WINONA FOREVER!

If like me, you're a film buff in your early thirties, then you will no doubt be aware of, if not a fan of Miss Winona Ryder. If you're a straight man, then you probably fancied her in your teens, if you're a straight woman you probably wanted to be her, if you're a gay man you probably wanted to be her too, and if you're a lesbian, well let's not go there. Am I right? I knew it!

Anybody who was a disillusioned outcast, or slightly alternative teenager in the late 80's/early 90's will have found elements in Winona's portrayal of disillusioned, outcast, slightly alternative teenagers to identify with, or aspire to. I know I did....Dinky Bossetti, Lydia Deetz and Veronica Sawyer weren't just movie characters to me, they were my heroes!



But where is Winona these days?...she's reduced to bit parts in lame romcoms, and the odd blink-and-you'll-miss-her cameo in a decent movie. This just isn't right, and most unbefitting of an actress with her range, talent, good looks and pop culture status.

Winona made her screen debut in Lucas twenty-five years ago, and had soon cornered the market as the kooky, misunderstood and alienated teen, with standout performances in Beetlejuice, Welcome Home Roxy Charmichael and Heathers.



The 80's were good to Winona, but the 90's were her golden era. She was engaged to Johnny Depp, starred alongside him in smash hit Edward Scissorhands, and had a string of acclaimed movies under her belt. She also proved her versatility with goth-horror Bram Stoker's Dracula and period dramas The Age Of Innocence and Little Women, whilst still showing she could still do the whole disillousioned slacker thing in generation X movie de jour Reality Bites. She was nominated for an Oscar two years running ('94 and '95), held her own alongside Hollywood heavyweights Anne Bancroft and Elen Burstyn in How to Make An American Quilt, hell she even played an android in Alien: Resurrection!

By 1996 she was sharing the screen, and billing with the legendary Daniel Day-Lewis in witchfest The Crucible.

As the 90's drew to a close, Winnie landed the lead role in Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical Girl Interrupted. This One Flew Over The Cukoos Nest with girl power was Winona's moment to shine. Everyone knows the Oscar judges love an actor playing a mentalist, and rumours were rife that she was on her way to finally bagging one.



What happened?...bloody Angelina Jolie came along and stole the limelight, the big-lipped bitch!

Despite this, as the 90's ended Winona was ryding high (see what I did there?!). She had broken free of the troubled teen roles, proved her versatility, proved she could carry a film and looked set to take on some more meaty starring roles in the noughties. She had the world at her feet....and a load of stolen frocks and unprescribed medication in her handbag!

Disaster!

In December 2001 Winona was arrested for shoplifting, and it came out that she had an awful lot of prescription meds, but no prescriptions...Oh dear Noni! The ensuing trial was a media frenzy. Maybe it was because she was such a private celebrity and this was such a shock, maybe it was because she'd always played such wide-eyed innocent characters, maybe it was a slow news week, or maybe it was because Winona rocked up to court in fabulous outfits each day....whatever it was, the media lapped it up, and she was suddenly front page news for all the wrong reasons.

The whole "I was researching a role" schtick didn't fly in court, and things got nasty:

By modern celebrity standards, Winona's offence was rather tame. These days you're nobody in Hollywood without an addiction to at least one prescribed medication, and a couple of DUI arrests under your belt, but poor Winnie was savaged by the press, and the work dried up. A couple of films she'd shot prior to her arrest, were released the following year (awful romcom remake Mr Deeds and should've-been-good-but-isn't sci-fi S1m0ne) but neither set the box office on fire, and Winona just disappeared.....

*tumbleweed*

Whether self-imposed or not, we'll never know, but Winona went on hiatus for a few years. Woody Allen revealed that he wanted to cast her in the lead in Melinda and Melinda (how good would that have been?!) but it was impossible to get insurance for her, so the chances are that casting directors were avoiding her as much as she was avoiding the limelight. By December 2005, Winona had completed her sentence of 480 hours community service and paid her fines, so her probation ended.

The following year, she made a subtle return to the screen in A Scanner Darkly, as an animated version of her real self.

Since then it's been hit an miss, with some iddy-biddy parts in great films (Star Trek, Black Swan) and some bigger parts in poor films (The Dilemma, Stay Cool).

("Bitch, if this was 1992, I'd have the lead role!")

She's currently filming psychological-drama, The Stare, with James Franco, so things are beginning to look up, hell Tim Burton's even thrown her a bone, giving her a voiceover part in his forthcoming animated movie Frankenweenie....but it's still not enough!

What is your damage?...I hear you ask. Well, my damage is this: Winona is about to turn forty, which is a very dubious age for a woman in Hollywood these days, and I'd hate to see her thrown on the scrap heap. She was great in her teens, and her twenties, things may have gone slightly tits-up in her thirties, but now is the time for her and us to see what her forties hold. She can bring her A-Game anytime, but she needs some decent leading roles to prove it!

What our Winona needs is a juicy, edgy starring role to sink her teeth into...one that shocks and surprises, one that gives her a chance to show us what we know she's capable of, one that gets the critics excited, one that becomes iconic, one that allows her to do something different, one that gets her another oscar nomination. You know what would be perfect?...a part in a Quentin Tarantino movie! Who better to give her a role that will help her regain her iconic status?! I've thought about this a lot, and discussed it at length with my friend (and fellow Winona-lover) Hannah, and I've decided to start a campaign to get our Noni a part in a Tarantino film! Tarantino writes amazing films with genius female characters, and always uses unexpected actresses. He's also not afraid to cast someone who may be considered as a has-been, giving them a much-needed career boost: Bruce Willis, Pam Grier, Daryl Hannah. Imagine if Winona had Uma's part in Pulp Fiction, or Daryl Hannah's in Kill Bill, if she'd been one of the kick-ass bitches in Deathproof, or had Bridget Fonda's part in Jackie Brown....she would've stolen the show! Noni needs a cool, leading adult role fast, before she's reduced to being remembered as that teen star who fizzled out, then went shoplifting off her tits on medication! I truly believe Quentin Tarantino is the man to write that part, and I reckon Winona could be an awesome muse for his genius. Quentin isn't afraid to cast a controversial actor, and he could go pop culture reference mad with our Winnie!

Normally the post would end here...however, this one I'm taking further, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is! This isn't just about me fawning over Winona and Quentin (well, it kind of is so far), or a daydream about them working together...this is a call to arms for all Winona Ryder fans who feel the same as me, and phase one of OPERATION: WINONA4QUENTIN



I'm starting a petition which I'll send to Quentin Tarantino (no, I don't know how I'm going to do that yet either) in the hope that he'll realise Winona not only deserves a part in one of his films, but will actually end up being the greatest casting decision he's ever made. I know it's a slightly far-fetched scheme, but as we say here in Newcastle "shy bairns get nowt." You never know, stranger things have happened....Bridget Fonda got her part in Jackie Brown after bumping into Quentin when they both happened to be on the same flight. Talk is cheap, so rather than just blog about how much I love Winona and wish she was in a Tarantino movie, I'm actually going to do something to try and make it happen! Yes I am for real!

So, if you agree that Winona deserves a part befitting her amazingness, and would be perfect for a Quentin Tarantino movie, then join the campaign! To sign the petition send an email stating your name and location to winona4quentin@rocketmail.com (just your first name/city/country will do....this isn't an elaborate scam to hack into your bank account!) Put WINONA4QUENTIN as the subject.
If you want to add a few words of admiration for Winona, or state your favourite film of hers, that would be cool too.