Felicity Huffman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Did the kids who just won Tony Awards for Billy Elliott on Broadway ever have to endure this kind of criticism from a director? "Stop, stop, stop! It's 'toward.' Who is singing 'towards'? ... If you put an 's' on it, it makes it cheap, it makes it sound like you're from Long Island. Nothing against Long Islands ..." Thus begins Stagedoor, a documentary about a summer camp with superstar alumni such as Robert Downey, Jr., Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, Bryce Howard, Zach Braff, Amy Ryan, Jon Cryer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Felicity Huffman, and director Shawn Levy. Our friends at SnagFilms have made the film available for free online viewing.

"What will life be like when theater geeks and show-tune queens rule the world?," asked Jorge Morales in his review at The Village Voice. "Documentarian Alexandra Shiva's cameras miss the moment some of the alpha divas cross the line, but the overwrought counselors make it sound like a showbiz Lord of the Flies." Ed Gonzalez of Slant notes that Stagedoor Manor was "the inspiration for former student and teacher Todd Graff's Camp, a film which never arrived at the truth of what this performing arts camp means for the Future Gay Men, Fag Hags, Three Straight Boys, and Broadway Stars of Tomorrow who go there every summer." The doc "remains goodhearted and agreeable throughout -- low on pathos and surprisingly critical of the drama-queen roles students and counselors adopt throughout their three weeks" at the camp.

After the jump, we've embedded the film for your viewing convenience. More information is available at SnagFilms.

(We're reposting this review from the Sundance Film Festival to coincide with the film's theatrical release)

By: Kim Voynar

First time writer/director Daniel Barnz knocks it out of the park with Phoebe in Wonderland, an imaginative, layered tale about a young girl struggling to fit in and find her place. Elle Fanning (younger sister of Dakota Fanning) stars as Phoebe, a nine-year-old girl who finds herself struggling against the conformity and rules around her. Phoebe is an intelligent and creative child with a passion for Alice in Wonderland.

Phoebe's attachment to this particular literary obsession is not a coincidence; her mother, Hillary (Felicity Huffman) is writing a book on Wonderland that expounds upon her doctoral dissertation on the subject, so naturally Phoebe sees Alice as a means to be closer to her mother. It's also not coincidental that Phoebe, like Alice, finds the normal world a very boring and rigid place where she doesn't quite fit in, and wishes to escape to a world where anything can happen.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from the film Phoebe in Wonderland, starring Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson and Elle Fanning. Directed by first-timer Daniel Barnz, Wonderland is a quiet-but-peculiar little character piece about a little girl whose clever imagination and dislike for rules and conformity slowly begin to remove her from reality. As I said back when we premiered the poster, Kim absolutely loved this film when it premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, calling Fanning's performance "pretty brilliant" while noting that with his first feature, Barnz "knocks it out of the park" with an "imaginative and original script."

Phoebe in Wonderland arrives in theaters on March 6. Check out the exclusive clip below.

One of my favorite films from Sundance, Phoebe in Wonderland, is set to open the 10th RiverRun International Film Festival, according to indieWIRE. The film, which stars Elle Fanning, Felecity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson and Bill Pullman, is about Phoebe (Fanning), a little girl struggling with behavioral problems and relating to others.

Phoebe finds hope through her eccentric drama teacher (Clarkson), who casts her as the lead in the school's production of Alice in Wonderland. Meanwhile her parents (Huffman and Pullman) struggle with balancing their work with their family life, and with accepting that raising their daughters to be creative and non-conformist also means accepting Phoebe as she is, and helping her navigate her way through the world.

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

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

I had always really liked Felicity Huffman, one half of Hollywood power couple Filliam H. Muffman, as an actress. And then I saw her screeching, ridiculous work in the screeching, ridiculous movie Georgia Rule. I'm usually pretty forgiving for such cases of bad judgment -- but I just can't let this one slide. I'm going to need a couple great performances from Huffman to scrub miserable scenes like her roadside freakout in Rule from my mind. Hopefully she'll redeem herself in Phoebe in Wonderland, a comedy from first-time director Daniel Barnz (incorrectly listed as Ben in the Variety article announcing the film), who also wrote the screenplay. Huffman will join Patricia Clarkson, Bill "Not Paxton, dammit, it's Pullman!" Pullman, and Elle "Not Dakota, dammit, it's Elle!" Fanning for the movie.

Fanning will play "a rebellious little girl who clashes with the rule-obsessed authority figures in her life. She seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher," played by Clarkson. The announcement doesn't give further details, but if I had to guess, I'd wager Huffman and Pullman play Fanning's strict parents, and that her teacher helps her use her imagination to expand her horizons? Barnz, who apparently loves movies with the word "land" in the title, also wrote Sugarland, an upcoming lawyer drama about exploited migrant workers with Robert DeNiro and Jodie Foster. Foster will also direct that one. And let me just use this space here at the end of the article to beg you not to see Georgia Rule. Unless you're a fan of child molestation humor, there's better ways to spend your hard-earned cash. For shame, Huffman!

The drama Georgia Rule just plain doesn't work. At times, it feels like a Lifetime movie-of-the-week, but with a cast that far outclasses the genre. At times, you can see hints of an indie film-wanna-be style, but the characters and setting are too superficial, and the plot twists are too predictable and pat. Even the performances from an experienced cast don't add much life to the film -- in fact, if the performances had been worse, at least the film could have worked as a gloriously tacky melodrama. Instead, the film is a tedious yawn with only a few bright spots.

Wild-child Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is sent to live with her grandmother Georgia (Jane Fonda) for a few months before she heads off to Vassar, since her mother Lilly (Felicity Huffman) and stepdad Arnold (a sadly unrecognizable Cary Elwes) don't know what else to do with her. Georgia's iron-clad household rules (thus the title) cannot entirely thwart Rachel as she inflicts her brand of chaos on the small Idaho town, including the hot-but-devout-Mormon teen Harlan (Garrett Hedlund) and the older vet for which she ends up working, her mom's ex-boyfriend Simon (Dermot Mulroney). When Rachel confides something personal and devastating to Simon, all hell breaks loose and Lilly is forced to return to her estranged mother's house, where all three women have to learn to deal with one another. Or not.

Following the newly-released trailer, a new one-sheet and a few pics have surfaced for Universal's upcoming Georgia Rule, featuring Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan, as herself. Okay, so Lohan isn't exactly playing herself, but she will be taking on the role of a rebellious, uncontrollable teenager -- which, as we all know, isn't too much of a stretch for the young actress. Definitely not as controversial as the last set of pics (let's just say La Lohan was searching for something between the legs of her on-screen boyfriend), these new images show us the three ladies in a variety of dysfunctional poses.

Directed by the family-friendly Garry Marshall (who hasn't helmed an R-rated movie since 1994's Exit to Eden), Georgia Rule revolves around three women (grandma, mother and daughter) who must find a way to reconcile their differences and come to terms with the secrets of their family's past when an accident forces all three to live under the same roof. It's a bit more risque than Marshall's last directorial effort, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, but keep in mind this is the same guy who also brought us Pretty Woman and -- one of my personal favorites -- The Flamingo Kid. Heck, if Marshall can create a lovable, charismatic, girl-next-door prostitute, I'm sure he'll do wonders with Lohan. With a script written by Mark Andrus (who's quite familiar with females and family, having penned the adaptation of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), Georgia Rule hits theaters on May 11.

While it might have seemed like Georgia Rule was going to fall under the whims of La Lohan, it's actually all wrapped up in a pretty trailer bow that has just been released exclusively to Moviefone. If you kept even half an eye on movies news and gossip last summer, you should remember all the troubles that Lindsay Lohan had with the Garry Marshall film. First, cavorting around as a big-city nymphette in the film made the poor redhead collapse with heatstroke. Or rather, partying like a wild child did, sending producer James Robinson into outrage, inspiring him to write a letter that said: "We are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so called 'exhaustion'. We refuse to accept bogus excuses for your behavior."

Nevertheless, the movie wrapped and we get to see Jane Fonda on the screen once again. The premise sounds typical for a movie, but man, I wish it was true. Rule follows Rachel (Lohan), an uncontrollable teen who is brought to her grandmother's house by her dysfunctional mother Lilly, played by Felicity Huffman. There, she has to live under Grandma Georgia's rules, and exist in a small, Mormon Idaho town. If only movies were real, and Lindsay actually had to do this! The trailer has all the key bits of comedic melodrama -- the love interests, finding the error of your ways, so on and so forth. If you watch carefully, you'll even see that the thicker-in-the-face blonde man who gets beaten with the bat is none other than Cary Elwes, so if Lohan getting paid to be herself is not enough for you, at least there is some Wesley in the mix!

Here's some bits and bites for you to chew on:

• If you're like me, you've been anxious for Allan Moyle to get back to his deliciously cult Pump up the Volume roots, which it seems he has, with his Canadian film, Weirdsville. After opening the Slamdance Film Festival, the U.S. rights to the flick have been picked up by Magnolia Pictures. The movie follows two heroin addicts (Scott Speedman and Wes Bentley) who almost bury an almost-dead junkie (Taryn Manning), have a run-in with Satanists* and a mob of little people....and a drug lord. The Hollywood Reporter has more info on the deal, and the film's website has got a trailer and other goodies. And yes, that's Bentley in the picture to the right, sporting lots of fu-facial hair.
• In December, Chris brought us news of Topher Grace's upcoming movie, Kids in America. Now Venom finally has some co-stars. The pic follows Grace as a recent college who tries to nab his paramour at a crazy party while dealing with his on-coming adulthood -- as any good coming-of-age story should. Scary Movie's Anna Faris has been cast as Grace's twin sister, Dan Fogler -- that wild-haired ping ponger from the upcoming Balls of Fury -- will play the best friend and Australian actress Teresa Palmer gets to be Grace's dream girl.
• Ms. Felicity Huffman, Transamerica star and desperate housewife, is now an author. She's penned A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend: For Every One Who Wants to Be One/For Every Girl Who Wants to Build One with Patricia Wolff, which was launched in LA on Monday. This super-short titled book gives advice on how to be a good boyfriend "while still maintaining guy-dignity." Anyone want to make bets on how long it will be before this gets adapted into a really, really bad film?

*Thanks to Kirby for the good catch! While a group of Satinists would be interesting, this mob is of the Satan variety.