W
MARK WAHLBERG
 BORN
DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, 6/5/71
FILM DEBUT
RENAISSANCE MAN (1994)
CAREER HIGHS
DEPARTED; BOOGIE NIGHTS; THREE KINGS; THE
ITALIAN JOB; THE YARDS; THE BIG STORM; WE OWN THE NIGHT; THE BASKETBALL
DIARIES; SHOOTER; FEAR
CAREER LOWS
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE; THE CORRUPTOR; PLANET
OF THE APES; INVINCIBLE; ROCK STAR
NEXT UP FOR WAHLBERG
THE HAPPENING:
Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo,
Spencer Breslin, Betty Buckley, Tony Devon, Jeremy Strong, Victoria
Clark (Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan; Fox) There’s
a new Philadelphia story on the way to your neighborhood cineplex.
But don’t expect the kind of witty, urbane "Philadelphia
Story" that proved the perfect 1940 vehicle for director George
Cukor and the deft starring trio of Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant
and James Stewart. We’re in a whole new century now, one in
which Philadelphia and the rest of the planet seem to be on the
way out. In this eco-shocker from M. Night Shyamalan, the prankster
who teased and rattled us so mercilessly in “The Sixth Sense,”
“Unbreakable,” “Signs,” “The Village”
and “Lady in the Water,” takes us to a Philly where
the vast majority of citizens are deliberately driving through plate
glass windows, slashing their wrists, or hanging themselves from
trees. Apparently, this mass madness has been caused by a form of
air pollution unknown even to Al Gore. Mark Wahlberg can’t
figure out how he’s going to keep his family alive--but he
does know he must get the hell out of Philadelphia. Opens
6/13/08
THE LOVELY BONES:
Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael
Imperioli, Saoirse Ronan (Directed by Peter Jackson; Written by
Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh; DreamWorks) In a
welcome change of pace, Peter Jackson is taking a vacation from
the tricky, sometimes tedious special-effects world of the “Rings”
trilogy and “King Kong.” His new film will be an audacious
attempt to mix reality and fantasy. As readers of Alice Sebold's
imaginative, deeply disturbing 2002 novel know, the heroine of “The
Lovely Bones” (played here by newcomer Saoirse Ronan) is raped,
murdered and dismembered by a neighbor at the age of 14. But that
is not the end of the story; in her afterlife, the girl focuses
intently on the torment of her grieving family, including her parents,
played by Mark Wahlberg (who replaced Ryan Gosling the day before
shooting began) and Rachel Weisz, and her grandmother, played by
Susan Sarandon. And, on occasion, the murdered girl pays very close
attention to the fiendish scheming of her unrepentant killer (Stanley
Tucci). Jackson, whose finest achievement is “Heavenly Creatures”--the
haunting 1994 film in which two emotionally entwined adolescents
(Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey) commit an especially horrific
murder--seems the perfect person to bring “The Lovely Bones”
to flesh-and-blood life. To
read about more new movies based on books, click
here. Opening date to be
announced
THE FIGHTER:
Brad Pitt, Mark Wahlberg (Directed by Darren
Aronofsky; Written by Paul Attanasio, Lewis Colick, Eric Johnson
and Paul Tamasy; Paramount) Here come Micky and Dickie. And we do
mean Micky Ward and Dickie Eklund. As an avid sports fan, you undoubtedly
know that hard-punching “Irish” Micky Ward from Lowell,
Massachusetts, played here by Mark Wahlberg, was a wow in the ring
during the 1990s, thanks largely to the wise coaching of his half-brother
Dickie, a former boxer who lost a battle with drugs, did time in
the pen, and became an exemplary inmate before his release. Brad
Pitt signed up for the role of Dickie when it became clear to Matt
Damon that he himself had signed up for so many flicks that he had
to drop out of this one. To
read about more new biopics, click here.
Opening
date to be announced
THE BRAZILIAN JOB:
Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham,
Seth Green, Mos Def (Directed by F. Gary Gray; Written by David
Twohy; Paramount) Wahlberg, Theron, Statham, Green and Def--the
slick, stylish quintet of thieves who thrilled us with their bravado
in 2003’s “The Italian Job”--are set to thrill
us again, this time by pulling a red-hot heist in Rio de Janeiro.
All they need is a director who can whip up the smart combination
of humor, action and sexiness that made crime pay the last time
around. And presumably that’s what they’ve got, since
this sequel is being masterminded by F. Gary Gray, the man in charge
of the original caper. Actually, the “original” was
a remake of 1969’s “Italian Job,” directed by
Peter Collinson and starring Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Raf Vallone,
Rossano Brazzi and Margaret Blye. And
that was good criminal fun, too. Opening
date to be announced
DONNIE WAHLBERG
 BORN
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,
8/17/69
FILM DEBUT
BULLET (1996)
CAREER HIGHS
THE SIXTH SENSE
CAREER LOWS
SAW II; SAW III; SAW 1V
NEXT UP FOR WAHLBERG
RIGHTEOUS
KILL: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino,
Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, 50 Cent, Brian Dennehy,
Dan Futterman (Directed by Jon Avnet: Written by Russell Gewirtz;
Overture Films) As anyone who saw “The Godfather Part II”
knows, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were terrific in Francis Ford
Coppola’s 1974 masterwork. But they weren’t terrific
together. That’s because De Niro appeared as the
young Vito Corleone only in flashbacks and Pacino’s Michael
remained very much in the present. They were terrific together,
however, in Michael Mann’s “Heat” (1995), but
only in the two brief scenes they shared. Well, that was then, and
this is now. So you’ll see them together--and presumably terrific--throughout
the entirety of this hardboiled thriller. What’s more, they’re
even getting trendy, playing a pair of cops determined to capture
a popular staple of the current movie scene--you guesed it, a serial
killer! Opens 9/12/08
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN
 BORN
QUEENS, NEW YORK, 3/31/43
FILM DEBUT
ME AND MY BROTHER (1969)
CAREER HIGHS
THE DEER HUNTER; AT CLOSE RANGE; THE KING
OF NEW YORK; CATCH ME IF YOU CAN; PULP FICTION; PENNIES FROM HEAVEN;
THE DEAD ZONE; ROMANCE & CIGARETTES; HAIRSPRAY; THE FUNERAL;
LAST EMBRACE; WEDDING CRASHERS; ANNIE HALL; DOGS OF WAR; TRUE ROMANCE;
MAN ON FIRE; NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE; THE ANDERSON TAPES; ROSELAND;
BILOXI BLUES; THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR
CAREER LOWS
GIGLI; THE STEPFORD WIVES; BRAINSTORM; THE
SENTINEL; THE HAPPINESS CAGE; THE AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE; DOMINO
IN HIS OWN WORDS
"If I can
tell someone to drop dead and go to hell, then it’s a good
day," Walken told Guy Flatley in a 1980 interview for Cosmopolitan
magazine. "I've always been a nervy, abrasive bum, quite obnoxious
and arrogant. I say a lot of things without thinking, but I’m
the first to admit I’m stupid. I definitely believe there
are people put on this earth to be a torment, to serve as an irritant,
to keep the action going and stir up the soup. A lot of people I
know think I’m a pain in the ass, but they stick around because
they figure it’s better to know me than not to know me.”
Click
here to read the entire Cosmo article.
CURRENT FILM
ROMANCE & CIGARETTES:
James Gandolfini,Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet,
Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore,
Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Barbara Sukowa, Elaine Stritch,
Eddie Izzard, Amy Sedaris (Written and directed by John Turturro;
MGM/UA) Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is a shrewd, cocky, blue-collar
kind of guy from Queens who knows his way around all the boroughs
of his hometown. He also knows his way around a brazen British redhead
named Tula (Kate Winslet), a secret his wife Kitty (Susan Sarandon)
discovers when she reads a poem he has written in praise of the
lusty lady. That’s when the fireworks--and a whole lot of
racy singing and dancing that would have shocked the socks off Sinatra,
Garland and Kelly--begin in this strictly 21st-century musical comedy.
(In truth, the music is not actually from this century; it's from
the second half of the 20th century--which is a good thing, since
it includes songs by Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, James Brown,
Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck.) To
read Guy Flatley's 1978 interview with Susan Sarandon, click
here.
Now Playing
DENZEL WASHINGTON
 BORN
MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, 12/28/54
FILM DEBUT
CORIOLANUS (1979)
CAREER HIGHS
TRAINING DAY; AMERICAN GANGSTER; PHILADELPHIA;
DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS; THE HURRICANE; MO’ BETTER BLUES; MISSISSIPPI
MASALA; A SOLDIER’S STORY; ANTWONE FISHER; THE GREAT DEBATERS;
HE GOT GAME; THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE; INSIDE MAN; MAN ON FIRE;
THE PELICAN BRIEF; GLORY; POWER; COURAGE UNDER FIRE; CRIMSON TIDE
CAREER LOWS
THE PREACHER’S WIFE; CARBON COPY; VIRTUOSITY;
RICOCHET; THE MIGHTY QUINN
NEXT UP FOR WASHINGTON
THE TAKING OF PELHAM
123: Denzel Washington, John
Travolta, James Gandolfini, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Alex Kaluzhsky (Directed
by Tony Scott; Written by David Koepp; Columbia) One of the most
entertaining and terrifying thrillers of 1974 was Joseph Sargent’s
“The Taking of Pelham 123,” which was adapted by Peter
Stone from John Godey’s novel. Here’s how New York Times
critic Nora Sayre described the story line in her rave review: “Four
highly efficient hoods hijack an IRT subway car and hold eighteen
people hostage for a million dollars; if the city doesn't pay within
an hour, one hostage will be shot a minute. The Transit Authority,
the Police Department, the Mayor and his colleagues all go into
frenzied but coordinated action, while the film cuts most expertly
between the stalled car and its passengers, the T.A. Command Center,
Gracie Mansion, and the city streets.” With director Tony
Scott and screenwriter David Koepp in charge, we will once again
be hurried along on a harrowing trip through the jangly streets
and dark tunnels of the Big Apple. Denzel Washington will try on
the role of the cool transit cop played by Walter Matthau in the
original, John Travolta inherits Robert Shaw’s role of a sadistic
hijacker, and James Gandolfini--on leave from Jersey--is the panicky
Mayor of New York. To
read Guy Flatley's 1976 New York Times interview with John Travolta,
click here.
Opening date to
be announced
EMILY WATSON
 BORN
ISLINGTON, LONDON, ENGLAND, 1/14/67
FILM DEBUT
BREAKING THE WAVES (1996)
CAREER HIGHS
BREAKING THE WAVES; THE BOXER; ANGELA’S
ASHES; PUNCH- DRUNK LOVE; GOSFORD PARK; HILARY AND JACKIE; THE LUZHIN
DEFENCE
CAREER LOWS
MISS POTTER; METROLAND; TRIXIEUP
NEXT UP FOR WATSON
SHANTARAM:
Johnny Depp, Emily Watson, Franka Potente
(Written by Eric Roth and Gregory David Roberts; Warner Bros.) An
Australian named Lindsay (Johnny Depp) has a major heroin habit
which sends him to what promises to be a long, harsh term of imprisonment.
As in the Gregory David Roberts novel from which this drama stems,
however, Lindsay escapes and lands in a crime-crammed Bombay slum,
where he manages to pass himself off as a crackerjack physician--one
who engages in gunrunning and smuggling in order to give his poor
patients the kind of care they so richly deserve. The next stage
of Lindsay’s physical and spiritual journey is Afghanistan,
where he joins the insurgents in their struggle to oust the Russians.
Tomorrow Iraq? Peter Weir, who was
set to direct "Shantaram," dropped out when the folks
at Warner Bros. informed him that his take on the material was all
wrong. He was replaced by Mira Nair, director of "Monsoon Wedding"
and "The Namesake." Opening
date to be announced
NAOMI WATTS
 BORN
SHOREHAM, KENT, ENGLAND, 9/28/68
FILM DEBUT
FOR LOVE ALONE (1986)
CAREER HIGHS
21 GRAMS; MULHOLLAND DRIVE; EASTERN PROMISES,
THE PAINTED VEIL; KING KONG; WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE; THE
RING; NED KELLY
CAREER LOWS
THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON; LE DIVORCE;
TANK GIRL; STAY
NEXT UP FOR WATTS
EASTERN
PROMISES: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi
Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack, Donald
Sumpter, Jerzy Skolimowski, Michael Sarne (Directed by David Cronenberg;
Written by Steven Knight; Focus Features) London is the workplace
of some of the world’s meanest members of organized crime,
perhaps none meaner than a certain Russian-born thug named Nikolai
(Viggo Mortensen). This exceedingly illegal immigrant specializes
in the business of sex and shows little mercy on his victims, though
there is a chance he will treat Ana--a British midwife who knows
more than it is healthy to know about a young woman who died giving
birth--with a smidgeon of tenderness. Enraptured fans of 2005’s
“A History of Violence” will be pleased to see Viggo
Mortensen working once again under the shrewd, mischievous direction
of David Cronenberg. Now Playing
SIGOURNEY
WEAVER
 BORN
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 10/8/49
FILM DEBUT
ANNIE HALL (1977)
CAREER
HIGHS
ALIEN; THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY; THE
ICE STORM; GORILLAS IN THE MIST; ALIENS; ALIEN 3; ALIEN: RESURRECTION;
DAVE; WORKING GIRL; INFAMOUS; HOLES; DEATH AND THE MAIDEN; GHOST
BUSTERS; GHOSTBUSTERS II; EYEWITNESS
CAREER
LOWS
HALF MOON STREET; TADPOLE; GALAXY QUEST; DEAL
OF THE CENTURY
CURRENT FILM
BABY MAMA:
Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard,
Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland
Taylor, James Rebhorn (Written
and directed by Michael McCullers; Universal) At
the clock-ticking age of 37, over-achieving career woman Kate Holbrook
(Tina Fey) suddenly realizes that in her rush to succeed in the
cut-throat world of the health-food industry, she has robbed herself
of something important--the joy of motherhood. Enter Angie Ostrowiski,
a coarse, pushy member of the masses willing to play surrogate mother
for Kate’s offspring-on-demand. Nifty. But not so nifty is
the sudden of the unexpectedly homeless Angie on Kate’s doorstep.
She seeks shelter from Kate and gets it. And, after nine months
of sitcomedic cohabitation, guess who’s bringing up baby.
Those of us who’ve followed the Saturday Night Live progress
of performers Fey and Poehler, writer Michael McCullers and co-producer
Lorne Michaels, look forward to celebrating the birth of their big-screen
“Baby.” And, as a strictly-for-fun bonus, we get Sigourney
Weaver as the awesomely fertile director of a surrogancy center
and Steve Martin as a pony-tailed, new-age guru with super sales
savvy. Mama Mia! Now Playing
RACHEL WEISZ
 BORN
LONDON, ENGLAND, 3/7/71
FILM DEBUT
DEATH MACHINE (1995)
CAREER HIGHS
THE CONSTANT GARDENER; RUNAWAY JURY; SUNSHINE;
DEFINITELY, MAYBE; ABOUT A BOY
CAREER LOWS
THE SHAPE OF THINGS; THE MUMMY; THE MUMMY
RETURNS; FRED CLAUS; THE FOUNTAIN; CONSTANTINE
NEXT UP FOR WEISZ
THE
LOVELY BONES:
Ryan Gosling, Rachel
Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, Saoirse
Ronan (Directed by Peter Jackson; Written by Peter Jackson, Philippa
Boyens and Fran Walsh; DreamWorks) In a welcome change of pace,
Peter Jackson is taking a vacation from the tricky, sometimes tedious
special-effects world of the “Rings” trilogy and “King
Kong.” His new film will be an audacious attempt to mix reality
and fantasy. As readers of Alice Sebold's imaginative, deeply disturbing
2002 novel know, the heroine of “The Lovely Bones” (played
here by newcomer Saoirse Ronan) is raped, murdered and dismembered
by a neighbor at the age of 14. But that is not the end of the story;
in her afterlife, the girl focuses intently on the torment of her
grieving family, including her parents, played by Mark Wahlberg
(who replaced Ryan Gosling the day before shooting began) and Rachel
Weisz, and her grandmother, played by Susan Sarandon. And, on occasion,
the murdered girl pays very close attention to the fiendish scheming
of her unrepentant killer (Stanley Tucci). Peter Jackson, whose
finest achievement is “Heavenly Creatures”--the haunting
1994 film in which two emotionally entwined adolescents (Kate Winslet
and Melanie Lynskey) commit an especially horrific murder--seems
the perfect person to bring “The Lovely Bones” to flesh-and-blood
life. To
read about more new movies based on books, click
here. Opening
date to be announced
FOREST WHITAKER
 BORN
LONGVIEW, TEXAS, 7/15/61
FILM DEBUT
TAG: THE ASSASSINATION GAME (1982)
CAREER HIGHS
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND; BIRD; THE CRYING
GAME; PANIC ROOM; THE GREAT DEBATERS; A RAGE IN HARLEM; GHOST DOG:
THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI; SMOKE; FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH; THE
COLOR OF MONEY; PLATOON; STAKEOUT; PHONE BOOTH
CAREER LOWS
BATTLEFIELD EARTH: A SAGA OF THE YEAR 3000;
PHENOMENON; BODY COUNT; VISION QUEST
NEXT UP FOR
WHITAKER
REPOSSESSION
MAMBO: Jude Law, Liev Schreiber,
Forest Whitaker, Alice Braga (Directed by Miguel Sapochnik; Written
by Eric Garcia and Garret Lerner; Universal) Would you buy an artificial
organ on an installment plan from a company that reserved the right
to terminate you if you default on payment? That’s the decision
facing somebody--perhaps Jude Law and/or Forest Whitaker--in this
sci-fi thriller set in the near future. If things go as planned,
“Repossession Mambo” will take possession of your local
theater before “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” a similarly
themed musical directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, whose previous assaults
on our sanity include "Saw II," "Saw III" and
"Saw IV." Opening date to
be announced
BRUCE WILLIS
 BORN
IDAR-OBERSTEIN, GERMANY, 3/19/55
FILM DEBUT
BLIND DATE (1987)
CAREER HIGHS
PULP FICTION; DIE HARD; DIE HARD 2; DIE HARD:
WITH A VENGEANCE; LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD; BILLY BATHGATE; GRINDHOUSE;
SIN CITY; NOBODY’S FOOL; THE SIXTH SENSE; FAST FOOD NATION;
TWELVE MONKEYS; IN COUNTRY; BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS; THE WHOLE NINE
YARDS
CAREER LOWS
HUDSON HAWK; THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES;
DEATH BECOMES HER; THE STORY OF US; COLOR OF NIGHT; LUCKY NUMBER
SLEVIN; THE FIFTH ELEMENT
CURRENT FILM
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD:
Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q,
Justin Long, Jeffrey Wright, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Cyril Raffaelli
(Directed by Len Wiseman; Written by Mark Bomback; Fox) For the
fourth--but probably not last--time, Bruce Willis plays rugged,
profanity-spewing New York detective John McClane. It all began,
of course, with “Die Hard” in 1988, when Willis was
a 33-year-old rising star. But he--or, at least, the McClane character--is
certainly not living in the past. He is in fact right up to the
minute, taking on a perilous assignment with the Department of Homeland
Security. His mission? To prevent rabid but clever terrorists from
destroying the intricate technology that makes the United States
the most powerful nation in the world. Or something like that.
OWEN WILSON
 BORN
DALLAS, TEXAS, 11/18/68
FILM DEBUT
BOTTLE ROCKET (1996)
CAREER HIGHS
RUSHMORE; THE DARJEELING LIMITED; BOTTLE ROCKET;
WEDDING CRASHERS; THE CABLE GUY; THE MINUS MAN; THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS;
BEHIND ENEMY LINES; MEET THE PARENTS; MEET THE FOCKERS
CAREER
LOWS
STARSY & HUTCH; THE BIG BOUNCE; I SPY;
ARMAGEDDON; SHANGHAI KNIGHTS; AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
NEXT UP FOR WILSON
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. To
read Diane Baroni's 2002 interview with Amy Adams, click
here. Opening
date to be announced
DEBRA
WINGER
 BORN
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO, 5/16/55
FILM DEBUT
SLUMBER PARTY ’57 (1976)
CAREER HIGHS
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT; AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN;
URBAN COWBOY; MIKE’S MURDER; BLACK WIDOW; THE SHELTERING SKY
CAREER
LOWS
FORGET PARIS; CANNERY ROW; LEGAL EAGLES; SHADOWLANDS;
BETRAYED
NEXT UP FOR WINGER
DANCING
WITH SHIVA: Anne Hathaway, Debra
Winger, Bill Irwin, Rosemarie DeWitt, Anna Deavere Smith, Dorian
Missick, Tamyra Gray, Daphne Rubin-Vega (Directed by Jonathan Demme;
Written by Jenny Lumet; Sony Pictures Classics) In 1983, director
James Brooks skillfully explored the complicated relationship between
an impetuous, disorderly rebel and her sweet, impeccably behaved
daughter. Both Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger received Academy
Award nominations for Best Actress of 1983, and mama MacLaine took
home the Oscar. Now, 25 years later, esteemed director Jonathan
Demme is focusing on another intriguing mother-daughter combo in
“Dancing With Shiva.” This time, it’s Debra Winger
who plays mom, a divorcee who is not at all happy when her estranged
daughter, a neurotic ex-model recently released from rehab, decides
to come home for her sister’s wedding. Perhaps Winger, whose
career could stand a little rehabilitation, will nab an Oscar as
Best Actress of 2008--though it’s possible that the winner
could be Anne Hathaway, who no doubt welcomes the chance to soil
her squeaky clean image in the role of Winger’s wayward sprout.
And speaking of daughters, “Shiva’s” screenwriter
is Jenny Lumet, whose father is 83-year-old director Sidney Lumet.
Maybe Demme will make this a truly family affair by giving Lumet,
a former child actor, a cameo in his grown-up little girl's flick.
Opening date to be announced
KATE
WINSLET
 BORN
READING, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 10/5/75
FILM DEBUT
HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994)
CAREER HIGHS
LITTLE CHILDREN; HEAVENLY CREATURES; JUDE;
IRIS; TITANIC; SENSE AND SENSIBILITY; ROMANCE & CIGARETTES;
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND; HOLY SMOKE; HAMLET; QUILLS
CAREER LOWS
ALL THE KING’S MEN; FINDING NEVERLAND;
THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE; PLUNGE: THE MOVIE
NEXT UP FOR WINSLET
REVOLUTIONARY
ROAD: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate
Winslet, Kathy Bates, Zoe Kazan, Michael Shannon, Ty Simpkins (Directed
by Sam Mendes; Written by Justin Haythe; DreamWorks) The last time
this young and beautiful couple set sail together, they were so
blinded by love that they failed to notice they were headed straight
for an iceberg. This time, the still beautiful but not-so-young
“Titanic” couple knows enough not to go near the water.
Which doesn’t necessarily mean they are on course for a happy
ending. In Justin Haythe’s adaptation of the haunting 1961
novel by Richard Yates, DiCaprio and Winslet play Frank and April
Wheeler, brilliant, sexually-charged newlyweds who believe their
arsenal of sophistication, talent and magnetism will transport them
to a charmed life among scintillating European intellectuals. Following
a couple of unplanned pregnancies and career setbacks, however,
they find themselves stranded in the stifling suburbs of 1950s Connecticut.
Inevitably, Frank has a demoralizing affair with a colleague in
his Manhattan office, and April beds down with the husband of a
close friend. And don’t for a minute imagine that their kids
are happy troopers. In her rave review of “Revolutionary Road,”
The New York Times’ Michiko Kakutani said that Richard Yates’
“portrait of these thwarted, needlessly doomed lives is at
once brutal and compassionate.” Another reason to look forward
to this re-teaming of Leo and Kate: It’s being directed by
Kate’s husband, Sam Mendes--the man responsible for the memorably
lacerating “American Beauty.” Opening
date to be announced
REESE WITHERSPOON
 BORN
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, 3/22/76
FILM DEBUT
THE MAN IN THE MOON (1991)
CAREER HIGHS
WALK THE LINE; ELECTION; LEGALLY BLONDE; PLEASANTVILLE;
FEAR; AMERICAN PSYCHO; VANITY FAIR
CAREER LOWS
JUST LIKE HEAVEN; JACK THE BEAR; LEGALLY BLONDE
2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE; THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST; HOME
SWEET ALABAMA; RENDIDTION
NEXT UP FOR WITHERSPOON
SPORTS WIDOW:
Reese Witherspoon (Directed by David Mirkin;
Written by Elizabeth Kruger and Craig Shapiro; Universal) Everyone’s
favorite legally blonde cutie might as well be legally dead in this
comedy about a woman whose husband remains totally glued to the
tube during the seemingly endless football season. How to get the
big lug’s attention? Easy! Simply knock his socks off by boning
up on all those tricky gridiron stats. That’s what Lucy would
have done if Desi had been a wannabe jock. Opening
date to be announced
BUNNY
LAKE IS MISSING: Reese
Witherspoon (Type A Films) Carol Lynley, a distinctive, all-but-forgotten
actress who seemed on the verge of major stardom in the sixties,
was great to watch as the stressed mother of a missing child in
Otto Preminger’s classy 1965 thriller, “Bunny Lake Is
Missing.” And who can doubt that Reese Witherspoon will work
similar wonders in this remake? Now the question is, who will play
the roles performed so persuasively in the original by Laurence
Olivier, Keir Dullea, Noel Coward, Martita Hunt, Anna Massey and
Clive Revill? Opening date to be announced
OUR FAMILY
TROUBLES: Reese
Witherspoon (Written by Don Winston; Universal) As in “Bunny
Lake Is Missing,” Reese Witherspoon is a mom who’s in
trouble because her kid--this time, a boy--is in trouble. Strange,
sickeningly unnatural things are happening down on her Tennessee
home and she’s pretty sure that a witch is about to snatch
her son. Soon she’s so crazed that she can’t tell which
witch is which. Opening date to be
announced
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