Michael Beach was in his late twenties and primed for a breakout performance when he landed the role of Pluto in Carl Franklin's "One False Move." This was not supposed to be that performance. It was a low-budget crime flick from a couple of unknown screenwriters named Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson that was intended to go straight to video. But when L.A. Weekly journo Anne Thompson caught an early screening, she spread the word to her critic colleagues. Once the Los Angeles Times' Sheila Benson and the Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert began raving about the film, the distributor, I.R.S. Releasing, opted for a small theatrical release. The movie wound up on multiple year-end top 10 lists and earned five Independent Spirit Award nominations (with Franklin beating out newcomer Quentin Tarantino for Best Director).
Strangely, only Cynda Williams managed to score an acting nomination for her portrayal of a...
Strangely, only Cynda Williams managed to score an acting nomination for her portrayal of a...
- 8/7/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
31 years after its initial theatrical release, Carl Franklin still can't believe "One False Move" happened.
The actor-turned-director took a crackerjack screenplay by a pair of struggling writers named Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, and turned what was supposed to be a direct-to-video thriller featuring a couple of familiar faces (Bill Paxton and Cynda Williams) into a buzzy critical darling. After a brief theatrical run, the film earned five Independent Spirit Award nominations, with Franklin taking home the trophy for Best Director.
Despite this acclaim, "One False Move" has remained an under-the-radar cult favorite amongst neo-noir fans, perhaps because it lacks the Coen Brothers' archness or the overripe sensuality of Lawrence Kasdan's "Body Heat." It's a quietly surprising, yet plenty violent thriller about a trio of criminals who, after committing a string of vicious murders, flee Los Angeles for a backwater Arkansas town run by police chief Dale "Hurricane...
The actor-turned-director took a crackerjack screenplay by a pair of struggling writers named Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, and turned what was supposed to be a direct-to-video thriller featuring a couple of familiar faces (Bill Paxton and Cynda Williams) into a buzzy critical darling. After a brief theatrical run, the film earned five Independent Spirit Award nominations, with Franklin taking home the trophy for Best Director.
Despite this acclaim, "One False Move" has remained an under-the-radar cult favorite amongst neo-noir fans, perhaps because it lacks the Coen Brothers' archness or the overripe sensuality of Lawrence Kasdan's "Body Heat." It's a quietly surprising, yet plenty violent thriller about a trio of criminals who, after committing a string of vicious murders, flee Los Angeles for a backwater Arkansas town run by police chief Dale "Hurricane...
- 7/31/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The racism in Carl Franklin’s One False Move suggests a festering pool of standing water just waiting to be disturbed. Dale Dixon (Bill Paxton), the police chief of Star City, Arkansas, casually utters the n-word while having a peaceful meal with his colleagues, one of whom is Black. Lila Walker (Cynda Williams), the mixed-race outlaw trying to avoid capture in order to see her son again, understands American inequality all too well: “Looking guilty is being guilty, for Black people,” she tells her brother. Having recently shot a white Texas state trooper in the head at point blank range, the irony of her statement is hard to miss. But that doesn’t mean she’s wrong.
Released days after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, One False Move offers a particularly prescient reflection of regional division and segregation. It sees violence as the common denominator between blue and red states, a...
Released days after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, One False Move offers a particularly prescient reflection of regional division and segregation. It sees violence as the common denominator between blue and red states, a...
- 7/18/2023
- by Glenn Heath Jr.
- Slant Magazine
In 2021, Wesley Snipes used an Esquire "What I've Learned" column to make a fascinating confession: "I've got to learn how to be a movie star."
Snipes was 58 at the time of the article's publication, and enjoying a career renaissance due to his portrayal of actor-director D'Urville Martin in Craig Brewster's uproarious "Dolemite Is My Name." Though he'd officially made his comeback as an aging gang leader in Spike Lee's "Chi-Raq" four years prior, Martin was the perfect vehicle through which Snipes could examine the frustration of an ambitious artist shunted from A-list roles to low-aiming exploitation flicks.
Snipes' Martin is a bitter, alcoholic filmmaker trying, and failing miserably, to make nightclub comic Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) look like a Blaxploitation action star on par with Richard Roundtree. Martin is a defeated man, and it's hard not to sense Snipes reckoning with the sun setting on his own action-hero stardom.
Snipes was 58 at the time of the article's publication, and enjoying a career renaissance due to his portrayal of actor-director D'Urville Martin in Craig Brewster's uproarious "Dolemite Is My Name." Though he'd officially made his comeback as an aging gang leader in Spike Lee's "Chi-Raq" four years prior, Martin was the perfect vehicle through which Snipes could examine the frustration of an ambitious artist shunted from A-list roles to low-aiming exploitation flicks.
Snipes' Martin is a bitter, alcoholic filmmaker trying, and failing miserably, to make nightclub comic Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) look like a Blaxploitation action star on par with Richard Roundtree. Martin is a defeated man, and it's hard not to sense Snipes reckoning with the sun setting on his own action-hero stardom.
- 5/1/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
After bouncing about in a couple of good Blu-ray editions, Carl Franklin’s superior film adaptation of the great Walter Mosley novel makes the jump to 4K. Denzel Washington’s star quality and acting prowess shine in the smart production, with Tak Fujimoto cinematography that put the color back into ’90s filmmaking. There’s plenty to enjoy in this hard/soft-boiled tale, starting with the great music. Everybody’s good and Don Cheadle’s loose-cannon henchman ‘Mouse’ is terrific. It’s one of Washington’s best pictures, and should have initiated an entire franchise of Walter Mosley / Easy Rawlins detective adventures.
Devil in a Blue Dress 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1135
1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 19, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Lisa Nicole Carson, Albert Hall, Mel Winkler.
Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Film...
Devil in a Blue Dress 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1135
1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 19, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Lisa Nicole Carson, Albert Hall, Mel Winkler.
Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Film...
- 7/23/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Before A Simple Plan, there was One False Move – a neo noir that was underrated from its very inception. Relegated to the direct-to-video market, it secured a theatrical run through glowing word of mouth, especially that of Gene Siskel, who named it his best film of 1992. A city-by-city release followed, earning Carl Franklin’s film a modest box office of $1.5 million. But like most entries in my retrospective series, One False Move was to be a footnote, neglected and forgotten, with a meagre 9806 votes on IMDb as testament. Happily, this unsung status causes One False Move to be a most satisfying discovery, for it is a film of vicious force and emotional depth that has no flaw worth mentioning.
It begins in a whirlwind of violence as criminal trio Ray (Billy Bob Thornton), Pluto (Michael Beach) and Fantasia (Cynda Williams) burst into a Los Angeles home, looking for a trove of cash and cocaine.
It begins in a whirlwind of violence as criminal trio Ray (Billy Bob Thornton), Pluto (Michael Beach) and Fantasia (Cynda Williams) burst into a Los Angeles home, looking for a trove of cash and cocaine.
- 1/14/2021
- by Jack Hawkins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show on Wssr-fm on October 16th, 2020, reviewing a new Netflix Halloween release, “Our House,” plus a preview of the produced-in-Chicago film “The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater.”
Rating: 3.5/5.0
”His House” involves a from-Africa couple (Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku) who escape from the war torn South Sudan, and is put up as refugees in public housing in London. They have bought their demons with them, however, and it starts to attack them – horror film style – from their tenement housing. Yes, this is a symbolic film, but it’s also pretty creepy, as many images of voodoo and witchery are no doubt rooted in the mystery of Africa.
“His House” is on Netflix beginning October 30th. Featuring Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Javier Botet and Matt Smith. Written by Felicity Evans, Toby Venables and Remi Weekes. Directed by Remi Weekes. Rated “TV-...
Rating: 3.5/5.0
”His House” involves a from-Africa couple (Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku) who escape from the war torn South Sudan, and is put up as refugees in public housing in London. They have bought their demons with them, however, and it starts to attack them – horror film style – from their tenement housing. Yes, this is a symbolic film, but it’s also pretty creepy, as many images of voodoo and witchery are no doubt rooted in the mystery of Africa.
“His House” is on Netflix beginning October 30th. Featuring Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Javier Botet and Matt Smith. Written by Felicity Evans, Toby Venables and Remi Weekes. Directed by Remi Weekes. Rated “TV-...
- 10/31/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – The culmination of years in sweat and other equity on an independent feature film – slyly entitled “The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater” – has paid off for writer and lead actor Lorrisa Julianus and her husband/director Craig “C.J.” Julianus. The movie will make its debut and will be available for rental or purchase on Amazon Prime Video beginning Friday, October 30th, 2020.
The combination comedy, action and romance film … with a dominatrix character thrown in … is from the mind of Lorrisa Julianus, in a story she developed for over five years. She also portrays that dominatrix named Ava, who hates the nickname expressed in the title. Ava is really an Art History PhD candidate, who longs for the big find so she can finish her thesis. Enter Radovan (Mickey O’Sullivan), a Serbian expatriate who is also an Episcopalian priest. When Ava finds out that a mob loan is due, Radovan...
The combination comedy, action and romance film … with a dominatrix character thrown in … is from the mind of Lorrisa Julianus, in a story she developed for over five years. She also portrays that dominatrix named Ava, who hates the nickname expressed in the title. Ava is really an Art History PhD candidate, who longs for the big find so she can finish her thesis. Enter Radovan (Mickey O’Sullivan), a Serbian expatriate who is also an Episcopalian priest. When Ava finds out that a mob loan is due, Radovan...
- 10/29/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Spike Lee made his fourth film, “Mo’ Better Blues,” just over 30 years ago. Although less recognized than other titles in his oeuvre (“Do the Right Thing” was released in 1989), it was an evocative take on moody jazz films, minus the darkness and despair, and it proved an intriguing contrast to Lee’s more provocative titles.
Denzel Washington stars as dedicated trumpeter Bleek Gilliam, whose emotional immaturity eventually gets him into career-ending trouble. Gilliam headlines a jazz quintet at a popular New York City club. The band is thriving, and Gilliam has his choice of lovers. Problems arise when he is forced to make decisions concerning his best friend and manager Giant (Spike Lee), and his affairs with two women, schoolteacher Indigo (Joie Lee) and aspiring singer Clarke (Cynda Williams).
It was the first collaboration between Washington and Lee, launching a multi-decade actor-director relationship. Washington gives a typically charismatic performance, as...
Denzel Washington stars as dedicated trumpeter Bleek Gilliam, whose emotional immaturity eventually gets him into career-ending trouble. Gilliam headlines a jazz quintet at a popular New York City club. The band is thriving, and Gilliam has his choice of lovers. Problems arise when he is forced to make decisions concerning his best friend and manager Giant (Spike Lee), and his affairs with two women, schoolteacher Indigo (Joie Lee) and aspiring singer Clarke (Cynda Williams).
It was the first collaboration between Washington and Lee, launching a multi-decade actor-director relationship. Washington gives a typically charismatic performance, as...
- 9/24/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Imagine, for a moment, a world in which Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie were still together—because the actor, 62, just reflected on his marriage to the Maleficent II actress, 43, as part of an interview for the HFPA in Conversation podcast. "I look at that time as a great time," he said. "Angie is still a friend of mine and she's a great person and she's done so much." In spite of their 20-year age difference, Thornton and Jolie fell in love on the set of the 1999 dramedy Pushing Tin; Jolie became his fifth wife, after Melissa Lee Gatlin (1978-1980), Toni Lawrence (1986-1988), Cynda Williams (1990-1992) and Pietra Dawn Cherniak (1993-1997). Thornton, who was married to Jolie...
- 6/14/2018
- E! Online
Over a year ago, I did an interview with Chicago-based filmmaker Christopher Nolen (as I said back then, not to be confused with that other Christopher Nolan with an "a'), which you can read here. Nolen is in a different market altogether, making his own independently-financed feature films entirely in Chicago, with familiar name actors, being quite successful it at too. He's a great example of the many independent black filmmakers who struggle and still succeed in making their films totally outside the Hollywood studio system. Last year, he released his fifth feature film, "72 Hours," starring Harry Lennix, Cynda Williams ("Mo’ Better Blues," "One False...
- 10/7/2015
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Previous | Image 1 of 25 | NextBai Ling of ‘The Crow.’
Chicago – The Hollywood Show is back, and all your favorite TV and movie stars are available to meet, take pictures with and get autographs. The 2015 Chicago edition is May 1 through 3, with Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd the celebrity appearance days. HollywoodChicago.com was there for the 2014 Show, and captured some Exclusive Portraits of the type of celebrities the Hollywood Show brings directly to the fans.
Scheduled to appear at the 2014 Hollywood Show include the dynamic duo from the 1966 Batman TV show, Adam West and Burt Ward (Saturday only); Henry “Fonzie” Winkler (Saturday), “Chips” stars Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada; Louise Fletcher from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”; Linda Blair from “The Exorcist”; secondary cast members from the popular film “A League of Their Own”; and for the first time some legendary sports celebrities like Bobby Hull (Chicago Black...
Chicago – The Hollywood Show is back, and all your favorite TV and movie stars are available to meet, take pictures with and get autographs. The 2015 Chicago edition is May 1 through 3, with Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd the celebrity appearance days. HollywoodChicago.com was there for the 2014 Show, and captured some Exclusive Portraits of the type of celebrities the Hollywood Show brings directly to the fans.
Scheduled to appear at the 2014 Hollywood Show include the dynamic duo from the 1966 Batman TV show, Adam West and Burt Ward (Saturday only); Henry “Fonzie” Winkler (Saturday), “Chips” stars Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada; Louise Fletcher from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”; Linda Blair from “The Exorcist”; secondary cast members from the popular film “A League of Their Own”; and for the first time some legendary sports celebrities like Bobby Hull (Chicago Black...
- 5/1/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Back in June, I did an interview with up and coming Chicago based filmmaker Christopher Nolen (Here), which proved that you don’t have to be in N.Y. or L.A. to achieve your filmmaking dreams. His latest project, which he discussed in the interview, "72 Hours," with an ensemble cast featuring Harry Lennix, Timon Kyle Durrett, Erica Hubbard, Terri J. Vaughn, Cynda Williams, Brian Hooks, Chyna Layne, Brely Evans, Tangi Miller, and Thea Camara and is set to be released later this year. The first official trailer for the film was released yesterday and is embedded below. The film deals with a reformed womanizer (Durrett) living the good life with a...
- 8/26/2014
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Of course he's not to be confused with Christopher Nolan of Dark Knight and Inception fame; he's Christopher Nolen (with an "e"), a Chicago born and based independent filmmaker who proves the point that it doesn’t matter where you live, it’s your ambition that matters the most.Nolen, a graduate from University of Illinois with a Masters in Electrical Engineering, started out as an actor before switching over to write and direct his own feature films, such as The Good Life and Four Seasons. This month he starts work on his fifth picture titled 72 Hours, starring Harry Lennix, Cynda Williams (Mo’ Better Blues, One False Move), Erica Hubbard, Terri J. Vaughn and Timon Kyle...
- 6/2/2014
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Billy Bob Thornton has ruled out marrying for a sixth time as he doesn't want to jinx his current relationship by exchanging vows.
The Monster's Ball star has been romantically involved with make-up artist Connie Angland for almost 10 years, but unlike his last ex-wife Angelina Jolie, who is engaged to marry Brad Pitt, the actor doesn't want to walk down the aisle again.
He tells CNN newsman Piers Morgan, "I told her, 'Look, when you think of it this way, this is my longest relationship and we're not married.' So it's not real hard to figure out!
"Plus, you know, if you do that then the press would get into that, and call her number six or something like that and that's not fun. We're doing just fine the way we are and we have a beautiful seven-year-old daughter. It's all fine so let's leave well enough alone, you know?"
Thornton has five failed marriages behind him, including unions with Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak and actresses Toni Lawrence and Cynda Williams.
The Monster's Ball star has been romantically involved with make-up artist Connie Angland for almost 10 years, but unlike his last ex-wife Angelina Jolie, who is engaged to marry Brad Pitt, the actor doesn't want to walk down the aisle again.
He tells CNN newsman Piers Morgan, "I told her, 'Look, when you think of it this way, this is my longest relationship and we're not married.' So it's not real hard to figure out!
"Plus, you know, if you do that then the press would get into that, and call her number six or something like that and that's not fun. We're doing just fine the way we are and we have a beautiful seven-year-old daughter. It's all fine so let's leave well enough alone, you know?"
Thornton has five failed marriages behind him, including unions with Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak and actresses Toni Lawrence and Cynda Williams.
- 5/17/2012
- WENN
Billy Bob Thornton prefers "slow" sex.
The "Faster" actor - who has been married five times, and whose wives have included Angelina Jolie and Cynda Williams and Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak - claims that fast-paced modern society has even extended to the bedroom and complains he finds "quickies" unsatisfying.
He said, "Quickies are overrated. Sex is always better when it's done slowly."
Though Billy Bob, 55, plays a policeman with drug problems in his latest movie "Faster", he insists he no longer uses illegal substances himself because he is so terrified of the repercussions.
He told the German editon of Playboy magazine, "I don't even smoke pot. I get palpitations if I smoke a joint and I start imagining the FBI is after me. I haven't touched drugs for 30 years now."
The actor also has an aversion to modern technology, claiming he doesn't own a cell phone and has no...
The "Faster" actor - who has been married five times, and whose wives have included Angelina Jolie and Cynda Williams and Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak - claims that fast-paced modern society has even extended to the bedroom and complains he finds "quickies" unsatisfying.
He said, "Quickies are overrated. Sex is always better when it's done slowly."
Though Billy Bob, 55, plays a policeman with drug problems in his latest movie "Faster", he insists he no longer uses illegal substances himself because he is so terrified of the repercussions.
He told the German editon of Playboy magazine, "I don't even smoke pot. I get palpitations if I smoke a joint and I start imagining the FBI is after me. I haven't touched drugs for 30 years now."
The actor also has an aversion to modern technology, claiming he doesn't own a cell phone and has no...
- 4/23/2011
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
Slow news day today… stumbled upon this post from 2009, back when the site had about 10 readers . Thought I’d repost since there are so many more of you regulars now, who probably haven’t seen it.
I do that from time to time, as some of you may have already noticed. But anyway, here ya go…
My good man, self-proclaimed cinephile, aesthete, dad, unrepentant liberal, resolute agnostic, English teacher, filmmaker-manqué, and once co-host of the previous incarnation of my podcast, The Obenson Report, the Genius Bastard himself, Mr Brandon Wilson, decided to utilize Twitter to count down his list of Spike Lee’s 10 Worst Female Characters. And since Twitter only allows a 140-character limit per post, he had to keep his analysis succinct, spread out over several Tweets.
I told Brandon that I’ll post each entry on his list, as he Tweets them, and combined them all in this post.
I do that from time to time, as some of you may have already noticed. But anyway, here ya go…
My good man, self-proclaimed cinephile, aesthete, dad, unrepentant liberal, resolute agnostic, English teacher, filmmaker-manqué, and once co-host of the previous incarnation of my podcast, The Obenson Report, the Genius Bastard himself, Mr Brandon Wilson, decided to utilize Twitter to count down his list of Spike Lee’s 10 Worst Female Characters. And since Twitter only allows a 140-character limit per post, he had to keep his analysis succinct, spread out over several Tweets.
I told Brandon that I’ll post each entry on his list, as he Tweets them, and combined them all in this post.
- 4/1/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
In a change of pace (and indeed everything else) from the previous week’s Video Vault entries, I wanted to discuss a film I first watched later on in my teenage years, where my appreciation of a broader and diverse range of cinema was forming, and I was able to balance that with my interests in other, more obvious genres.
The film in question is 1992’s modern noir, One False Move. Written by and co-starring the then virtually unknown Billy Bob Thornton, it’s a quietly intense and absorbing character study, starring 80’s favourite Bill Paxton in the lead. The film failed to find much of an audience on its initial Us cinema release (more on this below) but it’s gained much praise since then, and deservedly so.
Paxton plays Sheriff Dale “Hurricane” Dixon in small town Star City, Arkansas. A well-respected and loved family man, he finds himself...
The film in question is 1992’s modern noir, One False Move. Written by and co-starring the then virtually unknown Billy Bob Thornton, it’s a quietly intense and absorbing character study, starring 80’s favourite Bill Paxton in the lead. The film failed to find much of an audience on its initial Us cinema release (more on this below) but it’s gained much praise since then, and deservedly so.
Paxton plays Sheriff Dale “Hurricane” Dixon in small town Star City, Arkansas. A well-respected and loved family man, he finds himself...
- 8/29/2010
- by Adam Lowes
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
By Neil Pedley
There's plenty to be pleased about this week as we get to spend time with both current and future presidents as part of an Ellen Burstyn double bill. There's also -- whisper it -- a movie based on a video game that might actually be worth seeing. Not to mention enough titular wordplay to make Richard Lederer's head spin. It's all just pun and games though, right?
"The Elephant King"
Built on the old adage that getting lost is the best way to find oneself, Seth Grossman's debut feature follows the travels of Oliver (Tate Ellington), a suicidal writer who's dispatched by Ellen Burstyn's frantic matriarch to the seedy bar scene of Thailand to bring back his brother Jake (Jonno Roberts) to face his considerable debts in the U.S. Once abroad, Oliver finds that he may be at odds with his brother, but...
There's plenty to be pleased about this week as we get to spend time with both current and future presidents as part of an Ellen Burstyn double bill. There's also -- whisper it -- a movie based on a video game that might actually be worth seeing. Not to mention enough titular wordplay to make Richard Lederer's head spin. It's all just pun and games though, right?
"The Elephant King"
Built on the old adage that getting lost is the best way to find oneself, Seth Grossman's debut feature follows the travels of Oliver (Tate Ellington), a suicidal writer who's dispatched by Ellen Burstyn's frantic matriarch to the seedy bar scene of Thailand to bring back his brother Jake (Jonno Roberts) to face his considerable debts in the U.S. Once abroad, Oliver finds that he may be at odds with his brother, but...
- 10/13/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
New York -- Here! Films has acquired North American rights to Outfest's closing-night film, "Tru Loved."
Stewart Wade's romantic comedy stars Najarra Townsend as Tru, a new high school student with gay mothers who is mistakenly presumed to be lesbian. A date with the school's closeted quarterback and her quest to form a gay-straight alliance organization further complicates her new life in a conservative town.
Bruce Vilanch, Nichelle Nichols, Jasmine Guy, Alexandra Paul ("Baywatch"), Cynda Williams, Jane Lynch, Jake Abel ("The Lovely Bones"), Alec Mapa ("Ugly Betty") and Matthew Thompson ("Drake and Josh") round out the cast.
The film's producer, Brown Bag Productions' Antonio Brown, formed alliances with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network; and other groups to spread word of mouth about the project.
"Loved" played at the L.A.-based film fest Monday. It will be released by Here! sister company Regent Releasing in select U.S. theaters this fall.
Stewart Wade's romantic comedy stars Najarra Townsend as Tru, a new high school student with gay mothers who is mistakenly presumed to be lesbian. A date with the school's closeted quarterback and her quest to form a gay-straight alliance organization further complicates her new life in a conservative town.
Bruce Vilanch, Nichelle Nichols, Jasmine Guy, Alexandra Paul ("Baywatch"), Cynda Williams, Jane Lynch, Jake Abel ("The Lovely Bones"), Alec Mapa ("Ugly Betty") and Matthew Thompson ("Drake and Josh") round out the cast.
The film's producer, Brown Bag Productions' Antonio Brown, formed alliances with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network; and other groups to spread word of mouth about the project.
"Loved" played at the L.A.-based film fest Monday. It will be released by Here! sister company Regent Releasing in select U.S. theaters this fall.
- 7/22/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Billy Bob Thornton has vowed never to wed again, after five failed attempts at marriage.
The 52-year-old actor has been dating Connie Angland - the mother of his three-year-old daughter Bella - for four years.
But, after divorcing wife number five, Angelina Jolie, in 2003, Thornton has sworn off marriage for life.
He tells Maxim magazine, "I told Connie I didn't want to put her through that. We do fine.
"We've been together for four years now. We have a child together. If we get married, then the press will start calling her 'number six'."
Before Jolie, Thornton was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams and Pietra Dawn Cherniak.
The 52-year-old actor has been dating Connie Angland - the mother of his three-year-old daughter Bella - for four years.
But, after divorcing wife number five, Angelina Jolie, in 2003, Thornton has sworn off marriage for life.
He tells Maxim magazine, "I told Connie I didn't want to put her through that. We do fine.
"We've been together for four years now. We have a child together. If we get married, then the press will start calling her 'number six'."
Before Jolie, Thornton was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams and Pietra Dawn Cherniak.
- 7/22/2008
- WENN
NEW YORK -- The 40-Year-Old-Virgin co-star Jane Lynch and comedy writer Bruce Vilanch have joined the ensemble cast of the gay-themed coming-of-age indie Tru Loved.
The film centers on Tru (Najarra Townsend), the straight daughter of a lesbian couple (Alexandra Paul, Cynda Williams) who faces challenges when her family moves from San Francisco to a conservative Southern California suburb. Openly lesbian actress Lynch will play Ms. Maple, one of Tru's teachers and the girlfriend of Tru's favorite teacher (Alec Mapa). Openly gay comedian Vilanch will play Daniel, the adopted father of Tru's love interest (Jake Abel).
Jasmine Guy, Matthew Thompson, Marcia Wallace (The Simpsons) and Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek) round out the cast of writer-director Stewart Wade's comedy-drama. The film is produced by Wade, Antonio Brown and David Avallone. Principal photography began this month and wraps Aug. 2.
Lynch's credits include Best in Show, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Rocker. Vilanch, the subject of documentary Get Bruce, starred on Broadway in Hairspray.
Wade recently wrote and directed Film and Music Entertainment's gay-themed Coffee Date, starring Wilson Cruz, Jonathan Silverman, Sally Kirkland and Deborah Gibson.
The film centers on Tru (Najarra Townsend), the straight daughter of a lesbian couple (Alexandra Paul, Cynda Williams) who faces challenges when her family moves from San Francisco to a conservative Southern California suburb. Openly lesbian actress Lynch will play Ms. Maple, one of Tru's teachers and the girlfriend of Tru's favorite teacher (Alec Mapa). Openly gay comedian Vilanch will play Daniel, the adopted father of Tru's love interest (Jake Abel).
Jasmine Guy, Matthew Thompson, Marcia Wallace (The Simpsons) and Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek) round out the cast of writer-director Stewart Wade's comedy-drama. The film is produced by Wade, Antonio Brown and David Avallone. Principal photography began this month and wraps Aug. 2.
Lynch's credits include Best in Show, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Rocker. Vilanch, the subject of documentary Get Bruce, starred on Broadway in Hairspray.
Wade recently wrote and directed Film and Music Entertainment's gay-themed Coffee Date, starring Wilson Cruz, Jonathan Silverman, Sally Kirkland and Deborah Gibson.
- 7/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Lesley Ann Warren is teaming with an ensemble cast that includes Jack Klugman, Michael Lerner, Shiri Appleby and Mili Avital for Twin Falls Idaho producer Steven J. Wolfe's indie feature When Do We Eat. Eat revolves around a Passover seder at which the family patriarch is slipped a dose of Ecstasy by one of his kids, "igniting conflict and chaos on the way to healing and redemption," the filmmakers said. The comedy -- by helmer Salvador Litvak -- also features Ben Feldman, Max Greenfield, Adam Lamberg, Meredith Scott Lynn and Cynda Williams. Nina Davidovich Litvak penned the screenplay. Amy Salko Robertson is serving as co-producer. Said Wolfe: "The fun of this film was putting together the perfect dysfunctional family. When you combine such well-respected actors as Michael Lerner, Lesley Ann Warren and the legendary Jack Klugman with such an unbelievably gifted ensemble, the humor and comic timing on the set each day makes it hard to feel like you're really at work." The film is shooting in Los Angeles. Warren is repped by Innovative Artists and Acronym Entertainment.
- 12/23/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"MacArthur Park" is a clear-eyed, unsentimental look at the crack subculture at its lowest level. The story takes place in Los Angeles' once elegant MacArthur Park, now notorious for being home to addicts, hookers, homeless and violent gangbangers. The movie penetrates this community to put human faces on the excruciating sickness that is drug addiction.
But as a "drug procedural," the film adds little to other movie portraits of addiction ranging from "Panic in Nedle Park" to "Less Than Zero" and "Requiem for a Dream". As uncompromising as it is uncommercial, "MacArthur Park" will have a tough time finding audiences willing to immerse themselves in human misery in hopes of better understanding how drugs imprison te human spirit.
The story behind this movie is, in a sense, more compelling than the one the movie tells. Actor Billy Wirth, who here makes his feature directing debut, was making a documentary on homelessness when he ran into the girlfriend of Tyrone Atins, a crack addict with a 300-page manuscript he wrote while in jail about his life in MacArthur Park.
This became the basis for the movie's script, which Wirth and others rewrote. Then, a week before production began, Atkins reunited with his son for te first time in 12 years.
The film's backbone contains a similar father-son story. Cody Thomas Jefferson Byrd, who manages to suggest quiet authority even in his destitution) is an aging addict whom other junkies look up to. The former musician talks abut quitting the life and even makes plans with P-air (rap musician Bad Azz) to get him into a studio to record his rap songs.
But nothing much comes of such talk until a surprise appearance by the son (Brandon Adams) Cody abandoned along with his mother ive years before. Learning his wife has died is a splash in his face of bitter reality.
But Cody's daily routine doesn't immediately change. Through him, the movie gives glimpses into the hapless lives of his friends -- his girlfriend (Cynda Williams), te park pimp (Sticky Fingaz), the group's mother hen (Ellen Cleghorne), a con artist and dealer (Carlton Wilborn) and a naive young woman (Sydney Tamia Poitier) attracted to the park's seediness -- as well as a coked-up TV star (Balthazar Getty) who comes y in a white limo to score drugs.
Things apparently have to get much worse than they already are for Cody to abandon his "pipe dreams." And so they do, with a police raid, brutal beatings, several senseless killings and mixtures of coke and booze almost ethal in themselves.
Other than the occasional "outsider" such as Cody's son and a young woman who kicked her habit, the movie is essentially filled with delusional characters. No one possesses any rational sense of the urgency of his condition or the dagers of his everyday life.
The actors are extremely good at conveying this odd sort of naivete with honesty and even a kind of wit. Kristian Bernier's nervous camera and music by Stephen Perkins and SKY that flips between hip-hop and jazz nicely underscoe the restless and dire nature of the addicts' lives.
The movie does end on a note of redemption. But even that note feels tentative.
MACARTHUR PARK
Worthwhile Prods. in association with
Northshire Entertainment Group
Producers: Billy Wirth, Maricel Paglayan
Director: Billy Wirth
Writers: Tyrone Atkins, Aaron Courseault, Sheri Sussman, Billy Wirth
Executive producers: Beata Rosenbaum, Stephen Drunsic, Robi Reed-Humes, Alan Harris
Director of photography: Kristian Bernier
Production designer: Cliff Spencr
Music: Stephen Perkins, SKY
Costume designer: Robin Newland
Editor: Terri Breed
Color/stereo
Cast:
Cody: Thomas Jefferson Byrd
Terry: Brandon Adams
P-air: Bad Azz
Alicia: Cynda Williams
E-Max: Sticky Fingaz
Hoover Blue: Ellen Cleghorne
St. Louis: Carltn Wilborn
Steve: Balthazar Getty
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
But as a "drug procedural," the film adds little to other movie portraits of addiction ranging from "Panic in Nedle Park" to "Less Than Zero" and "Requiem for a Dream". As uncompromising as it is uncommercial, "MacArthur Park" will have a tough time finding audiences willing to immerse themselves in human misery in hopes of better understanding how drugs imprison te human spirit.
The story behind this movie is, in a sense, more compelling than the one the movie tells. Actor Billy Wirth, who here makes his feature directing debut, was making a documentary on homelessness when he ran into the girlfriend of Tyrone Atins, a crack addict with a 300-page manuscript he wrote while in jail about his life in MacArthur Park.
This became the basis for the movie's script, which Wirth and others rewrote. Then, a week before production began, Atkins reunited with his son for te first time in 12 years.
The film's backbone contains a similar father-son story. Cody Thomas Jefferson Byrd, who manages to suggest quiet authority even in his destitution) is an aging addict whom other junkies look up to. The former musician talks abut quitting the life and even makes plans with P-air (rap musician Bad Azz) to get him into a studio to record his rap songs.
But nothing much comes of such talk until a surprise appearance by the son (Brandon Adams) Cody abandoned along with his mother ive years before. Learning his wife has died is a splash in his face of bitter reality.
But Cody's daily routine doesn't immediately change. Through him, the movie gives glimpses into the hapless lives of his friends -- his girlfriend (Cynda Williams), te park pimp (Sticky Fingaz), the group's mother hen (Ellen Cleghorne), a con artist and dealer (Carlton Wilborn) and a naive young woman (Sydney Tamia Poitier) attracted to the park's seediness -- as well as a coked-up TV star (Balthazar Getty) who comes y in a white limo to score drugs.
Things apparently have to get much worse than they already are for Cody to abandon his "pipe dreams." And so they do, with a police raid, brutal beatings, several senseless killings and mixtures of coke and booze almost ethal in themselves.
Other than the occasional "outsider" such as Cody's son and a young woman who kicked her habit, the movie is essentially filled with delusional characters. No one possesses any rational sense of the urgency of his condition or the dagers of his everyday life.
The actors are extremely good at conveying this odd sort of naivete with honesty and even a kind of wit. Kristian Bernier's nervous camera and music by Stephen Perkins and SKY that flips between hip-hop and jazz nicely underscoe the restless and dire nature of the addicts' lives.
The movie does end on a note of redemption. But even that note feels tentative.
MACARTHUR PARK
Worthwhile Prods. in association with
Northshire Entertainment Group
Producers: Billy Wirth, Maricel Paglayan
Director: Billy Wirth
Writers: Tyrone Atkins, Aaron Courseault, Sheri Sussman, Billy Wirth
Executive producers: Beata Rosenbaum, Stephen Drunsic, Robi Reed-Humes, Alan Harris
Director of photography: Kristian Bernier
Production designer: Cliff Spencr
Music: Stephen Perkins, SKY
Costume designer: Robin Newland
Editor: Terri Breed
Color/stereo
Cast:
Cody: Thomas Jefferson Byrd
Terry: Brandon Adams
P-air: Bad Azz
Alicia: Cynda Williams
E-Max: Sticky Fingaz
Hoover Blue: Ellen Cleghorne
St. Louis: Carltn Wilborn
Steve: Balthazar Getty
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/25/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opening with a hilarious monologue by lusty romantic Vincey (Mitchell Anderson) about the pros and cons of swallowing his lover's semen, "Relax ... It's Just Sex" plays shamelessly to its intended gay and lesbian audience. But the raucous, omnisexual ensemble comedy boasts a few bravo performances, including Jennifer Tilly as a dramatic "fag hag."
On Thursday, writer-director P.J. Castellanta's second feature opened Outfest '98, the 16th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, to a packed house at the Orpheum in downtown Los Angeles. A gala party followed outdoors behind the gorgeous but sweltering 1926 movie palace.
"Relax" is overlong, and much of the screenplay is predictable as Castellanta tries to cover a lot of ground, including the horrors of gay-bashing and the wrenching pain of a mother losing a baby. Gays, lesbians and straights comprise an extended family centered on Tara (Tilly) and her boyfriend Gus Timothy Paul Perez). She wants a kid and he's feeling pressured, and they set the pace for most couples in the film with a loud, spontaneous screw in the kitchen before one of several group gatherings.
Gus' movie-quoting brother Javi (Eddie Garcia) is HIV-positive. He is destined to meet and fall for Buzz (T.C. Carson), a handsome, articulate black artist with radical theories that antagonize others. Particularly up-in-arms are Dwight (Gibbs Toldsdort) and Diego (Chris Cleveland), a perfect gay couple made fun of regularly by the grumpy Vincey.
While Vincey is always unlucky in love, he doesn't deserve the beating he receives in an alley. But when he's rescued by the gang, led as usual by the fiery Tara, he turns into a sexual avenger and nearly melts down in the aftermath.
On a lighter note, the breakup of longtime lesbian couple Megan (Serena Scott Thomas) and Sarina (Cynda Williams) when the former starts dating a man is not a matter of life and death. Voluptuous Sarina connects with very butch Robin (Lori Petty) in a fairly normal romance, but Megan remains part of the group, causing tension.
Seymour Cassel, Paul Winfield and particularly Susan Tyrell have terrific bit parts in a sprawling film interspersed with black-and-white video interviews of the principals.
Much of the humor is calculated to shock, but it's not always the freshest material. The movie is competently directed, but the offbeat soundtrack is often distracting. Thankfully, the performances make one relax and enjoy the film's many good points.
RELAX ... IT'S JUST SEX
A Forefront Films/
Sneak Preview production
Writer-director: P.J. Castellanta
Producers: Steven J. Wolfe,
Megan O'Neill, Harold Warren
Executive producers: Eli Kabillio,
Cevin D. Soling
Director of photography: Lon Magdich
Production designer: Timm Bergen
Editor: Tom Seid
Costume designer: Sharon Lynch
Music: Lori Eschler Frystak
Casting: Shevonne Durkin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Vincey: Mitchell Anderson
Tara: Jennifer Tilly
Buzz: T.C. Carson
Gus: Timothy Paul Perez
Megan: Serena Scott Thomas
Sarina: Cynda Williams
Robin: Lori Petty
Javi: Eddie Garcia
Dwight: Gibbs Toldsdort
Diego: Chris Cleveland
Running time -- 108 minutes
No MPAA rating...
On Thursday, writer-director P.J. Castellanta's second feature opened Outfest '98, the 16th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, to a packed house at the Orpheum in downtown Los Angeles. A gala party followed outdoors behind the gorgeous but sweltering 1926 movie palace.
"Relax" is overlong, and much of the screenplay is predictable as Castellanta tries to cover a lot of ground, including the horrors of gay-bashing and the wrenching pain of a mother losing a baby. Gays, lesbians and straights comprise an extended family centered on Tara (Tilly) and her boyfriend Gus Timothy Paul Perez). She wants a kid and he's feeling pressured, and they set the pace for most couples in the film with a loud, spontaneous screw in the kitchen before one of several group gatherings.
Gus' movie-quoting brother Javi (Eddie Garcia) is HIV-positive. He is destined to meet and fall for Buzz (T.C. Carson), a handsome, articulate black artist with radical theories that antagonize others. Particularly up-in-arms are Dwight (Gibbs Toldsdort) and Diego (Chris Cleveland), a perfect gay couple made fun of regularly by the grumpy Vincey.
While Vincey is always unlucky in love, he doesn't deserve the beating he receives in an alley. But when he's rescued by the gang, led as usual by the fiery Tara, he turns into a sexual avenger and nearly melts down in the aftermath.
On a lighter note, the breakup of longtime lesbian couple Megan (Serena Scott Thomas) and Sarina (Cynda Williams) when the former starts dating a man is not a matter of life and death. Voluptuous Sarina connects with very butch Robin (Lori Petty) in a fairly normal romance, but Megan remains part of the group, causing tension.
Seymour Cassel, Paul Winfield and particularly Susan Tyrell have terrific bit parts in a sprawling film interspersed with black-and-white video interviews of the principals.
Much of the humor is calculated to shock, but it's not always the freshest material. The movie is competently directed, but the offbeat soundtrack is often distracting. Thankfully, the performances make one relax and enjoy the film's many good points.
RELAX ... IT'S JUST SEX
A Forefront Films/
Sneak Preview production
Writer-director: P.J. Castellanta
Producers: Steven J. Wolfe,
Megan O'Neill, Harold Warren
Executive producers: Eli Kabillio,
Cevin D. Soling
Director of photography: Lon Magdich
Production designer: Timm Bergen
Editor: Tom Seid
Costume designer: Sharon Lynch
Music: Lori Eschler Frystak
Casting: Shevonne Durkin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Vincey: Mitchell Anderson
Tara: Jennifer Tilly
Buzz: T.C. Carson
Gus: Timothy Paul Perez
Megan: Serena Scott Thomas
Sarina: Cynda Williams
Robin: Lori Petty
Javi: Eddie Garcia
Dwight: Gibbs Toldsdort
Diego: Chris Cleveland
Running time -- 108 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/13/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In the horror spoof "Tales From the Hood", screenwriter Darin Scott, along with writer-director Rusty Cundieff, took genre blending to considerable extremes with lively if very mixed results.
With "Caught Up", Scott's directorial debut, he applies the technique to the classic crime/guy in the wrong place at the wrong time story with a similar, wildly uneven payoff. At times coming across like an urban David Lynch, Scott lacks the directing chops to effectively keep the diverse elements (not to mention acting styles) in check by creating a unifying, overall tone.
Those who like their urban crime movies straight up will likely pass up "Caught Up", although it could snag some video business.
The picture starts on what would appear to be a predictable path. Daryl Allen (Bokeem Woodbine), is the troubled young man who tries to get his life back on the right path but finds out fate has other ideas.
Thrown into jail for a robbery to which he had inadvertently become an accessory, Daryl emerges from prison five years later only to subsequently get caught up with an exotic fortuneteller (Cynda Williams) who bears an uncanny resemblance to the mother of his son and draws him into a crazed universe in which sleazy small-time operators, sadistic Rastafarian warlords, corrupt cops and bladder bags (don't ask) share equal billing.
Scott's script certainly has its fresh, unpredictable moments, but as the film progresses it becomes harder to distinguish the funny from the unintentionally funny. Whenever he decides it's time to go back to being serious, the transitions become harder and harder to pull off. The direction is part of the problem. So are the performances.
Lead Woodbine ("Jason's Lyric", "Dead Presidents") has a nice, quiet intensity that works well for the part, but whenever he's required to do anything beyond a specific range, the results aren't quite as convincing. Williams has some fun as the duplicitous temptress but she probably doesn't go far enough given Scott's anything-goes parameters. Other performances are high on the ham factor, while the touted appearances of Snoop Doggy Dogg and LL Cool J turn out to be no more than one-scene cameos.
At least you can't fault Scott's visual flair, which, with sturdy assists from DP Tom Callaway and production designer Terrence Foster, runs the style gamut from a tongue-in-cheek Bond-esque opening to vintage 1930s Warner Bros.' superimposition to BET music video slickness.
CAUGHT UP
LIVE Entertainment
A Heller Highwater production
in association with LIVE Film and Mediaworks
A Darin Scott film
Director-screenwriter: Darin Scott
Producer: Peter Weller
Director of photography: Tom Callaway
Production designer: Terrence Foster
Editor: Charles Bornstein
Costume designer: Tracey White
Music: Marc Bonilla
Casting: Tony Lee
Color/stereo
Cast:
Daryl: Bokeem Woodbine
Vanessa/Trish: Cynda Williams
Billy Grimm: Joseph Lindsey
Herbert/Frank Lowden: Clifton Powell
Ahmad: Basil Wallace
Kool Kat Daddy: Snoop Doggy Dogg
Roger: LL Cool J
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
With "Caught Up", Scott's directorial debut, he applies the technique to the classic crime/guy in the wrong place at the wrong time story with a similar, wildly uneven payoff. At times coming across like an urban David Lynch, Scott lacks the directing chops to effectively keep the diverse elements (not to mention acting styles) in check by creating a unifying, overall tone.
Those who like their urban crime movies straight up will likely pass up "Caught Up", although it could snag some video business.
The picture starts on what would appear to be a predictable path. Daryl Allen (Bokeem Woodbine), is the troubled young man who tries to get his life back on the right path but finds out fate has other ideas.
Thrown into jail for a robbery to which he had inadvertently become an accessory, Daryl emerges from prison five years later only to subsequently get caught up with an exotic fortuneteller (Cynda Williams) who bears an uncanny resemblance to the mother of his son and draws him into a crazed universe in which sleazy small-time operators, sadistic Rastafarian warlords, corrupt cops and bladder bags (don't ask) share equal billing.
Scott's script certainly has its fresh, unpredictable moments, but as the film progresses it becomes harder to distinguish the funny from the unintentionally funny. Whenever he decides it's time to go back to being serious, the transitions become harder and harder to pull off. The direction is part of the problem. So are the performances.
Lead Woodbine ("Jason's Lyric", "Dead Presidents") has a nice, quiet intensity that works well for the part, but whenever he's required to do anything beyond a specific range, the results aren't quite as convincing. Williams has some fun as the duplicitous temptress but she probably doesn't go far enough given Scott's anything-goes parameters. Other performances are high on the ham factor, while the touted appearances of Snoop Doggy Dogg and LL Cool J turn out to be no more than one-scene cameos.
At least you can't fault Scott's visual flair, which, with sturdy assists from DP Tom Callaway and production designer Terrence Foster, runs the style gamut from a tongue-in-cheek Bond-esque opening to vintage 1930s Warner Bros.' superimposition to BET music video slickness.
CAUGHT UP
LIVE Entertainment
A Heller Highwater production
in association with LIVE Film and Mediaworks
A Darin Scott film
Director-screenwriter: Darin Scott
Producer: Peter Weller
Director of photography: Tom Callaway
Production designer: Terrence Foster
Editor: Charles Bornstein
Costume designer: Tracey White
Music: Marc Bonilla
Casting: Tony Lee
Color/stereo
Cast:
Daryl: Bokeem Woodbine
Vanessa/Trish: Cynda Williams
Billy Grimm: Joseph Lindsey
Herbert/Frank Lowden: Clifton Powell
Ahmad: Basil Wallace
Kool Kat Daddy: Snoop Doggy Dogg
Roger: LL Cool J
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/27/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MONTREAL -- The second installment of this collection of short, erotic films by notable directors is a notable improvement on the first, although it still falls short of the quality needed to provide a viable theatrical release. Included are works by Susan Seidelman, Bob Rafelson and Indian director Mani Kaul.
Seidelman's entry, "The Dutch Master", is a frothy but derivative tale in which Teresa (Mira Sorvino), a dental hygienist from Brooklyn, becomes fascinated with a Dutch painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, much to the consternation of her co-workers (Aida Turturro and Sharon Angela). Teresa is due to get married soon to her hunky cop fiance, but she is much more interested in the young man depicted in the painting. She soon learns that she can enter the painting at will and more closely observe the participants in action.
This is by now familiar stuff, but what distinguishes it are the comic performances, the witty dialogue and the breeziness with which Seidelman shoots her tale.
Rafelson's "Wet" is one of the less fanciful films in the series, but probably is the most fun. It depicts the efforts of Bruce (Arliss Howard), a bathroom fixtures salesman, to make a big sale to a beautiful young woman (Cynda Williams, of "One False Move"). It seems she'd like to purchase a deluxe bathtub, but she really can't commit before trying it out herself. In the store. And preferably in the company of another person, just to see if it'll accommodate two people. Bruce, played with just the right amount of comic, fumbling eagerness and trepidation by Howard, keeps matching her requests step by step until both are happily splashing around in the tub.
Rafelson's playful script and direction results in a work that is genuinely sexy and even quite suspenseful as we never know exactly what the woman, deliciously played by Williams, is up to. Of all the films, this one was probably the audience favorite.
Which is more than can be said for Kaul's utterly out-of-place "The Cloud Door", an incomprehensible and boring bit of avant-garde nonsense involving an Indian princess and a talking parrot that had the audience fleeing in droves.
EROTIC TALES PART TWO
Presented by Regina Ziegler
Mercure Distribution
THE DUTCH MASTER
Director Susan Seidelman
Screenplay Susan Seidelman, Jonathan Brett
Photography Maryse Alberte
Editor Mona Davis
Music Wendy Blackstone
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Aida Turturro, Sharon Angela, Rick Pasqualone
Running time -- 28 minutes
WET
Director/screenplayBob Rafelson
Photography Theo Van De Sande
Editor Michael Elliot
Music David McHugh
Starring: Arliss Howard, Cynda Williams, Kathleen Wilhoite, John Toles-Bey
Running time -- 25 minutes
THE CLOUD DOOR
Director/Screenplay Mani Kaul
Photography Anil Mehta
Editor Lalitha Krishna
Music Usted Zia Fariduddin Dagar
Starring: Anu Arya Aggarwal, Murad Ali
Running time -- 29 minutes
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Seidelman's entry, "The Dutch Master", is a frothy but derivative tale in which Teresa (Mira Sorvino), a dental hygienist from Brooklyn, becomes fascinated with a Dutch painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, much to the consternation of her co-workers (Aida Turturro and Sharon Angela). Teresa is due to get married soon to her hunky cop fiance, but she is much more interested in the young man depicted in the painting. She soon learns that she can enter the painting at will and more closely observe the participants in action.
This is by now familiar stuff, but what distinguishes it are the comic performances, the witty dialogue and the breeziness with which Seidelman shoots her tale.
Rafelson's "Wet" is one of the less fanciful films in the series, but probably is the most fun. It depicts the efforts of Bruce (Arliss Howard), a bathroom fixtures salesman, to make a big sale to a beautiful young woman (Cynda Williams, of "One False Move"). It seems she'd like to purchase a deluxe bathtub, but she really can't commit before trying it out herself. In the store. And preferably in the company of another person, just to see if it'll accommodate two people. Bruce, played with just the right amount of comic, fumbling eagerness and trepidation by Howard, keeps matching her requests step by step until both are happily splashing around in the tub.
Rafelson's playful script and direction results in a work that is genuinely sexy and even quite suspenseful as we never know exactly what the woman, deliciously played by Williams, is up to. Of all the films, this one was probably the audience favorite.
Which is more than can be said for Kaul's utterly out-of-place "The Cloud Door", an incomprehensible and boring bit of avant-garde nonsense involving an Indian princess and a talking parrot that had the audience fleeing in droves.
EROTIC TALES PART TWO
Presented by Regina Ziegler
Mercure Distribution
THE DUTCH MASTER
Director Susan Seidelman
Screenplay Susan Seidelman, Jonathan Brett
Photography Maryse Alberte
Editor Mona Davis
Music Wendy Blackstone
Starring: Mira Sorvino, Aida Turturro, Sharon Angela, Rick Pasqualone
Running time -- 28 minutes
WET
Director/screenplayBob Rafelson
Photography Theo Van De Sande
Editor Michael Elliot
Music David McHugh
Starring: Arliss Howard, Cynda Williams, Kathleen Wilhoite, John Toles-Bey
Running time -- 25 minutes
THE CLOUD DOOR
Director/Screenplay Mani Kaul
Photography Anil Mehta
Editor Lalitha Krishna
Music Usted Zia Fariduddin Dagar
Starring: Anu Arya Aggarwal, Murad Ali
Running time -- 29 minutes
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
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