At the Q&A, they all talked about doing heavy rehearsing and sticking to the script as written because many of the scenes would be filmed without editing...some scenes up to 10 mins. ...It was like filming a play at times. That's a great analogy, a play, yet far more naturalistic with the feel of improvisation. I'm sure having Delpy and Hawke contributed to the script helped tremendously, but her riffs (save one by Hawke) are stellar material. I'm telling ya, this is an Oscar-worthy performance and I hope the new Warners Independent div pushes it, so that it won't be forgotten.

Here's a link to and snippet of a BBC News interview with Julie Delpy talking about making the film..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3907023.stm "We sat down and talked about the concept and we decided it was going to be an hour-and-a-half in real time. "We started writing the script in 2002 and finished it just couple of weeks before we started shooting, but I didn't let myself believe it was actually going to happen until Ethan literally arrived for rehearsals." Filming in real time on location proved to be "fun but challenging" for Delpy who says she needed "two heads" to tackle the technical and creative demands. Because the whole film was set in late afternoon, matching the light meant they were only able to shoot for a few hours every day. A tight three-week filming schedule also meant scenes had to be nailed quickly and a single take could last more than 10 minutes. It helped add to the "realism" of the film and complemented the natural feel and rhythm of the dialogue. But, as Delpy explains, the seemingly spontaneous conversations and mannerisms were carefully choreographed to be as natural as possible. "Everything was written, even things like the hesitation in the dialogue. We spent time studying the way we speak because we wanted to make the dialogue very flowing."

Thanks, Dorine, for the link. Fascinating stuff. Although Delpy says there are "no plans" for a third film, she is reluctant to rule out the possibility. Gaaah! But they must. This one had a wonderful ending, but I've gotten so attached to these characters. I want more.

He won...He won!!!! Armstrong Wins Record Sixth Tour De France http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20040725/ap_on_sp_ot/cyc_tour_de_france

getting rid of bold, hopefully.

Yes, am very excited about that! Will be watching coverage on CBS at 2pm ET.

Nice interview with Linklater: http://www.kamera.co.uk/interviews/a_quick_chat_with_richard_linklater.php Had no idea they also did a scene for Waking Life? Wonder if it was before/after I walked out. ;-) Actually, I think I did see it, as I remember the cartoon Ethan Hawke. Prefer the actors, obviously, than cartoons.

Is anyone watching this new Denis Leary show, Rescue Me? About the NY firefighters? It's on after this week's repeat of Nip/Tuck. I like it so far, in the 15 mins it's been on. Irreverent like his other show, The Job, which at that time was probably in my top 3 shows on TV a few years ago. This one's a drama that has funny bits as opposed to the other which was a comedy. Damn shame they took that off. Too short a run like Soap, and just as hysterical to me.

Missed it. I'll check for replays during the week. It's on FX, isn't it? Must be replays. On another note, I saw a trailer for a Scottish movie called "Dear Frankie" this weekend. It looks fairly cute, though it is in Martian (sorry, Janet *winkie winkie*) and stars Emily Mortimer and Gerald Butler. This is the second time I've seen her do a Scottish accent and you'd think she was. Butler was always one those names bandied about as a Bond and I've never seen him in anything. Looked interesting though: hair was close-cropped to be a tough kind of guy. He's also the Phantom (of the Opera). I want to see this one.

(Evelyn)Well constructed, edgy plot with twists and turns that races along at a frantic pace. Edge of seat throughout.Loved all the location shots in the capitals of Europe , plus Goa, India. I enjoyed it, and I liked that we see a lot of Moscow. Until now, our view has generally been limited to onion domes and Volga Boatmen.;-) I still prefer the first Bourne, but this was entertaiing, fast-paced (blink and you lose out) and Matt D. has really grown into the role. He won...He won!!!! Thrilled for him! Nobody has worked harder or overcome more.

I would've put it on Dillane's topic, but it had Jason Isaacs in it too. Garcia keeps track of indie 'Nine Lives' By Chris Gardner Helmer Rodrigo Garcia has his hands full with a big-name cast for his latest effort, the indie drama "Nine Lives." The project, produced by Julie Lynn through her Mockingbird Pictures, is shooting in Los Angeles. The story is a series of vignettes, offering glimpses into the lives of nine women, played by Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Elpidia Carrillo, Glenn Close, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Holly Hunter, Amanda Seyfriend, Sissy Spacek and Robin Wright Penn. Their stories are rounded out thanks to additional cast members including Stephen Dillane, Dakota Fanning, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Mary Kay Place, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Miguel Sandoval and Aidan Quinn. Garcia is directing from his own script, with Lynn handling producing chores. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu is serving as executive producer. "We set out to do a rather unusual independent film," said Garcia, who has worked with Baker, Brenneman, Carrillo, Close, Hamilton, Hunter, Seyfriend, Sandoval and Place. "The greatest gift has been to have actors of this caliber respond to the material -- it's just a fantastic experience thus far." The film is composed of nine Steadicam shots, each 10-12 minutes, to tell the women's stories by following the actors through various locations and situations. The low-budget film could wind up having a big payday for the crew: Every permanent member of the crew owns a piece of the film, from the grips and the production assistants to the producer and director. Garcia is repped by Endeavor, which is also repping the film. Lynn is repped by agent Lisa Callamaro and attorney Craig Emanuel at Loeb & Loeb.

(Karen re: Rescue Me) Missed it. I'll check for replays during the week. It's on FX, isn't it? Must be replays. Actually, I discovered last night was the replay. It's on Weds at 10 ET. I very much enjoyed the rest of the show. A lot funnier than I expected, but irreverently so. I saw a trailer for a Scottish movie called "Dear Frankie" this weekend..... and stars Emily Mortimer and Gerald Butler. Actually, it's Gerard. I have a hard time with the name sometimes. Liked him in the few things I've seen him in. 'Nine Lives' The story is a series of vignettes, offering glimpses into the lives of nine women Jason Isaacs, Ian McShane, Aidan Quinn? I'm in! ;-) The low-budget film could wind up having a big payday for the crew: Every permanent member of the crew owns a piece of the film That's really awesome.....but, doesn't sound like big $$ to me.

The low-budget film could wind up having a big payday for the crew: Every permanent member of the crew owns a piece of the film (Dorine) That's really awesome.....but, doesn't sound like big $$ to me. LOL! Does everyone remember their basic math? 8% of 0 is 0. ;-)))

Interview with Linklater in Filmmaker magazine. I'm not copying over the intro material, as I think it gives away much too much of the film's surprises, as do most of the reviews in print. Don't read them. So much of the film's delights are the character reveals, i.e., where they are in life, whta's happening with them, what happened after their Vienna encounter, etc. Filmmaker: I think this is maybe the first U.S. independent-film sequel ever made. Richard Linklater: [Laughs.] Yeah, and [Before Sunrise is] probably the lowest-grossing film to ever spawn a sequel! There�s a lot to be proud of. Filmmaker: Why did you decide to make this film? And why now? Linklater: Well, it�s something we�ve talked about over the years. Julie, Ethan and I would get together, and I could tell there was something still stirring in all of us. An early idea was to shoot what happened six months later rather quickly and then wait a few years and shoot the other, say, hour that took place years later. But we didn�t quite get it together � everybody was busy. But there was this desire we all had, just some kind of need. It certainly wasn�t anything other than thinking there was maybe more to say. Filmmaker: How did it start this time around? Linklater: I think when they did their scene in Waking Life, that�s when we all sat down and said, Okay, now definitely we have to do this. In an earlier form, it was much more of a traditional romantic comedy. It took place in four different locations, it was much more involved � a bigger-budget thing, probably about $8 or $10 million. And we couldn�t get financing. This was around 2000. So we totally reconceptualized it, and at that point Ethan, Julie and I had an idea to do what is the movie now. So Julie, Ethan and I actually just wrote a completely new movie. Filmmaker: What was that writing process like? Linklater: Well, it was a lot like the first one. We sat in a room and worked together in about a two- or three-day period, worked out a very detailed outline of the whole film in this sort of real-time environment. And then, over the next year or so, we just started e-mailing each other and faxing. I was sort of a conduit � they would send me monologues and dialogues and scenes and ideas, and I was editing, compiling and writing. And that�s how we came up with a script. And then Castle Rock came aboard to do it for not much money � a couple million � about what we had the first time, actually. The three of us met in Paris, and in a couple of days we did a first rewrite and just worked on the scenes. And during rehearsal and preproduction we kept working on it. Filmmaker: What to me was one of the film�s strong points is the affection that you clearly have for these characters, and the affection they have for each other. It�s intimate. Linklater: It was just kind of magical, I have to say � a magical encounter between two old friends, two old lovers, that you might have. Unlike the first movie, where you�re whisked away with the possibility of a romance, or you don�t know where it�s going to go happen, this is a little different. You�re older, wiser, and you know this person; you�ve been through something, and you�ve had a relationship, albeit very absentee, that is kind of profound. So it�s one of those moments when your fantasies are right in front of you! You�re experiencing something that you�ve thought about. Filmmaker: Would you say that the change in tone that you�ve just described is reflected in the filmmaking itself, or would you say that the aesthetic of this movie is almost the same as the first one? Linklater: Oh no, to me the tone is different. The visual style is even more minimal. And in the first one there was a much greater time span, and they were actively seeking out Vienna. They had all that possibility and a lot of time to kill! That was at night too, very romantic and full of mystery and possibility. This one was just the opposite. This one is daytime, they�ve both got earthly obligations. We�re in a town she lives in. We�re in a town he�s basically working in. He�s got real-life appointments. He�s got to leave for the airport in 80 minutes or so. So the tone of it is very real-worldy. And because it�s this sort of document of real time, I wanted it to be like an �eloquent documentary.� I didn�t think handheld 16mm, I thought Steadicams. Eloquent, but with a certain realness. You have these long takes, long Steadicam shots following them unobtrusively. You know, in the first film the camera really commented on [the characters] and enhanced their feeling. I�d pull back and you�d see them in th foreground with the opera house in the background. This was the opposite. I wanted it to seem like we were just following these people in as real a way as we could get and still seem like some kind of narrative fiction. I was just taking this idea that I�ve often worked from in movies: make a documentary about characters acting out a fiction. It�s this Godardian idea from a long time ago. Filmmaker: Could you explain a little more about this? Linklater: I think if you�re going for some kind of reality, your goal is to try to represent a reality as much as you can without it actually being a reality. This is fiction, these are fictional characters, and this is all written text. We�re not improvising on camera. But that�s the feel we�re going for, a certain spontaneity. It�s a lot of work for the actors � more than they�ll ever get credit for � the fact that everything is rehearsed like a play. Every beat, every gesture, every little moment is actually preplanned. Filmmaker: Every moment in that film was highly rehearsed? Linklater: Yeah, and yet the goal is to make it not seem like that. So that was a huge challenge. There�s nothing to hide behind for them. We can�t cut out of a scene that didn�t work because of how [the film is] structured geographically and timewise. We couldn�t just cut to a long shot of them walking and change the subject. It�s one conversation. We cut out hardly anything. We couldn�t � we committed ourselves to the dialogue, the ideas, everything. So that was a long process. Ethan and Julie had to get to some level that�s rarely required of an actor. So I was just so proud of them in the way they dug into themselves so much. [They�re playing] characters who are only parallel to themselves � that�s not Ethan and that�s not Julie, but we�ve created this universe where they could be, you know, themselves. Filmmaker: To me, the story is about a fantasy that�s now suddenly staring these characters back in the face. Linklater: I think what�s at stake is their own realities. It�s the biggest issue I think you can face about yourself: the person you are versus who you want to be, who you think you are versus who you really are, what you want versus what you really have. Big issues. It�s not slight, even though it�s often treated in kind of a slight way, but that�s the way life is. We treat it slightly, but it�s really important. People obsess about things that don�t seem important and blow off things that in fact are a big deal, like who you are, what you�re really doing, where you�re committing your passion and your energy. So I don�t know � to me that�s about as deep as you can get in a personal way. So I wasn�t worried about the story ever not seeming that it�s a big deal. Filmmaker: What was the shoot like? Linklater: It was tough. We had a 15-day schedule, and the biggest challenge was the real-time aspect of the movie. We couldn�t shoot it midday with the sun up. We could maybe [shoot] an interior [then], but we had very few interiors. So we had the challenge of matching light the best we could on a really limited schedule. So you make compromises but put the challenge on the actors. For a 10-page scene, we�d only have two hours to do it. We can do 10 takes and then we�ll use the best one, but that�s it. Once the light was right we had to be going. And we were with a French crew for the most part. Filmmaker: Did you provide yourself with options for cutting, or did you really just shoot the same scene the same way take after take? Linklater: It depended on the scene, but we usually shot the same takes. I don�t think I was doing it where it was, Let�s do one scene where you�re this way or one scene where you�re that way. We had already committed. But I would shoot different angles. When they�re walking on the garden path after they came out of the caf�, I ended up using kind of a walking two-shot for all of that, but I had two cameras [shooting] kind of crossed singles on each of them. I thought I could cut to those, but I ended up not using [those shots]. I was able to get a Steadicam operator, Jim McConkey, who I�d worked with on School of Rock, to come over and work with us. He gets the MVP award for Steadicam work. I think people who know Steadicam know just how tough some of the stuff he�s doing is. Filmmaker: Have the things that motivated you to make films at the beginning of your career � Before Sunrise was your third film � changed a lot in the past nine years? Linklater: No, not at all. This was the film I think I imagined before I ever made a film at all. It�s something I�ve strived for, and it took this long to figure out how to do it, to have the confidence or whatever skills to try to pull it off. I don�t think this would be a good first film for anybody to try to attempt, even though it looks so simple. But I don�t know, I really do feel like I�m coming from the same place, you know. Filmmaker: Almost like Truffaut�s Antoine Doinel series. Linklater: Yeah, that�s inspiring. But who knows? I don�t think it�ll be too methodical. Even Truffaut�s Doinel series didn�t seem to have a total rhyme or reason to it. A film just popped out every now and then. I think whenever Truffaut probably had a good idea or felt Antoine come into his system and wanted to check in with him again, that�s probably when [a film] happened. Who knows where that would have gone had Truffaut lived longer? After Before Sunset, I think all three of us decided, Yeah, this is a story we would have to visit again. It won�t be an encounter; it will be digging into the belly of the domestic beast. Like, how two people live together� something like that. But who knows? I�m sure it�ll take flight or it won�t over time. Filmmaker: Do you have any idea what happens after the end of this film? Linklater: [Laughs.] Well, I think I just gave it away. Filmmaker: I think you did too. So in 2013 we�ll see the next one? Linklater: Nine more years. No, Julie says that if we�re gonna do any sex scenes we�d better do them soon, although I don�t believe that for a second. Julie looks better now than she did back then, and she�ll be a radiant older woman, I�m sure.

Wow! Amazing stuff. Thanks Karen - I really enjoyed reading that interview. It isn't very often that films have to face that "real-time" issue. And to rehearse it so well, so that it looks spontaneous - sounds like what Jodi Foster said about her role in Taxi Driver, that De Niro rehearsed with her so much that she got really bored because she knows the dialogue inside out. Then he'd throw her an off-line or use a different inflection/intonation, something that is not in the script, and because she knows her lines so well, she didn't have to worry about what to say next, and is able to respond/improvise on the spot. I'd read recently in a report of the 2004 Berinale a wonderful snippet about Before Sunset - where the writer mentioned Linklater and Chantal Akerman in the same breath! And what the writer (Kevin Lee) said "I give Linklater a lot of credit for believing that a magical connection between two human beings as he depicts is possible, especially because in Before Sunset he shows why it must be possible" Having read the interview, this really makes sense, since Delpy and Hawke did contribute to the script and you can read this as a kind of a continuation of their investment to the characters, and also, a continuation of their on-screen chemistry (if you like) from Before Sunrise. They did have a gap of 9 years IRL to "line their faces" and chalk up their own histories. I haven't seen the film as yet, - not shown at the film festival here, nor the one I attended earlier in Hong Kong. But, I can't wait to see it - especially after reading all your postings and this last bit from the Berlinale wrap-up "And then there's the ending. Beautiful, startling, unbelievably perfect, so natural it's unreal. So fitting for a movie that plays it moment by moment because it understands that life, for better or worse, is about being in the moment one is in right now and making the most of it, now. It's all one really can do." Here's the link if you want to read more.

oops! here's the link :-) http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/festivals/04/31/berlinale_2004.html

Thanks for the link, Janice (firehorse). Wonderfully insightful and doesn't give away all the secrets of their lives. I rarely get so impressed by a film, but this one is so exceptional, from every standpoint.

About the real man whose story "inspired" The Terminal...sort of: http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1269788,00.html

I viewed Sunrise last night (too old for a rental, bought it used) *Shrugging shoulders* It's OK. Casablanca doesn't have to worry;-) Will see Sunset this weekend when it opens here.

(Evelyn)I viewed Sunrise last night (too old for a rental, bought it used) After hearing all the raves on Sunset, I've been trying to get a hold of Sunrise before I go to the theater. All copies are out from my two video rental sources - my local Blockbuster holds 3 copies. Sunset must be generating a lot of buzz even though I've heard nothing of it outside drool. (I should qualify my statement - chauffering children all day doesn't actually count as travelling in an intellectual circle)

(Evelyn) *Shrugging shoulders* It's OK. I agree, esp if you watch the two one after the other. I did like the first one mostly because I saw quite a bit of myself in it from experiences I had backpacking around Europe years ago. But, I didn't find it completely compelling in and of itself. Matter of fact, when I watched it just before I went out to see the second, I was very easily distracted and doing other things. With Before Sunset, I was completely swept up in them and their conversation, the implications, their movements, everything. Maybe because I'm older (though can't say wiser necessarily ;-)), I can completely identify with the life dilemmas of them both, especially her. In many things she said, she could've been me. I found it thought provoking in relation to my own life, much as I did with Lost in Translation. I was really bummed it ended there, though I thought that was brilliant as it left me wanting more. And to know that every move was completely rehearsed makes it even more compelling and enjoyable to me. Very well done!

As I recall, the raves were for Before Sunset. Watching Before Sunrise was for background and to see how much more depth of experience is shown in the current phase of the story.

mmm, I have seen Before Sunrise quite a few times, but each time, the experience took me further away from my initial love of the film. And maybe I was younger then... :-( I think some of the scenes that I liked then seems a bit trite now. And for me, Ethan Hawke's character is definitely not as dreamy as his role in Reality Bites. Delpy is however, very talented and shows such diversity in the roles that she plays.

This article in Sight and Sound says very highly, and beautifully, of Before Sunset. After reading it, I really can't wait to see this film. Enjoy! http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/2004_08/debriefencounter.php

Watch out!!! Sight & Sound is notorious for big spoilers and this one is full of them.

None of this guy's movies get released, yet he's still making more? The mystery of the century... Romijn-Stamos on the 'Town' Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, in front of the cameras on the Summit Entertainment/Endgame Entertainment production "Alibi," is in negotiations to be the woman to Ben Affleck's "Man About Town." The project is being eyed for a late-October start, with Mike Binder directing from his script. Individual producing credits also are still being worked out, with Media 8 producing and 3 Arts Entertainment likely to receive producing credit as well, according to sources. "Man About Town" is the story of a top Hollywood talent agent (Affleck) who seems to have it all -- success, money and a beautiful wife (Romijn-Stamos). But it all starts to unravel when he finds out that she is cheating on him and his journal has been stolen by a journalist who could expose him. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Am surprised Binder isn't playing the lead himself. Romijn-Stamos is just his type. ;-)

Mike Nichols Takes a Skinny Dip Source: Variety Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Mike Nichols (Closer) has bought screen rights to Skinny Dip, the new novel by Carl Hiaasen, and intends to direct and produce the adaptation. In the book, Hiaasen, a columnist for The Miami Herald, again finds comedy and mystery in South Florida, the setting of his past books, including "Strip Tease." His new story is about a crooked bureaucrat/biologist in danger of losing his lucrative business when his wife finds out about his pollution scam. So he tosses her off the back of a cruise liner, far out in the Atlantic. Unfortunately for him, his curvy wife is surprisingly buoyant, and floats on a bale of marijuana until she is rescued by an ex-cop.

(Karen) Sight & Sound is notorious for big spoilers and this one is full of them. Very true. A friend who teaches film theory explained to me why this is: "Sight and Sound" publishes film criticism, not movie reviews. (His words not mine.) A piece of film criticism should contain a synopsis of the overall plot and explore the pertinent action which occurs within a film. So - it would seem not containing "spoilers" a virtual impossiblity in a film critique. He suggested that I might want to read the "Sight and Sound" critiques only after I see the movies in question. Although, some people really don't mind knowing what's going to happen in a movie before seeng said movie. My big gripe with "spoilers" isn't so much reviews or critiques, but rather, trailers. There are so many trailers which leave me with the feeling that I've already seen the movies they're meant to be previewing. Sometimes the trailers are like a more entertaining "Readers' Digest" condensed version of the movies they advertise. Just the entertaining bits - a form of extreme editing in effect.

(Cheryl) So - it would seem not containing "spoilers" a virtual impossiblity in a film critique. I can recall several of the critiques in S&S being prefaced by warnings about spoilers in the past. This one didn't, so maybe they no longer do so.

Risa, of definite interest to you.... From AICN.... Sorting Out Those James Bond Rumors... Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab... Evidently, the new ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY features Pierce Brosnan saying that he�s done with the Bond franchise. Since their site is for subscribers only, I can�t confirm that, but I�m sure it�ll be in this week�s issue if they did run it. Makes sense. People in and around MGM have known that Pierce wanted out for a while now. He hasn�t been happy with the direction the films have taken, and he has been trying to steer the franchise in a riskier direction, back towards the original Fleming source material. As a longtime fan of the books who is ambivalent at best towards the movies (outright hostile, in some cases), I always liked the notion of Quentin Tarantino doing a straight adaptation of CASINO ROYALE. It�ll never happen, though, and I�ve accepted that. We�re not that lucky. The rumor that is being printed and reprinted this week, though, is that Orlando Bloom will be playing a young James Bond at school. For some reason, people are saying this is a Miramax project. There�s a whole lot of stupid in that rumor. MGM/Eon owns Bond and isn�t about to give someone else a license to kill their franchise by doing some ridiculous �Young Bond� series. And Miramax can�t just decide to make the films without that permission. Forget this rumor right away. It�s just pointless noise and mumbles. You want some a real Bond tidbit to chew on? How about the name of the guy who MGM has already tapped to replace Brosnan? I first heard this name floated a month or so ago, but now I�ve heard it from three fairly solid sources. No paperwork is signed yet, but it looks like they�ve made their choice, and it�s not the long-rumored Clive Owen, and it�s not Hugh Jackman, and it�s not Hugh Grant, and it�s not any of the names I�ve heard a dozen times before. Nope. Looks like the next guy to suit up and slip on the 007 moniker will be an actor who can really sink his CHOPPERs into the role. A guy who brings a certain HULKing charm to the role. A comedian-turned-action lead who... ummm... oh, how the fuck do I make a lame TROY joke here? Forget it. Bana. Eric Bana. You heard it here first. __________________________________________________ While I really like Eric Bana. I don't see it, unless he does a serious version. I'd still prefer Clive or HJ if they were going with the current set up.

(Karen)None of this guy's movies get released, yet he's still making more? As long as daddy keeps bankrolling him. Talk about throwing good money after bad. Poor Ben Affleck; this is *not* the way to get your faltering career back on track. I can't see Bana as Bond either. For one thing, I thought for sure they'd pick an Englishman for a change. The one good thing about this rumor is that Colin's name is in every paper in America today.;-)

(Mari)As long as daddy keeps bankrolling him. Forgive me, but who's his daddy?

No one famous, Leslie, just a guy with big $$$ who we understand bankrolls his son's films. In other words, he doesn't have to worry that investors won't like his work.;-)

For those who are interested in the "James Bond" topic, here's the public confirmation that PB will no longer be doing anymore Bond flicks: http://www.yourmovies.com.au/main.cfm?page=news&i=40759 This movies site is pretty well-researched and tends to be quite accurate, so I'd say it's official... Personally, I'd hate to see CF take over as Bond, because I'm not a Bond fan. Doesn't sound like he's even in the running anyway. I don't see Bana as Bond at all... doesn't have the "class" of some others... I doubt that rumour is true...

Nothing's official until it comes from Eon, which makes the Bond movies.

I thought Eric Bana was terrific in TROY.

I thought Eric Bana was terrific in TROY. Agree. Very impressive, and sexy. Though I couldn't relate him in TROY with the man in HULK.

Not meaning to change the topic, but... I just came back from seeing Napoleon Dynamite. Really odd, somewhat dumb, but very funny. A refreshing change of pace IMO. Does anyone else have an opinion on the film? I gather it premiered at Sundance this year.

I wanted to see it. Read lots of good things about it. Kinda quirky. Saw The Village tonight....a definite *must see*! IMO, by far the best thing M. Night has done since Sixth Sense. Risa thought it actually might be better. Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter) as Ivy....*what* a find she is! The whole cast was v. good overall. Esp Adrian Brody, too. Interesting character. Actually, some people could say interesting character, others may say stock type of character. The story was an interesting comment on the methods used in maintaining a society. It was a compelling story, with twists, that people may or may not see coming. I had sort of guessed or suspected one thing, but totally missed another that Risa got. I did notice some other subtle things, but didn't consciously apply them to figuring out any twists. My favorite scene involved Joaquin Phoenix and BDH...wonderful lighting, staging, with emotional resonance. Neat little cameo for M. Night. Was really nice to see William Hurt in something again. He's been hard to find in recent years. I was reading M. Night reshot the ending. Am curious what changed. Will have to search the Internet for it. Supposedly there was a leaked script a while back. Sorry about being vague on so much, but am trying not to give much away to those, like me, haven't read much or anything about it. Also, v.v. funny discussion on that new Denis Leary show Rescue Me about defining and explaining metrosexuals. 2 of the newer guys try to explain it to the older ones. Hysterical!

I haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite yet, but it's on my list. ~~~~~~~~~~~ From Ananova: New Keira film set to stop traffic A new film version of Pride and Prejudice could prove a headache for motorists in a Lincolnshire town. Local tourism chiefs are delighted Pemberley Productions is using picturesque Stamford to shoot its version of the Jane Austen classic. It's a "boost" for the area, they said. However, Lincolnshire police today warned the production - starring Bend It Like Beckham actress Keira Knightley - will mean weeks of delays for drivers. The film company wants to recreate the 1790s in the town by erecting a covered walkway. It means traffic flow around the junction of St Mary's Street and St George's Square will be restricted to one lane until the road is closed completely at the beginning of September for final preparations and filming. "Some effect on traffic is unavoidable," a force spokesman said. Due to the likely delays, he added, motorists are best advised to avoid the area altogether if possible - to reduce congestion. Lincolnshire was also used for filming of the acclaimed BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, which was shot on location at Belton House, near Grantham.

Olympics shouldn't hurt August's youth appeal films By Martin A. Grove Olympics overview: The dog days of summer aren't prime playing time like June and July, but with schools still out and people still taking vacations August can generate good grosses. This summer, however, with the Olympics to contend with from Aug. 13-29, Hollywood is being careful to open films targeted to younger moviegoers who are the least likely to be glued to their TV sets watching the games. Indeed, after DreamWorks launches its adult thriller "Collateral" starring Tom Cruise Aug. 6 the pipeline for the rest of the month is filled with younger appeal product directed at teen or subteen girls and teen or young adult males. This wasn't the case year when Buena Vista/Touchstone was able to take advantage of the less-crowded late summer to open its adult male appeal western "Open Range" Aug. 15. This summer there aren't any films targeted specifically to adults coming into the marketplace after "Collateral." "The worst Olympics (impact is when) they're in Canada or the United States because then they're live," explains one marketing pro. "That can impact (the boxoffice) as much as about 20%. When it's delayed (from Europe) it should diminish boxoffice in the vicinity of maybe 10 or 12%. You lose men, particularly older men and you lose some of the boys. Even though there are female events, you lose more men than women because it's sports. Mostly it's men over 25 (who are lost), but depending on the individual events you can also lose some of the younger audience." The impact at the boxoffice could be even worse if are any terrorist incidents at the Olympics because, he noted, "it certainly would keep people glued to their television sets. Then it's people watching newscasts." Facing the reality of having to compete against the televised games, Hollywood has basically opted to counterprogram with less costly pictures targeted to younger moviegoers who are less likely to be devoting time to the Olympics. "Once you reach Aug. 6, the $100 million pictures are over," he explained. "They're already in the marketplace. From then on, you don't have any (really) big product until later in the year. " What there will be on tap for most of August, this marketing executive points out, are films that are "younger family kind of stuff. It's younger product, lower-budgeted product. The tentpole pictures are out of the way by then. The biggest budgeted picture (opening in mid-August) is 'Alien vs. Predator' (from 20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment) and I don't think it's a $100 million (budget). It's definitely a younger (male) audience. Most of the product from Aug. 13 on is younger product because they're more inclined to go to the movies and not sit home and watch the Olympics." Indeed, that appears to be Hollywood's strategy when you consider what's in the pipeline for August. The suspense thriller "Collateral," directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie, opens Aug. 6, giving it one week of playing time before the Olympics hits. The R rated film revolves around a grey haired Tom Cruise playing a hit man, making it more adult appeal than the superstar's earlier PG-13 rated action films like "Mission: Impossible" and its sequel. Some reports put its budget at around $60 million, a relatively modest cost these days. Opening head-to-head with "Collateral" Aug. 6, but targeted to an entirely different audience, is Revolution Studios and Columbia's PG-13 rated romantic comedy "Little Black Book." Directed by Nick Hurran, it stars Brittany Murphy, Holly Hunter, Ron Livingston and Kathy Bates. Its storyline about a talk show producer going through her fiance's Palm address listings to investigate his ex-girlfriends and then winding up becoming friends with one of them should play best to young women who could care less about the then Olympics. Buena Vista/Disney's G rated sequel "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," directed by Garry Marshall and again starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, arrives Wed., Aug. 11. Its primary appeal will be to teen and subteen girls and their mothers and grandmothers, again an audience that's not likely to be glued to the Olympics. Fox's horror thriller "Alien Vs. Predator," opening Aug. 13, is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and stars Lance Henriksen. With its roots in a hit videogame, it's clearly something that should play best to under-25 males. Here, too, these are moviegoers who should be available despite the hoopla over the televised Olympic Games. [Ed note: Why is this language not at negative as that describing women?] Even younger in its appeal is Warner Bros. PG animated family film "Yu-Gi-Oh," also opening Aug. 13. It's based on a popular kids cartoon about Yugi and his pals, all of whom are into playing the game Duel Monsters. Its audience will be young kids whose moms are willing to sit through the picture. This, too, isn't a crowd you'd find obsessing over the Olympics results. Paramount's "Without a Paddle" opens Wed., Aug. 18 and is a PG-13 comedy about young guys on a canoe trip looking for treasure and having to deal with a dangerous river and some nutty mountain men. Directed by Steven Brill, it stars Seth Green and Matthew Lillard. "Paddle's" audience is not likely to be home watching pole vaulting or high jumping. Warner Bros. and Morgan Creek's prequel "Exorcist: The Beginning" hits theaters Aug. 20. Directed by Renny Harlin, it stars Stellan Skarsgard and Izabella Scorupco. Like any good horror thriller, its primary appeal should be male and especially under-25. Given its classic roots, however, the film could also pick up some adult males after the Olympics fold their tents a week or so later. By Aug. 27 there's not much of the Olympics left to be concerned about and, consequently, some slightly more adult appeal product will start emerging. There is, for instance, Paramount's R rated suspense thriller "Suspect Zero," directed by E. Elias Merhige and starring Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley and Carrie-Anne Moss. Its story involves an FBI agent investigating a strange murder and running into psychological twists when he's on the trail of a key suspect. The 18-25 male audience will be available from Day One and over-25 males can catch up with it soon thereafter if they're dedicated Olympics watchers. Sony's Screen Gems label will probably be looking for younger males with its PG-13 rated action horror sequel "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," also arriving Aug. 27. Directed by Dwight H. Little, it stars Johnny Messner and Morris Chestnut. Once again, there are giant anaconda snakes to worry about. Over-25 males who enjoyed the 1997 original "Anaconda" but want to see the concluding Olympics events will be able to come on board within a few days of the sequel's launch. As for the PG rated family comedy "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2" from Sony's Triumph Releasing, which also opens Aug. 27, there will be kids and moms to play to and they'll all be available. Directed by Bob Clark, it stars Jon Voight and Scott Baio. While it could be a profitable August for Hollywood since most of the films arriving during the month aren't high profile big budget productions, it doesn't look like there will be any real late summer boxoffice fireworks. There will, however, be a transition to the fall season, which will bring us adult appeal product with Golden Globe and Oscar nominations potential. "Nobody's going to make the mistake they made last year," my marketing source points out. "A lot of the Academy pictures are going to be slotted earlier. I don't think anything of any consequence is going to open later than maybe the first week in December. They're not going to go out at Christmas (as distributors did in the past with awards contenders). The Academy's basically in New York and Los Angeles so if you platform (a picture) you can really accomplish what you want to accomplish."

Lido fest loves Hollywood, Japan By Peter Kiefer and Stuart Kemp ROME -- Hollywood will have its fingerprints all over this year's Venice International Film Festival with three movies in competition and an additional seven others receiving special screenings, as organizers announced this year's line-up Thursday. In his first outing as the artistic director of the event, Marco Mueller made good on his pledge to add more studio fare to this year's lineup, more so than in any other recent year. Three U.S. films -- Jonathan Glazer's "Birth," Mira Nair's "Vanity Fair," and Todd Solondz's "Palindromes" -- will vie for this year's Golden Lion. A total of 21 films are in competition, up one from last year's 20 films. An additional 16 films are set to receive a special screening. In addition to the three U.S. films in competition, six others will screen outside competition. The list includes a veritable who's who of Hollywood directors. Those scheduled to unspool on the Lido include: Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal," Michael Mann's "Collateral," jury-member Spike Lee's "She Hate Me," Steven Soderbergh's "Eros" (co-directed with Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-wai), Jonathan Demme's "The Manchurian Candidate," and Marc Forster's "Finding Neverland" which stars Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman. DreamWorks' "Shark Tale" is set for a special event screening. The announcement of the lineup for the 61st annual Venice Film Festival was made at a packed Rome's Excelsior Hotel Thursday morning. Umbrella organization Venice Biennale president Davide Croff, along with Mueller, made the presentation to a standing room only ballroom. Both Croff and Mueller repeatedly stressed the "renewal" of the Festival's spirit and character under Mueller's stewardship. "I wanted to take the festival forward while also taking it in a completely different, 180-degree direction," said Mueller. Croff, along with Mueller, said he was hoping to pull off the best Venice Film Festival in ten years. "We have all been working with great energy and enthusiasm," he said. This year's lineup also boasts a heavy Asian influence -- more specifically, Japanese. A total of three Japanese films are in competition, Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Cafe Lumiere," Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle," and Jia Zhangke's "Shijie," which is a joint Japanese/Chinese production. As expected by regular festival goers, there is also a strong dose of European fare, including German director Wim Wender's "Land of Plenty," British director Mike Leigh's "Vera Drake," Italian director Guido Chiesa's "Lavorare con Lentezza" (To Work With Slowness) and Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar's "Mar Adentro" which stars Javier Bardem. Also set for a special out of competition screening is Michael Radford's "The Merchant of Venice" which stars Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. Other categories at the Venice Film Festival, which will run from Sep. 1 to 11, include The Venice Horizontal, Venice Midnight, the Venice Digital Cinema and Critics Week. Full listing here: http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/61miac/index.html

"Nobody's going to make the mistake they made last year," my marketing source points out. "A lot of the Academy pictures are going to be slotted earlier. I don't think anything of any consequence is going to open later than maybe the first week in December. They're not going to go out at Christmas (as distributors did in the past with awards contenders). The Academy's basically in New York and Los Angeles so if you platform (a picture) you can really accomplish what you want to accomplish." Thank God that they are moving things back some, because it's been exhausting and time consuming to go to literally 4 screenings a week between Thanksgiving and Xmas, because they have felt the need to cram the award contenders into such a late and short time period. Though I'm figuring, and have a fear, that the same will happen, just earlier. It's already busier for BAFTA sooner this year than it was last year, and judging by the release schedules for the rest of the year I was perusing at Comingsoon.net, it's going to really get hopping in Sept/Oct. And it's interesting that they feel platforming will now be considered the effective plan, when for so long, their view was that releasing so late, just before Academy voters got their ballots, was the way to go as the films would be fresh in their minds.

Am very curious about... Michael Mann's "Collateral, Steven Soderbergh's "Eros" (co-directed with Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-wai), and Marc Forster's "Finding Neverland" which stars Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet and Dustin Hoffman. Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar's "Mar Adentro" which stars Javier Bardem. Also set for a special out of competition screening is Michael Radford's "The Merchant of Venice" which stars Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. I didn't realize Dustin Hoffman was in Neverland. I thought I read somewhere that SJ was to be on the jury there.

(Dorine) I thought I read somewhere that SJ was to be on the jury there. Yep, and I would imagine the laps of several of the panel members, especially John Boorman, v. distinguished looking older man. Mushimoko y'all! ;-)

ROTFL!! *Me-ow!*

...should play best to young women who could care less about the then Olympics. ...Its primary appeal will be to teen and subteen girls and their mothers and grandmothers, again an audience that's not likely to be glued to the Olympics Sheesh! My daughter, my mother, and I are always glued to the Olympics. It's the DH who falls asleep;-) What? Did Mr. Grove write this article for 2004 or 1944 Olympics? (Karen)Yep, and I would imagine the laps of several of the panel members,...distinguished looking older man. Didn't she gave up on those "older" men of last year's red carpets?;-) Thanks for both articles, Karen

What? Did Mr. Grove write this article for 2004 or 1944 Olympics? *snort* No, but that is fairly representative of the kind of comments made about the female audience component in all the trade publications.

When, and if, someone goes to see The Village, I want to know what you think. Am very surprised at the many negative reviews. Oddly enough, virtually all of the ones I've read so far, say the acting is good, it's suspenseful, then says the twist isn't good enough, or it's not scary enough like M. Night's others. I find that annoying that they can't seem to take it on it's own, though in fairness, I'll go see other people's movies on the expectations of previous work as well. And this did have a few issues for me, but still enjoyable. Still, this paragraph is quite telling from USA Today.... "Shyamalan has painted himself into a corner. Audiences approach The Village wanting something more frightening than Signs and a plot with a more powerful twist than his masterful 1999 success The Sixth Sense. Though it's not as contrived as 2000's Unbreakable, The Village disappoints. " I guess I was better off not expecting anything. Kinda reminds me of the possible reasoning behind some of the negative reviews of Trauma....because it wasn't a slasher-type horror movie that My Little Eye turned out to be. Also saw Manchurian Candidate last night. I liked it for the most part overall, though the first 30-40 minutes seemed a bit muddled for my taste. Good performances. Had a just-on-the-brink-of-too-campy scene with Liev Schrieber and Meryl Streep as his a-tad-too-devoted mom who was maybe a bit too helpful after a shower (or bath). ;-)

(Dorine) Meryl Streep as his a-tad-too-devoted mom who was maybe a bit too helpful after a shower (or bath). ;-) In the original, Mom actually kisses sonny boy.

Never saw the original. She almost did, but they had her get as close as possible, pause, then cut to next scene.

Though it's not as contrived as 2000's Unbreakable, The Village disappoints While I liked Unbreakable, I agree with the author; the Village did disappoint. I was hot to see it so I dragged my sis to a matinee. We both found it way too slow. And agreed that the plot twist was a let down. Even M. Night's cameo was a let down. You only get to see his full face in a reflection.

I was disappointed with Unbreakable. I agree The Village did get slow somewhere in the first third to me (reminded me of Trauma in that respect), but the rest picked it up enough for me. I thought that was a cool way to do his cameo. Different than just having him stand there and say something, though actually he was saying something when he wasn't really in the shot. Overall, I was just anxious for her to get back in time to save Lucius. The costume of that creature bothered me though....just a bit over the top...a cross between a huge porcupine and a wolf thing standing on 2 feet. I wonder if on the DVD, they'll include the original ending that he reshot.

POSSIBLE SPOILER: Did anyone notice, in The Village, when she got to the "Game preserve" that the name of the company was Walker-also her last name? I wish they had explained that to us. My sis and I assumed that it was a front, created by her father, to keep them more secluded. It just seemed like they rushed through the editing of the ending and kind of let us down on that point. I agree with you, Doreen, about the costumes of the creatures. I chalked it up to the fact that they were primarily designed to strike fear into the hearts of children-not the adults. I didn't know there was an alternate ending out there. I'll just have to read about it though. Don't think I'll be investing in this one on DVD. I'm taping My Life So far right now. Thanks to whom ever posted the link for upcoming CF films on US TV!!

I join Karen and Doreen in recommending Before Sunset! But it is critical to see Before Sunrise beforehand. Otherwise , you won't "get it"; even with the flashbacks from the first film. Like my local reviewer who gave it one star and said it was "dull, with too much talking". " And then there's the ending. Beautiful, startling, unbelievably perfect, so natural it's unreal. So fitting for a movie that plays it moment by moment because it understands that life, for better or worse, is about being in the moment one is in right now and making the most of it, now. It's all one really can do." How true. A Droolie once told us the old hippie saying: "When you get old, it's not the things you *did* that you'll regret, it 's the things you *didn't do*". *Waving to Susan* And De-Lovely should be on everyone's "must see" list. Not just exquisitely done, but a joy as well.

(Yvette) Did anyone notice, in The Village, when she got to the "Game preserve" that the name of the company was Walker-also her last name? I wish they had explained that to us. My sis and I assumed that it was a front, created by her father, to keep them more secluded. It just seemed like they rushed through the editing of the ending and kind of let us down on that point. Ivy's grandfather (William Hurt's character's father) was a billionaire. The news clippings her father pulled out at the end stated that in the headline about his father's murder. When his father was killed, I presume he inherited a good chunk of money. Either he or his father had created this nature preserve....then her father created this town and with all his money had the clout to keep it a secret. And gee, like that never happens IRL. ;-) As M. Night's character said at the end, they had the government reroute flight plans so no planes would fly over. Of course, if planes did fly over, the charade couldn't possibly be maintained. I chalked it up to the fact that they were primarily designed to strike fear into the hearts of children-not the adults. Yes, since the only adults there were the ones who started the village and created this creature in the first place.

I was just on the IMDB site and came across a few links that are new to me. My appologies to Karen if they are old hat. If so, please feel free to delete this post. I especially like the pic of him on the cover of the AC program. http://home.att.net/~luvvie/cf/caretaker.htm http://home.att.net/~luvvie/cf/ http://home.att.net/~luvvie/cf/3DoR.htm Sorry, I'm not very adept at this cutting/pasting/linking stuff. :o{

Old hat? Well, this is Odds & Ends, but since it has to do with Colin, it would belong on Firthology. Besides, there's more on 3DOR on firth.com than Luvvie's site.

(Karen)..there's more on 3DOR on firth.com than Luvvie's site. Yeah....'sides you even own a CARETAKER program;-)

Just got back from The Village. My three companions and I liked it very much. No, it's not as scary as his prior films but it's very clever and well done. Warning - SPOILER Ahead The accents and 19th century dialogue seemed forced, it just didn't flow as smoothly as heard in other period films. There were even some phrases and vocabulary here and here that were more on the contemporary side. My friends thought it was poor acting. I thought that it might be purposeful on the director's part - a clue to the fact that the situation wasn't real.

Variety's summing up of the situation: New Bloom for Bond buzz Sun Aug 1, 5:19 AM ET Marc Graser, STAFF HOLLYWOOD -- Development hell is giving James Bond nightmares -- and the torment is largely self-inflicted. With six months to go before the 21st installment of the franchise should start lensing, MGM and Eon Prods. still don't have an actor to play the suave British superspy, a director or even a shooting script. And the lack of all three is fueling the rumor mill. For several months, Pierce Brosnan has been distancing himself from the project and pundits have taken that to mean he's retired as Bond. And complicating things, Orlando Bloom is being courted to play a teenaged 007, based on a series of books that Miramax will start publishing in the fall, and to replace Brosnan in the next adventure. But Brosnan, who is not under contract to play Bond for a fifth time, has not yet been made an offer to come back -- nor has any other thesp been offered the role. And Miramax's book deal does not include rights to make films based on the younger Bond's adventures. After 20 films, the franchise's producers are under pressure to take a risk and try something new, such as rely less on explosions and effects and go back to the earlier pics, which were heavier on character and plot. Brosnan has publicly said that the producers are in "a state of paralysis" as to which direction the next film should go. And with Brosnan's involvement a question mark and the thesp only getting older, producers are eyeing younger candidates, with names like Bloom, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana, Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Colin Firth, Gerard Butler, Jude Law and Ewan McGregor said to be in the running. Going younger is especially enticing now that Matt Damon is generating B.O. coin playing spy Jason Bourne in U's emerging series. Bond's not the only franchise having development issues. Less than two months before it starts production, "Mission: Impossible 3" is still looking for a director, Warner Bros. has hired yet another team of writers, director and producers for its new "Superman" saga, and Indiana Jones is still waiting for a greenlight at Paramount. What is certain is that a new Bond film is in the works -- and that MGM is as dependent on the franchise now as in the past. Grosses from the last and most successful entry, "Die Another Day," accounted for 42% of the Lion's domestic B.O take in 2002, when that pic was released. Next pic is being prepped to start shooting before March in order to bow Nov. 18, 2005. Pic's producers have agreed on a plot; scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who penned the last two Bond adventures, turned in the first draft of their script last week. ~~~~~~~~~ More about that last paragraph, from the Commander Bond Net via Dark Horizons: CommanderBond reports that they are now hearing from multiple independent sources close to the production that the current draft of "Bond 21" by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade is based on Ian Fleming�s first James Bond novel, "Casino Royale". Whether or not the film will be called Casino Royale is still not known. Purvis and Wade last used the Ian Fleming novel "Moonraker" as the basis for "Die Another Day". 'Royale' was first published in 1953 and was most famously adapted as a 1967 satirical comedy starring David Niven and Peter Sellers - an adaptation that had no relation to the main 20 films produced under the Cubby Broccoli/Harry Saltzman Eon Productions banner. The rights to the novel reverted back to MGM in the late 90's. Set entirely in Royale-les-Eaux, a resort village in N.E. France, Casino Royale is a rather small scale Bond novel [Ed note: They all were.] which no doubt will be expanded by Purvis and Wade. Whilst those Prague location rumours may prove to be false, a Bond Girl named Vesper Lynd and a villain named Le Chiffre are apparently distinct possibilities. ~~~~~~~~ I would love to see the films go back to the novels, especially this one.

v.g. article about how Focus Features is the new Miramax: Niche biz comes into Focus Sun Aug 1, 5:19 AM ET David Rooney, STAFF As uncertainty continues to cloud the future of Miramax in its ongoing battle with its Mouse House parent, 2-year-old Focus Features has emerged as one of the brightest stars of the specialty distribution arena. So will the company inherit the Weinstein brothers' mantle? Since being assembled out of Good Machine and USA Films in 2002, Focus has strung together an impressive roster of upscale hits like "Far From Heaven," "The Pianist" and "Lost in Translation." The company has developed a reputation for taking artistic risks: pairing Jim Carrey (news) with the idiosyncratic team of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"; casting Reese Witherspoon in a period literary adaptation in Mira Nair's upcoming "Vanity Fair"; or enlisting heartthrobs Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger to play cowboy lovers in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." It's also had a few misfires such as "The Guys," "Ned Kelly" and "Sylvia." While co-prexys David Linde and James Schamus bristle at any suggestion that Focus is the new Miramax, they do concede that the expansion of Harvey and Bob Weinstein's company from arthouse onto studio terrain has created an opening. "I don't really want to take on any mantle," Schamus says. "But the rise of Miramax as a studio did clear a space for a truly specialized but still aggressive independent studio, and that's where we like to be." While Focus does not have the same autonomy from its studio parent, Universal as, say, Sony Pictures Classics, the unit operates freely within an established (but undisclosed) budget, making movies for under $30 million that go through the same greenlighting process as those at U. Linde and Schamus say that not once has U stepped in to block a project. Like other studio specialty divisions, though, Focus had to walk away from the boffo opportunity of "Fahrenheit 9/11," principally because Universal insisted on including DVD rights in the distrib deal. But the missteps are outweighed by a success rate that points to a young company with a clearly defined agenda. Like Miramax, Focus is one of the few production-based specialty companies that understand how to mine international to limit financial exposure on its features. "One of the things we've done is to treat the specialized market as a business, not an excuse on one hand to throw parties and win awards and on the other, to try to get into the studio business," Schamus offers. "We are extremely aggressive when we have to be, but we are never going to be aggressive to the point of taking ourselves out of this business." "We have created a multifaceted business," Linde adds, noting it's a production-distribution company that distributes a variety of pictures "all financed with a careful financial plan" and it's an entity that manages a 300-plus library of specialty and genre movies via all media worldwide. Focus has pushed the boundaries of standard thinking in scheduling many of its 10-12 releases per year. The U division plunged into last year's July 4 weekend with French pickup "Swimming Pool," grossing north of $10 million, and last month scored a promising start for Jeff Bridges starrer "The Door in the Floor" with some of the best reviews of the season. Focus also opted for a March release of "Eternal Sunshine," despite long-established plans for a major end-of-year awards-season push, and will bow "Vanity Fair" on Labor Day weekend. "The model is: There is no model," says Linde. Later this year, Focus bows the first titles from its genre division Rogue Pictures -- British zombie comedy "Shaun of the Dead" and deadly doll franchise update "Seed of Chucky" in the fall, and in early 2005, an updated remake of "Assault on Precinct 13" plus Jet Li starrer "Unleashed." The establishment of the Rogue label stands to consolidate the distrib's position as the closest thing on the specialty scene to the Miramax/Dimension double-act. And, speaking of double acts: Focus has its own yin-yang pairing in Linde and Schamus, who bring together a complementary skill set of dealmaking and creative savvy. The professorial Schamus, who leans toward bow ties and cardigans, appreciates good horror films as much as classic literature. The deadpan Linde brings a pragmatic business savvy to Schamus' intellectualism. Linde's tenure at Miramax and later Good Machine helped hone his talent for assembling financing and spreading risk through foreign sales. Schamus came up as a producer of edgy indie fare before co-founding Good Machine, and in addition, is a respected screenwriter who teaches a Columbia U. graduate course in film studies. Says Linde: "The two things that really served us to great advantage are those six years we had running a profitable business and the very specific talent relationships we learned to develop, primarily with writers and directors." In terms of understanding the kind of market that existed for modestly budgeted specialty releases, both co-prexys absorbed lessons 10 years ago from observing Miramax -- Linde from within the company and Schamus as a producer of indie hits like "The Wedding Banquet" and "The Brothers McMullen." Focus has established a solid network of distribution partners worldwide, generating significant revenues both with domestic titles like "21 Grams," "Lost in Translation" and "Eternal Sunshine," and with features sold by the international division but handled by other companies in North America. These include Pedro Almodovar's "Talk to Her" and "Bad Education," Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" and last year's remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Unlike other specialty players such as Sony Pictures Classics, Newmarket and Lions Gate, which lean heavily on acquisitions to fill their slates, Focus has been production-driven, picking up only a small number of titles each year. Given that very few of Focus' pickups have been foreign-language films, the distrib turned heads at Sundance earlier this year by ponying up a large sum -- reportedly north of $3 million -- for Walter Salles' "The Motorcycle Diaries." Heralding the start in the next year of what Schamus and Linde say will be an increased push from the company into foreign-lingo fare, Focus will release the road movie about the young Che Guevara in the fall, one of its prime contenders for awards-season honors. After riding the crest of the Asian wave with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" at Good Machine, Focus now appears to be looking to Latin America as the next territory ripe for commercial explosion. In addition to Brazilian director Salles' film, Focus tapped Mexican helmer Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu to segue from "Amores perros" to his English-language debut "21 Grams," and now has Oscar-nommed Brazilian "City of God" director Fernando Meirelles at work on "The Constant Gardener," a John le Carre adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. Schamus and Linde say the connection is as much about fostering talent as it is about reaching Latin audiences in the U.S. "Part of the drive to this is that when you get involved with these people, you're actually learning more about your own market as well," Linde says. "There is a substantial Latin audience in this country for these movies and the opportunity here is immense." Focus also is nurturing an ongoing connection with Alfonso Cuaron and producing partner Jorge Vergara that began at Good Machine on "Y tu mama tambien." Focus Intl. is handling foreign sales on the pair's latest production, "Cronicas," a thriller from Ecuadorian director Sebastian Cordero. With the installation in July 2003 of John Lyons as president of production, Focus has consolidated its agenda as a home for literate adult features and is now branching into more aggressively commercial avenues with Rogue Pictures. "Beyond the classic Focus film, we are absolutely expanding production to make many different kinds of movies at different budget levels," says Lyons. "We'll be doing genre material, horror material, urban material." In addition to "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Constant Gardener," next year's release slate includes Harold Ramis' comic thriller "The Ice Harvest," with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton; newcomer Adam Rapp's father-daughter story "Winter Passing," starring Ed Harris, Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell; and "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightly, Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland. [Ed note: where's Mr Darcy? ;-)] Focus also will extend its relationship with "Lost in Translation" star Bill Murray in Jim Jarmusch's untitled next feature, set to shoot in the fall. Other projects in development include David Gordon Green's adaptation of "The Secret Life of Bees" and "Truth, Justice and the American Way" from regular "Sopranos" helmer Allen Coulter. "There were key things we had to accomplish in the first two years," Linde says. "We had to get a production entity up and running, and we've done that -- we've greenlit six films in the last six months. We wanted to create two production labels, which we've now done. We had to solidify the position of the international company both as the distributor of Focus product and other producers' product, which we have done." "That's where we are and we're having fun with it," Schamus adds. "But if we crash and burn with a string of disasters, we're still going to be the guys to take another chance."

"and will bow "Vanity Fair" on Labor Day weekend." . The trailer looks good. But VF in two hours????? Hmmmm

Thanks for the Focus article, Karen. They also have Jack Foley, head of distribution, who did a stint at Miramax, as well.

From the NYT: August 2, 2004 A Coup de Hollywood at the United Nations By WARREN HOGE UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 1 � When it comes to the movies, the United Nations has long played hard to get. Filmmakers hoping to wrap their lenses around the cathedral-like spaces of this icon of midcentury aesthetic were always turned down, and that included Alfred Hitchcock, whose request to shoot "North by Northwest" on location in 1959 was rejected. Officials were not even swayed by the presence of Cary Grant, a leading man who could fill a pair of striped trousers more smartly than most. When the director Sydney Pollack came calling last year with his new $80 million film, "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, he too got the traditional veto. So he began work in Toronto on a soundstage lookalike of the grand meeting halls and the stylishly appointed lobbies, lounges and corridors, but it was a half-hearted � and ultimately unnecessary � effort. "I got really upset at the whole thing because I would have had to use a partial set and do the rest with computer graphics," he said. "And it sure wouldn't have looked like this." Eyes alight, he extended his arm in a possessive sweep across the modernist splendor of the General Assembly chamber with its green marble speaker's podium and giant golden screen bearing the United Nations seal, its horseshoe-shaped rows of desks in blond wood and canted walls with gilt fluting, and above, a powder-blue dome � all gleaming in the blaze of a dozen 20-kilowatt lamps. "You know, they do a beautiful job with computer graphics � go see the tidal waves in `The Day After Tomorrow' � they do it very well, but in the end people aren't fooled," he said. "They know when you're really there." To get there himself, Mr. Pollack had to go to the top. "I was finally able to get an appointment with Kofi Annan right after the first of the year," he said, referring to the secretary general, "and I was careful to be honest with him and say that this is not a commercial for the United Nations, it is a thriller, it is a Hollywood movie, but also there is nothing in this picture that will be embarrassing to the U.N., and in fact the story is an argument in favor of diplomacy over violence, of words over gunfire." Ms. Kidman plays a United Nations interpreter who overhears a death threat against an African head of state about to address the General Assembly, and Mr. Penn plays a federal agent assigned to protect her while harboring suspicions about her ideals and motives. "She believes very much in the power and sanctity of words and thinks if they are used properly, they can be as powerful as bullets or weapons," Mr. Pollack said. "Sean's character has the mentality of a cop, and he has a contempt for words, and that argument is at the center of their relationship." Mr. Annan was persuaded, but there remained the need to obtain unanimous agreement from a famously quarrelsome and self-regarding group � the ambassadors of the 15 member states of the Security Council. They turned into pushovers, however, when they learned that they might be able to play themselves. "Inocencio Arias of Spain even sent me his reel," Mr. Pollack said. In the end, work rules came between the envoys and their cameos, but Mr. Pollack got his wish to make the first feature movie shot at the United Nations. The only restriction was that filming at the building be done on weekends. To get around any impression that the United Nations was for hire, the producers contracted to pay all expenses incurred in keeping the building functioning and staffed during what are normally down hours. In addition, Mr. Pollack said, they would be making a "good will gesture" donation to the organization. One recent Sunday Mr. Pollack, in jeans, a white T-shirt and sneakers, hurried up and down the terraced aisles of the General Assembly chamber, firing off directions to the 600 extras in dark business suits and colorful robes and headdresses in keeping with the wardrobe department's request for "native dress." "Where's China? Oh, there you are. Please, all of you, go wait in Ireland. What are those people doing in Kiribati? Get me the U.N. protocol woman. I don't believe people in Kiribati are black, are they?" It was the sound of Hollywood merrily cascading into Turtle Bay. Mr. Pollack encouraged kibitzing because he wanted to make sure he got things right. "People came running up to me saying, `You have a woman in that delegation, and that country doesn't have any women in its delegation,' " he said. "Then we had the scene of an emergency evacuation, and we were told that the only way the delegates would leave was if the General Assembly president told them to, so we had to write a quick speech for him." When it was pointed out that the actor playing the Spanish ambassador actually spoke with a Latin American accent, the script was adjusted to make him the Chilean ambassador. The sign identifying the delegation from Matobo, the fictional African country in the movie, was placed between those of the Marshall Islands and Mauritius in keeping with the assembly's strict adherence to alphabetical order. In one unintended touch of authenticity, some of the extras playing diplomats fell asleep at their seats. Except for final scenes filmed this past weekend in Mozambique without principals, the entire 16-week shoot was in New York. "The Interpreter" is scheduled to open in February, and judging by the comments on the set, the United Nations has earned star billing. "The juxtaposition of this architecture against New York City, the orderliness of this place and the thought that went into it that you see and then the sort of random roughness of the streets of New York � it's part of the feel of the picture, if not part of the story," Mr. Pollack said. "I don't think you can be in this room without it affecting you, and I can tell you that Nic went crazy the first time she saw it full. She was on the earphones from up in the interpreter's booth saying, `My God, it looks so real.' " Taking a break from a session with her dialogue coach in a side conference room, Ms. Kidman confirmed the account. "Yes, Sydney's right, I went `Wow' because seeing the room with all the people in their seats, it had all the drama it did when I was doing my research when the General Assembly was in session, and I thought it was uncanny how real it looked." She said that she had never been in the United Nations before making the film, but that now she found herself hawking the public tour to her friends. She said she was also reminded that it was a welcome address for foreigners. "As a backdrop for a thriller, it's fantastic, but also since I'm Australian and I've always worked internationally and this is an international place in New York, I really like the kind of communication it represents," she said. "I know I sound very much like my character now, but I do believe in this place." Even the extras, many of them United Nations employees, came in for praise. "Usually, when you put extras through a very long and boring day, at least 50 percent don't show up the next day, but all of these people came back," said Tim Bevan, one of the film's producers. "Of course," he added, "I don't know what that says about what normally goes on in the General Assembly." Another producer, Kevin Misher, pronounced them "the best behaved set of extras we have ever seen." He added, "They're dressed to the nines, and they seem to respect the space they're in." One of them, Michele Antaki of Syria, a real-life interpreter, agreed, though, in true United Nations fashion, with qualifications. "We were excited to be in the room, but it would be an exaggeration if I told you we were in awe of stepping into a kind of sanctuary," she said. "What we did feel was a responsibility to let outsiders really see what happens here." Excitement of another kind lured Carmen Holmstrom of Douglaston, Queens. "I've been doing this for 15 years and it's never boring," she said. "You do suffer, but you get hooked. It's very hard to say no. The payoff is seeing yourself on the screen." She said that she was still hoping for a role with the five lines of dialogue that would entitle her to a union card, but that did not keep her from treasuring the high point in her movie career so far. "In `Prizzi's Honor,' " she said, "John Huston put me in the balcony scene with Kathleen Turner." The General Assembly hall, which has so delighted Mr. Pollack and the others making "The Interpreter," was not an instant hit with the architectural community when it opened in 1952, and it is interesting in light of this latest chapter in its history to see how its detractors chose to put it down. "As a home for a great institution," the critic Lewis Mumford wrote, "it is a painful simulacrum, the kind of thing Hollywood might have faked."

I would love to see Jude Law as James Bond. He looks great in a 3 buttom suit. "Everything was written, even things like the hesitation in the dialogue. We spent time studying the way we speak because we wanted to make the dialogue very flowing." And it worked so very well! Loved BS. Thanks for all the BS articles! I would like to know what you think will happen between them. spoiler look away My DH said it's all her fault because she was not romantic enough to skip her grandmother's funeral and run off to meet him in Vienna as planned. I think I would have skipped the funeral too. In any case, had she gotten there the day after she would have seen his notes at the station.

Don't Look...BS Spoiler (Moon)I would like to know what you think will happen between them. Good to have you back , Moon. Been dying to talk about BS I think they keep meeting 2 or 3 X a year for the rest of their lives. Perhaps at Track 6 in Vienna.*sigh* He's too devoted a father to leave his family, and besides I don't think they would do well in a structured relationship. Agree with DH, I would have skipped the funeral. That part was not in keeping with the premise of the film: "Do it"!

if anyone's interested, there's new pics of P&P at comingsoon.net... http://www.thezreview.co.uk/news3/prideandprejudice2.htm

Spoiler...you've been warned! LOL! you ladies! Anyway, interesting take your husband had re: Celine's decision. That never even occurred to me. But was that not the point made at the very beginning, when the people are asking Jesse that question at the bookstore? Everything depends on whether you're a romantic or a skeptic. Jesse was the romantic; Celine was the skeptic. Therefore, her decision was IMO consistent with her character. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks, Ada, for keeping your eyes open for new pics. I don't know what it is but Matthew's walk is reminding me of Groucho Marx. ;-)))

Thanks, Ada! If I didn't know who that was, I still would have a hard time recognizing him. That coat looks so thick. Hope there's not a heatwave there. Love the guy in the background with the cigarette.

(Karen)Jesse was the romantic; Celine was the skeptic. Therefore, her decision was IMO consistent with her character. But in Sunrise she didn't need much convincing to get off the train. Of course , it was his suggestion.

(Evelyn) But in Sunrise she didn't need much convincing to get off the train. Of course , it was his suggestion. But she was the one who was sticking to the only for one day, no exchange of phone numbers/addresses. A one-day lark. That's all it could be in her mind. It was killing her though. ;-)

Don't know how reliable all this is...but it is all over the web right now: Troy's Eric Bana to play Bond August 02, 2004 14:56 IST After he starred in the flop The Hulk last year Eric Bana's career was being given the thumbs down. Then came Troy and the critics said his performance as Hector was the only thing good about the film. Now comes news that the Australian actor -- who began his career as a comic on Aussie television -- may be the next 007. Pierce Brosnan, the Irish heart-throb who made the role all his own this last decade, gave up his license to kill last week. The folks behind the Bond franchise now want someone suitably modern for the 21st film in the series. British tabloids say the Bond producers want to 'modernise Bond and turn him into a youthful, suave and modern hero to compete with the likes of Spider-Man and Keanu [Reeves] in The Matrix.' Bana -- who has played an American soldier (Blackhawk Down), a superhero (The Hulk) and a hero (Troy) in his last three films -- is said to be well ahead of his closest rivals, Britons Jude Law, Ewan McGregor and Orlando Bloom (his co-star in Blackhawk Down and Troy) and fellow Aussie Heath Ledger in the race to play James Bond. But Aussies and 007 have not had good karma. The last Aussie to play Bond -- the brawny George Lazenby -- made just one 007 flick, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, after Sean Connery gave up the part. The franchise soon reverted to another Briton, Roger Moore. http://us.rediff.com/movies/2004/aug/02bana.htm Another article: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_pages/showbiz/showbiz4.shtml

Nevermind....comingsoon.com had this to say: Eric Bana is Not the Next 007 Source: Coming Soon! Monday, August 2, 2004 ComingSoon.net has confirmed that The Hulk and Troy star Eric Bana has not been cast as James Bond in MGM's and Eon Productions' 21st film in the popular franchise, despite the rumors. UK tabloid News of the World said the actor was negotiating with the series producers and that he would take over the role from Pierce Brosnan and begin filming later this year. "Eric is the guy they want but he has a reputation for being demanding," an "insider" said. News of the World went on to say that "they want to modernise Bond and turn him into a youthful, suave and modern hero to compete with the likes of Spider-Man and Keanu (Reeves) in the Matrix." This story was picked up by numerous news outlets, including worldwide news agency AFP. But we have learned that Bana has not even been approached for the role of 007. Brosnan told Entertainment Weekly last week that he was done with the franchise after four films. "I've said all I've got to say on the world of James Bond. Bond is another lifetime, behind me." Speculation has it, however, that Brosnan has simply started the negotiation process in the media, and may still be in the picture after all. In related news, Variety reported yesterday that "James Bond 21" is being set up to start shooting before March in order to be released on November 18, 2005. The film's producers have agreed on a plot and writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who wrote the last two Bond pics, turned in the first draft of their script last week. http://comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=5812

Nothing that is attributed to News of the World should be taken for anything, especially since News of the World got it from Ain't It Cool News. ;-)

LOL....okay! But AFP was reporting it too...I can just say I'm a dork, what's their excuse? They should definitely know better!

(Tress)LOL....okay! But AFP was reporting it too...I can just say I'm a dork, what's their excuse? I saw it scroll across the bottom of E! over the weekend that EB was in final negotiations. LOL, this just gets better and better. (Dorine)Thanks, Ada! If I didn't know who that was, I still would have a hard time recognizing him I know, each time I see him as Mr. Darcy I can't believe it's the same guy. I didn't know drab came in so many shades! Thanks, Ada, and Karen for all the news.

(Dorine) Thanks, Ada! If I didn't know who that was, I still would have a hard time recognizing him (Linda) I know, each time I see him as Mr. Darcy I can't believe it's the same guy. Yes! Thank you Ada! It must be humid out...everyone's locks are limp. I must say I fancy Mr. Darcy with ringlets. The straight, longish hair, parted like that, is too Shaun Cassidy for me...

(Linda) I didn't know drab came in so many shades! (Tress)I must say I fancy Mr. Darcy with ringlets. The straight, longish hair, parted like that, is too Shaun Cassidy for me... LOL! I must say I have to agree, the hair is definitely wrong! That seems to be no spark in this version of P&P. Dullsville! And to think that I just had the pleasure of gazing at the one and only *Mr Darcy*, on Sunday night on the ABC. *Sigh!* Even MDH sat and watched with me and commented "Mmm, I don't think they can find a better person to play Mr. Darcy!" Imagine that! I nearly rolled off the lounge. To top it all off, he continued in the same breath "I haven't seen him in any film roles for ages, what has he been in lately?!" And I had to stop myself from rolling the list off my tongue and/or showing him the shelf in my study that is full of his DVDs (including P&P - which i'd convinced him to watch that evening!)... Really, it is a hard act to follow, I pity the new Mr Darcy, for comparisons would perhaps not be so favourable upon him.

Sorry I'm posting again, but because of the time difference, between Australia and the OTHER PARTS of the world... I seem to always be *talking to myself* after rushing to catch up on all the postings, when I'm on the computer during the day... Anyway, have kept my eye out for Bond stuff, but alas, no news on the new Bond http://www.bondmovies.com/news/072004.shtml is an interesting article on Tarantino called The Tarnatino Effect and http://www.bondmovies.com/ seems to be site that is updated regularly, whilst http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/thereview.cfm?id=879672004 this article appeared on Scotland on Sunday, saying that Clive Owens is top of the bill. In other words, anyone's guess...

From Dark Horizons: DavisDVD reports that Warner Home Video will release a brand-new special edition of the MGM classic Gone With the Wind on November 9th. The four-disc set will feature over five hours of old and new documentaries, interviews and other bonus features. Digitally restored with Warner's "Ultra-Resolution" hi-def technology, the film's original three-strip Technicolor negatives were digitally separated, aligned frame-by-frame in a computer and scanned at high-resolution. And according to the studio, the results are nothing short of miraculous. The four hour film will be presented across two dual-layer discs in fullscreen and with Dolby Digital 5.1 and original mono audio tracks. A plethora of bonus materials include a new full-length audio commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer, hour-long documentaries on actors Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, "Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone With the Wind" 45min featurette (with a recent interview with 88-year-old star), behind-the-scenes footage, advertising materials and more. Incidentally, actor Christopher Plummer will narrate and introduce many of the bonus features. Also included with the set is a full-color reproduction of the original 22-page souvenir booklet that was sold during premiere road-show engagements from 1939 through 1941. Retail for the four-disc set is $39.92.

From Variety: Oscar braces for Cuban missile Could Fidel Castro affect this year's Oscar race? "Fahrenheit 9/11" was apparently shown last week on Cuban state-run TV. According to Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences rules, a feature is disqualified for a documentary Oscar if it airs on TV or the Internet anywhere in the world within nine months of its bigscreen run. While most documakers would be dismayed at the prospect of an Oscar nix, the backers of the Michael Moore-helmed pic might welcome it: The move could give the pic a stronger push in the best film race. Reps at French org Wild Bunch, sales agent for the pic overseas, aver that they made no television deal in Cuba. Piracy doesn't count If the screening was from a pirated copy or unauthorized, the film would not be disqualified. (Piracy last year made "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," and virtually every other major Oscar contender, available on the Internet soon after their bigscreen debuts.) Even if the TV showing was unauthorized, the film has several other hurdles to cross before the Feb. 27 Oscarcast. Under the Acad's new rule for docus, "Fahrenheit" could not air on any TV until late March. U.S. distributors Lions Gate, Fellowship Adventure Group (spearheaded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein) and IFC have mulled a DVD release or a pay-per-view airing just prior to the Nov. 2 election. The PPV event would disqualify the film from a docu prize (though a DVD push wouldn't affect it). While a docu could be considered in both best pic and documentary categories, no film so far has made that double play. (A handful of pics, most recently "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," have been nominated in the best pic and foreign-lingo categories). Unlevel playing field Though the docu branch has the nine-month holding pattern, that doesn't apply to any other Oscar categories. So, for example, "Spider-Man 2" or "Shrek 2" could air on TV within a week of their bigscreen bows and would still be eligible for Oscar consideration. So "Fahrenheit," even if disqualified for docu consideration, could compete in other races -- picture, director, editing -- no matter what happens in PPV, or what happened in Cuba. The Cuban report originated in a Reuters story that ran late last week. The story also stated, "Cubans have stood in long lines to buy tickets to see rough DVD copies projected at 120 cinema theaters across the island to unfailing applause." With a reference to "rough DVD copies," it's unclear if even the bigscreen showings were authorized. The Reuters story had a Havana dateline but no byline.

BS Spoiler , again: So you think that Celine (the Cynic!)went on to her grandmother's funeral because she didn't think Jesse would show-up . Had there been no funeral , she wouldn't have gone anyway ? Nah.

Some interesting news: Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon will play villain Dr. Doom in 20th Century Fox's adaptation of the Marvel Comics franchise, Fantastic Four, which starts production in Vancouver this month for a July 1 release. Doom, a crazed scientific genius who hides his scarred face behind a metal mask, goes up against the title quartet of Michael Chiklis (Ben Richards/The Thing), Jessica Alba (Sue Richards/the Invisible Woman), Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic) and Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/the Human Torch).

Spoiler (Evevlyn) So you think that Celine (the Cynic!)went on to her grandmother's funeral because she didn't think Jesse would show-up. Had there been no funeral, she wouldn't have gone anyway? Nah The word used was skeptic, not cynic, as there is a difference. ;-) But as a skeptic, she probably wouldn't have gone because she wouldn't think he would show and/or that the relationship had any real future.

(Evelyn) So you think that Celine (the Cynic!)went on to her grandmother's funeral because she didn't think Jesse would show-up. Had there been no funeral, she wouldn't have gone anyway? Nah (Karen) The word used was skeptic, not cynic, as there is a difference. ;-) I didn't get the impression that Celine was a skeptic or a cynic, in general. Much of what she talked about with Jesse was how idealistic she had been, with her career and love life, then reality set in. That's one of the reasons she was so upset in the van. If I missed something, I might have to go see it again. Darn! ;-) (Ada) Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon will play villain Dr. Doom in 20th Century Fox's adaptation of the Marvel Comics franchise, Fantastic Four Interesting choice. Wonder if the talkback geeks at AICN are up in arms. It'd be the equivalent of people here getting up in arms over the new P&P. ;-)

(Karen) The word used was skeptic, not cynic, as there is a difference. ;-) Sorry, about the misquote;-) . I don't want to nit-pick but my Thesaurus says: skeptic: rel:questioner, pessimist,disbeliever, cynic, agnostic. Anyway, I liked him more;-D

(Evelyn) I don't want to nit-pick but my Thesaurus says Yes, you do. But I usually go to a dictionary for definitions. According to mine - and the way I always understood the difference - is: Cynic: a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view. Cynical: 1. like or characteristic of a cynic; distrusting or disparaging the motives of others. 2. showing contempt for accepted standards of honesty or morality by one's actions, especially by actions that exploit. [Synonyms given: distrustful, disbelieving, sneering, contemptuous, derisive.] Skeptic: 1. a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual. 2. a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements or the character of others. [Synonyms for skeptical: doubtful] The important difference between the two I was always taught from a personality standpoint is that it is better to be considered a skeptic because a skeptic can be convinced. There's nothing wrong with being a skeptic; you can work with them. But avoid cynics on your team.

(Evelyn) I don't want to nit-pick but my Thesaurus says (Da Boss)Yes, you do LOL. evelyn*who is a cynic about skeptics*;-)

Spolier (Karen), Anyway, I liked him more;-D Me too! Loved the end when she says, "You're going to miss your plane", and he says, "I know". I just loved that moment. I also loved the emotional scene in the car. He just wouldn't let her out of the car. Also, I think that she told him then truth and was planning to meet him in Vienna before her grandmother died. I can't imagine Jesse going back to NY to his wife as if nothing had happened after this encounter. He still loves Celine. I'm sure with that bed in front of them they would make love, maybe even go to the outdoor party and eat. But would Celine be willing to leave Paris for him? Jesse said he wants to be with his son, at least in NY he'd see him often. Celine really turned everything upside down. Still, I can't see their future relationship like that Alan Alda Jane Burstin movie, where they meet every year in a hotel. I'd like to see the third part, perhaps call it: "Before Happy Hour". ;-)

A little more about the American version of Fever Pitch. I didn't realize it was being done by the Farrelly brothers and based on a Boston Red Sox fan. Hmmm....Boston and the Sox? I think that's close to as maniacal as you can get in the States for sports fans. But will the Farrelly brothers turn it into 'gross out' farce with no redeeming value? http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=112944468&p=yyz945y74 03/08/2004 - 16:30:20 Film-making siblings Peter and Bobby Farrelly are devastated they can't film their upcoming baseball movie Fever Pitch in Boston after being ordered to film it in Toronto, Canada. A huge amount of Hollywood movies have been filmed in the Ontario city and the west coast's Vancouver over the past few years, due to the millions of dollars studios save in production costs, thanks to the generous tax breaks from the Canadian government. The directors begin filming next month the American version of British author Nick Hornby's best-selling novel Fever Pitch, about a man torn between his obsession with Arsenal and his girlfriend Sarah. The book was first adapted into a British film in 1997, starring Bridget Jones heart-throb Colin Firth, however the US version's lead character will be crazy about baseball team Boston Red Sox. Jimmy Fallon will play sports-nut Ben opposite Drew Barrymore's Lindsay. Peter moans: "I want to shoot the whole movie in Boston. But as of right now, I'm only going to do seven days at Fenway Park (Red Sox's Stadium). "It's criminal. This is the ultimate Red Sox movie, and we have to make it in Canada." Despite Barrymore and the Farrelly brothers offering to take a cut in pay, the producers still can't afford to film the whole romantic comedy in the US. Peter says: "They have to pass some laws (in the US) to help people out or these jobs will keep going to Canada."

(Karen), Anyway, I liked him more;-D (Moon)Me too! Psst. It wuz me who said that

(Moon) like that Alan Alda Jane Burstin movie, where they meet every year in a hotel. *Sigh* I love that movie. Same Time next Year I am dying to see it on stage. Has anyone here ever seen it performed live?

Another letter? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3527532.stm Stars thank Blair for world aid The letter was signed by celebrities and charities Celebrities including Bono, Jude Law and Minnie Driver have signed an open letter to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, thanking him for boosting overseas aid. [...] "We're counting on you to lead rich countries to cancel Third World debts, deliver more and better aid that meets the UN target, and end unfair rules." The group had previously written a letter to the government urging them to commit more money to foreign aid. The open letter was also signed by Coldplay's Chris Martin and actors Colin Firth, Joseph Fiennes and Dame Helen Mirren. It was also backed by a number of charities. [...] Survival for 250,000 infants whose premature death can now be prevented Film director and co-founder of Comic Relief Richard Curtis said: "Over the years, the British public has given hundreds of millions of pounds to charity to fight poverty and suffering abroad. "At last, a government has matched the generosity and passion that people feel in the face of a world where 30,000 people still die unnecessarily of extreme poverty every single day. "Now we all hope the UK will lead a massive crusade next year that could halve those deaths within a decade. It can be done. Bravo and onwards and upwards in 2005." The letter was backed by six of Britain's leading aid charities: Data, Oxfam, Plan UK, Tearfund, Unicef UK and WaterAid.

[i]Yvette: I love that movie. Same Time next Year I am dying to see it on stage. Has anyone here ever seen it performed live? [/i] I saw a production with Kathryn Crosby (Bing's widow) playing the lead. It was well done, but I enjoy the movie version more. It's one of my fav's too!

(Yvette) Has anyone here ever seen it performed live? Yes, many moons ago on Broadway and Ellen Burstyn played opposite Charles Grodin in that production. I liked her in the role but found Grodin lacking. It was touching, though.

Aww, thanks Bonnie and Deb for the STNY info. I will have to keep my eyes and ears open for future productions!!

'Last Comic' Host Jay Mohr Talks 'SNL' By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES - Looking ahead and looking back, Jay Mohr is satisfied with both perspectives. "Last Comic Standing," the NBC talent contest he hosts and executive produces, gives comedians an "American Idol"-style shot at stardom � or at least steady nightclub work. "Gasping for Airtime," Mohr's book about his two years as a writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live," candidly details what it's like to be a blip on a pop-culture phenomenon, panic attacks and all. His new show has been instant gratification, a chance to help struggling comedians. The pungent "Saturday Night Live" experience had to age for nearly a decade before he could appreciate it. "It was fascinating and I wasn't enjoying it, even when it was going well," Mohr said. "I watched Nirvana perform, I talked to Kurt Cobain, I talked to (Eric) Clapton, I got to work with (Chris) Farley every day. "But I was so self-obsessed with survival � survival on the show and then mental health survival and back to survival on the show � I certainly didn't take time to smell the roses," he told The Associated Press. The stellar guest musicians and colleagues including Farley, Mike Myers and Michael McKean were the roses; the thorns were his inability to make his talents fit a demanding monolith and insecurities that fed a panic disorder. (A few guests inflicted minor scratches: Mohr recalls a skit he'd written for Marisa Tomei being dumped after the actress realized he was merely a featured performer and not a cast member, while Roseanne Barr disrupted a cast meeting by deliberately and loudly belching.) Mohr, a 23-year-old standup hired as sketch writer and player, found sparkling ideas elusive. He was also confounded by a production style that, as he describes it in "Gasping for Air" (Hyperion), was haphazard and arbitrary. "Saturday Night Live," a perpetual motion machine that turned out stars like John Belushi and Adam Sandler and serves as a cultural touchstone even when it's subpar, was impervious to a confused comic. "That's what made it so frustrating, is realizing that whether you bang your head on the wall and scream like hell (to protect a skit) or whether you don't even show up, the show just sort of rolls effortlessly," Mohr said. "Then you really get into this existential conversation with yourself, questioning your own worth and existence." Therapy and medication ultimately controlled Mohr's panic attacks, but consistent success on the show still eluded him. Conceivably, Mohr could have targeted Lorne Michaels, creator and acknowledged emperor of "SNL," for the environment. The book, however, treats Michaels only with respect. "I was the person not fulfilling my potential and having panic and stealing," Mohr told the AP, referring to an admission that he lifted a sketch from a fellow comic. "Lorne hired me ... I got a great spot in my heart for somebody who hired me on the show that's probably the only show that's a piece of an American timeline." [About Last Comic Standing] "I got a best-selling book out of it," Mohr says of "Saturday Night Live." "Hooray for me. So now I REALLY like Lorne." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&ncid=529&e=15&u=/ap/20040804/ap_en_tv/tv_jay_mohr

Re: The Bourne Supremacy, which I've now seen: The real challenge, though, was telling a multilayered action-mystery centered around a hero, played by Matt Damon, experiencing an internalized battle. "One of the inherent difficulties with this piece given the nature of the plot structure was that Bourne didn't have people to talk to for a great part of the film," Rouse says. "Franka (Potente, who plays Bourne's partner, Marie) wasn't there for conventional dialogue scenes. We had to figure out how to tell a story where the protagonist's actions are somewhat cryptic in nature, and he's got waves of information from his past coming at him." ~~~~~~~ Internalized struggle? My ass! There were probably only 20 pages of dialogue in the whole movie, and Damon maybe had three of them. Pathetic. Worst parts of the movie: the car chase (my eyes glazed over) and the fight in the apartment, where he strangles the former Treadstone guy. About time he learned he was David Webb. That happened at the end of the Bourne Identity...but silly me, they're not following the book, especially as Marie shouldn't have been killed off. The miniseries was better. Yes, he was being pursued, but the characters had dialogue and weren't wooden action figures (seems oxymoronic though).

Link to full article about the filming/editing: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=598&e=2&u=/nm/20040804/film_nm/film_bourne_dc