Alec Baldwin Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm not ashamed to say that I cry at the movies. Not frequently, but occasionally a story and its characters will grab hold of me to the extent that I'm completely caught up in the emotions and feelings being expressed. Films as disparate as John Ford's The Searchers and Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express have caused me to weep with joy, relief, and sorrow.

Despite a relentless barrage of scenes evidently designed with the sole goal of jerking tears, Nick Cassavetes' My Sister's Keeper did not make me cry. It is, however, one of the most glorious-looking terminal cancer pictures I've ever seen. Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Black Stallion, The Natural) paints the oft-mundane proceedings in an otherworldly glow, as though the transition to the next life had already begun. That's the guiding principle of the movie as a whole; even though an inflammatory and emotionally wrenching issue serves as the linchpin for the plot, great pains are taken to soften the blows so as not to inflict lasting damage upon the viewer.

Frankly, that latter point, much more than whether I personally shed tears, is what prevents My Sister's Keeper from escaping middlebrow territory. Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric are splendidly noble as Brian and Sara Fitzgerald, whose daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) is diagnosed at a young age with leukemia. Brian and Sara conceive another child with genetic modifications so she can serve as a donor to her sister. Anna (Abigail Breslin) (*) seems fine with all the body part donations until Kate's condition worsens to the point that she needs a kidney transplant. Then 11-year-old Anna marches into the office of well-known lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) and demands medical emancipation from her parents.

If you're currently living (or crashing) in and around the New York City area (and you like movies), then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be checking out the Gen Art Film Festival, which kicked things off Wednesday night with the premiere of Lymelife, followed by last night's premiere of the quirky-but-huggable Gigantic, and continues through to Tuesday, April 7. This weekend features a rather fantastic line-up of Peter and Vandy, My Suicide and Punching the Clown -- three films I whole-heartedly vouch for -- so get your ass over to Gen Art's website and snag yourself a ticket. Not only do you get to watch a feature and a short, but you also gain access to a hip-hoppin' after party with a three-hour open bar. Yes, I did just say three ... hour ... open ... bar!

I was fortunate enough to be on hand for the opening night premiere of Lymelife -- a moody late-seventies dramady surrounding two dysfunctional Long Island families who desperately want, need and lust after the things they think they want or need in order to achieve the "American Dream". The film, directed by Derick Martini (and co-written by Derick and his brother Steven, inspired by their own lives growing up) boasts what is perhaps one of the best ensemble casts I've seen so far this year -- including Alec Baldwin (who was on hand), Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton and sensational scene-stealing performances from Kieran and Rory Culkin, the former of which reminds me of a young Tobey Maguire. I'll be back with a full review of Lymelife next week, but in the meantime check out this video of opening night from my good pal DavidJr.com.



For more on the Gen Art Film Festival (including ticket information), visit their official website ... and make sure to say hey if you're heading over there this weekend.

As a programmer (my first time!) for the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival, I can tell you that finishing this slate was not easy. It required me (and a small group of others) to watch a lot of films ... and I mean a lot of films. The awesome part of this, though, is the discovery. Sure, you'll get the occasional mess -- but then sometimes you stumble across a brilliant piece of work that hasn't been seen by anyone yet, and you just know it's destined for greatness. With that said, the programming is now complete and I'm able to share with you the names of the films playing at this year's Gen Art Film Fest in New York City from April 1 to April 7.

The Sundance and Toronto hit Lymelife (we premiered the poster here) was chosen as this year's opening night film. It's a gem of a family drama starring Alec Baldwin and Cynthia Nixon (watch the trailer on Moviefone), and you should definitely look for it in theaters on April 8. Also from this year's Sundance fest is the romantic dramedy Peter and Vandy, starring my gal Jess Weixler and Jason Ritter. One of the more experimental and cult-ish films screening is My Suicide, which I whole-heartedly recommend as a deep, dark and oddly hilarious flick about the Me Generation. Julie Davis' Finding Bliss (starring Leelee Sobrieski, Denise Richards and Jamie Kennedy) was chosen to close out the fest, while Gigantic (Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel), Punching the Clown (Slamdance audience award winner) and Picture Me: A Model's Diary (doc about a model) round out this year's slate.

As always, I'll be on the ground at the Gen Art fest looking for whatever I can wrap my brain around -- so definitely stay tuned. But, heck, if you're in the NYC area, you may as well check this sucker out for yourself. The fest runs from April 1-7, and you can find out much more (like how to buy tix) over at the official Gen Art Film Fest website.

Full press release after the jump

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Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film Lymelife, which will enjoy its US Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, January 17th. Starring Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts, Kieran Culkin and Rory Culkin, Lymelife -- which first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to some pretty good buzz -- follows the trials and tribulations of a family from Long Island during the late 70's. Variety called it "violently funny" -- a "leaner and meaner American Beauty" that "gradually reveals itself as a film about the pressures and consequences of upward mobility and ordinary adolescence." Lymelife will also hit theaters in New York on April 8th and Los Angeles on April 17th before expanding to other cities. Click in the box below to view the full poster.

If you were checking out the casting bites back in August, you might recall that Meryl Streep was looking to sign on to a new romantic comedy penned by Father of the Bride and Irreconcilable Differences scribe Nancy Meyers (which Meyers will also direct). The film was said to focus on a love triangle, and now Variety reports that the beaus fighting for her affection will be: Alec Baldwin and the just-signed Steve Martin.

But still, we know nothing about the plot other than the fact that both will play rivals fighting for Streep's affections, and that this mysterious project will leap into production during the month of romance -- February.

At the very least, it looks like this could bite on the question: Which do ladies prefer -- the sexy guy or the funny man? Baldwin comes from a pack of bros so sexy that his last name became a term for hotness in Clueless. As for Martin, well, he might be a wild and crazy guy, but he's also a bit of a goof.

If you had your choice, who would you pick?

Yesterday, Jeff Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere put up the poster for the new comedy My Best Friend's Girl, starring Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs and Alec Baldwin. The poster (which premiered online earlier this summer) is boring in the extreme, making the film look like your typical snoozerific rom-com, and the digital altering on the photo makes everyone involved look rather ... freakish.

My first reaction on seeing the poster was, "Boy, somebody's screwing up the marketing on this film," quickly followed by "Hey, I don't remember Dane Cook's complexion looking quite so dewy-fresh ... "

I've seen the red-band trailer, which is actually pretty funny, if you can overlook the more misogynistic elements (or at least, in my own case, overcome the feminist tendency to be immediately annoyed by blow-job jokes) , and the film being marketed in that trailer and the film being promoted on this poster are not the same film. Not that it looks like something I'd choose to see over a good indie flick, but if I wanted a lightweight comedy film, and I'd already seen Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, and couldn't find anything else to do here in Seattle on a nice day, I'd maybe see this.

He's already made a documentary about the quest to meet his father, and now Adrian Grenier is heading for doc land again for what sounds like a pretty funky endeavor.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Grenier has nabbed a number of big names that include Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, Eva Longoria, Paris Hilton, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Landau, Noam Chomsky, and Lewis Black for his new documentary titled Teenage Paparazzi. While this sounds like it could be centered on the phenomenon of Lindsays and Britneys, the film will focus on Grenier's "relationship with a 14-year-old paparazzo who took his photo," while also discussing the culture of fame.

But here is where things take an interesting turn -- the film "will interweave the relationship portrait with philosophical interviews in the style of Ricard LInklater's Waking Life." If that means just a bunch of discussions, cool. If that means that those discussions will be rotoscoped, that would be awesome. RIght now, the film is getting shopped to distributors, but hopefully we'll find out more soon.

When I was a kid, I watched all the awards shows ... except the Tonys. Even when I was involved in theater as a teenager I wasn't a follower of Broadway. And I lived an hour away from Manhattan. But today's youths may be more interested in tuning in to the 2008 Tony Awards, because everyone's favorite boy wizard is among the presenters. Daniel Radcliffe will likely be there solely to promote his Broadway debut this fall, in Equus, but that shouldn't deter fans of the Harry Potter films, the latest of which, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, also opens in the fall. Despite the significance of Radcliffe's role in Equus (remember those sexy photos?), Radcliffe will presumably be dressed fully and sharply.

Other presenters include Laura Linney, Alec Baldwin, Marisa Tomei and Radcliffe's costar in both the Equus and the Harry Potter films, Richard Griffiths. This year's Tonys are also of interest to movie fans for its nominees, which include movies-turned-musicals Cry-Baby (4 nominations), Xanadu (4 nominations), The Little Mermaid (2 nominations) and Young Frankenstein (3 nominations), as well as the comic adaption of The 39 Steps (6 nominations), based on the John Buchan book that Alfred Hitchcock and others turned into hit films (with a fourth version reportedly in the works).

The Tony Awards will be held at Radio City Music Hall, and broadcast live on CBS, June 15.

The big screen is about to get lymey. Variety reports that Derick and Steven Martini's dramedy Lymelife is finally getting made, and it's got a solid cast along for the ride. Alec Baldwin and Emma Roberts lead the pack, followed by Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Rory Culkin (Zodiac), Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down), Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan), and Timothy Hutton (The Last Mimzy).

A retro piece taking place in late '70s Long Island, the coming-of-age project focuses on "two families who fall apart when precarious relationships, real estate problems, and Lyme disease converge in the heart of suburbia." It's a film that the brothers have been trying to get made for years. The project was developed during the 2001 Sundance Filmmakers Lab, and experimental scenes were even shot with Kieran. (He's since been replaced by Rory, as he's grown too old for his original role. He'll now play an older brother.) Heck, even Baldwin has been attached to the project for years, so while the film might have struggled to get to this point, there's something in it that has a long-term hold on two of the main players.

Filming gets underway next week in New Jersey, and the picture has a tentative release date for January 2009.

Remember that mushy-sounding, Irreconcilable Differences-esque movie starring the Fanning sisters that's in the works? About a little girl who sues her parents for divorce after finding out she only exists to serve as a genetic match for her dying sis? It's called My Sister's Keeper, and it just got a whole lot better-sounding. According to Variety, Alec Baldwin has joined the cast, which also includes Cameron Diaz as the mother of Dakota and Elle Fanning. Baldwin fortunately won't be playing the girls' daddy; instead he's set for the role of an attorney representing the younger, wrongfully-conceived sister. He will be going up against Diaz, whose mom character is also a former trial lawyer and will be defending herself. It's still unclear if the father role will be significant, or if the parents are now divorced, separated or simply not cinematic equals. Of course, the production has until its February start date to let us know the actor for that part.

Baldwin, who previously worked with Dakota Fanning on The Cat in the Hat, was able to sign on to My Sister's Keeper thanks in part to the writer's strike, which has halted the shooting of Baldwin's hit TV series 30 Rock (though Variety points out he is contractually allowed to schedule a movie, who's to say it would have happened with this, at this time?). I've just recently become addicted to the show specifically because of him, and hope his attorney character is close in tone to his NBC executive character, Jack Donaghy. Yet something -- perhaps the subject matter of the film -- tells me that won't be the case. Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) will be directing from a script by Jeremy Leven (The Notebook), which was adapted from the novel by Jodi Picoult, while Mark Johnson (The Notebook) produces.