Only The Real Housewives of New York City celebrate a party by bickering and back stabbing but perhaps that’s why “The Party Is Toast.”
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Janna Ryan, the wife of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, has quickly and predictably been thrust into the national spotlight since her husband, a Wisconsin Congressman, was announced as the Republican nominee for Vice President by Mitt Romney. Here are a few things to know about the 43-year-old Janna: 1. Janna Ryan is 43, and married Paul in 2000. She is stay-at-home mom raising three young children in Wisconsin, Elizabeth, Charles and Samuel (above). 2. Ryan, whose maiden name was Little, grew up in Madill, Oklahoma. Both of her parents spent their careers as successful lawyers in private practice. A town in Oklahoma, Little City, is named after her family. Like her parents, Janna has a law degree, having graduated from George Washington in 1998. 3. Her family has strong political – and Democratic – connections; Her uncle, David Boren, served as a Democratic governor of Oklahoma and later as its U.S. senator. Boren’s son, Dan Boren, is Janna’s cousin and a member of House of Representatives. A Blue Dog Democrat, he has often voted across party lines. 4. Before marrying Paul, Janna was a Washington operative herself, forging an early professional career as a congressional aide and healthcare lobbyist. Friends describe her as being able to navigate between different worlds – from small-town Oklahoma, where she’s from, to prestigious Wellesley College and to D.C., where she is well-versed in complex policy debates. “She is very comfortable in and around politics. She grew up in a political family, and it comes very naturally to her,” said Leslie Belcher, a Washington lobbyist who worked on Capitol Hill with Ryan and was later one of Ryan’s bridesmaids. 5. Friends and Romney campaign officials say that while her exact role is unclear, she would undoubtedly be an asset to Romney-Ryan ticket. “I think she is very relatable,” said Missy Edwards, a lobbyist in D.C. who became friends with Ryan when they both worked on Capitol Hill. “She’s from a small town, (with) three young kids, smart, and focused on her family, first.” “They got married eyes wide open, knowing that they wanted to dedicate themselves to public service, and that meant that Janna wouldn’t work, and Paul would dedicate himself” to working in Congress, said Jodi Bond, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who has been friends with the Ryans for decades. Paul Ryan: Good choice for Republican V.P.?
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French film The Girl From Nowhere took top honors at the 65th Locarno Film Festival over the weekend, winning the Swiss festival’s to Golden Leopard (Pardo d’oro) prize, while Ying Liang won Best Director for When Night Falls . American director Bob Byington’s Somebody Up There Likes Me won the second prize at the event. The Girl From Nowhere centers on Michel, a retired math teacher who has lived alone since his wife’s death and occupies his time writing an essay about the beliefs that shape daily life. One day he comes across Dora, a young homeless woman, who shows up injured on his doorstep, and puts her up until she recovers. Her presence brings something new to Michel’s life, but gradually the apartment becomes the site of mysterious happenings. The winners follow with information provided by the Locarno Film Festival (Film descriptions can be found at Locarno’s website ) : Concorso internazionale Pardo d’oro La Fille de Nulle Part (The Girl From Nowhere) by Jean-Claude Brisseau, France Premio speciale della giuria Somebody Up There Likes Me by Bob Byington, United States Pardo per la migliore regia (Best Director) Ying Liang for the film Wo Hai You Hua Yao Shuo (When Night Falls), South Korea/China Pardo per la miglior interpretazione femminile (Best Actress) An Nai for the film Wo Hai You Hua Yao Shuo (When Night Falls) by Ying Liang, South Korea/China Pardo per la miglior interpretazione maschile (Best Actor) Walter Saabel for the film Der Glanz Des Tages (The Shine of Day) by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, Austria Special mention to the extraordinary character Candy from the film A Ultima Vez Que vi Macau due to her powerful presence through absence which resonated for the Jury as representing the immense courage of Portuguese cinema in times when the failures of government and social systems threaten the cinematic arts worldwide. Concorso Cineasti del presente Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente – Premio George Foundation Inori by Pedro González-Rubio, Japan Premio per il miglior regista emergente (Best Director) Joel Potrykus for the film Ape United States Premio speciale della giuria Ciné+ Cineasti del presente Not In Tel Aviv by Nony Geffen, Israel Special Mention Tectonics by Peter Bo Rappmund, United States Opera Prima Pardo per la migliore opera prima (Best First Feature) Ji Yi Wang Zhe Wo (Memories Look At Me) by SONG Fang, China Special Mention Ape by Joel Potrykus, United States Pardi di domani Concorso internazionale Pardino d’oro for the Best International Short Film The Mass of Men by Gabriel Gauchet, United Kingdom Pardino d’argento Yaderni Wydhody (Nuclear Waste) by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Ukraine Special Mention Los Retratos (Portraits) by Iván D. Gaona, Colombia Locarno short film nominee for the European Film Awards – Premio Pianific Back of Beyond by Michael Lennox, United Kingdom The Film und Video Untertitelung Prize O Que Arde Cura (As the Flames Rose) ba João Rui Guerra da Mata, Portugal Concorso nazionale Pardino d’oro for the Best Swiss Short Film Radio Active (Radio-active) by Nathan Hofstetter, Switzerland Pardino d’argento L’Amour Begue (Stammering Love) by Jan Czarlewski, Switzerland Premio Action Light for the Best Swiss Newcomer Il Vulcano (The Volcano) by Alice Riva, Switzerland Piazza Grande Prix du Public UBS Lore by Cate Shortland, Germany/Australia/ United Kingdom Variety Piazza Grande Award Camille Redouble by Noémie Lvovsky, France
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The Girl From Nowhere Takes Top Locarno Film Festival Honors
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Mitt Romney Chooses Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan As Vice Presidential Running Mate Moneymakin’ Mitt has made his choice for VP running mate and it’s 42-year-old, seven term Congressman from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan: With the political world watching, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney misspoke while introducing his running mate. Romney mistakenly introduced Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan on Saturday as the next president of the United States. Ryan, of course, has been tapped to serve as Romney’s vice presidential nominee. A sheepish Romney puts arms around Ryan and clarified his mistake before Ryan took the microphone. Romney says that he makes a mistake every once in a while. But he says he didn’t make a mistake with his selection of Ryan The ticket made its debut at a naval museum in Norfolk, Va., the initial stop of a bus tour through four battleground states in as many days. The USS Wisconsin, berthed at the museum, was their bunting-draped backdrop, a symbol of the nation’s military strength as well as an obvious reference to Ryan’s home state. First Romney, then Ryan, a generation younger than his patron, jogged down the ship’s gangplank to the cheers of hundreds and the stirring soundtrack from the movie “Air Force One.” As his family came on stage, Ryan knelt to embrace his daughter and two sons before kissing his wife. While word of Ryan’s selection leaked late Friday night and was posted by the campaign to its phone app before the speeches, Obama’s campaign withheld its reaction until the Republicans had spoken. “The architect of the radical Republican House budget, Ryan, like Romney, proposed an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires, and deep cuts in education from Head Start to college aid,” Jim Messina, the president’s campaign manager, said in a written statement. “His plan would also end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors,” he said Here’s more about Ryan and his policies: At 42, Ryan is a more than two decades younger than the 65-year-old Romney. His conservative credentials are highly regarded by fellow Republican House members, while numerous polls during the primaries of winter and spring found that Romney’s credentials were suspect among the party’s core supporters. A seven-term congressman, Ryan is chairman of the House Budget Committee, and primary author of conservative tax and spending blueprints that the tea party-infused Republican majority approved over vociferous Democratic opposition in 2011 and again in 2012. They envision transforming Medicare into a program in which future seniors would receive government checks that they could use to purchase health insurance. Under the current program, the government directly pays doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. Ryan and other supporters say the change is needed to prevent the program from financial calamity. Critics argue it would impose ever-increasing costs on seniors. Other elements of the budget plan would cut projected spending for Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, as well as food stamps, student loans and other social programs that Obama and Democrats have pledged to defend. Do you think this “middle class” guy from “Wisconsin” can help old Money Mitt out??? Source Source 2 AP Images
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Money Makin’ Mitt Adds Paul “Put Grandma In A Home” Ryan To His Ticket As VP And Accidentally Intros Him As Next Prez Of The US!
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Tagged black celebrity gossip, chase, democrats, Hollywood, House, party, patron, running, student loans, the side-eye, wife, wisconsin
Great news, fellas: she’s done it again. A slew of Miranda Kerr nude photos have been released online, as one of the least shy models around is baring it all once more. This time, the gorgeous brunette poses in a pair of Hermes boots, telling Harper’s Bazaar that her fashion is “all about keeping things simple and feeling comfortable in what I am wearing.” That much, as you can see below, is evident…. “I really love over-the-knee boots,” adds the wife of Orlando Bloom. “I think they’re super sexy and they’re fun. And they’re also very strong and empowering.” Wait… what? Oh. Right. Kerr is wearing boots in these pictures. We forgot. Our attention was elsewhere.
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Miranda Kerr: Naked in Harper’s Bazaar!
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The Campaign , the new comedy starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, faces the challenge that troubles all political satires these days, which is coming up with material that can rival what’s actually happening in the news. And that’s not a point made in some hacky stand-up comedian way — “Those crazy folks in D.C., am I right?” No, it has become a legitimate, daunting task to come up with anything that can surpass, for instance, the wild reality show that was the recent Republican primaries. Director Jay Roach has, of late, mixed HBO dramatizations of contemporary political events like Game Change into a career otherwise dedicated to comedies like the Austin Powers franchise and Meet the Parents . The Campaign should theoretically fall nicely into the Venn diagram intersection between these two realms, but while frequently funny, it’s a film that also feels disconcertingly and disappointingly mild, ignoring all sorts of specific, choice ammunition in favor of a storyline about how far political discourse has gotten from actual issues (while itself skirting any actual issues). The villain in this case is unassailably soulless “big money,” embodied by Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow, playing scheming billionaires whose real-life counterparts you may just be able to make out from the fact that they’re named the Motch brothers — and even in that, the film doesn’t really have any sting. It feels akin to setting a film in North Korea and then filling it only with jokes about accidentally ordering dog meat at restaurants. There’s a giant elephant (and donkey) in the room. As a goofball comedy, at least, The Campaign generally works, pitting Ferrell at his most obliviously pompous against Galifianakis in full, mincing weirdness. Ferrell’s Cam Brady is the incumbent Congressman in the fictional 14th district of North Carolina, a Democrat (not that, as mentioned, it matters in the least) with a ferociously ambitious wife (Katherine LaNasa), two kids and an apparently steady, unchallenged political career. But after a sex scandal involving a misdirected answering machine message tarnishes his image, Brady’s position doesn’t seem as secure, and the Motchs decide to fund an opponent who’ll favor their interests. Their pick is the cardigan-and-turtleneck wearing doofus Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), who has no experience or anything else to recommend him for the job except that his father (Brian Cox) is a former Republican bigwig. He desperately wants to prove himself to his dad, and with the help of Motch agent Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott) as his campaign manager, he starts shaping up to be a viable candidate. Most of The Campaign deals with the increasingly absurd escalation in hostilities between the opponents, with Brady launching the first salvo against his naive opponent at a bipartisan brunch and the action quickly upping from there to spite sex and retaliatory “hunting accidents.” There’s a particularly rewarding recurring joke about a misdirected punch, an absurd take on a politician’s nightmare that becomes an amusing twist on just what it would require to end a career these days. In that regard, the film has an entertainingly cynical take on how ridiculous moves, like the release of a sex tape campaign ad, result in a bump in the polls, likability competitions as bread and circuses for the masses. The Campaign gets mileage out of pandering to religious groups — Brady does a press day at a snake handling church, while Huggins salutes Jesus Christ as the “greatest American who ever lived” — but neither that nor the repeated cracks about the candidates’ non-answers, filled with talk of “freedom” and “jobs” and no actual content, are exactly hard-hitting or fresh. Bits about Brady noting that Huggins keeps pugs, which are from China and therefore must be of Communist origin, or Huggins digging up a book Brady wrote in the second grade as evidence of his belief in the redistribution of wealth really don’t seem that far from actual, awful political attacks. There are plenty of practical reasons for The Campaign ‘s choice to remain non-partisan — isolating potential market share is, as the Motch brothers could surely tell you, bad business. But while funny enough, the film feels even smaller than its 85 minute runtime, like it runs through every last bit of the territory deemed safe to tread and just barely makes it to the credits at a credible feature length. Ferrell and Galifianakis both do what they’ve proven they can do so well in the past, while McDermott, clad in all black, is surprisingly good in a comedic role. You wish there was more for Aykroyd, Cox and Lithgow to do in their small and largely symbolic roles — Aykroyd and Lithgow in particular seem like they could have done more with a joke about disguising sweatshop labor that, while lifted from 30 Rock , is still a good one. At a dark moment in his career, Ferrell’s distraught Brady promotes the first person he sees in his office to the position of his campaign manager. The kid turnes out to be an intern, and the first thing the eager poli sci major brings up is that fact that we shouldn’t give tax breaks to corporations that outsource jobs. Brady immediately throws him out in favor of someone with a background in sports marketing. It’s cute, but it’s also what you’d imagine the process of conceiving of and writing The Campaign was like. Having a character land on stage at an election event playing a keytar in the midst of cheerleaders while fireworks go off? It pales in comparison to an actual Herman Cain ad . Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
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REVIEW: Mild Goofball Laughs Of The Campaign No Match For Real Life Political Circus
The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled its Canadian lineup Wednesday, including new work from Sarah Polley , Bruce Sweeney, Xavier Dolan, Michael McGowan and Bernard Émond. Today’s 19 titles will screen in the September festival’s various sections. The lineup also spotlights first-time feature work from Jason Buxton, Brandon Cronenberg, Igor Drljaca and Kate Melville. “Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the lineup present stories of youth and violence, coming of age, the environment, dysfunctional families, sex and celebrity,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “From intimate, affecting stories with big impact to films with global scope, the Canadian films in this year’s Festival will move audiences.” Toronto’s Canadian lineup with descriptions provided by TIFF : Special Presentations : Antiviral by Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. When he becomes infected with the disease that plagues superstar Hannah Geist, he must unravel the mystery surrounding her before he suffers the same fate. Starring Caleb Landry Jones and Sarah Gadon. Inch’Allah by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, Canada World Premiere Chloe is a young Canadian obstetrician working in a makeshift clinic within a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank where she treats pregnant women under the supervision of Michael, a French doctor. Facing daily checkpoints and the separation barrier, Chloe is confronted with the conflict and the people it affects. Her encounter with the war draws Chloe into an adventure that’s both deeply personal and as large as the land. From the producing team behind Academy Award®-nominated Monsieur Lazhar and Incendies. Laurence Anyways by Xavier Dolan, Canada Toronto Premiere In the 1990s, Laurence tells his girlfriend Fred that he wants to become a woman. In spite of the odds — and in spite of each other — they confront the prejudices of their friends, ignore the counsel of their families, and brave the phobias of the society they offend. For ten years, they try to live through this transition, and embark on an epic journey which, unbeknownst to them, may cost Fred and Laurence their love. Starring Suzanne Clément and Melvil Poupaud. Liverpool by Manon Briand, Canada Toronto Premiere A coat check attendant in a bar decides to take an unclaimed coat back to its owner, but soon finds herself in the middle of criminal intrigue. A regular of the bar has long harboured a secret love for the attendant — enough to put his life on the line to help her. Starring Stéphanie Lapointe, Charles-Alexandre Dubé and Louis Morissette. Rebelle by Kim Nguyen, Canada Toronto Premiere Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child the story of how she became a child soldier. A tale set in Sub-Saharan Africa, Rebelle is also a love story between two young souls caught in a violent yet beautiful and magical world. Starring Rachel Mwanza (winner of Silver Bear for best actress at Berlin International Film Festival), Alain Bastien and Serge Kanyinda. Still by Michael McGowan, Canada World Premiere Based on true events and boasting a veteran cast, Still is a heartfelt story about an 89-year-old New Brunswicker (James Cromwell) who faces jail time when the government tries to stop him from building a more suitable house for his wife (Geneviève Bujold), whose health is beginning to fade. Stories We Tell by Sarah Polley, Canada North American Premiere In this inspired, genre-twisting film, Academy Award-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who’s telling it. Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets behind a family of storytellers. She playfully interrogates a cast of characters of varying reliability, eliciting refreshingly candid, yet mostly contradictory, answers to the same questions. As each relates their version of the family mythology, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of a lively, fun-loving past and the shadows just beneath. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: a messy, intense and loving tangle of contradictions. Discovery : Blackbird by Jason Buxton, Canada World Premiere An alienated teenager’s online threat ignites fear in a small community, in this disturbing and perceptive look at how our media-fuelled, post-Columbine culture can transform typical teen angst into intimations of murder. Krivina by Igor Drljaca, Canada World Premiere Miro, an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia, lives in Toronto. He has a hard time relating to others and he never stays in one place for too long. When he finds out that his pre-war friend Dado, who has been missing for almost two decades, is now wanted for war-era crimes, his life starts to unravel. Upon hearing that Dado still visits Zljebovi, a village on the outskirts of Sarajevo, Miro embarks on a trip to Bosnia to find his friend. Picture Day by Kate Mellville, Canada World Premiere Forced to repeat Grade 12, Claire’s reputation is sliding from bad-ass to bad joke. At night, she escapes to would-be rock star Jim (aged 33), while at school, she bonds with Henry, a nerdy freshman she used to babysit. Eventually, Claire learns the difference between sex, intimacy and friendship. Tower by Kazik Radwanski, Canada North American Premiere Kazik Radwinski’s debut feature Tower is about a single and career-less man who lives at home with his parents in Toronto. He wanders alone in search of companionship and suddenly finds himself in an intimate relationship. Irritated by a raccoon that tears up his garbage, he sets out to catch it. Contemporary World Cinema : Camion by Rafaël Ouellet, Canada Toronto Premiere After being involved in a road accident causing the death of a woman, truck driver Germain’s world collapses as he feels an overwhelming sense of guilt and remorse. His state of mind starts to worry his younger son Samuel, who puts his own janitor job in Montreal on hold to track down his older brother, drifter Alain, in New Brunswick, hoping to head back together to their hometown to give some support to their father. The Crimes of Mike Recket by Bruce Sweeney, Canada World Premiere Bruce Sweeney (Last Wedding) returns to the Festival with this neo-noir police procedural — set against the backdrop of economic hard times — about a failed real estate agent (Nicholas Lea) whose recent attempt to turn things around makes him a suspect in a criminal investigation. Home Again by Sudz Sutherland, Canada World Premiere Home Again is about three adults raised “foreign” (in the USA, United Kingdom and Canada) from childhood and deported back to their birth country, Jamaica. Back “home” each discovers a different Jamaica from the paradise in vacation ads. We follow these three deportees on a journey for survival that surprisingly is filled with hope. My Awkward Sexual Adventure by Sean Garrity, Canada World Premiere To win back his unsatisfied ex-girlfriend, conservative accountant Jordan Abrams enlists the help of Julia — an uninhibited exotic dancer — to guide him on a quest for sexual experience, leading him into a world of strip clubs, sensual massage parlours, cross-dressing and S & M. The Lesser Blessed by Anita Doron, Canada World Premiere The Lesser Blessed is a powerful coming-of-age story about Larry, a Native teenager balancing his romantic heart with a dark past that threatens to unravel his life. Vanguard : I Declare War by Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson, Canada World Premiere A group of friends play an innocent game of capture the flag in the neighbourhood woods, arming themselves with nothing more than sticks, their imagination and a simple set of rules. One afternoon, the game takes on a more serious tone and the quest for victory pushes the boundaries of friendship, giving the would-be warriors a glimpse of the darker side of human nature. Masters : Tout ce que tu possèdes (All That You Possess) by Bernard Émond, Canada World Premiere A disgruntled academic refuses a substantial inheritance because the fortune was amassed dishonestly. Soon after, he is reunited with his teenage daughter whose mother he had abandoned when she was pregnant. From the filmmaker responsible for La donation and La neuvaine. Previously announced in the Masters programme: Peter Mettler’s The End of Time. TIFF Docs : Revolution Rob Stewart, Canada World Premiere The much anticipated follow-up film from the filmmakers of internationally acclaimed, box office hit Sharkwater, Revolution follows Rob Stewart on an adventure from photographer/filmmaker to environmental activist trying to change the world. Stewart faces danger, conflict and drama in his struggle to find the key to empowering the conservation movement so it can affect change on a global scale. Canadian films previously announced in the TIFF Docs programme include: Simon Ennis’ Lunarcy! , Jamie Kastner’s The Secret Disco Revolution and Barry Avrich’s Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinksy . Previously announced Canadian features include: Denis Côté’s Bestiaire (Wavelengths), Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable (Gala) and Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children (Gala).
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Toronto International Film Festival Adds 19 From Canada To Roster
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Ben Affleck ‘s come a long way since his 1998 Oscar co-win for Good Will Hunting , arguably the first time Hollywood stood up and took notice of the multi-hyphenate as more than just an actor; according to Variety, he’s now being sought after to direct WB’s Justice League , DC’s answer to Marvel’s billion-dollar rival franchise starter The Avengers . But even after the successes of modest-scale thrillers Gone Baby Gone and The Town , and with his buzzed-about forthcoming picture Argo poised for awards season, is the writer/producer/actor/director the right filmmaker to helm the superhero studio tentpole? Sources tell Variety that Affleck has been given the Justice League script as WB approaches him to direct, speculating further that he could additionally star in the pic. But take it all with a healthy grain of salt: Insiders tell Movieline that the report, while plausible, “is ridiculously vague and early.” That’s pretty much what the report sounds like, coming conspicuously just a day after Disney’s Bob Iger spilled the news that Joss Whedon will be coming back to helm Avengers 2 . So somebody out there wants to gauge public opinion, generate a little Justice League buzz, stir the pot. Given the mixed reaction rippling through the blogosphere today, consider that pot stirred. The question is, would Affleck make a good choice for the Justice League movie? Notwithstanding the possibility that he’d star while simultaneously helming an epic megamillion-dollar production with billions of box office, a multi-film franchise, and the fiscal fate of the studio on the line — really, would he? Would anyone? — maybe he’d only take one job at a time in this case. Just maybe. What Gone Baby Gone did to put Affleck on the map as a bona fide seriouspants filmmaker to be taken seriously — if emphasized moreso because nobody really expected it of the guy who starred in Gigli — The Town amplified with its gritty genre leanings. Argo looks to be his most ambitious directing project to date, advancing from tidy Boston-set thriller to multinational historical-political drama. Project by project, Affleck is fine-tuning his sensibilities, widening his reach and skillset with each progressive (and well-chosen) film. Based on his two features to date, Affleck’s a decent but promising director, adept at balancing ensembles and gritty material and great with his actors. The critical and commercial success of The Town most recently demonstrates what any studio with most superhero movies in the post- Batman Begins age is aiming for — the ability to deliver complex, acclaim-worthy material while satisfying audiences. Variety’s report adds more ambiguity to the mix by noting that Affleck is also considering an offer to topline Greg Berlanti’s Replay at Warners, a Groundhog Day -esque sci-fi drama about a man who dies only to wake up, able to live out different potential life paths over and over. Back in 2010 Affleck was reported to be mulling the project, based on Ken Grimwood’s 1987 novel, only then — on the heels of The Town — he was looking to direct. I see Affleck more likely to continue along this route, building a directing resume out of smaller, character-driven dramas for grownups. Then again, he’s already brought Superman to the big screen once before, donning the spandex for Hollywoodland . Should he do it again? [ Variety ]
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Talkback: Who Wants Ben Affleck To Direct Justice League?
Hope Springs is not what it says on the package. The trailer is all comedy and quirk, but the movie is not. Let’s face it though, the premise is a hard sell. Films about old people are an anathema to mainstream Hollywood. Since the success of Cocoon — which featured its over-50 cast rejuvenated by a swimming pool containing alien pods — movies featuring actors of a certain age are rare, and despite the success of Driving Miss Daisy , It’s Complicated and Meryl Streep’s last Oscar-winning vehicle, The Iron Lady , it is almost impossible to get a film made unless someone under 20 is pivotal to the script. Hope Springs is even more thorny because it is about a particularly unattractive aspect of marriage: Not the falling in love and getting married aspect, or the falling out and getting divorced phase, but rather, the living inside of an unhappy marriage angle. Surely this has to be pretty special to sustain our interest. Despite having the odds stacked against it, Hope Springs is, in parts, raw, moving, brave, audacious and painful thanks to the combined ability of Streep and Jones to commit fully to unhappy suburban mediocrity. Had the movie been made with two different lead actors, I surely believe the movie would have been unwatchable. Streep and Jones play Kay and Arnold, who, after 31 years of marriage, are mired in a relationship that is a form of living death. He is sutured to Golf Tips magazine and slavishly devoted to daily rituals. She follows him around with plates of food like a nurse. They sleep in separate rooms. There is no physical contact between them. They don’t even speak to each other anymore. For their wedding anniversary, they buy each other cable TV. While Arnold is grumpily in denial about the state of his marriage, Kay has the self-awareness to know she is unhappy. She browses Barnes & Noble, finds a book called You Can Have The Marriage You Want and books a week’s worth of intensive marital counseling in Maine with the author Dr Feld (a deadly serious Steve Carell). She then gets on the plane alone and waits to see if her husband will fill the seat beside her. Begrudgingly, Arnold joins his wife, and, unleashing his inner curmudgeon, begins to bitterly complain about the cost of everything related to their therapeutic sojourn. It is in the sessions with Dr Feld that the going really gets tough. From here on in, Hope Springs is like ripping off a series of well-stuck Band-Aids. The pain is palpable as Kay and Arnold discuss the loss of intimacy and their sex life and admit to the loneliness and anger that each suffers. As you might expect, the couple do attempt to resurrect their sex life, but watching this was about as comfortable as contemplating my parents getting it on. I was not alone either: these scenes provoked much nervous laughter at the screening I saw – and yet, the discomfort generated had much to do with the authentic performances that both actors give. Streep, as ever, is extraordinary. Her conviction to character makes Kay frumpy, vulnerable and not particularly bright. She is an ordinary woman without a whiff of glamour, and Streep conveys this with every hand gesture and facial expression. It is Jones’ performance that is the real revelation, however. His character has the furthest distance to travel and watching him do this is at the core of this film’s heart — and its heartbreak. In contrast to the nuanced and powerful work of these two titans, Hope Springs suffers from simplistic framework and some heavy-handed signposting. The soundtrack desperately tries to lift us up where we belong. There are endless shots of watches and clocks — presumably to emphasize the passing or running-out of time. The aesthetic is also very obvious. The suburban drab shifts visually as soon as the couple reach Maine. Dr. Feld’s office floods with sunlight the minute the pair of them have a relationship breakthrough. Then again director David Frankel is not renowned for his subtlety. The representation of the all-American family in Marley and Me made me want to throw myself under a bus. Which leaves us where, exactly? Hope Springs does authentically depict how scary and lonely it is to be inside a failing marriage, and anyone who has endured or witnessed the break-up of a long-term relationship will feel the sting here. In many respects, it’s a subject that deserves Hollywood’s attention and ours as well. Lately, movie audiences have been inundated with younger couples on celluloid that can’t make it past six years ( Celeste and Jesse Forever) or even six months ( Ruby Sparks ). The long run is relatively untapped territory and arguably much more interesting. But Hope Springs does not keep its eye on the prize. The movie is an unsatisfying combination of touching and excruciating, and a large part of the problem stems from Frankel’s attempt to hammer such serious and sensitive subject matter into a half-hearted comedy. Despite Streep and Jones’ honest, moving performances, the movie’s tone is horribly forced — so much so that by the time Annie Lennox’s poignant “Why?” played on the soundtrack, I felt like wailing along with her. Follow Lorien Haynes on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Also in Tuesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, actress Jennifer Lawrence is in negotiations for a hefty paycheck for the second installment of The Hunger Games . Kevin Costner is headed to join a new project. Wayne Wang will direct a basketball tale and big changes at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Marvin Hamlisch Dies at 68 He composed the scores for over 40 movies, winning three Oscars, four Emmys, a Tony for A Chorus Line and three Golden Globes. Films included The Sting , Sophie’s Choice , Ordinary People and Take the Money and Run , USA Today reports . Jennifer Lawrence Eyes $10 Million for The Hunger Games Sequel She reportedly received $500K plus bonuses for the first installment which has grossed $683.8 million worldwide, but she’s in final negotiations to return for Catching Fire in a package that could total around $10M range, THR reports . Dreamworks to Make Kung Fu Panda 3 in China DreamWorks Animation and Chinese partners announced plans Tuesday to co-produce the next Kung Fu Panda movie and develop an entertainment district in Shanghai, expanding Hollywood’s fast-growing ties to China, A.P. reports . Kevin Costner Eyes Kenneth Branaugh’s Three Days to Kill Costner has been offered the co-lead in the film that will star Chris Pine. He’ll play Ethan Renner, a government assassin who is dying. Before he goes, he is determined to reconcile with his daughter, while taking on one final mission, Deadline reports . Wayne Wang to Direct Basketball Story Brave Dragons The story is based on Jim Yardley’s new book about an NBA coach who moves with his wife to a Chinese industrial city to coach one of the worst teams in Chinese basketball, Deadline reports . Peter Scarlet Departs from Abu Dhabi Film Festival He will be replaced by Ali al Jabri as Festival Director. He has served as director of the Emirates competition for five years. Scarlet served as head for three years previously topped the Tribeca Film Festival and the San Francisco Film Society. This year’s festival will take place October 11 – 20, Screen Daily reports .
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Composer Marvin Hamlisch Passes at 68; Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 3 Heads to China: Biz Break
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Tagged Actors, Animation, chinese, daughter, dhabi-film, francisco-film, Hollywood, marvin hamlisch, medium, News, People, road, tv guide, wife
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