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- In 1930, she stars as Traci in the production of The Boss's Orders.
- In 1898, she plays the part of Clare in the production of Crossing the Line.
- In 2003, she stars as Lucy Monroe in the release Disturbed.
- In 1920, Virginia Madsen's character is Penny Tillman in the feature Arabian Nightmare, An.
- For the 2004 release Beautiful Girls 16, she plays the part of Karin De Vries.
- In 1939, Virginia Madsen plays Emma Becker in the show The Followers.
- For the 2004 video Ben Dover: Cock Jockies, Virginia Madsen plays Polaire.
- In 1975, Virginia Madsen plays Annie Westford in the release of Dupont Lajoie.
- For the 2004 show Carthage: The Roman Holocaust, she takes the role of Gina Hayes.
- She plays the part of Wanda Lovell in the 1983 tv series Avventure di Mozziconi, Le.
- For the 1995 production of Blue Black: Introspection, Virginia Madsen is cast in the role of Helen Lyle.
- For the 2006 show Camping Adventures: Family Affair, Herself.
- In 1999, Virginia Madsen plays Susan Prince in the show Boris Becker - I Did It My Way.
- In 2006, Virginia Madsen plays Ingrid Bast in the video Abeni.
- Virginia Madsen plays Lisa in the 1993 video Black Buttnicks.
- In 1996, Herself in the show Estrella de ocho puntas.
- For the 1982 production of Beijo na Boca, she takes the role of Barbara.
- In 2002, she plays Anne Rodney in the video The 5th Horseman.
- Virginia Madsen plays Princess Irulan in the 1910 release of Corrida da Rampa.
- For the 1896 production of Clark's Thread Mill, she plays Madeline Robistat.
- In 1984, Virginia Madsen stars as Lisa Taylor in the show Co dzien blizej nieba.
- For the 1916 show Billy Van Deusen, Cave Man, Virginia Madsen stars as Molly.
- In 2004, Virginia Madsen plays Brenda in the feature Acciones en ruta.
- For the 2008 production of Art of Living, Virginia Madsen stars as Dixie DeLaughter.
- She stars as Rachel Carlyle in the 1954 movie Cantando nace el amor.
- In 2006, she plays Jane in the show Afdwalen.
- In 2006, Virginia Madsen plays Marion Davies in the movie Bonne nuit Malik.
- Virginia Madsen plays Delia in the 1988 show Blinde Leidenschaft.
- For the 2003 show Ahviaasta, Virginia Madsen plays Louise Marcus.
- For the 1933 show Chargeuses et chargeurs de bateau, she stars as Allison Rowe.
- She stars as Betty Stuart in the 2002 video release of 18 and Lost in Philly.
- In 1999, she stars as Brenda Kniffen in the video Booty Double.
- In 1922, Virginia Madsen's character is Kim in the feature Deserted at the Altar.
- In 1924, she stars as Linda Cowley in the movie Behold This Woman.
- For the 1972 feature The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, she stars as Dixie Lee Boxx.
- In 1928, Virginia Madsen plays Rebecca Bishop in the feature Air Mail Pilot.
- For the 1949 release of The 13th Sultan, Virginia Madsen's character is Vera Miller.
- Virginia Madsen is cast in the role of Herself in the 1929 movie Chirage Kohistan.
- In 1984, Virginia Madsen plays Lou Ellen 'Ellie' in the movie Arhivi Jugoslavije.
- For the 1915 release of The Cheval Mystery, she plays the part of Kelly.
- In 1960, she is cast in the role of Sally Boffin in the show Alcatraz Express.
- For the 2004 video release of Across the Niger, she takes the role of Carolyn Warmus.
- For the 1994 video Adventures of D.P. Boys 14: Tokyo Tramps, Virginia Madsen stars as Katherine.
- In 2002, she is cast in the role of Jackie Lemanczyk in the show Ausgestopfte Mohr, Der.
- In 1958, Virginia Madsen plays the part of Yolanda Caldwell in the movie Andreyka.
- In 1924, she stars as Herself in the show Baffled.
- She is cast in the role of Emma in the 1982 production of Anton Muze.
- In 2002, Virginia Madsen plays Anne Scholes in the Big Tit Teasers 5: European Natural Titties.
- Virginia Madsen is cast in the role of Carla Simmons in the 2005 video Cavett Meets The Rolling Stones.
- For the 1993 Amateur Lesbians 14, Virginia Madsen plays the part of Andrea.
- She plays the part of Rebecca Sandstrom in the 2000 show Ali Meek Gets a Result.
- For the 1971 movie A kuca zvoni li zvoni, she plays Claretta Petacci.
- Co-Host (1998-1999) in the 1990 video Con Jobs.
- She plays the part of Irina Lindbaum in the 1989 show Deep in Deanna Jones.
- In 1956, Virginia Madsen plays Lena in the movie Flight to Hong Kong.
- For the 1936 production of Grand Finale, Virginia Madsen's character is Herself - winner.
- In 2002, she stars as Herself - Nominee: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in the movie Goldfish in a Blender, A.
- For the 1933 feature The Good Companions, Virginia Madsen plays Herself - Nominee: Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
- For the 1953 movie The Good Beginning, Virginia Madsen plays Herself - Nominee: Best Supporting Actress.
- For the 1960 movie Hem Hayu Asarah, she plays the part of Herself.
- In 1935, she is cast in the role of Prison Lawyer in the release of The Great American Pie Company.
- For the 1964 movie Cordobes, El, she takes the role of Maya.
- For the 2007 release of Gozar, comer y partir, Yolanda Caldwell.
- Virginia Madsen plays Herself in the 2002 production of The Grail.
- Virginia Madsen on Dennis Hopper in 'Elegy'
  
  Los Angeles: Actors champion fellow colleagues in 2008 performances -- Virginia Madsen on Dennis Hopper in 'Elegy': When you Google "Dennis Hopper," you will find words like "unconventional," "revered" and "remarkable."
  on 2008-11-27 04:46:19
- Virginia Madsen Wants Your Vote
  
  While other actors are out stumping for their favorite presidential candidate, Virginia Madsen just wants people to vote.
  on 2008-07-15 04:46:17
- What to TiVo: Thursday
  
  Fox is new with Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and So You Think You Can Dance NBC is new with Last Comic Standing and Fear Itself CBS has repeats of Million Dollar Password and CSI and is new with Swingtown ABC has repeats of Ugly Betty and Grey's An
  on 2008-07-03 05:02:56
- Virginia Madsen added to 'Amelia'
  
  Exclusives: 'Sideways' actress joins Swank, Gere in biopic -- Virginia Madsen has signed on to co-star in the Amelia Earhart biopic "Amelia" for Avalon Pictures and Fox Searchlight.
  on 2008-04-22 00:46:05
- On A Day of Highs and Lows, Sundances On
  
  While the afternoon took a noticeably somber turn as the news of Heath Ledger's tragic death spread over snowy Park City, the morning was for celebrating as Oscar nomination news came to Sundance. While a lot of the celebrities left with the end of MLK da
  on 2008-01-23 04:47:06
- I used to like him until he started showing what a pompous ass he is in interviews. "Rick in Oz" wrote in message news:AimLf.401$NN.9535@snnrp1.syd4.maint.ops.aspac.uu.net... > http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/harrison-ford-on-selfhate/2006/02/23/11406 > 70197037.html > Harrison Ford ..."psychologically you begin to hate yourself". > Photo: Brendan Esposito > February 23, 2006 - 5:29PM > guarded. > his personal life and has learnt to deflect such questions with ease. > unexpectedly confessing to having moments where he hates himself. > of talking about himself - and says that, after so many times answering > the > same questions, he starts feeling like a fraud. > feel like a liar, like a fraud," said Harrison, who is in Australia with > fiancee Calista Flockhart and her adopted son Liam. > head of security for a global bank. > $185 million ransom to free his kidnapped family. > something Ford enjoyed while preparing for his role. > business," he said. > allowed me to see what these guys do when they go to work, what they > looked > like, what their offices look like and what it's like backstage in the > vault." > be > still working on it. > perfectionist > in this business," he said. > yourself. You have to recognise when you have achieved an appropriate > ambition. > quick in this business." > Master and Commander's Paul Bettany as the villain, Ford is involved in > bloody fight scenes. > acting," he said. > audience prefers to see an actor's face rather than the back of a stunt > man's head." > he > get in shape for such strenuous work? > when I have a movie that has a physical aspect to it. > I > do play tennis, I like tennis." > right now". > be doing it for a long while. > movies)," he said. > with." > science-fiction thriller Godspeed, political thriller Manhunt and the next > eagerly awaited instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise.
- http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/harrison-ford-on-selfhate/2006/02/23/11406 70197037.html Harrison Ford on self-hate Harrison Ford ..."psychologically you begin to hate yourself". Photo: Brendan Esposito February 23, 2006 - 5:29PM Hollywood sex symbol Harrison Ford comes across as serious and somewhat guarded. With more than 40 years in the spotlight, the film star rarely talks about his personal life and has learnt to deflect such questions with ease. So it's surprising when the 63-year-old offers a candid insight, unexpectedly confessing to having moments where he hates himself. In Australia to promote his movie Firewall, Harrison concedes he gets sick of talking about himself - and says that, after so many times answering the same questions, he starts feeling like a fraud. "After a while when you have repeated yourself so many times you begin to feel like a liar, like a fraud," said Harrison, who is in Australia with fiancee Calista Flockhart and her adopted son Liam. "Just psychologically you begin to hate yourself. "It begins to sound like you are being fraudulent and I hate that." Harrison is apparently more comfortable in front of the camera. In Firewall, a thriller, he plays Jack Stanfield - a husband, father and head of security for a global bank. A computer whizz, Stanfield is forced to hack into his business to pay a $185 million ransom to free his kidnapped family. Exploring bank vaults and getting inside the mind of banking experts was something Ford enjoyed while preparing for his role. "That's the wonderful thing about an actor's life and working in the business," he said. "You have the opportunity to explore other people's lives. "I spent time with banking professionals and software designers, which allowed me to see what these guys do when they go to work, what they looked like, what their offices look like and what it's like backstage in the vault." Ford said he was proud of the finished product, and if he wasn't he would be still working on it. But he dismisses suggestions that he is a perfectionist. "I try as hard as anybody to get it right, but you can't be a perfectionist in this business," he said. "There are just too many other people involved and you don't do everything yourself. You have to recognise when you have achieved an appropriate ambition. "Then it's time to get on down the road because you have to get it right quick in this business." In the film, which stars Sideways star Virginia Madsen as Ford's wife and Master and Commander's Paul Bettany as the villain, Ford is involved in bloody fight scenes. No stunt doubles were used. "I don't think any of what I did qualifies as a stunt - it's physical acting," he said. "We arranged the fights so it was possible for actors to do it because the audience prefers to see an actor's face rather than the back of a stunt man's head." So were these scenes physically demanding for the ageing star and how did he get in shape for such strenuous work? "It's fun," he said. "It's hard work and you work up a sweat, but I do a little more training when I have a movie that has a physical aspect to it. "I am not much of a gym buff and I prefer physical work than exercise. But I do play tennis, I like tennis." Ford says there is plenty he still wants to do but "I don't know it's name right now". For the time being he is happy doing what he loves - acting - and hopes to be doing it for a long while. "I would be very happy to fill my life with much of the same (making movies)," he said. "I enjoy my work and the challenge of it and the people I get to work with." The screen veteran has several films in development including science-fiction thriller Godspeed, political thriller Manhunt and the next eagerly awaited instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise. AAP
- crofter wrote: > jennifer ellison > anna friel > kate winslet > nell mcandrew > Mia Kirshner Alicia Keys Jessica Biel Katherine Heigl Virginia Madsen Michelle Trachtenberg Krista Allen ~Angel
- She is so damn hot for 41 "Rick in Oz" wrote in message news:e1T7e.555$oa7.6964@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au... > http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2005/04/15/998739.html > phenomenon that is Sideways. > thriller starring Harrison Ford that is currently shooting in Vancouver. > Oscar-nominated actress tells the Sun by telephone. "It feels like I'm > starting a new volume, a whole new book. It feels like a fresh, clean > start." re-invigorated > her once disappointing career and it is Sideways that gets her connected > with the media again. Madsen is eager to share the newly released DVD, which > is now selling and renting well because the film has crossed over into > mainstream culture from its modest origins. > it next to Chocolat. But you'd still look cool if you put Con Air on the > other side. I like those movies, too, I'd have to say." > ensemble, was nominated as best supporting actress for Sideways. She played > the sensuous waitress-wine expert who sparks a tumultuous romance with the > wine snob played by Paul Giamatti. Madsen lost the Oscar to Cate Blanchett, > who played Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. > So Madsen ended up on what has become known as "the loser-cam," multiple > cameras that shoot closeups of the losers faces when the winner's name is > called. you > didn't win?' Are you kidding? Do you know the chances for someone like me > and for a movie like ours to ever go to the Oscars? I kept turning around to > the cast and going: 'Can you believe we're here?' I felt that someone was > going to come and kick us out! > actor for playing Giamatti's philandering sidekick) and I, either of us, > really expected to win anyway," Madsen says. Instead the Sideways gang > rooted for Payne and writing partner Jim Taylor to grab the best adapted > screen prize. "I think we would have been really disappointed if Alex and > Jim didn't win for the screenplay." > Searchlight, the speciality house that promoted and distributed the film > before its parent company, 20th Century Fox, released the new DVD, handled > Sideways. The campaign started with its debut at the Toronto film festival > and then went on to a lowkey, platformed release pattern. > the beginning, which is unheard of in this business. They were committed to > the film, to keep it in theatres. They didn't need to be in the top five > movies. They were interested in the long haul. It is very interesting that > anyone would do that nowadays, because if your film doesn't gross a certain > amount, or if it's not in the top 10, you're done. You're done on the first > weekend!" > who liked the robust nature of the story and the satirical humour. "That's > another reason why this movie works so well," says Madsen. > cry or to learn a lesson or to examine life. But that happens anyway. It > sort of sneaks up on you because it is so well written, but it's not > preachy." > actress Sandra Oh shocked and saddened Virginia Madsen, who grew to love > them both making Sideways. > feather, as my grandmother used to say. I was very upset by that and I don't > understand it and I don't know the details and I guess I kind of wish I did > so I could understand it more. Sideways > family and we all got to know each other so well. So I think I idealized > them as a couple. I think I really put them on a pedestal and just thought > that they were the perfect couple. They were mega-cool, yes they were, and > I'm so saddened by their annoucement. > and nobody is jumping all over it." > Anatomy. "It's great!" Madsen says. "You've got to watch it, man. I really > want to guest star."
- http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2005/04/15/998739.html 'Sideways' star Virginia Madsen upbeat By BRUCE KIRKLAND -- Toronto Sun For Virginia Madsen, life began again at 41 -- thanks to the cultural phenomenon that is Sideways. "New chapter?" she says rhetorically from the set of The Wrong Element, a thriller starring Harrison Ford that is currently shooting in Vancouver. "It feels bigger than a new chapter in my life," the Chicago-born, Oscar-nominated actress tells the Sun by telephone. "It feels like I'm starting a new volume, a whole new book. It feels like a fresh, clean start." It was Alexander Payne's tragi-comic road movie Sideways that re-invigorated her once disappointing career and it is Sideways that gets her connected with the media again. Madsen is eager to share the newly released DVD, which is now selling and renting well because the film has crossed over into mainstream culture from its modest origins. "It's a good one for your DVD library, that's for sure," Madsen says. "Put it next to Chocolat. But you'd still look cool if you put Con Air on the other side. I like those movies, too, I'd have to say." Madsen, the sister of actor Michael Madsen from the sterling Kill Bill ensemble, was nominated as best supporting actress for Sideways. She played the sensuous waitress-wine expert who sparks a tumultuous romance with the wine snob played by Paul Giamatti. Madsen lost the Oscar to Cate Blanchett, who played Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. So Madsen ended up on what has become known as "the loser-cam," multiple cameras that shoot closeups of the losers faces when the winner's name is called. "A lot of people asked: 'Was it hard? Were you really disappointed when you didn't win?' Are you kidding? Do you know the chances for someone like me and for a movie like ours to ever go to the Oscars? I kept turning around to the cast and going: 'Can you believe we're here?' I felt that someone was going to come and kick us out! "I don't think Thomas (Haden Church, who was nominated as best supporting actor for playing Giamatti's philandering sidekick) and I, either of us, really expected to win anyway," Madsen says. Instead the Sideways gang rooted for Payne and writing partner Jim Taylor to grab the best adapted screen prize. "I think we would have been really disappointed if Alex and Jim didn't win for the screenplay." Madsen believes that there is a lesson for other distributors in how Fox Searchlight, the speciality house that promoted and distributed the film before its parent company, 20th Century Fox, released the new DVD, handled Sideways. The campaign started with its debut at the Toronto film festival and then went on to a lowkey, platformed release pattern. "It built slowly," Madsen says. "Fox Searchlight never went for numbers in the beginning, which is unheard of in this business. They were committed to the film, to keep it in theatres. They didn't need to be in the top five movies. They were interested in the long haul. It is very interesting that anyone would do that nowadays, because if your film doesn't gross a certain amount, or if it's not in the top 10, you're done. You're done on the first weekend!" Sideways was nurtured and found its niche, especially among male audiences who liked the robust nature of the story and the satirical humour. "That's another reason why this movie works so well," says Madsen. "Because you didn't feel that it was a chick film where you were going to cry or to learn a lesson or to examine life. But that happens anyway. It sort of sneaks up on you because it is so well written, but it's not preachy." Pals' breakup shocks Madsen The post-Oscar end of the marriage between director Alexander Payne and actress Sandra Oh shocked and saddened Virginia Madsen, who grew to love them both making Sideways. "Oh my God," Madsen tells the Sun, "you could have knocked me over with a feather, as my grandmother used to say. I was very upset by that and I don't understand it and I don't know the details and I guess I kind of wish I did so I could understand it more. "You know, I just fell in love with all of those people. I loved my Sideways family and we all got to know each other so well. So I think I idealized them as a couple. I think I really put them on a pedestal and just thought that they were the perfect couple. They were mega-cool, yes they were, and I'm so saddened by their annoucement. "But, whatever (the truth is), at least it's been handled in a classy way and nobody is jumping all over it." Meanwhile, Madsen recommends the Canadian-born Oh's new TV show, Grey's Anatomy. "It's great!" Madsen says. "You've got to watch it, man. I really want to guest star."
- http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2005/03/31/978240-cp.html Madsen admits 'Sideways' a career booster By JOHN MCKAY TORONTO (CP) - For two decades Virginia Madsen has been regarded as a Hollywood actress far better than the parts that came her way. Then last year, as she crossed over the big four-oh line, along came the role of Maya in Alexander Payne's Academy Award-nominated indie film Sideways. And that has made all the difference. "Oh my God, everything's changed," exclaims Madsen in a telephone interview from Los Angeles to promote Tuesday's home video release of Sideways. "I'm making money now. And I also, for the first time, have three films lined up, and I've never had that luxury in my career, ever. You know, to be booked for a while, that's every actor's dream." The blond Chicago native with one green eye and one half-green, half-brown, broke into the movies in the mid-1980s in such promising titles as Dune, Electric Dreams and Candyman. But in the '90s her rising star seemed to get eclipsed by her brother with the tough-guy image, Michael Madsen (the scary ear-slicer in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs). Then along came Payne's Oscar-winning for Sideways, about the misadventures of Miles and Jack, two middle-aged buddies who embark on a last-chance wine-tasting tour through California vineyard country. In her Oscar-nominated supporting role, Madsen plays a wine-savvy local waitress who has already been beaten up by life and who falls for divorced, failed writer Miles (American Splendor's Paul Giamatti). While many filmgoers were skeptical that the appealing Maya could like such a sad sack, Madsen finds it entirely plausible, insisting Maya was definitely not "settling." Her character, she notes, was drawn to Miles's simple honesty, compared with her former professor husband who she found to be a "fraud." "A lot of the women pick up on that particular word, because it means he was a fake, none of the things she thought (Miles) was. "Some of us like nice guys. You know, I'm not 25 anymore. I'm not looking for James Dean on a bike, you know. I've got a 10-year-old son, I don't need another one." So the Sideways role, to Madsen, puts the lie to the Hollywood theory that there are no good parts for women over 40. "I've had the best roles of my life at this age," she maintains. "I don't think there's very good roles for women in their 20s. There's an abundance, but not many realistic portrayals of 23-year-olds." She says while she can play a woman like Maya, she would have found it difficult at 25 or 30 trying to play, say, a mother and a lawyer, a character who had lived life. As for moviegoers who found it difficult watching a film with two "heroes" who were so deeply flawed and outright obnoxious, Madsen says perhaps they should go see Scooby Doo and analyse it for its characters' imperfections. "If you really examine the character of Shaggy, you will find a sad little man whose best friend is a dog and who has a serious eating disorder!" Sideways, she adds, is about flawed people because writer-director Payne has admitted he doesn't know any likable heroes. "We're all sideways people, we're all twisted and we all have our eccentricities and we've all done terrible things and good things. Martha Stewart, for God's sake, just went to prison for lying." Frankly, she admits, she was braced for a different kind of debate about the film, convinced Mothers Against Drunk Driving, for example, would launch a vigorous campaign protesting the drinking and driving that went on during Miles and Jack's pilgrimage though the grapes. As for reports the film has singlehandedly raised public awareness of, and interest in, wine-making and wine-tasting, Madsen says it's because wine has evolved from an elitist pastime to an approachable experience in American culture. "Wine's become so affordable. You can get a really nice bottle of wine for $20 and you can have wine-tasting parties at home, and it's a real communal experience, a fun thing to share with friends." Madsen says she has been filming in Vancouver recently and is scheduled to visit B.C.'s Okanagan Valley for a wine-tasting. "I haven't found one (B.C. wine) that I like yet. Everyone of course in Canada really wants to turn me onto it, so I'm getting a new bottle practically every day in my hotel and I'm kinda like, 'I don't like that one, either' but I'm willing to give it a try." When in Toronto recently, she says she was given a nice bottle of Ontario wine - she couldn't recall the name - but California wines remain her favourite. From Sunny Oz, Rick :) Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
- On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 15:16:51 -0800, "Betsy" wrote: >news:1109716393.693475.60830@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com... > | > | bodi wrote: > | > Rick in Oz wrote: > | > | > | > | > | > | >(27.02.05) > | > with a > | > | > | >role > | > in > | > | > Oscar gown > | > | > eatery, Astro > | > | > | > Why didn't she join Virginia Madsen and her son at In-N-Out >Burger! > | > (At least that's where she said she was going in one interview.) > | > | Penelope Cruz said she had just come from In N Out before the red > | carpet to calm herself down. I was surprised her stomach could fit >a > | burger. > | > | MC > | Keeper of Giovanni Ribisi! > | Here's the photo: http://www.hunkvideo.com/cgi-bin/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl?frames;read=67673 -- Bigolhomo
- "mc" wrote in message news:1109716393.693475.60830@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com... | | bodi wrote: | > Rick in Oz wrote: | | | | | | (27.02.05) | > with a | | | role | > in | | > Oscar gown | | > eatery, Astro | | > | > | > Why didn't she join Virginia Madsen and her son at In-N-Out Burger! | > (At least that's where she said she was going in one interview.) | | Penelope Cruz said she had just come from In N Out before the red | carpet to calm herself down. I was surprised her stomach could fit a | burger. | | MC | Keeper of Giovanni Ribisi! | Oh, she probably just had a fry.
- bodi wrote: > Rick in Oz wrote: > with a > in > Oscar gown > eatery, Astro > Why didn't she join Virginia Madsen and her son at In-N-Out Burger! > (At least that's where she said she was going in one interview.) Penelope Cruz said she had just come from In N Out before the red carpet to calm herself down. I was surprised her stomach could fit a burger. MC Keeper of Giovanni Ribisi!
- Rick in Oz wrote: > http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/27702004.htm > March 1, 2005, 1:40:43 with a > slap-up meal - in a burger bar. in > boxing movie 'Million Dollar Baby' - was spotted in her designer Oscar gown > gorging on burgers, fries and milkshakes at low-cost Hollywood eatery, Astro > Burger. Why didn't she join Virginia Madsen and her son at In-N-Out Burger! (At least that's where she said she was going in one interview.) Astro Burger isn't the one on Santa Monica Blvd. at Robertson, is it? That place was always great! Wayno http://www.nstmyosenji.org
- When I used to do the "Allen Report" website, I would post my take on the Oscars during its special coverage; for its last two years, I'd save them for the weekend so I would include almost all information gathered from various coverage. Since I don't do the site anymore (unless I return in blog form), here are my thoughts on Sunday night's awards: If you picked 3 hours and 15 minutes as the official running time of the 77th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, congratulations! This year's awards were indeed short and sweet, and the duo of producer Gil Cates and orchestra conductor Bill Conti made sure every second counted. Apparently for host Chris Rock, make that every seven seconds, as ABC imposed that time delay in case the Oscars suddently turned into Def Comedy Jam or Comicview. But he did play things cool nonetheless. Speaking of cool, the show took a cool turn by having some of the nominees gathering on stage while others were accepting right at the audience. It was also cool that Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" scored a TKO with wins for Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman), Actress (Hilary Swank), Director (Eastwood), and Best Picture of 2004. "The Aviator" flew high with five awards including Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett, while Jamie Foxx REALLY sang his praises over his Best Actor win for "Ray". But one thing that was not cool: The 41.5 million viewers who saw it all, which was two million viewers less from last year. Of course, the night began on the red carpet. Days before the show, there were lots of downpour over Southern California, and the Academy was fearing for a wet red carpet. But thankfully, the rains let up and everything went without a drop. Speaking of which, there were jaw-dropping fashions aplenty as always. We saw Oprah Winfrey in vivacious Vera Wang, Emmy Rossum bloody beautiful in Harry Winston, Virginia Madsen, Beyonce, and Melanie Griffith all donning Versace, Kate Winslet in blue Badgley Mishka, Blanchett va-va-va-vooming in Valentino, Charlize Theron in daring Dior, and Salma Hayek pretty in Prada. But the one that truly stands out was Hilary Swank in a blackless Guy Laroche. But Steven Cojocaru, back to doing the fashion beat for Entertainment Tonight, disagrees; she was the worst-dressed according to him. Don't get me started on Joan & Melissa Rivers' takes. By the way...was that Sideshow Bob performing, and am I seeing things? There were some stories behind the wins, and Jamie Foxx is one of them. In the 15 years of his career, we've followed him from "In Living Color" to "Booty Call" to his own show to a stint as 2001 MTV Video Music Awards host to now Oscar gold. What's next for him? Believe it or not, he's going to be heading to the recording studio cutting an album for J Records (that's what I've read on the CNN ticker)! I dunno about you, but is he trying to become the next Cher with this post-Oscar move? And then there's Swank. Last time when she won five years ago, we learned of the story of how she use to live in her car until she got small roles that would lead to big ones in the years to come. Now that she's a two-time winner, the time should come for her and husband Chad Lowe to start rehearsing for a much bigger role in their lives: Starting a family. If it already happened to past winners Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts, it could do the same to Hilary. The 77th Annual Academy Awards were short, edgy, and just out there. In the end, "The Aviator" may have took off as the big winner, but it was Eastwood, Swank, and Freeman that had the Million-Dollar Knockout. Jonathan Allen
- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&ncid=529&e=4&u=/ap/20050228/ap_en_ot/oscars_fashion By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL, AP Fashion Writer Stars went strapless at the Oscars , except for Hilary Swank. She made one of Sunday's boldest fashion statements, wearing a high-neck, sapphire-blue gown with long sleeves by Guy Laroche that hugged all her curves. She did show some skin, though: The back was completely bare. "I knew that it would be a little chilly out today," said Swank outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. She added: "I thought it was really beautiful." "She looked very '40s glamour - old-time Hollywood," described her makeup artist, Scott Andrew, who said he kept her look simple with mauve eye shadow and dark plum eyeliner and lots of mascara. Oprah Winfrey also looked stunning - and slim - in a gold hand-embroidered off-the- shoulder gown with a tiered skirt by Vera Wang. She wore her hair in loose curls, just like Gisele Bundchen, who walked the red carpet with boyfriend Leonardo DiCaprio in a white strapless gown with gold embroidery and an empire waist. Nicole Kidman, usually a fashion favorite, was not seen at the awards ceremony. Gwyneth Paltrow, in a nude silk and cotton voile corset dress by friend Stella McCartney, was one of the many stars who chose a natural, soft look. Laura Linney had a bit of a funky edge. Her taupe strapless gown by J. Mendel had diagonal exposed seams, a frayed edge at the top and tiers of frayed fabric at the hem - and she wore it with a rope of pearls, holding a disc, knotted at her neck. "You put them (dresses) on and you sort of know. It's profoundly comfortable," Linney said. Comfort was another popular theme. Natalie Portman said her tulle gathered gown with a deep V and pearl-adorned double waistbands was "really classic, elegant - and it's comfortable." Penelope Cruz said she admired the work of Oscar de la Renta, the designer of her yellow strapless gown with an oversized bow at the back hem. "It's beautiful and comfortable." Sophisticated starlet Emmy Rossum wore a princess ruby-and-diamond Harry Winston necklace and matching drop earrings and a crimson-red Ralph Lauren gown, which she described as the color of a 1945 Bordeaux wine. "I heard that's a good year," said the 18-year-old. Renee Zellweger again looked to designer Carolina Herrera. She wore a raspberry strapless gown with ivory tulle trim. Sandra Oh, also in red, looked glamorous in a Michael Kors ballgown. Melanie Griffith said husband Antonio Banderas had the final word on her ombre celadon pleated silk chiffon gown with embroidery by Versace that she accessorized with long diamond drop earrings by Harry Winston. Versace also dressed Virginia Madsen in a blue strapless corset gown with a black chiffon overlay and Halle Berry in an iridescent taupe silk chiffon one-shoulder gown with embroidered skirt. "It's the one that caught my eye this year," Berry said. Blue and yellow were both popular colors. Kate Winslet wore a periwinkle blue gown by Badgley Mischka with a beaded inset down the front of the bodice and Neil Lane diamonds added to the sheer straps. Salma Hayek said on E! that Prada "did such a good job" on her custom-made midnight blue dress with black beading and bows on the bodice. Johnny Depp showed up in a blue tuxedo with black lapels. His companion, Vanessa Paradis, wore a Chanel long black tulle dress with silver applique. Meanwhile, some male stars, including Spike Lee, wore white tuxedos with black shirts and ties. Cate Blanchett said picking her one-shoulder pale yellow silk taffeta gown with train and satin burgundy bow sash was easy. "Valentino made it for me. I just loved it," she said. Several celebrities had personal fittings with designers and wore custom clothes. Giorgio Armani helped Clive Owen put on his suit. "It's one of the highlights of this experience." Armani also did Annette Bening's black jersey, long-sleeve gown with a portrait neckline from his new couture collection. The fitted bodice led into an hourglass silhouette, ending with a fishtail train. Scarlett Johansson also chose black. She said she "felt like a princess" in her architectural Roland Mouret gown and Fred Leighton 19th-century diamond star tiara, but told Star Jones Reynolds on the red carpet that she could barely breathe. Beyonce, who had several costume changes for the awards show, did the red carpet in a black silk velvet strapless gown by Versace. Oscar.com fashion commentator Tom Julian said Beyonce, Hayek and Charlize Theron, who wore a strapless Dior seafoam gown with a skirt made of tiers of tulle, were among the best dressed. Overall, Julian said, the look was sophisticated and simple with rich, luxurious fabrics making more of a statement than glitzy jewels. ___ Associated Press Writer Christina Almeida contributed to this report.
- > Stars went strapless at the Oscars , except for Hilary Swank. She made > one of Sunday's boldest fashion statements, wearing a high-neck, > sapphire-blue gown with long sleeves by Guy Laroche that hugged all her > curves. She did show some skin, though: The back was completely bare. > I've heard raves on this dress but I just didn't like it. I thought it was a bit too plain. The back of it was great thought. > Gwyneth Paltrow, in a nude silk and cotton voile corset dress by friend > Stella McCartney, was one of the many stars who chose a natural, soft > look. > The gown needed some color. > Mendel had diagonal exposed seams, a frayed edge at the top and tiers > of frayed fabric at the hem - and she wore it with a rope of pearls, > holding a disc, knotted at her neck. > It was horrible. And again, no color. What is it with people wearing these off white beigy gowns? > Sophisticated starlet Emmy Rossum wore a princess ruby-and-diamond > Harry Winston necklace and matching drop earrings and a crimson-red > Ralph Lauren gown, which she described as the color of a 1945 Bordeaux > wine. "I heard that's a good year," said the 18-year-old. > for as young as she is she's already shown great taste. I don't think she's had a "miss" yet. > raspberry strapless gown with ivory tulle trim. Sandra Oh, also in red, > looked glamorous in a Michael Kors ballgown. > I liked the gown, didn't like her white skin with black hair. If she doesn't want to be blonde she should go for a rich brown > Melanie Griffith said husband Antonio Banderas had the final word on > her ombre celadon pleated silk chiffon gown with embroidery by Versace > that she accessorized with long diamond drop earrings by Harry Winston. > Definitely my worst pick for the night. It was hideous. > Versace also dressed Virginia Madsen in a blue strapless corset gown > with a black chiffon overlay and Halle Berry in an iridescent taupe > silk chiffon one-shoulder gown with embroidered skirt. "It's the one > that caught my eye this year," Berry said. > Halle is another that can't go wrong. I like some gowns more than others but she's never worn anything where I just thought 'ugh'. > Blue and yellow were both popular colors. Kate Winslet wore a > periwinkle blue gown by Badgley Mischka with a beaded inset down the > front of the bodice and Neil Lane diamonds added to the sheer straps. It was OK > Salma Hayek said on E! that Prada "did such a good job" on her > custom-made midnight blue dress with black beading and bows on the > bodice. > Too many bows. Usually I like Salma's choices but wasn't impressed with this one. > Cate Blanchett said picking her one-shoulder pale yellow silk taffeta > gown with train and satin burgundy bow sash was easy. "Valentino made > it for me. I just loved it," she said. > I loved the burgundy bow and matching purse. Just wish she'd done burgundy lips. > Armani also did Annette Bening's black jersey, long-sleeve gown with a > portrait neckline from his new couture collection. The fitted bodice > led into an hourglass silhouette, ending with a fishtail train. > boring! The only non-boring black dress of the night was Beyonce. > Beyonce, who had several costume changes for the awards show, did the > red carpet in a black silk velvet strapless gown by Versace. > She looked perfect. Perfect hair, awesome earings and great dress. As she said, she wanted timeless and wanted to be able to look at a photo of that outfit 30 years from now and still like it. I think she achieved that.
- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/26/DDGCAB05IE25.DTL &type=movies Good Academy -- 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Sideways' for best picture. Bad Academy -- Depp, no Giamatti. Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie Critic Wednesday, January 26, 2005 The morning the Academy Award nominations are announced provides a welcome opportunity for spiritual reflection, meditating on justice and injustice and on the eternal consistency of obtuse minds. We turn our thoughts to other, bigger disasters -- social and natural -- and in this way find the distance to contemplate how, for example, Paul Giamatti could be overlooked for his performance in "Sideways" and Leonardo DiCaprio nominated for "The Aviator." Or how insipid twaddle like "Finding Neverland" could get a best picture nomination while "Hotel Rwanda" could be slighted. The nominations for the 77th annual Academy Awards program, which will air on Feb. 27, are the usual mix of confounding and reasonable choices. "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese's likable, well-made, perfectly entertaining and perfectly empty film biography of Howard Hughes, led the pack with 11 nominations. Tied for second place with seven nominations were "Finding Neverland," a fact-based fantasy about the writing of James Barrie's "Peter Pan," and "Million Dollar Baby," Clint Eastwood's elegiac fable of a female boxer. Meanwhile, "Sideways," which swept most critics' awards, got only five. Historically, the best picture category has always been one of the weakest, a place for safe, sentimental and artistically conservative choices. The Academy lived down to its reputation this year, nominating The Aviator" (please), "Ray" (come on) and "Finding Neverland" (tell me they're kidding). As if at a loss to find anything else with the right combination of grandiloquence and schmaltz, the Academy condescended to nominate two genuinely impeccable movies: "Sideways" and "Million Dollar Baby." The Academy has always tended to be more adventurous in the acting categories, and, again, this year followed the usual pattern. Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda," Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" and Jamie Foxx in "Ray" all belong there. In a friendly frame of mind, one might also say the same for DiCaprio in "The Aviator." The only laugher in the group is Johnny Depp for "Finding Neverland." Just a few years ago, it was hard to find enough important performances to fill the best actress category. Not in recent years. Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), "Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") and Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace") were nominated for top-notch work, while Imelda Staunton was nominated for smiling for an hour and then sobbing for another hour in "Vera Drake." The nomination of Kate Winslet for "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is something of a surprise, though justifiable. However, if Academy members wanted to nominate an actress in a romantic comedy, they might have looked to Julie Delpy's powerhouse performance in "Before Sunset." The supporting actress category is traditional the weakest, because the supporting players in most films tend to be men. But this year, supporting actress is the strongest category: Cate Blanchett ("The Aviator"), Laura Linney ("Kinsey"), Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"), Sophie Okonedo ("Hotel Rwanda") and Natalie Portman ("Closer"). A case could be made for any one of them. Supporting actor is almost as strong: Foxx was superb in "Collateral," but he was actually the star of that movie; Tom Cruise as the assassin was really the supporting role. Thomas Haden Church did some very specific and delightful character work in "Sideways." Morgan Freeman was the aching soul of "Million Dollar Baby," and Clive Owen was the best thing in "Closer." As for Alan Alda in "The Aviator," his nomination (for his performance as a corrupt senator) will remind everyone he was in the picture. That's nice. Best director will be a contest between Martin Scorsese ("The Aviator"), Eastwood ("Million Dollar Baby"), Taylor Hackford ("Ray"), Alexander Payne ("Sideways") and Mike Leigh ("Vera Drake"). Michael Moore, who won best documentary for "Bowling for Columbine," made a calculated effort to secure a best picture nomination for "Fahrenheit 911." He didn't succeed in crashing that gate and then found himself shut out of the best documentary category. Moore had two obstacles he couldn't surmount: Republicans weren't going to vote for him in the first place, and Democrats, after the election, were too heartsick to put his DVD into the machine. As soon as Bush won the election, it would have been smart to switch strategies and aim for best documentary. As it stands, the only widely known film nominated for best documentary this year is "Super Size Me." In the unnecessary category of best animated film, "The Incredibles," "Shark Tale" and "Shrek 2" got the nod. Surprisingly, "The Polar Express" didn't make the cut. It really should have. So what do we take from this year's Oscar nominations? We're presented with the usual triumph of bloat, as represented by "The Aviator." In this case, the bloat isn't obnoxious. That makes it a good year, almost. We're also presented with the less palatable triumph of false sentiment in the form of "Finding Neverland." In and of itself, that's also nothing to grieve over, either, except that it robs the atmosphere of box office oxygen that might have sustained "Hotel Rwanda" -- a movie of intense and genuine emotion. "Hotel Rwanda" is a hard sell. Ask people if they'd like to see a movie about the Rwandan genocide and most will say, "Oh, uh, maybe, but I think I may have to get my teeth cleaned that day." They don't know they're going to love it until they're watching it. The case of Giamatti and "Sideways" is also sad, in that he gave hands down one of the year's best performances, while Depp gave one of the year's worst. Call me paranoid, but I can't help suspecting that Giamatti's momentum was stopped by A.O. Scott's New York Times piece, which basically said that "Sideways" is a good not great film and that the fuss over it was overblown. Scott is entitled to his opinion, and his article made an excellent case. But what should be remembered -- and what I'm afraid won't be remembered -- is that a similar good-not-great argument could be made against every work of art since cavemen started finger painting. I've heard similar arguments made about Chaplin's "City Lights," "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather" and "Casablanca." The real truth is that there is no perfect work of art. Our perception of greatness often depends on our perceiving a work from a specific flattering angle. And the seductive power of an art work is in the way it makes us want to look at it from its best side. Greatness is not greatness but rather a mixture of near greatness and near-perfect seduction ... But enough whining. At least Cheadle got nominated. From Sunny Oz, Rick :) Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/26/DDGCAB05IE25.DTL &type=movies Good Academy -- 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Sideways' for best picture. Bad Academy -- Depp, no Giamatti. Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie Critic Wednesday, January 26, 2005 The morning the Academy Award nominations are announced provides a welcome opportunity for spiritual reflection, meditating on justice and injustice and on the eternal consistency of obtuse minds. We turn our thoughts to other, bigger disasters -- social and natural -- and in this way find the distance to contemplate how, for example, Paul Giamatti could be overlooked for his performance in "Sideways" and Leonardo DiCaprio nominated for "The Aviator." Or how insipid twaddle like "Finding Neverland" could get a best picture nomination while "Hotel Rwanda" could be slighted. The nominations for the 77th annual Academy Awards program, which will air on Feb. 27, are the usual mix of confounding and reasonable choices. "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese's likable, well-made, perfectly entertaining and perfectly empty film biography of Howard Hughes, led the pack with 11 nominations. Tied for second place with seven nominations were "Finding Neverland," a fact-based fantasy about the writing of James Barrie's "Peter Pan," and "Million Dollar Baby," Clint Eastwood's elegiac fable of a female boxer. Meanwhile, "Sideways," which swept most critics' awards, got only five. Historically, the best picture category has always been one of the weakest, a place for safe, sentimental and artistically conservative choices. The Academy lived down to its reputation this year, nominating The Aviator" (please), "Ray" (come on) and "Finding Neverland" (tell me they're kidding). As if at a loss to find anything else with the right combination of grandiloquence and schmaltz, the Academy condescended to nominate two genuinely impeccable movies: "Sideways" and "Million Dollar Baby." The Academy has always tended to be more adventurous in the acting categories, and, again, this year followed the usual pattern. Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda," Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" and Jamie Foxx in "Ray" all belong there. In a friendly frame of mind, one might also say the same for DiCaprio in "The Aviator." The only laugher in the group is Johnny Depp for "Finding Neverland." Just a few years ago, it was hard to find enough important performances to fill the best actress category. Not in recent years. Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), "Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") and Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace") were nominated for top-notch work, while Imelda Staunton was nominated for smiling for an hour and then sobbing for another hour in "Vera Drake." The nomination of Kate Winslet for "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is something of a surprise, though justifiable. However, if Academy members wanted to nominate an actress in a romantic comedy, they might have looked to Julie Delpy's powerhouse performance in "Before Sunset." The supporting actress category is traditional the weakest, because the supporting players in most films tend to be men. But this year, supporting actress is the strongest category: Cate Blanchett ("The Aviator"), Laura Linney ("Kinsey"), Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"), Sophie Okonedo ("Hotel Rwanda") and Natalie Portman ("Closer"). A case could be made for any one of them. Supporting actor is almost as strong: Foxx was superb in "Collateral," but he was actually the star of that movie; Tom Cruise as the assassin was really the supporting role. Thomas Haden Church did some very specific and delightful character work in "Sideways." Morgan Freeman was the aching soul of "Million Dollar Baby," and Clive Owen was the best thing in "Closer." As for Alan Alda in "The Aviator," his nomination (for his performance as a corrupt senator) will remind everyone he was in the picture. That's nice. Best director will be a contest between Martin Scorsese ("The Aviator"), Eastwood ("Million Dollar Baby"), Taylor Hackford ("Ray"), Alexander Payne ("Sideways") and Mike Leigh ("Vera Drake"). Michael Moore, who won best documentary for "Bowling for Columbine," made a calculated effort to secure a best picture nomination for "Fahrenheit 911." He didn't succeed in crashing that gate and then found himself shut out of the best documentary category. Moore had two obstacles he couldn't surmount: Republicans weren't going to vote for him in the first place, and Democrats, after the election, were too heartsick to put his DVD into the machine. As soon as Bush won the election, it would have been smart to switch strategies and aim for best documentary. As it stands, the only widely known film nominated for best documentary this year is "Super Size Me." In the unnecessary category of best animated film, "The Incredibles," "Shark Tale" and "Shrek 2" got the nod. Surprisingly, "The Polar Express" didn't make the cut. It really should have. So what do we take from this year's Oscar nominations? We're presented with the usual triumph of bloat, as represented by "The Aviator." In this case, the bloat isn't obnoxious. That makes it a good year, almost. We're also presented with the less palatable triumph of false sentiment in the form of "Finding Neverland." In and of itself, that's also nothing to grieve over, either, except that it robs the atmosphere of box office oxygen that might have sustained "Hotel Rwanda" -- a movie of intense and genuine emotion. "Hotel Rwanda" is a hard sell. Ask people if they'd like to see a movie about the Rwandan genocide and most will say, "Oh, uh, maybe, but I think I may have to get my teeth cleaned that day." They don't know they're going to love it until they're watching it. The case of Giamatti and "Sideways" is also sad, in that he gave hands down one of the year's best performances, while Depp gave one of the year's worst. Call me paranoid, but I can't help suspecting that Giamatti's momentum was stopped by A.O. Scott's New York Times piece, which basically said that "Sideways" is a good not great film and that the fuss over it was overblown. Scott is entitled to his opinion, and his article made an excellent case. But what should be remembered -- and what I'm afraid won't be remembered -- is that a similar good-not-great argument could be made against every work of art since cavemen started finger painting. I've heard similar arguments made about Chaplin's "City Lights," "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather" and "Casablanca." The real truth is that there is no perfect work of art. Our perception of greatness often depends on our perceiving a work from a specific flattering angle. And the seductive power of an art work is in the way it makes us want to look at it from its best side. Greatness is not greatness but rather a mixture of near greatness and near-perfect seduction ... But enough whining. At least Cheadle got nominated. From Sunny Oz, Rick :) Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/26/DDGCAB05IE25.DTL &type=movies Good Academy -- 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Sideways' for best picture. Bad Academy -- Depp, no Giamatti. Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie Critic Wednesday, January 26, 2005 The morning the Academy Award nominations are announced provides a welcome opportunity for spiritual reflection, meditating on justice and injustice and on the eternal consistency of obtuse minds. We turn our thoughts to other, bigger disasters -- social and natural -- and in this way find the distance to contemplate how, for example, Paul Giamatti could be overlooked for his performance in "Sideways" and Leonardo DiCaprio nominated for "The Aviator." Or how insipid twaddle like "Finding Neverland" could get a best picture nomination while "Hotel Rwanda" could be slighted. The nominations for the 77th annual Academy Awards program, which will air on Feb. 27, are the usual mix of confounding and reasonable choices. "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese's likable, well-made, perfectly entertaining and perfectly empty film biography of Howard Hughes, led the pack with 11 nominations. Tied for second place with seven nominations were "Finding Neverland," a fact-based fantasy about the writing of James Barrie's "Peter Pan," and "Million Dollar Baby," Clint Eastwood's elegiac fable of a female boxer. Meanwhile, "Sideways," which swept most critics' awards, got only five. Historically, the best picture category has always been one of the weakest, a place for safe, sentimental and artistically conservative choices. The Academy lived down to its reputation this year, nominating The Aviator" (please), "Ray" (come on) and "Finding Neverland" (tell me they're kidding). As if at a loss to find anything else with the right combination of grandiloquence and schmaltz, the Academy condescended to nominate two genuinely impeccable movies: "Sideways" and "Million Dollar Baby." The Academy has always tended to be more adventurous in the acting categories, and, again, this year followed the usual pattern. Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda," Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" and Jamie Foxx in "Ray" all belong there. In a friendly frame of mind, one might also say the same for DiCaprio in "The Aviator." The only laugher in the group is Johnny Depp for "Finding Neverland." Just a few years ago, it was hard to find enough important performances to fill the best actress category. Not in recent years. Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), "Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") and Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace") were nominated for top-notch work, while Imelda Staunton was nominated for smiling for an hour and then sobbing for another hour in "Vera Drake." The nomination of Kate Winslet for "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is something of a surprise, though justifiable. However, if Academy members wanted to nominate an actress in a romantic comedy, they might have looked to Julie Delpy's powerhouse performance in "Before Sunset." The supporting actress category is traditional the weakest, because the supporting players in most films tend to be men. But this year, supporting actress is the strongest category: Cate Blanchett ("The Aviator"), Laura Linney ("Kinsey"), Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"), Sophie Okonedo ("Hotel Rwanda") and Natalie Portman ("Closer"). A case could be made for any one of them. Supporting actor is almost as strong: Foxx was superb in "Collateral," but he was actually the star of that movie; Tom Cruise as the assassin was really the supporting role. Thomas Haden Church did some very specific and delightful character work in "Sideways." Morgan Freeman was the aching soul of "Million Dollar Baby," and Clive Owen was the best thing in "Closer." As for Alan Alda in "The Aviator," his nomination (for his performance as a corrupt senator) will remind everyone he was in the picture. That's nice. Best director will be a contest between Martin Scorsese ("The Aviator"), Eastwood ("Million Dollar Baby"), Taylor Hackford ("Ray"), Alexander Payne ("Sideways") and Mike Leigh ("Vera Drake"). Michael Moore, who won best documentary for "Bowling for Columbine," made a calculated effort to secure a best picture nomination for "Fahrenheit 911." He didn't succeed in crashing that gate and then found himself shut out of the best documentary category. Moore had two obstacles he couldn't surmount: Republicans weren't going to vote for him in the first place, and Democrats, after the election, were too heartsick to put his DVD into the machine. As soon as Bush won the election, it would have been smart to switch strategies and aim for best documentary. As it stands, the only widely known film nominated for best documentary this year is "Super Size Me." In the unnecessary category of best animated film, "The Incredibles," "Shark Tale" and "Shrek 2" got the nod. Surprisingly, "The Polar Express" didn't make the cut. It really should have. So what do we take from this year's Oscar nominations? We're presented with the usual triumph of bloat, as represented by "The Aviator." In this case, the bloat isn't obnoxious. That makes it a good year, almost. We're also presented with the less palatable triumph of false sentiment in the form of "Finding Neverland." In and of itself, that's also nothing to grieve over, either, except that it robs the atmosphere of box office oxygen that might have sustained "Hotel Rwanda" -- a movie of intense and genuine emotion. "Hotel Rwanda" is a hard sell. Ask people if they'd like to see a movie about the Rwandan genocide and most will say, "Oh, uh, maybe, but I think I may have to get my teeth cleaned that day." They don't know they're going to love it until they're watching it. The case of Giamatti and "Sideways" is also sad, in that he gave hands down one of the year's best performances, while Depp gave one of the year's worst. Call me paranoid, but I can't help suspecting that Giamatti's momentum was stopped by A.O. Scott's New York Times piece, which basically said that "Sideways" is a good not great film and that the fuss over it was overblown. Scott is entitled to his opinion, and his article made an excellent case. But what should be remembered -- and what I'm afraid won't be remembered -- is that a similar good-not-great argument could be made against every work of art since cavemen started finger painting. I've heard similar arguments made about Chaplin's "City Lights," "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather" and "Casablanca." The real truth is that there is no perfect work of art. Our perception of greatness often depends on our perceiving a work from a specific flattering angle. And the seductive power of an art work is in the way it makes us want to look at it from its best side. Greatness is not greatness but rather a mixture of near greatness and near-perfect seduction ... But enough whining. At least Cheadle got nominated. From Sunny Oz, Rick :) Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
- By Borys Kit LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oscar-nominated "Sideways" co-star Virginia Madsen has signed on to join Harrison Ford in the thriller "The Wrong Element." Ford plays a security expert who specializes in making banks theft-proof. His wife (Madsen) and daughter are kidnapped in order to force him to steal money from a bank he's been hired to protect. Paul Bettany plays the bad guy. Richard Loncraine will direct the Warner Bros. project. Bettany and Loncraine previously worked together on "Wimbledon ." Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
- http://www.smh.com.au/news/Film/Wine-women-and-whackos/2005/01/27/1106415718 837.html Wine, women and whackos January 28, 2005 "Holy shit! Twenty bucks for breakfast!" says Paul Giamatti in a tone combining horror with wonderment. "And 10 bucks for a bagel!" "Relax," I say, telling him that I'm picking up the tab. "Weeeell, OK then," he says, rubbing his hands together in satirical glee before refocusing on the outrageous bill. "But still: 10 bucks for a bagel. I could live with that kind of guilt for years!" The New York actor is here in Los Angeles to talk about Sideways, a movie whose critical reception has transformed him from contented character actor into a star. He's finding it a strange and only partly welcome phenomenon. He may have to learn to like it. Sideways, directed by About Schmidt's Alexander Payne, is the critical favourite of the pre-Oscar season, winning Golden Globes for best picture and screenplay. Based on a novel by Rex Pickett, the film is about two old college buddies in their 40s who take a week-long trip to the wine country inland from Santa Barbara before one of them gets married. Giamatti plays Miles, a tightly wound school teacher and wine enthusiast waiting to hear if his third novel will be the one that gets published. Thomas Haden Church plays his horndog pal Jack. Miles is interested in wine, but Jack is interested in sex - and to hell with his impending nuptials. He's determined that Miles is also "gonna get [his] joint smooched if it f---in' kills me". Together the oddly well-matched pair cut a drunken, squabbling swathe through the snooty vineyards. Jack chases wantonly after single mother Stephanie, played by Sandra Oh (Payne's wife). Meanwhile, Miles nurses a fondness for a soulful student and waitress called Maya (Virginia Madsen) despite his grief over his recently collapsed marriage. Some of the movie's lines have already entered the popular imagination. Giamatti is heartily sick of people approaching him in the street and screaming, as Miles does at one point, "I am NOT drinkin' any f---in' MERLOT!" Giamatti has managed to avoid the worst of the insanity surrounding Sideways. But it's evident that his career is different now. "All of a sudden it's more intense on the press line and it kind of bums me out," Giamatti says. "It definitely seems like there's more crazy - crazier - people coming up to me and saying, 'My friend made a tape of his fish singing and, dude, you gotta listen to it.' Crazy f---er last night gave me his chatline number: 'You gotta call me, man!' "Some woman came up to me after the Critics' Choice awards and gave me cookies, talking all this crazy shit about birds and flowers, and it was creepy. And me, I like crazy people, but I like being able to study them from a distance." Does he have any interest in or knowledge of wine? After all, some of the movie's funniest moments centre around Miles sticking his hooter in wine glasses and detecting bouquets of, for instance, "Mmm, strawberries, a hint of asparagus ... and a little odour of, aaahhh, Edam cheese." Giamatti chuckles. "I don't have any knowledge of wine whatsoever," he says. "Faked it all. Every last bit of it. And, frankly, it couldn't interest me less. I think it's just really kinda queer. I just think it's really f---in' goofy. I didn't want to make fun of it because it's ridiculous enough without making fun of it. When I read the , I thought, 'This is great, but who the f--- cares about wine?' It worked way better than I expected it to do." Among the endearing elements of Sideways is the inspired casting of Church and Madsen. "This was the perfect thing for Tom," Giamatti says. "He's a really eccentric guy. He was doing more ad-libbing and improv than me." Suddenly Giamatti drops his voice to a stage whisper: "Hey, man ... is that Larry Flynt sitting over there?" At the next table, surrounded by his wife and a couple of his executives, is my old boss, the wheelchair-bound frog prince of porn. I tell Giamatti I used to write the dirty-letters page for Flynt's flagship rag, Hustler. His eyes widen and we have a brief and unprintable digression on pornography. For a minute he's actually interviewing me. Sample dialogue: "No way, man! A what? A cowgirl with a ... bovine inseminator? That's f---in' brilliant - and dis-gust-ing! Giamatti's films include Saving Private Ryan, Mighty Aphrodite, Big Fat Liar and Paycheck. He says his proudest moment so far is American Splendor. Giamatti says the acclaim from Sideways is great, but then he backtracks a little. "It's a little freaky, actually. You start to really lose perspective on the movie when the critical response is as weirdly, regressively unanimous as it is. I'm such a natural sceptic that I start thinking, 'Maybe it actually sucks.'" The Guardian From Sunny Oz, Rick :) Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/26/DDGCAB05IE25.DTL &type=movies Good Academy -- 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Sideways' for best picture. Bad Academy -- Depp, no Giamatti. Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie Critic Wednesday, January 26, 2005 The morning the Academy Award nominations are announced provides a welcome opportunity for spiritual reflection, meditating on justice and injustice and on the eternal consistency of obtuse minds. We turn our thoughts to other, bigger disasters -- social and natural -- and in this way find the distance to contemplate how, for example, Paul Giamatti could be overlooked for his performance in "Sideways" and Leonardo DiCaprio nominated for "The Aviator." Or how insipid twaddle like "Finding Neverland" could get a best picture nomination while "Hotel Rwanda" could be slighted. The nominations for the 77th annual Academy Awards program, which will air on Feb. 27, are the usual mix of confounding and reasonable choices. "The Aviator," Martin Scorsese's likable, well-made, perfectly entertaining and perfectly empty film biography of Howard Hughes, led the pack with 11 nominations. Tied for second place with seven nominations were "Finding Neverland," a fact-based fantasy about the writing of James Barrie's "Peter Pan," and "Million Dollar Baby," Clint Eastwood's elegiac fable of a female boxer. Meanwhile, "Sideways," which swept most critics' awards, got only five. Historically, the best picture category has always been one of the weakest, a place for safe, sentimental and artistically conservative choices. The Academy lived down to its reputation this year, nominating The Aviator" (please), "Ray" (come on) and "Finding Neverland" (tell me they're kidding). As if at a loss to find anything else with the right combination of grandiloquence and schmaltz, the Academy condescended to nominate two genuinely impeccable movies: "Sideways" and "Million Dollar Baby." The Academy has always tended to be more adventurous in the acting categories, and, again, this year followed the usual pattern. Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda," Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby" and Jamie Foxx in "Ray" all belong there. In a friendly frame of mind, one might also say the same for DiCaprio in "The Aviator." The only laugher in the group is Johnny Depp for "Finding Neverland." Just a few years ago, it was hard to find enough important performances to fill the best actress category. Not in recent years. Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), "Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby") and Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace") were nominated for top-notch work, while Imelda Staunton was nominated for smiling for an hour and then sobbing for another hour in "Vera Drake." The nomination of Kate Winslet for "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is something of a surprise, though justifiable. However, if Academy members wanted to nominate an actress in a romantic comedy, they might have looked to Julie Delpy's powerhouse performance in "Before Sunset." The supporting actress category is traditional the weakest, because the supporting players in most films tend to be men. But this year, supporting actress is the strongest category: Cate Blanchett ("The Aviator"), Laura Linney ("Kinsey"), Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"), Sophie Okonedo ("Hotel Rwanda") and Natalie Portman ("Closer"). A case could be made for any one of them. Supporting actor is almost as strong: Foxx was superb in "Collateral," but he was actually the star of that movie; Tom Cruise as the assassin was really the supporting role. Thomas Haden Church did some very specific and delightful character work in "Sideways." Morgan Freeman was the aching soul of "Million Dollar Baby," and Clive Owen was the best thing in "Closer." As for Alan Alda in "The Aviator," his nomination (for his performance as a corrupt senator) will remind everyone he was in the picture. That's nice. Best director will be a contest between Martin Scorsese ("The Aviator"), Eastwood ("Million Dollar Baby"), Taylor Hackford ("Ray"), Alexander Payne ("Sideways") and Mike Leigh ("Vera Drake"). Michael Moore, who won best documentary for "Bowling for Columbine," made a calculated effort to secure a best picture nomination for "Fahrenheit 911." He didn't succeed in crashing that gate and then found himself shut out of the best documentary category. Moore had two obstacles he couldn't surmount: Republicans weren't going to vote for him in the first place, and Democrats, after the election, were too heartsick to put his DVD into the machine. As soon as Bush won the election, it would have been smart to switch strategies and aim for best documentary. As it stands, the only widely known film nominated for best documentary this year is "Super Size Me." In the unnecessary category of best animated film, "The Incredibles," "Shark Tale" and "Shrek 2" got the nod. Surprisingly, "The Polar Express" didn't make the cut. It really should have. So what do we take from this year's Oscar nominations? We're presented with the usual triumph of bloat, as represented by "The Aviator." In this case, the bloat isn't obnoxious. That makes it a good year, almost. We're also presented with the less palatable triumph of false sentiment in the form of "Finding Neverland." In and of itself, that's also nothing to grieve over, either, except that it robs the atmosphere of box office oxygen that might have sustained "Hotel Rwanda" -- a movie of intense and genuine emotion. "Hotel Rwanda" is a hard sell. Ask people if they'd like to see a movie about the Rwandan genocide and most will say, "Oh, uh, maybe, but I think I may have to get my teeth cleaned that day." They don't know they're going to love it until they're watching it. The case of Giamatti and "Sideways" is also sad, in that he gave hands down one of the year's best performances, while Depp gave one of the year's worst. Call me paranoid, but I can't help suspecting that Giamatti's momentum was stopped by A.O. Scott's New York Times piece, which basically said that "Sideways" is a good not great film and that the fuss over it was overblown. Scott is entitled to his opinion, and his article made an excellent case. But what should be remembered -- and what I'm afraid won't be remembered -- is that a similar good-not-great argument could be made against every work of art since cavemen started finger painting. I've heard similar arguments made about Chaplin's "City Lights," "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather" and "Casablanca." The real truth is that there is no perfect work of art. Our perception of greatness often depends on our perceiving a work from a specific flattering angle. And the seductive power of an art work is in the way it makes us want to look at it from its best side. Greatness is not greatness but rather a mixture of near greatness and near-perfect seduction ... But enough whining. At least Cheadle got nominated. From Sunny Oz, Rick :) Proud Keeper of the talented & beautiful Halle Berry.
- Celebrity Gossip
- Blond, strikingly beautiful young lead, whose debut, in 1983's Class had her exposing one breast in a comic melee. (She got to wear clothes, at least, for her supporting role in the following year's Dune.) Her subsequent output has been extremely variable, from good parts in Electric Dreams (1984), Creator (1985), and Candyman (1992) to forgettable leads in Fire With Fire (1986), Slamdance, Zombie High (both 1987), Hot to Trot (1988), and Highlander II: The Quickening (1991). Despite some strong (and often uninhibited) performances, particularly as the devious and insatiable Southern belle in Dennis Hopper's The Hot Spot (1990), the popular success her talent hints at has yet to materialize. She has fared better in some high-profile made-for-TV movies, including The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985, as Marion Davies), Long Gone (1987), Third Degree Burn (1989), Ironclads (1991), and A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story (1992). She was married briefly to director Danny Huston, in whose films Mr. North (1988) and Becoming Colette (1992) she had juicy supporting roles. Her brother is actor Michael Madsen, featured as Susan Sarandon's boyfriend in Thelma & Louise (1991), as well as in Reservoir Dogs (1992), Free Willy, Money for Nothing (both 1993), Wyatt Earp and The Getaway (both 1994).
- Both eyes are different. Left eye is part brown and part green and right eye is all green.
- 75 per cent Italian, 25 per cent Irish.
- Half-sister-in-law of actress Cher and actress Pat Delaney.
- Sister-in-law of Georganne LaPiere.
- Daughter-in-law of John Huston and Zoe Sallis, half-sister-in-law of Tony Huston and Anjelica Huston, granddaughter-in-law of Walter Huston.
- Was previously engaged to actor Billy Campbell. They went to Hollywood together to pursue acting careers and lived in Pacific Palisades. Graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois with her best friend, actress Rusty Schwimmer. Attended the Ted Liss Acting Studio in Chicago and Harand Camp Adult Theater Seminar in Elkhart Lake, WI.
- Daughter of Cal Madsen (a firefighter).
- Sister was an actress.
- Her brother, actor Michael Madsen, refuses to see any of her movies in which she appears naked.
- Has child with Antonio Sabato Jr. named Jack (b. 6 August 1994)
- Virginia Madsen is related!
- Michelle Trachtenberg
- Lindsay Lohan
- A nightly updated image feed of Virginia Madsen is available.
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