Happy birthday, Ted Koppel
Happy Friday to everyone, and happy birthday to several stars. But first, here's a little birthday quiz: Who do you think is older, Ted Koppel (at left) or Nick Nolte?
Before we get to the answer, here are a few more celebs celebrating today: John Grisham is 53, Gary Coleman is 40, Seth Green is 34 and Alonzo Mourning is 38.
So, did you choose Nolte or Koppel? Either way, you're right! Both men turn 68 today.
(photo courtesy Discovery Channel)
February 07, 2008
Amy Adams, Pierce Brosnan back on the big screen
Our L.A. reporters have been movie-watching machines, and they offer their insight about two more soon-to-be-released films below. Both open in March and star many well-known actors. Check out what they've got to say about the upcoming film starring Amy Adams, Frances McDormand and newcomer Lee Pace, and be and be sure to scroll all the way down to get the report on the project starring Chris Cooper, Pierce Brosnan and Rachel McAdams.
"Last year’s Oscar nominee for Junebug, Amy Adams made another splash in the recent Enchanted. Next she plays a flibbertigibbet in 1930s London in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Oscar winner Frances McDormand plays the title character, a British governess, who inadvertently organizes Adams’ life. But Adams is the reason to see the film. She’s so irresponsible and delectable you’ve got to love her. Look out for Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace, a poor but handsome piano player you want her to wind up with. Adams could well be a presenter at this year’s Oscars—assuming the writers’ strike gets settled—and McDormand is likely to be there on the arm of her husband, No Country for Old Men co-writer and co-director Joel Coen, whose film is up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editor (under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes).
Then there's Married Life. Recently seen as master spy Robert Hanssen in Breach, Chris Cooper is up to his elbows in skullduggery again in this suspenseful comedy co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Rachel McAdams. Again Cooper keeps it all inside as he navigates between his adoring wife (Patricia Clarkson) and an equally adoring mistress (McAdams) — until Brosnan decides to stir the pot a little. It’s a delicious comedy of manners set in pre-Mad Men 1949. My, they do puff on those cancer sticks."
Oscar's Best Foreign Film prediction
We've got another movie report from our L.A. folks, who tell us this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Film could well go to an Austrian sleeper called The Counterfeiters. It’s the story of a scoundrel whose counterfeiting career is interrupted by a trip to a concentration camp. He is saved from the gas chamber and drafted into the Nazi plot to counterfeit British and American currency. What's really intriguiging is that this actually happened in 1944-45. At first immoral and self-centered, he sees the scruples and sacrifices of others and survives the war a changed man. Austrian actor Karl Markovics is the unlikeliest of heroes but tellingly conveys the gray areas that any camp survivor had to live in. Check out the trailer below, and come back to the blog later this afternoon for a few more movie tidbits.
James Spader and Garth Brooks are birthday buddies
Guess who's older: James Spader or Garth Brooks? While you're thinking, here are a couple more birthdays today, both of them funny guys: Ashton Kutcher is 30 and Chris Rock is 43.
So, who'd you pick? If you picked Spader, you're right. He's older at 48, but not by much -- Brooks turns 46.
February 06, 2008
Kate Beckinsale's new movie
With Amy Ryan favored to win an Oscar for her portrayal of a bad mother in Gone Baby Gone, could Kate Beckinsale be vying to fill the same slot next year? My eyes in L.A. saw Beckinsale in Snow Angels, opening in March; she plays a mother who neglects her young daughter. But in this film, unlike Ryan’s, the mother has to pay. Britain-born Beckinsale shows a perfect understanding of the American, small-town character she plays. Sam Rockwell co-stars as Beckinsale’s creepy estranged husband. Check out the trailer below and let me know what you think in the comments.
Heath Ledger's cause of death
Heath Ledger's death was ruled accidental. He had in his body a variety of prescription drugs: the painkillers OxyContin and Hydrocodone, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. The actor's father, Kim, who is back in Perth, Australia making arrangements for a funeral there, said Wednesday: "While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage." Ledger's daughter, Matilda, and his ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams also are with the family in Australia.
Happy birthday to Tom Brokaw
Happy birthday to anchorman and author Tom Brokaw, who turns 68 today. Also celebrating today are Robert Townsend, 51, Rip Torn, 77, Axl Rose, 46, and Natalie Cole, 58.
February 05, 2008
Kim Raver and Lindsay Price talk Lipstick Jungle
Kathy just got off a call with Kim Raver and Lindsay Price, who star with Brooke Shields in Lipstick Jungle, the Sex and the City homage premiering Thursday. She says it was clear the two get along well, and Kim said there's none of the stereotypical catfighting (cough, Desperate Housewives) between the women. "We're such different characters and we're playing such different characters that there's a real support of each other and our successes," Kim said. "I just really enjoy when Lindsay and Brooke look beautiful and the scene is going well." And speaking of wanting to look beautiful, Lindsay revealed that she once channeled Brooke Shields -- for Halloween when she was four or five. "My mother made a red, glamorous evening gown. It was off the shoulder, had a marabou trim, and my mom did my hair to the side in these Breck girl waves and I think I had something going on with my eyebrows." (Don't worry: Lindsay told Brooke and her only question was "Well what did you wear?") Much of the buzz around the show has been about the fashion, and Kim noted that the clothing is definitely "that fantasy of the gorgeous, perfect outfits, it's not unwearable." One thing fashionistas should watch for is the accessories. Kim and Lindsay were excited about the shoes, necklaces and cocktail rings, saying their use on the the show could spark some trends.
(photo by Andrew Eccles/NBC)
Zach Levi has a new movie
Zach Levi was on his way to becoming the new Zach Braff — adorable, funny, TV star. Then the writers' strike put his new NBC series Chuck in danger. The show might have continued to build an audience throughout the season to earn a spot on the NBC schedule for next season. But now, who knows? This weekend, however, Levi opens a new psychological thriller, Spiral, which he produced and in which he co-stars along with Amber Tamblyn, who once starred in Joan of Arcadia. Early reviews have been good, but this isn't a big box office movie. In fact, it will open in select markets this weekend, then appear on DVD Feb. 19. (You can watch the trailer below.) Still, “I’m pretty proud,” Levi told our Gayle Carter in an interview for the magazine. “For a bunch of guys who never made a movie before, (it's cool) just to have it released where it might normally have ended up as a screensaver at someone’s office.” Gayle asked Levi how life has changed since he began appearing in Chuck. “I don’t have time to floss, not that I flossed a lot to begin with, but if I wanted to.”
Laura Linney, birthday girl
Happy birthday to Oscar nominee Laura Linney (she's pictured at left in her nominated role in The Savages, with co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman), who turns 44 today. Another past Oscar nominee, Barbara Hershey, turns 60 today, while Jennifer Jason Leigh turns 46. Eric Michael Zee and Bobby Brown turn 39, and Darrell Waltrip turns 61.
(photo courtesy Twentieth Century Fox)
February 04, 2008
Happy birthday, Alice Cooper
The New York Giants are celebrating their Super Bowl win, and rocker Alice Cooper (who had a cameo in a Super Bowl commercial -- did you catch it?) is celebrating his 60th birthday. Oscar de la Hoya is celebrating his 35th birthday, and Clint Black turns 46. Other birthday boys include Dan Quayle, 61, Lawrence Taylor, 49, and Conrad Bain, 85.
Tyson Beckford's model tips
Tyson Beckford, co-host of Bravo's Make Me A Supermodel, says he gets his style inspiration from Clark Gable (Beckford's at right, looking very stylish indeed). I don't know about you, but I take seriously a man who says he's influenced by Clark Gable, so I want to share with you more of our recent interview with Beckford.
His thing: “The suit. The elegance of a good suit: A man comes into the room in jeans and a t-shirt, then a man with a tailored suit. Who do you think the girl is going to look at?”
Biggest fashion mistake: “Baggy clothes. People are afraid of showing their bodies. Is it so bad to be naked? We came into the world naked. We cover up too much, put layers on.”
Supermodel nutrition: “We’re not about a pack of Marlboros and a Diet Coke. The problem with America is the downing of Diet Coke. Give your kids an apple or a banana instead. That’s nature’s label. I’ve been eating organic all my life. I’m 37 and I can run circles around these contestants on my show.”
(photo by Barbara Nitke/Bravo)
Jason Bateman: A new development
I thought I'd start the week with quick takes from my email box:
If you were a fan of Arrested Development, I have happy news. Jason Bateman told E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos (formerly Kristin Veitch) — an occasional USA WEEKEND contributor — that there's talk of a movie being made from the Fox series. ... Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood's "Love, Pain and the whole Crazy Carnival Ride" tour kicked off late last week. They'll hit 26 cities through April. ... Speaking of country singers, Tim McGraw has a part in the movie Four Christmases, due next Christmas, of course. ...Best- selling author Claire Cook — she of Must Love Dogs — will have a new book out on June 3 titled Summer Blowout. Watch her reading an excerpt here. ... Tune in to Turner Classic Movies (TCM) all month to see 31 Days of Oscar (it started Feb. 1 and runs through March 2). The channel is featuring Oscar-winning and nominated films like Psycho and Jerry Maguire all month. It's a great opportunity to beef up your movie knowledge and see old favorites. ...And speaking of Oscars, the George Clooney movie Michael Clayton has been re-released in theaters so you can put it on your list of movies you must see before the Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 24. And, yes, the Oscars remain on the calendar for Feb. 24, writers strike not withstanding. ...The Screen Actors Guild Awards for 2009 already have been set for Jan. 25. ...Taylor Dane releases Satisfied, her first new album in 10 years, tomorrow.
