H mag - dec 2010 by The H magazine

December 2010 - Year IV - Issue n.23

ISSN 1828 - 6437 Digital Publishers Our last nov issue, in a period where the printed mags are collapsing, we registered over 2,700,000 visitors on our website and we had over 500,000 readers on ISSUU. Today, we are proud to be digital and NOT printed. Today, with our big numbers we know the people want a free and “easy to get” information. This December 2010 we have a lot of news: 1 - A new editor who is bringing a bunch of very talented contributors. 2 - This dec 2010 we only go ISSUU. No more need to choose between Flash and PDFs versions. PDF is running on every device such as iPAD and portable computers and Issuu created the most amazing reading platform for PDF documents such as magazines. 3 - You can read your own copy on the web or you can always

Publication Director Mauro Somma Editor in Chief Michelle Lavinne Art Director Chris Labrame Executive Editor Monica Censi Fashion Director Arianna Cerri Managing Editor Michele Soldano Senior Features Editor Jennifer Leviance Graphics Angelo Cristaldi Maria Pozzi Executive Contributors New York Maureen Logbrad Paris Ophelie Henry London Antoine Muller Los Angeles Joshua Osvaldt Advertising Matteo Bergamini

download it and read it whenever you want. 4 - This month finally we realized the very first part of the projects we built up 4 years ago about the digital publishing. Starting by this month you can watch video commercials or trailers; you can get the song you like linking to iTunes; you can get the book you like jumping to amazon. But most important, you have a lot of new links in our mag: That’s the project we had 4 years ago: A fully customizable mag with tons of informations and web interactions and connections. Whenever you see a link you can click over and get the informations you want, jumping to a wikipedia page, or any other page. 5 - This issue has 204 pages. Now, get your own copy and please enjoy the new issue.

Public Relations Elisa Marchionni

Area 31 Media Rome Piazza del Popolo, 22 00100 Rome / Italy info@thehmag.com Paris Avenue Hoce, 48 Paris / France info@area31media.com

Warning: all images and texts are copyright protected. Every reproduction is not permitted without our special agreement signed.

“The work gets more difficult as you get older. You learn more and you gather more experiences, there is deeper pain and higher highs.” Gwyneth Paltrow

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10 - GWYNETH PALTROW Starring 22 - THE TOURIST Movie 26 - MEGAMIND Making of

38 - ALL GOOD THINGS Movie 42 - JAMES BLUNT Music

THE TEMPEST - 126 Movie PAUL NEWMAN - 130 Legends 10 SHOTS - 140 Drinks

50 - GEMMA ARTERTON Spotlight

JAIME CHUNG - 146 Highlights

76 - BLU RAY Techs 80 - SOMEWHERE Movie

ALAN RITCHSON - 118 Interview

RABBIT HOLE - 142 Movie

66 - JAIME LYNN SIGLER Interview

DEAR JOHN - 114 Written By

46 - COUNTRY STRONG Movie

62 - TRUE GRIT Movie

84 - SONY NEX VG10 Camcorder 90 - ROCKY III Soundtrack 94 - YOGI BEAR Movie 98 - CAPTAIN AMERICA In Production 100 - LITTLE FOCKERS Movie 104 - THE AVENGERS Rumored 106 - THE FIGHTER Movie

4 - Editorial

110 - LUMIX DMC-GF2 Camera

NIGHT CATCHES US - 150 Movie

126 130

YOGA - 154 Health FROZEN - 158 Script THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE - 162 Cult VINTAGE CHEVVY - 172 Cars RELEASES - 176 Cool Stuff

150

MONTHLY RENTALS - 182 Dvds NEWS - 186 Television ALLY WALKER - 190 Interview SIMS 3 - LATE NIGHT - 200 Games MUST READ - 202 Books

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“I realised life is so short and precious, you should do

things that make you feel inspired, that push you and teach you something. I’d rather not have a big house, a huge closet of clothes, diamonds and a private plane, and instead a body of work that I’m proud of. “

GWYNETH G

wyneth Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Blythe Danner, an actress, and Bruce Paltrow, a film and television director and producer. Paltrow’s father was of Ashkenazi Russian Jewish descent and her mother is a Quaker of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Paltrow’s paternal great-grandfather, whose surname was “Paltrowicz”, was a rabbi in little Nowogród, Poland. Paltrow was raised in Santa Monica, where she attended Crossroads School before moving and enrolling in The Spence School, a private girls’ school in New York City. Later she briefly studied art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before dropping out to act. Paltrow has a younger brother, Jake Paltrow, and is a cousin of actress Katherine Moennig and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

She is an “adopted daughter” of Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where at 15 she spent a year as an exchange student and learned to speak Spanish. Paltrow is a childhood friend of Satur10 - H mag

ONLY

PALTROW

Written by Emma Fueler

STARRING

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STARRING day Night Live’s Maya Rudolph. earned Paltrow the award for Out-

standing Performance by a Female AcPaltrow made her professional stage tor in a Leading Role from the Screen debut in 1990. Her film debut followed Actors Guild and the Academy Award next year with Shout (1991), starring for Best Actress, among other honors. John Travolta; later that year, she appeared in Hook (1991), as Young Wendy. Paltrow then had minor roles in Malice (1993) and Flesh and Bone (1993). She , Paltrow cowas next cast in a supporting role in Se7en starred in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which (1995) alongside Brad Pitt and Morgan earned $80 million domestically and reFreeman, which earned her a Satellite ceived positive reviews. She showcased Award nomination. The film was success- her singing ability in 2000’s Duets, which ful commercially and critically. In 1996, was directed by her father and co-starred she played the title character in Emma singer Huey Lewis. The same year, Paltrow to critical acclaim, particularly in the co-starred with Ben Affleck in the romanUnited Kingdom, where her perfection tic drama Bounce as Abby Janello. She was of the English accent was appreciated. then part of an ensemble cast, as Margot Tenenbaum, in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Also in 2001, she starred with Jack Black in the comedy Shallow Hal, where n 1998, Paltrow starred in Shake- she played both roles, slim and fat Rosespeare in Love, portraying the fictional mary, and had to wear a specially designed love of William Shakespeare, played by 25 pound fatsuit and heavy make-up. Joseph Fiennes. The film earned more than US$100 million in box office receipts in the United States and Paltrow gained critical acclaim for her portrayal. ince the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, Paltrow’s film success has been Entertainment Weekly com- less noteworthy. She said she was unmented, “Best of all is Gwyn- equipped for the pressure, leading to eth Paltrow, who, at long several bad movie choices, agreeing with last, has a movie to star in peers who believe the win is, in some that’s as radiant as she is.” ways, a curse. In The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money: The Royal TeThe New York Times summed up her turn nenbaums, Proof, and Sylvia fell into the as Viola as such: “Gwyneth Paltrow, in former category, while she did View from her first great, fully realized starring perthe Top and Shallow Hal for the latter. formance, makes a heroine so breathtakAs a new mother, Paltrow did not work ing that she seems utterly plausible as the much from 2004 to 2007. She appeared playwright’s guiding light.” The awardin the 2005 film Proof as a young protagowinning nist, mathematician and daughter CatheShakerine. The movie is based on the play of the speare same name, in which Paltrow also played in Love

In 1999

Gwyneth Paltrow Huey Lewis 12 - H mag

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STARRING

ganization that works to alleviate poverty in New York City. In February 2009, Paltrow received a Grammy nomination for her reading of the classic bear books of author Bill Martin, Jr.. Paltrow had her singing debut in the 2000 film Duets, in which she performed a cover version of Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin’”. The song was well-received and released as a single. The song went to number one in Australia, while Paltrow’s rendition of the Kim Carnes classic “Bette Davis Eyes” reached number three. In the 2006 film Infamous, she sang “What Is This Thing Called Love”. On September 27, 2006, Paltrow sang with rapper Jay-Z during his concert at

She sang

The simpler things are, the happier they are. the same character at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2002. In 2006, she had small roles in Running With Scissors and Infamous, in which she sang Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?”.

n 2008, she appeared in Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Stark’s closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner after Pepper replaced Obadiah Stane as CEO of Stark Industries. The film is her largest grossing movie ever, earning more than US$ 585 million at the worldwide box office. Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey Jr., the film’s lead, and director Jon Favreau. Paltrow recalled a conversation with Downey, saying:

Robert called me and he said, ‘This is gonna be fun, and this is gonna be good.’ And then he said to me, ‘Don’t you want to be in a movie that people see?’ And I was 14 - H mag

like, ‘Whoa! What would that feel like?’ And he’s right. Moviemaking is not supposed to be a masturbatory exercise; it’s supposed to be shared by other people. Her upcoming projects include Iron Man 3 airing in 2012. In 2010, she reprised her role in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she will appear in the country musical, Country Strong, where she also recorded her singing debut with the song Country Strong for the films’ soundtrack. The song was released to country radio in August 2010. Paltrow will next shoot for Steven Soderbergh’s Virus thriller Contagion, in which she is part of an ensemble cast.

he is also set to appear in Fox’s Glee.

Paltrow is a Save the Children artist ambassador, raising awareness about World Pneumonia Day. She is on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable or-

Royal Albert Hall. the chorus for “Song Cry”, from the rapper’s album Blueprint. In an interview, she said she would be at the concert but not that she would perform. She was quoted as saying “I’m a Jay-Z fan. He’s my best friend.” In May 2005, Paltrow became the face of Estée Lauder’s Pleasures perfume. She appeared in Chicago on 17 August 2007, to sign bottles of the perfume, and on 8 July 2008, she promoted Lauder’s Sensuous perfume in New York with the company’s three other models. Estée Lauder donates a minimum of $500,000 of sales of items from the ‘Pleasures Gwyneth Paltrow’ collection to breast cancer research. In 2006 she became the face for Bean Pole International, a Korean fashion brand.

In October 2007, she signed for a PBS television series Spain... on the road Again with Mario Batali that showcases the food and culture of Spain. In September 2008, she

The film centres around the forbidden love of William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), the daughter of a wealthy merchant. As the film begins, theatre manager Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush) finds himself in debt to loan shark Hugh Fennyman (Tom Wilkinson). Henslowe offers Fennyman a partnership in the upcoming production of Shakespeare’s newest comedy — Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter — promising that it will be a hit. However, after learning that his love was cheating on him with his patron, Shakespeare burns the original play and tries to start anew. This play will later be renamed Romeo and Juliet and be reworked into a tragedy (but with some comical undertones with a few characters, like the Nurse). Suffering from writer’s block, Will Shakespeare is unable to complete the play, but begins auditions for Romeo.

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STARRING

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{

I sort of look at some peers of mine and I think, “No, you’ve got it all wrong!” I just want to tell them all to have babies and be happy and not get sucked into that Hollywood thing.

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STARRING launched a weekly lifestyle newsletter, Goop, encouraging readers to ‘nourish the inner aspect’. The website’s title is derived from the initials of her first and last names. ing celebrity magEach week, the newsletter focuses on azines in 1999. an action: Make, Go, Get, Do, Be, and She was friends See. It has been ridiculed by E-Online, Vanity Fair, The Indepen- with Winona Ryder until her first with Affleck in 1999. dent, and the UK’s Daily Mirror. breakup In her early 20s, Paltrow was engaged In October 2002, Paltrow met for six months to Brad Pitt, whom she Chris Martin of the British dated from December 1994 to May 1997.

rock group Coldplay backstage at a gig just three weeks after the death of her fahe engagement was called off, ac- ther Bruce Paltrow. They mar-

cording to Paltrow, because she wasn’t ried on December 5, 2003 in a ceremoready for marriage and later felt respon- ny at a hotel in Southern California. sible for hurting Pitt since she was “such a mess” during that time in her life.

Paltrow has since said that as this was her first high-profile relationship with another celebrity, it taught her the need for public discretion about her romantic life; she told Biogra-

phy magazine, “ said things about being in a relationship (with Brad Pitt) that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them.” Paltrow had an on-off three year relationship with Ben Affleck from 1997 to late 2000. They first dated from November 1997 to January 1999. Soon after their breakup, Paltrow convinced Affleck to work in the film Bounce with her; during the making of the film, which was shot in mid 1999, the couple started dating again and eventually broke up in October 2000. Paltrow has said that she stopped read-

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n 14 May 2004, the couple had their first child, a girl named Apple Blythe Alison Martin. Paltrow explained the unusual first name on Oprah, saying: “It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they’re wholesome and it’s biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, ‘Perfect!’” The child’s godfathers are Simon Pegg and Martin’s bandmate, Jonny Buckland. Her second child, a boy named Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born on 8 April 2006, in New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital. Her son’s first name was explained as the song, entitled “Moses”, that her husband wrote for her before their wedding. Paltrow has stated that she cut down on work after becoming a mother. She has also said that she suffered from depression after the death of her father and after the birth of her second child.

altrow lives in New York and Belsize Park in London, in a house bought from Kate Winslet.

She practices yoga daily,

works out regularly with her personal trainer Tracy Anderson, and used to follow a macrobiotic diet until the birth of her children.

She told People in 2005 that, “I’m not as stringent as I was in the past. Now I’ll have cheese once in a while or white flour, but I still believe in whole grains and no sugar.” Paltrow is friends with Madonna, fashion designer

Val-

entino

and singer Beyoncé. In December 2006, Paltrow was reported on the Internet to have told Notícias Sábado, the weekend magazine supplement of Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias, that she thought British people were more civilized and intelligent than Americans.

altrow denied making the statements attributed to her and told People magazine that she never gave an interview to a Portuguese publication, but instead had tried to say in Spanish, during a press conference, that Europe was an “older culture” and Americans “live to work”. Diário de Notícias said in their 6 December 2006 edition that it had obtained the quotes from Englishlanguage articles that are still referenced online, though Paltrow has insisted that she was misquoted. declaring in 2007: “I love America, and I’m an American through and through.”

The film starts with Leonard (Phoenix) walking along a foot bridge over the Sheepshead Bay creek in B r o o k lyn with dry cleaning when he drops the clothing and jumps into the water in an attempted suicide. He changes his mind and surfaces to be helped by a random passerby. After walking home to his parents apartment and his mother seeing him dripping wet it becomes evident that Leonard has emotional problems and had tried to kill himself before. His parents tell him that a potential business partner and his family are invited for dinner. When they arrive Leonard finds out that he had been set up with the other family’s daughter, Sandra (Shaw). He hits it off with Sandra and tells her how he had been engaged several years before but the relationship broke off because genetic counselling showed that he and his fiancée would be unable to have healthy children. A few days later, Leonard meets a new neighbor Michelle (Paltrow) in his apartment building hall. He is immediately attracted to her and spends time with her. H mag -

TOURIST

Columbia Pictures

Studio

The

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE

that was not meant to happen.

n American tourist (Depp) is used by an English woman (Jolie) in an attempt to flush out a criminal with whom she once had an affair. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the director of the film was quoted saying in an interview: “It’s a love story, that’s for sure.

She had it all worked out, she had this grand master plan, and neither he nor she had thought it possible that they would fall in love with each other. I have to keep the real details a secret otherwise you won’t have any fun seeing it.”

Imagine a woman who is just so elegant and sophisticated and educated and has lived in that world and now, through a whole set of circumstances, suddenly falls in love with a guy who is not any of those things, and it just somehow confuses her whole world because

Writer Julian Fellowes

F H von Donnersmarck

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Henckel Von Donnersmarck was born in Cologne, and grew up in New York, Brussels, Frankfurt and West Berlin. He speaks English, German, French, Russian and Italian fluently. After graduating from high school at the top of his class, he studied Russian Literature in Leningrad for two years and passed the Soviet State Exam for Teachers of Russian as a Foreign Language. Florian holds an MA Oxon from his studies in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford

University (New College). He holds a diploma in Film Directing from the University of Television and Film in Munich. He is the younger son of Leo-Ferdinand Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck, a former President of the German division of the Order of Malta, and Anna Maria von Berg. He holds German and Austrian citizenship. His uncle, Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck, is a Cistercian abbot at Heiligenkreuz Abbey in the Vienna Woods, where Florian spent a month writing the first draft of Das Leben der Anderen.

Techs Starring

Director

The project went through a number of directorial changes. Originally the film was set with Lasse Hallström but he left over scheduling conflicts. Then Bharat Nalluri came on but left after the project had more difficulties. Then, when Angelina Jolie came on, so did Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck but he left over “creative differences”, along with Sam Worthington. But after many names were mooted, including Alfonso Cuarón, Donnersmarck returned.

Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Rufus Sewell, Clement Sibony,

Release Date December 10th, 2010

Color info: Color Sound mix: Dolby Digital / SDDS / DTS Negative format: 35 mm (Kodak) Process: Digital Intermediate (master format) / Panavision (anamorphic) (source format) Printed format: 35 mm / D-Cinema Aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1 H mag -

MOVIE

•

• • •

Locations

Palais-Royal, Place du Palais Royal, Paris 1, Paris, France Paris, France Treviso, Veneto, Italy Venice, Veneto, Italy

Florian von Donnersmarck is married to Christiane Asschenfeldt, the former International Executive Director of Creative Commons. They have three children: Lara Cosima (born in 2003), Leo Sylvester (born in 2005) and Alexis Jaguar (born in 2007). They currently live in Los Angeles. He stands 6'9" tall.

1996

, he won a directing internship with Richard Attenborough on In Love and War, and then went to study at the Fiction Directing Class of the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (University of Television and Film Munich), Germany, alma mater of directors as diverse as Wim Wenders and Roland Emmerich.

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His first short film, Dobermann (which Donnersmarck wrote, produced, directed and edited) broke the school record for the number of awards won by a student production.

It became an international festival sensation, and Donnersmarck travelled the festival circuit for over a year. His first feature film Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) won the European Film Award for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Screenplay in 2006. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck went on to win the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's award for Best Foreign Film, was nominated for the Golden Globe (which went to Clint Eastwood instead), and on 25 February 2007 won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Tom Cruise was originally going to play Frank, but was replaced by Sam Worthington. Johnny Depp replaced Worthington when he dropped out due to “creative differences”.

watch the ad

Written by Matt Hines

MAKING OF The film was going to be titled “Oobermind”, which was a misspelling of the term “uber-mind.” The word “uber” refers to something that is large or great; in this case, the title character’s over-swollen skull-brain. But it didn’t sound right, so it was revised to become “Megamind”. .

MEGAMIND

egamind (Will Ferrell) is a super-intelligent alien who -- at the age of eight days old -- is sent to Earth from his home planet during a time of crisis. However, he lands in The Prison for the Criminally Gifted, thanks to another infant alien similarly sent from a different planet who eventually becomes a superhero known as Metro Man (Brad Pitt), defender of the fictional Metro City. As a result, Megamind is raised as a social deviant, who is neglected for his destructive intellect, with his fish-like sidekick Minion (David Cross) as his only friend. Realizing that he enjoys causing trouble, and jealous of all of the attention Metro Man receives, Megamind becomes a supervillain to rival Metro Man, though he

is thwarted on a regular basis. During one of his many attempts to defeat Metro Man, Megamind kidnaps news reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) and uses her as bait to lure Metro Man into the city observatory where Megamind intends to kill him with a death ray. The plan appears flawed enough for Metro Man to escape, but he proclaims that the inside of the observatory is lined with copper, which he says drains his power. Metro Man is then seemingly killed by the death ray.

Megamind is initially happy that he has defeated his archenemy, but soon grows depressed over the fact that without someone to fight, his life as a supervillain no longer has any purpose.

egamind talks with Roxanne while disguised as a museum curator named Bernard and is inspired to create a new superhero to fight using a serum of Metro Man’s DNA. Ramiro Belgardt ... music editor Hoping to uncover any evil Chuck Choi ... score technical engineer plans Megamind has for Nick Delaplane ... technical score engineer the city, Roxanne breaks John Finklea ... temp music editor into Megamind’s lair and Kevin Globerman ... marching band recorded by fights with him over a syCharlene Ann Huang ... music manager ringe gun containing the Junkie XL ... additional music arranged by serum, which is accidenAndrew Kawczynski ... technical score engineer tally fired and injected into Steven Kofsky ... music production services Roxanne’s cameraman Hal Daniel Kresco ... score mixer Stewart (Jonah Hill). MeSunny Park ... executive in charge of music gamind manipulates Hal Carl Rydlund ... orchestrator into becoming a superhero Peter Oso Snell ... music editor named Tighten, but at the Andrew Zack ... score coordinator same time falls in love with Roxanne and begins dating her while disguised as Bernard. Tighten attempts to use his powers to woo Roxanne, but Tighten has decided he would rather be is quickly spurned and grows jealous of a supervillain since in his view, being a the Bernard-disguised Megamind. superhero is too much hard work. Megamind soon begins having second Unlike Metro Man, Tighten has no thoughts about being a villain, finding qualms with outright killing Megamind more enjoyment pursuing a relationship and he is forced to flee for his life. With with Roxanne. He then gets in a fight nobody to stop him, Tighten begins with Minion and the two friends have a wreaking havoc in Metro City. falling out.

Music Department

fter Roxanne rejects him when his identity is accidentally exposed, Megamind follows through with his plan to fight Tighten. By this time, however,

oticing how one of his copperbased attacks during the fight had no effect on Tighten, Megamind convinces Roxanne to search for clues on his weakness in Metro Man’s old hideout.

Both Megamind and Metro Man’s costumes pay homage to the DC Comics hero Captain Marvel: Metro Man sports an allwhite version and Megamind a black version of Marvel’s suit, but Megamind’s suit sports a lightning bolt blazed on it, like Marvel. 26- H mag

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MAKING OF

James Ashwill ... foley mixer Dominic Boucher ... additional dialogue recording eng. Ryan Cole ... recordist Susan Dudeck ... supervising adr editor P.K. Hooker ... sound effects editor Roy Latham ... original dialogue mixer John Marquis ... sound effects editor Dan O'Connell ... foley artist Tighe Sheldon ... sound recordist Carlos Sotolongo ... original dialouge mixer

Sound Department Techs Color info: Color Sound mix: Dolby Digital (Dolby Surround 7.1) Negative format: Digital Process: Digital 3-D Printed format: 70 mm (horizontal) (Kodak Vision 2383) (IMAX DMR blow-up) (dual-strip 3-D) / DCinema (3-D version) Aspect ratio: 1.44 : 1 (IMAX 3-D version) / 1.85 : 1 (3-D version) / 2.35 : 1

According to director Tom McGrath, the film draws inspiration from Batman and Superman. There they find Metro Man alive and learn that he faked his death (and his weakness to copper) so that he could retire from being a superhero. Megamind and Roxanne try to persuade Metro Man to defeat Tighten, but he refuses and instead Megamind turns himself in.

hen Tighten kidnaps Roxanne, however, Megamind is broken out of prison by Minion and goes to save her.

Megamind defeats Tighten by draining Metro Man’s DNA from his body, stripping him of his powers, and Hal ends up in Megamind’s former prison cell while Megamind is embraced by Roxanne and Metro City as its new defender.

Megamind received generally positive reviews from critics, with the film garnering a 66% “fresh” rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes based on 100 reviews with an average rating of 6.6/10. Its consenus states the film “regurgitates plot points from earlier animated efforts, and isn’t quite as funny as it should be, but a top-shelf voice cast and strong visuals help make Megamind a pleasant, if unspectacular, diversion.” Another review aggregate, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 64 based on 32 reviews.

oger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out a possible four stars, stating “This set-up is bright and amusing, even if it does feel recycled from bits and pieces of such recent animated landmarks.” Stephen Holden, film critic for The New York Times, positively wrote in his review that “Visually Megamind is immaculately sleek and gracefully enhanced by 3-D.” Entertainment Weekly film reviewer Owen Gleiberman graded the film a B+ de-

Producer Ben Stiller, who was originally considered for the title role, has a cameo in this film as Megamind’s father.

Tom McGrath

Director

Megamind begins to enjoy his new reputation as a superhero while a disguised Metro Man silently congratulates him.

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Producers Lara Breay ... producer Denise Nolan Cascino ... producer Stuart Cornfeld ... executive producer Holly Edwards ... associate producer Ben Stiller ... executive producer

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M n o i t c u d o r P

scribed the film as “too goofy-surreal to pack a lot of emotional punch, but it’s antically light on its feet, with 3-D images that have a lustrous, gizmo-mad sci-fi clarity.”

Art Department

eter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote a mixed review stating “this raucous 3D animated fun house lacks in originality, (The Incredibles and Despicable Me), it makes up for in visual and vocal wit.” Betsy Sharkey of The Los Angeles Times gave the film mixed review as well writing “Just as Megamind struggles to find his center, at times, so does the film.”

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Vlad Bina ... 3D concept designer David G. Derrick Jr. ... storyboard artist Goro Fujita ... visual development artist Kory Heinzen ... visual development artist Chin Ko ... visual development artist Jonathan B. Lee ... research assistant Sunil Pant ... visual development artist Doug Pierce ... set designer Jason William Scheier ... visual development artist

Guillermo del Toro, who directed the “Hellboy” series, assisted in editing the film to make it more exciting.

David Isetta ... production supervisor Diana K. Lee ... production supervisor Camille Leganza ... production supervisor Maude Lewis ... production manager Kelly Matthews ... production supervisor Trinity Murphy ... production supervisor Steven Schweickart ... production supervisor Kate Spencer ... production manager

Will Ferrell ... Megamind (voice) Brad Pitt ... Metro Man (voice) Tina Fey ... Roxanne Ritchi (voice) Jonah Hill ... Tighten (voice) David Cross ... Minion (voice) Justin Theroux ... Megamind's Father (voice) Ben Stiller ... Bernard (voice) Jessica Schulte ... Megamind's Mother (voice) Tom McGrath ... Lord Scott/Prison Guard (voice) Emily Nordwind ... Lady Scott (voice) J.K. Simmons ... Warden (voice) Ella Olivia Stiller ... Schoolchild (voice) Quinn Dempsey Stiller ... Schoolchild (voice) Brian Hopkins ... Prisoner (voice) Christopher Knights ... Prison Guard (voice) Mike Mitchell ... Father in Crowd (voice) Jasper Johannes Andrews ... Crying Baby (voice) Jack Blessing ... Newscaster (voice) Stephen Kearin ... Mayor (voice)

Cast

MAKING OF

Megamind starts his first years on Earth in the Metro City Prison for the Gifted. This is a parody of Professor Xavier’s School for the Gifted, as seen in X-Men.

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Soundtrack

Other songs used in the film include: * “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC * “A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley * “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne * “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra * “Back in Black” by AC/DC * “Bad” by Michael Jackson * “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses

Animation Department

Mike Beaulieu ... animator Andy Bialk ... character designer Julien Bocabeille ... animator Chris Capel ... animator Katrina Conwright ... animator Louie del Carmen ... story artist Mark Donald ... supervising animator Scott Douglas ... animation technical director Christopher Ell ... final layout artist W. Jacob Gardner ... animator Shaila Haque ... technical director Tim Heitz ... story artist Mariko Hoshi ... animator Jeffrey Joe ... animator Jung Jin Kang ... modeler Morgan R. Kelly ... animator Luis Labrador ... senior modeler Scott Lafleur ... animator Suryaveer Singh Lodha ... layout intern Tommie Löfqvist ... animator Wesley Mandell ... animator Stephen Melagrano ... animator Steven J. Meyer ... animator Pia Miniati ... animation rig engineer Rani Naamani ... animator/character lead Nicasio Nakamine ... animation production assistant Brian Newlin ... layout artist Rebecca Perez ... animator Tyler Phillips ... animator Dan Pilgrim ... layout artist Adrian Pinder ... animation department: PDI/Dreamworks Ron Pucherelli ... animator Luke Randall ... animator Chris Reccardi ... character design Brian Riley ... layout artist Carlos M. Rosas ... lead character animator Ryan Savas ... story artist Jason Schleifer ... head of character animation

1. “Giant Blue Head” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 2. “Tightenville (Hal’s Theme)” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 3. “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood and the Destroyers 4. “Stars and Tights” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 5. “Crab Nuggets” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 6. “A Little Less Conversation (Junkie XL Remix)” by Elvis Presley 7. “Mel-On-Cholly” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 8. “Ollo” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 9. “Roxanne’s Theme” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 10. “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan 11. “Drama Queen” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 12. “Rejection in the Rain” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 13. “Lovin’ You” by Minnie Riperton 14. “Black Mamba” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 15. “Game Over” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 16. “I’m the Bad Guy” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe 17. “Evil Lair” by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe

The Metro Man Museum, inaugurated to honor Metro Man, is a tribute to the DC Comics superhero the Flash, who had the Flash Museum built in his honor.

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MAKING OF

Visual Effects

John Allwine ... visual effects artist Benjamin Andersen ... visual effects artist Cara Antonelli ... surfacing artist William E. Arias ... lead lighter Shinsaku Arima ... visual effects artist David Aughenbaugh ... lighting technical assistant Jasper M. Baltzersen ... paint fix artist: PDI/DreamWorks Kelly Barschig ... recruiter: DWA Michael Baula ... stereo paint fix artist David Bazelon ... crowds artist Greg Beckman ... visual effects artist Matthew Beightol ... stereo paint fix artist David Juan Bianchi ... previz artist Julie Anne Brame ... visual effects artist Margarita Bratkova ... research and development Max Bruce ... lead lighter Markus Burki ... visual effects artist Joshua Caez ... matte painter Craig Cannon ... paint fix artist: PDI/DreamWorks Mark T. Carlson ... effects engineer Kevin Carney ... character effects artist Min-Yu Chang ... CG modeler: PDI DreamWorks Chloe Chao ... research and development Alan Cheney ... effects animator David S. Cheng ... technical director Robert Chen ... visual effects artist Wes Chilton ... visual effects artist Sebastien Chort ... lead lighting artist Shaun Collaco ... lead lighting and compositing artist: Dreamworks Animation Kwesi Davis ... production engineer Gilbert Davoud ... global character technical director Justin DeCell ... lighting technical assistant Mark A. Decker ... lighting artist Philippe Denis ... visual effects supervisor Michael Duffy ... lighting technical director

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Tyson Erze ... visual effects artist Cassandra Fanning ... stereo paint fix artist Michael Farley ... digital artist Jon Farrell ... character effects animator Peter Farson ... character technical director Angela Ensele Firebaugh ... modeler Crystal Fong ... lighting technical director Julien Forest ... lighting artist Adam Gaige ... lighting technical director Mariana Galindo ... character effects animator Daniel Gallagher ... surfacing technical director Jonathan Gibbs ... city development supervisor Greg Gibson ... systems administrator Navjit Singh Gill ... lighting artist Sue Gleadhill ... layout artist Shaun Graham ... visual effects Bill Gumina ... paint fix artist Dorien Gunnels ... lighting artist Glen Gustafson ... lighter Jon Gutman ... final layout artist Greg Hart ... effects lead Uma Havaligi ... character effects animator Jorge Heredia ... paint fix artist Noel Hocquet ... lighting artist David Hofmann ... previz artist George Ho ... lighting artist Joe Hughes ... character effects artist Masato Ikura ... lighting technical director Aaron James McComas ... effects animator Geoffrey Jarrett ... crowd animator Ian Jenkins ... lighting Patrick Jensen ... matte painter Amanda Johnstone ... lighting artist Amy Rae Jones ... lead lighting Kaishin Kam ... lead technical director Tim Keenan ... effects artist Oth Khotsimeuang ... lighting artist Michel Kinfoussia ... lead lighter & compositor Jennifer Leigh King ... lighting artist Robert Kopinsky ... visual effects artist Parashar Krishnamachari ... shader writer Patrick Ku ... stereo technical director David C. Lawson ... lead lighter In Soo Lee ... character effects artist Michael H. Lee ... crowds supervisor Erin Lehmk端hl ... junior compositor Michael Leonard ... previz artist Linhan Li ... lighting technical assistant Olive Lin ... visual effects artist David Lipton ... head of effects Nick Lupinetti ... matte painting technical director Robert Lurye ... cg supervisor H mag -

ful patriarch. The film is directed and produced by Andrew Jarecki, (Academy Award-nominated Capturing the Friedmans, upcoming Universal/Rogue release Catfish), and produced by Marc Smerling (Capturing the Friedmans, Catfish).

ALL GOOD THINGS MOVIE

The Weinstein Co.

also

Studio

Written by Matt Brady

MOVIE

tried to replicate the history of the case, but to capture the emotion and complexnspired by the most notorious miss- ity of this unsolved mystery that has for ing person’s case in New York history, All years been kept hidden from public view. Good Things is a love story and murder mystery set against the backdrop of a New The film stars Ryan Gosling and Kirsten York real estate dynasty in the 1980s. Dunst and Frank Langella as the powerThe drama portrayed in Jarecki’s film was inspired by the story of Robert Durst, scion of the wealthy Durst family. Mr. Durst was suspected but never tried for killing his wife Kathie who disappeared in 1982 and was never found. “In constructing the film, we used some of the extraordinary elements of the Durst case as the skeleton and inspiration for a drama about love, family, and obsession,” says Jarecki. “Because it is impossible to know exactly what happened, we have not

Writer Marcus Hinchey

“Our collaboration with Magnolia on Friedmans was a groundbreaking and wonderful experience and I couldn’t be happier that they are as passionate about All Good

yan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor and musician. Gosling began acting at age 12 on the American variety television show The Mickey Mouse Club. Following his feature film debut in Remember the Titans (2000), Gosling had his breakout role as a fanatic Neo-Nazi in the 2001 drama film The Believer, for which he received an Independent Spirit Awards nomination for Best Male Lead.

Things as we are,” said Jarecki. “With All Good Things, Andrew Jarecki has made the jump to features with the same accomplished, complex and fascinating filmmaking that he demonstrated with Capturing the Friedmans,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “He has gotten amazing performances out of the entire ensemble and delivered a powerful motion picture.”

Ryan Gosling

In 2004, Gosling gained mainstream success for playing the male lead in the romantic drama The Notebook. Two years later, Gosling earned his first Academy and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as Best Leading Actor, for portraying a junior high school teacher in the independent film Half Nelson (2006). The following year he was again nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for his lead performance in Lars and the Real Girl (2007). Aside from acting, Gosling formed the band Dead

Techs

Starring

Director Andrew Jarecki

It was produced by Michael London, and Bruna Papandrea and financed by London’s Groundswell Productions. The Weinstein Company is handling foreign sales of the film.

Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kristen Wiig

Release Date December 3rd, 2010

Color info: Color Sound mix: Dolby Digital Negative format: 35 mm Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1 H mag -

MOVIE Man’s Bones with his friend. They released their self-entitled debut album in October 2009. Ryan Gosling was born in London, Ontario, and raised in Cornwall, Ontario, the son of Donna, a secretary, and Thomas Gosling, a paper mill worker. He was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and had said that the experience still shapes and affects his character. His parents divorced when he was young. Gosling was taken out of elementary school and homeschooled because of being harassed and picked on in elementary school.

Gosling dropped out of high school at age 17. He then moved to New Zealand, where he worked on the series Young Hercules for two years, with the company that created Xena, Warrior Princess. Gosling was a cast member on the hit show The Mickey Mouse Club alongside fellow stars; Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, J.C. Chasez, and Keri Russell. He was part of the last set of new Mouseketeers to be admitted into the show before it ended its run. He sang, danced, and acted on the show. He starred in the Canadian television show Breaker High which aired on YTV in Canada and UPN in the United States from 1997 to 1998. Gosling has had no formal training as an actor.

His fame spread to the United States after he starred in the 2001 controversial drama The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Gosling won the Best Actor category at the Spirit Awards (formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards) for his role as a drug-addicted, junior high school history teacher in the 2006 film Half Nelson. For the same role, he was nominated for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Broadcast Film Critics Association award as best actor.

December 13, 2007, Gosling was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Lars and the Real Girl. A week later, he was subsequently nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. He had also received a Broadcast Film Critics Association nomination and won a Satellite Award for this performance as well. In February 2008, he was presented with the inaugural Independent Award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. In her introduction, presenter Jenelle Riley called him “The most consistent and compelling actor working today.”

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Written by Emma Fueler

MUSIC

e l y o C e n i NadCoyle’s

Christina Perry

There’s a fine line between Heartfelt and A Bit Dim, and Nadine solo debut, while lively and enjoyable in lots of ways, does tend to skitter across it in quite a distracting fashion. The trick is to try and let the daft bits wash over you without taking out the red marker pen and channelling your inner Lynne Truss.

Maybe you don’t know the name Christina Perri, but you certainly think people can dance to her music. That’s because this Philadelphian singer/songwriter’s breathtaking song “Jar Of Hearts” (watch the video below) was featured on the dance competition show “So You Think You Can Dance,” catapulting Perri to overnight success. This should be no problem, as Christina Perri certainly has the songwriting skills and the vocal chops to warrant some major spotlight time and keep her there. With an intoxicating mix of Tori Amos’ atmospherics and a true rocker’s edge (think Pat Benatar, Chrissie Hynde or early Stevie Nicks), Christina Perri has won over fans with her unique storyteller’s sensibility. Check out our exclusive studio performance of “Bang Bang Bang,” from her debut release, The Ocean Way Sessions, for a look at the 23-year-old talent. And watch an exclusive Buzzworthy video interview with Christina to see her refreshing enthusiasm for the art and business of making music. get it on iTunes

Take the album’s title-track – and Nadine’s first solo single – in which she sings about her unquenchable need for her man, all the while calling him insatiable. That’s a fairly basic misunderstanding of what the word means, surely? Or the way that Sexy Love Affair is basically all over the place, but in quite a loveable way. Its whispery, lisping falsetto and seductive strings have been hugely compromised by a too-fast, overly martial drum beat, which effectively takes a sensual, slow thing and makes it jolly. Then there are these bizarre lyrics about sucking at math (yep, she left off the ‘s’), which is illustrated by a sudden count of “four, six, seven” so it can be made to rhyme with “I’m in heaven”. And a love affair doesn’t really need to be described as sexy, does it? That’s a tautology. Thankfully, all of these quirks and idiosyncrasies are wrapped up in immaculately produced, grown-up pop music, hand-tooled by experts. Unbroken, for example, is essentially a helium-voiced retooling of Primal Scream’s Loaded, while Rumours is a worthy sequel to one of those big military pop ballads Jordin Sparks did so well a couple of years back. I’ll Make A Man Out Of You Yet is a boy-beating ballad which owes Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful a pint, and which seeks to bulldoze Nadine’s fella into being a more thoughtful boyfriend, using a combination of brute force and emotive wailing.

James Blunt

So, while it’s easy to nitpick and scoff, there’s no reason to dismiss Nadine’s solo work as inferior to that of anyone else from Girls Aloud, naming no names. And that’s because there is also a fine line between enjoying a bit of daftness-spotting, and missing the whole point. Its lack of life is a problem. The single Stay the Night is a deceptively bright introduction, a joyous bit of fluff that sees Blunt waiting to make his move at a California party ("We’ve all been singing Billie Jean" – at least that’s plausible, right?). It’s followed by the similarly perky Dangerous, which somehow marries Michael Sembello’s Flashdance soundtrack fave Maniac with Chesney Hawkes’ The One and Only, but Blunt then surrenders to familiar, soupy balladeering. Best Laid Plans teems with cliché ("It seems you only want the things that you can’t have") and some David Gilmour-lite guitar noodles that also rear up on Superstar, So Far Gone and No Tears. That last title belies lachrymosity that could float a battleship. Still, this is what you get with James Blunt, isn’t it? Teary, midpaced pleas for a lover’s forgiveness. And it’s not as if the melodies have de-

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serted entirely: noodles aside, Superstar’s appealing falsetto chorus shakes things up a bit, and If Time Is All I Have is suitably anthemic, this time tuning the guitars to George Harrison. When all’s said, Some Kind of Trouble is not a terrible record by any means, but there’s little sense that Blunt has advanced – and equally little sense that it’ll make any difference to his bottom line. H mag -

COUNTRY

Screen Gems (Sony)

STRONG Studio

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE

oon after a rising young singersongwriter (Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Paltrow), the pair embarks on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (McGraw) and featuring a beauty-queen-turned-singer (Meester). Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Tim McGraw

amuel Timothy “Tim” McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw’s albums and singles have topped the country music charts, leading him to achieve total album sales in excess of 40 million units. He is married to country

singer Faith Hill and is the son of former baseball player Tug McGraw. His trademark hit songs include “Indian Outlaw”, “Don’t Take the Girl”, “I Like It, I Love It”, “Something Like That”, “It’s Your Love” (featuring his wife, Faith Hill),

Starring

Writer Shana Feste

Director Shana Feste

Garret Hedlund, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester, Tim McGraw,

Release Date December 22nd, 2010

and “Live Like You Were Dying”. McGraw had eleven consecutive albums debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts. Twenty-one singles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country 100 chart. Three singles became the No. 1 country song of the year (“It’s Your Love”, “Just To See You Smile”, and “Live Like You Were Dying”). He has won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and 3 People’s Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music.

McGraw has ventured into acting, with supporting roles in The Blind Side (with Sandra Bullock), Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, and Four Christmases (with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), and a lead role in Flicka (2006). He was a minority owner of the Arena Football League’s Nashville Kats. Taylor Swift’s debut single, “Tim McGraw”, refers to him and his song, “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’”. In honor of his Italian-American heritage, McGraw was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in 2004, receiving the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Music during the Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Gala.

McGraw was born Samuel Timothy McGraw in Delhi, Louisiana, a town in Richland Parish, to a waitress, Elizabeth “Betty” Ann (née D’Agostino), and Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw Jr., who later became a relief pitcher for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. McGraw is of Italian and Irish descent on his mother’s side, and of Scots-Irish descent on his father’s side. In 1966, Tug was a pitcher for the Jacksonville Suns, and he lived in an apartment above Betty D’Agostino, who attended Terry Parker High School. The pair had a relationship, and when Betty became pregnant, her parents sent her to Louisiana to live with relatives and to have the baby. Start, Louisiana, welcome sign notes that McGraw once resided there. Reared by his mother in Start, also in Richland Parish, east of Monroe, McGraw grew up believing his stepfather, Horace Smith, was his birth father. From the time of his

Locations * Downtown, Nashville, Tennessee, USA * Nashville, Tennessee, USA * Tennessee, USA * USA * Watertown, Tennessee, USA * West End, Nashville, Tennessee, USA H mag -

MOVIE mother’s marriage until the time he met his biological father, his last name was Smith. At age eleven, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching his mother’s closet to find pictures for a school project. After his discovery, his mother revealed that his biological father was Tug McGraw, and took Tim to meet him for the first time. For seven years, Tug denied being Tim’s father. Tim was 18 years old when Tug first realized how much Tim looked like him at that age, and he acknowledged paternity. They remained close until Tug’s death in 2004. As a child, Tim McGraw loved to play competitive sports, including baseball, even though he did not know his biological father was a professional athlete. He attended Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe, on a baseball scholarship, and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. During his college period, he learned to play guitar, and would frequently perform and sing for tips, although he claims that his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad. His mother, Betty, returned to Jacksonville, Florida in 1987, and Tim followed.

He attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one term, and occasionally sat in with local bands. In 1989,

on the day his hero Keith Whitley died, McGraw dropped out of college to head to Nashville and pursue a musical career. McGraw’s first acting appearance came in a 1995 episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, where he played Foxworthy’s rival. In 2004, McGraw played a sheriff in Rick

independent

Schroder’s release Black Cloud. Later in the same year, McGraw received critical acclaim as the overbearing father of a running back in the major studio Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the role was “played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw”. The movie went on to gross over $60 million dollars worldwide at the box office, and sold millions in the DVD market. Most recently, it was named one of the Top 50 High School Movies of All Time (No. 37) by Entertainment Weekly. McGraw’s first lead role was in the 2006 film Flicka, which was released in theatres October 20, 2006. In the remake of the classic book “My Friend Flicka”, McGraw played the father, Rob, costarring with Alison Lohman and Maria Bello. The family-friendly movie debuted in the top 10 list and has grossed over $25 million at the box office.

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“Sometimes it’s hard to make action and adventure mov-

ies real, because obviously you have limitations with the writing. In Clash of the Titans, I have this line: “I imagine you are sympathetic to this plight.” I walked around [on set] going: “Are *you* sympathetic to the plight...?” [laughs] You have to work yourself up to it, a bit like Shakespeare - you really have to *believe* your character says that. In The Disappearance of Alice Creed I’m shouting, “F*** off, you c***!” a lot. It was nice. I can imagine myself saying that more! “

not another

pretty face GEMMA G

emma Arterton was born in Gravesend, Kent, the daughter of SallyAnne (née Heap), a cleaner, and Barry Arterton, a welder. Arterton was born with polydactyly, and was brought up, along with her sister, Hannah Jane (born 1989, Gravesend), by their single mother on a council estate in Gravesend. Arterton’s parents divorced when she was five; her father remarried in

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ARTERTON

Written by Emma Fueler

SPOTLIGHT

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SPOTLIGHT

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SPOTLIGHT 1996. Arterton worked as a makeup salesgirl.

After attending Gravesend Grammar School for Girls on Pelham Road in Gravesend, she took a performance arts course at The Miskin Theatre in Dartford (part of North West Kent College) and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a full grant.

When you put yourself in these huge popcorn movies you get out there, in the public arena, more than anyone else. But that also means that you’re out there to be criticised more than anyone else. With Keira Knightley, she’s brave to do her play. Because, for some reason, if you’re successful in Britain, people tend not to like you. But if you’re a successful woman, and beautiful, in Britain, you’re even more disliked.

rterton won her first professional role in Stephen Poliakoff’s Capturing Mary, while she was still at drama school. Similarly, she made her stage debut as Rosaline in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Globe Theatre, London in July 2007 before graduating later that year

I'd really like the type of career Rachel Weisz has. I have a lot of respect for her: brilliant, intelligent, a witty sort of woman... You know, she'll do a rom-com - not that I ever want to do a rom-com - but then she'll go off and do The Constant Gardener, have a family, and live a quite normal life, it seems. I respect that. She made her film debut in the 2007 St Trinian’s movie St Trinian’s as Head Girl Kelly, a role she gained in competition with Sienna Miller.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is driving from Lake Como to Siena, Italy with the captured Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). After evading pursuers, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate White regarding his organization, Quantum. M’s bodyguard, Mitchell, a double agent, attacks M, enabling White to escape; Bond chases Mitchell across Siena and kills him. Bond and M travel search Mitchell’s flat and discover he had a contact in Haiti. Bond heads to Haiti to investigate Mitchell’s contact, Edmund Slate, and learns that Slate was sent to kill Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) at the behest of her lover, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), the chairman of an ecological organization called Greene Planet. While observing her meeting with Greene, Bond learns that Greene is helping the Bolivian general Medrano (who murdered Camille’s family).

n 2008, she appeared in the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Chosen from around 1500 candidates, Arterton plays Bond Girl “Strawberry Fields”, in what is described as a “nice-sized role”. In 2008 also, she played the role of Elizabeth Bennet in the ITV serial Lost in Austen, albeit a reduced role from the original Pride & Prejudice.

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{

The minute anyone says, ‘Oh my God! You’re so amazing!’ I just have to go, ‘Shut up! Please!’ I am normal. I have just one rule - don’t believe the hype!

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{

SPOTLIGHT

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SPOTLIGHT

On making The Disappearance of Alice Creed: I wanted something that was getting down and dirty, and really not about how you look. I wanted to be, like, f***ing hair and make-up everywhere, just not giving a f***! And yes, I get tied up, beaten, and there's nudity. All the things that made people go, 'You should not do this!' But I put my foot down.

she later left the project. She is set to star in Burden of Desire.

Arterton was seen in the 2010 films Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and played the lead in Tamara Drewe.

Her most controversial role was in the 2009 film The Disappearance of Alice Creed in which Arterton’s character is kidnapped and abused in several graphic nude scenes.

he is the face of Avon’s Bond Girl 007 fragrance which launched in October 2008. Having already started in a series of low-key adverts for cosmetics company Avon, in May 2008 Arterton requested a role opposite model Kate Moss for Rimmel, but was blocked on contractual terms under her Avon contract. In 2010, she made her West End debut in the UK premiere of The Little Dog Laughed. She was originally attached to star in a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights as Catherine Earnshaw, however,

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[On the set of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]: When [director Mike Newell] first met me for the film he said, "Oh dear. Can't you do posh?" I thought, "I can't believe he's asked me that!" So I said (firmly, through gritted teeth), "Of course I can, I went to the Royal Academy of On 5 June 2010, she married Stefano Catelli, a sales manager, at a secret ceremony in Zuheros, Andalucia, Spai Arterton is a supporter of Charlton Athletic. She has a tattoo of an angel wing behind her left ear.

From the team that brought the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy to the big screen, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, an epic action-adventure set in the mystical lands of Persia. A rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time—a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. Directed by Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) with a cast that includes Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina, and a screenplay by Boaz Yakin and Doug Miro & Carlo Bernard from a screen story by Jordan Mechner. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters Memorial Day Weekend, 2010. H mag -

The original True Grit starred John Wayne in the role of Marshall Reuben J. ‘Rooster’ Cogburn which is played by ‘Jeff Bridges’ in this film. Both actors have very similar nicknames. Wayne is also known as Duke while Bridges is known as The Dude.

TRUE

Paramount Pictures

GRIT Studio

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE

harles Portis’ novel is about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father’s killer in hostile Indian territory. While the original film was a showcase for John Wayne, the Coens’ version will tell the tale from the girl’s point of view. The original starred Kim Darby as the teen, Wayne and Glen Campbell as the lawmen, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.

Ethan and Joel Cohen

Joel and Ethan Coen grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in a Jewish household. Their parents, Edward and Rena Coen, were professors, their father an economist at the University of Minnesota and their mother an art

historian at St. Cloud State University. When they were children, Joel saved money from mowing lawns to buy a Vivitar Super 8 camera. Together, the brothers remade movies they saw on televi-

Starring

Writer Charles Portis

Director Ethan and Joel Cohen

Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin,Hailee Steinfeld,

Release Date December 22nd, 2010

sion with a neighborhood kid, Mark Zimering[citation needed] (“Zeimers”), as the star. Their first attempt was a romp titled, Henry Kissinger, Man on the Go. Cornel Wilde’s The Naked Prey (1966) became their Zeimers in Zambia, which also featured Ethan as a native with a spear. The brothers graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1973 and 1976. They both also graduated from Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Joel then spent four years in the undergraduate film program at New York University where he made a 30-minute thesis film called Soundings. The film depicted a woman engaged in sex with her deaf boyfriend while verbally fantasizing about having sex with her boyfriend’s best friend, who is listening in the next room. Ethan went on to Princeton University and earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy in 1979. His senior

thesis was a 41-page essay, “Two Views of Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy”.

In the late 1970s, both brothers lived in the Weinstein dormitory at 5-11 University Place, an NYU dorm noted for housing such creatives as Ralph Bakshi, Rick Rubin, actor/writer Jonathan Schmock, and film makers Chris Columbus and Dan Goldman. Joel has been married to actress Frances McDormand since 1984. They adopted a son from Paraguay, named Pedro McDormand Coen (Frances and all her siblings were adopted themselves). McDormand has acted in six of the Coen Brothers’ films, including a minor appearance in Miller’s Crossing a supporting role in Raising Arizona, lead roles in Blood Simple and The Man Who Wasn’t There, her Academy Award winning role in Fargo, and her latest starring role in Burn After Reading. She also did a voice-over in Barton Fink.

Locations * Austin, Texas, USA * Blanco, Texas, USA * Granger, Texas, USA H mag -

MOVIE Ethan is married to film editor Tricia Cooke.

fter graduating from NYU Joel worked as a production assistant on a variety of industrial films and music videos. He developed a talent for film editing and met Sam Raimi who was looking for an assistant editor on his first feature film The Evil Dead (1981). In 1984, the brothers wrote and directed Blood Simple, their first film together. Set in Texas, the film tells the tale of a shifty, sleazy bar owner who hires a private detective to kill his wife and her lover. The film contains elements that point to their future direction: distinctive homages to genre movies (in this case noir and horror), plot twists layered over a simple story, a dark humor and mise en scene. The film starred Frances McDormand who would go on to feature in many of the Coen brothers’ films (and marry Joel Coen). Upon release the film received much praise and won awards for Joel’s direction at both the Sundance and Independent Spirit awards. M. Emmet Walsh also won Best Male Actor at the 1986 Independent Spirit awards for his portrayal of Detective Visser.

The next Coen brothers project was 1985’s Crimewave, directed by Sam Raimi. The film was written by the brothers and Sam Raimi with whom Joel had worked on The Evil Dead. The next film written and directed by the brothers was the 1987 hit, Raising Arizona. The film is the story of the unlikely married couple—ex-convict H.I. (played by Nicolas Cage) and ex-cop Ed (played by Holly Hunter) who long for a baby but are unable to conceive. to bring up as their own. Miller’s Crossing was released in 1990 starring Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne and future Coen brothers’ staple John Turturro. The film is set during the prohibition era of the 1930s and tells the tale of feuding gangsters.

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Written by Matt Hines

INTERVIEW

Jaim

e Lyn n

Sigler

amie-Lynn Sigler, best known for her turns on the HBO series The Sopranos and Entourage, stars in this month’s harrowing new thriller Beneath the Dark, from filmmaker Chad Feehan and IFC Films. The movie follows Paul and Adrienne (Josh Stewart and Jamie-Lynn Sigler), a young couple traveling between Texas and Los Angeles for a wedding. Tired and feeling amorous, they check into the somewhat creepy, very desolate, but eternally stylish Roy’s Motel and Cafe. As if preserved in time, the motel proves to be a strange and surreal place where the guests are forced to confront the secrets that they keep from the world and from each other. We recently caught up with Jamie-Lynn to chat with her about this thriller, which opens today at the IFC Center in New York, and will be available on VOD this weekend. Here is our conversation:

There is a scene in the film where Adrienne’s boyfriend Paul gets sick after eating some cherry pie. Be honest with me, how could anyone stay with a guy who pukes on a toilet seat, then shuts the lid and doesn’t clean it up? Whether its in a hotel or not?

I think

Jamie-Lynn Sigler: that is where the real questions started turning in her head, for sure. I think they were past recognizing things like that, at that particular point in the story. She was so freaked out with whatever was happening, that was the furthest thing from her mind. I would like to think that in some break we didn’t get to see on film, that he cleaned it up. Or something... 66 - H mag

That was pretty gross... Jamie-Lynn Sigler: That is pretty gross. Throwing up cherry pie and not cleaning up after your self is very gross. Adrienne is an interesting character in that she is completely unaware of everything else going on around her at this hotel. Did you find that you had to shut yourself off from the rest of the script and just concentrate on your particular aspect of the story? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: She is the audience,

I read through the script a couple of times, and then I really concentrated on her world. Usually, in a way.

Paul and Adrienne, a young couple burning up the desolate miles on the road between Texas and LA, check into the equally desolate but eternally stylish Roy’s Motel and Cafe. As if preserved in time, the motel proves to be a strange and surreal place where the guests are forced to confront the secrets that they keep - from the world and from each other.

you want to read through the whole script constantly, and be aware of where you are in terms of the arcs, and the acts. But this was really about her reality. Which, we don’t even know if it is a reality or not. She is so unaware of everything except for Paul

he knows what she feels. You needed to keep that aspect to have that level of confusion. And frustration. When you finally see what is going on, you have an understanding for Paul. But when you don’t see it, you obviously see that it is pretty frustrating. I personally think your character is interesting in that she is basically a configuration of Paul’s guilt and imagination. Or how he would imagine Adrienne in a dream. Did you have to look at the character differently when considering this aspect H mag -

INTERVIEW of the storyline?

No. We always tried to keep it as if everything was real. Because you never want the audience asking, “Is this real? Or is this his imagination?” For the audience’s ride, you want to be respectful of that. You want them to really be questioning what is going on at all times. Jamie-Lynn Sigler:

Josh Stewart is such an intense actor. How was it for you interacting with him in those scenes where he is being extremely difficult? Did you guys develop a good give and take before the cameras started rolling? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: We had only read together once. Then we did a read through. Our first day of really working together was our sex scene. It was sort of awkward and weird. But it did break the ice. That was Chad Feehan’s game plan. He did that on purpose. He wanted us to start with that, because he wanted it to be clumsy. And he wanted it to be real. He thought that we would have a deeper connection, having started with that. It was an interesting move, and Josh and I were kind of confused by that. But it definitely worked. You know, Josh is amazing. It was interesting, though. Being in the middle of nowhere, and being with this limited crew. You would think it would be dark and depressing the whole time. But we had Journey blasting between each take. And we tried to keep it as light as possible. But as soon as the camera was ready, Josh Stewart and I had our own process of getting into it. It was awesome to have that process, because of the level of commitment you have to have. He was definitely inspiring in that. We helped each other a lot. Its good for an actor. It’s definitely a muscle that I haven’t worked. It was a great process. It was hard. We had no cell service. There was no connection to the outside world where we were. This was every day. Not until we all got home, which was an hour away from set every night. We were really in this together. It was great. Chad is a first time director. When he has you do the sex scene right off the bat, and you are questioning that decision, what did he do to make you feel comfortable? And make you think, “Okay, this is the right guy for this movie, and what we are 68 - H mag

trying to accomplish”? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Chad had

this way

about him, where he literally looked at me and said, “Do you trust me?” and I said, “Yes, I have to.” You can’t not trust your director. You have to fake it to make it, even if you don’t. Or try as hard as you can. I said, “Yeah, I do.” After that, everything seemed more right, and we had this deeper connection. I trusted him whole-heartedly the entire time after that. Especially because he was right. You were stuck out at this desolate hotel for the duration of the shoot. Did that help play into the ideas and themes we see in the film regarding your character?

Oh, my god! Yes. Totally. Jamie-Lynn Sigler:

It helped with everything we needed. In being creeped out. In being scared. I have a bug phobia, and there were some of the largest insects I have ever seen in my life on that shoot. It definitely helped with my paranoia, completely. Where was this film shot at? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: We were in the desert outside of Palm Springs, on Route 66. No cell service. It was crazy. But our cast and crew were so awesome. I laughed a lot on set, believe it or not. We had a lot of good times. There were a lot of glasses of beer and wine at the end of each evening. Did you have any run-ins with the gruesome cave crickets? H mag -

INTERVIEW

Jamie-Lynn Sigler: What the Hell is a cave crick-

et? It’s a cross between a roach and a cricket. Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Oh, yeah! For sure. There was fucking everything there. I am not lying. I hate bugs. There was a moth the size of a bat. It was really intense. That did help with my paranoia. Because these things were everywhere. There

Everything! Ugh! were all kinds of bugs and rodents.

Had you taken a lot of road trips prior to this movie? Have you stayed at a lot of these types of hotels? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: No. I have never taken a road trip. Unless you count Los Angeles to Vegas. And I would never stop at one of these hotels. They are eerie. And this particular place certainly has that feeling on screen. Jamie-Lynn Sigler: It is eerie. And it was really there. This was a real motel. It is a light in the middle of nowhere. It seems like a saving grace. It seems like a safe place, because it’s the only light in miles of darkness. But it could be the unsafest place for you. You never know. Even the people that were stopping by while we were shooting were creepy. It was weird. Was the motel operating during the shoot?

I don’t think they could stay. No. The motel wasn’t running any longer. It had been abandoned. It was a tourist stop. People would stop and take pictures. The same way they have the pictures of the couples you see in the movie. There were people who would actually stop Jamie-Lynn Sigler:

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and take those same photos. That is cool. The story in Beneath the Dark takes some dark turns. What was your impression of the screenplay when you first read it, and how has your idea of it changed since seeing the completed film? Do you constantly get something new out of it? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: My initial feelings about it were that it wasn’t going to fall into any of the cliche’ type of genre situations. Because I saw so much more for it. When I met Chad, and talked to him about the film, he eased all of my concerns. A lot of his inspirations came from other films. It was this question about whether you can change yourself, and if you can be redeemed for a past. Can you move on and reinvent yourself? Or are you always haunted by your past decisions? There were a lot of questions that were raised, that we see constantly. When we were making the film, and when we were watching the film. There were a lot of things that we talked about. It was on a much deeper level than it just being a horror-thriller, as some people like to call it. There are deeper emotions there. It’s at a different level, and there

And he wanted others to ask themselves, after they saw the film. are moral questions that Chad wanted to ask himself.

Were you aware of Chris Browning’s storyline while you were shooting? Or was that something you came to only once you saw the film? And were you at all confused by it? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: I read his parts when I first read the script, but I distanced myself from anything I didn’t need H mag -

INTERVIEW to be a part of. I thought he did a phenomenal job. It could have been played a lot of different ways, and Chris nailed it. Completely. He did a really great job. It is confusing when you don’t know what is going on. But once you can piece everything together, you really do appreciate it.

You bring up an interesting thought. Adrienne is like an angel in this story. What do you personally think about this ultimatum that is made at the end of the movie? This almost doesn’t sound right. That if she is a pure sole, that she can still be captured and kept at this motel. Just like Chris’ wife...

I was a little confused at the beginning. I thought maybe I was watching Chris play twin brothers.

that we make? Adrienne’s choice was to trust Paul. Can she now fall victim to something because of that? It’s all about the choices we make in life. We could be innocent, and bad things still happen to good people. She wanted to be with him. It would have been unfortunate for her, but luckily, he made the right decision about that at the end. Adrienne is the angel. She is the innocent person amongst all of this craziness.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Yeah. Chris is as intense in his role as Josh. What was it like getting to watch him work on set? He amazed me in this film...

He is a regular guy, Jamie-Lynn Sigler:

but on screen he is intense. Chad was adamant with me that Adrienne be the lightness in this film. He wanted her to be sunny, and smiling, and laughing. At first, I thought, “Here I am working with these guys who are very intense. They are dark, and interesting, and off beat.” Chad was very adamant that Adrienne was not that. She was a symbol to us of Paul’s new direction in life. Where he wanted to go. What he wanted to be a part of. What he hoped to be influenced by eventually. Working with them? You can get yourself lost in their performances. They are incredibly talented. 72 - H mag

You’d like to say that Chris Browning’s wife was not the most innocent of innocents. We’re not going to feel for her the way we feel for Adrienne. With Paul, you want to side with him. And you want to support him. You always believe that he will do the right thing, and you hope he does. It’s a good question. Can we get sacrificed for the choices

Jamie-Lynn Sigler:

The film really is about the secrets that we keep. What do you think audiences will pull away from the story? Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Could we ever be redeemed for the choices we make? Could we ever reinvent ourselves? Paul was reformed. He was a good guy. You don’t want to believe that he was capable of what he did. Neither did she. But it was the truth. There was a change that happened from that one choice that he made. You can make a choice and move on from it. But then, it affects someone else. In turn, that affects another person. And then another person. There is this whole wicked chain that can happen. We need too, H mag -

Written by Nadja Goering

TECHS

ite movie right at your doorsteps. Can you find such ease of ordering and receiving your movie package anywhere else? I bet you can’t!

Blu RAY

The convenience of buying Bluray discs online coupled with the enhanced audio-visual experience makes this technology a winner in every sense of the term.

with

, the technology has an inherent edge over traditional DVDs in almost every regard. With over 5-times capacity than the DVDs, the viewers are in for a massive treat in the form of highly enriched content. The digital compression technology now has more room to maneuver the content, which simply translates into

Same will be the case with Bluray discs, especially when leading players, like Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc. have already jumped in the fray.

ver the years, movie-watching experience has undergone a sea-change.

Thanks to advancements in technology, the moviebuffs are pampered with ever-improving high-definition technology in digital media. Blu-ray represents the

very latest development in entertainment industry, a development that is fast catching the fancy of movie-lovers. The online market is also agog with latest movie bestsellers being sold in Blu-ray discs. So, what’s the secret behind the overwhelming success of Blu-ray discs?

To 76 - H mag

start

Prices of Blu-ray discs as well as players, however, still seem to be on a higher side. But with every new technology, the price issues are best tackled by time. As the technology gets older, the prices become more affordable.

much better movie-watching experience. This high-definition viewing experience was never available before. All this is made possible by the use of shorter wave-length in the Blu-ray discs that allows more data to be stored in the disc.

ll the popular production houses, like Disney, Fox, Paramount, etc. use this technology in order to give the viewers an unforgettable experience of this digital marvel.

And the best part about these players is their ability to support DVDs, CDs, etc. So, even your old DVDs won’t become outdated and you can still enjoy these on Blu-ray players. Of course, the audio-visual experience that a Blu-ray offers hasn’t matched yet. Sample this. Blu-ray is the only known format that natively displays in 1080p, which is the highest video resolution of modern high-definition televisions.

Moreover, the film producers can also introduce several new features on discs that they can’t show in cinema-halls, like additional audio commentaries, behind-thescenes, director’s-cut, making of the movie, deleted, edited shots, e t c .

Mostly, there won’t be any requirement to use more than one Bluray disc for any movie of any length. So, where’s the need to spend on expensive cinema tickets, when your own home can be transformed into a mini-theatre with better technology in the form of Blu-ray discs?

or buying most affordable Blu-ray discs, there is no better place than Internet. The online movie stores now house latest movie bestsellers and blockbuster movies at highly competitive prices.

even

There are some that promise same day delivery of your favor-

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director with Lost in Translation editor Sarah Flack and production designer Anne Ross. Stacey Battat (Broken English) is the costume designer, and Harris Savides (Elephant) is the director of photography, on Somewhere.

SOMEWHERE

orld-premiering at the 2010 Venice International Film Festival. From Academy Award-winning writer/ director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette), Somewhere is a witty, moving, and empathetic look into the orbit of actor Johnny Marco (played by Stephen Dorff). You have probably seen him in the tabloids; Johnny is living at the

Focus Features

Sofia Coppola Studio

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE

legendary Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. He has a Ferrari to drive around in, and a constant stream of girls and pills to stay in with. Comfortably numbed, Johnny drifts along. Then, his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) from his failed marriage arrives unexpectedly at the Chateau. Their encounters encourage Johnny to face up to where he is in life and confront the question that we all must: which path in life will you take? Filmed entirely on location, Somewhere reunites the writer/

Starring

Writer Sofia Coppola

Director Sofia Coppola

Benicio Del Toro, Michelle Monaghan, Elle Fanning,Stephen Dorff,

Release Date December 22nd, 2010

Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer. In 2003 she became the third woman (and the first American woman) to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing, for Lost in Translation, and in 2010 with Somewhere, she became the first American woman (and fourth American filmmaker) to win the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.

school at St. Helena High School and graduated class of 1990. She later went to Mills College and the California Institute of the Arts, and interned with Chanel when she was fifteen years old. After graduating, Coppola started a clothing line called Milkfed that is sold exclusively in Japan.

Coppola’s acting career, frequently described as based largely upon nepotism, began as an infant, making background Coppola was born in New York City, appearances in seven of her father’s New York, the youngest child and only films. The most well-known of these eardaughter of set decorator/artist Eleanor ly roles is her appearance in The GodfaCoppola (née Neil) and director Franther as the baby boy in the christening cis Ford Coppola (The Godfather and scene. She is also seen in her father’s Apocalypse Now), granddaughter of the film The Outsiders in a scene where composer Carmine Coppola, sister of Matt Dillon, Tommy Howell, and Ralph Roman Coppola and Giancarlo CoppoMacchio are eating at a Dairy Queen bela, niece of her father’s siblings August fore the famous burning church scene. Coppola and Talia Shire, and a cousin of Nicolas Cage, Jason Schwartzman Frankenweenie (1984) was the first film and Robert Carmine. She attended high she performed in that was not associ-

Locations * Chateau Marmont Los Angeles, Ca, USA * Hollywood, Los Angeles, Ca, USA * Hotel Principe Di Savoia, Milan, Lombardia, Italy * Los Angeles, California, USA * Planet Hollywood Resort Las Vegas, Nevada, USA H mag -

MOVIE ated with her father. However, it often goes unnoted due to her stage name, “Domino”, which she adopted at the time because she thought it was glamorous.

role in The Godfather Part III because she never especially wanted an acting career.

Coppola can also be seen in several music videos from the 1990s, appearing in In 1986, Coppola was cast as Kathleen The Black Crowes’ “Sometimes SalvaTurner’s sister, Nancy Kelcher, in Peggy tion” in 1992 and the Chemical Brothers’ Sue Got Married. The film was directed “Elektrobank” in 1997, which was directby her father, Francis Ford Coppola, and ed by her future husband Spike Jonze. costarred her cousin, Nicolas Cage. Her first three films were Lick the Star The 1989 short film entitled Life Without (1998), The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Zoe was released as part of a tripartite Lost in Translation (2003). Lost in anthology film, New York Stories. It was Translation won the Academy Award for written by Sofia Coppola and her father, her original screenplay and three GoldFrancis Ford Coppola (who also directed en Globe Awards including Best Picture. the film). Along-side Lina Wertmüller and Jane Her best known acting role is Mary Cor- Campion, Coppola became the third feleone in The Godfather Part III (1990), male director to be nominated for an a significant role for which she was cast Academy Award for Directing. Her win by her father after Winona Ryder fell ill. for best original screenplay in 2003 Her critically panned performance (for made her a third-generation Oscar winwhich she received the award of “Worst ner. In 2004, Coppola was invited to join New Star” in the 1990 Golden Raspberry the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Awards) effectively ended her acting ca- Sciences. reer, save for appearances in the 1992 independent film Inside Monkey Zetter- Coppola’s next film was the biopic Maland, and in the background of films by rie Antoinette, adapted from the biograher friends and family. In 1999, she apphy by British historian Antonia Fraser. peared as Saché in George Lucas’ Star Kirsten Dunst plays the title character Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. who marries King Louis XVI, She has since been quoted as saying she played by Jason Schwartzman, Copwasn’t hurt by the criticism from her pola’s cousin. It débuted at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival where, despite boos in the audience, it received a standing ovation. Her most recent film is the semi-autobiographic Somewhere (2010). The movie was filmed at Chateau Marmont. The plot concentrates around a “bad boy” actor portrayed by Stephen Dorff who is forced to reevaluate his life when his daughter, played by Elle Fanning.

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NEX

SONY

Written by Matt Hines

CAMCORDER

VG10

f you’re looking for nearprosumer performance on a sub-prosumer budget then you’ll want to have a serious look at the Sony NEX-VG10. Something akin to a blending of video camcorder with DSLR technologies, the entrance of the “world’s first consumer interchangeable lens HD camcorder” into the marketplace is a welcome addition to the many options facing today’s video producer. Achieving Perspective Soon after un-boxing the eagerly awaited NEX-VG10 we began to experience a number of “wowee” moments as well as a few not so cool moments. In thinking about the pros and cons on this camcorder, we realized the cons were born primarily of our perception of what this camera could be rather than what it actually is.

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think it is important, therefore, before moving on to the details, to point out that we believe this camera could quite easily be unfairly judged. The reason, simply stated, is that it is so close to being much more than what it actually is. The perspective we need to understand is, what the manufacturer, in this case Sony, intends it to be - which is a consumer level camcorder. Yes that’s a word, I just made it up. A great way to optimize one’s optical resources is with the ability to use different lenses. That is exactly what Sony has done with the NEX-VG10. Never before has a consumer-class camcorder user enjoyed the versatility inherent in having the ability to swap out your standard lens for a macro, fisheye or whatever happens to suit your creative purposes. Included with the unit is an 18-200mm E-mount lens with an 11X optical zoom. It uses a silent auto-focus system, (do not despair prosumers, manual focus is an option too), and optical image stabilization using Optical Steadyshot technology. E-mount lenses are lighter, smaller and optimized for video use. The manual zoom ring on this lens of-

fers up a fair amount of resistance when extending or retracting the lens. We found that because the camera is very light weight, using the manual zoom resulted in the wrist rotating to one side or the other - not a desirable characteristic when shooting and zooming hand-held. Proper shooting technique dictates that zooming while shooting should be kept to a minimum but when it is necessary, it is advisable to use a tripod. If hand-held shooting is required then be sure to utilize good hand-held techniques for maximum support and minimum wrist rotation. A power zoom would alleviate this tendency and would be a great feature to include in a future iteration of this camera. We should also point out that Hybrid DSLRs made for shooting video and photos that have interchangeable lenses similar to the NEX-VG10 do not have a power zoom as well. Optional E-mount lenses include an 18-55mm zoom lens and a 16mm wide-angle lens. Additionally, a camera mount adapter may be purchased which allows the use of a wide variety of A-mount lenses, currently found on Sony DSLR cameras. Sensor Purpose Full 1920x1080 HD video is captured at 30p (29.97p) and recorded in AVCHD 60i (59.94i) at up to 24Mbps. The resulting footage is nothing short of stunning. The visual quality and color reproduction is excellent and to achieve such high quality, the NEX-VG10 utilizes an Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that measures 23.4 x 15.6mm, approximately 19.5 times larger than those used in conventional camcorders. A large sensor such as this allows a great deal more light to enter, resulting in a beautifully shallow depth of field. A shallow depth of field allows you to deemphasize, or blur, certain portions of

the image in order to place greater emphasis on that portion which remains in sharp focus. This ability contributes greatly to achieving that film-like quality in our video productions that so many of us are looking for. This feature alone is a big win, particularly for a consumer class camera.

How’s

That Sound? Visually, the NEX-VG10s microphone is a thing of beauty, reminding me of the flying bridge on some great starship in the old Star Trek series. It uses a Quad Capsule Spatial Array system and advanced processing algorithms to combine the individual signals. The result is very clear stereo audio. Care must be taken however as the mic is sensitive enough to pick up sound from handling H mag -

CAMCORDER the camera. Remembering that this is a consumer class camcorder, the quality of audio produced with this microphone is very good. From a prosumer standpoint however it is almost never a good idea to go with a camera’s built-in mic if you want truly professional results. The NEXVG10 allows for this option by providing a mini 3.5mm stereo microphone jack below its dual accessory shoes (Alpha Hot Shoe/Universal Cold Shoe.) A headphone jack also resides nearby for monitoring sound levels.

Control Freak Manual controls are reached through a user friendly, intuitive set of buttons used in concert with a rotary control dial located on the Operation Panel behind the LCD display. There are buttons for the menu, display (you’ll find a histogram displayed here as well), playback, white balance, gain, focus, exposure compensation and more.

Motion Blur, Manual Exposure and more. The rotary dial also selects among options made available by the various buttons such as White Balance or Focus. For example, when the Focus button is pushed its virtual dial appears on the display. Use the physical dial to locate the desired setting and depress it to select. For the more tactile oriented users among us there is also a focus ring located on the lens. Odds and Ends Ports are included for USB, HDMI, a memory card and DC power. One disappointment we’ve found with other cameras in this class are the flimsy port cover supports. They feel very thin and prone to being torn off. The NEX-VG10 employs thicker material in the port covers giving them a stronger, more permanent feel. Compatible memory cards are the Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark 2) and PRO-HG Duo media (up to 32GB) as well as SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards (Class 4 or more - up to 64GB.)

You won’t be

plugging in your XLR mics without an adapter, or enjoying a bounty of buttons with this one, but remember, it is a consumer, not prosumer, camera. With that in mind, we are very pleased overall, The rotary control dial occupies the with Sony’s new interchangeable lens, center of the panel. When depressed consumer-class camcorder. it brings up the Shoot Mode display. A It would be easy to deride the product virtual dial appears on the right of the by saying that it should have this or that screen with a description of each setting feature. But in order to evaluate it fairly showing on the left. Rotating the physiwe must realize that it is not a prosumer cal dial cycles the virtual display through or professional level piece of equipment options such as Shutter Priority, Aperthat forgot to have certain features inture Priority, Hand-Held Twilight, Anti cluded, but rather a consumer level cam-

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corder that has included some truly excellent features such as interchangeable lenses. The level of creativity achievable with a camcorder like this is endless. Coupled with a wonderfully shallow depth of field, beautiful color, great sound reproduction and user friendly controls the NEXVG10 is absolutely worth considering. And, oh yeah, it shoots great 14 megapixel still photos too. Tech Specs Video Format: AVCHD (MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)) Video Resolution: 1920x1080 captured at 30p (29.97p), recorded in AVCHD 60i (59.95i) Media Type: Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo/PRO-HG HX Duo media, SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card AF Modes: Single-shot AF, Continuous AF, Direct Manual Focus Lens Type: E-mount 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS Lens Mount Type: Sony E-mount Lens Stabilization: Optical Steadyshot image stabilization with Active Mode Filter Diameter: 67mm (included lens) LCD Type: 3.0” Xtra Fine LCD 180° swivel display (921K dots) w/ TruBlack technology Imaging Sensor: Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor (23.4 X 15.6mm) Processor: BIONZ image processor Pixel Gross: Approx. 14.6 megapixels Effective Picture Resolution: Approx. 14.2 megapixels Strengths • Interchangeable lenses • Large sensor - very shallow depth of field • User friendly, intuitive controls Weaknesses • Should have a power zoom to minimize wrist rotation • Handheld use picks up substantial handling noise • May be a bit pricey for the strictly consumer market Summary If you’re looking for near-prosumer performance on a sub-prosumer budget then you’ll want to have a serious look at the Sony NEX-VG10. Sony Electronics Inc. 16530 Via Esprillo San Diego, CA 92127 www.sonystyle.com $2,000 H mag -

Written by Catherine Basso

SOUNDTRACK

ROCKY III Hulk Hogan received the initial offer to be in the movie after a wrestling match against Andre’ the Giant at Shea Stadium. At first, he thought one of the wrestlers was trying to pull a prank on him. When he returned from a tour of Japan, Hogan received a Western Union letter he had to sign for. The contents: Sylvester Stallone's offer to be in the movie. He immediately signed on for the role of Thunderlips.

ocky III begins with the ending of the 15th round of the rematch between Rocky and Apollo Creed, with Rocky Balboa becoming the new heavyweight champion of the world. in the time between Rocky II and Rocky This is followed by an opening montage III. In the five years since winning the of scenes that explain what happened heavyweight title from Apollo, Rocky has a string of 10 successful title defenses. As his winning streak grows, so does his fame, wealth and celebrity, and soon Rocky is seen everywhere, from magazine covers to TV show guest star appearances. Rocky is also heavily merchandised, endorsing varied products and services, and stars in several television commercials. At the same time, a ferocious new boxer named James “Clubber” Lang (Mr. T) is climbing the ranks, rapidly becoming the number one contender for

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1. “Eye of the Tiger” (by Survivor) 3:53 2. “Take You Back (Tough Gym)” 1:48 3. “Pushin’” 3:10 4. “Decision” 3:20 5. “Mickey” 4:42 6. “Take You Back” 3:37 7. “Reflections” 2:05 8. “Gonna Fly Now” 2:52 9. “Adrian” 1:42 10. “Conquest” 4:40 - Frank Stallone - vocals - Ray Pizzi - sax - Jerry Hey - trumpet - Vincent DeRosa - French horn - Mike Lang - piano - DeEtta Little, Nelson Pigford - vocals The version of “Eye of the Tiger” that appears is actually a demo - the “finished” version is pears on the soundtrack. Also missing from the is the instrumental version of the song played is training in Apollo’s old gym. Rocky’s title. During the scenes of some of Rocky’s title defense fights, Clubber Lang is seen in the audience, observing the tactics of the man he wishes to fight. Rocky’s brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young) has grown jealous of Rocky’s accomplishments. After a night of heavy drinking, Paulie stumbles into a video arcade, hurls an empty whiskey bottle through a ROCKY pinball machine (which was an actual game produced by D. Gottlieb & Co.) in a rage and is arrested. Rocky bails him out of jail and, on the way to Rocky’s car to ride home, Paulie begins berating Rocky for forgetting him on his climb to the top. Paulie swallows his pride and asks Rocky for a job, which Rocky grants him. Rocky agrees to a charity match with wrestling champion Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan). While Rocky treats the match as a light-hearted exhibition, Thunderlips seems to be taking it seriously, body-slamming Rocky and throwing him out of the ring. Rocky shouts to Paulie (his new ringman)

in the film what apsoundtrack when Rocky

“Cut my gloves off!” The gloves come off and Rocky fights back, even managing to throw Thunderlips out of the ring himself. Just as the match is about to degenerate into a type of shoot fight, the bell rings and the match is declared a draw. Thunderlips calms down, and it’s clear that his aggression earlier was just for show. (Rocky: “Why’d you get so crazy on me out there?” Thunderlips: “That’s the name of the game.”). A now smiling Thunderlips has his picture taken with Rocky’s wife and kid.

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on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez. Timberlake became famous in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the boy band ‘N Sync, whose launch was financed by Lou Pearlman.

Warner Bros Pictures

YOGI BEAR Studio

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE

veryone’s favorite pic-a-nic basket-stealing bear comes to the big screen in Yogi Bear. Jellystone Park has been losing business, so greedy Mayor Brown decides to shut it down and sell the land.

That means families will no longer be able to experience the natural beauty of the outdoors -- and, even worse, Yogi and Boo Boo will be tossed out of the only home they’ve ever known. Faced with his biggest challenge ever, Yogi must prove that he really is smarter than the average bear as he and Boo Boo join forces with their old nemesis Ranger Smith to find a way to save Jellystone Park from closing forever.

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American pop musician and actor. He has won six Grammy

Awards as well as two Emmy Awards. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went

Starring

Writer Brad Copeland

Director Eric Brevig

Anna Faris, T J Miller, Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake,

Release Date December 17th, 2010

also claimed unconfirmed American Indian ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Charles L. Timberlake, was a Baptist minister, and Timberlake was raised Baptist, though now considers himself more “spiritual than religious”.

Timberlake’s parents divorced in 1985, In 2002, he released his debut solo aland both have remarried. His mother, bum, Justified, which sold more than who now runs an entertainment com7 million copies worldwide. The album pany called Just-in Time Entertainment, was a commercial success, spawning remarried to Paul Harless, a banker, the hits “Cry Me a River” and “Rock when her son was five. His father, a Your Body”. Timberlake continued his choir director at a Baptist church, has success with his second solo album, two children, Jonathan (born c. 1993) FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), debutand Steven Robert (born August 14, ing at number one on the Billboard 200 1998), from his second marriage to Lisa chart, and produced the US numberPerry. Timberlake’s half-sister, Laura one hit singles “SexyBack”, “My Love”, Katherine, died shortly after birth on and “What Goes Around.../...Comes May 14, 1997, and is mentioned in his Around”. acknowledgments in the album *NSYNC as “My Angel in Heaven.” Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a middle class Timberlake’s first two albums crime-free suburb between Memphis made him one of the most commercially successful singers in and Millington. His first attempts at the world, each selling in ex- a singing career were country music songs on Star Search as “Justin Rancess of 7 million copies. Aside dall.”

from music, he has also begun an acting career, while his other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality.

Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Lynn Harless (née Bomar) and Randall Timberlake. Timberlake is of English descent, and has

In 1993, Timberlake joined the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club. His castmates included future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, and future bandmate JC Chasez. The show ended in 1994, but late in 1995 Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman that eventually became ‘N Sync. Timberlake and JC Chasez were the two lead singers

Locations * Auckland, New Zealand * Port Waikato, Waikato, New Zealand H mag -

MOVIE of the popular 1990s boy band ‘N Sync. The group formed in 1995, started its career 1996 in Europe, and hit it big in the United States in 1998 with the U.S. release of its debut album *NSYNC, which sold 11 million copies. The album included a number of hit singles, including “Tearin’ Up My Heart”. For the next two years, encouraged by similar developments with the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync engaged in a lengthy legal battle with manager Lou Pearlman. Eventually the band signed with Jive Records. In March 2000, ‘N Sync released a longawaited album, No Strings Attached, which became the fastest-selling album of all time with 2.4 million copies sold in its first week and produced a #1 single, “It’s Gonna Be Me”. The release was followed by the band’s third album, Celebrity, which was the second-fastest selling album of all time. In 2002, after the completion of a Celebrity Tour and the release of “Girlfriend”, the third single from Celebrity, the group decided to take time off, at which point Timberlake began work on his first solo album and the group went into a hiatus. In its lifetime, ‘N Sync was internationally famous and performed at the Academy Awards, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl, as well as selling more than 50 million copies worldwide, becoming the third-best selling boy band in history.

debut in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model. It was released on March 12, 2000. As a member of ‘N Sync, Timberlake developed into a major celebrity in his own right in addition to achieving respect as a musician, since he was the writer or co-writer of all three singles from Celebrity. The rise of his own stardom and the general decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of ‘N Sync. Band member Lance Bass has stated that he believes the group is finished, and is openly critical of Timberlake’s actions in his memoir Out of Sync. On the other hand, Chris Kirkpatrick remarked in August 2008 that the five remain friends, and he believed a reunion was possible: he repeated that opinion in October 2009. In September 2008, Bass also made conciliatory comments.

In August 2002, after months of recording Justified, his debut solo album, Timberlake performed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. He premiered his first single, “Like I Love You”, a sparse dance track produced by The Neptunes. The song reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following the single, Timberlake released Justified on November 5, 2002. The album sold fewer copies than previIn late 1999, Timberlake made his acting ous ‘N Sync efforts. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 439,000 copies in its first week of release. It eventually went on to sell more than three million copies in the U.S. and more than seven million copies. worldwide. The album also received critical acclaim, thanks to its heavy R&B influence provided by hip-hop producers The Neptunes and Timbaland.

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Captain

Written by Elle Porter

in Production

America

Director Chris Evans ... Steve Rogers/Captain America Hugo Weaving ... Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull Richard Armitage ... Heinz Kruger Samuel L. Jackson ... Nick Fury Hayley Atwell ... Peggy Carter Stanley Tucci ... Abraham Erskine Tommy Lee Jones ... Col. Chester Phillips Dominic Cooper ... Howard Stark Sebastian Stan ... James 'Bucky' Barnes Natalie Dormer ... Private Lorraine Neal McDonough ... Dum Dum Dugan Toby Jones ... Arnim Zola JJ Feild ... Montgomery Falsworth Anatole Taubman ... Roeder Christian Black ... Sgt. Buck Kenneth Choi ... Morita Sarah Linda ... US Army Nurse Duncan JC Mais ... US Marine Kevin Millington ... Stark's Engineer Patrick Monckeberg ... Manager Velt Palle Nodeland ... Eric

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Writers

Cast

Joe Johnston

Christopher Markus Screenplay Stephen McFeely Screenplay Joss Whedon Screenplay

After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals.

Little Fockers

he test of wills between Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) escalates to new heights of comedy in the third installment of the blockbuster series -- Little Fockers. Laura Dern, Jessica Alba and Harvey Keitel join the returning all-star cast for a new chapter of the worldwide hit franchise. It has taken 10 years, two little Fockers with wife Pam (Polo) and countless hurdles for Greg to finally get in with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack. After the cash-strapped dad takes a job moon

Universal Pictures

Barbra Streisand

Studio

Written by Elle Porter

MOVIE

lighting for a drug company, however, Jack’s suspicions about his favorite male nurse come roaring back. When Greg and Pam’s entire clan -- including Pam’s lovelorn ex, Kevin (Owen Wilson) -- descends for the twins’ birthday party, Greg must prove to the skeptical Jack that he’s fully capable as the man of the house. But with all the misunderstandings, spying and covert missions, will Greg pass Jack’s final test and become the family’s next patriarch... or will the circle of trust be broken for good?

Starring

Writer John Hamburg

Director Paul Weitz

Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson

Release Date December 22nd, 2010

Streisand was born to a Jewish family,the daughter of Emmanuel and Diana (née Rosen) Streisand, on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the second of three children. Fifteen months later, Emmanuel died of a cerebral hemorrhage and the family went into near-poverty. She attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and joined the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club. Streisand became a nightclub singer while in her teens. She wanted to be an actress and appeared in summer stock and in a number of Off-Off-Broadway productions, including Driftwood (1959), with the then-unknown Joan Rivers. (In her autobiography, Rivers wrote that she played a lesbian with a crush on Streisand’s character, but this was later refuted by the play’s author.) Driftwood ran for only six weeks. When her boyfriend, Barry Dennen, helped her create a club act—first performed at The Lion, a popular gay nightclub in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village in 1960—she achieved success as a singer. While singing at The Lion for several weeks, she changed her name to Barbra. One early appearance outside of New York City was at Enrico Banducci’s hungry i nightclub in San Francisco. In 1961,

Streisand appeared at the Town and Country nightclub in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but her appearance was cut short; the club owner did not appreciate her singing style. Streisand’s first television appearance was on The Tonight Show, then hosted by Jack Paar, in 1961, singing Harold Arlen’s A Sleepin’ Bee. Orson Bean, who substituted for Paar that night, had seen the singer perform at a gay bar and booked her for the telecast. (Her older brother Sheldon paid NBC for a kinescope film so she could use it in 1961 to promote herself. Decades later the film was preserved through digitizing and is available for viewing on a website.) Streisand became a semi-regular on PM East/PM West, a talk/variety series hosted by Mike Wallace, in late 1961. Westinghouse Broadcasting, which aired PM East/PM West in a select few cities (Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco), has since wiped all the videotapes because of the cost of videotape at the time.

Locations

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eitz was born in New York City, New York, the son of the actress Susan Kohner and novelist/fashion designer John Weitz, and the grandson of Paul Kohner and Mexican actress Lupita Tovar.

Growing up in New York City, he attended The Allen-Stevenson School and later Collegiate. Then, he graduated from Wesleyan University, where he wrote the play Mango Tea. The play was performed off-Broadway.

Paul Weitz Darren Shan’s young adult novel Cirque du Freak called The Vampire’s Assistant. He is set to direct a Vampire’s Assistant sequel, which will be based on the next three books: Vampire Mountain, Trials of Death, and The Vampire Prince.[citation needed] He has recently finished directing Little Fockers, the sequel to Meet the Parents, and Meet the Fockers. The film is due out this winter.

Mr. Weitz has written a number of plays including RouWeitz first achieved mainstream suclette, Privilege, Show Peocess by directing American Pie with ple, and Trust, all of which his brother Chris. He then co-directed have been produced Off-Broad2002’s About a Boy, which earned him way in New York City. Trust an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The brothers have starring Zach Braff, Bobby Cannavale, Sutton Foster, and since worked on establishing separate film careers, although they often serve Ari Graynor, directed by Peas a producers on each other’s projter DuBois runs from July ects. Weitz has directed two films by 23, 2010, until September 12, himself: In Good Company and Ameri2010, at 2nd Stage Theatre. can Dreamz. Additional writing credits include Antz and the television show Cracking Up.

He has also directed an adaptation of

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Weitz and his brother are also producing a potential trilogy based upon the Elric saga by Michael Moorcock.

Dustin Hoffman was originally expected to reprise his role as Bernie Focker, but decided against it after becoming unhappy with the script, as well as the fact that the director of the first two films, Jay Roach, had been replaced by Paul Weitz. However, both Hoffman and Universal eventually agreed on him shooting 6 scenes.

Written by Elle Porter

Rumored The Avengers Will Be Fighting Off Skrulls Come 2012?

here's a new unconfirmed rumor going around, from ComicBookMovie, revealing some potential villain(s) in the upcoming The Avengers movie.

I don't want

to dwell on it too much, because a) I don't really want to reveal any big spoilers for a movie that is at least two years out, and b) this is such a very early rumor, it's almost all speculation and anything could happen with the script by the time they start shooting (remember, Joss Whedon still isn't even officially attached as director). That said, the rumor states that The Avengers will battle the shape-shifting alien race known as the Skrulls, which appeared in The Ultimates comics.

of superheroes all in one epic comic book movie coming up in 2012, or at least that's what early sources are reporting nowdays.

or those who don't know, the Skrulls are green-skinned reptilian humanoids with large pointed ears. They are known for genetic and molecular instability, and genetic diversity, due to "Celestial experimentation."

CBM says that they've confirmed with I referenced The Ulti"two other sources close to the production" that the Skrulls will be one of the mates earlier because main villains in the movie. Of course, every decision Marvel there's also a rumor that Loki (who behas made regarding The gins his big screen reign in Kenneth Branagh's Thor next summer) will apAvengers movie so far, pear in The Avengers and he may even including the characters "gain control over" the Hulk and cause that will be in it, have him to unleash his fury; Hulk was the big villain in Vol. 1 of The Ultimates been the same as in The comic series. And beyond that, they say that another alien race called the Kree Ultimates. will have a presence as "Earthly allies." It seems like they're trying to replicate that storyline in the movie, which is why there are rumors about Hulk and So we've got at least two the Skrulls. But with Whedon rewritalien races, potentially an ing the script, you never know what will happen. evil Norse god, and a bunch

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geance, winning nine straight fights and earning some fights against big name fighters like Gatti.

Paramount Pictures

FIGHTER Studio

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE THE

he Fighter, is a drama about boxer Irish Micky Ward’s unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO’d by drugs and crime.

Micky Ward

“Irish” Micky Ward (born October 4, 1965) is a retired junior welterweight professional boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. He is best known for his trilogy of fights with the late Arturo Gatti. Ward won three New England Golden Gloves titles as an amateur before turn-

ing pro in 1985. He was coached by former New England Olympic Champion John Peverada (of Portland, Maine). He started off 14-0 in his professional career, but after a stretch of defeats in the early 1990s, Ward left boxing for three years. He returned in 1994 with a ven-

Starring

Writer Paul Attanasio

Director David O. Russell

Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo,

Release Date December 10th, 2010

Ward was known for his devastating left hook to the body and his ability to withstand punishment while waiting to land his trademark shot, in a “Rocky Balboa” type style. A perennial underdog, he has been known to suddenly drop his opponent in the late rounds with a single shot to the body (as he did against Emanuel Augustus, then known as Emanuel Burton). After a 15-year pro career, the veteran Ward gained widespread fame in his May 18, 2002 fight with Arturo Gatti, broadcast live on HBO. In 2001, Ward’s battle with Emanuel Augustus on July 13 had been named the Ring Magazine Fight of the Year, a fight some thought Augustus won, and it served to set up the much-anticipated Ward-Gatti matchup. Ward-Gatti I saw both fighters withstand an amazing amount of punishment through 10 rounds of non-stop action. Ward, who dropped Gatti in the ninth round with a vicious left hook to the body, won the fight by majority decision.

9 of that bout was called “The Round of the Century” by Emanuel Steward, who co-hosted the fight live on HBO. Ring Magazine named Ward-Gatti I the Fight of the Year for 2002 and round 9 the Round of the Year. In their rematch, Ward-Gatti II on November 23, 2002, Gatti neutralized Ward’s body punching power by boxing and staying low. In the third round, Gatti knocked Ward to the canvas with a thundering overhand right which landed on Ward’s ear. Ward sprawled into the turnbuckle and stayed down for the mandatory 8 count. Nobody, especially Gatti (who after the fight called it “the hardest punch I’ve ever landed”) expected Ward to get up, never mind finish the fight.

Ward-Gatti I was hailed as the “Fight of the Century” by box- Throughout the 1990s, and while training fans and writers, and Round ing for the Gatti trilogy, Ward worked on a paving crew for Newport Construction Corporation. Some of the scenes from the

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MOVIE movie ‘The Fighter’, were actually filmed on location at a Newport paving job in Lowell, Mass.

ard and Gatti earned over one million dollars apiece for Ward-Gatti II. In their third fight, on June 7, 2003, Ward, despite dropping Gatti in round six, lost by a ten round unanimous decision. WardGatti III was named Fight of the Year for 2003 by Ring Magazine, marking the third time Ward had earned that honor. It was later revealed that Gatti had fractured his right hand after a hard punch to Ward’s hip, but continued to punch with his right hand. While Ward never won one of the “Big Four” world titles, he captured both the WBU Intercontinental Light Welterweight title and the WBU Light Welterweight title. He also won the respect and admiration of many fans worldwide at this late stage in his career. Before his final fight with Gatti, Ward had announced his plans to retire. Ward became good friends with Gatti and made a point of attending Gatti’s fights after his own retirement. He even worked Gatti’s corner on occasion. In his native Massachusetts, Micky

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Ward is regarded as a working class hero, a blue-collar athlete who has overcome many difficulties in life and prevailed through determination and hard work. Ward’s older half-brother, Dickie Eklund, was also a professional fighter who once faced Sugar Ray Leonard and was featured in the 1995 HBO documentary High on Crack Street. Bob Halloran’s biography Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward was published in 2009 by Lyons Press. Halloran was also technical consultant on the upcoming film, The Fighter, which recounts Ward’s climb to fame. Mark Wahlberg has been cast in the role of Micky, with Christian Bale Eklund. Amy Adams has been confirmed as a love interest of Ward in the film. Filming began in Lowell in late July 2009. The song “The Warrior’s Code” by the Boston punk rock band Dropkick Murphys is dedicated to Micky Ward, and his photograph appears on the cover of the album of the same title. Micky Ward used the biographical song, One Hit To The Body, by fellow Lowell native DTension, as his official ring entrance music for his biggest fights including his victory over Artu-

LUMIX DMC-GF2

Panasonic

Written by Matt Hines

CAMERA

anasonic has announced the Lumix DMC-GF2 Micro Four Thirds camera. A simplified version of the company’s GF1, it inherits the same flat-body design but with revised control layout and touch-screen control. It is built around a 12MP CMOS sensor but with a more powerful processor than its predecessor, allowing AVCHD video recording of 1080i60 movies from 1080p30 capture. It is also compatible with the company’s recently released 3D lens. We’ve had a pre-production GF2 in the office for a few days, so click through to read all about it in our hands-on preview.

its signature built-in flash,” said Darin Pepple, Senior Product Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “We expect the LUMIX GF2 to be an attractive model for consumers who want to step up to a more powerful camera that is easy to use, and a camera that is ‘future-proof’ with its 3D capabilities.” The LUMIX GF2 is extremely easy to operate for consumers at any level, thanks to a newly- designed user interface, which allows for the focus to be set, or shutter released, by simply touching The LUMIX DMC-GF2, the latest of the the large 3-inch touch-screen LCD. The company’s DSL Micro (DSLM) compact touch-screen LCD with a 460,000-dotmirrorless cameras, which is Panasonresolution makes taking great photos ic’s smallest and lightest interchangeintuitive. Once a user locks on a subject able lens system camera – complete by touch, the LUMIX GF2 tracks the subwith a built-in flash. The LUMIX GF2 ject with the AF tracking function, even is compatible with lenses from the Miif the subject moves – making it easy to cro Four Thirds standard, meaning the take photos of moving subjects, like chilsystem is small and compact, while not dren playing. The contrast AF system compromising ease of operation or imadopted by the LUMIX DMC-GF2 is not age quality. Even more, the LUMIX GF2 only accurate and easy to use, but also is compatible with Panasonic’s new very fast. Users can choose from a wide 3D interchangeable lens, the LUMIX G range of AF (Auto Focus) modes, includ12.5mm / F12, so users can take 3D pho- ing multiple-area AF with up to 23 focus tos. areas, 1-area AF with a selectable focus “The LUMIX GF2 is key in the Panasonic area, Face Detection, and AF Tracking. DSL Micro line-up, as it’s the smallest The touch operation also dramatically and lightest model we offer, while still shortens the time spent navigating the offering superb image quality, which menus. With the LUMIX GF2’s newlyour consumers have come to expect designed Touch Q-menu, the user can from LUMIX. Compared to the GF1, its customize the camera’s shortcuts with predecessor, the GF2 has been reduced the most commonly used settings. Toapproximately 19% in size and approxi- gether with the simple button commately 7% in weight yet is still retains

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ponents, including dedicated buttons for video recording and iA (Intelligent Auto) mode which lights in-use, users can operate the camera intuitively with ease. With the Intelligent Scene Selector in the iA mode, the camera automatically switches to the appropriate mode according to the subject touched. For example, a touch on a human face switches to the portrait mode and a touch on the background or scenery switches to the scenery mode, while a touch on the subject close to the camera switches to the close-up mode. With the MF assist mode for manual focusing, users can enlarge the subject by just a touch to select 1x, 5x or 10x and smoothly move the subject by dragging it on the screen. In iA mode and the Peripheral Defocus mode, the range of defocus can be adjusted by just moving the slider with a finger, something not possible with larger more complicated DSLR cameras that don’t feature touch control. While achieving breakthroughs in compactness of design and outstanding photo and video quality, the Panasonic LUMIX GF2 can contribute its professional-level imaging performance to wellbalanced engine and sensor technologies. For the image processor, the Venus Engine FHD is incorporated, featuring exceptionally high performance signal processing ca-

pabilities in both photo and movie recording. With the advanced noise reduction system employing the 3D NR and CNR (Chromatic Noise Reduction), users can capture clear, naturally-balanced images even when shooting at high ISO sensitivity levels to help prevent the color bleeding. Panasonic’s Venus Engine FHD enables Intelligent Resolution technology, which means that three areas – outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation – are automatically detected. Then, the outline parts are enhanced effectively to give edges more clearness while giving a moderate accentuation to the texture areas to look more finely detailed. To the soft gradation part, noise reduction system is applied to make it smoother. Apart from the uniform enhancement of sharpness, the innovative technology Intelligent Resolution precisely performs signal processing pixel by pixel, resulting in images that are naturally clear and crisp in both video and photos. The 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor featured in the LUMIX GF2 offers the best of both worlds – the superb image quality of a CCD sensor, plus the lower power consumption of a CMOS sensor. All of Panasonic’s LUMIX G-Series DSLM cameras are equipped with the

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CAMERA highly-efficient Dust Reduction System. If dust gets inside the camera when the user changes lenses, it could cling to the image sensor and show up as a spot in photos. The Dust Reduction System helps to reduce this risk by placing a supersonic wave filter in front of the Live MOS sensor. Vibrating vertically around 50,000 times per second, the filter repels dust and other particles. The LUMIX GF2 shoots professional-quality full High Definition (HD) videos as well as handling still photography. The LUMIX GF2 can record 1920 x 1080 videos at 60i or smooth HD 1280 x 720 movies at 60p in AVCHD. For those looking for better compatibility with computers, the LUMIX GF2 can also record HD Motion JPEG in 1280 x 720 and QVGA, VGA and WVGA. A dedicated vid-

images. The LUMIX GF2 features My Color mode which is integrated with the conventional Film mode. My Color mode offers a total of eight preset effects — Expressive, Retro, Pure, Elegant, Cinema, Monochrome, Dynamic Art, Silhouette, plus Custom mode, which lets users manually set the color, brightness, saturation and contrast levels. Also, with the

Full-time Live View function, users can see how these settings will affect the images before they shoot, which makes it easier to capture the exact effect desired. The LU-

eo record button makes it easy to start shooting videos, and high quality sound is recorded with the stereo microphone for Dolby® Digital Stereo Creator. Panasonic’s iA mode extends to video recording, with the following features: Optical Image Stabilizer, Face Detection, Intelligent D-range Control and Intelligent Scene Selector. The Panasonic LUMIX GF2 is artistic not only in form, but also in function, as it provides an array of features that lets users capture true-to-life images while also creating their own expressive, beautiful

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MIX GF2 has 17 Scene modes, most which can be used during video shooting, too. The exposure meter can be displayed in the P/A/S/M shooting modes for entry-level users to visually learn the correlation between shutter speed and aperture to enhance their photography skills.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF2, with a quality and solid aluminum body, will be available in black, silver, white, and red models with the following kit options: DMC-GF2C – 14mm F2.5 Lens Kit and DMC-GF2K – 14-42mm Zoom Lens Kit. The LUMIX GF2 will be available in January 2011 and pricing will be announced approximately 30 days prior to shipment.

Written by Nadja Goering

WRITTEN BY

r a e

John

ohn Tyree (Channing Tatum), a young Sergeant in the Army Special Forces, is lying on the ground in his combat gear with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. Coins begin to fall over him as he recalls a childhood trip to the U.S. Mint. He goes on to compare himself to a coin in the United States Military and states that the last thing he thought about before he blacked out, was “You.” In 2001, John is on leave when he meets Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), a college student on spring break. In a matter of days, Savannah and John fall in love. John meets Savannah’s family as well as her neighbor, Tim Wheddon (Henry Thomas) and Tim’s autistic son, Alan (Braeden Reed), who looks up to Savannah. Savannah meets and befriends John’s father (Richard Jenkins), a reclusive man who is only interested in his coin collection. John tells Savannah that his father has always been obsessed with coins and has not been much of a father to John, whose mother is not in the pic-

ture. Savannah mentions to John that his father, like Alan, may have autism. This upsets John, who believes Savannah is calling his father retarded. He is so caught up in his anger that he gets into a fight with Savannah’s rich neighbor, Randy (Scott Porter), accidentally punching Tim in the process. John apologizes to Tim the next day and leaves Savannah a note, seeking her forgiveness before his leave comes to an end. Savannah gets the note, and they spend one last day together. John returns to the Army and he and Savannah begin a longdistance relationship through handwritten letters. John believes this year will be his final year of enlistment but, following the September 11 attacks, is torn between returning home and his sense of duty. He is given a weekend off, which he spends with Savannah and her family as well as with his father. He asks Savannah for her opinion on whether or not he should re-enlist, and she tells him to do what he feels is right. Like the rest of the soldiers in his unit, John chooses to re-enlist

ver the next two years, John faces dangerous missions and begins to live almost entirely for Savannah’s letters. John and Savannah find themselves drifting apart. Finally, Savannah, sad but resigned, sends John a Dear John letter, informing him that she has become engaged to someone else. John, deeply depressed and frus-

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• •

• • • •

trated by the news, believes she is engaged to Randy. On a mission, he enters a dangerous area and is shot several times by an enemy, which bridges back to the first scene of the movie. After recovering from his wounds John’s Captain suggests that he go home and spend time with his father but, still upset about Savannah, John chooses to re-enlist again. He decides that he will make a career out of the Army and stay enlisted for as long as possible. While waiting to receive orders John is informed that he is being sent home for the first time in six years, because his father is dying. When John arrives at the hospital, the doctor informs him that his father suffered a severe stroke and was not found until days later. John feels guilt that if he had been there, the outcome for his father would have been better. The doctor assures him that his presence and quicker medical attention would have done little to help his father due to the severity of the stroke. John spends the last few days of his father’s life by his side and writes him a letter. His father has difficulty opening it, so John reads it to him. It is then that the viewers find out that John’s speech at the beginning of the film addressed his father, not Savannah. He tells the story of the first mule coin that he

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Mti edition (December 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0446567337 ISBN-13: 978-0446567336 Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches found and how it brought father and son to a shared passion of coin collecting. They connect in a tearful moment, and his father dies soon thereafter. John goes to see Savannah. He discovers that she married Tim, not her rich friend.

The ending in the book differs from the movie; In the

book, Tim gets better and John, after several more years in the war, comes back to confirm a qualm. He rides his Harley to Savannah’s farm at night and waits on a hill, concealed from view as the full moon slowly rose. When all was quiet the night was still and nothing had happened in those past few hours, John almost rode away, disappointed with loss of all hope. But the door opened, and a slight figure emerged, glancing back to make sure no one was following. The figure walked away from the house so that the moon was fully visible. Now John could see that it was indeed Savannah, and she had come out to watch the moon and remember all the moments she had spent with him.

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Written by Matt Hines

INTERVIEW and its origins. I can’t touch on that. But we do definitely touch on how they met. How they work together. And why they work so well. But this episode really isn’t about that. Its about the present situation in Smallville, and it is focused on that present. We touch on their relationship. The episode starts off with us seeing them together. And we basically go from there.

N A

L A

Are there any references to Mera’s classic tiara in the episode? Alan Ritchson: I don’t believe so. No.

RITCHSON

opular DC Comics character Aquaman (Alan Ritchson) returns with his new wife Mera (Elena Satine) on this Friday’s Tom Welling directed episode of Smallville. The episode, titled Patriot, will also feature Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan as the villain Col. Slade.

In an effort to protect the rest of the team, Oliver (Justin Hartley) decides to register for the Vigilante Registration Act to see what the government plans to do with the new law. As he suspected, it was a trap to lure superheroes to an undisclosed location where he is confined to a jail and subjected to a battery of brutal tests under the supervision of Col. Slade (guest star Michael Hogan). Aquaman (guest star Alan Ritchson) and his new wife Mera (guest star Elena Satine) team up with Clark (Tom Welling) to free Oliver. Lois, in the meantime, is frustrated when Clark continues to push aside her offers to help the team and sets out to prove she can play along with the big boys. We recently caught up with Aquaman himself to find out more about this upcoming episode, which airs this Friday on the CW at 8/7 central, and to learn the future of this fan favorite character. Here is our conversation with Alan Ritchson:

Alan Ritchson as Arthur Curry

(aka ‘Aquaman’)

Since the last time we saw Arthur, he got married to Mera. Will this upcoming episode explain how they met? And is Mera similar to her character in the comics or is she a little bit different? Alan Ritchson: I can’t speak to her relevance in the comic books, specifically. I am not familiar enough with her story 118 - H mag

Since first playing Aquaman in season five, have you followed the character in the current comic books at all? Especially with what has happened to Aquaman in the past few years since we last saw Arthur on

Smallville?

Alan Ritchson: Not in the past few years, no. I did read all of the literature I could find on Aquaman, and his stories prior to season five. Doing my research for the role then, I read everything that there was. I read a fair share then, but I haven’t kept up with him currently. Not with the more modern comics on him. After being absent for a few years, are you able to reach back and pull from that vast knowledge in returning this iconic character to the screen? Alan Ritchson: We try to. Being on TV, it’s hard to do everything that he does. Because a lot of that takes place somewhere else. Being that this is a newer story on land, that he is involved with, it’s harder to bring in a lot of the earlier elements of Aquaman. Its also required us to...Not fabricate, but bend some of the elements of his abilities to make this character work on land. To make it work a little bit more. To make him a little more relevant. It’s interesting. It’s a reference point for us. H mag -

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INTERVIEW But there is also a little bit of freedom that we take with the character on the show. When we last saw Arthur at the beginning of season 8, he severed his ties with the rest of the Justice League because their identities had become compromised. Will this episode explain where Arthur has been since then? And what he has been doing? Also, how does he feel about Oliver going public with his identity, and the aftermath that it has caused? Alan Ritchson: Again, we are going to touch on that. But there isn’t going to be a huge backstory on any of his stuff. With Mera or where he has been. We are going to reference that. We will explain a little bit about what has been going on. Again, it’s more present to the story. We pick up and go. Its like, “Aquaman is here. Lets just do this!” You will see a little bit of that. AC has always been an island. He is a very fiery individually. Very passionate. He is going to do whatever it takes to back his passions, regardless of whom he gets around him. You will still see that today. By nature, he is a good person. He wants good to succeed. His ways of going about that are different than others. I don’t think that he cares about what the Green Arrow is doing, or what Clark is doing, or anybody else. If they can help him, and he can help them by furthering his

I think

own agenda, he will do so. But he is such a unique character in his individuality. That is what you are going to see on screen. Michael Hogan as Slade Wilson (aka ‘Deathstroke’) The episode features Col. Slade, played by Michael Hogan. Is this Slade Wilson, “Deathstroke the Terminator”, the classic Teen Titans villain from the comics? We understand that character will be in a few upcoming episodes, what do you know about his arc? And how similar is the character to the one from the comics? Does he still wear the mask and use the sword and shotgun? Or is this character sort of the origin version of the one we know?

(Laughs)

Alan Ritchson: I have no idea. He is an awesome character. He definitely could be The Terminator. He was pretty scary to me. But I don’t know. I didn’t look into that character’s background at all. I’m not sure what I 120 - H mag

can say on his

story arc. hesitate to give away too much. As for right now, I can say that Col. Slade has an agenda. He seems to be working alone to support that at this point. He is going forward with what he wants to do with his plans, and he will do whatever it takes to get that accomplished. He has got some pretty sinister plans. I think that is as far as I will go with his storyline. I don’t want to give away too much. As far as the sword and the shotgun? I think he is more of an origin incarnation. Patriot revolves around Arthur and Mera joining forces with Clark to save Oliver. Can you talk about the relationship between Oliver and Arthur? What does this “friendship” with Clark and Oliver mean to Arthur? Does the camaraderie of the “Super Friends” drive the emotion in this episode? Alan Ritchson: I think AC has always had a fondness for his counterparts, in that they share similar ambitions. But they all have their own paths. There are many paths to the same solution, and I think that he recognizes that, and can appreciate that. But he will do whatever it takes to accomplish his own goals. That is synonymous with their friendship. They will support each other if need be. They also don’t want to see the demise of the other person. They will help each other when they need to. It’s interesting when they get in a fix, they will pull together. They really seem to get the job done well together. We are starting to see the camaraderie of the Super Friends build. All of those elements are really coming together. I think that is where this is going. I hope to see a lot more of it. On that note, is there talk of turning the Super Friends into a live action series once Smallville is all over and done with? Is that where this could all possibly lead to? H mag -

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INTERVIEW Alan Ritchson: That has definitely come up. It has been coming up for years. I think, as with anything these days, it really comes down to money. How much would it cost to produce a show like that? There isn’t an Aquaman series on TV right now, though they had been planning on it.

Again, it’s an extremely expensive story to tell.

acters on their own shows. Will they cross-pollinate our characters? I don’t know...It’s always a possibility. People don’t like to find these characters, because its difficult to find actors that can really pull these roles off. They are unique types to find. I know that the fans would prefer it. “We already have Aquaman established on Smallville. Lets just use

him over here.” It’s a possibility. But

I have

no idea. Its kind of awesome in a way, because each of these individual characters, such as yourself, and Jason with Green Arrow, and Hawkman, have their own individual, hardcore fanbase. And the fans certainly want to see you guys stick around after Smallville goes off the air... Alan Ritchson: Yeah, that is just a compliment to the actor. A guy like Justin Hartley is extremely talented. He does a great job with his character. I think its great that the fans appreciate him and his work. I think all of the actors do a great job of pulling these characters off.

Anytime you have superheroes and special effects, and big action sequences, that stuff costs a lot of money. If you could do the Super Friends for the same cost as a sitcom, there is no question. You would see it on TV already. But I think that is the hold up. As far as I can tell. They realize that there is a huge audience asking for it. If they can find a way to deliver it, they will.

If they couldn’t find the budget to do a weekly series, do you think they’d still bring back the Justice League, or the Super Friends in a series of two-hour TV movies?

Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen (aka ‘Green Arrow’) Its interesting. Today, the rumor came out that Warner Bros. is planning a live-action Batman series. And Wonder Woman is in the works. Do you think that if either of those moved forward, we’ll continue seeing some of the characters from Smallville inhabit those shows?

love.

Alan Ritchson: I haven’t heard any talks of that. I mean, it’s always a possibility. But it’s also a very real possibility that they can establish their own new versions of these char122 - H mag

Alan Ritchson: (Laughs) Like I said, I would definitely like to continue playing Aquaman. Playing a superhero is a lot of fun. Creating these stories is a lot of fun. I do what I

And what I love is entertaining people

. This is a great forum for entertainment. The audience just appreciates it so much. How could you not want to be involved in this community? And be a part of it. It is so much fun. However it manifests itself in the future, if I get to have any part in that, I would be very fortunate to be a part of it again. H mag -

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The Writer

THE

Miramax Films

TEMPEST Studio

Written by Matt Hines

MOVIE

n her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s mystical thriller The Tempest, Academy Award-nominated Julie Taymor (Across the Universe, Frida, Titus) brings an original dynamic to the story by changing the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera, portrayed by Oscar(R) winner Helen Mirren (The Queen). Prospera’s journey spirals through vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island, cares for her young

daughter, Miranda, and unleashes her powers against shipwrecked enemies in this exciting, masterly mix of romance,

Starring

Writer William Shakespeare

Director Julie Taymor

Helen Mirren, Chris Cooper, Alfred Molina, Alan Cumming,

Release Date December 10th, 2010

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio’s low nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso’s son, Ferdinand.

First Folio of 1623.

The story draws heavily on the tradition of the romance, and it was influenced by tragicomedy and the courtly masque and perhaps by the commedia dell’arte. It differs from Shakespeare’s other plays in its observation of a stricter, more organised neoclassical style.

Critics see The Tempest as explicitly concerned with its own nature as a play, frequently drawing links between Prospero’s “art” and theatrical illusion, and There is no obvious single source for the early critics saw Prospero as a represenplot of The Tempest, but researchers tation of Shakespeare, and his renunciahave seen parallels in Erasmus’s Naution of magic as signalling Shakespeare’s fragium, Peter Martyr’s De orbo novo, farewell to the stage. The play portrays and an eyewitness report by William Prospero as a rational, and not an ocStrachey of the real-life shipwreck of the cultist, magician by providing a contrast Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda. to him in Sycorax: her magic is frequentIn addition, one of Gonzalo’s speeches ly described as destructive and terrible, is derived from Montaigne’s essay Of where Prospero’s is said to be wondrous the Canibales, and much of Prospero’s and beautiful. Beginning in about 1950, renunciative speech is taken word for with the publication of Psychology of word from a speech by Medea in Ovid’s Colonization by Octave Mannoni, The poem Metamorphoses. The masque in Tempest was viewed more and more Act 4 may have been a later addition, through the lens of postcolonial theory— possibly in honour of the wedding of exemplified in adaptations like Aimé Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V in Césaire’s Une Tempête set in Haiti—and 1613. The play was first published in the there is even a scholarly journal on postcolonial criticism named after Caliban. Miranda is typically viewed as having completely

Locations * Anaehoomalu Bay, Hawaii, USA * Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, USA * Hilo, Hawaii, USA * Lana’i, Hawaii, USA * Shipwreck Beach, Lana’i, Hawaii, USA H mag -

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MOVIE internalised the patriarchal order of things, thinking of herself as subordinate to her father.

stage performance, the science fiction film Forbidden Planet in 1956, to Peter Greenaway’s 1991 Prospero’s Books featuring John Gielgud as Prospero. The magician Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda, have he Tempest did not attract a sig- been stranded for twelve years on an nificant amount of attention before the island after Prospero’s jealous brother closing of the theatres in 1642, and only Antonio—helped by Alonso, the King of attained popularity after the RestoraNaples—deposed him and set him adrift tion, and then only in adapted versions. with the then three-year-old Miranda. In the mid-19th century, theatre proGonzalo, the King’s counsellor, had seductions began to reinstate the original cretly supplied their boat with plenty of Shakespearean text, and in the 20th food, water, clothes and the most-prized century, critics and scholars undertook books from Prospero’s library. Possessa significant re-appraisal of the play’s ing magic powers due to his great learnvalue, to the extent that it is now consid- ing, Prospero is reluctantly served by a ered to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest spirit, Ariel, whom Prospero had resworks. It has been adapted numerous cued from a tree in which he had been times in a variety of styles and formats: trapped by the witch Sycorax. Prospero in music, at least 46 operas by compos- maintains Ariel’s loyalty by repeatedly ers such as Fromental Halévy, Zdeněk promising to release the “airy spirit” Fibich and Thomas Adès; orchestral from servitude. Sycorax had been banworks by Tchaikovsky, Arthur Sullivan ished to the island, and had died before and Arthur Honegger; and songs by Prospero’s arrival. Her son, Caliban, a such diverse artists as Ralph Vaughan deformed monster and the only nonWilliams, Michael Nyman and Pete spiritual inhabitant before the arrival Seeger; in literature, Percy Bysshe Shel- of Prospero, was initially adopted and ley’s poem With a Guitar, To Jane and raised by him. He taught Prospero how W. H. Auden’s The Sea and the Mirror; to survive on the island, while Prospero novels by Aimé Césaire and The Divinand Miranda taught Caliban religion ers by Margaret Laurence; in paintings and their own language. Following Caliby William Hogarth, Henry Fuseli, and ban’s attempted rape of Miranda, he had John Everett Millais; and on screen, been compelled by Prospero to serve as ranging through a hand-tinted verthe magician’s slave. sion of Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s 1905 In slavery, Caliban has come to view Prospero as a usurper and has grown to resent him and his daughter. Prospero and Miranda in turn view Caliban with contempt and disgust. The play opens as Prospero, having divined that his brother, Antonio, is on a ship passing close by the island, has raised a tempest which causes the ship to run aground.

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Paul

Newman

“

Newman served in the United States Navy in World War II in the Pacific theater.

“

Written by Elizabeth Collins

LEGENDS

Every time I get a script it's a matter of trying to know what I could do with it. I see colors, imagery. It has to have a smell. It's like falling in love. You can't give a reason why.

Poland and Hungary; Newman’s mothewman was born in Shaker er, who practiced Christian Science, was Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland), born to a Slovak Roman Catholic family the son of Theresa (née Fetzer or Fetsko; at Ptičie (formerly Pticsie) in the former Slovak: Terézia Fecková) and Arthur Austria–Hungary (now in Slovakia). Samuel Newman, who ran a profitable Newman had no religion as an adult, sporting goods store. Newman’s father but described himself as “a Jew”, stating was Jewish, the son of immigrants from that “it’s more of a challenge”. Newman’s mother worked in his father’s store, while raising Paul and his brother, Arthur, who later became a producer and production manager. Newman showed an early interest in the theater, which his mother encouraged. At the age of seven, he made his acting debut, playing the court jester in a school production of Robin Hood. Graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1943, he briefly attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he was initiated into the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

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Paul Newman enrolled in the Navy V-12 program at Ohio University, hoping to be accepted for pilot training, but was dropped when it was discovered he was color blind. He was sent instead to boot camp and then received further training as a radioman and gunner. Qualifying as a rear-seat radioman and gunner in torpedo bombers, in 1944, Aviation Radioman Third Class Newman was sent to Barber’s Point, Hawaii. He was subsequently assigned to Pacific-based replacement torpedo squadrons (VT-98, VT-99, and VT-100). These torpedo squadrons were responsible primarily for training replacement pilots and combat air crewmen, placing particular importance on carrier landings. He later flew from aircraft carriers as a turret gunner in an Avenger torpedo bomber. As a radioman-gunner, he served aboard the USS Bunker Hill during the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. He was ordered to the ship with a draft of replacements shortly before the Okinawa campaign, but by a fluke of war, was held back because his pilot had an ear infection. The rest of his detail were killed in action.

“I’ve repeatedly said that for people as little in common as Joanne and myself, we have an uncommonly good marriage. We are actors. We make pictures and that’s about all we have in common. Maybe that’s enough. Wives shouldn’t feel obligated to accompany their husbands to a ball game, husbands do look a bit silly attending morning coffee breaks with the neighborhood wives when most men are out at work. Husbands and wives should have separate interests, cultivate different sets of friends and not impose on the other...You can’t spend a lifetime breathing down each other’s necks.”

fter the war, he completed his English degree at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, graduating in 1949. Newman later studied Drama at Yale University, graduating in 1954, and later studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors’ Studio in New York City. Oscar Levant wrote that Newman initially H mag -

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LEGENDS was hesitant to leave New York for Hollywood: “Too close to the cake,” he reported him saying, “Also, no place to study.”

nal twin brother Cal. Dean won his part, but Newman lost out to Richard Davalos. The same year, Newman co-starred with Eva Marie Saint and Frank Sinatra in a live —and color —television broadcast Newman made his Broadway theater debut in the original proof Our Town, a musical adaptation of duction of William Inge’s Pic- Thornton Wilder’s stage play with the same name. Newman was a last-minute nic with Kim Stanley. He later replacement for James Dean. In 2003, appeared in the original Broadway proNewman acted in a remake of Our Town, ductions of The Desperate Hours and taking on the role of the stage manager. Sweet Bird of Youth with Geraldine Page. He would later star in the film version of Sweet Bird of Youth, which also starred Page. aul Newman was one of the few His first movie for Hollywood was The actors who successfully made the tranSilver Chalice (1954), followed by acsition from 1950s cinema to that of the claimed roles in Somebody Up There 1960s and 1970s. His rebellious persona Likes Me (1956), as boxer Rocky Gratranslated well to a subsequent generaziano; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), option. Newman starred in Exodus (1960), posite Elizabeth Taylor; and The Young The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Harper Philadelphians (1959), with Barbara (1966), Hombre (1967), Cool Hand Luke Rush and Robert Vaughn. However, pre(1967), The Towering Inferno (1974), dating all of these above was a small but Slap Shot (1977), and The Verdict (1982). notable part in an August 8, 1952 episode He teamed with fellow actor Robert Redof the science fiction TV series Tales of ford and director George Roy Hill for Tomorrow entitled “Ice from Space”, in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which he played Sergeant Wilson, his (1969) and The Sting (1973). first credited TV or film appearance. He appeared with his wife, Joanne In February 1954, Newman appeared in Woodward, in the feature films The a screen test with James Dean, directed Long, by Gjon Mili, for East of Eden (1955). Hot Summer (1958), Rally ‘Round the Newman was testing for the role of Aron Flag, Boys!, (1958), From the Terrace Trask, Dean for the role of Aron’s frater(1960), Paris Blues (1961), A New Kind of Love (1963), Winning (1969), WUSA (1970), The Drowning Pool (1975), Harry & Son (1984), and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990).

“I’ve been accused of being aloof. I’m not. I’m just wary.” 132 - H mag

They both also starred in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls, but did not have any scenes together. In addition to starring in and directing Harry & Son, Newman also directed four fea-

ture films (in which he did not act) starring Woodward. They were Rachel, Rachel (1968), based on Margaret Laurence’s A Jest of God, the screen version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), the television screen version of the Pulitzer Prizewinning play The Shadow Box (1980), and a screen version of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (1987). Twenty-five years after The Hustler, Newman reprised his role of “Fast” Eddie Felson in the Martin Scorsese-directed The Color of Money (1986), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He told a television interviewer that winning an Oscar at the age of 62 deprived him of his fantasy of formally being presented with it in extreme old age.

In 2003, he appeared in a Broadway revival of Wilder’s Our Town, receiving his first Tony Award nomination for his performance. PBS and the cable net-

The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw). The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Created by screenwriter David S. Ward, the story was inspired by real-life con games perpetrated by the brothers Fred and Charley Gondorff and documented by David Maurer in his book The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man.

work Showtime aired a taping of the production, and Newman was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.

The title phrase refers to the moment when a con artist finishes the “play” and takes the mark’s money. (Today the expression is mostly used in the context of law enforcement sting operations).

If a con game is successful, the mark does not realize he has been “taken” (cheated), at least not until the con men are long gone. The film is divided into distinct sections with old-fashioned title cards with lettering and illustrations rendered in a style reminiscent of the Saturday Evening Post. The film is noted for its musical score—particularly its main melody, “The Entertainer”, a piano rag by Scott Joplin, which was lightly adapted for the movie by Marvin Hamlisch. The film’s success encouraged a surge of popularity and critical acclaim for Joplin’s work.

is last screen appearance was as a conflicted mob boss in the 2002 film Road to Perdition opposite Tom Hanks, although he continued to provide voice work for films. In 2005 at age 80, Newman was profiled alongside Robert Redford as part of the Sundance Channel’s tv series Iconoclasts.

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LEGENDS

n keeping with his strong interest in car racing, he provided the voice of Doc Hudson, a retired race car in Disney/Pixar’s Cars. Similarly, he served as narrator for the 2007 film Dale, about the life of the legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, which turned out to be Newman’s final film performance in any form. Newman also provided the narration for the film documentary The Meerkats, released in 2008. Newman announced that he would entirely retire from acting on May 25, 2007. He stated that he did not feel he could continue acting at the level he wanted to. “You

start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention. So I think that’s pretty much a closed book for me.”

With writer A.E. Hotchner, Newman founded Newman’s Own, a line of food products, in 1982. The brand started with salad dressing, and has expanded to include pasta sauce, lemonade, popcorn, salsa, and wine, among other things. Newman established a policy that all proceeds, after taxes, would be donated to charity. As of early 2006, the franchise has donated in excess of $250 million. He co-wrote a memoir about the subject with Hotchner, Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the

Wall as their “national philanthropy” in 1995. One camp has expanded to become several Hole in the Wall Camps in the U.S., Ireland, France, and Israel. The camps serve 13,000 children every year, free of charge.

In June 1999, Newman donated $250,000 to Catholic Relief Services to aid refugees in Kosovo. On June 1, 2007, Kenyon College announced that Newman had donated $10 million to the school to establish a scholarship fund as part of the college’s current $230 million fund-raising campaign. Newman and Woodward were honorary co-chairs of a previous campaign. Paul Newman was one of the founders of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), a membership organization of CEOs and corporate chairpersons committed to raising the level and quality of global corporate philanthropy. Founded in 1999 by Newman and a few leading CEOs, CECP has grown to include more than 175 members and, through annual executive convenings, extensive benchmarking research, and best practice publi-

“ Here lies Paul Newman, who died a failure because his eyes turned brown.” Common Good. Among other awards, Newman’s Own co-sponsors the PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award, a $25,000 reward designed to recognize those who protect the First Amendment as it applies to the written word. His daughter, Nell Newman, took the helm of the company with his death. One beneficiary of his philanthropy is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children, which is located in Ashford, Connecticut. Newman co-founded the camp in 1988; it was named after the gang in his film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Newman’s college fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, adopted Hole in the

134 - H mag

cations, leads the business community in developing sustainable and strategic community partnerships through philanthropy.

aul Newman was named the Most Generous Celebrity of 2008 by Givingback.org. He contributed $20,857,000 for the year of 2008 to the Newman’s Own Foundation, which distributes funds to a variety of charities. Upon Newman’s death, the Italian newspaper (a “semi-official” paper of the Holy See) L’Osservatore Romano published a notice lauding Newman’s philanthropy. It also commented that “Newman was a generous heart, an actor of a dignity and style rare in Hollywood quarters.” Newman was married twice. He was married to Jackie Witte from 1949 to 1958. They had a son, Scott (1950), and two daughters, Susan Kendall (1953) and Stephanie. Scott Newman, who died in November 1978 from a drug overdose, appeared in the films Breakheart Pass, The Towering Inferno, and the 1977 film Fraternity Row. Paul Newman started the Scott Newman Center for drug abuse prevention in memory of his son. Susan is a documentary filmmaker and philanthropist and has Broadway and screen credits, including a starring role as one of four Beatles fans in I Wanna Hold H mag -

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LEGENDS Your Hand (1978), and also a small role opposite her father in Slap Shot. She also received an Emmy nomination as co-producer of his telefilm, The Shadow Box. Newman had two grandsons. Newman married actress Joanne Woodward on February 2, 1958. They had three daughters: Elinor “Nell” Teresa (1959), Melissa “Lissy” Stewart (1961), and Claire “Clea” Olivia (1965). Newman directed Elinor (stage name Nell Potts) in the central role alongside her mother in the film The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.

steak at home?”

or his support of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 (and effective use of television commercials in California) and his opposition to the War in Vietnam, New-

was placed

man nineteenth on Richard Nixon’s enemies list, which he claimed was his greatest accomplishment. The Newmans lived away from the Consistent with his work for liberal causes, Newman publicly supported Ned Hollywood environment, making their home in Westport, Connecti- Lamont’s candidacy in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic Primary against cut. Paul Newman was well known for his devotion to his wife and Senator Joe Lieberman, and was even family. When asked about infidel- rumored as a candidate himself, until ity, he famously quipped, “Why go Lamont emerged as a credible alternative. He donated to Chris Dodd’s presiout for hamburger when you have dential campaign.

“I

don’t think there’s anything exceptional or noble in being philanthropic. It’s the other attitude that confuses me.”

He attended the first Earth Day event in Manhattan on April 22, 1970. Newman was also a vocal supporter of gay rights, including same-sex marriage. Newman was concerned over global warming and supported nuclear energy development as a solution.

Newman was an avid auto racing enthusiast, and first became interested in motorsports (“the first thing that I ever found I had any grace in”) while training at the Watkins Glen Racing School for the filming of Winning, a 1969 film. Newman’s first profes136 - H mag

sional event was in 1972, in Thompson, Connecticut, and he was a frequent competitor in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events for the rest of the decade, eventually winning several championships. He later drove in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in Dick Barbour’s Porsche 935 and finished in second place. Newman reunited with Barbour in 2000 to compete in the Petit Le Mans. Newman was scheduled to make his professional stage directing debut with the Westport Country Playhouse’s 2008 production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, but he stepped down on May 23, 2008, citing health issues. In June 2008 it was widely reported that Newman, a former chain smoker, had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was receiving treatment at SloanKettering hospital in New York City. In August, after reportedly finishing chemotherapy, Newman told his family he wished to die at home. He died on September 26, 2008, aged 83.

In the film version, Felson is a liquor salesman. He misses the action and goes back on the road as a stakehorse for a skilled but unfocused protégé, Vincent, travelling with the latter’s manipulative girlfriend, Carmen. Eddie teaches them how to hustle significant amounts of money. But he also becomes increasingly frustrated with them and with himself, until an explosive falling-out results in a parting of the ways. Eddie resumes competitive play himself, first hustling on “the road” and later in the professional tournament circuit, eventually coming head-to-head across the table with the nowsuccessful (and far more treacherous) Vincent. Eddie wins their match, only to find out that Vincent lost deliberately, having had money riding against himself. Vincent gives Eddie $8,000 as a cut from the bet. Eddie proceeds to forfeit his next match and give the money back to Vincent. He requests a private rematch, but states that if he doesn’t beat Vincent now, he will in the future because, after all, “I’m back.” Subplots involve antagonism with a cocaine-abusing pool hustler named Julian; an up-and-down romance Eddie is having with a bar owner, Janelle, and sexual tension between Carmen and Eddie. Only minor references are made to the original movie (a returned character, Eddie’s nickname, his formerly being shut out of the pool-hustling sphere, his preferred brand of whiskey, J.T.S. Brown, etc.), and Fats is not mentioned in the story. H mag -

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EXTRA

shots

Written by Natasha Campanella

10 S

o you fancy yourself as a bar and nightclubs enthusiast do you? Think you’re in the know with the industry? Well think again. Here are just a few things you probably didn’t know about your favourite bars and nightclubs.

Ever wondered what the name of the boss of the bouncers at a bar or nightclub is? Probably not however if you ever have the misfortune of meeting him, you may want to address him as Mr “Cooler.” Bars and Nightclubs on corners are on average bigger then bars and nightclubs on normal lots of land. At any given time, Ibiza has the largest percentage of population partying at a bar or nightclub. South East Asian bars and nightclubs are the countries found to most likely to water down drinks, in particular spirits which for a number of reasons are disproportionately more expensive then locally brewed product (in particular beers) The most popular shot in the world is vodka… largely propped up by the Rus-

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sians where vodka is by and far the number one drink in the world. Beer company’s invest millions of dollars in designing beer taps, due to the fact that a good beer tap can improve sales of a beer by over $20. Pretty good for a tiny bit of plastic. Bars and Nightclubs have been voted the number 1 destination to meet people of the opposite sex. The reason why Melbourne has a huge number of small bars and Sydney doesn’t is because of the different licensing laws that exist between each state. In Melbourne, the cost of setting up a bar is much lower and as such, is more conducive to smaller venues. In response to the popularity of small bars in Melbourne, Sydney has now begun to relax their licensing laws, allowing smaller operators to open up small bars.

The word Strobe (as in Strobe light) is in fact short for Stroboscopic. So armed with your new-found knowledge of bars and nightclubs, go forth and spread you wisdom to people who still think a big Saturday night is heading down to the local pub to watch the football.

Lionsgate

RABBIT ole Studio

Written by Oliver Hanson

MOVIE

ecca and Howie Corbett (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) are returning to their everyday existence in the wake of a shocking, sudden loss. Just eight months ago, they were a happy suburban family with everything they wanted. Now, they are caught in a maze of memory, longing, guilt, recrimination, sarcasm and tightly controlled rage from which they cannot escape. While Becca finds pain in the familiar, Howie finds comfort.

John Cameron Mitchell

Mitchell was born in El Paso, Texas. The son of a retired U.S. Army Major General, he grew up on army bases in the U.S., Germany and Scotland, and generally attended Catholic schools. His mother is

from Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to the United States as a young schoolteacher. His brother Colin is also an actor, writer, and filmmaker.

Starring

Writer David Lindsay-Abaire

Director John Cameron Mitchell

Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Sandra Oh

Release Date December 17th, 2010

Nicole Kidman didn’t see the the original Broadway play when it premiered in 2006, but she read a review and called up a producer from her production company, Blossom Films. The following night he saw the play and afterwards set up a meeting with David Lindsay-Abaire about the film. Kidman later read the script and saw an Australian production. Mitchell’s first stage role was the Virgin Mary in a Nativity musical staged at a Scottish Benedictine boys boarding school when he was 11 years old. He studied theater at Northwestern University from 1981 to 1985.

Broadway in The Secret Garden, and appeared in the original cast of the Off Broadway musical Hello Again. He received Drama Desk nominations for both roles, and can be heard on the original cast recordings for each. (His Mitchell’s first professional stage role was Huckleberry Finn rendition of the original demo version of “Giants in the Sky” can be heard as in a 1985 Organic Theater adapa bonus track on the 2007 remastered tion at Chicago’s Goodman The- release of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the atre. Mitchell’s first New York Woods.) He appeared in the original cast acting role was Huck Finn in of John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separathe Broadway musical Big River tion (off- and on Broadway) and starred in Larry Kramer’s Off Broadway sequel (1985). to The Normal Heart, The Destiny of Me, He originated the role of Dickon on for which he received a Village Voice Obie Award and a Drama Desk nomination. Mitchell’s early television work includes guest-starring

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MOVIE roles in MacGyver, Head of the Class, for which he adapted and directed TenLaw & Order, The New Twilight Zone, nessee Williams’ Kingdom of Earth starFreddy’s Nightmares, The Equalizer, ring Cynthia Nixon and Peter Sarsgaard. Our House, Dreamer of Oz, The Stepford Children, and the ABC Afterschool Spe- In 1998, Mitchell wrote cial “A Desperate Exit” (his single line: (along with composer Stephen “He’s dead. Don’t you get it? He killed Trask) and starred in Hedwig himself”). and the Angry Inch, an Obie He was a regular cast member on the 1997 Fox sitcom Party Girl, and was the Award-winning Off Broadway long-running voice for “Sydney”, an ani- musical about an East German mated kangaroo that appeared in comtransgender rock musician mercials for Dunkaroos. His first film role was in an improvised drunk-driving educational film called Just Along for the Ride (1983), in which he was killed on Halloween while wearing a tutu.[citation needed] This was followed by the lead role in My Father’s Son: The Legacy of Alcoholism (1984) and his first feature film role as Drunk Teen (“Hey, dudes, where’s the brewskies?”) in One More Saturday Night (1986). Starring and co-starring film roles include a homicidal new-waver in Band of the Hand (1986), a Polish immigrant violinist in Misplaced (1990), and a teen Lothario poet in Book of Love (1990). Mitchell had a single line (“Delivery!”) in Spike Lee’s Girl Six (1996) as a man auditioning for a pornographic film. Mitchell is a founding member of the Drama Department Theater Company,

chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized her songs.

Three years later, he directed and starred in the feature film version of the play for which he won Best Director at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. His performance was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Both the play and the film were critical hits and have spawned cult followings around the world.

After the success of Hedwig, Mitchell expressed an interest in writing, directing and producing a film that incorporated explicit sex in a naturalistic and thoughtful way, without using “stars”.

After three years of talent searches, improv workshops and production, Shortbus premiered in May 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. The film garnered many awards, at venues such as the Athens, Gijón and Zurich International Film Festivals. Mitchell was the executive producer of the 2004 film Tarnation, an award-winning documentary about the life of Jonathan Caouette (whom he met when the latter auditioned for Shortbus).

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I A

E M

CHUNG

Written by Matt Hines

HIGHLIGHTS

she was

At the time selected to be on The Real World: San Diego, she was described by MTV as a hard-working student who worked two jobs to pay her tuition, but who also enjoyed partying. She was also described by her friends as not having the best taste in men.

aime was born in San Francisco, California. According to MTV’s 2004 biography page for her, she is a secondgeneration Korean-American raised by “traditional” parents in San Francisco, with a tendency to “tell it like it is.” Chung attended the University of California, Riverside, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Chung was a cast member on The Real World: San Diego, the fourteenth season of MTV’s long-running reality TV show, The Real World, which first aired in 2004.

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ix months after Chung and her castmates left the Real World house, they appeared to discuss their experiences both during and since their time on the show on 2 Punk Rock 4 This: The Real World San Diego Reunion, which premiered on July 9, 2004, and was hosted by Vanessa Minnillo. After appearing on The Real World, Chung appeared on its spin-off game show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge, as a cast member in that show’s 2005 season, Real World/ Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, during which she was a member of the “Good Guys” team, which squared off against the “Bad Asses”. By the end of the season, after several cast members had been eliminated during the competition, Chung remained, along with her fellow Good Guys teammates Darrell Taylor, Landon Lueck, and Mike Mizanin. Chung and her teammates were victorious against the remaining members of the Bad Asses in the final event, and won the competition.

ince her stint on The Real World, she has appeared in various television and film roles, including as Cordy Han in ten episodes of Days of our Lives, as a Hooters girl in the 2007 comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and in episodes of CSI: New York and Veronica Mars. She starred in the 2008 ABC Family show Samurai Girl in September 2008.

She also had a role in the 2009 feature films Sorority Row and Dragonball Evolution, in the latter as Goku’s love interest, Chi Chi, as well as Burning Palms. Chung also stars as Chelsea Barnes in Disney Channel’s 2009 TV movie, Princess Protection Program, and as Amber Hilliard in the 2010

Run by Mrs. Crenshaw, the college sorority Theta Pi is home to seniors and best friends Jessica, Cassidy, Ellie, Claire, Chugs and Megan who, despite Mrs. Crenshaw’s best efforts, constantly throw wild parties. During one of these parties Megan discovers her boyfriend Garrett is cheating on her. As payback she and her friends decide to pull a prank on him. Megan fakes her own death while she is making out with Garrett. With help from the sisters, Garrett brings Megan out to a steel mill, intent on dropping her body down a mineshaft. After the sisters (jokingly) mention they need to release the air out of her lungs so her body won’t rise to the top, Garrett stabs Megan with a tire iron, actually killing her for real. Panicking, the group dumps Megan’s body in the mineshaft, vowing never to speak of the events that transpired ever again. Eight months later, during the party held after graduation, the girls all receive a picture sent to their phones: a hooded figure holding the bloody lug wrench Garrett used to kill Megan. H mag -

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She performed with the Tada theater teen group and attended the Spence School in Manhattan, graduating in 1994. Washington went on to earn a B.A. degree in theater in 1998 from The George Washington University. She also studied at Michael Howard Studios in New York City.

Night

n 1976, after years of mysterious absence, Marcus (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker) returns to the Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age in the midst of the Black Power movement. While his arrival raises suspicion among his family and former neighbors, he finds acceptance from his old friend Patricia (Kerry Washington, Ray, Lift) and her daughter. However, Marcus quickly finds himself at odds with the organization he once embraced, whose members suspect he orchestrated the slaying of their former comrade-in-arms. In a startling sequence of events, Marcus must protect a secret that could shatter everyone’s beliefs as he rediscovers his forbidden passion for Patricia.

Kerry Washington

Washington was born in the Bronx, New fessor and educational consultant, and a York City, the daughter of Valerie, a pro- real estate broker father.

Starring

Writer Tanya Hamilton

Director Tanya Hamilton

Kerry Washington, Novella Nelson, Anthony Mackie, Wendell Pierce

she appeared in the short “3D” and the feature film Our Song in 2000. She went on to appear in several movies, including Save the Last Dance (2001), The Human Stain (2003), Spike Lee’s She Hate Me (2004), Ray (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Man (2006), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and as a wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006).

Magnolia Pictures

Catches Us Studio

Written by Oliver Hanson

MOVIE

Release Date December 3rd, 2010

ashington made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm Magical MakeOver (1994). She was in the cast of the 1996 PBS sketch comedy-style educational series Standard Deviants, and

Washington has also appeared in the recurring role of Chelina Hall on the ABC television series Boston Legal, and in several episodes of the A&E cableTV series 100 Centre Street. She is the new spokesperson for L’Oréal, appearing in commercials and ads alongside fellow actresses Scarlett Johansson

Locations * Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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MOVIE and Eva Longoria Parker, and model Doutzen Kroes.

She also co-directed and appeared in the music video for hip-hop artist Common’s song, “I Want You”, the fourth single off of his album Finding Forever.

film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States”.

ashington narrated the critically acclaimed documentary about the New Orleans-based teenage TBC Brass Band, From the Mouthpiece on Back. She also appears in Maxwell’s “Bad Habits” video. In 2009, Washington performed in The People Speak a documentary feature

She is currently making her Broadway debut in David Mamet’s Race, alongside James Spader, David Alan Grier, and Richard Thomas. She also appeared in Tyler Perry’s 2010 film For Colored Girls. Washington was engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007. As a sort of souvenir or memento, she usually tries to keep something from every character that she plays, such as an item of wardrobe or a piece of furniture from the house the character lived in. She is at times referred to as a political activist and was a supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy. Washington has also spent time volunteering through the Adopt-a-Classroom program in New York as well as with Co-Op America, now known as Green America.

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Written by Matt Hines

HEALTH

YOGA

HOW CAN HELP YOU SLEEP

t one time, or another, all of us have experienced insomnia for any type of reason. There are times when lack of sleep just can’t be helped, such as: the loss a loved one, going through a divorce, and losing your job. These are some of life’s serious crisis situations, where we have to let time heal, and try not to fall apart in the process. Some of the solutions below will help insomnia, but they will not heal grief. However, if you are continually staying awake over trivial matters, these solutions will aid you to get a good night’s rest. Remember - not every solution will work for everyone, so try the easiest ideas and make them fit into your lifestyle

o you have one or more problems, on your mind, that are troubling you at bedtime? If so, write it

Exercise will give you extra energy during the day, and help you get a good night’s sleep, when you need it. If you don’t exercise, don’t feel alone, but do take action. Gentle

Yoga postures are a great way to start. If you find the right Yoga teacher, you will learn controlled breathing (pranayama), stage-by-stage relaxation, and meditation. Each is a powerful technique for winding down before bedtime. You always practice controlled breathing with either, stage-bystage relaxation, or meditation. Some people practice stage-by-stage relaxation in bed and fall asleep in the process. This is not a bad thing, if your ultimate goal is to fall asleep. Now let’s look at a few other ideas, such as alcohol and hidden caffeine. Alcohol has a way of getting you to sleep, but sleep is often interrupted during the night. One suggestion, if you enjoy drinking: Have one small drink; preferably wine, with your meal.

down and leave it on the kitchen table where you sit in the morning. This is a form of compartmentalization, where your subconscious mind works on a solution, and you and your conscious mind get some needed rest. You will be surprised what happens the following morning. The problem is much less important or your subconscious found the solution. This technique is so powerful that many successful people use it, even when they don’t really have a

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You should exercise every day, but your exercise routine should end two hours before bedtime, at the latest. This allows your body and mind “cool down” time. If you can exercise earlier in the day, feel free to do so.

affeine is in coffee, many teas, many sodas, and a variety of other drinks. Drink water later in the day, and give your body a rest from caffeine. Here are a few actions to take before bedtime: Eat very light, read a book about something peaceful, and take a shower or a bath. You don’t have to do everything, but one of the above-mentioned ideas will work for you. H mag -

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SCRIPT

Written by Mortimer Lorenz

SCRIPT

FROZEN

hree people, childhood friends Dan and Joe, and Dan’s girlfriend Parker, spend a Sunday afternoon at a ski resort. Not wanting to pay full price for three ski lift tickets, Dan convinces Parker to bribe the ski lift attendant to let them all on the ski lift. On the way up, the ski lift shuts down, but starts back up again shortly. After spending all afternoon skiing, the guys are eager to take one last run down the mountain before they go home. However, it is now evening, and the ski resort decides to close early because a storm is moving in. The friends remind the ski lift attendant of the bribe and convince him to let them on the ski lift one last time. At this point the resort is almost deserted. Before the group gets all the way to the top, the attendant is called into the boss’s office and is replaced by a co-worker. As he leaves, the old attendant tells his co-worker that there are only three skiers left and then the ski lift can be shut down. Another set of three skiers comes down the mountain. When the new attendant sees them he shuts down the ski

lift, stranding the friends in their ski lift chair far above the ground. The friends are first annoyed, and then scared. Night has come and a snow storm moves in. After a while, a snowcat comes along and it seems as if the driver is about to see them. However, at the last second, the driver is called back to base. After several hours, the friends realize that no one is coming to get them and that they could be stuck up there all week, as the resort is closed on weekdays. Parker then loses her right glove while smoking.

Dan realizes he has no choice but to jump from the ski lift chair and get help, as they will not survive up there in the bitter cold until Friday.

Dan jumps off the lift onto a hard section of the ski path, breaking both his legs, having his left bone sticking out. Dan is approached by a wolf who growls at him and then runs away, as Parker

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Starring

Writer Adam Green

Director Adam Green

throws her snowboard below. Joe, now fearing for Dan’s safety, decides to climb up and traverse the ski lift cable so that he can get to a chair that is closer to the ground. In the morning, Parker wakes up with her right hand stuck to the ski lift safety bar which she has grabbed in her sleep. She pulls it free, losing skin in the process. In addition, she has developed a bad case of frostbite on her face. After a few hours, Joe climbs up, traverses the ski lift cable (and also severely cuts his hands), and this time safely climbs down the ladder of a support pole two chairs back. At the same time, Parker’s ski lift chair begins tipping as it has started to loosen from its supporting cable. After fighting off a pair of wolves, Joe slides down the mountain on Parker’s snowboard.

Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, Ed Ackerman

Release Date February 5th, 2010

The wolves return and chase after him. Another night passes and no one has showed up to help Parker. She now realizes that something has happened to Joe. She begins to attempt a jump down herself, but the bolt holding the lift chair falls and the chair drops several feet but is caught by a supporting cable. Suddenly, her ski lift chair begins dropping more as its supporting cable begins to shred. Parker jumps down, now from a fairly safe height, but is hobbled after the lift chair falls on her ankle. Parker then crawls down the mountain, pausing when she notices a streak of blood in the snow and is then approached by wolf. After sizing her up, the wolf returns to the nearby pack, who are occupied: apparently finishing off Joe’s remains. Parker makes it the rest of the way down the mountain, to the highway, where she is eventually picked up by a passing driver and taken to a local hospital.

get the script

written and directed by Adam Green

Actor Kevin Zegers did the scene with the wolves starting to swarm around him (just before the actual attack) without a stunt double. When one of the wolves got too close for comfort, the trainers had to pull the wolves away and filming had to stop. In the film you can see a few frames of the black wolf walking right up into Kevin Zeger’s face as Kevin tries to look away for help from the crew. H mag -

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Written by Oliver Hanson

CULT

stuffs him in the freezer with Pam.

A family was actually living in the house that served as the Sawyer family house in the later half of the movie. They rented out their house to the film crew and continued to stay there during the entire shoot. During filming, the crew discovered that one of the residents had been cultivating a marijuana field; fearful that production would be shut down if they were found near the plants, the filmmakers called the Sheriff, who never arrived to investigate.

ally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), travel with three friends—Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn)—to a cemetery where the grave of the Hardestys’ grandfather is located. Their aim is to investigate reports of vandalism and corpse defilement. Afterward, they decide to visit an old Hardesty family homestead. On the way there

With darkness falling, Sally and Franklin set out to find their friends. As they near the neighboring house and call out, Leatherface lunges from the darkness and kills Franklin with a chainsaw. Sally escapes to the house and finds the desiccated remains of an elderly couple in an upstairs room. She escapes from Leatherface by jumping through a second floor window and flees to the gas station. Leatherface

disappears into the night. The proprietor calms her with offers of help, but then ties her up and forces her into his truck. He drives to the house, arriving at the same time as the hitchhiker, who turns out to be Leatherface’s younger brother. When the pair bring Sally inside, the hitchhiker recognizes her and taunts her. The men torment the bound and gagged Sally, while Leatherface, now dressed as

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

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they pick up a hitchhiker (Edwin Neal). He behaves bizarrely, and slashes himself and Franklin with a straight razor before the group forces him out of the van. They stop at a gas station to refuel, but the proprietor (Jim Siedow) tells them that the pumps are empty. They continue to the homestead, intending to return to the gas station once the fuel has been delivered. When they arrive, Franklin tells Kirk and Pam about a

local swimming hole, and the couple head off to find it. Instead, they stumble upon a nearby house; Kirk calls out, asking for gas, while Pam waits on the front steps. Kirk receives no answer but when he discovers the door is unlocked, he enters the house. Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) appears and kills him. Pam enters soon after and finds the house is filled with furniture made from human bones. She attempts to flee, but Leatherface catches her and impales her on a meathook. At sunset, Jerry, Sally’s boyfriend, heads out to look for Pam and Kirk. He finds the couple’s blanket outside the nearby house.

He investigates and finds Pam inside a freezer; she is still alive. Before he can react, Leatherface murders him and

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a woman, serves dinner. Leatherface and the hitchhiker bring an old man from upstairs to join the meal. During the night, they decide Sally should be killed by “Grandpa” (John Dugan). “Grandpa” tries to hit Sally with a hammer, but he is too weak. In the confusion, Sally breaks free, leaps through a window, and escapes to the road. Leatherface and the hitchhiker give chase, but the hitchhiker is run down and killed by a passing semi-trailer truck. Armed with his chainsaw, Leatherface attacks the truck when the driver stops to help. The driver hits him in the face with a large wrench. Sally escapes in the bed of a passing pickup truck as Leatherface waves the chainsaw above his head in

Due to the low budget, Gunnar Hansen had only one shirt to wear as Leatherface. The shirt had been dyed, so it could not be washed; Hansen had to wear it for four straight weeks of filming in the Texas summer. By the end of the shoot no one wanted to eat lunch with Hansen because his clothing smelled so bad. H mag -

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CULT frustration. The underlying themes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre have been the subject of extensive critical discussion. Film critics and scholars have interpreted it as a paradigmatic exploitation film, in which the female protagonists are subjected to brutal, sadistic violence.

film. She placed the film in a lineage of violent movies that depict women as weak and incapable of protecting themselves.[10] In one study, a group of men were shown five films depicting various levels of violence against women. On first viewing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre they experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, upon subsequent viewing, they found the violence against s with many horror films, it fowomen less offensive and more enjoycuses on the “final girl” trope—the hero- able. Another study, investigating genine and inevitable lone survivor who der-specific perceptions of slasher films, somehow escapes the horror that befalls involved 30 male and 30 female univerthe other characters: Sally Hardesty is sity students. One male participant dewounded and tortured, yet manages to scribed the screaming, especially Sally’s, survive with the help of a male truck as the “most freaky thing” in the film. driver. Critics argue that even in exploitation films in which the ratio of male and female deaths is roughly equal, the images that linger will be of the violence arious critics have seen the film as committed against the female characa representation of the response of the American people to the struggles faced ters. The specific case of The by American society in the 1960s and the Texas Chain Saw Massacre proearly to mid-1970s. Christopher Sharrett vides support for this arguargues that American reactions to the ment: Three men are killed in Watergate scandal, as well as the “delequick fashion, but one woman is gitimation of authority in the wake of brutally slaughtered-hung on a Vietnam”, are reflected in the art of the meathook-and the surviving wom- era, particularly the American horror an endures physical and mental film. Sharrett further argues that there torture. In 1977, critic Mary Mackey is an “idea of apocalypse” in The Texas described the meathook scene as probChain Saw Massacre—it appeared amid ably the most brutal on-screen female a period of great social and political undeath in any commercially distributed rest in America. In Kim Newman’s view, Hooper’s presentation of the Sawyer family during the dinner scene parodies a typical American sitcom family: the gas station owner is the bread-winning father figure; the killer Leatherface is de-

Director Tobe Hooper claims to have got the idea for the film while standing in the hardware section of a crowded store. While thinking of a way to get out through the crowd, he spotted the chainsaws. 164 - H mag

picted as a bourgeois housewife; and the while watching the local news—whose hitchhiker acts as the rebellious teenag- graphic coverage was epitomized by er. “showing brains spilled all over the road”—led to his belief that “man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on definitely studied Gein, ... but I the monster in my film”. The idea of feaalso noticed a murder case in Houston turing a chainsaw came to Hooper while at the time, a serial murderer you prob- he was in the hardware section of a busy ably remember named Elmer Wayne store, contemplating a way to get out Henley. He was a young man who requickly through the crowd. cruited victims for an older homosexual Hooper and Kim Henkel, with whom he man. I saw some news report where El- cowrote the screenplay, formed a cormer Wayne ... said, “I did these crimes, poration, Vortex, with Henkel as presiand I’m gonna stand up and take it like dent and Hooper as vice president. They a man.” Well, that struck me as interest- asked Bill Parsley, a friend of Hooper, ing, that he had this conventional moto provide funding for the film; Parsley rality at that point. He wanted it known formed a company named MAB, Inc. that, now that he was caught, he would and invested $60,000 in the producdo the right thing. So this kind of moral tion. In return, MAB owned 50% of the schizophrenia is something I tried to film and its profits. Production manager build into the characters. Ron Bozman told most of the cast and The concept for the film arose in the crew that he would have to defer parts of early 1970s, while Hooper worked as an their salaries until after the movie was assistant film director at the University sold to a distributor. Vortex made the of Texas at Austin and as a documentary idea more attractive by awarding most cameraman. He had already developed of them a share of Vortex’s potential the idea of a film centering on the theme profits, with shares ranging from 0.25 to of isolation, as well as the woods and 6%, similar to mortgage points. Due to darkness. He credited the graphic cover- a miscommunication, the cast and crew age of violence by San Antonio news out- were not informed that Vortex owned lets as one inspiration for the film. He only 50% of the film, which meant their based the plot loosely on the murders points were worth half of the assumed committed by 1950s Wisconsin murvalue. derer Ed Gein, who also served as the inspiration for a number of other horror films. During development, Hooper gave the film the working titles Headcheese ctor Gunnar Hansen sought inand Leatherface. spiration from special needs children to Hooper has cited the impact of changes develop Leatherface’s mannerisms. in the cultural and political landscape as Many of the cast members were relacentral influences on the film. His inten- tively unknown actors, Texans with pretional misinformation that the “film you vious roles in commercials, television, are about to see is true” was a response and stage shows, as well as actors whom to being “lied to by the government Hooper knew personally. Involvement about things that were going on all over in the film propelled some of them into the world”, including Watergate, the the motion picture industry. The lead gasoline crisis, and “the massacres and role of Sally was given to Marilyn Burns. atrocities in the Vietnam War”. Burns had appeared previously on stage, The “lack of sentimentality and the bru- and served on the film commission tality of things” that Hooper noticed board at the University of Texas at Aus-

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CULT tin while a student there. Teri McMinn was a student who worked with various local theater companies, including the Dallas Theater Center. Henkel called McMinn to come in for a reading after he spotted her picture in the Austin American-Statesman. On her last call-back, he requested that she wear short shorts, which proved to be the most comfortable of all the cast members’ costumes. Icelandic-American actor Gunnar Hansen gained the role of Leatherface. In preparation for his role, he came to envision Leatherface as being mentally retarded and having never learned to speak properly. Hansen visited a school for the mentally challenged and watched how the students moved and spoke in order to get a feel for his character. When commenting on the production of the film, Hansen recalled, “It was 95, 100 degrees every day during filming. They wouldn’t wash my costume because they were worried that the laundry might lose it, or that it would change color. They didn’t have enough money for a second costume. So I wore that [mask] 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month.”

seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day, while having to deal with high humidity. The cast and crew found the filming conditions tough, with a high temperature of 97°F (36°C) on July 26. The house used for the film was not cooled, and there was little ventilation. The film was shot mainly using an Eclair NPR 16 mm camera with fine-grain low-speed film that required four times more light than modern cameras. The largest proportion of the filming took place in a remote farmhouse filled with furniture constructed from animal bones with a latex material as upholstery to give the appearance of human skin. The crew covered the walls of the house with splats of real animal blood which had been obtained from a local meat house. Art director Robert Burns drove around the countryside and collected the remains of cattle and other animals in various stages of decomposition, which he used to litter the floors of the house. The film’s special effects were simple and limited by the budget. The

ilming took place in Austin, Round Rock, and Bastrop, Texas, from July 15 through August 14, 1973. As a result of the small budget, the crew filmed

After getting into the old-age makeup, John Dugan decided that he did not ever want to go through the process again, meaning that all the scenes with him had to be filmed in the same session before he could take the makeup off. This took about 36 hours, during a heat wave where the average temperature was over 100 degrees, with a large portion of it spent filming the dinner scene, sitting in a room filled with dead animals and rotting food. Edwin Neal who played the hitchhiker claimed “Filming that scene was the worst time of my life... and I had been in Vietnam, with people trying to kill me, so I guess that shows how bad it was.” 166 - H mag

When it was first released, the film was so horrifying that people actually walked out on sneak previews for it.

blood depicted was sometimes real, as was the case during the filming of the scene in which Leatherface feeds “Grandpa”. The crew had difficulties in getting the stage blood to come out of its tube, so instead, Burns’ index finger was cut with a razor. Burns’ costume was so drenched with stage blood that it was virtually solid on the last day of shooting. The scene after Pam is hung on the meathook, when Leatherface first uses his chainsaw, caused some worry to actor William Vail (Kirk). Kirk was about to have his head cut off, and actor Hansen (Leatherface) told Vail not to move or he would literally be killed. Hansen then brought down the running chainsaw within 3 inches (8 cm) of Vail’s face.

a deferred fee of $500. On August 28, 1974, Louis Peraino of Bryanston Distribution Company offered Bozman and Skaaren a contract of $225,000 and 35% of the profits from the worldwide distribution of the film. Years later, Bozman stated, “We made a deal with the devil, and I guess that, in a way, we got what we deserved.” They signed the contract with Bryanston. After the investors recouped their money (including interest), and Skaaren’s salary and monitoring fee were paid, as well as the lawyers and accountants fees, there was only $8,100 left to be divided among the 20 members of the cast and he crew exceeded the original crew. Eventually, the producers sued $60,000 budget for the film during the Bryanston for failing to pay them their editing process. Sources differ on the full percentage of the box office proftotal budget for the film, offering figures its. A court judgement fined Bryanston of between $93,000 and $300,000. $500,000 to be paid to the filmmakers; A film production group, Pie in the by then the company had declared bankSky (P.I.T.S.) donated $23,532 in exruptcy. Bryanston Pictures folded in change for 19% of Vortex’s half of the 1976, when Louis Peraino was convictprofits. This left Henkel and Hooper ed on obscenity charges for his role in as co-owners of 45% of the profits, and the production of the film Deep Throat the remaining 36% was divided among (1972). New Line Cinema acquired the 20 cast and crew members. Warren distribution rights to the film from BrySkaaren made a deal as an equal partner anston and gave the producers a bigger with Hooper and Henkel, along with a percentage of the gross profits than Bry15% share of Vortex. Skaaren received anston had initially paid them. a deferred salary of $5,000 and 3% of the gross profits (MAB and Vortex combined). David Foster, producer of the 1982 horror film The Thing, arranged hen post-production was comfor a private screening for some of Bry- pleted, the filmmakers found it difficult anston Pictures’ West Coast executives, to secure a distributor that was willing and received 1.5% of Vortex’s profits and to market the film,

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CULT due to its graphic content; however, on August 28, 1974, the Bryanston Distributing Company agreed to distribute it. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered on October 1, 1974, in Austin, Texas, almost a year after the completion of filming. The film screened nationally in the United States as a Saturday afternoon matinée, and found success with a broader audience after it was falsely marketed as being a “true story”. During the film’s release in San Francisco, moviegoers walked out of theatres in disgust. In February 1976, theatres in Ottawa, Canada, were asked by the local authority to withdraw The Texas Chain Saw Massacre due to concerns about increasing levels of violence being associated by the public with the film. After 1976, the film was reissued to first-run theaters every year for eight years, with full-page

Tobe Hooper intended to make the movie for a “PG” rating, by keeping violence moderate and language mild, but despite cutting and repeated submissions, the Ratings Board insisted on the “R” rating for the effectiveness of what is onscreen and what is implied offscreen. Hooper had a similar ratings problem with the sequel.

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ads being taken out to promote it. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre grossed more than $30 million in the United States, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. It was overtaken in 1978 by John Carpenter’s Halloween, which grossed $47 million at the box office upon release. The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particularly Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young.... — The opening scrawl falsely suggests that the film is based on true events, a conceit that contributed to its success. Hooper reportedly hoped that the MPAA would give the complete, uncut release print a PG rating due to the minimal amount of gore presented in the film.

he film was released by the MPAA uncensored with an R rating. It was banned in many countries, including Australia, Brazil, Finland, West Germany, Chile, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. After the initial release, including a one-year theatrical run in London, the film was banned in Britain largely on the authority of British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) Secretary James Ferman.The film saw limited cinema release because of the actions of various city councils, including Camden London Borough Council, which granted a license to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which was later classified 18 (should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18 years old) by the BBFC. Censors attempted to edit the film for the purposes of a wider release in 1977 but were unsuccessful. At the time of the film’s banning, the word “chainsaw” became outlawed in film titles, forcing studios to retitle their movies. One such film, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) was retitled Hollywood Hookers, with an image of a chainsaw replac-

ing the word. The BBFC passed the film in 1999 with no cuts.The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was broadcast a year later on Channel 4. Australia’s Censorship Board first viewed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in June 1975, and refused to classify the 83-minute print. The distributor appealed to the Review Board, which upheld the decision in August 1975. The distributor prepared a reconstructed 77-minute version, only to see it banned again in December 1975. In 1976, the Australian authorities also banned the edited version of the film. When the film was re-presented to the censors five years later, it was banned again. Greater Union Organisation (GUO) Film Distributors were refused registration for a 2283.4 ft (83m 27s) print in July 1981. The reason given for the ban was frequent and gratuitous violence of high intensity. An 83-minute print submitted by Filmways Australia was approved for an R rating in January 1984.

hortly after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre established itself as a success on home video in 1982, Wizard Video released a mass-market video game adaptation for the Atari 2600. In the game, the player assumes the role of the film’s primary antagonist, Leatherface, and attempts to murder trespassers while avoiding obstacles such as fences and cow skulls. As one of the first horror-themed video games, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre caused controversy when it was first released, due to its violent nature, and sold poorly because many game stores refused to stock it. Wizard Video’s other commercial release, Halloween, based on John Carpenter’s 1978 film, had a slightly better reception. Several comic books entitled Leatherface, based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, were made in 1991 by Northstar Comics. Northstar licensed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights to Avatar Press for use in new comic book stories, the first of which was published in 2005. In 2006, Avatar Press lost the license to the DC Comics imprint Wildstorm, which has published new stories based on the franchise. In June 2007, Wildstorm changed a number of horror comics, including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, from monthly issues to specials and miniseries.

The film was rejected by the British film censors in 1975, but it did get a limited cinema release in the London area thanks to the GLC (Greater London Council). It was banned again in 1977, when the censors’ attempts to cut it were unsuccessful, (for the purposes of a wider release), then it was banned again in 1984, due to the growing controversy involving ‘video nasties’. In 1999, after the censors finally changed their policy, they took the plunge, and passed it uncut, for the cinema and video, after 25 years, since they first banned it.

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Written by Paul Easton

MOTORS

Vintage

CHEVVY

here are a lot of excellent cars out perienced automatic transin the marketplace today. The new cars missions systems and sattoday feature everything from Gps naviellite-based navigation. gation systems, LCD screens equipped for DVD, improved suspension systems, But, the style and panache that these and also black boxes to report potential kinds of vehicles have are sufficient to accidents. offer any Ferrari a run for its money. No matter how high tech the modern can get and no matter how sleek and streamlined the lines become, the vintage Chevy is still the grand daddy of each and every modern car attempting to be smooth and suave.

The Chevelle, Beaumont, Acadian, Firebird, Monte Carlo, Bel Air, Corvette, and Camaro have never ex

Once you know enough to begin thinking about getting your own vintage, the next step is to be prepared. Love is one thing, but money is another. Whatever you get the classic car from a certified seller or find a lying around dumps,

Falling in love

with vintage cars is easy enough. Simply a glance through a classic car dealerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s window, or the sight of an not known man cruising in an El Camino is sufficient for most people to realize that even Porsches have missed something, and something essential at that.

ctually beginning your journey into the land of vintage automobiles, however, can be quite difficult. If you want to become a real vintage aficionado, the important thing is passion and commitment. Start off by doing your homework - brush up on the various models, the specific features which each

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one has, and the various organizations and collectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guilds and associations that you can hook up with.

ve-

money.

the classic hicle can cost a lot of

a vintage auto enthusiast has to face. Doing this is no laughing matter especially when you consider the fact that most of these cars have parts that are no longer manufactured. For example, sometime you need to order the custom parts for your car.

Start car restoration by contacting a good mechanic who can do the job for you. You can get your hand smudged with a bit of car oil, if you want to.

But it will take an experienced mechanic to restore a vintage back to its shining glory, and unless you have the background in restoration and mechanintage dealers can offer fully restored vehicles that come with the exact ics that a professional restorer has, you same trappings that they had on the day better leave it to the professionals. that the car was released. Vintage parts are usually even preserved just to bring back a car as aged your grandfather into the21st century.

The cost, however, is as great as any medical operation that your fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father might need to start breathing again. If you happen to find one left lying around, restoration will turn out to be both equally difficult. Restoration is one of the challenges that H mag -

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Written by Matte Sjoberg

STUFF Only Bombshells, at the Victoria's Secret Show New York â&#x20AC;&#x201C; It's the highly coveted invitation that few people receive, but everyone wants: the taping of the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show. Held in the Lexington Armory in New York on Wednesday night, Nov. 10, it was bombs and bombshells in the building, and a whole lot of voyeurs in between.

ell, maybe not literally bombs - there were dogs sniffing purses for explosives to prevent that - but military memorabilia in glass cases lined the hallway as guests entered the custom built space that rivaled a Paris couture show in scale. Plush, red padded stadium-style seating looked down on a very glittery gold runway, with seats towering some 30 feet up. Though the main attraction was 30 of the most beautiful women in the world clad in Victoria's Secret underwear and the show's signature angel wings, if you forgot your opera glasses that night or weren't sitting in the VIP sections, you were more likely to get an upclose-and-personal look at the back of the heads of business men in suits, who, not surprisingly, made up a good majority of the audience. But if the custom bra and panty sets were hard to see, there were other more visible accoutrement on display, such as the aforementioned wings, as well as sportythemed costumes and cowgirl-inspired get-ups. It was Halloween and "sexy" costumes-in-a-bag all over again on the runway. And glitter, lots and lots of it. A hundred pounds, to be exact, along with 30 bottles of Victoria's Secret "Shimmer Mist" and 40 cans of hairspray. No one said being beautiful was easy, or natural. Despite the pounds of glitter, makeup artist Tom Pechaux said the look was inspired by the California girl, one of the most natural female archetypes around. "This season we are playing with bronzer," he said as he applied makeup to Alessandra Ambrosio some eight hours before showtime. "It's more healthy, it's more dewy, more glow-y." Adding to the spectacle, and cementing the "California Girls" theme, were live performances by Katy Perry and Akon. They played to a far more subdued audience than the usual screaming arena crowds they're likely used to, which might explain the canned applause that followed their respective performances. However, Vin Diesel put in a good show of support as he cheered them on, fist-pumping and clapping wildly from his front row seat.

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STUFF

Fashion designing ‘my drug’: Pierre Cardin TOKYO (AFP) – French fashion legend Pierre Cardin described his job as a "drug" that brings him the joys of life Tuesday, saying he would keep working in a career that has already spanned six decades. "It's a job I love. It's my passion, it's my drug," Cardin, 88, told a press conference in Tokyo ahead of events to mark the 60th anniversary of his firm, which says it owns licences for around 1,000 products sold under his name. Despite what many might think, "I still pursue it," said the last active survivor of the great postwar Paris fashion houses. From his cluttered office Cardin runs one of the world's most successful fashion empires, which has remained under his sole ownership for 60 years, even as other couture houses have fallen to corporate buyers. Cardin said being a designer had become harder as fashion now changes so fast. "There are so many designers around the world. In every country it is impossible to change fashion every year because it's stupid," he said. "Clothes are very expensive, you know. "There are lot of designs that are beautiful, crazy, fantastic to the eyes. But they they are not fashion for tomorrow," he said, arguing they would not endure.

Innovation is ultrafresh panthera Sometimes, form is as important as content. In the case of Ultraflesh’s Panthera mascara, which is a jet-black, lash-building mascara, the packaging is what reeled me in. The sleek, black tube is topped off with a panther’s head. You’ll want to whip this mascara out and touch up your lashes so everyone can get a gander at the sexy packaging. The brush is dualpurposed and has comb-like bristles to create definition and separation. This silkening mascara makes lashes black-as-night and I can’t get enough of the beautiful design.

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STUFF

An acre of hemp produces more paper than an acre of trees

or thousands of years, until 1883, hemp was the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest agricultural crop, from which the majority of fiber, fabric, soap, lighting oil, paper, incense, and medicines were produced. In addition, it was a primary source of essential food oil and protein for humans and animals. Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids necessary for health. The oil from hemp seeds has the highest percentage of essential fatty acids and the lowest percentage of saturated fats. An acre of hemp produces more paper than an acre of trees. Paper made from hemp lasts for centuries, compared to 25-80 years for paper made from wood pulp. The US Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Industrial hemp contains less than 1% of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana (which is also called cannabis). Trying to get high on industrial hemp is akin to trying to get drunk on non-alcohol beer. Hemp was forced from the market in the late 19th century by a campaign launched by newspaper magnates who also held controlling shares in the paper mill and cotton industry. It remains as one of the most scandalous yet least spoken about examples of fraud in world history.

In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act which effectively halted hemp production in the United States.

It was briefly overridden during the Second World War when overseas supplies dried up but the campaign, called Hemp For Victory, was quickly withdrawn after the war. Hemp can be grown in virtually any climate or soil condition, and grows extremely fast, yielding up to 4 crops a year. Canada, China and France are major hemp producers. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. But today the United States is the only industrial country in the world where the growing of hemp is prohibited. Hemp cars In 1941, the Ford motor company produced an experimental automobile with a plastic body composed of 70% cellulose fibres from hemp. The car body could absorb blows 10 times as great as steel without denting. The car was also designed to run on hemp fuel. Because of the ban on both hemp and alcohol the car was never mass produced. In 2008, Group Lotus announced they will be using hemp in the production of body panels for their Lotus Eco Elise.

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Written by Vittoria Martinelli

DVD

A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke (Malambri) and Natalie (Vinson), team up with NYU freshman Moose (Sevani), and find themselves pitted against the world's best hip hop dancers in a highstakes showdown that will change their lives forever.

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trailer Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob -knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

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trailer

Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes Studio: Touchstone / Disney UPC: 786936793604

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Production Year: 2010

Release Date: December 21st, 2010 Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes Studio: Sony Pictures UPC: 043396350083 Production Year: 2010

december *

Black Ops operative Malcolm Gray returns home after a botched mission in Eastern Europe. Holed up in a Brooklyn motel room, he is torn between retribution and personal salvation as he mentally unravels. When the walls close in, his story may be all he can leave behind.

Release Date: December 21st, 2010

Release Date: December 4th, 2010 Runtime: 2 hours 04 minutes Studio: Summit Entertainment UPC: 025192083280

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Production Year: 2010

Release Date: December 28th, 2010 Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes Studio: Screen Gems UPC: 043396366015 Production Year: 2010

2010 Release Date: December 28th, 2010 Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes Studio: Code Black Ent UPC: 883476030098 Production Year: 2010

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trailer

Release Date: December 7th, 2010

In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead - and Alice and her com-

A bored and domesticated Shrek pacts with deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin to get back to feeling like a real ogre again, but when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away -where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona have never met -- he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.

Runtime: 10 hours 33 minutes Studio: Paramount Pictures UPC: 097361329642 Production Year: 2010

Evelyn Salt is a CIA agent and highly respected by all, including her boss, Ted Winter. Out of the blue, a Russian spy walks into their offices and offers a vital piece of information: the President of Russia will be assassinated during his forthcoming visit to New York City to attend the funeral of the recently deceased U.S. Vice President. The name of the assassin: Evelyn Salt. Concerned about the safety of her husband, who she cannot contact, she goes on the run. Just who is Evelyn Salt?

trailer

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Written by Vittoria Martinelli

Disney Channel Discovers Ant Farm Disney Channel has greenlit the live-action comedy series Ant Farm, starring new talent China McClain. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 12-year-old plays middle schooler Chyna Sparks, a musical prodigy who gets into a gifted program called Accelerated Natural Talent at the local high school. Along with her fellow “ANTs,” she must navigate the halls of a new school of older kids who’re not particularly fond of grade-skipping newbies. The 13-episode project also stars Sierra McCormick (Ramona and Beezus), Jake Short (Dexter), Stefanie Scott (Flipped) and Zach Steel. The pilot was written by Dan Signer and directed by Bob Koherr.

Terra Nova Lays Off Writing Staff Steven Spielberg's new TV venture Terra Nova has suffered yet another blow with The Los Angeles Times reporting that the series has laid off its writing staff. 24 alum Brannon Braga remains the showrunner of the series while a majority of the staff writers, including Chris Brancato, were let go. However, that doesn't mean the show will not debut with a sneak peek of the pilot in May, with the series debuting in the fall of 2011, as we reported in August. Since most of the show's production won't happen until next summer, the show laid off any writer that didn't have a studio deal. When Terra Nova starts back up next year, the show will either re-hire the writers or, if they're not available, seek out new scribes. An earlier report from The Wrap indicated that production costs were severely inflating, with reports that the pilot alone has already cost over $10 million and may cost over $20 million to produce, even though shooting hasn't started yet. The writing lay-offs likely happened to try and offset some of these enormous production costs. Here’s the plot breakdown for Terra Nova: “Terra Nova, an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making, follows an ordinary family embarking on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a massive experiment to save the human race.

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The Simpsons for a 23rd Season

ox has renewed The Simpsons, the longestrunning comedy in television history, for an incredible 23rd season, bringing the series total to an impressive 515 episodes. The Simpsons airs Sundays (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on Fox. “Like many 22-year-olds, The Simpsons is extremely happy remaining at home, on Fox, and hopes it doesn’t have to go out into the real world for many years to come,” said Al Jean, Executive Producer, The Simpsons. This season, America’s favorite family continues to entertain us with their wild and outlandish adventures as Maggie goes missing, Homer becomes a premier hairdresser, Moe’s Tavern is converted into an ultra-trendy bar and the family debates the best way to spend the holiday season. Guest stars paying Springfield a visit in upcoming episodes include actors Halle Berry, Paul Rudd, Ricky Gervais, Rachel Weisz, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Alyson Hannigan and Joe Mantegna; basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; lifestyle guru Martha Stewart; and pop sensation Katy Perry, who appears in a live-action sequence alongside Simpsons puppets. Additionally, the World Broadcast Premiere of The Simpsons Movie will air Thanksgiving night, Thursday, Nov. 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), on Fox. The Simpsons immediately struck a chord with viewers across the country over 20 years ago as it poked fun of itself and everything in its wake. With its subversive humor and delightful wit, the series has made an indelible imprint on American pop culture, and the family members have become television icons. In January 2010, The Simpsons celebrated their 450th episode and the conclusion of the “Best. 20 Years. Ever.,” a year-long global 20th anniversary celebration culminating 20 years from the original series premiere. In May 2009, The Simpsons were commemorated on 44-cent First-Class Mail stamps. In 2007, the long-awaited The Simpsons Movie was released and went on to gross $526 million worldwide to date. Additionally, “The Simpsons Ride” opened in May 2008 at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, and Hollywood, CA. The Simpsons was nominated for five Emmys in 2010, including Outstanding Animated Program and Outstanding Children’s Nonfiction Program for “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice!” produced and directed by Morgan Spurlock, and took home two awards, including one for guest voice Anne Hathaway for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. The critically praised series has been bestowed with numerous honors, including a Peabody Award, 27 Emmy Awards, 27 Annie Awards, five Genesis Awards, nine International Monitor Awards and seven Environmental Media Awards. The Simpsons holds the Guinness Book of World Records titles for Longest-Running Primetime Animated Television Series and Most Guest Stars Featured in a Television Series. Recognized as a pop culture icon, Homer Simpson’s annoyed grunt - “D’oh!” - is an official word in the Oxford English Dictionary, and The Simpsons has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. H mag -

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TV The Walking Dead Renewed - Seas

MC announced today the renewal of The Walking Dead for a 13-episode second season. Since debuting Sunday, October 31, The Walking Dead has broken ratings records, with the series reaching more Adults 18-49 than any other show in the history of cable television. Today's announcement also includes Fox International Channels' (FIC) global renewal for a second season, following record-breaking premiere ratings in 120 countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. The Walking Dead was the highest-rated original series premiere ever to air on FIC simultaneously worldwide. "The Dead has spread!" said Charlie Collier, President, AMC. "No other cable series has ever attracted as many Adults 18-49 as The Walking Dead. This reaffirms viewers' hunger for premium television on basic cable. We are so proud to be bringing back The Walking Dead again, across the globe." "I wish all programming decisions were no brainers like this one," said Sharon Tal Yguado, SVP Scripted Programming for Fox International Channels. "The Walking Dead is a TV masterpiece on so many levels. We want at least 10 seasons, if not more. Kudos to AMC!" AMC's The Walking Dead is based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. Kirkman serves as an executive producer on the project and three-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) serves as writer, director and executive producer. Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon, The Incredible Hulk), chairman of Valhalla Motion Pictures, serves as Executive Producer. David Alpert from Circle of Confusion and Charles H. Eglee (Dexter, The Shield, Dark Angel) serve as Executive Producers. The Walking Dead tells the story of the months and years that follow after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The comic goes on to explore the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies who take a toll on the survivors, and sometimes the interpersonal conflicts present a greater danger to their continuing survival than the zombies that roam the country. Over time, the characters are changed by the constant exposure to death and some grow willing to do anything to survive. Shot on location in Atlanta, The Walking Dead is led by a cast that includes Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, Love Actually) as Rick Grimes.

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Written by Matt Hines

INTERVIEW

ALLY

right away with “Stahl.” In order to really kind of understand her, I had to sort of understand that whatever worked for her in that moment was how I was going to go what-”June”-I was going to go. That really is a sociopath, whatever works for her. So she’s kind of like this wonderful little ac-

WALKER

At least

tress. that’s what I like to think. I don’t know if she’s so wonderful, but- That’s what I did with her. I just made everything, anything that was to her advantage, she was lovely. She could turn on a dime, and I really like that.

lly Walker portrays Agent June Stahl on the FX hit biker drama Sons of Anarchy. Tonight is the debut of Episode 3.10: Firinne, which finds the IRA wanting proof that one of their own has flipped, and Samcro intends to give it to them. We recently caught up with Walker to talk about the episode, as well as the rest of the season as it plays towards its finale. Here is that conversation:

It was kind of a wow reveal when we that “Stahl” has a girlfriend right Was that a surprise to you? Why was now kind of the time to reveal that the show?

saw now. right in

Ally Walker: I’m not really sure why the timing was right. You’d have to ask Kurt Sutter that, but no, actually it wasn’t a surprise to me. Last year, I had filmed a scene in bed with a female lover, so I’d kind of built that into the character last year. “Stahl,” obviously, is kind of a sociopath. At least that’s how I sort of like to play her and an opportunist, so I don’t think her sexuality is really about being- It’s interesting. I think she is gay probably, but I think she swings both ways depending on what works for her. So no, it wasn’t a surprise to me. I actually had it last year and I loved it, but for some reason, they cut it out. That was one of the things you just touched on. I was curious. Does she have a moral compass do you think? Because she does a little of everything and doesn’t seem to have a lot ofAlly Walker: When I got the character thrown at me last-or given to me, not thrown at me-but there was a lot thrown to me 190 - H mag

You seem to have a lot of chemistry with all the characters but especially “Jax,” “Clay” .... Who would you like to see “June” with the most? Ally Walker: You mean in like in a relationship or what? Yes, in a relationship. Ally Walker: Well, I think that’s kind of obvious, don’t you? “Jax.” No. I don’t know. He’s awfully sexy, that Charlie Hunnam Yes. He is. Ally Walker: But you know, I think Katey Sagal ‘s pretty hot, too, pal. Katey Sagal’s a really good friend of mine, but I guess if I wanted to see “June” with anyone, it would have to be Charlie Hunnam, I’m sorry. I also was huge big fan of Profiler. I wanted to know what was easier for you to play, was it the nice “Sam” or this ruthless, not-so-nice “June”? Ally Walker: I think both of them were easy in different ways. I think it’s been really fun for me as an actor, after playing “Sam” and after playing “Katie” in Tell Me You Love Me and sort of these kind of pure, sweet people to sink my teeth into someone so vile as “June Stahl.” I really love this turn because there’s just nothing off the table. She’ll do anything to get what she wants. I just applaud her ruthlessness. It’s kind of H mag - 191

INTERVIEW nice. It’s a nice twist for me. That’s so funny because you hear a lot of people, they say they have to approach a character like that as like they’re doing the right thing, justify it. She’s in a weird spot because that character could be the hero character of a show, an agent who bends the rules to make their case. But here, she’s the thorn in the side and there’s this weird balance that you have to strike. I want to kind of get how you achieve that and how you make “Agent Stahl” work in the dynamic in the Sons of Anarchy, where she’s obviously painted as the black cat. Ally Walker: Well, that’s an interesting question and that’s actually what I used to laugh at. In the beginning, I said, “Look guys, I’m on the side of right. You guys aren’t.” I think the way that I sort of painted the character is that everything that she’s doing is for the right outcome. If you really look at her reasoning behind everything, the problem with her is her own ego has gotten in her way, and now it’s all about “June.” It was probably always this way. It’s so personal that she wants to win. It’s not about doing the right thing

“I’m going to beat you at your own game.” anymore. It’s about,

In that respect, she lowers herself. But I really do believe that “June” is sociopathic, at least that’s how I play her. I think in her mind, she’s always right. It also seems like she’s kind of evolved over the course of the show because it seemed like in the first season that, okay, this is going to be kind of the big bad of season one in some respect and then she’s going to go away. But you haven’t gone away. In fact, your role in this has kind of become this interesting wild card. Do you know if that was always the plan or ... Ally Walker: No, no. It wasn’t. ... kind of experience ...? Ally Walker: I was asked to do three shows. I know Kurt Sutter from working on The Shield, and Kurt asked me to come in. Tell 192 - H mag

Me You Love Me had just gone down, and he asked me to come in for three shows. I said, “Sure,” because I really love his writing and I loved the concept of the show. I love the character. She was kind of wild. No, I just kept getting written for. It was really an honor. I mean, Kurt Sutter was really lovely to me. I guess she was just a good bad guy so they kept writing, and she got more and more outlandish, which is really fun to play. So, I’m very appreciative of what Kurt Sutter did for me. The show is a really intense drama. I was wondering, what’s everyone like when the cameras aren’t rolling? Ally Walker: Really sweet and funny. Funny, funny, funny. It’s been my experience that when you have a really dark show-like when I was doing Profiler or if there’s ever a really scary show-the crew kind of lets loose and the actors by being funny and kind of goofy. The guys are really funny. Ronny Pearlman is hilarious, and Katey Sagal and I gab about where to go get facials. It’s like really normal and funny. It’s a good group of guys. Very sweet group of boys. I love the boys. They’re great. Do you know what’s in store for “Stahl” and how long you’re going to be on the show? Ally Walker: Yes I do. Can you tell us how long you’ll be?

Ally Walker: Absolutely not.

I don’t

know

how long I’ll be on the show, but I’m a few ahead of you guys, that’s for sure. But I’m not saying anything. Who is your favorite character to work with? Ally Walker: That’s tough to say. I mean all of them really. I love working with Katey Sagal. Katey Sagal and Charlie Hunnam. I’ve had most of my sort of deeper scenes with these guys, and we just kind of hum along together. Katey Sagal and I are good buddies, so it’s been a real pleasure for me to get to work with her. I think Charlie Hunnam is just a soulful little actor. I just really love working with Charlie Hunnam. H mag -

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INTERVIEW I love working with Ronny Pearlman too. I worked with him in a film and then- I worked with him in two films. It’s just a good group. There’s no one, but those are the three I really worked with the most, so I would have to say I really enjoy working with those guys.

Is there a scene that you’re particularly

proud

, the way it turned out, either this season or in previous seasons? Ally Walker: Yes, there’s a few scenes. I think the writing on the show’s been pretty good. I think it was season one right before “Donna” died, where I’m interrogating “Opie,” and I’m just kind of screwing him over. I’m just doing it with sort of this relishing. Then there’s the interrogation scene when “Jax” was in prison, which I really like because he kind of came right back at me. Of course, I love the scene with Katey Sagal in the 7-Eleven, where I’m stepping over the agents and confronting her. I think what I like about the character, what Kurt Sutter writes, is that there’s just a lot of-he does this is sort of black comedy with my character, which is just so great because it just spices everything up and it makes it really fun to try to hit those. But I’ve liked quite a few of the scenes. I think there’s a few scenes this year that are just- What episode are we on now? I don’t even know what episode we’re on, what’s airing, but there’s a few coming towards the end of this year that are just really good that Kurt Sutter wrote. But I like a lot of them. I like a lot of them. I’m sorry. I can’t be more specific. What do you think makes Sons of Anarchy such a unique show?

bad-guy

Ally Walker: There’s the obvious sort of element, bad-boy element that everybody wants to be a rebel and sort of a renegade and bikers sort of epitomize that, but I also think that the soulfulness and the sort of family bonds that these people have-the way they watch each other’s back-is a very old-fashioned notion, if you will. Maybe not old fashioned but it’s a romantic notion. You don’t really see a lot of that anymore. It’s become much more of a narcissistic society where it’s the loners are there for themselves and people don’t 194 - H mag

hang together. This is really a wonderful family. They all take good care of each other. There are codes that they live by that are very honorable. I think that really appeals to people, especially in tough times having, knowing that people have your back and they definitely do. When you read a script, what are some of your initial reactions to how far “Stahl” is willing to go to ... herself and get her way? Ally Walker: There’s so many leaps with the character. She just flies over all the sort of logical steps to get somewhere sometimes. At first it really scared me, and I sort of like to take baby steps, but with her, I just had to just sort of jump because you don’t really see-unless you work it with the way of it’s like, “Of course, I would do this because that’s the way I get what I want.”

I’m not really that

way. I’m used to playing much humbler characters, if you will, with sort of normal thought patterns. Sometimes I literally go, “Oh my god. Oh my god. How am I going to do this? This is ridiculous.” But somehow I just kind of, I just hang on and it goes. I just try to keep it real but it’s a pretty big step. “Stahl’s” a little nutty. But it’s a lot of fun, I will say that. It’s a lot of fun. What do you enjoy the most about playing “Stahl” and what kind of reactions do you get from the fans of the show? Ally Walker: Oh my god, it’s been scary actually. People hate me so much. People really hate me. I’ve never had more people come up to me and say, “I love to hate you. I love you. I hate you so much.” It’s the weirdest thing. It’s very flattering but there’s a lot of people out there who kind of mistake it for reality, I think, sometimes, and they just are pretty harsh on me. What I love playing about “June” is her fearlessness. I really like that. H mag -

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INTERVIEW You say that “Stahl” is a sociopath. With the recent news about you landing a Lifetime pilot, is that true first off? Ally Walker: Yes, it is. She’s a single mother with two children. Are you going to have some of “Stahl’s” aspects flip into her just out of habit after being on Sons for so long? Ally Walker: You know, I don’t think so. I’ve been doing this for so long. It’s really the material. If they write that in, I’ll have to portray that. But I do what the script indicates, whatever the writer tells me with his writing is what I do. “Stahl” is a very different sort of personality. She’s not garden variety. It may be kind of tough to turn her off because she’s- I was actually thinking this the other day, it’s like I have so much fun with her that it’s kind of hard to turn her off and not be slick and twisted and kind of move quickly. So, I will definitely have to guard against that, but I usu-

ally do what the writer dictates, so no,

I’ll be

okay. Will “Stahl” be back at all for season four? Ally Walker: I’m going to leave that to the end of this season and to Kurt Sutter. Have you ever thought one thing about your character and then get a script and think, “Oh, I was completely wrong about that.” Ally Walker: You mean just in general as an actress? Yes or Sons of Anarchy, yes. Ally Walker: Yes, in the beginning, I couldn’t quite- Yes, actually this was a difficult character for me to embrace in the beginning because I came off Tell Me You Love Me, which was very very real and very down to earth. It was a very different character. It was a little bit tough for me at first to kind of get my head around playing someone who was kind of amoral and didn’t really follow the logical steps that one would 196 - H mag

take. So I kind of had to find her. But after a few episodes, I was like, “Oh, I get it. Okay.” She’s out there. She’s a very out there character so it was- I tend to play things real close to the bone, and this person was not close to any bones that I really ever-maybe she was but I didn’t know about them. She’s a, she’s a trip. She was really kind of - at first, it was like “Huh, am I going to really do that?” and then I went, “Yeah, okay.” I really enjoyed it. It was a learning experience for me. It really was. It was very fun and very scary for me to do the role. She’s very different than anyone I’d done. You’ve had a really incredibly successful career. Just real quick, what’s your sort of advice to actors? Ally Walker: Gosh, that’s- You know Betty Davis’ advice to young actors ...

Yes, yes. Ally Walker: ... take .... Ronny Pearlman told me that one, by the way. That was good. I like that. Ally Walker: If you want to do this, you have to really love what you’re doing. You have to really take care of who you are because it’s a very difficult business and you have to really believe in yourself because- It is an incredibly tough business, incredibly tough and you just have to keep going. Perseverance is everything. It’s everything. Do you think there’s an element of jealousy that “Stahl” feels towards that fraternal, familial bond that Sons of Anarchy have? We don’t know much of her back story but it seems like she’s a bit of a loner. Ally Walker: Yes. Yes, that’s a very interesting question. What I was just talking about, people having each other’s backs. Obviously, no one ever had my back. I’m talking as “June Stahl” now. It’s like I don’t think anyone ever had “June’s” back. I see a very disturbed background with a very bad childhood, who suddenly had to fend for themselves and kind of turn and become chameleon-like, and whatever face that needed to be put on was put on to take care of themselves. So yes, I think this person was man-made. No, I think she’s very jealous of that. I think she doesn’t like it at all. I think H mag -

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INTERVIEW she’s out to destroy it. I think in the beginning it was less personal with her, but I think it has become over the years extremely personal with her. Obviously, “Otto” is in jail but he may be paroled. What does “June Stahl” fear more? “Otto” or “Opie,” as far as a retaliation? Ally Walker: I don’t think “June” fears either one of those guys. I think “Opie” would be the-because “Opie’s” out. But “Opie” kind of let me go and so because he let me go, I have no respect for him. So I don’t really fear “Opie” anymore in sort of my twisted mind. “Otto,” I don’t think that I would allow him to get to me. I think I would be able to keep tabs and watch out. I think what “June Stahl” fears is that she missed a step in her, in her trickery. I think that’s what scares “June,” that she didn’t cover all her bases, and she’s not

quiteshe ever feels doubtful about having screwed anyone, that’s what will scare her. She can’t slip up. I think it’s more of a mental thing for her. She fears people who are smart, I think, and what she doesn’t see coming. But of course, her ego is so out of control I don’t think she sees a lot coming. She didn’t really mourn “Hale’s” death too much, did she? Ally Walker: Not at all. She didn’t have a feeling for him. I don’t think she cared for him. She thought he was an idiot. I mean really, if you look at the character, there’s only those who can do for “June” and those who can’t. I’ve got a question about basically the scripts and your approach to them. You have a lot of tense scenes between “Gemma” and “Jackson” and also you’ve had a few tense scenes with .... How does it all seem to actually translate off the page? Is there ever anything that needs to be changed in order to improve or make the scene work better? Could you give an example of the process, how it goes from the script into the actual scene when you’re actually acting? Ally Walker: The thing of Kurt Sutter is he’s really a wonderful writer. There’s not a lot of changing with Kurt Sutter. He likes us actors to really adhere to the script, which I respect. He’s a very good writer. He has really sort of thought everything through. 198 - H mag

Sims

late

night

Written by Vittoria Martinelli

GAMES

Sims 3 Late Night expands the world of Sims once again by adding a slew of new content, as well as a few gameplay changes to shake things up a bit. Players live up the nightlife within Bridgeport, a sleepless city of glamorous celebrities and nightclubs packed with more vacant sex-appeal than an episode of Jersey Shore.

Setting up your own band and watching them rise to success is yet another gratifying experience. Once you get over the initial hump of learning an instrument and getting your band together, playing a gig will make crowds will flock to the stage as you perform rocking tunes. As with previous expansions, Late Night Watching your bands rise to success is both satisfying as it is rewarding since adds new furniture and items to cusit pays a nice sum of Simoleons. Fame tomize your pad, and a ton of stylish is the goal for both rock stars and celebclothes to outfit your Sim. Sim celebririties, though celebrities have a harder ties make appearances all over Bridgeport and successfully befriending them time maintaining it since paparazzi are will net you celebrity status. On the flip always trying to smear their name. side, as a paparazzi you snap pictures Once you’re in the club, it’s of celebs with your cellphone and gain street cred by showing them off to your time to let your Sims tear up the dance floor and mingle with Sim friends. Being a socialite is all about status and others. Bartending is also an gaining popularity is at the heart of the option, which is a great way to Late Night expansion. Clubs and bars make new contacts while mixing aren’t all accessible to just any Joe Sch- and pouring drinks. Since the mo as most of them have a certain reLate Night expansion focuses on quirement to get in, and it’s up to you to rising up that social ladder, make a name for yourself, be it with the what better place to meet people aforementioned celebrity status, a hot than bars right? shot paparazzi, or joining a band and rocking the late night clubs. The city comes alive at night as neon

signs and billboards populate Bridgeport, searchlights light up the night sky, and Sims in flashy night life outfits fill up streets. High-rise buildings require the use of elevators for the first time, to access your apartments. Another addition is the butler, which replaces the maid by doing everything from cooking dinner, cleaning the house, serving guests during parties and more.

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watch the ad

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Written by Vittoria Martinelli

BOOKS Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand Eight years ago, an old man told me a story that took my breath away. His name was Louie Zamperini, and from the day I first spoke to him, his almost incomprehensibly dramatic life was my obsession. It was a horse--the subject of my first book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend--who led me to Louie. As I researched the Depression-era racehorse, I kept coming across stories about Louie, a 1930s track star who endured an amazing odyssey in World War II. I knew only a little about him then, but I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shake him from my mind. After I finished Seabiscuit, I tracked Louie down, called him and asked about his life. For the next hour, he had me transfixed. Growing up in California in the 1920s, Louie was a hellraiser, stealing everything edible that he could carry, staging elaborate pranks, getting in fistfights, and bedeviling the local police. But as a teenager, he emerged as one of the greatest runners America had ever seen, competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he put on a sensational performance, crossed paths with Hitler, and stole a German flag right off the Reich Chancellery. He was preparing for the 1940 Olympics, and closing in on the fabled four-minute mile, when World War II began. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a bombardier. Stationed on Oahu, he survived harrowing combat, including an epic air battle that ended when his plane crash-landed, some six hundred holes in its fuselage and half the crew seriously wounded...

Life - keith richards "By turns earnest and wicked, sweet and sarcastic and unsparing, Mr. Richards, now 66, writes with uncommon candor and immediacy....He gives us an indelible, time-capsule feel for the madness that was life on the road with the Stones in the years before and after Altamont; harrowing accounts of his many close shaves and narrow escapes (from the police, prison time, drug hell); and a heap of sharp-edged snapshots of friends and colleagues...But Life...is way more than a revealing showbiz memoir. It is also a high-def, high-velocity portrait of the era when rock 'n' roll came of age, a raw report from deep inside the counterculture maelstrom of how that music swept like a tsunami over Britain and the United States. It's an eye-opening all-nighter in the studio with a master craftsman disclosing the alchemical secrets of his art. And it's the intimate and moving story of one man's long strange trip over the decades, told in dead-on, visceral prose without any of the pretense, caution or self-consciousness that usually attend great artists sitting for their self-portraits....Mr. Richards has found a way to channel to the reader his own avidity, his own deep soul hunger for music and to make us feel the connections that bind one generation of musicians to another. Along the way he even manages to communicate something of that magic, electromagnetic experience of playing on stage with his mates, be it in a little club or a huge stadium."

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