{"id":6701,"date":"2024-02-26T17:41:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T22:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=6701"},"modified":"2024-02-26T17:41:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T22:41:50","slug":"miley-cyrus-honors-chicago-legend-cynthia-plaster-caster-in-ethan-coens-drive-away-dolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=6701","title":{"rendered":"Miley Cyrus Honors Chicago Legend Cynthia Plaster Caster In Ethan Coen\u2019s \u2018Drive-Away Dolls\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"659\" height=\"369\" src=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/x-cynthia.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/x-cynthia.png 659w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/x-cynthia-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Miley Cyrus (left) plays Tiffany Plastercaster in &#8220;Drive-Away Dolls,&#8221; a character inspired by Chicago legend Cynthia Plaster Caster (right).\u00a0Credit:\u00a0Focus Features\/Provided<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, are well-known for their cinematic collaborations, dating back to \u201cBlood Simple\u201d 40 years ago. But more recently, the brothers have focused on separate projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joel released \u201cThe Tragedy of Macbeth\u201d in 2021. It stars Denzel Washington as the title character and his wife, Frances McDormand, as Lady Macbeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDrive-Away Dolls,\u201d Ethan Coen\u2019s new directorial effort co-written with his partner Tricia Cooke, is a far cry from Shakespeare \u2014 a madcap caper movie that hearkens back to early Coen efforts like \u201cRaising Arizona.\u201d Two lovelorn friends (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) rent a car to drive to Tallahassee, but unbeknownst to them, the vehicle contains a secret stash that shady characters are extremely interested in. Various hijinks ensue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"nv-iframe-embed\"><iframe title=\"DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters February 23\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Oy0RYiQRWUk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Colorful psychedelic interludes are threaded throughout the movie; at one point, a character emerges from the brightly colored ether. It\u2019s none other than Miley Cyrus as the epitome of hippie goddess. She introduces herself as \u201cTiffany Plaster Caster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHey handsome,\u201d she states. \u201cWant to get plastered?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The connection between Tiffany and Cynthia Plaster Caster seems obvious. Cynthia Albritton,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2022\/04\/22\/jimi-hendrixs-penis-made-cynthia-plaster-caster-famous-but-the-chicago-artist-first-and-foremost-was-a-music-fan\/\">known as Cynthia Plaster Caster<\/a>, grew up on the South Side and was a huge rock fan even as a teenager. She became famous for what would become her lifetime art project: making plaster casts of rock stars\u2019 penises. Frank Zappa declined to be cast himself, but was so intrigued by Cynthia\u2019s project that he helped move her out to L.A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2024\/02\/278778546.jpg?resize=780%2C583&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-687779\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cynthia Albritton, a.k.a. Cynthia Plaster Caster&nbsp;Credit:&nbsp;Provided\/John Connors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Legendary cast No. 1 was Jimi Hendrix, followed by musicians like The Jesus Lizard\u2019s David Yow, Jon Langford of the Mekons, Eric Burdon of the Animals, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks and Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, resulting in dozens of casts overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Albritton eventually moved back to Chicago, where she was a vital part of the city\u2019s arts and party scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Albritton died in Chicago in 2022, and rock giants all over the world expressed their condolences at the loss of one of pop culture\u2019s legendary heroes. Metro threw&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2022\/06\/16\/chicagoans-are-planning-a-celebration-for-the-woman-who-made-molds-of-rockstars-penises\/\">a memorial concert<\/a>&nbsp;for her that summer featuring Langford, Sallly Timms and the Waco Brothers. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without giving too much away, we can say that plastercasting is featured into the plot of \u201cDrive-Away Dolls\u201d (another possible nod: as her friends know, \u201cdoll\u201d was Cynthia\u2019s favorite personal endearment).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/miley-cyrus-drive-away-dolls-cameo-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coen told The Wrap<\/a>&nbsp;Cyrus was already familiar with the history of Cynthia Plaster Caster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s her thing, too,\u201d Coen said. \u201cShe\u2019s into that, both the retro hippie thing and the whole phallus molding thing. Miley loves her dicks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for Cynthia fans, the greatest commemoration of the Plaster Caster comes at the end of the film, with a screen card that reads: \u201cDedicated to Cynthia Plaster Caster, 1947-2022. We remember!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCynthia thought movies were a form of immortality,\u201d said longtime friend John Connors, who she gifted with her cast of singer\/songwriter Anthony Newley. \u201cBeing a character in a movie, especially in the ethereal way she\u2019s portrayed, grants that wish.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Miley Cyrus (left) plays Tiffany Plastercaster in &#8220;Drive-Away Dolls,&#8221; a character inspired by Chicago legend Cynthia Plaster Caster (right).\u00a0Credit:\u00a0Focus Features\/Provided The Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, are well-known for their cinematic collaborations, dating back to \u201cBlood Simple\u201d 40 years ago. But more recently, the brothers have focused on separate projects. Joel released \u201cThe Tragedy of&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=6701\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Miley Cyrus Honors Chicago Legend Cynthia Plaster Caster In Ethan Coen\u2019s \u2018Drive-Away Dolls\u2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6704,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions\/6704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}