The HBO adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s National Book Award-winning novel The Corrections has been surrounded by a whirlwind of casting rumors and confirmations since the series was greenlit back in November. The most recent rumbling of the rumor mill is that Maggie Gyllenhaal is in talks to play Denise Lambert, a professional chef who has an affair with both the owner of the restaurant where she works and his wife. The cast thus far includes Hollywood heavyweights Dianne Wiest, Ewan McGregor, and Chris Cooper; actors who we adore, but don’t necessarily see as casting home runs for Franzen’s characters. If we had license to keep Gyllenhaal and build our dream cast around her, these would be our picks — let us know your corrections in the comments.
Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. This week, we’ve got a surplus of thrillers, plus a legal drama and vibrator comedy. So, variety, eh? Check ‘em all out after the jump.
Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 film Don’t Look Now is an intense and effective psychological thriller, acclaimed at the time of its release and only more respected with with each passing year. It has also been the topic of a long-standing controversy: a key sex sequence between stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie was rumored to be, well, not quite simulated.
At long last, we’ve got a credible source confirming the story: Peter Bart, the Variety editor and film commentator, was a Paramount executive during the film’s production, and claims in his new book, Infamous Players: A Tale of Movies, the Mob, (and Sex), that he visited the set on the day that the scene in question was shot. While watching, he writes, “it was clear to me they were no longer simply acting: they were fucking on camera.” Sutherland has denied the writer’s claim, but if Bart is telling the truth, then Don’t Look Now would presumably mark the first occasion of unsimulated sexual intercourse in a mainstream motion picture. With that belated honor bestowed, let’s take a NSFW look at some of the other boundary-breaking sex scenes of cinema.
Phonak’s Hear the World initiative is on a mission to educate people about the dangers of hearing loss and how to handle it — and it has some high-profile friends on board.
Musicians and other celebrities, including Amy Winehouse, Peter Gabriel, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jude Law, Moby, Common, and Lindsay Lohan, have lent their faces (and voices) to the campaign as Hear the World “ambassadors.” Through their endorsement, the program’s numerous offerings are being noticed on a wide scale, giving the public access to vital information, and those in need invaluable support.
Like just about everyone else who has seen it, we loved Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work for its empathetic portrait of a controversial grand dame of comedy. Watching it, we couldn’t help imagining what life must be like for Jocelyn Pickett, Rivers’ assistant of 15 years. In the film, she’s more than just the lady who runs errands and keeps a schedule: She’s her boss’s constant companion, the one who soothes her frayed nerves and helps her make tough decisions. It was our admiration of Pickett that inspired us to celebrate our 10 favorite assistants in movies and TV.
The songs we hear sung by Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges), the onetime country-music superstar at the center of Scott Cooper’s film Crazy Heart, are infused by a weary regret. “I used to be somebody,” he sings to a sparse crowd gathered at a bowling alley in southern Colorado, and it’s only the first of a series of lyrical recriminations that he’ll declare. Offstage, Blake is anything but penitent — he drinks whiskey by the bottle, chain-smokes, and brushes off the young musicians hoping to be acolytes for a day. From Colorado, his tour heads south to a cozier two-night stand at a small Santa Fe bar, where he meets Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal). A journalist and single mother, she seeks an interview with him, which — over talk of the Delta blues and Lefty Frizzell — becomes something deeper.
Viewers of the Crazy Heart trailer can’t help but compare it to The Wrestler. First-time director Scott Cooper’s screenplay (adapted from Thomas Cobb’s book of the same name) features the same archetypal down-on-his-luck protagonist, a hard-living country singer named Bad Blade (Jeff Bridges). Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a reporter who helps the drunken codger get his life back together. Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell costar.
The score for the movie is written by T-Bone Burnett, the producer best known for the O Brother Where Art Thou and Big Lebowski soundtracks, as well as the critically acclaimed Raising Sand album from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Burnett has his hands all over the picture; he co-produced and co-wrote much of the material. The poster and stills were released yesterday, and today we have the trailer. Check it out after the jump.
Over the weekend I finally saw Donnie Darko — you know, the 2001 cult favorite where Jake Gyllenhaal plays a troubled teen who talks to a giant rabbit named Frank about the impending apocalypse. (If you haven’t seen it, it’s good, but suffice it to say, leaves you in a strange mood. The fact that it was released a few months after 9/11 couldn’t have helped the abysmal box office numbers.) Maggie Gyllenhaal is in the flick too as his sis Elizabeth Darko which got me thinking about the best films featuring actor siblings. After the jump, my top 8, which is admittedly a little heavy on the Cusacks; add your own faves in the comments. Read More »
So: Vanya is a virgin. Of course! It’s everywhere! The confusion of infatuation and love (“You are my joy, my life and my youth!”); the ridiculous superlatives (“I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my entire life.”). The childish ideal of feminine purity (“a noble, gentle creature, pure as that blue sky above”); the false, showy cynicism (“Is she faithful to the Professor?” Astrov asks. “Unfortunately yes.”). The bumbling assertiveness when he lunges for a kiss (“First let me make peace with myself! My darling…”); the simpering fear when a woman takes offense (“Wait, wait, my joy, my ecstasy, forgive me. I apologize.”). It’s everywhere, and we missed it ― until Denis O’Hare showed us.
Books: Will A-Rod’s roid scandal encourage Joe Torre’s book sales? Dance/Opera: Salvaging NYC’s opera scene Design: Chip Kidd dubs Tony Stark design’s super hero. Film: Michael Cera Bale’s out on the set of Youth In Revolt. Music: Chris Brown surrenders to the fuzz. Television: The first 10 minutes of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse revealed — in case you can’t wait for Friday. Theatre: Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are so freaking cute. Visual Arts: Shepard Fairey arrested on the way to his own opening. Web:“I’m on a boat.”
