(27 Sep 2024)
++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
London – 27 September 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen O’Hara, film journalist:
"I don’t think you can summarize a career like this. She had ruled screen, stage and, in recent years, television. You know, like almost no one else. I feel like she was an extraordinary personality, you know, she was somebody who took no fools, suffered no fools, gladly or not, I think, but just had so much personality herself that it’s almost more impressive that she was such a good actress and could kind of disappear into roles, you know, when she wanted. I think in recent years, she’d kind of been playing variations on herself, on that sort of acerbic, sharp tongued, incredibly witty person that we saw in interviews with her. And it works brilliantly. My God, why try harder?"
++BLACK FRAMES++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen O’Hara, film journalist:
"Downton (‘Downton Abbey’), I mean, yeah, she kind of conquered the world. I think Maggie Smith was a little bit uncomfortable with how much fame Downton brought her. I don’t think she realized what a big deal it was going to be, and how much people were going to kind of embrace it and take it into their hearts. That was really when she started getting sort of stopped in the street and people talking to her, you know, and I’m not I’m not sure that’s necessarily something she wanted. But at the same time, the Dowager Countess is such a great comedic role. She always has the last word. She’s always the funniest and smartest person in the room. She’s so withering in such an interesting way. I mean, I feel like when she inevitably – slight spoiler for the most recent Downton movie – she did pass away eventually at the age of presumably about 110 I think by that point. But, you know, she had been – I don’t know how they’re going to continue. I don’t know how they’re going to do this new movie without her, because she leaves a huge hole in that family."
++BLACK FRAMES++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen O’Hara, film journalist:
"I mean, look, she was enormously comedic, but she she very much was also a serious actor. If you saw her on stage, it was almost certainly in a serious play. If you saw her on screen, you’re outside of those kind of big blockbuster roles, a lot of what she did was kind of heartbreaking. You know, even something like ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,’ which is a comedy, still has those kind of heartbreaking emotional moments. You know, ‘Ladies in Lavender’ has emotional moments. The documentary, ‘The Four Dames’ documentary about her friendship with, you know, Judi Dench and the gang is very funny, but it’s also really thought provoking and really moving because these are, you know, four women essentially in their 80s, all kind of wondering how they got there suddenly, you know. So it’s not to say that she just did comedy. She was just such a funny person that when she did, it was kind of magnetic."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen O’Hara, film journalist:
++ENDS++
STORYLINE:
"Maggie Smith’s legacy is going to live on for a very, very long time," says the editor at large of movie magazine Empire, Helen O’Hara.
The British actor, who won an Oscar for 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and won new fans in the 21st century by starring in “Downton Abbey” and the Harry Potter films, has died aged 89.
Her publicist announced the news Friday.
Smith was frequently rated the preeminent British female performer of a generation, that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench.
O’Hara says that she leaves an incredible body of work, especially on film:
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