JenniferBeals Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I saw Flashdance in the theater with my mom when it came out in 1983, and Jennifer Beals rocked my life so hard that I re-enacted the dance scenes from the movie in my room over and over and over again. Rewatching this clip now makes me think, uh, the camera is focused almost entirely on her posterior, and why is there that big Turner and Hooch-style dog watching her work out? And what are the psychological implications for me that I was so obsessed with it when I saw it as an 8-year-old? (Yes, I know it was a stunt double and they were avoiding showing her face, but still. The scene is almost all a whirling, twirling butt.)

But the truth is, I always secretly wanted to be a dancer -- the blisters, the sweat, the awesome clothes, the sadistically pointy shoes! And the totally manic energy of this clip can still get me dancing like a maniac on my living room floor even now, as a grown-ass adult, much to the bemusement of my neighbors across the courtyard. That Alex Bowens welded steel! She poured water on herself in a most enticing way for money! She didn't give an eff what any of us those; she just wanted to dance!

Get in touch with your inner maniac after the jump.

Jennifer Beals has started filling her schedule, now that The L Word is on its final leg -- and so far, so sweet. The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's signed on for a role in the post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli. Even better -- she's picked up one heck of a part. Remember how Gary Oldman signed on to play Carnegie, the bad-guy despot of a makeshift town? The one who tries to stop Eli (Denzel Washington) on his quest across America's post-apocalyptic wasteland? Well, Beals has signed on to play Carnegie's "sexual prize" and Mila Kunis' mother. Oh, but there's more -- she's a "blind woman doing anything she can to protect her child." That's some choice casting (Mila-Jennifer), and I can only begin to imagine the magic that could brew up between Oldman and Beals. Only one whole year to wait and see! The film is set to hit theaters in January of 2010.

Meanwhile, I can't imagine what my life would be like without John Landis. He shaped my childhood with "Thriller," and my later years with films like Animal House. Now, while I wait for him to wipe away the disgust brewed by Blues Brothers 2000, Variety reports that he's suing the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Landis filed a suit claiming that Jackson hasn't been handing over the 50% of net proceeds lately, like their 1983 agreement outlines.This comes right after word hit that the zombie-filled video is getting turned into a musical, so that may have something to do with it. Whatever the case, it better not distract him from the projects he's got a-brewing. I need something to wipe out the taste of 2000.

We've seen Bill Murray do a lot over the years, but have we ever seen him as a tried and true, REAL stuntman? Jam! reports that the actor has signed on to parachute from a plane for an appearance at the Chicago Air and Water Show that's taking place next month. If planes buzzing about isn't something that appeals to you, maybe Murray descending from the sky will? He will perform a tandem jump with the Golden Knights skydiving team on August 15. That's a way to get new viewers -- come watch celebrities fall from the sky!

Meanwhile... Are you a Roger Dodger fan? If you haven't seen this flick, you should run out and rent it, pronto. Campbell Scott stars as an uncle who takes his young nephew (Jesse Eisenberg) out on a night on the town to teach him the ways of male adulthood. While at a bar, they come across Elizabeth Berkley and Jennifer Beals, who spend some time with the pair. Now EW has found out that the two ladies are reuniting on the final season of The L Word. Instead of playing friends who do what they can to help young Nick become a man, the Showgirls star will play the straight girl who got away from Beals' Bette in college. Oh, the possibilities!

Time really does fly. It has been thirteen years since Kevin Kline wooed Meg Ryan in French Kiss, where he got to play a theiving French man who could teach someone to pull out the complex flavors in wine in seconds. It's not Shakespeare, or storms of ice, but it has its moments. And now, he gets to play a French man for real -- in French! The Hollywood Reporter posts that Kline has signed on for his first French speaking role in Caroline Bottaro's drama Queen to Play (Joueuse).

This is the chess film I blogged about back in November, which focuses on "a hotel chambermaid who develops an obsession for chess." Bruno Ganz was attached, but now it looks like he is out. Instead, Klein will be rejoined by his Anniversary Party co-star Jennifer Beals, plus Sandrine Bonnaire and Francis Renaud. Bonnaire will play the chambermaid who is "captivated by a romantic couple (Beals and Renaud) playing chess while staying at the Mediterranean island hotel where she works. The doctor (Kline) whose house she cleans reluctantly becomes her mentor in the game, leading her to a chess tournament and initiating major transformations in her life."

Remember that movie Flashdance or, as it's known in Mexico, Electodanza? Oh what a feeling! Well, it was based on the life of a real live construction worker-turned-dancer named Maureen Marder, who sold her story to Paramount for a measly $2,300. The woman has been trying to sue the studio over copyright interests for years, including damages sought for the re-creation of scenes from the movie in Jennifer Lopez' I'm Glad music video. She just lost her most recent attempt at the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, but the panel of judges there weren't completely unmoved by her pight. They agreed that Marder's original deal was unfair, but added: "There is simply no evidence that her consent was obtained by fraud, deception, misrepresentation, duress or undue influence."

Basically, what the judges wanted to say is, "we see that you got royally screwed, but the fault was in your own stupidity." Hopefully this case will teach others to get smart or get a good lawyer before deciding to sell their life story to a producer. I hope to make at least six figures for my account of being a blogger-turned-International-Male-catalog-model. Once the story -- and my dream -- come true, that is.