Filed under: Drama, Casting, Cannes, Critical Thought & Trends, Celebrities and Controversy, Politics

In yesterday's review of A Mighty Heart, filed from the Cannes fest, James brought up a topic that I haven't given much thought to, but other people apparently have. Angelina Jolie's portrayal of Marianne Pearl in the film, for whatever emotional and preparational challenges it presented, also required Jolie to curl her hair and 'brown' her skin in order to accurately reflect Pearl's Afro-Cuban/French heritage. Most reviews being filed from the fest seem to reflect what James pointed out -- that it's not considered a big deal. As James wrote, "there's nothing insensitive or overdone in the mild make-up artistry of the part; the inner performance is what shines out." The press also realizes, I'm sure, that Jolie had a lot to do with shepherding this project into production and is the film's biggest selling point, so they wouldn't raise the pointless question of 'Couldn't the producers have found someone else to play Pearl?' I wonder, though -- would the press reaction be different if this were a fictional character? What if someone considerably fairer than Jolie, like Nicole Kidman, had taken the part and gone through the same make-up job?

There's also a sort of flip-side to the coin. During a recent press junket for her latest film, Perfect Stranger, Halle Berry talked candidly about her upcoming project, Class Act, a true story about a teacher who runs for congress. The teacher is white. "She's just this teacher who ran for public office," Berry told the press, "and that's a step in the right direction for me, because I've been fighting to just be seen as a woman and not always have my color precede me, so when [the producer] said 'wouldn't this be a great role for you?' I said 'you should ask her. Maybe she doesn't want her story portrayed by a black woman.' And she loved the idea."

These are weighty issues that can only be hashed out by the Cinematical readers, so I'll leave it to you -- what do you think about actors using makeup to alter their race for films, or simply taking on the roles of real people who are of a different race and not doing any makeup work?

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Drama, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy

Here we go again. In the never-ending ping-pong match of rumors between Lindsay Lohan and the media, the actress is opening up about her "bad behaviour" on the set of Georgia Rule. This all started back during production of the "chick-friendly" family drama starring Lohan, Jane Fonda, and Felicity Huffman. Talk of an uneasy set and public scolding of Lohan by producer James G. Robinson, who stated in a letter that Lohan had "acted like a spoiled child and in doing so have alienated many of your co-workers and endangered the quality" of "Georgia Rule.' Lohan recently spoke with Allure saying, "It upset me because I was a bit irresponsible. I didn't think about the consequences, but I was also going through something in my life."

But at the time, like most of Lohan's unflattering PR, the actress kept relatively quiet about the whole thing and had returned to work quietly to finish the film. And the results? Reactions to the film weren't great, and while it was not a break-out success, I think everyone managed to walk away with their dignity intact. Lohan might have a chance of getting the gossip headlines out of her reviews, she seems to have redeemed herself with her upcoming thriller I Know Who Killed Me with Chris Sivertson . Already the director has been praising her work -- which was never really the problem, and more importantly her work ethic. So far, there has only been a few glimpses of a poster and some photos. Set for release in July, hopefully Lohan can keep herself out of the headlines until then.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Cannes, Celebrities and Controversy, Distribution, Movie Marketing, Politics, Religious

Larry Charles made his feature directorial debut with the utterly ridiculous Bob Dylan film Masked and Anonymous, but he has been a big name in television for years. He wrote several classic Seinfeld episodes and is a frequent Curb Your Enthusiasm director. Those two credits make him a hero to me, but it was his last film that really catapulted him onto the A - list: Borat. You would think after the enormous critical and commercial success of that film, the guy would have no problem setting up another project. Unless that project is a sure-to-be controversial flick about "the role of institutional religion around the world." Charles showed a ten-minute promotional reel of his new film to around 200 buyers at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, and it already has people speculating that it will cause an uproar.

The film, currently titled A Spiritual Journey is said to be "a blend of comedy and reportage," which makes it sound like some of the lighter segments of Michael Moore's work. The movie has finished production, but has yet to be edited. Comedian Bill Maher will narrate the film, and he is no stranger to controversy himself. His comments criticizing the US government after September 11th led to the cancellation of his show Politically Incorrect. A Spiritual Journey has been selling quite well to foreign distributors, but America might be a trickier proposition. Those who saw the advance footage think it would be an extremely difficult film for a division of a major studio to handle. We live in a world where even the suspicion of religion bashing can cause huge protests and boycotts -- Dogma and The Last Temptation of Christ are just a couple examples of flicks that infuriated religious groups. That sort of controversy can make the big studios wary, but it can also sell a lot of tickets. I have no doubt we'll see A Spiritual Journey here at some point, but it sounds like it's going to come with a whole lot of hubbub.

Permalink | Email this | Comments