anne heche Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Hollywood has a long history of showing us charming "golddiggers" in film, whether they're cute Depression-era heroines trying to get a free meal, a trio of Fifties fashion models scheming to land rich husbands, or soft-pedaled prostitutes of either gender. In Spread, the golddigger is a young man, much like Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy if he'd succeeded in his original plans, but unfortunately not debonair or complex enough to overcome the feeling that the movie is more sordid than sweet or sharply comic.

Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) -- and what guy with that name spells it that way? -- wants to live a life of luxury with as little effort as possible. He succeeds nicely by picking up rich woman and sponging off them for as long as he can. He has no car, no home and no savings, even though at least one woman buys him expensive clothes and gifts. Perhaps he just doesn't have a knack for acquiring expensive baubles like Marilyn Monroe's character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, or more to the point, he has no long-term ambitions.

After watching the trailer for Ashton Kutcher's romantic 'dramedy' Spread, I can't help but think this film could be much better than this first promo would have us believe. So maybe this first glimpse isn't going to 'wow' you right off the bat, but the combination of a May-December story with Kutcher in the lead makes you think the film might have something to say other than 'ain't love grand'.

Spread is the story of Nicki, a top-notch womanizer (Kutcher) whose player lifestyle is brought to a screeching halt by two very different women. Anne Heche also stars (in a role originally occupied by Jennifer Jason Leigh) as the older woman whom Kutcher is involved with when he meets an enigmatic waitress (played by Margarita Levieva) who is just a little more 'age-appropriate'. But, when true love knocks, it isn't exactly what Nicki has in mind, and judging by the terribly 'earnest' music being played over the second half of the trailer, you know that there will be few life-lessons learned along the way.

Spread was written by first-time screenwriter Jason Dean Hall, with David Mackenzie at the helm. It was just announced that the film was being added to the Sundance line-up (but only on the non-competition roster). Spread is expected to arrive in theaters later this year, so I would assume that Kutcher and company will be doing a hard sell out in Utah to generate a little buzz. Sound off below on whether you think Kutcher is forever cursed with being Kelso, the lovable goofball, or can he make the move to being a bona-fide leading man?

UPDATE: The trailer has been removed at the request of Katalyst Films, but stay tuned, and we will let you know when something a little more official comes our way.

Last month, I wondered how Jennifer Jason Leigh could sign on for an indie romcom starring Ashton Kutcher -- the man notorious for his bad romantic comedies. She was set to co-star in Spread, the classy-titled indie comedy where Ashton is a serial womanizer and Jennifer would be the thwarted lover -- so, not only a goofy Kutcher movie, but one where he gets to cast her off! But now, however, The Hollywood Reporter posts that one week after signing on, Leigh backed out of the project for undisclosed reasons. Her replacement will be -- Anne Heche.

Rumors suggest that Leigh is pregnant, but you can't help but wonder if she just got cold feet. Production is starting immediately, so it's not like the pregnancy worry would impact things that much right now. As for Heche, well, I'm less surprised about her casting, although maybe a Kutcher film isn't the best thing to follow up her success in Men in Trees. Eh, we'll have to wait and see. Maybe this will be a great romcom, and Jason Dean Hall's script and David Mackenzie's direction will make it all come up roses.

I've got to wonder now... According to IMDb, Laura Linney is attached. What on earth attracted Linney and Leigh to a Kutcher romcom?

Back in November, I showed you an image from Suffering Man's Charity, Alan Cumming's first directorial feature on his own. His last, you might remember, was his collaboration with Jennifer Jason Leigh called The Anniversary Party. I was holding out all sorts of hope for the film, one that pits him against Bones star David Boreanaz -- a match which seemed strange, yet intriguing. Unfortunately, Scott Weinberg's review from SXSW wasn't very glowing. In fact, he said: "As it stands, the thing wavers between broad comedy, dark humor and mild thriller territory, never once settling on an approach ... and suffering mightily because of it."

Will the rest of us suffer the disappointment as well? I'm trying to stay hopeful, but I'm no longer sure. The movie finally has a website up that houses not only the usual throng of information and positive reviews, but also some images and 3 scenes from the film. There's a scene with Cumming and Henry Thomas quarreling about Vandermark's need to clean up questionable young men, another fight -- this one about money -- between Boreanaz and Cumming and finally, Anne Heche raving to Cumming about his manuscript (the one he stole from Boreanaz's Sebastian), while he praises grammar and syntax. Watching the clips, it seems very much like a theater presentation, from the over-acting to the still camera. Unfortunately, they don't give me much hope about the whole. Thomas and Cumming seem to be the only pair in the clips with any real chemistry. However, it's a comedic horror, so maybe this will be like But I'm a Cheerleader or any of the other strange comedies out there -- where something over-the-top can be endearing. Unfortunately, we have to continue to wait and see -- there is still no word about a release date.

Cinematical isn't covering San Francisco's WonderCon this year, but we've been monitoring some of the more interesting news items that have floated out. Here's one that's being reported on IGN that may interest Superman nuts: during a DC Comics panel, Bruce Timm talked about a forthcoming animated feature film that will bring to life the 'Death of Superman' comic storyline, in which the Man of Steel was taken down by the interplanetary supervillain known as Doomsday. The film, which will run 72-minutes, is scheduled for DVD release on September 18.

Timm revealed during the panel that voice actors for the project will include Adam Baldwin as Superman, Anne Heche as Lois Lane, and James Marsters as Lex Luthor. Timm noted that fans will be getting a 'new take' on the Luthor character for this film. Furthermore, Timm prepared fans for 'adaptations and changes' from the original comic storyline, presumably to keep it fresh for the audience. He mentioned that major sub-plots from the original storyline would be cut out. Timm also unveiled a trailer for the new film, which showed Superman doing battle with Doomsday and re-created the iconic comic art of Lois cradling a dead Superman in her arms. The finale of the teaser was apparently a shot of Superman's hand punching through a grave!

While the past week may have been a little slow for celebrity news and gossip, it was a fabulous week for bizarre photos. This should be good news for those who follow the world of crazy celebrity fashion and expected a lull between the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Admittedly, the SAG awards definitely helped. Jeffrey Sebelia provided us with a rundown of the SAG fashion trends, but mere words cannot do justice to some of these outfits.

The following roundup of last week's movie-celebrity gossip items includes some truly hair-raising photos ... and at least one that you don't want to view from the office, so be careful.