Heigl makes the big leap
From Carrie Rickey's "Flickgrrl" www.philly.com/philly/blogs/flickgrrl Not many actors make the leap from small screen to big screen. Yet Katherine Heigl, that double dip of praline who won a supporting-actress Emmy for Grey's Anatomy a few years back but was snubbed this week when nominations were announced, is prospering a
Katherine Heigl: Faring better on the big screen?
From Carrie Rickey's "Flickgrrl"
www.philly.com/philly/blogs/flickgrrl
Not many actors make the leap from small screen to big screen. Yet Katherine Heigl, that double dip of praline who won a supporting-actress Emmy for Grey's Anatomy a few years back but was snubbed this week when nominations were announced, is prospering as a movie star. Her first two films as a lead, Knocked Up and 27 Dresses, were huge successes. And there's every reason to think she'll go three-for-three with The Ugly Truth, the R-rated rom-com costarring Gerard Butler, opening next Friday. From the looks of the trailers, The Ugly Truth recalls the pleasant Ashley Judd/Hugh Jackman vehicle Someone Like You.
Your thoughts on Heigl? On why she may be faring better on the big screen than the small? (On the small screen, gestures have to be a little larger in order to register, while on the big screen, which is more microscopic, actors have to dial it down.) Other actors who made the successful transition? Denzel Washington and Johnny Depp. Jennifer Aniston and Kathleen Turner. James Garner and Sally Field. Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood.
nolead begins
'Brüno' gets a bit snipped in the United Kingdom
From Carrie Rickey's "Flickgrrl"
Readers ask: How in the Helsinki did Brüno, which includes extreme close-ups of man-parts and prolonged sequences of sex and simulated sex, receive an R rating, which makes it available to those 17 and older? My knee-jerk response: That the Motion Picture Association of America generally designates a rating that would most financially benefit its signatories, the studios. (This also explains why the new Harry Potter, which has the threat of violence and terror one would think was PG-13, was rated PG.)
In the U.K., Brüno was circumcised by nearly two minutes in order to win the 15 rating that would allow teenagers to see it. To see the uncut version in the U.K., you have to be 18.
But my knee-jerk reaction does not take into account the recent-ish trend in R-rated comedies: Male frontal nudity played for laughs. (See: Sideways, Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Used to be that man-parts earned a film an automatic NC-17 (although The Piano was an exception to the general rule), while woman-parts were R. This, of course, created a double standard where female nudity was pervasive and male nudity relatively rare. So the fact that Brüno got an R rating may be interpreted as a sign of a single standard.
nolead begins
A double Cruzuccino, por favor!
From Steven Rea's "On Movies Online"
onmovies
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and Italian bean purveyor Illy Coffee have joined forces in celebration of Almodóvar's many-times star and longtime muse, actress Penélope Cruz.
Images of the Live Flesh/All About My Mother/Volver actress adorn a new cup and saucer, part of the "Illy Art Collection" series that has famous artists (Koons! Schnabel!) designing chinaware to drink your espresso out of.
Almodóvar shows Cruz in a set of Warhol-like photo images, promoting the Spanish siren's moody beauty and, coincidentally, Almodóvar's forthcoming fall release, Los abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces). Yes, Cruz stars.
The limited-edition cup-and-saucer combo is signed by Almodóvar, and is yours for $60.