Hey all

My modem is absolutely killing me tonight but since I didn’t update yesterday I felt I had to get one off tonight.

So lemme get to it before I lose my connection for the umpteenth time tonight.

Cal sent me a great find. It’s another Garden State Sundance preview and it’s packed with info. Here is the brief synopsis:

Few films have managed to capture the out-of-body experience of what it’s like to return to one’s home as deftly as GARDEN STATE, the directorial debut of a young actor best known for playing a young doctor on an NBC sitcom. As Zach Braff’s film begins we meet Andrew Largeman (Braff), a young TV actor of moderate – but not recent – success as he arrives late for his day job at a hot LA restaurant. When he learns that his mother has died, Large returns to his native New Jersey and to his steely psychoanalyst father (Ian Holm) and his stoner friends, including Mark (Peter Sarsgaard). Largeman (or Large, as he’s known to his friends) only plans on staying only as long as it takes to bury his mother and maybe have a meaningful (and dreaded) conversation with his father. But when he meets Samantha (Natalie Portman), he discovers a fragile beauty with whom he’s able to share things he’s kept under wraps for years.

GARDEN STATE has some very funny moments and an unforgettable, astutely rendered party scene, but both as the film’s star and its director Braff wisely keeps the laugh track in check. Indeed, GARDEN STATE is that rare smart movie for young people that understands how traumatic it can be to let yourself fall in love.

But there’s more! If you head on over here, to the source, you can also find screening times for the film. Np.com does have a friend who should be attending but if anyone else is in the area, please go check it out and send us your thoughts.

Gotta mention that it’s unlikely Nat will attend cos I think she’s shooting Closer in London at the moment. But you never know…

Also on that site are the press notes. Now be careful cos there is a lot of info in them, including a VERY detailed synopsis of the film that should be avoided by anyone not wanting the film spoiled. It also has a full cast and crew list and there are some very interesting characters…

Obnoxious Girl
Man Having Sex
Hooker
Peeping Tom
Masturbating Dog
Sanjiro’s Left Nut

Ok, so the last one’s a joke but the rest are legit.

Now, still talking about the press notes here, there are also some nice Nat quotes and quotes about Nat. For the lazy amongst us, here they are…

GARDEN STATE is a comedy, but as Braff?s co-star Natalie Portman observes, ?it also has a heart. A lot of funny stuff these days is so cynical, but there?s nothing cynical about this movie. It?s untraditional and unlike anything I?d ever seen before. That?s what made it exciting.?

When it came time to cast the film, Braff was ?incredibly lucky,? he says. ?Natalie, Peter and Ian were my top choices to play the roles, and somehow I got them all.?

For the character of Sam, Braff chose Portman because he felt she could bring to life ?a twenty-year-old version of Diane Keaton or Ruth Gordon,? he says.

Braff describes Portman as ?One of those people that you can see who they are through their eyes. More than beauty, she has an amazing energy. As a person she has lots in common with her character, Sam ? she?s silly, charged with optimism and passionate about life, and it all comes through in her character.?

Says Portman, ?I was really excited to do a movie that was about people after doing something so crazy and big as ?Star Wars.? This is more of a character study.

?Sam is a funny girl,? Portman continues. ?She?s a whole character. Most female parts written by a guy, especially romantic parts, turn out to be his weird ideal of what a girl ought to be: she?s hot, she takes off her clothes a lot, and she also really likes sports. But as written by Zach, Sam is a real person ? she has problems, she?s got a sense of humor, but what I really appreciated was that she?s as interesting and complex as the male characters.?

Portman adds, ?It?s been exciting to work with Zach on his first thing. He?s got an amazingly confident way about him without being dictatorial. He?s really open to collaboration, and he?s able to direct from within the scene. It?s an interesting and cool way to work.?

Those are the Nat bits but I would suggest reading the whole thing. Anyway, I’m very excited and I think tomorrow (if my modem isn’t being such a dick) I’ll set up a poll to see what you guys are feeling.

So onto the fanart.

Alex Hsu sent in this nifty wallpaper.

Mat sent in two more wallpapers. Click here and here.

And finally, this is from Shiloh.

Night.