velvet goldmine Tagged Articles at Cinematical

From Pacman to Public Enemies, he's had more ups and downs than most other actors of his generation. Christian Bale has careened between extreme highs and deep lows, in the view of the folks at MovieFill, and they decided that a rollercoaster was the most apt visual metaphor for his career. A reduced-size version can be seen above.

They squeeze most of his films into the chart, though they left out a few. Before his sensational role in Mary Harron's American Psycho, he was very appealing in Metroland and got good notices in Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine; pre-Batman Begins / The Dark Knight, he was fun to watch as a frisky villain in John Singleton's Shaft and an uptight, would-be psychiatrist in Laurel Canyon. I don't agree with every notation in the chart. Harsh Times, for example, is cited as one of his "lows," but Bale was riveting. Two notorious off-screen incidents are included, which both affected his public perception, though it seems somewhat unfair to lump those in with his films.

Still, the rollercoaster graphic provides an easy way to look back and consider the range and daring of what he's done, especially earlier in his career. Recently he's been in more big-budget productions than anything else, and next up is David O. Russell's boxing biopic The Fighter. I'd love to see him in a couple of smaller indie flicks. What are your thoughts on Christian Bale's career so far? More ups than downs?

Hey, it's good enough for Spinal Tap, Hannah Montana and The Monkees. Now Dewey Cox, of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, is the latest fictional music artist to go on a real-life tour. Yes, according to Variety, John C. Reilly is suiting up to perform in character for the "Cox Across America Tour." Joined by his band, the Hard Walkers, Reilly/Cox is making appearances in seven cities: Cleveland; Chicago; Austin; Nashville; San Francisco; Los Angeles and New York City. The first gig is this Wednesday at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and all shows include a screening of the movie, a music biopic spoof from the smartest man in Hollywood, Judd Apatow, and director Jake Kasdan (The TV Set).

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, only the Chicago date is not sold out. My guess is that by the time of posting, even that show will be unavailable, but feel free to check Sony's RSVP page to find out. Otherwise, you can at least hear Cox's music on the Walk Hard soundtrack, which hits stores today.

I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Reilly as Cox. I also wish I could have seen Reilly tour the nation as Lefty, his character from A Prairie Home Companion -- accompanied by Woody Harrelson as Dusty, of course. If I could see any fictional artist in concert, though, I'd pick The Venus in Furs, or maybe Jesse and the Rippers. How about you? What fictional band or artist would you most like to see go on tour?

Anyway, stay tuned to Cinematical because we're working on something special to coincide with the "Cox Across America Tour."

It isn't that unusual for straight actors to be comfortable playing gay, but Jonathan Rhys Meyers is apparently more than just okay with it. In fact, he really, really likes playing homosexual men, and he's looking forward to more gay roles in the future. So far he has only played gay in the films Velvet Goldmine and Alexander, though he might also include the TV movie Elvis, as he swears that the rock legend was, "the gayest f**king thing on two legs."

Maybe Rhys Meyers is unaware, but there are plenty of gay parts that he can play. Of course, they are in low-budget films that mostly only play at specialty theaters like The Quad in New York (and no, I'm not talking about gay porn), but they do exist. The thing is, Rhys Meyers wants to play famous gay men, like Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift, though he admits he's too small for Hudson. Until someone decides to do one of those biopics, perhaps he can campaign for a sequel to Brokeback Mountain.

Brian Epstein managed The Beatles from early 1962 until his death by drug overdose in 1967 at the age of 32. Because of both his early death and his sexuality (he was gay), Epstein has long been a subject of fascination and curiosity for not only Beatles fans, but also anyone who learns about the details of his life. Christopher Münch's 1991 film The Hours and Times examined Epstein's relationship with John Lennon (Ian Hart, three years before he played the same role in Backbeat) through a shared - and fictional - Spanish holiday, and now, 15 years later, Epstein will reportedly be the subject of another feature.

According to various reports in the British media, the untitled film will be a "quirky, hallucinogenic biopic," and is expected to be ready for a Liverpool debut in 2008, in time for the city's run as Europe's Capital of Culture. The screenplay is being written by a young Broadway/music biz veteran named Vivek Tiwary, who claims to be "working closely with the manager’s business partner Nat Weiss and assistant Joanne Peterson," and has received the blessings of Epstein's family. Additionally, Jude Law, who told a Liverpool paper two years ago that he was interested in playing Epstein, is "lined up" to star in the film.

All of this is so vague at this point that the whole thing could easily fall apart without anyone even really noticing. But if Law really is involved and cares about the project, that'll certainly help. Plus, "quirky, hallucinogenic biopic" in the music world sounds vaguely Velvet Goldmine. Hey, that can't possibly be bad.

[via Queerty]