The Silver Carpet

The Artist - Sigh

2011-12-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I have not posted to this blog for some time. Why? Because my film-going experience has, quite frankly, sucked this year. Between the remakes, sequels, and T&A aimed at passive drones and the multiplex incivility of youth and adults alike, I lost the passion. And then I saw The Artist.

This black and white, music-fuelled wordless homage to audience-pleasing films of yesteryear filled my heart to overflowing with its optimism and romance. I won't say more. Just know that The Artist, a deeply thoughtful French film that respects the art of filmmaking and the peculiar burdens of actors, is a cinematic pearl. Lead actor Jean Dujardin and composer (original music) Ludovic Bource deserve Academy Awards for the magic they concoct here. Thank you, writer-director Michel Hazanavicius, for caring enough to make the very best.

Miss Marple Discovered the Fountain of Youth

2011-04-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

Mere blog posts and tweets cannot adequately express the nausea I feel over the announcement that the American version of Agatha Christie's tweedy super sleuth Miss Marple will be played by... Jennifer Garner. Only a 50 year age difference there. As for critics' arguments that the beloved elderly character has rightly been contemporized, I remind them that elderly people are also contemporary, relevant, and fascinating to watch onscreen. I now eagerly await the US remake of Hercule Poirot, starring Justin Bieber.

Please Support Ian Caddell

2011-03-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ian Caddell, a great guy and Vancouver film writer notable for his celebrity interviews in the Georgia Straight, and his fabulously entertaining personality, is battling cancer of the larynx. He's a single dad with four sons and I've learned through Pacific Cinematheque and Doc BC that his finances have taken a hit as he weathers this physically and emotionally exhausting ordeal. If you are financially able, I urge you with all my heart to help Ian Caddell and his family so he can focus on getting well. Ian is a lovely man who gives generously of himself to others. It's our turn to help him.

A Trust Fund has been set up at Vancity Credit Union (Branch 2, Account 705285.) For those wishing to contribute, donations may be made at Vancity or via other inter-bank transfers.

For more information, please call Ron Harvey at 604-451-7335 or ron@reelwest.com or John Nicolls at 604-683-7454 or jnicolls@grossmanstanley.com

Goodbye, Dame Elizabeth

2011-03-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Academy Award-winning actress. Temptress. Activist. Glamorous philanthropist. Mother. Grandmother. Fiercely loyal friend. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, the London-born Hollywood superstar and genuine beauty, has died at age 79 from congestive heart failure. When I heard the news this morning, the picture that came immediately to mind was of an ecstatic Taylor in a joyous embrace with Richard Burton, the love of her life. I hope they are together again.

No One Took a Bite Out of this Tough Cookie

2011-03-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

By Michael Oldfield

Jane Russell, who died on February 28 at age 89, was one of the last of the World War II pin-up girls. Along with Lana Turner, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth, Russell's face and figure were proudly displayed on the walls of army barracks and on the noses of air force bombers. But, unlike the other glamour girls of the 1940's and 1950's, Jane Russell always gave a hard edge to her characters.

Every female Russell portrayed onscreen was a tough-talking babe with a cynical outlook who barely tolerated male advances. Every line of dialogue was delivered with a hint of a sneer on her gorgeous face. With Jane Russell, an actor didn't know whether he was going to get kissed or slugged!

There doesn't seem to be any record of just where this persona came from. Did some studio exec urge her to play the no-nonsense gal who didn't want to be messed with? Or was it her own idea to approach every role with this cold and remote exterior? Regardless of her frosty demeanour, there was no denying her sex appeal. Onscreen, the harder she pushed men away, the faster they came running back for more.

Her first movie, The Outlaw, was always Russell's most famous... or perhaps infamous. There are countless Hollywood legends about this film: how it was released in 1941, withdrawn because of its sexual content, and then released again in 1943; that Howard Hughes designed a special bra for her to wear in the film; that the scenes of Russell rolling around in the hay with actor Jack Buetel brought screams of outrage from all corners of society. In fact, the film is pretty tame, but the billboards and posters designed by Hughes and showing off Jane's assets are what really caused the stir and whipped up plenty of great publicity for the film. Today, the only thing notable about The Outlaw is that it gives a great lesson for movie makers in how to grab the public's interest long before they've even seen the film, that is, hype it for all it's worth and they'll be lined up at the box office.There is no bad publicity; there is only publicity.

Once The Outlaw established Russell as a major star, she was featured primarily in action films with stars like Robert Mitchum, Clark Gable and Jeff Chandler. Always, she was the unreachable femme fatale who rejected her beefy co-stars in scene after scene, but finally succumbed in the final reel. Even in comedies such as The Paleface from 1948, she sneered contemptuously at Bob Hope for being a weakling. Everyone in this film seems to be having a good time except for Jane, who plays a two-fisted, gun-toting desperado.

One year after being teamed with Marilyn Monroe in the musical, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in 1953, Russell was given the lead in another musical called The French Line. Wearing a one-piece bathing suit with large chunks cut out of it, Jane Russell was once again the centre of controversy as church groups and other offended people voiced their objections to this blatant display of sexuality on the screen. Needless to say, this clamour guaranteed long line-ups at the box office.

Despite being labelled as a pin-up or glamour girl, Russell's private life was free from the scandals that plagued other actresses. She became a devoted Christian and made recordings with a Hollywood gospel group.

After her final film in 1970, Russell continued to appear on television, in nightclubs and on Broadway. She also founded the World Adoption International Agency, which has helped with the adoptions of more than 40,000 children from overseas.

Jane Russell will definitely be remembered as not just another pretty face, but as an actress who had more in common with Barbara Stanwyck than Betty Grable. She was always the loner, the tough dame with a past who was not interested in any guy's sweet talk.

Despite the storms of controversy caused by the clothing she wore in The Outlaw and The French Line, Jane Russell was always interesting to watch on the screen. Not for her the role of the giggling purring sex kitten. I guess we can say... she did it her way.

Too Excited to Sleep

2011-02-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

Okay. It's that time of year again when I can't sleep properly because I'm so pumped about the Academy Awards. There are supposed to be 5 more sleeps until The Best Awards Show Ever In This Universe. I call it '5 more awakes'.

Instead of snoring deep in REM sleep, the thrilling realization that Colin Firth (The King's Speech) and Christian Bale (The Fighter) will at long last win Oscars (that they really earned for their riveting roles in 2009's A Single Man and 1987's Empire of the Sun, respectively) has me beside myself with excitement. What if this? What if that?

Will these superstars thank their beaming wives while the orchestra bullies them offstage? Will they openly wipe away tears of joy, relief, and exhaustion? Will they pretend their noses are itchy and scratch them during their acceptance speeches to mask their emotions? Or will they be manly men, lowering their voices a notch, and making groaners to hide the tsunami of ecstasy swelling up inside their tuxes?

Mock my words, if you will. But you know winning an Oscar means more to actors than banging Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem at the same time in a king-sized feather bed overlooking the Mediterranean. Quite simply, winning an Academy Award means the honoree can now drop dead on a Libyan film set as soon as March, with his or her legacy, if not limbs, intact.

I can't wait to see how pregnant Natalie Portman is on Sunday night. And will True Grit's annoying Hailee Steinfeld remain all aww-shucks cutesy-pie when Melissa Leo or Helena Bonham Carter's name is called in the Best Supporting Actress category?

For the life of me, I can't foresee which film will win Best Picture. Sure, everyone's falling over their crumpets with praise for The King's Speech. I think it's just a clever marketing campaign. If that royal flick wins, it's only because William and Kate are tying the knot this year and it's a nice movie & monarchs tie-in. I got more of a rush from The Social Network and Black Swan. Why can't one of them win? We'll see. If I can keep my eyes open by then.

Pain at the Multiplex

2011-02-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

Most people were doing the red, white, and pink carnation boogie with their honeybunnys on Valentine's Day. Not moi.

Fighting a post-New York cold, and gnawing on a Rice Krispie marshmallow treat, I bundled up against the super soaker rain and went to Cineplex Tinseltown for a double header: Derek Cianfrance's Blue Valentine (starring Oscar nominee Michelle Williams) and Denis Villeneuve's (and Canada's) Academy Award Foreign Film Nominee, Incendies. Oy!

Both are splendid films for completely different reasons. But between the two of them, I witnessed enough dead animals, murdered children, rape, thrashings, childbirth scenes, abortion scenes, and senseless, unending desolation to last a LIFETIME.

It's screenings like those, however, that make me grateful for, oh, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and the boys. Those lovable kooks are the simple sorbets that cleanse our cinematic palates before we relish the next rich, exotic entree. The veteran filmgoer needs and appreciates all flavours.

I Was in New York Watching this Man

2011-02-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

If you wondered why my blog seemed dead in the last while, I apologize. I was in New York, soaking up the energy and, mainly, gorging on fabulous theatre.

My primary reason for hitting the Big Apple in the dead of winter was to catch acting legend Al Pacino onstage as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

The Public Theater's production of the William Shakespeare drama started life in New York's Central Park this past summer, moved to Broadway for the fall, intended to close on January 9, but was extended to February 20 after a short hiatus (so Pacino could work on his film with Adam Sandler and attend the Golden Globes, etc.) So I could not wait another second. Hey, the man's 70 years old, and I'm not getting any younger. Since seeing The Bucket List, I've developed an inability to wait for the best things in life. Who knew that one of the best things in life would be an Italian thespian posing as a Jewish moneylender?

For any doubters, know this: Al Pacino is not just an Oscar-winning movie star who took a detour to Broadway and fancies himself a stage actor. The man is the real deal. To watch Pacino in complete control of his craft was the theatrical experience of my life, and I've seen a lot of theatre. His Shylock's vulnerability and menace tore at my heart and guts. Pacino's spittle flew through the air in his rages ("If you prick us, do we not bleed?") His deliberate silences left holes on the stage and alarmed the other actors into action. A better review than mine is in The Hollywood Reporter here.

There's a rumour that this production might transfer to London, England later this year. If you can get there to see it...do it!

Is This the Face of an Oscar Winner?

2011-01-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

There was an upset at last night's 63rd Annual Directors Guild Awards. Brit Tom Hooper [right] nabbed the top prize for THE KING's SPEECH, shocking those who were sure THE SOCIAL NETWORK's David Fincher would take the honour.

Hooper's win guarantees him and his heartfelt royal flick front-runner status for the Achievement in Directing and Best Picture Academy Awards next month.

Fincher still stands an Oscar chance, of course, but history shows that since 1948, the DGA's Best Director has gone on to win the Academy Award all but six times.

It does feel like a funny year though, where anything could happen. At this point I personally wouldn't rule out Darren Aronofsky walking away with the directing Oscar for BLACK SWAN. But in the meantime, congratulations, Mr. Hooper!

Fresh off his DGA win in Los Angeles, Hooper will zip up the coast to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. There, he'll join his THE KING'S SPEECH stars Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush to receive the glitzy fest's Ensemble Award. The celebration, on Monday, January 31, will be part of fellow Oscar nominee Rush's solo Montecito Award tribute. Do you want to congratulate them all in person? Click here to purchase tickets.

SUNDANCE WINNERS

2011-01-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

Imagine how exhilarating it would be to win a prize at Robert Redford's world-renowned Sundance Film Festival. Whatever direction your career should soar, shuffle, or spiral in from that glorious moment, the memory of your name being called out on a snowy Utah night would be an irrevocable thrill. When Sundance wrapped this weekend, the following individuals were welcomed to the club of authentic, passionate filmmakers and performers to keep an eye on:

Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize:

Like Crazy, directed by Drake Doremus.

Winner of the World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Documentary Film:

Position Among the Stars (Stand van de Sterren), directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich (Netherlands)

(Investigates the effects of globalization on Indonesia’s rapidly changing society)

Winner of the World Cinema Cinematography Award for Documentary Filmmaking:

Hell and Back Again, cinematography by Danfung Dennis (U.S.A./U.K.)
(Told through the eyes of a Marine serving in Afghanistan and his distressing rehabilitation.)

Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Editing Award:

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, edited by Goran Hugo Olsson and Hanna Lejonqvist, and directed by Goran Hugo Olsson. (Sweden/U.S.A.)
(Swedish journalists chronicled the Black Power movement in America.)

Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award:

Project Nim, directed by James Marsh (U.K.)
(About Nim, the chimpanzee who was taught to communicate with sign language.)

Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in Documentary:Hell and Back Again, directed by Danfung Dennis (U.K./U.S.A.)
(See above for description.)

Winner of the World Cinema Special Jury Prize, Dramatic, for Breakout Performances:
Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan for Tyrannosaur (U.K.)
(About a man plagued by rage who gets a shot at redemption through a Christian charity shop worker.)

Winner of the World Cinema Cinematography Award, Dramatic:
All Your Dead Ones, cinematography by Diego F. Jimenez (Colombia)
(About a peasant who wakes to find a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops.)

Winner of the World Cinema Screenwriting Award, Dramatic:

Restoration, written by Erez Kav-El (Israel)
(An antique furniture restorer struggles to keep his workshop alive with the help of a young and mysterious apprentice.)

Winner of the World Cinema Directing Award, Dramatic:

Tyrannosaur, directed by Paddy Considine (U.K.)

Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic:

Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig), directed by Anne Sewitsky (Norway)
(A perfect housewife has a rocky, sexless marriage that sends her next door to explore sexual fulfillment.)

Winner of the Best of NEXT! Audience Award:

to.get.her, directed by Erica Dunton

Winner of the World Cinema Audience Award for Documentary Film:

Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia (U.K.)

Winner of the World Cinema Audience Award for Dramatic Film:

Kinyarwanda, directed by Alrick Brown (U.S.A./Rwanda)

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Competition Audience Award, presented by Acura:

Buck, directed by Cindy Meehl.

Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Competition Audience Award, presented by Acura:

Circumstance, directed by Maryam Keshavarz

Winner of the Special Jury Prize, U.S. Documentary Competition:

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, directed by Constance Marks

Winner of the Special Jury Prize, U.S. Dramatic Competition:

Felicity Jones for her performance in Like Crazy.

Winner of the Excellence in Cinematography Award, U.S. Documentary Competition:

The Redemption of General Butt Naked, cinematography by Eric Strauss, Ryan Hill and Peter Hutchens.

Winner of the Excellence in Cinematography Award, U.S. Dramatic Competition:

Pariah, cinematography by Bradford Young.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize, U.S. Dramatic Competition:

Another Earth, directed by Mike Cahill and Brit Marling.

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Editing Award:

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, edited by Matthew Hamachek and Marshall Curry.

Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award:

Another Happy Day, written and directed by Sam Levinson

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Competition Directing Award:

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, directed by Jon Foy

Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Competition Directing Award:

Martha Marcy May Marlene, directed by Sean Durkin

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize:

How to Die in Oregon, directed by Peter D. Richardson

Ta Da! And the Oscar Nominees Are...

2011-01-25T06:47:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the moment we've been waiting for, for one entire year. Sorry for the delay. The Internet was wild this morning. The nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards are:

BEST PICTURE

127 Hours
Black Swan

The Fighter
Inception

The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech

The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - True Grit
David Fincher - The Social Network

Tom Hooper - The King's Speech

David O. Russell - The Fighter

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right

Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem - Biutiful

Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech

James Franco - 127 Hours

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale - The Fighter

John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams - The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Melissa Leo - The Fighter

Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo

Waste Land

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Biutiful - Mexico
Dogtooth - Greece
In a Better World - Denmark
Incendies - Canada
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) - Algeria

The above are my favourite categories. For all the thrilling details of the make-up, sound, editing, and other important nominations, please click here: http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/83/nominees.html

The Academy Awards will air on Sunday, February 27th.

MY DREAM OSCAR NOMINEES

2011-01-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

Nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 25 at 5:38:30 am PT. Revealing the thrilling news will be Oscar winner Mo'Nique (Precious) and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences president Tom Sherak.

Every year, there are the obvious nominees. This year, that would be Colin Firth, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Natalie Portman, and anything to do with The Social Network.

If we're very lucky, however, there will also be what normal people call "surprise" nominations. Because I spend more hours in multiplexes each year than Roberto Luongo spends in net, I'm never surprised, just gratified. It's exhilarating seeing credit being given where it's due. By that, I mean recognition for highly deserving but lesser known individuals who, when you bleat about their fabulousness, have your friends asking, "Who?!"

This year, the following actors deserve to be rewarded with an Oscar nomination, if not a win, even though many film fans don't have a clue who they are:

Paul Giamatti

Best Actor

(Barney's Version)

Noomi Rapace

Best Actress

(Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, et al)

Jennifer Lawrence

Best Actress

(Winter's Bone)

John Hawkes

Best Supporting Actor

(Winter's Bone)

Vincent Cassells

Best Supporting Actor

(Black Swan)

Our Long-Awaited Golden Globes Autopsy

2011-01-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

The party of the year has wrapped! Maddeningly, the Golden Globes weren't as exhilarating as usual. Nobody was obviously hammered. There was no mooning of the audience by mischievous Hollywood legends. Eye daggers were not thrown from seething starlets in the peanut gallery at their prettier peers onstage. The stars seemed mellow.

Worse, more than one pompous British ass (Read: Ricky Gervais and Alexa Chung) thought they were more fabulous than the show itself.

When does incorrigibility become bullying? Well, how about when you rush right out of the gate and verbally attack Charlie Sheen before you've properly welcomed the assembled glamourpusses? Ricky Gervais did that. Out of the blue and with no Sheen in sight--Sheen wasn't nominated this year--Gervais's comments were out of place and vicious-for-viciousness' sake--just like his pointless potshots at Hugh Hefner. I almost bit through my tongue when he went on to slam the cast of The Tourist when stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp were sitting front and centre.

Far, far worse, however, were Gervais's ungrateful snipes at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, whose event this is. Robert De Niro also mocked the foreign journalists when stumbling through his Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech. Boys, let me remind you, if nobody else dare because you're too 'big' to sit still and listen: it's dreadful, dreadful manners to insult the one who invited you to dinner and a show. You accepted the invitation. Shut your pie holes and be gracious. And don't let me see you there again.

You stay home next year too, Alexa Chung. The British pre-show red carpet interviewer was clearly revelling in cracking herself up. Too bad nobody had tuned in to see her.

"Everybody's favourite nobody!" was how Chung enthusiastically described Glee's uncomfortable Matthew Morrison. That was shortly after she "knighted" Alec Baldwin, with an English-are-superior-to-dumb-grateful-Americans attitude. Baldwin, the bigger person, graciously played along so Chung didn't look a complete tool.

It was hard to know what was worse: when Chung accused Justin Bieber of doing "a bum touch" on her, but didn't offer a word of reaction to The Most Popular Boy in the Universe's shocking (and flattering) new haircut, or when she asked Glee's Jane Lynch if she'd slept with Brad Pitt. Note to Alexa: Jane's a married lesbian. We were left with the feeling that Chung hadn't done her homework properly.

And who picked out her prudish schoolmarm dress? I'm guessing Modern Family's sly Sofia Vergara. Next to Chung's Olive Oyl couture, Vergara's brothel madam get-up made the proud Latina look even more mammarianly mountainous than normal, if that's possible. (An aside: did you see how a desperate-looking Vergara was straining to see Al Pacino when he was announced as winner for You Don't Know Jack? Man, does that chick want him. Oh, sure, she's publicly and chastely said she wants Pacino to play her father on Modern Family. We're thinking it's more a case of wanting to play Who's Your Daddy? with the Oscar-winning legend. Anyway, Mr. Pacino has a gorgous young girlfriend that he loves dearly. So back off, Vergara.)

Here are some other moments we found particularly memorable:

FASHION TREND - SHAGGY FACES

Sporting the fuzz were failed host Ricky Gervais, Golden Globe-winning supporting actor Christian Bale (The Fighter), superb actor and recovered addict Robert Downy Jr., laid back Hugh Laurie, devilish Johnny Depp, and cancer survivor (yay!) Michael C. Hall. And what's with Jeff Bridges? He shaved off his Crazy Heart/True Grit beard a few months back but it's back.You're better clean-shaven, Dude. You've got nothing to hide.

BEST DRESSED

Natalie Portman. Wearing a peach and silver Viktor & Rolf gown whose red rose adornment bloomed like her own wee pregnant belly and matched her red lippy, the radiant Best Actress winner glowed like a real movie star. Her silver necklace and impeccable updo completed the perfect classy-looking package.

WORST DRESSED

Maybe it's just my new HD television, but Sandra "I'm not dating Ryan Reynolds" Bullock, looked messy, hard, and even a little mean in scary black eyeliner peering out from under a heavy new dark fringe. Her above-neck goth look clashed with her neck-down peach and silver Jenny Packham gown girly look. And was it Botox, or the presence of Reynolds' ex Scarlett Johansson, immobilizing her face? Whichever, our beloved Bullock appeared strained and unhappy. Get well soon.

SURPRISES:

Justin Bieber calmly sported a new shaggy bangs haircut, all the better to show off his attractive young features, and wore purple 3D eyelasses on the red carpet. Was it just me, or did he really refer to himself as the president? I love that he's a bit of a kook.The kid's got it all.

Keith Urban, Mr. Nicole Kidman, is a Little Person. Yes, I know the towering Academy Award winning actress would be a worthy contender if they were casting for the role of Godzilla in the next re-make, but her country star hubby is still shockingly small. Nicely packaged though.

Christian Bale, who speaks "American" in his movies, was speaking with his normal English accent. Catherine Zeta Jones, who's Welsh, was speaking with an American accent. So how come only Renee Zellweger gets credit for talking differently in her flicks?

When caught on camera, The Fighter stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale looked like they lost their erections when Melissa Leo was named best supporting actress for their film. I guess they were up for their other, younger, prettier co-star Amy Adams to snag the prize.

Robert De Niro struggled to keep up with the teleprompter. Watching him try to read it properly throughout his Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech was as cringe-making as listening to The Social Network's Andrew Garfield try repeatedly to pronounce the tongue twister, "inspiringly". But DeNiro? Seriously.

Annette Bening's short but feisty hair appeared to be exploding out of her head into every corner of the auditorium. It rivalled even Al Pacino's 4" high, teased tumbleweed.

Aaron Sorkin, winner for best screenplay (The Social Network) thanked his assistant. That's got to be a first. Good on him.

Christine Aguilera's enormous breast implants. Didn't she used to be flat like me? Jesus H. Christ. The girl looked ready to tip over before she reached her table. I would have loved to have seen her and Sofia Vergara try to pass one another between tables. Especially if they were both making a beeline for Al Pacino.

On the red carpet, Robert Downey Jr. kept looking nervously at his female companion while he was talking, as if for reassurance that what he was saying was permitted, or correct. Is she his svengali? Is Robert in need of rescue? Robert! If you need help, call me!

MEMORABLE QUOTES

"The tumour is gone and this type of cancer doesn't normally come back." --Michael Douglas, on the red carpet prior to the show.

“There’s gotta be an easier way to get a standing ovation.”--Michael Douglas, onstage to present an award.

“Girls, we know how old you are. I saw one of you in an episode of Bonanza, for God’s sake.”--Ricky Gervais about the Sex and the City 2 cast. [This means we know how old you are too, Richard.]

"I love you darling. This one's for you"--Christian Bale, looking into the camera and speaking to his daughter after winning the best supporting actor Golden Globe.

“Were you two even born when the first Toy Story came out?"--Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich to category presenters Hailee Steinfeld and Justin Bieber. [For the record, 1994 baby Beiber was. Steinfeld, born in 1996, was not.]

“Seems like everything this year was in 3D, except the characters in The Tourist.”--Ricky Gervais

“I don’t know if an actress can do her best work until I've slept with her…Julianne."--Robert Downey Jr., introducing the Best Actress--Musical or Comedy award. [Corrected from my earlier slight misquote. Sorry.]

“I’m so glad you’re the boss of me”—Katey Sagal, winner of Best Actress, TV Series--Drama (Sons of Anarchy), to husband Kurt Sutter, the show's creator.

“Honey, look around. Smart girls have more fun. You’re one of them”--Motion Picture screenplay winner Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network), to his daughter during his acceptance speech.

"Our first presenter is beautiful, talented and Jewish, apparently”--Ricky Gervais, introducing Scarlett Johansson and making a face.

“I salute the great nation of Canada” – Paul Giametti, winner of Best Actor in a Motion Picture--Comedy or Musical.

AW-W-W MOMENTS

The prolonged Standing O for Michael Douglas, who looked hale and hearty after months of treatment for throat cancer.

Proud papa Joe Mantegna, damp-eyed when stunning daughter Gia Mantegna was introduced as Miss Golden Globes 2011. Joe's tearing up didn't have a bead on Paul Sorvino’s blubbering when daughter Mira won the Oscar years ago, but his obvious emotion was still very nice indeed.

Angelina Jolie conscientiously adjusting Brad Pitt’s bowtie, while he sat without fidgeting. Later, Angie resting her head on Brad’s shoulder as they watched the show.

When accepting her Best Actress Award, The Kids Are All Right actress Annette Bening thanked the 1962 winner of the most promising actor Golden Globe--her husband Warren Beatty. In the audience, Beatty looked tickled pink.

Presenter Kaley Cuoco, crying, clapping, and barely containing herself when her The Big Bang Theory co-star Jim Parsons won the award for Best Actor in a TV Series--Musical or Comedy. Something you're not telling us, Kaley?

Temple Grandin jubilantly hugging Claire Danes tightly when the actress won for portraying her autistic trailblazer in the TV movie Temple Grandin.

COUPLE WHO COULD ONLY WORK IN THE MOVIES

Presenters Geoffrey Rush, eccentric in a black hat and dark round glasses, taking the stage with the androgynous, concave, otherwordly Tilda Swinton. You would really only find these two in acting, wouldn’t you? I mean, you wouldn’t pop over to the finance department at work to be reimbursed and find them totting up receipts. Or competing in speedskating at the Olympics. Or teaching social studies. Rush and Swinton, brilliant actors both, and super weird to look at, were lucky to find the craft.

And we're damn lucky to have all of the above entertaining us. Until next year. Good night!

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS!!!

2011-01-16T17:22:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, this year's Golden Globe Award winners are:

Film

Best Picture
THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama
COLIN FIRTH (The King's Speech)

Best Motion Picture--Comedy or Musical
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama
NATALIE PORTMAN (Black Swan)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

PAUL GIAMETTI (Barney's Version)

Best Director
DAVID FINCHER (The Social Network)

Cecil B. DeMille Award

ROBERT DE NIRO

Best Supporting Actress

MELISSA LEO (The Fighter)

Best Foreign Language Film
IN A BETTER WORLD (Denmark)

Best Screenplay

AARON SORKIN (The Social Network)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
ANNETTE BENING (The Kids Are All Right)

Best Animated Feature Film
TOY STORY 3

Best Original Score

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

Best Original Song

YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME (by Diane Warren, Burlesque)

Best Supporting Actor

CHRISTIAN BALE (The Fighter)

Television

Best TV Series--Comedy or Musical
GLEE

Best Actor, TV Series--Comedy or Musical
JIM PARSONS (The Big Bang Theory)

Best Actress, TV Series--Comedy or Musical
LAURA LINNEY (The Big C)

Best Supporting Actress, TV Series, Mini Series or TV Movie
JANE LYNCH (Glee)

Best Actress, Mini Series or TV Movie
CLAIRE DANES (Temple Grandin)

Best Actor, Mini Series or TV Movie

AL PACINO (You Don't Know Jack)

Best TV Series--Drama

BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Best Actor, TV Series--Drama

STEVE BUSCEMI (Boardwalk Empire)

Best Actress, TV Series--Drama

KATEY SAGAL (Sons of Anarchy)

Best Supporting Actor, TV Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie
CHRIS COLFER (Glee)

Best Mini-Series or TV Movie

CARLOS

GOLDEN GLOBES

2011-01-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

In a few moments, the Golden Globes red carpet preview show will kick off on CTV channel 9 (in Vancouver). I'll be tuning out until after the show, after which I'll post all the highlights and lowlights from the wild and woolly awards fest. And oh, I'm rooting for Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale above all other comers.

David Berner Gets Down to Business. Again. Finally.

2011-01-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

From the Most Excellent News Department, I've today received word from veteran broadcaster David Berner, announcing his newest venture. The journalist, actor, and Renaissance Man dropped a line letting us know that early this year he is launching a half-hour, weekly public affairs television program on Shaw TV Cable 4.

Called, simply, "David Berner", the show will take the format of erstwhile PBS interview program, "Charlie Rose". As host, David will converse with one or two guests about the week's major headline story.

I can't tell you how relieved I am to know that Berner, a "bullshit-free zone" of a man, who is also the executive director of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada, will be tackling front page issues. Someone has to, given that many local TV programs change their focus so quickly from hard news to sushi segments and exercise "how to" clips featuring traffic girl glutes.

The "David Berner" show starts taping January 20th. The first air date is yet to be confirmed. I'll let you know as soon as I learn more.

Farewell to the Stars

2010-12-31T20:03:00.000-08:00

By Michael Oldfield

As we say goodbye to the year 2010, we also say goodbye to some of the more notable personalities who passed away this year:

Pernell Roberts (left), who played Adam Cartwright, the oldest son on "Bonanza".

British character actor Ian Carmichael, best known for his role in "I'm All Right Jack".

Peter Graves, brother of James Arness who played Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke". Graves was best known for his roles in the TV series "Mission Impossible", the film "Airplane" and for hosting numerous TV documentaries.

Fess Parker, once known to every kid in America and Canada as "Davy Crockett".

Robert Culp (right), who starred in "I Spy".

John Forsythe, who starred in several TV series before making a big splash in "Dynasty".

Gene Kiniski, who billed himself as "Canada's Greatest Wrestler".

Lynn Redgrave, who starred in "Georgy Girl" and numerous other films.

Lena Horne (above), singer and actress, best known for singing "Stormy Weather".

Art Linkletter, who hosted the TV show, "Kids Say The Darndest Things".

Dennis Hopper (left), rebellious actor-writer-director who made his name in "Easy Rider".

Rue McClanahan, who starred in "Maude" and "The Golden Girls"

Jimmy Dean, the country singer who created his own brand of sausages.

Mitch Miller, the head man at Columbia Records for many years who brought about innovations in the pop music of the 1950's, made a star out of Rosemary Clooney and many others. He also had a hit record with "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and starred in TV's "Sing Along With Mitch".

Patricia Neal (left), who won as Oscar for "Hud", but is best remembered for her role in "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

Eddie Fisher, pop singer of the 1950's who ended his career by divorcing Debbie Reynolds and marrying Elizabeth Taylor. He was the father of Carrie Fisher of "Star Wars" fame.

Tony Curtis, pretty boy star of the 1950's who proved he could really act in such films as "The Sweet Smell Of Success" and "The Defiant Ones". He was married to actress Janet Leigh. Jamie Lee Curtis is their daughter.

Barbara Billingsley, who played the mother, June Cleaver, on "Leave It To Beaver".

Tom Bosley, who played the father on "Happy Days".

James MacArthur (right). In our opinion, truly one of the world's worst actors! After appearing in several Walt Disney films, he wound up playing Danno on "Hawaii Five-O". He was the son of actress Helen Hayes, proving that the apple sometimes falls very far from the tree.

Blake Edwards, husband of Julie Andrews and best known for reviving Peter Sellers' career by directing him in the "Pink Panther" series.

Leslie Nielsen, who played straight dramatic roles for over thirty years but did a complete reversal with his comic portrayal of the doctor in "Airplane" and as Lt. Frank Drebin in the "Naked Gun" films.

Harold Gould (right), character actor who portrayed the father of Rhoda in the sitcom of the same name and co-starred as one of the confidence tricksters in "The Sting".

Don Meredith (left), who quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys for many years in the 1960's and then co-anchored Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell.

and finally...

Radio announcer Fred Foy from WLS Chicago. For those of us who can remember huddling around the radio at 7 p.m. back in the late 1940's and early 1950's, his voice sent a tingle up our spines as we heard... "A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty 'Hi Ho, Silver!' The Lone Ranger!" Followed, of course, by the opening strains of The William Tell Overture.

May they all rest in peace for the many wonderful moments and memories they gave to all of us.

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2010

2010-12-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

In movie land, 2010 was the year of the thriller.

Marvellously, it also boasted a bumper crop of excellent roles, both tough and tender, for women.

Here, in alphabetical order, are our ten favourite movies of 2010:

1. Black Swan

2. Chloe

3. The Ghost Writer
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

5. The King's Speech

6. Mao's Last Dancer

7. Remember Me

8. The Secret in their Eyes

9. Shutter Island
10. The Social Network

**Honourable mention goes to THE INFIDEL, which I saw at the Vancouver International Film Festival, but will not be released until 2011.

Now, bring on 2011!

RHYMES WITH GRIT

2010-12-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

Save your money. TRUE GRIT is excruciating. If you go to movies wanting someone to identify with or root for, know this before you buy your ticket: there is not a single likable character in the lot.

Jeff Bridges, last heard dueting with the Cookie Monster on "SNL" and eloquently shilling Hyundai Sonata's "14-step electro charged paint roto dip", was so garbled he cried out for sub-titles. A cute drunk? Hardly. I wanted to smack his pickled Rooster Cogburn until he puked up an intelligible sentence.

Teenybopper Hailee Steinfeld was the opposite--the braided, pouty chick incarnation of the officious Mr. Peabody. Had I been an extra on the flick, I'd have broken rank and strung up her annoying, pompous brat from the highest branch of the tallest tree in the first half hour.

I'm not even going to get into how unbelievably creepy it was that writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen so often shot the teenage Steinfeld in close-up with parted lips. It was as if they were inviting the adult male gaze to imagine... She was 13 then, gentlemen. THIRTEEN.

Matt Damon, verging on likable as a Texas Ranger, was unfortunately played for a fool, the way the bullies at school try to make the normal, nice kid seem like he's weird and wrong.

At a loss for human kinship, I rooted for the horses. Big mistake. Let's just say those with a deep love of all things equine would be wise to avoid TRUE GRIT. Rent SECRETARIAT or SEABISCUIT for happy endings.

On the plus side, there is no fear whatsoever that Bridges will use GRIT to snag the Oscar away from Colin Firth this year as he did last.

My New Year Wishes for the Stars

2010-12-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

2011 is upon us. The Silver Carpet wishes you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. May you have the courage to reach for your dreams and the strength to live your reality in the meantime. And may you have good hair days all year long.

Movie stars are, ultimately, just people. For a select few I wish specific things:

For Michael Douglas, who has been battling Stage 4 cancer and endured chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I wish renewed and lasting health. I also wish an early parole and successful rehabilitation for his incarcerated son Cameron and joy for their whole reunited family...while Kirk Douglas is alive.

For Colin Firth, robbed of an Oscar last year for A SINGLE MAN, I wish the Academy Award for Performance by a Leading Actor for his anguished turn as Britain's King George VI in THE KING'S SPEECH.

For Sandra Bullock, humiliated by skanky husband Jesse James, I wish a suitor who is hunky enough to make her feel girly, decent and kind enough to be a good role model and trusted caretaker for her wee son Louis, and possessed of sufficient cojones to stand tall in the face of her success. Is Forest Whitaker still married or...?

For Annette Bening, I wish a genuine smile that reaches her eyes. Gal's cold. Her THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT persona seems like her true character, at least to me. I met Mrs. Warren Beatty when she was doing interviews for Edward Zwick's THE SIEGE all the way back in 1998. I still haven't been able to get warm.

For Roger Durling, the passionate, brilliant and sentimental artistic director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, I wish a continued spirit of wonder that infuses his festival with joy and optimism and laughter.

For Channing Tatum, so capable of greatness in film (See: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints), I wish a critically acclaimed blockbuster that will vindicate his supporters. If it's THE SON OF NO ONE, in which he co-stars with Pacino, even better. The flick will close Sundance next month, and that's something. Hey, the young man taught me hip hop in a San Francisco hotel room. He's a peach. And he can act.

For Al Pacino, currently knocking theatregoers' socks off with his fabulously reviewed Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" on Broadway, I wish an equally stunning film performance that puts him back in the Oscar race and on critics' top 10 lists in 2011.

For Antonio Banderas, I wish a jawdropping comeback in a major motion picture that showcases his serious, even menacing, side and cements his reputation as an excellent actor. Javier who? No more kids' films for Banderas. No goofy action flicks. And while we're at it, I also wish Melanie Griffith the role of a lifetime so these two lovebirds can soar once again. I dig 'em.

For Chiwetol Ejiofor, I wish a torrid, scandalous Hollywood affair with a deserving A-list actress that will shock even jaded industry insiders. Our generation never had a Frank and Ava. I want one.

And finally, for myself, I wish the opportunity to interview or otherwise have a conversation with Al Pacino. It's not asking the moon.

Happy 2011, everyone!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Cutest Thing Ever: The Two Dudes

2010-12-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, the sound's a bit scratchy at the beginning of this clip, but stick with it. It's worth it.

Whatever bright light thought of teaming cuddly and irascible old hippie Jeff Bridges with cuddly and irascible old muppet Cookie Monster on a "Silver Bells" duet has earned him- or herself a place in Dude heaven. They're bigger than the chocolate and peant butter merger. I actually hugged myself while watching the feelgood performance on last night's SNL, which Bridges hosted. The boys are that adorable. My faith in this wicked old world has been restored.

Al Pacino's "Merchant" in London? I Die.

2010-12-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

Al Pacino. Shakespeare. London. It would be the trifecta of theatrical fabulousness. So exquisite would be the melding of America's greatest actor with the world's greater writer in the world's greatest city that my heart catches in my throat at the mere prospect.

The UK's Daily Mail online is reporting that the producer of Pacino's hugely successful Broadway production of "Merchant of Venice", is in talks with British theatre powerhouse Sir Cameron Mackintosh ("Cats", Miss Saigon", "Les Miserables") to transport the New York Public Theatre's version of the play across the pond later in 2011 to the Gielgud Theatre. First, though, the New York producers want the Oscar-winning legend to extend his run in that show, which is scheduled to close on January 8, 2011. For purely selfish reasons (read: broke at Christmas), I need Mr. Pacino to say "yes" to one or the other plan. Or both. It will be the only way I, and countless other devoted fans of theatre and The Godfather (parts I & II), can experience the play.

If anyone needs me to do anything--cry, scream, beg, whip up Mr. Pacino the perfect espresso or give him a fig-vanilla cream foot massage-- to assist their efforts to keep this play running, I trust they will call.

Golden Globe Nominees

2010-12-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Nominees for the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning.

There are eight, count them, EIGHT big surprises here for me:

1. No nomination for A-list movie star Leonardo DiCaprio, who fronted two of 2010's best films, INCEPTION and SHUTTER ISLAND (the latter being totally shut out).

2. No nomination for major talent Mark Ruffalo. Given his superb supporting performances in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT and INCEPTION, it's a definite snub. Who took his place? Sentimental favourite and cancer battler, Michael Douglas, for WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS.

3. No nomination whatsoever for the mighty CONVICTION, despite Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, and Juliette Lewis all contributing powerhouse performances. No worries. At least one of them will be nominated for an Oscar next month.

4. No nomination for Michael Caine in HARRY BROWN. Earlier this year, there was Oscar buzz surrounding the Brit's magnificent turn as a vengeful Londoner. Now? He's been pushed aside for Mark Wahlberg in THE FIGHTER. I hope it's not ageism spurring the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in a bid for younger viewers.

5. No nomination for Jeff Bridges in TRUE GRIT. WTF? You'll never convince me Jesse Eisenberg and James Franco are better than this dude. No way.

6. No nomination for FAIR GAME, starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn.

7. No supporting actress nomination for Amanda Seyfried as the deceitful vixen in the thriller CHLOE.

8. Recognition for Angelina Jolie, nominated for THE TOURIST. Yes, the bombshell can act when required to do so. She has an Oscar in her pocket for yesteryear's GIRL, INTERRUPTED. But in this so-so flick, Jolie's Herculean contribution was to sit still in the make-up chair every morning to have 10 layers of chocolate eye shadow and spidery lashes applied before hitting the set to pose dramatically against romantic Venetian backdrops. And who lost out because Brad's Femme Fatale got the nod? No one. There were not that many strong female performances in the Comedy/Musical category. It would have been nice to recognize Cher for BURLESQUE, perhaps. But the Hollywood Foreign Press is rumoured to nominate those stars they want to party with, so take from the nomination what you will.

Totally anticipated and thrilling was that BLACK SWAN's Natalie Portman was nominated, despite some catty reviews she received locally. (Apparently, in this age of Sluttyannas, female vulnerability has yet to come back in fashion. Or perhaps it's unrecognizable now.) Even though it disgusts me that Portman was allegedly involved with Sean Penn while he was married to Robin Wright, there's no denying this woman's acting talent.

In SWAN, Portman roils with anguish, passion, fear, and ambition. From the second this tremulous beauty appears onscreen and until the closing credits, your heart bleeds for her struggle as a ballerina striving for perfection. The gifted Harvard grad (in real life) is also one of the most genuinely attractive actresses out there. At times in SWAN, she resembled Audrey Hepburn...but better. Prepare your Oscar speech as well as your Golden Globes speech, Ms. Portman

Speaking of beautiful people, equally thrilling but not surprising in the least was Colin Firth's nomination for THE KING'S SPEECH, which bested the other films with 7 nominations. This lovely, previously underestimated acting king will win the Golden Globe and the Oscar too this time out. It's about time.

The 68th Annual Golden Globes will air on Sunday, January 16th.

A Seriously Funny Man

2010-11-29T17:54:00.000-08:00

By Michael Oldfield

It is actually quite amazing that Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen, who died on November 28th at age 84, is now remembered as one of the great comic actors of our time. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, the son of an RCMP constable, Leslie and his older brother Erik grew up on the Canadian Prairies and in the far north. Leslie later recounted on television that his father has been quite abusive, both verbally and physically, to his wife and two sons. Erik Nielsen would later become a Conservative MP for the Yukon for many years and would serve as Deputy Prime Minister under Brian Mulroney. Leslie himself would be awarded the Order of Canada.

After serving in the RCAF during the war, Leslie studied at Lorne Greene's radio school and worked as an announcer and disc jockey before winning a scholarship to a New York acting school. Television's early days gave him an opportunity to show off his dramatic acting skills in numerous live TV dramas. In the mid-1950's, he moved to Hollywood and had leading roles in Tammy and the Bachelor and The Vagabond King. One of his better films during this period was the cult sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet.

In all of these films, he would portray the square-jawed, broad-shouldered hero. In the 1960's, he was continually busy with television roles in Peyton Place, Wagon Train, The Fugitive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Virginian, The Swamp Fox for Walt Disney and was even offered the role of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke, which he turned down.

His dramatic work in television continued to thrive in the 1970's and he appeared in such series as M*A*S*H, Hawaii Five-O, Columbo, Cannon, and Kojak.

As usual, his roles were those of the no-nonsense heroic type or perhaps a surgeon, district attorney, or power-hungry business tycoon. He continued to do films, playing the doomed captain in The Poseidon Adventure (pictured below), but his days as the stalwart hero were numbered.

His career would start to swing in a totally different direction when, in 1980, producers Jim Abrahams along with David and Jerry Zucker cast him as a doctor in that greatest spoof of all airline disaster films, Airplane! Leslie Nielsen along with co-stars Peter Graves, Robert Stack and Lloyd Bridges took their hilariously funny roles deadly seriously and made this film a classic. One of Neilsen's lines in response to the question "Surely you can't be serious?" was to reply with absolutely no emotion, "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley!" It remains one of the great comedic catch phrases of all time.

In 1982, Abrahams and the Zucker brothers cast him as the lead in a short-lived TV series called Police Squad. Although it only lasted for six episodes, the producers knew they were on to something good and in 1988 came the feature film, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The film did so well at the box office that it spawned several follow-ups starring the totally inept Lt. Frank Drebin played, as no one else could have played him, by Leslie Nielsen.

Unlike the hysterical frantic screen antics of Jerry Lewis or Adam Sandler, Nielsen’s Drebin is totally unfazed and deadpan to all that is happening around him. He is completely unaware of the disasters and utter mayhem that he causes. It is also interesting to note that one of Nielsen’s co-stars in the Naked Gun series was none other than O. J. Simpson, who also delivered some great slapstick scenes. Some critics complained that Nielsen had sold out by forsaking dramatic roles for this madcap comedy. He disagreed. "I've finally found my home as Lieutenant Frank Drebin," he told the Associated Press in a 1988 interview.

Nielsen insisted that comedy was what he wanted to do all along. Those who were familiar with his practical jokes on movie sets also agreed that this was a true clown who was forced to don the mask of tragedy in serious roles.

Once his talent for making people laugh was revealed, Nielsen appeared in numerous films in which he could ply his comedy skills. These included Spy Hard and the Mel Brooks' classic, Dracula: Dead and Loving It in which Nielsen appeared as the batty Transylvanian with an appetite for blood.

Those of us who enjoyed all of Leslie Niesen's onscreen bumblings can be very thankful that Jim Abrahams and the Zuckers saw something in this performer that no other producers ever had.

They saw that beneath that veneer of serious, admirable, take-charge leaders there beat the heart of a very funny man. Television performer Art Carney once said, "If you can make people laugh, they will love you forever." Well, Leslie Nielsen did…and we will.

"Dark Shadows", Bright Casting Choices

2010-11-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

DARK SHADOWS is a casting director's dream. At least, I'm having way too much fun thinking about who could play the lead characters.

Johnny Depp is already on board to play vampire Barnabas Collins in Tim Burton's big screen version of the '60s & '70s spooky soap opera. He's no Jonathan Frid, who originated the role, but Depp can inhabit anyone, anywhere, anytime and be convincing. You know this already.

I'm more concerned about whom will play the other main characters--gorgeous werewolf Quentin Collins and stunning witch villainess Angelique. You could unimaginatively slot George Clooney and Angelina Jolie in those roles with little kvetching from Hollywood bigwigs. If I may be so vain, my ideas are much more exciting.

Picture it: Antonio Banderas, in sideburns and maintaining a macho gravity he's rarely allowed to display, as Quentin; and Rachel McAdams, all cascading blonde hair, poollike eyes and mysterious smiles, as Angelique. I'd pay big bucks to see that trio.

Happiest Picture on Earth

2010-11-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

Wishing Michael Douglas a continued recovery and a long life of happiness and good health with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and their children. Here, they celebrate the end of Michael's chemotherapy treatments with a trip to Disney World in Florida.

And Then There Were 15

2010-11-23T17:38:00.000-08:00

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has whittled down the Oscar competition in the Documentary Feature category from 101 to 15 films:

“Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” Alex Gibney, director (ES Productions LLC)
“Enemies of the People,” Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
“Exit through the Gift Shop,” Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
"Gasland,” Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
“Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould,” Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
“Inside Job,” Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
“The Lottery,” Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
“Precious Life,” Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
“Quest for Honor,” Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
“Restrepo,” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
“This Way of Life,” Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films)
“The Tillman Story,” Amir Bar-Lev, director (Passion Pictures/Axis Films)
“Waiting for ‘Superman’”, Davis Guggenheim, director (Electric Kinney Films)
“Waste Land,” Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)
“William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe,” Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, directors (Disturbing the Universe LLC)

My vote goes to INSIDE JOB, which got raves at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The movie analyzes 2008's global financial crisis.

The REAL Sexiest Man Alive

2010-11-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Not to disparage the ripped physique and dewy skin of Vancouver's well-mannered Ryan Reynolds, but in my humble opinion, People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive title rightly belongs to SALT's Chiwetol Ejiofor.

The London-born thespian, winner of numerous theatre awards, is not only as hot as poolside asphalt on a 104 degree Vegas afternoon, he can act rings around most of the hairless Ken dolls that pass for male leads nowadays. Don't believe me? Check out Ejiofor's work in Salt, Dirty Pretty Things, Inside Man, American Gangster and Love Actually. [Okay, that last one is pure fluff. But I defy you to watch Ejiofor all chuffed in a suit when he marries Keira Knightley...and not die a little inside that you didn't meet him first.]

Someone give Ejiofor a leading role. Soon. With Russell Crowe getting fat, Denzel Washington embracing shlocky train flicks, and George Clooney acting like Gary Cooper struggling to emerge from Cary Grant, viewers need a new manly man onscreen. Leave cuddly Reynolds to the Tiger Beat generation.

Most Terrifying Bad Guy of 2010

2010-11-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

He is genetically wired to feel no pain. He's as solid as Mt. Seymour. He kills anyone, anywhere, without blinking. (Yes, even that nice guy down by the river who sweetly offers the big galut a sandwich.)

He's German criminal Ronald Niedermann, and when this silent, hulking blonde giant marches slowly and steadily towards his targets in The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, he's wa-a-ay creepier than Hannibal Lecter. You can reason with a loquacious cannibal.

With cold-blooded dope Ronald Niedermann, Swedish author Stiegg Larsson has created a movie monster as impervious to his victims' emotions as a pea-brained dinosaur. Physically, Niedermann (played by Micke Spreitz) resembles the Rocky Horror Picture Show's gorgeous golden Rocky all grown up if, that is, Rocky had had a psychological break and become possessed by Satan in his early twenties.

I'd like to see a film built entirely around Niedermann. Anyone?

The Plame Game

2010-11-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Naomi Watts is getting better with age. In my view, her performance as 'outed' CIA covert agent Valerie Plame in the true thriller FAIR GAME establishes the 42-year-old as an A-list actor to be reckoned with at awards season and in casting decisions. Remember that, starlets. One minute you're ice skating in Central Park with a pussywhipped King Kong and the next you can be shooting daggers across a study at Academy Award winner Sean Penn, a reputed big ape of another sort. Watts also worked with Penn in THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON and 21 GRAMS, the latter role earning her a first Oscar nomination. Will gold dust kick up around her again?

Watts used to annoy me. In almost every film, she parted her lips (think Julianne Moore) and stared at the audience with doe eyes. To be fair, it was likely directors commanding her into that helpless and stupid-looking ingenue mode. But FAIR GAME's director is Doug Liman, who made MR. & MRS. SMITH. He appreciates women can be more than pliant man toys, so Watts is no bimbo here.

In her new film, Watts is compelling and believable as the CIA operative whose identity is deliberately leaked by the Bush administration and announced by reporter Bob Novak, which endangers Plame's sources, her family, and her own life. The true-life events unfoldng onscreen are astonishing. Watts's credibility in the film is too.

Academy Award Foreign Film Submissions

2010-10-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, January 25th, we will know what foreign films are in the running for an Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards. At this point, there are 65 hopefuls whose countries will be breathing a little shallower with anticipation for the next three months, when the field is whittled to five.

I see that the Vancouver International Film Festival's Canadian winner INCENDIES, by director Denis Villeneuve, is Canada's favoured flick. It's a little odd that England is not represented. My bet is that Mexico's BIUTIFUL, by soulful director Alejandro González-Iñárritu and starring leading actor Oscar nominee shoo-in Javier Bardem, will scoop the prize. Unless Chile gets the popular vote... Here's the full list of entrants:

Albania, “East, West, East,” Gjergj Xhuvani, director;
Algeria, “Hors la Loi” (“Outside the Law”), Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, “Carancho,” Pablo Trapero, director;
Austria, “La Pivellina,” Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, directors;
Azerbaijan, “The Precinct,” Ilgar Safat, director;
Bangladesh, “Third Person Singular Number,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director;
Belgium, “Illegal,” Olivier Masset-Depasse, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Circus Columbia,” Danis Tanovic, director;
Brazil, “Lula, the Son of Brazil,” Fabio Barreto, director;
Bulgaria, “Eastern Plays,” Kamen Kalev, director;
Canada, “Incendies,” Denis Villeneuve, director;
Chile, “The Life of Fish,” Matias Bize, director;
China, “Aftershock,” Feng Xiaogang, director;
Colombia, “Crab Trap,” Oscar Ruiz Navia, director;
Costa Rica, “Of Love and Other Demons,” Hilda Hidalgo, director;
Croatia, “The Blacks,” Goran Devic and Zvonimir Juric, directors;
Czech Republic, “Kawasaki’s Rose,” Jan Hrebejk, director;
Denmark, “In a Better World,” Susanne Bier, director;
Egypt, “Messages from the Sea,” Daoud Abdel Sayed, director;
Estonia, “The Temptation of St. Tony,” Veiko Ounpuu, director;
Ethiopia, “The Athlete,” Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew, directors;
Finland, “Steam of Life,” Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen, directors;
France, “Of Gods and Men,” Xavier Beauvois, director;
Georgia, “Street Days,” Levan Koguashvili, director;
Germany, “When We Leave,” Feo Aladag, director;
Greece, “Dogtooth,” Yorgos Lanthimos, director;
Greenland, “Nuummioq,” Otto Rosing and Torben Bech, directors;
Hong Kong, “Echoes of the Rainbow,” Alex Law, director;
Hungary, “Bibliotheque Pascal,” Szabolcs Hajdu, director;
Iceland, “Mamma Gogo,” Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, director;
India, “Peepli [Live],” Anusha Rizvi, director;
Indonesia, “How Funny (Our Country Is),” Deddy Mizwar, director;
Iran, “Farewell Baghdad,” Mehdi Naderi, director;
Iraq, “Son of Babylon,” Mohamed Al-Daradji, director;
Israel, “The Human Resources Manager,” Eran Riklis, director;
Italy, “La Prima Cosa Bella” (“The First Beautiful Thing”), Paolo Virzi, director;
Japan, “Confessions,” Tetsuya Nakashima, director;
Kazakhstan, “Strayed,” Akan Satayev, director;
Korea, “A Barefoot Dream,” Tae-kyun Kim, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “The Light Thief,” Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Latvia, “Hong Kong Confidential,” Maris Martinsons, director;
Macedonia, “Mothers,” Milcho Manchevski, director;
Mexico, “Biutiful,” Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director;
Netherlands, “Tirza,” Rudolf van den Berg, director;
Nicaragua, “La Yuma,” Florence Jaugey, director;
Norway, “The Angel,” Margreth Olin, director;
Peru, “Undertow” (“Contracorriente”), Javier Fuentes-Leon, director;
Philippines, “Noy,” Dondon S. Santos and Rodel Nacianceno, directors;
Poland, “All That I Love,” Jacek Borcuch, director;
Portugal, “To Die Like a Man,” Joao Pedro Rodrigues, director;
Puerto Rico, “Miente” (“Lie”), Rafael Mercado, director;
Romania, “If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle,” Florin Serban, director;
Russia, “The Edge,” Alexey Uchitel, director;
Serbia, “Besa,” Srdjan Karanovic, director;
Slovakia, “Hranica” (“The Border”), Jaroslav Vojtek, director;
Slovenia, “9:06,” Igor Sterk, director;
South Africa, “Life, above All,” Oliver Schmitz, director;
Spain, “Tambien la Lluvia” (“Even the Rain”), Iciar Bollain, director;
Sweden, “Simple Simon,” Andreas Ohman, director;
Switzerland, “La Petite Chambre,” Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond, directors;
Taiwan, “Monga,” Chen-zer Niu, director;
Thailand, “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul, director;
Turkey, “Bal” (“Honey”), Semih Kaplanoglu, director;
Uruguay, “La Vida Util,” Federico Veiroj, director;
Venezuela, “Hermano,” Marcel Rasquin, director.

The 83rd Academy Awards will take place on February 27, 2011.

First Nations Come First

2010-10-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver International Film Festival has wrapped for another year. I won't miss the constant admonishments (the "no outside coffee!" signs; the incessant finger wagging about cell phones; the 5 times one is asked to show her ticket between Granville Street and the theatre seat). I won't miss being told I'm being photographed against my will when I'm filling out a film ballot. What's with all the hidden cameras? Is nothing private anymore?

What I will miss are the genuinely great films. My favourite this year was THE INFIDEL. It didn't make it to the winners' circle. Here, though, is the list of Audience awards, which I trust far more than the accolades bestowed on the 'best' movies as chosen by the film elite:

VIFF Most Popular Canadian Film Award: Two Indians Talking

DIR. SARA MCINTRYRE (British Columbia)

Two Indians Talking is director Sara McIntyre’s original take on the relationship of two first nations cousins. Watch for exploding stereotypes and some great performances by Nathaniel Arcand and Justin Rain. [Synopsis by VIFF.]

Other Audience Award winners:

Rogers People’s Choice Award

WASTE LAND
DIR. LUCY WALKER (US/Brazil)

VIFF Most Popular Nonfiction Film Award

KINSHASA SYMPHONY
DIR. Claus Wischmann
Martin Baer (Germany)

National Film Board of Canada’s Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award

LEAVE THEM LAUGHING

VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award

FORCE OF NATURE: THE DAVID SUZUKI MOVIE
DIR. STURLA GUNNARSSON, (Canada/British Columbia

Vancouver Heroes

2010-10-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's not often I get goose bumps when sitting in a movie theatre. It happened on Monday. I'd gone to see a Woody Allen flick, but that's not the film that moved me. It was two previews before the featured attraction that took my breath away. Each heralded a documentary about a Vancouver man who has sweated bullets to change our world for the better.

HEART OF A DRAGON is the movie about Rick Hansen's life and profoundly inspiring Man in Motion World Tour. I first met Mr. Hansen in the '80s when I worked at Sport BC and he was involved with wheelchair sports. It was there he became the first person ever to explain to me that it was necessary for there to be sufficient room between the desks to let a wheelchair pass through. When he pointed it out to me, gently, I was stunned. I hadn't had a freaking clue about stuff like that then. No one did. He's an educator, that Rick. Look how things have changed since he wheeled around the world.

Many years later, I took a temporary position at the Rick Hansen Foundation, where I met him for a second time. Again, I came away from the encounter feeling like anything is possible. Rick Hansen is not only inspiring; he's down to earth and friendly. He makes you feel like the most important person in the room. He cares about people. He's unique. See his film. It opens on October 29th at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas. (It previews on Sunday, October 17th at 10:0 am at The Park.) The more people who appreciate Rick's successful efforts to inform the world about spinal cord injuries (SCI), provide assistance to individuals with SCI, and raise money to find a cure for SCI, the better.

Value added: Rick's buddy Don Alder, who recently blew them away Stateside to win Guitar Player magazine's Guitar Superstar competition, contributed some guitar works to the film.

As mischievous as Hansen is serious is David Suzuki, the subject of FORCE OF NATURE. In the film, the locally-based, internationally-noted scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a lecture that, he says, is "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die". Add this sure-to-be profound film to that naked photo of a 70-something Suzuki that made the rounds a while back and we'll surely not meet his sort of character very often in our lifetimes. FORCE OF NATURE opens on October 15th at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas.

David Suzuki and Rick Hansen. You've done Vancouver and the world proud. Thank you.

Only in the Movies. Pity.

2010-10-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

A friend recently proposed that the reason I am not married is because, being an avid filmgoer, I have been waiting for "movie" love. Nice try. It's movie sex I want, actually. Don't laugh.

Have you ever watched Marlon Brandon, in On the Waterfront, pound up the stairs, crash through the door, and make out with a very willing Eva Marie Saint against the wall? The shocked neighbours must have been green with envy for weeks. Try being satisfied with a real kiss goodnight from a timid suitor or overworked boyfriend after viewing that more than once. It's not easy.

Or how about Maria Bello playing cheerleader for enthralled hubby Viggo Mortensen and, later, the two of them thrashing around on the staircase in A History of Violence? And when Michael Douglas and Glenn Close steamed up an old, mechanical lift to the point of practically rusting it out in Fatal Attraction, I was jealous...of the elevator. The problem with these searing scenes is, of course, that the mutual passion depicted therein is as addictive to women as porn is to men. Reality can be depressing by comparison.

I'd wager that most women are lying when they say all they want is a bunch of daisies proffered by a hairless lover who later ties on an apron and cooks them fettucine. We're programmed to say that. What we really want is to be Unfaithful's Diane Lane, all scabby knees and bared midriff, and our partner to be a shaggy Oliver Martinez, complete with juicy lips and French accent.

Let's have more movies depicting raging passion between consenting, unashamed adults. It might be the only chance many have to experience mutual sparks on such an intense level.

Oh My, Omid

2010-10-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

A star is born. Omid Djalili is poised to become hugely famous thanks to the delightfully scandalous new British comedy The Infidel. His success is marvellous. He's gifted and deserves it. But where oh where has this burly, hairy Iranian comedy god been all my 100+-films-a-year life?

His fans could have told me that the 45-year-old London born Djalili is a stand-up comedian who first tasted theatrical success at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It was there, in 1995, that he starred in "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son", followed by "The Arab and the Jew" in 1996. Missed them both.

And, again, where was I when Djalili did 22 episodes of the Whoopi sitcom? The man also snuck past me playing a slave trader in Gladiator, an uncredited coffee shop cashier in Notting Hill, and Mr. Safir in Sex and the City 2, to name just a few of his film credits. Worse, he was the voice of a tiger in Over the Hedge, a movie I actually did the junket for in Los Angeles. Have I been in a coma? Honestly, coming across Djalili as late as October 2010 feels a little like being the last cheerleader to sleep with the quarterback. Not that I'd really know anything about that.

In director Josh Appignanesi's The Infidel, which is playing to packed houses at the Vancouver International Film Festival (they've added extra screenings), Djalili had the audience in stitches with his outrageous turn as Mahmoud Nasir, a less-than-observant Muslim who discovers he is adopted and Jewish. Hilarity ensues, with enough bar mitzvahs and burkas to please everybody. Well, almost. Note: there were many Jewish audience members at the screening I attended, but no obvious followers of Islam. Sad, that, and perhaps worthy of another blog post, but not by a Caucasian Anglican female, lest I unintentionally offend.

Suffice to say that Djalili's ability to suffer a major onscreen identity crisis as both a Muslim and a Jewish middle-aged male is the stuff this jaded filmgoer's dreams are made of. If only I'd woken up to his talent sooner.

Leave the Sexy to George Clooney

2010-10-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone else get the heebie jeebies watching Conan O'Brien writhing around to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me"? in promos for his new late night TV show? I've got nothing against talk show hosts. I've got nothing against sexy rock songs. But for the love of Mike--please don't put them together. This isn't a Reece's peanut butter cup moment. It's a car wreck. The expression, "Never the twain shall meet" was invented for a reason. It's bad enough that icky lip licker David Letterman has long fancied himself an irresistible gift to all women. And I nearly fainted when I saw Jay Leno with what looked suspiciously like a peachy-pink, spa-resurfaced face when he reappeared after his hiatus. But sexing up Conan, even comically? I may cancel my cable right after I throw up.

VIFF Wants Your Money. Oh, and Enjoy the Show!

2010-10-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking there's a direct correlation between the empty seats at all but one of the VIFF screenings I've been at this year and the pre-show pitch for audience members to donate to the film organization. While the dwindling audience situation is unfortunate, the latter action is inappropriate. Who the hell wants to pay to attend a party and, once there, be asked to pull out her wallet again? But that's what the VIFF's devoted, green T-shirted volunteers obediently do to captive film fans before every film. I have a better idea.

Why don't organizers at least pretend that the VIFF is about the audience's enjoyment? The Santa Barbara International Film Festival manages to do that. If it's money the VIFF needs, why not simply slap up posters around all the theatres noting the VIFF's donation URL? The organizers could also include information on the back of the tickets about ways to donate. Or how about launching a fundraising campaign at festival's end, when film fans are on a high? Invite a legendary movie star to town, then call up Vancouver's rich people and tell them for $15,000 they can sit down for an Umberto dinner and live performance by Michael Buble in the company of say, Elizabeth Taylor or Al Pacino or someone who's not Gordon Pinsent. It would be a darn good idea if the VIFF would also tell us why exactly they need our cash. Is this info somewhere and I've missed it? Is the money needed to rent the Park Theatre or retain VIFF's excellent programming staff? Or is it to continue paying that over-educated, high-price employee or cover the cost of taking that cute assistant along to Cannes 2011? Perhaps our hard-earned dollars are needed to keep ticket costs at $12.00, which is still the same as Cineplex charges year round. Oh wait. The volunteers keep saying the sponsors' deep pockets keep ticket prices down. "Or you'd be paying $48 for this film!", we're admonished. I thought I even heard one volunteer tsk as she informed us of this.

In the end, it's sad enough to have genuinely impoverished people asking us for money on Granville Mall while we wait in line to see the film. It's a real party pooper to find the well-manicured hands out once we've settled in with our popcorn.

Tony Curtis: Not Just a Pretty Face

2010-09-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

By Michael Oldfield

Actor Tony Curtis, who died today at 85, began life as Bernie Schwartz in the Bronx section of New York in 1925. After running around with a notorious street gang, he took some acting classes and, following his naval service in World War Two, appeared in off-Broadway productions, finally landing a contract with Universal Studios in Hollywood.

Thanks mostly to his good looks, young Anthony Curtis, as he was then known, drew bags of fan mail and within two years had become a star. However, his handsome face was the only thing that casting directors could see and he wound up in a string of films in the early 1950’s such as The Prince Who Was a Thief, Son of Ali Baba and The Black Shield of Falworth. In these films, he was required to look dashing and dazzle the ladies with his smile, but not deliver much in the way of meaningful dialogue or dramatic scenes. Impersonators on "The Ed Sullivan Show" had a standard ploy for mimicking Curtis; they would point far off into the distance and, in a thick Bronx accent declare… “Yonder lies da castle of my fatha!”

Tired of being typecast as a pretty boy, Curtis slowly broadened his range and in 1957 got the sort of role that actors dream about. He was to play slimy Sidney Falco in Alexander Mackendrick’s The Sweet Smell of Success. Falco is a two-bit press agent and the fawning lapdog of ruthless Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker, played by Burt Lancaster, who can make or break anyone’s showbiz or political career with a just a few words of praise or damnation. Curtis had pestered Burt Lancaster for this role and since the two of them had scored big at the box office in Trapeze the year earlier, Lancaster said “O.K.”. Playwright Clifford Odets, who had been brought in by producers Hecht, Hill and Lancaster to beef up the script, gave Curtis some sound advice on how to play the role. In Odet's opinion, Sidney Falco was a nervous bundle of energy who is convinced that if he lets up for a second, the world will pass him by. He told Curtis, “Don’t be still with Sidney. Don’t ever let Sidney sit down comfortably. I want Sidney constantly moving, like an animal, never quite sure who’s behind him.” Curtis followed this advice and delivered one of the best screen performances of his career. Regrettably, the film did not do well at the box office yet is now considered a classic.

In 1958, with a make-up job that gave him an entirely different nose and non-pretty boy looks, he played the white escaped convict chained to Sidney Poiter's black escaped convict in Stanley Kramer’s The Defiant Ones. The racial tensions beginning to fester all over America in that era definitely helped to lift this film out of the usual collection of Hollywood dramas. Both Curtis and Poitier were nominated for Academy Awards, but the votes on Oscar night did not go their way.

Now well regarded as a first-rate actor, Tony Curtis could pick his roles. He chose to swing between dramatic and comedic roles…everything from the dashing, dapper heroic Leslie in The Great Race, the native American Indian Ira Hayes who had helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima, in a film called The Outsider, to the sinister killer with the polite manners in The Boston Strangler.

The fan magazines of the 1950’s were filled with stories of the “perfect marriage” of Tony Curtis and actress Janet Leigh and their daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis. However, by the 1970’s, his good movie roles became fewer and fewer and Curtis slipped into the twilight world of drugs and depression. He was to be married six times and produced six children.

Many fans and reviewers will recall only that he once starred in Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot with Jack Lemmon, the most famous men-in-drag movie ever made. However, some of us will always remember him as the actor who was written off as nothing more than a pretty boy but, when given the chance, delivered some of our most memorable dramatic screen portrayals.

********

About Tony Curtis, from those who loved him

"My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages. He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world." — Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter, actress.

"All Tony ever wanted to be was a movie star. He didn't want to be the most dramatic actor. He wanted to be a movie star, ever since he was a little kid." — Jill Curtis, wife.

Santa Barbara Loves Harrison Ford

2010-09-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

Academy Award-nominated actor/producer Harrison Ford, 68, will be honoured with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's fifth annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film on November 19th.

The glam event is a black-tie gala dinner at The Four Seasons Biltmore in S.B., and will serve as a fundraiser for the SBIFF. I wonder if Ford's wife Calista Flockhart, or if Douglas's son and daughter-in-law, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, will be on the red carpet along with the honoree. If you'd like to see for yourself, contact the SBIFF office at 805-963-0023 or visit www.sbfilmfestival.org.

Can't make it? Don't fret. Ford’s new film Morning Glory hits theatres on November 12. Ford plays a TV anchor on a morning show who clashes with his co-anchor, played by Diane Keaton, 64.

Gotta love it--films about people working in television starring actors old enough to remember when TV was in black & white. And a bonus: this website's favourite young actress, Canada's Rachel McAdams, co-stars as a producer.

It's Not My Age; It's Her Talent

2010-09-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

A young person informed me this week that the reason I loved Sigourney Weaver in the new film YOU AGAIN is because I am an "older" person. Her implication was, of course, that had I been 20 years younger I'd have automatically embraced lead actor Kristen Bell. I disagree.

The reason I adored the 60-year-old Weaver's over-the-top performance in the comedy is that she is a true movie star. She owns the camera. She demands the camera follow her, not the other way around as with some actors--youthful and decrepit both--who appear to be forever praying for the lens, a cocaine-fuelled surge, or a higher power to give them direction.

Quality is quality. When unabashed talent is on display, the age of the actor or the audience member is irrelevant. It's insulting to have your appreciation for an actor's gifted performance diminished by being told it's only because you're seeing it through, essentially, "granny" glasses.

How would a twenty-something feel if I were to dismiss her appreciation of the splendid Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams as merely a near-sighted age bias?

Happy Birthday, Ms. Loren

2010-09-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

Sophia Loren is 76 years of age today, 3 times older and 1,000 times more interesting than most present day Hollywood stars.

A true movie legend, this Italian Academy Award winner wouldn't be caught dead schlepping to the grocery store sans make-up and wearing sweats. She keeps the magic, the glamour, in the industry. And that's why we love her, even though she keeps insisting that eating pasta gave her that spectacular figure. Dear lady, I could eat every box of penne rigata in Bosa Foods and I'd still be a stick figure. Just accept your good luck. And may you enjoy many more years of the same.

What Would Freddie Think?

2010-09-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Queen front man Freddie Mercury was a lot of things--flamboyant, incorrigible, spectacular, flirtatious, theatrical, shocking, fastidious, and precise. Above all, the glam rock god was a goose bump-inducing singer with a four-octave vocal range. He also had a wicked sense of fun. But he was never, ever ridiculous. Sacha Baron Cohen is.

That's why I almost upchucked my Moet et Chandon at the news Borat's creator will portray Mercury in a film about Queen. Yeah, they look spookily alike. Yeah, the surviving members of the band are onboard. But just because someone has big teeth, dark eyes, and skinny legs doesn't qualify them to play my beloved youthful hero. I'd love to know what Freddie would say about it.

The heartening news is that Peter Morgan is writing the script and he is beyond talented. You'll remember Morgan wrote The Queen and The Last King of Scotland, among others.

If Morgan and Cohen want to nail what Mercury was all about, they'll focus less on Cohen's physical resemblance to Mercury and concentrate more on conveying Freddie's charming vulnerability. The star of this flick needs to make audiences not only laugh and gasp, but weep. If Cohen does that, there's an Oscar in it for him.

Freddie died of an AIDS-related ailment at age 45 in November 1991. I was living in London then and the shock of his passing (one tabloid featured a giant front page photo of a red- and swollen-eyed Elton John) brings me to tears again.

My favourite personal memory is standing smack in front of the stage at a Queen concert at the Pacific Coliseum in the seventies. Freddie Mercury, after grandiosely announcing, "A toast to Vancouver!" took a sip of champagne and then poured the rest of his drink on my rapturous, upturned face. Teenage memories run deep. Don't screw it up, Borat.

Can this man do Freddie justice?

Why I'm Glad Kelly McGillis is a Married Woman Again

2010-09-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Happy news! Top Gun's Kelly McGillis (pictured left) has married her girlfriend. The 53-year-old actor, who also starred in Witness and The Accused, tied the knot with Melanie Leis, a sales executive, one year after coming out as a gay woman. McGillis had previously been married twice to men.

I know some will be aghast at this romantic news for two possible reasons: one is the mere fact the former onscreen paramour of Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford is 'suddenly' a lesbian and two is that McGillis entered the hallowed halls of wedlock with a same sex partner. But I disagree with them. In my humble opinion, I think the sooner gay couples the world over are allowed to legally seal their commitment and devotion to one another, the better.

The reason is outrageously simple: a proposal from someone you love instantly reveals if you've been snuggling down in the wheat or the chaffe. As every single straight woman on planet Earth knows, when you're at the 2-year dating mark and still no engagement ring dots your left hand, you wonder about your honey's intentions. Making and accepting a proposal proves neither of you is fly-by-night, something McGillis and Leis obviously know. Not for them any "I'd marry you if I could, sweetie" b.s. to string the other along. That line should remain the sleazy domain of married cheaters, not that of devoted, committed single paramours (of any orientation!) who are in for the marathon rather than the sprint.

Found! Distributor for Redford Film

2010-09-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well, that didn't take long. As mentioned in our earlier post, Oscar-winning director Robert Redford was missing a distributor for his Abraham Lincoln assassination film The Conspirator when he brought it to the Toronto International Film Festival this week. No longer.

Almost before you could say, "Doesn't this Sundance dude own any sunscreen?" Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions scooped up the wizened movie legend's flick. They plan a spring 2011 theatrical release for the $20 million production, which stars Robin Wright.

Wanted: Distributor for Redford Film

2010-09-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

How can Hot Tub Time Machine have a distributor and The Conspirator, director Robert Redford's film about the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln, remain without? I despair.

Redford's historical film arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival without a distributor, a notion as outrageous as if Redford himself had arrived at the event sans pants. Guess you should have included that Abe fellatio scene, eh, Bob?

In the film, Robin Wright (pictured above) stars as the sole woman charged, and executed, as a co-conspirator in the Republican president's murder. Her heavyweight co-stars include Tom Wilkinson, James McAvoy (pictured above), and Kevin Kline, with up-and-comers Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood an Alexis Bledel.

I know which movie I prefer.

Let the Film Parties Begin

2010-09-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

Two of my favourite people: delicious Oscar winner Javier Bardem (above left) and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's passionate artistic director Roger Durling, schmoozing at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

On his Film Geek Confidential blog, Durling described Bardem as "the greatest actor working in cinema today."

Photo by Jeff Wells of Hollywood-Elsewhere.com

VIFF TICKETS ON SALE

2010-09-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

VISA credit card holders can now buy advance tickets to the Vancouver International Film Festival (September 30 to October 15). Click here to secure your seat.

I've just this second ordered my fistful of tix. It's thrilling. And not just because I've guaranteed a spot at Javier Bardem's Biutiful, directed by super talented downer dude Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel).

Tantalizing me the most is the weirdest flick on offer. Rubber is a USA/France production about a tire. But not just any old tire. The festival guide describes it thus: "...an anthropomorphized rubber tire that comes to murderous life in the desert and, via telekinesis, begins to exact bloody retribution on humanity." Whoa. Am I going? Hell, yeah!

Much like the South Korean monster movie The Host was a few years back, Rubber (see poster above) is cinematic sorbet. It cleanses the filmgoer's palate between the tasteless courses of illness, disability, poverty, war, and death that most film fests serve up. Bring on the weird and wonderful.

Sir Tony Wows them in the Centre of the Universe

2010-09-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Did you just get a whole lot warmer, Vancouverites? That's because ageless hottie, Academy Award winner Sir Anthony Hopkins, has set beautiful Welsh-cum-American foot in our country.

The 72-year-old is at the Toronto International Film Festival to promote his new Woody Allen film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Clearly, the short, hoary star doesn't take the titular role. Hopkins instead plays Alfie who, although married to Helena (Gemma Jones), takes off after a call girl played by the delightful Lucy Punch. Don't men ever leave their wives for nurses anymore?