MOVIE AND THEATRE

Jennifer Aniston in "Love"

noreply@blogger.com (hazel) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:21:00 +0000

Aniston and Eckhart find Love Happens

Aniston has a great track record in both TV and film and continues to draw large audiences to her warm, real and quirky personality no matter what character she inhabits.

Aniston's latest character in the romantic drama Love Happens, is a relationship-bruised florist named Eloise, a nurturing, earth mother type who has sworn off men until she meets equally damaged self-help guru Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart) who can't follow his own advice -sparks fly and the two start on the rocky road to couples ville because hey...love just happens.

The two actors, who did not have any on-set or real world romance, did form a mutual admiration society. Eckhart says about his co-star, "Jenn's such a better actor than I am. She's so effortless all the time. (I love) her timing and how playful she is and yet (she) can turn on a dime and just be so thoughtful".

We wanted to tap into those thoughts so we sat down with Ms. Aniston in Beverly Hills and got the latest on what she thinks about self-help books, her search for non-formula, more original romances be they comedy or drama, her disastrous first dates, her upcoming films and the fact that she'd love to do a movie about a mother/child relationship. Picture lovely Jenn in a slinky black crepe jersey top and skirt by Derek Lamb accessorized by gold neck chains, a huge gold watch and large gold and white disc dangle earrings.

Movies with more

SheKnows: This movie has a lot to say about dealing with grief. Are you looking for movies that have an edge like that, that have something more to offer?

Jennifer Aniston: More to offer, yes. I mean, wouldn’t anybody? I think people want to see that and it’s interesting for us to play that. There’s only so many ways to tell a romantic story and I think there are a lot of unexplored situations that actually happen in life that people don’t take advantage of. They come up with these crazy kinds of high concept, formulaic ideas for a romantic comedy. (How do you) keep them apart as long as possible until the end when they can finally stop pretending to be my boyfriend and actually will be my boyfriend and we fooled everybody. I think I did that one 10 years ago. I think I did that a couple of times.

SheKnows: Do Eloise and Burke actually have to get together at the end of this movie?

Jennifer Aniston: Well, that was a question. There was actually a debate, but then there’s always certain people that want them to get together. You know, they do focus groups which is always fascinating to me. They bring all these people, as you know, and they basically ask them what they (think) and they’ll have an issue with an ending and creative choice is thrown out the window. I don’t know.

SheKnows: But, what did you think? It seems to me she serves her purpose in his life. They both get whatever they get out of each other. They don’t need to…

Jennifer Aniston: Right. They don’t need to. I agree with you. But, for The Break-Up, there was a period where they were like 'They need to get together.' And, we were like, 'It’s called The Break-Up.' It’s like you can’t get clearer than that. But I think you don’t really know either. It’s like 'Let’s have dinner again.' For all we know, the next day, they had that dinner and it just all went to hell. So, we don’t really know.

SheKnows: Is it frustrating when a focus group audience insists on an ending you really don't want?

Jennifer Aniston: Oh, yeah, yeah. It’s very frustrating. I know. 'I didn’t sign up for that'. Yeah, it’s a toughie, isn’t it? But, usually, actually, it is stuff that will better the film. That’s a rare moment that that happens when you’re like, 'What?! All of a sudden it’s an alien and not a....' (Laughs) I mean, it’s not that extreme.

U2, Scarlett Johansson, Courtney Love Set to Rock (RED) Concert

noreply@blogger.com (hazel) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:15:00 +0000

All four members of U2, Scarlett Johansson, Courtney Love, Antony, Martha and Rufus Wainwright and many more will take the stage at a (RED)NIGHTS concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall on October 4th. “Hal Willner Presents: An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends” will also feature performances from the Turtles’ Flo & Eddie, the Pogues’ Shane McGowan, Laurie Anderson. punk icon Lydia Lunch and, as the name of the event denotes, Gavin Friday and members of his goth band, the Virgin Prunes.

Part of the proceeds from the tickets, which go on sale tomorrow, September 16th, will go toward the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The evening’s presenter Hal Willner, a frequent Friday collaborator, has also produced albums by Lou Reed, Marianne Faithful and the soundtrack for the film Million Dollar Hotel, based on a story by Bono.

For the guys in U2, their appearances at “An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends” comes the night after their October 3rd 360 Tour concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, but considering Bono is childhood friends with Friday (it was Friday and the Virgin Prunes’ Guggi who gave Paul Hewson his now-famous nickname “Bono”) and a huge supporter of the Global Fund, the detour shouldn’t be a problem. (Read our report from the Chicago kick off here.) Also scheduled to appear are Side and Nancy star Chloe Webb, guitarist Bill Frisell, the Corrs’ Andrea Corr, Foetus’ J.G. Thirlwell and other special guests.

'America's Got Talent' finale: If Kevin Skinner wins, I give up

noreply@blogger.com (hazel) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:34:00 +0000

Tonight on "America's Got Talent," the Top 10 perform. I want the Fab Five or Recycled Percussion to win, but I know they won't.

Your Top 10 tonight are Kevin Skinner, the Texas Tenors, Recycled Percussion, Grandma Lee, Fab Five, Voices of Glory, Drew Stevyns, Hairo Torres, Lawrence Beaman and Barbara Padilla. My Top 5 picks without seeing them perform are (in order from 5th to 1st) Lawrence Beaman, Recycled Percussion, Hairo Torres, Barbara Padilla and the Fab Five. We'll see if that holds up after tonight's performances.

I do honestly want to see the Fab Five win, for several reasons. I think they are extremely talented. I also love that they are getting by on pure talent and exploiting the fact that they are good-looking women. They haven't gone all skanky. Finally, I think they are DIFFERENT. I mean, we have 10 acts and 6 are singing. This ain't "American Idol" and I'd like to see a non-singer win.

Did you hear? Susan Boyle is coming to "America's Got Talent" on Wednesday. She is being joined by a cavalcade of stars, including Leona Lewis (love her!).

1. Voices of Glory
They are singing "Greatest Love of All" and I can't help but think of Cordelia Chase in the talent show. Heeeee. Nadia takes lead (which is good) but she's off at the start. It makes me worry she can't hear her accompaniment very well. And the harmonies aren't so great when the brothers come in. However, they all look really sharp and Nadia tears it up on the end. I hope Idol is still around when Nadia is old enough.

Piers says they finally clicked tonight, Sharon says fantastic, The Hoff says "you not only brought your mom out of a coma, you brought Piers out of a coma." He's such a dork, I love it.

2. Hairo Torres
He starts with old-timey costumes and "Puttin on the Ritz," then goes into "Closer" by NeYo. Um... it's interesting. It's just him by himself, it's very emotive and there's hardly any of his typical hip-hop moves. I don't love it. It looks more like a SYTYCD solo, which is fine for that show, but on this show it just lost what we love about Hairo. I think Hairo just danced himself OUT of placing.

The judges say nice things, but are VERY subdued. Sharon says he took a big risk but she liked it. The Hoff says he can tie that all together in Vegas. Piers says it didn't work. No, it didn't. Sorry, Hairo. I'd love to see you next summer on SYTYCD, though.

3. Lawrence Beaman
"My First, My Last, My Everything' by Barry White is the song tapped for tonight and from the first line I'm like, "WOW, he sounds like Barry!" Seriously, it's the first time I've actually thought that. Is anyone else picturing Peter MacNichol dancing in the unisex bathroom? Just me? Anyway, this is VERY good. He goes and plays it up with the audience, he looks VERY dapper in an ivory suit. I love it.

The Hoff says Lawrence is leaving the show a star. Yes. Piers says they could've used more personality, but the vocals were fantastic. Sharon loved it as well.

4. Barbara Padilla
Barbara sings her audition song, "O Mio Babino, Caro," which is a great song and quite hard to sing. She looks beautiful, first off. Also, I love how controlled her high notes are in the beginning and then she really lets loose on "Mi struggo e mi tormento! O Dio, vorrei morir! Babbo, pietÃ , pietÃ ! Babbo, pietÃ , pietÃ ."

Piers starts talking about "An Officer and a Gentleman" and how people think she's living their dream. It's a weird critique/compliment. Sharon says she looks and sounds like a billion dollars. The Hoff compares her to Audrey Hepburn and says she commands their attention and respect and she'll play bigger halls than Vegas.

5. Fab Five
Man, it's like they're trying to bury Lawrence, Barbara and the Fab Five in the middle. Anyway, the ladies dance to Britney's "Circus" tonight and have a ringmaster and ballerina/old-timey swimmer outfits. It's super-cute. I LOVE the bird's eye camera shot. Overall, I thought it was pretty strong. Not my favorite of theirs, but still very good.

Sharon says it was beautifully "choreographered." Heh heh. We know what you mean, Sharon. The Hoff says they bring such happiness and energy to the stage. Piers says they have extraordinary chemistry and have obviously put more hours into their act than just about anyone else.

6. Texas Tenors
In the pre-performance video, The Hoff says they are the "most Vegas" of all the acts. Um, what? Are you HIGH? They aren't VEGAS. Mario & Jenny were Vegas. Also, they aren't GOOD.

They sing "My Way" tonight and the Brawny Paper Towel tenor kicks it off, then Ken Doll comes in and he sounds great. He should really be a solo act. Chubby Bearded tenor joins in and I just don't care for his voice. I finally figured out what the problem is: the two operatic guys should sing together and Ken Doll tenor should be a solo. The other two have similar voices and could probably do alright together, but as a group this just hurts my ears. If you think they are good, I really just question your taste and musical ear. They can't blend AT ALL and their harmonies are not always on. The final note is terrible, but I bet you all the money I have the judges go absolutely apesh*t for this act. Sigh.

The Hoff says terrific, Piers says it was the cheesiest thing ever (YES) but then says they are his guilty pleasure. Gross, Piers. Sharon says she loves their cheese. I love cheese too, guys, but these three have no business being in the finals as a trio.

7. Drew Stevyns
Tonight Drew sings "I'll Stand by You" by the Pretenders. Interesting choice. Oooh, his notes are OFF. "Why you look so sad" and "don't be afraid to cry" are FLAT. Geez. I want to like this Jensen Ackles-lookalike, but this isn't good. He's like a guy at an open mic night in a bar trying to do Daughtry stuff. OH GOD, then we get the bridge and the key-change. Yikes. This is not good, Drew. Not good.

Piers says he gave his best performance so far (not true) and that he's proud of the show watching that (really?). Sharon says she'd pick him as a rock singer. What? Rock? She also advises him to wear tighter trousers. Well, maybe that would make his notes less flat. The Hoff

8. Grandma Lee
I love this lady, I bet she's a hoot to have as a grandma. But she's just NOT that good at stand-up comedy. She comes out tonight on a bier with a pregnant belly and acts like it's Piers. She makes a Ryan-Seacrest-is-gay joke that's kinda funny. I do like her "mom can't feed herself, let's put her in the home" joke, that actually makes me laugh out loud. I don't like her smoking jokes or her boobie jokes. She goes back to Piers jokes, but then calls Simon Cowell her new baby-daddy. Eh. She's a great old lady, and it's awesome she had the balls to do this but... she's not going to place in the Top 5.

Sharon loved the Ryan Seacrest joke. The Hoff says she's funnier every time. I don't know. I think her funniest bit was when she said, "You were there" to Sharon all off-the-cuff. Piers calls her a shameless little hussy, which is hilarious.

9. Kevin Skinner
I'm VERY surprised Skinner isn't in the last spot. Tonight he sings, "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," which is a song that makes me want to barf. It's too schmaltzy and then Steven Tyler starts shrieking like he's getting his prostate examined by Captain Hook. However, I still prefer that to Kevin Skinner tonight. Y'all... this is BAD. Bum notes left and right. I don't care about his I'm-a-poor-chicken-farmer-from-Kentucky story. I have heard better singing at local bar karaoke nights. That was TERRIBLE. Pitiful. SO BAD. DO NOT VOTE FOR HIM.

The Hoff talks about the porch again and imitates Kevin Skinner again and I want to punch him in the throat. Piers says "wasn't perfect, missed the odd note, flat in some places" but then makes that sound like it's good. Oh gag me, Piers. I wouldn't pay a nickel to see this guy perform. Sharon says, "So what? You don't have the best voice in this contest." OH MY GOD, that's the POINT. He's not GOOD ENOUGH and even the judges are saying it and they're STILL trying to get him to win. That is disgusting. This is a TALENT contest, it's right there in the title. I checked. It says "talent." I cannot believe the judges were admitting how bad it was and still pimping him. Simon Cowell would NEVER do that.

10. Recycled Percussion
Tonight they do "Wipeout" with electric guitars and crazy lights and it's very good. I've slowly come around on these guys. Isn't it interesting they do this song the night Patrick Swayze dies because all it ever makes me think of is Baby dancing up the stairs. This is a great act, very Vegas. Is there WATER pouring down on them? Sexy.

Piers says brilliant, Sharon loved it and The Hoff goes all writhing-on-the-floor-for-a-cheeseburger crazy and screams about showering. Rein it in a little, David.

After seeing the performances, I amend my Top Five to be (in order from 5th to 1st) Hairo Torres, Lawrence Beaman, Barbara Padilla, Fab Five and Recycled Percussion. Seriously, I think Fab Five or Recycled Percussion should win.

Why Does Everyone Love Vampires?

noreply@blogger.com (hazel) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:30:00 +0000

This is a question that’s been going around for a while, what with the smash success of some vampire-related franchises that aren’t all that good: Twilight and TV’s True Blood, whose season finale last night was yet another sign that Alan Ball will never live up to the early promise of Oh, Grow Up. When you factor in guys like Joss Whedon whose only mainstream successes have been with shows that starred vampires or featured the word “vampire” in the title, you have to wonder: why is it that anything with vampires in it is a hit? (Update: Yes, that’s hyperbole. But hyperbole is no excuse for inaccuracy; there are lots of non-hits with vampires.)

Everyone has their answer to that question, so here’s my attempt: vampires have the kind of cross-gender appeal that is valuable to producers and especially valuable in television. Monster stories are considered to be primarily a boy thing. Brooding romance stories, or sex-drenched soap operas (True Blood fits into the latter category) are considered to be primarily a girl thing. A vampire story offers a soapy or romantic tale, but with monsters and violence. That brings in men and women. (Okay, I don’t know how many men went to see the Twilight movies, but I’m going to guess that it wasn’t fewer than would have gone to see a similar story without vampires.) It also appeals to writer/creators because it allows them to use the organizing principle of science fiction — tell fantasy stories that are clearly about our own world and our own time — but reach a broader audience than metaphor-heavy science fiction usually appeals to. True Blood is trying to do metaphorical social commentary, just like Battlestar Galactica did, but because it’s about vampires rather than space travelers, it doesn’t have to be pigeonholed as a “geek” show.

And of course vampires are appealing because of the wish-fulfilment aspect. That’s familiar enough, the idea that there’s something cool about being a vampire: you get eternal youth and beauty, and you get to keep most of the outward trappings of humanity. (Werewolves may have a certain wish-fulfilment element, based on our longing to be tough and primal, but werewolves don’t get to be pretty and they don’t get girls. Not usually, anyway.) Even the vampires who don’t live in cool castles like Dracula are kind of like the idle rich, people who live by different rules, have exotic appetites, and can do unusual things. And yet, unlike witches, they don’t have so many powers that writing for them becomes impossible. They’re magical enough to be cool, not magical enough to make plotting difficult.

*No, I’m not kidding.

'Shakespeare in Love' set to be reborn as theater

noreply@blogger.com (hazel) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:11:00 +0000

In a case of life imitating art imitating life, a British theater company has announced plans to rebuild an Elizabethan playhouse using the set from hit film "Shakespeare in Love."

The oak-timbered set, modeled on London's 16th-century Rose Theatre, was donated to the British Shakespeare Company by Judi Dench, who won an Academy Award for playing Queen Elizabeth I in the 1998 romantic comedy.

The set — a full-size replica of a galleried theater interior — was given to Dench by the filmmakers and is currently in storage. British Shakespeare Company artistic director Robert Williamson said Monday the actress had recently made the "wonderful decision" to donate it to the troupe for a permanent base in northern England.

Williamson said he imagined the venue as "a living history center," offering live performances and a display of costumes from the film, which starred Joseph Fiennes as the playwright and Gwyneth Paltrow as his feisty love interest. It won seven Oscars, including best picture.

The original Rose was built in 1587 on the south bank of the River Thames — then just outside the city limits of London, whose officials frowned on "disreputable" actors and often banned plays. Its repertoire included plays by William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

The British Shakespeare Company, which tours open-air productions of Shakespeare around the country, said it was looking at locations in the northern English cities of Sheffield, Manchester and York. It has set up a charitable trust to manage the project.

Williamson said northern England lacked a permanent Shakespearean venue. Audiences in southern England can visit Shakespeare's Globe, a rebuilt Elizabethan theater in south London, and the Midlands has the Royal Shakespeare Company, based in the Bard's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.

And yet Williamson said, "the four biggest Shakespearean actors are from the north of England — Ben Kingsley, Judi Dench, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen."

"We want to offer the north of England what London has," he said. "Every child in Great Britain still has to study Shakespeare. He's an integral part of our heritage and our identity."

Etiquette Tips: Movie and Theater Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (hazel) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:05:00 +0000

Whether you’re enjoying the latest action flick or a musical review, the theater is not the place to have a conversation, even if it is about the show. Whispering to others around you is a distraction and an annoyance. When you lean over to speak with another person, you’re blocking someone’s view. Try and save your comments until intermission or show’s end. It’s also important to keep in mind that it’s just as rude to turn around and give someone a dirty look, or tell someone to hush, as it is to carry on a conversation while a show is in progress.

Cell phones, pagers and personal computing devices have no place in the theater and should remain off until the end of the performance. If you need to leave these items on in case of emergency, be considerate to others and set them on vibrate mode. Not only do other theater goers not want to hear annoying rings and beeps, but it’s rude and insulting to the performers. If calls must be taken, go into the lobby.

Something else to consider is children. Even if it’s a performance for kids, your children are also going to have to show consideration to the other patrons. While it’s nice that your children are enjoying the theater, you’ll have to remember that conversations in hushed tones, running up and down aisles, shushing and even babies crying can be a nuisance to the people around you. Have a talk with your children before the performance about good theater manners.

Perhaps you saw the movie before, but those around you haven’t. Do you think they really want pertinent bits of information pointed out to them throughout the whole film? No one wants to know what’s going on ahead of time, especially if key plot points are spoiled. It’s best to contain your excitement and keep these details to yourself.

If you’re spending an afternoon or evening at the theater, do be mindful of those around you. Don’t put your feet on the back of someone else’s chair; don’t sigh and roll your eyes if someone needs the seat on which you’ve laid your coat, and for goodness sakes, don’t carry on a conversation while the performance is in progress. With today’s prices, people see a performance to get away from it all, not to deal with inconsiderate people. Once you start thinking of others, you’ll probably enjoy the performance more yourself.