WEIRDLAND: Girls Next Door & Notable Films of 2010

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Girls Next Door & Notable Films of 2010

Kirsten Dunst in "California Style" magazine, December 2009.

Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire in "Spider-Man 2"
- Behind The Scenes


"The story of my life is not for the faint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tale, if somebody told you I was just your average guy, not a care in the world, somebody lied. But let me assure you, this, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl. That girl. The girl next door. Mary Jane Watson. The woman I've loved since before I even liked girls..." Spider-Man (2002)

"The Girl Next Door, Elisha Cuthbert, could have been Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man. It almost was Elisha Cuthbert, but the role went to Kirsten Dunst instead. Elisha auditioned for the role back in 2001 but apparently wasn’t cut out for that character". Source: www.elishacuthbertdaily.com

Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy in "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (1999).
Elisha Cuthbert in "The Girl Next Door" (2004).
Kirsten Dunst with Jake Gyllenhaal at Vanity Fair Oscars Party on 29th February 29, 2004, in West Hollywood, CA.

Kirsten Dunst and Elisha Cuthbert have in common several things, both are sort of muses for power pop band Weezer, slipping in one of their new songs from "Raditude" The Girl Got Hot, released on November 2009, an explicit reference to Kiki:
"Went to a party last Saturday night The band was doing their thing The moshpit started, and then the crowd parted And then was Kiki Dee". Kiki Dee is Kiki D (Kirsten Dunst).
Elisha Cuthbert appeared previously in a music video for Weezer titled "Perfect Situation" in 2006, where she played the lead singer, who in a narcissist fit left the group and Rivers Cuomo became the frontman of the band after her fictional departure (see & listen below):



Kirsten Dunst and Elisha Cuthbert are both nordic beauties with blonde hair, pale features, blue eyes and German surnames. Let's see some similar pictures of Kiki and Elisha:
Bright smiles:Wearing caps:Short hair look:Plaited hairdos: Wet hair look:Kirsten Dunst and Elisha Cuthbert are considerated mainly "girl next door" prototypes in Hollywood, they often play cute sassy chicks who transform the clueless male lead characters, lucky of stumbling across these girls just when they're going through an emotional resources shortage.

"The star is Emile Hirsch, who plays Matthew, a high school senior who is student body president despite being only mildly popular. He associates primarily with two oversexed dorks named Eli (Chris Marquette) and Klitz (Paul Dano), not because he's as bottom-rung as they are, but because he thinks he is.Matthew is destined for Georgetown in the fall, but his plans there are not specific. He feels the angst of uncertainty, the sadness of not knowing how he fits into the world. And then he meets Danielle.There's almost a feminist vibe to the film, in places, as the effect of pornography on women is discussed, and especially as it's made clear that Danielle lacks the self-esteem to try any other profession". Source: www.ericdsnider.com

Luke Greenfield and his Panavision camera.
He's going to direct next "Something Borrowed" (2011).

"Luke Greenfield has done a great job of directing, with great comic timing and the proper sensitivity. Most films go the very quickly tired American Pie direction of gross-out moments with no point. It quickly disposes of any virgin/whore complex and the best thing it does is take many segments of a world where everyone knows it all, but are more clueless than ever.
Its sincerity and authenticness reminded me at times of Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000) in that a young man is thrust into a young innocent kid is thrust into a raw adult world, while some of the triangular sexual politics reminds me of Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild (1986)". Source: www.fulvuedrve-in.com

Stephen Dorff and Elisha Cuthbert at "Old School" premiere, on 13th February 2003, Los Angeles.

The Notable Films of 2010: Part One
Born to Be a Star Opens: September 3rd 2010
Cast: Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Stephen Dorff, Don Johnson, Edward Herrmann
Director: Tom Brady

Summary: A small-town nerd learns his quiet and demure parents were famous porn stars in the 1970s. This motivates him to leave for Hollywood, hoping to follow in their footsteps and fulfill his destiny as the biggest adult-film star in the world.

Analysis: Co-written by Adam Sandler and helmed by the director of Rob Schneider vehicles "The Hot Chick" and "The Animal", the film may not star Sandler but his fingerprints are definitely all over it.
One could be sure that this was already set for some 'worst of' lists if it weren't for some of the clever supporting casting such as Don Johnson as a washed up porn director, and Stephen Dorff as a porn star named Dick Shadow.Black Swan Opens: Fall 2010
Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder
Director: Darren Aronofsky

Summary: A veteran ballerina finds herself locked in a competitive situation with a rival dancer, with the stakes increasing as the dancers approach a big performance. However it's unclear if the rival is a ghost or the ballerina herself is delusional.

Analysis: Darren Aronofsky's much anticipated first effort after the success of "The Wrestler" is a slow burn psychological thriller that should be compelling. A script review cites that much of the film is about following Portman's character through her day-to-day mundane life, lulling you into a false sense of security so that when the big moments happen they have a real impact.
The storyline itself about a rival that may be all in her head sounds fairly mundane admittedly, but the director has shown a real knack for taking that kind of material and giving us a whole new and fresh perspective on it that ventures into some very dark territory.Elisha Cuthbert and Mila Kunis in "Maxim" magazine.

Early drafts had a rather hardcore lesbian sex scene between Portman and Kunis that, while I couldn't frankly care less about, much of the male population that reads film scoops has already spanked one out to the idea of.Hudgens herself played coy about the scene in an interview which means it may not show up at all, but if it does there's a guaranteed box-office boost right there.

Chloe Opens: 2010
Cast: Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Max Thierot
Director: Atom Egoyan

Summary: A successful doctor suspects her husband is cheating on her and hires an irresistible young woman, Chloe, to test his fidelity. Chloe's torrid tales of her encounters take Catherine on a journey of sexual and sensual re-discovery which soon puts her family in great danger.

Analysis: Art house darling Egoyan ("Adoration," "Where the Truth Lies", "Ararat") returns with this erotic thriller that is apparently quite explicit, no surprise considering the helmer didn't write this film for a change but rather used a script by Erin Cressida Wilson ("Secretary").
The promise of nudity, eroticism and lesbianism on the part of Seyfried and Moore should definitely pull in the punters, but hopefully they'll walk out thinking about more.
Greenberg Opens: March 12th 2010
Cast: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, Mark Duplass, Brie Larson
Director: Noah Baumbach

Summary: At a crossroads in his life, Roger Greenberg ends up housesitting at his brother's home in Los Angeles. There, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with his brother's assistant which leads to an uncertain and wonderfully vulnerable courtship.

Analysis: With work that includes penning the scripts for "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Life Acquatic", along with writing and directing the acclaimed "The Squid and the Whale" and "Margot at the Wedding", Noah Baumbach is seen by high-brow cinemagoers as amongst the strongest filmmaking talents working today.
The likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Mark Ruffalo were considered for key roles in the drama/comedy which is getting its premiere at Sundance in January. Should it go well, distributor Focus Features will likely push this one out with some strong promotion despite Baumbach's films never proving box-office draws beyond a very small fanbase.
The Crazies Opens: February 26th 2010
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Danielle Panabaker, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson
Director: Breck Eisner

Summary: A remake of George A. Romero's 1973 film of the same name. The story revolves around the inhabitants of a small Kansas town who are beset by death and insanity after a plane crash lets loose a secret biological weapon into the water supply.

Analysis: The recent rash of horror remakes have generally been rather poor, though one notable exception was Zack Snyder's impressive retooling of Romero's "Dawn of the Dead".
Source: www.darkhorizons.com

No comments :