judge.

I was surprised she actually got convicted of that. I thought her celebrity status would have affected the jury's decision. I thought less of Geragos after that trial. Yes, she should have just pled guilty and said I'm sorry, etc.

Sounds like the prosecutor was starstruck, though:

[quote] After the case, Ms Rundle said she would not be seeking a prison sentence but probation or community service. She described Ryder, with whom she had spoken in court, as "a very nice individual"

That's from the Guardian.

She really was the IT girl of the late '80s/early '90s -- Lucas, Square Dance, Beetlejuice, Heathers, Edward Scissorhands, Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Mermaids, Dracula, The Age of Innocence, Reality Bites, Little Women.

She had about 10 solid years and I liked Girl, Interrupted, though I agree Brittany stole the entire movie and should have won the Oscar.

Good

Count me as one who thought Ryder was better than Jolie in Girl, Interrupted, and I was never much of a Winona fan. Angelina just caught the critics' eye that year and it was all about her performance. I felt bad for Winona because she was better than Jolie, as was Brittany Murphy.

It warms my heart that even on DL, Brittany Murphy is universally beloved.

Brittany Murphy is awesome! Winona is PsYcHo!

Murphy was a psycho drug addict too.

Her Little Women is my absolute favorite. She’s perfect as Jo and I didn’t even mind Trini Alverado’s bad teeth.

Girl, Interrupted was released on Blu-Ray last week. I think it's a very good film and I think Winona was perfectly cast. The scene where she lashes out at Whoopi is still very shocking (Whoopi was also great in this).

It's a very dark film but well-acted.

I remember at the time of the shoplifting there were quite a few films she was attached to that seem to have been shelved. It’s a shame as they could have helped her career and a couple of them sounded like the kind of period stuff that got her acclaim with ‘little women’ and ‘the age of innocence’.

I like Winona but she seems happier where she is now. She seems to have a private life now which isn’t really reported so much.

I do wonder if she burned bridges though, you’d think Scorsese might give her a small part in one of his films if they’re still such good friends...

They tried EVERYTHING to make Winona Ryder a movie star in the eyes of the public, but people just had NO interest in her. She couldn't carry any movie on her own name and studios got tired of wasting money on her. It's like that Chris Rock joke: "Eventually, they just stopped making Christian Slater movies." The same is true for Winona Ryder.

She starred in Mr. Deeds in 2002 which was a box office hit (even though like all Sandler films is it shit). So, she had a career that spanned from 1986 with Lucas to at least 2002. That is 18 years, which is a long career for many actresses. The shoplifting thing really did hurt her career but it is possible that even without it her career would have hit a slump.

Regardless of why, I am glad that she is back, even if it is just a silly little Netflix show.

God knows how Keanu Reeves managed to become such a staple when he has the same charisma.

Damn it. Where is Beetlejuice 2!?!

Love love love Winona. She's fairly limited as an actor when you compare her to actors of a similar age - Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette or Rachel Weisz - but in the right role and the right director she is outstanding and comes alive on screen.

To think that her career was so badly derailed by SHOPLIFTING when men have gotten away with beating their wives and girlfriends says a lot about the sexism in Hollywood.

As for Girl Interrupted it shows the way women are pitched against each other. It was Winona vs Angelina in a way that a film like Rain Man wasn't Hoffman vs Cruise.

Girl Interrupted was more deserving of nomination for Outstanding Cast at the SAG than The Green Mile.

R19, Winona Ryder did NOT star in Mr. Deeds. ADAM SANDLER starred in Mr. Deeds and his nitwit fanbase, which is admittedly large, made it a hit. NO ONE went to that movie to see Winona Ryder and the movie would've made just as much money if Julie Warner or Maura Tierney had been cast in Winona's role. Do not try to suggest that Winona gets credit for the success of that movie. Tell me some box office successes that were based on Winona Ryder's name. Movies that she carried in which she was the main draw.

As a child/teen of the 90s, she was the Julia Roberts for the indie sect.

Heathers, Mermaids, Reality Bites, Edward Scissorheads.

No idea if they were great box office, but I can still watch each of those movies today. They defined much of my young life.

R23 ...

R23 ...

I think she was psycho and a mean girl for years so when The shoplifting incident happened, that was the catalyst For her to be over.

I always remembered this story About her in the online comments - I think it was Gawker - She did a Mark Jacobs ad where she was holding a framed picture of Patti Smith - The girl writing the comment had loaned it for the photo shootAnd one day she ran into Wynonna at a party or something so she struck up a conversation with her and brought up the picture To let her know she was the owner. Well, She brought up the picture and before she could tell the story Wynonna started going on and on about how Patti gave her that picture and they’re so close she’s like her second mom blah blah blah... I remember the girl wrote “so I slowly backed away from her” Realizing how nuts she was

R27 What?

R23 That is s lot of emotions for Mr. Deeds. Didn’t expect to find such a huge Sandler fan on Datalounge.

I never said she was the reason WHY people went to see Mr. Deeds. But, she did STAR in the film. She wasn’t the main star, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t star in it. The point is she was still in films that were making money until at LEAST 2002.

R27 thinks this is a discussion about Wynonna Judd, not Winona Ryder.

There’s something sad about watching her in Black Swan. A washed up actress playing a washed up ballerina.

she's a great rabid mom in "stranger things"

I think the shoplifting/ mental health stuff ruined her career at that time, but she was huge in the 90s. She has aged very well and doesn't seem to have had a lot, if any, work done. Glad she sort of made a comeback with Stranger Things.

She was great in The Plot Against America. It's a shame it didn't get more award recognition, both for her and Zoe Kazan.

Bitch shouldn't leave scripts laying about the house.

Love Noni, though I do think she is limited as an actress. Like Molly Ringwald before her, she defined an era, but also didn't have the acting ability to sustain her success when she aged out.

Interesting to read about the rumours about Depp's abusing her, as perhaps THAT might explain why she pulled out of Godfather III.

No one did coming of age/teenage-young adult angst in the 90’s better than Winona. I love her in Stranger Things. I hope she can still star in movies in the future - in the right role she is amazing. Pair her with Cristina Ricci again or Christian Slater or Keanu.

R37 oh please not keanu again. Together they suck

R36 yes, that reminds me of one blind that talked about how Depp had been messing around with an antique gun he owned and it actually went off and hit Winona—don’t recall where it said she was shot, but she had to pull out of a movie to heal. I don’t know how they managed to keep that a secret, but I guess because Winona didn’t say a word, it never got out to the public?

Of all celebrity scandals and crimes, Winona shoplifting still surprises me. She had several homes (LA, NYC, San Francisco) had career prestige and worked with some of the biggest directors ever.

She also had a mystique and above-it-all cool that shoplifting immediately deflated.

Both Angelina and Brittany Murphy stole the show.

R40 I think there were lots of implications that she had an issue with pills. I think even drew Barrymore hinted at it in one of her interviews when she was questioning why so many big stars at the time (mid 90s) were messed up on drugs but still being hired. Wasn’t her “exhaustion” in the godfather: part 3 said to be drug related.

R3 Did she "mouth off" to the judge? I never heard that. I only ever saw that moment where the prosecuting lawyer got very tactless about the defence mentioning her efforts to help find the missing (murdered) girl Polly Klaas as a character reference ("they're trotting out the body of DEAD CHILD!") and Winona dramatically rose from her seat in open-mouthed shock (but didn't actually say anything)

R4 Winona was in only 4 scenes of Black Swan. It would have only been a few days work. She probably wasn't around Portman long enough to get close to her and confide in her about sensitive stuff like this. And if this was said in confidence - how did anyone other than Portman find out?

R39 This doesn't seem at all believable. That tiny little Winona could get shot at close range and quickly recover between movies, and no one's ever spotted any scars. Or this "antique gun" one of those really ancient ones that fires metal balls rather than bullets? Like something from the era Pirates of the Caribbean was set in?

Her original nose

Leave NeeNee alone!

She gets a lifetime pass for Beetlejuice and Heathers. She was every teenage weirdo's favorite. She was able to tap into that angst better than anyone else.

Wino Forever!

I seem to recall that Winona was hanging out with Courtney Love a lot right around the time of her shoplifting / prescription pill debacle. Totally a coincidence, of course. Totally.

R50 She should’ve stuck with Tori and Kevin.

R3 hit it on the nail. That's exactly what happened. Thank god for stranger days.

I don't much care for the film adaptation of 'Girl, Interrupted.' The book is terrific--spare, insightful, and often funny, which the movie did not capture at all.

Angelina Jolie gives, frankly, what I consider to be a poor performance; rarely subtle and never deep, she demands attention but does not emerge from the film as a believably human character. Susanna Kaysen herself described the performance as "histrionic."

Chloë Sevigny should have won the Oscar that year for her subtle but affecting work in 'Boys Don't Cry.'

I've seen Heathers and Little Women so many times, but this thread has made me want to watch Mermaids, Girl Interrupted, The Age Of Innocence and How To Make An America Quilt again.

Her chemistry with Christian Bale in Little Women was great.

R53 I love “Boys Don’t Cry” and Swank is stunning in the film, but, although I like Sevigny in it, she barely keeps up with either. Definitely not Oscar worthy for that performance. I prefer her raw, authentic work in “Kids,” which she should’ve been nominated for.

I’m partial to Ms. Lange in “Titus” for supporting in ‘99.

And Julianne Moore wasn't even nominated for Magnolia.

Winona and Paul Thomas Anderson is collaboration that would get me excited. Maybe reunite her with DDL again.

Bitch got prime Damon ass!

R56 Or Melora Walters, who nearly steals “Magnolia” from everyone. She’s my second favorite supporting performance after Lange that year. In fact, I would’ve been happy with either winning.

The scene when Philip Baker Hall comes to visit her is both riveting and heartbreaking. Too bad I can’t find a clip of it on YouTube. Her final scene is also wordlessly moving.

Mermaids and Edward Scissorhands were in the theatre at the same time and I bought a ticket for one and snuck into the other

God, I love Mermaids. I recently rewatched it on Prime and thought it held up beautifully. Cher, Ryder, and Ricci are perfection in it.

[quote]I thought Brittany Murphy stole every scene she was in as well.

[quote]I agree Brittany stole the entire movie and should have won the Oscar.

Underrated actress, she deserves her own thread.

[quote]I love Mermaids. I recently rewatched it on Prime and thought it held up beautifully

I haven’t watched this in years, good to know it’s on Prime, I also need to rewatch A Scanner Darkly.

Jolie should have been nominated for best actress, not supporting. And Murphy should have won supporting. Jolie has proved herself a bit of monster since that time we all loved her (Gia/Girl Interrupted).

The week I moved to New York in 1992, I saw Winona Ryder driving this car by St. Patrick's Cathedral

R60 haven’t watched it in years but it seemed to be on HBO constantly in the 90s so I have fond memories of it. I’ll have to watch it again soon. I love Cher’s version of the Shoop Shoop Song.

R29, Obviously I'm not a Sandler fan. I called his fanbase a bunch of nitwits (of course, they seem like geniuses compared to a moron like you because at least they can read and understand what they've read). I generally hate ALL Sandler movies except Punch Drunk Love. What I don't like is idiots like you trying to defend Winona Ryder as a box office star by pointing out that she got the "girl" role in a Sandler movie. She was never a movie star and her name in the cast of a movie meant absolutely nothing. Now shut up, you gibbering pinhead.

r2 ms ryder was a poor trini alvarado

She has no range. Awful actress.

r66

r68

She tried to steal the spotlight, but the store detective caught her in the act.

I just saw her in something called "Turks & Caicos." The role was screaming out for a wounded femme fatale type - Faye Dunaway would have been perfect if it were a 1970s movie - but Winona could not deliver that.

I loved Ryder in Reality Bites, she captured that post-college aimlessness and ennui perfectly. A few other good roles like Heathers, Roxy Carmichael, Boys, Night On Earth, Beetlejuice... she isn't a heavyweight thespian and never was, but she wore the 'being the face of a generation' thing well and chose interesting projects instead of going the pretty girl route.

I actually heard Courtney Love was considered for Angelina Jolie's role in Girl Interrupted (she had just been nommed for a Golden Globe for Larry Flynt and had some cache as an actress in Hollywood), and she warned her buddy Winona Ryder that Jolie would steal all her thunder and that she [Courtney] wouldn't. LOL. She's bonkers but she's also right about a lot of things.

I don't know what Ryder's issues are, but I found this Christina Ricci moment interesting. Obviously there's something going on, drugs or otherwise. I try to reserve a lot of grace for child actresses in general because they have usually gone through immense trauma (and sadly have often been assaulted as children). Ricci is another one who isn't given the current career her impressive resume deserves, but she never had a shoplifting controversy or anything.

Christinas Ricci and Hendricks need to appear in something together. They are so similar.

Courtney Love probably would have been good in Girl Interrupted she since actually was put into various institutions as a teenager with lockdowns and restraints.

Winona should do a picture with Christina Rocco. Christina can do all the heavy lifting and help Winona come off okay.

Duh, *Ricci

Christina is the actress that Winzoni never was. Sorry. Same with the Arquettes. I laughed with Rosanna tried to come forth and say Weinstein messed it all up for her. Uhm, no, she was known as a shit actress from about the beginning. It was Pat who had the tits and it was Pat who was the actress.

Courtney Love as a teenager or even early twenties at the turn of the millennium?!

"I was relieved that the little Australian girl got it"

Winona is a creation of marketing and styling. She was quite a plain child as that junior high school picture shows. She got a nose job, lip injections, and a boob job. They slapped a bunch of make-up on her for Heathers, and she was suddenly the sexy goth face of a generation. Her career didn't last past the end of the 90s because there was never much weight there. Say what you will about Goop, but she's a good actress and has more range than Winona ever did. Shakespeare in Love wouldn't have been nearly as good with Winona.

That said, I wish Kate Winslet had accepted the role of Viola when it was offered. She really could have rocked that part.

R72 wow that was weird. The first few seconds of her reaction I thought Ricci was joking, but I’m pretty sure that she wasn’t. So she’s either on drugs or she’s batshit crazy (or both).

[quote] She had zero chemistry with Richard Gere and he hinted as much by calling her a “flibbertgibbet” and “nervous Nellie.”

He's had so little chemistry with his co-stars I would put the blame equally on him (of not more of it).

'Girl, Interrupted' is an ensemble movie. Angie was a revelation but all of the actresses really shined in it, including Winona.

[quote]I thought Brittany Murphy stole every scene she was in as well.

Well Winona stole every outfit she could carry out of Saks Fifth Avenue.

R72 I am so intrigued! What the fuck was Ricci claiming she knows? Incidentally, Christina looks great in that video.

Anyway, what [italic]is[/italic] she talking about.

Obviously she's referring to Winona being on drugs

Winona turned 18 on the set of Mermaids.

Her and Ricci were kids. I hope Cher looked after them both.

Christina Ricci and Drew Barrymore have those classic movie-star eyes and facial features naturally with no effort, which means they could pull off a period movie from that era

Her dome disqualifies her from "classic movie star." Even Bette Davis' features were less confronting.

A manipulated child performance robbed her of her Oscar.

I wonder if Gwyneth really did steal that script from her desk.

What is there to say about Winona Ryder. Well, she was the edgy "It" girl for a while. She had a high profile romance with Johnny Depp when she was 17 and he was in his twenties. Her forte was playing neurotic, strange, twitchy teenage girls. After she aged out of that phase her movie career nosedived. It didn't help that she was caught shoplifting, which evidently was something she'd been doing a long time. She was promiscuous, which is how she got the nickname "Wanna Ride Her." She had an affair with Bono, among many musicians. She's obviously still mentally ill; her performance at that awards show where she was making all those faces showed she's still kind of "off." In many photos she still has the "crazy eyes."

she likes to be called "nona"

I always thought Claire Danes was gonna inherit all those teen angst roles after My So Called Life.

C'mon, Ryder had an incredible run that most actresses would kill for. Even some of her later work, like Black Swan and Stranger Things is quite good. Does anyone even remember Portman from Black Swan? Yes, she is limited, but most actors are.

R92 is it not just possible she was making those weird faces because of that guy’s mawkish speech? Seems she doesn’t take herself so seriously but he certainly took the award thing seriously judging by his speech. He was acting like winning the damn thing was going to change the world.

Everybody picks up on the faces she was making at the SAG awards but nobody seems to talk about how over the top David harbour was in his speech. Listing off his “manifesto”, talking like a preacher... it was so over the top I’m not surprised she started pulling those faces. She’s been in the business long enough to probably recognise a good thank you is sufficient rather than an over long, over the top speech like his and was probably a bit embarrassed about by having to stand there and listen to him ramble.

What was the whole shopping lifting thing about? Was she on drugs?

[quote] She was promiscuous, which is how she got the nickname "Wanna Ride Her."

You mean she had sex with more than one man and these men weren't her husband or even her fiance?

If so I will burn my DVD of Heathers IMMEDIATELY.

I think Winona got the Daniel Day dick too

R100 was he in character? Probably didn’t wash.

How many women has Daniel Day Lewis fucked? Why isn't he labelled promiscuous?

Why is it just the women and gay guys who get slut shamed for enjoying a bit of cock on set between takes?

Bitch robbed me of my Oscar.

DDL dickmatized Julia Roberts while he had a pregnant Isabelle Adjani as a side piece.

I just rewatched that interview (I saw it when it originally aired), damn , she’s so disarming and likable here, you just want to give her a big hug.

R105 It's one of her last good interviews. She has come across uncertain, hesitant and nervous ever since the shoplifting

I love Winona. I don't care if she's batshit crazy or not. She's always gonna be source of nostalgia to Gen X

R106 The weight of that revelation must have nearly crushed her.

It was such a weird thing. It amounted to like 4 grand in clothes or something like that. Which she could easily have paid for 10 thousand times over. I always wonder if she was just being weirdly rebellious high on pills.

R109 Probably thought she ‘deserved’ them.

Millionaires dont steal!

R109 when you’re so used to getting everything like clothes and shit for free the thought of paying for anything is anathema. Then again, most actors don’t just go out and steal as a consequence; they just call up their publicist and ask to get them more swag. So I don’t know. Probably high on pills and God knows what else.

Didn’t she get in hot water for saying something like basically it’s a victimless crime ?

I heard Beck's 'Lost Cause' song was inspired by Winona.

The performances in Girl, Interrupted are pretty much unanimously good. Winona did a good job, but I think she was outacted by most of the cast. I also think she was slightly too old for the role. She was pushing 30 and I believe the character was supposed to be 21. Winona already looked a bit hardened at that point IMO, to the point that her being a 21-year-old didn't quite come off right.

Pardon, she was supposed to be playing an 18-year-old--which is, well, even less believable.

Ana Gasteyer told a story about how when Ryder guest hosted SNL, she "visited" Gasteyer and asked if she could have some of the candy nearby. As she spoke to Gasteyer, she proceeded to empty the contents of the jar into her purse. Her issue quite clearly has nothing to do with "funds."

The rumored reason that Winona Ryder dropped out of Godfather III was that she had just had an abortion. She was physically, psychologically, and emotionally too fragile to be in the film.

She went far on very limited of talent, and her looks were nothing, either. Very lucky. Boring actress.

Winona had a charm, transparency, and relatable quality that are not easy to find nor to act.

Gen X would rather forget about her.

Molly Ringwald made a successful transition to musical theater, then mom roles. I never would have guessed. Winona continuing to act also surprises me, she seemed like a perpetual ingenue.

Ringwald toured the regions. She hardly had a Bacall type second career on the stage.

Never got the appeal of her or Ringwald.

No matter how "over the top" David Harbour's speech was it didn't warrant her making faces like she was a mental defective. I think she was high as a kite that night, really off her nut.

R117, the other rumor is that Depp accidentally shot Winona while playing with one of his antique guns. The wound was a through-and-through, but severe enough that she had to drop out of Godfather III. Then Rebecca Schaeffer, another finalist for the role, was killed by a stalker. Sophia Coppola took the part into cinema infamy with her horrible performance.

It's like that role was cursed.

AKA Loose Woman

met her after Heathers, very nervous and small

I adore her. She had that certain something that set her apart from so many others, then and now. Who gives a fuck if she was 'limited' in range or whatever...she knew what to do with she was given, and she always made it work. There's a certain something to the roles she takes and how she does it on screen that is always a pleasure to watch. And she picked great projects that still hold up til today.

Bitch could never act. She was the female version of Christian Slater.

I was a big fan during the early 00s but she just lost me after a while maybe with mr. Deeds and the shoplifting debacle. I’m not even that tempted to watch “stranger things”.

I don’t think her career has aged well, I rarely have the desire to revisit her stuff aside from maybe “the age of innocence” which is more for day Lewis , pfeiffer and Scorsese. I still revisit Jane Fonda and other stars work. I just think what she represented and her gen x Angst is rather passe now.

[quote]Who gives a fuck if she was 'limited' in range or whatever...she knew what to do with she was given, and she always made it work.

I agree. I wrote this at R22.

[quote]Love love love Winona. She's fairly limited as an actor when you compare her to actors of a similar age - Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette or Rachel Weisz - but in the right role and the right director she is outstanding and comes alive on screen.

I love the "chameleon" actors who totally transform themselves physically and vocally and I love the actors who don't, like Winona,

I think most of us 30 and under only know she shoplifted and then that was it pretty much.

Ryder could "act" this anal bleaching girl really well. Lesbians have to do this every other day or they start looking like Chewbacca down there.

Boring actress. Adequate not quite ever good. Had a ton of rx drugs in her purse. Ricci was good.

I said this way upthread...

For those of us who came of age in the early 90s, she was everything. She WAS the face of the era from about 1990-94. My older sisters had Molly; I had Noni.

Leave her alone!

Oh, shut up, R135. Why "leave her alone?" She's a celebrity, and celebrities are fair game for scrutiny. As for my opinion of her...well, she's weird as hell and very limited as an actress. Her forte was playing strange, twitchy teenagers and that boat sailed a long time ago. Her movie career is pretty much over so she does television now. And what the hell was WRONG with her at that awards show where she was making faces and saying "fuck, yeah!" and acting like a crazy person? Was she stoned out of her gourd? The excuse for her wacko behavior was that she couldn't "hear" what was being said by the guy who was accepting the award. What bullshit. Anyway, her fans thought her behavior was adorable and cute. Her fans don't seem very bright.

[quote] According to an old blind item I read a few years ago, when working on the set of Black Swan with Natalie Portman, she supposedly confided in her that Johnny Depp was violent towards her during their relationship and she was terrified of him at the time (thus, her public statement after Amber Heard accused him was a lie).

She was 18 and he was 26 when they started dating too. Even though she probably was a bigger name than him at the time, she was still a lovesick teenage girl and he was older, more experience and already divorced. She said he was her first love and took her virginity. She obviously holds affection for him and defends him because of her idealization of those adolescent years. But it's not surprising he could have been emotionally and physically abusive especially if he was drunk or on drugs.

It's pretty much Depp's fault. Teenage virgin has heart broken by narcissist actor.

She was a wonderful Jo in Little Women. Possibly the best

R139 IMO far superior was the music, script and cast of the 90s version of Little Women than the Greta Gerwig version (Gerwig's was okay, and I appreciate the less hetero ending and the slightly more empowering theme, but still not as compelling or interesting). Winona Ryder, Claire Daines, Christian Bale and Kirsten Dunst just before the peak of most of their fame trajectories? Yes, please!

[quote][R139] IMO far superior was the music, script and cast of the 90s version of Little Women than the Greta Gerwig version (Gerwig's was okay, and I appreciate the less hetero ending and the slightly more empowering theme, but still not as compelling or interesting). Winona Ryder, Claire Daines, Christian Bale and Kirsten Dunst just before the peak of most of their fame trajectories? Yes, please!

Just a shame that cunt Sarandon is in it.

R140 the '94 version is superior—better actors all around, and better music, as you point out. Greta Gerwig is a twee hack. I have hated her ever since she put out "Ladybird" and tried to pretend like the entire thing wasn't based on her dullard's life and infantile "I'm gonna be a New York-ah!" fantasy. It's obviously autobiographical. She is an obnoxious, self-important cunt.

She's fun watch. But THIS CLIP is the most insightful footage of her yet

I'm gonna guess she had this problem for years and vendors looked the other way until that incident. Winona Ryder suffers from anxiety disorders, shoplifting and compulsive shopping is a way to soothe anxiety.

I remember her shoplifting incident as the first break in the never ending nine one one news coverage. We did not need to move on from nine eleven but there was no frivolous news reported at all until she was busted.

The news discussed all the pills found on her too. I naively thought pill popping was a relic of the Jaqueline Suzanne 1960's. Wino is before her time. Everyone is hopped up on Adderall and Ritalin now.

Winona scares me now because of the expression in her eyes, she looks terrified all the time.

She did a terrible film with Richard Gere called "Autumn in New York." She plays a young hat designer (?) whose verve for life invigorates a jaded older man (Gere) and they of course fall in love. But she's dying of some illness (I can't remember what it was). The movie was a dopey tearjerker love story. She and Gere reportedly couldn't stand each other. He called her "Nervous Nellie", which I thought was pretty funny.

Not much.

R145 which was before the incident. Her career was already in decline. This just sealed the deal.

She’s plain

I googled pics of her recently and she looks anorexic. The raccoon eyeliner doesn't do her favors. She at least seems stable now. She was very cute in an androgynous punkish way during her teen years. I can see why teenagers both girl and boy and gay and straight adored her. She could look very beautiful too with the right wardrobe and makeup too. She was so pretty in Dracula. She is definitely a good muse for artists as she is a total chameleon.

I adored her, if you grew up in the 90s, she defined that decade. By playing the same role over and over again, she just defined the early 90s with gen X and alternative nation. Who were her contemporaries playing neurotic teenage and early 20s girls then? She wasnt in competition with anybody- she was the only one. Maybe Samanta Mathis, Juliette Lewis and Martha Plimpton took the roles she passed on, or maybe those movies just didnt get made. When she left the scene the weird neurotic girl character just went away, replaced by the manic pixie dream girl. I always wonder if she has OCD.

Fake dyed black hair. She's normally a dark blonde.

She look really strange and Edward Scissorhands but she just stopped dying her hair. . I guess that doughy eyed aloof goth chick image was just manufactured.

Angelina Jolie and Katy Perry are blonde too. I think Winona preferred it black and after Lucas secured her a serious film career, she was advised to keep it black for her image. It worked well. I never thought of Winona as goth, she just played one for Beetlejuice. Lydia was a massive influence on goth subculture and probably the first depiction of a teenage goth girl.

R139, she really made the perfect Jo. I’ll never forget being 12 and falling completely in love with her when I saw Little Women in the theater on Christmas Day 1994. It was my first introduction to Winona and I promptly went out and rented every movie of hers I could get my hands on.

She might be batshit crazy, but Noni will always hold a special place in my heart for helping me realize just how fucking gay I am.

Elaine Stritch was also in Autumn in NY and she was dreadful. I never understood her appeal. Terrible actress.

R153 You are the turdiest of the turds.

R150 I imagine Mathis was positioned as competition at one point or at least was following a similar career template (co-starring with Slater in “Pump Up the Volume” she had her coming of age “Mermaids” type film with “This is My Life”) but she never quite made the jump into bonafide stardom probably due to the “Super Mario” movie and then the fall out from River Phoenix’s death.

Juliette Lewis was an "it girl" as was Chloe Sevigny. I think they were definitely competition for Winona.

I read Winona was almost cast in “last days of disco” with Kate beckinsale, but they decided to take a chance with Sevigny instead. I can’t imagine Winona playing that role alongside Kate beckinsale at that time, it seems it would be too small for her stature at the time… I think Chloe was great in the role.

Winona herself mentioned in interviews being turned down in favour of Martha Plimpton for roles in the 80s and Jennifer Connelly. It seems almost a false modesty tactic though, as her career easily eclipses both until Connelly caught fire in the early 00s.

I always help Juliette Lewis was an entirely different type to Winona, couldn’t really see them competing. Lewis is more unhinged, I see her as Lisa to Winona’s susanna in “girl, interrupted”, I wonder if she auditioned for Lisa in fact.

R158 I think Last Days of Disco is Kate Beckinsale's best role. She nailed the 70s dancing more than Chloe, and really was a bitch you love to hate. I haven't been interested in anything she's done since.

R160 yes true about beckinsale, she lost me with all those “underworld” films that I just found so boring. Can’t think of much else she’s done since “last days of disco” that I’ve enjoyed much. Maybe “Laurel canyon”

R150 r156 in 1993 she also played an aspiring country singer in The Thing Called Love.

A year later her co-star Sandra Bullock became A-list with SPEED

R162 they were best friends in the media for a while, I wonder if they drifted or if they’re still close they seemed to be photographed everywhere together for a while and then nothing suddenly and no mention of each other in interviews… well Sandra eclipsed Mathis very early and I guess the high profile friendship didn’t help Mathis in her career. I read somewhere that Mathis wanted to co-star with Phoenix in “reality bites” but the producers wanted Winona and so Phoenix refused to star and hawke got the role.

[quote]I read Winona was almost cast in “last days of disco” with Kate beckinsale, but they decided to take a chance with Sevigny instead. I can’t imagine Winona playing that role alongside Kate beckinsale at that time, it seems it would be too small for her stature at the time… I think Chloe was great in the role.

[quote][R158] I think Last Days of Disco is Kate Beckinsale's best role. She nailed the 70s dancing more than Chloe, and really was a bitch you love to hate. I haven't been interested in anything she's done since.

I can imagine Winona in the Kate role (waspish, aloof) but not in the Chloe role. Disco is a great film and Kate and Chloe are perfect in their roles.

Reality Bites rehearsal footage....

Lbh, she was never a very good actress. She looked like she'd been directed within an inch of her life in The Age of Innocence and I was surprised when she bagged an Oscar nomination for that. She was likable in things like Heathers (I've never seen her Little Women) but she mostly looked kind of confused when called upon to act. It's not like she could actually play a character. I'd actually given up going to see anything that she was in because she was such a superficial actress.

Her voice grates on my nerves. Reedy and whiny.

She's cute in a girly way, but I'm surprised at all the men she's pulled. Goes to show the power of boobs.

A lot of us have a soft spot for Winona. She was the dark princess of Generation X.

[quote]Goes to show the power of boobs.

I remember people laughing during Reality Bites at one part where she is leaving an office building and jiggling all over the place. (Were they real?)

I think Winona has big tits naturally.

Winona got a lot of second chances. It's sort of surprising in retrospect that Scorsese took a chance on her for a big budget passion project like The Age of Innocence when just three years prior she had dropped out of Godfather 3 at the last minute (and indirectly ruined the movie)

I've always kinda felt sympathy for Sophia Coppola here. She was atrocious. But also kinda thrown in. She had no business playing a whole part. She wasn't good but not bad as Kat Turner's little sister in PSGM but she should never have been given that part. I don't know to this day what I feel about the movie because I really didn't believe a piece of that movie.

[quote] I think Winona has big tits naturally.

How would YOU know! I've seen photos of her that contradict that. In come of them she has no cleavage. In others she has melons.

[quote] I've always kinda felt sympathy for Sophia Coppola here.

I've never felt any sympathy for her. She's gone a long way (won an undeserved Oscar) on little talent. She never would have gotten anywhere if her last name hadn't been Coppola.

Francis really wanted her in the movie. I don't think she really wanted to do it but he insisted.

The studio was ready to send either Anabella Sciorra or Laura San Giacomo over to take over the part but Francis started filming Sophia before they even could get on a plane.

Panic executives flew over but I guess it was too late.

You'd think he could have directed her into a better performance. Like give her line readings and say do it this way etc. I think she' must have been quite nervous and it shows big time.

Coppola got a bad rep. A professional actress was hired but was partying too much to be able to complete the movie so the director's daughter had to save the day. And then blow it up with one of the screen's worst performances ever. It just didn't work out. And the movie wasn't very good either.

I didn't mind Sofia Coppola in GF3, she had an air of authenticity about her. Her father should've helped her more with the death scene though because that was truly awful. The screen has seen a lot worse performances though.

She wasn't cast well though as Kathleen Turner's sister and Barbara Harris' daughter though. That was just odd.

I see your point r178.

I guess she was ok in most of the film.

The death scene is what everyone remembers.

Plus it would just seem more tragic if a very popular actress like Ryder played the part.

No she was just bad. Are you kidding me? She was fucking awful. Hire a fucking actress when another one is too fucked up to do it.

I actually don't think Winona Ryder would've been very believable as a mafia don's daughter. When people say Coppola was bad, I think they mean it wasn't a star performance and it certainly wasn't. But she was more believable as a mafia don's daughter, a princess, an object of her father's affection and an arranged family marriage than any actress would've been. The death scene was terrible, she was like a dead cat. But as a mafia princess, she was cast far more to type.

Coppola's most interesting casting gambit might've been to have Madonna play Mary. She was considered. If she was a better actress, I guess, that would've been interesting.

[quote] To think that her career was so badly derailed by SHOPLIFTING when men have gotten away with beating their wives and girlfriends says a lot about the sexism in Hollywood.

Mere whataboutism.

Shoplifting is theft; theft is a crime.

I think with a name playing her the part was assumed to be more pronounced to the film. When it was a meek almost timid performance it wasn't even really a part of the movie. The Andy Garcia character seemed incomplete because that part of the character didn't click. I'm sorry but she was just bad. Why she is getting a pass on the DL is beyond me.

She may have willingly taken a break from the movie biz. Sounds like the shoplifting incident was just the tip of the iceberg of a really bad time in her life.

Wikipedia: She was accused of using drugs during the trial, including oxycodone, diazepam, and Vicodin without valid prescriptions. She was convicted of grand theft,[148] shoplifting, and vandalism but was acquitted on the felony charge of burglary.[149] In December 2002, she was sentenced to three years of probation, 480 hours of community service, $3,700 in fines, and $6,355 in restitution to the Saks Fifth Avenue store, and she was ordered to attend psychological and drug counseling.[150] On June 18, 2004, Superior Court Judge Elden Fox reviewed Ryder's probation report and noted that she had served 480 hours of community service, and the felonies were reduced to misdemeanors. She remained on probation until December 2005.[151]

Ryder explained to Interview magazine that the incident occurred during a difficult time in her life when she was clinically depressed. She also stated the heavy pain-killing medication that a physician practicing quackery had prescribed for her significantly clouded her judgment.[152][153] The doctor who prescribed the medication subsequently had his medical license revoked by the Medical Board of California for unethically catering to "the demands of wealthy and/or famous drug-seekers for prescription narcotics which would otherwise have to be obtained on the street".[154

The shoplifting thing always seemed like more of a cry for help to me, like she wanted someone to take notice of what a mess she was on the inside. The retailers could've handled it better. The people I knew then that took a hard stand against her support Donald Trump now so go figure.

I remember from Abnormal Psychology in college that shoplifting is often done by people who feel unnoticed and alone in their daily lives.

There is some movie the prof showed where Joan Allen does it. (name the movie DL! I don't know it.)

I would've been interested to see what she would've done with that part. I really do think she was wonderful in Age of Innocence whether that was Scorsese or her or not. She was very good.

She handled the shoplifting poorly. She fought it and mouthed off to the judge. Rolled her eyes and was hostile towards him.

Crying on an Oprah episode and telling how much she was suffering would have been a lot better. The trial just dragged the whole thing out for years and I think people were afraid to hire her because they thought she was crazy.

Plus she was 30 and had mostly played teen and youthful characters. She probably would have struggled a bit at that point in her career anyway.

Honey Winona is crazy. I'm pretty sure that's a given.

[quote] Ryder explained to Interview magazine that the incident occurred during a difficult time in her life when she was clinically depressed. She also stated the heavy pain-killing medication that a physician practicing quackery had prescribed for her significantly clouded her judgment.[152][153] The doctor who prescribed the medication subsequently had his medical license revoked by the Medical Board of California for unethically catering to "the demands of wealthy and/or famous drug-seekers for prescription narcotics which would otherwise have to be obtained on the street"

Like that wasn't [italic]exactly[/italic] why she went to see him in the first place.

[quote] There is some movie the prof showed where Joan Allen does it. (name the movie DL! I don't know it.)

The Ice Storm.

So Winona was the dark stoner chick and Julia got to be the sweet ingenue in distress?

Didn't they used to refer to her vagina in the '90s as "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"?

I always wondered if Winona had kleptomania (along with depression), which is a legitimate diagnosis that involves stealing items a person can afford and doesnt need because of a compulsion to and a feeling of intense pressure anxiety, then relief afterward. It’s a weird disorder that has similarities with anxiety and OCD.

I did a report on it in a college class because I had a friend who had it and this was right around the time Winona was caught.

[quote] Didn't they used to refer to her vagina in the '90s as "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"?

She was known in Hollywood in the 90s as "Wanna RideHer?" because she had fucked so many music, TV, and movie stars.

R178 the worst part about her performance was THAT VOICE. Even when you hire a not that great professional actress, you take it for granted that they’re not going to have some horrid Valley Girl voice that is going to take you out of the movie every time.

Winona was wonderful in Mermaids this same year. She deserved the barely missed Oscar nomination that Dianne Ladd stole.

She just handled the shoplifting thing really poorly as others have already mentioned. She appeared at the VMAs or some teen award show and mocked the whole incident. She gave an interview where she said she didn’t see what the big deal was because it was “victimless crime.” As if your average non-celebrity wouldn’t be in very deep shit for doing the same thing.

She was overall completely out of touch and I hate using these words but yes, privileged and entitled. It was a huge turn-off.

Winona's homes are always impeccable.

I like the way she dresses. She has style. Besides the badly handled on pills and shoplifting thing she keeps her head down . I like that. Although she comes across as neurotic.

I’m not a fan of hers, didn’t like her (or Michelle P) in Age of Innocence. Too tremulous, too high-pitched quavery voice, always hunched shoulders. I don’t seek out her movies so I haven’t seen many. I don’t think she would’ve been successful in Godfather, nor any of the other actresses posited here… Annabeth Gish? The character had to be a dutiful don’s daughter, cosseted but not obnoxious, demure but also attractive enough for Andy Garcia.

I think her Little Women was successful because of all the other actors, especially Christian Bale. They did work well together.

I was surprised when they found needles in her purse during the shoplifting incident. It seems she had been going pretty hardcore. She managed to remain beautiful though, thats for sure.

She’s fucking amazing in Stranger Things

She shoplifted our hearts.

So what did Christina ricci know was up With Winona at the awards show with the pizza meme? Are they still friends?

R144 Eating disorder patients have pretty epic shoplifting habits, so add that to the list of psych, substance and entitlement disorders.

R205 Whaaa? Elaborate

[quote] She’s fucking amazing in Stranger Things

Why do you say that? I don't think she's been "fucking amazing" in anything.

Oh, come on. Who else could've played that role with so much unselfconscious overly earnest crazy? She's great in Stranger Things.

[quote]Why do you say that?

she plays the role well, and her chemistry with David Harbour is charming