-------------------- [5 March 2018 | The Daily Mail] -------------- She's one of the last survivors of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
But at the grand old age of 101, Dame Olivia de Havilland hasn't lost her thirst for a fight.
The British-born actress is suing the producers of a TV drama which she says unfairly portrayed her as a foul-mouthed gossip.
In what could prove a landmark case, the Gone With The Wind star is taking legal action against the FX network and producer Ryan Murphy over her characterisation by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the drama series Feud: Bette and Joan.
Although the series...focused principally on the toxic rivalry of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, the character of Dame Olivia provides commentary in the drama. She is suing on the grounds FX and Murphy never sought her permission to use her 'name and identity' in the series. The California Court of Appeals will rule later this month whether Dame Olivia can proceed with her lawsuit. [written by Tom Leonard] -------------------
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Since I first read about this last week, I can't get this story out of my mind.
This woman -- standing up for herself in this manner in a world which seems, on some days, to have gone mad, and facing down Hollywood's power structure. At the age of 101!
Her 102nd birthday is coming up in three-and-a-half months.
Holy Toledo.
I think she is a role model for --
a firm belief in moral standards and in her worth as a person
and
cool courage.
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assumptions
Learning of this situation caused me to unconsciously assume that some Hollywood people may have made some assumptions, because of Olivia de Havilland's age.
The people putting together the "docudrama" (documentary/drama) -- producer; director; writer(s) -- may have assumed de Havilland was not current on new films being made -- 'she's very old, she won't be paying attention' .... They may have assumed she would be suffering health issues and would be too tired or too ill to notice. (Real nice -- take advantage...)
They might have assumed the presence of some dementia, in someone of that age....
Basically, I guess I was
assuming
that they were assuming
that they didn't have to consider her at all because she is old.
One Independent reader commented, "They most likely thought she'd passed away...."
(How long would it take tech-savvy Hollywood folks to type her name onto the Internet and find out if she is still living, right?)
------------------------ [excerpt from the New York Times -- "At 101, a Survivor of Hollywood's Golden Age Throws Down the Gauntlet" - written by Paul Brownfield, March 3, 2018] ------------------------- "When Feud was first being publicised, but before it went on the air, I was interested to see how it would portray my dear friend Bette Davis," de Havilland wrote in an email.
"Then friends and family started getting in touch with me, informing me that my identity was actually being represented on the programme. No one from Fox had contacted me about this to ask my permission, to request my input, or to see how I felt about it. When I then learned that the Olivia de Havilland character called my sister Joan 'a bitch' and gossiped about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's personal and private relationship, I was deeply offended."
..."A large part of the reason I decided to move forward with my action against FX is that I realise that at this stage of my life and career I am in a unique position to stand up and speak truth to power -- an action that would be very difficult for a young actor to undertake," she wrote.
"I believe in the right to free speech, but it certainly must not be abused by using it to protect published falsehoods or to improperly benefit from the use of someone's name and reputation without their consent. FX crossed both of these lines with Feud, and if it is allowed to do this without any consequences, then the use of lies about well-known public figures masquerading as the truth will become more and more common. This is not moral and it should not be permitted."
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According to online encyclopedia, Olivia de Havilland appeared in 49 feature films. My main impression of her is from Gone With The Wind, a film made in 1939 -- (same year as The Wizard of Oz.) Dame Olivia played Melanie (Hamilton) Wilkes.
--------------------- [excerpt from Gone With The Wind, novel by Margaret Mitchell] ---------------- She [Melanie] had smiled with timid liking when she greeted Scarlett and told her how pretty her green dress was, and Scarlett had been hard put to be even civil in reply, so violently did she want to speak alone with Ashley.
Since then, Ashley had sat on a stool at Melanie's feet, apart from the other guests, and talked quietly with her, smiling the slow drowsy smile that Scarlett loved. What made matters worse was that under his smile a little sparkle had come into Melanie's eyes, so that even Scarlett had to admit that she looked almost pretty.
As Melanie looked at Ashley, her plain face lit up as with an inner fire, for if ever a loving heart showed itself upon a face, it was showing now on Melanie Hamilton's.
Scarlett tried to keep her eyes from these two but could not, and after each glance she redoubled her gaiety with her cavaliers, laughing, saying daring things, teasing, tossing her head at their compliments until her earrings danced.
She said "fiddle-dee-dee" many times, declared that the truth wasn't in any of them, and vowed that she'd never believe anything any man told her.
But Ashley did not seem to notice her at all.
He only looked up at Melanie and talked on, and Melanie looked down at him with an expression that radiated the fact that she belonged to him.
So, Scarlett was miserable.
-30-
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