Originally published in The New York Times
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Published: March 28, 2008.
Widowed at 65 by a husband who left only unpaid bills and fond memories, the indomitable Ms. Weddell saw an opportunity to follow her passion. “I love illusion,” she says, describing an acting career that has paid her bills for almost three decades. From “Law & Order” to “Sex and the City,” from vampire movies to cheese commercials, this remarkable woman has compiled a résumé that defies the industry’s rampant ageism. And while her aristocratic looks and powerhouse personality — and an elegant way with a cigarette holder — have no doubt contributed to her success, so too has a willingness to work 14-hour days and fight for roles.
“Mimi’s driven,” says her son, Tom, who shares his mother’s East Side Manhattan apartment along with his sister, Sarah Dillon, and other family members. And as the filmmakers, Jyll Johnstone and Michael Arlen Davis, strive to keep up with their subject’s punishing schedule of dance lessons, gym workouts, auditions and even a sightseeing trip to Florence, their movie seldom flags. For Ms. Weddell, standing still may be life’s only remaining terror.
HATS OFF
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Directed by Jyll Johnstone; edited by Kate Stilley Steiner and Bill Weber; music by Frankie Spellman and Stevie Buzzell; produced by Ms. Johnstone and Michael Arlen Davis; released by Canobie Films and Abramorama. Running time: 1 hour 24 minutes. This film is not rated.
