Hiya
Ok, let’s finally do a quick catchup.
Sonoyta has found some news on the Closer DVD. It’s a lot closer (sorry!) than you’d think. Seems a bit light on features so it might be a good idea to wait for a later version.
Amy sent in this EW article which is quite interesting. It slaps Nat’s one cheek and kisses the other.
NATALIE PORTMAN: CLOSER
In the spirit of Closer, director Mike Nichols’ adaptation of Patrick Marber’s searing play about intimacy and brutal truth, let’s be frank about Natalie Portman’s Oscar-nominated performance. You didn’t buy it, did you? Punked-out locks, four-letter words, and raw sex talk– not always convincing, coming from Princess Leia’s mama. It was like watching a teenager play dress-up with an older woman’s clothes: Some fit snug, some hung loose, and the combined parts didn’t seem to add up. So how the #@!* did Natalie Portman get nominated for her first shot at an Academy Award? Because she was perfect. Say this much: Mike Nichols– a canny, even subversive casting genius– knew exactly what he was doing tapping Portman for Alice, a young American stripper drifting through London (she’s “on an expedition,” she says ambiguously) who finds herself among adults (Jude Law, Julia Roberts, and Clive Owen), a warped and scabrous trio saddened by disappointment and heartbreak. Surely he was aware of her image among so many filmgoers: the heautiful girl from Beautiful Girls, The Professional, and Star Wars, precocious innocent incarnate. Hasn’t she been coming of age for over a decade now? Yet all of that works for Closer, and while it’s not clearly seen until the film’s late-game revelations, Portman makes you feel it throughout: Connecting deeply with a sould whose identity is in flux, she brings much-needed emotional credibility to a part marred by some elusive psychology. Like Alice, Portman, 23, is sussing out who she wants to be, and her achievement in Closer is in showing us what a thrilling and terrifying and even awkward expedition that can truly be. –Jeff Jensen.
Roger F sent in this Variety report about casting directors and possible strike action. It seems Natalie is in support.
Stars back casting union
Celebs show support for casting directorsCasting directors seeking to unionize have sounded threats of a strike as early as next month, after a show of support Wednesday from a wide swath of Hollywood labor.
A news conference at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills drew about 300 supporters, with “Will & Grace” star Megan Mullally and Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden speaking in solidarity with the casting directors. “It seems insane that we are here at all,” Harden said. “But you have to fight for all things that are worthwhile, so let’s fight.” Mullally said the casting directors — who have asked to be repped by Teamster Local 399 in Los Angeles and Local 817 in New York — are virtually the only sector of below-the-line show business labor not unionized. “This must change,” Mullally said.
Support campaign included endorsements from Tim Allen, Woody Allen, Drew Barrymore, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, George Clooney, Joel and Ethan Coen, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Taylor Hackford, Samuel L. Jackson, David Koepp, Ang Lee, Michael Mann, Mike Nichols, Neal Moritz, Lynda Obst, Natalie Portman, Tim Robbins…
And now for some fanart.
Bazloop sent in this cool Leon poster.
iTaL0dAncEr (seriously, dude, pick an easier nick) sent in a couple more simple but good wallpapers. Click here and here.
And finally, Jackie made this great re-colorization.
Ok, sorry I’ve been so busy this week. Tomorrow I’ve got a date with sitting in front of the computer doing nothing all day, so I’ll catch up on emails and maybe set up a new editorial.
Till then…
