spice girls Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I have no problem admitting that I like cheesy pop music. I don't even have a problem admitting to seeing Spice World in the theater -- twice! -- and loving every minute of it. Now I'll admit another gem: I really like the song "Not Gonna Get Us" by t.A.T.u., particularly the Russian-language version. You probably remember t.A.T.u. more for their controversial image, that of two underage lesbian schoolgirls. Well, after a little hiatus the duo has returned, now perfectly legal and admittedly heterosexual (one of them even has a kid courtesy of an ex-boyfriend), and in addition to recording their third album they have plans for a movie.

Based on the novel "t.A.T.u. Come Back" by Russian Parliament deputy Aleksey Mitrofanov, the movie will follow the stories of two girls who meet and fall in love during a t.A.T.u. concert. According to Moviehole, the title has been changed to Finding t.A.T.u. and is being directed by two-time Oscar-nominee Roland Joffé. I'm not sure where it has actually been confirmed that Joffé has sunk so low -- aside from Moviehole's mention, he is also credited on the movie's Wikipedia page -- but according to the IMDb his next project, following the upcoming Captivity, is Singularity, featuring the strange pairing of Brendan Fraser and Aishwarya Rai. Personally, I would prefer it if the t.A.T.u. movie was a campy musical focusing more on the madcap adventures of the two singers, Lena Katina and Julia Volkova (a la the unnecessary guilty pleasures of Head, The Ghost Goes Gear, and of course Spice World), and I also think the once-proposed t.A.T.u. anime made even more sense, but if the director of The Killing Fields and The Mission is actually attached to this, I am very intrigued to see how the thing turns out.

Oh yes, you're not reading that title wrong -- apparently, Katie Holmes will be taking on the role of Posh Spice (aka Victoria Beckham) in a new biopic. Unfortunately for people like me (who like to make fun of everything), said biopic will not be based on the sexy pop-singers, but instead will focus on the life of David Beckham, football (or soccer) star and international heartthrob.

However (and I'm sure this will not disappoint most of you), Tom Cruise will stay away from the part of David Beckham because of their "marked physical differences." (Right now, if I listen closely, I can almost make out football nut Martha Fischer screaming for joy.) For those who weren't aware (like me), the Bechkam's and Cruise's are pretty close friends, what with a combined hotness factor that breaks any and all world records. Thus, Mr. Beckham refused to take part in the biopic if Tom and Katie were not involved in some way, shape or form. Now comes the real question: Who will play David Beckham? Or, rather, who will Tom Cruise allow to star alongside his prize possession wife?

The current lack of movies starring whole music groups as themselves is either a sign that today's bands take themselves too seriously or that they just aren't popular enough to carry a feature film at the box office. Perhaps the combination of MTV and music video DVDs has diluted a demand for the musical sub-genre, but I for one have an enormous weak spot for rock films of any kind, and the most tender area of that spot is for movies like Spice World.

This campy throwaway picture from 1998, featuring the British girl-group The Spice Girls a few minutes past their peak, came from a tradition that has its roots in the earliest of movie musicals, became more interesting with the arrival of rock and roll, and seems to have always been more prevalent with artists from the UK. The most obvious influence on films of this sort, of course, was The Beatles.  Elvis may have done a lot of movies for no better reason than to serve as vehicles for his music, but he never did play himself. No, it was A Hard Day's Night that did it (the band's name is never mentioned in the film, but the Fab Four do go by their own individual names), and it remains the most familiar, the most popular, and the most critically acclaimed of all of its kind. The Beatles went on to make a few other films, and Help! was also well-regarded, but nothing since has had the same prestige as the original.