Week of « Prev | Next »
16 articles
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gets magic and romance right
16 July 2009 3:00 PM, PDT
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the most frenetic of J.K. Rowling's seven novels, splitting its time between madcap romantic hijinks, time-traveling exposition and dark action sequences for almost 700 pages.
It is rife with urgency, yet it is only one of two Potters in which the Dark Lord Voldemort does not make an appearance.
The task of creating a seamless film from the penultimate Potter seemed an impossible task, but screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates weaved through the romance, humor, back story, action and angst of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince like all-star Quidditch Chasers — and in doing so created the best Potter adaptation to date.
The real magic of the sixth film is that it feels both familiar and shockingly fresh.
The familiarity, of course, comes from the stellar cast whose willingness to stay together for eight movies is, frankly, something that may never be repeated.
(more)
stuntdouble
Martha Plimpton steps into "Grey’s" fancy elevator
16 July 2009 2:00 PM, PDT
Raise your hand if you have a crush on Martha Plimpton.
Wow — I didn’t even know that many people were here. For me, it started when she played Stef Steinbrenner in The Goonies, but only because I hadn’t seen The River Rat yet.
Really, who could resist a crush on a cute little baby dyke tomboy like Jonsy?
In fact, her tendency to get cast as the “wisecracking best friend” is what made her shift her focus to theater — a pretty good move, judging from her accolades. She’s been nominated for three Tony Awards: for The Coast of Utopia in 2007, Top Girls in 2008 and Pal Joey in 2009.
I’d give her an award for Outstanding Cuteness in this photo of Plimpton with her Pal Joey buds.
Fortunately, our favorite Martha hasn’t abandoned TV completely. We’ll get to see her in a multi-episode arc on Grey’s Anatomy next season.
(more)
thelinster
Alanis Morissette and Alicia Silverstone partner up to mock indie movies cliches
16 July 2009 1:00 PM, PDT
I'm not sure how they do it, but FunnyorDie.com seems to get just about every celeb on board for some kind of spoof. The geniuses who brought us Lindsay Lohan's fake eHarmony ad are at it again, this time reminding us all about Alicia Silverstone. Not to say we've all forgotten, but clearly, some Hollywood folks have (I mean, Beauty Shop was the last big movie she was involved in. And that was 2005.)
Silverstone stars with Alanis Morissette in My Mother's Red Hat, a faux indie film trailer that takes the two on a cross country road trip after Silverstone's mother dies, saying she needs to "find herself."
Naturally, her best friend (Morissette) agrees to go along with her. The trailer combines just about every indie film cliche, including the seemingly vague plot line, awkward characters, and outlandish driving montages including picking up a hitchhiker. Here it
(more)
jamie murnane
Greta Garbo's life and loves get the big screen treatment
16 July 2009 10:00 AM, PDT
Through her life, Greta Garbo was famously for saying she vanted to be alone. But even almost 20 years after her death, we just can’t seem to let her have her wish. With a life and career as rich and interesting as Garbo’s, how could we? Well now, a new film project will delve further into the private life of the screen icon.
Tapped to play the reclusive screen icon is relative unknown Swedish-born, New York-based actress Anna-Karin Eskilsson. She looks a little like Garbo and Padma Lakshmi had a love child, no?
Eskilsson has had small, largely cameo roles in films like The Wrestler (as a flirt in the supermarket) and Sex and the City movie (as one of Charlotte’s girlfriends). Before being tapped for the lead in the new biopic she was a bartender at the Empire State Building Bar. From cocktail slinger to screen icon,
(more)
dorothy snarker
Silvia dies on her wedding day on "Los Hombres de Paco"
16 July 2009 2:06 AM, PDT
On yesterday's season finale, the Spanish TV show Los Hombres de Paco (Paco's Men) killed off one-half of its very popular lesbian couple Silvia, played by Marián Aguilera, only a few hours after she was married to Pepa (Laura Sanchez).
I mentioned last week in an article that the wedding would turn violent, but I admit I didn't think Pepa or Silvia would be among the final body count. Four characters including Silvia were shot at the wedding, however, and Silvia died a sad, slow death in Pepa's arms. (Read a full recap of the finale here.)
There are rumors that Aguilera requested to leave the show (she has been with the cop drama for most of its eight seasons), but this hasn't been confirmed by the actress. Update: Aguilera confirmed it.
Theories abound as to why the writers chose to write her character off by killing her — from laziness,
(more)
sarahwarn
Amy Adams tells "Allure" she was "bamboozled" with a girl-on-girl kiss
15 July 2009 3:00 PM, PDT
I remember the first time I saw Amy Adams in a movie. She was among a cast of women who, at the time, were a little more well known in the amazing dark comedy, Drop Dead Gorgeous. (Should we now compare careers: Adams vs. Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley or Brittany Murphy? I still think Allison Janney and Ellen Barkin pull out ahead, though. Kirsten Dunst is wavering, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt she'll make a good career choice again soon.)
But back to Amy, whose career has taken off since she played the cheerleading-pageant-hopeful with a horny boyfriend in Ddg. Since then, she's been up for an Academy Award for playing a suspicious nun in Doubt, Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum 2, a crime-scene washing sister to Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning, and her newest part in Julie & Julia is alongside Doubt co-star and all-around actress-extraordinaire Meryl Streep.
(more)
Trish Bendix
Do angry lesbians do better at the box office?
15 July 2009 12:00 PM, PDT
In a new blog post for Variety, writer Anne Thompson asserts that "angry women make potent box office."
The success of a film at the box office is usually based on a combination of factors that only partially has to do with the actual content of the movie. These include the star power of the names attached, what kind of reviews and awards the film gets, and — most importantly — how much money and effort the studio/distributor puts into promoting the movie.
Drew Barrymore's Whip It is getting made, according to Thompson, "because of its potential appeal to several niches. It's an action movie with babes attached (think Charlie's Angels, Blue Crush). Some men might even show up."
But mainly, "it's an angry woman movie ... and Hollywood is often taken aback by how well angry women movies can do" and she lists Thelma & Louise, Nine to Five, Waiting to
(more)
sarahwarn
"Nurse Jackie" does lesbians right
15 July 2009 10:00 AM, PDT
We are happy to report that Swoosie Kurtz and Blythe Danner make a great couple.
This week’s episode of Nurse Jackie, “Tiny Bubbles,” was the one we told you about in which Kurtz and Danner played Dr. Cooper’s two moms and, as hoped, the Showtime hit did lesbians right.
The scene in which we meet the doctor’s moms is one of my favorites. “Vagina mom,” a.k.a. Coop’s birth mother (Danner), has just been rolled into the ER.
Bravo, indeed.
While the fact that the lesbian couple was treated like any other couple in the hospital is quite encouraging, that storyline was just a fraction of what made the episode memorable. The central story starred Judith Ivey as Paula, a former nurse in her last days with terminal cancer who returns to All Saints Hospital to ask Jackie to help her die.
The premise may
(more)
thelinster
Natalie Portman gets ready for some hammertime with "Thor"
15 July 2009 9:00 AM, PDT
Natalie Portman is going to be the God of Thunder’s girlfriend in the new live-action Thor movie. While I sit back and let you absorb the what the who? of this news, I have to say my first reaction was to grumble.
Look, I have nothing against Mr. Hammertime. Also, nice hat. But in the long list of female movie characters that annoy me, “superhero girlfriend” falls somewhere between “hooker with a heart of gold” and “sassy best friend.” While there is nothing wrong with them per se, they’re just clichés and lazy storytelling devices.
And more to the point, why is the actress always the superhero’s girlfriend? Why can’t she be the superhero? Why can’t they get female superheroes right? Oh, Wonder Woman movie, where are you?
The list of female superhero films is thin and largely inauspicious. Catwoman? This is no way to
(more)
dorothy snarker
Review of "Out of the Blue" ("La Surprise")
14 July 2009 7:52 PM, PDT
Out of the Blue (La Surprise) proves once again that the French do melodrama well. A heartfelt film about the complications and joys of finding love in unexpected places, the movie is a well-paced treat for fans of a good “kitchen sink” drama/romance.
Directed by Alain Tasma and written by Dominique Garnier, the film is currently making the rounds of the independent film festival circuit.
The drama begins in the very first scene, as we watch Marion (Mireille Perrier), an attractive middle-aged woman, leave her husband quite permanently instead of carry on with their evening plans.
Paul (Robin Renucci) is an unappreciative jerk from the get-go, though Marion's decision is complicated by the protests of their teenage daughter Justine (Chloé Coulloud), who doesn’t take the news well.
Marion herself is a high school drama teacher (Justine is even in her class), and she begins her single life with
(more)
danieller
Reiko Aylesworth cast as Ming-Na's life partner on "Stargate Universe"
14 July 2009 3:00 PM, PDT
With its October premiere date approaching, new info is starting to emerge about Stargate Universe, the Syfy channel's latest Stargate spinoff. Here's the official description of the show:
Sgu follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an ancient ship, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth.
Faced with meeting the most basic needs of food, water and air, the group must unlock the secrets of the ship's Stargate to survive. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them.
Yes, it sounds a lot like Star Trek Voyager, but since I liked that series, I'm not complaining (yet).
In April we reported that the series would include a leading lesbian character named Camille,
(more)
sarahwarn
Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva" looks promising after its premiere
14 July 2009 9:00 AM, PDT
Just when I thought the only reason to watch Lifetime was for reruns of my favorite made-for-tv movies starring Judith Light, Tracy Gold and Candace Cameron, they go ahead and give me Drop Dead Diva. Not only does bisexual comedian/actress Margaret Cho play a main supporting character, it also leaves that “feel-good” saccharine feeling in your mouth.
The show premiered Sunday night and was quite the departure from the episode of True Blood which I had just enjoyed. You will not find a Sookie Stackhouse or a Vampire Bill, but you will find dead people who are now in the house of the living. The story centers around two women — Deb, a vapid size 2 spokesmodel-wannabe and Jane, a plus-sized attorney who basically die on the same day at the same time.
Deb decides she’s not quite ready to kick the bucket so she messes with her gatekeeper’s
(more)
Stubbs
A bisexual mother and photographer adds to the gay on “Miami Social”
13 July 2009 2:00 PM, PDT
Though there are two openly gay men starting on Bravo’s upcoming reality show Miami Social, premiering tomorrow night, there is also a lady with some homosexual tendencies.
Some call her bisexual, others simply bi-curious, but blonde Russian bombshell and fashion photographer/mom Maria Lankina is not shy about her interest in ladies, saying, “Why discriminate against half the population?”
Bravo describes her as:
…a no-nonsense Russian bombshell who has taken Miami by storm. After moving to the city in 2005, it took her no time to make a mark on the scene, and only is seen at the chicest spots in South Beach. She currently works as an art director and freelance photographer after studying at the prestigious Miami Ad School, and has had the opportunity to travel the world for her job. She describes herself as "forward, rebellious and fiery," but is a passionate and devoted mom to 13-year-old Angelika.
(more)
alley hector
Maya Rudolph's "Hollywood mom" girl crush is not Angelina Jolie
13 July 2009 10:00 AM, PDT
Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph, best known for her outrageous impersonations of Donatella Versace and Oprah, talks gay marriage and girl crushes in the new issue of The Advocate.
Amongst talking about her role in Sam Mendes's new dramedy Away We Go, which is now playing in select theaters, Maya reminisces with the magazine about her involvement with FunnyorDie.com's Prop. 8: The Musical:
Filming that was an amazing experience because we got to put our anger into something fun and have this really beautiful day. I grew up in California, and I’m a proud Californian, but I was really offended and surprised at how many people feel differently [about marriage equality] than I do just in California alone. I was ashamed of my state.
The infamous Star Spangled Banner botcher tells the magazine that she's not surprised she has such a large gay fan base, because she feels like she's part of it,
(more)
jamie murnane
Jodie Foster sets her sights on "The Beaver"
13 July 2009 8:00 AM, PDT
True story, swear to god. Jodie Foster is directing a film called The Beaver.
Let’s all take a few moments to indulge our inner 12-year-olds. It’s Ok. If any normal, red-blooded lesbian tells you her mind didn’t go down to, um, the gutter when she read about this, she’s lying.
Better?
Reuters reports that Foster is negotiating to direct and costar in The Beaver, an offbeat film about a depressed toy manufacturer who wears a beaver puppet on his hand — and treats it like a real person. Mel Gibson will play the beaver-handed man, Walter Black. This will be the first time Gibson and Foster, who will play Walter’s wife, have costarred since Maverick.
The Beaver sounds like a pretty interesting film, actually. The script was at the top of the 2008 “Black List” of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood and both Steve Carell and
(more)
thelinster
Interview with Grace Park
12 July 2009 10:10 PM, PDT
Korean-Canadian actress Grace Park likes to keep things interesting. She got her start playing a teenage lesbian Christian in Canada, jumped into the international spotlight as a humanoid Cylon on Battlestar Galactica; and currently stars in A&E’s The Cleaner, a drama now in its second season about an unconventional team that gets addicts to hit rock bottom by any means necessary.
AfterEllen.com talked to Park about some of the extreme sports she enjoys, her very different acting roles, whether her race has been a barrier in her career, and working with The L Word's Mia Kirshner for this week's episode of The Cleaner.
AfterEllen.com: You’ve been known to get into some extreme sports. What extreme sports are you into?
Grace Park: Nothing too extreme anymore. I like shark baiting and I’ll cut down some trees, but while you’re on them and
(more)
Jim Halterman
16 articles
