Category: Actresses (Page 111 of 258)

Raquel Alessi talks “Miss March,” posing for Playboy

August 11, 2009 /

To celebrate the arrival of her comedy “Miss March” on DVD and Blu-ray, Raquel Alessi is out doing the publicity rounds — and she was good enough to make a stop at Bullz-Eye, where she chatted with Anthony Stalter about such crucial topics as how she got her big break in showbiz, who she’d like to work with in the future, and (of course) whether she’d ever actually follow in the Playboy centerfold footsteps of her character in the movie.

BE: Now you play a Playmate in the movie, but there’s no nudity in your role. Is modeling for “Playboy” in your future? I think our readers would have my head if I didn’t ask.

RA: (laughs) Um, I don’t think so. I think it’s great for whoever wants to do it, but I don’t think I have the nerve to do it to be honest. I would be nuts during the day I had to take all my clothes off and stuff. I couldn’t imagine having that set of nerves! (laughs)

Try not to let the disappointment get you down, fellas — Raquel may not be bound for the pages of Playboy, but she has just done a spread for the readers of Maxim, and if you’re in the kind of relationship that requires a certain amount of rom-com attendance, you can look forward to seeing more of her:

BE: Not that you ever want to be typecast as an actor or actress, but what role do you think best fits your personality? What roles do you look forward to playing?

RA: Romantic comedy – for sure. In real life, I’m outgoing and funny and whenever someone looks like a certain way sometimes you think, oh, they never get bitchy or bad girl parts. I kind of think that I have this sweetness in me that when I act, it comes out. So when I do those romantic comedy types of roles, I think people really like it. I think that’s kind of my niche.

To read the rest of Raquel Alessi’s chat with Bullz-Eye, just follow this link!

Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Interviews

“Almost Famous” director’s cut…worth your time?

August 10, 2009 /

After reading Bill Simmons’ tribute to “Almost Famous,” which he deems the quintessential movie of the aughts (a.k.a. the ’00s), I felt compelled to track down the “Bootleg Cut” (a.k.a. “Untitled”) to see what the hullabaloo was about. Here is what Simmons had to say about the extra footage in the DC.

Best four extra scenes from the director’s cut: Russell and William talking music before the first Stillwater concert; Jeff Bebe’s interview with William during which he utters quote No. 23; Penny’s birthday cake scene; and Russell and Jeff making up at the end and botching their man-hug. There’s also an 11-minute scene in which William makes his mother listen to “Stairway to Heaven” — yes, the entire song — in an attempt to get her to understand rock ‘n’ roll. It’s indescribable. I loved it; some hated it. Crowe couldn’t get the rights to the song, so it didn’t matter. More importantly, how is this not on YouTube? Wasn’t YouTube invented for stray clips like that?

FYI, quote No. 23 is…

Show me any guy who ever said he didn’t want to be popular, and I’ll show you a scared guy. I’ve studied the entire history of music. Most of the time, the best stuff is the popular stuff. It’s much safer to say popularity sucks, because that allows you to forgive yourself if you suck. And I don’t forgive myself. Do you?

A few thoughts…

– The version I saw had a running time of 2:41 and didn’t include an 11-minute scene where William plays his mother “Stairway to Heaven” in order to convince her that he should be able to complete his assignment for Rolling Stone. I’ve only been able to find that scene here, and since Cameron Crowe was unable to get the rights, the viewer has to play his own copy of the song. I always felt that it was out of character for William’s mother to let him go on tour with a rock band with so little discussion, and this great “Stairway to Heaven” scene fills in some of these blanks. In the version I saw, Elaine’s decision still seemed rushed.

– I have mixed feelings about the other four scenes that Simmons mentioned. I thought Penny’s birthday cake scene was terrific, especially towards the end when Jimmy Fallon’s character broke the news that she wasn’t going to with the band to New York. Kate Hudson’s reaction was a nice bit of acting and the movie is better as a whole because it’s clear that inside the tough exterior of Penny Lane, there is just a normal girl — and she’s in love. I also thought Bebe’s quote about popularity was insightful but not crucial. The other two scenes — Russell’s first interview with William and Jeff and Russell’s make-up scene — were extraneous. Russell’s eagerness and availability to talk contradicted the sense throughout the remainder of the movie that William wouldn’t be able to get his interview with Russell.

I’d recommend “Untitled” to fans of the original that haven’t seen it in a while. Jeff’s problems with Russell seem more fleshed out and the relationship between the two has more closure. In fact, all of the various storylines seem a little deeper, and that’s no surprise since the DC runs about 38 minutes longer.

Does it make it better? I’ll let you be the judge. The movie worked really well in its original form, but after watching the DC, I certainly wouldn’t say that the extra footage hurts the film.

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie DVDs, Movies

Box office victory for “G.I. Joe”; “Julie and Julia” attracts many ladies of a certain age

August 9, 2009 /

Not a lot of big surprises at this weekend’s box office. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” apparently did even better than some expected in the “flyover” or “heartland” areas (this is supposedly where “real Americans live,” which is nice to know as a coastal fictitious American). As per the trades, it made an estimated $56.2 million this weekend, several million better than $45-50 million number I repeated last time.

For those of us (me!) seeking a cloud in Paramount’s silver lining, Nikki Finke does offer that the studio actually predicted a round $60 million earlier and that the film’s $175 million budget is just a tad on the high side. (That’s a minimum of 17 smallish budget studio films that could have been made for the same price tag.)

Finke has some doubts that the movie will hit $300 million or be profitable all on its own, though merchandising here is obviously a possible financial bonanza for toy maker Hasbro. She also has some doubts about the foreign market in light of sentiment abroad opposed to U.S. militarism. It might be tempting to say then, that Barack Obama is the best friend Paramount has here, but Finke points out that “G.I. Joe” came in at #2 in Australia, once the third most enthusiastic member of “the coalition of the willing” under Bush-esque rightwinger John Howard. She also expects it to be blown out of the water by the apparently entirely non-brainless “District 9” next weekend. I never thought I’d say this, but from Nikki Finke’s mouth to God’s ears.

Meryl Streep and Stanley TucciMeanwhile, the culinographic “Julie and Julia” also performed pretty much precisely according to expectation and pulled in a satisfactorily satiating estimate of $20.1. According to a “rival exec” Finke quotes, the dual memoir dramedy had one of the oldest demographics he or she had ever seen, which I guess makes sense considering you have to be over a certain age to have watched Julia Child regularly on television. Finke also says the audience was almost exclusively female, despite the fact that we all like food that tastes good. In any case, those whose dating preferences includes middle-aged and older women now know their next film-going destination.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

Movie Moments for John Hughes Fans #2

August 8, 2009 /

Following on from this morning’s post, a couple more key clips.

A brilliant 7:35 with two great comics from”Planes, Trains & Automobiles.”

And, from “Pretty in Pink (written by Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch),” just as Annie Potts tries out her Spanish on Molly Ringwald and spins a little Otis Redding, enter Duckie (Jon Cryer).

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies

The adventures of Doug Liman

August 7, 2009 /

A couple of loosely related items today:

* Via Jeff Giles, and Nikki Finke, comes this true life tale of heroic derring do by “Bourne” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” director Doug Liman and producer Avram Ludwig.

The event won’t hurt Liman’s personal rep, which a polite person could call “eccentric,” but this seems like a good time to mention he’s not the only Hollywood fashioner of action myths to be involved in real life heroism. Jimmy Stewart is regarded as a real-life war hero for service in World War II, where he flew over twenty combat missions and, much more recently, Werner Herzog helped River Phoenix escape from a car wreck. Okay, that’s not really on the same scale as Stewart, and it doesn’t really sound like Herzog was in any danger, but given his background, Herzog is definitely the working director I’d most want around in a dangerous situation. I’m sure there are better examples, but I can’t think of them right now.

* I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody reading this has ever heard of “Rocket Robin Hood” (actually, knowing Will Harris, he probably watched the entire run of this obscure late sixties cartoon series last Wednesday night). Steven Zeitchik reports that a new, futuristic but far more earthbound Robin Hood may be coming up, alongside the more traditional Robin Hood variation already in production directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

He’s made some great movies in past decades, but Scott has never been known for his light touch. As far as I’m concerned, he’ll have a helluva time topping this.

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, TV Cartoons

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