9. cineplex magazine september 2000

plus NEW VIDEO RELEASES, HOROSCOPE, MUSIC, BOOKS, WEB, VIDEOGAMES

september 2000 | volume 1 number 9 | canada’s entertainment lifestyle magazine

Denzel WashingtonON RETURN OF THE TITANS

Hallie Kate EisenbergTALKS BEAUTIFUL

DEBORAH COX PICKS HER FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS

SPOTLIGHT ON: NICOLE KIDMAN, KIEFER SUTHERLAND & PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

ROSEANNE, RICHARD GEREAND OTHER CELEBS REVEAL THEIR MOST OUTRAGEOUS WISHES

Who isBilly Crudup?$300

Your guide to the buzz moviesat the Toronto International Film Festival

ONE OF THE STARS OF THE EAGERLY AWAITEDALMOST FAMOUS. THAT’S WHO

ONE OF THE STARS OF THE EAGERLY AWAITEDALMOST FAMOUS. THAT’S WHO

famous 5 september 2000

DEPARTMENTS06 EDITORIAL

08 LETTERS

10 THE BIG PICTUREA peek at current flicks including Bait and Nurse Betty

14 THE PLAYERSVital bio info about Nicole Kidman, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kiefer Sutherland

22 FAMOUS TRIVIA

28 COMING SOON

30 ON THE SLATE

32 THINGSBack-to-school gear

34 CUI-SEENLove, soup and Penelope Ann Miller

42 FIVE FAVOURITE FILMSDeborah Cox makes her picks

43 ON VIDEONew releases including Any Given Sunday and Mission to Mars

44 FAMOUS LAST WORDSArnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis and other stars reveal their most outrageous wishes

46 HOROSCOPE

Famous | volume 1 | number 9 |

C O V E R S T O R Y

44

16 4214

FEATURES16 FILTERING THE BUZZ

The movies to watch for at the Toronto International Film Festival

19 SHE’S A BEAUTYEight-year-old Hallie Kate Eisenberg isn’t just a Pepsi-pushing pretty girl. With her new role in Beautiful, she strengthens her position as one of Hollywood’s biggest little stars By Sean Daly

20 OLYMPIAN EFFORTSIn honour of the 27th Olympiad, we check out how the biggest sporting event of all has fared on the silver screen By Michael Leo

24 DENZEL GETS REALIn Remember the Titans, Denzel Washington plays a real-life football coach who taught a community about racial tolerance. Denzel says it’s familiar ground for many reasonsBy Stephen Schaefer

26 BILLY CRUDUP: ALMOST FAMOUSAs one of his generation’s up-and-comingstars, Billy Crudup is just waiting for hisbig break. He may have found it with Cameron Crowe’s much-anticipated Almost Famous. But does he care? Stephen Schaefer finds out

ON THE COVER Billy Crudup

COLUMNS36 NAME OF THE GAME

Meet the Sims

37 PULP AND PAPERSeptember’s harvest of new books

38 LINER NOTESRecordable vinyl: Is the next step forward really a leap back?

40 BIT STREAMINGMovie gossip Canadian style

contents


september 2000 volume 1 number 9

aquick survey of movies about the journalism industry shows a gaping void.

While there have been plenty of good flicks inspired by the newspaper biz —

Citizen Kane and All the Presidents Men among them, and many more about

broadcast journalism, like Network, Broadcast News and The Insider, there have been few

good films about magazines. That seems strange since magazine articles often require

writers to immerse themselves in strange worlds for months at a time. You’d think that

would spawn a great screenplay every now and then.

Well, if the buzz surrounding director Cameron Crowe’s largely autobiographical

Almost Famous is accurate, the magazine industry may be in for one of its first gems.

The movie (which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival) takes place in

the Seventies and tells the story of William, a teen music junkie who goes on tour with

an up-and-coming band and writes about them for Rolling Stone. For “Getting Almost

Famous,” page 26, Stephen Schaefer talked to Billy Crudup, who plays the band’s

“guitar god,” about how he got the plum part originally slated for Brad Pitt.

Speaking of the Toronto International Film Festival, on page 16 we give you a

rundown of the movies to watch for at this year’s event. And if you don’t live in the

Toronto area, don’t worry. Most of these films are already attached to major distrib-

utors so will be landing at a theatre near you within the next few months.

You might not know the name “Hallie Kate Eisenberg” but you’d recognize her

pudgy little face. And the sight of that face may make you develop a mysterious

craving for a refreshing cola beverage. That’s because eight-year-old Hallie is best-

known as the demanding tot from the Pepsi commercials. But she’s also carving out

a niche as a respectable young actress. For “Beautiful Girl,” page 19, Sean Daly

visited Hallie on the set of her most recent film, Beautiful.

When you’re not at the movies this month, you’ll probably be glued to your TV

watching the Olympics. So, in honour of the Summer Games, we asked writer Michael

Leo to give us an overview of how the most magnificent of all sporting events has

been portrayed on the big screen. In “Olympian Efforts,” page 20, he finds that when

you cross movies with the Olympics, the results often contain more cheese than gold.

Keeping with the sporting mood, Denzel Washington’s latest, Remember the Titans,

has him playing a 1970s football coach in a

true story about the effects of forced integra-

tion on a high school football-obsessed com-

munity. In “Leveling the Playing Field,” page

24, Washington talks about why this role

seemed so familiar to him.

— Marni Weisz

editorial

MAGmovie

FAMOUS WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK. WRITE TO US.

• by email: [email protected] • by regular mail: Letters to the Editor, • Famous magazine, 1314 Britannia Rd. E., • Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 1C8 • by fax: 905.564.3398 Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Please includeyour full name, city of residence and a contact number(email or phone).

Ooops!In the July issue of Famous we incorrectly iden-tified The Five Senses as the Genie winner forBest Motion Picture of 1999. Although thefilm’s director, Jeremy Podeswa, won forAchievement in Direction, director IstvánSzabó’s Sunshine (produced by Robert Lantosand Andras Hamori) took home the prize forBest Motion Picture. We apologize for the error.

PUBLISHER

SALAH BACHIR

EDITOR

MARNI WEISZ

ART DIRECTOR

VADIM MOSCOTIN

CONTRIBUTORS

SEAN DALY, TRENT ERNST, SUSAN GRANGER, ELLEN HIMELFARB,

MICHAEL LEO, DAN LIEBMAN, LEZLIE LOWE, MARK MAGEE, MARC SALTZMAN,

STEPHEN SCHAEFER, JENNIFER WALKER

FAMOUS MAGAZINE IS REPRESENTED BY

FAMOUS PLAYERS MEDIA INC.

ADVERTISING AND SALESHEAD OFFICE

905.564.1033VICE PRESIDENT

WAYNE CARTER (ext. 232)ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES

JAMIE CRUVER (ext. 224)SARAH TOTH (ext. 233)ANTON KIM (ext. 238)

LYNDA KAISER (ext. 237)

WESTERN OFFICE

604.904.8622WESTERN SALES MANAGER

DIANE RAJH

SPECIAL THANKS

JOHN BAILEY, ROGER HARRIS, CARLA HORWITZ, ROB JOHN,

STUART POLLOCK, CATHY PROWSE, DAVID RUSK, LAURIE ZABORSKI

Famous™ magazine is published 12 times a year by Famous magazine Inc. Subscriptions are $32.50

($30 + GST) a year in Canada, $45 a year in the US and $55a year overseas. Single copies are $3. Back issues cost $6.

All subscription inquiries and back issue requestsshould be directed to

Famous magazine at 1314 Britannia Rd. E., Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 1C8;

or 905.564.1033; or [email protected]

Canada Post Publication Agreement: No. 1716344

500,000 copies of Famous magazine are distributedthrough Famous Players theatres, Alliance Atlantis theatresand other outlets. Famous magazine is not responsible for

the return of unsolicited manuscripts, artwork or othermaterials. No material in this magazine may be reprinted

without the express written consent of the publisher.


letters

ACCOLADES FROM OUR AUDIENCEJust wanted to compliment you on Famous. Asa frequent moviegoer, and a radio journalistfor more than 30 years, I long ago gave upreading the give-away mags in theatre lobbies.But you seem to have succeeded where othershave failed. I find your approach to be freshand honest and well worth the time it takes toread. Keep up the good work.

Roger Currie — Kenora, Ont.

A lot of people take the time to complain, andI’m one of them. But I just thought it would benice to say how much I enjoy the new Famoustheatres. I love the movies. I go once a week,and when any kids’ movies come out, I takemy kids to see them. Your food is great! Theseats are really comfortable! Myself and myfamily always have a great time when we goout to the movies!

Michelle Meadus — Caledon, Ont.

ANGRY ABOUT PSYCHOI will NEVER watch the movie called AmericanPsycho and I will swear to that on 10,000stacks of bibles! Why? Because you had theobjectivity to mention that Paul Bernardo wasinspired by the novel that was the basis for this“flick.” I fully admire your journalistic integrityfor reporting that. The public had a right toknow. I don’t know one single Canadian whodoes not have a dark perception of that idiot.Please keep up the excellent work!

Fred T. Perel — Ottawa, Ont.

ONE BIG BOOKYour recent note about the upcoming moviesbased on the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkienperpetuates the common fallacy that Tolkien’sepic masterpiece is a “trilogy.” A trilogy is aseries of three separate, but related books.(For example, any three of C.S. Lewis’s 11Narnia books would constitute a trilogy.)LOTR is not a trilogy! It is a single book witha beginning, a middle and an end. None ofthe three parts stands alone as a self-con-tained entity. Indeed, LOTR was originallypublished under three separate covers (overTolkien’s objections) only because his pub-lisher feared that the size and expense of a1,200-plus page book would scare off poten-tial purchasers.

John Arkelian — Oshawa, Ont.

REEVES REBUTTALMy husband and I went to see Mission:Impossible-2 tonight. Upon leaving the theatre,I picked up a copy of your August 2000Famous magazine. When I arrived home, I satdown with my cup of tea and began to lookat your magazine. When I got to page 46, Idid a double take!! You have printed a nudepicture of Keanu Reeves, showing his pubichair. I am not a prude but really now, it isquite unacceptable to put a picture like that inan entertainment magazine that children ofall ages pick up at the theatre! WHAT WEREYOU THINKING!!

Gail Segal — Gloucester, Ont.

T O T H E E D I T O R

When my 14-year-old son, myself and a friendwere at your Sarnia theatre to see What LiesBeneath, my son picked up a copy of yourAugust 2000 issue. On page 46 (“10 Stars TalkAbout Their Passionate Pursuits”), there is arather explicit picture of Keanu Reeves, appar-ently toweling off after a swim. Now, I canappreciate Keanu’s looks‚ but this picture goesway too far for a publication that is availablefree of charge, and that children are able topick up quite easily. My son is a teenager, buthad he been younger, and innocently pickedup your magazine looking for movie informa-tion, I would have been quite upset to discoverthat photography like this was in it.

Ms. J. Ward — Corunna, Ont.

LOOKING FOR INFOI am writing this short note to say that yourmagazine is great. It is very informative andcolourful. I sometimes send a copy to overseasfriends and family. But I have a question aboutactor Michael Clarke Duncan who was in TheGreen Mile. What other work has he done? Andhow big is he? Keep up the fantastic work!

R.M.G. Youngson — Scarborough, Ont.

Michael Clarke Duncan has appeared inBulworth (1998), Armageddon (1998), A Nightat the Roxbury (1998), Breakfast of Champions(1999) and The Whole Nine Yards (2000). Hestands a respectable six feet five inches tall.

Kudos on your article on celebrities and theinternet. Is there an official site for myfavourite actress, Winona Ryder? I always pickup your mag whenever I am in the theatre,and I must say it is very good. I hope you allkeep up the great job.

Sam Kullab — Toronto, Ont.

There doesn’t seem to be an official site for Ms. Ryder, but you should check outwww.celebsites.com, where you can find linksto 42 different sites dedicated to Noni. They offer pictures, wallpaper, bios and filmographies.

Famous welcomes your comments. Address them to: Letters to the Editor, Famousmagazine, 1314 Britannia Rd. E., Mississauga,Ontario, L4W 1C8; or fax us at 905.564.3398; or drop us an email at [email protected] may be edited for length and clarity.Please include your full name, city of residenceand a contact number (email or phone).

Centre: The massive Michael Clarke Duncan with Tom Hanks (left)

and David Morse in The Green Mile

Art of War (August 25)Who’s In It? Wesley Snipes, Donald Sutherland,Anne ArcherWho Directed? Christian Duguay (The Assignment)What’s It About? Snipes plays a secret agentwho is forced to go underground after beingaccused of killing a Chinese ambassador. Butwhen terrorists threaten the United Nations hehas to come out of hiding to take care of them.

About Adam (August 25)Who’s In It? Stuart Townsend, Kate HudsonWho Directed? Gerard Stembridge (Guiltrip)What’s It About? A waitress named Lucy(Hudson) finally meets a guy she thinks she cancall her own — Adam (Townsend) is handsome,charming and full of surprises. Everyone thinksshe’s made a great catch…until he proceeds toseduce her two sisters, and even her brother.

The Crew (August 25)Who’s In It? Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds,Dan HedayaWho Directed? Michael Dinner (Heaven Help Us)What’s It About? The residents (Dreyfuss,Hedaya, Reynolds) at the ratty old Raj Mahalseniors home along trendy South Beach, Miami,revolt when they learn of plans to turn theirhome-sweet-home into an upscale residencewith rents to match. But their seemingly simplescheme to save the Raj goes awry when a para-noid drug lord becomes involved.

Bring It On (August 25)Who’s In It? Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union,Jesse BradfordWho Directed? Peyton Reed (The Love Bug)What’s It About? Dunst plays the All-Americancaptain of her high school’s cheerleading squad.Everything seems wonderful until she realizesthat her predecessor had been stealing cheer-

leading routines from their rival squad, and nowthat squad wants to even the score.

Highlander: Endgame (September 1)Who’s In It? Adrian Paul, Christopher LambertWho Directed? Douglas Aarniokoski (debut)What’s It About? A band of swashbuckling im-mortals roam the earth in this fourth installmentof the Highlander series.

Whipped (September 1)Who’s In It? Amanda Peet, Brian Van Holt,Jonathan AbrahamsWho Directed? Peter M. Cohen (debut)What’s It About? A group of studly collegebuddies, who think they’re God’s gift to women,swap detailed stories about their conquests atthe local diner…that is, until the fateful week-end when they discover they have all fallen inlove with the same woman (Peet).

The Watcher (September 8)Who’s In It? Keanu Reeves, James SpaderWho Directed? Joe Charbanic (debut)What’s It About? A psychopathic serial killer(Reeves) takes pleasure in taunting the FBIagent (Spader) who’s spent eight years trying tocatch him. The only thing is, the FBI agent hasnow retired. Will the killer be able to lure himback into their cat-and-mouse game?

The Way of the Gun (September 8)Who’s In It? Ryan Phillipe, Benicio Del Toro,Juliette LewisWho Directed? Christopher McQuarrie (debut)What’s It About? Lewis plays a surrogate motherabout to have a baby for a wealthy couple. Butthen a pair of criminals (Del Toro and Phillipe) getthe bright idea to kidnap the expectant momand hold her (and the unborn baby) for ransom.

Nurse Betty (September 8)Who’s In It? Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman,Chris Rock, Greg KinnearWho Directed? Neil LaBute (Your Friends &Neighbors)What’s It About? Betty (Zellweger) is a small-town waitress who watches the soaps and thinksDr. David Ravell (Kinnear) is speaking directly toher — especially when he says things like, “I knowthere’s someone special out there for me.” Then,one day, her deadbeat husband comes homewith a couple of shady associates (Freeman andRock). Things go terribly wrong and they kill him,so Betty takes off in his Buick LeSabre in search ofher true love, Dr. Ravell. But the two killers are hoton the trail of their crime’s only witness.


the big picture

CATCH BAIT, WATCH THE WATCHER OR TAKE A TRIP WITH NURSE BETTY

▼ ▼

Renée Zellweger’s Betty with her cardboard cutout of Dr. Ravell (Greg Kinnear) in Nurse Betty

Wesley Snipesin Art of War


Bait (September 15)Who’s In It? Jamie Foxx, David Morse, Robert PastorelliWho Directed? Antoine Fuqua (The ReplacementKillers)What’s It About? Alvin Sanders (Foxx) is a pettycriminal who is thrown in jail for stealing prawns— that’s right, those things that look like shrimp,only bigger. Inside the slammer he meets JohnJaster (Pastorelli) who’s in for pulling off a daringgold heist. When Alvin is released, Jaster giveshim a coded message to give to his wife. But U.S.Treasury investigator Clenteen (Morse) thinksthat code will lead to the gold so, unbeknownstto Sanders, slaps a tracking device on him.

Chain of Fools (September 15)Who’s In It? Steve Zahn, Salma HayekWho Directed? Patrick Von Krusenstjerna andPontus Löwenhielm (debut)What’s It About? A barber (Zahn) finds himselfin the middle of a strange chain of events thatinvolves the attempted theft of rare ancientcoins, and then finds himself falling in love withthe detective investigating (Hayek).

Birthday Girl (September 15)Who’s In It? Nicole Kidman, Ben ChaplinWho Directed? Jez Butterworth (Mojo) What’s It About? When an English bank manager(Chaplin) orders a mail-order Russian bride(Kidman) over the internet, he gets more than hebargained for. His new love may have a danger-ous side, which becomes all the more evidentwhen a couple of her Russian cousins arrive.

Beautiful (September 15)Who’s In It? Minnie Driver, Hallie KateEisenberg, Joey Lauren AdamsWho Directed? Sally Field (debut)What’s It About? A young woman (Driver) whogrew up in a dismal household finds an escapein beauty pageants. Against all odds she ma-neuvers her way up the pageant ladder towardthe title of “Miss America Miss”. It’s quite a featsince she doesn’t get support from anyone buther best friend, Ruby (Adams), and Ruby’sdaughter, Vanessa (Eisenberg). See Hallie KateEisenberg interview, page 19.

Almost Famous (September 15)Who’s In It? Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee, Billy CrudupWho Directed? Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire)What’s It About? In this loosely autobiographicaltake on director Cameron Crowe’s early years,William (Fugit), a teenaged music junkie/writergets the opportunity of a lifetime when RollingStone magazine sends him on tour with an up-and-coming band called Stillwater. Jason Lee(Dogma) plays the band’s lead singer and Billy

Crudup (Without Limits) plays its guitar god. SeeBilly Crudup interview, page 26.

Duets (September 15)Who’s In It? Gwyneth Paltrow, Scott SpeedmanWho Directed? Bruce Paltrow (A Little Sex)What’s It About? A handful of karaoke hustlerstravel across the U.S. competing in karaoke con-tests that all lead to the championship sing-offin Omaha. Word is, Gwyneth’s character will besinging a bunch of Paula Abdul songs.

Urban Legends: The Final Cut(September 24)Who’s In It? Joey Lawrence, Jenny Morrison,Anthony Anderson Who Directed? John Ottman (debut)What’s It About? This sequel to 1998’s UrbanLegend follows a film student’s struggle to com-plete her thesis film on urban legends, whichbecomes even more difficult when her crewmembers start dropping like flies. JoeyLawrence (yes, Blossom’s Joey Russo) co-stars inthis Toronto-filmed flick.

Remember the Titans (September 29)Who’s In It? Denzel Washington, Will PattonWho Directed? Boaz Yakin (Fresh)What’s It About? Based on a true story,Remember the Titans tells of two high schoolfootball coaches — one black and one white —in Virginia, circa 1971. When the local school

board is forced to integrate an all-black schooland an all-white school, the question becomes:Which man will get to lead the team?Determined to work together, the two coachesteach the community a lesson about overcom-ing prejudice and intolerance. See DenzelWashington interview, page 24.

Blow Dry (September 29)Who’s In It? Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson,Rachel GriffithsWho Directed? Paddy Breathnach (I WentDown)What’s It About? Two beauty salons in a smallEnglish town become locked in a battle to win thenation’s hairdressing competition. On one sidethere’s an old-fashioned hairdresser (Rickman),and on the other side there’s his ex-wife(Richardson) and her lesbian life partner (Griffiths).

Ring of Fire (September 29)Who’s In It? Kiefer Sutherland, Marcus Thomas,Daryl HannahWho Directed? Xavier Koller (Journey of Hope)What’s It About? Set against the backdrop of arodeo circuit, a couple of brothers are torn apartwhen one brother (Thomas), a bull rider, falls inlove with the woman (Hannah) his rodeo clownbrother (Sutherland) has always had a thing for.

Impostor (October 6)Who’s In It? Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe,Vincent D’OnofrioWho Directed? Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls)What’s It About? Based on a short story byPhilip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Total Recall), this sci-fi thriller follows an engineer (Sinise) who cre-ates a superweapon to be used in a war againstaliens. But then his fellow humans begin to sus-pect he’s an alien himself.

Meet the Parents (October 6)Who’s In It? Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri PoloWho Directed? Jay Roach (Mystery, Alaska)Story: Greg Focker (Stiller) has met the girl ofhis dreams and they’re getting married. Butthen he goes to meet her parents, and every-thing that can go wrong, does. De Niro plays thegirl’s intimidating father.

All release dates are subject to change.Some films play only in limited markets.

the big picture

check www.famousplayers.com for showtimes and locations

▼ ▼

From left: Rachel Griffiths, Natasha Richardson and

Alan Rickman in Blow Dry

Gwyneth Paltrow in Duets

NICOLE KIDMANNow appearing in…Birthday Girl, a romanticcomedy directed by Jez Butterworth (Mojo).Kidman stars as a Russian mail-order bridewho is ordered over the internet by an Englishbanker (Ben Chaplin). Then her two cousinscome to visit and Chaplin’s character discovershis new bride may not be what she seems.

Bio bits: Born Nicole Mary Kidman on June 20,1967, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kidman’s familymoved briefly to Washington, D.C., and thenpermanently to Australia when she was fouryears old. Her parents (father Antony is a bio-chemist and mother Janelle is a nursinginstructor) were social activists who encour-aged their daughters to follow suit. WhenKidman’s feminist mother refused to let herplay with a Barbie, Nicole showed herresourceful streak, and stole one instead. At avery young age she became obsessed withballet and the performing arts and began anexhaustive schedule of dance, drama andmime. It was through this outlet that the 17-year-old Nicole was able to deal with the newsthat her mother had breast cancer. Shedropped out of high school to devote herselfto both film and her family. Her mother even-tually recovered and Kidman went on to

KIEFER SUTHERLANDNow appearing in…Ring of Fire, a cowboydrama that also stars Marcus Thomas and DarylHannah and was directed by Xavier Koller(Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale). Sutherland plays arodeo clown named Hank, whose brother Ely(Thomas) is determined to become the nextstar on the bullriding circuit. The brothers’ rela-tionship becomes strained when Ely falls inlove with the woman (Hannah) Hank loves.

Bio bits: Born December 21, 1966, in London,England to Canadians, actor Donald Sutherlandand actress Shirley Douglas. Kiefer’s parentsdivorced when he was only four years old andhe and his twin sister, Rachel, lived with theirmother in Toronto. When he was 14, Kiefer gotthe urge to join the family business after see-ing his mother appear in a stage production ofWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? So, he enrolled intheatre workshops and soon landed a smallrole in the movie Max Dugan Returns (1983)which starred his dad. He dropped out of highschool and devoted himself to acting full-time,much to his parents’ dismay. A year later, hewon the lead in the Canadian drama Bay Boy,opposite Liv Ullmann. When the drama woncritical acclaim, Sutherland needed no furtherencouragement to pack his bags and head forNew York. After a year of unemployment, hepacked up and moved to L.A., where he hadbetter luck. A role in the Steven Spielberg TVseries Amazing Stories helped him land the part

of bully Ace Merrill in the hit filmStand By Me (1986). In 1987, he metactress Camelia Kath on the set ofthe movie The Killing Time, and ayear later they were married. Kathwas 14 years older than Sutherlandand brought an 11-year-old daugh-ter from a previous relationship tothe marriage. Soon, the couple wel-comed another daughter, SarahJude. Sutherland was enjoying agrowing film career (with a pen-chant for playing the bad guy) buthis off-screen partying had begunto destroy his marriage. Sutherlandand Kath divorced in 1990, but hequickly rebounded with a whirlwindromance with his Flatliners (1990)co-star, Julia Roberts. Their relation-

ship became fodder for the tabloids, but thepress went crazy when Roberts called off theirJune 14, 1991 wedding and hopped a plane toIreland with Sutherland’s best friend, actorJason Patric. It was widely reported thatSutherland’s straying (with a go-go dancer) andhis hard partying were behind Roberts’ deci-sion. In 1996, he fell for, and eventually married,fellow Canadian Kelly Winn. Unfortunately, thatmarriage came to an end after only three years.

Sample roles: Wendell Goddard in WomanWanted (1999), Freddie Cobb in A Time to Kill(1996), Sonny in The Cowboy Way (1994), Jeffin The Vanishing (1993), Athos in The ThreeMusketeers (1993), Lt. Jonathan Kendrick in A Few Good Men (1992), Tad Aligash in BrightLights, Big City (1988), Doc Scurlock in YoungGuns (1988), David in The Lost Boys (1987), AceMerrill in Stand By Me (1986), Donald Campbellin The Bay Boy (1984)

Interesting tidbits: His grandfather was theformer Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas.• He attended St. Andrew’s College in Aurora,Ontario for two years before being expelledfor shaving his head.

On his relationship with Julia Roberts: “Wereally loved each other very much. The hellperiod came after we had broken up and Iwatched the press have a go at me and havea go at her — and to a large degree, I thinkwe asked for it.” — Mr. Showbiz, 1997

Kidman plays a mail-order bridein Birthday Girl

Sutherland starsas a rodeo clown

in Ring of Fire

the players now appeRING OF FIRE • BIRTHDAY GIRL • ALMO


PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMANNow appearing in…Almost Famous, directorCameron Crowe’s loosely autobiographicalstory of a 15-year-old boy (Patrick Fugit) whois given the opportunity to go on the roadwith the fictional band Stillwater and writean article about the experience. Hoffmanplays the teen’s mentor, real-life rock criticLester Bangs. The film also stars FrancesMcDormand, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Anna Paquin and Fairuza Balk.

Bio bits: Born July 23, 1967, in Fairport, NewYork, to Gordon and Marilyn Hoffman whodivorced in 1976. Philip, along with his sisters,Jill and Emily, and his brother, Gordy, wasraised in upstate New York by his lawyer moth-er. He was more interested in sports growingup than he was in the arts, and excelled atwrestling and baseball. But repeated injuriesleft him unable to play and wondering what todo to fill his time. It didn’t take long for him todiscover that the drama department waswhere a certain popular and beautiful seniorwas auditioning for the high school play, TheCrucible. Hoffman followed, and a new love oftheatre began. He went on to graduate fromthe prestigious New York Tisch School of theArts and took a series of typical struggling-actor jobs to make ends meet. It was whileworking in a deli that his big break came whenhe was cast as a prep school brat in the ChrisO’Donnell/Al Pacino hit Scent of a Woman. Henabbed small roles in big budget pictures like

Twister (1996) and the critical smash BoogieNights (1997), and in smaller indie favouriteslike Happiness (1998) and Next Stop Wonderland(1998). Hoffman will soon make his debut as aromantic leading man in the drama State andMain opposite Alec Baldwin.

Sample roles: Freddie Miles in The TalentedMr. Ripley (1999), Phil Parma in Magnolia(1999), Rusty Zimmerman in Flawless (1999),Mitch in Patch Adams (1998), Allen inHappiness (1998), Brandt in The Big Lebowski(1998), Sean in Next Stop Wonderland (1998),Scotty in Boogie Nights (1997), Dusty in Twister(1996), Gary in When a Man Loves a Woman(1994), Buck in The Yearling (1994), GeorgeWillis, Jr. in Scent of a Woman (1992)

Awards: Nominated for the Screen ActorsGuild Award for his portrayal of Rusty inFlawless (1999); won Best Supporting Actorfrom the National Board of Review for his rolesin Magnolia and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Interesting tidbits: He started using his middlename, Seymour, because there was anotheractor in the union with the name PhilipHoffman. • Calls Tom Cruise, his co-star fromMagnolia, a “cheerleader for the human race”and “the nicest guy he’s ever met.”

On his craft: “Acting’s not easy, ever. Whenyou start thinking it’s easy, all of a sudden,you suck.” — True Grit, February 2000

become a film and TV star in Australia. But itwas her role in 1989’s Dead Calm that gotHollywood’s attention and had producers andactors, including her future husband TomCruise, asking to work with her. Kidmanstarred with Cruise in Days of Thunder (1990)where they fell in lust — then love. They mar-ried in a top-secret ceremony on ChristmasEve 1990. The couple have two adopted chil-dren, seven-year-old Isabella and five-year-oldConnor, and divide their time between homesin L.A. and Australia. Kidman’s career didn’treally take off in Hollywood until she won therole of an adulterous, husband-murdering, lad-der-climbing weather girl in director Gus VanSant’s To Die For (1995). She raised eyebrowsagain when she and Cruise starred in theirthird film together, last year’s Eyes Wide Shut.Then she took a role in The Blue Room, a playon the London stage, which required her toappear naked in one dimly lit scene. She wonraves for that performance — and for herincredible 5' 10" body.

Sample roles: Alice Harford in Eyes Wide Shut(1999), Gillian Owens in Practical Magic (1998),Isabel Archer in Portrait of a Lady (1996),Suzanne Stone Maretto in To Die For (1995), Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever (1995),Gail Jones in My Life (1993), Shannon Christie inFar and Away (1992), Drew Preston in BillyBathgate (1991), Dr. Claire Lewicki in Days ofThunder (1990), Rae Ingram in Dead Calm (1989)

Love life: Rumored to have dated Australianactor Russell Crowe while they were both stillliving in Australia. • Married Tom Cruise onDecember 24, 1990 in Telluride, Colorado.

Awards: Won both the Theatre World award(1999) and the Special London EveningStandard award (1998) for her role in The BlueRoom; won the Golden Globe for Best Actressin a Musical or Comedy for her role in To DieFor (1995). In both 1996 and 1999, she waschosen by People magazine as one of the 50Most Beautiful People in the World.

On her timid side: “Though I’m more out ofmy shell now, I can still get very, very shy. Itused to tick Tom off. We’d go to a dinner partyand I’d hardly speak. He didn’t understand it.”— Rolling Stone, July 1999

aring in...ST FAMOUS

Hoffman as Creemcritic Lester Bangs in Almost Famous


By Jennifer Walker


fest films

MEN OF HONORStars: Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Hal Holbrook, David Keith, Joshua Leonard,Michael Rapaport, Charlize Theron, Powers Boothe,David Conrad, Aunjanne Ellis, Joshua Feinman,Ryan Honey, Scott Kraft, Holt McCallany, Theo Nicholas Pagones, Dennis TroutmanDirector: George Tillman, Jr. (Soul Food, Scenesfor the Soul)

Writer: Scott Marshall SmithProducer: Robert Teitel

Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays Carl Brashear, theNavy’s first African-American Master Diver.

But, not surprisingly, things don’t go smoothlyfor this groundbreaker. Robert De Niro playsBilly Sunday, a rebellious senior officer andMaster Diver who, at first, opposes Brashear. Butin the end he helps Carl overcome a devastatinginjury, fight racism and battle bureaucracy tomake military history. This film was executiveproduced by Bill Cosby, who has filled that rolein the past with movies like Leonard Part 6 andI Spy Returns, as well as his TV series, The CosbyShow. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is expected to be amongthe scads of celebrities attending the festival thisyear. And, word is, Fox thinks this movie will beone of their best bets come Oscar time.

THE CONTENDERStars: Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges,Christian Slater, Sam Elliott, Mariel Hemingway,Mike Binder, William L. Petersen, Saul Rubinek,Kristen ShawDirector: Rod Lurie (Deterrence, 4 Second Delay)Writer: Rod LurieProducers: Gary Oldman, Marc Frydman, Scott Shiffman

You just knew the time was ripe for a reallygood film about political scandal in the

White House. With the line between politics andcelebrity blurring (evident in magazines likeGeorge and TV shows like NBC’s The WestWing), Washington is no longer only interesting

By Marni Weisz

The Toronto InternationalFilm Festival

takes place from September 7th to the 16th. For more info check out their website at

www.bell.ca/filmfest

The audiences at the Toronto InternationalFilm Festival have a keen eye for picking awinner. Last year, American Beauty won theirPeople’s Choice Award, then walked away withfive Oscars. The year before it was Life isBeautiful, which eventually took home threeAcademy Awards.

Who will it be this year? Well, DreamWorks,the studio behind American Beauty, seems tobe in good shape with two leading contenders— Almost Famous, the semi-autobiographicalstory from director Cameron Crowe, and theappropriately named The Contender — a politi-cal drama starring Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridgesand Joan Allen. Fox is putting their money ona military drama called Men of Honor whichcombines the big-name star power of RobertDe Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr. with a true storyof overcoming racial barriers. On a lighter note,Warner Brothers is touting their quirky newcomedy Best in Show, starring and directed bythe super-talented Christopher Guest. Thenthere’s our Great Canadian Hope — Stardomfrom Jesus of Montreal director Denys Arcand.Although Stardom (which was produced byAlliance Atlantis and will open the festival onSeptember 7) won’t likely end up with AmericanBeauty-type hardware, it could follow in thefootsteps of Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter,which was nominated for Best Director and BestAdapted Screenplay at the 1998 Oscars.

On the other hand, a smaller independentfilm may leap out of the woodwork to claimthis year’s prize. It’s happened before — likewhen Michael Moore’s Roger and Me won in1989. The question would then become: Can itget the backing of a major distributor to push itinto the worldwide spotlight, and perhaps evenOscar’s lair? Not that we’re saying the Oscars arethe be-all-and-end-all of a filmmaker’s aspira-tions. Truth is, no matter how well the TorontoInternational Film Festival’s movies do at thatnotorious glitzorama next March, we’re in fornine days of magnificent movies this month.Here’s a closer look at the films we think havea good chance to be your favourite at thisyear’s festival.

THE FILM THAT WINS THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OFTEN GOES ON TO BE A WINNER AT THE BOX OFFICE AND THE ACADEMY AWARDS. SO THE QUESTION IS…

What will be this year sAMERICANBEAUTY

Cuba Gooding, Jr. prepares to dive in Men of Honor


for old fogies who get up on Sunday morningsto watch Meet the Press. Sex, power and clash-ing personalities all play a large part in thisstory of Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen)who, after the Vice President dies in office, isnominated by the President (Jeff Bridges) totake over the vacant position. Problem is, a lotof people aren’t ready for a female VicePresident and when a possible sex scandalinvolving Hanson breaks, her detractors go towork trying to destroy her. Foremost amongthose detractors is a Republican congressmanplayed by Gary Oldman, whose performance isalready generating Oscar buzz. For a long timethis movie didn’t have a distributor, despite itsbig name stars. But, in May, Stephen Spielberg’sDreamWorks decided this one was a winner andmade it the first film it has picked up that wasalready produced. The folks at DreamWorksaren’t the only ones who think The Contenderhas the potential to be the next AmericanBeauty. The oft-curmudgeonly Harry Knowles,chief architect of the online movie gossip site,Ain’t-It-Cool-News (www.aint-it-cool-news.com),has seen the film and writes, “The best thing Ican say about this film would not scratch thesurface of how good I felt it was.”

STARDOMStars: Jessica Paré, Dan Aykroyd, CharlesBerling, Robert Lepage, Camillia Rutherford,Thomas Gibson, Frank LangellaDirector: Denys Arcand (Jesus of Montreal,Love and Human Remains)Writers: Denys Arcand, Jacob PotashnikProduced by: Robert Lantos, Denise Robert

Life may end up imitating art with this one. Yousee, Arcand’s comic drama tells the story of

Tina, a gorgeous young woman who is “discov-ered” and turned into a supermodel at theexpense of her privacy, personal life and, perhaps,her sanity. Well, the woman Arcand cast as Tinais Jessica Paré, a gorgeous, unknown actress whois making her feature film debut. If Stardom turnsout to be a hit, Paré’s fate may mimic that of thecharacter she portrays. Tina’s rise to the top of thecatwalk world is seen through the eyes of hordesof television cameras that follow her every move.Two of the more familiar faces in Stardom areDan Aykroyd, who plays a power-hungry restau-rateur who is seduced by Tina’s charms, andThomas Gibson, best-known as Greg from TV’sDharma and Greg, who plays Tina’s powerfulagent. Gibson previously teamed up with Arcandfor the director’s very disturbing 1993 film, Loveand Human Remains. Stardom was the officialclosing film at Cannes last May and will be theofficial opening film of the Toronto festival.

ALMOST FAMOUSStars: Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee,Philip Seymour Hoffman, Fairuza Balk, Zooey Deschanel, Jimmy Fallon, Kate Hudson,Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin, Bijou Phillips,Noah Taylor, John Fedevich, Mark KozelekDirector: Cameron Crowe (Singles, Say Anything,Jerry Maguire)Writer: Cameron CroweProducers: Ian Bryce, Cameron Crowe

Set in 1973, this largely-autobiographicalfilm is based on filmmaker/journalist

Crowe’s days as a teen music fan whosedreams came true when he was given theopportunity to go on the road with rock bandsand write about them for Rolling Stone. In reallife, Crowe followed a number of different

Other Film Fest Flicks to Watch For

BILLY ELLIOTDirector: Stephen Daldry Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie WaltersIn the mid-Eighties, a young boy (Bell) istorn between his love of dance and his dis-integrating family. Could an audition forthe Royal Ballet School be his way out?

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGONDirector: Ang Lee Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle YeohA man named Li (Yun-Fat) is embittered bythe mysterious disappearance of his magicaljade sword, and by his unrequited pursuit ofa woman named Yu (Yeoh).

YOU CAN COUNT ON MEDirector: Ken Lonergan Stars: Matthew Broderick, Laura Linney, Mark RuffaloA young mother (Linney) who’s having anaffair with her boss (Broderick) sees her lifeturned upside down when her wild broth-er (Ruffalo) shows up unexpected.

SONGCATCHERDirector: Maggie Greenwald Stars: Janet McTeer, Aidan QuinnIn 1907, a musicologist (McTeer) moves toAppalachia where she tries to preserve theScottish and Irish folk songs that have beenpassed down from generation to generation.Quinn plays her love interest, Tom.

LUZHIN DEFENCEDirector: Marleen Gorris Stars: John Turturro, Emily WatsonTwo worlds collide when an eccentric genius(Turturro) falls in love with a strong-willedsociety beauty (Watson).

SHADOW MAGICDirector: Ann Hu Stars: Jarred Harris, Xia YuIn 1902, a Beijing photographer named Liugets caught up in a new-fangled technolo-gy called Shadow Magic (a crude earlymovie theatre) brought to his region by aforeigner.

AFTER THE STORMDirector: Guy Ferland Stars: Armand Assante, Benjamin BrattWhen a luxury yacht goes down in a vio-lent storm, the race is on to salvage thebounty. The fierce competition causes twocouples to commit the ultimate betrayal.

Jessica Paré amid the media

in Stardom

▼ ▼

bands, including Led Zeppelin. In the movie,those bands have been blended into one arche-typal Seventies rock outfit called Stillwater,whose members include the phenomenal JasonLee, whose offbeat appeal has made him afavourite in films like Dogma, Chasing Amy andMumford, and Billy Crudup, who received ravesfor his work in this summer’s Jesus’ Son. Therole of the Crowe character (William) went to17-year-old newcomer Patrick Fugit, whoreportedly turns in an inspired performance.Like last year’s American Beauty, this film’s the-atrical release will follow hot on the heels of itsworld premiere at the festival. It’s slated toopen in limited theatres across the country onSeptember 15, and will expand into widerelease at the end of the month and in earlyOctober. For more on Almost Famous, checkout our Billy Crudup interview on page 26.

BEST IN SHOWStars: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey,Fred Willard, Lewis Arquette, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw,John Michael Higgins, Michael HitchcockDirector: Christopher Guest (Almost Heroes,Waiting for Guffman)

Writers: Christopher Guest, Eugene LevyProducers: Karen Murphy, Gordon Mark

From the bizarre brain that brought youWaiting for Guffman, the hilarious story of a

small-town theatre company mounting a mid-dling play, comes this story of a handful of dog

owners who each hope their pooch has what ittakes to be victorious at the Mayflower KennelClub Dog Show. That bizarre brain, of course,belongs to Christopher Guest, former SaturdayNight Live cast member and probably best-known as Nigel Tufnel from Rob Reiner’smonumental mockumentary, This is SpinalTap. With Guffman, Guest showed he has a flarefor revealing the intrinsic humour in pedestri-an, middle-American, anti-heroic characters,and Warner Brothers is hoping he can do itagain with this film about “dog people.” There’sthe yuppie couple, Hamilton (Michael Hitchcock)and Meg (Parker Posey), with their neuroticWeimaraner; mild-mannered menswear sales-man Gerry (Eugene Levy) and his wife Cookie(Catherine O’Hara) with their Norwich Terriornamed Champion-Thank-You-Neil-Sedaka;and fly-fishing shop owner Hubert (Guest) andhis Bloodhound, Hubert, among others. You’llnotice that many of the same names fromGuffman (Hitchcock, Willard, O’Hara, Posey,Levy, Balaban) are back for this one, so expectthe same wacky SCTV meets SNL meets your-third-cousins-once-removed-who-live-in-a-midwestern-bungalow feel. The movie shouldmake its way to a theatre near you sometime inearly October. F

Christopher Guestsmooches with his pooch in Best in Show

Bring your Famous Players ticket stub

or this ad to any Stitches location

and receive an additional 10% off

fest films▼ ▼


alongside some pretty big names: RussellCrowe (The Insider), Jamie Lee Curtis (Nicholas’Gift) and Robin Williams (Bicentennial Man).

In Beautiful, which marks the feature filmdirecting debut of Oscar winner Sally Field, Halliemoves into her biggest role yet, receiving secondbilling to Minnie Driver in this tale of a youngwoman’s quest to become “Miss America Miss”.

“I have a special relationship with Minnie’scharacter,” Hallie says, careful not to give awaytoo much of the plot. “Her character, Mona,doesn’t want to accept that my character[Vanessa] is her daughter.”

If there was ever any doubt that show busi-ness was in Hallie’s blood, it was dashed fiveyears ago, when, just barely out of diapers, shecomposed her first short play, Lies and Ashes. “It’sabout a mother who smokes and a little girl,” sheexplains. “The girl comes home from school andfinds a hidden ash tray under the table. The nextday the girl comes home from school smoking.And her mom says, ‘What are you doing?’ Andthe girl asks, ‘Well you can do it, why can’t I?’ Sothe mom goes, ‘No more lies,’ and the girl goes,‘No more ashes.’ And then they hug.”

girlBeautiful

By Sean Daly

Afew months ago, Hallie Kate Eisenbergwas dashing around the L.A. set of herlatest movie, Beautiful, trying to stumpcast and crew members with an “Adult

IQ Test.” The questions (like “What’s the small-est cell in the human body?” and “How manytroops were killed at Gettysburg?”) all came outof her daily on-set tutoring sessions. For Hallie,who celebrated her eighth birthday in August,schooling is just one more part of a busy day-to-day schedule, which often combines filming,interviews and countless personal appearances.

But if you ask the pint-sized actress — knownbest, until now, from her popular “Joy of Cola”Pepsi commercials — she’ll tell you she actuallyloves the non-stop activity and attention. In fact,as Hallie returns to her trailer around 3 p.m.,dripping with white paint she stepped in some-where near the craft service table, she shows nosigns of tiring. Instead, the energetic third graderis anxious to show off the latest additions to hercollection of American Girl dolls and talk aboutthe wide array of projects which have helped herbecome one of Hollywood’s fastest rising andmost recognizable young stars.

Although she first earned fame pitching softdrinks, the New Jersey native is also a celebrityguest-correspondent for Entertainment Tonightand a veteran film actress who has appeared

You know her as the loud-mouthed Pepsi kid,

but Hallie Kate Eisenbergis more than just a soft

drink seller. The 8-year-oldproves she can really act in

the new Minnie Driver movie, Beautiful

“She’s so bright. She was doing fourth gradework in kindergarten,” recalls brother Jesse, 16,who recently starred in the Fox television seriesGet Real. Not surprisingly, Hallie credits much ofher early success to the support of her family —especially Jesse, who was present when she was“discovered” in 1995. “He was switching agents,so I went along for the ride,” she recalls. “Theysaid, ‘Can we send you out on things?’ So wesaid, ‘Sure!’ I think I was about four.”

It wasn’t long before she had landed her firstmajor studio film, 1998’s Paulie, about a girl andher pet parrot. It remains a favourite in thefamily section of video stores everywhere. Shewent on to appear in several made-for-TVmovies, including Swing Vote (1999) and BlueMoon (1999) before being cast as RussellCrowe’s daughter in last year’s Oscar-nominatedThe Insider. A few months later, she was back onscreen, this time opposite Robin Williams, inthe futuristic tale, Bicentennial Man. Sherecently completed a made-for-TV remake ofThe Miracle Worker in Toronto, and will soonstart work on a baseball movie called A LittleInside, in which she will play the daughter of amajor leaguer.

Hallie’s future plans are still up in the air,according to her parents, Amy, a retired clown,and Barry, a former hospital administrator. (Thetwo now manage their children’s careers). Thecouple recently accompanied their daughter tothe Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in L.A.,where she filed reports for Entertainment Tonight.Hallie’s work with the program — includingmany celebrity interviews — has not gone over-looked by her fellow reporters. “I think she’swonderful,” raves Mark Steines, the show’ssenior correspondent and part-time anchor. “Sheremembers all of her lines and she doesn’t getreal nervous. She’s a good little actress. She alsoreally knows how to play to the camera.”

Steines said the biggest contribution Halliemakes to her E.T. segments is in the creativeresponses she is able to generate from some ofHollywood’s biggest stars. “She can ask one ofthe most obscure, off-the-mark questions,” heexplained, “but because it’s coming from her, thiscute little adorable girl, they come up with someof the most unique answers. And you get to seea completely different side of the celebrity.”

And what’s Hallie’s best E.T. moment? Itwould have to be that interview with SportySpice, of her favourite band, The Spice Girls.“She recognized me,” Hallie says, blushing.“She said ‘You’re the little girl from the Pepsicommercials. I love you.’

“They got me on tape saying ‘This is the bestmoment of my life!’”

Sean Daly is editor of Showtime Magazine in L.A.

Hallie (left) gets some on-setadvice from director Sally Field

interview


Seen a good movie about the Olympicslately? After all, the big screen and theOlympic Games seem to be a naturalfit. Both enjoy blockbuster status with

a worldwide audience, and both often give usthe same basic scenario: Someone wins,someone loses and everyone gets excited.You’d think the silver screen would just be abigger, better canvas for the biggest and bestsports event of all.

But the Olympics rarely appear in films and,when they do, it’s often only in a supporting or

cameo capacity. Maybe some form of competi-tive spirit has kept the two from joining forcesmore frequently. Or maybe their differencessimply outweigh their similarities. After all, youdon’t watch a sports event the same way youwatch a flick. In a movie it’s business as usualwhen the hero wins, but no one can predictwho’ll be the hero in an Olympic competition.This built-in suspense is one of the event’smost magnetic qualities, it’s the thing that getsviewers high on an overdose of tension. Ascritic Andrew Sarris once said: “Sports are

now. Movies are then. Sports are news. Moviesare fables.”

So where does that leave us in terms of cin-ematic depictions of the Olympics? With a littlebit of everything, as it turns out, from the greatto the gimpy. But if you’re suffering fromOlympic fever, even the worst among them canmake for a fun, cheesy diversion. In honour ofthe Sydney Summer Games, here’s a complete-ly subjective, inarguably personal rundown ofthe good, the bad and the awful amongOlympics-based films.

In honour of the Games of the 27th Olympiad, we asked writer/broadcaster Michael Leoto examine how the Olympics have been portrayed on screen

OLYMPIAN

EFFORTS

olympics on film The sublime concentration

of a gymnast in Leni Riefenstahl’s

Olympiad


GOLDOlympiad1938/Germany/director: Leni RiefenstahlThe most accomplished and controversial ofsports documentaries, Riefenstahl’s masterworkis a near-hallucinatory record of the 1936Olympic Games. It was commissioned by Adolf Hitler as a cinematic salute to Aryanprowess, and The Third Reich’s long shadowdoes, indeed, hover forebodingly as Hitler isseen observing the games, his face tighteningwhen German athletes miss their moment. Tothis day, Olympiad is a source of political andartistic debate. Riefenstahl’s critics point out thefascistic elements of her lionization of the sportsarena’s high and mighty, while her defenders(including John Grierson, grandee of the 1930sdocumentary movement) have praised her fortranscending Nazi propaganda. Riefenstahl hasmaintained that aesthetics were her only moti-vation. Explaining her approach, she stated,“The form must excite the content and give itshape.” That it does, and whatever else this filmmay be, it is a triumph of photography and edit-ing, vision and organization — a truly obsessiverecord of physical supremacy. Divers fly withpreternatural grace into waiting waters, vaultersfloat over the bar, sprinters (among them JesseOwens) and marathon runners (with specialemphasis on Korea’s Kitei Son) move with pow-erhouse energy. Riefenstahl gives us athleticcompetition as a heroic, often erotic, hyper-charged aesthetic experience. At over threehours, Olympiad is often shown in two parts —Festival Of The Nation and Festival Of Beauty.

Personal Best 1982/U.S./director: Robert TowneRobert Towne’s unabashed tribute to thebeauty of women’s bodies during athletic pursuitstars Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly

as track performers who become lovers andlater compete against each other in theOlympic trials. This is one of the most sensuousof sports movies, with the sexual and athleticelements braiding together in a believable,unforced manner. Laconically scripted byTowne, the film has an open, unaffected atmos-phere. There’s also a sense of quiet excitementand empathy running through the conflictbetween athletic rivalry and sexual loyalty. Thismovie was jeered at in some quarters, probablybecause it took women seriously as athletes —and showed that girls could do without boys inhorizontal sports as well.

SILVERDownhill Racer 1969/U.S./director: Michael RitchieRobert Redford plays a rare unsympathetic roleas a cynical skier out to win at the WinterOlympics. The competition footage is truly daz-zling, presenting an almost spell-casting senseof risk, which makes sense of Redford’s deter-mination to conquer the sport. Shot in a semi-documentary style, the movie is smartly lowkey, enough so to be fairly intriguing (if also alittle too spare for its own good and never real-ly gripping outside the ski footage). There’s alsoa memorable scene of erotic discord when anangry Redford, in the front seat of his car withneglectful sex partner Camilla Sparv, puts a stopto her prattling by hitting the horn violently —one of the few moments off the slopes when therestrained surface of this film gets busted open.

Million Dollar Legs1932/U.S./director: Edward ClineW.C. Fields plays the President of Klopstokia, amythical country causing havoc at the 1932Olympics. This one dates back to before TheFlood, but who cares? The jokes pop like rudelittle fireworks, cross-eyed Ben Turpin gives hispeepers a fine workout as “Mysterious Man,”Jack Oakie gives every scene he’s in a healthyshot of good cheer, drippy-voiced Lyda Robertisings “It’s Terrific,” and, of course, there’s Fieldsthe Magnificent. All these years later, his gliding,well-oiled snarl is still a marvel of misanthropy.

Without Limits1998/U.S./director: Robert TowneThis commendable, intimately scaled look at thebrief life of charismatic and contentious Olympicrunner Steve Prefontaine follows the athlete ashe sets seven American records before sufferingdefeat at the 1972 Olympics. Ultimately, itamounts to a study of the passion for excellenceshared by the hotheaded athlete (Billy Crudup,very believable) and his trainer, legendary coach

Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland, whose pas-sion for acting excellence is more than evident).The script was written by Towne and KennyMoore, Prefontaine’s fellow Olympian and chum.

BRONZEInternational Velvet1978/U.K./director: Bryan ForbesThis belated sequel to 1944’s National Velvet hasNanette Newman playing a middle-aged VelvetBrown (the role established by Elizabeth Taylor)and Tatum O’Neal playing her American niecewho becomes an Olympic equestrian. Theresult is pleasantly pastoral, with a likable castand swank cinematography. But O’Neal isn’tespecially sympathetic and, overall, it’s moresentimental than emotional, never hitting thewonderstruck heights of the original.

Walk, Don’t Run1965/U.S./director: Charles WaltersThis remake of the overrated 1943 comedy TheMore The Merrier (which starred CharlesCoburn, Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea) is set inTokyo during the Olympics, with Cary Grant (inhis last film) choreographing a romancebetween English rose Samantha Eggar andOlympic walker Jim Hutton. Like its predeces-sor, this one’s success depends largely on thecharm of its three stars.

Wee Geordie1955/U.K./director: Frank LaunderA fond favourite of its time, Wee Geordie starsBill Travers as a behemoth athlete hurling ham-mers in the Melbourne Olympics. This one istoo mild to live up to its “classic” reputation,but it has a certain poky friendliness. That wiz-ard of suffering, Alistair Sim, plays a Scottishlaird and brings this light fare a welcome whiffof pained comic finesse.

ALUMINUMChariots Of Fire1982/U.K./director: Hugh HudsonA slickly inspirational bio-pic dramatizing theglory achieved by runners Harold Abrahams(Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson),both of whom ran for Britain at the 1924Olympics in Paris. Though it’s generally wellacted, there’s so little characterization that the ▼ ▼

Hemingway inPersonal Best

Without Limits


movie is simply carried by its genteel, mechan-ical, uplifting quality. (It plays like a long, politecommercial for physical fitness.) But keep inmind this is a completely subjective list. Afterall, this puffy piffle was sufficiently safe andunadventurous to win Hollywood’s conserva-tive approval and snare the Academy Award forBest Picture. Oscars also went to Colin Wellandfor Best Original Screenplay, Mila Canonero forBest Costumes and composer VangelisPapathanassiou for his score.

Visions Of Eight1973/U.S./directors: Milos Forman, Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch, Juri Ozerov,Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar, John Schlesinger, Mai ZetterlingAs the official film of the 1972 Olympics,Visions of Eight depicts the games as interpret-ed by eight major directors. The intention wasto create a visionary mosaic with an interna-tional perspective, but the results are erratic,diffuse, and forgettable. Franco Zefferelli hadbeen scheduled to shoot a section, but backedout claiming the games had become a platformfor political protest. He proved to be moreaccurate than he could have possibly wished— 11 members of the Israeli team were killedthat year after being taken hostage byPalestinian guerillas.

TIN FOILThe Bob Mathias Story1954/U.S./director: Francis D. LyonDecathlon champion Bob Mathias plays him-self in an anemic sports bio...but great athletesseldom make great actors. Wife Melba Mathias,also an amateur thespian, plays herself, whichwas taking marital fidelity a little far. Dull asdandruff, with plentiful stock sports footage.

Goldengirl1979/U.S./director: Joseph SargentA track star played by Susan Anton undergoesconditioning experiments to ensure her victoryat the 1980 Olympics, making her the curviestguinea pig in scientist Curt Jurgens’ lab. Thisone plays like Frankenstein with boobs insteadof bolts.

FLY PAPERIt Happened In Athens1962/U.S./director: Andrew MartonJayne Mansfield wiggles and sighs as a cele-brated Greek actress (say what?) who vows tomarry the runner triumphant at the 1896Olympics. Bob Mathias takes another run atacting, this time as a coach. From the tattered,twitching end of Mansfield’s career.

The Wicked Dreams Of Paula Schultz 1968/U.S./director: George MarshallA loud, cheesy comedy with schnitzel starletElke Sommer as an East German athlete whopole vaults over the Berlin Wall when she’s hadenough of her unflattering Olympic uniformand the lecherous embraces of WernerKlemperer, who you’ll remember as ColonelKlink from TV’s Hogan’s Heroes. Lumpy misad-ventures ensue with other cast members fromthat World War II sitcom, including Hogan him-self, Bob Crane. The pillaging of that Sixtiesseries’ cast was a shameless attempt to woofollowers of the series into movie theatres.

Michael Leo is a radio broadcaster and TV writerwho has spent the past five years writing scriptsfor TVOntario’s acclaimed Saturday Night at theMovies. He has also written about pop culture fornumerous publications, including The Globe andMail, Cinema Canada and BoxOffice.

olympics on film

A N S W E R S

famous

2

1

3

4

5

6

7

1My Cousin Vinny219733Donna4Barbados5Renée Zellweger6To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar7St. Elsewhere

Marisa Tomei stars in this month’scrime-thriller The Watcher. Forwhich mob-comedy did the spunkybrunette win a Best SupportingActress Oscar in 1993?

Warner Brothers is re-releasing thesupernatural horror The Exorcist thismonth. In which year was theWilliam Friedkin-directed classic firstreleased — 1973, 1975 or 1978?

You can see Lara Flynn Boyle on thebig screen in Chain of Fools thismonth, but she’s best-known for acouple of TV roles — Helen Gambleon The Practice and a central char-acter on David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.Name that character.

Minnie Driver, star of Beautiful, wasborn in the U.K. But on whichCaribbean island was she raised?

Which star of the new comedyNurse Betty goes by the nicknameZelly?

Wesley Snipes plays a macho secretagent in The Art of War. But forwhich movie did he once don adress and high heels?

Denzel Washington plays a footballcoach trying to overcome racial in-tolerance in Remember the Titans.But before he hit it big in movieshe played a doctor on a hit 1980sTV show. Name it.

trivia

▼ ▼

F

Ian Charlson (front) andBen Cross compete inChariots of Fire


interview

For Denzel Washington, there are threethings that are mighty familiar about hisrole in Remember the Titans.

First, he’s impersonating a real person onceagain. Washington received rave reviews (andearned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor) aslong-imprisoned boxer Rubin “The Hurricane”Carter in Norman Jewison’s Hurricane last year.He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1992when he played Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s filmbiography of the Sixties African-American mili-tant. Then there was his portrayal of slain SouthAfrican civil rights activist Steve Biko in RichardAttenborough’s Cry, Freedom (1987) and hiswork as a member of the Civil War’s only blackregiment in Edward Zwick’s Glory (1989), forwhich he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

But those were all famous historical figures.For director Boaz Yakin’s Remember the Titans,the 45-year-old had to capture Herman Boone,

a high school football coach who, in the early1970s, fought racism and inspired everyone hemet not with guns, explosions or under theglare of the nation’s spotlight, but simply bypersonal example.

“It’s a different responsibility, you know,”Washington says of committing a real personto film. “A fear, sometimes. When we didMalcolm X we were under a lot of pressurefrom a lot of people who weren’t afraid to tellus what they’d do to us [if we got it wrong].”Here, there’s another kind of responsibilitybecause, as heroic as Herman Boone was, he isvirtually unknown to the general public. Sowhatever the filmmakers put up on the screenwas destined to become his legacy.

The story is also familiar territory forWashington because, like Malcolm X, Glory andCry, Freedom, Remember the Titans deals with oneman’s efforts to combat racism and ignorance.“It’s about a high school in Virginia in 1971, ablack school and a white school,” Washington

LEVELINGthe playing field explains. “The white coach of the white school

is about to go into the Hall of Fame but becauseof affirmative action, they brought this blackguy, Herman Boone, in to coach.” In fact, theschool board was required to completely inte-grate the two schools — meaning there couldonly be one head coach. They chose Boone. Butinstead of becoming bitter, the white coach, BillYoast (played by Entrapment’s Will Patton),teams up with Boone, and together the pairteach the whole community a lesson aboutovercoming fear and prejudice…and take theteam to the State Championships.

“It’s about who teaches you to hate,” saysWashington. “It’s not about the guy though. It’sre ally about the kids. I just make the big speeches.”

The other reason Washington felt well-aquainted with this role is that he has some-thing in common with Herman Boone. “I play afootball coach in this, which is what I am in reallife,” Washington says simply. When he’s not offmaking Oscar-winning films, he coaches hisfour children’s various teams. There’s 15-year-old David, 12-year-old Katia and the twins,nine-year-old Malcolm and Olivia. And one getsthe feeling Washington is a pretty intense coachin real life, too. “Whenever my kids are playing— baseball and basketball and football — I tellthem, ‘We play hard, we play fair, we win.’Remember, Vince Lombardi said, ‘Winning isn’teverything, it’s the only thing!’”

DENZEL WASHINGTON PLAYS A FOOTBALL COACH MAKINGSTRIDES FOR RACIAL EQUALITY IN REMEMBER THE TITANSBy Stephen Schaefer

F


cover story

When Billy Crudup strolls into a Sohorestaurant, heads don’t turn andpatrons don’t leave their tables torush over for autographs. For

Crudup, not being a Brad Pitt is actually fine,especially since he replaced Pitt in one of theyear’s most eagerly awaited films, AlmostFamous — the first post-Jerry Maguire moviefrom writer-director Cameron Crowe. The filmwill premiere at the Toronto International FilmFestival this month, and opens nationwide onSeptember 15th.

The parallel between the film’s title andCrudup’s status as one of the best actors of hisgeneration who has been “almost famous” foryears is an amusing accident. Lean, with aruddy complexion and black hair accentuatedby alert eyes, the 32-year-old Crudup (pro-nounced Crew-dup) is, if not winning the famegame, at a personal peak.

“I don’t feel frustrated I’m not a householdname,” Crudup says, sounding remarkably sin-cere for someone in a business where the sizeof your paycheque can often be boosted by thesize of your fame. “I intend for people to see themovies or plays I do. That not many people

famousalmostgetting

Acclaimed actor Billy Crudup discusseslife, learning to play guitar and his role inone of the most-anticipated movies ofthe Toronto International Film Festival —Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous.

By Stephen Schaefer


have is, of course, disappointing. But that I cana) work as an actor who is successful and b)that I can work on things I like, is a ridiculousprivilege. The vast majority of actors are work-ing at their craft so they can land a Doritoscommercial. I feel quite content. I like themovies that I do.”

Those movies include Sleepers, his 1996debut in the company of Robert De Niro, BradPitt and Kevin Bacon; Pat O’Connor’s Inventingthe Abbotts (1997) with Liv Tyler; Without Limits(1998), which was produced by Tom Cruise andtold the true story of Olympic runner StevePrefontaine; Stephen Frears’ The Hi-Lo Country(1998) with Woody Harrelson and PenelopeCruz; Keith Gordon’s Waking the Dead (1999);and this past summer’s tour de force Jesus’ Son,where he played a dim but sweet heroin addictwith an unprintable name.

And now it’s Almost Famous — Crowe’sloosely autobiographical film set in the rockand roll milieu of the Seventies. Crudup playsRussell Hammond, the guitarist for a bandcalled Stillwater — the subject of a RollingStone article being written by a teenaged musicjunkie named William (Patrick Fugit). If youhaven’t already caught on, William is really justa thinly veiled representation of Crowe at thestart of his storied journalism career, whichpreceded his days in film.

“He comes from a unique family,” Crudupsays of the William character. “His mother hasgiven him specific rules about life and thoseinclude that rock and roll is full of potheadsliving in a Valhalla of decadence. His sister,however, has turned him on to rock. He’sbright, and a great writer, so he sends reviewsof rock albums to Lester Bangs, the editor ofCreem magazine. He even tracks Lester downand Lester says, ‘Give me a review of BlackSabbath.’ So he goes to San Diego and meetsthe opening act, a band from Troy, Michigan,called Stillwater, who are just becoming popu-lar. Their sound is a little Led Zeppelin, a littleFree and the Allman Brothers Band. They takethe kid under their wing for the evening and hesends the review in to Creem. People fromRolling Stone read it and they send him on tourwith the band.”

“I’m the lead guitarist for Stillwater,” addsCrudup. Jason Lee (of Chasing Amy) plays thelead singer.

A stickler for investing his characters withreal-life accuracy, Crudup took a six-weekcrash course to learn to play guitar. “I hadplayed a little but I needed to learn a lot to playthe way this guy did. It’s like anything — I knewhow to run because I played sports but I didn’tknow how to run like Steve Prefontaine, anOlympic track athlete.”

Peter Frampton, a Seventies rock star him-self, was the key consultant, and Nancy Wilsonof the beloved rock band Heart (who just hap-pens to be the director’s wife) wrote all thesongs and lyrics with Crowe.

“It’s like all of Crowe’s movies — sweet andfunny,” Crudup says. “Patrick Fugit plays the kidand he’s unbelievable. It’s his story. It’s also a lovestory, a coming of age story and, by and large, astory about music and its effect on our lives.”

Crudup is being modest. Advance buzz saysthat while Fugit is a find, Crudup’s outrageouslyfunny scene tripping on acid and believing him-self a “golden god” is a star-making moment.Also winning positive reviews are Kate Hudson(Goldie Hawn’s daughter) as the most promi-nent of groupies, Oscar winner FrancesMcDormand as Fugit’s very strict mother andPhilip Seymour Hoffman as the Creem critic.

Crudup, like every young actor in town, waseager to be in a Crowe film, but Almost Famouswas almost a miss for a while there. “I had metCameron after Without Limits and we said, ‘Ifsomething comes along, great.’ Then Brad Pittdropped out of this two months before it start-ed. My agent, I guess, had been working behindmy back and I got an audition. I did that for acouple of hours — and that was it.”

Well, no it wasn’t quite “it.” Crudup screwsup his face in mock fury: “Then he took twoweeks before deciding.”

You might think Crudup spent those two

““...ONE CRITIC SAID I WASA ‘PERPETUAL MOTION

MONKEY,’” SAYS CRUDUP.“IF I BELIEVED THAT, I

PROBABLY COULDN’T GOON ACTING. SO WHEN

SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING GOOD, IT’S

HARD TO TAKE, TOO.”

▼ ▼

Patrick Fugit as William inAlmost Famous

Crudup rocks as guitar godRussell Hammond


weeks relearning his guitar licks and generally getting up to speedmusically in anticipation of being cast — but you’d be wrong. “I wait-ed,” Crudup says as he smiles, “because it’s a bad idea to commityourself to something you haven’t gotten.”

Born in Long Island’s suburb of Manhasset but raised in Florida andTexas, Billy was, with his brothers Thomas and Brooks, a child of

divorce. Always smaller than his classmates, the diminutive kid foundthe stage a natural place to shine — even if it was as Uncle Sam in anIndependence Day school pageant at the tender age of seven. By the timehe was enrolled at the University of North Carolina he knew he wantedto be an actor, and after graduation enrolled at New York University’sfamed Tisch School of the Arts where he received a masters degree andmade his first feature, the rarely-seen, low-budget Grind (1997).

Now, as he sits in the Canteen restaurant with the sleeves of hiswhite shirt rolled up, the collar opened wide and the cup of coffee he’sordered still untouched, Crudup reflects on a career that was focusedon the theatre early on. He got his first batch of rave reviews for his

performance in a 1995 pro-duction of Tom Stoppard’splay, Arcadia. Then in 1996he made his Broadway debutin a revival of Bus Stop,which brought him not onlymore raves but a long-termrelationship with leadinglady Mary Louise Parker (TheFive Senses). Soon after, hewas cast in the big-budgetSleepers, and now, like BradPitt at the beginning of hisrise to fame, Crudup gets

meaty roles in offbeat movies with the expectation that he will delivera good performance and, just maybe, all by himself, turn the movie intoa blockbuster, as Pitt did with Legends of the Fall.

Crudup exists in that peculiar Hollywood zone known as “hot,”which means he has been anointed an up-and-coming star. But, tohis credit, he has never deviated from the stance he took when it allstarted: He couldn’t care less about fame. “I have yet to do a play orfilm about me,” Crudup says. “I’m not so interested in myself beingpresented to the world.”

And he will always keep a jaundiced eye on both the hype and thereviews that surround anyone deemed “hot.”

“When I did Marchbanks in Shaw’s Candida, one critic said I was a‘perpetual motion monkey.’ If I believed that, I probably couldn’t goon acting. So when someone says something good, it’s hard to take,too. Yet when you talk to someone after a play and see in their eyesthey were affected by what you did, that’s as close as I can come tobeing affected by someone else’s opinion.”

If Crudup could peer into a crystal ball and predict his own future,he might see himself primarily on stage. Despite the (comparatively)low pay and limited exposure, theatre remains a magnet for him. Butregardless of whether he ends up on screen or stage, there’s one wishhe has for his audience.

“I hope each time someone sees me in something, they think that’sthe only part I can play,” he says. “Because then they’re ceasing to seeme as an actor. They’re too involved in the story.”

Stephen Schaefer is a freelance writer who covers the movies for a variety of publications including USA Today.

cover story

Get Carter (October)Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Michael CaineDirector: Stephen T. KayStory: In this remake of 1971’s Get Carter, Sylvester Stallone playsthe title role, a vicious hitman who returns home for his brother’sfuneral and finds himself investigating the events surrounding thedeath…and then seeking revenge. Michael Caine, who playedCarter in the original, must approve of the redo because he has arole in the film.

Monkeybone (November)Stars: Brendan Fraser, Dave FoleyDirector: Henry SelickStory: Fraser plays Stu Miley, the creator of the Dark Town comicbook. After slipping into a coma, Miley “wakes up” in Dark Townand has just 12 hours to escape from this creepy dream worldbefore Death will come knocking at his door. Monkeybone, one ofhis illustrated creations, might be the only one who can save him.

Charlie’s Angels (November)Stars: Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron DiazDirector: Joseph McGinty NicholStory: In this big screen adaptation of the spandex-spangledSeventies series, the Angels (Barrymore, Liu and Diaz) use femi-nine charm and high-tech gadgets to figure out what’s going onafter a soon-to-be-billionaire is kidnapped from his office.

Enemy at the Gates (November)Stars: Jude Law, Ed HarrisDirector: Jean-Jacques AnnaudStory: Jude Law plays real-life Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev, who isso good at picking off German soldiers that an expert Nazi sniper(Harris) is sent to take care of him. The two engage in a snipingduel to see who can put a bullet in whose head first.

Family Man (December)Stars: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don CheadleDirector: Brett RatnerStory: Ever wonder what would have hap-pened if you had married your collegesweetheart? Well, lonely investmentbanker Jack Campbell (Cage) gets to findout when he wakes up one day to findhimself living the life he would have led ifhe’d married that girlfriend (Leoni).

Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 (December)Stars: Gerard Butler, Christopher PlummerDirector: Patrick LussierStory: Yes, that’s right, even though this movie is called “WesCraven Presents: Dracula 2000,” the director of the Scream trilogyand A Nightmare on Elm Street, didn’t direct it. He is merely theexecutive producer. Directing honours went to Patrick Lussier, afilm editor making his debut at the helm. This modernization,based on Bram Stoker’s classic fanged character, sees a Londonantiques dealer traveling to America to save his daughter fromDracula (Butler).

comingsoon▼ ▼

F

Cage (left) and Cheadle


on the slate

Christopher Walken will star in an indie modernization ofShakespeare’s Macbeth. The bloody tragedy will take place in aSeventies fast food joint. ■ If you haven’t already heard, formerNYPD heartthrob Jimmy Smits and Fifties horror starChristopher Lee are among the newest cast members to joinGeorge Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode Two. ■ Chelsea Clinton wantsto be an actress. And the 20-year-old Stanford student’s firstrole may be in a Drew Barrymore film called Donnie Darko.Chelsea’s boyfriend, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, has a part in the pic,and has apparently asked that Clinton be given one too.

B R I E F L Y

FORD MAY RAID AGAIN, CROWE PONDERS DIRECTION AND MIRA PLAYS THE PRINCESSCROWE TAKES CHARGEAs if Russell Crowe hasn’t been getting enough attention. Nowcomes word that the perfectionist actor may take on yet anotherchallenging role — that of director for a religious mystery called ACourse in Miracles. The star of L.A. Confidential, Gladiator and TheInsider would also play the movie’s central character — a Jesuit priestwho has a crisis of faith after investigating supposed miracles. Crowehas been getting about $15-mil (U.S.) per pic since his Oscar nomina-tion for The Insider, so who knows how much will be tacked on tothat if he steps behind the camera as well. Crowe and “special friend”Meg Ryan are currently finishing up work on Proof of Life about ahostage negotiator (Crowe) who falls in love with the wife (Ryan) ofthe man he’s trying to save. It should be out this Christmas.

SORVINO ENJOYS HER INDEPENDENTSMira Sorvino, daughter of actorPaul Sorvino, seems to have decidedshe prefers offbeat indie films andmovies with a message, to main-stream Hollywood blockbusters. Thestar of Mighty Aphrodite and Summerof Sam has signed on to two moreintriguing projects. She will headlineBernardo Bertolucci’s The Triumphof Love, an independent pictureabout a princess who assumes bothmale and female identities. She willalso join Steve Buscemi (Fargo) andHarvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) in aHolocaust drama called The GreyZone. The movie, which is based ona play by Tim Blake, focuses on Jewswho were forced to work in the cre-matoria of Auschwitz.

MATT MATTERSHunky Friends star Matt LeBlanc hasn’t had much luck with pickingbig screen projects. First there was the chimp-based comedy (and weuse that word loosely) Ed, then it was the sci-fi bomb Lost in Space.He’ll appear in the Charlie’s Angels film next, but even the quality ofthat much-anticipated flick is a big question mark what with all theon-set bickering. Now LeBlanc has announced he will star in a little$15-million (U.S.) independent comedy called All the Queens Men,slated to be shot in Hungary and Austria. He’ll play the Americanleader of a rag-tag crew of British agents during World War II. Theirmission? Infiltrate a female-run factory in Berlin (in disguise, ofcourse) and bring back the decoding device that will win the war.

JOHN HUGHES NEWSHere’s one from the “This Sounds Like A Really Bad Idea” file. DirectorJohn Hughes is reportedly considering doing a remake of his classicEighties teen-angst comedy, The Breakfast Club. The original starredMolly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevezand Ally Sheedy as a mismatched group of high school studentslumped together in a detention session. It was, perhaps, the best ofHughes’ definitive Eighties films (which include Pretty in Pink and SixteenCandles), so why would he ruin it with an update? You’ve got us. It’s notlike he needs the work. He has also signed on to write, direct and pro-duce an as-yet untitled “modern-day Cinderella story” which will be setin his beloved Chicago. Although it doesn’t have a name yet, that film isslated to begin shooting next Spring for release around Christmas 2001.

Sorvino

THE LAST CRUSADE, HUH?Indiana Jones may getto crack his whip onemore time. While pro-moting the supernaturalthriller What LiesBeneath, Harrison Fordtold the Calgary Sunthat he would be“eager” to do a fourthIndie movie, and thatthe character “deservesto be revisited.” In fact,he said he’d like to seeSean Connery, whoplayed his dad in thethird Indiana Jonesmovie, The Last

Crusade, return as well. No word on whether they’ll be trading theirhorses in for walkers. There are also rumours that M. Night Shyamalan,who wrote and directed last year’s Oscar-nominated The Sixth Sense, isalready working on a screenplay for the movie.

Ford and Karen Allen

in Raiders of theLost Ark

Crowe


things

Style101FUNKY NEW STUFF TO HELP YOU HEAD BACK TO CLASS WITH CLASS

WRAP CITYStep into the closet of any fashionista this season and you’ll undoubtedly beenwrapped in the wrap. Whether it be floor-length coats that tie at the waist,fluffy three-quarter cardigans, or shirt-dresses cinched at the middle, design-ers are concentrating on easy, zipper-free garments that enhance cleavageand hips, as well as attitude. Designer Diane Von Furstenberg, the womanwho started it all back in the Seventies, greets Fall with another relaunch ofher popular wrap dress — this time in whimsical prints and contemporarytrimmings. This one, from Mendocino, retails for $485 and is available at allMendocino stores in Toronto, or by calling 1.877.369.6363.

FRESH SUPPLIES Club Monaco’s new Caban

stores offer versions ofpopular CM clothing,

homewares and acces-sories at more affordable

price points — perfect forthe student making due

on the paltry cash earnedfrom a summer job. A

couple of their funkiestback-to-school items for

their first Fall season area roll-up, solar-powered

calculator in translucent,which is flexible enough

to curl into a little tube($20); and a fold-up book

light in black, silver ortranslucent, which will fitinto any backpack ($10).

Available at Caban storesacross the country.

▼

▼

By Ellen Himelfarb


BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSEStudying to be a farmer? Well, even if you’re not, you still might prefer toperch on Ikea’s Traktor stool, named after the rugged rural vehicle. Charminglymoulded from polypropylene and aluminum, the seat can be wheeled awayfrom your desk for a much-needed study break. Vrrrrrooooom! In black only($60). Available at Ikea locations across Canada.

OLD SCHOOL Everything old is new again,and with cool metallics beinghot for the season, the classicaluminum lunchbox and old-fashioned green thermos areprime for a comeback. Thelunchbox’s timeless shape,trendy aluminum body andnostalgia value are made allthe more desirable by its deepbase, which will hold a lot ofTwinkies. Ditto for the ther-mos, which will also servespectator parents at juniorhockey games, gymnasticsmeets and swim lessons. The Miner’s Lunchbox comes in small ($39) and medi-um ($42), while the thermos is one-size-fits-all ($60). Available at RestorationHardware in Toronto and Vancouver.

BAGGAGE CHECKIs it a purse, or a pack? The hybrid Campus Planner, little brother to thesubstantial Campus Knapsack, is made of lightweight nylon with a singlechest strap, and is compact enough to cross over into evening play. That’snot to say it can’t manage bursting notebooks, bulky texts and busyschedules (note the handy mobile pocket). In Dark Midnight ($33).Available at Roots stores across the country.

KISS AND MAKEUPM•A•C’s new Lady Danger line of paints, powders, polishes and lipsticks are über-sexy and ultra-femi-nine. The rich and saturated colours probably aren’tfor the younger grades of back-to-schoolers, butthey’ll be all the rage on campuses across the countrythis Fall. Lipsticks cost $14 each, while other itemsrange from $8.50 to $18.50. Available at M•A•C storesand counters across the country.

▼

▼▼

▼


We’re not saying it had anything to dowith the soup…but when actressPenelope Ann Miller (Awakenings,Carlito’s Way, The Relic) had the

Manitoba Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Bisquefrom Winnipeg’s Green Gates Country House &Restaurant, she got engaged.

The 36-year-old actress was in town filminga romantic comedy called A Woman’s a HelluvaThing with Scottish actor Angus MacFadyenwhen her assistant called Green Gates to makereservations for Penelope and her boyfriend.“So I set up a private area for them, and madeit really nice and romantic,” recalls generalmanager Richard Armstrong.

But that’s not where the question waspopped. After the meal, Penelope mentionedthat they wanted to get away for a few days, andasked Armstrong about a resort called ClearLake in the Riding Mountains. “They wanted to

know whether there was a place to buy wine upthere and stuff to cook, and I said, ‘Probably. ButI don’t really know what the quality would be.Why don’t I pack you up a care package and thenyou’ll have the best products and you won’t haveto worry about it.’ So we packed up a wholewhack of stuff and some re-heating instructions,and they were off.”

That package included the bisque, beef tender-loin with a red wine veal jus, escargot with puffpastery in wild mushroom sauce and bruschettawith balsamic onions and feta cheese.

“Then when they came back they stopped atthe restaurant to tell me they got engaged,”says Armstrong. “They sat down and had somewine and a little more to eat. Then they calledup some other people, invited them to comedown and stayed for dinner that night.”

After dinner the group rushed back to theirhotel to watch a rough edit of The Mary KayLetourneau Story, which had been couriered toWinnipeg. Miller played the title role in theTV-movie about the notorious Tacoma,Washington, teacher who had an affair withone of her students. Miller’s next big screenrelease will be this Fall’s psychological thrillerAlong Came A Spider with Morgan Freeman.

The alabaster-skinned redhead has beenromantically linked to several of her fellowactors — Al Pacino (her co-star in Carlito’s Way),Matthew Broderick (they did Biloxi Blues togeth-er), Don Johnson and Woody Harrelson. But asfor her new fiancée, no one’s quite sure who hewas, and Armstrong doesn’t seem to remembermuch about him. “He wasn’t an actor,” he says.“I think I remember reading he was a financialconsultant or something like that.”

Although, Armstrong does say, “The thing thatstruck me about both of them is what absolutelyregular people they were. Really nice people.”

Green Gates opened in June of 1996 in an oldDutch Colonial house on a seven-acre estate.The cuisine favours indigenous dishes, andingredients are usually purchased from localfarmers or grown in the property’s two gardens.

The bisque is Armstrong’s favourite item onthe menu. “It’s really good. I pretty much livedon it for five years,” he says. “Just dip somebread in it and it’s outstanding. It’s very robust.”

Technically, a bisque is thickened withseafood shells. “So this is more in the style of abisque than an actual bisque,” says Armstrong.“It’s very thick. I’ve seen it tried elsewhere andit’s never worked.”

Whether it will inspire your mate to pop thequestion remains to be seen.

—Marni Weisz

For reservations at Green Gates Country House &Restaurant, call 204.897.0990.

Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom BisqueButter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 g.Carrots, chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 g.Garlic, chopped fine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 clovesMixed mushrooms (portobello,chantrelle, oyster, button, shitake or morel), chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750 g.Dry white wine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 ml.Whipping cream (35%). . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 ml.Onions, chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 g.Celery, chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 g.Bay leaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Dried thyme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/2 tsp.Cooked wild rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 g.Cooked white rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 g.Chicken or vegetable stock . . . . . . . . . . 1.75 LSalt and pepper to taste

GARNISHCooked wild rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 g.Cooked wild mushrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 g.Parsley, chopped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Tbsp.

METHOD Chef Thomas Kidd says you canuse any combination of mushrooms, but ifusing dried mushrooms, use half theamount and reconstitute them in hot water.Sauté onions, carrots, celery and mush-rooms in butter. When the vegetables startto colour add the garlic and sauté for twomore minutes. Add the white wine, bayleaf and thyme, then cook for an addition-al two minutes. Add the stock and cookedrice and simmer until rice is very soft. Pourin cream and simmer for another 10 min-utes. Puree soup in a blender or foodprocessor until smooth. If soup seems toothick, add a little more stock. Put the soupback in the pan and add salt and pepperto taste. Before serving, place a bit ofcooked wild rice and the sautéed mush-rooms at the bottom of each bowl. Thentop with a bit of chopped parsley. “It’s arich soup,” says Kidd, “but the most promi-nent flavour is the wild rice.”

ingredients

cui-seen

PENELOPE ANN MILLER’S BOYFRIEND POPS THE QUESTION AFTER EATING GREEN GATES’ WILD RICE/WILD MUSHROOM BISQUE

soup

TO SERVE 6

AN ENGAGING


Mike and Julie don’t talk much anymore.In fact, Julie noticed Mike was spendingquite a bit of time with their attractive

neighbor, Sheila. Her suspicions were confirmedwhen she came home from work and foundthem in a hot tub together, kissing passionately.No, this isn’t a rerun of 90210. It’s The Sims, thebest-selling computer game of the year.

Will Wright, the brains behind the award-winning SimCity franchise (Maxis/ElectronicArts), is back with one of the most uniqueofferings the computer gaming industry hasever seen. But unlike SimCity — which focuseson building and maintaining the streets andstructures of a thriving metropolis at themacro level — in The Sims you micromanagethe people who reside in the city itself. Considerit a virtual soap opera, where your characterscan follow various career paths, interact withother sims (short for simulated humans) ordecorate a house from top to bottom.

Wright says his inspiration for The Sims wastwo fold: First, there was a rather academic bookabout architecture called A Pattern Language.

“But the final game bears very little resem-blance to that book,” he says. Then there werethe writings of Polish science fictionwriter/philosopher Stanislaw Lem. “Many ofhis stories centre around the ethics of creatingand interacting with simulated entities andsocieties,” Wright explains.

Pretty heady stuff, but it has translated wellinto gameland. The Sims has already spawnedhundreds of fansites on the internet, and thismonth the first official expansion pack will bereleased, dubbed The Sims: Livin’ Large.

In the game, players can either choose froma pre-made set of characters or create their ownby selecting physical features and personalitytraits. And with the thriving online community,there are no limits for customization. There areliterally thousands of downloadable goodiessuch as custom-built character faces (known as“skins”) or alternate home decorations. Thesefreebies aren’t just eye candy either — they canalter gameplay. For instance, a player candownload a soccer ball and if a sim comesacross it, he might start kicking it around thehouse. If two come across it, they might pass itback and forth or even start a game with otherdenizens of your virtual neighborhood.

But living in SimCity isn’t all fun and soccergames — you have to work, too. Remember,getting a job is one thing, but keeping it isanother so keep an eye on the clock to makeyour carpool each morning (or at night, if you’rea security guard or cop). You should also watch

name of the game

outthismonthCrimson Skies (PC)It’s 1937 and you are handsome anddaring pilot Nathan Zachary battling forcontrol of the skies at a time when theGreat Depression, the Great War andprohibition have made living on land lessthan a ball. Air chatter with friends andfoe, cinematic sequences and such chal-lenging opponents as aerial ace PaladinBlake combine to evoke the feeling of anErrol Flynn adventure.

NFL 2K1 (Sega Dreamcast)For the first time in history, gamerscan play football against each othervia the internet using the brand newSegaNet high speed console gamingnetwork, available shortly before therelease of this latest football chal-lenge. The game features improvedgraphics over last year’s model, aswell as a Franchise Mode which letsyou sign players, draft rookies andmanage a salary cap.

Pokémon Puzzle League (Nintendo 64)Ash and Pikachu head to the PokémonPuzzle League Championship to defeatthe mysterious Puzzle Master. Youhave to help them battle their waythrough 16 trainers in heated head-to-head puzzle competition.

NHL FaceOff 2001 (PlayStation)PlayStation’s latest version of FaceOfffeatures all 30 NHL teams includingthe new Minnesota Wild and ColumbusBlue Jackets. There are also four newplay modes — Tournament, Shootout,Practice and Draft. New Jersey Devilsplay-by-play man Mike Emrick andESPN’s Darren Pang call the game.

your spending — we all want cool toys but wemust be able to afford them, n’est pas? Newdwellings or additional rooms can also be builtand furnished with your personal selection ofwallpaper, tiles, plants and other trimmings.

The new expansion pack adds more careerpaths, additional plots of land on which tobuild, 125 new objects, different house styles,new decorative patterns and more.

Even 90210’s Donna and Kelly couldn’tredecorate their beach house with such selec-tion and ease.

Marc Saltzman is the author of Game Design:Secrets of the Sages (Macmillan Publishing).

SIM-ply IrresistibleCREATE YOUR OWN SOAP OPERA

By Marc Saltzman


GUCCI MURDER MILES DAVIS MASTERPIECEJAMIE LEE’S BOOK OF BALLOONS outthismonth

Stompin’ Tom and The Connors ToneBy Stompin’ Tom ConnorsThis sort-of-sequel to Connors’ first autobiographical tome, Before theFame, gives us more wacky road stories,more tales of people Connors has metduring his travels and more of the quin-tessential Canadian musician’s uniqueperspective on the world of music.

ChynaBy ChynaFollowing on the heels of best-sellingbooks by her fellow wrestlers, Mankindand The Rock, female gladiator, Chyna,tells her story of overcoming a child-hood full of abuse to become one ofthe biggest stars of the WWF.

Off Camera: Private ThoughtsMade PublicBy Ted KoppelThe host of ABC’s Nightline gives us hisobservations on everything from theClinton impeachment trial to Kosovo toViagra in this collection of essays. Healso takes us back in time to theEngland of his youth, and through the40 incredible years that have definedhis career as one of America’s mosttrusted newsmen.

Never Die EasyBy Walter Payton with Don YaegerLegendary football star Walter Paytondied last November from liver cancer.But in the months before his passing hewrote this autobiography with writerDon Yaeger. Payton made Yaegerpromise that the book would be “inspi-rational.” It can’t help but be, with sto-ries like Walter’s refusal to use hiscelebrity to get a better spot on thewaiting list for organ donations.

High-Tech Heretic: Why ComputersDon’t Belong in the ClassroomBy Clifford StollClifford Stoll, a Berkeley astronomer, hasbecome a well-known media figure bybeing something of an oxymoron. Whilehe loves computers and is considered atechnology guru, he has long professedthat the ubiquitous machines are over-rated and shouldn’t be considered thesaviours of society. Now comes this cri-tique of the school system’s relentlessdrumbeat for “computer literacy.”

The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story ofMurder, Madness, Glamour, and GreedBy Sara Gay Forden (William Morrow, $39)

Right now, Patrizia Reggiani Gucci, estranged wife of slainfashion magnate Maurizio Gucci, sits in a jail cell in Milan

awaiting an appeal and wondering if she will really have to liveout her 29-year sentence behind bars. In 1995, her ex-husbandwas gunned down outside his swank office in Milan. After alengthy investigation, the police decided all clues pointed to hisex-wife, who detested Maurizio for leaving her and falling in lovewith another woman. But that’s not all you’ll learn in this bookby Sara Gay Forden, former Milan bureau chief for Women’s WearDaily. Although The House of Gucci is being marketed as a real-life murder mystery, it’s also a historical account of the Guccifamily from the turn of the century, when Guccio Gucci openeda modest leather goods store, until the present day.

Where Do Balloons Go? AnUplifting MysteryBy Jamie Lee Curtis (HarperCollins, $20)

Following in the footsteps of her famousfather, Tony Curtis, who stretched beyond

the acting world by becoming a respectedpainter, actress Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies, AFish Called Wanda) has extended her experi-ence as an artist by becoming an author ofchildren’s books. First there was Today I FeelSilly and Other Moods That Make My Day, andnow comes Where Do Balloons Go? AnUplifting Mystery. Curtis’s playful verse(“Where do balloons go when you let themgo free? It can happen by accident… It’shappened to me”) is brought to life by artistLaura Cornell’s vibrant illustrations. If you’rewondering, yes, Jamie Lee does have chil-dren — two, in fact — a girl named Annieand boy named Tom. They all live (with dad,actor Christopher Guest) in L.A.

Kind of Blue: The Making of theMiles Davis MasterpieceBy Ashley Kahn (Da Capo Press, $35)

During two impromptu studio sessions backin 1959, an album that would come to be

known as “The bible of jazz recordings” wasplucked from the air and committed to vinyl.That album was Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. Now,more than 40 years later, journalist Ashley Kahnrevisits those historic sessions with this meticu-lously researched chronicle that’s bursting withphotos, transcripts of session tapes, images oforiginal scores and other bits of memorabilia.Kahn did more than 50 interviews with suchmusic makers as Herbie Hancock and ElvinJones, and surviving musicians from the ses-sions, like drummer Jimmy Cobb, in the courseof his research. —Marni Weisz

pulp and paper


ey music junkie! Always on the cusp of thenext development in sound technology?Tired of MP3s? Bored with Napster? Don’tbe dejected because you can’t figure outwhat’s looming on the music trend horizon.

The next step forward may actually be a little stepback. It’s vinyl. Recordable vinyl, that is.

The long-time trinket of retro buffs and DJs theworld over, vinyl records may be about to surge backinto the mainstream with a boost from the Vestax VRX-2000 recordable vinyl machine. It’s thefirst instrument of its kind that makes use of vinylinstead of the more common (and fragile) acetate, andthe first designed for home-recording enthusiasts.

“People want vinyl,” says Rob Squire, a.k.a. Sixtoo, a26-year-old Halifax DJ. “Vinyl is a richer quality soundthan a CD. Something happens when you put a signalonto vinyl that just isn’t there when you put it onto CD.It’s something more than nostalgic preservation.”

Any DJ worth his or her salt will tell you the samething — almost all club DJs make their music usingvinyl records or dub plates (which look like recordsbut are made of acetate). DJs who use CDs (calledCDJs) are rare, and heavily frowned upon.

Strangely, music made by DJs is considered “elec-tronic” or “digital” simply because it’s not made bybeer-spilling maniacs clanking guitars. But, in reality,DJs are the only musicians who cling so staunchly tothe vinyl medium.

But that may change with the Vestax unit, whichwill move vinyl from the sweaty clubs to a previous-ly digital domain — computer consoles in bedroomsand living rooms. That’s because the machine, whichlooks a lot like a regular turntable, cuts records fromany audio source, including radio and MP3. It acceptsfrequency signals just like a CD burner, then a lathe-

type gadget carves the signal’s correspondinggrooves into 12-inch vinyl. Voila, a record.

Daddy Kev, a DJ and producer with L.A.-basedCelestial Recordings, thinks the Vestax VRX-2000will make a big mark on the DJ industry. “Because it’snot acetate,” he says, “it will be a big deal for scratch-ing.” Acetate dub plates last about 50 plays per sidebefore degrading. When a DJ is scratching, everytime he or she cues a record forward or back it’sconsidered a play. Scratching on a single verse orcollection of beats for 10 minutes, could make abald spot on an acetate record. But not on vinyl.

Vinyl is also less expensive than acetate. For themusician who wants to make his or her own music,and who savours the distinctive sound of vinyl, thisnew format will become the norm. “It’s going to changeeverything,” says Daddy Kev. “It’ll be much easier foryou to play your own original recording out there.”

Of course, as with all new technology, the VestaxVRX-2000 still has a few bugs. While durability isbetter than acetate, the sound quality isn’t quite asgood. And then there’s the cost — somewherearound $9,000. But just like VCRs, DVDs and homecomputers, the VRX-2000 will decrease in cost andincrease in quality and user-friendliness. Eventually,the recordable vinyl machine could become as com-mon and affordable as a CD burner.

For both Daddy Kev and Sixtoo, recordable vinyl isanother way DJs, and musicians from all genres, willbe able to make and record their own music. “It’llempower people more,” says Sixtoo. “If everyone isable to cut their own music to vinyl, it’s going to addstrength to DJ culture. It’s just another step in themusic-making chain.”

Lezlie Lowe is music editor of The Coast, Halifax’s artsand news weekly.

outthismonthArtist: Erykah BaduTitle: The New DuLabel: Motown/Universal

Artist: Barenaked LadiesTitle: MaroonLabel: Warner Bros.

Artist: BjorkTitle: SelmasongsLabel: Elektra/Warner

Artist: Boyz II MenTitle: Nathan, Michael,

Shawn & WanyaLabel: Universal

Artist: FastballTitle: The Harsh Light of DayLabel: Hollywood Records/

Universal

Artist: Mark KnopflerTitle: Sailing to PhiladelphiaLabel: Mercury/Universal

Artist: Limp BizkitTitle: Chocolate Starfish

and the Hotdog Flavored Water

Label: Interscope/Universal

Artist: Patty LovelessTitle: Strong HeartLabel: Epic/Sony

Artist: MadonnaTitle: MusicLabel: Warner Bros.

Artist: The MoffattsTitle: SubmodalitiesLabel: EMI

Artist: Joan OsborneTitle: Righteous LoveLabel: Interscope/Universal

Artist: SunnaTitle: One Minute SilenceLabel: Melankolic/Virgin

Artist: WallflowersTitle: BreachLabel: Interscope/Universal

Artist: Wild StrawberriesTitle: TwistLabel: Universal

PH

OTO

, VA

DIM

MOSCOTI

N

liner notes

groovemaking

hBy Lezlie Lowe

FORGET YOUR CD BURNER.RECORDABLE VINYL COULD BE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

TRALH

ey. Didja hear? They’re making anAliens vs. Predator movie, and get this:It’ll star Arnold Schwarzenegger ANDHarrison Ford. James Cameron is

directing. It’ll cost $70-million just to pay thosethree. Yeah. And I’ve got it from an insidesource at Skywalker Ranch that the new villainin Star Wars 2 is Darth Kimball. And Lucas isrecruiting lacrosse players to play Jedi Knights,because they know how to wield a stick.

Pretty cool, huh? Unfortunately, these rumourscurrently circulating on the internet are bunkaccording to Patrick Sauriol from the ComingAttractions website (www.corona.bc.ca/films/).

He should know. Started in April of 1995, theVancouver, B.C.-based Coming Attractions wastracking movie news and rumours before thenotorious movie gossip site Ain’t-It-Cool-Newswas a glint in founder Harry Knowles’ eye. “Wehad exactly 12 film listings,” recalls Sauriol. “Iput up all the information I could find aboutsuch projects as Goldeneye, or the first ToyStory, or the mother-of-all-wishful-projects atthe time, Star Wars: Episode One.”

A former comic book writer and editor, Sauriolbegan the project with no knowledge of HTML,and only a vague concept of what a website was.“I wasn’t doing much writing anyway, and Ithought it would help keep me producing con-tent while looking for my next writing gig,” hesays. In the five and a half years since, the sitehas been selected as a rising Hollywood talent by

Vanity Fair, nominated for a Webby Award, andgarnered favourable press from EntertainmentWeekly, Time, Premiere, Entertainment Tonightand CNN. But it’s only in the last few months thatComing Attractions (a.k.a. CA) started makingenough money for Sauriol to give up his otherjobs. “We’re in the stages of CA transformingfrom a side hobby that one person used to do, toactually becoming a legitimate business entitythat employs a staff!”

Much of that success comes from Sauriol’sability to get inside scoops. How inside? “Wereceive scoops from a diverse group of people,ranging from someone who saw somethingabout a film in their local newspaper or on TV,

to friends of cast and crew workingon productions, to insiders

working for the Hollywoodstudios, to the actual direc-tors, screenwriters, starsand so on,” says Sauriol.“I know some scoopershave snuck back intotheir boss’s office afterhours to sneak me somenew information about atop secret movie project.I get tapes, movie scripts,letters sent to CA’s mail-box and fax machine.…One fellow who regularly

scoops for me works in a high position forDisney. Another individual works for one ofHollywood’s top talent agencies.”

These inside scoopers usually use pseudo-nyms to protect their identities and careers, saysSauriol — a fear that is justified. “An employee ofPeter Jackson’s special effects company, WETA,got fired after their supervisor saw their namecredited with a new scoop on CA!”

There are two types of rumours. The onesthat are true, and the ones that aren’t. One ofthe best aspects of Coming Attractions is thatSauriol culls through the rumours to extract themost accurate bits of information. Sometimes itcan be tough to distinguish between what istruth and what is not, so when a new rumourappears from a new source, Sauriol will run itpast his insiders. If they can’t verify it, he will

either run it with a warning that the informationisn’t verified, or sit on it. One of his proudest bitsof inside information was that Jimmy Smitswould be cast in the new Star Wars movie, arumour his site broke seven weeks before theofficial announcement.

So, what’s the appeal of doing a site like this?For Sauriol, it’s simple: “Breaking a story thatsounds like complete baloney, that isn’t acceptedand believed by anyone, that is [used as] anotherexample of the shoddy practice of a disreputablewebsite...and being proven 100% correct a cou-ple of weeks later. Unbelievable feeling.”

Trent Ernst is a freelance writer based inChilliwack, B.C.

bit streaming

The U.S. of A. isn’t the only countryproducing quality websites that followHollywood. Canada’s Coming Attractionsis one of the best non-American onlinefilm entities, but here are two morethat are worth checking out.

AUSTRALIADARK HORIZONS www.darkhorizons.comSydney-based Garth Franklin runs thiscomprehensive source of info aboutblockbuster movies and your favouritecult TV shows. He gets more than150,000 hits per day from people eagerto surf his “News & Rumours” section orbrowse indexes for movies already re-leased, coming soon and in the works.The site also features lots of photossnapped surreptitiously by folks “wander-ing” past film sites, links to other moviegossip sites and trailers for upcomingfilms.

UNITED KINGDOMFILM UNLIMITED http://filmunlimited.co.ukIn-depth features and reviews of currentfilms are augmented by up-to-date newsand rumours on this well-organizedBritish site. There’s also a section thatmatches your mood to the movie youshould be popping in the old VCR orDVD player. Battling with your diet?

surfingOUTSIDE THE STATESscoop

CENCANADIAN WEBSITE TRACKS HOLLYWOOD RUMOURS


By Trent Ernst

ILLU

STR

ATI

ON

, KATI

A S

MIR

NOVA


ON HER FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS “My first pick isTitanic (1997). I love romance, so that was abig thing for me, but I also really, really lovedall the effects and the big ship. My favouritescene was when the boat broke in half and thetop section started going down into the water.That was just the most exciting part. And yougot to see all the people falling into the water!Which is kinda morbid, but they just looked soreal! • Number two is Notting Hill (1999). Ithought that was a very funny movie. The storywas really sweet, but I especially liked HughGrant’s quirky roommate. He was my favouritething in the whole movie. Like I said, I’m asucker for romance. • For number three, I’dsay Boomerang (1992), with Eddie Murphyand Martin Lawrence. I’m a big Eddie Murphyfan. I also thought Life was hilarious, whichalso had Martin Lawrence. I liked NuttyProfessor, but Boomerang and Life are my twofavourite Eddie movies. • Number four is actu-ally two movies, Mission: Impossible 1 (1996)and 2 (2000). I thought the action sequences ineach of them were so cool. And I loved thestories, trying to figure out who did what towho. They both had good mysteries behindthem. And that scene with the two guys leap-ing off the motorcycles and firing at eachother…awesome! • For number five I’d sayThe Lion King (1994). I just loved that Simba.You know, I actually started welling up duringthat film, at the part when Simba’s dad diedand when he came back as the cloud. I really

love all animated films, especially if they havea good story, like Bambi.”

ON HER UPCOMING FILM DEBUT “It’s a moviethat’s going to be in the Toronto Film Festivalcalled Love Come Down. It’s directed byClement Virgo and stars myself and LarenzTate. I play a character named Nico who isadopted and lives with a Jewish family. Thestory revolves around her trying to find herbiological father, and along the way she meetsNeville [Tate], and the two of them fall in love.He’s quite a dysfunctional character in a sense— he’s a struggling comedian who falls intodrugs and is trying to work out some issueswith his step-brother. So I think the whole filmis really about these people just trying to findsome kind of hope in their life.”

ON WHY SHE CHOSE TO MAKE HER FILM DEBUTWITH LOVE COME DOWN “I loved the characterNico. I thought that she was somebody I hadn’tseen on screen before, this black girl who’sgrown up in a Jewish household. I’m sure that

people who are trying to find truth in their lifewill relate to her, because that’s what she’strying to find. She has to deal with so manylevels of relationships, her relationship withher father, her relationship with Neville, herrelationship with her mother who’s dying ofcancer. You kind of go through this journeywith her as she tries to find ways of mendingthose things. [Laughs.] And I got to kissLarenz with 12 people standing aroundwatching!”

ON MP3S “I’m totally against the pirating. I thinkthere has to be some sort of law implementedvery, very soon to stop it. These people don’tunderstand that this is our creativity, this is ourwork that comes from our heart and our soul.And when people can just log on and down-load it for nothing, it’s crazy. It costs money tomake records, it costs money to do recordings.Musicians gotta get paid. Studios gotta getpaid. There’s a lot involved, and I think somepeople are taking a very one-sided approach totheir philosophy of music ownership.”

five favourite films

By Mark Magee

Ask most people what “Canadian music” means to them,and you’ll probably get the same three answers: TheTragically Hip, Stompin’ Tom Connors and East Coast fiddlehoe-downs. Luckily for us though, Canuck music doesn’t

have to stop there, as the phenomenal success of R&B diva DeborahCox has proven. Deborah hit the music scene running in 1995 withher self-titled debut. In 1998, she followed that up with the album OneWish, which contained the single “Nobody’s Supposed to be Here” —the longest running No. 1 R&B single in Billboard magazine history.Her recent projects include a role in the Clement Virgo film Love ComeDown, which premieres at this month’s Toronto International FilmFestival, and a state-of-the-art website (www.deborahcox.com),where she plans to broadcast regular webchats andlive recording sessions. Here she talks about herfive favourite films, her foray into acting andthe downside of the web for musicians.

Deborah CoxMAKES HER PICKS


The Next Best Thing (August 29)Stars: Madonna, Rupert EverettDirector: John SchlesingerStory: When a straight woman (Madonna) andher gay male friend (Everett) share a drunkennight of passion and conceive a child, theydecide to raise the baby together. But theirarrangement turns out to be more complicatedthan they predicted. Also available on DVD.

To Walk With Lions (August 29)Stars: Richard Harris, Honor BlackmanDirector: Carl SchultzStory: Legendary British actor Richard Harrisplays writer/conservationist George Adamsonin this true story. The plot revolves aroundAdamson’s battle to protect the giant cats onhis African lion preserve from poachers. Alsoavailable on DVD.

Any Given Sunday (September 1)Stars: Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron DiazDirector: Oliver StoneStory: Pacino plays the head of a football teamin the Associated Football Franchise of America(AFFA) who fights to protect the team and itsaging quarterback (Quaid) after a new owner(Diaz) takes over. Also available on DVD.

East is East (September 12)Stars: Om Puri, Linda BassettDirector: Damien O’DonnellStory: This British comedy won aslew of awards in the U.K. beforebeing released in North America.It takes place in the Seventiesand follows the stubborn attempts of aPakistani father (Puri) to raise his children withtraditional Pakistani values and convince themto marry Pakistani partners — despite the factthat his wife (Bassett) is white. Also availableon DVD.

Mission to Mars (September 12)Stars: Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise, Don CheadleDirector: Brian De PalmaStory: After the first manned mission to Marsends in disaster, a second crew is sent to theRed Planet to save the one survivor and figureout what went wrong. What they find is beyondanything they could have imagined.

High Fidelity (September 19)Stars: John Cusack, Iben HjejleDirector: Stephen Frears Story: Thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) isa self-centered record store manager goingthrough an early mid-life crisis. Guided by con-versations with his staff about their lives andhow the music they listen to shapes them, hetries to figure out his place in the adult world.Bruce Springsteen appears in a cameo.

Ready to Rumble (September 19)Stars: David Arquette, Scott Caan, Oliver PlattDirector: Brian RobbinsStory: When their favourite WCW wrestler(Platt) is ousted from the league, two dimwit-ted sewage workers (Arquette and Caan) headto WCW headquarters in Atlanta with a plan tohelp their hero get his job back and win thetitle. Also available on DVD.

The Big Kahuna (September 19)Stars: Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Peter FacinelliDirector: John SwanbeckStory: Three salesmen (Spacey, DeVito andFacinelli) spend a weekend holed up in theirhotel suite waiting for a big client to stop by.They pass the time by swapping philosophiesabout sales and life. Also available on DVD.

28 Days (September 19)Stars: Sandra Bullock, Steve BuscemiDirector: Betty ThomasStory: After an out-of-control alcoholic(Bullock) steals a limo and crashes it into ahouse during her sister’s wedding, she is sentto a rehab clinic for 28 days to clean up anddry out. Also available on DVD.

Black and White (September 26)Stars: Brooke Shields, Robert Downey, Jr., Scott CaanDirector: James TobackStory: Shields plays a documentary filmmakerexploring the phenomenon of white middle-class kids who like to emulate black inner citykids. This film earned critical acclaim at lastyear’s Toronto International Film Festival. Alsoavailable on DVD.

Final Destination (September 26)Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali LarterDirector: James WongStory: Alex (Sawa), a 17-year-old high schoolstudent, has a vision that the Paris-bound planehe and his six buddies are about to catch willexplode in mid-air, so he talks them out ofgoing. The plane does explode, and it looks likethey avoided catastrophe. But his buddies startto drop like flies anyway and he could be nextif he doesn’t figure out what’s going on.

on videoSandra Bullock and Steve Buscemi in 28 Days

GET READY TO RUMBLE, ENJOY ANY GIVEN SUNDAY OR GO ON A MISSION TO MARS

Richard Harris and friendin To Walk With Lions

John Cusack and Iben Hjejle in High Fidelity

ROSEANNE “My most outrageous wish isthat gays will run the world, because thenthere would be no war — just a greateremphasis on military apparel.”

SUSAN SARANDON “My most outrageouswish? When I get to heaven and see God,I’d like to hear her say, ‘Let’s party!’”

ROD STEIGER “My dream is to drop deadin front of the camera or in the heights oflovemaking.”

DREW BARRYMORE “I’ve always wanteda brother. When we made Mad Love, ChrisO’Donnell was my ultimate brother. Imean, we’d clean each other’s ears outwith Q-Tips.”


famous last words

outrageous ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER“REINSTATE FAMILY VALUES.WHEN I WAS GROWING UP AND ICAME HOME FROM SCHOOL, MYMOTHER WOULD SAY, ’PULL OUTTHE BOOKS. LET’S SEE WHAT THEHOMEWORK IS.’ SHE WOULDWORK WITH ME. ONLY WHENALL THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHEDCOULD I GO OUT AND PLAY.THEN, WHEN MY FATHER CAMEHOME, WE’D START KICKING THESOCCER BALL IN FRONT OF THEHOUSE. THERE WAS A RELATION-SHIP BETWEEN MOTHER ANDCHILD, AND FATHER AND CHILDWHICH IS NOT THERE ANYMORE.I WISH IT WERE.”

14 STARS 14


WOODY HARRELSON “My wish is thatwar stops being lucrative. The problem isthat people make so much moneythrough our military encounters.”

SANDRA BULLOCK “To take a wholeyear off and do absolutely nothing butstay home and nest and hang out withmy pooches.”

KATHY BATES “My most outrageous wish is that Hollywood would stop hold-ing up these gorgeous, slim 19-year-oldsas role models. What it’s done to me as awoman is make me feel that I’m not goodenough. It’s a constant negative messageand I fear it’s wishful thinking to assumeit will cease.”

MORGAN FREEMAN “To sail the oceanblue. It’s been one of my enduringdreams — just to go sailing.”

BRANDY “I’d like to almost not have towork anymore. I’d like to be like JuliaRoberts, who does a film because she likesit, not because she needs the money.”

MICHAEL CAINE “Remove envy from theU.K. One of the great British diseases isenvy. Every nation has its own disease.America’s is greed. France’s is chauvinismand England’s is envy. When you’re work-ing class and you’ve made it big, envy iswhat you have to cope with.”

EDDIE MURPHY “I don’t remember atime when black people have been happy.Racism is as prevalent in society as it’sever been. Everybody is unhappy — and Isuppose my most outrageous wish wouldbe to have that change in my lifetime.”

RICHARD GERE “A cure for AIDS. I’vehad a lot of friends who died from AIDS.It’s a horrendous situation. I still don’tthink governments are doing enough.” A

RN

OLD

SCH

WAR

ZEN

EGG

ER A

ND

JAM

IE L

EE C

UR

TIS P

HOTO

S C

OU

RTE

SY O

F G

REG

GOR

MAN

, IN

SID

E LI

FE,

RIZ

ZOLI

IN

TER

NATI

ON

AL

PU

BLI

CATI

ON

S,

INC.

1997

wishes

JAMIE LEE CURTIS“I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE NOTTO CARE WHAT I LOOK LIKE.”

REVEAL THEIR MOST

By Susan Granger

september horoscope

VIRGOAugust 23-September 22Expect changes in your living arrangements.Long-term guests and short-term relocationsare among the possibilities. Mid-month is idealfor unloading art objects and collectibles. Back-to-back promotions are in store for you or aloved one. Watch out for a gullible streak thatsurfaces toward month’s end.

LIBRASeptember 23-October 22Although your influence and encouragementcan help a partner out of an emotional slump,you play far more than a supporting role thismonth. You’ll excel as a host and shine as ateam leader. Mid-month finds you working on afamily tree or related project.

SCORPIOOctober 23-November 21While a casual acquaintance reveals a wholelot more than you need to know, your closestfriends clam up. That’s par for the course in astrange month that accents contrasts and contradictions: slowdowns at work one week,overtime another. Battle through a romanticslump around the 10th, because the actionheats up by the 20th.

SAGITTARIUSNovember 22-December 22This month looks good for a makeover — newhairstyle, new perfume, new wardrobe. Just optfor subtlety over razzle dazzle. You need tomake some tough budget decisions, especiallyin the area of shared expenses.

CAPRICORNDecember 23-January 20 Decisions you make throughout Septembershould come from the heart, as well as thehead. An old flame may be trying to get intouch, but the communications channels aretemporarily blocked. Your own intuition isstrongest from the 22nd on.

AQUARIUSJanuary 21-February 19Here’s a taste of what’s on tap this month:soirées, a boss or co-worker with an attitude, awonderful new soul mate and a friend whowants to be indulged. But take time out foryourself, or you’ll be overwhelmed by it all.

PISCESFebruary 20-March 20Your key to romance lies in balancing the passive yin with the active yang. Confirming appointments is all-important from the 11ththrough the 19th. And, at work, your knowl-edge of an obscure subject can earn the admi-ration of those in high places.

ARIESMarch 21-April 20It’s a month of small misunderstandings. Forinstance, flirtations may not be all that inno-cent and financial offers may be less firm thanyou believe. But the first two weeks are out-standing for setting up a health and fitnessplan. And the last 12 days of September seeyou enjoying good times — at long last —with a very special friend.

TAURUSApril 21-May 22You’re inclined to talk yourself into things —especially from the 2nd through the 14th, sowhy not go for the really interesting stuff? Aromantic partner is extra supportive, friends aregiving you more space and, by the 20th, you’refinally able to loosen those purse strings andspend a little cash on yourself.

GEMINIMay 23-June 21Romantic dry spells end and September devel-ops into a month of sweet sentiments. It’s alsoan unexpectedly creative time, even if you’remerely doodling. Some cautions though:Health needs, job conflicts and household re-pairs all require prompt attention.

By Dan Liebman

CANCERJune 22-July 22You’re unusually focused following a period ofdiversions. The first two weeks of Septemberare outstanding for trouble shooting at work.Sorting out relationships is ideal for weeksthree and four. Your honest, independentthinking could lead to a commendation by the30th. Just watch out for a late month absent-minded streak.

LEOJuly 23-August 22Your knack for bringing adversaries togetherworks wonders through the Labour Day week-end. You and your partner may be swappingyour typical roles near the 15th. Small chal-lenges unexpectedly faze you around the20th. The last week of September is ripe foradding flare to your wardrobe and zing toyour romantic life.

KATI

A S

MIR

NOVA

1st Lily Tomlin2nd Keanu Reeves3rd Charlie Sheen4th Neil Simon5th Raquel Welch6th Rosie Perez7th Corbin Bernsen8th Billy Crudup9th Adam Sandler

10th Chris Columbus11th Harry Connick, Jr.12th Ian Holm13th Jacqueline Bisset14th Sam Neill

15th Oliver Stone16th Lauren Bacall17th Anne Bancroft18th Frankie Avalon19th Jeremy Irons20th Sophia Loren21st Stephen King22nd Andrea Bocelli23rd Jason Alexander24th Pedro Almodóvar25th Heather Locklear26th Linda Hamilton27th Meat Loaf28th Gwyneth Paltrow

starstruck

AUGUSTBIRTHDAYS


9. cineplex magazine september 2000

Documents