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When it comes to romantic movies, how often do you believe art imitates life?
Okay, I’d say hardly ever, but especially when it comes to Nicholas Sparks novels-turned-blockbusters. From his pen came “Message in a Bottle”, “A Walk to Remember”, “The Notebook” and now, just opening this past weekend, is “Nights in Rodanthe”. They are all incredible love stories, but since I’ve never known a couple with such a tale, I wondered if Sparks was just dreaming these things up or if there was any reality in his writing.
Lo and behold, much of the story of Paul and Adrienne in “Nights in Rodanthe” reads like Sparks own love story with his wife Cathy of almost 20 years. They met in a similar way, in a coastal town while looking for safe harbor from their individual lives. Like Paul and Adrienne, Sparks was sure of his love instantly while his future wife wasn’t so convinced.
Sparks has this to say about it:
“On the day after we met, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, because I knew even then that I’d never find someone so perfectly matched for me as she was (again, just like Paul). So I told her how I felt. And Cathy’s first response when I told her that we’d be married someday? She laughed and suggested “that I get another beer.”
Like Adrienne, she didn’t believe it was possible. But it was.”
So it’s a love story, a real one. They don’t just exist in movies.
What do you think of Nicholas Sparks’ movies? Did you think he was just being whimsical and idealistic when he penned his great novels or did you believe that they could be true?
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I could make fun of chick flicks. Their story lines, their predictable scripts, the countless that-would-never-happen-in-real-life scenes. But I can’t. I love them. And I pay money to see them. And I will go see one this weekend. My Best Friend’s Girl opens on Friday and yes, Kate Hudson will play the different version of the same girl she plays in every movie, but I will probably still watch it, laugh, and leave the theatre on a mini cloud nine.
I’m a girl, what can I say?
As the synopsis says, Dustin (Jason Biggs) is dating Alexis (Kate Hudson). They break-up. Dustin then hires a man named Tank (Dane Cook) to take her out on an awful date so she can see how great Dustin really was. Tank just so happens to be Dustin’s best friend. Shenanigans inevitably ensue.
So what’s nabbed my curiosity about My Best Friend’s Girl is the character of Tank.
My question is: Do guys like Tank actually exist? In the world of men (or I guess there could be a female version too), are there actually guys out there who are hired out to do this kind of relationship wrangling?
What do you think? Do characters like Tank only exist in movieland and or are they taken straight out of real life?
To see the preview, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cr7pcPG8Hc
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We’re about to see a familiar face on the big screen.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1914 book Tarzan of the Apes is said to be in the works for yet another theatrical debut. This time Mummy-director Stephen Sommers is reportedly taking a fresh approach to the old tale of the loin-cloth clad king of the jungle. Well you’d have to. It’s been done - twice in the 80’s, once by Disney and (perhaps unfortunately) once by Brendan Fraser.
Are film studios so bankrupt of ideas that remakes will never end or are we as the masses always hungry for more of the old stuff we love?
Take the superhero genre: Batman, for example. The guy has begun, returned, been forever and was most recently seen opposite Michael Caine in The Dark Knight. Superman has also flown in and out with the faces of Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh and Tom Welling. Rocky, Die Hard and Terminator have also reappeared multiple times; even Robocop is coming back in 2010.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot (not all) of these movies are awesome, some classics. But I’m wondering if audiences are getting as weary from deja vu as I am.
What do you think of the recurring wave of remakes? Do you wait in line to take your seat or are you a “seen one, seen them all” kind of movie-goer?
Image credit: CaptPiper
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The oldest film festival in the world is continuing its 65th run this week. The Venice Film Festival started August 27 and will end this Saturday, September 6. Hosted on the Lido in Venice, the festival feels like a throwback to old Hollywood with its glamour, high-profile stars, and films of international fare and substance.
The new Cohen brothers film will debut, a documentary on Valentino will hit screens, and stars like Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway and of course Pitt and Clooney will walk on a sea of red carpet. And though I’m intrigued by the big stars and big films, its always the little films with little fanfare that hook my attention.
“Teza” by Ethiopian director Haile Gerima tells the story of an Ethiopian man, Anberber, who flees the violent upheaval of Ethiopia in the 80’s during the Marxist-endorsed “red terror”. He journeys to find a safe haven in Germany but is only horrifically stifled by racism. Unable to find his place in either world, he returns once again to East Africa, only to to witness more upheaval and be treated as a foreigner in his own land.
Autobiographical of Gerima’s life, “Teza” poignantly touches on both the character Anberber and Gerima’s struggle to tap into their only solace, childhood memories.
“I go to Ethiopia and I dream my past but the present is so powerful it continues to hijack my sentimental journey to my childhood. I think it’s the idea that you want your childhood world to come back, I think that is universal,” said Gerima.
“In Africa the luxury to remember memory is hijacked by daily violence, either silent violence or obvious violence.”
I personally find much more value in hearing a true tale like Gerimas than a fictional piece or an animated feature. It pulls you into worlds that are raw and sharp, that beg to be exposed and that demand your ignorance be put down.
Are you at all in tune with films debuting at the Venice Film Festival? What kind of films attract your attention and why?
To read more, go to: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080902/n_entertain_reuters/entertainment_venice_ethiopia_col
Image credit: bartgroe
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Lo and behold, shiny new shows wait at the starting line for yet another “who is going to survive” television season. Yes, fall of ’08 is soon to be upon us … as if you haven’t already been reminded by NBC, MTV, ABC and every other network shelling out new shows this fall!
There are usually a couple promising debuts, but most find resident in the ditch where a second season is nothing but a pipe dream. Since reality shows have taken over, here’s a look at the latest fodder being pumped out of the “reality factory”:
Bromance
Brody Jenner, model/reality personality, is taking his second pitiful run at a reality job with this MTV-endorsed idea. Premise: a bunch of guys competing for the title of Jenner’s best bro. And in true young Hollywood style, they bunk in a lavish bachelor pad and get ousted from Jenner’s affections in weekly hot tub eliminations. The concept is quite similar to Paris Hilton’s search in Paris Hilton’s My New BFF.
Opportunity Knocks
ABC is slotting Ashton Kutcher’s latest production gig for Tuesday nights, with 13 episodes set to air. A mobile team is sent out in a pimped out semi-truck to knock on the doors of “unsuspecting” families who then answer questions about their lives and each other for cash and prizes. It’s a game show on a roadtrip.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
This is the third spin-off of The Real Housewives of Orange County series where cameras follow five women as they balance life and luxury. This season’s players? A philanthropist NBA wife, a divorced country singer hopeful, a socialite business mogul, a wealthy activist against domestic violence and a single mother hawking her own clothing line.
Will you watch any of these shows? What do you think of the current state of reality television, and why do these shows appeal to so many people?
Image credit: Marco Bellucci
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Alright. Raise your hand if you think dumbified chick flicks about becoming your true self should be ousted from the movie formula book. Good grief, I am. Well don’t hold your breath because Sony Pictures is throwing us yet another one.
The House Bunny, starring Anna Faris, is out in theatres this Friday. You can read the studio’s synopsis on their official site, but I thought I would give you the run-down in my own words.
Pretty girl gets tossed into the real world. Comes across pro bono project to assist the socially less fortunate. Finds seven subjects, complete with all the fixings - baggy t-shirts, glasses, pigtails, flannel, no make-up and brown or red hair. Jocks and popular girls mock them for being “different”. Pretty girl sees her opportunity to help others; enter the montage of heels, make-up, pedicures and mini-skirts all in an effort to catch the male eye. In comes unexpected leading man, intelligent and current event savvy, who somehow develops an interest in pretty girl. Pretty girl pulls out all the typical flirting stops, but to no avail. Leading man likes the real her. Pretty girl clues into this and poof, epiphany! What guys actually want is not arm candy with no brains, but a smart and confident woman. In the end, I’m predicting they walk off into the sunset with less cleavage and toned-down makeup to find true happiness.
And this is what movie-going girls are watching. Oy vey! While the media often appears to be making efforts to embolden young women, it simultaneously shoves these kinds of films off the assembly line.
Will you go see The House Bunny? What do you think about the ideas it is communicating to audiences, especially young women?
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It always comes as a shock to me when celebrities pass away. They’re so notorious and well-known that maybe it just makes sense to me that they would last forever, like their movies.
Bernie Mac died at age 50 from complications to pneumonia last Saturday. He was admitted a week earlier to hospital and was expected to recover. Instead, friends, family and the co-stars that worked alongside him remember Mac, one of The Original Kings of Comedy.
“The world just got a little less funny. He will be dearly missed,” said George Clooney.
Another Ocean’s co-star Brad Pitt said, “I lament the loss of a ferociously funny and hard-core family man. My thoughts are with (his wife) Rhonda and their family. Bernie Mac, you are already missed.”
Chris Rock extolled Mac as “one of the best and funniest comedians to ever live, but that was the second-best thing he did. Bernie was one of the greatest friends a person could have.”
Were you a fan of Bernic Mac’s? What was it about him that stuck out – his career, his family man status, his comedy, his overall achievements in the entertainment industry?
Photo credit: puck90
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I cringe mentioning Disney-bred celebrities. I really do. Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, Raven Symone, these are all names well acquainted with my gag reflexes. The latest face of the media mogul, Miley Cyrus, is no different.
The Hannah Montana star will soon hit magazine racks, not with another “controversial” Vanity Fair shoot, but as the PG-rated version of herself on TV Guide’s cover. Now, normally I would avoid mention of the teen. But as overexposed celebrities usually do, they wind up saying things that just irk me. Especially when the media goes digging for sexual tidbits and celebrities so readily appease them.
Having told Extra last year that she’s going to stay a virgin until she marries, TV Guide goes fishing in the same pool. When conversation maneuvers onto the virgin statement, Cyrus has this to say:
“I like to think of myself as the girl that no one can get, that no one can keep in their hand.”
Pause and think about that for a second. This is coming out of the mouth of a 15-year-old girl. Yes, she wears a purity ring and wants to be a strong role model for young girls. But the innuendo behind what she just said has nothing to do with those noble reasons. I don’t understand sitting in an interview and acting like an arrogant coquette while thumbing your purity ring.
You want to be the girl that no one can get (p.s. who is supposed to be “getting” you at 15 anyways!?). So what you’re saying is that either you want to be a lonesome tease or are vain enough to actually believe that your pedestal is just out of reach for anyone to win you?
What do you think of Miley Cyrus’s comment? How do you feel about celebrities proclaiming virginity in the media?
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The Dark Knight, the next in the Batman franchise of movies, opened this Friday. This movie was so anticipated that presale tickets were snapped up, selling out many 12am showings, with some theatres even holding 3am and 6am screenings across the US. Much of the hype surrounds the late actor Heath Ledger, who portrays the Joker, and who tragically passed away earlier this year. There is already an Oscar buzz surrounding the film, with co-star Michael Caine raving that Ledger was “ the most amazing thing in the picture”. (Read the full article at cnn.com)
The Dark Knight is the second Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed Batman Begins. Nolan’s films have revived interest in the franchise, which had waned since the first film of this series back in 1989 starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Nolan’s darker take on Batman is considerably different from the original Batman television series of the 60’s, which was more comedy than drama.
A stellar supporting cast with the likes of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman, along with Christian Bale reprising his role as Batman, makes The Dark Knight a must see this summer. Just one note of caution – although the film is based on a DC Comics character, it is probably not appropriate for younger children.
Will you see this new Batman movie? What appeals to you about the Batman story, style, or mythos?
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Does anyone else remember the days when excited baby announcements and photos of fresh newborns were a private affair? I walk past newsstands and there’s no doubt, those days are long gone.
Celebrities are going from maternity ward to magazine cover with their little bundles of joy poking out of monogrammed baby blankets. What gets me is the invisible price tag tied to the baby’s pinky toe that celebrity parents are selling the photos for.
A few high-profile examples:
Knox & Vivienne Jolie-Pitt - 10 million +
Max & Emme Anthony (J.Lo’s twins) - 6 million
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt - 4.1 million
Levi Alves McConaughey - 3 million
Honor Warren (Jessica Alba’s daughter) - 1.5 million
The photographs of something sacred, a new and beautiful life, are being marketed for money. Maybe celebrity parents figure publications will get their hands on the photos some way or another anyways so it might as well be on their terms. Maybe it’s just for the money. Maybe it’s to shove their own profile higher or, in the Jolie-Pitt’s case, it’s for charity.
How do you feel about celebrities selling their baby photos? If you were a celebrity, would you sell pictures of your newborn?
(Image credit: JeremyHall)
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