"From the start of his career with “The Twenty-Seventh City”, Mr. Franzen has been ambitious, striving to write a Big American Novel that might capture a national mind-set, and this novel is no exception. Its title, “Freedom”, announces a theme that runs like a riptide beneath the narrative — lots of talk about what liberty means in terms of being free of familial responsibilities and ideological beliefs, and the rootlessness and dislocation that often follow in its wake.
Rather, it is Mr. Franzen’s characters and his David Foster Wallace-esque ability to capture the absurdities of contemporary life — where the planet is “heating up like a toaster oven” and people use credit cards to buy a pack of gum or a single hot dog (“I mean cash is so yesterday”), where rage among liberals and conservatives alike is scorching the country in the George W. Bush years, and intemperate blog entries and Howard Beale-like outbursts are cheered as expressions of a collective distemper". Source: www.nytimes.com
"The Great American Novel has likely gone the way of the Great American Radio Drama. But I hope not. I hope that books like Freedom will still play a role in the culture, still engage us in a serious conversation about the anachronistic things that matter most — our families, our lovers, our country, our planet. Freedom reminds us just how much these things matter, reminds us that they matter more than Scotch and jeans and Jake Gyllenhaal. It lets us know that these things are worth thinking and fighting and maybe even reading about". Source: www.esquire.com
Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal - Scan of "Love and other drugs" in Entertainment Weekly
Why not try to get freedom, scotch and Jake Gyllenhaal (preferably all together in the same session), it's not as if they are incompatible...
Monday, August 16, 2010
Jake Gyllenhaal taking Ramona to a Birthday Party
Jake Gyllenhaal taking Ramona to a Birthday Party in LA on 15th August 2010 Pictures courtesy of Iheartjakemedia.com
More cute activities with children:
Michelle Williams with her 4-year-old daughter, Matilda Ledger, taking a funquadricycle ride around Toronto, on 14th August 2010 Reese Witherspoon and her boyfriend, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, take her kids Ava and Deacon to attend a morning church service on 15th August 2010 in Culver City, California
Amber Heard helped Yo Gabba Gabba! (children’s program) build a home for Habitat for Humanity on 12th August 2010 in LynwoodAmy Adams with her daughter Aviana Olea
More cute activities with children:
Michelle Williams with her 4-year-old daughter, Matilda Ledger, taking a funquadricycle ride around Toronto, on 14th August 2010 Reese Witherspoon and her boyfriend, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, take her kids Ava and Deacon to attend a morning church service on 15th August 2010 in Culver City, California
Amber Heard helped Yo Gabba Gabba! (children’s program) build a home for Habitat for Humanity on 12th August 2010 in LynwoodAmy Adams with her daughter Aviana Olea
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Anna Kendrick talks Scott Pilgrim at Craig Ferguson Late Show
Taylor Lautner: Kristen is a great kisser/Breaking Dawn
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson on the set of "On the Road" in Montreal on 12th August 2010
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" has opened up new production offices in Baton Rouge, filming is scheduled from November 1 - March 15. Source: twitter.com/prodweek
Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart in Twilight saga "Eclipse" (2010)
-What’s different this time with Eclipse?
-Honestly, I was disappointed. There were many action scenes for Jacob, but when the best stuff happens, Jacob is in his wolf form, so they left out some of the stuff I did on my own. At least I got to kiss Kristen for the first time ever. That was the best. She’s a great kisser.
-What do you think about Breaking Dawn being two movies?
-It’s a great idea. It’s hard to adapt a 500 page book into a 110 page script. And Breaking Dawn has 800 pages. The storylines are a bit more complicated with all the wolfpack stuff and the baby. It’s too much. One movie is not enough". Source: en.twilightpoison.com
"Breaking Dawn" Scenes that Need to Make It into the Movie:
Edward & Bella's Wedding
"Their long-awaited nuptials happen quite early on in the book, much to the delight of fans of the will-they-or-won't-they couple. It's a family affair that almost runs smoothly, no thanks to Jacob almost wolfing out when he learns that Bella plans to become a vampire. It's a testosterone-fueled scene, with the boys once again facing off, much to Bella's dismay (we bet she's secretly happy, really — who wouldn't want Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner fighting over her?!). The wedding, itself, has its moments, with the high point being the vows and Edward removing Bella's borrowed garter with his teeth. If that doesn't make it into the movie, Melissa Rosenberg will have a lot to answer for.
The Isle Esme Honeymoon
Calm down, ladies — we're almost positive this whole chapter will make it into the movie. It's the perfect opportunity to feature a topless Robert Pattinson during his impromptu celebratory skinny-dip, and it's also the first time Edward and Bella have sex. That said, it's not nice sex — it's Edward at his headboard-breaking, pillow-biting best, with Bella getting a little bruising during this most monumental of moments (not to mention extremely pregnant), which might not make it into the final cut of a PG-13 movie. We're just sayin'.
Jacob Forming His Own Wolf PackJacob is totally fuming throughout Breaking Dawn, which is understandable, really, seeing as Edward has stolen his one true love and future mother of his pups. He narrates the second part of the book, and gives us an awesome insight into his mind. He's a funny guy, that Jacob Black. Unfortunately, The Pack are planning to kill Bella and her freaky fast-growing unborn child, and Jake doesn't like that AT ALL. He's still madly in love with her, you see, so he decides to break off from the pack and form his own, with Seth and Leah Clearwater for company. This scene could be the turning point for movie Jacob — it'd gain him some new admirers, and give Taylor Lautner a chance to shine. If it doesn't make it to the big screen, Taycob fans will probably start writing their hate mail straight away. Are you prepared for that, Summit?Renesmee's Birth
This scene is where The Twilight Saga take a turn for the gruesome. It's like something out of Alien, only not quite as surprising. Bella's baby, Renesmee (yeah, don't ask), is now so huge, she literally breaks out of Bella's body, almost taking mommy's spinal cord with her in the process. Bella's nearly dead as a doornail before Edward realizes what he has to do to keep her alive — change her into a vampire. Like, now. So he injects his venom straight into her heart, then bites her. Many times. All over her body. It might sound hot, but it really isn't — it's all done in despair and with a savagery we haven't seen from Mr. Cullen before. It's the only scene that will push the PG-13 boundaries, but it's one that has to be included. The imagery will be awesome.
The Introduction of Other Vampire Clans
Towards the end of the book, the Cullens are preparing to take down the Volturi, yet again, and enlist the help of several vampire covens from all around the world. It looks like it's going to lead up to a huge battle, with casualties and bloodspill, but it doesn't. There is one good thing to come out of an otherwise redundant section, and that's a horde of new vampire characters. We meet the Amazon, Denali, and Irish covens, as well as the American Nomads. Some awesome characters are introduced, most notably Zafrina, Kate, and Garrett".
Source: www.reelzchanel.com
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" has opened up new production offices in Baton Rouge, filming is scheduled from November 1 - March 15. Source: twitter.com/prodweek
Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart in Twilight saga "Eclipse" (2010)
-What’s different this time with Eclipse?
-Honestly, I was disappointed. There were many action scenes for Jacob, but when the best stuff happens, Jacob is in his wolf form, so they left out some of the stuff I did on my own. At least I got to kiss Kristen for the first time ever. That was the best. She’s a great kisser.
-What do you think about Breaking Dawn being two movies?
-It’s a great idea. It’s hard to adapt a 500 page book into a 110 page script. And Breaking Dawn has 800 pages. The storylines are a bit more complicated with all the wolfpack stuff and the baby. It’s too much. One movie is not enough". Source: en.twilightpoison.com
"Breaking Dawn" Scenes that Need to Make It into the Movie:
Edward & Bella's Wedding
"Their long-awaited nuptials happen quite early on in the book, much to the delight of fans of the will-they-or-won't-they couple. It's a family affair that almost runs smoothly, no thanks to Jacob almost wolfing out when he learns that Bella plans to become a vampire. It's a testosterone-fueled scene, with the boys once again facing off, much to Bella's dismay (we bet she's secretly happy, really — who wouldn't want Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner fighting over her?!). The wedding, itself, has its moments, with the high point being the vows and Edward removing Bella's borrowed garter with his teeth. If that doesn't make it into the movie, Melissa Rosenberg will have a lot to answer for.
The Isle Esme Honeymoon
Calm down, ladies — we're almost positive this whole chapter will make it into the movie. It's the perfect opportunity to feature a topless Robert Pattinson during his impromptu celebratory skinny-dip, and it's also the first time Edward and Bella have sex. That said, it's not nice sex — it's Edward at his headboard-breaking, pillow-biting best, with Bella getting a little bruising during this most monumental of moments (not to mention extremely pregnant), which might not make it into the final cut of a PG-13 movie. We're just sayin'.
Jacob Forming His Own Wolf PackJacob is totally fuming throughout Breaking Dawn, which is understandable, really, seeing as Edward has stolen his one true love and future mother of his pups. He narrates the second part of the book, and gives us an awesome insight into his mind. He's a funny guy, that Jacob Black. Unfortunately, The Pack are planning to kill Bella and her freaky fast-growing unborn child, and Jake doesn't like that AT ALL. He's still madly in love with her, you see, so he decides to break off from the pack and form his own, with Seth and Leah Clearwater for company. This scene could be the turning point for movie Jacob — it'd gain him some new admirers, and give Taylor Lautner a chance to shine. If it doesn't make it to the big screen, Taycob fans will probably start writing their hate mail straight away. Are you prepared for that, Summit?Renesmee's Birth
This scene is where The Twilight Saga take a turn for the gruesome. It's like something out of Alien, only not quite as surprising. Bella's baby, Renesmee (yeah, don't ask), is now so huge, she literally breaks out of Bella's body, almost taking mommy's spinal cord with her in the process. Bella's nearly dead as a doornail before Edward realizes what he has to do to keep her alive — change her into a vampire. Like, now. So he injects his venom straight into her heart, then bites her. Many times. All over her body. It might sound hot, but it really isn't — it's all done in despair and with a savagery we haven't seen from Mr. Cullen before. It's the only scene that will push the PG-13 boundaries, but it's one that has to be included. The imagery will be awesome.
The Introduction of Other Vampire Clans
Towards the end of the book, the Cullens are preparing to take down the Volturi, yet again, and enlist the help of several vampire covens from all around the world. It looks like it's going to lead up to a huge battle, with casualties and bloodspill, but it doesn't. There is one good thing to come out of an otherwise redundant section, and that's a horde of new vampire characters. We meet the Amazon, Denali, and Irish covens, as well as the American Nomads. Some awesome characters are introduced, most notably Zafrina, Kate, and Garrett".
Source: www.reelzchanel.com
Angela Featherstone replies to Jake Weird
Angela Featherstone and Ben Stiller as Jess and Steve Arlo in "The Zero Effect" (1998)
Noir’s classic period began with the pulp magazines and novels of the ‘30s and films of the ‘40s and ‘50s, and ran its course in both media by the early ‘60s. But its presence and influence continues to be felt as writers and filmmakers reinvent and re-energize its forms, tropes and characters to explore these fertile if dark regions in more contemporary or even futuristic settings.
Valerie Stulman and Jessi Sundell Cramer each examines gender dynamics in noir, and what the treatment of women reveals about the fears and assumptions of the time; while Vicki Barras Tulacro takes a Lacanian approach to the recurring motif of the split self or doppelganger in noir". Source: www.connotationpress.com
Angela Featherstone in "Italian Bazaar" by William Garrett
John Cusack as Vince Larkin and Angela Featherstone as Ginny in "Con Air" (1997)
Noir’s classic period began with the pulp magazines and novels of the ‘30s and films of the ‘40s and ‘50s, and ran its course in both media by the early ‘60s. But its presence and influence continues to be felt as writers and filmmakers reinvent and re-energize its forms, tropes and characters to explore these fertile if dark regions in more contemporary or even futuristic settings.
Valerie Stulman and Jessi Sundell Cramer each examines gender dynamics in noir, and what the treatment of women reveals about the fears and assumptions of the time; while Vicki Barras Tulacro takes a Lacanian approach to the recurring motif of the split self or doppelganger in noir". Source: www.connotationpress.com
Angela Featherstone in "Italian Bazaar" by William Garrett
John Cusack as Vince Larkin and Angela Featherstone as Ginny in "Con Air" (1997)
Jake Weird: -Angela, Are you happy about what type of roles have you been playing and how they have evolved throughout your career?
Angela Featherstone: -"Yes! i am so happy! for along time i played whatever tough roles i could get- i was lucky- i got to play some great characters both drama and comedy- i just get rolling- practicing- and about 5 years ago i knew i was ready to go to the next level- my dream has always been to play the strong roles written for women in their 40's, 50's and 60's like Martha in 'who's afraid of virginia woolf, nurse ratchett in 'one flew over the cookos nest' and kim stanleys role in 'the goddess'...in 2005 i played the title role in the movie 'mother' it was there i felt my career really began- despite working for almost 12 years prior to that. to say i am so happy with the roles i have had in the last 5 years is an understatement and all the roles before that were a gift and my training ground ♥
Extra tidbit: Angela Featherstone's appearance in HUGE tv series will be in the episodes on 23rd August and 30th August 2010
Angela Featherstone: -"Yes! i am so happy! for along time i played whatever tough roles i could get- i was lucky- i got to play some great characters both drama and comedy- i just get rolling- practicing- and about 5 years ago i knew i was ready to go to the next level- my dream has always been to play the strong roles written for women in their 40's, 50's and 60's like Martha in 'who's afraid of virginia woolf, nurse ratchett in 'one flew over the cookos nest' and kim stanleys role in 'the goddess'...in 2005 i played the title role in the movie 'mother' it was there i felt my career really began- despite working for almost 12 years prior to that. to say i am so happy with the roles i have had in the last 5 years is an understatement and all the roles before that were a gift and my training ground ♥
Extra tidbit: Angela Featherstone's appearance in HUGE tv series will be in the episodes on 23rd August and 30th August 2010
Drugs and lovely pathological relationships
Love and Other Drugs Trailer 2010 HD
Jake Gyllenhaal as Jamie Reidy in "Love and Other Drugs" (2010)
Anne Hathaway as Maggie Murdock in "Love and other drugs" (2010)
"Talk surrounding Anne Hathaway's chances at securing an Oscar nomination for her performance as Maggie, a woman with Parkinson's, has been swarming for quite a while now as the trailer for Love and Other Drugs with Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) has just arrived.
Charles Randolph (The Interpreter) adapted the script from Jamie Reidy's nonfiction book "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman", which centers on Reidy (Gyllenhaal), a drug rep for Pfizer in the late 1990s who eventually wrote a memoir that shined a light on the practices of the pharmaceutical industry. Reidy begins a relationship with Maggie while on one of his sales calls. Their love story plays out in the political and social context of the time.
Hank Azaria and Ben Stiller in "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" (2009)
Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad and Gabriel Macht co-star"
Source: www.ropeofsilicon.com
Ben Stiller, Maria Bello and Jerry Stahl at "Permanent Midnight" Premiere, on 15th September 1998 in New York City.
Drugs can be inspiring for pathological relationships. Let's read some fragments from "Pain Killers" (2010) revolving around Manny Rupert, an ex-addict undercover private eye and his investigation at San Quentin prison:
"On top of which, it now looked like the real reason we split was so she could free herself up for a studly convict. An Aryan brother she could bone in a prison pump-wagon . . . Love! I’m leaving out some details. I had a sixteen-year-old daughter from an earlier marriage. Lola wrote occasionally to ask for money in her mother’s handwriting. She lived with my ex-wife, Donna, who did public relations for pharmaceutical firms. I was in love with her samples. Donna caught me riffling her bags for painkillers on our honeymoon. That was before I cleaned up. I talked my way out of it by saying I needed a Kleenex. Then she caught me again, stealing sample packs she was supposed to distribute to doctors".
Excerpted from "Pain Killers" Copyright © 2009 by Jerry Stahl.
Read more about "Pain Killers" & "Permanent Midnight"
"When last seen, Jewish ex-cop, former addict, and three-time-liver-transplant-recipient Manny Rupert was married to Tina, who had dispatched her former husband by adding ground glass and Drano to his breakfast cereal (Plainclothes Naked, 2001). Now they’re divorced, and Manny, missing her desperately, is hired to go to San Quentin to determine whether a 97-year-old inmate is Josef Mengele. What follows is a truly black and bizarre mix of the horrific and the hilarious: Mengele really is Mengele, and he spends his time experimenting on inmates for Big Pharma. He is also a still-dangerous, preening egomaniac who believes his “research” should be celebrated by a jaded, corrupt America. And only jaded Manny and Tina (yes, she is back) are there to mete out justice. Along the way, Stahl takes intriguing and often funny shots at prison chic, reality TV, various aspects of prison life, Nazi “science”, and Christian porn Web sites. And, as the title suggests, Manny enjoys a staggering array of dangerous drugs and toxic substances" -Thomas Gaughan (Booklist)
Maria Bello as Kitty and Ben Stiller as Jerry Stahl in "Permanent Midnight" (1998)
From Jerry Stahl's first and seminal non fiction book "Permanent Midnight" (published in 1995): *warning: adult content*
"I had never been with a woman straight. Never. Even when I was a kid, my first time, at fifteen, I was at least potted up. Half drunk. Something... Without drugs, for me, it was like simultaneously trying to enjoy yourself and watch yourself blown up to scoreboard size, every little move and murmur exaggerated and blasted back in your face. 'Oh, God', she whispered, pressing her other hand to my face as she spoke. 'Oh, God, do you remember that feeling when you just pushed the plunger?'... We were both breathing fast. Starting to sweat. 'You know', she went on, half gasping, accompanying her words with earnest, upward thrusts of her hips, 'When the stuff's inside you, but it hasn't hit yet'. Her voice sank to a throaty drawl. 'But you know it's just about to explode... You've got those first, like, tingles... you know the rush is about to hit... You're holding on, you're holding on'... 'And the light goes funny', I whispered, lips brushing the faint hairs of her ear. 'And the paint on the walls starts to pulsate, like suddenly you can see the air'... 'But you know in, like, three seconds it's going to shoot up your spine, your heart's going to explode'... 'Like Nagasaki', I groaned, 'like Hiroshima, behind your eyeballs, inside your brain', 'And you could die', she whispered, maneuvering, shifting so that she lay poised beneath me, letting go her own fresh-shaved pussy to work my cock with both hands, to open herself and guide me up inside her, 'you could die from the pleasure... you want to...' Rocked with pain and numb with ecstasy. There and not there, fucking her c unt but feeling the needle, making love with my muscles but shooting up with my mind, letting her words, her insane narcotic narrative, lift me out of my body, out of both our bodies, into some savage blend of memory and sensation and crippling, frustrated desire for an orgasm that couldn't come from sex, could come only from drugs and madness and injecting our selves to death..."
Copyright © 1998 by Jerry Stahl
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ben Stiller (I got sunshine on a cloudy day) video
A musical video featuring scenes from films starred by Ben Stiller: Mystery Men (with Claire Forlani), Zoolander (with Christine Taylor), Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers (with Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, Barbra Streisand), Keeping the Faith, The Heartbreak Kid (with Michelle Monaghan), Tropic Thunder (with Robert Downey Jr.), Greenberg (with Greta Gerwig), etc.
Songs "Diamond Dogs" by David Bowie and "My girl" cover by The Jesus & Mary Chain.
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