Link Robot ♥ Actresses (Especially the Intimidating Leggy Kind)

Shock Till You Drop Sigourney Weaver interview involving all four Aliens movies and her other genre successes. She's a bit cagey in her answers -- see how she dodges the tough question. But it's Sigourney so we read. And...
Collider ...Robert DeNiro has signed on to play the object of her investigation in the psychological thriller Red Lights. He'll be playing a psychic, she's a paranormal activity expert. The role of Weaver's partner is yet to be cast. We hope it's a good chemistry fit.

In Contention Are Macy Gray and Kimberly Elise the standouts from For Colored Girls? We'll need more than just one anonymous source's opinion to find out. Stay tuned.
The Film Doctor 9 notes on I Am Love. I'm not going to read this now (I'm working on an I Am Love piece and want to be free of all influence) but I like these # notes pieces.
Birth of a Notion RIP Barbara Billingsley. She spoke jive.

Pussy Goes Grrr on cinema's love of combining the feminine with the monstrous.

Chuck & Beans "How To Break Bad News To A Movie Geek."
popbytes on the movie-turned-stage-musical Leap of Faith with music by Oscar winner Alan Menken. The musical stars one of our Broadway favorites Raúl Esparza. We hope they recast the female lead. Enough with the stunt casting, producers. Musicals deserve GREAT voices (like Esparzas).

Movie|Line Info regarding Oz: The Great and Powerful from Sam Raimi starring Robert Downey Jr. Boy did the producers of the Wicked musical biff their chance to be first. By the time that musical hits the screen people will be so sick of Oz with all these multiple movies greenlit; if you arrive AFTER the things you've influenced it's kind of problematic and potentially stale. They should have started on the movie the very moment they realized they had a mammoth hit on their hands. Like way the hell back in 2004 they should have been doing the first draft screenplay and searching for the movie cast. It takes years to get a movie on the screen and we could have been enjoying it for Christmas this very year.

 Just Jared Halle Berry presented Chris Nolan with an award at the Scream Awards. (It's a horror awards show.) I can't figure out why Nolan would have been honored but when people love you they will find any excuse. P.S. Berry looks sensational. But you knew that already. Beautiful woman.
I Need My Fix Anne Hathaway on the cover of the new Vogue. But excuse me, why does she look like Eva Mendes instead of Anne Hathaway? I hate it when magazine photo shoot tinkering does that.
Pullquote this is a month-old post on notes taken during a screening of Angelina Jolie's Salt. But it's new to me and it totally amused me. Trust that I can never understand my own notes after a screening.
Comedy Central Gay Robot ♥ Ryan Phillipe. teehee

Link-By Posting From Nashville

Hi y'all. Nathaniel (c'est moi!) is still in Nashville and feeling very out-of-time and place, shuttling from downtown hotel to movie theater to well attended/scrumptious VIP tent between said movie theater and parking garage. It sounds strange but it's pretty on the inside. There's even a red carpet outside for celebrities I don't recognize (Music City, you know). Celebrities seen wandering through VIP tent that I *do* recognize include Michael Clark Duncan, Mario Van Peebles, Sheryl Crow, Jane Seymour and always memorable character actress Beth Grant (No Country For Old Men, Little Miss Sunshine, Donnie Darko among many others). She's pictured below in what was a very flattering flowing emerald dress... though I wished when I saw her that it was more sparkly in motion. Uh... Get it? Ba dum dum. I'm here all week.


No Nicki Kidman like last year though *sniffle*. Last night I played poker until the wee hours (my first time ever!) with fellow jurors and a couple of filmmakers. Texas Hold Em Whilst In Tennessee. My my my my my my my my poker face. I don't have one. I lost.

There's so many newsy bits I haven't discussed since I'm in the alternate reality of the film festival and they all feel so ancient now despite just happening in the past week. Anyway, for now, random links!

Flickers remembers Yentl warmly. Someone needs to
Techland names 12 disaster movies that are better than Titanic for the 98th anniversary of the great ship's sinking
Deadline People keep asking me what I think of Kirsten Dunst joining Lars von Trier's Melancholia. A hearty nod of approval is what I think. She's making the right moves for a major comeback...i.e. potentially reminding people that she's actually a very talented actress, not just some overly famous celebrity


Guardian offers an amusing solution to the creativity drought of today's "remake it!" frenzy
GreenCine Daily on Summer Hours and the myth of age-appropriate cinema. Good piece but I have one tiny bone to pick. Kohn asserts that the main character is several decades older than he, suggesting that he is still in the womb. Charles Berling is only 51. If you were to be several decades younger than 51 how young exactly would you be? Have your parents even met yet?
Coming Soon Looks like Viola Davis is finally getting that lead role we've all known she deserves. She'll star as The Help, a drama about a housekeeper whose candid comments to a writer send shockwaves through her community.
/Film Joss Whedon to direct The Avengers? I refuse to be as enthused as the rest of the internet. Like I've said before I'll believe this entire movie's existence when I see it. It sounds like way too many contracts to corral into one movie. To me at least. Nevertheless the internet will keep writing about this movie until 2022 and beyond even if it spends decades in development hell.
Thompson on Hollywood on Ryan Phillipe and abs
Erik Lundegaard another interesting review of Kick-Ass
Peel Slowly remembers Jaws and investigates the tiny shifts in its iconic marketing

That's all for now. Enjoy...
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April Showers: Ryan Phillippe

"Hello?"


So I haven't seen this movie all the way through but here's my question. If you were spying on Ryan Phillippe in the shower, wouldn't you forget to carry out your dastardly deed? Who could concentrate?

So Ryan wraps himself in a towel (shame) and moseys on over to his locker where he sees this photo.

You should complete the sentence in the comments.

"I KNOW... ___________________ "
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I Want to Link You Like an Animal

Topless Robot ogles My Little Pony. This is so wrong
Public School Intelligentsia on the pull of Chlöe Sevigny as "Nicolette Grant" on Big Love.
Wired has a big report on the Watchmen-related new DVDs Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood


StinkyLulu digs deep into Broadway's revival of West Side Story. How does it compare to the classic film and previous Broadway incarnations?
Low Resolution makes a case for the charisma of Ryan Phillippe.
StarEast Asia Zhang Ziyi and camel. Does ZZ act anymore or is all about the shilling of product and the banking of cash?
The Spy in the Sandwich the new Pinoy film from the director of recent Oscar submission The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros has been censored. Shame

And finally... Isn't it Bromantic?

Are Breckin and Ryan about to make out (on DVD)?

My friend Kenneth in the (212) told me that little west coast birdies told him that that awfully dull Studio 54 movie from 1998 -- that one that starred Ryan Phillipe, Salma Hayek, Mike Myers and Breckin Meyer -- is headed back to DVD this fall. Here's the good news: it's supposedly the formerly apocryphal Director's Cut version (i.e. much longer and gayer) that is being released. That cut got a surprise screening last summer at Outfest but there was no word of a follow-up DVD release. The initial studio interference with 54 (Miramax... ah, the brothers Weinstein) is one of the dumber movie-making stories from the late nineties: cut 45 minutes of this, reshoot, beef up the more traditional romance. Why anyone thought the target audiences for a movie about Studio 54 would be satisfied with a film that lacked outre behavior, sexual experimentation and excessive drug use... well, I couldn't tell you. Is the new/old version as good as they say? (I hope so. I liked writer/director Marc Christopher's early gay short Alkali, Iowa) Perhaps we'll find out in the fall.

April Showers

Vanity Fair's Hollywood ~ Episode 5 (1999)

The Hollywood Historian in me continues his work after a long sabbatical ... Missed other episodes? See: 1995 , 1996, 1997, 1998 | 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005

In 1999, Vanity Fair went both a little crazy (14 people? The most ever for a Hollywood cover) and a little blah (seriously now, zzz). This issue gets my vote for worst cover in their history of Hollywood editions. They called it "New Kids on the Block" as if they were trying to date it instantly. I called it "Call me in Spring 2000 when the next one comes out." None of them look like they're in the mood to due boy band choreography or even sing one bar of a power ballad.

Adrien Brody, Thandie Newton, Monica Potter, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Stiles,
Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Polley, Norman Reedus, Anna Friel,
Omar Epps, Kate Hudson, Vinessa Shaw, and Barry Pepper.

Adrien Brody, newly 26 years-old, had just come off of an extremely disappointing role downsizing in Best Picture nominee The Thin Red Line (see fascinating time capsule interview from several years back) --originally touted as the lead he was barely in the film by the time notoriously slow filmmaker Terence Malick was through with it. He had not yet been cast in The Pianist which would prove his rather massive critical / awards / Halle Berry kissing breakthrough. He was on the cover, as they often are because he was busy... already popular with casting directors with 5 performances emerging between 99 & 00 (his stripper in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam and his union organizer in Bread and Roses chief among them).

Thandie Newton was also 26. 1998 had been a big year with both Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged and Jonathan Demme's Beloved haunted by her beauty. All was not rosy thereafter. She snagged the female lead of Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) but it did as little for her as the previous film had done for Emmanuelle Béart stateside. Interest was renewed with her memorable supporting part in Crash (2005) and buzz has it that we'll next see her as Condoleeza Rice in Oliver Stone's Bush bio W. (2009).

Monica Potter, about to turn 28, was one of many actresses who were weighted down with "next Julia Roberts" buzz. Believe me, it was a plague that decimated the female 20somethings of Hollywood that entire decade. She had been in two hits Patch Adams and Con Air and would be in a couple more (the already forgotten Along Came a Spider, 2001 and the unfortunately remembered franchise-spawning Saw, 2004) Her last big gig was a stint on TV's Boston Legal.

Reese Witherspoon, all of 23, was still an up and comer and she was about to marry Ryan Phillipe, whom she had been dating since '97. Hopes for her career had stayed high mostly due to her impressive and soulful debut in The Man in the Moon (1991) but none of her films had been hits. That wouldn't change in 1999 (though Cruel Intentions nearly did it) because Election, the film that announced her formidable talent with the subtlety of a megaphone, also flopped in theaters (though it's better remembered than most of the smashes of that year... quality does sometimes win out in the end. It just takes a long time --Tortoise and Hare, you know). Two years after this cover, Legally Blonde would open and she'd join Hollywood's A list to become the biggest star to emerge from this cover's gelatinous mass of wannabees ---seriously. There's way too many people on this cover.

Julia Stiles, newly legal at 18, probably won this cover treatment on the basis of the just-then opening lead role in 10 Things I Hate About You (co-starring the late Heath Ledger). She worked a lot in the years that followed in films both successful and otherwise but her career didn't grow as much as people expected or she herself expected for that matter (that's my presumption from some interviews at least). Today people are still familiar and she is pretty terrific in that tiny role in the Bourne series.

Leelee Sobieski, also known as 'Helen Hunt Jr' among my crowd at the time, was a critical darling turning 16... a status I never understood how she achieved so quickly. Never could I understand her appeal but she worked steadily from her debut in the Tim Allen comedy Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) through the blockbuster Deep Impact to Kubrick's controversial Eyes Wide Shut and the horror thriller Joy Ride (2001). She's never stopped working but the press definitely stopped paying attention, ignoring her from about 2002 onward just as suddenly as they'd once inexplicably decided to dote on her. She's in the new Al Pacino thriller 88 Minutes which is about to open.

Giovanni Ribisi, from the twitchy school of acting that also spawned Jeremy Davies was 24. He had already worked a lot in indies with his biggest claim to fame being part of Saving Private Ryan's young soldier ensemble the summer before this cover was shot. He had eight projects open between this cover and the end of 2000. Presumably he slept some time in 2002 or thereabouts because every year brings several films. His career has been cooling off considerably but he's part of the next buzzy Michael Mann picture Public Enemies so his career might find its second wind next year.


Sarah Polley, 20 at the time, just had quite a year with an Oscar nomination for her first full feature behind the camera Away From Her. But we're talking 9 years ago, aren't we? Nine years back she was a critically celebrated actress with The Sweet Hereafter (1997) behind her for which many people thought she deserved an Oscar nomination. She had four movies coming out the year of this cover, the most famous of which would be Doug Liman's Go. Sarah hasn't totally given up acting (two movies coming next year) but expect more work behind the camera, too.


Norman Reedus at 30 was the oldest character on this cover. This former model was about to have a baby with longtime girlfriend Helena Christensen (they split up in 2003). He had made a few indies directly before this cover as well as the horror sci-fi flick Mimic (1997), which was his first picture. The heat was on with three more small films due in 99 but he never "broke out" as it were. He stayed mostly in indies with the occasional small role in bigger films dotting the filmography like Blade 2 and last year's American Gangster.

Anna Friel, about to turn 23, had up and comer buzz despite very little screen work. 1999 was an important year for her (see time capsule interview) as she was part of the quartet of players in Broadway's Closer (which became a film in 2004 --she played "Alice", later become Natalie Portman's role) and she was also in the ensemble in the umpteenth film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (this one with Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer). Everybody forgot about her for awhile but she's more popular and adorable than ever, suddenly, as one fourth of Pushing Daisies central quartet of players. She's "dead girl" ...but you knew that already if you've been watching.

Omar Epps, nearly 26, had gotten his film start in the Harlem set drama Juice(1992) with Tupac Shakur and had been working steadily in both TV (ER) and film up until this cover. 1999 was a big year with three major roles (The Woods, In Too Deep, and The Mod Squad) and 2000 would be equally crowded but success was only moderate. Lead film roles dried up and he moved over to TV in 2004 as a regular cast member on the Emmy nominated House, M.D.

Kate Hudson , turning 20, had an Oscar-winning superstar mother (Goldie Hawn) but little else to recommend her for this cover. Major stardom of her own would arrive approximately a year and a half later when Almost Famous (2000) opened, for which she received an Oscar nomination and became a mainstream media staple. One romantic comedy blockbuster followed (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 2003) but, honestly, she gets a lot of attention for how little success her films have hand. And that filmography: yikes!

Vinessa Shaw, nearly 23, was known from her work as a teenager on television and in films like Hocus Pocus and Ladybugs. Nothing major but the Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut (pictured, right) was in post-production when this cover was shot and the buzz on her appearance/sex appeal in the mystery shrouded film was fairly loud. Not sure why a bigger career didn't materialize but you'll probably remember that she did a brief Russell Crowe snogging act in 3:10 to Yuma last year.

Barry Pepperwas turning 29 and the previous year's feature film landscape had suggested that he might be breaking free of television, where he had spent the first six years of his Hollywood career. In 1998 he had played a memorable sniper role in Saving Private Ryan and supported Will Smith and Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. A role in Best Picture nominee The Green Mile followed this very December and then he hit the brick wall that was the Scientology inspired Battlefied Earth(2000). The future didn't hold big successful lead roles after that but damn he was good in 25th Hour (2002), don't you think? Next up: supporting Will Smith again in Seven Pounds this Christmas.

Anna Friel ~ then and now

median age: approximately 24. Youngest: Leelee was still fifteen when the cover was shot. oldest: Norman Reedus @ thirty
collective Oscar nominations before this cover: Zilch
collective Oscar nominations after this cover: 4 (Reese, Adrian, Sarah and Kate), 2 of which led to big wins (Witherspoon in Walk the Line & Brody in The Pianist)
fame levels in 2008, according to famousr, from most to least: Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson, Julia Stiles, Adrien Brody, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi, Thandie Newton, Leelee Sobieski, Sarah Polley, Barry Pepper, Monica Potter, Vinessa Shaw (Anna Friel and Norman Reedus are not listed on the website)
see also: 1995 ,1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
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don't miss future installments. Yes I will one day get through them all

Stop-Loss

What’s that great line from No Country For Old Men when Tommy Lee Jones’s Sheriff is asked if a multiple body massacre is a mess?

If it ain’t, it’ll do till the mess gets here

When it comes to stories about America’s ill advised war in Iraq, it’s hard not to think of it is the real deal. You won’t have to wait for another to arrive. It’s a bloody unequivocal mess, no matter how much Orwellian spinning has gone on over the past five years in the nation’s media to convince us otherwise. If you’re a pessimist –or some would argue a realist, you may think this particular botch is forever, an intractable wreck that’ll only result in larger catatostrophes down the line. If it is, it’ll keep expanding till the other messes get here.

Stop-Loss, Kimberly Peirce’s first feature since her much heralded 1999 debut (Boys Don’t Cry), arrived in the marketplace last week like one of its weary soldiers. This would be yet another wounding tour through America’s seeming indifference to Iraq war dramas. Did anyone expect it to be a big hit? Most articles neglect to mention that only certain types of movies are critic proof. Those are the big-ticket genres like superhero films, action extravaganzas, animated flicks, big star driven comedies. When it comes to dramas aimed at adults, are any of them critic proof?

Read the Full Review @ Zoom-In
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Run New Release, Run

L I M I T E D
Backseat -an indie that describes itself as a "coming of age late" story. Co-starring Donald Sutherland as himself. How about that?
Chapter 27 -This is that bio of John Lennon's assassin that Jared Leto added tons of lbs for. Co-starring Lindsay Lohan and Judah Friedlander.
Shotgun Stories -Michael Shannon (Bug, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) adds another lowlife drama to his filmography in this indie about a violent rivalry in the South.
Flawless -Demi Moore and Michael Caine headline this thriller about a janitor and an executive who scheme to lift jewels. Speaking of flawless, this is Demi Moore out on the town in NYC the other day...

[img src]

Dayum!

F O R E I G N / D O C U M E N T A R Y
My Brother is an Only Child -a comic crime film from Italy which played at Cannes last year
Priceless -America's favorite young French actress (well, until February 2008 at least) Audrey Tatou returns as a schemer who mistakes a young bartender for a millionaire in this romantic comedy
The Cool School -Jeff Bridges narrates this history of the LA artworld of the late 40s.
Hats Off -a contemporary documentary about a 92 year old actress in NYC
Under the Same Moon -It opened last week but it's expanding quite a bit now. You'll see a review this week.

Would you have a beer with Phillipe?

W I D E
21 -Kevin Spacey trains college kids (including frequent Spacey co-star Kate Bosworth) to count cards in Vegas in this high spirited drama.
Run Fat Boy, Run -Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz) is out to win the heart of Thandie Newton. He has to run a marathon to do it.
Stop-Loss -Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) directs this buzzy drama about soldiers who are home from Iraq for far less time than they imagined. Starring Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon Levitt (also starring in MNPP's "do, dump or marry?" series don'cha know --great fun). Co-starring Abbie Cornish and Victor Rasuk.
Superhero Movie -Another spoof film. I guess they're cheap to churn out. Although... really now. Won't this genre soon be self-parody with how many movies its producing each year?

We Can't Wait #13 Stop-Loss

Directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry)
Starring A who's who of young (male) Hollywood
Synopsis A soldier (Ryan Phillipe) who believes he's done with his tour of duty in Iraq is called back due to the Stop-Loss clause.
Brought to you by MTV & Paramount
Expected Release Date March 28th, 2008

Nathaniel: Joe wrote a good piece on why people (himself included) might actually want to see the Iraq themed Stop-Loss, media concerns be damned, by why are the rest of you anxious for Kimberly Peirce's soldiers inbetween tours drama? Is it the cast: Channing Tatum, JGL, the Ex Mr. Witherspoon, Victor "Vargas" Razuk? Subject? Director? All of the above? √

MaryAnn: Well, *I'm* media -- not huge corporate military- industrial- entertainment -complex media, but media nevertheless -- and I've been saying much the same thing for a while now, that it looks like Americans don't want to hear about Iraq, that we've stuck our collective fingers in our collective ears and are collectively saying "Nah, nah, nah, can't hear you!" I mean, since when do reviews impact movies starring Tom Cruise and Reese Witherspoon. They're two of the biggest movie stars on the planet, and if they can't put asses in seats, then I gotta conclude that means people do not want to hear about Iraq.

But I do, and I keep railing about how we all need to know what's being done in our name, and how it is affecting our soldiers, which is why I'm looking forward to this one. Plus: JGL is shaping up into the best young actor working today. And I've been dying to see what Peirce would come up with after Boys Don't Cry, which feels like such a long time ago...

Joe: There's a difference, MaryAnn, between "don't want to hear" and "shouldn't have to hear" and it's that difference that I was talking about. And while critics may not be able to keep people from seeing movies starring big movie stars, the constant drumbeat of the mainstream media dubbing those films failures before they even leave the gate sure can. And that's what I was talking about. If we all seem to be in agreement that the media shapes our perceptions when it comes to politics, I wonder why there seems to be so much resistence to the idea that they can shape our perceptions when it comes to the movies we want to see as well.

Anyway, hot boys destined to break my heart and a director whose return I've been longing for are why I'll see it.

Rob Brown, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum and Victor Rasuk [src]

MaryAnn: I agree that the mega-media shapes our perception in many things. But as you pointed out, the mega-media has told us people didn't want to see a lot of movies they ended up seeing in droves anyway. So where does that leave us? Are we capable of making decisions contrary to what the media tells us we're supposed to, and is there evidence to show that people do in fact do that, or not? Look, I'm the biggest cynic there is, particularly when it comes to the mass media and the idiocy of the average person, and in this case, I think it really is the idiocy and willful ignorance of the average person that is keeping mass audiences from movies about Iraq.

Gabriel: Aren't the gauges of success/failure a little different for Stop-Loss? There's no Cruise, Witherspoon, or Streep in this (mostly) young, mostly indie-oriented cast. I expect it didn't cost a lot to make, and therefore doesn't need to do as much to be "successful".

I'm hoping that Peirce -- who so eloquently and honestly brought the horrors of anti-transgender violence into the theaters of America -- can create a similar mix of controversy, storytelling, and young-turk actors that might jump-start a national conversation. Unlike the narratives of Rendition and Lions for Lambs and The Kingdom, the subject of overworked, over-used, underappreciated soldiers is one of the great unexplored tragedies of the Iraq War. I've got big, big hopes for this one.

MaryAnn: I've got big hopes for this one, too. Not big hopes that it will be a multiplex blockbuster, but big hopes that it'll actually be a powerful film.

Glenn: The reason, I think, for the failure of movies like Rendition, Lions for Lambs and so on is because they looked like awful movies. I saw an ad the other night for Rendition (it's only just being released here, natch) and it was snooooze central and Lions for Lambs? That just looked like people gasbagging for hours on end. I can't say I expect Stop-Loss to be a big hit, but the return of Kimberly Peirce, plus Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Abbie Cornish in her international debut (I don't believe I've heard of this Elizabeth movie you speak of) is enough to get me into the cinema. Channing Tatum (I'm sorry, but his face is like Crichton off of Red Dwarf - can I get a "hell yeah!"?) and Ryan Phillippe are not on my radar, sorry. By the way, do you think there's some mysterious reason why after getting a divorce both Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe decided to star in Iraq-themed films and then hook up with their respective co-stars. Weeeird.

Nathaniel: Rebound lovers and rebonding films: are they trying to make up through the power of the cinema?

MaryAnn: The thing is, though, that Rendition and Lions for Lambs were NOT awful movies...

Gabriel: Define "awful."

MaryAnn: I'll stick to these two movies. Rendition was pretty Hollywood but was an excellent introduction (or would have been, if more people had seen it) to very unAmerican injustices that are being done in the name of our supposed safety, things that Americans should know about. Lions for Lambs was talky, sure, but it presented a balanced, not-hysterical look at the deep mess we're in while also offering hope for fixing it. Both films were well produced and had good performances from appealing casts.

Maybe they were poorly marketed, and that's why no one saw them. I'd like to think that's the case, and not that most Americans prefer their ignorance. I'm not sure I can believe that, though.

Glenn: Since when has that mattered with the general public? From a quick look at the box office charts for any given year after 1980 and the successful films are hardly a barometre of what the quality films were.

MaryAnn: Well, that's what I've been saying. It hasn't mattered before whether movies starring Tom Cruise or Reese Witherspoon were *good,* people went to see them anyway. But not movies about Iraq. Which suggests that people really, really don't want to hear about Iraq.

Nathaniel: Whether or not they do I suspect the topic is to rich dramatically to deter filmmakers who can find patrons somewhere to fund it.

But back to the movie at hand. You'll remember we posted some anonymous positive test screening responses a couple of months back and the movie is but a month away from our hungry eyes. I should also note that Kimberly Peirce is actually blogging and answering questions about her new movie over @ the Stop-Loss site so check that out. I know I will. Think she'll answer why she took so awfully long to follow up her stellar and moving debut.

the countdown
#10 Sex & The City: The Movie
#11 The Lovely Bones
#12 WALL-E
#13 Stop-Loss
#14 The Women
#15 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Introduction / Orphans
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Stop-Loss Sneak

I don't normally share test screening buzz. Movies often change from tests to final product and it can be unfair to the movie in question --I'd hate people to judge rough drafts of anything I've written. But since this one is positive and since I know it's no studio plant and since it's about the new Kimberly Peirce film (so many reasons), I had to spread the good news. I know many of you reading are fans of her well observed, evocative work on Boys Don't Cry (1999) and the performances she guided including Hilary Swank (who won the Oscar), Chlöe Sevigny (nominated) and Peter Sarsgaard (still waiting for recognition, damnit). Pierce has taken nearly a decade to follow up on her debut hit despite, I hear, numerous offers and false starts. Here's what 'the unknown critic' has to say about her latest, an entry in the growing field of Iraq War related dramas:

The term "Stop-Loss" refers to a loophole that permits the military to retain soldiers beyond their required term of service. The film Stop-Loss tells the story of one man faced with just this situation. Following a brutal ambush that resulted in the deaths of several of his men, Staff Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) returns home to his hometown in Texas, only to be told by his superiors that he will be required to return to Iraq. Understandably, he balks at the idea and runs out on the Army and embarks on a road trip to Washington, D.C., accompanied by Michelle (Abbie Cornish), the fiancée of his lifelong friend Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum).

I realize that the plot synopsis conjures up any number of formulas- the road movie, with lots of colorful characters and picturesque stops along the way; the
chase thriller, with Brandon and Michelle hiding out from the law; even the coming home story, with battle-seasoned soldiers uneasily returning to their old lives. But Stop-Loss doesn't really fit into any of these categories. The film isn't so much about a plot as it is about the characters who inhabit it.

Stop-Loss is neither an angry film nor a despairing one, although at times it appears to be both. Instead, it's a surprisingly clear-eyed film about a man whose life has been changed by his war experiences, for better or worse. Whether he likes it or not, the Army has shown Brandon that he’s a born leader, and the film demonstrates it not only by the respect he gets from his fellow soldiers, but also by how lost they are when he’s not around. Rodriguez (Victor Rasuk), severely injured in battle, spends his days in a military hospital. Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is prone to becoming drunk and violent. And Steve finds that outside the military real life makes little sense to him anymore.

As for the awards potential of Stop-Loss, I'd say that a lot of it rests on how it catches on with the public. The film is set to be released in March 2008, which rarely bodes well for a movie's Oscar chances. In addition, while all of the performances are solid, none is particularly baity. Even the showier roles- Phillippe, Gordon-Levitt, Rasuk- lack the big histrionic moments that tend to come with performances that get awards attention. But what the Stop-Loss lacks in awards-show-ready clips it makes up for in textured storytelling and detailed characterization. And the feel Peirce exhibited for small-town life in Boys Don’t Cry is in full flower here. Stop-Loss is a major achievement, sure to be a discussion point among astute filmgoers when it’s released in March.

Hearing good news about the film fills me with satisfaction. It's been a long time in coming. I think the move to March is a good thing for two reasons. First, it puts some distance between itself and all of these Iraq war films that are currently flopping. Second, we need more adult friendly dramas in the first quarter of each year. This year we got Zodiac. Maybe Stop-Loss will be 2008's quality sip of water in the usually barren sand of March. You should know too (just for giggles) that the unknown critic assures me that Channing Tatum is still allergic to clothing. What? I swear I didn't ask!

Oh, and here's the trailer which you may have seen already

Abbie Cornish. Future Star?

It's been a few months since Australia sent us a new movie star. Did their assembly line have a malfunction or something? Anywho, Abbie Cornish. Some of you may already know the 24 year-old actress from Somersault (2004), for which she won numerous kudos or from Candy (2006), wherein she drugged it up with Heath Ledger. But both films combined gross less than $150,000 in stateside release so maybe not. More likely you caught a glimpse of her in A Good Year or read the rumors that she was the third party in the Reese & Ryan split.

2007 promises to be an important year in determining whether she's the latest in Australia's long line of screen marvels with staying power. Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Heath Ledger, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett... them Aussies don't quit.

Abbie has roles in two must-see films this year. The first is the Untitled Kimberly Peirce Project (sometimes referred to as Stop-Loss) an ensemble drama that reads like a who's who of male twentysomething stardom: Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum, Jay Hernandez, Victor Rasuk and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The project will gain attention because it focuses on a hot topic: the war in Iraq (though it takes place stateside) and because it's Peirce's first feature since her debut, Boys Don't Cry (1999). What took her so long? Who knows but people will undoubtedly give her sophomore effort a look.

Abbie Cornish (far right) on set with Cate Blanchett watching playback.
She and Samantha Morton hold the two crucial female supporting roles in The Golden Age

Abbie's second film in 2007 is the Elizabeth sequel The Golden Age. If she attracts your eye, critical kudos, or Oscar buzz for this film whilst surrounded by Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush and Samantha Morton (9 Oscar nominations and 2 wins between them) then she's definitely on her way.

Stay tuned. Will Abbie Cornish be the emerging star of 2007?

Previous Aussie-centric posts:
Australia news from Bazmark
Day Job:Toni Collette Toni's onscreen callings.
We Are All Nicole Kidman - a quiz.
Hugh Jackman hump day hottie
Interview with greatly missed Aussie blog six things
Hug an Australian yes there's actually a day for it.
Brokeback Birthday Heath and all the writings about Brokeback Mountain
Moulin Rouge! the obsession detailed.

Tags: Abbie Cornish, movies, Oscars, Academy Awards, cinema, Film, cinematography, queen elizabeth, Cate Blanchett, Golden Age, Australia, australian, Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillipe

Abbie Cornish. Future Star?

It's been a few months since Australia sent us a new movie star. Did their assembly line have a malfunction or something? Anywho, Abbie Cornish. Some of you may already know the 24 year-old actress from Somersault (2004), for which she won numerous kudos or from Candy (2006), wherein she drugged it up with Heath Ledger. But both films combined gross less than $150,000 in stateside release so maybe not. More likely you caught a glimpse of her in A Good Year or read the rumors that she was the third party in the Reese & Ryan split.

2007 promises to be an important year in determining whether she's the latest in Australia's long line of screen marvels with staying power. Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Heath Ledger, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett... them Aussies don't quit.

Abbie has roles in two must-see films this year. The first is the Untitled Kimberly Peirce Project (sometimes referred to as Stop-Loss) an ensemble drama that reads like a who's who of male twentysomething stardom: Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum, Jay Hernandez, Victor Rasuk and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The project will gain attention because it focuses on a hot topic: the war in Iraq (though it takes place stateside) and because it's Peirce's first feature since her debut, Boys Don't Cry (1999). What took her so long? Who knows but people will undoubtedly give her sophomore effort a look.

Abbie Cornish (far right) on set with Cate Blanchett watching playback.
She and Samantha Morton hold the two crucial female supporting roles in The Golden Age

Abbie's second film in 2007 is the Elizabeth sequel The Golden Age. If she attracts your eye, critical kudos, or Oscar buzz for this film whilst surrounded by Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush and Samantha Morton (9 Oscar nominations and 2 wins between them) then she's definitely on her way.

Stay tuned. Will Abbie Cornish be the emerging star of 2007?

Previous Aussie-centric posts:
Australia news from Bazmark
Day Job:Toni Collette Toni's onscreen callings.
We Are All Nicole Kidman - a quiz.
Hugh Jackman hump day hottie
Interview with greatly missed Aussie blog six things
Hug an Australian yes there's actually a day for it.
Brokeback Birthday Heath and all the writings about Brokeback Mountain
Moulin Rouge! the obsession detailed.

Tags: Abbie Cornish, movies, Oscars, Academy Awards, cinema, Film, cinematography, queen elizabeth, Cate Blanchett, Golden Age, Australia, australian, Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillipe

Flags of Our Fathers

Continued from… Marty vs. Clint: Round Two

… while Marty enjoys relieved hosannas from the fanbase that wants him to do crime dramas forever, my guess is that Clint -- still coasting from the extravagant love that greeted Million Dollar Baby, won’t enjoy as much warmth for Flags of Our Fathers.

Even for moviegoers who found Baby to be wildly overpraised, it was hard to argue with its solid storytelling: tightly constructed, intimate and moving. Eastwood’s new WW II picture is more ambitious in concept and theme but shakier in execution.

The movie examines the lives of three soldiers: Doc, Chief, and Gagnon. They are played by Ryan Phillipe, Adam Beach (the film’s only hope for Oscary acting recognition) and Jesse Bradford, Our Man of Perpetual Smirk, respectively. They were captured in the photo of soldiers raising the stars and stripes atop Iwo Jima. We soon learn that this flag raising, however evocatively frozen in time, was hardly the definitive moment in reality that it came to be once the myth-making machinery was done with it. It’s interesting subject for a movie.

Unfortunately the movie doesn't sufficiently reward interest in its premise. The problems start with the shuffling of flashbacks to the war, flashbacks to the bond tour celebrating the photograph, and present day interviews with former soldiers. This three pronged stop and go often kills the dramatic momentum and plays awkwardly throughout the movie. Transitioning from flashbulbs to explosions: this is something we’ve seen a million times before. Further compounding the choppy drama are the one dimensional characterizations on display. These roles aren’t exactly complex on paper (Doc is thoughtful and quiet, Chief is drunk and angry, and Gagnon loves attention) and the performances, even the stronger ones, do little to deepen the initial impressions.

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Return and comment if you're so moved

Flags of Our Fathers

Continued from… Marty vs. Clint: Round Two

… while Marty enjoys relieved hosannas from the fanbase that wants him to do crime dramas forever, my guess is that Clint -- still coasting from the extravagant love that greeted Million Dollar Baby, won’t enjoy as much warmth for Flags of Our Fathers.

Even for moviegoers who found Baby to be wildly overpraised, it was hard to argue with its solid storytelling: tightly constructed, intimate and moving. Eastwood’s new WW II picture is more ambitious in concept and theme but shakier in execution.

The movie examines the lives of three soldiers: Doc, Chief, and Gagnon. They are played by Ryan Phillipe, Adam Beach (the film’s only hope for Oscary acting recognition) and Jesse Bradford, Our Man of Perpetual Smirk, respectively. They were captured in the photo of soldiers raising the stars and stripes atop Iwo Jima. We soon learn that this flag raising, however evocatively frozen in time, was hardly the definitive moment in reality that it came to be once the myth-making machinery was done with it. It’s interesting subject for a movie.

Unfortunately the movie doesn't sufficiently reward interest in its premise. The problems start with the shuffling of flashbacks to the war, flashbacks to the bond tour celebrating the photograph, and present day interviews with former soldiers. This three pronged stop and go often kills the dramatic momentum and plays awkwardly throughout the movie. Transitioning from flashbulbs to explosions: this is something we’ve seen a million times before. Further compounding the choppy drama are the one dimensional characterizations on display. These roles aren’t exactly complex on paper (Doc is thoughtful and quiet, Chief is drunk and angry, and Gagnon loves attention) and the performances, even the stronger ones, do little to deepen the initial impressions.

READ THE REST...

Return and comment if you're so moved