Jake in "Gooberballs"/ David Letterman show

Kirsten in Rehab

"Kirsten Dunst is snuggled in tight at the swank Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Utah for treatment for her addiction issues, but sources say that she is not doing well.

“She’s not doing well. People were pushing her to go in there but there was no intervention… She has been partying hard for a while and I’m sure the Heath Ledger thing put people over the edge. She’s been crying a lot lately, a lot built up. …Everybody hits that bottom where you feel [so] scared that that one heavy night of partying can really wake you up. It’s good she’s getting herself help.”

Things came to a head for Kirsten when she failed to show up for her own Glamour magazine party after a night are hard partying at the Sundance Film Festival. Her reps said she “wasn’t feeling well” but we all know that’s code for ‘she’s coming down and took a handful of Xanax to sleep.’
Source: www.Hollywoodbackwash.com

Legally blonde, woman of will

"Whether her character's husband is a terrorist or not isn't the crux of Rendition. More important is the question of the ethics and legality of the US government's policy in protecting people's safety. Gyllenhaal informs me in our interview, which follows Witherspoon's, that he received a letter from a lawyer whose client had his penis slashed with a razor blade during interrogation. He also directly quotes Streep's steely character in the film: "This is nasty business. There are upwards of 7000 people in central London alive tonight because of information that we elicited just this way from one person."

Rendition director Gavin Hood (an Oscar winner with Tsotsi) is not averse to admitting to using his cast's star power to bring the debate to a wider audience. He calls Witherspoon his "all-American girl Trojan horse". But the actress, despite having the distinction of being a direct descendent of John Witherspoon, a signatory to the declaration of American independence, refuses to be publicly drawn on her own standpoint on the issue.

The closest the Nashville-born actress has come to any kind of prejudice in her life, she says, is when she put the acting career she'd pursued since the age of seven on hold, aged 19, to study. Her fellow students at Stanford University felt she had only been accepted by the institution because she was an actress - despite the fact Witherspoon had applied under her birth name Laura (Reese is her middle name). She needn't have worried as, following her breakout role in the black comedy Freeway in 1996, she left her English literature studies after a year to focus solely on acting. Clocking impressive turns in twisted and edgy films such as Cruel Intentions (co-starring with Phillippe), Pleasantville and Election, Witherspoon wasn't really a household name until she played Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, a frivolous Hollywood comedy on paper. However, the bubbly actress injected such pathos and charm into the bushy-tailed Woods that she single-handedly vaulted the film's box office to the hallowed industry marker of $US100 million.

It prompted studio bosses to swiftly capitalise on their new marquee headliner. Sweet Home Alabama, the story of a white trash Alabama girl turned New York socialite, soon followed, topping even Legally Blonde's box office. Despite the actress's mainstream success continuing with the sequel to Legally Blonde, her acting CV isn't littered with the staple worthy dramatic films of an Oscar-winning actress who can command fees of $US15-$US20 million a film. Her increasing active role as a producer, she hopes, will change that.

Despite her shiny lot in life, Witherspoon had a rough ride dealing with her recent divorce proceedings, which called on all her Southern resolve. Actors are sometimes attracted to roles that reflect their own state of mind at the time and Rendition, filmed during her rocky period, is certainly her most dramatic role to date". Source: The Sun Herald www.smh.com.au

Movie Review: "Juno" (2007)

"Juno" (2007), directed by Jason Reitman ("In God We Trust", "Thank You for Smoking") and written by ex-stripper/blogger Diablo Cody, starts with Juno MacGuff, played by Ellen Page ("Hard Candy", "Mouth to Mouth", "An American Crime"), walking to a drugstore in a small suburb of Minnesota while drinking a gallon of Sunny Delight juice. She is a 16-year-old burn-out who was named Juno after Zeus’s wife: "She was supposed to be really beautiful but really mean. Like Diana Ross."Juno uses a particular slang with frequent private jokes, allusions to pop culture and to her preferred indie low-fi bands. After a first sexual encounter with her best friend, track runner Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, "Arrested Development", "Superbad"), she thinks she might be pregnant, so she takes three pregnancy tests under the sarcastic eye of the clerk, Rollo (Rainn Wilson) who makes a series of inappropriate remarks like, "So what’s the prognosis, Fertile Myrtle?"

When she discovers she's actually pregnant she goes to Paulie's home to give him the news (setting up part of a discarded living room's furniture on Bleeker's lawn): he reacts predictably, scared about Juno's future decision. His character will appear intermittently throughout the film, always as a loyal, if at times paralyzed, lovable nerd who adores Juno unconditionally, despite of her defiant attitude. And this is a type of role that we are accustomed to seeing in quirky American dramedies lately, a pattern in which atypical male lead and supporting characters are usually written, versus the Hollywood winner-jock-smartass prototype. In fact, in Juno the only jock who intervenes, Steve Rendazo (Daniel Clark), just serves as a device to make us despise the hypocrisy of the popular cliqués of high school: "Funny thing is that he secretly wants me. Jocks like him always want freaky girls. Girls with horn-rimmed glasses and vegan footwear and Goth makeup." Juno's voice-over continues to reveal to us the understated fascination that popular guys have with loser eccentric girls: "They just won’t admit it, because they’re supposed to be into perfect cheerleaders like Leah." Leah (Olivia Thirlby) is her slightly ditzy blonde friend, completely supportive of Juno when she's needed.We are also introduced to Juno's working class parents, Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons), who works as an HVAC specialist, divorced from Juno's biological mother and remarried to Bren MacGuff (Allison Janney) who works in a manicure beauty salon and is obsessed with dogs.After a hilarious exchange with Su-Chin (Valerie Tianan), an Asian "pro-life" demonstrator in front of the abortion clinic:

Juno: I know this girl who had a huge crazy freakout because she took too many behavioral meds at once. She took off her clothes and jumped into the fountain at Ridgedale Mall...

Su-Chin: I heard that was you.

Juno decides not to interrupt her pregnancy and instead she begins to look for a suitable couple to raise her future child, reading the classified ads in the Penny Saver. Juno chooses a wealthy couple, Mark Loring (Jason Bateman) and his wife Vanessa (Jennifer Garner), who live in upper suburban St. Cloud and they show Juno great hospitality and support, Juno reacting at the most embarrasing moments as usual, spouting snappy dialogue to relieve the tensions. Beneath this yuppie, ginseng-infusion drinking marriage, Juno will discover the reverse side of conjugal happiness between Mark and Vanessa, differences that deepen with Juno's arrival in their lives, as she shares maternity chats with Vanessa and jam sessions with Mark (where they make snobby references to gore cinema and discuss the peak of punk, indie music vs. music for ads, and Les Paul Gibson vs. Fender guitars). The film's soundtrack is mostly an off-beat collection of Kimya Dawson and her band The Moldy Peaches, plus The Velvet Underground, Cat Power, and oldies from Buddy Holly, The Kinks, and Mott the Hoople. Obviously impressed by Mark's rock culture knowledge, Juno pushes Paulie away from her adventures, encouraging him to go with another girl ("Soupy Sales") to prom. It's a sad time for them both, as they must reevaluate the dynamics and meaning of their relationship; fortunately in the last act of the film we'll witness the real Juno under her "hipster than thou" mask, she'll remember how much Paulie likes the orange tic-tacs and she'll come back to him because anyone else but him makes her feel she's with the coolest companion. Reitman's film is successful in exploring an oddball juvenile world from a different angle than most mainstream productions elude, but the small, sour and sweet details aren't excluded here".
Published yesterday in Blogcritics.org
A TRIBUTE VIDEO - "JUNO"

Tribute to Heath

On January 22, 2008, Ledger was found dead in his fourth-floor apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City.[20][21] He was found at 3:26 p.m. EST by a housekeeper and a massage therapist, who entered the bedroom to find him face down and unconscious at the foot of his bed with sleeping pills on a nearby night table.[22][23] Police said that they also found prescription medication in the bathroom and that there were "no obvious signs" of suicide, nor did they suspect foul play.[24]

An initial autopsy on January 23 proved inconclusive[25] at determining Ledger's cause of death. The medical examiner's office stated it will take about 10 days to complete the investigation.[26]In reaction to his death, former partner Michelle Williams was reported as saying that she was "devastated" at the loss and had boarded a plane to New York City.[28]

A friend of Ledger's, Helena Christensen, who was on her way to Heath's apartment when she learned of his death, paid a tribute "He was such a special and genuine person, so extraordinarily talented because he was so raw and honest with his feelings. He was so full of life, so electric. This is immensely sad."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd released a statement saying, "It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger... It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation's finest actors in the prime of his life."Source: www.flickr.com

Young actors

"In the wake of Heath Ledger’s tragic death, I contend that he was the most promising young actor working today. While we are all eagerly awaiting his portrayal of The Joker in this summer's The Dark Knight, his performances in Brokeback Mountain, Candy, I'm Not There, and Monster's Ball spoke for themselves. Now that he has died, we will never see what he was capable of, but it makes us wonder where he would have fit in. Because of this, here are the most promising actors under the age of 30. You can decide where Heath would have fit into this list, but if he was still living, I would have put him right at the top. He will be missed, but these men will continue on in his absence.
10) Seth Rogen (25)
Both Segel and Rogen first made it big as stars of Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks. I first became aware of Segel as Marshall on How I Met Your Mother, and he has gotten a lot of mainstream attention for his hilarious role as Rogen’s friend in Knocked Up. While Rogen has most of the buzz right now, I think Segel has more promise, which will be demonstrated in the forthcoming Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which he also wrote).9) Michael Cera (19)
The Superbad stars have had a quick rise to stardom over the past couple years with Cera emerging from Arrested Development and Hill starring in several comedies. I don’t know if either of these guys will be able to shake off their early screen personas, but if they can they certainly both have promise.6) Jake Gyllenhaal (27)
From his early films such as October Sky and Donnie Darko, Gyllenhaal has continued to develop towards a promising career. Recently, he has seemingly taken the next step with his roles in Jarhead, Zodiac, and of course his role opposite Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. With some more supporting roles, he could develop to be great.

5) Shia LaBeouf (21)
Who would have thought eight years ago that Louis Stevens would become a talented star of all genres? LaBeouf has become just that. He showed us in Transformers that he has a way about him that makes a great action star, who can bring humor to his roles. His role in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints proves that he has the dramatic prowess to do great things really soon.
4) Paul Dano (23)
It only took two films to skyrocket Dano up this list, but his performances in Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood are so good that his talent can not be denied now. While previous entries are merely promising, Dano has already arrived with these two awesome performances.3) Emile Hirsch (22)
It’s hard not to love The Girl Next Door (I mean, she is Elisha Cuthbert), but since Hirsch broke out with that film (also starring Dano), he has successfully tackled more dramatic fare in Lords of Dogtown (with Heath Ledger) and Into The Wild. Many believe he was snubbed for awards this year, but his time will come, albeit not for next year’s Speed Racer.2) James McAvoy (28)
Like Dano, it didn’t take much for McAvoy to make this list. Not only is he the star of this years Oscar contending Atonement, but he more than held his own opposite Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland. I personally thought he was better than Forest in that film (which is saying quite a lot), and really look forward to his future work.1) Ryan Gosling (27)
While he is probably most known for starring in every girl’s sleepover (a.k.a. his role in The Notebook), he has proved his worth through his Oscar nominated role in Half Nelson and his golden globe nominated performance in Lars and the Real Girl. Gosling, like others on this list doesn’t just have potential, but he has already displayed it. Like Heath Ledger, he has become selective with the roles he chooses, and is even more promising because of it.
Who do you think is today's most promising young actor?
Source: www.saltystix.com
I'd add also to this list at least three young actors I like:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Patrick Fugit.Ben Foster.

14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Ryan Gosling.Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.Kate Hudson.Ellen Page.Ellen Pompeo.Jena Malone.Marion Cotillard.