jane fonda Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you are a regular around these parts, then you have probably noticed that I have a streak of feminism in me a mile wide, and while I've read all the great tomes on equality, most, if not all of my 'girl-power' tendencies can be traced back to Dolly Parton. So for today's installment of Terrific Trailers, I went back all the way to 1980 to bring you the trailer for the greatest feminist film ever made, 9 to 5. Colin Higgins' comedy was the story of three working women (played by Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda) as they banded together to bring down their pig of a boss, and was the first time the idea of a 'gender divide' made it's way into my kiddie consciousness...and I've been a card-carrying little feminist ever since.

It's strange to see a trailer that looks nothing like what passes for a quality trailer or teaser these days. There is no star power, no "In a world without...", in fact, we don't even glimpse the principal players until the end of the clip. But what is truly funny is that considering the huge social and political point the film is trying to make about women in the workplace, the trailer seems content to treat it all as a silly joke -- "Oh that wacky boss who steals your ideas and grabs your ass..." But, I'm realistic enough to know that if you aren't trying to scare people off, you have to make sure you don't use the dreaded "F" word -- which I guess means not much has changed since 1980, after all.

After the jump; the personal gets political...

With never-ending zeal, Hollywood looks back to the good ol' days with remakes and re-imaginings. But it's always the plots; always the stories. What about the actors? If there was any way that looking to the past would be beneficial, it would be grabbing those actors of today and getting them to dip back into the roles of yesterday -- the gigs that made us love them, but were so soon forgotten or cast aside.

Between casting ruts and earnest attempts to foster specific career paths, actors all too often leave their well-loved roots in the past, becoming an entirely different sort of performer. Very rarely do we get glimpses of those early years, and as nice as it is to see glimpses of former glory in a skit that pops up on SNL or Funny or Die, it's not the same as a feature-length, starring gig.

What follows are seven actors and actresses who are ripe for a return to the past. Naturally, this is only the start of a very long list, so be sure to add your picks in the comments.

Robert Rodriguez remaking a campy 60s sci-fi flick is one thing, but Robert Luketic? Robert Luketic, the man who perpetrated Monster-in-Law? The director of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!? That's the guy they want to redo Roger Vadim's 1968 Barbarella? Well, that's the rumor reported by Starpulse, who claim that "the project has been saved" by Luketic.

As Monika Bartyzel recapped last month, Robert Rodriguez wanted a big budget to fulfill his big dreams, and Universal balked at the budget. German financiers offered him $70 million but wanted the production in Europe, and Rodriguez balked at spending all that time away from his children. So no Rodriguez, no Rose McGowan -- the perfect choice for the character -- no modern take on Barbarella, the role in which Jane Fonda thrilled teenage boys everywhere with her slinky sexiness.

What would another Robert do with the project? The Australian Luketic famously debuted as a director with Legally Blonde, a frothy comedy that boosted the fortunes of Reese Witherspoon, and more recently made the flashy 21, which grossed more than $150 million worldwide. Here's an out-of-left-field thought: what if he cast Kate Bosworth as the erotic, leather-clad heroine? The two first worked together in Tad Hamilton before reuniting for 21. While we wait for the rumor to be confirmed or denied, who would you cast as Barbarella?

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.

According to an article just up at Variety, indie-minded "rebel without a crew" Robert Rodriguez is now attached to direct the big-screen remake of the 70s cult Sci-Fi flick Barbarella for producers Dino and Martha De Laurentis. Fresh from his latest release, the Grind House pic Planet Terror, Rodriguez, according to the article, is now working with Casino Royale writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on a script for the film to begin shooting later this year.

Said Rodriguez about his latest film and its sexy heroine: "I love this iconic character and all that she represents, and I'm truly excited by the challenge of inviting a new audience into her universe." Producer De Laurentis was equally as gushing about this latest incarnation of Barbarella. "In our vision, the future is female, and I can't wait to introduce 'Barbarella' to a new generation of moviegoers," he said. Sounds interesting. In case you're not familiar, the original Barbarella, released in 1968, starred a very young Jane Fonda as the super-sexy 41st century astronaut Barbarella.

As the story progresses, our heroine must battle the forces of evil led by deranged scientist Duran Duran (yes, that's where the band took its name from), all the while finding herself in one situation or another where she manages to lose articles of clothing, engage in various erotic acts and eventually finds herself "tortured" by the aptly-named Orgasmatron. Rodriguez seems like a natural fit for the campy, erotic Barbarella story. As a fan of the original I can't wait to see what he does with it. Should make for a very interesting film indeed. No word yet on who will play Barbarella in this new film, although as our own Monika pointed out recently, there's been rampant speculation. Now that the movie has a director and seems poised to start, who would you like to see take on the title role?

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.

Trying to figure out how many prostitutes have turned up in the movies is a mug's game, but let's play it a little, shall we? James Robert Parish's 1991 Prostitution in Hollywood Films (McFarland) lists 389 films in which prostitution is a subject or subplot. Parrish includes everything from Porky's to all six versions of the penthouse-to-pavement melodrama Madame X. The IMDB tops this number by claiming about 800 movies with prostitution as a subject. Ever since the first important film on the flesh trade -- the 1913 Traffic in Souls, just inducted into the Library of Congress -- the subject of the Fate Worse Than Death has fueled comedy, drama, and film noir. Oh, and science fiction -- remember the "Furniture Girls" in Soylent Green? Playing a hooker is also good Oscar fodder. So far it's gained six Best Actress awards and 15 nominations, as well as seven Best Supporting Actress wins and five nominations.

This count requires some give and take: Madeleine Kahn's Lili von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles (an Oscar nominee) was officially a dance hall girl (wink, nod). Sally Bowles in Cabaret didn't make the count, though it's fairly clear how she paid the rent. Ditto the no-visible-means-of-support Holly Golightly. Hey, we're all prostitutes! So the top seven below need kibitzing and counter suggestions, and perhaps some flame-broiling. The idea here is for time-tested films, meaning that more recent working girls aren't aboard, despite impressive acting by Sophie Okonedo in Dirty Pretty Things, Taraji P. Henson in Hustle and Flow or Morena Baccarin in Serenity. (And Brittany Murphy was no slouch as The Dead Girl.) Let's overlook Reagan-age free-market propaganda disguised as sex comedies, and pass on that famous trio of savvy businesswomen Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places and Rebecca de Mornay in Risky Business. (How about Kathy Baker in Street Smart, Marilia Pera in Pixote and Louise Smith in Lizzie Borden's neo-doc Working Girls instead?)


Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven (1927) The ultimate Victorian-era victim of circumstances, gold heart beating under a manhandled breast, pursued by the same hypocrite society that drove her to a life of crime. And now I'm making this really beautiful film sound terrible. Gaynor, a small and frail-looking actress--a shadow of the streets, as Edith Piaf put it--is teamed with ultimate woman's-film director Frank Borzage. And Borzage was one of the few men who could make a movie that you'd weep at without hating yourself for it in the morning. Matching her here is frequent co-star Charles Farrell, who plays a Parisian sewer worker who wants to rise out of the depths to the open air. Some (Catholics, probably) would make the mental connection between Seventh Heaven's pairing of the two trades and St. Thomas Aquinas's cold-blooded comment that prostitutes were like sewers: despicable but necessary to society.

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!

Apparently untroubled by how deeply annoying the once-adorable Lindsay Lohan has become, Hollywood is casting her right and left. Just off her work with the legendary Robert Altman in A Prairie Home Companion, in which Oscar winner Meryl Streep plays her mother, La Lohan has scored herself another award-winning mom in the form of Felicity Huffman. The two have signed on to costar in Georgia Rule, which Garry Marshall will write, direct and produce for Morgan Creek. In the film, Lohan plays a rebellious young woman (a role that will be a true test of her acting chops) who so exasperates momma Huffman that she's sent off to spend the summer with grandma, who will be played by none other than officially back-in-the-game Jane Fonda.

Very little about this project is yet official, but if financing falls into place and all the personnel work out as expected, there are hopes for a summer shoot.