Your guide to the buzz movies

at the Toronto International Film Festival

september 2000 | volume 1 number 9 |

canadas entertainment lifestyle magazine

Denzel Washington
ON RETURN OF THE TITANS

Hallie Kate Eisenberg

TALKS BEAUTIFUL

DEBORAH COX PICKS HER

FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS
SPOTLIGHT ON:
NICOLE KIDMAN,
KIEFER SUTHERLAND &
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
ROSEANNE,
RICHARD GERE
AND OTHER CELEBS
REVEAL THEIR MOST
OUTRAGEOUS
WISHES

Who is
Billy Crudup?

300

ONE OF THE STARS OF THE EAGERLY AWAITED

ALMOST FAMOUS. THATS WHO

plus NEW VIDEO RELEASES, HOROSCOPE, MUSIC, BOOKS, WEB, VIDEOGAMES

contents

14

16

Famous | volume 1 | number 9 |

42

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNS

16 FILTERING THE BUZZ

The movies to watch for at the
Toronto International Film Festival

06 EDITORIAL

36 NAME OF THE GAME

Meet the Sims

19 SHES A BEAUTY
Eight-year-old Hallie Kate Eisenberg isnt
just a Pepsi-pushing pretty girl. With her
new role in Beautiful, she strengthens her
position as one of Hollywoods biggest
little stars By Sean Daly

10 THE BIG PICTURE

A peek at current flicks including
Bait and Nurse Betty

20 OLYMPIAN EFFORTS
In honour of the 27th Olympiad, we
check out how the biggest sporting
event of all has fared on the silver
screen By Michael Leo
24 DENZEL GETS REAL
In Remember the Titans, Denzel
Washington plays a real-life football
coach who taught a community about
racial tolerance. Denzel says its familiar
ground for many reasons
By Stephen Schaefer

C O V E R

S T O R Y

26 BILLY CRUDUP: ALMOST FAMOUS

As one of his generations up-and-coming
stars, Billy Crudup is just waiting for his
big break. He may have found it with
Cameron Crowes much-anticipated
Almost Famous. But does he care?
Stephen Schaefer finds out
ON THE COVER Billy Crudup

08 LETTERS

14 THE PLAYERS
Vital bio info about Nicole Kidman,
Philip Seymour Hoffman and
Kiefer Sutherland
22 FAMOUS TRIVIA
28 COMING SOON
30 ON THE SLATE
32 THINGS
Back-to-school gear
34 CUI-SEEN
Love, soup and Penelope Ann Miller
42 FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS
Deborah Cox makes her picks
43 ON VIDEO
New releases including Any Given
Sunday and Mission to Mars
44 FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee
Curtis and other stars reveal their most
outrageous wishes
46 HOROSCOPE
famous 5

september 2000

37 PULP AND PAPER

Septembers harvest of new books
38 LINER NOTES
Recordable vinyl: Is the next step
forward really a leap back?
40 BIT STREAMING
Movie gossip Canadian style

44

editorial

MAGmovie

quick survey of movies about the journalism industry shows a gaping void.
While there have been plenty of good flicks inspired by the newspaper biz

Citizen Kane and All the Presidents Men among them, and many more about

broadcast journalism, like Network, Broadcast News and The Insider, there have been few
good films about magazines. That seems strange since magazine articles often require
writers to immerse themselves in strange worlds for months at a time. Youd think that
would spawn a great screenplay every now and then.
Well, if the buzz surrounding director Cameron Crowes largely autobiographical
Almost Famous is accurate, the magazine industry may be in for one of its first gems.
The movie (which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival) takes place in

september 2000

volume 1 number 9
PUBLISHER

SALAH BACHIR
EDITOR

MARNI WEISZ
ART DIRECTOR

VADIM MOSCOTIN
CONTRIBUTORS

SEAN DALY, TRENT ERNST,

SUSAN GRANGER, ELLEN HIMELFARB,
MICHAEL LEO, DAN LIEBMAN,
LEZLIE LOWE, MARK MAGEE, MARC SALTZMAN,
STEPHEN SCHAEFER, JENNIFER WALKER
FAMOUS MAGAZINE IS REPRESENTED BY
FAMOUS PLAYERS MEDIA INC.

ADVERTISING AND SALES

HEAD OFFICE

the Seventies and tells the story of William, a teen music junkie who goes on tour with

905.564.1033

an up-and-coming band and writes about them for Rolling Stone. For Getting Almost

WAYNE CARTER (ext. 232)

Famous, page 26, Stephen Schaefer talked to Billy Crudup, who plays the bands
guitar god, about how he got the plum part originally slated for Brad Pitt.
Speaking of the Toronto International Film Festival, on page 16 we give you a
rundown of the movies to watch for at this years event. And if you dont live in the
Toronto area, dont worry. Most of these films are already attached to major distributors so will be landing at a theatre near you within the next few months.
You might not know the name Hallie Kate Eisenberg but youd recognize her
pudgy little face. And the sight of that face may make you develop a mysterious
craving for a refreshing cola beverage. Thats because eight-year-old Hallie is bestknown as the demanding tot from the Pepsi commercials. But shes also carving out

a niche as a respectable young actress. For Beautiful Girl, page 19, Sean Daly
visited Hallie on the set of her most recent film, Beautiful.
When youre not at the movies this month, youll probably be glued to your TV
watching the Olympics. So, in honour of the Summer Games, we asked writer Michael
Leo to give us an overview of how the most magnificent of all sporting events has
been portrayed on the big screen. In Olympian Efforts, page 20, he finds that when
you cross movies with the Olympics, the results often contain more cheese than gold.
Keeping with the sporting mood, Denzel Washingtons latest, Remember the Titans,

Ooops!

In the July issue of Famous we incorrectly identified The Five Senses as the Genie winner for
Best Motion Picture of 1999. Although the
films director, Jeremy Podeswa, won for
Achievement in Direction, director Istvn
Szabs Sunshine (produced by Robert Lantos
and Andras Hamori) took home the prize for
Best Motion Picture. We apologize for the error.

has him playing a 1970s football coach in a

true story about the effects of forced integration on a high school football-obsessed community. In Leveling the Playing Field, page
24, Washington talks about why this role
seemed so familiar to him.
Marni Weisz

famous 6 september 2000

VICE PRESIDENT
ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES

JAMIE CRUVER (ext. 224)

SARAH TOTH (ext. 233)
ANTON KIM (ext. 238)
LYNDA KAISER (ext. 237)
WESTERN OFFICE

604.904.8622
WESTERN SALES MANAGER

DIANE RAJH
SPECIAL THANKS

JOHN BAILEY, ROGER HARRIS,

CARLA HORWITZ, ROB JOHN,
STUART POLLOCK, CATHY PROWSE,
DAVID RUSK, LAURIE ZABORSKI
Famous magazine is published 12 times a year
by Famous magazine Inc. Subscriptions are $32.50
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a year overseas. Single copies are $3. Back issues cost $6.
All subscription inquiries and back issue requests
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FAMOUS WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK.

WRITE TO US.
by email: famous@interlog.com
by regular mail: Letters to the Editor,
Famous magazine, 1314 Britannia Rd. E.,
Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 1C8
by fax: 905.564.3398
Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Please include
your full name, city of residence and a contact number
(email or phone).

letters
T

When my 14-year-old son, myself and a friend

were at your Sarnia theatre to see What Lies
Beneath, my son picked up a copy of your
August 2000 issue. On page 46 (10 Stars Talk
About Their Passionate Pursuits), there is a
rather explicit picture of Keanu Reeves, apparently toweling off after a swim. Now, I can
appreciate Keanus looks but this picture goes
way too far for a publication that is available
free of charge, and that children are able to
pick up quite easily. My son is a teenager, but
had he been younger, and innocently picked
up your magazine looking for movie information, I would have been quite upset to discover
that photography like this was in it.
Centre: The massive
Michael Clarke Duncan
with Tom Hanks (left)
and David Morse
in The Green Mile

ACCOLADES FROM OUR AUDIENCE

ONE BIG BOOK

a frequent moviegoer, and a radio journalist

for more than 30 years, I long ago gave up
reading the give-away mags in theatre lobbies.
But you seem to have succeeded where others
have failed. I find your approach to be fresh
and honest and well worth the time it takes to
read. Keep up the good work.

based on the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

perpetuates the common fallacy that Tolkiens
epic masterpiece is a trilogy. A trilogy is a
series of three separate, but related books.
(For example, any three of C.S. Lewiss 11
Narnia books would constitute a trilogy.)
LOTR is not a trilogy! It is a single book with
a beginning, a middle and an end. None of
the three parts stands alone as a self-contained entity. Indeed, LOTR was originally
published under three separate covers (over
Tolkiens objections) only because his publisher feared that the size and expense of a
1,200-plus page book would scare off potential purchasers.

Just wanted to compliment you on Famous. As

Roger Currie Kenora, Ont.

A lot of people take the time to complain, and

Im one of them. But I just thought it would be
nice to say how much I enjoy the new Famous
theatres. I love the movies. I go once a week,
and when any kids movies come out, I take
my kids to see them. Your food is great! The
seats are really comfortable! Myself and my
family always have a great time when we go
out to the movies!
Michelle Meadus Caledon, Ont.

Your recent note about the upcoming movies

John Arkelian Oshawa, Ont.

My husband and I went to see Mission:

I will NEVER watch the movie called American

Psycho and I will swear to that on 10,000
stacks of bibles! Why? Because you had the
objectivity to mention that Paul Bernardo was
inspired by the novel that was the basis for this
flick. I fully admire your journalistic integrity
for reporting that. The public had a right to
know. I dont know one single Canadian who
does not have a dark perception of that idiot.
Please keep up the excellent work!
Fred T. Perel Ottawa, Ont.

Gail Segal Gloucester, Ont.

famous 8

LOOKING FOR INFO

I am writing this short note to say that your

magazine is great. It is very informative and
colourful. I sometimes send a copy to overseas
friends and family. But I have a question about
actor Michael Clarke Duncan who was in The
Green Mile. What other work has he done? And
how big is he? Keep up the fantastic work!
R.M.G. Youngson Scarborough, Ont.
Michael Clarke Duncan has appeared in
Bulworth (1998), Armageddon (1998), A Night
at the Roxbury (1998), Breakfast of Champions
(1999) and The Whole Nine Yards (2000). He
stands a respectable six feet five inches tall.

Kudos on your article on celebrities and the

internet. Is there an official site for my
favourite actress, Winona Ryder? I always pick
up your mag whenever I am in the theatre,
and I must say it is very good. I hope you all
keep up the great job.

Sam Kullab Toronto, Ont.

REEVES REBUTTAL

Impossible-2 tonight. Upon leaving the theatre,

I picked up a copy of your August 2000
Famous magazine. When I arrived home, I sat
down with my cup of tea and began to look
at your magazine. When I got to page 46, I
did a double take!! You have printed a nude
picture of Keanu Reeves, showing his pubic
hair. I am not a prude but really now, it is
quite unacceptable to put a picture like that in
an entertainment magazine that children of
all ages pick up at the theatre! WHAT WERE
YOU THINKING!!

ANGRY ABOUT PSYCHO

Ms. J. Ward Corunna, Ont.

september 2000

There doesnt seem to be an official site for

Ms. Ryder, but you should check out
www.celebsites.com, where you can find links
to 42 different sites dedicated to Noni. They
offer pictures, wallpaper, bios and filmographies.

Famous welcomes your comments.

Address them to: Letters to the Editor, Famous
magazine, 1314 Britannia Rd. E., Mississauga,
Ontario, L4W 1C8; or fax us at 905.564.3398;
or drop us an email at famous@interlog.com.
Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Please include your full name, city of residence
and a contact number (email or phone).

the big picture

CATCH BAIT, WATCH THE WATCHER OR TAKE A TRIP WITH NURSE BETTY
leading routines from their rival squad, and now
that squad wants to even the score.

Rene Zellwegers Betty with

her cardboard cutout of Dr. Ravell
(Greg Kinnear) in Nurse Betty

Highlander: Endgame (September 1)

Whos In It? Adrian Paul, Christopher Lambert

Who Directed? Douglas Aarniokoski (debut)
Whats It About? A band of swashbuckling immortals roam the earth in this fourth installment
of the Highlander series.

Whipped (September 1)
Whos In It? Amanda Peet, Brian Van Holt,
Jonathan Abrahams
Who Directed? Peter M. Cohen (debut)
Whats It About? A group of studly college
buddies, who think theyre Gods gift to women,
swap detailed stories about their conquests at
the local dinerthat is, until the fateful weekend when they discover they have all fallen in
love with the same woman (Peet).
The Watcher (September 8)

About Adam (August 25)

Whos In It? Stuart Townsend, Kate Hudson
Who Directed? Gerard Stembridge (Guiltrip)
Whats It About? A waitress named Lucy
(Hudson) finally meets a guy she thinks she can
call her own Adam (Townsend) is handsome,
charming and full of surprises. Everyone thinks
shes made a great catchuntil he proceeds to
seduce her two sisters, and even her brother.
The Crew (August 25)
Whos In It? Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds,
Dan Hedaya
Who Directed? Michael Dinner (Heaven Help Us)
Whats It About? The residents (Dreyfuss,
Hedaya, Reynolds) at the ratty old Raj Mahal
seniors home along trendy South Beach, Miami,
revolt when they learn of plans to turn their
home-sweet-home into an upscale residence
with rents to match. But their seemingly simple
scheme to save the Raj goes awry when a paranoid drug lord becomes involved.

Wesley Snipes
in Art of War

Bring It On (August 25)

Whos In It? Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union,
Jesse Bradford
Who Directed? Peyton Reed (The Love Bug)
Whats It About? Dunst plays the All-American
captain of her high schools cheerleading squad.
Everything seems wonderful until she realizes
that her predecessor had been stealing cheerfamous 10

september 2000

The Way of the Gun (September 8)

Whos In It? Ryan Phillipe, Benicio Del Toro,

Juliette Lewis
Who Directed? Christopher McQuarrie (debut)
Whats It About? Lewis plays a surrogate mother
about to have a baby for a wealthy couple. But
then a pair of criminals (Del Toro and Phillipe) get
the bright idea to kidnap the expectant mom
and hold her (and the unborn baby) for ransom.

Nurse Betty (September 8)

Whos In It? Rene Zellweger, Morgan Freeman,

Chris Rock, Greg Kinnear
Who Directed? Neil LaBute (Your Friends &
Neighbors)
Whats It About? Betty (Zellweger) is a smalltown waitress who watches the soaps and thinks
Dr. David Ravell (Kinnear) is speaking directly to
her especially when he says things like, I know
theres someone special out there for me. Then,
one day, her deadbeat husband comes home
with a couple of shady associates (Freeman and
Rock). Things go terribly wrong and they kill him,
so Betty takes off in his Buick LeSabre in search of
her true love, Dr. Ravell. But the two killers are hot
on the trail of their crimes only witness.

Art of War (August 25)

Whos In It? Wesley Snipes, Donald Sutherland,
Anne Archer
Who Directed? Christian Duguay (The Assignment)
Whats It About? Snipes plays a secret agent
who is forced to go underground after being
accused of killing a Chinese ambassador. But
when terrorists threaten the United Nations he
has to come out of hiding to take care of them.

Whos In It? Keanu Reeves, James Spader

Who Directed? Joe Charbanic (debut)
Whats It About? A psychopathic serial killer
(Reeves) takes pleasure in taunting the FBI
agent (Spader) whos spent eight years trying to
catch him. The only thing is, the FBI agent has
now retired. Will the killer be able to lure him
back into their cat-and-mouse game?

the big picture

Bait (September 15)
Whos In It? Jamie Foxx, David Morse,
Robert Pastorelli
Who Directed? Antoine Fuqua (The Replacement
Killers)
Whats It About? Alvin Sanders (Foxx) is a petty
criminal who is thrown in jail for stealing prawns
thats right, those things that look like shrimp,
only bigger. Inside the slammer he meets John
Jaster (Pastorelli) whos in for pulling off a daring
gold heist. When Alvin is released, Jaster gives
him a coded message to give to his wife. But U.S.
Treasury investigator Clenteen (Morse) thinks
that code will lead to the gold so, unbeknownst
to Sanders, slaps a tracking device on him.
Chain of Fools (September 15)

Whos In It? Steve Zahn, Salma Hayek

Who Directed? Patrick Von Krusenstjerna and
Pontus Lwenhielm (debut)
Whats It About? A barber (Zahn) finds himself
in the middle of a strange chain of events that
involves the attempted theft of rare ancient
coins, and then finds himself falling in love with
the detective investigating (Hayek).

Birthday Girl (September 15)

Whos In It? Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin

Who Directed? Jez Butterworth (Mojo)
Whats It About? When an English bank manager
(Chaplin) orders a mail-order Russian bride
(Kidman) over the internet, he gets more than he
bargained for. His new love may have a dangerous side, which becomes all the more evident
when a couple of her Russian cousins arrive.

Beautiful (September 15)

Whos In It? Minnie Driver, Hallie Kate
Eisenberg, Joey Lauren Adams
Who Directed? Sally Field (debut)
Whats It About? A young woman (Driver) who
grew up in a dismal household finds an escape
in beauty pageants. Against all odds she maneuvers her way up the pageant ladder toward
the title of Miss America Miss. Its quite a feat
since she doesnt get support from anyone but
her best friend, Ruby (Adams), and Rubys
daughter, Vanessa (Eisenberg). See Hallie Kate
Eisenberg interview, page 19.

Crudup (Without Limits) plays its guitar god. See

Billy Crudup interview, page 26.

Duets (September 15)

Whos In It? Gwyneth Paltrow, Scott Speedman

Who Directed? Bruce Paltrow (A Little Sex)
Whats It About? A handful of karaoke hustlers
travel across the U.S. competing in karaoke contests that all lead to the championship sing-off
in Omaha. Word is, Gwyneths character will be
singing a bunch of Paula Abdul songs.

Urban Legends: The Final Cut

(September 24)
Whos In It? Joey Lawrence, Jenny Morrison,
Anthony Anderson
Who Directed? John Ottman (debut)
Whats It About? This sequel to 1998s Urban
Legend follows a film students struggle to complete her thesis film on urban legends, which
becomes even more difficult when her crew
members start dropping like flies. Joey
Lawrence (yes, Blossoms Joey Russo) co-stars in
this Toronto-filmed flick.

Remember the Titans (September 29)

Whos In It? Denzel Washington, Will Patton

Who Directed? Boaz Yakin (Fresh)
Whats It About? Based on a true story,
Remember the Titans tells of two high school
football coaches one black and one white
in Virginia, circa 1971. When the local school
Gwyneth
Paltrow
in Duets

From left: Rachel Griffiths,

Natasha Richardson and
Alan Rickman in Blow Dry

board is forced to integrate an all-black school

and an all-white school, the question becomes:
Which man will get to lead the team?
Determined to work together, the two coaches
teach the community a lesson about overcoming prejudice and intolerance. See Denzel
Washington interview, page 24.

Blow Dry (September 29)

Whos In It? Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson,
Rachel Griffiths
Who Directed? Paddy Breathnach (I Went
Down)
Whats It About? Two beauty salons in a small
English town become locked in a battle to win the
nations hairdressing competition. On one side
theres an old-fashioned hairdresser (Rickman),
and on the other side theres his ex-wife
(Richardson) and her lesbian life partner (Griffiths).
Ring of Fire (September 29)

Whos In It? Kiefer Sutherland, Marcus Thomas,

Daryl Hannah
Who Directed? Xavier Koller (Journey of Hope)
Whats It About? Set against the backdrop of a
rodeo circuit, a couple of brothers are torn apart
when one brother (Thomas), a bull rider, falls in
love with the woman (Hannah) his rodeo clown
brother (Sutherland) has always had a thing for.

Impostor (October 6)

Whos In It? Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe,

Vincent DOnofrio
Who Directed? Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls)
Whats It About? Based on a short story by
Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Total Recall), this scifi thriller follows an engineer (Sinise) who creates a superweapon to be used in a war against
aliens. But then his fellow humans begin to suspect hes an alien himself.

Meet the Parents (October 6)

Whos In It? Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo

Who Directed? Jay Roach (Mystery, Alaska)
Story: Greg Focker (Stiller) has met the girl of
his dreams and theyre getting married. But
then he goes to meet her parents, and everything that can go wrong, does. De Niro plays the
girls intimidating father.

Almost Famous (September 15)

Whos In It? Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee, Billy Crudup

Who Directed? Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire)
Whats It About? In this loosely autobiographical
take on director Cameron Crowes early years,
William (Fugit), a teenaged music junkie/writer
gets the opportunity of a lifetime when Rolling
Stone magazine sends him on tour with an upand-coming band called Stillwater. Jason Lee
(Dogma) plays the bands lead singer and Billy

All release dates are subject to change.

Some films play only in limited markets.

check www.famousplayers.com for showtimes and locations

famous 12

september 2000

the players

now appe
RING OF FIRE BIRTHDAY GIRL ALMO

of bully Ace Merrill in the hit film

Stand By Me (1986). In 1987, he met
actress Camelia Kath on the set of
the movie The Killing Time, and a
year later they were married. Kath
was 14 years older than Sutherland
and brought an 11-year-old daughter from a previous relationship to
the marriage. Soon, the couple welcomed another daughter, Sarah
Jude. Sutherland was enjoying a
growing film career (with a penchant for playing the bad guy) but
his off-screen partying had begun
to destroy his marriage. Sutherland
Sutherland stars
and Kath divorced in 1990, but he
as a rodeo clown
quickly rebounded with a whirlwind
in Ring of Fire
romance with his Flatliners (1990)
co-star, Julia Roberts. Their relationship became fodder for the tabloids, but the
press went crazy when Roberts called off their
June 14, 1991 wedding and hopped a plane to
Now appearing inRing of Fire, a cowboy
Ireland with Sutherlands best friend, actor
drama that also stars Marcus Thomas and Daryl
Jason Patric. It was widely reported that
Hannah and was directed by Xavier Koller
Sutherlands straying (with a go-go dancer) and
(Squanto: A Warriors Tale). Sutherland plays a
his hard partying were behind Roberts decirodeo clown named Hank, whose brother Ely
sion. In 1996, he fell for, and eventually married,
(Thomas) is determined to become the next
fellow Canadian Kelly Winn. Unfortunately, that
star on the bullriding circuit. The brothers relamarriage came to an end after only three years.
tionship becomes strained when Ely falls in
love with the woman (Hannah) Hank loves.
Sample roles: Wendell Goddard in Woman
Wanted (1999), Freddie Cobb in A Time to Kill
Bio bits: Born December 21, 1966, in London,
(1996), Sonny in The Cowboy Way (1994), Jeff
England to Canadians, actor Donald Sutherland
in The Vanishing (1993), Athos in The Three
and actress Shirley Douglas. Kiefers parents
Musketeers (1993), Lt. Jonathan Kendrick in
divorced when he was only four years old and
A Few Good Men (1992), Tad Aligash in Bright
he and his twin sister, Rachel, lived with their
Lights, Big City (1988), Doc Scurlock in Young
mother in Toronto. When he was 14, Kiefer got
Guns (1988), David in The Lost Boys (1987), Ace
the urge to join the family business after seeMerrill in Stand By Me (1986), Donald Campbell
ing his mother appear in a stage production of
in The Bay Boy (1984)
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? So, he enrolled in
theatre workshops and soon landed a small
Interesting tidbits: His grandfather was the
role in the movie Max Dugan Returns (1983)
former Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas.
which starred his dad. He dropped out of high
school and devoted himself to acting full-time,
He attended St. Andrews College in Aurora,
much to his parents dismay. A year later, he
Ontario for two years before being expelled
won the lead in the Canadian drama Bay Boy,
for shaving his head.
opposite Liv Ullmann. When the drama won
critical acclaim, Sutherland needed no further
On his relationship with Julia Roberts: We
encouragement to pack his bags and head for
really loved each other very much. The hell
New York. After a year of unemployment, he
period came after we had broken up and I
packed up and moved to L.A., where he had
watched the press have a go at me and have
better luck. A role in the Steven Spielberg TV
a go at her and to a large degree, I think
series Amazing Stories helped him land the part
we asked for it. Mr. Showbiz, 1997

KIEFER SUTHERLAND

famous 14

september 2000

NICOLE KIDMAN

Now appearing inBirthday Girl, a romantic

comedy directed by Jez Butterworth (Mojo).
Kidman stars as a Russian mail-order bride
who is ordered over the internet by an English
banker (Ben Chaplin). Then her two cousins
come to visit and Chaplins character discovers
his new bride may not be what she seems.
Bio bits: Born Nicole Mary Kidman on June 20,
1967, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kidmans family
moved briefly to Washington, D.C., and then
permanently to Australia when she was four
years old. Her parents (father Antony is a biochemist and mother Janelle is a nursing
instructor) were social activists who encouraged their daughters to follow suit. When
Kidmans feminist mother refused to let her
play with a Barbie, Nicole showed her
resourceful streak, and stole one instead. At a
very young age she became obsessed with
ballet and the performing arts and began an
exhaustive schedule of dance, drama and
mime. It was through this outlet that the 17year-old Nicole was able to deal with the news
that her mother had breast cancer. She
dropped out of high school to devote herself
to both film and her family. Her mother eventually recovered and Kidman went on to
Kidman plays a
mail-order bride
in Birthday Girl

aring in...

ST FAMOUS

By Jennifer Walker

become a film and TV star in Australia. But it

was her role in 1989s Dead Calm that got
Hollywoods attention and had producers and
actors, including her future husband Tom
Cruise, asking to work with her. Kidman
starred with Cruise in Days of Thunder (1990)
where they fell in lust then love. They married in a top-secret ceremony on Christmas
Eve 1990. The couple have two adopted children, seven-year-old Isabella and five-year-old
Connor, and divide their time between homes
in L.A. and Australia. Kidmans career didnt
really take off in Hollywood until she won the
role of an adulterous, husband-murdering, ladder-climbing weather girl in director Gus Van
Sants To Die For (1995). She raised eyebrows
again when she and Cruise starred in their
third film together, last years Eyes Wide Shut.
Then she took a role in The Blue Room, a play
on the London stage, which required her to
appear naked in one dimly lit scene. She won
raves for that performance and for her
incredible 5' 10" body.
Sample roles: Alice Harford in Eyes Wide Shut
(1999), Gillian Owens in Practical Magic (1998),
Isabel Archer in Portrait of a Lady (1996),
Suzanne Stone Maretto in To Die For (1995),
Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever (1995),
Gail Jones in My Life (1993), Shannon Christie in
Far and Away (1992), Drew Preston in Billy
Bathgate (1991), Dr. Claire Lewicki in Days of
Thunder (1990), Rae Ingram in Dead Calm (1989)
Love life: Rumored to have dated Australian
actor Russell Crowe while they were both still
living in Australia. Married Tom Cruise on
December 24, 1990 in Telluride, Colorado.

Awards: Won both the Theatre World award

(1999) and the Special London Evening
Standard award (1998) for her role in The Blue
Room; won the Golden Globe for Best Actress
in a Musical or Comedy for her role in To Die
For (1995). In both 1996 and 1999, she was
chosen by People magazine as one of the 50
Most Beautiful People in the World.
On her timid side: Though Im more out of
my shell now, I can still get very, very shy. It
used to tick Tom off. Wed go to a dinner party
and Id hardly speak. He didnt understand it.
Rolling Stone, July 1999

Hoffman as Creem
critic Lester Bangs
in Almost Famous

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

Now appearing inAlmost Famous, director

Cameron Crowes loosely autobiographical
story of a 15-year-old boy (Patrick Fugit) who
is given the opportunity to go on the road
with the fictional band Stillwater and write
an article about the experience. Hoffman
plays the teens mentor, real-life rock critic
Lester Bangs. The film also stars Frances
McDormand, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson,
Jason Lee, Anna Paquin and Fairuza Balk.

Bio bits: Born July 23, 1967, in Fairport, New

York, to Gordon and Marilyn Hoffman who
divorced in 1976. Philip, along with his sisters,
Jill and Emily, and his brother, Gordy, was
raised in upstate New York by his lawyer mother. He was more interested in sports growing
up than he was in the arts, and excelled at
wrestling and baseball. But repeated injuries
left him unable to play and wondering what to
do to fill his time. It didnt take long for him to
discover that the drama department was
where a certain popular and beautiful senior
was auditioning for the high school play, The
Crucible. Hoffman followed, and a new love of
theatre began. He went on to graduate from
the prestigious New York Tisch School of the
Arts and took a series of typical strugglingactor jobs to make ends meet. It was while
working in a deli that his big break came when
he was cast as a prep school brat in the Chris
ODonnell/Al Pacino hit Scent of a Woman. He
nabbed small roles in big budget pictures like

famous 15

september 2000

Twister (1996) and the critical smash Boogie

Nights (1997), and in smaller indie favourites
like Happiness (1998) and Next Stop Wonderland
(1998). Hoffman will soon make his debut as a
romantic leading man in the drama State and
Main opposite Alec Baldwin.
Sample roles: Freddie Miles in The Talented
Mr. Ripley (1999), Phil Parma in Magnolia
(1999), Rusty Zimmerman in Flawless (1999),
Mitch in Patch Adams (1998), Allen in
Happiness (1998), Brandt in The Big Lebowski
(1998), Sean in Next Stop Wonderland (1998),
Scotty in Boogie Nights (1997), Dusty in Twister
(1996), Gary in When a Man Loves a Woman
(1994), Buck in The Yearling (1994), George
Willis, Jr. in Scent of a Woman (1992)
Awards: Nominated for the Screen Actors
Guild Award for his portrayal of Rusty in
Flawless (1999); won Best Supporting Actor
from the National Board of Review for his roles
in Magnolia and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Interesting tidbits: He started using his middle
name, Seymour, because there was another
actor in the union with the name Philip
Hoffman. Calls Tom Cruise, his co-star from
Magnolia, a cheerleader for the human race
and the nicest guy hes ever met.

On his craft: Actings not easy, ever. When

you start thinking its easy, all of a sudden,
you suck. True Grit, February 2000

fest films
THE FILM THAT WINS THE PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OFTEN GOES ON
TO BE A WINNER AT THE BOX OFFICE AND THE ACADEMY AWARDS. SO THE QUESTION IS

What will be this year s

By Marni Weisz

The audiences at the Toronto International

Film Festival have a keen eye for picking a
winner. Last year, American Beauty won their
Peoples Choice Award, then walked away with
five Oscars. The year before it was Life is
Beautiful, which eventually took home three
Academy Awards.
Who will it be this year? Well, DreamWorks,
the studio behind American Beauty, seems to
be in good shape with two leading contenders
Almost Famous, the semi-autobiographical
story from director Cameron Crowe, and the
appropriately named The Contender a political drama starring Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges
and Joan Allen. Fox is putting their money on
a military drama called Men of Honor which
combines the big-name star power of Robert
De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr. with a true story
of overcoming racial barriers. On a lighter note,
Warner Brothers is touting their quirky new
comedy Best in Show, starring and directed by
the super-talented Christopher Guest. Then
theres our Great Canadian Hope Stardom
from Jesus of Montreal director Denys Arcand.
Although Stardom (which was produced by
Alliance Atlantis and will open the festival on
September 7) wont likely end up with American
Beauty-type hardware, it could follow in the
footsteps of Atom Egoyans The Sweet Hereafter,
which was nominated for Best Director and Best
Adapted Screenplay at the 1998 Oscars.
On the other hand, a smaller independent
film may leap out of the woodwork to claim
this years prize. Its happened before like
when Michael Moores Roger and Me won in
1989. The question would then become: Can it
get the backing of a major distributor to push it
into the worldwide spotlight, and perhaps even
Oscars lair? Not that were saying the Oscars are
the be-all-and-end-all of a filmmakers aspirations. Truth is, no matter how well the Toronto
International Film Festivals movies do at that
notorious glitzorama next March, were in for
nine days of magnificent movies this month.
Heres a closer look at the films we think have
a good chance to be your favourite at this
years festival.

AMERICAN

BEAUTY

Writer: Scott Marshall Smith

Producer: Robert Teitel

uba Gooding, Jr. plays Carl Brashear, the

Navys first African-American Master Diver.
But, not surprisingly, things dont go smoothly
for this groundbreaker. Robert De Niro plays
Billy Sunday, a rebellious senior officer and
Master Diver who, at first, opposes Brashear. But
in the end he helps Carl overcome a devastating
injury, fight racism and battle bureaucracy to
make military history. This film was executive
produced by Bill Cosby, who has filled that role
in the past with movies like Leonard Part 6 and
I Spy Returns, as well as his TV series, The Cosby
Show. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is expected to be among
the scads of celebrities attending the festival this
year. And, word is, Fox thinks this movie will be
one of their best bets come Oscar time.

THE CONTENDER

Stars: Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges,

Christian Slater, Sam Elliott, Mariel Hemingway,
Mike Binder, William L. Petersen, Saul Rubinek,
Kristen Shaw
Director: Rod Lurie (Deterrence, 4 Second Delay)
Writer: Rod Lurie
Producers: Gary Oldman, Marc Frydman,
Scott Shiffman

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

prepares to dive
in Men of Honor

MEN OF HONOR

Stars: Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,

Hal Holbrook, David Keith, Joshua Leonard,
Michael Rapaport, Charlize Theron, Powers Boothe,
David Conrad, Aunjanne Ellis, Joshua Feinman,
Ryan Honey, Scott Kraft, Holt McCallany,
Theo Nicholas Pagones, Dennis Troutman
Director: George Tillman, Jr. (Soul Food, Scenes
for the Soul)
famous 16

september 2000

ou just knew the time was ripe for a really

good film about political scandal in the
White House. With the line between politics and
celebrity blurring (evident in magazines like
George and TV shows like NBCs The West
Wing), Washington is no longer only interesting

The Toronto International

Film Festival
takes place from September 7th to the 16th.
For more info check out their website at

www.bell.ca/filmfest

Jessica Par
amid the media
in Stardom

Other Film Fest Flicks

BILLY ELLIOT

to Watch For

Director: Stephen Daldry

Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters
In the mid-Eighties, a young boy (Bell) is
torn between his love of dance and his disintegrating family. Could an audition for
the Royal Ballet School be his way out?
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON

Director: Ang Lee

Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh
A man named Li (Yun-Fat) is embittered by
the mysterious disappearance of his magical
jade sword, and by his unrequited pursuit of
a woman named Yu (Yeoh).
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME

STARDOM

Stars: Jessica Par, Dan Aykroyd, Charles

Berling, Robert Lepage, Camillia Rutherford,
Thomas Gibson, Frank Langella
Director: Denys Arcand (Jesus of Montreal,
Love and Human Remains)
Writers: Denys Arcand, Jacob Potashnik
Produced by: Robert Lantos, Denise Robert

ife may end up imitating art with this one. You

see, Arcands comic drama tells the story of

Tina, a gorgeous young woman who is discovered and turned into a supermodel at the
expense of her privacy, personal life and, perhaps,
her sanity. Well, the woman Arcand cast as Tina
is Jessica Par, a gorgeous, unknown actress who
is making her feature film debut. If Stardom turns
out to be a hit, Pars fate may mimic that of the
character she portrays. Tinas rise to the top of the
catwalk world is seen through the eyes of hordes
of television cameras that follow her every move.
Two of the more familiar faces in Stardom are
Dan Aykroyd, who plays a power-hungry restaurateur who is seduced by Tinas charms, and
Thomas Gibson, best-known as Greg from TVs
Dharma and Greg, who plays Tinas powerful
agent. Gibson previously teamed up with Arcand
for the directors very disturbing 1993 film, Love
and Human Remains. Stardom was the official
closing film at Cannes last May and will be the
official opening film of the Toronto festival.

ALMOST FAMOUS

Stars: Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee,

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Fairuza Balk,
Zooey Deschanel, Jimmy Fallon, Kate Hudson,
Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin, Bijou Phillips,
Noah Taylor, John Fedevich, Mark Kozelek
Director: Cameron Crowe (Singles, Say Anything,
Jerry Maguire)
Writer: Cameron Crowe
Producers: Ian Bryce, Cameron Crowe

et in 1973, this largely-autobiographical

fi l m i s b a s e d o n fi l m m a k e r / j o u r n a l i s t
Crowes days as a teen music fan whose
dreams came true when he was given the
opportunity to go on the road with rock bands
and write about them for Rolling Stone. In real
life, Crowe followed a number of different

for old fogies who get up on Sunday mornings

to watch Meet the Press. Sex, power and clashing personalities all play a large part in this
story of Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen)
who, after the Vice President dies in office, is
nominated by the President (Jeff Bridges) to
take over the vacant position. Problem is, a lot
of people arent ready for a female Vice
President and when a possible sex scandal
involving Hanson breaks, her detractors go to
work trying to destroy her. Foremost among
those detractors is a Republican congressman
played by Gary Oldman, whose performance is
already generating Oscar buzz. For a long time
this movie didnt have a distributor, despite its
big name stars. But, in May, Stephen Spielbergs
DreamWorks decided this one was a winner and
made it the first film it has picked up that was
already produced. The folks at DreamWorks
arent the only ones who think The Contender
has the potential to be the next American
Beauty. The oft-curmudgeonly Harry Knowles,
chief architect of the online movie gossip site,
Aint-It-Cool-News (www.aint-it-cool-news.com),
has seen the film and writes, The best thing I
can say about this film would not scratch the
surface of how good I felt it was.

famous 17

september 2000

Director: Ken Lonergan

Stars: Matthew Broderick, Laura Linney,
Mark Ruffalo
A young mother (Linney) whos having an
affair with her boss (Broderick) sees her life
turned upside down when her wild brother (Ruffalo) shows up unexpected.
SONGCATCHER

Director: Maggie Greenwald

Stars: Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn
In 1907, a musicologist (McTeer) moves to
Appalachia where she tries to preserve the
Scottish and Irish folk songs that have been
passed down from generation to generation.
Quinn plays her love interest, Tom.
LUZHIN DEFENCE

Director: Marleen Gorris

Stars: John Turturro, Emily Watson
Two worlds collide when an eccentric genius
(Turturro) falls in love with a strong-willed
society beauty (Watson).
SHADOW MAGIC

Director: Ann Hu
Stars: Jarred Harris, Xia Yu
In 1902, a Beijing photographer named Liu
gets caught up in a new-fangled technology called Shadow Magic (a crude early
movie theatre) brought to his region by a
foreigner.
AFTER THE STORM

Director: Guy Ferland

Stars: Armand Assante, Benjamin Bratt
When a luxury yacht goes down in a violent storm, the race is on to salvage the
bounty. The fierce competition causes two
couples to commit the ultimate betrayal.

fest films
bands, including Led Zeppelin. In the movie,
those bands have been blended into one archetypal Seventies rock outfit called Stillwater,
whose members include the phenomenal Jason
Lee, whose offbeat appeal has made him a
favourite in films like Dogma, Chasing Amy and
Mumford, and Billy Crudup, who received raves
for his work in this summers Jesus Son. The
role of the Crowe character (William) went to
17-year-old newcomer Patrick Fugit, who
reportedly turns in an inspired performance.
Like last years American Beauty, this films theatrical release will follow hot on the heels of its
world premiere at the festival. Its slated to
open in limited theatres across the country on
September 15, and will expand into wide
release at the end of the month and in early
October. For more on Almost Famous, check
out our Billy Crudup interview on page 26.

BEST IN SHOW

Stars: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy,

Michael McKean, Catherine OHara, Parker Posey,
Fred Willard, Lewis Arquette, Bob Balaban,
Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw,
John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock
Director: Christopher Guest (Almost Heroes,
Waiting for Guffman)

Bring your

Christopher Guest
smooches with his
pooch in Best in Show

Writers: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy

Producers: Karen Murphy, Gordon Mark

rom the bizarre brain that brought you

Waiting for Guffman, the hilarious story of a
small-town theatre company mounting a middling play, comes this story of a handful of dog

Famous Players

owners who each hope their pooch has what it

takes to be victorious at the Mayflower Kennel
Club Dog Show. That bizarre brain, of course,
belongs to Christopher Guest, former Saturday
Night Live cast member and probably bestknown as Nigel Tufnel from Rob Reiners
monumental mockumentary, This is Spinal
Tap. With Guffman, Guest showed he has a flare
for revealing the intrinsic humour in pedestrian, middle-American, anti-heroic characters,
and Warner Brothers is hoping he can do it
again with this film about dog people. Theres
the yuppie couple, Hamilton (Michael Hitchcock)
and Meg (Parker Posey), with their neurotic
Weimaraner; mild-mannered menswear salesman Gerry (Eugene Levy) and his wife Cookie
(Catherine OHara) with their Norwich Terrior
named Champion-Thank-You-Neil-Sedaka;
and fly-fishing shop owner Hubert (Guest) and
his Bloodhound, Hubert, among others. Youll
notice that many of the same names from
Guffman (Hitchcock, Willard, OHara, Posey,
Levy, Balaban) are back for this one, so expect
the same wacky SCTV meets SNL meets yourthird-cousins-once-removed-who-live-in-amidwestern-bungalow feel. The movie should
make its way to a theatre near you sometime in
early October. F

ticket stub

ad to any Stitches location

and receive an additional 10% off

or this

interview
Hallie (left) gets some on-set
advice from director Sally Field

girl

Beautiful

By Sean Daly

few months ago, Hallie Kate Eisenberg

was dashing around the L.A. set of her
latest movie, Beautiful, trying to stump
cast and crew members with an Adult
IQ Test. The questions (like Whats the smallest cell in the human body? and How many
troops were killed at Gettysburg?) all came out
of her daily on-set tutoring sessions. For Hallie,
who celebrated her eighth birthday in August,
schooling is just one more part of a busy day-today schedule, which often combines filming,
interviews and countless personal appearances.
But if you ask the pint-sized actress known
best, until now, from her popular Joy of Cola
Pepsi commercials shell tell you she actually
loves the non-stop activity and attention. In fact,
as Hallie returns to her trailer around 3 p.m.,
dripping with white paint she stepped in somewhere near the craft service table, she shows no
signs of tiring. Instead, the energetic third grader
is anxious to show off the latest additions to her
collection of American Girl dolls and talk about
the wide array of projects which have helped her
become one of Hollywoods fastest rising and
most recognizable young stars.
Although she first earned fame pitching soft
drinks, the New Jersey native is also a celebrity
guest-correspondent for Entertainment Tonight
and a veteran film actress who has appeared

You know her as the

loud-mouthed Pepsi kid,
but Hallie Kate Eisenberg
is more than just a soft
drink seller. The 8-year-old
proves she can really act in
the new Minnie Driver
movie, Beautiful

alongside some pretty big names: Russell

Crowe (The Insider), Jamie Lee Curtis (Nicholas
Gift) and Robin Williams (Bicentennial Man).
In Beautiful, which marks the feature film
directing debut of Oscar winner Sally Field, Hallie
moves into her biggest role yet, receiving second
billing to Minnie Driver in this tale of a young
womans quest to become Miss America Miss.
I have a special relationship with Minnies
character, Hallie says, careful not to give away
too much of the plot. Her character, Mona,
doesnt want to accept that my character
[Vanessa] is her daughter.
If there was ever any doubt that show business was in Hallies blood, it was dashed five
years ago, when, just barely out of diapers, she
composed her first short play, Lies and Ashes. Its
about a mother who smokes and a little girl, she
explains. The girl comes home from school and
finds a hidden ash tray under the table. The next
day the girl comes home from school smoking.
And her mom says, What are you doing? And
the girl asks, Well you can do it, why cant I? So
the mom goes, No more lies, and the girl goes,
No more ashes. And then they hug.

famous 19

september 2000

Shes so bright. She was doing fourth grade

work in kindergarten, recalls brother Jesse, 16,
who recently starred in the Fox television series
Get Real. Not surprisingly, Hallie credits much of
her early success to the support of her family
especially Jesse, who was present when she was
discovered in 1995. He was switching agents,
so I went along for the ride, she recalls. They
said, Can we send you out on things? So we
said, Sure! I think I was about four.
It wasnt long before she had landed her first
major studio film, 1998s Paulie, about a girl and
her pet parrot. It remains a favourite in the
family section of video stores everywhere. She
went on to appear in several made-for-TV
movies, including Swing Vote (1999) and Blue
Moon (1999) before being cast as Russell
Crowes daughter in last years Oscar-nominated
The Insider. A few months later, she was back on
screen, this time opposite Robin Williams, in
the futuristic tale, Bicentennial Man. She
recently completed a made-for-TV remake of
The Miracle Worker in Toronto, and will soon
start work on a baseball movie called A Little
Inside, in which she will play the daughter of a
major leaguer.
Hallies future plans are still up in the air,
according to her parents, Amy, a retired clown,
and Barry, a former hospital administrator. (The
two now manage their childrens careers). The
couple recently accompanied their daughter to
the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in L.A.,
where she filed reports for Entertainment Tonight.
Hallies work with the program including
many celebrity interviews has not gone overlooked by her fellow reporters. I think shes
wonderful, raves Mark Steines, the shows
senior correspondent and part-time anchor. She
remembers all of her lines and she doesnt get
real nervous. Shes a good little actress. She also
really knows how to play to the camera.
Steines said the biggest contribution Hallie
makes to her E.T. segments is in the creative
responses she is able to generate from some of
Hollywoods biggest stars. She can ask one of
the most obscure, off-the-mark questions, he
explained, but because its coming from her, this
cute little adorable girl, they come up with some
of the most unique answers. And you get to see
a completely different side of the celebrity.
And whats Hallies best E.T. moment? It
would have to be that interview with Sporty
Spice, of her favourite band, The Spice Girls.
She recognized me, Hallie says, blushing.
She said Youre the little girl from the Pepsi
commercials. I love you.
They got me on tape saying This is the best
moment of my life!
Sean Daly is editor of Showtime Magazine in L.A.

olympics on film

The sublime
concentration
of a gymnast in
Leni Riefenstahls
Olympiad

OLYMPIAN

EFFORTS

In honour of the Games of the 27th Olympiad, we asked writer/broadcaster Michael Leo
to examine how the Olympics have been portrayed on screen

een a good movie about the Olympics

lately? After all, the big screen and the
Olympic Games seem to be a natural
fit. Both enjoy blockbuster status with
a worldwide audience, and both often give us
the same basic scenario: Someone wins,
someone loses and everyone gets excited.
Youd think the silver screen would just be a
bigger, better canvas for the biggest and best
sports event of all.
But the Olympics rarely appear in films and,
when they do, its often only in a supporting or

cameo capacity. Maybe some form of competitive spirit has kept the two from joining forces
more frequently. Or maybe their differences
simply outweigh their similarities. After all, you
dont watch a sports event the same way you
watch a flick. In a movie its business as usual
when the hero wins, but no one can predict
wholl be the hero in an Olympic competition.
This built-in suspense is one of the events
most magnetic qualities, its the thing that gets
viewers high on an overdose of tension. As
critic Andrew Sarris once said: Sports are

famous 20

september 2000

now. Movies are then. Sports are news. Movies

are fables.
So where does that leave us in terms of cinematic depictions of the Olympics? With a little
bit of everything, as it turns out, from the great
to the gimpy. But if youre suffering from
Olympic fever, even the worst among them can
make for a fun, cheesy diversion. In honour of
the Sydney Summer Games, heres a completely subjective, inarguably personal rundown of
the good, the bad and the awful among
Olympics-based films.

Olympiad

1938/Germany/director: Leni Riefenstahl

The most accomplished and controversial of
sports documentaries, Riefenstahls masterwork
is a near-hallucinatory record of the 1936
Olympic Games. It was commissioned by
Adolf Hitler as a cinematic salute to Aryan
prowess, and The Third Reichs long shadow
does, indeed, hover forebodingly as Hitler is
seen observing the games, his face tightening
when German athletes miss their moment. To
this day, Olympiad is a source of political and
artistic debate. Riefenstahls critics point out the
fascistic elements of her lionization of the sports
arenas high and mighty, while her defenders
(including John Grierson, grandee of the 1930s
documentary movement) have praised her for
transcending Nazi propaganda. Riefenstahl has
maintained that aesthetics were her only motivation. Explaining her approach, she stated,
The form must excite the content and give it
shape. That it does, and whatever else this film
may be, it is a triumph of photography and editing, vision and organization a truly obsessive
record of physical supremacy. Divers fly with
preternatural grace into waiting waters, vaulters
float over the bar, sprinters (among them Jesse
Owens) and marathon runners (with special
emphasis on Koreas Kitei Son) move with powerhouse energy. Riefenstahl gives us athletic
competition as a heroic, often erotic, hypercharged aesthetic experience. At over three
hours, Olympiad is often shown in two parts
Festival Of The Nation and Festival Of Beauty.

as track performers who become lovers and

later compete against each other in the
Olympic trials. This is one of the most sensuous
of sports movies, with the sexual and athletic
elements braiding together in a believable,
unforced manner. Laconically scripted by
Towne, the film has an open, unaffected atmosphere. Theres also a sense of quiet excitement
and empathy running through the conflict
between athletic rivalry and sexual loyalty. This
movie was jeered at in some quarters, probably
because it took women seriously as athletes
and showed that girls could do without boys in
horizontal sports as well.

Downhill Racer

1969/U.S./director: Michael Ritchie

Robert Redford plays a rare unsympathetic role
as a cynical skier out to win at the Winter
Olympics. The competition footage is truly dazzling, presenting an almost spell-casting sense
of risk, which makes sense of Redfords determination to conquer the sport. Shot in a semidocumentary style, the movie is smartly low
key, enough so to be fairly intriguing (if also a
little too spare for its own good and never really gripping outside the ski footage). Theres also
a memorable scene of erotic discord when an
angry Redford, in the front seat of his car with
neglectful sex partner Camilla Sparv, puts a stop
to her prattling by hitting the horn violently
one of the few moments off the slopes when the
restrained surface of this film gets busted open.

Million Dollar Legs

Robert Townes unabashed tribute to the

beauty of womens bodies during athletic pursuit
stars Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly

W.C. Fields plays the President of Klopstokia, a

mythical country causing havoc at the 1932
Olympics. This one dates back to before The
Flood, but who cares? The jokes pop like rude
little fireworks, cross-eyed Ben Turpin gives his
peepers a fine workout as Mysterious Man,
Jack Oakie gives every scene hes in a healthy
shot of good cheer, drippy-voiced Lyda Roberti
sings Its Terrific, and, of course, theres Fields
the Magnificent. All these years later, his gliding,
well-oiled snarl is still a marvel of misanthropy.

Hemingway in
Personal Best

1932/U.S./director: Edward Cline

Without Limits

1998/U.S./director: Robert Towne

This commendable, intimately scaled look at the
brief life of charismatic and contentious Olympic
runner Steve Prefontaine follows the athlete as
he sets seven American records before suffering
defeat at the 1972 Olympics. Ultimately, it
amounts to a study of the passion for excellence
shared by the hotheaded athlete (Billy Crudup,
very believable) and his trainer, legendary coach

famous 21

Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland, whose passion for acting excellence is more than evident).
The script was written by Towne and Kenny
Moore, Prefontaines fellow Olympian and chum.

BRONZE

International Velvet

1978/U.K./director: Bryan Forbes

SILVER

Personal Best

1982/U.S./director: Robert Towne

Without Limits

september 2000

This belated sequel to 1944s National Velvet has

Nanette Newman playing a middle-aged Velvet
Brown (the role established by Elizabeth Taylor)
and Tatum ONeal playing her American niece
who becomes an Olympic equestrian. The
result is pleasantly pastoral, with a likable cast
and swank cinematography. But ONeal isnt
especially sympathetic and, overall, its more
sentimental than emotional, never hitting the
wonderstruck heights of the original.

Walk, Dont Run

1965/U.S./director: Charles Walters

This remake of the overrated 1943 comedy The
More The Merrier (which starred Charles
Coburn, Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea) is set in
Tokyo during the Olympics, with Cary Grant (in
his last film) choreographing a romance
between English rose Samantha Eggar and
Olympic walker Jim Hutton. Like its predecessor, this ones success depends largely on the
charm of its three stars.

Wee Geordie

1955/U.K./director: Frank Launder

A fond favourite of its time, Wee Geordie stars
Bill Travers as a behemoth athlete hurling hammers in the Melbourne Olympics. This one is
too mild to live up to its classic reputation,
but it has a certain poky friendliness. That wizard of suffering, Alistair Sim, plays a Scottish
laird and brings this light fare a welcome whiff
of pained comic finesse.

ALUMINUM

Chariots Of Fire

1982/U.K./director: Hugh Hudson

A slickly inspirational bio-pic dramatizing the
glory achieved by runners Harold Abrahams
(Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson),
both of whom ran for Britain at the 1924
Olympics in Paris. Though its generally well
acted, theres so little characterization that the

GOLD

olympics on film

famous
1

2
movie is simply carried by its genteel, mechanical, uplifting quality. (It plays like a long, polite
commercial for physical fitness.) But keep in
mind this is a completely subjective list. After
all, this puffy piffle was sufficiently safe and
unadventurous to win Hollywoods conservative approval and snare the Academy Award for
Best Picture. Oscars also went to Colin Welland
for Best Original Screenplay, Mila Canonero for
Best Costumes and composer Vangelis
Papathanassiou for his score.

Visions Of Eight

1973/U.S./directors: Milos Forman,

Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch, Juri Ozerov,
Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar,
John Schlesinger, Mai Zetterling
As the official film of the 1972 Olympics,
Visions of Eight depicts the games as interpreted by eight major directors. The intention was
to create a visionary mosaic with an international perspective, but the results are erratic,
diffuse, and forgettable. Franco Zefferelli had
been scheduled to shoot a section, but backed
out claiming the games had become a platform
for political protest. He proved to be more
accurate than he could have possibly wished
11 members of the Israeli team were killed
that year after being taken hostage by
Palestinian guerillas.

Goldengirl

1979/U.S./director: Joseph Sargent

A track star played by Susan Anton undergoes
conditioning experiments to ensure her victory
at the 1980 Olympics, making her the curviest
guinea pig in scientist Curt Jurgens lab. This
one plays like Frankenstein with boobs instead
of bolts.

FLY PAPER

It Happened In Athens

1962/U.S./director: Andrew Marton

Jayne Mansfield wiggles and sighs as a celebrated Greek actress (say what?) who vows to
marry the runner triumphant at the 1896
Olympics. Bob Mathias takes another run at
acting, this time as a coach. From the tattered,
twitching end of Mansfields career.

1968/U.S./director: George Marshall

The Bob Mathias Story

Decathlon champion Bob Mathias plays himself in an anemic sports bio...but great athletes
seldom make great actors. Wife Melba Mathias,
also an amateur thespian, plays herself, which
was taking marital fidelity a little far. Dull as
dandruff, with plentiful stock sports footage.

Michael Leo is a radio broadcaster and TV writer

who has spent the past five years writing scripts
for TVOntarios acclaimed Saturday Night at the
Movies. He has also written about pop culture for
numerous publications, including The Globe and
Mail, Cinema Canada and BoxOffice. F

1954/U.S./director: Francis D. Lyon

4
5

The Wicked Dreams Of Paula Schultz

A loud, cheesy comedy with schnitzel starlet
Elke Sommer as an East German athlete who
pole vaults over the Berlin Wall when shes had
enough of her unflattering Olympic uniform
and the lecherous embraces of Werner
Klemperer, who youll remember as Colonel
Klink from TVs Hogans Heroes. Lumpy misadventures ensue with other cast members from
that World War II sitcom, including Hogan himself, Bob Crane. The pillaging of that Sixties
series cast was a shameless attempt to woo
followers of the series into movie theatres.

TIN FOIL

famous 22

september 2000

6
7

trivia

Marisa Tomei stars in this months

crime-thriller The Watcher. For
which mob-comedy did the spunky
brunette win a Best Supporting
Actress Oscar in 1993?
Warner Brothers is re-releasing the
supernatural horror The Exorcist this
month. In which year was the
William Friedkin-directed classic first
released 1973, 1975 or 1978?
You can see Lara Flynn Boyle on the
big screen in Chain of Fools this
month, but shes best-known for a
couple of TV roles Helen Gamble
on The Practice and a central character on David Lynchs Twin Peaks.
Name that character.
Minnie Driver, star of Beautiful, was
born in the U.K. But on which
Caribbean island was she raised?
Which star of the new comedy
Nurse Betty goes by the nickname
Zelly?
Wesley Snipes plays a macho secret
agent in The Art of War. But for
which movie did he once don a
dress and high heels?
Denzel Washington plays a football
coach trying to overcome racial intolerance in Remember the Titans.
But before he hit it big in movies
he played a doctor on a hit 1980s
TV show. Name it.

A N S W E R S
1 My Cousin Vinny 2 1973 3 Donna
4 Barbados 5 Rene Zellweger
6 To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!
Julie Newmar 7 St. Elsewhere

Ian Charlson (front) and

Ben Cross compete in
Chariots of Fire

interview

LEVELING

the playing field

DENZEL WASHINGTON PLAYS A FOOTBALL COACH MAKING
STRIDES FOR RACIAL EQUALITY IN REMEMBER THE TITANS
By Stephen Schaefer

or Denzel Washington, there are three

things that are mighty familiar about his
role in Remember the Titans.
First, hes impersonating a real person once
again. Washington received rave reviews (and
earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor) as
long-imprisoned boxer Rubin The Hurricane
Carter in Norman Jewisons Hurricane last year.
He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1992
when he played Malcolm X in Spike Lees film
biography of the Sixties African-American militant. Then there was his portrayal of slain South
African civil rights activist Steve Biko in Richard
Attenboroughs Cry, Freedom (1987) and his
work as a member of the Civil Wars only black
regiment in Edward Zwicks Glory (1989), for
which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
But those were all famous historical figures.
For director Boaz Yakins Remember the Titans,
the 45-year-old had to capture Herman Boone,

a high school football coach who, in the early

1970s, fought racism and inspired everyone he
met not with guns, explosions or under the
glare of the nations spotlight, but simply by
personal example.
Its a different responsibility, you know,
Washington says of committing a real person
to film. A fear, sometimes. When we did
Malcolm X we were under a lot of pressure
from a lot of people who werent afraid to tell
us what theyd do to us [if we got it wrong].
Here, theres another kind of responsibility
because, as heroic as Herman Boone was, he is
virtually unknown to the general public. So
whatever the filmmakers put up on the screen
was destined to become his legacy.
The story is also familiar territory for
Washington because, like Malcolm X, Glory and
Cry, Freedom, Remember the Titans deals with one
mans efforts to combat racism and ignorance.
Its about a high school in Virginia in 1971, a
black school and a white school, Washington

famous 24

september 2000

explains. The white coach of the white school

is about to go into the Hall of Fame but because
of affirmative action, they brought this black
guy, Herman Boone, in to coach. In fact, the
school board was required to completely integrate the two schools meaning there could
only be one head coach. They chose Boone. But
instead of becoming bitter, the white coach, Bill
Yoast (played by Entrapments Will Patton),
teams up with Boone, and together the pair
teach the whole community a lesson about
overcoming fear and prejudiceand take the
team to the State Championships.
Its about who teaches you to hate, says
Washington. Its not about the guy though. Its
really about the kids. I just make the big speeches.
The other reason Washington felt wellaquainted with this role is that he has something in common with Herman Boone. I play a
football coach in this, which is what I am in real
life, Washington says simply. When hes not off
making Oscar-winning films, he coaches his
four childrens various teams. Theres 15-yearold David, 12-year-old Katia and the twins,
nine-year-old Malcolm and Olivia. And one gets
the feeling Washington is a pretty intense coach
in real life, too. Whenever my kids are playing
baseball and basketball and football I tell
them, We play hard, we play fair, we win.
Remember, Vince Lombardi said, Winning isnt
everything, its the only thing! F

cover story

Acclaimed actor Billy Crudup discusses

life, learning to play guitar and his role in
one of the most-anticipated movies of
the Toronto International Film Festival
Cameron Crowes Almost Famous.

getting
almost

famous
By Stephen Schaefer

hen Billy Crudup strolls into a Soho

restaurant, heads dont turn and
patrons dont leave their tables to
rush over for autographs. For
Crudup, not being a Brad Pitt is actually fine,
especially since he replaced Pitt in one of the
years most eagerly awaited films, Almost
Famous the first post-Jerry Maguire movie
from writer-director Cameron Crowe. The film
will premiere at the Toronto International Film
Festival this month, and opens nationwide on
September 15th.
The parallel between the films title and
Crudups status as one of the best actors of his
generation who has been almost famous for
years is an amusing accident. Lean, with a
ruddy complexion and black hair accentuated
by alert eyes, the 32-year-old Crudup (pronounced Crew-dup) is, if not winning the fame
game, at a personal peak.
I dont feel frustrated Im not a household
name, Crudup says, sounding remarkably sincere for someone in a business where the size
of your paycheque can often be boosted by the
size of your fame. I intend for people to see the
movies or plays I do. That not many people

famous 26

september 2000

Crudup rocks as guitar god

Russell Hammond

...ONE CRITIC SAID I WAS

A PERPETUAL MOTION
MONKEY, SAYS CRUDUP.
IF I BELIEVED THAT, I
PROBABLY COULDNT GO
ON ACTING. SO WHEN
SOMEONE SAYS
SOMETHING GOOD, ITS
HARD TO TAKE, TOO.

Patrick Fugit
as William in
Almost Famous

famous 27

september 2000

Peter Frampton, a Seventies rock star himself, was the key consultant, and Nancy Wilson
of the beloved rock band Heart (who just happens to be the directors wife) wrote all the
songs and lyrics with Crowe.
Its like all of Crowes movies sweet and
funny, Crudup says. Patrick Fugit plays the kid
and hes unbelievable. Its his story. Its also a love
story, a coming of age story and, by and large, a
story about music and its effect on our lives.
Crudup is being modest. Advance buzz says
that while Fugit is a find, Crudups outrageously
funny scene tripping on acid and believing himself a golden god is a star-making moment.
Also winning positive reviews are Kate Hudson
(Goldie Hawns daughter) as the most prominent of groupies, Oscar winner Frances
McDormand as Fugits very strict mother and
Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Creem critic.
Crudup, like every young actor in town, was
eager to be in a Crowe film, but Almost Famous
was almost a miss for a while there. I had met
Cameron after Without Limits and we said, If
something comes along, great. Then Brad Pitt
dropped out of this two months before it started. My agent, I guess, had been working behind
my back and I got an audition. I did that for a
couple of hours and that was it.
Well, no it wasnt quite it. Crudup screws
up his face in mock fury: Then he took two
weeks before deciding.
You might think Crudup spent those two

have is, of course, disappointing. But that I can

a) work as an actor who is successful and b)
that I can work on things I like, is a ridiculous
privilege. The vast majority of actors are working at their craft so they can land a Doritos
commercial. I feel quite content. I like the
movies that I do.
Those movies include Sleepers, his 1996
debut in the company of Robert De Niro, Brad
Pitt and Kevin Bacon; Pat OConnors Inventing
the Abbotts (1997) with Liv Tyler; Without Limits
(1998), which was produced by Tom Cruise and
told the true story of Olympic runner Steve
Prefontaine; Stephen Frears The Hi-Lo Country
(1998) with Woody Harrelson and Penelope
Cruz; Keith Gordons Waking the Dead (1999);
and this past summers tour de force Jesus Son,
where he played a dim but sweet heroin addict
with an unprintable name.
And now its Almost Famous Crowes
loosely autobiographical film set in the rock
and roll milieu of the Seventies. Crudup plays
Russell Hammond, the guitarist for a band
called Stillwater the subject of a Rolling
Stone article being written by a teenaged music
junkie named William (Patrick Fugit). If you
havent already caught on, William is really just
a thinly veiled representation of Crowe at the
start of his storied journalism career, which
preceded his days in film.
He comes from a unique family, Crudup
says of the William character. His mother has
given him specific rules about life and those
include that rock and roll is full of potheads
living in a Valhalla of decadence. His sister,
however, has turned him on to rock. Hes
bright, and a great writer, so he sends reviews
of rock albums to Lester Bangs, the editor of
Creem magazine. He even tracks Lester down
and Lester says, Give me a review of Black
Sabbath. So he goes to San Diego and meets
the opening act, a band from Troy, Michigan,
called Stillwater, who are just becoming popular. Their sound is a little Led Zeppelin, a little
Free and the Allman Brothers Band. They take
the kid under their wing for the evening and he
sends the review in to Creem. People from
Rolling Stone read it and they send him on tour
with the band.
Im the lead guitarist for Stillwater, adds
Crudup. Jason Lee (of Chasing Amy) plays the
lead singer.
A stickler for investing his characters with
real-life accuracy, Crudup took a six-week
crash course to learn to play guitar. I had
played a little but I needed to learn a lot to play
the way this guy did. Its like anything I knew
how to run because I played sports but I didnt
know how to run like Steve Prefontaine, an
Olympic track athlete.

cover story
weeks relearning his guitar licks and generally getting up to speed
musically in anticipation of being cast but youd be wrong. I waited, Crudup says as he smiles, because its a bad idea to commit
yourself to something you havent gotten.

orn in Long Islands suburb of Manhasset but raised in Florida and

Texas, Billy was, with his brothers Thomas and Brooks, a child of
divorce. Always smaller than his classmates, the diminutive kid found
the stage a natural place to shine even if it was as Uncle Sam in an
Independence Day school pageant at the tender age of seven. By the time
he was enrolled at the University of North Carolina he knew he wanted
to be an actor, and after graduation enrolled at New York Universitys
famed Tisch School of the Arts where he received a masters degree and
made his first feature, the rarely-seen, low-budget Grind (1997).
Now, as he sits in the Canteen restaurant with the sleeves of his
white shirt rolled up, the collar opened wide and the cup of coffee hes
ordered still untouched, Crudup reflects on a career that was focused
on the theatre early on. He got his first batch of rave reviews for his
performance in a 1995 production of Tom Stoppards
play, Arcadia. Then in 1996
he made his Broadway debut
in a revival of Bus Stop,
which brought him not only
more raves but a long-term
relationship with leading
lady Mary Louise Parker (The
Five Senses). Soon after, he
was cast in the big-budget
Sleepers, and now, like Brad
Pitt at the beginning of his
rise to fame, Crudup gets
meaty roles in offbeat movies with the expectation that he will deliver
a good performance and, just maybe, all by himself, turn the movie into
a blockbuster, as Pitt did with Legends of the Fall.
Crudup exists in that peculiar Hollywood zone known as hot,
which means he has been anointed an up-and-coming star. But, to
his credit, he has never deviated from the stance he took when it all
started: He couldnt care less about fame. I have yet to do a play or
film about me, Crudup says. Im not so interested in myself being
presented to the world.
And he will always keep a jaundiced eye on both the hype and the
reviews that surround anyone deemed hot.
When I did Marchbanks in Shaws Candida, one critic said I was a
perpetual motion monkey. If I believed that, I probably couldnt go
on acting. So when someone says something good, its hard to take,
too. Yet when you talk to someone after a play and see in their eyes
they were affected by what you did, thats as close as I can come to
being affected by someone elses opinion.
If Crudup could peer into a crystal ball and predict his own future,
he might see himself primarily on stage. Despite the (comparatively)
low pay and limited exposure, theatre remains a magnet for him. But
regardless of whether he ends up on screen or stage, theres one wish
he has for his audience.
I hope each time someone sees me in something, they think thats
the only part I can play, he says. Because then theyre ceasing to see
me as an actor. Theyre too involved in the story. F
Stephen Schaefer is a freelance writer who covers the movies for
a variety of publications including USA Today.

famous 28

comingsoon
Get Carter (October)

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine

Director: Stephen T. Kay
Story: In this remake of 1971s Get Carter, Sylvester Stallone plays
the title role, a vicious hitman who returns home for his brothers
funeral and finds himself investigating the events surrounding the
deathand then seeking revenge. Michael Caine, who played
Carter in the original, must approve of the redo because he has a
role in the film.

Monkeybone (November)

Stars: Brendan Fraser, Dave Foley

Director: Henry Selick
Story: Fraser plays Stu Miley, the creator of the Dark Town comic
book. After slipping into a coma, Miley wakes up in Dark Town
and has just 12 hours to escape from this creepy dream world
before Death will come knocking at his door. Monkeybone, one of
his illustrated creations, might be the only one who can save him.

Charlies Angels (November)

Stars: Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz

Director: Joseph McGinty Nichol
Story: In this big screen adaptation of the spandex-spangled
Seventies series, the Angels (Barrymore, Liu and Diaz) use feminine charm and high-tech gadgets to figure out whats going on
after a soon-to-be-billionaire is kidnapped from his office.

Enemy at the Gates (November)

Stars: Jude Law, Ed Harris

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Story: Jude Law plays real-life Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev, who is
so good at picking off German soldiers that an expert Nazi sniper
(Harris) is sent to take care of him. The two engage in a sniping
duel to see who can put a bullet in whose head first.

Family Man (December)

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle

Director: Brett Ratner
Story: Ever wonder what would have happened if you had married your college
sweetheart? Well, lonely investment
banker Jack Campbell (Cage) gets to find
out when he wakes up one day to find
himself living the life he would have led if
hed married that girlfriend (Leoni).

Cage (left) and Cheadle

Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 (December)

Stars: Gerard Butler, Christopher Plummer

Director: Patrick Lussier
Story: Yes, thats right, even though this movie is called Wes
Craven Presents: Dracula 2000, the director of the Scream trilogy
and A Nightmare on Elm Street, didnt direct it. He is merely the
executive producer. Directing honours went to Patrick Lussier, a
film editor making his debut at the helm. This modernization,
based on Bram Stokers classic fanged character, sees a London
antiques dealer traveling to America to save his daughter from
Dracula (Butler).

september 2000

on the slate
FORD MAY RAID AGAIN, CROWE PONDERS DIRECTION AND MIRA PLAYS THE PRINCESS
CROWE TAKES CHARGE

SORVINO ENJOYS
HER INDEPENDENTS

Mira Sorvino, daughter of actor

Paul Sorvino, seems to have decided
she prefers offbeat indie films and
movies with a message, to mainstream Hollywood blockbusters. The
star of Mighty Aphrodite and Summer
of Sam has signed on to two more
intriguing projects. She will headline
Bernardo Bertoluccis The Triumph
of Love, an independent picture
about a princess who assumes both
male and female identities. She will
also join Steve Buscemi (Fargo) and
Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) in a
Holocaust drama called The Grey
Zone. The movie, which is based on
a play by Tim Blake, focuses on Jews
who were forced to work in the crematoria of Auschwitz.

As if Russell Crowe hasnt been getting enough attention. Now

comes word that the perfectionist actor may take on yet another
challenging role that of director for a religious mystery called A
Course in Miracles. The star of L.A. Confidential, Gladiator and The
Insider would also play the movies central character a Jesuit priest
who has a crisis of faith after investigating supposed miracles. Crowe
has been getting about $15-mil (U.S.) per pic since his Oscar nomination for The Insider, so who knows how much will be tacked on to
that if he steps behind the camera as well. Crowe and special friend
Meg Ryan are currently finishing up work on Proof of Life about a
hostage negotiator (Crowe) who falls in love with the wife (Ryan) of
the man hes trying to save. It should be out this Christmas.

Sorvino

MATT MATTERS

Hunky Friends star Matt LeBlanc hasnt had much luck with picking
big screen projects. First there was the chimp-based comedy (and we
use that word loosely) Ed, then it was the sci-fi bomb Lost in Space.
Hell appear in the Charlies Angels film next, but even the quality of
that much-anticipated flick is a big question mark what with all the
on-set bickering. Now LeBlanc has announced he will star in a little
$15-million (U.S.) independent comedy called All the Queens Men,
slated to be shot in Hungary and Austria. Hell play the American
leader of a rag-tag crew of British agents during World War II. Their
mission? Infiltrate a female-run factory in Berlin (in disguise, of
course) and bring back the decoding device that will win the war.

THE LAST CRUSADE, HUH?

Indiana Jones may get

to crack his whip one
more time. While promoting the supernatural
thriller What Lies
Beneath, Harrison Ford
told the Calgary Sun
that he would be
eager to do a fourth
Indie movie, and that
the character deserves
to be revisited. In fact,
he said hed like to see
Sean Connery, who
played his dad in the
third Indiana Jones
movie, The Last
Crusade, return as well. No word on whether theyll be trading their
horses in for walkers. There are also rumours that M. Night Shyamalan,
who wrote and directed last years Oscar-nominated The Sixth Sense, is
already working on a screenplay for the movie.
Ford and
Karen Allen
in Raiders of the
Lost Ark

famous 30

Crowe

JOHN HUGHES NEWS

Heres one from the This Sounds Like A Really Bad Idea file. Director
John Hughes is reportedly considering doing a remake of his classic
Eighties teen-angst comedy, The Breakfast Club. The original starred
Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez
and Ally Sheedy as a mismatched group of high school students
lumped together in a detention session. It was, perhaps, the best of
Hughes definitive Eighties films (which include Pretty in Pink and Sixteen
Candles), so why would he ruin it with an update? Youve got us. Its not
like he needs the work. He has also signed on to write, direct and produce an as-yet untitled modern-day Cinderella story which will be set
in his beloved Chicago. Although it doesnt have a name yet, that film is
slated to begin shooting next Spring for release around Christmas 2001.

Christopher Walken will star in an indie modernization of

Shakespeares Macbeth. The bloody tragedy will take place in a
Seventies fast food joint. If you havent already heard, former
NYPD heartthrob Jimmy Smits and Fifties horror star
Christopher Lee are among the newest cast members to join
George Lucas Star Wars: Episode Two. Chelsea Clinton wants
to be an actress. And the 20-year-old Stanford students first
role may be in a Drew Barrymore film called Donnie Darko.
Chelseas boyfriend, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, has a part in the pic,
and has apparently asked that Clinton be given one too.

september 2000

things

Style101

FUNKY NEW STUFF TO HELP YOU HEAD BACK TO CLASS WITH CLASS
By Ellen Himelfarb

WRAP CITY

FRESH SUPPLIES

Step into the closet of any fashionista this season and youll undoubtedly be
enwrapped in the wrap. Whether it be floor-length coats that tie at the waist,
fluffy three-quarter cardigans, or shirt-dresses cinched at the middle, designers are concentrating on easy, zipper-free garments that enhance cleavage
and hips, as well as attitude. Designer Diane Von Furstenberg, the woman
who started it all back in the Seventies, greets Fall with another relaunch of
her popular wrap dress this time in whimsical prints and contemporary
trimmings. This one, from Mendocino, retails for $485 and is available at all
Mendocino stores in Toronto, or by calling 1.877.369.6363.

Club Monacos new Caban

stores offer versions of
popular CM clothing,
homewares and accessories at more affordable
price points perfect for
the student making due
on the paltry cash earned
from a summer job. A
couple of their funkiest
back-to-school items for
their first Fall season are
a roll-up, solar-powered
calculator in translucent,
which is flexible enough
to curl into a little tube
($20); and a fold-up book
light in black, silver or
translucent, which will fit
into any backpack ($10).
Available at Caban stores
across the country.

famous 32

september 2000

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE

OLD SCHOOL

Studying to be a farmer? Well, even if youre not, you still might prefer to
perch on Ikeas Traktor stool, named after the rugged rural vehicle. Charmingly
moulded from polypropylene and aluminum, the seat can be wheeled away
from your desk for a much-needed study break. Vrrrrrooooom! In black only
($60). Available at Ikea locations across Canada.

Everything old is new again,

and with cool metallics being
hot for the season, the classic
aluminum lunchbox and oldfashioned green thermos are
prime for a comeback. The
lunchboxs timeless shape,
trendy aluminum body and
nostalgia value are made all
the more desirable by its deep
base, which will hold a lot of
Twinkies. Ditto for the thermos, which will also serve
spectator parents at junior
hockey games, gymnastics
meets and swim lessons. The Miners Lunchbox comes in small ($39) and medium ($42), while the thermos is one-size-fits-all ($60). Available at Restoration
Hardware in Toronto and Vancouver.

BAGGAGE CHECK

Is it a purse, or a pack? The hybrid Campus Planner, little brother to the

substantial Campus Knapsack, is made of lightweight nylon with a single
chest strap, and is compact enough to cross over into evening play. Thats
not to say it cant manage bursting notebooks, bulky texts and busy
schedules (note the handy mobile pocket). In Dark Midnight ($33).
Available at Roots stores across the country.

KISS AND MAKEUP

MACs new Lady Danger line of paints, powders,

polishes and lipsticks are ber-sexy and ultra-feminine. The rich and saturated colours probably arent
for the younger grades of back-to-schoolers, but
theyll be all the rage on campuses across the country
this Fall. Lipsticks cost $14 each, while other items
range from $8.50 to $18.50. Available at MAC stores
and counters across the country.

famous 33

september 2000

cui-seen

soup
AN ENGAGING

PENELOPE ANN MILLERS

BOYFRIEND POPS THE QUESTION
AFTER EATING GREEN GATES
WILD RICE/WILD MUSHROOM BISQUE

ere not saying it had anything to do

with the soupbut when actress
Penelope Ann Miller (Awakenings,
Carlitos Way, The Relic) had the
Manitoba Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Bisque
from Winnipegs Green Gates Country House &
Restaurant, she got engaged.
The 36-year-old actress was in town filming
a romantic comedy called A Womans a Helluva
Thing with Scottish actor Angus MacFadyen
when her assistant called Green Gates to make
reservations for Penelope and her boyfriend.
So I set up a private area for them, and made
it really nice and romantic, recalls general
manager Richard Armstrong.
But thats not where the question was
popped. After the meal, Penelope mentioned
that they wanted to get away for a few days, and
asked Armstrong about a resort called Clear
Lake in the Riding Mountains. They wanted to

know whether there was a place to buy wine up

there and stuff to cook, and I said, Probably. But
I dont really know what the quality would be.
Why dont I pack you up a care package and then
youll have the best products and you wont have
to worry about it. So we packed up a whole
whack of stuff and some re-heating instructions,
and they were off.
That package included the bisque, beef tenderloin with a red wine veal jus, escargot with puff
pastery in wild mushroom sauce and bruschetta
with balsamic onions and feta cheese.
Then when they came back they stopped at
the restaurant to tell me they got engaged,
says Armstrong. They sat down and had some
wine and a little more to eat. Then they called
up some other people, invited them to come
down and stayed for dinner that night.
After dinner the group rushed back to their
hotel to watch a rough edit of The Mary Kay
Letourneau Story, which had been couriered to
Winnipeg. Miller played the title role in the
TV-movie about the notorious Tacoma,
Washington, teacher who had an affair with
one of her students. Millers next big screen
release will be this Falls psychological thriller
Along Came A Spider with Morgan Freeman.
The alabaster-skinned redhead has been
romantically linked to several of her fellow
actors Al Pacino (her co-star in Carlitos Way),
Matthew Broderick (they did Biloxi Blues together), Don Johnson and Woody Harrelson. But as
for her new fiance, no ones quite sure who he
was, and Armstrong doesnt seem to remember
much about him. He wasnt an actor, he says.
I think I remember reading he was a financial
consultant or something like that.
Although, Armstrong does say, The thing that
struck me about both of them is what absolutely
regular people they were. Really nice people.
Green Gates opened in June of 1996 in an old
Dutch Colonial house on a seven-acre estate.
The cuisine favours indigenous dishes, and
ingredients are usually purchased from local
farmers or grown in the propertys two gardens.
The bisque is Armstrongs favourite item on
the menu. Its really good. I pretty much lived
on it for five years, he says. Just dip some
bread in it and its outstanding. Its very robust.
Technically, a bisque is thickened with
seafood shells. So this is more in the style of a
bisque than an actual bisque, says Armstrong.
Its very thick. Ive seen it tried elsewhere and
its never worked.
Whether it will inspire your mate to pop the
question remains to be seen.

Marni Weisz
For reservations at Green Gates Country House &
Restaurant, call 204.897.0990.

famous 34

september 2000

ingredients

TO SERVE 6

Wild Rice/Wild Mushroom Bisque

Butter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 g.
Carrots, chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 g.
Garlic, chopped fine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 cloves
Mixed mushrooms (portobello,
chantrelle, oyster, button, shitake
or morel), chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750 g.
Dry white wine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 ml.
Whipping cream (35%). . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 ml.
Onions, chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 g.
Celery, chopped fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 g.
Bay leaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Dried thyme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/2 tsp.
Cooked wild rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 g.
Cooked white rice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 g.
Chicken or vegetable stock . . . . . . . . . . 1.75 L
Salt and pepper to taste
GARNISH
Cooked wild rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 g.
Cooked wild mushrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 g.
Parsley, chopped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Tbsp.

METHOD Chef Thomas Kidd says you can

use any combination of mushrooms, but if
using dried mushrooms, use half the
amount and reconstitute them in hot water.
Saut onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms in butter. When the vegetables start
to colour add the garlic and saut for two
more minutes. Add the white wine, bay
leaf and thyme, then cook for an additional two minutes. Add the stock and cooked
rice and simmer until rice is very soft. Pour
in cream and simmer for another 10 minutes. Puree soup in a blender or food
processor until smooth. If soup seems too
thick, add a little more stock. Put the soup
back in the pan and add salt and pepper
to taste. Before serving, place a bit of
cooked wild rice and the sauted mushrooms at the bottom of each bowl. Then
top with a bit of chopped parsley. Its a
rich soup, says Kidd, but the most prominent flavour is the wild rice.

name of the game

outthismonth
Crimson Skies (PC)
Its 1937 and you are handsome and
daring pilot Nathan Zachary battling for
control of the skies at a time when the
Great Depression, the Great War and
prohibition have made living on land less
than a ball. Air chatter with friends and
foe, cinematic sequences and such challenging opponents as aerial ace Paladin
Blake combine to evoke the feeling of an
Errol Flynn adventure.

SIM-ply Irresistible
CREATE YOUR OWN SOAP OPERA

By Marc Saltzman

ike and Julie dont talk much anymore.

In fact, Julie noticed Mike was spending
quite a bit of time with their attractive
neighbor, Sheila. Her suspicions were confirmed
when she came home from work and found
them in a hot tub together, kissing passionately.
No, this isnt a rerun of 90210. Its The Sims, the
best-selling computer game of the year.
Will Wright, the brains behind the awardwinning SimCity franchise (Maxis/Electronic
Arts), is back with one of the most unique
offerings the computer gaming industry has
ever seen. But unlike SimCity which focuses
on building and maintaining the streets and
structures of a thriving metropolis at the
macro level in The Sims you micromanage
the people who reside in the city itself. Consider
it a virtual soap opera, where your characters
can follow various career paths, interact with
other sims (short for simulated humans) or
decorate a house from top to bottom.
Wright says his inspiration for The Sims was
two fold: First, there was a rather academic book
about architecture called A Pattern Language.

But the final game bears very little resemblance to that book, he says. Then there were
the writings of Polish science fiction
writer/philosopher Stanislaw Lem. Many of
his stories centre around the ethics of creating
and interacting with simulated entities and
societies, Wright explains.
Pretty heady stuff, but it has translated well
into gameland. The Sims has already spawned
hundreds of fansites on the internet, and this
month the first official expansion pack will be
released, dubbed The Sims: Livin Large.
In the game, players can either choose from
a pre-made set of characters or create their own
by selecting physical features and personality
traits. And with the thriving online community,
there are no limits for customization. There are
literally thousands of downloadable goodies
such as custom-built character faces (known as
skins) or alternate home decorations. These
freebies arent just eye candy either they can
alter gameplay. For instance, a player can
download a soccer ball and if a sim comes
across it, he might start kicking it around the
house. If two come across it, they might pass it
back and forth or even start a game with other
denizens of your virtual neighborhood.
But living in SimCity isnt all fun and soccer
games you have to work, too. Remember,
getting a job is one thing, but keeping it is
another so keep an eye on the clock to make
your carpool each morning (or at night, if youre
a security guard or cop). You should also watch

famous 36

september 2000

NFL 2K1 (Sega Dreamcast)

For the first time in history, gamers
can play football against each other
via the internet using the brand new
SegaNet high speed console gaming
network, available shortly before the
release of this latest football challenge. The game features improved
graphics over last years model, as
well as a Franchise Mode which lets
you sign players, draft rookies and
manage a salary cap.
Pokmon Puzzle League (Nintendo 64)
Ash and Pikachu head to the Pokmon
Puzzle League Championship to defeat
the mysterious Puzzle Master. You
have to help them battle their way
through 16 trainers in heated head-tohead puzzle competition.

NHL FaceOff 2001

(PlayStation)
PlayStations latest version of FaceOff
features all 30 NHL teams including
the new Minnesota Wild and Columbus
Blue Jackets. There are also four new
play modes Tournament, Shootout,
Practice and Draft. New Jersey Devils
play-by-play man Mike Emrick and
ESPNs Darren Pang call the game.
your spending we all want cool toys but we
must be able to afford them, nest pas? New
dwellings or additional rooms can also be built
and furnished with your personal selection of
wallpaper, tiles, plants and other trimmings.
The new expansion pack adds more career
paths, additional plots of land on which to
build, 125 new objects, different house styles,
new decorative patterns and more.
Even 90210s Donna and Kelly couldnt
redecorate their beach house with such selection and ease.
Marc Saltzman is the author of Game Design:
Secrets of the Sages (Macmillan Publishing).

pulp and paper

GUCCI MURDER MILES DAVIS MASTERPIECE
JAMIE LEES BOOK OF BALLOONS
The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of
Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed

By Sara Gay Forden (William Morrow, $39)

ight now, Patrizia Reggiani Gucci, estranged wife of slain
fashion magnate Maurizio Gucci, sits in a jail cell in Milan
awaiting an appeal and wondering if she will really have to live
out her 29-year sentence behind bars. In 1995, her ex-husband
was gunned down outside his swank office in Milan. After a
lengthy investigation, the police decided all clues pointed to his
ex-wife, who detested Maurizio for leaving her and falling in love
with another woman. But thats not all youll learn in this book
by Sara Gay Forden, former Milan bureau chief for Womens Wear
Daily. Although The House of Gucci is being marketed as a reallife murder mystery, its also a historical account of the Gucci
family from the turn of the century, when Guccio Gucci opened
a modest leather goods store, until the present day.

Where Do Balloons Go? An

Uplifting Mystery

By Jamie Lee Curtis (HarperCollins, $20)

ollowing in the footsteps of her famous
father, Tony Curtis, who stretched beyond
the acting world by becoming a respected
painter, actress Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies, A
Fish Called Wanda) has extended her experience as an artist by becoming an author of
childrens books. First there was Today I Feel
Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, and
now comes Where Do Balloons Go? An
Uplifting Mystery. Curtiss playful verse
(Where do balloons go when you let them
go free? It can happen by accident Its
happened to me) is brought to life by artist
Laura Cornells vibrant illustrations. If youre
wondering, yes, Jamie Lee does have children two, in fact a girl named Annie
and boy named Tom. They all live (with dad,
actor Christopher Guest) in L.A.

Kind of Blue: The Making of the

Miles Davis Masterpiece
By Ashley Kahn (Da Capo Press, $35)

outthismonth
Stompin Tom and The Connors Tone

By Stompin Tom Connors

This sort-of-sequel to Connors first
autobiographical tome, Before the
Fame, gives us more wacky road stories,
more tales of people Connors has met
during his travels and more of the quintessential Canadian musicians unique
perspective on the world of music.

Chyna

By Chyna
Following on the heels of best-selling
books by her fellow wrestlers, Mankind
and The Rock, female gladiator, Chyna,
tells her story of overcoming a childhood full of abuse to become one of
the biggest stars of the WWF.

Off Camera: Private Thoughts

Made Public

By Ted Koppel
The host of ABCs Nightline gives us his
observations on everything from the
Clinton impeachment trial to Kosovo to
Viagra in this collection of essays. He
also takes us back in time to the
England of his youth, and through the
40 incredible years that have defined
his career as one of Americas most
trusted newsmen.

Never Die Easy

uring two impromptu studio sessions back

in 1959, an album that would come to be
known as The bible of jazz recordings was
plucked from the air and committed to vinyl.
That album was Miles Davis Kind of Blue. Now,
more than 40 years later, journalist Ashley Kahn
revisits those historic sessions with this meticulously researched chronicle thats bursting with
photos, transcripts of session tapes, images of
original scores and other bits of memorabilia.
Kahn did more than 50 interviews with such
music makers as Herbie Hancock and Elvin
Jones, and surviving musicians from the sessions, like drummer Jimmy Cobb, in the course
of his research.
Marni Weisz

famous 37

september 2000

By Walter Payton with Don Yaeger

Legendary football star Walter Payton
died last November from liver cancer.
But in the months before his passing he
wrote this autobiography with writer
Don Yaeger. Payton made Yaeger
promise that the book would be inspirational. It cant help but be, with stories like Walters refusal to use his
celebrity to get a better spot on the
waiting list for organ donations.

High-Tech Heretic: Why Computers

Dont Belong in the Classroom

By Clifford Stoll
Clifford Stoll, a Berkeley astronomer, has
become a well-known media figure by
being something of an oxymoron. While
he loves computers and is considered a
technology guru, he has long professed
that the ubiquitous machines are overrated and shouldnt be considered the
saviours of society. Now comes this critique of the school systems relentless
drumbeat for computer literacy.

liner notes

outthismonth
Artist: Erykah Badu
Title: The New Du
Label: Motown/Universal
Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Title: Maroon
Label: Warner Bros.

FORGET YOUR CD BURNER.

RECORDABLE VINYL COULD BE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

By Lezlie Lowe

ey music junkie! Always on the cusp of the

next development in sound technology?
Tired of MP3s? Bored with Napster? Dont
be dejected because you cant figure out
whats looming on the music trend horizon.
The next step forward may actually be a little step
back. Its vinyl. Recordable vinyl, that is.
The long-time trinket of retro buffs and DJs the
world over, vinyl records may be about to surge back
into the mainstream with a boost from the
Vestax VRX-2000 recordable vinyl machine. Its the
first instrument of its kind that makes use of vinyl
instead of the more common (and fragile) acetate, and
the first designed for home-recording enthusiasts.
People want vinyl, says Rob Squire, a.k.a. Sixtoo, a
26-year-old Halifax DJ. Vinyl is a richer quality sound
than a CD. Something happens when you put a signal
onto vinyl that just isnt there when you put it onto CD.
Its something more than nostalgic preservation.
Any DJ worth his or her salt will tell you the same
thing almost all club DJs make their music using
vinyl records or dub plates (which look like records
but are made of acetate). DJs who use CDs (called
CDJs) are rare, and heavily frowned upon.
Strangely, music made by DJs is considered electronic or digital simply because its not made by
beer-spilling maniacs clanking guitars. But, in reality,
DJs are the only musicians who cling so staunchly to
the vinyl medium.
But that may change with the Vestax unit, which
will move vinyl from the sweaty clubs to a previously digital domain computer consoles in bedrooms
and living rooms. Thats because the machine, which
looks a lot like a regular turntable, cuts records from
any audio source, including radio and MP3. It accepts
frequency signals just like a CD burner, then a lathe-

type gadget carves the signals corresponding

grooves into 12-inch vinyl. Voila, a record.
Daddy Kev, a DJ and producer with L.A.-based
Celestial Recordings, thinks the Vestax VRX-2000
will make a big mark on the DJ industry. Because its
not acetate, he says, it will be a big deal for scratching. Acetate dub plates last about 50 plays per side
before degrading. When a DJ is scratching, every
time he or she cues a record forward or back its
considered a play. Scratching on a single verse or
collection of beats for 10 minutes, could make a
bald spot on an acetate record. But not on vinyl.
Vinyl is also less expensive than acetate. For the
musician who wants to make his or her own music,
and who savours the distinctive sound of vinyl, this
new format will become the norm. Its going to change
everything, says Daddy Kev. Itll be much easier for
you to play your own original recording out there.
Of course, as with all new technology, the Vestax
VRX-2000 still has a few bugs. While durability is
better than acetate, the sound quality isnt quite as
good. And then theres the cost somewhere
around $9,000. But just like VCRs, DVDs and home
computers, the VRX-2000 will decrease in cost and
increase in quality and user-friendliness. Eventually,
the recordable vinyl machine could become as common and affordable as a CD burner.
For both Daddy Kev and Sixtoo, recordable vinyl is
another way DJs, and musicians from all genres, will
be able to make and record their own music. Itll
empower people more, says Sixtoo. If everyone is
able to cut their own music to vinyl, its going to add
strength to DJ culture. Its just another step in the
music-making chain.
Lezlie Lowe is music editor of The Coast, Halifaxs arts
and news weekly.

famous 38

september 2000

Artist: Boyz II Men

Title: Nathan, Michael,
Shawn & Wanya
Label: Universal
Artist: Fastball
Title: The Harsh Light of Day
Label: Hollywood Records/
Universal
Artist: Mark Knopfler
Title: Sailing to Philadelphia
Label: Mercury/Universal
Artist: Limp Bizkit
Title: Chocolate Starfish
and the Hotdog
Flavored Water
Label: Interscope/Universal
Artist: Patty Loveless
Title: Strong Heart
Label: Epic/Sony
Artist: Madonna
Title: Music
Label: Warner Bros.
Artist: The Moffatts
Title: Submodalities
Label: EMI
Artist: Joan Osborne
Title: Righteous Love
Label: Interscope/Universal
Artist: Sunna
Title: One Minute Silence
Label: Melankolic/Virgin
Artist: Wallflowers
Title: Breach
Label: Interscope/Universal
Artist: Wild Strawberries
Title: Twist
Label: Universal

PHOTO, VADIM MOSCOTIN

groovemaking

Artist: Bjork
Title: Selmasongs
Label: Elektra/Warner

bit streaming

CANADIAN WEBSITE TRACKS HOLLYWOOD RUMOURS

By Trent Ernst

ey. Didja hear? Theyre making an

Aliens vs. Predator movie, and get this:
Itll star Arnold Schwarzenegger AND
Harrison Ford. James Cameron is
directing. Itll cost $70-million just to pay those
three. Yeah. And Ive got it from an inside
source at Skywalker Ranch that the new villain
in Star Wars 2 is Darth Kimball. And Lucas is
recruiting lacrosse players to play Jedi Knights,
because they know how to wield a stick.
Pretty cool, huh? Unfortunately, these rumours
currently circulating on the internet are bunk
according to Patrick Sauriol from the Coming
Attractions website (www.corona.bc.ca/films/).

He should know. Started in April of 1995, the

Vancouver, B.C.-based Coming Attractions was
tracking movie news and rumours before the
notorious movie gossip site Aint-It-Cool-News
was a glint in founder Harry Knowles eye. We
had exactly 12 film listings, recalls Sauriol. I
put up all the information I could find about
such projects as Goldeneye, or the first Toy
Story, or the mother-of-all-wishful-projects at
the time, Star Wars: Episode One.
A former comic book writer and editor, Sauriol
began the project with no knowledge of HTML,
and only a vague concept of what a website was.
I wasnt doing much writing anyway, and I
thought it would help keep me producing content while looking for my next writing gig, he
says. In the five and a half years since, the site
has been selected as a rising Hollywood talent by

Vanity Fair, nominated for a Webby Award, and

garnered favourable press from Entertainment
Weekly, Time, Premiere, Entertainment Tonight
and CNN. But its only in the last few months that
Coming Attractions (a.k.a. CA) started making
enough money for Sauriol to give up his other
jobs. Were in the stages of CA transforming
from a side hobby that one person used to do, to
actually becoming a legitimate business entity
that employs a staff!
Much of that success comes from Sauriols
ability to get inside scoops. How inside? We
receive scoops from a diverse group of people,
ranging from someone who saw something
about a film in their local newspaper or on TV,
to friends of cast and crew working
on productions, to insiders
working for the Hollywood
studios, to the actual directors, screenwriters, stars
and so on, says Sauriol.
I know some scoopers
have snuck back into
their bosss office after
hours to sneak me some
new information about a
top secret movie project.
I get tapes, movie scripts,
letters sent to CAs mailbox and fax machine.
One fellow who regularly
scoops for me works in a high position for
Disney. Another individual works for one of
Hollywoods top talent agencies.
These inside scoopers usually use pseudonyms to protect their identities and careers, says
Sauriol a fear that is justified. An employee of
Peter Jacksons special effects company, WETA,
got fired after their supervisor saw their name
credited with a new scoop on CA!
There are two types of rumours. The ones
that are true, and the ones that arent. One of
the best aspects of Coming Attractions is that
Sauriol culls through the rumours to extract the
most accurate bits of information. Sometimes it
can be tough to distinguish between what is
truth and what is not, so when a new rumour
appears from a new source, Sauriol will run it
past his insiders. If they cant verify it, he will

famous 40

september 2000

surfing

OUTSIDE THE STATES

The U.S. of A. isnt the only country
producing quality websites that follow
Hollywood. Canadas Coming Attractions
is one of the best non-American online
film entities, but here are two more
that are worth checking out.

AUSTRALIA

DARK HORIZONS

www.darkhorizons.com
Sydney-based Garth Franklin runs this
comprehensive source of info about
blockbuster movies and your favourite
cult TV shows. He gets more than
150,000 hits per day from people eager
to surf his News & Rumours section or
browse indexes for movies already released, coming soon and in the works.
The site also features lots of photos
snapped surreptitiously by folks wandering past film sites, links to other movie
gossip sites and trailers for upcoming
films.

UNITED KINGDOM

FILM UNLIMITED

http://filmunlimited.co.uk
In-depth features and reviews of current
films are augmented by up-to-date news
and rumours on this well-organized
British site. Theres also a section that
matches your mood to the movie you
should be popping in the old VCR or
DVD player. Battling with your diet?

ILLUSTRATION, KATIA SMIRNOVA

scoop
CENTRAL

either run it with a warning that the information

isnt verified, or sit on it. One of his proudest bits
of inside information was that Jimmy Smits
would be cast in the new Star Wars movie, a
rumour his site broke seven weeks before the
official announcement.
So, whats the appeal of doing a site like this?
For Sauriol, its simple: Breaking a story that
sounds like complete baloney, that isnt accepted
and believed by anyone, that is [used as] another
example of the shoddy practice of a disreputable
website...and being proven 100% correct a couple of weeks later. Unbelievable feeling.
Trent Ernst is a freelance writer based in
Chilliwack, B.C.

five favourite films

sk most people what Canadian music means to them,

and youll probably get the same three answers: The
Tragically Hip, Stompin Tom Connors and East Coast fiddle
hoe-downs. Luckily for us though, Canuck music doesnt
have to stop there, as the phenomenal success of R&B diva Deborah
Cox has proven. Deborah hit the music scene running in 1995 with
her self-titled debut. In 1998, she followed that up with the album One
Wish, which contained the single Nobodys Supposed to be Here
the longest running No. 1 R&B single in Billboard magazine history.
Her recent projects include a role in the Clement Virgo film Love Come
Down, which premieres at this months Toronto International Film
Festival, and a state-of-the-art website (www.deborahcox.com),
where she plans to broadcast regular webchats and
live recording sessions. Here she talks about her
five favourite films, her foray into acting and
the downside of the web for musicians.

Deborah Cox
MAKES HER PICKS
By Mark Magee
ON HER FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS My first pick is
Titanic (1997). I love romance, so that was a
big thing for me, but I also really, really loved
all the effects and the big ship. My favourite
scene was when the boat broke in half and the
top section started going down into the water.
That was just the most exciting part. And you
got to see all the people falling into the water!
Which is kinda morbid, but they just looked so
real! Number two is Notting Hill (1999). I
thought that was a very funny movie. The story
was really sweet, but I especially liked Hugh
Grants quirky roommate. He was my favourite
thing in the whole movie. Like I said, Im a
sucker for romance. For number three, Id
say Boomerang (1992), with Eddie Murphy
and Martin Lawrence. Im a big Eddie Murphy
fan. I also thought Life was hilarious, which
also had Martin Lawrence. I liked Nutty
Professor, but Boomerang and Life are my two
favourite Eddie movies. Number four is actually two movies, Mission: Impossible 1 (1996)
and 2 (2000). I thought the action sequences in
each of them were so cool. And I loved the
stories, trying to figure out who did what to
who. They both had good mysteries behind
them. And that scene with the two guys leaping off the motorcycles and firing at each
otherawesome! For number five Id say
The Lion King (1994). I just loved that Simba.
You know, I actually started welling up during
that film, at the part when Simbas dad died
and when he came back as the cloud. I really

love all animated films, especially if they have

a good story, like Bambi.
ON HER UPCOMING FILM DEBUT Its a movie
thats going to be in the Toronto Film Festival
called Love Come Down. Its directed by
Clement Virgo and stars myself and Larenz
Tate. I play a character named Nico who is
adopted and lives with a Jewish family. The
story revolves around her trying to find her
biological father, and along the way she meets
Neville [Tate], and the two of them fall in love.
Hes quite a dysfunctional character in a sense
hes a struggling comedian who falls into
drugs and is trying to work out some issues
with his step-brother. So I think the whole film
is really about these people just trying to find
some kind of hope in their life.
ON WHY SHE CHOSE TO MAKE HER FILM DEBUT
WITH LOVE COME DOWN I loved the character
Nico. I thought that she was somebody I hadnt
seen on screen before, this black girl whos
grown up in a Jewish household. Im sure that

famous 42

september 2000

people who are trying to find truth in their life

will relate to her, because thats what shes
trying to find. She has to deal with so many
levels of relationships, her relationship with
her father, her relationship with Neville, her
relationship with her mother whos dying of
cancer. You kind of go through this journey
with her as she tries to find ways of mending
those things. [Laughs.] And I got to kiss
Larenz with 12 people standing around
watching!
ON MP3S Im totally against the pirating. I think
there has to be some sort of law implemented
very, very soon to stop it. These people dont
understand that this is our creativity, this is our
work that comes from our heart and our soul.
And when people can just log on and download it for nothing, its crazy. It costs money to
make records, it costs money to do recordings.
Musicians gotta get paid. Studios gotta get
paid. Theres a lot involved, and I think some
people are taking a very one-sided approach to
their philosophy of music ownership.

on video
Sandra Bullock and Steve Buscemi in 28 Days

GET READY TO RUMBLE, ENJOY ANY GIVEN SUNDAY OR GO ON A MISSION TO MARS

The Next Best Thing (August 29)

Stars: Madonna, Rupert Everett

Director: John Schlesinger
Story: When a straight woman (Madonna) and
her gay male friend (Everett) share a drunken
night of passion and conceive a child, they
decide to raise the baby together. But their
arrangement turns out to be more complicated
than they predicted. Also available on DVD.

East is East (September 12)

Stars: Om Puri, Linda Bassett

Director: Damien ODonnell
Story: This British comedy won a
slew of awards in the U.K. before
being released in North America.
It takes place in the Seventies
and follows the stubborn attempts of a
Pakistani father (Puri) to raise his children with
traditional Pakistani values and convince them
to marry Pakistani partners despite the fact
that his wife (Bassett) is white. Also available
on DVD.

Mission to Mars (September 12)

Stars: Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle

Director: Brian De Palma
Story: After the first manned mission to Mars
ends in disaster, a second crew is sent to the
Red Planet to save the one survivor and figure
out what went wrong. What they find is beyond
anything they could have imagined.

Richard Harris and friend

in To Walk With Lions

To Walk With Lions (August 29)

Stars: Richard Harris, Honor Blackman

Director: Carl Schultz
Story: Legendary British actor Richard Harris
plays writer/conservationist George Adamson
in this true story. The plot revolves around
Adamsons battle to protect the giant cats on
his African lion preserve from poachers. Also
available on DVD.

Any Given Sunday (September 1)

Stars: Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz

Director: Oliver Stone
Story: Pacino plays the head of a football team
in the Associated Football Franchise of America
(AFFA) who fights to protect the team and its
aging quarterback (Quaid) after a new owner
(Diaz) takes over. Also available on DVD.

High Fidelity (September 19)

Stars: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle
Director: Stephen Frears
Story: Thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) is
a self-centered record store manager going
through an early mid-life crisis. Guided by conversations with his staff about their lives and
how the music they listen to shapes them, he
tries to figure out his place in the adult world.
Bruce Springsteen appears in a cameo.
Ready to Rumble (September 19)
Stars: David Arquette, Scott Caan, Oliver Platt
Director: Brian Robbins
Story: When their favourite WCW wrestler
(Platt) is ousted from the league, two dimwitted sewage workers (Arquette and Caan) head
to WCW headquarters in Atlanta with a plan to
help their hero get his job back and win the
title. Also available on DVD.

28 Days (September 19)

Stars: Sandra Bullock, Steve Buscemi

Director: Betty Thomas
Story: After an out-of-control alcoholic
(Bullock) steals a limo and crashes it into a
house during her sisters wedding, she is sent
to a rehab clinic for 28 days to clean up and
dry out. Also available on DVD.

Black and White (September 26)

Stars: Brooke Shields, Robert Downey, Jr.,

Scott Caan
Director: James Toback
Story: Shields plays a documentary filmmaker
exploring the phenomenon of white middleclass kids who like to emulate black inner city
kids. This film earned critical acclaim at last
years Toronto International Film Festival. Also
available on DVD.

Final Destination (September 26)

Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter

Director: James Wong
Story: Alex (Sawa), a 17-year-old high school
student, has a vision that the Paris-bound plane
he and his six buddies are about to catch will
explode in mid-air, so he talks them out of
going. The plane does explode, and it looks like
they avoided catastrophe. But his buddies start
to drop like flies anyway and he could be next
if he doesnt figure out whats going on.

The Big Kahuna (September 19)

Stars: Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito,
Peter Facinelli
Director: John Swanbeck
Story: Three salesmen (Spacey, DeVito and
Facinelli) spend a weekend holed up in their
hotel suite waiting for a big client to stop by.
They pass the time by swapping philosophies
about sales and life. Also available on DVD.
famous 43

september 2000

John Cusack
and Iben Hjejle
in High Fidelity

famous last words

14

14 STARS

outrageous
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

REINSTATE FAMILY VALUES.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP AND I
CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL, MY
MOTHER WOULD SAY, PULL OUT
THE BOOKS. LETS SEE WHAT THE
HOMEWORK IS. SHE WOULD
WORK WITH ME. ONLY WHEN
ALL THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED
COULD I GO OUT AND PLAY.
THEN, WHEN MY FATHER CAME
HOME, WED START KICKING THE
SOCCER BALL IN FRONT OF THE
HOUSE. THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTHER AND
CHILD, AND FATHER AND CHILD
WHICH IS NOT THERE ANYMORE.
I WISH IT WERE.
ROSEANNE My most outrageous wish is
that gays will run the world, because then
there would be no war just a greater
emphasis on military apparel.
SUSAN SARANDON My most outrageous
wish? When I get to heaven and see God,
Id like to hear her say, Lets party!

ROD STEIGER My dream is to drop dead

in front of the camera or in the heights of
lovemaking.
DREW BARRYMORE Ive always wanted

a brother. When we made Mad Love, Chris

ODonnell was my ultimate brother. I
mean, wed clean each others ears out
with Q-Tips.

famous 44

september 2000

REVEAL THEIR MOST

wishes

By Susan Granger

WOODY HARRELSON My wish is that

war stops being lucrative. The problem is

that people make so much money
through our military encounters.

SANDRA BULLOCK To take a whole

year off and do absolutely nothing but

stay home and nest and hang out with
my pooches.

KATHY BATES My most outrageous

wish is that Hollywood would stop holding up these gorgeous, slim 19-year-olds
as role models. What its done to me as a
woman is make me feel that Im not good
enough. Its a constant negative message
and I fear its wishful thinking to assume
it will cease.

MORGAN FREEMAN To sail the ocean

BRANDY Id like to almost not have to

work anymore. Id like to be like Julia
Roberts, who does a film because she likes
it, not because she needs the money.
MICHAEL CAINE Remove envy from the
U.K. One of the great British diseases is
envy. Every nation has its own disease.
Americas is greed. Frances is chauvinism
and Englands is envy. When youre working class and youve made it big, envy is
what you have to cope with.

EDDIE MURPHY I dont remember a

time when black people have been happy.

Racism is as prevalent in society as its
ever been. Everybody is unhappy and I
suppose my most outrageous wish would
be to have that change in my lifetime.

RICHARD GERE A cure for AIDS. Ive

JAMIE LEE CURTIS

I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE NOT
TO CARE WHAT I LOOK LIKE.

had a lot of friends who died from AIDS.

Its a horrendous situation. I still dont
think governments are doing enough.
famous 45

september 2000

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AND JAMIE LEE CURTIS PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREG GORMAN,
INSIDE LIFE, RIZZOLI INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS, INC. 1997

blue. Its been one of my enduring

dreams just to go sailing.

september horoscope

starstruck

VIRGO

AQUARIUS

August 23-September 22

January 21-February 19

Expect changes in your living arrangements.

Long-term guests and short-term relocations
are among the possibilities. Mid-month is ideal
for unloading art objects and collectibles. Backto-back promotions are in store for you or a
loved one. Watch out for a gullible streak that
surfaces toward months end.

Heres a taste of whats on tap this month:

soires, a boss or co-worker with an attitude, a
wonderful new soul mate and a friend who
wants to be indulged. But take time out for
yourself, or youll be overwhelmed by it all.

LIBRA
September 23-October 22
Although your influence and encouragement
can help a partner out of an emotional slump,
you play far more than a supporting role this
month. Youll excel as a host and shine as a
team leader. Mid-month finds you working on a
family tree or related project.

SCORPIO
October 23-November 21
While a casual acquaintance reveals a whole
lot more than you need to know, your closest
friends clam up. Thats par for the course in a
strange month that accents contrasts and
contradictions: slowdowns at work one week,
overtime another. Battle through a romantic
slump around the 10th, because the action
heats up by the 20th.

SAGITTARIUS

CANCER

PISCES
February 20-March 20
Your key to romance lies in balancing the
passive yin with the active yang. Confirming
appointments is all-important from the 11th
through the 19th. And, at work, your knowledge of an obscure subject can earn the admiration of those in high places.

ARIES
March 21-April 20
Its a month of small misunderstandings. For
instance, flirtations may not be all that innocent and financial offers may be less firm than
you believe. But the first two weeks are outstanding for setting up a health and fitness
plan. And the last 12 days of September see
you enjoying good times at long last
with a very special friend.

TAURUS
April 21-May 22

This month looks good for a makeover new

hairstyle, new perfume, new wardrobe. Just opt
for subtlety over razzle dazzle. You need to
make some tough budget decisions, especially
in the area of shared expenses.

Youre inclined to talk yourself into things

especially from the 2nd through the 14th, so
why not go for the really interesting stuff? A
romantic partner is extra supportive, friends are
giving you more space and, by the 20th, youre
finally able to loosen those purse strings and
spend a little cash on yourself.

CAPRICORN

GEMINI

December 23-January 20

May 23-June 21

Decisions you make throughout September

should come from the heart, as well as the
head. An old flame may be trying to get in
touch, but the communications channels are
temporarily blocked. Your own intuition is
strongest from the 22nd on.

Romantic dry spells end and September develops into a month of sweet sentiments. Its also
an unexpectedly creative time, even if youre
merely doodling. Some cautions though:
Health needs, job conflicts and household repairs all require prompt attention.

November 22-December 22

famous 46

KATIA SMIRNOVA

By Dan Liebman

september 2000

June 22-July 22
Youre unusually focused following a period of
diversions. The first two weeks of September
are outstanding for trouble shooting at work.
Sorting out relationships is ideal for weeks
three and four. Your honest, independent
thinking could lead to a commendation by the
30th. Just watch out for a late month absentminded streak.

LEO
July 23-August 22
Your knack for bringing adversaries together
works wonders through the Labour Day weekend. You and your partner may be swapping
your typical roles near the 15th. Small challenges unexpectedly faze you around the
20th. The last week of September is ripe for
adding flare to your wardrobe and zing to
your romantic life.

AUGUSTBIRTHDAYS
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th

Lily Tomlin
Keanu Reeves
Charlie Sheen
Neil Simon
Raquel Welch
Rosie Perez
Corbin Bernsen
Billy Crudup
Adam Sandler
Chris Columbus
Harry Connick, Jr.
Ian Holm
Jacqueline Bisset
Sam Neill

15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
25th
26th
27th
28th

Oliver Stone
Lauren Bacall
Anne Bancroft
Frankie Avalon
Jeremy Irons
Sophia Loren
Stephen King
Andrea Bocelli
Jason Alexander
Pedro Almodvar
Heather Locklear
Linda Hamilton
Meat Loaf
Gwyneth Paltrow