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This is gonna be a tough call. I thought both Adam and Kris performed well, but neither was perfect and they have such different styles it’s like comparing bears and chickens.
Each performer had to sing 3 songs. The first would be their favorite from the season; second would be chosen by the show’s creator, Simon Fuller; and third would be the “winner single,” co-written by Kara.
Adam went first and sang “Mad World.” I liked it, as I usually do when he shows some restraint. He gave the song a haunting lilt. Kris sang “Ain’t No Sunshine,” accompanying himself on piano. It was a heartfelt performance and both are off to a strong start.
Fuller chose Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” for Adam’s next song and Adam put on his shiny suit to sing it. He hit every note and was technically perfect but I didn’t get real soulfulness from him, more like affected anguish.
Kris updated Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” and while I appreciated his Jack Johnson-esque take, I like the smooth groove of the original melody so much I don’t think it needed all the changes. So, both did well again but neither performance was eye-opening.
Then came the dreaded “winner single,” which is cheesy and tedious every year. If I were one of the two finalists, I’d almost want to throw the competition just so I wouldn’t have to record it. This year’s song, called “No Boundaries,” was no different and was written by Kara, Cathy Dennis and Mitch Allen.
Adam went first and the song seemed to be in the right key for him. But when he got to the chorus, I couldn’t understand what he was singing because he went for the volume and blew the words into oblivion. Not that I cared, since the lyrics to these singles are always insipid.
Kris didn’t do any better. The key was way too high for him, he strained through most of the song to hit the notes and didn’t always succeed. His face at the end showed that he knew he didn’t do as well as he’d hoped.
Based on the final performances, I think Adam’s got the edge and will win. But whatever happens, these two will most likely get recording contracts, make completely different albums for their separate fan bases and no one will have to argue again over who’s the better performer.
Who do you think will be crowned the eighth idol tomorrow night?
Maxim released its annual Hot 100 List today, focusing on women with exceptional beauty and bodacious bods. (House‘s Olivia Wilde got the top spot.)
Looking at some of the names, I thought the chosen women are indeed gorgeous but physical perfection is only one way to judge hotness. Year in and year out, the same people seem to end up on these lists.
So I decided to release my own Nerdy Hot 10 List, with male celebs who are sexy not because of their ripped bodies (though some might have them), but because of something a little imperfect, goofy, or nerdy about them. So here’s my list, in no particular order, and the reasons why these guys made the cut.
1. Colin Firth. Firth is the epitome of the awkward man who always gets tongue-tied around a pretty girl. But that awkwardness is what makes him so endearing, as evidenced by the hilarious scene in Love Actually when he publicly proclaims his love in halting, butchered Portuguese to the object of his affection. And remember those dreadful reindeer sweaters he sported in the Bridget Jones movies? He’s hot for having the courage and good humor to wear them.
2. Hugh Laurie. He often appears slovenly and unshaven on House and behaves like an ass. But then you hear him play piano, sing a funny ditty on a talk show or give a humorous, humble acceptance speech for an award and all is forgiven.
3. Paul Rudd. He’s most famous for doing bawdy comedies as part of the Judd Apatow gang; his blue eyes and boyish charm allow him to get away with all the mischief. But he can also do Shakespeare (I saw him do Twelfth Night in a Lincoln Center production), write scripts, sing, produce and all these hidden talents add up to one sexy guy.
4. Robert Downey Jr. The first time I saw him was in The Pick-Up Artist, where he played a pretty geeky guy trying to hit on Molly Ringwald. What a difference twenty years make. Despite all his legal troubles and drug abuse, he’s somehow managed to salvage his quick wit, intelligence and ultra-sized talent. You may be well aware of his acting prowess but have you ever heard him sing? Forget about it. He’s got a voice that can meltinhibitions.
5. James McAvoy. He may not be the tallest, most muscular or dashing man but oh, is he romantic. Check out those intense blue eyes. When he looks at his leading actresses in movies like Starter for 10 and Atonement, he really looks at them, as if they’re the most exquisite creatures he’s ever seen. And we the audience can almost feel him gazing right through the screen into our own eyes.
6. Jon Hamm. I tried watching one episode of Mad Men and Hamm did nothing for me as Don Draper, though he was certainly groomed and dressed well. Then I saw him on 30 Rock as Tina Fey’s hapless boyfriend and developed a crush immediately. Hamm was ridiculously funny as the guy who was so beautiful, no one would tell him the truth about anything. He played tennis atrociously but thought he was awesome, rode a motorcycle like a drunk but thought he was cool and was clueless about the correct usage of the word “ironic.” I think Fey is a comedy genius and for Hamm to keep pace with her is sizzling hot.
7. James Franco. He’s not that interesting as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies but when he’s goofy, like in Pineapple Express and funnyordie.com videos, he gets my sexy stamp. Plus, he gets extra points for being a nerdy academic, with an English degree from UCLA and working towards graduate degrees in creative writing and film at Columbia and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, respectively.
8. Bret McKenzie. As half of Flight of the Conchords, he doesn’t have much luck in his career or with the ladies on the show. But he, along with Jemaine Clement, makes me laugh hard with brilliant, kooky songs and their hilarious, clever lyrics. I don’t get starstruck much but if I ever meet him, I’d be completely tongue-tied and that’s a true sign of hotness in my book.
9. Daniel Craig. Yeah, he beefed up for Bond and looks great in a tux but before that, he played a scrappy drug dealer in Layer Cake, a murderer in Infamous and an unsympathetic Ted Hughes in Sylvia. His face isn’t conventionally pretty, with rough features that look like he’s been in a few brawls, but I’ll take him over the typical Calvin Klein model any day.
10. Brad Pitt. I swear he’s not on this list for the obvious reasons because, frankly, I find him rather bland when he plays heroes and pretty boys on screen. But he rocks my socks when he plays crazy like in Twelve Monkeys or a doofus like in Burn After Reading. A funny man who also happens to look like Pitt? Smokin’.
What do you think? Who else should be on the list? To see who’s on my Nerdy Hot 10 List—Female Edition, click here. (UPDATE: Check out my new 2010 Nerdy Hot List here.)
Let me just get something off my chest first. I anxiously awaited Simon’s song choice for Adam, not because I couldn’t wait to hear Adam sing it but because Simon is usually spot-on about marrying song to talent. So when I heard he selected no less than U2’s “One,” which required personal clearance from the band, I pumped my fist in the air—yessss! That is one of my favorite songs EVER and I thought it was in the right range for Adam. It always brings me to the edge of tears whenever I hear it. Well, until now.
Of all the outrageous things Adam’s done on this show, this was absolutely the worst. I’ve tolerated his shrillness and even really liked some of his performances (“Tracks of My Tears” and “Whole Lotta Love”) but this travesty was unforgivable. He completely ruined this gorgeous song and then had the audacity to tell people to rewind and listen to how beautiful the lyrics are. Well, yes, they are, but you obliterated them with your screaming! He should’ve trusted the simple elegance of the lyrics and melody because the song’s beauty lies in its aching starkness, not helter-skelter volume.
OK, now that that’s out of the way, let’s go back to the beginning. Danny started the evening with a song Paula chose for him, Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Dance Little Sister.” He sang it well, with a lot of energy and his gritty soulfulness but I wasn’t in love with the song. “Wishing Well” would’ve been a little more interesting.
Then Kris went with another blah song, One Republic’s “Apologize,” hand-picked by Kara and Randy for him. Kris’s vocals were heartfelt as usual and the song’s level of difficulty is high but this performance just didn’t set the place on fire for me. Kris usually does a really good job of selecting songs for himself so I was hoping that when it came to performing his choice later in the evening, he’d do better.
And then Adam sang “One.” See above comments. Still angry.
In the latter half of the show, the contestants got to sing whatever they wanted. Danny chose Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.” That song is pretty and everything but he needed to make a deep impact and I don’t think that song did it for him. It was just a nice lite FM version and I probably would’ve changed the station if I’d heard it on the radio.
Kris went next with Kanye West’s “Heartless.” I’m no fan of Kanye’s so when I heard that, I thought, What?! and not in the dope way Randy usually means it. But then I saw Kris with only his guitar in front of the mike, which is usually when he’s strongest, and got excited. And he didn’t disappoint with his acoustic reinvention! Yay, Kris! He proved he could think for himself and is more savvy than the judges about song selection. I got home too late to vote but I’m really hoping now that Kris will be in the finals. I think he’s got a strong chance and will probably pull an upset tomorrow, despite the judges repeatedly calling him a dark horse.
Adam closed the show for the umpteenth time with Aerosmith’s “Crying.” I’m crying over what he did to “One” so I’m not even gonna comment on this.
What did you think? Were the judges or contestants better at picking songs? Does Kris have a chance?
If you haven’t seen it, do NOT read any further! Skip down to the next article!
No, no, no, I can’t believe what happened. I feel manipulated and not in a good way. I can’t believe that in 2009, the producers would drag out the old Dallas stunt and foist it on us. OK, technically, House had a hallucination instead of a dream and he didn’t imagine an entire season, just one episode. Still.
The irony is, I didn’t really care if Cuddy and House got together or not. I like their banter and their strength as individuals and feared their coming together would destroy them. But, hey, the producers hyped their hook-up for months and when it finally happened, it was pretty hot.
And now, we find out House hallucinated the whole business because he’s so high on Vicodin, which is maddening because it’s unimaginative, not because the sex didn’t happen. I would’ve been fine if producers never went down that road. Now, I just feel scammed by a cheap bait and switch.
The ending also didn’t make sense to me. If it’s the drugs that are causing the hallucinations, why did House check into a psychiatric hospital? Don’t they give patients more drugs in such places? Wouldn’t rehab be better since it seems he just needs to clean up to stop seeing dead people?
Speaking of which, it was nice to see Kal Penn again, albeit briefly. I really liked Kutner and when I saw him, I realized how much his death still affected me.
And poor Carl Reiner. Looks like House will soon be able to hallucinate his character, Eugene, too. I thought he was only supposed to be an annoying patient so when the reveal of pancreatic cancer happened, it landed a small punch in my gut (luckily, not a pot belly) and Reiner’s reaction to the news was heart-tugging.
In happier news, Chase and Cameron finally got married after a lot of back and forth about her dead husband’s sperm. And she looked gorgeous. The dress, hair, makeup, jewelry—perfection.
Oh, don’t ask me about the case of the week. Compared to everything else that happened, it really was the least important thing.
How do you feel about this episode? Shocked? Wowed? Confused? Relieved?
It’s always fun for me to interview people but this time was especially fun because Tomas is a friend and fellow obsessive pop culture nerd. He’s also a screenwriter/producer who wrote last year’s MTV movie musical, The American Mall.
This Friday, May 15, the supernatural thriller he co-wrote and associate produced, Not Forgotten (see trailer below), opens at the Mann’s Chinese theater in L.A. The film stars Simon Baker (who has shirtless scenes), Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia, Spanglish), Michael DeLorenzo (New York Undercover), and features Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black). It’s about a man who seemingly has the perfect life in a Texas border town until his young daughter is kidnapped. The incident is tied to his dark, secret past involving his faith in Santa Muerte (Saint Death), something he must invoke again in order to get his child back.
In between writing American Mall 2 and a post-apocalyptic teen comedy, Tomas agreed to answer my nerdy questions.
PCN: There are a lot of whores in this movie. Was it a fun set?
With actress Carmen Perez
Tomas Romero: I believe they prefer the term “working girls,” but yes, the Mexican whorehouse scenes were just as fun to shoot as they were to write. It’s funny, though, I kept apologizing to the actresses on set, like, “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a name, Curly-Haired Whore or Grabby Girl #2, but I must say, you look awesome in that pink halter top.”
PCN: Oh, I’m sure that made up for it. The movie also includes lots of details about death cults. Research or personal experience?
Santa Muerte
TR: No, man, I gave up death cults in college. Seriously, though, we did loads of research and even though much of what my co-writer, the film’s director Dror Soref, and I unearthed about the very real cult of Santa Muerte was fascinating. I think the thing we found most interesting about Santa Muerte is that she is a street Saint, a down-and-dirty version of the Virgin Mary if you will. And though she is invoked most famously by criminals, gangsters, and prostitutes, she is also a very real part of many people’s lives in Mexico. We found several instances where policemen in these areas actually prayed to Santa Muerte for protection before their shifts. I mean, how cool is that?
PCN: Um, pretty cool, I guess, but she still looks super creepy. You started writing this script many years ago. Why do you think it came together now?
TR: Ha! If I had an answer for that, I’d have a lot more produced movies under my belt. I’m kidding, kinda, but the reality is that getting a movie made these days, even at a studio level, is very difficult and taking a truly independently-financed film from page to screen is next to impossible. Luckily for us, we had a small army of very talented folks behind the scenes. Not counting myself, there is like a baker’s dozen of producers on this movie and they all rocked.
PCN: How did they get the financing?
TR: Santa Muerte!
PCN: Dur! OK, you didn’t have children when you wrote this but now have a baby daughter. Do you look at your own script and say, “Oh, crap! I just created my worst nightmare!”?
Baker, Moretz & DP Steven Bernstein
TR: OMG, I know, I can’t even imagine. Some of the things we put poor Chloe Moretz—the crazy-talented young actress who plays Baker’s kidnapped daughter Toby—through in this movie, I was like, Please don’t watch this movie ’til you’re, like, 30. She was fine with everything, a total pro and hilariously funny to boot, but I was a wreck during all her scenes. And now that I have a daughter of my own—forget about it.
Baker
PCN: By scene 10, Jack and Amaya are in a steamy sex scene. Did you put that in before or after you knew you’d landed Simon Baker and Paz Vega?
TR: That scene was always there. The casting of Paz and Simon just made it that much steamier, so, yay for us!
Carmen Serano, Michael DeLorenzo, Benito Martinez
PCN: My friend Carmen Serano is a gorgeous actress and model. Why’d you cast her as a gimpy prison warden with a unibrow?
TR: I know. What were we thinking? Clearly, Carmen would have made a much better whore. Ha! Totally kidding. Carmen was awesome to work with and her character does get some of the biggest laughs in the movie, so, unibrow or not, I think she’ll be very happy with how she comes off. Your other friend, Benito Martinez, is also fantastic in the movie. Benito plays a sleazy Mexican police chief like nobody’s business and the dude steals every scene he’s in! He’s great. OMG, and [your other friend] Greg [Serano] is so badass in the movie!
PCN: That’s hilarious, because I think Greg is goofy. And I mean that in the best way.
TR: He has this one great scene where he is grilling Jack and Amaya and he holds his own, baby. If this whole acting thing doesn’t pan out, which it obviously has since he’s been working non-stop, the dude would make a truly scary policeman! Yikes!!
PCN: You also wrote the story for MTV’s original musical, The American Mall. Any similarities between singing mall rats and chanting death-cult followers?
Paz Vega, Moretz
TR: Totally! MTV’s standards and practices made us cut the death cult chant from Mall but it was so cool! Seriously, the movies are a lot more alike than they seem. I mean, deep down, both films are about staying true to your authentic self at all costs, and the steep price you pay when you don’t. The female leads in both movies know this from the get-go, it’s the male leads that have to learn this lesson the hard way. And though the mechanics of their situation are very different, the journey both Joey in Mall and Jack in Not Forgotten take is essentially the same.
PCN: How do you feel about Not Forgotten opening on the same day as Angels & Demons? I feel like I should wear a giant cross around my neck if I go to the movies this weekend.
TR: You should totally wear your cross, because there is gonna be a whole lotta death cult and demon love going on at the movies this weekend.
PCN: Some people I know saw the trailer and said it’s too scary for them. Give them one reason to go see it anyway.
TR: Well, it is kinda scary, but, I think it’s important to differentiate between scary movies that exist solely to scare and scary movies that have a little bit more going on. Take for instance, The Exorcist. On the surface that movie scared the crap out of me as a kid—and still does, actually—but I kept watching because I really, deeply cared about what was happening to this poor woman and her daughter. Not Forgotten is kind of the same way. You might wanna cover your eyes sometimes, but at its core, it is a movie about a father struggling to hold his family together despite some spectacularly tall odds. And, Mexican death cult or not, who can’t relate to that?
I have mixed feelings about this episode. I kept wanting and waiting for it to bowl me over like the show used to do in its heyday. Remember the train crash episode where two people were impaled on the same pole and the doctors could choose only one to save? Bawled my eyes out. But this ep never quite got there, though there were a few strong moments.
The wedding switcheroo was no surprise whatsoever and while it made sense that Izzie should be the one wearing the princess dress that was so NOT Meredith’s style, the whole affair smacked of pity. If Alex wasn’t ready to marry Izzie before he found out she was sick, he shouldn’t marry her now. Plus, it didn’t even seem like it was his idea, more like he was talked into it by Meredith. Who does that? I’m not going to tell my friends who and when to get married like I know what’s best for them. It’s condescending.
Also, Meredith and Izzie are definitely not the same size—Meredith is stick thin while Izzie is curvier—so Izzie can’t just put on Meredith’s dress at the last minute and look like it was custom-made for her. I was also annoyed that Alex completely ripped off that poor college girl’s valedictorian speech and got to look like a hero while she’s lying in the hospital and will probably never get to deliver the speech she’d worked so hard on.
I also don’t understand Callie’s brokeness. I know her father froze her trust fund but she’s been a successful doctor for years (and one-time chief resident at Seattle Grace) so why does she even need her father’s trust fund? What has she done with all her paychecks? She doesn’t look like she has an extravagant lifestyle (she once lived in the hospital’s basement, for goodness sakes) and it seems her daddy only withdrew the trust fund ten minutes ago and she’s already borderline homeless.
There were things I liked in this episode. I liked seeing Meredith confident and happy because I like how she smiles with her whole face. I’m also really liking Arizona because she doesn’t take any crap and I’m glad she’ll be upgraded to series regular next season. And the brief glimpse we saw of Christina banging at her ceiling fan, trying to take it down to prevent it from triggering Owen’s PTSD again, was probably the most powerful moment in the whole episode for me.
So, am I being too picky? Was this a very special episode for you or just another day at Seattle Grace? Was the wedding romantic or corny? Do you want Izzie to live or die?
I received the following e-mail from my brother Thuy and wanted to share it so I can brag about him (I did get his permission to post it.) He edited and produced the trailer below, as well as several other commercials for Mark Burnett’s new 8-part reality series, Expedition Africa, which starts airing May 31 at 10PM/9C on the History Channel. Check it out—it looks amazing!
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I’ve been busy the past few months working on a launch campaign and theatrical trailer for Executive Producer Mark Burnett’s latest show, Expedition Africa. Burnett is the producer behind tons of shows like Survivor, The Apprentice, to name a few.
You may remember HM Stanley’s quote “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” This show is about 4 modern-day explorers retracing Stanley‘s journey across Africa 130 years ago to find Dr. David Livingstone. They do so with nothing but a compass and old maps (and I guess a camera crew following them but let’s not go there…ha ha).
The trailer is playing in most cinemas nationwide, before movies like Star Trekand a lot of the other big summer movies. So if you go out and watch a movie, you might see it in surround sound!! Many of the other commercials are airing on various networks, so if you see some of them, they were from me!! Enjoy!
Chances were slim that the NBC cop show Life would be renewed for next season but I was still bummed when NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman officially canceled it today. This show was unique because of Damian Lewis’s performance as zen but quirky LAPD detective Charlie Crews, a man who spent 12 years in prison for murders he didn’t commit. When evidence finally clears him, he goes back to work instead of enjoying the $50 million settlement he wins from the city. He’s teamed with the acerbic, semi-alcoholic Dani Reese, played by Sarah Shahi, to solve cases every week but he’s really out to find out who framed him and why.
This show was well-written, wonderfully acted and differed from the multitude of police procedurals on the air. If NBC hadn’t given Jay Leno so much prime time, there could’ve been room for this show. If they cancel Chuck, too, I hope their ratings go down the toilet next season.
Any other Life fans out there lamenting its cancellation?
Going into tonight’s show, I was a little skeptical since I couldn’t picture two out of the four remaining contestants rocking out. But while the performances were uneven, this episode ended up being highly entertaining.
Adam went first with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” which was the perfect choice for his voice and theatricality. When I heard the opening guitar riffs, I was bopping my head and thinking, Oh yeah, this could be good, and Adam didn’t disappoint. I’m not a huge fan because of his shriekiness but on this song, that’s exactly what was needed. You can’t be shy on this song; that primal scream must be unleashed. Kudos to Adam for a very smart song choice and his ballsy execution of it.
Allison sang Janis Joplin’s “Cry Baby,” and to me, it sounded like “Yell, Baby” because she shouted through the whole thing. I love Allison and agree with Slash she’s got that rock swagger but this performance was only okay. It’s disappointing since this should be the one genre where she excels.
Then we took a break from the competition as the producers gave us something never before done on Idol: duets between contestants. First up were Kris and Danny covering Styx’s “Renegade.” Their harmony was smooth but when the band kicked in, they immediately went flat on a few notes. Kris seemed out of his depth and sounded like he was losing breath at times. He also couldn’t pull off the tough act in black leather and looked like a little kid playing dress-up. Danny fared better on the song and was at least leather-free, thank goodness.
After the break, Kris changed clothes to sing his competition entry, the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Whoa, this song is too big for him; he doesn’t have the growl. He’s usually great at picking songs so I’m surprised he chose that out of the vast Beatles catalog since there are better choices for him. He probably should’ve stuck with something like “I Saw Her Standing There.”
Danny then sang his official competition song, “Dream On” by Aerosmith. This was a gutsy choice; it’s crazy hard to sing. Most of it sounded pretty good but I was holding my breath waiting for those high notes at the end. Will he make it? Will he blow a vocal cord? Yes and no. He reached the upper echelons but it no longer sounded like singing when he did, just full-out screaming bloody murder. It was not pleasant but I’m impressed he took it on since hard rock really isn’t his forte.
The show wrapped up with another duet, this time by Adam and Allison singing Foghat’s “Slow Ride.” I liked Allison’s performance here way better than her “official” one. She was looser, having more fun and the swagger was out in full force. At one point, I thought she and Adam were trying to out-scream each other but they ended up complimenting each other quite well. And it’s cute that he shared his hairstylist with her.
I liked the duets because it took some of the stress off the contestants and it didn’t sound like they were lip-synching like during the group performances. They also have a chance to redeem themselves, like Allison did, if they screw up during their competition performance. Plus, as the number of contenders dwindle, I’d rather producers fill the hour with more singing instead of Ford commercials or inane chatter from the judges.
Which performances rocked your world? Did you like the duets?
I was among those who contributed to X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘s humongous $87 million take this weekend and here are some quick thoughts I had in case you’re still not sure if you should slap down the dough:
It has some awesome action sequences (Logan against a helicopter was whoa!-worthy)
Several good actors were wasted, namely Lynn Collins and Dominic Monaghan (though they’ll surely enjoy the residual checks)
Danny Huston as yet another bad guy is so tiresome. I’m not talking about his acting, which is fine, only saying he’s a predictable, uninspired choice for Stryker because he’s played so many evil men (he continues the streak in the upcoming Mel Gibson-starrer Edge of Darkness, a rough cut of which I’ve seen)
Keep your eyes on Daniel Henney, who plays Agent Zero, because he’s going places (he’s already a huge star in Korea)
Hugh Jackman can really fill out a pair of jeans (or not—he’s completely nude at one point)
You shouldn’t think too much about the plot because a lot of it doesn’t make sense. I don’t need to go into detail because the title says it all—this is an origin story, telling us how Wolverine came to have adamantium claws, healing powers and memory loss. Ignore the loopholes and occasionally clunky dialogue and enjoy the eye candy
It would help you enjoy this movie if you’re already a fan of Hugh Jackman and/or Wolverine
On the comic-book-turned-into-a-movie scale, it’s not as good as the first two Spider-Man flicks, or even Iron Man, but it’s certainly more watchable than Ang Lee’s abysmal Hulk.
Nerd Verdict: Wolverine could be fiercer but still has some bite
Varietyreports that Miramax and Focus have acquired rights to remake the French thriller Tell No One, with prolific producer Kathleen Kennedy producing. This is exciting news for me because I’ve read the book and recently caught the movie on DVD. I enjoyed the book by Harlan Coben quite a bit, as I do all his novels, but I thought the movie was even better. How often does that happen?
The story is way too twisty for me to adequately synopsize but here’s the basic premise: A pediatrician who believes his wife had been abducted and murdered suddenly gets mysterious e-mails from someone eight years later who knows things only his wife would know. The sender wants to set up a meeting but urges him to, you guessed it, tell no one. The doctor gets thrown into a combination of turmoil and hope as he re-investigates the evidence in his wife’s case and probes the possibility that she might be alive. He ignites a chain of events that leads to another death, him being framed for it, his running from police, trying to stay alive long enough to make it to the rendezvous and hopefully see his wife again.
I read the book a long time ago but remember there were some loose ends that weren’t tied up by the end. The movie, which won four Cesar Awards, explained everything clearly and made it all believable. The acting is solid all around, from Francois Cluzet as the grieving doctor and Marie-Josee Croze (The Diving Bell and Butterfly) as the possibly dead wife to Kristin Scott Thomas—speaking perfect French—as the lover of the doctor’s sister.
Since I was disappointed by the recent American adaptation of the BBC’s superb State of Play, there’s trepidation mixed in with my excitement about this remake. It’s ironic since this is an American story and the book is set in the U.S. so it’s actually being brought back to its roots. I do have hope in Kathleen Kennedy producing—she produces most of Steven Spielberg’s films—so I thought I’d start casting the American version just for fun.
For the pediatrician, Jon Hamm or George Clooney would be ideal. The actor has to convey intelligence but can’t look like an action hero because the doctor is just an ordinary guy caught up in extreme circumstances. The wife’s part is much smaller so Cate Blanchett probably wouldn’t do it but Michelle Monaghan or Jennifer Connelly would be great. The pivotal role of the wife’s father, who happens to be a retired police captain, is something Robert De Niro or Anthony Hopkins could knock out of the park. As for the lesbian lover part, why not let Kristin Scott Thomas reprise it?
Anybody else read the book and/or seen the French film? How do you feel about an American adaptation finally being made? How would you cast it?
I know that’s Meryl Streep in the trailer (see it below) but her voice and look are uncannily like the famous chef’s. I freaked for a moment: “Julia Child is dead! How can she be in this movie?!”
“Based on two true stories,” the feature is about Child finding her calling and a woman named Julie, played by Amy Adams, searching for a purpose in life by cooking her way through one of Child’s cookbooks in one year. The trailer looks so-so, but it’s got Streep and Adams and Stanley Tucci and Jane Lynch and Mary Lynn “Chloe” Rajskub (who has the funniest line in the trailer) so it has to be smart and witty, right?
What do you think? Gonna see it when it comes out August 7? (UPDATE: I went to a screening. See my review here.)
