newcritics - Latest Comments in Newman’s Own

Re: Newman’s Own

movie fan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:59:45 -0000

it's hard not to admire Paul Newman for putting his money to work in such productive ways, such as his Newman's Own line--high quality stuff and the proceeds go to good causes... very smart.

Re: Newman’s Own

David Ehrenstein — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:30:12 -0000

There's a lot more to Newman than meets the eye. He harnessed his star status in many interesting ways. And by that I'm not talking about the wildly overpraised Cool Hand Luke. The Newman films that interest me the most (outside of The Hustler) are The Long Hot Summer, Harper, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean<.i> and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge.

Re: Newman’s Own

David Stafford — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:54:13 -0000

I find myself agreeing with this post. I have trouble seeing Paul as a great actor but he was one of the great screen presences of all time. Simply irresistible. I was young when I saw Pocket Money and have heard people I respect say good things about it but at the time, I just hated it because it asked that you believe Paul was stupid and that, like his badness in Hud, was simply unthinkable.

Re: Newman’s Own

kathleenmaher — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:03:34 -0000

Sometimes the movie star vs actor distinction is so obvious, I see it without help. Paul Newman doesn't strike me as a blatant case of movie stardom. My mother has always said he was an excellent actor, but she and I rarely agree about anything. His career was long and people's talents, along with critical trends, probably run the gamut over several decades. Maybe Paul Newman was both.

Re: Newman’s Own

Dan Leo — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:41:58 -0000

Love those dark side movies he did. The Verdict. Hombre. Hustler. And my favorite: Hud.

Re: Newman’s Own

tomwatson — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:31:16 -0000

Nice post, WB - i think part of Newman's stardom comes from his later work off-screen. The auto racing is part of the glamor, sure. But his virtual invention of star-driven cause-marketing may have has as much impact on consumer media as his acting. Newman's Own set the standard for "good" celebrity brands. And Newman did way more than lend his name - he was an activist and an involved manager, both of his charity brands and in progressive issues and politics. So it's the whole picture.

Plus, he was ordinary in a good way - tooling around Manhattan with his wife and their driver/aide/assistant in a beat-up Volvo station wagon. You know, you saw Newman around town. To me, he wasn't other-wordly - he changed from his gorgeous/blue eyes movie star youth to a more three-dimensional person. A great run.