Cologne, Germany -- Isabel Hund will be the new face of Sony's German production operations. As of Oct. 1, she will be director of production at Sony Pictures International Motion Production Group, based in Berlin. She will report to group president Deborah Schindler.
Hund takes over from Maike Haas who, after a year at Sony's local-language operation, returns to Disney's German features division. Haas will temporarily run Walt Studio Motion Pictures Germany for Justyna Musch, who is on maternity leave.
Hund has been an adviser to Sony in Germany over the past 17 months. In that time, Sony relaunched its German production shingle, Deutsche Columbia Pictures. Deutsche Columbia had a major hit with Franke Potente starrer "Anatomy" (2000). But after a string of flops, Sony closed down the company in 2003.
Hund has also been an adviser to several major German distributors, including Buena Vista and Kinowelt. From 2001-05 she headed up development at German indie Senator Film.
Hund takes over from Maike Haas who, after a year at Sony's local-language operation, returns to Disney's German features division. Haas will temporarily run Walt Studio Motion Pictures Germany for Justyna Musch, who is on maternity leave.
Hund has been an adviser to Sony in Germany over the past 17 months. In that time, Sony relaunched its German production shingle, Deutsche Columbia Pictures. Deutsche Columbia had a major hit with Franke Potente starrer "Anatomy" (2000). But after a string of flops, Sony closed down the company in 2003.
Hund has also been an adviser to several major German distributors, including Buena Vista and Kinowelt. From 2001-05 she headed up development at German indie Senator Film.
- 8/31/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Gareth Wigan, a 21-year vet at Columbia Pictures, is stepping back from his day-to-day role as co-running the studio's international motion pictures production group and taking on the new role of strategic adviser to Sony Pictures Entertainment's international film business.
Wigan said that while he's had a long career, his cutting back does not mean retirement is on the horizon.
"This role will allow me to remain involved in doing what I love, while continuing to add value to the company which has been such a big part of my life," he said.
Wigan joined Columbia in 1987 as a consultant. Along with running the international motion picture production group with president Deborah Schindler, who joined the group last year, Wigan has been vice chair of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group since 1997.
Sony co-chair Amy Pascal lauded Wigan for his work with some of the studio's best films, including Sense and Sensibility, The Remains of the Day and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
"Almost single-handedly, Gareth built up our international film business, making him a real pioneer in our industry," Sony CEO and chair Michael Lynton said.
Wigan said that while he's had a long career, his cutting back does not mean retirement is on the horizon.
"This role will allow me to remain involved in doing what I love, while continuing to add value to the company which has been such a big part of my life," he said.
Wigan joined Columbia in 1987 as a consultant. Along with running the international motion picture production group with president Deborah Schindler, who joined the group last year, Wigan has been vice chair of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group since 1997.
Sony co-chair Amy Pascal lauded Wigan for his work with some of the studio's best films, including Sense and Sensibility, The Remains of the Day and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
"Almost single-handedly, Gareth built up our international film business, making him a real pioneer in our industry," Sony CEO and chair Michael Lynton said.
Gareth Wigan, a 21-year veteran at Columbia Pictures, is stepping back from his day-to-day role co-running the studio's international motion pictures production group and taking on the new role of strategic adviser to Sony Pictures Entertainment's international film business.
Wigan said that though he's had a long career, cutting back does not mean retirement is on the horizon.
"This role will allow me to remain involved in doing what I love, while continuing to add value to the company which has been such a big part of my life," he said.
Wigan joined Columbia in 1987 as a consultant. Along with running the international motion picture production group with president Deborah Schindler, who joined the group last year, Wigan has been vice chair of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group since 1997.
Sony co-chair Amy Pascal lauded Wigan for his work with some of the studio's best films, including "Sense and Sensibility", "The Remains of the Day" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
"Almost single-handedly, Gareth built up our international film business, making him a real pioneer in our industry," Sony CEO and chair Michael Lynton said.
Wigan said that though he's had a long career, cutting back does not mean retirement is on the horizon.
"This role will allow me to remain involved in doing what I love, while continuing to add value to the company which has been such a big part of my life," he said.
Wigan joined Columbia in 1987 as a consultant. Along with running the international motion picture production group with president Deborah Schindler, who joined the group last year, Wigan has been vice chair of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group since 1997.
Sony co-chair Amy Pascal lauded Wigan for his work with some of the studio's best films, including "Sense and Sensibility", "The Remains of the Day" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
"Almost single-handedly, Gareth built up our international film business, making him a real pioneer in our industry," Sony CEO and chair Michael Lynton said.
Sony Pictures Entertainment's International Motion Picture Production division has brought aboard Brian Burkin as senior vp of business affairs and operations.
Burkin will oversee the division's business affairs as well as negotiate deals and manage relationships with writers, directors and producers in film markets around the world.
He will work out of the New York office and report to Deborah Schindler, the division's president.
Burkin comes from Miramax Films, where he spent nine years, most recently as senior vp of business affairs.
He started his career in New York doing private practice in corporate law and commercial litigation.
Burkin will oversee the division's business affairs as well as negotiate deals and manage relationships with writers, directors and producers in film markets around the world.
He will work out of the New York office and report to Deborah Schindler, the division's president.
Burkin comes from Miramax Films, where he spent nine years, most recently as senior vp of business affairs.
He started his career in New York doing private practice in corporate law and commercial litigation.
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Perfect Stranger".It might be selling itself as a "sexy thriller," but the cheesy, smirk-inducing reality is that "Perfect Stranger" would have been on the direct-to-DVD fast track had it not been for the names Halle Berry and Bruce Willis above the title.Alas, the star wattage quickly dims in this slick-looking but ringingly hollow affair that starts off generically at best before collapsing into a convoluted heap of shrill screen cliches.Audiences in the market for what looks like a potential "Fatal Attraction" or "Basic Instinct" could initially help its cause, but the overall result likely will be as unremarkable as the picture's blandly nondescript title.
Berry's Rowena Price is a go-getter investigative reporter smarting from her New York tabloid's last-minute decision not to run her big expose on an anti-gay senator's affairs with his male interns.She quits her job but quickly finds herself back doing her intrepid thing when a childhood friend turns up murdered -- but not before leaving a naughty e-mail trail that leads to powerful Harrison Hill (Willis), a womanizing but married advertising executive.Determined to expose Hill as the killer, Rowena poses as a temp at Hill's agency, with a little tech-savvy assistance from her pervy colleague Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), but it soon becomes clear that Hill isn't the only one in Rowena's orbit who is leading a double life. In his first feature outing since 2003's "Confidence", director James Foley, working off a picked-over script credited to Todd Komarnicki, wishes to say something about secret identities and the truths they attempt to conceal. But it would have been advisable to first make those primary identities more credible.For starters, nobody, Berry included, seemed to be concerned that her character needed to be a least a little likable, and in the absence of a vulnerability key to central protagonists in these kinds of movies, viewer indifference is certain to follow.Mind you, even Mario Andretti would have had a tough time negotiating all the ridiculous twists and turns the plot takes in the final act.
Willis' character, meanwhile, isn't required to be sympathetic, but his oddly disconnected performance feels e-mailed in, rather than coming across as a palpable threat.Filmed primarily in Manhattan, the production is given the desired sleek but soulless look courtesy of cinematographer Anastas Michos ("Freedomland") and production designer Bill Groom ("The Forgotten").
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' wardrobe most definitely looks quite fetching on Berry, even if it probably doesn't resemble anything that has ever seen the inside of a real investigative reporter's closet. n
PERFECT STRANGER
Columbia Pictures
A Revolution Studios presentation
Credits:
Director: James Foley
Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas
Screenwriter: Todd Komarnicki
Story: Jon Bokenkamp
Executive producers: Ron Bozman, Deborah Schindler, Charles Newirth
Director of photography: Anastas Michos
Production designer: Bill Groom
Editor: Christopher Tellefsen
Costume designer: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Music: Antonio Pinto
Cast:
Rowena Price: Halle Berry
Harrison Hill: Bruce Willis
Miles Haley: Giovanni Ribisi
Cameron: Gary Dourdan...
Berry's Rowena Price is a go-getter investigative reporter smarting from her New York tabloid's last-minute decision not to run her big expose on an anti-gay senator's affairs with his male interns.She quits her job but quickly finds herself back doing her intrepid thing when a childhood friend turns up murdered -- but not before leaving a naughty e-mail trail that leads to powerful Harrison Hill (Willis), a womanizing but married advertising executive.Determined to expose Hill as the killer, Rowena poses as a temp at Hill's agency, with a little tech-savvy assistance from her pervy colleague Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), but it soon becomes clear that Hill isn't the only one in Rowena's orbit who is leading a double life. In his first feature outing since 2003's "Confidence", director James Foley, working off a picked-over script credited to Todd Komarnicki, wishes to say something about secret identities and the truths they attempt to conceal. But it would have been advisable to first make those primary identities more credible.For starters, nobody, Berry included, seemed to be concerned that her character needed to be a least a little likable, and in the absence of a vulnerability key to central protagonists in these kinds of movies, viewer indifference is certain to follow.Mind you, even Mario Andretti would have had a tough time negotiating all the ridiculous twists and turns the plot takes in the final act.
Willis' character, meanwhile, isn't required to be sympathetic, but his oddly disconnected performance feels e-mailed in, rather than coming across as a palpable threat.Filmed primarily in Manhattan, the production is given the desired sleek but soulless look courtesy of cinematographer Anastas Michos ("Freedomland") and production designer Bill Groom ("The Forgotten").
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' wardrobe most definitely looks quite fetching on Berry, even if it probably doesn't resemble anything that has ever seen the inside of a real investigative reporter's closet. n
PERFECT STRANGER
Columbia Pictures
A Revolution Studios presentation
Credits:
Director: James Foley
Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas
Screenwriter: Todd Komarnicki
Story: Jon Bokenkamp
Executive producers: Ron Bozman, Deborah Schindler, Charles Newirth
Director of photography: Anastas Michos
Production designer: Bill Groom
Editor: Christopher Tellefsen
Costume designer: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Music: Antonio Pinto
Cast:
Rowena Price: Halle Berry
Harrison Hill: Bruce Willis
Miles Haley: Giovanni Ribisi
Cameron: Gary Dourdan...
- 4/12/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It might be selling itself as a "sexy thriller," but the cheesy, smirk-inducing reality is that "Perfect Stranger" would have been on the direct-to-DVD fast track had it not been for the names Halle Berry and Bruce Willis above the title.Alas, the star wattage quickly dims in this slick-looking but ringingly hollow affair that starts off generically at best before collapsing into a convoluted heap of shrill screen cliches.Audiences in the market for what looks like a potential "Fatal Attraction" or "Basic Instinct" could initially help its cause, but the overall result likely will be as unremarkable as the picture's blandly nondescript title.
Berry's Rowena Price is a go-getter investigative reporter smarting from her New York tabloid's last-minute decision not to run her big expose on an anti-gay senator's affairs with his male interns.She quits her job but quickly finds herself back doing her intrepid thing when a childhood friend turns up murdered -- but not before leaving a naughty e-mail trail that leads to powerful Harrison Hill (Willis), a womanizing but married advertising executive.Determined to expose Hill as the killer, Rowena poses as a temp at Hill's agency, with a little tech-savvy assistance from her pervy colleague Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), but it soon becomes clear that Hill isn't the only one in Rowena's orbit who is leading a double life. In his first feature outing since 2003's "Confidence", director James Foley, working off a picked-over script credited to Todd Komarnicki, wishes to say something about secret identities and the truths they attempt to conceal. But it would have been advisable to first make those primary identities more credible.For starters, nobody, Berry included, seemed to be concerned that her character needed to be a least a little likable, and in the absence of a vulnerability key to central protagonists in these kinds of movies, viewer indifference is certain to follow.Mind you, even Mario Andretti would have had a tough time negotiating all the ridiculous twists and turns the plot takes in the final act.
Willis' character, meanwhile, isn't required to be sympathetic, but his oddly disconnected performance feels e-mailed in, rather than coming across as a palpable threat.Filmed primarily in Manhattan, the production is given the desired sleek but soulless look courtesy of cinematographer Anastas Michos ("Freedomland") and production designer Bill Groom ("The Forgotten").
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' wardrobe most definitely looks quite fetching on Berry, even if it probably doesn't resemble anything that has ever seen the inside of a real investigative reporter's closet. n
Perfect Stranger
Columbia Pictures
A Revolution Studios presentation
Credits: Director: James Foley; Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas; Screenwriter: Todd Komarnicki; Story: Jon Bokenkamp; Executive producers: Ron Bozman, Deborah Schindler, Charles Newirth; Director of photography: Anastas Michos; Production designer: Bill Groom; Editor: Christopher Tellefsen; Costume designer: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus; Music: Antonio Pinto. Cast: Rowena Price: Halle Berry; Harrison Hill: Bruce Willis; Miles Haley: Giovanni Ribisi; Cameron: Gary Dourdan.
Berry's Rowena Price is a go-getter investigative reporter smarting from her New York tabloid's last-minute decision not to run her big expose on an anti-gay senator's affairs with his male interns.She quits her job but quickly finds herself back doing her intrepid thing when a childhood friend turns up murdered -- but not before leaving a naughty e-mail trail that leads to powerful Harrison Hill (Willis), a womanizing but married advertising executive.Determined to expose Hill as the killer, Rowena poses as a temp at Hill's agency, with a little tech-savvy assistance from her pervy colleague Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), but it soon becomes clear that Hill isn't the only one in Rowena's orbit who is leading a double life. In his first feature outing since 2003's "Confidence", director James Foley, working off a picked-over script credited to Todd Komarnicki, wishes to say something about secret identities and the truths they attempt to conceal. But it would have been advisable to first make those primary identities more credible.For starters, nobody, Berry included, seemed to be concerned that her character needed to be a least a little likable, and in the absence of a vulnerability key to central protagonists in these kinds of movies, viewer indifference is certain to follow.Mind you, even Mario Andretti would have had a tough time negotiating all the ridiculous twists and turns the plot takes in the final act.
Willis' character, meanwhile, isn't required to be sympathetic, but his oddly disconnected performance feels e-mailed in, rather than coming across as a palpable threat.Filmed primarily in Manhattan, the production is given the desired sleek but soulless look courtesy of cinematographer Anastas Michos ("Freedomland") and production designer Bill Groom ("The Forgotten").
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' wardrobe most definitely looks quite fetching on Berry, even if it probably doesn't resemble anything that has ever seen the inside of a real investigative reporter's closet. n
Perfect Stranger
Columbia Pictures
A Revolution Studios presentation
Credits: Director: James Foley; Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas; Screenwriter: Todd Komarnicki; Story: Jon Bokenkamp; Executive producers: Ron Bozman, Deborah Schindler, Charles Newirth; Director of photography: Anastas Michos; Production designer: Bill Groom; Editor: Christopher Tellefsen; Costume designer: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus; Music: Antonio Pinto. Cast: Rowena Price: Halle Berry; Harrison Hill: Bruce Willis; Miles Haley: Giovanni Ribisi; Cameron: Gary Dourdan.
- 4/12/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
James Foley has been tapped to direct the Halle Berry psychological thriller Perfect Stranger for Revolution Studios. The project was brought in by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Revolution Studios partner and head of Revolution's New York office, who also will produce the film. Deborah Schindler is serving as executive producer. The screenplay, by Todd Komarnicki from an original script by Jon Bokenkamp, tells the story of a woman (Berry) who gets caught up in the world of obsessive love and death online when she goes undercover to investigate a friend's murder. The film is set to go into production this winter. Foley's directing credits include Confidence, The Chamber, Fear, Glengarry Glen Ross and At Close Range. Foley is repped by CAA.
- 4/22/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Adam Shankman is in negotiations to direct and Sarah Jessica Parker is in negotiations to star in Slammer for Revolution Studios. The dark comedy was brought in by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, head of Revolution Studios' East Coast office, who will produce the film with Howard Rosenman and Carol Baum. Deborah Schindler and Jennifer Gibgot are serving as executive producers. The script is by Sara Goodman and based on a story by Tim Metcalfe and John Slotnick and a screenplay by Metcalfe.
- 4/21/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Adam Shankman is in negotiations to direct and Sarah Jessica Parker is in negotiations to star in Slammer for Revolution Studios. The dark comedy was brought in by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, head of Revolution Studios' East Coast office, who will produce the film with Howard Rosenman and Carol Baum. Deborah Schindler and Jennifer Gibgot are serving as executive producers. The script is by Sara Goodman and based on a story by Tim Metcalfe and John Slotnick and a screenplay by Metcalfe.
- 4/21/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deborah Schindler, who previously served as president of Red Om Films, Julia Roberts' production company, and Elvis Mitchell, the former New York Times film critic, are joining Columbia Pictures as executive production consultants. Schindler will act as Columbia's principal liaison in its new New York office, working with the studios' Los Angeles production and development team. She also will oversee the development of projects and supervise the studio's East Coast-based productions. Operating as consultant to Columbia, Mitchell will canvas the film festival circuit on behalf of the studio. He already had stepped into his new role at last month's Sundance Film Festival, where he was in the hunt early on for the film Hustle & Flow, which ultimately was acquired by Paramount Pictures/MTV Films. Mitchell, who is known to have close ties to Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group chairman Amy Pascal, also will evaluate the Columbia library for potential remakes; serve as a consultant to Columbia's acquisition team; and, according to Sony, operate as an executive, supervising projects.
- 2/15/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chick flicks are definitely evolving. While Cinderella stories still predominate, every now and then we get a "Mean Girls" or a "Little Black Book", which find ways to slip serious satirical themes into these Girl-Gets-or-Loses-Boy tales. "Little Black Book" is, yes, a story about a young woman, played by popular actress Brittany Murphy, who raids her boyfriend's Palm Pilot to explore his romantic past. But it also takes satirical shots at reality TV shows a la "Jerry Springer" and the insidious way in which they exploit the worst aspects of human behavior to win ratings points.
The comedy is mostly aimed at teenage females, but boyfriends, older sisters and even parents may find things at which to smile or even laugh. Theatrical payoff in this overheated market may be short, but the film could experience a longer life than usual in ancillary markets.
Stacy Holt (Murphy) idolizes Diane Sawyer, but she starts her TV career pretty much at the bottom as an associate producer for daytime talk show hostess Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates in a deadly accurate take on these MCs of mayhem). Telecasting from New Jersey, clearly the minor leagues, the syndicated chat show drags willing and unwilling participants before its cameras for daily humiliations built around increasingly bizarre concepts such as prostitute grandmothers or partying midgets.
Co-worker Barb (Holly Hunter, showing us, perhaps, what became of her neurotic TV producer from "Broadcast News" 17 years before) offers to show Stacy the ropes. Soon enough, Stacy is jumping with those ropes. When Stacy's live-in boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston), an ice hockey scout, must go on the road, Barb urges her to use her skills as a "field researcher" to investigate Derek's past, which he has kept carefully hidden from her.
A conveniently left-behind Palm Pilot leads her to three ex-girlfriends, all of whom she approaches in the guise of looking for new guests for the show. Supermodel Lulu Fritz (Josie Maran) recalls marathon bedroom sessions that pique Stacy's jealousy. It gets worse. Dr. Rachel Keyes (Rashida Jones), a self-possessed gynecologist, turns out to still share a relationship with Derek because of their "joint custody" of a most flatulent dog. And winsome Joyce (Julianne Nicholson), a rising chef, clearly still has a thing for Derek and continues to talk to and see him on a regular basis as "just friends."
Melissa Carter's screenplay, on which Elisa Bell did a rewrite, plays an interesting game with the audience. It deliberately makes us discomforted by the heroine's suspicions and snooping while allowing us to appreciate Joyce's warmth and emotional honesty. Meanwhile, the frantic world of daytime TV, with everyone striving to get credit for the most disgusting idea for a ratings-grabbing show, energizes the film.
There is Bates' Kippie Kann herself, whose depressing banal signature is extreme alliteration with the "K" sound (as in Kut the Krap). She has clearly lost control of her own show but doesn't yet know it. As a portrait in transparent cynicism, one can't do much better than Hunter's Barb, who will stoop to virtually anything yet freely discourse on the evil of her ways.
Under the smooth direction of British TV veteran Nick Hurran, the movie unfolds at a sprightly pace with an active camera and the kind of telling decor that belies its modest budget.
LITTLE BLACK BOOK
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Blue Star Pictures production
Credits:
Director: Nick Hurran
Screenwriters: Melissa Carter, Elisa Bell
Story by: Melissa Carter
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, William Sherak, Jason Shuman
Executive producers: Herbert W. Gains, Rachael Horovitz, Warren Zide, Craig Perry
Director of photography: Theo Van de Sande
Production designer: Bob Ziembicki
Music: Christophe Beck
Costume designer: Susie DeSanto
Editor: John Richards
Cast:
Stacy: Brittany Murphy
Barb: Holly Hunter
Kippie Kann: Kathy Bates
Derek: Ron Livingston
Joyce: Julianne Nicholson
Carl: Stephen Tobolowsky
Ira: Kevin Sussman
Dr. Keyes: Rashida Jones
Lulu: Josie Maran
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time -- 106 minutes...
The comedy is mostly aimed at teenage females, but boyfriends, older sisters and even parents may find things at which to smile or even laugh. Theatrical payoff in this overheated market may be short, but the film could experience a longer life than usual in ancillary markets.
Stacy Holt (Murphy) idolizes Diane Sawyer, but she starts her TV career pretty much at the bottom as an associate producer for daytime talk show hostess Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates in a deadly accurate take on these MCs of mayhem). Telecasting from New Jersey, clearly the minor leagues, the syndicated chat show drags willing and unwilling participants before its cameras for daily humiliations built around increasingly bizarre concepts such as prostitute grandmothers or partying midgets.
Co-worker Barb (Holly Hunter, showing us, perhaps, what became of her neurotic TV producer from "Broadcast News" 17 years before) offers to show Stacy the ropes. Soon enough, Stacy is jumping with those ropes. When Stacy's live-in boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston), an ice hockey scout, must go on the road, Barb urges her to use her skills as a "field researcher" to investigate Derek's past, which he has kept carefully hidden from her.
A conveniently left-behind Palm Pilot leads her to three ex-girlfriends, all of whom she approaches in the guise of looking for new guests for the show. Supermodel Lulu Fritz (Josie Maran) recalls marathon bedroom sessions that pique Stacy's jealousy. It gets worse. Dr. Rachel Keyes (Rashida Jones), a self-possessed gynecologist, turns out to still share a relationship with Derek because of their "joint custody" of a most flatulent dog. And winsome Joyce (Julianne Nicholson), a rising chef, clearly still has a thing for Derek and continues to talk to and see him on a regular basis as "just friends."
Melissa Carter's screenplay, on which Elisa Bell did a rewrite, plays an interesting game with the audience. It deliberately makes us discomforted by the heroine's suspicions and snooping while allowing us to appreciate Joyce's warmth and emotional honesty. Meanwhile, the frantic world of daytime TV, with everyone striving to get credit for the most disgusting idea for a ratings-grabbing show, energizes the film.
There is Bates' Kippie Kann herself, whose depressing banal signature is extreme alliteration with the "K" sound (as in Kut the Krap). She has clearly lost control of her own show but doesn't yet know it. As a portrait in transparent cynicism, one can't do much better than Hunter's Barb, who will stoop to virtually anything yet freely discourse on the evil of her ways.
Under the smooth direction of British TV veteran Nick Hurran, the movie unfolds at a sprightly pace with an active camera and the kind of telling decor that belies its modest budget.
LITTLE BLACK BOOK
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Blue Star Pictures production
Credits:
Director: Nick Hurran
Screenwriters: Melissa Carter, Elisa Bell
Story by: Melissa Carter
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, William Sherak, Jason Shuman
Executive producers: Herbert W. Gains, Rachael Horovitz, Warren Zide, Craig Perry
Director of photography: Theo Van de Sande
Production designer: Bob Ziembicki
Music: Christophe Beck
Costume designer: Susie DeSanto
Editor: John Richards
Cast:
Stacy: Brittany Murphy
Barb: Holly Hunter
Kippie Kann: Kathy Bates
Derek: Ron Livingston
Joyce: Julianne Nicholson
Carl: Stephen Tobolowsky
Ira: Kevin Sussman
Dr. Keyes: Rashida Jones
Lulu: Josie Maran
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time -- 106 minutes...
- 8/20/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens
Thursday, December 25
Why filmmakers have chosen this particular moment to become fascinated with the Eisenhower era is puzzling. Whatever the case, the latest film to peer back a half-century is "Mona Lisa Smile". Unlike the more ambitious "Far From Heaven", this film from the usually adventurous director Mike Newell is content to recycle familiar thematic ideas about that era's zeal for conformity and the limited options available to women from the social upper crust.
With an all-star cast that includes Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Marcia Gay Harden, the movie should develop shapely legs. However, rote characterizations and a trite, even condescending, attitude toward that era's misguided mores robs the film of the satiric punch Todd Haynes delivered in "Far From Heaven". Newell is in top form, though, moving the story along at a brisk clip and nicely delineating the characters and subplots. But Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal's screenplay lacks any insight into what motivated either the enthusiasm for conformity or the rebellion against those attitudes.
The film's feminist heroine, Katherine Watson (Roberts), journeys from California to the New England campus of Wellesley College in 1953 to teach art history. She labors under the misapprehension that her students, the "best and brightest" young women in the country, seek higher education as a means toward careers. To her horror, she discovers that the primary goal of her charges is to get married.
Her students comprise the female stereotypes of that era: snobbish debutante Betty (Dunst), smart girl Joan (Stiles), bad girl Giselle (Gyllenhaal) and shy wallflower Connie (newcomer Ginnifer Goodwin). The closet lesbian also is represented, albeit as school nurse Amanda (Juliet Stevenson), who has the audacity to hand out contraception to students.
Despite an advanced curriculum at Wellesley, the pivotal class belongs to Katherine's roommate, poise and elocution teacher Nancy Abbey (Harden), a spinster carrying a torch for the fellow who jilted her long ago. Battle lines form quickly. Simply by being over 30 and unmarried, Katherine is labeled "subversive." By teaching Picasso and Jackson Pollack, her class becomes an affront to social orthodoxy.
Katherine and newlywed Betty become immediate enemies because Betty feels threatened by her teacher's feminist independence. Meanwhile, Giselle lives the life Katherine preaches as she smokes cigarettes, dates a male professor (Dominic West) and later a married man. Joan gets caught in the middle when Katherine pushes her to apply to Yale Law School despite an imminent proposal from her boyfriend. Connie actually lands a boyfriend only for mean-spirited Betty to interfere, mostly as a reaction to her own failing marriage.
These mini-soap operas serve mostly to belabor '50s social rigidity. The film's dogged insistence in re-fighting the cultural wars of the '50s without shedding any new light on either side reduces nearly all the characters to shallow mouthpieces for predictable points of view.
Roberts' Katherine is much too strident to gain much sympathy despite her "modern" attitudes. Katherine at least is shown in an unflattering light as she holds up impossible standards for any male suitor to meet and has a stubborn streak. Gyllenhaal gets to steal the show as the bad girl -- bad girls usually do. Dunst and Stiles enliven but cannot deepen their cliched characters. Goodwin manages touching moments as the lovelorn Connie.
Cinematography, art and costumes splendidly celebrate the early-'50s look without completely mocking the era. The one period element the film revels in is a fine collection of '50s pop tunes that bridge scenes and punctuate all that was lively and hip in that era.
MONA LISA SMILE
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Red Om Films production
Credits:
Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriters: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, Paul Schiff
Executive producer: Joe Roth
Director of photography: Anastas N. Michos
Production designer: Jane Musky
Music: Rachel Portman
Costume designer: Michael Dennison
Editor: Mick Audsley
Cast:
Katherine Watson: Julia Roberts
Betty: Kirsten Dunst
Joan: Julia Stiles
Giselle: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Connie: Ginnifer Goodwin
Bill: Dominic West
Amanda: Juliet Stevenson
Nancy: Marcia Gay Harden
President Carr: Marian Seldes
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Thursday, December 25
Why filmmakers have chosen this particular moment to become fascinated with the Eisenhower era is puzzling. Whatever the case, the latest film to peer back a half-century is "Mona Lisa Smile". Unlike the more ambitious "Far From Heaven", this film from the usually adventurous director Mike Newell is content to recycle familiar thematic ideas about that era's zeal for conformity and the limited options available to women from the social upper crust.
With an all-star cast that includes Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Marcia Gay Harden, the movie should develop shapely legs. However, rote characterizations and a trite, even condescending, attitude toward that era's misguided mores robs the film of the satiric punch Todd Haynes delivered in "Far From Heaven". Newell is in top form, though, moving the story along at a brisk clip and nicely delineating the characters and subplots. But Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal's screenplay lacks any insight into what motivated either the enthusiasm for conformity or the rebellion against those attitudes.
The film's feminist heroine, Katherine Watson (Roberts), journeys from California to the New England campus of Wellesley College in 1953 to teach art history. She labors under the misapprehension that her students, the "best and brightest" young women in the country, seek higher education as a means toward careers. To her horror, she discovers that the primary goal of her charges is to get married.
Her students comprise the female stereotypes of that era: snobbish debutante Betty (Dunst), smart girl Joan (Stiles), bad girl Giselle (Gyllenhaal) and shy wallflower Connie (newcomer Ginnifer Goodwin). The closet lesbian also is represented, albeit as school nurse Amanda (Juliet Stevenson), who has the audacity to hand out contraception to students.
Despite an advanced curriculum at Wellesley, the pivotal class belongs to Katherine's roommate, poise and elocution teacher Nancy Abbey (Harden), a spinster carrying a torch for the fellow who jilted her long ago. Battle lines form quickly. Simply by being over 30 and unmarried, Katherine is labeled "subversive." By teaching Picasso and Jackson Pollack, her class becomes an affront to social orthodoxy.
Katherine and newlywed Betty become immediate enemies because Betty feels threatened by her teacher's feminist independence. Meanwhile, Giselle lives the life Katherine preaches as she smokes cigarettes, dates a male professor (Dominic West) and later a married man. Joan gets caught in the middle when Katherine pushes her to apply to Yale Law School despite an imminent proposal from her boyfriend. Connie actually lands a boyfriend only for mean-spirited Betty to interfere, mostly as a reaction to her own failing marriage.
These mini-soap operas serve mostly to belabor '50s social rigidity. The film's dogged insistence in re-fighting the cultural wars of the '50s without shedding any new light on either side reduces nearly all the characters to shallow mouthpieces for predictable points of view.
Roberts' Katherine is much too strident to gain much sympathy despite her "modern" attitudes. Katherine at least is shown in an unflattering light as she holds up impossible standards for any male suitor to meet and has a stubborn streak. Gyllenhaal gets to steal the show as the bad girl -- bad girls usually do. Dunst and Stiles enliven but cannot deepen their cliched characters. Goodwin manages touching moments as the lovelorn Connie.
Cinematography, art and costumes splendidly celebrate the early-'50s look without completely mocking the era. The one period element the film revels in is a fine collection of '50s pop tunes that bridge scenes and punctuate all that was lively and hip in that era.
MONA LISA SMILE
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Red Om Films production
Credits:
Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriters: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, Paul Schiff
Executive producer: Joe Roth
Director of photography: Anastas N. Michos
Production designer: Jane Musky
Music: Rachel Portman
Costume designer: Michael Dennison
Editor: Mick Audsley
Cast:
Katherine Watson: Julia Roberts
Betty: Kirsten Dunst
Joan: Julia Stiles
Giselle: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Connie: Ginnifer Goodwin
Bill: Dominic West
Amanda: Juliet Stevenson
Nancy: Marcia Gay Harden
President Carr: Marian Seldes
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 1/29/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Julia Roberts may be having a Son, with some help from Revolution Studios. Variety reports that Revolution has acquired the rights to the soon-to-be-published novel Strange Son by Portia Iverson, with an eye towards Roberts producing through her Red Om Films and possibly starring. Son revolves around two mothers . one rich in Los Angeles, one poor in India . who unite on a search to find help for their autistic sons. Through their research the two help question longstanding theories about autism and challenge current medical research. Revolution's Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is attached to the production alongside Roberts and Deborah Schindler.
- 9/26/2003
- IMDbPro News
Holly Hunter will star opposite Brittany Murphy in Revolution Studios' romantic comedy "Little Black Book" for British helmer Nick Huran. Production is slated to begin in August. Written by Melissa Carter and Elisa Bell, "Book" stars Murphy as Stacy, an associate producer for a daytime talk show who opens up a Pandora Box's when she goes into her boyfriend's Palm Pilot to learn more about his ex-girlfriends and ends up learning much more about herself. Hunter will play Barb, a senior associate producer at the television station who befriends Stacy and shows her the ropes. Revolution partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is producing the project with producers William Sherak and Jason Shuman of Blue Star Pictures. Deborah Schindler and Rachael Horovitz are executive producing. Hunter, repped by WMA and Management 360, next stars in Fox Searchlight's feature "Thirteen". The actress, who won an Oscar for her role in "The Piano", was most recently seen in the feature films "Levity" and "Moonlight Mile". In January, Hunter was honored at the Sundance Film Festival with the 2003 Tribute to Independent Vision Award.
- 5/20/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
British helmer Nick Hurran will make his American feature directorial debut with Revolution Studios' romantic comedy Little Black Book, starring Brittany Murphy. Production is slated to begin in the summer. Hurran most recently directed the U.K. feature Plots With a View, starring Brenda Blethyn, Alfred Molina, Christopher Walken and Naomi Watts. Miramax Films is poised to release the film later this year. Written by Elisa Bell, Book finds Murphy starring as an associate producer for a daytime talk show who opens up a Pandora Box's when she goes into her boyfriend's Palm Pilot to learn more about his ex-girlfriends and ends up learning much more about herself. Murphy signed on to the project earlier this month (HR 3/6). Revolution partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is producing the project with producers William Sherak and Jason Shuman of Blue Star Pictures. Deborah Schindler and Rachael Horovitz are executive producing. Hurran, repped by ICM, has previously directed such British films as Virtual Sexuality, Girl's Night and Remember Me?...
- 3/21/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Just Married star Brittany Murphy will star in Revolution Studios' romantic comedy Little Black Book for which she will receive her highest payday to date, said to be about $4 million. The price tag is quite a jump from Murphy's last paycheck, which was just slightly more than $1 million to star in the upcoming MGM film Molly Gunn. A director is expected to come aboard shortly on Book, with production slated to begin in the summer. Written by Elisa Bell, Book finds Murphy starring as an associate producer for a daytime talk show who opens up a Pandora Box's when she goes into her boyfriend's Palm Pilot to learn more about his ex-girlfriends. However, she ends up learning much more about herself. Revolution partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is producing the project with producers William Sherak and Jason Shuman of Blue Star Pictures. Deborah Schindler and Rachael Horovitz are executive producing. Murphy, repped by ICM, the Firm and attorney Patty Felker, will next be seen in the indie feature Spun. She was recently seen on the big screen opposite Eminem in the feature 8 Mile.
Just Married star Brittany Murphy will star in Revolution Studios' romantic comedy Little Black Book for which she will receive her highest payday to date, said to be about $4 million. The price tag is quite a jump from Murphy's last paycheck, which was just slightly more than $1 million to star in the upcoming MGM film Molly Gunn. A director is expected to come aboard shortly on Book, with production slated to begin in the summer. Written by Elisa Bell, Book finds Murphy starring as an associate producer for a daytime talk show who opens up a Pandora's Box when she goes into her boyfriend's Palm Pilot to learn more about his ex-girlfriends. However, she ends up learning much more about herself. Revolution partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas is producing the project with producers William Sherak and Jason Shuman of Blue Star Pictures. Deborah Schindler and Rachael Horovitz are executive producing. Murphy, repped by ICM, the Firm and attorney Patty Felker, will next be seen in the indie feature Spun. She was recently seen on the big screen opposite Eminem in the feature 8 Mile.
Hollywood's latest take on Cinderella finds Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes caught up romantically in a movie that acts like a late-'30s comedy of social classes. What contemporizes the old-fashioned tale is the emphasis on Lopez's ethnicity. While this does create a few tricky moments where the movie, directed by Wayne Wang, must dance around politically incorrect potholes, "Maid in Manhattan" has charm on its side: Lopez, looking stunning in Dolce & Gabbana creations, exudes warmth and sensuality; Fiennes tones his mannerisms down to convince you he is an affable American plutocrat; and Tyler Garcia Posey, as Lopez's precocious son, nearly steals the show.
As a romantic comedy, "Maid" pretty much has the holiday field to itself, so, along with Lopez's growing power at the boxoffice, this Revolution Studios entry should create nothing but smiles at Sony.
In a slight twist on his "Working Girl" screenplay, Kevin Wade positions Lopez's Marisa Ventura as a divorced mother living in the Bronx and working as a maid in a swank Manhattan hotel. Several eccentric guests check in, including Natasha Richardson's Caroline Lane, an unhappy socialite recently dumped by a louse, and Fiennes' Christopher Marshall, a state senator setting up headquarters in a campaign for his late father's seat in the U.S. Senate.
One day, Marisa must bring her son, Ty (Posey), to work. It gets more than a little contrived here, but at the exact moment Ty makes friends with the politician and needs to find his mom to ask if he can accompany Chris as he walks his dog, Marisa, in a lapse from her usual sound judgment, is slipping into one of Caroline's chic outfits at the urging of fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone in the Thelma Ritter role). So when Chris enters Caroline's suite with Ty and encounters gorgeous Marisa in a $5,000 wardrobe, he naturally assumes she is a guest. Once this mistaken identity is carefully established, the story can proceed with Chris' romantic pursuit of Marisa, the tabloid press' pursuit of this Mystery Woman in the senator's life and Marisa's game of deceit with hotel management that jeopardizes her hopes of a career in that business.
The material is thin, not only from wear over the movie decades but from the inability of Wade (working from a story by Edmond Dantes) to update the fairy tale. Making the maid a Latina is certainly realistic but never quite avoids the suggestion that upward mobility is best achieved through marriage into Anglo society. Lopez gets on a soapbox a couple of times to deliver proud-to-be-Latino speeches, but the fairy tale slipper fits awkwardly on the foot of reality during such moments.
The movie also miscalculates by insisting that the two wind up in bed under false pretenses, which reflects negatively on Lopez's character. Besides, how does a woman known to every employee in the hotel sneak past them all?
Wang nicely paces things so interludes between man, woman and cupid disguised as a boy from the Bronx have an easygoing naturalness. You believe everyone is falling in love with each other. There is fine character work in smaller roles too, especially Bob Hoskins as a precise yet paternal butler and Stanley Tucci as an overanxious campaign manager.
Karl Walter Lindenlaub's lensing sparkles with sharp focus and subtle lighting, turning Manhattan into an isle perhaps not as romanticized as Woody Allen's but nonetheless a great setting for romance. Jane Musky's sets and Albert Wolsky's costumes keep things real but not really real. And what a treat actually to see New York in a New York story rather than a northeastern Canadian city.
MAID IN MANHATTAN
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Red Om Films production
Credits:
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Kevin Wade
Story by: Edmond Dantes
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Charles Newirth, Benny Medina
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Jane Musky
Music: Alan Silvestri
Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
Editor: Craig McKay
Casting: Jonathan Strauss, Todd M. Thaler
Cast:
Marisa Ventura: Jennifer Lopez
Christopher Marshall: Ralph Fiennes
Caroline Lane
Natasha Richardson
Jerry Siegel: Stanley Tucci
Ty Ventura: Tyler Garcia Posey
Stephanie Kehoe: Marissa Matrone
Lionel Bloch: Bob Hoskins
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
As a romantic comedy, "Maid" pretty much has the holiday field to itself, so, along with Lopez's growing power at the boxoffice, this Revolution Studios entry should create nothing but smiles at Sony.
In a slight twist on his "Working Girl" screenplay, Kevin Wade positions Lopez's Marisa Ventura as a divorced mother living in the Bronx and working as a maid in a swank Manhattan hotel. Several eccentric guests check in, including Natasha Richardson's Caroline Lane, an unhappy socialite recently dumped by a louse, and Fiennes' Christopher Marshall, a state senator setting up headquarters in a campaign for his late father's seat in the U.S. Senate.
One day, Marisa must bring her son, Ty (Posey), to work. It gets more than a little contrived here, but at the exact moment Ty makes friends with the politician and needs to find his mom to ask if he can accompany Chris as he walks his dog, Marisa, in a lapse from her usual sound judgment, is slipping into one of Caroline's chic outfits at the urging of fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone in the Thelma Ritter role). So when Chris enters Caroline's suite with Ty and encounters gorgeous Marisa in a $5,000 wardrobe, he naturally assumes she is a guest. Once this mistaken identity is carefully established, the story can proceed with Chris' romantic pursuit of Marisa, the tabloid press' pursuit of this Mystery Woman in the senator's life and Marisa's game of deceit with hotel management that jeopardizes her hopes of a career in that business.
The material is thin, not only from wear over the movie decades but from the inability of Wade (working from a story by Edmond Dantes) to update the fairy tale. Making the maid a Latina is certainly realistic but never quite avoids the suggestion that upward mobility is best achieved through marriage into Anglo society. Lopez gets on a soapbox a couple of times to deliver proud-to-be-Latino speeches, but the fairy tale slipper fits awkwardly on the foot of reality during such moments.
The movie also miscalculates by insisting that the two wind up in bed under false pretenses, which reflects negatively on Lopez's character. Besides, how does a woman known to every employee in the hotel sneak past them all?
Wang nicely paces things so interludes between man, woman and cupid disguised as a boy from the Bronx have an easygoing naturalness. You believe everyone is falling in love with each other. There is fine character work in smaller roles too, especially Bob Hoskins as a precise yet paternal butler and Stanley Tucci as an overanxious campaign manager.
Karl Walter Lindenlaub's lensing sparkles with sharp focus and subtle lighting, turning Manhattan into an isle perhaps not as romanticized as Woody Allen's but nonetheless a great setting for romance. Jane Musky's sets and Albert Wolsky's costumes keep things real but not really real. And what a treat actually to see New York in a New York story rather than a northeastern Canadian city.
MAID IN MANHATTAN
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Red Om Films production
Credits:
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Kevin Wade
Story by: Edmond Dantes
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Charles Newirth, Benny Medina
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Jane Musky
Music: Alan Silvestri
Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
Editor: Craig McKay
Casting: Jonathan Strauss, Todd M. Thaler
Cast:
Marisa Ventura: Jennifer Lopez
Christopher Marshall: Ralph Fiennes
Caroline Lane
Natasha Richardson
Jerry Siegel: Stanley Tucci
Ty Ventura: Tyler Garcia Posey
Stephanie Kehoe: Marissa Matrone
Lionel Bloch: Bob Hoskins
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 12/2/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Maggie Gyllenhaal will grin for Revolution Studios and Julia Roberts' Shoelace Prods. in Mona Lisa Smile, the Roberts starrer set to bow in July. Julia Stiles and Kirsten Dunst also have recently joined the project, which will be produced by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler and Paul Schiff. Mike Newell is directing. Gyllenhaal will play Gilselle Levy, a native New Yorker and sultry beauty who has skipped adolescence and headed straight for "the 21 club." Set in 1953, "Smile" centers on a free-spirited graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (Roberts) who accepts a teaching post in the vastly different world of all-women's college Wellesley.
"How Stella Got Her Groove Back" surely has its niche among mature black females, but the spicy, touching romantic comedy about a 40-year-old black woman's midlife rut should win wider appeal among intelligent moviegoers burned out by car crashes, explosions and comets.
Adapted from Terry McMillan's ribald, heartfelt novel and starring Angela Bassett in the title role, "Stella"'s got plenty of style and brains. It's a sexier, sassier version of Hollywood's old-time romancers that surely will woo respectable end-of-summer boxoffice for 20th Century Fox. But the smart film's natural groove may be on the video circuit, where it will score heavily as a Saturday night rental.
Stella has everything -- great job, great kid, lots of money -- except a life. She's an overachiever, given to long hours at her investment job where she's making a tidy living and doing all the right things, from jogging to looking out for her sisters and friends.
But all the bucks and success have come with a price: She's divorced and hasn't had a date in ages. Available guys, to Stella's critical eye, are either duds or inappropriate. In short, she's a bit of a drudge and, undeniably, somewhat of a control freak.
Luckily, Stella is smart enough to have a crazy, more adventurous friend. Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) not only is her alter ego but is sassy enough to give Stella a kick in the butt to jump-start her dormant dating life. When Stella's young son (Michael J. Pagan) goes to visit his father for a week, Delilah convinces Stella to accompany her to Jamaica for some R&R. Namely, Delilah wants the repressed, overly disciplined Stella to sow some wild oats.
At first uptight and chilly, Stella soon warms to a young resort employee with the unlikely moniker Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs). He is educated, caring, good-looking and (yikes!) all of 20 years old. Winston is immediately attracted to Stella, who is flattered but cautious. Much to her amazement, Stella soon finds herself seeking out the young man and -- what did they put in those rum drinks? -- involved in a vacation romance. She finds herself laughing, cavorting and, wondrously, having fun -- great feelings she's long forgotten.
Fans of McMillan's novels will be pleased that her wickedly funny descriptions and raunchy, perceptive dialogue have been distilled marvelously in her and Ron Bass' sparkling, zesty screenplay. Unlike most summer movies, "Stella" is about people and their inner conflicts and personal obstacles: In Stella's case, it's about finding balance in her life, namely romance and professional satisfaction. Like anyone who's conscientious, she spends too much time trying to please others and fit societal norms.
Above all, Stella's battle is with herself, and it's a conflict we care about deeply in large part because of Bassett's spunky, delectable performance. While it's usually irrelevant to talk Oscars during the popcorn summer season, her spirited, ranging, juicy turn is very likely to earn a best actress nomination. Bassett is sensational: stewing, simmering, smoldering -- she takes us through all of Stella's complex, conflicted feelings.
The supporting players are well-chosen, particularly Goldberg, whose saucy turn as Stella's rambunctious sidekick is at once hilarious and heart-rending. As Stella's buttinski sisters, both Regina King as the irresponsible sibling and Suzzanne Douglas as the judgmental one are terrific. Pagan is winning as Stella's protective young son. In his feature film debut, Diggs is appropriately alluring and steady as Stella's young lover.
Special praise to director Kevin Rodney Sullivan, whose mature hand blends sexiness with smarts. Unlike many of today's romantic films whose sexy scenes are often cheesy and leeringly immature, "Stella" is wonderfully sensuous but never cheap. Admittedly, Sullivan's broad strokes sometimes get a little precious, but overall, the smart, good-hearted film sparks perfectly. And for us old-fashioned types, it climaxes in a great old-style, airport/romantic windup.
Technical contributions are scrumptiously alluring, including Jeffrey Jur's gloriously lush lensing and Chester Kaczenski's vividly telling production design. But the best technical groove goes to costume designer Ruth E. Carter for Bassett's splendid, peacock array of enticing finery. Move over superstar runway models, Bassett struts out the year's best fashion show.
HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK
20th Century Fox
A Deborah Schindler production
Producer: Deborah Schindler
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Screenwriters: Terry McMillan, Ron Bass
Based on a novel by: Terry McMillan
Executive producers: Ron Bass, Jennifer Ogden, Terry McMillan
Director of photography: Jeffrey Jur
Production designer: Chester Kaczenski
Editor: George Bowers
Music: Michel Colombier
Costume designer: Ruth E. Carter
Casting: Francine Maisler
Sound mixer: Susumu Tokunow
Color/stereo
Cast:
Stella: Angela Bassett
Delilah: Whoopi Goldberg
Winston: Taye Diggs
Vanessa: Regina King
Angela: Suzzanne Douglas
Quincy: Michael J. Pagan
Running time -- 125 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Adapted from Terry McMillan's ribald, heartfelt novel and starring Angela Bassett in the title role, "Stella"'s got plenty of style and brains. It's a sexier, sassier version of Hollywood's old-time romancers that surely will woo respectable end-of-summer boxoffice for 20th Century Fox. But the smart film's natural groove may be on the video circuit, where it will score heavily as a Saturday night rental.
Stella has everything -- great job, great kid, lots of money -- except a life. She's an overachiever, given to long hours at her investment job where she's making a tidy living and doing all the right things, from jogging to looking out for her sisters and friends.
But all the bucks and success have come with a price: She's divorced and hasn't had a date in ages. Available guys, to Stella's critical eye, are either duds or inappropriate. In short, she's a bit of a drudge and, undeniably, somewhat of a control freak.
Luckily, Stella is smart enough to have a crazy, more adventurous friend. Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) not only is her alter ego but is sassy enough to give Stella a kick in the butt to jump-start her dormant dating life. When Stella's young son (Michael J. Pagan) goes to visit his father for a week, Delilah convinces Stella to accompany her to Jamaica for some R&R. Namely, Delilah wants the repressed, overly disciplined Stella to sow some wild oats.
At first uptight and chilly, Stella soon warms to a young resort employee with the unlikely moniker Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs). He is educated, caring, good-looking and (yikes!) all of 20 years old. Winston is immediately attracted to Stella, who is flattered but cautious. Much to her amazement, Stella soon finds herself seeking out the young man and -- what did they put in those rum drinks? -- involved in a vacation romance. She finds herself laughing, cavorting and, wondrously, having fun -- great feelings she's long forgotten.
Fans of McMillan's novels will be pleased that her wickedly funny descriptions and raunchy, perceptive dialogue have been distilled marvelously in her and Ron Bass' sparkling, zesty screenplay. Unlike most summer movies, "Stella" is about people and their inner conflicts and personal obstacles: In Stella's case, it's about finding balance in her life, namely romance and professional satisfaction. Like anyone who's conscientious, she spends too much time trying to please others and fit societal norms.
Above all, Stella's battle is with herself, and it's a conflict we care about deeply in large part because of Bassett's spunky, delectable performance. While it's usually irrelevant to talk Oscars during the popcorn summer season, her spirited, ranging, juicy turn is very likely to earn a best actress nomination. Bassett is sensational: stewing, simmering, smoldering -- she takes us through all of Stella's complex, conflicted feelings.
The supporting players are well-chosen, particularly Goldberg, whose saucy turn as Stella's rambunctious sidekick is at once hilarious and heart-rending. As Stella's buttinski sisters, both Regina King as the irresponsible sibling and Suzzanne Douglas as the judgmental one are terrific. Pagan is winning as Stella's protective young son. In his feature film debut, Diggs is appropriately alluring and steady as Stella's young lover.
Special praise to director Kevin Rodney Sullivan, whose mature hand blends sexiness with smarts. Unlike many of today's romantic films whose sexy scenes are often cheesy and leeringly immature, "Stella" is wonderfully sensuous but never cheap. Admittedly, Sullivan's broad strokes sometimes get a little precious, but overall, the smart, good-hearted film sparks perfectly. And for us old-fashioned types, it climaxes in a great old-style, airport/romantic windup.
Technical contributions are scrumptiously alluring, including Jeffrey Jur's gloriously lush lensing and Chester Kaczenski's vividly telling production design. But the best technical groove goes to costume designer Ruth E. Carter for Bassett's splendid, peacock array of enticing finery. Move over superstar runway models, Bassett struts out the year's best fashion show.
HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK
20th Century Fox
A Deborah Schindler production
Producer: Deborah Schindler
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Screenwriters: Terry McMillan, Ron Bass
Based on a novel by: Terry McMillan
Executive producers: Ron Bass, Jennifer Ogden, Terry McMillan
Director of photography: Jeffrey Jur
Production designer: Chester Kaczenski
Editor: George Bowers
Music: Michel Colombier
Costume designer: Ruth E. Carter
Casting: Francine Maisler
Sound mixer: Susumu Tokunow
Color/stereo
Cast:
Stella: Angela Bassett
Delilah: Whoopi Goldberg
Winston: Taye Diggs
Vanessa: Regina King
Angela: Suzzanne Douglas
Quincy: Michael J. Pagan
Running time -- 125 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/10/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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