Sunday, February 11, 2007

THIS WEEK'S BRIEFING

  • If you're looking for the perfect Valentine's Day movie, you can't do better than Music and Lyrics (trailer), the new romantic-comedy starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. This may sound strange coming from a straight male, as we are definitely not the target audience for this film. But despite my low expectations that I would enjoy the film, I attended a press screening of the film because we were invited to bring a guest, and I thought my guest might. So, what did I think? I'm man enough to admit that it was actually very funny and amusing. (a) The music video sequence alone is worth the price of admission; (b) several of the songs are very good and still stuck in my head days later, especially "Pop Goes My Heart" and "I've Been Living with a Cloud Above My Head," which Warner/Elektra/Atlantic Music will do very well with; and (c) oddly enough, there is quite a bit of chemistry between the two leads, who are backed up by a first-rate supporting team of character actors. Check the film out before you call me crazy...

  • Weird: speaking of "Pop Goes My Heart," I found that there was a 1934 Warner Brothers cartoon episode with a very similar name... (info and freeze frame courtesy of Dave Mackey)

  • Working to get up a transcribed version of my recent chat with Venus star Jodie Whittaker, who has been grossly under-recognized for her incandescent debut opposite the legendary Peter O'Toole in the British film. It's coming along slower than usual, however, partly because I've been very busy with other things, and partly because Whittaker's thick accent in the film is not put on... it has a certain charm about it, but it is sometimes not easy to understand! Anyway, coming soon.

  • Lastly, something else to look forward to: On Monday, I'll be speaking with Jackie Earle Haley, who received a Best Supporting Actor nomination a few weeks ago for his creepy, showstopping comeback in Little Children. Rumor has it that Haley is actually a heckuva nice guy who has had a rough go of it since his early days as a child actor in films like The Bad News Bears and Breaking Away, and that he drew on his own mother's relationship with his drug-addicted brother (who later tragically overdosed and died) for his performance. Looking forward to seeing what he has to say.
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