WEIRDLAND

Friday, July 02, 2010

Angela Featherstone in "Wake", films shot in Arizona

Ben Stiller as Jerry Stahl in "Permanent Midnight" (1998)

"Initially, I sat down with Dan to discuss our overall approach. His years of experience on films such as PERMANENT MIDNIGHT and THINNER, as well as the television series “Dexter”, allowed him to edify me on the various strategies to make the music most effective. Together, we decided to use non-original pieces to reflect the style of the film, time and place, which further cements the audience into the “world.”

I first worked with Henry on ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE and understood his encyclopedic knowledge of songs of all genres, both new and old, would be a remarkable asset" -Notes from "Wake" director Chad Feehan. Source: www.bringoutthetruth.com

Chad Feehan’s psychological thriller “Wake” has been picked up by IFC Films, the company said Wednesday. The film, which stars Josh Stewart, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Chris Browning, Angela Featherstone and Afemo Omilami, made its world premiere in March at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. IFC, which took North American rights to the feature, will release the film via its IFC Midnight on demand platform which brings films to on-demand viewers across the country.

"Wake" official trailer video.

Writer-director Chad Feehan (right) talks with actor Josh Stewart on the Amboy, California set of WAKE. PHOTO: Thomas Young / The Fort

Jamie Lynn Sigler, director Chad Feehan, actors Josh Stewart, Chris Browning, Angela Featherstone and Afemo Omilami at the opening night of "Wake" in SxSW Festival on March 12, 2010.

“Wake” centers on Paul (Stewart) and Adrienne (Sigler) as they travel to a wedding in Los Angeles through the Mojave Desert. Road-weary, they decide to stop for the night at lonely Roy’s Motel and Cafe. This roadside artifact proves to be a strange and surreal place with an unsettling mix of travelers, including a sketchy front-desk manager and his promiscuous wife.

“Chad’s film is a really good scare and great fun, and a reminder to all of us that we shouldn’t stop at shady motels in deserts,” commented IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring in a statement. Source: www.indiewire.com

Remember a very old Jake Weird entry about a casual encounter between Jake & Jamie-Lynn Sigler?: "While Matthew McConaughey and Lance Armstrong have been making the Miami nightlife rounds, pal Jake Gyllenhaal has been partying in the Big Apple. The actor recently hit New York City hot spot Butter, where he made his way to Jamie-Lynn Sigler's booth, and with a Corona beer in hand, he rocked out to Fergie's "London Bridge." Later, he started dancing with one of the Sopranos star's brunette friends. Source: www.People.com

"Josh Stewart and Jamie-Lynn Sigler both possess a dichotomy of aggressiveness and vulnerability that complement or conflict in turn. It is the perfectly timed balance of those emotions which carries the story forward. Three other characters lead the ensemble cast. Chris Browning (Frank) runs the motel and Sandy (Angela Featherstone) is his lover. Browning is frightening yet sympathetic, a peculiar quality which he so elegantly pulls off here. Featherstone is ever-changing in mood as well. The interplay between the two is key, played out in similar fashion to Stewart and Sigler". Source: www.pronetworks.org

ANGELA FEATHERSTONE (Sandy) ended her teenage years as a top Canadian fashion model, working with such great photographers as Irving Penn, David Bailey and Bruce Weber, appearing on the cover of ITALIAN VOGUE, and dubbed by THE NEW YORK POST’s Page Six as “the Kate Moss of Canada.” But for her life’s work of acting she downplayed her striking features to play unlikely roles, emerging as an actress with exceptional versatility who has worked continuously since arriving in the US.

From the album: "Making Wake" by Angela Featherstone

Featherstone recently starred as Kris in the 1st & 2nd seasons of the LOGO network original series “Exes & Ohs” (nominated 2008 GLAAD Award Comedy Series). She is featured in WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2008 and THE SOLOIST directed by Joe Wright which was released in 2009

In 2007 Featherstone performed in an AFI short titled “Mother” for director Sian Heder, for which Featherstone won rave reviews and numerous awards including Cannes Film Festival, Cinefondation and the Grand Jury Prize at the Seattle and Florida Film Festivals and a Methodfest nomination for Best-Actress-in-a-Short.
Angela Featherstone by Gabor Jurina for the 30th Anniversary
issue of FASHION magazine

Angela Featherstone and Ben Stiller in "The Zero Effect" (1998)

Featherstone was featured prominently as Ben Stiller’s neglected and frustrated live-in girlfriend in Jake Kasdan’s engaging comic mystery ZERO EFFECT (1998).

Angela Featherstone as Linda in "The Wedding Singer"

That same year, decked out in 1980's garb, the actress took a turn in the popular romantic comedy THE WEDDING SINGER as Linda, the woman who leaves Adam Sandler at the altar. She revisited that decade as part of the ensemble of 1999’s 200 CIGARETTES.

Next up was a supporting role in the computer hacker thriller TAKEDOWN starring Skeet Ulrich, following an appearance opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh as her wild friend Delores in the movie SKIPPED PARTS.

Other Movies Filmed in Arizona:

1969 - Easy Rider
Two long-haired bikers from Los Angeles take off on a cross-country trip. Stars Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper.

1987 - Raising Arizona
When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives get more complicated than they anticipated. Stars Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter.

Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in "Midnight Run"

1988 - Midnight Run
An accountant is chased by bounty hunters, the FBI, and the Mafia after jumping bail. Stars Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin.

1994 - Natural Born Killers
A violent film about mass murderers and the media that loved them. Stars Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey, Jr. Rated R.

Ben Stiller and Alan Alda in "Flirting with disaster"

1996 - Flirting With Disaster
Man departs on a mission of discovery dragging his wife and 4 month old son behind. Stars Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Tea Leoni, Alan Alda, Mary Tyler Moore.

2000 - Almost Famous
A high school boy is given the chance to write a story about a rock band as he accompanies it on a concert tour. Stars Billy Crudup and Frances McDormand. Rated R.

Jake Gyllenhaal in Jarhead (2005) - Arrival At The Rear (Deleted Scene)

2005 - Jarhead
Based on a former Marine's best-selling book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and fighting in Kuwait. Stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jaimie Foxx. Rated R.

2006 - Little Miss Sunshine
A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in a VW bus. Stars Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette. Rated R.

Emile Hirsch and Hal Holbrook in "Into the wild"

2007 - Into the Wild
After graduating from Emory University, a young man abandons his possessions, gives his entire savings to charity and goes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Stars Emile Hirsch, Marsha Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone. Rated R.
Source: www.cottonwoodhotel.com

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Megan Fox's dad is happy of marriage news

"Although Megan was primarily raised by her mother and stepfather after her parents' divorce, she credits Franklin with helping her pull of her Jonah Hex role as a weapons-wielding Frontier-era prostitute. "When I was 5 and 6 years old we went target shooting with shotguns. So I've handled a gun before - an enormous shotgun - when I was a little kid," she told MTV.

"My daughter looked very happy in the photograph that she sent me in what was a very private ceremony," Franklin added about the photo text message from Megan.

"I'm delighted for her and I've met Brian before and I think that he is a good guy and I hope they will be happy."

Fox broke millions of male hearts around the world when she got hitched to Green at The Four Seasons Hotel on Hawaii's Big Island last week. Fox and Green met on the set of Kelly Ripa's sitcom Hope And Faith in 2004 before getting engaged in 2006.

"We are in regular contact and I usually go and see her when she visits her sister in Florida," Franklin said. "I'm really thrilled for them both." Source: radaronline.com

"Highway" parts 1-3 subtitled in Spanish

"Highway with Jared Leto and Selma Blair. Jake’s character in Highway is something out of a Hunter S. Thompson novel. In fact, for better or for worse, it is obvious either Jake or the filmmakers had just come off viewing Johnny Depp’s performance in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when they brought Pilot Kelson to life. Highway, which bypassed theaters and was kicked straight to video, details the fleeing of two friends, Pilot and Jack (Leto), from Las Vegas. Jack got caught being overly amorous to the wife of an unpleasant individual with ruthless thugs working for him and to escape their wrath, Jack decides it is time to beat a hasty retreat.

He drags Jake’s character, who is obviously the smarter of the two but not necessarily the wiser, along for the ride and they head for Seattle. The film takes place in the ‘90s directly ensuing Kurt Cobain’s death and some attempts to bring fruit to bear from this plot point are made, with little success. In fact, most of the plot points of their journey; the massive quantities of drugs and Pilot’s dealing, Selma Blair’s ex-prostitute character, the deformed alligator boy Pilot becomes enthralled with; wind up at dead ends. The title of the film fits though, as it’s no so much the destination but the trip that make the film work on the subtle level it does. Highway stands as a character piece, and while it is by no means a great effort, it is a noble one by three young and inexperienced actors.

Jake stands apart though, as Pilot traverses a wide spectrum of behaviors and emotions. Leto (whose only real credit of note was his first on ”My So Called Life”) and Blair (who the camera is quite kind to, but who doesn’t possess much spirit) are outclassed by him consistently scene by scene". Source: www.pictureshowpundits.com

Prince of Persia: devastating CGI and gamey action scenes

Jake Gyllenhaal - Scans of Prince of Persia in Cinemark magazine (Brazil)

"Set in medieval Persia, Prince Dastan (Gyllenhaal) and his two brothers; Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) and Tus (Richard Coyle) head to Princess Tamina's (Arterton) holy city of Alamut, with their uncle Nizam (Kingsley) to stop the apparent supply of their enemy weapons. Dastan and Tamina have to evade capture for the killing of King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup).

They encounter many problems with the Dagger of Time. They then find their way to the Sandglass Caves, to stop Nizam undoing time to before Sharaman was crowned King.

To prevent Nizam, Dastan undoes time back to before the King was killed.

He attempts to kill Nizam, who dies by Tus' blade instead.

This leads to Dastan and Tamina talking about their destiny, looking longingly into each other's eyes.

On Dastan and Tamina's travels they come across Sheikh Amar (Alfred Molina) and his Ngbaka, knife-throwing bodyguard, Seso (Steve Toussaint).

Amar and Seso are great characters as they add an element of comedy, including Ostrich racing and knife throwing pinpoint accuracy.

The CGI used to show the devastating effects is really good, and looks incredibly realistic.

The story line is almost identical to its game counterpart, released in November 2003, just with a slightly different conclusion.

Boaz Yakin, Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro's screenplay is extremely well written, but with an unusual story line, laid out by the game-makers.

There were many action packed scenes, which were very gamey, but still very good.

If you are an avid historian you would have noticed that some of the scenes are historically inaccurate but aren't very noticeable, so don't ruin the story.

I think at time that the plot moved to fast to keep up with, but it was easy most of the time.

I would definitely recommend going to see it, if you have played the game or not". Source: www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk

Jake Gyllenhaal on Princes, Parkour and Accents

Jake Gyllenhaal watches the Boston Celtics play the LA Lakers at the NBA playoffs on 22 May 2010. He is also interviewed and through the clip you can see him enjoying the game.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Kristen Stewart - The Today Show Interview

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Kristen Stewart, looking ahead to "Twilight"'s end?

Zodiac and Brokeback Mountain in The Best Cinematography of the Last Decade

"That’s what 17,000 voters at American Cinematographer — the house journal of the American Society of Cinematographers — have expressed in a new poll, the results of which were slipped over Movieline’s transom this morning.

But back to the original question: Amélie? Really?

The methodology is a little… hinky: “AC asked its international audience of subscribers to nominate 10 films released between 1998 and 2008 that they believed had the best cinematography,” the release notes. “A final ballot listing the 50 most popular nominees was then posted on the ASC website, and the final vote was open to the public. More than 17,000 people around the world participated.”

And somewhere — and somehow — along the line, Bruno Delbonnel’s admittedly lovely work trumped Emmanuel Lubezki’s watershed Children of Men. Chris Doyle’s amazing shooting on In the Mood for Love isn’t even in the Top 10:

1. Amélie: Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC (2001)
2. Children of Men: Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (2006)
3. Saving Private Ryan: Janusz Kaminski (1998)
4. There Will Be Blood: Robert Elswit, ASC (2007)
5. No Country for Old Men: Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (2007)
6. Fight Club: Jeff Cronenweth, ASC (1999)

Heath Ledger as The Joker and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight

7. The Dark Knight: Wally Pfister, ASC (2008)
8. Road to Perdition: Conrad L. Hall, ASC (2002)
9. Cidade de Deus (City of God): César Charlone, ABC (2002)

10. American Beauty: Conrad L. Hall, ASC (1999)

The remaining selections are below. Biggest omission? Probably Peter Deming’s contributions to Mulholland Drive, right? Only one Robert Elswit film seems a pretty grave oversight as well, considering Good Night and Good Luck, Magnolia and even the underrated Punch-Drunk Love.

11. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Deakins)

12. Tie: In the Mood for Love (Christopher Doyle, HKSC, and Mark Li Ping-bin) and Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Navarro, ASC)

13. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Andrew Lesnie, ASC, ACS)

Kirsten Dunst as Mary in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

14. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Ellen Kuras, ASC)
15. Gladiator (John Mathieson, BSC)
16. The Matrix (Bill Pope, ASC)
17. The Thin Red Line (John Toll, ASC)
18. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (Kaminski)
19. Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF)
20. Tie: Eyes Wide Shut (Larry Smith, BSC) and Requiem for a Dream (Matthew Libatique, ASC)
21. Kill Bill (Robert Richardson, ASC)
22. Moulin Rouge (Donald M. McAlpine, ASC, ACS)
23. The Pianist (Pawel Edelman, PSC)
24. Hero (Doyle)
25. Black Hawk Down (Slawomir Idziak, PSC)
26. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Deakins)
27. Babel (Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC)
28. Lost In Translation (Lance Acord, ASC)
29. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Peter Pau, HKSC)
30. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Claudio Miranda, ASC)
31. The Man Who Wasn’t There (Deakins)
32. The New World (Lubezki)
33. Sin City (Robert Rodriguez)
34. Atonement (Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC)
35. Munich (Kaminski)
36. The Prestige (Pfister)
37. Memoirs of a Geisha (Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS)
38. The Aviator (Richardson)

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith in Zodiac (2007)

39. Zodiac (Harris Savides, ASC)
40. The Insider (Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC)
41. Gangs of New York (Michael Ballhaus, ASC)

Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain (2005)

42. Tie: Brokeback Mountain (Prieto) and The Fountain (Libatique)
43. The Fall (Colin Watkinson)
44. The Passion of the Christ (Caleb Deschanel, ASC)
45. Snow Falling on Cedars (Richardson)
46. House of Flying Daggers (Xiaoding Zhao)
47. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Eric Adkins)

Source: www.movieline.com

Kristen Stewart Can Cook, Taylor Lautner Confirms

Kristen Stewart Can Cook, Taylor Lautner Confirms
"I cooked dinner for 20 people; I was really proud of myself," the 20-year-old told MTV News at the red carpet for a special screening of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" in New York on Monday night.

"I get really embarrassed when people ask me what I cook, for some reason," she added. "I shouldn't say that I cook anymore. There was like a big BBQ situation and, like, a bunch of steaks and veggies, and I made chicken piccata. I'm so embarrassed right now. But I made homemade marinara sauce starting at, like, 2 in the afternoon. It wasn't done until 8. It was incredible. The 'Twilight' cast showed up."
But even though Taylor Lautner is a fan of Stewart's cooking, he didn't get an invitation to the big feast. Maybe it was a vampires-only meal?
"I have sampled her food," he said, when he heard about the dinner party. "I was not at the feast, Kristen. But I have tried her food."

Kristen Stewart visits Live With Regis & Kelly

Kristen Stewart visits Live With Regis & Kelly on June 29, 2010

David Letterman- Kristen Stewart's Pack of Wolves

David Letterman- Kristen Stewart's Pack of Wolves

Megan Fox marries Brian Austin Green in Hawaii

Now that they're officially hitched, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are wasting no time showing off their rings! Check them out.

Sorry, boys--the "Jonah Hex" hottie is officially off the market after tying the knot with beau Brian Austin Green last week!

"It took two engagements, but Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green finally made it legal.

Reports the couple were married at the Four Seasons Hotel resort last weekend while vacationing on the big island of Hawaii were confirmed to PEOPLE early Tuesday. "Yes they are married," a rep for Fox says.

Fox, 24, and Green, 36, who met in 2004, initially got engaged in November 2006, only to call it off in February 2009. At the time, a source said the decision was "mutual". Source: www.people.com