A friend of mine told me that when he went to see Blue Velvet in New York back in 1986, a small fire broke out somewhere in the theater in the middle of the movie. As wisps of smoke began to drift across the audience, people started to rise up out of their seats.
The cast of David Lynch's "Twin Peaks'' takes a break from their lumber town duds: Lara Flynn Boyle and James Marshall (as the heartwarming but devious duo Donna and James), Eric Da Re (as bad boy Leo), Dana Ashbrook (as the violent teen lover Bobby), and Sheryl Lee (as Laura Palmer and Laura's cousin Madeleine-- which one do you think Is really dead?).
Big tits are back in the limelight. Celebrities and designers agree, it's fun to dress 'em up and take 'em out.
It's hard to believe she had a life before Carrie Bradshaw -- but in 1990, Sarah Jessica Parker was a young, displaced Ohio girl, living in one of Hollywood's most historic homes with then fiance Robert Downey Jr. Check this profile out and see for yourself.
"I hope I'm not repeating what happened to Orson," director Peter Bogdanovich fretted shortly after The Last Picture Show, his breakout movie, debuted to hosannas at the 1971 New York Film Festival. "You know, make a successful serious film like this early and then spend the rest of my life in decline." It was hardly surprising that a former film critic such as Bogdanovich would summon the specter of Welles, whose name personifies the punchline of Hollywood's most famous "Too Much, Too Soon" joke. What was surprising, however, was the sheer scale of the 32-year-old Cinderella's self-delusion in comparing himself to Welles.
Cinematic stylists Joel and Ethan Coen, the sly young kidders who wrote/directed/ produced 1984's Blood Simple and 1987's Raising Arizona, have a reputation for putting underappreciated actors into eye-opening roles. In their new, exquisitely plotted gangster saga, Miller's Crossing, they've cast Dublin-born Gabriel Byrne in the lead as Tom, the Irish mob lieutenant who does the right thing and loses his soul for it.
It's the oldest story in Hollywood, the tale of an unfulfilled promise. "I coulda been a contender," wails Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront--and so, it seems, the following eight actresses coulda been stars but had to settle for a spot far further outside the winner's circle than was initially predicted. By no means down for the count, all nevertheless share the experience of missing the moment that might have made all the difference. We asked four writers to tell us how they did it.
Most of the films Joie Lee has acted in so far have been those of her brother Spike Lee. This is no comment on her talents, which are many. It's just the way it is. Besides, Spike's films are better than most. And he makes them in New York, where Joie lives. But today she finds herself in a makeup chair in photographer Firooz Zahedi's L.A. studio, getting ready--getting made up--for a photo shoot to promote Spike's latest, Mo' Better Blues.
Spoiled, pudgy, addicted and wild used to be our perception of actress Drew Barrymore--that is until we met her, and found her slim, radiant, cleaned-up and trying to move on with her life.
Charlie Sheen talks about stealing, cheating, lying and the bad vibe gun that shot his former fiancée.
Was Alfred Hitchcock a sadist? Yes. So, let's move on to the next question: What kind of sadist was he? Joe Queenan gives us his thoughts on the matter after holding his own two-month Hitchcock video festival.
All great directors are, in some sense, actors. But when actors decide to become directors--watch out.
Summer Slink
Kelly Preston comes from the land of eternal summer, Hawaii, and she was born summer-sultry. So when she eyes the early summer cloudbank along the Southern California coastline and announces, "I'm ready for a change in climate," she may just be longing for the tropics.
FILM NEWS 