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  • In 2008, Cameron Crowe stars as Himself in the production of Cash.

  • For the 1964 Carol for Another Christmas, he plays Himself.

  • He plays Himself in the 1979 show The Dolebludgers.

  • In 2004, Cameron Crowe plays Himself (presenter) in the Dodger DVD 135.

  • Cameron Crowe plays the part of Delivery Boy in the 1941 movie Ahuti.

  • In 1949, Cameron Crowe is cast in the role of Himself in the movie The Adventures of Sir Galahad.

  • In 1977, Himself in the Dolg.

  • For the 1980 production Dolgaya doroga v dyunakh, Cameron Crowe plays Himself.

  • Cameron Crowe plays the part of Himself in the 2006 release 911 Mysteries Part 1: Demolitions.

  • He plays the part of Club Interviewer in the 1975 movie Alarde de San Marcial.

  • He is cast in the role of Himself in the 1986 As Is.

  • In 1966, Cameron Crowe is cast in the role of Cop #2 in the production of Belye, belye aisty.

  • In 1897, Cameron Crowe stars as Himself in the production of Assassinat du duc de Guise, L'.

  • In 1922, he plays the part of Himself in the release of Grande passione, La.

  • For the 2004 video release of I Want Your Wife 2, he plays Himself.

  • Reese Witherspoon: Lunching with Ava

    
    Making quite the adorable pair, Reese Witherspoon and her daughter Ava were spotted out getting some lunch together in Beverly Hills on Saturday afternoon (September 19). With the “Legally Blonde” beauty wearing a light denim buttondown sh
    on 2009-09-20 04:47:30

  • Cameron Crowe kicks out the Pearl Jams

    
    He's back behind a camera again, directing a new video for Pearl Jam's upcoming "Backspacer" album. He's back behind a camera again, directing a new video for Pearl
    on 2009-08-29 04:50:00

  • Cameron Crowe kicks out the Pearl Jams

    
    
    on 2009-08-29 04:49:50

  • "Bandslam" in tune with teen sensibilities (Reuters)

    
    Reuters - Had Cameron Crowe and the late John Hughes collaborated on a movie populated by Disney Channel superstars, the result might have looked and sounded a lot like Todd Graff's "Bandslam." And that's meant as a compliment.
    on 2009-08-11 04:45:05

  • Pearl Jam Movie Directed By Crowe

    
    Pearl Jam are going to have one hell of a debut film after Almost Famous director, Cameron Crowe has signed up to chronicle their 20 years as a band.Crowe is reportedly working on a documentary consisting of existing concert, backstage and studio footage
    on 2009-04-15 04:49:59

  • Pearl Jam album, film, tour in the works

    
    Band to headline San Francisco festival; Cameron Crowe working on movie.
    on 2009-04-15 04:47:14

  • Reese Is Ready for More On-Screen Romance

    
    Reese Witherspoon was looking like one fit mama leaving yoga class with her mat and water this past weekend. She's had lots of time to meditate and work out since she finished filming Four Christmases, but it won't be long before she's headed back to the
    on 2008-06-09 20:50:37

  • Stiller and Witherspoon to Pair Up for Cameron Crowe Movie

    
    There's no real information about this project ? not even a title ? besides the following: It's a "romantic comedy adventure." Cameron Crowe is directing for Columbia Pictures. Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller are set to play the lead lovebirds. Well,
    on 2008-06-09 16:58:18

  • Reese and Ben's Big-Screen Romance

    
    ET has the latest... Variety reports that Hollywood powerhouses REESE WITHERSPOON and BEN STILLER are pairing up for an all-new romantic comedy from CAMERON CROWE ('Jerry Maguire,' 'Say Anything') who is both writer and producer. The film's plot is being
    on 2008-06-09 12:48:18

  • Stiller, Witherspoon fly with Crowe

    
    Los Angeles: Duo to star in Columbia Pictures comedy -- Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon will star in an untitled Cameron Crowe romantic comedy adventure at Columbia Pictures.
    on 2008-06-09 00:48:50

  • Happy Anniversary, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes!

    
    The happy couple wed a year ago today.TOM CRUISE and KATIE HOLMES are celebrating their one-year anniversary today! ET was there for the star-studded nuptials at Castle Odescalchi and we're taking you back to Italy for all the wedding-day mayhem with this
    on 2007-11-19 00:46:45
  • On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 20:42:12 -0500, Doctor Wu wrote: > In article , > Phoenix wrote: > adopted, I am pretty sure. Ha! I thought it was the other way around. Guess I'm confused.
  • jjenniferlyon@yahoo.com wrote: > Wyle Coyote wrote: > Cameron Crowe and they have twins-- I don't know if the kids are > adopted, if she had them naturally, via a surrogate, or what. I don't > know if her sister Ann has kids or not. > have any kids. Nancy Wilson (born March 16, 1954) is an American singer and guitarist who, with her older sister Ann, became a part of the Seattle band Heart. "Dreamboat Annie" came out on Mushroom Records in 1976, and their second single, "Crazy On You", was a hit. While Ann is the lead singer on most Heart songs, Nancy is the vocalist on the hit "These Dreams," and is the band's guitarist. She was born in San Francisco, California, married Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe in 1986, and gave birth to twin boys in 2000. Nancy composes music for most of Cameron's films including Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown. She also had an uncredited cameo in Cameron's, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." -- preesi ~~~~~~~~~ "If you've got a passion for fashion, and you've got a craving for saving, take the wheel of your automobile, and swing on down to Ideal." ~~~~~~~~~ My Websites and Favorite Links: http://tinyurl.com/yvw45 Yahoo/SidekickII Name: MissPreesi Skype: Preesi
  • In article , Phoenix wrote: > In article , > wylecoyote@post.com says... > each. > Nancy has bio twins (with Cameron Crowe of course) however Ann's are adopted, I am pretty sure. -- Lisa
  • http://entertainment.news.com.au/story/0,10221,16979216-7485,00.html Crowe, Cruise unite From: AAP October 20, 2005 OSCAR-winning filmmaker Cameron Crowe has said Tom Cruise was his first choice to produce his latest movie, Elizabethtown, because the Hollywood heartthrob personally relates to the film's main theme of losing a parent. The bitter-sweet film is a long-delayed tribute to Crowe's father, whose untimely death in 1989 came just as the writer and director was making a name for himself in Tinseltown. "Tom's dad also passed away when he was a young man and he had that history of feeling he never really knew him properly - so he just seemed like the best guy to work with on this one," Crowe told AAP. The romantic comedy-drama tells the tale of workaholic shoe-designer Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) who is fired from his job the day he learns his father has died. Sent to Elizabethtown to retrieve his father's remains, Drew embarks on an emotional journey as he discovers his roots and falls in love with a charming air hostess, Claire (Kirsten Dunst). The movie is set in the southern US state of Kentucky, far away from corporate America and the usual glitzy backdrops of New York or Los Angeles, but a place close to the hearts of both Crowe and Cruise. "Tom and I have a similar sensibility and experience. You know his dad was from Kentucky where I set the film, and so was mine. That's where he died. His mom's really important in his life and so is mine," said Crowe, praising Cruise as "a great collaborator, supporter and friend". It's certainly not the first time the two industry big guns have crossed paths. Cruise starred in the director's smash hit Jerry Maguire (1996) and the less popular Vanilla Sky (2001), which he also produced. Crowe, who scooped an Academy Award for best original screenplay for Almost Famous in 2001, said after his father died, he realised how little he had known about the man and the emotional experience inspired him to write a . "You know, it never is too late and even though my father died years earlier, the story of this movie was kind of like something waiting to come out," he said. Crowe started his career as a teenage rock journalist for US music bible Rolling Stone and music is instrumental in all his films. Elizabethtown is no different, punctuated by tracks from chart-topping legends Tom Petty and Elton John to newcomers like Ryan Adams. "Music is like the other person in this film and it's really important for Orlando's character. It leads him on his journey and is with him on his road trip," said Crowe. The director admitted he was initially hesitant at casting British actor Bloom in an American role and almost awarded the part to That 70s Show star Ashton Kutcher. "Ashton was one of the guys I talked to who I really liked," recalled Crowe. "I'd worked with Orlando on a Gap (clothing shop) commercial and because I hadn't seen Lord of The Rings, to me, he was a totally contemporary guy and I loved working with him," Crowe explained. Coincidentally, Orlando had also experienced losing his father at an early age. The actor grew up believing his father dead when in fact he turned out to be a close family friend. Although he hesitated over Bloom, Crowe knew he wanted Dunst to play the kooky but loving air hostess looking for love, even though he had previously overlooked her for Almost Famous, in favour of Kate Hudson. "Kirsten is just wise beyond her years," said Crowe, who glowingly described both his stars as exuding inner wisdom and soul. Although loss is a pivotal theme in Elizabethtown, Crowe said it was a positive force and served as a catalyst for characters to improve their lives. Bloom's character lurches from contemplating suicide to realising there is more to life than work and social status, and his mother, played by Susan Sarandon, blossoms into the free-spirited, independent woman she'd always wanted to be. Crowe may have collected a golden gong for his -writing skills but the director admitted it was not easy to give an emotional story an upbeat twist without slipping down a sentimental path. "It's a movie-making dilemma that has long plagued some of the silver screen's greatest filmmakers," he said. "Hopefully Elizabethtown stays on the right side of that line because I love when a movie can take you to a place that feels familiar and maybe touches you a little bit, but not in the way that begs for a tin cup for your tears or anything. Now that really would be bad sentimentality."
  • i love this interview. http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/658/658343p1.html A Conversation with Cameron Crowe Forget about drugs, says the Elizabethtown director; sex and rock & roll are enough to save us all. by Todd Gilchrist October 13, 2005 - After working as an entertainment reporter for a few years, a time comes when you start to feel that you've seen it all, said it all, and asked it all. It's not a matter of becoming jaded, as much as it is just plain getting tired - tired of asking the same questions about actors' motivations, screenwriters' inspirations, and directors' complications. And after a while, it all seems to boil down to the writer's frustrations: how do I muster enough energy to ask Paris Hilton about her acting challenges in House of Wax, and then turn around and write a feature that's interesting to readers, much less myself? Thankfully, there are those few occasions whereupon writers get to embrace their inner googolplex-goer, their closet fanboy, and interview someone whom they respect and enjoy on a personal level as much as a professional one. Such is the case for me, somewhat appropriately, with Cameron Crowe, who was himself at one time a reporter, and went on to become one of Hollywood's most respected filmmakers with works like Say Anything, Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous. Being that the last of these films is my favorite of all time - a fact I unfortunately felt compelled to mention several times during our interview - I was perhaps understandably excited to sit down with him to discuss his latest project, the coming-of-age 'dramedy' Elizabethtown. >From our first moments together, Crowe proved to be a charming, articulate fellow; not only did he appreciate my enthusiasm, as unfocused as it may have been, but he responded in kind, offering sage wisdom about moviemaking as much as life itself. But what emerged from our time together wasn't merely an interview, or a dreaded question-and-answer session devoid of fluidity or palpable interaction. Rather, it became the unlikeliest of exchanges, particularly in a business where everyone's selling but no one's buying: a real, true-blue conversation. So departing a bit from IGN FilmForce's typical approach to movie coverage, here are the minutes of our time together, captured in their shamelessly personal, unedited glory; and while I'd apologize for doing Cameron Crowe the disservice of attaching my own comments to his much more insightful ones, I can only throw myself on the mercy of the court, and openly confess the source of my inspiration - that is, Elizabethtown, his own shamelessly personal, far more dexterously edited moviemaking vision. IGN FILMFORCE: I recently read the article you wrote about music and movies for the Los Angeles Times and thought it was great, especially in terms of your sort of encyclopedic approach to looking at the way music and images work together. What kind of pressure do you feel internally to go, 'I have to pay tribute to the fans of my films?' CAMERON CROWE: Zero. I mean, I'm a fan of that kind of movie, so it's really 'am I overdoing it,' you know what I mean? Should I shake it up and put no music in a movie, which I'm sort of thinking about for the next one. [But] once I start I can't stop (laughs). IGN: When you're selecting music, how difficult is it to pick a song - for instance, there's certainly an impulse to find that obscure song that means a million things to you but you put it in the movie and maybe it's too new, or too old, or too obscure or something that nails a feeling for you but just doesn't work on screen. How often do you find that happens to you? CROWE: Most of the time. I mean, there was a version of the road trip where a friend of mine saw it and said, "dude, it sounds like a new music sampler; c'mon - nobody would make a mix tape like that!" And it was true and it wasn't authentic enough, because a real mix CD made by [Kirsten Dunst's] character would have something like "Pride in the Name of Love," like a chestnut, and then a joke song and then a new song and then a semi-old song. So that was more truthful, I think, but I had all of this new music I wanted to play: definitely Josh Ritter, and "Mercury" by Kathleen Edwards, and some of that had to drop away. IGN: Speaking of Kirsten Dunst's character, some of the other journalists and myself were having this discussion about how this character, a lot like [Say Anything's] Diane Cort and Reenee Zellweger's character in Jerry Maguire and Kate Hudson's character [in Almost Famous], that seem to be almost too good to be true, in the sense that I'm not entirely convinced that people exist in reality. You've mentioned in interviews before that there are elements of the characters drawn from your own life and your own relationships, but at what point is creating characters like this a kind of wish fulfillment for people my age who have yet to meet girls who are as cool, grounded, down to earth, insightful, and know everything about music that we want them to know? CROWE: It's not wish fulfillment. If anything, she's sort of - she is sort of an angel. She is sent to him, and it is the first stages of a relationship and there are warts in everybody; relationships are a warts-and-all experience. But in the time of the story, I guess, I think she was sent to him with a purpose - to help save him - and the challenge is, and I think she sort of issues it him, is like 'are you really going to be in the world and appreciate me?' and that's what the journey of the road trip is; like, figure yourself out and maybe I'll be there. I think as the movie ends, he's ready for the ride, and maybe if the story continued, we'd see more of her maniacal control-freak side that made her create the map and the questionable relationship with Ben. The problems are just below the surface, but for the flow of the story I think she's an angel, a real live angel. But I do like a character in a movie that's sort of a knockaround truth-teller, and that's her in this movie. IGN: I think in a larger sense, your movie sort of serve that purpose too. Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies - actually, my favorite movie - for the reason that unlike so many other sort of adolescent-oriented films, it really nails the sort of heartbreaking sadness of realizing the way that love and sex are often mutually exclusive from one another; personally, I think that Almost Famous and Rushmore are the only two movies that I've ever seen that accurately depicted that, where you sort of realize sex is not love and love is not sex... CROWE: Can I suggest another one for you? IGN: Sure. CROWE: Have you ever seen Quadrophenia? IGN: I haven't, no. CROWE: Brotha, you've got to see Quadrophenia for the love affair that happens between Jimmy and a character named Steph; it will kill you. I mean, just when you were talking about Rushmore, I was like "I'm there - I know that ache." It's very familiar to me. I'm honored that you put Almost Famous in the category and I went right to Quadrophenia. When Steph says, "it was just a giggle," whew, harsh - and you'll never forget her. You know what I mean? You, the character, Jimmy, that's the girl you never forget: she sleeps with you and it just didn't mean what it meant to you. That's a beautiful melancholy (laughs). IGN: That's what works about the scene [in Almost Famous] where William loses his virginity. That's a moment that under any other circumstances would be the end of American Pie - that would be his sort of moment of triumph, and I could totally appreciate the idea of wanting to share that with a certain person and not being able to. How difficult is it to come up with those sort of twists and turns that sort of take a conventional moment like that - losing one's virginity - and give it a different sort of slant? Do you write a scene from the outside and then go in and flip it around, or is it just a matter of putting things together exclusively based on your personal experiences? CROWE: Uh, it changes. That's a really good question. That scene came from real life, and the feeling that the girl you want it to be with is the one leaving the room. The other thing is everybody's virginity-losing episode is different; none of them are movie-like in many ways, so I wanted to do it realistically, even with a little bit of poetry with the camera slowing down and everything... IGN: And the feathers, and the girls jumping around... CROWE: ...thanks, brotha, thanks for your memory. [ well, my memory is a bit hazy but here we go. it's 1996. it's compuserve. it's premiere magazine. these were the days when the internet was starting to pick up steam and premiere was apparently trying to build a presence by dragging hollwood into compuserve's outrageously priced internet service. outrageous because they were charging _by the hour_ and i still recall logging on with a timer to make sure i didn't go over my budget. so when i saw the notice for a "conference" with a faceless hollywood director named crowe peddling a movie named, "jerry maguire", it wasn't so much because i liked his work (completely missed "say anything..." and only vaguely recalled "singles"), it was the notion that the participants would be able to ask questions directly, that made me forget the oppresive running meter that clouded every minute on compuserve. the thing that stands out most right now is that there were only about 5 people in the conference room. lol. including me. and the moderator (some chick named jennifer?). and cameron crowe. lol. the other thing that stands out was how _agonizingly_ slow the process was. everyone literally had to wait while some drunken bastard participant who couldn't type was trying to type a goddamn question. arghhh! if memory serves, at one point crowe lamented something to the effect of, "c'mon man! this is the internet and it's moving at the speed of light!!!". i honestly can't recall if it was me or someone else asking the next question of why it was taking so long to make his movies. crowe mumbled something about being "a fool for research", and then finally screaming, "I WILL PICK UP THE PACE!!!" lol. god, i can't tell you how many times i've uttered those very same words at work during the late 90s. that's all i remember from the conference. well, anyway, i've been a cameron crowe fan ever since. :] I think it's just real life has got its own kind of veracity that you can't make up in so many ways, and so always go back to real life to figure out how it would really happen. I read an interview with Mike Nichols once where he said everything he does, the question he asks about every scene is how would it really happen? I don't know if I've been able to be that strict about it, but it's a good place to go back to - how does it feel? And how does it feel is pretty much what I go back to [when I'm] writing. It kind of powers the whole movie: how does it feel to go back to Kentucky? How does it feel to leave? And how does it feel to give up? What was that palpable sadness? And that's what you chase - is the scene going to take you there. And then of course you have music. IGN: You've been working in Hollywood longer than a lot of people who are in this movie, and have seen plenty of movies - being that you are a cineaste yourself - movies that go through different iterations. The first time I saw the movie was Friday night, but I'd heard that there were changes made since Toronto. How difficult is it to sort of stay on target when you're trying to put a movie together, making some of those hard decisions, when we now function in an era where everything is so relentlessly documented that there's no way to sort of retain the mystique, like it just emerges in its final form? I always think of Annie Hall about how there's the famous story about how it was a murder mystery and they got rid of it and it's now the greatest romantic comedy of all time. CROWE: But they didn't screen the murder mystery, and it wasn't reviewed on Ain't It Cool News, and it wasn't dissected and he didn't take the murder mystery to Toronto (laughs). But, you know, I'll take modern life in all of its glory and freaky pain, sometimes. It's really like the coolest job to have; I mean, just in the time we've been talking, about three different times I've thought, how cool to have a movie that you would put in the realm of Rushmore? So believe me, these are small prices to pay, and this was the process on this one. I mean, you know, having everybody ask about Ashton Kutcher; I mean, that's what this one is shaping up to be. It had a little bit of an odd, interesting public history, and now it gets to be what it is. The process of editing the movie after Toronto was what I would have done anyway. I didn't want to miss the festivals; I took out the version that was ready, the most ready, and said I was doing that. Would I do it that way again? (Whispering) I don't think so. But that's the way it happened, and I'm going to roll with it. I think you've got to examine what your intent is always, and then that kind of keeps you true. But it's a great question, because there's so much relentless documentation now that a story can get set in stone early on or an attitude can get set in stone early on and that becomes it for a while until it changes. IGN: I know that this has sort of become an issue, whether it's a virtue or a vice, of home video and DVD, where there is the availability of commentary tracks and things like that. I showed my girlfriend Almost Famous like a month ago and I was like, we're just going to watch the theatrical version first, and then we'll go watch the other one, and then we were like, "okay, let's listen to the commentary." And you learn things every time and at the same time, I'm always curious to find out how reluctant you are - your films aren't as fantastical in the sense as a Lord of the Rings, but do you have any trepidations about demystifying the moviemaking process? Before DVD, it was sort of like, "I don't know how they did that, but it was pretty cool." Now it's like, "alright, I know that they went on a blue screen and they talked to a tennis ball and then they came back" and everything. CROWE: That can be destructive, the over-explanation of everything - it's true. There's a part of me that loves Spielberg for saying "nope, don't do it. It's one version, one version only - one stop shopping. But I also like knowing there's a track I can listen to to find out about Terms of Endearment or Broadcast News or Local Hero, and I think that's good particularly for history. I think that generations later, it's kind of cool; there's a special edition of To Kill a Mockingbird with an interview with Gregory Peck - fantastic! So I think it's the way you characterize the movie, and sometimes these DVD commentaries are so humorlessly technically full of themselves, maybe the world could do with a fewer group of those. But I don't know; there's a journalist part of me that likes to put things out there and document the movies the way they were being made, and I'm still kind of thinking about how we might deal with the two-disc set on this movie. IGN: When a friend of mine first saw the trailer for this movie, he said "apparently Cameron Crowe makes two kinds of movies: movies that we are completely obsessed with" - which are not mutually exclusive - "and then the Tom Cruise movies." I think he was thinking more specifically in terms of like less personal stories and then the intensely personal ones. You've talked a little bit about the catharsis of doing this; do you see this as sort of a point when you can step away from the autobiographical stuff and move on to something [more conventional]? CROWE: I think so, I think so. It was just the time to do this one, and I heard the sound of it, and it sounded like this and it felt like this, and I liked what it was about. But I become obsessed with this stuff too, you know, so my obsession begins a little earlier hopefully than some of the other people, and I also kind of want to honor the ongoing story hopefully that can be told. Because I always wanted to write about my basic generation as I got older and as that group of people got older; there's stories that I want to tell now that are a little more about family and marriage and all of that stuff - with other generations mixed into it. But I just kind of like taking snapshots. I just wish the snapshots could be made and developed more quickly - but I'm working on it.
  • > what happens in this new movie," Crowe said. "But now, however many years > later, nobody remembers it was a dud in theatres. They only remember they > dug that movie." absolutely. i don't care what the reviews are, i'm going to see elizabethtown. below is a great article from "paste" magazine. photo tip #348: be sure to check out the photo of cameron and kirsten on paste's site. in it, cameron comes off as a little too severe, and kirsten a little too sunny, but the combination of the two makes it just right. also, they're both natural and not posing. technically, another thing that makes it work is the soft sidelighting which gives dimensionality and texture to their faces with good contrast. as opposed to say, a harsh head-on flash that would've flattened everything. note as well, how the faces are in focus, even though crowe is sticking out his finger (and laying down the law i presume) which would've fooled your typical autofocus camera. i.e. your typical picture would've had the finger in sharp focus but not the faces. a fine photo, overall. http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article?article_id=3D2263 Cameron Crowe The Road to Elizabethtown It's day three of sound mixing for Elizabethtown, and deep inside Hollywood's Universal Studios, the Alfred Hitchcock dub stage buzzes with activity. Cameron Crowe and his nine-member team fine-tune the movie's "very fragile" airport scene, bringing the music up here, taking the footsteps down there, swapping Orlando Bloom's "um-hum" for an "ahh" to make him sound less cynical. In the midst of this, Crowe and his associate producer Andy Fischer juggle other urgent matters. Over the phone, song clearances are negotiated, screenings are scheduled and taglines are debated with the studio (Crowe worries that one of them belittles Kentucky, so he cuts it from the list). Low's Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker drop by to take in the proceedings. Midday, Crowe is told to expect a call from Van Morrison and to act surprised. "It's not normally this crazy," Crowe assures me. (When I return a couple weeks later and Fischer tells me the same thing, I start to question what normal is for them.) Even though he's been suddenly thrust into seven-day workweeks to accommodate Paramount's new deadline, Crowe still has to break from mixing and drive across the studio lot to film a personal welcome for European screenings and promos for online trailers. The room breaks into laughter as he does take after take of "exclusive clip" intros, merely substituting one website for another. Leaving the shoot, he apologizes. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I can't believe how hard it is to stand in front of that camera. I go right back to the mirror in the junior-high locker room, and you just hate everything you see and you want to be the other person." Rushing back to the dub stage, he pauses to introduce me to Melvin, the doorman. It's business as usual for Crowe-when I arrived earlier, he not only gave me the names of all crew members present, but also their bios. This inclusiveness explains the camaraderie and family vibe on the set. "It comes from loving the team and the work," he says. "I listen to all the actors, and I listen to grips. I try not to take too much time doing it, but we are a team together." What I Really Like is Music Crowe got his start, not as filmmaker, but as a music-journalist prodigy who-at age 13-was already writing for the San Diego Door. There, he was a sponge soaking up all the knowledge and mojo he could from rock-crit legend Lester Bangs, who took the young Crowe under his wing. Graduating high school at 15, he became a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where he interviewed luminaries like Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin. At 22, he went undercover and returned to high school for a full year to research Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Before the book was released, Hollywood tapped him for the adaptation. Since then, his adult life has been devoted to film, where he's achieved commercial and critical success, including an Oscar for his semi-autobiographical Almost Famous screenplay and a Best Picture nomination for Jerry Maguire. Nonetheless, some 26 years after leaving Rolling Stone, Crowe claims to have never left music journalism. "I do it all the time," he says. "When I was doing the research for Elizabethtown, I interviewed My Morning Jacket and Jim James for hours and hours-about their music and about Kentucky and all their relationships with their fathers. I can't help interviewing." Asking questions is a crucial way for Crowe to interact and process information. During our extended chats, he repeatedly stops himself from unconscious attempts to turn the interview around. But he had an even harder time on the Elizabethtown set with singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, who plays a small role. "I'd just walk up to her and be like, 'Everything going OK with the scene? Yeah? OK. Do you ever play 'One Big Love' live?' I never quite found a rhythm where I could just kind of deal with being a fan and process it by interviewing her." Griffin's 1,000 Kisses actually inspired Crowe's approach to filming Elizabethtown. "After trying different ways of being creative," he explains, "she had made the decision to go back to basics and to be real simple and from that came her next breakthrough, creatively. And I wanted Elizabethtown to be a little bit like that. Be spare and from the heart, and without a lot of people being assistants to people who are assistants to other people who sit around. Everyone in the room should be making the movie and not living a lifestyle." That attitude seeped into the movie and resulted in the quickest work Crowe's ever done. "It gives it a kind of an urgency," he explains, "and some things are messy, but like life. I generally will always love the demo of a song more than the actual labored-over song, and I always find a way to get a hold of bootlegs to see the original versions of stuff that I loved. And so I wanted this to be the original version, with no versions after." With Crowe, it always comes back to music. Walking into the offices of his Vinyl Films production company-housed at Paramount-there's a photo of Crowe with his hero, filmmaker Billy Wilder, hanging inside the front door; down the hall is a framed poster of Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude; but virtually every other inch of wall space is covered with music memorabilia-photos of John Coltrane, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Peter Gabriel and My Morning Jacket, as well as photographer Michael Wilson's What I Really Like Is Music exhibition poster. More than just a personal passion to adorn his walls (and wrangle into his soundtracks), music is crucial to the way Crowe makes films. When he needed Bloom to loosen up on the Elizabethtown set, he resorted to the language that comes easiest to him. "In band terms, we've already got the scene," he tells Bloom. "You've played Madison Square Garden. It went great; 20,000 people were there. Now is the next night. It's Poughkeepsie; the pressure is off. Now is when you go wild and try all kinds of new stuff. There's only 3,000 people, and no one is reviewing the show. It's just for you and the fans. Let's go there." "Music is such an instrument for direction for Cameron," Bloom says from the set during filming. "He'll play music during scenes, in between scenes, to quiet us before starting a scene. Each scene has its own theme song; each character has a tune." Co-star Kirsten Dunst, who proudly announces that she turned Crowe on to Rilo Kiley, recalls her audition. "He played me this Tom Petty song, and that always gets me. The music of a film really says so much more than anybody can tell you about a movie." "It's really good to know what music they love and what really reaches them," Crowe explains. "It's a lot more eloquent sometimes than saying 'I'm really looking for you to be more... .' With Orlando, I'd put on Jeff Buckley and he'd know exactly what that meant." The Path to Tinseltown The jump from music journalism to filmmaking wasn't jarring for Crowe. "To sit in a restaurant and watch people and just write about that-that's my favorite thing to do," he says. "It's what [journalists] do and it's what I try and do with the movies. You just try to catch a snapshot of what life looks like." At Rolling Stone, Crowe covered film whenever he could. "I always wanted to write more as a journalist about film, so it was a big deal when Jann Wenner would give me assignments to write about Sissy Spacek or Richard Dreyfuss." Dreyfuss, it turns out, was instrumental in furthering Crowe's love of movies. During their interview, he started grilling Crowe about his viewing habits. "Do you go home at night and just turn on the TV and watch black-and-white movies?" he asked Crowe, who reenacts the scene with a hilariously spot-on, rapid-fire Dreyfuss impersonation. "Because you should. You should... I'm gonna set up [Frank Capra's] State of the Union and you're gonna come see State of the Union and it has nothing to do with this article you're writing about me, it has nothing to do with that article at all... ." Crowe continues in his own voice, "I remember watching, going, 'Boy, there's an avenue that you can go down, starting to love these movies-that will just go and go and go.' And before long I was on that path, just taking as much of it in as I could." Wanting his cast to travel a similar path, Crowe has enforced a required-viewing list since Jerry Maguire. "You can't beat sitting an actor down that might not have seen some of these movies and just saying, 'Check this out,'" says Crowe. "It's just the cameras on the actors, and enjoy this three-act play that they make out of a simple kiss. When an actor kind of gets that sparkle in their eye and says, 'I get it. How many more movies did this guy Howard Hawks make?' You just love to be able to say, 'I'll get you a bunch of them, and you should watch them. Maybe they'll just seep in there somewhere, and what'll come out will be your version of something that's sparkling and original and comic and real.'" The key directors in Crowe's pantheon are Billy Wilder ("my favorite"), Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges, Fran=E7ois Truffaut, Jean Renoir, Hal Ashby and James L. Brooks. Younger filmmakers he sees as continuing the tradition include Wes Anderson and Zach Braff. Crowe became familiar with Braff because friends kept telling him about Garden State, which involves an uncanny similarity to Crowe's Elizabethtown . Both films involve a male lead traveling great distances after the death of a parent, and-essentially-coming to life with the aid of a romantic interest. When Crowe finally saw Garden State, he loved it and tracked down Braff. They instantly bonded over their love for both music and the works of Hal Ashby. "We had a Harold and Maude-loving, guys-traveling-home-for-a-funeral-genre love fest," Crowe recounts. "I hope more guys write character-based movies about family, with the best music they can find, that's about getting deep into the texture of your family roots and the beautiful melancholy of all of it. If like one-thousandth of the people that do heist movies weaned themselves from that genre to get into this, I would have more stuff to watch." Crowe describes the recurring theme of his own movies as the victory of the battered idealist in a cynical world. As the craziness of day three winds down, I ask him how he keeps that cynical edge at bay. "When I first met Lester Bangs, he said 'Figure out the thing that makes you different, and it may not always be the shiniest object out there but it will be the thing that was you.' And I found that celebrating optimism was fun. If there were a zillion movies that were not about that and one or two that were, and I was one of them, I felt like I had a reason to keep going and to tell a story like that. Until it ceases to be how I feel about life, it's the only way I can write. "If you're gonna ask people to spend a couple of hours to see a movie," he continues, "why not smuggle in a little something that will make you feel good for making it and them feel good for seeing it. Maybe they'll access something they saw or felt in the movie that allows them to come away with something, as opposed to 'life is f---ed, and dark is cool.' Which is the theme of a lot of movies, some movies that I love. But if you can make a movie that allows people to step outside and feel like they can't wait to just get in their car and drive and just take a deep breath of life-if you can give that to people, why not spend a couple movies doing that?" Elizabethtown, exit 60b Getting to Elizabethtown required navigating several detours. Crowe says that after Vanilla Sky, he wanted to do something less about one guy and his head. "I just thought, I want to do a banquet of characters, so I started working on this -it made a Robert Altman movie seem like a one-man show." But the complexity ended up being overwhelming and, worse, the story was becoming less and less personal. At the same time, Crowe's wife, rock 'n' roller Nancy Wilson, was preparing to kick off a Heart tour in Atlantic City. Despite his reluctance to abandon his characters, Crowe agreed to jump on the tour bus and travel across the U.S., leaving the unfinished behind. To his surprise, a day and a half into the tour, Crowe felt the pull of an area he hadn't visited since his father's funeral in 1989. "I wake up and outside the window is Kentucky, which is a huge part of our family history," he explains. "And there were these electric-blue landscapes, and I was listening to music that felt like it was just born to be with these images." So the vacationing writer/director said goodbye to his wife and rented a car, intending nothing more than a little relaxation and mind-clearing along the Bluegrass State's winding roads. "But what immediately happened," he continues, "was a truly great story arrived, and it was a story about my dad and our whole family tree and what it is to reclaim family roots and meet people you didn't even know were a huge part of your past and your future. And what it is-when you've been living in a box, which I'd sort of been doing-to feel truly alive. It was almost fully formed, almost immediately Elizabethtown. It just felt like a gift had arrived." >From there, it was an easy decision to walk away from the more complex story, which Crowe barely recalls at this point. "It disappeared into the ether because it just wasn't real," he says. "It was an idea of what real life was. It was a movie, and the world is filled with movies." Now he has a film he says is nearly as personal (and musical) as Almost Famous. Indeed, he calls Elizabethtown the perfect follow-up to Vanilla Sky, "kind of like an acoustic album after having done [Lou Reed's] Metal Machine Music." Elizabethtown centers around Drew Baylor (Bloom), who spends eight years designing a pair of sneakers that stands to lose his now-former employer $972 million. Distraught, having made many "sacrifices for shoe greatness"-including missed birthdays and family Christmases-Drew is on the verge of suicide when his sister calls with news of his father's death. Flying to Kentucky where his father was visiting relatives, he meets effervescent flight attendant Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst). With the consistent prodding of Claire and the chaotic embrace of an extended family he barely knows, he slowly comes to terms with love, family and life itself. The film ends with a road trip across the country-just Drew and his father's ashes, following a set of meticulous instructions from Claire that include maps, time schedules and specific songs to listen to at specific points of interest. The trip, another of Crowe's iconic film moments, completes Drew's emotional journey and ends in an embrace that, in other hands, would prove too much. But Crowe earned this ending with the depth of character that preceded it. The Heart of Uncool Happy endings have been a staple of Crowe's films, and he's utterly unapologetic about it. Commenting on the fact that his last three films have all dealt with suicide, he says he thinks a lot about Kurt Cobain (whom he never met). "Maybe he was one day away from waking up wondering why he was so f-ing bummed out yesterday. And I always think, 'What if you're able to do that for people in some way and make them feel like what they came into seeing that movie with wasn't as important, wasn't as lethal, a couple of hours later when the movie's over.' And if you can do that at all-by the way for yourself, as much as anybody-then f- whatever anybody says about 'You were too sweet' or 'Why did they kiss at the end?' They kissed because they kissed, you know? Put on a heist movie next; I'll watch it with you [laughter]. But this is the movie that ends with mandolins and they kiss and who knows what's going to happen." Crowe is likewise unapologetic about his casting. With leading actors ranging from unknown Patrick Fugit to Tom Cruise (twice) and soundtrack choices from Elton John to Red House Painters, Crowe's shown a determined eclecticism in actors and music. "It's like Paste," he says. "You just make a decision that you're gonna do the stuff that matters to you and the stuff that you want to put on your own personal throne of appreciation. And you find there are other people like you out there that say, 'Wow, I can't believe that this person is like me and will write about U2 and Josh Ritter and Over the Rhine in the same little space of words.' "In the same way, nobody could understand why we'd cast Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. 'You're talking about Goldie Hawn's daughter? So, it's like a Hollywood royalty thing?' No, she came in and won the part because she was great. It's funny because the same people are going around later saying, 'Well, I've always loved Kate Hudson. She's fantastic. She turned me down for my movie, but I'll get her on the next one maybe.' And you just get this sense of how high school it can be. So really, when you try and be 'indie cool,' that's when you really get caught up not following your heart. And I don't know, I had a feeling about Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom being real and right for each other in the movie, and that's why I cast them." You had Me at "I'm Fine" At the beginning of Elizabethtown, as Drew deals with his job travails and then his father's death, he keeps repeating, "I'm fine." It's a crucial line for Crowe, and he's enamored of Bloom's delivery. "To say 'I'm fine' in all the ways that we say it in life, particularly when we're not fine, that's tougher than a monologue that David Mamet has written for you beautifully already. How do you turn 'I'm fine' into a monologue? That's acting." Crowe lives for such subtleties. When I ask him about his favorite lines from his own films, he doesn't go for "You had me at 'hello'" or even "By choice, man!" Instead, he mentions what he calls the "in-between lines," like when Drew pulls into Elizabethtown and Jessie (Paul Schneider) says simply "Oh, yeah." Crowe cherishes "those little things that slip out." While Bloom describes the feel of Crowe's dialogue as improvisational, the performance is far from it. "The way he writes, it's sort of musical," he says. "He wants you to get the beat of it, and you have to hit the specific words in rhythm. It's really offbeat, and it's kind of awkward to learn because it's real. You know how sometimes when you're having a conversation with somebody, how the words come out all skewed but they sort of work-he knows how to do that so perfectly." The Journey Home Crowe calls his family "entertaining heroes" he wants to pay tribute to, but he writes about them with some trepidation. His sister worries about the potential for his movies to exploit the family, he says. "So I try really hard to be personal and write about what's real but not encroach on her sacred memories and feelings .... I worry about misstepping because I really love my sister and her sense of family. But I sometimes need to write about my family, and she's a part of it." At the end of Almost Famous, William Miller's mother and sister hug after a brief estrangement. It's a fantasy in Crowe's mostly autobiographical story. For years after his father's death, the relationship between his mother and sister was strained. "My dad was really the glue that held the family together," he explains. "There was a real rush inside our family to fill that void, trying to find a rhythm to how our family would now work. And my sister was really close with my dad." In the end, Crowe's film helped bring his family together. "There was a period of time after Almost Famous where everything was great in our family," he says. "In terms of all of us relating, the movie gave us a little bit of a map. And maybe by honoring my dad [in Elizabethtown], we'll have a new map to work from." His experience making Elizabethtown in many ways mirrors Drew's journey in the film. Crowe's dad visited his Kentucky family every summer, returning with a light accent, and he accompanied his father as a kid but stopped as he grew older. "I got busy," Crowe says, "and as in the movie, we always felt like, 'Well, next summer we'll go and take that trip to Kentucky.'" Filming the scene with Drew driving cross-country with his dad's ashes, Crowe says, "I felt like I got that trip back to Kentucky with him. So much of what I'd written actually was there to be mined, and people from my past and his past could actually be with us and help us make the movie. I pretty much felt [my dad's] presence constantly from day one." In many ways, Crowe says, the film is a buddy movie. "[Drew and his father] come to know each other. It's never too late to discover somebody close to you who died, because everybody leaves clues behind." Crowe kept digging up those clues throughout the process, going through his father's belongings and tracking down letters he'd written. "And I found one thing that was amazing," he says. His dad had written an undelivered letter to him, pitching an idea for his Fast Times at Ridgemont High book. In it, the students find a letter from a deceased Mr. Hand. It's a "searing, aching, amazing" letter telling his students that the secret to everything in life is family and community. "Page after page after page," Crowe recalls. "It was more than a pitch. It was really my dad's message to me. And that was already the theme of Elizabethtown, so it was one of those messages you get when you feel like you're on the right track."
  • http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/338821p-289317c.html This year's fall and winter movie season looks fantastic. That doesn't mean it's going to be particularly good, just that there are so many ... fantasies. There are children's fantasies like "Zathura" and "The Chronicles of Narnia"; gravity-defying fantasies like "The Legend of Zorro" and "Aeon Flux"; the animated fantasies "Chicken Little," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit"; sci-fi adventures "Serenity," "Doom" and "A Sound of Thunder"; the fourth Harry Potter movie, and Peter Jackson's remake of the ultimate fantasy-adventure, "King Kong." We begin our preview at the end of August, but the string of fantasies gets an early start on Friday with Terry Gilliam's galloping "The Brothers Grimm," which has more references to classic fairy tale characters than all the other coming fantasies combined. Some analysts may attribute the rash of fantasy films to the escapism that comes with war, and that may play a role. But it seems just as likely that fantasy reigns because the ability to create incredible images today makes the genre irresistible to storytellers. The trailers for all of the above movies are linked on the Web sites www.apple.com/trailers and www.imdb.com. Take a look and you'll agree: They look fantastic. Fall/winter is also Oscar season, and there are plenty of potential contenders. The high-profile films with awards ambitions include Steven Spielberg's "Munich," a drama based on the search for the planners of the assault on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games; Rob Marshall's "Memoirs of a Geisha," based on Arthur Golden's acclaimed novel about a woman who spends her life in the high art of pleasing, and Terrence Malick's "The New World," an epic account of the first Virginia colony and the meeting of John Smith and Pocahontas. Recent Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski returns with a new version of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," and Marc Forster'>Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland") turns to drama with "Stay," the story of a psychiatrist's efforts to stop a patient from carrying out a suicide threat. Two Broadway musicals make the transition to the screen. Susan Stroman, who directed "The Producers" on stage, handles the film adaptation as well, while Chris Columbus directs "Rent." A few laughs Comedies abound. Among them are: "Rumor Has It," starring Jennifer Aniston as a female version of "The Graduate's" Benjamin Braddock; "The Man," a buddy film featuring unlikely chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy; "The Weather Man," starring Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage as a TV weather guy who wears his bad forecasts on his shoulders, and a pair of old-fashioned family films about families that are too big - "Yours, Mine, and Ours" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2." The following schedule may have changed by the time the ink was dry on this newspaper. But the great majority of films listed are locked in to those dates. Every New Film AUG. 31 The Constant Gardener Brazil's Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") directs Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in an adaptation of John LeCarre's thriller about a British diplomat rousted from his Nairobi garden to investigate the murder of his activist wife. Games of Love and Chance Abdel Kechiche directs the Cesar-winning drama about a group of French students coming of age in a political pressure cooker of a French project. William Eggleston in the Real World Director Michael Almereyada followed the 65-year-old avant garde photographer, musician, draftsman and videographer across country for this intimate documentary portrait. SEPT. 2 The Underclassman Action-comedy starring Nick Cannon ("Drumline") as a young L.A. detective who goes undercover at a posh prep school to break up a stolen car ring. Directed by Marcos Siega ("Pretty Persuasion"). A Sound of Thunder Edward Burns, Ben Kingsley'>Ben Kingsley and Catherine McCormack star in an adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story about a group of people who travel back to the dinosaur era and cause a chain reaction that alters the future to which they return. Directed by Peter Hyams ("Timecop"). The Transporter 2 Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin, a man who delivers anonymous packages to anonymous clients, no questions asked. Inevitably, the packages get him into trouble, this time with a gun-toting blonde (Amber Valletta). SEPT. 7 Touch the Sound Documentary about symphony percussionist Evelyn Glennie, a child prodigy from Scotland who lost her hearing at age 12 but didn't miss a beat. At 40, she's still performing. SEPT. 9 The Exorcism of Emily Rose Laura Linney plays a lawyer defending a priest (Tom Wilkinson) accused of murder after his exorcism of a possessed woman leaves her dead. With Campbell Scott. The Man Comedy of mistaken identity starring Samuel L. Jackson as a special agent whose search for his partner's killer leads him to a dorky salesman (Eugene Levy). Directed by Les Mayfield ("Encino Man"). Curandero "Sin City's" Robert Rodriguez wrote the for this horror movie about a man caught up in black magic in Mexico City. Director Eduardo Rodriguez is apparently no relation. An Unfinished Life Lasse Hallstr=F6m's sentimental drama brings the unlikely pairing of uptight rancher Robert Redford and emotional single mom Jennifer Lopez. Don't expect sparks, though: he's a grieving father, and she's the woman who married, and then accidentally killed, his son. Can her preteen daughter unite them, or will she become just another wedge in their long-simmering enmity? More important, will Lopez benefit from a boost in her lukewarm screen career, or has the shelf-life on this much delayed movie already expired? Steal Me A 15-year-old boy abandoned by his mother befriends another boy his age and moves in with his family, soon developing a crush on both his friend's mother and the sexy older woman living next door. Keane Lodge Kerrigan ("Claire Dolan") directs Damian Lewis ("Dreamcatcher") in a psychological drama about a man haunted by the disappearance of his 6-year-old daughter at Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal - or was it all in his head? The Outsiders - The Complete Novel Francis Coppola's elongated version of his 1983 adaptation of the S.E. Hinton novel. The DVD goes on sale immediately after the release. Cote d'Azur French comedy about a family whose seaside vacation gets a little foamy when the couple's daughter takes up with a biker and their son drifts off with his best friend, who is secretly in love with him. Walking on the Sky A group of six New York friends have to wrestle with the new dynamics in their relationships when another member of their circle kills himself and leaves behind a revealing diary. Directed by and starring New York native Carl T. Evans. Green Street Hooligans Elijah Wood plays a wrongly expelled Harvard student who moves to London, where he is instantly drawn into the violent subculture of soccer hooliganism. With Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani. Music From the Inside Out Daniel Anker documentary weaving together a mosaic of the stories, ideas and experiences of the 105 members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a musical institution that hasn't participated in a film since "Fantasia." Answering the Call Documentary honoring the people who answered emergency calls on 9/11. SEPT. 14 The Future of Food Documentary about genetically engineered products that have become part of the U.S. food chain - whether they're good for us or not. Directed by Deborah Koons Garcia, widow of Jerry Garcia. SEPT. 16 Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Big-fee action screenwriter Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon") makes his directing debut with his own about a New York actor (Robert Downey, Jr.) who impersonates a detective and gets himself in all sorts of trouble. With Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan. Lord of War Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage is an international gun dealer in Andrew Niccol's topical black comedy, which co-stars Ethan Hawke as an Interpol agent intent on bringing him down. With Donald Sutherland, Ian Holm, Jared Leto. Just Like Heaven "Mean Girls"' Mark Waters directs Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon in a romantic fantasy about a young man and the spirit of a comatose doctor who fall in love while sharing an apartment. Once they're over their, uh, dimensional differences, the race is on to keep her body from being taken off life support. Proof Last time director John Madden and Gwyneth Paltrow worked together, she landed herself an Oscar. Though more erudite and intimate than "Shakespeare in Love," Madden's adaptation of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play might just catch the eyes of Academy's voters, too. Reprising a role she has already tackled on the London stage, Paltrow plays an overwhelmed young woman rapidly losing her grip after the death of her father (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant math professor. Hovering around the edges are her concerned support system: brainy admirer Jake Gyllenhaal'>Jake Gyllenhaal and coldly practical sister Hope Davis. The Woods Psychological horror film about the students of an all-girl boarding school who begin to go missing in the surrounding woods. Patricia Clarkson is the headmistress and Agnes Bruckner'>Agnes Bruckner is the new student caught up in the mystery. Separate Lies It's been a while since we were faced with the sight of middle-class Brits keeping a stiff upper lip while suppressing dangerous secrets. Fortunately, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson are always willing to suffer stoically for our entertainment. "Gosford Park" screenwriter Julian Fellowes makes his directorial debut, while Watson and Wilkinson play a long-married couple who are still quite happy together (aside from the passionate affair and possible homicide she's hiding). Venom Jim Gillespie ("I Know What You Did Last Summer") directs another teens-in-trouble horror picture, this one involving voodoo in the bayous of Louisiana. With Agnes Bruckner'>Agnes Bruckner (poor thing), Bijou Phillips. The Libertine Johnny Depp takes on the role of notorious 17th-century poet, derelict and debaucher John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester and grand embarrassment of Charles II (John Malkovich). Samantha Morton is the actress who comes under Wilmot's shaky tutelage. Adapted from his play by Stephen Jeffreys and directed by first-timer Laurence Dunmore. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Another day, another Johnny Depp-Tim Burton collaboration. Not that we're feeling cavalier about it: These two have given us some of the most unusual movies in recent years. Since Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach" are among them, we have high hopes for this latest stop-motion animated fantasy, which is based on an old Russian folk tale about a young groom (voiced by Depp) who inadvertently finds himself with two wives (he could do worse than Helena Bonham Carter'>Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson). Thumbsucker Offbeat comedy about a 17-year-old boy whose infantile habit of sucking his thumb makes him the subject of ridicule and isolation even in his own home. But the people trying to help him kick the habit are even stranger. With Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Keanu Reeves, Vince Vaughn. It's the first feature directed by Mike Mills, maker of the well-received short "Paperboys." Everything Is Illuminated Actor Liev Schreiber makes his writing and directing debut with his adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's darkly comic best seller about a young American Jew who travels to Russia to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. With Elijah Wood. One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern Documentary about the 1972 presidential campaign and political humiliation of the idealistic former South Dakota senator. Cry Wolf A high-school prank turns lethal when classmates listed on a joke Web site as the next victims of a serial killer start turning up dead. With Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jon Bon Jovi. Hard Goodbyes: My Father Greek drama about a lonely boy who has to rely on his imagination when the father with whom he'd shared a passion for outer space does not come home. The Thing About My Folks Paul Reiser wrote this film and co-stars in it with Peter Falk as a son and father rediscovering the bond between them on a cross-country trip in a restored '36 Ford. Directed by Raymond De Felitta ("Two Family House"). The Weeping Meadow The first film in a planned trilogy by Greek master Theo Angelopoulos follows a pair of refugee children as they come of age in the small Greek village they are brought to after the Russian Revolution. SEPT. 23 A History of Violence With echoes of Alfred Hitchcock's "wrong man" theme and Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs," David Cronenberg's latest film stars Viggo Mortensen as a small-town family man whose celebrated heroism in thwarting and killing two thugs in his diner draws gangsters to town. The one with the deformed face (Ed Harris) claims he knew the hero years before and he has come for some payback. Despite his denials, Mortensen's character ends up having to fight violence with violence. With Maria Bello, William Hurt. Oliver Twist If ever there were a story that suited Roman Polanski's dark sensibilities, it's Charles Dickens' classic saga of an orphan whose fate falls and rises at the mercy of others. The screenplay was written by Ronald Harwood, Polanski's partner on their Oscar-winning "Pianist," so it is always possible that this artistically acclaimed pair aims to entertain adults and youngsters alike, while simultaneously approaching the Academy with a respectful request: "May we have some more?" With Barney Clark as Oliver, Ben Kingsley'>Ben Kingsley as Fagin and Jamie Foreman as Bill Sykes. Flightplan In her first starring role in three years, Jodie Foster plays a recently widowed woman whose 6-year-old daughter disappears in the middle of a trans-continental flight from Berlin to New York. Since no one else on the plane remembers seeing the girl, they question whether she was there only in her mother's mind. Daltry Calhoun Johnny Knoxville returns to his hometown as a roustabout and would-be golf magnate whose ex-wife (Elizabeth Banks) throws a twist into his life by dropping their 14-year-old daughter at his door. Roll Bounce Nick Cannon, Bow Wow and Mike Epps star for "The Best Man" director Malcolm D. Lee in this comedy-drama about a group of hip-hop roller skaters preparing for a competition on the other side of 1970s Chicago. Dear Wendy Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, two of the founders of the Danish film collective Dogme 95, team up as writer (von Trier) and director (Vinterberg) of this parable about America's contradictory gun culture. It follows a group of teenage outcasts in a fictional mining town who form a secret club known as "The Dandies." Their purpose - to love and admire guns but never use them on anybody - soon goes out the window. Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Tom Hanks produced and narrates this 3-D IMAX film that re-creates for the audience what the 12 astronauts who have walked on the moon experienced. Into the Fire Drama about a troubled NYPD harbor cop who freezes during a rescue attempt of a drowning woman and tries to make peace with his conscience and the victim's identical twin. With Sean Patrick Flanery and Melina Kanakaredes from TV's "Providence." Dorian Blues Coming-out story about a young man who, on the cusp of moving to New York, begins showing his preference for men, much to the dismay of his right-wing father and his jock brother. 7 Dias Mexican film about a U2 super fan determined to raise the half-million dollars it would cost to bring the band to his country. Dirty Love Jenny McCarthy wrote this comedy and co-stars in it with Carmen Electra. It's about a jilted woman who sees a psychic to find out where she should search for true love. Occupation: Dreamland Documentary focusing on the men of the 82nd Airborne in Iraq and on the Army's recruitment tactics. SEPT. 28 Forty Shades of Blue Rip Torn plays a legendary (and doesn't he know it) Memphis music producer whose comfy existence is shaken when his young Russian trophy wife (Dina Korzun) falls in love with his estranged son. SEPT. 30 Capote The estimable Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the late novelist and social gadfly Truman Capote. It's not a conventional biopic, but an account of the writer's research for "In Cold Blood," his classic "nonfiction novel" about the murders of a Kansas farm family and the subsequent trials and executions of their killers. Catherine Keener is Harper Lee, Capote's young associate (and future author of "To Kill a Mockingbird") and Clifton Collins Jr. plays the killer Perry Smith, with whom Capote developed a strong relationship. Bennett Miller is the first-time director. The Greatest Game Ever Played Shia LaBeouf ("Holes") stars for director Bill Paxton in the dramatization of 20-year-old American amateur golfer Francis Ouimet's legendary victory at the 1913 U.S. Open in Brookline, Mass. Stephen Dillane plays Harry Vardon, the cocky British champion who was humbled before the golfing world. Into the Blue "Blue Crush" director John Stockwell goes back to the water for this thriller about a group of buff young divers who find a fortune in the cargo bay of a sunken airplane and make the mistake of keeping it. With Paul Walker and Jessica Alba. MirrorMask British fantasy about a 15-year-old circus entertainer whose guilt over her mother's illness sends her into an alternative universe of contrasting light and dark kingdoms. Serenity Feature-length finale to Joss Whedon's 13-episode sci-fi TV series "Firefly," about a group of adventurers aboard a space transporter 500 years in the future. Here, Capt. Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew are being chased by the galaxy-ruling Alliance, which wants to reclaim the telepathic fugitive River (Summer Glau) traveling with them. Little Manhattan Mark Levin, a story editor for "The Wonder Years," makes his directing debut with this tale of first love between two 12-year-olds. The War Within Drama about a Pakistani engineering student who is mistaken for a terrorist and placed in confinement. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio Julianne Moore is a mother of 10 helping her luckless husband (Woody Harrelson) make ends meet by entering - and winning - jingles contests in the 1950s. Adapted from the memoir of Terry Ryan, whose mother did such things. Going Shopping Henry Jaglom directs his wife, Victoria Foyt, in a story about a clothing boutique owner's wild experiences during a Mother's Day weekend sale. OCT. 5 The Squid and the Whale Noah Baumbach, son of former Village Voice film critic Georgia Brown, wrote and directs a loosely autobiographical drama about two brothers dealing with their parents' divorce in 1980s Brooklyn. With Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney. OCT. 7 Goodnight, and Good Luck This drama, directed by George Clooney, is built around the public fight between legendary broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and Sen. Joseph McCarthy. In the 1950s, McCarthy was the most visible member of the witch-hunting House UnAmerican Activities Committee, which destroyed the careers of innocent people from all walks of life by associating them with Communists. Murrow led the reaction to McCarthy and got labeled a Communist for his trouble. CBS News stuck with Murrow despite the pressure, and McCarthy's power began to fade. Clooney co-stars as CBS news producer Fred Friendly and Frank Langella plays the corporation's chief, William Paley. In Her Shoes Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential") goes all soft on us with this story about two estranged sisters (Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette) who are reconciled by the grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) they never knew they had. Two for the Money Matthew McConaughey is a former college football star whose track record for handicapping sporting events draws him into the world of high stakes gambling, where nothing short of his life will be at stake. With Al Pacino as the betting agency mogul who comes to rely on and dominate him. Directed by D.J. Caruso ("The Salton Sea"). The Gospel An R&B star (Clifton Powell) faces a spiritual crisis when he returns home on learning of the illness of his father, a church bishop, and his boyhood rival's plans to take over the church. With Omar Gooding. Before the Fall German drama about a young boxing prospect whose repulsion over Nazi atrocities sets him against the biggest opponent of all. Waiting An "American Pie"-style comedy about the crude and rude employees of a restaurant whose name - Shenanigans - describes their behavior. With Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit What are the odds we'd have two stop-motion movies to look forward to this season? (Strangely enough, Helena Bonham Carter'>Helena Bonham Carter lends her voice to both.) Already the subject of three Oscar-nominated shorts, inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit make their feature debut in a comedy about a mysterious monster who's destroying the garden plots of an English village. Naturally, it's up to our intrepid heroes to stop him. "Chicken Run," the last import from the inspired minds at Aardman Animation, was a surprise smash. Wallace and Gromit deserve nothing less. Dandelion A coming of age story about a 16-year-old boy and how his search for his identity is connected with the various forms of love that are missing from his life. OCT. 12 Henri Langlois: Phantom of the Cinematheque Documentary about the film archivist who inspired French New Wave directors Godard, Truffaut, Rohmer and Chabrol. OCT. 14 Nine Lives Rodrigo Garcia directs a series of nine vignettes about women getting on with their lives in Los Angeles. Each segment is done as a single 10-minute take. With Sissy Spacek, Robin Wright Penn, Glenn Close and Holly Hunter. Elizabethtown Orlando Bloom is an industrial designer hit with three pieces of devastating news: his girlfriend (Jessica Biel) is breaking up with him; he has lost his job because of a disastrous mistake, and his father has died. On the plus side, he meets an irrepressible flight attendant (Kirsten Dunst) traveling to his father's funeral in Kentucky and realizes that his life may get better - if it doesn't get worse. Written and directed by Cameron Crowe ("Almost Famous"). North Country Oscar-winner Charlize Theron'>Charlize Theron ("Monster") stars in a fictionalized account of the landmark 1984 sexual harassment case involving a woman working in the Minnesota mining industry and her male co-workers. With Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson. Directed by Niki Caro ("Whale Rider"). Domino Keira Knightley'>Keira Knightley assumes the title role in Tony Scott's highly exaggerated account of the adventures of British actor Laurence Harvey's daughter, who turned her back on a modeling and potential acting career to become a bounty hunter; she died at age 35 in June. With Mena Suvari, Mickey Rourke. Where the Truth Lies Atom Egoyan ("The Sweet Hereafter") adapts Rupert Holmes' novel about a young journalist (Alison Lohman) probing for the truth of a 15-year-old scandal that destroyed the careers of a revered showbiz duo (Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth). The Fog Rupert Wainwright ("Stigmata") directs the remake of John Carpenter's 1980 horror film about the ghosts of long-buried lepers who rise on a dense fog surrounding a coastal California town. Selma Blair and Maggie Grace are among the terrorized. Loggerheads Three interwoven stories about a young gay man (Kip Pardue), his biological mother (Bonnie Hunt) and his adoptive parents (Chris Sarandon and Tess Harper). Innocent Voices Based on screenwriter Oscar Torres' childhood experience, this is the story of a 12-year-old boy who is automatically enlisted in the army in 1980s El Salvador. Directed by Luis Mandoki ("Message in a Bottle"). OCT. 19 Ushpizin Drama about the daily lives of ultra-Orthodox Jews learning, living and loving in modern-day Israel. OCT. 21 Shopgirl Steve Martin'>Steve Martin adapted his slight novella and co-stars with Claire Danes in a story about a salesclerk at a Beverly Hills department store who gets involved with a middle-age sugar daddy. Barely Legal Three high-school sophomores try to make a porno movie in their basement while their parents are at work. The results are disastrous, especially when a school bully wants to participate in the film. Stay Marc Forster'>Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland," "Monster's Ball") directs Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts'>Naomi Watts in a thriller about a psychiatrist's nightmarish effort to prevent a patient from carrying out his threat to kill himself in three days. Kids in America At fictional Booker High in Brooklyn, a group of politically active students joins forces with a fired teacher on a film documenting their campaign against the repressive school principal. Dreamer A "Seabiscuit"-like "underhorse" story about a filly who breaks her leg and is nursed back to health by her trainer (Kurt Russell) at the insistence of his daughter (Dakota Fanning). The horse then returns to the track to try and win the Breeder's Cup. After Innocence Documentary about the reentry into society of seven men released from prison after DNA evidence proved they were innocent of the crimes for which they were sent away for decades. Protocols of Zion Documentary filmmaker Marc Levin takes his camera to the streets of New York to learn from passing anti-Semites why they hate Jews. Doom The Rock stars in Andrzej Bartkowiak's feature version of the super-hot '90s video game about Marines taking on invading monsters on their base on a moon of Mars in the year 2145. Innocence This Belgian-French film is based on an 1888 Gothic novella about young girls growing up in a subterranean boarding school beneath an isolated wood. The Ordeal Belgian psychological drama about a singer who ends up in a creepy, out-of-the-way motel after his car breaks down in the night. Derailed Adapted from James Siegel's heralded first novel, this thriller stars Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston as illicit Manhattan lovers trying to outwit a violent blackmailer who is much smarter than they are. With Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, RZA, Tom Conti, Xzibit, Giancarlo Esposito. White King, Red Rubber, Black Death Documentary about the brutality of a jungle gulag created by Belgium's King Leopold II in the colonial Congo in 1885. OCT. 26 Ballets Russes Documentary about the famed ballet company, which is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. OCT. 28 The Legend of Zorro The sequel to the 1998 "Mask of Zorro" traces how Antonio Banderas' Don Alejandro is forced to put on the mask and take up the sword several years after marrying the lovely Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and having a son. The boy is now 10 and unaware of dad's outlaw fame, but he will soon learn as the mark of Zorro begins appearing anew on the landscape and on the bodies of baddies in Old California. Returning director is Martin Campbell. Prime What's a girl (Uma Thurman) to do when she learns that the psychotherapist to whom she's told the most intimate details of her sex life is her boyfriend's mother? For that matter, what's the shrink to do? A comedy by writer-director Ben Younger. Three ... Extremes A pan-Asian sampler of 30-minute horror shorts from China's Fruit Chan, Japan's Takashi Miike and South Korea's Chan-wook Park. The Dying Gaul A grieving gay screenwriter (Peter Sarsgaard) has a shot at selling his about his relationship with his late lover and agent, but there's a Faustian catch: He has to change it to a heterosexual relationship. With Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott. Craig Lucas (writer of "Long Time Companion") directs his own . Saw II The serial killer known as Jigsaw returns to terrorize eight more strangers with his murderous game playing in the sequel to last year's Halloween hit. Paradise Now A drama about two Palestinian boyhood friends spending their last day together before going off on suicide bombing missions in Tel Aviv. The Weather Man Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage'>Nicolas Cage is a Chicago TV weatherman, family man and neurotic whose decision to take a job in New York puts all of his roles at risk in this offbeat comedy. With Hope Davis, Michael Caine. Directed by Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean"). Blackmail Boy A blackmail scheme leads to murder in a small Greek town. NOV. 4 Jarhead Jake Gyllenhaal'>Jake Gyllenhaal is a young Marine forced to grow up fast during Desert Storm. Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's 2003 best-seller. With Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black. Directed by Sam Mendes ("American Beauty"). NY Doll This documentary about the late Arthur Kane, bassist with the New York Dolls, centers on the notorious glam-punk band's 2004 reunion. The Matador In writer-director Richard Shepard's black comedy, Pierce Brosnan plays an international hit man who, on assignment in Mexico City, befriends, then enlists, a woebegone businessman (Greg Kinnear) as a partner in crime. With Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story British comedy actor Steve Coogan ("24 Hour Party People") plays the title character in Michael Winterbottom's audacious adaptation of Laurence Sterne's 1759 novel "Tristram Shandy," about an egocentric country gentleman sharing his views with readers, when not digressing about his family. Chicken Little This non-Pixar CGI cartoon from Disney stars Zach Braff as the voice of Chicken Little, a vigilant sky watcher who proves he isn't always wrong when he says "the sky is falling." Joan Cusack, Don Knotts, Fred Willard and Amy Sedaris also lend their voices. The Family Stone A romantic comedy about a family that circles the wagons when Ben Stone (Luke Wilson) brings home an uptight woman (Claire Danes) he intends to marry. Facing a cold reception, she calls in her sister (Sarah Jessica Parker) for support, then things get really bad. Summer Storm German coming-out story about a camping trip during which one of two best friends discovers he wants more than friendship. NOV. 9 The New World Terrence Malick ("The Thin Red Line") wrote and directed this historical epic about the arrival of British colonists on the coast of North America and their conflicts with the natives they found there. It's the story of John Smith, Pocahontas and John Rolfe, and of the teenage Pocahontas' role in saving the white colonists from her tribe's warriors, and of her subsequent trip to England. Colin Farrell plays Smith, Christian Bale is Rolfe and 15-year-old German-born Q'Orianka Kilcher, partly descended from native South Americans, is Pocahontas. Pulse Remake of a Japanese horror film about a computer virus or supernatural force that turns viewers into suicidal depressives. With Kristen Bell (from TV's "Veronica Mars"). The Swenkas In South Africa, flamboyant, stylish - and straight - blue-collar Zulu men replace their overalls with colorful designer suits to compete in fashion shows of their own making, in a ritual called "swanking." NOV. 11 Bee Season Fans of Myla Goldberg's best seller ought to be happy with the team behind this adaptation: Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel did a nice job exploring family tensions in "The Deep End." And if any actor can handle the story's spiritual twists and turns, it's surely the Dalai Lama's No. 1 fan, Richard Gere. He plays a theology professor convinced his young daughter (Flora Cross) has a divine connection to another plane. Meanwhile, his teenage son (Max Minghella) and mentally ill wife (Juliette Binoche) are floundering right here on Earth. Take My Eyes Acclaimed Spanish drama about a woman who takes her son and leaves the abusive husband she still loves. Ellie Parker In this low-budget indie comedy, which originated as a 2001 short film project, Naomi Watts'>Naomi Watts plays what she once was, an Australian actress trying to get traction in Hollywood. With Chevy Chase as her manager and writer-director Scott Coffey as her boyfriend. Get Rich or Die Tryin' Taking its cue from "8 Mile," this urban drama is a loosely autobiographical tale about an inner-city thief and drug dealer who leaves prison determined to become a rap star. He's played by - and inspired by - Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. The director is Jim Sheridan ("In America"). Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic The raw standup comic expounds on politics, race, sex and religion. Cape of Good Hope South African drama about three women whose lives intersect at an animal rescue shelter, to their lasting good. Zathura Less a sequel to 1995's "Jumanji" than another wild game. In this one, directed by Jon Favreau ("Elf"), two young brothers find a space adventure board game in the attic of their California bungalow and are soon hoist - house and all - into the galaxy. Tim Robbins plays their befuddled father. The screenplay by David Koepp and John Kamps was based, like "Jumanji" and "Polar Express," on a book by Chris Van Allsburg. NOV. 16 The Syrian Bride Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis' drama about a Syrian woman who, in her bridal outfit, is steps away from crossing the border into Israel to meet her groom when politics stops her in her tracks. NOV. 18 Walk the Line James Mangold ("Identity") directs Joaquin Phoenix in this Johnny Cash biopic. Reese Witherspoon plays his wife, June Carter. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire In the fourth part of the series, Harry, Ron and Hermione face down Voldemort's Death Eaters. There have been some grumblings that Mike Newell, the director of "Four Weddings and a Funeral," will not stay true to the daringly dark tone set by his predecessor, Alfonso Cuar=F3n. As Dumbledore tells Harry, "We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." Here's hoping Newell chose wisely. Pride & Prejudice A new adaptation of Jane Austen's novel about the five Bennet sisters in Georgian England. Keira Knightley'>Keira Knightley is Elizabeth, the most self-determined of the girls, and Matthew MacFadyen is Darcy, the snob whom love will tame. Breakfast on Pluto Director Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game") takes up with another transvestite character in his adaptation of Pat McCabe's novel about an Irish cabaret singer and prostitute who is wrongly accused of planting a bomb in a 1970s London club. With Cillian Murphy ("Red Eye") and Liam Neeson. Wolf Creek Australian horror movie about three young people who follow their spring break with a trip to the outback, where somebody intends to have fun at their expense. NOV. 21 The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things A Southern Gothic movie about a boy learning about the seedy sides of the world while on the road with his impulsive young mother (played by actress-director Asia Argento). With cameos by Winona Ryder, Marilyn Manson and Peter Fonda, among others. NOV. 23 Syriana George Clooney stars in the biographical drama of Robert Baer, a 20-year veteran of the CIA, who worked undercover studying terrorists in the Middle East and became fed up with the growing weakness of the agency and the cozy relationship between the oil-hungry West and a certain government (hint: Saudi Arabia). With Matt Damon, Amanda Peet. Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan. Rent Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies, helms the screen version of Jonathan Larson's Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock opera about a group of bohemians struggling with life in the East Village. It stars Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs and several members of the original Broadway cast. The Ice Harvest "Groundhog Day's" Harold Ramis directs John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton in a comedy about two guys who embezzle $2 million from corrupt Wichita businessmen and are set to make a clean Christmas Eve getaway until an ice storm arrives. Yours, Mine and Ours Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo take over for Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball in the remake of the 1968 comedy about a man with 8 kids who marries a woman with 10. The White Countess The final Merchant-Ivory production (Ismail Merchant died in May) is set in late-1930s Shanghai, where a blind, disillusioned American diplomat (Ralph Fiennes) is making a careful study of the decadent city's rankest bars with the idea of building the perfect dive. Natasha Richardson plays the Russian taxi dancer who catches the diplomat's eye and is recruited as the centerpiece of the club. Dying For Dolly After saving a mafioso's life, a young African-American (R&B star Usher) is rewarded with a job in the mob and puts it in jeopardy by falling in love with the boss' daughter. With Chazz Palminteri, Emmanuelle Chriqui. NOV. 30 The Boys of Baraka Documentary about the experience of a group of Baltimore 12-year-olds sent to an experimental boarding school in Kenya. DEC. 2 Transamerica "Desperate Housewives'" Felicity Huffman plays a pre-op he-to-she transsexual whose plans for the life-changing surgery are disrupted by the discovery of a son (Kevin Zegers) fathered 20 years before. Aeon Flux Charlize Theron'>Charlize Theron has the title role in this adaptation of the cult MTV action series about a physically agile heroine working as a rebel operative in a walled city run by scientists 400 years in the future. With Frances McDormand, Sophie Okonedo. Be Here to Love Me Documentary about the late, hard-living songwriter Townes Van Zandt, with appearances by fans Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Kris Kristofferson. The Kid and I California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his first post-inauguration movie appearance in a comedy about a 17-year-old boy with cerebral palsy whose wealthy father (Joe Mantegna) decides to grant his wish by financing an action movie for him to star in. First Descent A documentary about snowboarding. DEC. 9 Memoirs of a Geisha Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh, three of the most beautiful Asian actresses, star in the adaptation of Arthur Golden's epic novel about a peasant girl who is sold by her father to a geisha house in 1920s Japan. As she flowers into adulthood, she becomes the most desired geisha in the popular Gion district, and learns not only the nuances of her profession but about human nature. With Ken Watanabe. The director is "Chicago" Oscar nominee Rob Marshall. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe What, you thought there was room for only one series of CGI-heavy epics made in New Zealand from an Oxford don's quasi-religious, mythical stories of good and evil ? Whether "Shrek" director Andrew Adamson can do as well by C.S. Lewis as Peter Jackson did by J.R.R. Tolkien remains to be seen, but this tale of four children who discover the land of Narnia and fight the evil white witch (Tilda Swinton) holds even more box-office promise. While "The Lord of the Rings" had three parts, "Narnia" has seven. Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") directs Jake Gyllenhaal'>Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in an adaptation of Annie Proulx's short story about two ranch hands who - to their great surprise - fall in love in 1963 Wyoming. With Michelle Williams. DEC. 14 King Kong Why, you ask, do we need another version of the 1933 classic? Because the 1976 remake with Jessica Lange was awful and the special effects in the black-and-white original are a bit too rudimentary for today's audiences. Besides, Peter Jackson, hot off the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was willing to do it. Unlike the '76 movie, Jackson's film is faithful to the Depression period and to the original story. Naomi Watts'>Naomi Watts is in for Fay Wray as heroine Ann Darrow, Jack Black is obsessed filmmaker Carl Denham, and Oscar-winner Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") plays Watts' love interest, Jack Driscoll. Andy Serkis, who did the body-motion performance for the computer-animated Gollum in "Rings," does the same for Kong and also gets a role of his own, as Lumpy the Cook. The Grace Lee Project An Asian-American documentary filmmaker with the extremely common name of Grace Lee sets out to learn what she can about other Grace Lees current and past, and comes to some conclusions about Asian stereotypes. DEC. 16 All the King's Men Sean Penn stars in Steven Zaillian's new version of Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning political satire about a populist Southern governor (a thinly-veiled Huey Long) who becomes intoxicated with power. A 1949 adaptation directed by Robert Rossen won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor (Broderick Crawford). Jude Law is Jack Burden, the journalist who unwittingly aids the cause of Penn's Willie Stark, and Kate Winslet is Anne Stanton, the governor's niece and Jack's girlfriend. The Promise Chen Kaige ("Farewell My Concubine") directs this romantic fantasy about a royal concubine in love with a slave. DEC. 21 The Producers: The Movie Musical At last, the film version of the stage musical of Mel Brooks' 1968 film arrives! Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their roles of Max Bialy=ADstock and Leo Bloom. The only actors not from the Broadway production are Uma Thurman, as Swedish secretary Ulla, and Will Ferrell, as retro Nazi Franz Liebkind. Susan Stroman, director of the stage hit, makes her film-directing debut, a stint that prompted rumors that Brooks stepped in to direct some of the nonmusical scenes. The film was shot in the new Steiner Studios in Brooklyn. Fun With Dick and Jane The year's umpteenth remake stars Jim Carrey and T=E9a Leoni in the roles played by George Segal and Jane Fonda in a 1977 comedy about a quiet suburban couple who moonlight as hooded robbers. Cheaper By the Dozen 2 Steve Martin'>Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt return for the sequel to the 2003 remake of a 1950 comedy about a couple with an oversized brood. Here, the Bakers find themselves in competition with a family of eight children while on vacation. With Eugene Levy. DEC. 23 Munich Steven Spielberg follows "War of the Worlds" with a true story about a squad of Israeli secret agents assigned to track down and kill the terrorists who engineered the plot against Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed along with all of their Palestinian captors in a failed rescue mission. Eric Bana plays the Mossad agent in charge of the post-Munich search. With Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush. The Ringer Black comedy (you may prefer the word "sick") starring Johnny Knoxville as a nonhandicapped athlete who infiltrates the Special Olympics with hopes of dethroning the champion. Hard Candy When a 32-year-old man brings home a 14-year-old girl he met on the Internet, things don't go as well as he'd hoped. With Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page. Cach=E9 A TV book critic (Daniel Auteuil) and his wife (Juliette Binoche) have their lives turned upside-down by an increasingly intimate and anonymously sent stream of videos and drawings depicting the family in alarming situations. When the Sea Rises French film starring Yolande Moreau as a married actress and mother whose out-of-town tour with her one-woman show is spiced up by her impetuous romance with a parade float conductor. DEC. 25 Casanova What happens when the legendary seducer meets a Venetian beauty immune to his charms? Why, he falls in love. With Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller. Directed by Lasse Hallstr=F6m. Rumor Has It Rob Reiner is back in "When Harry Met Sally ..." country with this romantic comedy about a young woman (Jennifer Aniston) who puts off her engagement (to Mark Ruffalo) when she discovers that her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) was the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate." When she meets an older man (Kevin Costner) who has slept with both her mother and her grandmother, she begins to believe she is reliving the experiences of Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock. Match Point Woody Allen abandons Manhattan to direct this English tragicomedy about a former tennis pro who has an affair with the former girlfriend of his wife's brother. With Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer. It was acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Mrs. Henderson Presents Judi Dench stars in the biographical story of a society matron who bought an old London theater with hopes of drawing back audiences that had been lured away by talking pictures. Her roaring success was an all-nude revue. With Christopher Guest, Bob Hoskins. Directed by Stephen Frears. Hoodwinked CGI-animated spoof of "Little Red Riding Hood," involving cops sent from the animal world to investigate disturbances at Granny's house. Voices of Andy Dick, Sally Struthers, David Ogden Stiers. DEC. 28 My Name Was Sabina Spielrein Documentary about a Russian Jewish woman who became Carl Jung's first patient in 1904, then began a long correspondence with Sigmund Freud and ended up a renowned psychoanalyst in her own right. DEC. 31 In the Land of Women After being dumped by his actress girlfriend, a young Hollywood screenwriter (Adam Brody) goes home to Michigan to ease his pain and spend time with his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). While there, he starts up a relationship with a family across the street that will change all of their lives. With Meg Ryan, Kristen Stewart. Compiled and written by Jack Mathews and Elizabeth Weitzman
  • "Thanatos" wrote in message news:atropos-5602CE.21455318032008@news.giganews.com... > In article > , > TranslucentAmoebae wrote: possession"http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/11/mary-ann-busted-with-mary-jane/ responsibility"http://www.tmz.com/2008/03/12/it-wasnt-mary-anns-mary-jane/ > difference? He can't tell you...too drunk.
  • Payola Shocker: J-Lo & Good Charlotte radio hits were "Bought" by Sony Monday, July 25, 2005 By Roger Friedman I always say when people ask me that the so-called vipers of the movie business would not last a day in the record business. Now Eliot Spitzer's office has decided to prove the point. "Please be advised that in this week's Jennifer Lopez Top 40 Spin Increase of 236 we bought 63 spins at a cost of $3,600." "Please be advised that in this week's Good Charlotte Top 40 Spin Increase of 61 we bought approximately 250 spins at a cost of $17K ..." Ironically, it didn't help, as the memo notes that the company actually lost spins - or plays of the record - even though they laid out money for them. See above: The internal memos from Sony Music, revealed today in the New York state attorney general's investigation of payola at the company, will be mind blowing to those who are not so jaded to think records are played on the radio because they're good. We've all known for a long time that contemporary pop music stinks. We hear "hits" on the radio and wonder, "How can this be?" Now we know. And memos from both Sony's Columbia and Epic Records senior vice presidents of promotions circa 2002-2003 - whose names are redacted in the reports but are well known in the industry - spell out who to pay and what to pay them in order to get the company's records on the air. >From Epic, home of J-Lo, a memo from Nov. 12, 2002, a "rate" card that shows radio stations in the Top 23 markets will receive $1000, Markets 23-100 get $800, lower markets $500. "If a record receives less than 75 spins at any given radio station, we will not pay the full rate," the memo to DJs states. "We look forward to breaking many records together in the future." Take Jennifer Lopez's awful record, "Get Right," with its shrill horn and lifted rap. It's now clear that was a "bought" sensation when it was released last winter. So, too, were her previous "hits" "I'm Glad" and "I'm Real," according to the memos. All were obtained by Sony laying out dough and incentives. It's no surprise. There isn't a person alive who could hum any of those "songs" now. Not even J-Lo herself. Announced today: Sony Music - now known as Sony/BMG - has to pony up a $10 million settlement with New York's Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. It should be $100 million. And this won't be the end of the investigation. Spitzer's office is looking into all the record companies. This is just the beginning. But what a start: Black-and-white evidence of plasma TVs, laptop computers and PlayStation 2 players being sent to DJs and radio programmers in exchange for getting records on the air. And not just electronic gifts went to these people either. According to the papers released today, the same people also received expensive trips, limousines and lots of other incentives to clutter the airwaves with the disposable junk that now passes for pop music. More memos: "We ordered a laptop for Donnie Michaels at WFLY in Albany. He has since moved to WHYI in Miami. We need to change the shipping address." One Sony memo from 2002: "Can you work with Donnie to see what kind of digital camera he wants us to order?" Another, from someone in Sony's Urban Promotion department: "I am trying to buy a walkman for Toya Beasley at WRKS/NY.... Can PRS get it to me tomorrow by 3 p.m. ... I really need to get the cd by then or I have to wait a week or two before she does her music again ..." Nice, huh? How many times have I written in this column about talented and deserving artists who get no airplay, and no attention from their record companies? Yet dozens of records with little or no artistic merit are all over the radio, and racked in displays at the remaining record stores with great prominence. Thanks to Spitzer's investigation, we now get a taste of what's been happening. More memos. This one from Feb. 13, 2004: "Gave a jessica trip to wkse to secure Jessica spins and switchfoot." That would be Jessica Simpson, for whom Sony laid on big bucks in the last couple of years to turn her into something she's clearly not: a star. And then there's the story of a guy named Dave Universal, who was fired from Buffalo's WKSE in January when there was word that Spitzer was investigating him. Universal (likely a stage name) claimed he did nothing his station didn't know about. That was probably true, but the DJ got trips to Miami and Yankee tickets, among other gifts, in exchange for playing Sony records. From a Sony internal memo on Sept. 8, 2004: "Two weeks ago it cost us over 4000.00 to get Franz [Ferdinand] on WKSE." Franz Ferdinand, Jessica Simpson, J-Lo, Good Charlotte, etc. Not exactly The Who, Carly Simon, Aretha Franklin or The Kinks. The "classic" is certainly gone from rock. The question now is: Who will take the fall at Sony for all this? It's not like payola is new. The government investigated record companies and radio stations in the late 1950s and again in the mid 1970s. (When we were in high school, we used to laugh about how often The Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again?" was played on WABC. We were young and na=EFve!) Spitzer is said to be close friends with Sony's new CEO, Andrew Lack, who publicly welcomed the new investigations earlier this year when they were announced. Did Lack anticipate using Spitzer's results to clean house? Stay tuned ... 'War of the Worlds' Takes Box-Office Beating Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" took a beating at the box office this weekend. It ended up at No. 6, finishing behind newcomers like "The Bad News Bears" and "The Island." The alien-invasion flick only narrowly defeated the Sundance indie favorite "Hustle & Flow," which played on about a third of the number of screens. Nevertheless, "War of the Worlds" finished the weekend with $208 million in the till domestically. That's about $25 million more than it cost to make. But it's still not in the black, and at this point may never be. The film's future is important for Paramount Pictures, which released it in the U.S., but it's also part of the bottom line for DreamWorks Pictures, since it's a Spielberg creation. DreamWorks' other big release, "The Island," did not fare so well this weekend either. Co-produced by Warner Brothers, "The Island" did about $12 million over three days. It cost about $100 million to make. The impact of both these films on DreamWorks is something that will be watched closely this month as the company's animation division continues to be investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. DreamWorks feature releases have no impact on the animation company, but the ties between the public and private entities are undeniable. In the meantime, the one movie that's doing gangbusters at the box office this summer continues to be "March of the Penguins." It has no stars - save Morgan Freeman as the narrator - but it seems to be the only film that every person going to the movies actually wants to see. It's the first real home run for Warner Bros.' Warner Independent movie division, led by former head of marketing at Miramax Mark Gill. Raspberries Still in Season 30 Years Later After 30 years, The Raspberries had a reunion this weekend at B.B. King's, and they blew audiences away. The cult rock power-pop group had a short run at stardom from 1973-76, and left behind four influential albums and a bunch of memorable singles still played on the radio today. Their leader, Eric Carmen, went on to have a pretty nice solo career with songs like "All By Myself" and "Hungry Eyes." But The Raspberries, whose hits included "Go All the Way," "Let's Pretend" and "Overnight Sensation," became a footnote in rock history. With Beatle-esque bass lines, Beach Boys-type harmonies and witty lyrics, The Raspberries turned out to be several years ahead of their time. If only they had appeared around 1978, the group would have fit in with the brisk, punchy pop of the New Wave movement. Unfortunately, it was not to be. But you would never have known it last night. B.B. King's was sold out to the rafters. I'm told the same was true on Saturday night as well. The Raspberries, who hailed from Cleveland, were always on the verge of being huge. But they were always also a little off. You couldn't tell if they were being edgy or nostalgic. Last night they rocked the roof off of B.B. King's with their original members: a blond and gray Eric Carmen, guitarists Wally Bryson and Dave Smalley and drummer Jim Bonfanti, the center of their power - which is still impressive. He told me he dropped out of music completely from 1978 to 1992 and didn't even touch the drums. At 56, he should be playing with The Who or The Rolling Stones on tour. He's phenomenal. The audience, which covered a wide age range, sang along with a lot of the songs. People are so starved at this point for melodies and musicianship that The Raspberries, having avoided the "oldies" circuit all these years, could easily stage a comeback. Jon Bon Jovi and legendary songwriter and producer Desmond Child occupied a center booth Sunday night - and were largely ignored. "I never got to see them perform the first time around. But I think I wore out their greatest-hits album," Bon Jovi told me. Bruce Springsteen was the first to turn him on to Raspberries' records, he added. I think Cameron Crowe would have especially loved the show. He's been a big fan of the band since his days as a young Rolling Stone writer, and The Raspberries are a lot like Stillwater, the fictional music group from his movie "Almost Famous." A new album is being talked about. So is a small tour. When The Raspberries hit Los Angeles, I expect Crowe to be front and center. He had good taste three decades ago, and he will be happy to hear that nothing's changed. Eugene Record's Legacy Eugene Record, the great soul singer and composer who founded the Chi-Lites, died on Friday at age 64. He had suffered from cancer for some time after seeing his records sampled and turned into hits again by the likes of Beyonc=E9 and Jay-Z. "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh, Girl" are the Chi-Lites' biggest hits, but Eugene also wrote two enormous hits for and with his first wife, the late Barbara Acklin. They were "Love Makes a Woman" and "Am I the Same Girl." Many groups also recorded the latter as an instrumental as "Soulful Strut." You would know it if you heard it. It was almost the theme music of the late '60s. I had the pleasure of getting to know Gene and his second wife Jackie in the last few years. I fought hard to get the Chi-Lites a Pioneer Award in 2000 from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. They should also be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but that's another story. Unfortunately, thanks to the head of his record company, Gene was involved in a payola scandal in the late 1970s. But he was far from being the kind of hustler it would take to make that story stick. He was a gentle, elegant man and a real musical genius. He arranged the horns that make Beyonc=E9's "Crazy in Love" a hit - in 1969, no less - and look how they stood the test of time. The original song was called "Are You My Woman?" In a summer when we've lost Luther Vandross and Obie Benson of The Four Tops, losing Gene is another blow. The Chi-Lites go on touring with original members Marshall Thompson and Squirrel Lester. If they come to your town, don't miss them. But Eugene Record was their creative engine, and he will be sorely missed.
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