|
George Clooney…the Last Movie Star? He Says Not.
by Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (Hollywood Today) 3/19/08 – Is
George Clooney the last movie star? A Time magazine cover story
proclaimed it in February, right before the Oscars. "That
played well walking into the Oscars!" laughs George Clooney.
"I take it with a grain of salt. As you well know, all this
stuff is cyclical, when people are nice to you. A couple of films
that they don’t like and you’ll be the last of the
‘last movie star’. More... |
|
‘Horton Hears a Who!" Screams Carol Burnett
by Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (Hollywood Today) 3/15/08 – "It
really speaks to the world around us," says Steve Carell
who plays the miniscule Mayor of Who-ville in Horton Hears
a Who. "No matter how different we seem on the outside,
if there’s decency, caring and commitment, things can get
accomplished. It’s a good, sweet, and solid message that’s
rooted in kindness. That’s what I love about it." More... |
|
Ratatouille Leads Annie Nominations…Oscar Next?
by Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (Hollywood Today) 12/4/07 - When it
comes to animation, everyone expects Pixar to lead the way and
that's what happened with the Annie Animation Award nominations.
'Ratatouille' leads the field with 13 nominations including Best
Animated Feature. The rat movie continued to demonstrate that
'The Incredibles' director Brad Bird is unafraid to get a bit
edgy with family animation. If the scene with grandma blasting
away with a shotgun at the film's star seemed a bit post-Columbine
inappropriate or anyone got a queasy feeling from the story premise
of a rat serving people food, it didn't show at the box office.
More... |
|
We're Not in Kansas Anymore…'Tin Man'
by Robin Rowe
Three Stars ***
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (Hollywood Today) 12/3/07 - "If
you're going to do it, you want to totally re-invent it,"
says Zooey Deschanel who plays Tin Man's Dorothy Gale or 'DG'.
"And, I think the script 'Tim Man' did that. 'Tin Man' is
quite different from the original." 'Tin Man' is a dark
'Bladerunner' world ruled by dictator-queen Queen Azkadellia,
played by Kathleen Robertson. The queen is a beautiful witch
who summons bat-like flying monkeys out of her fetching cleavage.
(I wouldn't make this up.) These flying monkeys are uglier but
somehow not as freaky scary as they were in 1939 when going after
Judy Garland. More... |
|
Witches and Armored Polar Bears Battle for 'The Golden
Compass'
by Robin Rowe
Four Stars ****
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA (British Weekly) 11/30/07 - When
Dakota Blue Richards saw the National Theatre production of The
Golden Compass in London she told her mother that she wanted
to be Lyra, the loyal and brave heroine. The 12-year-old had
never acted professionally before. Casting directors Fiona Weir
and Lucy Bevan looked at more than 10,000 child actresses across
the UK before casting her. "Dakota has a particular spirit
that makes you sit up and take notice," says Golden Compass
writer-director Chris Weitz. "There was this waif of a girl,
yet there was something very strong and interesting about her."
More... |
|
Nicole Kidman Kidnaps Kids in 'The Golden Compass'
by Robin Rowe
Four Stars ****
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA (Hollywood Today) 11/30/07 - "I've
obviously played characters before that have done despicable
things," says Nicole Kidman. "You have to work from
within and try to find the motivations as to why she feels that
what she's doing is right, and you hope that her humanity bleeds
through." Mrs. Coulter is the beautiful Cruella DeVille
of the oppressive Magisterium General Oblation Board, snatching
children for dangerous experiments at a lab in the frozen north.
"Nicole Kidman was the first person that everyone on the
creative side wanted for Mrs. Coulter," says Golden Compass
writer-director Chris Weitz. More... |
|
Armored Polar Bears Battle in 'The Golden Compass'
by Robin Rowe
Four Stars ****
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA (Sci-Fi Movie Page) 11/29/07 - The
alternate universe of Golden Compass is one in which good witches
rule the northern skies, where talking armored ice bears are
the fiercest of warriors, and where every human being is joined
to an animal spirit creature. Twelve-year-old Lyra (newcomer
Dakota Blue Richards) runs tame as the ward of stately Jordan
College. Lyra is accompanied everywhere by her daemon Pantalaimon,
a small, ever-changing animal who’s the embodiment of her
spirit and her voice of reason. Lyra wants to go to the Arctic
Circle with her uncle Lord Asriel, who’s investigating his
radical theory that there are other worlds where people don’t
have daemons. More... |
|
Fashion Stars in 'The House of Eliott'
By Robin Rowe
Four Stars ****
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA (British Weekly) 11/29/07 - "Even
after all these years lots of people come up and rave about it,"
says Louise Lombard who stars as the chic scandalous younger
sister in the 34-episode series The House of Eliott. "I
know it is sacrilege, but the truth is I haven't a clue about
fashion. I can't sew. I can't draw. I got very good at looking
like I could do those things." Lombard was once described
as "The Mouse of Eliott" due to her unglamorous real
life wardrobe. Stella Gonet plays the elder sister Beatrice Eliott.
Gonet currently stars as Jayne Grayson in the BBC series Holby
City. More... |
|
Zemeckis Slays Monster in Beowulf
by Robin Rowe
Three Stars ***
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA (Sci-Fi Movie Page) 11/21/07 —
"Frankly, nothing about the original poem appealed to me",
says 'Beowulf' film director Robert Zemeckis. "I remember
being assigned to read it in junior high school and not being
able to understand it because it was in Old English. It was one
of those horrible assignments. I never really thought about it
after that, never considered that it might make for an interesting
story. But when I read the screenplay that Neil Gaiman and Roger
Avary did, I was immediately captivated." More... |
|
Goldplated's New Money Can't Pay the Rent
by Robin Rowe
Two Stars **
SANTA MONICA, CA (British Weekly) 11/21/07 — As a wealthy
Cheshire real estate developer, David Schofield runs over the
people who get in his way. Literally. He tries to drive a backhoe
over a squatter blocking construction at his new subdivision.
Did gold-digger blonde mistress Kelly Harrison have this new
money real estate developer's baby by mistake? Or, was it on
purpose as a calculated move to push out his current wife? Harrison
certainly got her figure back quickly. More... |
|
Disney Magic Versus Poisoned Big Apple in 'Enchanted'
by Robin Rowe
Three Stars ***
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/20/07 — "Like
most little girls, I wanted to be a princess," says Amy
Adams who gets to be a princess lost in Disney's part-animated,
part-musical family adventure "Enchanted'. "Being a
Disney princess is much harder than I ever anticipated. I think
it's easier if you're an animated princess! Snow White has nothing
on me, because she didn't have to do her own stunts and dancing."
More... |
|
Dustin Hoffman Gives Toys to Natalie Portman in Mr.
Magorium
by Robin Rowe
4 stars ****
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/16/07 — "Dustin
is much like his character in that every single second he's using
the utmost of his creative powers", says Natalie Portman.
"To see someone squeezing that much joy and effort out of
every second was pretty inspiring." Portman plays the apprentice
manager of a magical toy store that dying owner Dustin Hoffman
wants to leave to her. "At the beginning of any project,
I never really know what the character is going to come out like",
says Hoffman. "Zach wrote this screenplay at age 23, which
I find remarkable. For someone so young to be exploring the themes
of time, mortality and legacy was just astonishing to me."
More... |
|
Angelina Jolie Reveals Virtually Everything in Beowulf
by Robin Rowe
3 Stars ***
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/15/07 — "Yes,
she's a monster, but she's also a mom, and that's the essence
behind everything she does", says Angelina Jolie. "Grendel's
mother is a demon and a seductress to the nth degree and nobody
can do that kind of sultry character as well as Angelina Jolie,"
says 'Beowulf' director Robert Zemeckis. "I loved it",
says Jolie. "At first, I thought, oh this is going to be
so weird, all of us actors with these dots on our faces, in these
wetsuit-type costumes, with no props or sets." More... |
|
Beowulf Vikings Take Polar Express
by Robin Rowe
3 Stars ***
SANTA MONICA, CA (British Weekly) 11/15/07 — "Beowulf…has
a real visceral quality. He cares only about what he can kill,
what he can eat, who he can screw", says Beowulf director
Robert Zemeckis. The director's previous film The Polar Express
had developed a technique called performance capture, that
he used again for Beowulf. "The great thing about
the technique is that it allowed someone like me, who is 5'10"
and a little on the plump side, to play a 6'6" golden-haired
Viking", says Departed actor Ray Winstone who plays
Beowulf. More... |
|
Lions for Lambs Lays Down
by Robin Rowe
2 Stars **
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/08/07 — "I hoped
that this film would provoke audiences to contemplate where we
are in this country and how we got here," says director
Robert Redford. "I think it's a film about personal responsibility,
about young people accepting the role they play in shaping the
future, and about how we each deal with our choices in life to
try to make this a better world." 'Lions for Lambs' is Tom
Cruise's first movie under the United Artists banner. More... |
|
Seinfeld Sweet, but Bee Movie Lacks Sting
by Robin Rowe
4 stars ****
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/02/07 — Jerry Seinfeld
was having dinner with Steven Spielberg when Seinfeld jokingly
said, wouldn't it be funny to have a movie about bees called
'Bee Movie'? You know, B-movie, 'Bee Movie'. The result four
years later is DreamWorks Animation's latest film. The message
of 'Bee Movie' is the importance of doing small jobs well. "It's
my own personal thing that there are no menial jobs", says
creator Jerry Seinfeld. "The quality of work that every
person brings to any job that they do actually makes a big difference
in the world." More... |
|
Prime Suspect…Helen Mirren is Best Alcoholic Cop
by Robin Rowe
3 stars ***
SANTA MONICA, CA (British Weekly) 11/01/07 — A deeply
flawed yet ultimately sympathetic police detective vows to find
a killer before retiring from the force. Murder, underage sex,
alcohol, and deception are the drivers of this 3-hour who-done-it.
Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison is an alcoholic, a drunk
driver, and suffers from blackouts, but nonetheless there's little
doubt she'll get her man. Oscar-winner Helen Mirren demonstrates
her chops as an actress by evoking Tennison as a sympathetic
character, not a villain. More... |
|
O Jerusalem...New York friends fight on opposing sides
in Israel
by Robin Rowe
3 stars ***
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/24/07 — "The
vast array of screenplays developed surrounding this project
spreads out over three meters in my archives!" says best-selling
'O Jerusalem' book co-author Dominique Lapierre. Costa-Gavras,
George Simenon, and John Briley, who had just written 'Gandhi'
for Richard Attenborough, all tried. 'Exorcist' director William
Friedkin and others took turns at it. It would be forty years
before director and co-writer Elie Chouraqui could bring this
story of the founding of the State of Israel to the screen. More... |
|
O Jerusalem...New York friends fight on opposing sides
in Israel
by Robin Rowe
3 stars ***
SANTA MONICA, CA (British Weekly) 10/24/07 — "The
vast array of screenplays developed surrounding this project
spreads out over three meters in my archives!" says best-selling
'O Jerusalem' book co-author Dominique Lapierre. Costa-Gavras,
George Simenon, and John Briley, who had just written 'Gandhi'
for Richard Attenborough, all tried. 'Exorcist' director William
Friedkin and others took turns at it. It would be forty years
before director and co-writer Elie Chouraqui could bring this
story of the founding of the State of Israel to the screen. More... |
|
The Clash's Unwritten and Joy Division's Control
by Robin Rowe
3 stars *** and 3stars ***
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/18/07 —Joe Strummer
is most remembered as the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist
and lead singer of the British punk rock band The Clash. Ian
Curtis is remembered as the vocalist and lyricist of Joy Division,
a band he helped form in 1977 in Manchester, England, that pioneered
the post-punk sound. Two engaging films, Joe Strummer: The
Future is Unwritten and Control, immortalize the lives
of each of these two singers in very different ways…one
a documentary…the other a drama biopic. More... |
|
The Clash's Unwritten and Joy Division's Control
by Robin Rowe
3 stars *** and 3stars ***
SANTA MONICA, CA (British Weekly) 10/18/07 — Joe Strummer
is most remembered as the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist
and lead singer of the British punk rock band The Clash. Ian
Curtis is remembered as the vocalist and lyricist of Joy Division,
a band he helped form in 1977 in Manchester, England, that pioneered
the post-punk sound. Two engaging films, Joe Strummer: The
Future is Unwritten and Control, immortalize the lives
of each of these two singers in very different ways…one
a documentary…the other a drama biopic. More... |
|
Kitchen Nightmares...Tyrant Chef Ramsay Sees Stars
by Robin Rowe
4 stars ****
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/13/07 — Humiliation,
served piping hot with a dash of sanity, as clueless chefs are
roasted to perfection by tyrant chef Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay's
Manhattan restaurant, "Gordon Ramsay at the London",
was awarded a rare two-star Michelin rating on Monday and on
Tuesday was named the top newcomer in the annual Zagat restaurant
survey. In addition, all three of his London restaurants hold
Michelin stars. More... |
|
Kitchen Nightmares…Hot in the kitchen
by Robin Rowe
4 stars ****
SANTA MONICA, CA (British Weekly) 10/10/07 — Humiliation,
served piping hot with a dash of sanity, as clueless chefs are
roasted to perfection by tyrant chef Gordon Ramsay. In Fox's
Kitchen Nightmares, acerbic Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay
turns up the heat on restaurants in dire need of change. More... |
|
Blanchett's Elizabeth Menopausal in ‘The Golden
Age’
Hollywood Today
October 8, 2007
by Robin Rowe
In this sixteenth century epic, Kate Blanchett as Elizabeth
I has the hots for Clive Owen as adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/8/07 — "I always
said that if I did another one, that Elizabeth shouldn't be the
central character", says Cate Blanchett, who is Elizabeth
in Elizabeth, the Golden Age. Blanchett got her wish. The central
character in The Golden Age is Sir Walter Raleigh. Wonderfully
played by Clive Owen, he's the adventurer, the hero of this film.
He establishes a colony in the New World. The naval scenes with
Raleigh fighting the Spanish Armada, toward the end of the film,
are epic. If only that was the whole film. Raleigh is who we
want to see more. More in the upcoming issue of Hollywood
Today... |
|
‘Across the Universe’ a Beatles Hair Apocalypse
Hollywood Today
October 8, 2007
by Robin Rowe
An artistic Liverpool lad loves a beautiful American hippie
peace activist while her brother fights in Vietnam in this psychedelic
sixties Beatles anti-war musical.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 10/8/07 — This original
musical tells its story with thirty Beatles songs. "The
thing we really wanted to try to do was do as much live singing
as possible", says director Julie Taymor who created the
hit Broadway musical "The Lion King" and the movies
"Frida" and "Titus". "People are used
to music videos, all that looping, all of that dubbing. We want
this to feel like they are singing in those locations. And, they
are. Ninety percent of the movie is live. We didn't want musical
theater voices and we didn't want poppy voices. Jim's been in
a rock band. He's an actor. Jim and Evan both did both, and they're
the two main leads." More... |
|
Blanchett's Elizabeth Uncertain in The Golden Age
British Weekly
October 6, 2007
by Robin Rowe
Do we care about Elizabeth, an uncertain queen consumed by
court intrigues and vicariously participating in the courtship
of her maid by Raleigh? In this sequel to Elizabeth, Blanchett
says she considered an older Elizabeth, "being physically
unstable…she would have been quite menopausal." Cate
Blanchett, playing a younger Elizabeth, was nominated for Best
Actress in a Leading Role in the 1998 film Elizabeth.
Describing watching herself in Elizabeth recently Blanchett
says, "Being an actress in film is a bit like aging in dog
years; it's quite confronting." More... |
|
Shoot Them with ‘Ultimate Force’
British Weekly
September 29, 2007
by Robin Rowe
According to Ultimate Force, the British SAS have a policy
of, "You don't stop for a man down". Unlike the U.S.
Marines, the unit Red Troop is trained to leave their men behind.
The rationale is stopping for casualties results in more casualties.
I don't know if that's true, but it's not very heroic for drama.
At least in Pirates of the Caribbean there were "guidelines"
about not leaving a man behind. The opening sequence of the show
is of Red Troop walking away. More... |
|
‘Ultimate Force’ Shoots First
Hollywood Today
September 27, 2007
by Robin Rowe
British SAS special ops team comes in hot with guns blazing
in BBC America drama
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/27/07 — If you play
the first person shooter game “Half-Life: Counter-Strike”,
then you’ll feel right at home with this BBC America gung-ho
anti-terrorist drama. It’s guns and glory…without much
story. More... |
|
Jane Austen Book Club, a Great Date Movie
British Weekly
September 22, 2007
by Robin Rowe
So how do you take the book by Karen Joy Fowler, with its
deep backstory and loose plot, and make it into the screenplay
The Jane Austen Book Club? "Making a movie is about
the here and now", says writer-director Robin Swicord. "The
structure of the book is six short stories. What's passive in
the book had to be externalized to create crisis". Swicord
likes to play on the similarity between rabid Jane Austen fans
and over-the-top Sci-Fi fans. "Both are willing to dress
up in costume at conventions", notes Swicord. The token
male participant in the book club brings his Sci-Fi enthusiasm
to reading Jane Austen. He shows a sympathetic male perspective.
More... |
|
Life imitates Austen in ‘The Jane Austen Book Club’
Hollywood Today
September 21, 2007
by Robin Rowe
Austen’s measured themes meet fast-paced contemporary
film with grace
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/21/07 — The Jane Austen
Book Club bridges the gap between what women want and what men
want. This is a chick flick the guys will enjoy too, but for
different reasons than The Devil Wears Prada, Hitch, or Flashdance.
More... |
|
‘Across the Universe’ a Heavy Trip
British Weekly
September 15, 2007
by Robin Rowe
Across the Universe contrasts "normal" life
in sixties America with the killing fields of Vietnam. An artistic
Liverpool lad falls in love with a beautiful peace activist American
girl while her brother goes to fight in Vietnam in this psychedelic
Beatles anti-war musical set in the sixties. The original story
uses thirty groundbreaking songs of the sixties…including
"Hey Jude," "I Am the Walrus," and "All
You Need is Love". It's Hair with Apocalypse Now,
a dash of Monty Python, and back-to-back Beatles songs.
More... |
|
Torchwood...Elite cops chase homicidal aliens
British Weekly
September 8, 2007
by Robin Rowe
A compassionate Cardiff policewoman joins Torchwood, an elite
special ops team using alien technology to solve present-day
crimes. From Torchwood's underground base concealed in plain
sight deep beneath the Cardiff Millennium Center, an investigative
team led by mysterious Captain Jack Harkness responds to any
extra-terrestrial threat…an alien ship crash landing, an
encounter with advanced technology or a homicidal alien. Torchwood
is great Sci-Fi television. Maybe not the type of Sci-Fi you'd
expect as a spin-off from Dr. Who. More... |
|
Mind Control with Derren Brown...It's all in your mind
British Weekly
Saturday, September 1, 2007, #1172
by Robin Rowe
Brain-twister Derren Brown uses suggestion, psychology and
misdirection to predict and control human behavior. Brown tells
the viewer that he has no paranormal ability, that he uses no
actors or stooges, that his techniques are pure trickery. That
he’s frankly dishonest is part of the show’s charm.
You want to figure out how he’s doing it. You won't. More... |
|
The Last Legion...Roman Swordplay, British Wit
British Weekly
Saturday, August 25, 2007, #1171
by Robin Rowe
Roman bodyguard Colin Firth and Xena-inspired sword fighter
Aishwarya Rai snatch 12-year-old Caesar back from the Goths to
make a last stand the one place where the crumbling Roman Empire
still holds...at Hadrian’s Wall in Britannia.
The Last Legion has a great story premise and a
great cast. Colin Firth is recognized everywhere as Mr. Darcy
from the mini-series Pride and Prejudice and the beautiful
exotic Aishwarya Rai starred in the Bollywood version Bride
& Prejudice. More... |
|
British Weekly
Saturday, August 18, 2007, #1170
Hotel Babylon...Guilty pleasures
by Robin Rowe
Hotel Babylon has come to America after two successful seasons
on the BBC. The attraction of Hotel Babylon is life there appears
perfect in an imperfect world…and the staff works hard on
perfection. The opening sequence and cinematography are superb,
setting the tone of an elegant hotel. The story centers on Charlie
Edwards, a man ready in the premiere to do whatever it takes
to be promoted from reception to deputy manager. Actor Max Beesley
delivers Charlie with the right mix of aloofness, ambition, loyalty,
and sometimes MacGyver-like ingenuity for getting out of sticky
situations. More... |
|
British Weekly
Saturday, August 11, 2007, #1169
Stardust...Pirate Di Niro steals the show
by Robin Rowe
Stardust is a magical tale of witches, princes, magical realms
and the mythical sleepy English village of Wall. For eons its
cobblestone wall has protected the village from what lies just
on the other side: the supernatural world Stormhold. Nobody ever
crosses The Wall, but village hick Tristan (Charlie Cox) is determined
to seek love, adventure, and stardust. Tristran faces dangerous
competition for the magical powers of stardust. Lamia (Michelle
Pfeiffer), the queen of the witches, wants to eat the stardust
to achieve eternal youth and beauty. Delightfully ruthless prince
Septimus (Mark Strong) wants the stardust to make him king. Tristan
reaches the fallen star first and discovers it’s not stardust
at all. It’s a young woman, Yvaine (Claire Danes). More... |
|
Stardust...Save the princess!
Sci-Fi Movie Page
August 2007
by Robin Rowe
Claire Danes delivers a standout performance in her monologue
to Tristan after he’s been turned into a mouse. “I
knew it would be a real challenge to try to render a star as
a human being, but it was definitely a fun one”, says Danes.
Comic actor Ricky Gervais, of the British series The Office,
is funny and lovable. He’s Ferdy the Fence, Captain Shakespeare’s
shifty trader ready to buy and sell absolutely anything. Peter
O’Toole is the king. His ruthlessly ambitious sons include
Rupert Everett as Secondus and Jason Flemyng (The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen) as Primus. British actress Kate
Magowan plays the witch’s captive Una. Although it’s
great to have so much talent, fewer actors in the cast could
have made room for more character development. More... |
|
British Weekly
Saturday, August 4, 2007, #1168
Becoming Jane...An Austen scandal?
by Robin Rowe
Becoming Jane is a love story between Anne Hathaway as Jane
Austen and James McAvoy as the roguish Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy.
Instead of Shakespeare in Love, this is Jane Austen in
love. In real life, Jane Austen was a prolific writer of letters.
Most of Jane’s letters were burned by her sister Cassandra
late in life. Were Austen’s letters scandalous? More... |
|
Transformers...A boy and his robot
Sci-Fi Movie Page
July 2007
by Robin Rowe
The plot involves bad robots, the Decepticons, and good robots,
the Autobots. If you’ve seen the Transformers trailer (and
who hasn’t?), you know that Disturbia’s Shia
LaBeouf (Sam) is just your average teenage boy whose first car
turns out to be a sentient alien robot. What would otherwise
be the heart-warming but dull introduction to the story of Sam’s
family life and buying his first car is inter cut with a huge
alien robot attack on an American base in Qatar. More... |
|
Pride & Prejudice...A classic triumph
August 2005
by Gabrielle Pantera and Robin Rowe
Like many people, we're great fans of the BBC mini-series
version of Pride
and Prejudice. We were eager to see the new feature film
version with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett and Donald
Sutherland as her father. We had the pleasure of seeing the film
at a special screening at the Screen Actors Guild with Keira
Knightley there in person to chat about the filming of the movie.
More... |
|
|
