ABBA Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Movies That Make Me Proud To Be a Girl
Filed under: Fandom », Lists », Trailers and Clips »
In the midst of the Toronto Film Festival this past week, I couldn't help but notice that Whip It! fever was in full swing in my home town. Everywhere I went, I would catch glimpses of young girls in that signature plaid with Whip It! buttons on their bags, or I would see posters for the comedy lining the walls of university notice boards, and I have to tell you, it does my little feminist heart proud. If movies are a big part of your life, then you know how much they can change who you are, and I can't help but notice a lack of truly cool role models for girls. Seriously, there is only so much Megan Fox we can take, and that's why it makes me happy to see girls getting into the image of a young woman defying expectations and trading in her pageant sash for the rough and tumble sisterhood of Roller Derby.
As any movie geek of the female persuasion can tell you, it isn't easy finding films they can relate to that don't reside in the 'rom-com ghetto'. Just because you are a girl doesn't mean that you don't want the same kind of escapism that boys do -- I mean, who doesn't want to save the world? But sometimes I crave a movie that's not straight out of the fan boy factory of hot chicks with guns, but can still make me fly my girl flag high. Because when I watch that kind of movie, it's a rare chance to watch a woman on screen do something other than run from a monster or into the hero's arms. So in honor of us girls, I've put together a list of five flicks that I like to watch when my girl-power reservoirs run a little low.
After the jump; they are women, hear them roar...
'Mamma Mia!' to Become Louder, More Annoying Via 'Sing-Along Edition'
Filed under: Music & Musicals », New Releases », Universal », Fandom »
If you're one of the many moviegoers who loved Mamma Mia!, perhaps you thought the only thing missing from the experience was the shrill sound of your fellow audience members screaming the lyrics of "Dancing Queen" along with Meryl Streep and her lady friends. Well, Universal Pictures has read your mind, and Mamma Mia!: The Sing-Along Edition will open on Aug. 29 in select theaters. It'll be the same movie, only with all the musical numbers subtitled and audience members encouraged to join in on the vocals. All we have so far is a press release from Universal, which doesn't say how many theaters the sing-along edition will be in. You are encouraged to visit the Mamma Mia! website for updates, however. These will be regular screenings at regular movie theaters for the regular prices; all that's different is that the lyrics will be on the screen, karaoke-style. And the best part is, even if you're a terrible singer, you can take comfort in knowing you're still better than Pierce Brosnan.
ABBA's music is famous for being catchy, and as a result many people overlook the actual words. This sing-along event will be an opportunity to really notice and pay attention to the subtle complexities of lines like this, from "Money, Money, Money":
In my dreams I have a plan
If I got me a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work at all
I'd fool around and have a ball
Hooray for girl power and rhyming!
RIP: Reel Important People -- March 17. 2008
Filed under: Obits »
Leonard Rosenman (1924-2008) - Oscar-winning composer of the scores for Barry Lyndon and Bound for Glory. He also received nominations for his scores for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Cross Creek. Other scores he composed include those for East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, RoboCop 2, Fantastic Voyage, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Race with the Devil, Hell is for Heroes, Hellfighters, A Man Called Horse, The Car, the 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer and the 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. He died of a heart attack March 4, in Woodland Hills, California. (Variety)
- Carole Barnes (1944-2008) - British television newsreader who appears as herself in Shaun of the Dead. She died following a stroke March 8, in Brighton, England. (The Guardian)
- Sidney Beckerman (1920-2008) - Producer of Marathon Man, Kelly's Heroes, Joe Kidd, Red Dawn and Inchon. He also was president of Allied Artists, where he oversaw the production of Cabaret, and he was executive producer of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and The Sicilian. He died of cancer February 25, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
- John Bliss (1930-2008) - Actor who appears in A Face in the Crowd, Intolerable Cruelty, The Miracle Worker, The Thing with Two Heads, Imaginary Heroes and Art School Confidential. He died of complications related to an abdominal aneurysm February 28, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
Colin Firth Joins 'Mamma Mia!'
Filed under: Comedy », Music & Musicals », Romance », Casting », Remakes and Sequels »
I love the music of ABBA more than any allegedly heterosexual male should. And I'm not just talking "Dancing Queen" here, I celebrate their entire catalog. I am not ashamed to tell you that I am pretty excited about the feature film adaptation of Mamma Mia!. And they're putting together an exceptional cast for this thing. We already reported that Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, and Pierce Brosnan would play the lead roles, and it was just announced that Colin Firth, the very funny Christine Baranski, and authentic Swede Stellan Skarsgard have joined the cast. You probably know Skarsgard from Good Will Hunting, you probably know Baranski from The Birdcage, and you probably know Firth from your girlfriend asking you to be more like him.I saw the show on Broadway and found it extremely dumb but a lot of fun. The story centers on a bride-to-be (Seyfreid), and her formerly slutty mom (Streep). Mom has never told the daughter who her father was, so the daughter invites three possible candidates to the wedding. Swedish-scored hijinks ensue. Firth, Skarsgard, and Brosnan will play the three potential dads, and Baranski will play "a plastic surgery-loving party girl in her 40's who is bossy and boozy." If you're looking to brush up on your ABBA before the movie hits theaters, the best place to start is with their greatest hits album, Gold -- it certainly lives up to its name. Go ahead and laugh, but if you're not drying your eyes by the final chorus of "Chiquitita," you're a stronger man than I. Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong! British theater director Phyllida Lloyd is directing Mamma Mia!, which is set for release on July 18th, 2008.
Michelle Pfeiffer, Dancing Queen? Mamma Mia!
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Romance », Casting », RumorMonger », Newsstand »
Now that Michelle Pfeiffer remembered she can sing and dance and, as a result, took the Hairspray gig, she may be poised to become a real, live dancing queen. According to reports in the British press, Pfeiffer is one of a handful of names being seriously considered to play Donna, a single mother who is reacquainted with a trio of exes when her daughter invites them her a wedding, in the screen version of the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia!. The film is still in the very early stages: Catherine Johnson, who wrote the script for the musical, is currently at work on the screenplay with producer Judy Craymer, and it's thought that stage director Phyllida Lloyd may ultimately helm the movie. Other names allegedly in the mix to play Donna are Kim Basinger (?!), Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep; production begins next summer.
[via Film Experience]
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