TheHours Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Meryl Streep Movies Can Save the Economy!
Filed under: Classics », Fandom », Newsstand », Summer Movies »
We know that Meryl Streep can rock any role she's given, and save any movie that she graces with her legendary talent. Accents, ABBA songs, and aspics, she does it all with shocking ease. But here's something I bet you didn't know: she's an economic powerhouse. While Hollywood wrings their hands and wonders how to market "to women," and is convinced all ladies want is The Ugly Truth, Streep has been single-handedly turning everyone a profit. The Independent calls it "The Streep Effect" and notes that she has a Midas touch not only at the box office, but for book sales and tourism. Julie and Julia has single-handledly sent Mastering the Art of French Cooking back onto bestseller lists. (Though the Independent doesn't mention it, Child's My Life in France is selling just as briskly, as is Julie Powell's Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.) There's also been a boom in French cooking classes and cookware sales as people set out to cook their way to a perky hybrid of Streep, Amy Adams, and Julia Child.
And that's only the most recent example! Mamma Mia! resulted in hundreds of couples flocking to marry on the Greek island of Skopelos, with flights up 13% after the movie's release. Lest you think that was just due to the jaw-dropping seaside scenery, a similar effect happened with Out of Africa. Kenya received 152,000 overseas visitors in 1985, a number that climbed to 176,000 in 1986.
'Beautiful Girl' Horror From Pulitzer Prize Winner?
Filed under: Horror », Deals », Scripts »
Whenever I hear about esteemed literary or cinematic figures dipping their toes into horror waters, I always picture them holding their noses as they're running to the bank to cash their checks. They know horror sells (as long as it's decent), and they know horror fans are uncommonly broadminded, so I always feel like they're invading our territory just to try and take advantage of us and make a buck. On the other hand, who'd think that a high-minded director like Stanley Kubrick could make a spooky picture, or that Martin Stinkin' Scorsese might have made a ghost story out of Shutter Island?
All that to say, I'm keeping an open mind about Michael Cunningham's original script for Beautiful Girl, "a scary genre thriller," according to Variety, about a "shy but brainy high school girl who returns for senior year after having slimmed down six dress sizes. She finds herself flirting with the handsome English lit teacher, but the mutual crush turns deadly when the teacher's obsession with the student compels him to exact maniacal revenge on everyone who was cruel to her." Screen Gems bought the rights to the script.
More at Horror Squad!
Nicole Kidman to Play Dusty Springfield?
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Casting », RumorMonger », Nicole Kidman »
So Nicole Kidman might have already proven she can sing (a little), but is she really good enough to tackle the White Queen of Soul? Michael Cunningham, writer of The Hours and A Home at the End of the World, told NY Magazine that Kidman will star as singing legend Dusty Springfield in a music biopic that he is currently writing the screenplay for. Springfield began her career at the tender age of 11, and by 1963 she had recorded her first major hit, I Only Want to Be With You. By 1967, the star had tired of show business and proceeded to record a string of flops from 1971 to 1986. Her comeback came in 1987 when The Pet Shop Boys asked her to sing on their hit What Have I Done to Deserve This? Springfield passed away from breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 60.
I will say it's about time that some more female vocalists got the biopic treatment (because Lady Sings the Blues and Coal Miner's Daughter are just not cutting it). Springfield had a tumultuous life full of addictions to drugs and alcohol, not to mention the pervasive stories of her struggles with her sexuality -- plenty of fodder for a juicy biopic. Considering working with Cunningham earned the actress her first Oscar, this project seems like a slam dunk for Kidman. Lord knows, she could use a hit.
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