Diane Keaton is featured in InStyle’s Badass Woman Issue even though Diane herself doesn’t really consider herself a badass. She’s not some bold ass-kicker, but she’s powerfully effective. Like, I think she’s an idiot because she’s still sticking up for Woody Allen, but I’m not going to pour hatred and scorn on her just because (in her mind) she sticking up for one of her oldest friends, the man who gave her a huge career break. While she does mention Woody Allen several times in this InStyle piece, she’s not pressed on the issue and she doesn’t volunteer anything more than a few stories about making Annie Hall and whatever else. It’s actually a good read because so often these days, these are not the women who are featured in fashion and style magazines, you know? Diane Keaton’s thoughts on art, fashion and badassery are more interesting to me than the thoughts of a 20-year-old model. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Her covered-up, hat-wearing look: “I don’t think of it as empowering. Yes, it’s very protective. It hides a multitude of sins. Flaws, anxiety — things like that. I would not feel comfortable in a short skirt or something cut off with my arms hanging out there. And I’ve always liked hats. They just frame a head. But, of course, nobody really thinks they’re as great as I do. And, you know, hats also protect you from the sun — I’ve had so many skin cancers.
How she got into hats: “The truth is, it was on The Godfather [1972]. Dean Tavoularis was the [production] designer, and he was with this beautiful French girl. She had on a hat that was like something you’d see Cary Grant or one of those guys wear. It made me think, “Buy hats.” I thought, “God, that would be good. I could do that.” Which is the story of my life. “I could copy this. I could copy that.”
Online shopping: “My daughter, Dexter, is an online shopper. I think she’s crazy. Part of the great joy is just being in the stores. It’s sad what’s happening to them. They’re just closing, and people are doing exactly what you’re telling me [buying online]. It’s like, “Stop! How can you do that? You don’t know what it’s going to look like on you!”
Whether she considers herself a badass: “I would call myself somebody who avoids more than anything else. I’ve got that 8-foot wall [points toward the house’s gate]. It makes me feel protected, you know? Safe. I’m fearless about what I like. In other words, I’ll take it wherever I want to go. I’ve had a lot of independence, and nobody’s telling me what to do. I had a mother who encouraged that and helped me achieve the things I wanted to achieve. I’ve followed the paths I’ve wanted to follow. I like redoing houses, I like architecture, I like visuals, I like fashion, I like all of it.
She doesn’t consider herself a real actress: “Oh, no. Oh god, I’m not thinking, “Gee, I need to play a role.” I’m not a real actress. OK, wait, I have to tell you this. So, Jessica Lange. I was in New York, and I saw her in The Glass Menagerie [in 2005]. And it was a matinee, which means she had to do another show after that. She was just totally emotional, totally brilliant. I went backstage because I made that movie Crimes of the Heart [1986] with her. I looked at her, and she had been crying. I said, “How can you do this over and over in front of people?” She looked at me, “I love it so much.” I said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Count me out.
Whether she dates: “Never. All right? [laughs] Let’s just get that straight. That one’s important. I haven’t been on a date in, I would say, 35 years. No dates. I have a lot of male friends. I have a lot of friends, but no dates. No mwah-mwah.
I laughed out loud at that Jessica Lange story, I really did. Imagine seeing your friend and former coworker, so involved in the process, so emotional, ripping out her heart in eight performances a week and Diane’s reaction is “You’ve got to be kidding me. Count me out.” While I do think Keaton is a better actress than she believes, there absolutely is something one-note about even her best performances. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – some of the best actors in the world made some really great movies by just playing the same kinds of characters over and over.
As for not dating for 35 years… like, I’ll believe that she doesn’t get asked out a lot, but I truly don’t believe that she hasn’t been on any kind of date – even a f–king lunch date – with a man/potential lover since 1986. That’s ridiculous.
Photos courtesy of InStyle and WENN.
She has gone out with them but as she points out there is no mwah mwah (kissing).
I notice she said she has had many skin cancers so maybe she is prone to them and explains why she dresses so conservatively. Good for her for mentioning that.
I remember during Godfather 3 she and Al Pacino had been living together and she wanted marriage and a family with him. He refused. That came out in 1990. Then they both went on to families of their own with her adopting and him doing the I wanted a family just not with you thing. I think once her kids came she just wanted to focus on her family.
She did end up seeing a lot of men who were not great at commitment, such as Warren Beatty. If that was me, I’d probably be done dating as well after the bs she probably went through. 🙂
I’d read Warren Beatty proposed to her, but she turned him down.
She and Al Pacino were reportedly off and on for 20 years starting in 1971. Maybe she doesn’t consider going back to an ex dating.
I can believe that she hasn’t been on a date in 35 years. My mother hasn’t been on a date since my parents separated in 1975.
I think it’s hilarious that they put a million hats on her head for the cover. I don’t like that she carries water for Woody, and I think she is a bad actress, her performances in the Godfathers 1 and 2 almost brought down the caliber of those films. But I do like that she seems to be enjoying her life and that she’s not curling up in a ball because she’s “alone”.
Same. My parents got divorced in 1994 and my mom hasn’t dated since. No big deal. She’s happy in her independence and she has friends and church, so no one has ever tried to pressure her.
Maybe she’s not interested in sex. Some people really aren’t. In many ways, I envy them.
One can have sex without dating.
Really? Well blow me down!
I have an ex-husband who wasn’t interested in sex when we were married. Since we split up 14 years ago, he hasn’t dated anyone. I think he likes his life better that way. No shame in it, being part of a couple who had physical intimacy just wasn’t for him.
I always thought Diane Keaton was really cool……up there with Susan Sarandon, Cher & Dolly.
For some reason, if Diane Keaton is in a movie I really end up liking it.
I thought so too, until I read her book and she came across as painfully insecure. The hat wearing is not a quirk, like she has to wear a hat if not she breaks down. I felt bad for her after reading it, honestly.
I like her acting (though the woody allen part IRKS ME) but I agree that she IS kind of one note. She plays her quirky self in every role. whether Annie Hall or Something’s Gotta Give, the character is Diane Keaton PLUS the character that was written.
Shoot the Moon, Mrs. Soffel, Crimes of the Heart are some of her non quirky performances. She was excellent in all of them.
And Looking for Mr. Goodbar! Tuesday Weld was also great in that. I think the movie could’ve been even better if she and Diane switched roles.
They are ALL one note. Meryl is Meryl, Nicole/Nicole, Denzel/Denzel, etc., etc.
I don’t think Meryl, Nicole, Denzel (or Tom Hanks, Leo or DDL to add some white guys) are one note. Great actors like then can be chameleons. But many good actors have made careers out of playing similar characters very well (Clint Eastwood, for example.) Keaton is in the latter camp at best.
Meryl Streep is the furthest thing from one note. The woman has been a wide variety of characters over her long, distinguished career. She first broke my heart as a young Polish Catholic girl at odds with the Nazis, she was a mysterious French Lietenant’s Woman, a damaged woman who couldn’t recover in Sophie’s Choice, a surprisingly human working woman in Kramer vs. Kramer, the owner of the Washington Post, etc etc etc. No one touches Meryl.
Does anyone else totally despise “Something’s Gotta Give”? I can’t understand all the love it gets! I found it outrageously sexist! I won’t describe plot specifics just in case anyone hasn’t seen it, but basically it goes: disgusting man treats woman like garbage and she falls in love with him. 🙄 And the scene that everyone loves, with her wailing and crying into a computer, good god Lemon… nails on a chalkboard and ultimate cringe at the same time. Don’t even get me started on what happens with Keanu Reeves’ character!! Two emphatic thumbs down, waaaaaay down, further down than the laws of physics will allow. I may end up sprouting more thumbs because two thumbs down just aren’t enough. Friends, Romans, Celebitches, lend me your thumbs!
Keanu was the only good character in that movie. Crappy, inexplicable decision she made at the end.
@Jerusha Right!?! Horrible, horrible film. SMH!
She was great in Reds.
Agreed, she was excellent in that film.
I saw her in person about 8 months ago in an IKEA store with her assistant or daughter. I noticed her boots first, because I thought that they were such great looking boots with her outfit. Then I kept looking up at the pants, the jacket and the hat. . .and thought, “That looks like something Diane Keaton would wear — it is such a great outfit.” Then she turned, and I was, “OOOHHHH”. She looks just as she does on film, and she was really low key and normal, and I don’t think most people knew who she was.
So cool!
Apart from her Woody Allen support – I am really relating to a lot she says. I haven’t been on a date since 2008 or thereabouts. I don’t miss it. For me, I wasn’t willing to make the compromises necessary to have a successful relationship with the options that were being offered at the time. Now, I really value my time alone and my space.
I wear a hat and sunscreen every time I go outside. I have incredibly fair skin and I don’t want to be in my 70s saying “I’ve had so many skin cancers removed.” I also wear sunscreen anytime I am going to be outside at all, even if it is just the walking to and from the car.
She might not think she is a badass, but I think she is.
I think she’s exhausting, honestly. I like her in some roles (she has very limited range), but her whole “gee whiz I’m used up and quirky” schtick she’s been running since the 1990s isn’t it for me. It’s almost like she has internalized and agrees with her buddy Woody’s attitudes about women and is playing the “older woman” role.
Agreed. I have the same reaction to her. Look, being a human is hard. Being a woman is harder. But as I aged and gained confidence and stopped caring what people thought I found her neuroses and lack of confidence exceedingly sad and, yes, exhausting.
Perhaps she has a very low sex drive or is asexual. That’s quite possible. And yes I know she can have sex without dating but the “no mwah-mwah” line at the end makes me think she lives a happy life free of sex or sexual partners.
@T1000, I so agree with you, I loathed her performance and the movie too. I always thought Jack Nicholson repulsive.
I just watched her in Poms playing again her one note character and, since I like that character, I enjoyed her performance. The movie itself could have been a hallmark movie vs theater release.
I like her quirky style.
I wouldn’t mind never going on a date again, small talk and getting to know strangers is not my cup of tea, but never having sex again, I’m not there yet.
Huh, she says she wears hats all the time to protect her skin, but even so she’s had a lot of skin cancer? Guess the hats aren’t working.
Only movie I have liked her in was Love and Death; in that movie her annoying and pretentious persona actually worked for the role.
I’m horrified at the idea of living 35 years without mwah mwah. I also can’t imagine referring to it as mwah mwah!! Lastly, I would simply ask a man on a date.