Excuse me? How did we miss this? Since when is a celebrity able to announce her own pregnancy?
We’re not saying this is a bad thing, and I’m sure Toni Collette is grateful not to have been photographed from three dozen angles with newspaper headlines speculating “Son or Sandwich?” But still, where was Toni’s bump watch? The incredibly talented star of films like Little Miss Sunshine and In Her Shoes may be unconventional, but surely a few magazines in this pregnancy-crazed post 9/11 universe should’ve been all over that story.
In any sense, on September 7th Toni announced at a performance of her band, Toni Colette and the Finish, that she was expecting. Congratulations to Toni on what shall surely be a very talented child.
Read More 
| Monsters and Critics
Advertisement
DVD REVIEW: ‘Away From Her’
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, Drama, Romance, DVD Reviews,
As I was putting the DVD of Away from Her back in its case, I noticed this line on the cover: Sometimes you have to let go of something you can’t live without. Of all the vague, cheesy and misleading taglines on most movie posters today…I couldn’t have chosen something more apt for this film. The next best thing would have been: If you loved that weeper ‘The Notebook’, this movie will rip your heart out.
Away is the feature-length directorial debut from actress Sarah Polley, who’s probably best known by younger audiences as Ronna from Go. She is also credited with adapting the screenplay from a short story by Alice Munro (‘The Bear Came Over the Mountain’). Atom Egoyan, Polley’s director in her breakthrough film The Sweet Hereafter, served as the movie’s executive producer.
The film stars the beautiful Julie Christie (Fiona) and Gordon Pinsent (Grant) as a couple still madly in love after 45 years of marriage. Their peaceful existence in their cozy cabin is eventually interrupted by a series of signs. Signs they tried to do their best to ignore. Unfortunately, it comes to a point where Fiona’s memory lapses prove too worrisome to simply brush off.
Click to continue reading DVD REVIEW: ‘Away From Her’
Bestselling Novels Moving to the Big Screen
Posted by Shannon Bennett Categories: Adaptation, Adventure, Period, Romance, Books,
We’ve come to accept the following as fact - if we enjoy a book, sooner or later, Hollywood will ruin it for us. Not even chick lit is safe anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I will be there on opening night for The Jane Austen Book Club, even though that inner librarian impulse is puckering her lips and telling me to reject adaptations outright always. And we’ll suck it up when we recommend the read to a friend and she says, “Oh, I saw that one! It was great.”
However, lately, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by adaptations like The Devil Wears Prada and the most recent Harry Potter film, which, rather than raping the material and leaving it for dead, actually did it justice, and were good films in the same go. So, maybe Hollywood is shaping up, maybe Jane Austen will smile down on Friday’s theatrical release instead of completing the roll into the next grave that started when Mansfield Park opened.
Regardless, if you want to picture your own characters before their faces become replaced by Evan Rachel Wood and Zac Effron, you’d better get on the following titles, because they’ve been optioned:
Click to continue reading Bestselling Novels Moving to the Big Screen
Cate Blanchett to Reprise Royal Role
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Universal, Drama, Sequels, Awards, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases,
Joining a very elite group of actresses, Cate Blanchett will reprise the role that pushed her into the mega-star category back in 1998. Almost ten years after her original performance as Queen Elizabeth I of England, Blanchett will star in Elizabeth: The Golden Years. Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush will co-star in the flick, which will depict the controversial clash between England’s Queen and Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary Stewart is one of the most interesting characters in history, but there’s a good chance Blanchett will drown out any other female performer who shares the screen with her. As Elizabeth, Blanchett won the Golden Globe and receive an Oscar nomination for her well-loved portrayal. Will the Golden Years prove to be Blanchett’s chance for winning gold as Elizabeth?
Click to continue reading Cate Blanchett to Reprise Royal Role
Read More | Elizabeth the Golden Age
In Theaters This Weekend (9/21)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Eastern Promises (R): starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts (directed by David Cronenberg)
- Good Luck Chuck (R): starring Jessica Alba, Dane Cook (directed by Mark Helfrich)
- In the Valley of Elah (R): starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron (directed by Paul Haggis)
- Resident Evil: Extinction (R): starring Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr (directed by Russell Mulcahy)
- Sydney White (PG-13): starring Amanda Bynes, Matt Long (directed by Joe Nussbaum)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (9/21)
Buy Yourself a Role in a Will Ferrell Movie
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Comedy, Casting,
Although he’s moved on to bigger and better things, actor Will Ferrell hasn’t forgotten those he’s met along the way. As proof, he’ll be auctioning off a role in an upcoming comedy to help a friend. Step Brothers, co-starring John C. Reilly, will beginning filming this fall.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the Cancer for College foundation. The charity, started by a former USC fraternity brother, will help provide educational scholarships for current and former patients. (Ferrell’s friend, Craig Pollard, is a two-time survivor of Hodgkin’s disease).
Those interested will have to dig deep to win the role—the opening bid was set at $5000. You can click on the link below for more information.
UPDATE: The winning bid was $47,100. A ten-year-old boy will get the cameo role thanks to his extremely generous father.
Read More | Cancer for College
Box Office Breakdown: The Brave One Reaches #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
The Brave One took in nearly $15 million in its debut, making it the #1 film of this past weekend. Although some may consider the gross disappointing for a Jodie Foster film, I choose to think of it as a feat for women.
I decided to do a little research today and came away with some very unsettling news. Since FilmCrunch started reporting Box Office numbers in mid-January, no female-led movie has reached the top of the pack. That’s unless you count Knocked Up with Katherine Heigl, and I don’t. Even then, that was almost 3 months ago.
Kyra Sedgwick, Glenn Close and Mary-Louise Parker made a stand for strong female roles during Sunday’s Emmys—and maybe it’s time that someone finally spoke up for women in film. Until then, I’ll be counting the days until Cate Blanchett makes her royal return in Elizabeth: The Golden Years (out October 12th).
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Brave One Reaches #1
This Week on DVD: September 18, 2007
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, New Line, Picturehouse, Paramount, Warner Bros, Action, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Romance, Sports, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases,
Here are a few of the titles you can find on the rental shelves this Tuesday:
- Grindhouse: Death Proof: starring Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Rosario Dawson (watch our review here)
- We Are Marshall: starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox
- Lucky You: starring Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall
- The Condemned: starring ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
- Gracie: starring Carly Schroeder, Elizabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney
- Saturday Night Fever (30th Anniversary Edition): starring John Travolta, Karen Gorney
- Flashdance (Special Collector’s Edition): starring Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri
- Wall Street (Special Collector’s Edition): starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah
NOTE: Click here to see the TV-On-DVD options for this week.
Yann Samuel Directs My Sassy Girl Remake
Posted by Shannon Bennett Categories: Adaptation, Romance, Comedy,
We’re a bundle of mixed emotions about this one. If you’re not familiar with him, Yann Samuel is the one-time directing wonder that was responsible for Love me if you Dare, or Jeux d’Enfants as it was released in its native France. He just wrapped up the production on a new American film called My Sassy Girl. Now, the part of us that fell head-first for Love me if you Dare and it’s dark, dysfunctional brand of romance wants to get incredibly revved up for Samuel’s second film, doubly because it’ll be in English, but My Sassy Girl isn’t an original script, it’s a remake of a Korean gem that does not beg remaking.
The remake, along with the adaptation and the sequel are pet peeves of mine, and they seem to be all that are coming out of Hollywood right now. My Sassy Girl is an autobiographical Korean romantic comedy about a boy who falls for an abusive, alcoholic bombshell and the hilarity that ensues. Somehow, we have a feeling they didn’t just translate it into English and cast Elisha Cuthbertlove m as the jolly drunk. No, no, American audiences would never go for that. My fear is that they’ve turned the character into a sorority-type party girl whose obsessive behavior has been toned way down into maybe some clumsy injuries to her beau.
Click to continue reading Yann Samuel Directs My Sassy Girl Remake
Will Owen Wilson’s Troubles Make ‘Darjeeling’ Hard To Watch?
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Independent, Comedy, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases,
While at the theaters this weekend, I caught my first glimpse of The Darjeeling Limited trailer. The movie from Wes Anderson (the Royal Tenenbaums) centers around three brothers who try and bond during a train trip through India.
I’m not one who would typically turn away from a movie based on events in the news—I still watched Apocalypto despite Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic remarks—but I must admit I squirmed a bit watching Darjeeling. This was the film Owen Wilson was scheduled to promote around the time of his suicide attempt.
Again, I realize Owen’s personal issues should not affect my opinion of what could otherwise be a good movie. But how could I not be distracted if I tried to sit through this film? I’d have to stare at a character whose face is bandaged up! (Yes, I realize that’s not the part of his body I should be concerned with). But in just that short segment, I found myself feeling very uncomfortable and sad every time he came on screen. I felt like a voyeur studying the moments before he hit bottom.
I’m not saying I won’t watch Darjeeling—I’m just admitting that Wilson’s troubles could color my decision. Tell me—am I being ridiculous? Should I be making an extra effort to watch this film as a show of support? Or am I not alone in feeling this way?
The movie, also starring Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody, opens in limited release on September 29.
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.