Henry Fonda earned his first Oscar nomination for his indelible turn as Tom Joad who becomes head of his family of Oklahoma tenant farmers in John Ford’s 1940 masterpiece “The Grapes of Wrath’ based on John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. And 44 years later, his two-time Oscar-winning daughter Jane Fonda had her “Grapes of Wrath” moment in the ABC Mother’s Day movie, “The Dollmaker.”
Based on Harriette Arnow’s 1954 novel of the same name, the three-hour drama set in the final two years of World War II, finds Fonda playing the indomitable Gertie Nevels, a caring, loving and uneducated mother of five. A sharecropper in Kentucky, Gertie dreams of owning her own farm and has saved enough money to buy one. Her husband (Levon Holm) isn’t much of a farmer but is good at fixing machines. When he gets a job as a mechanic at a factory in Detroit,...
Based on Harriette Arnow’s 1954 novel of the same name, the three-hour drama set in the final two years of World War II, finds Fonda playing the indomitable Gertie Nevels, a caring, loving and uneducated mother of five. A sharecropper in Kentucky, Gertie dreams of owning her own farm and has saved enough money to buy one. Her husband (Levon Holm) isn’t much of a farmer but is good at fixing machines. When he gets a job as a mechanic at a factory in Detroit,...
- 5/13/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
“Barbie” and “Poor Things” led the 26th Costume Designers Guild Awards.
In the excellence in period film category, Oscar nominee Holly Waddington won for her work on “Poor Things.” Jacqueline Durran, who is also an Oscar nominee, was recognized for her work on “Barbie,” winning the excellence in sci-fi/fantasy film award.
In contemporary costume, “Saltburn’s” costume designer Sophie Canale won there.
Shawna Trpcic who passed away last year, posthumously won for her work on the Disney+ show “Ahsoka.”
Wendi McLendon-Covey served as the night’s host. Annette Bening received the Spotlight Award. Bening has worked alongside costume designers such as Albert Wolsky and Julie Weiss, and was recognized for her special awareness of the role and importance of costume design. However, due to Covid, Bening was unable to accept the speech in person.
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck was presented with the career achievement award. She thanked mentors including Ann Roth and Edith Head.
In the excellence in period film category, Oscar nominee Holly Waddington won for her work on “Poor Things.” Jacqueline Durran, who is also an Oscar nominee, was recognized for her work on “Barbie,” winning the excellence in sci-fi/fantasy film award.
In contemporary costume, “Saltburn’s” costume designer Sophie Canale won there.
Shawna Trpcic who passed away last year, posthumously won for her work on the Disney+ show “Ahsoka.”
Wendi McLendon-Covey served as the night’s host. Annette Bening received the Spotlight Award. Bening has worked alongside costume designers such as Albert Wolsky and Julie Weiss, and was recognized for her special awareness of the role and importance of costume design. However, due to Covid, Bening was unable to accept the speech in person.
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck was presented with the career achievement award. She thanked mentors including Ann Roth and Edith Head.
- 2/22/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
To the short list of ‘classic’ nuclear horror on Blu-ray we can now add the one that hits closest to home. Lynne Littman’s harrowing film stays small-scale and Big Emotion, enduring a slow extermination for an innocent family. A little California town loses contact with the rest of the world, and hope fades as the awful reality sinks in. Jane Alexander, Lukas Haas, and William Devane star in a TV movie so affecting that Paramount gave it a theatrical release. The disc has two commentaries and a selection of 20th anniversary features.
Testament
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 170
1983 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date October 26, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / au 34.95
Starring: Jane Alexander, William Devane, Ross Harris, Roxana Zal, Lukas Haas, Philip Anglim, Lilia Skala, Leon Ames, Lurene Tuttle, Rebecca De Mornay, Kevin Costner, Mako, Lila Kedrova.
Cinematography: Steven Poster
Production Designer: David Nichols
Art Director: Linda Pearl
Costume Design: Julie Weiss
Film...
Testament
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 170
1983 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date October 26, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / au 34.95
Starring: Jane Alexander, William Devane, Ross Harris, Roxana Zal, Lukas Haas, Philip Anglim, Lilia Skala, Leon Ames, Lurene Tuttle, Rebecca De Mornay, Kevin Costner, Mako, Lila Kedrova.
Cinematography: Steven Poster
Production Designer: David Nichols
Art Director: Linda Pearl
Costume Design: Julie Weiss
Film...
- 11/29/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Roadside Attractions has scooped up the U.S. rights to “Call Jane,” the period piece abortion drama that stars Elizabeth Banks and made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year.
Phyllis Nagy (“Carol”) directed the film that also stars Sigourney Weaver. Roadside is planning a theatrical release for the film this fall.
“Call Jane” is set in Chicago in 1968 and follows a suburban housewife named Joy who has a life-threatening heart condition as a result of her pregnancy and finds an all-male medical establishment is unwilling to assist in her abortion. Her journey for a solution leads her to two women who are committed to women’s health and have the dream of giving all women access to abortions, and together they form an underground abortion service for women that puts every aspect of her own life on the line.
The film is based on a true story,...
Phyllis Nagy (“Carol”) directed the film that also stars Sigourney Weaver. Roadside is planning a theatrical release for the film this fall.
“Call Jane” is set in Chicago in 1968 and follows a suburban housewife named Joy who has a life-threatening heart condition as a result of her pregnancy and finds an all-male medical establishment is unwilling to assist in her abortion. Her journey for a solution leads her to two women who are committed to women’s health and have the dream of giving all women access to abortions, and together they form an underground abortion service for women that puts every aspect of her own life on the line.
The film is based on a true story,...
- 2/4/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Roadside Attractions is taking U.S. distribution rights to Oscar-Nominee Phyllis Nagy’s theatrical feature directorial debut, Call Jane. A theatrical release is planned for the film this year.
Chicago, 1968. As the city and the nation are poised on the brink of political upheaval, suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) leads an ordinary life with her husband and daughter. When Joy’s pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition, she must navigate an all-male medical establishment unwilling to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her life. Her journey for a solution leads her to Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), an independent visionary fiercely committed to women’s health, and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku), an activist who dreams of a day when all women will have access to abortion, regardless of their ability to pay. Joy is so inspired by their work, she decides to join forces with them, putting every aspect of her life on the line.
Chicago, 1968. As the city and the nation are poised on the brink of political upheaval, suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) leads an ordinary life with her husband and daughter. When Joy’s pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition, she must navigate an all-male medical establishment unwilling to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her life. Her journey for a solution leads her to Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), an independent visionary fiercely committed to women’s health, and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku), an activist who dreams of a day when all women will have access to abortion, regardless of their ability to pay. Joy is so inspired by their work, she decides to join forces with them, putting every aspect of her life on the line.
- 2/4/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“From my point of view, the design was a great technical challenge, because a lot of what is there is based on history, [and you] really have to kind of work within that world,” Greyhound production designer David Crank says about finding the perfect balance in the Tom Hanks starrer from Apple TV+. “We certainly took a lot of liberties with it, but it has to appear as if it’s in that world.”
Crank and costume designer Julie Weiss discussed the Aaron Schneider-directed drama at Deadline’s Contenders Film awards-season event. Adopted by Hanks from Cs Forester’s 1955 novel The Good Shepherd, Greyhound has all the hallmarks of a classic WWII film, with a unique intimacy.
Debuting on Apple TV+ around the world on July 10, this film has a lot of battleship action as Hanks’ Capt. Ernest Krause, newly minted in his position and charged with heading a vital supply...
Crank and costume designer Julie Weiss discussed the Aaron Schneider-directed drama at Deadline’s Contenders Film awards-season event. Adopted by Hanks from Cs Forester’s 1955 novel The Good Shepherd, Greyhound has all the hallmarks of a classic WWII film, with a unique intimacy.
Debuting on Apple TV+ around the world on July 10, this film has a lot of battleship action as Hanks’ Capt. Ernest Krause, newly minted in his position and charged with heading a vital supply...
- 1/23/2021
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
“I’m not here to challenge the accuracy of the costumes,” says costume designer Julie Weiss, whose credits include, “12 Monkeys,” “Frida” and “American Beauty.”
Weiss is talking about the countless uniforms she needed for “Greyhound,” the Aaron Schneider film starring Tom Hanks as Navy Commander Ernest Krause. Streaming on Apple TV Plus from July 10, Krause leads his allied ships across the Atlantic to the frontlines of World War II.
“What’s interesting about this is it’s an Atlantic film,” Weiss points out. “We are so familiar with Pacific uniforms but [with this battle,] it’s a cold winter.”
To source the uniforms, Weiss combined working with costume houses and making outfits. “They came from American Costume, Western Costume, Palace Costume and the studios,” she explains.
Schneider explains that the story was about the experience of the soldiers, “Tom set out to celebrate the contribution and devotion of the soldiers by putting you through the same hell.
Weiss is talking about the countless uniforms she needed for “Greyhound,” the Aaron Schneider film starring Tom Hanks as Navy Commander Ernest Krause. Streaming on Apple TV Plus from July 10, Krause leads his allied ships across the Atlantic to the frontlines of World War II.
“What’s interesting about this is it’s an Atlantic film,” Weiss points out. “We are so familiar with Pacific uniforms but [with this battle,] it’s a cold winter.”
To source the uniforms, Weiss combined working with costume houses and making outfits. “They came from American Costume, Western Costume, Palace Costume and the studios,” she explains.
Schneider explains that the story was about the experience of the soldiers, “Tom set out to celebrate the contribution and devotion of the soldiers by putting you through the same hell.
- 7/9/2020
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Sophia Lillis (It), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) and Charlie Plummer (Looking For Alaska) are joining Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones) in thriller The Thicket.
Currently in pre-production, the film is based on the novel by author Joe R. Lansdale, with a script by Chris Kelley, and will be directed by Elliott Lester (Nightingale).
The story follows an innocent young man named Jack ( Plummer) who goes on an epic quest to rescue his sister (Lillis) after she is kidnapped by violent killer “Cut Throat Bill” (Rapace) and her gang. Jack enlists the help of a crafty bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage), a grave-digging alcoholic son of an ex-slave, and a street-smart prostitute. The three track the girl into the deadly no-man’s land known as The Big Thicket — a place where blood and chaos reign.
Producing are Giannia Nunnari of Hollywood Gang (300), Dinklage and David Ginsberg of Estuary Films (Think We...
Currently in pre-production, the film is based on the novel by author Joe R. Lansdale, with a script by Chris Kelley, and will be directed by Elliott Lester (Nightingale).
The story follows an innocent young man named Jack ( Plummer) who goes on an epic quest to rescue his sister (Lillis) after she is kidnapped by violent killer “Cut Throat Bill” (Rapace) and her gang. Jack enlists the help of a crafty bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage), a grave-digging alcoholic son of an ex-slave, and a street-smart prostitute. The three track the girl into the deadly no-man’s land known as The Big Thicket — a place where blood and chaos reign.
Producing are Giannia Nunnari of Hollywood Gang (300), Dinklage and David Ginsberg of Estuary Films (Think We...
- 2/7/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Fashion historian and collector Sandy Schreier on Theadora Van Runkle, Julie Weiss and Marlene Stewart: “I know all the Hollywood designers, they're very good friends of mine.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the press preview for The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition In Pursuit of Fashion The Sandy Schreier Collection, fashion historian and film enthusiast Sandy Schreier told me that she worked with George Clooney’s father Nick Clooney doing Sunday nights on the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel and wrote Lauren Bacall's scripts for her appearances on the show.
Portrait of Sandy Schreier by Theadora Van Runkle Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Oscar nominated costume designers Theadora Van Runkle, Julie Weiss and Oscar winner Ann Roth for Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient are a part of her world.
We started out with why Sandy Schreier wanted film production designers Shane Valentino and...
At the press preview for The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition In Pursuit of Fashion The Sandy Schreier Collection, fashion historian and film enthusiast Sandy Schreier told me that she worked with George Clooney’s father Nick Clooney doing Sunday nights on the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel and wrote Lauren Bacall's scripts for her appearances on the show.
Portrait of Sandy Schreier by Theadora Van Runkle Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Oscar nominated costume designers Theadora Van Runkle, Julie Weiss and Oscar winner Ann Roth for Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient are a part of her world.
We started out with why Sandy Schreier wanted film production designers Shane Valentino and...
- 12/12/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Michael Kaplan, whose sartorial imagination and grasp of garb has been on display in screen projects such as Blade Runner, Star Trek, Flashdance, Fight Club, The Alienist, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I Am Legend, Se7en, and Pearl Harbor, is this year’s winner of the Costume Designers Guild’s Career Achievement Award;
Kaplan will be presented with the honor at the 22nd Costume Designers Guild Awards (CDGAs) on January 28 at The Beverly Hilton. Filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who has worked with Kaplan in two screen universes (the Disney-owned Jedi galaxies and Paramount’s Federation universe) will present the award. Kaplan’s illustrious career includes seven past Cdga nominations in competitive categories.
The Career Achievement Award recognizes leaders who have made a lasting impact on Costume Design. Past recipients include Ruth E. Carter, Joanna Johnston, Jeffrey Kurland, Ellen Mirojnick, Julie Weiss, Eduardo Castro, Judianna Makovsky, Colleen Atwood, Sandy Powell, and Ann Roth.
Kaplan will be presented with the honor at the 22nd Costume Designers Guild Awards (CDGAs) on January 28 at The Beverly Hilton. Filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who has worked with Kaplan in two screen universes (the Disney-owned Jedi galaxies and Paramount’s Federation universe) will present the award. Kaplan’s illustrious career includes seven past Cdga nominations in competitive categories.
The Career Achievement Award recognizes leaders who have made a lasting impact on Costume Design. Past recipients include Ruth E. Carter, Joanna Johnston, Jeffrey Kurland, Ellen Mirojnick, Julie Weiss, Eduardo Castro, Judianna Makovsky, Colleen Atwood, Sandy Powell, and Ann Roth.
- 10/24/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
Janet Weiss, the former Sleater-Kinney drummer who also plays with Quasi and Slant, was in a serious car accident earlier this month, forcing her to cancel all remaining tour dates with her bands. Now her sister, Julie Weiss, has organized a GoFundMe to support Janet’s medical bills, as well as her nursing care, physical therapy, a wheelchair ramp for her house and monthly expenses while she’s temporarily off of work. The fund is asking for a total of $25,000 and has already reached nearly $17,000, as of Tuesday.
Weiss was...
Weiss was...
- 8/27/2019
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
In today’s film news roundup, Sony moves “Grudge” into the “Toy Story 4” slot, “Who Will Write Our History” gets distribution and 60 companies from 15 countries will be making their Afm debut as market exhibitors.
Release Date
Sony Pictures has moved “Grudge,” its reboot of the 2004 supernatural thriller “The Grudge,” forward to June 21 from Aug. 16.
The film stars Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Lin Shaye and Jacki Weaver. The 2004 film was a remake of the 2002 Japanese film “Jun-On: The Grudge,” which centers on a curse created when someone dies in rage or sorrow.
“Grudge” is directed by Nicolas Pesce for Ghost House and Good Universe. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert will produce for Ghost House with Nathan Kahane and Erin Westerman executive producing for Good Universe alongside Schuyler Weiss, Roy Lee, Doug Davison, John Middleton, and Andrew Pfeffer.
“Grudge” becomes the second title dated for June 21, joining Pixar-Disney’s “Toy Story 4.
Release Date
Sony Pictures has moved “Grudge,” its reboot of the 2004 supernatural thriller “The Grudge,” forward to June 21 from Aug. 16.
The film stars Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Lin Shaye and Jacki Weaver. The 2004 film was a remake of the 2002 Japanese film “Jun-On: The Grudge,” which centers on a curse created when someone dies in rage or sorrow.
“Grudge” is directed by Nicolas Pesce for Ghost House and Good Universe. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert will produce for Ghost House with Nathan Kahane and Erin Westerman executive producing for Good Universe alongside Schuyler Weiss, Roy Lee, Doug Davison, John Middleton, and Andrew Pfeffer.
“Grudge” becomes the second title dated for June 21, joining Pixar-Disney’s “Toy Story 4.
- 10/24/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter, who created the stylish garb for Disney/Marvel’s blockbuster film Black Panther, is set to receive the Career Achievement Award at the 21st annual Costume Designers Guild Awards (Cdga). The gala, which will take place on February 19 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, celebrates excellence in film, television, and short form costume design.
There will be a few changes at this year’s gala. Cdga has announced the addition of an eighth competitive category, Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television, to this year’s awards slate. Furthermore, feature-length films designed for television and streaming services will now compete in the Cdga’s Excellence in Film categories.
Within her 30 years of work in the industry, Carter has garnered two Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design — the first African American to nominated in this category — for Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad. Other...
There will be a few changes at this year’s gala. Cdga has announced the addition of an eighth competitive category, Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television, to this year’s awards slate. Furthermore, feature-length films designed for television and streaming services will now compete in the Cdga’s Excellence in Film categories.
Within her 30 years of work in the industry, Carter has garnered two Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design — the first African American to nominated in this category — for Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad. Other...
- 10/23/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Owen Wilson (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Zoolander 2”) and Ed Helms (“The Hangover” films, “We’re the Millers”) star in the Alcon Entertainment comedy “Father Figures,” marking the directorial debut of veteran cinematographer Lawrence Sher (“The Hangover” films).
Wilson and Helms are Kyle and Peter Reynolds, brothers whose eccentric mother raised them to believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out together to find their real father, and end up learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know.
The film also stars J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), comedian Katt Williams, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-actor Terry Bradshaw, Ving Rhames (the “Mission Impossible” films), Harry Shearer (“The Simpsons”), and Oscar nominee June Squibb (“Nebraska”), with Oscar winner Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”), and Oscar nominee Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) as the twins’ mother.
Wilson and Helms are Kyle and Peter Reynolds, brothers whose eccentric mother raised them to believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out together to find their real father, and end up learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know.
The film also stars J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), comedian Katt Williams, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-actor Terry Bradshaw, Ving Rhames (the “Mission Impossible” films), Harry Shearer (“The Simpsons”), and Oscar nominee June Squibb (“Nebraska”), with Oscar winner Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”), and Oscar nominee Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) as the twins’ mother.
- 12/12/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
We're about one month away from the announcement of this year's Honorary Oscar recipients. They're usuallly announced at the end of August for a November Governor's Awards ceremony. This year's ceremony will be on November 12th. Last year rumors circled that it was Doris Day's turn but that didn't turn out to be accurate. For the past two years, The Film Experience has tried to make up for the dearth of movie site reporting about the Oscar Honorary careers (beyond the sharing of press releases / YouTube videos of their speeches) with mini-retrospectives so we're always hoping they'll choose well to give us wonderful careers to discuss right here.
Let's reprint a list of worthies we shared a year or so ago, with a few adjustments, in case any of the elites in the Academy are undecided about who to put forth or get behind for these coveted honors.
James Ivory...
Let's reprint a list of worthies we shared a year or so ago, with a few adjustments, in case any of the elites in the Academy are undecided about who to put forth or get behind for these coveted honors.
James Ivory...
- 7/19/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have announced 13 key members of the production team for the 87th Academy Awards, which will air live on Oscar Sunday, February 22, 2015, on ABC.
Director Hamish Hamilton returns to the show for the third time, after receiving an Emmy nomination for his work on last year’s telecast. He made his Oscar debut with the 82nd Academy Awards telecast in 2010. Hamilton has directed many other celebrated live televised events, including the 2014 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bruno Mars, the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Beyoncé, the 2013 “MTV Video Music Awards” and the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, for which he also received an Emmy nomination. He shared a 2011 Peabody Award for the fifth annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” and a 2003 Grammy Award nomination for the musical special “Robbie Williams – Live at the Albert.”
Production designer Derek McLane has been part of both Oscar...
Director Hamish Hamilton returns to the show for the third time, after receiving an Emmy nomination for his work on last year’s telecast. He made his Oscar debut with the 82nd Academy Awards telecast in 2010. Hamilton has directed many other celebrated live televised events, including the 2014 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bruno Mars, the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Beyoncé, the 2013 “MTV Video Music Awards” and the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, for which he also received an Emmy nomination. He shared a 2011 Peabody Award for the fifth annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” and a 2003 Grammy Award nomination for the musical special “Robbie Williams – Live at the Albert.”
Production designer Derek McLane has been part of both Oscar...
- 11/15/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In 2009, the Internet went crazy over a rumor that Neil Patrick Harris would play The Flash in a big screen "Justice League" movie. That didn’t happen — Ezra Miller got the job and Harris settled with voicing the character in a direct-to-dvd animated film. But now it’s looking like "Gone Girl" costar could finally get a superheroic boost from the team behind CW’s "The Flash." They’ll be feeding Harris his lines when he takes on hosting duties for the 87th Academy Awards. Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced that writer, producer and director Greg Berlanti joins the team as head writer for his first Oscars telecast. The name should be familiar to anyone absorbed in comic book movie/TV sagas; Berlanti’s writing credits include the television series “The Flash,” “Arrow,” “Everwood” and “Dawson’s Creek,” and the feature films “Wrath of the Titans” and “Green Lantern.
- 11/14/2014
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
The holy grail of non-alcoholic out-of-town visitor activities has arrived: The Academy's “Hollywood Costume” exhibit. The multimedia display of iconic film costumes opened Wednesday night with a VIP preview, welcoming Oscar-nominated and winning costume designers like Martin Scorsese‘s go-to Sandy Powell, Julie Weiss (“Frida”), and the man behind Bradley Cooper‘s trash bag look in “Silver Linings Playbook”, Mark Bridges. See photos: ‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers, Cate Blanchett's ‘Elizabeth’ Gowns Star in Hollywood Costume Exhibit The team that has spawned thirty years of dance recital and Halloween costume's, “Thriller” director John Landis and costume designer Deborah Nadoolman,...
- 10/3/2014
- by Mikey Glazer
- The Wrap
Former Oscars director Hamish Hamilton is returning to direct the 86th Annual Academy Awards, the show’s producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced on Wednesday, along with 12 other key members of the production team. Production designer Derek McLane, who was part of the team behind the 85th Oscars, returns, along with last year’s choreographer Rob Ashford. Music director William Ross, costume designers Julie Weiss and Bruce Pask, supervising producer Michael Seligman, co-producer Lee Lodge and lighting designer Robert Dickinson are also among Zadan and Meron’s team returning from last year’s broadcast, which was hosted by “Family Guy” creator Seth.
- 1/15/2014
- by Greg Gilman
- The Wrap
Contributed By: Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson
Well, we’ve just returned from AMPAS with our credentials badge for Wamg to be among the many outlets covering the Academy Awards nominations tomorrow morning.
With the announcement less than 24 hours away, and for the Oscar obsessivas (like us), this has been one of the toughest years to call. Even those of us who compulsively watch the race 365 days a year, all the categories are wide open, with expected surprises and snubs. This is always the best type of Oscar race to watch and we’ll bring you the news of who gets in and who isn’t invited to Hollywood’s biggest party of the year.
Actor, and tall-drink-of-cool-water, Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs will announce the 86th Academy Awards nominations on Thursday, January 16.
Boone Isaacs and Hemsworth will unveil the nominations at a 5:38 a.
Well, we’ve just returned from AMPAS with our credentials badge for Wamg to be among the many outlets covering the Academy Awards nominations tomorrow morning.
With the announcement less than 24 hours away, and for the Oscar obsessivas (like us), this has been one of the toughest years to call. Even those of us who compulsively watch the race 365 days a year, all the categories are wide open, with expected surprises and snubs. This is always the best type of Oscar race to watch and we’ll bring you the news of who gets in and who isn’t invited to Hollywood’s biggest party of the year.
Actor, and tall-drink-of-cool-water, Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs will announce the 86th Academy Awards nominations on Thursday, January 16.
Boone Isaacs and Hemsworth will unveil the nominations at a 5:38 a.
- 1/15/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Catch up with the week’s costume links.
Fashion Fall Trends
From big screen and small, Nathalie Atkinson analyses – with typical and unrelenting brilliance – inspiration for the fall fashion season.
Ken Van Duyne, Assistant Costume Designer
Chats about his way into the business and working with Julie Weiss.
Piero Tosi
The Italian costume designer (Death in Venice, The Night Porter) has been given an honorary Oscar. Well done, sir.
Costume designers as brands
Cassy Salyer looks at the increasing (and potentially controversial) trend for costume designers to produce capsule versions for the high street.
The Bling Ring
Video: The Cut meet costume designer Stacey Battat.
Sleepy Hollow
Costume designer Sanja Hays worked on the pilot, but Kristin M. Burke takes over for the rest of the season. Stoked to see this.
Insidious 2
More Kristin Burke, this time helping to scare the pants off us all over again. Be interesting to...
Fashion Fall Trends
From big screen and small, Nathalie Atkinson analyses – with typical and unrelenting brilliance – inspiration for the fall fashion season.
Ken Van Duyne, Assistant Costume Designer
Chats about his way into the business and working with Julie Weiss.
Piero Tosi
The Italian costume designer (Death in Venice, The Night Porter) has been given an honorary Oscar. Well done, sir.
Costume designers as brands
Cassy Salyer looks at the increasing (and potentially controversial) trend for costume designers to produce capsule versions for the high street.
The Bling Ring
Video: The Cut meet costume designer Stacey Battat.
Sleepy Hollow
Costume designer Sanja Hays worked on the pilot, but Kristin M. Burke takes over for the rest of the season. Stoked to see this.
Insidious 2
More Kristin Burke, this time helping to scare the pants off us all over again. Be interesting to...
- 9/14/2013
- by Christopher Laverty
- Clothes on Film
A round-up of last week’s best costume design stories and links.
Ender’s Game
Uniforms, suits and one very cool wristwatch: Tyranny of Style checked out Ender’s Game costumes at Comic Con.
Drunk History
Costume queen Kristin M. Burke talks to Christina Morgini about being ‘off period’ for the Funny-or-Die show.
Emmys 2013: Costume Design
The nominations are here (go Ellen).
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
His new suit has an mp3 player built in. Make of that what you will.
Red is the New Black
Literally. Costume designer Jenn Rogien chats about her work on the new Netflix series.
Clueless
Believe it or not Clueless is 18 years old. Costume designer Mona May discusses her amazing contribution to the classic teen film. And here is own Clueless article from early 2012.
Suits
Costume designer Jolie Anreatta: ‘Suits are like Medieval suits of armour’. Hear, here.
Animal House
The one and...
Ender’s Game
Uniforms, suits and one very cool wristwatch: Tyranny of Style checked out Ender’s Game costumes at Comic Con.
Drunk History
Costume queen Kristin M. Burke talks to Christina Morgini about being ‘off period’ for the Funny-or-Die show.
Emmys 2013: Costume Design
The nominations are here (go Ellen).
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
His new suit has an mp3 player built in. Make of that what you will.
Red is the New Black
Literally. Costume designer Jenn Rogien chats about her work on the new Netflix series.
Clueless
Believe it or not Clueless is 18 years old. Costume designer Mona May discusses her amazing contribution to the classic teen film. And here is own Clueless article from early 2012.
Suits
Costume designer Jolie Anreatta: ‘Suits are like Medieval suits of armour’. Hear, here.
Animal House
The one and...
- 7/22/2013
- by Christopher Laverty
- Clothes on Film
Each year at the Oscar ceremony I hope against hope that they'll ditch one of the numerous superfluous montages celebrating something or other throughout history and just do a runway show of the year's best costumes. On rare occasions we've seen a living tableau before the winner was announced and at least once, a Whoopi ceremony, the host actually incorporated costume design into the gig.
Imagine Seth MacFarlane coming out as Fantine in a shredded Les Miz gown or Queen Ravenna's raven collar dress. Sorry, no! I apologize deeply for putting those images in your head. Let's just say that I feel reasonably certain there will at least be a stovepipe hat during the ceremony in honor of Lincoln.
Oscar Nominees
• Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina
• Joanna Johnston, Lincoln
• Eiko Ishioka, Mirror Mirror
• Paco Delgado, Les Misérables
• Colleen Atwood, Snow White and the Hunstman
will win: Anna Karenina, it's not quite...
Imagine Seth MacFarlane coming out as Fantine in a shredded Les Miz gown or Queen Ravenna's raven collar dress. Sorry, no! I apologize deeply for putting those images in your head. Let's just say that I feel reasonably certain there will at least be a stovepipe hat during the ceremony in honor of Lincoln.
Oscar Nominees
• Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina
• Joanna Johnston, Lincoln
• Eiko Ishioka, Mirror Mirror
• Paco Delgado, Les Misérables
• Colleen Atwood, Snow White and the Hunstman
will win: Anna Karenina, it's not quite...
- 2/17/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Designers draw frequently draw inspiration from Hitchcock's women of mystery. So why are his famous blondes always in style?
Alfred Hitchcock loved blondes, but he famously dismissed Marilyn Monroe as too "obvious". So, it's a little surprising that Scarlett Johansson – Monroe's modern-day equivalent, complete with curves and pillow lips – is starring in next month's Hitchcock, the biopic that recounts the making of Psycho. She plays Janet Leigh, a woman definitely more in Hitchcock's favoured buttoned-up mould. But while the casting may seem a stretch, one thing is certain – the film will encourage yet another tryst between fashion and the director's heroines.
Hitchcock heroines have become a style trope – classics rolled out as a reference on the catwalk every so often, just like Edie Sedgwick, Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour or Kurt Cobain. Alexander McQueen famously presented a Hitchcock collection for autumn/winter 2005 and, with its angora sweaters,...
Alfred Hitchcock loved blondes, but he famously dismissed Marilyn Monroe as too "obvious". So, it's a little surprising that Scarlett Johansson – Monroe's modern-day equivalent, complete with curves and pillow lips – is starring in next month's Hitchcock, the biopic that recounts the making of Psycho. She plays Janet Leigh, a woman definitely more in Hitchcock's favoured buttoned-up mould. But while the casting may seem a stretch, one thing is certain – the film will encourage yet another tryst between fashion and the director's heroines.
Hitchcock heroines have become a style trope – classics rolled out as a reference on the catwalk every so often, just like Edie Sedgwick, Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour or Kurt Cobain. Alexander McQueen famously presented a Hitchcock collection for autumn/winter 2005 and, with its angora sweaters,...
- 1/16/2013
- by Lauren Cochrane
- The Guardian - Film News
pssst. 7 Days Until Oscar Nominations!
Oscar ballots are due tomorrow, and for whatever problems AMPAS had with its non beta-tested new online voting system, only one measly 24 hour extension came their way. So we have to start drawing barely visiblie lines in the blog sand and collect ourselves to look back now that we're in the before & after week... "This is where we've been!". Just in case you've missed any of this film year's interviews *thus far* here they are collected for you. (I'll update this index when more 2012 related interviews come our way, via DVD releases, continuing Oscar campaigns and whatnot.)
Actors
Alan Cumming in Any Day Now
Ann Dowd in Compliance
Eddie Redmayne in Les Misérables
Kerry Washington in Django Unchained
Logan Lerman in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy
Nicole Kidman on the 10th anniversary of her Oscar win in The Hours...
Oscar ballots are due tomorrow, and for whatever problems AMPAS had with its non beta-tested new online voting system, only one measly 24 hour extension came their way. So we have to start drawing barely visiblie lines in the blog sand and collect ourselves to look back now that we're in the before & after week... "This is where we've been!". Just in case you've missed any of this film year's interviews *thus far* here they are collected for you. (I'll update this index when more 2012 related interviews come our way, via DVD releases, continuing Oscar campaigns and whatnot.)
Actors
Alan Cumming in Any Day Now
Ann Dowd in Compliance
Eddie Redmayne in Les Misérables
Kerry Washington in Django Unchained
Logan Lerman in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy
Nicole Kidman on the 10th anniversary of her Oscar win in The Hours...
- 1/3/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
We haven't talked Costume Design much this year -- course correct, course correct! -- so let's talk about two time Oscar nominee Julie Weiss and her work on Hitchcock. Hitchcock met with rather cool reception from critics and the public when it debuted last month. Part of that was, I think, due to its all encompassing title. While not a great picture, it self-sabotaged by allowing expectations of a factual and expansive biopic of the Master of Suspense when it actually only had plans on taking a lightly comic snapshot of one year in a famous Hollywood marriage.
Peggy (Toni Collette), Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and Alma Hitchcock (Helen Mirren) in 1960s Hollywood
Though inside showbiz pictures are rarely big hits, movie buffs and those who are actually inside showbiz tend to like them -- go figure! Julie Weiss is no exception. We spoke on the phone but I could...
Peggy (Toni Collette), Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and Alma Hitchcock (Helen Mirren) in 1960s Hollywood
Though inside showbiz pictures are rarely big hits, movie buffs and those who are actually inside showbiz tend to like them -- go figure! Julie Weiss is no exception. We spoke on the phone but I could...
- 12/30/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Ann, a new play written and performed by Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor, will begin previews on Broadway at Lincoln Centers Vivian Beaumont Theater 150 West 65 Street Monday, February 18, 2013 at 8pm, and will open Thursday, March 7, 2013. Directed by Benjamin Endsley Klein, Ann has scenic design by Michael Fagin, costume design by Julie Weiss, lighting design by Matthew Richards, sound design by Ken Huncovsky, projection design by Zachary Borovay, wig design by Paul Huntley, and is produced by Bob Boyett and Harriet Newman Leve with co-producers Jane Dubin, Jack Thomas, Amy Danis, Mark Johannes, Sarahbeth Grossman, Anne OShea and Jon Cryer in association with Lincoln Center Theater. Ann is executive produced by Kevin Bailey.
- 11/26/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
It’s that time of year. Happy Thanksgiving from Fox Searchlight’s Hitchcock! Send your family and friends a Hitchcock-themed Thanksgiving e-card and be thankful that the film will be opening in select theaters this Friday, November 23rd. It’s a entertaining and clever telling of how Psycho was made.
Create Your Hitchcock E-Card: http://www.hitchcockthanksgiving.com
Skip the Black Friday madness and discover the shocking truth behind a film that will make history once again. Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren star in Sacha Gervasi’s mind opening portrayal of a legendary couple who together created an art form and story like never before.
For the first time, director Sacha Gervasi.s Hitchcock tells the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director.s most controversial and legendary film. When the tumultuous, against-the-odds production was over, nothing about movies would ever be the same . but...
Create Your Hitchcock E-Card: http://www.hitchcockthanksgiving.com
Skip the Black Friday madness and discover the shocking truth behind a film that will make history once again. Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren star in Sacha Gervasi’s mind opening portrayal of a legendary couple who together created an art form and story like never before.
For the first time, director Sacha Gervasi.s Hitchcock tells the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director.s most controversial and legendary film. When the tumultuous, against-the-odds production was over, nothing about movies would ever be the same . but...
- 11/20/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Lurking behind Alfred Hitchcock, cinema.s .master of suspense. . the extraordinary film icon known for orchestrating some of the most intense experiences of menace and intrigue audiences have ever seen, was a hidden side: his creatively explosive romance with his steadfast wife and filmmaking collaborator, Alma Reville.
Now, for the first time, director Sacha Gervasi.s Hitchcock lays bare their captivating and complex love story. It does so through the sly, shadowy lens of their most daring filmmaking adventure: the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director.s most controversial and legendary film. When the tumultuous, against-the-odds production was over, nothing about movies would ever be the same . but few realized that it took two to pull it off.
Gervasi and a cast that includes Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren starring as Alfred and Alma spin a story rife with surprises, comic ironies...
Now, for the first time, director Sacha Gervasi.s Hitchcock lays bare their captivating and complex love story. It does so through the sly, shadowy lens of their most daring filmmaking adventure: the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director.s most controversial and legendary film. When the tumultuous, against-the-odds production was over, nothing about movies would ever be the same . but few realized that it took two to pull it off.
Gervasi and a cast that includes Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren starring as Alfred and Alma spin a story rife with surprises, comic ironies...
- 11/19/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A peak into process. Generally I scribble down far more questions than I end up asking in interviews. You gauge the mood and proceed. Herewith a question I opted not to ask Julie Weiss, Hitchcock's twice Oscar nominated costume designer:
Tell me about Dolph Lundgren's costume fitting in Masters of the Universe.
Probably made the right call but I still want to hear the answer, don't you? (Questions I did ask, the wonderful Weiss did answer. Interview forthcoming)...
Tell me about Dolph Lundgren's costume fitting in Masters of the Universe.
Probably made the right call but I still want to hear the answer, don't you? (Questions I did ask, the wonderful Weiss did answer. Interview forthcoming)...
- 11/14/2012
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Photo By Suzanne Tenner/Fox Searchlight
Lurking behind Alfred Hitchcock, cinema.s .master of suspense. — the extraordinary film icon known for orchestrating some of the most intense experiences of menace and intrigue audiences have ever seen, was a hidden side: his creatively explosive romance with his steadfast wife and filmmaking collaborator, Alma Reville.
Now, for the first time, Sacha Gervasi.s Hitchcock lays bare their captivating and complex love story. It does so through the sly, shadowy lens of their most daring filmmaking adventure: the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director.s most controversial and legendary film. When the tumultuous, against-the-odds production was over, nothing about movies would ever be the same . but few realized that it took two to pull it off.
Director Sacha Gervasi on the set of Hitchcock
Gervasi and a cast that includes Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren...
Lurking behind Alfred Hitchcock, cinema.s .master of suspense. — the extraordinary film icon known for orchestrating some of the most intense experiences of menace and intrigue audiences have ever seen, was a hidden side: his creatively explosive romance with his steadfast wife and filmmaking collaborator, Alma Reville.
Now, for the first time, Sacha Gervasi.s Hitchcock lays bare their captivating and complex love story. It does so through the sly, shadowy lens of their most daring filmmaking adventure: the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director.s most controversial and legendary film. When the tumultuous, against-the-odds production was over, nothing about movies would ever be the same . but few realized that it took two to pull it off.
Director Sacha Gervasi on the set of Hitchcock
Gervasi and a cast that includes Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren...
- 11/12/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ann, a new play written and performed by Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor, is a no holds barred portrait of the unforgettable governor of the Lone Star State, Ann Richards. Directed by Benjamin Klein, with scenic design by Michael Fagin, costume design by Julie Weiss, lighting design by Matthew Richards, projection design by Zachary Borovay, sound design by Ken Huncovsky and wig design by Paul Huntley, Ann is produced by Bob Boyett.
- 12/17/2011
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Ann, a new play written and performed by Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor, is a no holds barred portrait of the unforgettable governor of the Lone Star State, Ann Richards. Directed by Benjamin Klein, with scenic design by Michael Fagin, costume design by Julie Weiss, lighting design by Matthew Richards, projection design by Zachary Borovay, sound design by Ken Huncovsky and wig design by Paul Huntley, Ann is produced by Bob Boyett.
- 11/10/2011
- by BWW
- BroadwayWorld.com
It may be the second to last day of Comic Con, but things are far from slowing down. In fact, both movies and TV are in great supply the Saturday of the show. Maybe even to abundant...surely attendees and press alike will be making sacrifices as they pick and choose which events to see. Make your decision after the jump.
10:00-10:45 Chuck Screening and Q&A— Comic-Con fan-favorite Chuckreturns with a bang for its farewell panel to celebrate its fifth and final season. Executive producer and co-creator Chris Fedak, along with series stars Zachary Levi (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Yvonne Strahovski(upcoming My Mother's Curse), Joshua Gomez (Without a Trace), Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence (The Pursuit of Happyness), Vik Sahay (Good Will Hunting), Scott Krinsky (The O.C.) with Sarah Lancaster(The Good Doctor), and Adam Baldwin (Serenity), offer a Q&A with fans and an unforgettable video presentation.
10:00-10:45 Chuck Screening and Q&A— Comic-Con fan-favorite Chuckreturns with a bang for its farewell panel to celebrate its fifth and final season. Executive producer and co-creator Chris Fedak, along with series stars Zachary Levi (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Yvonne Strahovski(upcoming My Mother's Curse), Joshua Gomez (Without a Trace), Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence (The Pursuit of Happyness), Vik Sahay (Good Will Hunting), Scott Krinsky (The O.C.) with Sarah Lancaster(The Good Doctor), and Adam Baldwin (Serenity), offer a Q&A with fans and an unforgettable video presentation.
- 7/10/2011
- Cinelinx
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” and Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” were the big winners at Tuesday night’s 13th Annual Costume Design Guild Awards.
“Black Swan’s” Amy Westcott took the contemporary film prize, while Jenny Beavan of “The King’s Speech” earned the period film trophy. “Alice in Wonderland” costume designer Colleen Atwood was recognized for excellence in fantasy film. Both Beavan and Atwood are Oscar nominees.
Previously announced honorees for this year’s Design Guild included Halle Berry (Lacoste Spotlight Award), Joel Schumacher (Distinguished Collaborator Award), Julie Weiss (Disaronno Career Achievement in Film & Television Award), and Michael Dennison (Hall of Fame Award).
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News...
Hollywoodnews.com: Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” and Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” were the big winners at Tuesday night’s 13th Annual Costume Design Guild Awards.
“Black Swan’s” Amy Westcott took the contemporary film prize, while Jenny Beavan of “The King’s Speech” earned the period film trophy. “Alice in Wonderland” costume designer Colleen Atwood was recognized for excellence in fantasy film. Both Beavan and Atwood are Oscar nominees.
Previously announced honorees for this year’s Design Guild included Halle Berry (Lacoste Spotlight Award), Joel Schumacher (Distinguished Collaborator Award), Julie Weiss (Disaronno Career Achievement in Film & Television Award), and Michael Dennison (Hall of Fame Award).
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News...
- 2/23/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
The 13th Annual Costume Design Guild Awards were held last night, and Black Swan’s Amy Westcott and The King’s Speech’s Jenny Beavan were honored for excellence in contemporary film and period film, respectively. Alice in Wonderland’s Colleen Atwood took home the prize for excellence in fantasy film. Beavan and Atwood are also nominees at this Sunday’s Oscars. In the TV categories, winners were Glee’s Lou Eyrich, Boardwalk Empire’s John Dunn and Lisa Padovani, and Temple Grandin’s Cindy Evans. Aude Bronson-Howard was also recognized for excellence in commercial costume design for ”Chanel — Bleu de Chanel.
- 2/23/2011
- by Mandi Bierly
- EW - Inside Movies
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After that surprising snub by the Academy (not even a nomination) and BAFTA, Black Swan costume designer Amy Westcott has finally been rewarded, with a Costume Designers Guild (Cdg) Award for Excellence in Contemporary Film.
This was a tough category, too. Jeffrey Kurland has hardly been mentioned, apart from by the public, regarding his almost entirely bespoke costumes for Inception. Have the Guild responded to the recent, very public controversy between Westcott and Black Swan contributors Kate and Laura Mulleavy, i.e. Rodarte? Perhaps, yes, and we would not begin to suggest this is a bad thing either. Moreover the effectiveness of the Cdg lies in their broad distinction between genres, e.g. period and contemporary, allowing them to reward grand, noticeable costumes and subtler, more narrative lead design.
After that surprising snub by the Academy (not even a nomination) and BAFTA, Black Swan costume designer Amy Westcott has finally been rewarded, with a Costume Designers Guild (Cdg) Award for Excellence in Contemporary Film.
This was a tough category, too. Jeffrey Kurland has hardly been mentioned, apart from by the public, regarding his almost entirely bespoke costumes for Inception. Have the Guild responded to the recent, very public controversy between Westcott and Black Swan contributors Kate and Laura Mulleavy, i.e. Rodarte? Perhaps, yes, and we would not begin to suggest this is a bad thing either. Moreover the effectiveness of the Cdg lies in their broad distinction between genres, e.g. period and contemporary, allowing them to reward grand, noticeable costumes and subtler, more narrative lead design.
- 2/23/2011
- by Chris Laverty
- Clothes on Film
So, the Costume Designers Guild (Cdg) has served up their nominations for this year. Apart from falling short on numbers in a couple of categories, the line-up is predictably safe.
Excellence in Contemporary Film
Black Swan – Amy Westcott
Burlesque – Michael Kaplan
Inception – Jeffrey Kurland
The Social Network – Jacqueline West
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – Ellen Mirojnick
There has been recent hoopla in the press regarding Rodarte’s overall involvement with the costume design for Black Swan, though the Costume Designers Guild will be unlikely to run scared. Shouldn’t The Social Network strictly be in the Period category, however? Jacqueline West went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the film was historically accurate, something often harder to achieve when the setting is recent.
Excellence in Period Film
The Fighter – Mark Bridges
The King’s Speech – Jenny Beavan
True Grit – Mary Zophres
It would be wonderful to see Mark Bridges’ largely (and...
Excellence in Contemporary Film
Black Swan – Amy Westcott
Burlesque – Michael Kaplan
Inception – Jeffrey Kurland
The Social Network – Jacqueline West
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – Ellen Mirojnick
There has been recent hoopla in the press regarding Rodarte’s overall involvement with the costume design for Black Swan, though the Costume Designers Guild will be unlikely to run scared. Shouldn’t The Social Network strictly be in the Period category, however? Jacqueline West went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the film was historically accurate, something often harder to achieve when the setting is recent.
Excellence in Period Film
The Fighter – Mark Bridges
The King’s Speech – Jenny Beavan
True Grit – Mary Zophres
It would be wonderful to see Mark Bridges’ largely (and...
- 1/21/2011
- by Chris Laverty
- Clothes on Film
The nominations for the 13th annual Costumers Designers Guild were announced in Los Angeles. The non-televised event will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. It will be hosted by Kristin Davis.
Special awards will be handed out to Halle Barry, designer Julie Weiss, director Joel Schumacher and late designer Michael Dennison.
Excellence In Contemporary Film
Black Swan . Amy Westcott
Burlesque . Michael Kaplan
Inception - Jeffrey Kurland
The Social Network . Jacqueline West
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps . Ellen Mirojnick
Excellence In Period Film
The Fighter . Mark Bridges
The King.s Speech . Jenny Beavan
True Grit . Mary Zophres
Excellence In Fantasy Film
Alice in Wonderland . Colleen Atwood
The Tempest . Sandy Powell
Tron: Legacy . Michael Wilkinson & Christine Bieselin Clark
Outstanding Contemporary Television Series
Big Love . Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko
Dancing with the Stars . Randall Christensen, Daniella Gschwendtner & Steven Norman Lee
Glee . Lou Eyrich
Modern Family . Alix Friedberg
Treme...
Special awards will be handed out to Halle Barry, designer Julie Weiss, director Joel Schumacher and late designer Michael Dennison.
Excellence In Contemporary Film
Black Swan . Amy Westcott
Burlesque . Michael Kaplan
Inception - Jeffrey Kurland
The Social Network . Jacqueline West
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps . Ellen Mirojnick
Excellence In Period Film
The Fighter . Mark Bridges
The King.s Speech . Jenny Beavan
True Grit . Mary Zophres
Excellence In Fantasy Film
Alice in Wonderland . Colleen Atwood
The Tempest . Sandy Powell
Tron: Legacy . Michael Wilkinson & Christine Bieselin Clark
Outstanding Contemporary Television Series
Big Love . Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko
Dancing with the Stars . Randall Christensen, Daniella Gschwendtner & Steven Norman Lee
Glee . Lou Eyrich
Modern Family . Alix Friedberg
Treme...
- 1/20/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
At last we’re off to the races with the opening of Secretariat - the rousing tale of the 1973 Triple Crown winner and the greatest race horse of all time!
Based on the novel “Secretariat: The Making of a Champion” by William Nack, Secretariat centers on Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), Secretariat’s owner, and how she broke into the “boys only club” of thoroughbred horseracing in 1969. The real Penny Chenery, now 88, even has a cameo in the film as a spectator at the Belmont Stakes race. Walt Disney Pictures decided the time was right and put the story in the very capable hands of director Randall Wallace (Man In The Iron Mask, Braveheart screenplay) and writer Mike Rich (The Rookie). With the unbelievable, mud-in-your-face cinematography of Academy Award winner Dean Semler (Dances With Wolves) and the galloping sound work of 20 time Oscar-nominee Kevin O’Connell, Secretariat is as close...
Based on the novel “Secretariat: The Making of a Champion” by William Nack, Secretariat centers on Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), Secretariat’s owner, and how she broke into the “boys only club” of thoroughbred horseracing in 1969. The real Penny Chenery, now 88, even has a cameo in the film as a spectator at the Belmont Stakes race. Walt Disney Pictures decided the time was right and put the story in the very capable hands of director Randall Wallace (Man In The Iron Mask, Braveheart screenplay) and writer Mike Rich (The Rookie). With the unbelievable, mud-in-your-face cinematography of Academy Award winner Dean Semler (Dances With Wolves) and the galloping sound work of 20 time Oscar-nominee Kevin O’Connell, Secretariat is as close...
- 10/8/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
MTV delves into the fashion world for their latest series. What happens when you mix celebrities, high profile stylists, and a group of eager junior stylists vying for a coveted job at the prestigious Margaret Maldonado Agency? MTV will take you inside the competitive world of fashion in the new series .Styl.D. premiering on Sunday, November 1 at 10pm Et/Pt. The series follows five junior stylists: Gary, Tara, Janna, Brett, and Cody, as they embark on the experience of their lives working for Jen Rade, Eric Archibald, and Julie Weiss, the senior stylists for the Margaret Maldonado Agency. .Styl.D. reveals the junior stylists' drive for fashion and the lengths they will go to in order to come...
- 10/15/2009
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Blades of Glory's Julie Weiss landed in the spotlight Tuesday as winners of the 10th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards were announced.
While Weiss received the award for contemporary film for outfitting the Will Ferrell starrer, veteran designer Colleen Atwood won for period film for outfitting Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and others in Sweeney Todd. Ruth Myers won for fantasy film for The Golden Compass.
Of the three winners announced at the ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Sweeney Todd was the only film to also be nominated for an Academy Award for costume design.
For television, Mario Davignon won for telefilm/miniseries for HBO's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Davignon also collected an Emmy for her costume design work on Wounded Knee.
For contemporary TV series, ABC's Ugly Betty's Eduardo Castro collected the award, while Robert Blackman's work on ABC's Pushing Daisies was honored in the period/fantasy TV series category.
Deborah Ferguson took home the prize for commercial costume design for Capitol One's Princess Kiss ad.
Costume designers were not The Only Ones being honored at Tuesday's event, hosted by Anjelica Huston.
While Weiss received the award for contemporary film for outfitting the Will Ferrell starrer, veteran designer Colleen Atwood won for period film for outfitting Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and others in Sweeney Todd. Ruth Myers won for fantasy film for The Golden Compass.
Of the three winners announced at the ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Sweeney Todd was the only film to also be nominated for an Academy Award for costume design.
For television, Mario Davignon won for telefilm/miniseries for HBO's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Davignon also collected an Emmy for her costume design work on Wounded Knee.
For contemporary TV series, ABC's Ugly Betty's Eduardo Castro collected the award, while Robert Blackman's work on ABC's Pushing Daisies was honored in the period/fantasy TV series category.
Deborah Ferguson took home the prize for commercial costume design for Capitol One's Princess Kiss ad.
Costume designers were not The Only Ones being honored at Tuesday's event, hosted by Anjelica Huston.
- 2/20/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Blades of Glory". The blissfully silly "Blades of Glory" is one of those rare comedies that puts a goofy smile on your face with the premise alone -- Will Ferrell and Jon Heder playing the world's first competitive male pairs figure skaters -- and keeps it planted there right until its wacky finale.
Co-directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon, probably best known for those popular Geico caveman commercials, have made a highly agreeable feature debut capturing the energetic irreverence of early Farrelly brothers.
With Ferrell's legions of Ricky Bobby fans already primed to go along for the ride, the Paramount release should cut some glorious figures at the boxoffice for weeks to come.
Having already parodied NASCAR drivers and soccer dads, it was probably only a matter of time before Ferrell got around to skewering figure skaters, but he does it up right as Chazz Michael Michaels, a swaggering rocker on ice with grungy black hair who finds himself banned from the sport after getting into a brawl with his rival, the narcissistic but naive Jimmy MacElroy (Heder).
Stripped of their gold medals, Michaels and MacElroy are having a tough time surviving in the real world. The perpetually soused Chazz takes refuge under an evil wizard suit in a kids ice revue, while Jimmy gets a job in the shoe department of a sporting goods store.
But when a former stalker of Jimmy's (Nick Swardson) points out a loophole in the figure skating rule book, the two previous foes join forces, much to the chagrin of reigning sibling champs, the diabolical Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (real-life husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler).
Working from an inspired script credited to brothers Jeff Cox and Craig Cox, as well as John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky ("King of the Hill"), Speck and Gordon maintain a comfortable pace while coaxing terrific performances from their game cast.
In addition to the pitch-perfect Ferrell (in a role originally meant for Ben Stiller) and no-slouch Heder (making good on that "Napoleon Dynamite" promise), the rest of the cast cuts a comic swath both on and off the ice.
Also proving to be good sports are Scott Hamilton, Sasha Cohen, Nancy Kerrigan, Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming, all on hand to deflate some of the self-seriousness known to go along with the turf.
Tech aspects are uniformly smoothly executed. Montreal's Olympic Stadium and architecturally prominent Habitat '67 are captured to notable effect by cinematographer Stefan Czapsky ("Ed Wood"), while veteran costume designer Julie Weiss has truly outdone herself with all those over-the-top Lycra creations, getting a little help from the Bob Mackie, Bill Hargate and Ray Aghayan houses.
Also credit skating choreographer Sarah Kawahara for routines that are anything but routine and "American Idol" runner-up Bo Bice, who puts the right anthemic arena rock spin on the titular closing theme song.
BLADES OF GLORY
Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Pictures presents a Red Hour/Smart Entertainment production
Credits:
Directors: Will Speck & Josh Gordon
Screenwriters: Jeff Cox & Craig Cox and John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky
Story: Craig Cox & Jeff Cox & Busy Philipps
Producers: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, John Jacobs
Executive producer: Marty Ewing
Director of photography: Stefan Czapsky
Production designer: Stephen Lineweaver
Editor: Richard Pearson
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Cast:
Chazz Michael Michaels: Will Ferrell
Jimmy MacElroy: Jon Heder
Stranz Van Waldenberg: Will Arnett
Fairchild Van Waldenberg: Amy Poehler
Coach: Craig T. Nelson
Katie Van Waldenberg: Jenna Fischer
Darren MacElroy: William Fichtner
Hector: Nick Swardson
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Co-directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon, probably best known for those popular Geico caveman commercials, have made a highly agreeable feature debut capturing the energetic irreverence of early Farrelly brothers.
With Ferrell's legions of Ricky Bobby fans already primed to go along for the ride, the Paramount release should cut some glorious figures at the boxoffice for weeks to come.
Having already parodied NASCAR drivers and soccer dads, it was probably only a matter of time before Ferrell got around to skewering figure skaters, but he does it up right as Chazz Michael Michaels, a swaggering rocker on ice with grungy black hair who finds himself banned from the sport after getting into a brawl with his rival, the narcissistic but naive Jimmy MacElroy (Heder).
Stripped of their gold medals, Michaels and MacElroy are having a tough time surviving in the real world. The perpetually soused Chazz takes refuge under an evil wizard suit in a kids ice revue, while Jimmy gets a job in the shoe department of a sporting goods store.
But when a former stalker of Jimmy's (Nick Swardson) points out a loophole in the figure skating rule book, the two previous foes join forces, much to the chagrin of reigning sibling champs, the diabolical Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (real-life husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler).
Working from an inspired script credited to brothers Jeff Cox and Craig Cox, as well as John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky ("King of the Hill"), Speck and Gordon maintain a comfortable pace while coaxing terrific performances from their game cast.
In addition to the pitch-perfect Ferrell (in a role originally meant for Ben Stiller) and no-slouch Heder (making good on that "Napoleon Dynamite" promise), the rest of the cast cuts a comic swath both on and off the ice.
Also proving to be good sports are Scott Hamilton, Sasha Cohen, Nancy Kerrigan, Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming, all on hand to deflate some of the self-seriousness known to go along with the turf.
Tech aspects are uniformly smoothly executed. Montreal's Olympic Stadium and architecturally prominent Habitat '67 are captured to notable effect by cinematographer Stefan Czapsky ("Ed Wood"), while veteran costume designer Julie Weiss has truly outdone herself with all those over-the-top Lycra creations, getting a little help from the Bob Mackie, Bill Hargate and Ray Aghayan houses.
Also credit skating choreographer Sarah Kawahara for routines that are anything but routine and "American Idol" runner-up Bo Bice, who puts the right anthemic arena rock spin on the titular closing theme song.
BLADES OF GLORY
Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Pictures presents a Red Hour/Smart Entertainment production
Credits:
Directors: Will Speck & Josh Gordon
Screenwriters: Jeff Cox & Craig Cox and John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky
Story: Craig Cox & Jeff Cox & Busy Philipps
Producers: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, John Jacobs
Executive producer: Marty Ewing
Director of photography: Stefan Czapsky
Production designer: Stephen Lineweaver
Editor: Richard Pearson
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Cast:
Chazz Michael Michaels: Will Ferrell
Jimmy MacElroy: Jon Heder
Stranz Van Waldenberg: Will Arnett
Fairchild Van Waldenberg: Amy Poehler
Coach: Craig T. Nelson
Katie Van Waldenberg: Jenna Fischer
Darren MacElroy: William Fichtner
Hector: Nick Swardson
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 3/30/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the festival screening of "Slipstream".PARK CITY -- Introducing "Slipstream" at its first screening at Sundance, writer, director, star and composer Anthony Hopkins said of his film, "I did it as a creative joke". That's not a bad description of this playful melange of surreal imagery, Hollywood in-jokes, random archival footage and a space and time jumble.
Hopkins, the Academy Award-winning actor who has directed two feature-length pieces before, doesn't have the experience or, in all probability, the desire to create a truly masterful work of surrealism. He just wants to have fun. It's a bloody joke, mate, so don't get your snobbish knickers in a twist, you can almost hear him say.
Taken that way, "Slipstream" is amusing cinematic buffoonery by a man poking fun at movie conventions and the movie business itself. If you look deeper, you'll find only shallow. The audiences for this are those who will turn out to watch Anthony Hopkins pretending to be an experimental filmmaker. Which is not a large audience for a movie that reportedly cost nearly $10 million. What did he spend it on?
Perhaps on people, as the talent behind and in front of the camera is impressive. Press notes brag that cast and crew have accumulated over 70 major awards and over 200 nominations altogether. But you assume these people turned out because Tony flattered them with a personal plea, not for the payday.
At that, they did have hard work, as much of the film takes place in California's Mojave Desert during killer heat on a decaying film set built 25 years ago for a Dennis Hopper movie.
The movie takes place in the mind of a screenwriter (Hopkins) of a murder mystery that has apparently fallen apart during production. The director (Gavin Grazer) and star (Christian Slater) have lost their marbles, so he is rushed to the set for rewrites. Only the characters in his script begin to appear in his life ... or perhaps he is appearing in his own script.
This does produce a few funny bits, such as when Michael Clark Duncan appears before him with a bullet hole in his head to demand to know why his character was killed off earlier than he was scheduled to die according to the shooting script. Or when the film's producer (John Turturro) somehow appears in the hard drive of the writer's computer and through the monitor watches his writer snooze.
As Hopkins flutters back and forth in time and space, it's as if he is searching among the various alternative unrealities to see which he likes best. For the most part, the movie follows a dream-like logic where people, objects and events connect in a haphazard pattern. Scenes repeat themselves. A car changes colors in mid-scene. Veteran actor Kevin McCarthy turns up when someone mentions his most famous film, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Then there are nonsensical intrusions -- random shots of Hitler, Nixon and FDR.
The ending is a letdown only if you've taken any of the film seriously. Indeed most viewers will beat Hopkins to the punch by anticipating the film's rather prosaic "explanation."
Technical credits are outstanding as cinematographer Dante Spinoti, editor Michael R. Miller and costume designer Julie Weiss seem to enjoy following Sir Anthony's lead into this wonderland of nonsense.
SLIPSTREAM
Samson Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director-music: Anthony Hopkins
Producers: Stella Arroyave, Robert Katz
Director of photography: Dante Spinotti
Production designer: Ismael Cardenas
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Michael R. Miller
Cast:
Felix Bonhoffer: Anthony Hopkins
Harvey Brickman: John Turturro
Ray/Matt Dobbs: Christian Slater
Gina: Stella Arroyave
Barbara: Camryn Manheim
Tracy/ nurse: Lisa Pepper
Gavin/ambulance driver: Gavin Grazer
Big Mickey: Michael Lerner
Betty: Fionnula Flanagan
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Hopkins, the Academy Award-winning actor who has directed two feature-length pieces before, doesn't have the experience or, in all probability, the desire to create a truly masterful work of surrealism. He just wants to have fun. It's a bloody joke, mate, so don't get your snobbish knickers in a twist, you can almost hear him say.
Taken that way, "Slipstream" is amusing cinematic buffoonery by a man poking fun at movie conventions and the movie business itself. If you look deeper, you'll find only shallow. The audiences for this are those who will turn out to watch Anthony Hopkins pretending to be an experimental filmmaker. Which is not a large audience for a movie that reportedly cost nearly $10 million. What did he spend it on?
Perhaps on people, as the talent behind and in front of the camera is impressive. Press notes brag that cast and crew have accumulated over 70 major awards and over 200 nominations altogether. But you assume these people turned out because Tony flattered them with a personal plea, not for the payday.
At that, they did have hard work, as much of the film takes place in California's Mojave Desert during killer heat on a decaying film set built 25 years ago for a Dennis Hopper movie.
The movie takes place in the mind of a screenwriter (Hopkins) of a murder mystery that has apparently fallen apart during production. The director (Gavin Grazer) and star (Christian Slater) have lost their marbles, so he is rushed to the set for rewrites. Only the characters in his script begin to appear in his life ... or perhaps he is appearing in his own script.
This does produce a few funny bits, such as when Michael Clark Duncan appears before him with a bullet hole in his head to demand to know why his character was killed off earlier than he was scheduled to die according to the shooting script. Or when the film's producer (John Turturro) somehow appears in the hard drive of the writer's computer and through the monitor watches his writer snooze.
As Hopkins flutters back and forth in time and space, it's as if he is searching among the various alternative unrealities to see which he likes best. For the most part, the movie follows a dream-like logic where people, objects and events connect in a haphazard pattern. Scenes repeat themselves. A car changes colors in mid-scene. Veteran actor Kevin McCarthy turns up when someone mentions his most famous film, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Then there are nonsensical intrusions -- random shots of Hitler, Nixon and FDR.
The ending is a letdown only if you've taken any of the film seriously. Indeed most viewers will beat Hopkins to the punch by anticipating the film's rather prosaic "explanation."
Technical credits are outstanding as cinematographer Dante Spinoti, editor Michael R. Miller and costume designer Julie Weiss seem to enjoy following Sir Anthony's lead into this wonderland of nonsense.
SLIPSTREAM
Samson Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director-music: Anthony Hopkins
Producers: Stella Arroyave, Robert Katz
Director of photography: Dante Spinotti
Production designer: Ismael Cardenas
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Michael R. Miller
Cast:
Felix Bonhoffer: Anthony Hopkins
Harvey Brickman: John Turturro
Ray/Matt Dobbs: Christian Slater
Gina: Stella Arroyave
Barbara: Camryn Manheim
Tracy/ nurse: Lisa Pepper
Gavin/ambulance driver: Gavin Grazer
Big Mickey: Michael Lerner
Betty: Fionnula Flanagan
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- Introducing Slipstream at its first screening at Sundance, writer, director, star and composer Anthony Hopkins said of his film, I did it as a creative joke. That's not a bad description of this playful melange of surreal imagery, Hollywood in-jokes, random archival footage and a space and time jumble.
Hopkins, the Academy Award-winning actor who has directed two feature-length pieces before, doesn't have the experience or, in all probability, the desire to create a truly masterful work of surrealism. He just wants to have fun. It's a bloody joke, mate, so don't get your snobbish knickers in a twist, you can almost hear him say.
Taken that way, Slipstream is amusing cinematic buffoonery by a man poking fun at movie conventions and the movie business itself. If you look deeper, you'll find only shallow. The audiences for this are those who will turn out to watch Anthony Hopkins pretending to be an experimental filmmaker. Which is not a large audience for a movie that reportedly cost nearly $10 million. What did he spend it on?
Perhaps on people, as the talent behind and in front of the camera is impressive. Press notes brag that cast and crew have accumulated over 70 major awards and over 200 nominations altogether. But you assume these people turned out because Tony flattered them with a personal plea, not for the payday.
At that, they did have hard work, as much of the film takes place in California's Mojave Desert during killer heat on a decaying film set built 25 years ago for a Dennis Hopper movie.
The movie takes place in the mind of a screenwriter (Hopkins) of a murder mystery that has apparently fallen apart during production. The director (Gavin Grazer) and star (Christian Slater) have lost their marbles, so he is rushed to the set for rewrites. Only the characters in his script begin to appear in his life ... or perhaps he is appearing in his own script.
This does produce a few funny bits, such as when Michael Clark Duncan appears before him with a bullet hole in his head to demand to know why his character was killed off earlier than he was scheduled to die according to the shooting script. Or when the film's producer (John Turturro) somehow appears in the hard drive of the writer's computer and through the monitor watches his writer snooze.
As Hopkins flutters back and forth in time and space, it's as if he is searching among the various alternative unrealities to see which he likes best. For the most part, the movie follows a dream-like logic where people, objects and events connect in a haphazard pattern. Scenes repeat themselves. A car changes colors in mid-scene. Veteran actor Kevin McCarthy turns up when someone mentions his most famous film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Then there are nonsensical intrusions -- random shots of Hitler, Nixon and FDR.
The ending is a letdown only if you've taken any of the film seriously. Indeed most viewers will beat Hopkins to the punch by anticipating the film's rather prosaic "explanation."
Technical credits are outstanding as cinematographer Dante Spinoti, editor Michael R. Miller and costume designer Julie Weiss seem to enjoy following Sir Anthony's lead into this wonderland of nonsense.
Slipstream
Samson Films
Credits: Writer/director/music: Anthony Hopkins; Producer: Stella Arroyave,
Robert Katz; Director of photography: Dante Spinotti; Production designer:
Ismael Cardenas; Costume designer: Julie Weiss; Editor: Michael R. Miller.
Cast: Felix Bonhoffer: Anthony Hopkins; Harvey Brickman: John Turturro;
Ray/Matt Dobbs: Christian Slater; Gina: Stella Arroyave; Barbara: Camryn
Manhelm; Tracy/ nurse: Lisa Pepper; Gavin/ambulance driver: Gavin Grazer;
Big Mickey: Michael Lerner; Betty: Lionnula Flanagan.
No MPAA rating, running time 110 minutes.
Hopkins, the Academy Award-winning actor who has directed two feature-length pieces before, doesn't have the experience or, in all probability, the desire to create a truly masterful work of surrealism. He just wants to have fun. It's a bloody joke, mate, so don't get your snobbish knickers in a twist, you can almost hear him say.
Taken that way, Slipstream is amusing cinematic buffoonery by a man poking fun at movie conventions and the movie business itself. If you look deeper, you'll find only shallow. The audiences for this are those who will turn out to watch Anthony Hopkins pretending to be an experimental filmmaker. Which is not a large audience for a movie that reportedly cost nearly $10 million. What did he spend it on?
Perhaps on people, as the talent behind and in front of the camera is impressive. Press notes brag that cast and crew have accumulated over 70 major awards and over 200 nominations altogether. But you assume these people turned out because Tony flattered them with a personal plea, not for the payday.
At that, they did have hard work, as much of the film takes place in California's Mojave Desert during killer heat on a decaying film set built 25 years ago for a Dennis Hopper movie.
The movie takes place in the mind of a screenwriter (Hopkins) of a murder mystery that has apparently fallen apart during production. The director (Gavin Grazer) and star (Christian Slater) have lost their marbles, so he is rushed to the set for rewrites. Only the characters in his script begin to appear in his life ... or perhaps he is appearing in his own script.
This does produce a few funny bits, such as when Michael Clark Duncan appears before him with a bullet hole in his head to demand to know why his character was killed off earlier than he was scheduled to die according to the shooting script. Or when the film's producer (John Turturro) somehow appears in the hard drive of the writer's computer and through the monitor watches his writer snooze.
As Hopkins flutters back and forth in time and space, it's as if he is searching among the various alternative unrealities to see which he likes best. For the most part, the movie follows a dream-like logic where people, objects and events connect in a haphazard pattern. Scenes repeat themselves. A car changes colors in mid-scene. Veteran actor Kevin McCarthy turns up when someone mentions his most famous film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Then there are nonsensical intrusions -- random shots of Hitler, Nixon and FDR.
The ending is a letdown only if you've taken any of the film seriously. Indeed most viewers will beat Hopkins to the punch by anticipating the film's rather prosaic "explanation."
Technical credits are outstanding as cinematographer Dante Spinoti, editor Michael R. Miller and costume designer Julie Weiss seem to enjoy following Sir Anthony's lead into this wonderland of nonsense.
Slipstream
Samson Films
Credits: Writer/director/music: Anthony Hopkins; Producer: Stella Arroyave,
Robert Katz; Director of photography: Dante Spinotti; Production designer:
Ismael Cardenas; Costume designer: Julie Weiss; Editor: Michael R. Miller.
Cast: Felix Bonhoffer: Anthony Hopkins; Harvey Brickman: John Turturro;
Ray/Matt Dobbs: Christian Slater; Gina: Stella Arroyave; Barbara: Camryn
Manhelm; Tracy/ nurse: Lisa Pepper; Gavin/ambulance driver: Gavin Grazer;
Big Mickey: Michael Lerner; Betty: Lionnula Flanagan.
No MPAA rating, running time 110 minutes.
- 1/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Meryl Streep's chicly over-the-top designer duds in The Devil Wears Prada, Helen Mirren's sensible walking outfits in The Queen, Kirsten Dunst's elaborate gowns in Marie Antoinette and America Ferrera's fashion faux pas in Ugly Betty have earned nominations from the Costume Designers Guild, which announced nominees today for the ninth annual Costume Designers Guild Awards.
At the guild's awards ceremony, to be held Feb. 17 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel with Jane Kaczmarek serving as host, Sandra Bullock is set to receive the Swarovski President's Award, Mirren will be honored with the Distinguished Actor Award, costume designer Patricia Norris will be recognized with the Lacoste Career Achievement in Film Award, and costume designer Grady Hunt will be presented with the Career Achievement in Television Award.
For excellence in contemporary film, the CDG nominated Patricia Field for Prada, Consolata Boyle for Queen, Nancy Steiner for Little Miss Sunshine, Lindy Hemming for Casino Royale and Michael Wilkinson for Babel.
The period film nominees are Milena Canonero for Antoinette, Sharen Davis for Dreamgirls, Chung Man Yee for Curse of the Golden Flower, Ngila Dickson for The Illusionist and Penny Rose for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."
In the fantasy film category, the nominees are Sammy Sheldon for V for Vendetta, Kym Barrett for Eragon, Lala Huete for Pan's Labyrinth, Judianna Makovsky for X-Men: The Last Stand and Renee April for The Fountain.
In the category of outstanding made-for-television movie or miniseries, the nominees are Mike O'Neill for Elizabeth I, Julie Weiss for Mrs. Harris, Tom McKinley for High School Musical, Michael T.
At the guild's awards ceremony, to be held Feb. 17 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel with Jane Kaczmarek serving as host, Sandra Bullock is set to receive the Swarovski President's Award, Mirren will be honored with the Distinguished Actor Award, costume designer Patricia Norris will be recognized with the Lacoste Career Achievement in Film Award, and costume designer Grady Hunt will be presented with the Career Achievement in Television Award.
For excellence in contemporary film, the CDG nominated Patricia Field for Prada, Consolata Boyle for Queen, Nancy Steiner for Little Miss Sunshine, Lindy Hemming for Casino Royale and Michael Wilkinson for Babel.
The period film nominees are Milena Canonero for Antoinette, Sharen Davis for Dreamgirls, Chung Man Yee for Curse of the Golden Flower, Ngila Dickson for The Illusionist and Penny Rose for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."
In the fantasy film category, the nominees are Sammy Sheldon for V for Vendetta, Kym Barrett for Eragon, Lala Huete for Pan's Labyrinth, Judianna Makovsky for X-Men: The Last Stand and Renee April for The Fountain.
In the category of outstanding made-for-television movie or miniseries, the nominees are Mike O'Neill for Elizabeth I, Julie Weiss for Mrs. Harris, Tom McKinley for High School Musical, Michael T.
- 1/11/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The lives of great artists are notorious for their resistance to the biopic treatment. The iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo proves no exception.
While this film dutifully chronicles her suffering, obsessions and battles with her own body, it stands in pale contrast to Kahlo's real biography, which is her amazing paintings.
In development for nearly a decade, battling rival projects and studio skittishness, "Frida" emerges as a fairly convention biopic rather than the artistic statement one might anticipate given director Julie Taymor's theatrical background and actress-producer Salma Hayek's passion for the role.
The film hues closely to the facts of Kahlo's life and her tempestuous relationship with world-famous muralist Diego Rivera, her mentor and husband. Taymor puts Frida's vivid and often disturbing art to sagacious use, slipping the famous images into scenes to reflect or comment on dramatic developments. But the film somehow misses the mark, having made rather tidy a messy and brutally painful life.
As more than 100 published books concern Kahlo and Rivera, one should never underestimate the public appetite for this story. With a stellar cast -- Alfred Molina as Rivera, Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky, Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller, Antonio Banderas as muralist David Siqueiros and Ashley Judd as photographer Tina Modotti -- along with a careful rollout and Miramax's marketing muscle, "Frida" does have potential as an art house hit. The outlook overseas and in ancillary markets is even more positive.
The movie begins on the day of Frida's one and only exhibit in Mexico, in the spring of 1953. Her health has deteriorated so greatly, the doctor forbids her to leave her bed. So she has her bed carted to the gallery. On the ride over, the movie goes into a flashback. Frida, a high-school tomboy, loves to get into mischief with a gang of boys. She sneaks into a school auditorium where the great Rivera is painting.
The movie quickly moves to the trauma that shapes her life: A trolley accident in 1925 leaves her impaled on a metal rod. So devastated is her body that it's a miracle she even lives, much less that she walks again. Lying in bed for months, bored and in pain, she takes up painting. Her parents (Roger Rees and Patricia Reyes Spindola) give her a special easel and canopied bed with a mirror above her so she can be her own model. A life of self-portraiture, of painting the inner and outer Frida Kahlo, thus begins.
The story of her event-filled life understandably moves swiftly. Yet the consequence is that the movie gives short shrift to Frida's recovery and the enormous will power she developed to tolerate pain and fatigue. Clearly, the drinking, smoking and drug use that come later help her to dull that pain.
The bond between Diego and Frida is handled with empathy. Molina captures Diego's bearish personality, his huge body, his embrace of sensual pleasures and his fierce commitment to leftist political principles. In one of the film's welcome flights of surreal fancy, Rivera is fittingly depicted, in cutout images, as King Kong atop the Empire State Building, batting at airplanes as he would his critics. Molina gets the essential goodness of the man, his firm belief in loyalty and a set of principles that sometimes gets overshadowed by his many adulterous affairs, the worst being with Frida's own sister (Mia Maestro).
Hayek learned how to paint and how to effect the outer Frida -- including her wearing of traditional Mexican clothing. Other than Frida's trademark thick, connecting eyebrows, though, she has not allowed the makeup artist to de-glamorize her. More problematic is the fact Hayek doesn't inhabit her character as Molina does his. She is playing a role while Molina is Diego.
The film neither makes too much nor too little of its protagonists' wild side -- their open marriage, where they even shared lovers, or Frida's bisexuality and her affair with Trotsky, which may have cost him his life. The only sugar-coating comes near the end: It's quite possible Frida took her own life but the film never hints of this.
Rodrigo Preito's colorful and appealing cinematography, designer Felipe Fernandez's period re-creations and Elliot Goldenthal's guitar-flavored music, picking up Mexican themes, make a tight budget go a long way.
FRIDA
Miramax Films
Miramax presents in association with Margaret Rose Perenchio
A Ventanarosa Production in association with Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Julie Taymor
Writers: Clancy Sigel, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
Based on the book by: Hayden Herrera
Producers: Sarah Green, Salma Hayek, Jay Polstein, Nancy Hardin, Lindsay Flickinger, Roberto Sneiders
Executive producer: Mark Amin, Brian Gibson, Mark Gill, Jill Sobel Messick, Amy Slotnick
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Felipe Fernandez
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Francoise Bonnot
Cast:
Frida Kahlo: Salma Hayek
Diego Rivera: Alfred Molina
Leon Trotsky: Geoffrey Rush
Nelson Rockefeller: Edward Norton
David Siqueiros: Antonio Banderas
Cristina Kahlo: Mia Maestro
Tina Modotti: Ashley Judd
Guillermo Kahlo: Roger Rees
Lupe Marin: Valeria Golino
Matilde Kahlo: Patricia Reyes Spindola
Alejandro: Diego Luna
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
While this film dutifully chronicles her suffering, obsessions and battles with her own body, it stands in pale contrast to Kahlo's real biography, which is her amazing paintings.
In development for nearly a decade, battling rival projects and studio skittishness, "Frida" emerges as a fairly convention biopic rather than the artistic statement one might anticipate given director Julie Taymor's theatrical background and actress-producer Salma Hayek's passion for the role.
The film hues closely to the facts of Kahlo's life and her tempestuous relationship with world-famous muralist Diego Rivera, her mentor and husband. Taymor puts Frida's vivid and often disturbing art to sagacious use, slipping the famous images into scenes to reflect or comment on dramatic developments. But the film somehow misses the mark, having made rather tidy a messy and brutally painful life.
As more than 100 published books concern Kahlo and Rivera, one should never underestimate the public appetite for this story. With a stellar cast -- Alfred Molina as Rivera, Geoffrey Rush as Leon Trotsky, Edward Norton as Nelson Rockefeller, Antonio Banderas as muralist David Siqueiros and Ashley Judd as photographer Tina Modotti -- along with a careful rollout and Miramax's marketing muscle, "Frida" does have potential as an art house hit. The outlook overseas and in ancillary markets is even more positive.
The movie begins on the day of Frida's one and only exhibit in Mexico, in the spring of 1953. Her health has deteriorated so greatly, the doctor forbids her to leave her bed. So she has her bed carted to the gallery. On the ride over, the movie goes into a flashback. Frida, a high-school tomboy, loves to get into mischief with a gang of boys. She sneaks into a school auditorium where the great Rivera is painting.
The movie quickly moves to the trauma that shapes her life: A trolley accident in 1925 leaves her impaled on a metal rod. So devastated is her body that it's a miracle she even lives, much less that she walks again. Lying in bed for months, bored and in pain, she takes up painting. Her parents (Roger Rees and Patricia Reyes Spindola) give her a special easel and canopied bed with a mirror above her so she can be her own model. A life of self-portraiture, of painting the inner and outer Frida Kahlo, thus begins.
The story of her event-filled life understandably moves swiftly. Yet the consequence is that the movie gives short shrift to Frida's recovery and the enormous will power she developed to tolerate pain and fatigue. Clearly, the drinking, smoking and drug use that come later help her to dull that pain.
The bond between Diego and Frida is handled with empathy. Molina captures Diego's bearish personality, his huge body, his embrace of sensual pleasures and his fierce commitment to leftist political principles. In one of the film's welcome flights of surreal fancy, Rivera is fittingly depicted, in cutout images, as King Kong atop the Empire State Building, batting at airplanes as he would his critics. Molina gets the essential goodness of the man, his firm belief in loyalty and a set of principles that sometimes gets overshadowed by his many adulterous affairs, the worst being with Frida's own sister (Mia Maestro).
Hayek learned how to paint and how to effect the outer Frida -- including her wearing of traditional Mexican clothing. Other than Frida's trademark thick, connecting eyebrows, though, she has not allowed the makeup artist to de-glamorize her. More problematic is the fact Hayek doesn't inhabit her character as Molina does his. She is playing a role while Molina is Diego.
The film neither makes too much nor too little of its protagonists' wild side -- their open marriage, where they even shared lovers, or Frida's bisexuality and her affair with Trotsky, which may have cost him his life. The only sugar-coating comes near the end: It's quite possible Frida took her own life but the film never hints of this.
Rodrigo Preito's colorful and appealing cinematography, designer Felipe Fernandez's period re-creations and Elliot Goldenthal's guitar-flavored music, picking up Mexican themes, make a tight budget go a long way.
FRIDA
Miramax Films
Miramax presents in association with Margaret Rose Perenchio
A Ventanarosa Production in association with Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Julie Taymor
Writers: Clancy Sigel, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
Based on the book by: Hayden Herrera
Producers: Sarah Green, Salma Hayek, Jay Polstein, Nancy Hardin, Lindsay Flickinger, Roberto Sneiders
Executive producer: Mark Amin, Brian Gibson, Mark Gill, Jill Sobel Messick, Amy Slotnick
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Felipe Fernandez
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Francoise Bonnot
Cast:
Frida Kahlo: Salma Hayek
Diego Rivera: Alfred Molina
Leon Trotsky: Geoffrey Rush
Nelson Rockefeller: Edward Norton
David Siqueiros: Antonio Banderas
Cristina Kahlo: Mia Maestro
Tina Modotti: Ashley Judd
Guillermo Kahlo: Roger Rees
Lupe Marin: Valeria Golino
Matilde Kahlo: Patricia Reyes Spindola
Alejandro: Diego Luna
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/30/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Who would you cast to fight a kodiak bear in the North Woods, and who would you imagine would be most likely to pen a yarn set in the open wilds?
Anthony Hopkins for the bear-fighter and David Mamet for the writer, right?
We're not joking and, no, this isn't a production from the Zucker brothers but, rather, a psychological/survivalist saga in which Hopkins gets physical and Mamet takes on new terrain, namely penning something that doesn't take place indoors in a city. However, as the opening credits roll -- Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Bart the Bear, Elle Macpherson, in that order -- we know we're in for something "unique."
Undeniably, it's a tricky assignment for the marketers: how to lure the upscale fans of Hopkins and Mamet to a wilderness/bear-attack movie or, even more challenging, how to entice the connoisseurs of deep-woods actionry who don't generally cancel their hunting trips to take in the highbrow stuff Hopkins and Mamet usually turn out.
Unfortunately, fans of Hopkins and Mamet will find nettlesome certain logical gaps and character-development inadequacies that are usually only associated with big-budget summer films.
Not that he's completely forsaken his fuss-budget, buttling ways or metamorphosed from a cerebral and cunning chap to some sort of Grizzly Hopkins, but the British actor brings his steely mettle to an environment where his character is, uncharacteristically, out of his depth.
Hopkins plays Charles, a taciturn billionaire who tends to bury himself in books (the film was originally titled "The Bookworm"). Charles seemingly knows everything about everything -- just ask his supermodel wife (Macpherson). But the self-analytical Charles admits most of his knowledge is "theoretical," and it's not hard to notice that one big question mark is his marriage: It's pretty obvious his beautiful young wife is an acquisition, like one of his holding companies, and one gets the suspicion that he's such a distanced chap that a vacuous supermodel is the best he can do in relating to a real woman.
Not surprisingly, Charles is a trifle insecure about whether his gorgeous wife is really in love with him or his bank account. That he's observed flirtation between her and her photographer (Alec Baldwin) does not settle his unease. It's this insecurity that prompts his accompanying the duo on a weekend fashion shoot, deep in the wilds of Alaska.
Plugging in the full iconography of the don't-go-into-the-woods genre, Mamet and director Lee Tamahori have forged a generally solid generic entertainment, one that is smartly shaded and shrewdly based upon the smoldering perspectives of a love triangle.
Unfortunately, even a movie tenderfoot will find the narrative trail littered with way too many signposts, both in the screenwriting and in the directorial aesthetics. Indeed, camera movement is over-obvious in tipping events, as are the actions of the cadre of stereotypical characters that populate this formulaic outing.
As the bollixed billionaire, Hopkins flashes his role repertoire of skills, but his performance unfortunately seems more a showy dissertation of his acting mannerisms -- fastidiousness, aloofness, steeliness -- that we've seen him flex with far greater economy and substance before. Admittedly, Mamet's shallow characterizations contribute to the surface quality of this dramaturgy, which is so woefully pedestrian that it renders Macpherson unconvincing as a supermodel. Baldwin, however, is wonderful as a callow, self-absorbed and cowardly photographer.
Technically, "The Edge" is first-rate, including the marvelously shrouded cinematography of Donald McAlpine and composer Jerry Goldsmith's chilly and majestic score. Other technical contributions are a mixed bag, including Julie Weiss' costumery. At one point, after skinning the bear, Hopkins and Baldwin concoct bearskin garb that is so pristinely trendy that one suspects they ordered it direct from the Sundance catalog. In the same vein, the animatronic fatso that hungers for Hopkins and Baldwin is to bears what Chris Farley is to marathon runners.
THE EDGE
20th Century Fox
Producer Art Linson
Director Lee Tamahori
Screenwriter David Mamet
Executive producer Lloyd Phillips
Diretor of photography Donald McAlpine
Production designer Wolf Kroeger
Editor: Neil Travis
Costume designer Julie Weiss
Music Jerry Goldsmith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Charles Morse Anthony Hopkins
Robert Green Alec Baldwin
Mickey Elle Macpherson
Stephen Harold Perrineau
Styles L.Q. Jones
Running time -- 121 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Anthony Hopkins for the bear-fighter and David Mamet for the writer, right?
We're not joking and, no, this isn't a production from the Zucker brothers but, rather, a psychological/survivalist saga in which Hopkins gets physical and Mamet takes on new terrain, namely penning something that doesn't take place indoors in a city. However, as the opening credits roll -- Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Bart the Bear, Elle Macpherson, in that order -- we know we're in for something "unique."
Undeniably, it's a tricky assignment for the marketers: how to lure the upscale fans of Hopkins and Mamet to a wilderness/bear-attack movie or, even more challenging, how to entice the connoisseurs of deep-woods actionry who don't generally cancel their hunting trips to take in the highbrow stuff Hopkins and Mamet usually turn out.
Unfortunately, fans of Hopkins and Mamet will find nettlesome certain logical gaps and character-development inadequacies that are usually only associated with big-budget summer films.
Not that he's completely forsaken his fuss-budget, buttling ways or metamorphosed from a cerebral and cunning chap to some sort of Grizzly Hopkins, but the British actor brings his steely mettle to an environment where his character is, uncharacteristically, out of his depth.
Hopkins plays Charles, a taciturn billionaire who tends to bury himself in books (the film was originally titled "The Bookworm"). Charles seemingly knows everything about everything -- just ask his supermodel wife (Macpherson). But the self-analytical Charles admits most of his knowledge is "theoretical," and it's not hard to notice that one big question mark is his marriage: It's pretty obvious his beautiful young wife is an acquisition, like one of his holding companies, and one gets the suspicion that he's such a distanced chap that a vacuous supermodel is the best he can do in relating to a real woman.
Not surprisingly, Charles is a trifle insecure about whether his gorgeous wife is really in love with him or his bank account. That he's observed flirtation between her and her photographer (Alec Baldwin) does not settle his unease. It's this insecurity that prompts his accompanying the duo on a weekend fashion shoot, deep in the wilds of Alaska.
Plugging in the full iconography of the don't-go-into-the-woods genre, Mamet and director Lee Tamahori have forged a generally solid generic entertainment, one that is smartly shaded and shrewdly based upon the smoldering perspectives of a love triangle.
Unfortunately, even a movie tenderfoot will find the narrative trail littered with way too many signposts, both in the screenwriting and in the directorial aesthetics. Indeed, camera movement is over-obvious in tipping events, as are the actions of the cadre of stereotypical characters that populate this formulaic outing.
As the bollixed billionaire, Hopkins flashes his role repertoire of skills, but his performance unfortunately seems more a showy dissertation of his acting mannerisms -- fastidiousness, aloofness, steeliness -- that we've seen him flex with far greater economy and substance before. Admittedly, Mamet's shallow characterizations contribute to the surface quality of this dramaturgy, which is so woefully pedestrian that it renders Macpherson unconvincing as a supermodel. Baldwin, however, is wonderful as a callow, self-absorbed and cowardly photographer.
Technically, "The Edge" is first-rate, including the marvelously shrouded cinematography of Donald McAlpine and composer Jerry Goldsmith's chilly and majestic score. Other technical contributions are a mixed bag, including Julie Weiss' costumery. At one point, after skinning the bear, Hopkins and Baldwin concoct bearskin garb that is so pristinely trendy that one suspects they ordered it direct from the Sundance catalog. In the same vein, the animatronic fatso that hungers for Hopkins and Baldwin is to bears what Chris Farley is to marathon runners.
THE EDGE
20th Century Fox
Producer Art Linson
Director Lee Tamahori
Screenwriter David Mamet
Executive producer Lloyd Phillips
Diretor of photography Donald McAlpine
Production designer Wolf Kroeger
Editor: Neil Travis
Costume designer Julie Weiss
Music Jerry Goldsmith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Charles Morse Anthony Hopkins
Robert Green Alec Baldwin
Mickey Elle Macpherson
Stephen Harold Perrineau
Styles L.Q. Jones
Running time -- 121 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Considered a departure for crime novelist Elmore Leonard when the book was released in 1987, "Touch", a biting satire about a modern-day healer, reaches out to the big screen this weekend thanks to the writing and directing efforts of Paul Schrader.
Something of an off-kilter "A Face in the Crowd", the well-cast picture certainly has its intermittently entertaining moments. However, it's essentially one meandering quirk-a-thon -- a character-driven vehicle that could use a boost in the drive department.
MGM would like to hope it has another "Get Shorty" on its hands, but it would truly take a miracle for "Touch" to do more than marginal business.
Skeet Ulrich, an on-the-fast-track young actor ("Scream", "Albino Alligator") poised to become the next Johnny Depp, is the would-be saint in question, Juvenal. Abandoning his life as a Franciscan monk in the jungles of Brazil in favor of counseling alcoholics at a Los Angeles rehab center, Juvenal has something of a quiet knack for healing, including restoring outpatient Virginia Worrel's (Conchata Ferrell) long lost eyesight.
His relative obscurity is about to come to an end courtesy of Bill Hill (the always dependable Christopher Walken), a slick wheeler-dealer and evangelist-turned-RV salesman who sees dollar signs dangling over Juvenal's stigmatized hands. Hill dispatches the spirited Lynn Faulkner (Bridget Fonda), a former baton twirler at his church now working as a record promoter, to check out his prospect.
Meanwhile, as Hill starts organizing the big media blitz, there's someone else who's eying Juvenal's saintly talents. August Murray (Tom Arnold), a religious zealot and leader of the fanatical Outrage group, views "The Miracle Worker of the Amazon" as just the ticket to turn his small but loyal band of ultraconservatives into a national movement. And he's less than thrilled that Juvenal and the comely Faulkner are becoming an item.
The picture boasts an Altman-sized cast also featuring Janeane Garofalo as a no-nonsense reporter; Gina Gershon as an obnoxious talk-show host; Lolita Davidovich as the topless-dancer mother of one of Juvenal's "healed" -- a young boy diagnosed with terminal cancer; and Paul Mazursky as Lynn's record-producing boss who needs to be convinced about signing Juvenal to a recording deal complete with Gregorian chants ("The Pope sold 2.5 million -- but he toured!").
All do fine work, but Schrader's talky production simply trots them out to do their thing without providing any real forward momentum.
Style-wise, "Touch" is right on the money courtesy of Ed Lachman's ("Desperately Seeking Susan") energetic cinematography, David Wasco's ("Pulp Fiction") "Pulp Fiction"-esque production design, Julie Weiss' ("12 Monkeys") retro modern costume design and a smart, humorous debut score by former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighter Dave Grohl.
TOUCH
MGM
United Artists
A Lumiere International presentation
A Lila Cazes production
A film by Paul Schrader
Director-screenwriter Paul Schrader
Producers Lila Cazes, Fida Attieh
Based on novel by Elmore Leonard
Director of photography Ed Lachman
Production designer David Wasco
Editor Carla Silverman
Costume designer Julie Weiss
Music David Grohl
Color/stereo
Cast:
Juvenal Skeet Ulrich
Lynn Bridget Fonda
Bill Hill Christopher Walken
August Murray Tom Arnold
Debra Lusanne Gina Gershon
Antoinette Lolita Davidovich
Artie Paul Mazursky
Kathy Worthington Janeane Garofalo
Running time -- 97 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Something of an off-kilter "A Face in the Crowd", the well-cast picture certainly has its intermittently entertaining moments. However, it's essentially one meandering quirk-a-thon -- a character-driven vehicle that could use a boost in the drive department.
MGM would like to hope it has another "Get Shorty" on its hands, but it would truly take a miracle for "Touch" to do more than marginal business.
Skeet Ulrich, an on-the-fast-track young actor ("Scream", "Albino Alligator") poised to become the next Johnny Depp, is the would-be saint in question, Juvenal. Abandoning his life as a Franciscan monk in the jungles of Brazil in favor of counseling alcoholics at a Los Angeles rehab center, Juvenal has something of a quiet knack for healing, including restoring outpatient Virginia Worrel's (Conchata Ferrell) long lost eyesight.
His relative obscurity is about to come to an end courtesy of Bill Hill (the always dependable Christopher Walken), a slick wheeler-dealer and evangelist-turned-RV salesman who sees dollar signs dangling over Juvenal's stigmatized hands. Hill dispatches the spirited Lynn Faulkner (Bridget Fonda), a former baton twirler at his church now working as a record promoter, to check out his prospect.
Meanwhile, as Hill starts organizing the big media blitz, there's someone else who's eying Juvenal's saintly talents. August Murray (Tom Arnold), a religious zealot and leader of the fanatical Outrage group, views "The Miracle Worker of the Amazon" as just the ticket to turn his small but loyal band of ultraconservatives into a national movement. And he's less than thrilled that Juvenal and the comely Faulkner are becoming an item.
The picture boasts an Altman-sized cast also featuring Janeane Garofalo as a no-nonsense reporter; Gina Gershon as an obnoxious talk-show host; Lolita Davidovich as the topless-dancer mother of one of Juvenal's "healed" -- a young boy diagnosed with terminal cancer; and Paul Mazursky as Lynn's record-producing boss who needs to be convinced about signing Juvenal to a recording deal complete with Gregorian chants ("The Pope sold 2.5 million -- but he toured!").
All do fine work, but Schrader's talky production simply trots them out to do their thing without providing any real forward momentum.
Style-wise, "Touch" is right on the money courtesy of Ed Lachman's ("Desperately Seeking Susan") energetic cinematography, David Wasco's ("Pulp Fiction") "Pulp Fiction"-esque production design, Julie Weiss' ("12 Monkeys") retro modern costume design and a smart, humorous debut score by former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighter Dave Grohl.
TOUCH
MGM
United Artists
A Lumiere International presentation
A Lila Cazes production
A film by Paul Schrader
Director-screenwriter Paul Schrader
Producers Lila Cazes, Fida Attieh
Based on novel by Elmore Leonard
Director of photography Ed Lachman
Production designer David Wasco
Editor Carla Silverman
Costume designer Julie Weiss
Music David Grohl
Color/stereo
Cast:
Juvenal Skeet Ulrich
Lynn Bridget Fonda
Bill Hill Christopher Walken
August Murray Tom Arnold
Debra Lusanne Gina Gershon
Antoinette Lolita Davidovich
Artie Paul Mazursky
Kathy Worthington Janeane Garofalo
Running time -- 97 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/10/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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