| Will Tara Keep the Tiara? Apparently, Yes.
Miss USA, Tara Conner, may be forced to relinquish her crown today, for conduct unbecoming a beauty queen. She'll have Vanessa Williams, who resigned her post as Miss America amid a scandal over nude photographs in 1984, as an object lesson in post-dethroning career management. (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty) .
Crank up the holiday with music
This is a Christmas story that includes The Rolling Stones, Vanessa Williams, Elvis, Ray Conniff and Burl Ives, not to mention Bing Crosby. The other day, I was driving with my son, who turns 18 next week, when The Rolling Stones came on the radio. As the opening chords of "Brown Sugar" started up, I reached for the volume. Jamisen beat me to the button and cranked it up. That got me to smiling, and I raised the volume a few more notches, which got him to laughing. I could tell because he was smiling wide and shaking. I certainly couldn't hear his laugh. When I was growing up, the difference between the generations seemed stark and music was a sign of the divide. Fathers still have to be fathers, but a lot of us now have rock 'n' roll in common with our children.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Gullette ...
How do you get people at a mall Cineplex to see an abstract meditation on death? Casting Wolverine and a recent Oscar winner may help. The Fountain stars Hugh Jackman as a man seemingly living in three time periods. Did he somehow live forever? And then why does Rachel Weisz pop up in each time? Weisz's main role is Izzy, a terminal cancer patient beyond chemotherapy. The husband, present day Hugh, is a cancer researcher racing to find a cure for her, because no one's thought of that before. Directed by Weisz's husband, Darren Aronofsky, the film gives vague hints about the timelines' connections, intercutting images to trippy music giving audiences an experience beyond life or death.
The Wave: Was your husband reluctant to cast you in this?
Rachel Weisz: It was Hugh's idea.
Besson Back for Forbidden City?
I don't know what to make of Luc Besson. I first became aware of the director in college after seeing his action-classic La Femme Nikita. In fact, that film was one of the first ones I purchased on DVD when I got a DVD player. Then, he went on to direct the nearly-as-impressive The Professional and The Fifth Element -- featuring the exquisite Milla Jovovich as the perfect woman (inspired casting, IMHO). I liked those films but I didn't love them as much as I loved La Femme Nikita. And please, don't even get me started on The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. Man, what happened there?Anyway, Besson continued to direct a few more films after The Messenger -- including Angel-A and the upcoming children's live-action/cgi film Arthur and the Minimoys (which our own Monika wrote about previously).
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