HEATH LEDGER MAKES HIS STAND ON BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN By Brad Balfour Doing Brokeback Mountain, was as much a challenge for Heath Ledger, taking on what might seem to be a risky role — playing Ennis, a gay cowboy in love with Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) — as it was taking on a complex restrained character at … Continue reading
Philip Seymour Hoffman Channels Capote by Brad Balfour Though the actor is almost a head taller than the late author and social figure Truman Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman brilliantly recreates the writer for the film about his life during the creation of his literary masterpiece, In Cold Blood – the story of two killers who massacre a … Continue reading
Anthony Hopkins The World’s Humblest Thespian by Jay S. Jacobs You don’t want to upset Anthony Hopkins, do you? Then, whatever you do, don’t ask him to recite a certain famous line of his. “They want me to do the fava bean speech all the time,” the acclaimed actor acknowledges, laughing. “If someone comes up … Continue reading
Albert Brooks and Sheetal Sheth Looking for Symmetry with the Muslim World by Jay S. Jacobs Albert Brooks is no stranger to controversy. He has done comic films mocking love (Modern Romance), death (Defending Your Life), consumerism (Lost in America), family (Mother), artistry (The Muse) and the voyeuristic tendencies of the American people (Real Life). Still, the respected filmmaker is a little taken … Continue reading
Josh Radnor Have You Met Josh? by Jay S. Jacobs The sitcom as an art form had reached a low place recently, but suddenly in the past year there is a stirring of new life in those old bones. There are still too few funny series out there, but in 2005 a group of shows have … Continue reading
Jeremy Piven Busting Out Into A Hollywood Leading Man By Marcie Somers It’s 10 a.m. in Los Angeles and Jeremy Piven’s day has long since begun. He’s had several meetings and reviewed his lines before he heads to a rehearsal for his hit TV show, Entourage. After that, he’s off to the American Music Awards. In … Continue reading
Teddy Geiger Life is a Marathon by Abraham Kuranga He’s got what every seventeen-year-old boy wants. What’s that, you say? It is a legion of adoring fans – who just happen to be teenage girls and some twenty somethings – all with raging hormones. Yeah, that’s the world of Teddy Geiger. Or at least it … Continue reading
The Bob Newhart Show The Complete First Season (1971-1972) (MTM-2005) Just what the doctor ordered for the touchy-feely seventies, The Bob Newhart Show was a powerful cog in the MTM Productions machine that cranked out hit after hit (Mary Tyler Moore, for whom it was named, lead the way for Bob). Part of the golden-goose Saturday night … Continue reading
USHER GETTING INTO THE MOVIE MIX by Brad Balfour For Usher Raymond IV, making the move from R&B superstar / singer / composer (his most recent album Confessions sold nine million copies) to actor had to present some risks – if not to his pocketbook, then to his ego. But Usher decided to take that risk when he was offered the role … Continue reading
RICHARD GERE THE SEASON FOR GETTING SPIRITUAL by Brad Balfour Because Richard Gere has spent years alternating between being a cinematic sex symbol (Chicago, Pretty Woman) and Tibetan Buddhist devotee, he had a unique experience to enhance his role as Saul Naumann, the college professor who encourages his young daughter Eliza to both become a spelling bee … Continue reading
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