Moviecrazed

AMY ADAMS

BORN
AVIANO, PORDENONE, ITALY, 8/20/74

DEBUT FILM
DROP DEAD GORGEOUS (1999)

CAREER HIGHS
ENCHANTED; JUNEBUG; MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY; CATCH ME IF YOU CAN; TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY; CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR; SUNSHINE CLEANING

CAREER LOWS
PUMPKIN; SERVING SARA; CRUEL INTENTIONS 2

NEXT UP FOR ADAMS

DOUBT: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viila Davis, Lloyd Clay Brown, Joseph Foster (Written and directed by John Patrick Stanley; Miramax Films) We’ve come a long way since Father Bing Crosby and Sister Ingrid Bergman radiated respect and sexless affection for one another in “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” In “Doubt,” Meryl Streep plays Sister Aloysius, a probing, dictatorial nun who strikes a shattering blow to affable Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), her popular colleague at a parochial grade school in the Bronx, circa 1964. If you’ve seen John Patrick Stanley’s 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, you know that the oppressively vigilant Sister Aloysius, troubled by what she considers Father Flynn’s dangerously close relationship with a black male student, accuses him of sexual molestation. Before long, life becomes holy hell for Father and Sister alike. To read Diane Baroni's 2002 interview with Amy Adams, click here. Opens 10/10/08

JULIE & JULIA: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams (Written and directed by Nora Ephron; Columbia) A world-famous chef, who was also the star of her own popular live-TV show, once blithely flipped a potato pancake into the air, only to see it land not in the intended pan but on a decidedly un-photogenic work table. Not a bit flustered, she simply scooped up the smashed potato and molded it back into shape. Then, looking firmly into the eye of the camera, she told her audience, “Remember, you are alone in the kitchen, and no one can see you.” This unflappable flipper, of course, was Julia Child, the lovably eccentric American who somehow managed to become an idolized French chef. And playing Child in this movie is Meryl Streep, who, as you know, can glide from American to French or any other nationality on a minute’s notice. The question is, what sort of scenario has writer-director Nora Ephron concocted that will give Streep a chance to don her apron and flip her potato pancake, as well as engage in some out-of-the-kitchen antics? After all, this film is supposedly an adaptation of “Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen,” Julia Powell’s 2005 book dishing out the comedy-drama of her decision to cook, over the course of one year, every single recipe in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and to serve the presumably tasty results to her husband and other guinea pigs. Her experiment took a toll in both the digestive and domestic realms. Amy Adams ("Catch Me If You Can," "Junebug," "Charlie Wilson's War") plays the central role of Julie. But you can bet that Ephron will cook up something tres delicious for Streep, who played the author to perfection in "Heartburn," based on Ephron's account of her disastrous marriage to philandering journalist Carl Bernstein. Opening date to be announced

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2: ESCAPE FROM THE SMITHSONIAN: Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Hank Azaria, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais (Directed by Shawn Levy; Written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon; Fox) Amy Adams, who ascended to major stardom in “Enchanted,” continues her climb in this sequel to the enormously commercial 2006 comic adventure. She plays famed aviator Amelia Earhart, who crash lands in the wee small hours of the evening at Washington’s Smithsonian Museum. And security guard Ben Stiller, transfered from New York’s Museum of Natural History, where he won his stripes in the original, will be around for the anticipated chills and spills. Opening date to be announced

BEN AFFLECK

BORN
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, 8/15/72

FILM DEBUT
THE DARK END OF THE STREET (1981)

CAREER HIGHS
GOOD WILL HUNTING; HOLLYWOODLAND; CHASING AMY; DAZED AND CONFUSED; DOGMA; BOILER ROOM; SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE; CHANGING LANES

CAREER LOWS
GIGLI; JERSEY GIRL; SURVIVING CHRISTMAS; ARMAGEDDON; PEARL HARBOR; SMOKIN’ ACES; MAN ABOUT TOWN

NEXT UP FOR AFFLECK

HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Kris Kristofferson, Justin Long (Directed by Ken Kwapis; Written by Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn; New Line Cinema) Smart, attractive and variously driven young men and women meet, mix, meld and sometimes split in exotic, erotic Baltimore. The star-studded story is based on the self-help book by “Sex and the City” writers Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo and is being directed by Ken Kwapis, who deserves credit for his contributions to television’s “The Office,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “The Bernie Mac Show” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” Mention should be made, too, of Kwapis’ big-screen, big-flop “License to Wed,” starring a spectacularly unfunny Robin Williams as a man of the cloth who's determined to put Mandy Moore and John Krasinski through holy hell before deigning to marry them. To read about more new comedies, click here; for Diane Baroni's 1998 interview with Kris Kristofferson, click here. Opens 10/24/08

STATE OF PLAY: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman (Directed by Kevin Macdonald; Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy; Universal) Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, who had a jolly, violent time for themselves in “Fight Club,” were primed for a promising re-match in this adaptation of Paul Abbott’s hot six-hour British miniseries. Pitt, however, thought Tony Gilroy's extensive rewrite of Matthew Michael Carnahan's screenplay was the pits. So he took a walk. But who needs Brad Pitt when they have Russell Crowe ready to roll? Here's the story they rolled with: Investigating the death of politician Stephen Collins’ mistress, reporter Cal McCaffrey (Crowe) discovers evidence that could prove the slick pol (Ben Affleck, replacing Edward Norton) is guilty of murder. He also discovers the surprisingly potent allure of Collins’ dumped wife (Robin Wright Penn). Sounds like Kevin Macdonald, the director of “The Last King of Scotland,” once again has plenty of explosive stuff to work with in this drama now officially credited to Tony Gilroy and Matthew Michael Carnahan. Opens 4/17/09

CASEY AFFLECK

BORN
FALMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS, 8/12/75

FILM DEBUT
TO DIE FOR (1995)

CAREER HIGHS
GONE BABY GONE; THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD; LONESOME JIM; OCEAN’S ELEVEN; OCEAN’S 12; OCEAN’S THIRTEEN; GOOD WILL HUNTING; GERRY; TO DIE FOR

CAREER LOWS
DROWNING MONA; SOUL SURVIVORS; 200 CIGARETTES

NEXT UP FOR AFFLECK

THE KIND ONE: Casey Affleck (Written by Tom Epperson; Disney) Danny Landon is a 1930s resident of L.A. affectionately known as Two-Gun Danny because that’s how many weapons he once used to murder a boatload of suckers during a wildly successful heist at sea. At least that’s what Danny (Casey Affleck) has been told by his pals. The tragic truth is that he is suffering from amnesia and finds it difficult to believe he could ever have been such a badass. Nevertheless, he is clearly on the payroll of Bud Seitz, a repulsive mobster joshingly referred to as The Kind One. And, just as clearly, Danny has made the grave mistake of falling in love with his boss’s perpetually soused tootsie. No word on who will direct Tom Epperson’s adaptation of his own novel or who will play the title role. But wouldn’t Ben Affleck, who did such a nifty job of directing his kid brother in “Gone Baby Gone,” be the right man for both slots? Opening date to be announced. To read about more new murderpix, click here.

WOODY ALLEN

BORN
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, 12/1/35

FILM DEBUT
WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT? (1965)

CAREER HIGHS
MANHATTAN; HANNAH AND HER SISTERS; ANNIE HALL; RADIO DAYS; HUSBANDS AND WIVES; SLEEPER; BROADWAY DANNY ROSE; CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS; ZELIG; TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN; STARDUST MEMORIES; BANANAS; THE FRONT; PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM

CAREER LOWS
MIGHTY APHRODITE; SHADOWS AND FOG; DECONSTRUCTING HARRY; EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU; NEW YORK STORIES; A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S SEX COMEDY; THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION; SCOOP; HOLLYWOOD ENDING; ANYTHING ELSE; MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY; SCENES FROM A MALL

CAREER HIGHS (DIRECTED BUT DID NOT APPEAR IN)
INTERIORS; THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO; MATCH POINT

CAREER LOWS (DIRECTED BUT DID NOT APPEAR IN)
CELEBRITY; BULLETS OVER BROADWAY; ALICE; SWEET AND LOWDOWN; ANOTHER WOMAN; SEPTEMBER

IN HIS OWN WORDS
“It would give me emotional security if I knew that people were saying, ‘Here is one picture from a filmmaker who is not interested in mindless car-chasing, pie-throwing exploitation,’” Woody Allen told Guy Flatley in 1978, just before the opening of “Interiors.” “Even if they impale me on their logic, even if they reject everything I believe to be true, I want my peers to feel that I have made a movie that is at least about something...my pictures never do much business, you know. I’m told that 'Annie Hall’ was the lowest-earning Academy Award movie in history. The last thing I expected to do with ‘Interiors’ was business." Click here to read the entire Los Angeles Times interview.

NEXT UP FOR ALLEN

(DIRECTOR BUT NOT STAR)

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA: Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall (Written and directed by Woody Allen) There was a time when Diane Keaton was gloriously front and center in nearly every Woody Allen comedy or drama. A bit later, the same was true of Mia Farrow. Now the working-with-Woody thing is getting to be a habit with Scarlett Johansson, whose star turns in his British-lensed “Match Point” and “Scoop” will be followed by this maybe comedy/maybe drama. It was shot in Barcelona and Asturias and deals with the amorous adventures of a local lothario, his possessive girlfriend and two attractive American tourists. Happily, Woody had the good sense to team Scarlett with a pair of Pedro Almodovar’s finest players--Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Opens 9/5/08

(DIRECTOR AND STAR)

UNTITLED PROJECT: Woody Allen, Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood (Written and directed by Woody Allen; Wild Bunch) What’s this--Woody Allen in a comedy about a horny senior citizen trysting with a beauty still too young to drink in public? Shocking! Maybe, but only because the 72-year-old writer-director-star who cuddled with jailbait teens Mariel Hemingway in “Manhattan” and Juliette Lewis in “Husbands and Wives” does not play the reckless lover on this occasion. That role goes to dynamic Larry David, the 60-year-old writer-director-star of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and a minor player in Allen’s “Radio Days” and “New York Stories.” Being his customary secretive self, Woody has not publicly discussed the character he plays in this film, but we do know that Evan Rachel Wood, who triumphed in “Thirteen” and “Across the Universe,” is the female lead--proof that the Woodman can still pick ‘em. Opening date to be announced

JENNIFER ANISTON

BORN
SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, 2/1169

FILM DEBUT
LEPRECHAUN (1993)

CAREER HIGHS
THE GOOD GIRL; SHE’S THE ONE; FRIENDS WITH MONEY; THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION

CAREER LOWS
RUMOR HAS IT; BRUCE ALMIGHTY; THE BREAK-UP; DERAILED

NEXT UP FOR ANISTON

HAYLEY ATWELL

BORN
LONDON, ENGLAND, 4/5/82

FILM DEBUT
CASSANDRA’S DREAM (2007)

NEXT UP FOR ATWELL

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED: Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon (Directed by Julian Jarrold; Written by Jeremy Brock and Andrew Davies; Miramax) This is as good a time as any to revisit Captain Charles Ryder, the stylishly disenchanted protagonist of Evelyn Waugh’s 1946 classic seriocomic novel. Toward the end of World War II, Ryder (played by Jeremy Irons in a memorable 1981 British TV miniseries and now played by Matthew Goode) is stationed at Brideshead, a sprawling castle that was once home to the Flytes, an aristocratic Catholic--and exceedingly sinful--family. Ryder’s wartime assignment stirs memories of a long-ago time spent with the mad, mad residents of the castle, including Lord and Lady Marchmain (Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson) and particularly siblings Sebastian and Julia (Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell), one an eccentric who became Ryder’s good drinking buddy and the other a beautiful, married neurotic who became his illicit lover. Ryder, by the way, never felt guilty about cheating on his own wife, since he knew that she was caught up in her own little world of sexual deceit. Opens 7/25/08

HOW ABOUT YOU?: Vanessa Redgrave, Hayley Atwell, Imelda Staunton, Brenda Fricker, Joss Ackland, Orla Brady, Joan O’Hara (Directed by Anthony Byrne; Written by Jean Pasley; Ferndale Films) Who does Vanessa Redgrave think she is, anyway--some kind of movie star? Well, that’s just who she is--or, rather, who she plays--in this comedy-drama. As for the kind of movie star she is, she’s the kind who was far from a superstar during her lackluster career in Irish films. And now she’s taken on the off-screen role of superbitch, the leader of a cantankerous quartet of seniors who’ve been left behind in a County Wicklow retirement home while their fellow residents are spending the Christmas holiday with their families. Redgrave and her cronies--Imelda Staunton and Brenda Fricker as erstwhile high-society sisters and Joss Ackland as former judge--are not about to budge an inch when the determined young manager of the residence (Hayley Atwell, acclaimed star of the Irish TV series, “The Line of Beauty”) makes a stab at turning them into good, cooperative scouts. May the best generation win. If “How About You” sounds familiar to you, you’ve probably had the pleasure of reading “Hardcore,” the Maeve Binchy short story upon which it is based. Opening date to be announced

FOR A COMPLETE ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF STAR TURNS, CLICK HERE.