Entertainment

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Tuned: Look out, Nicki Minaj, Sam Amidon may cover you next bc-tuned-music19(sh) | By: CHUCK CAMPBELL | Source: Scripps Howard News Service | Music (EM) May 17, 2013 4:05 PM By CHUCK CAMPBELL "BRIGHT SUNNY SOUTH," Sam Amidon (Nonesuch) Given that Sam Amidon slid a sly remake of R. Kelly's "Relief" into his 2010 album of covers of traditional hymns and folk music ("I See the Sign"), it's no surprise to hear him taking a stab at Mariah Carey and Tim McGraw on his new "Bright Sunny South." Amidon, a Vermont native now based in London, has a distinct and mesmerizing style -- sparse arrangements and a near-deadpan, near-drone vocal that implies weight, even when the lyrics don't deliver. He generally sounds like a distant folk ancestor to today's wave of vibrant Americana, and his choice of material (often traditional songs) and instrumentation and vocals (fiddle, banjo, sometimes shape-note singing) magnify the effect. The transcendent title-track opener of "Bright Sunny South" sets the tone as Amidon glumly personifies a young man saying goodbye to his family as he heads off to fight in the Civil War. Later he includes a cover of the traditional song ...
* Film: 'Love Is All You Need' a rom-com by Danish director known for serious fare * bc-love-need-film(sh) | By: * COLIN COVERT | Source: * Minneapolis Star Tribune | * , Film (EF) May 17, 2013 3:38 PM * By COLIN COVERT * * Susanne Bier, a Danish director with a penchant for powerful drama, splashes in the shallow end of the pool with the midlife romance "Love Is All You Need." After a series of films (including her 2011 Oscar-winner, "In a Better World") that linked domestic angst with the plight of Afghanistan, India and Sudan, she offers us a featherweight rom-com set on Italy's postcard-worthy Amalfi coast. Pierce Brosnan plays Philip, a widowed workaholic grocery magnate living in Denmark. His son is about to marry the daughter of Ida (Trine Dyrholm), a Copenhagen hairdresser and housewife, with the reception at Philip's seaside estate in Sorrento. The happy occasion is somewhat darkened by Ida's cancer diagnosis, and her discovery that her comic-buffoon husband is cheating with a much younger woman. Her natural good cheer shines through all the same. It's Philip, a brooding Mr. Darcy type, who's most in need of cheering up. His late wife's overbearing sister, Benedikte (...
Profile: Michael Shannon on playing real-life killer Richard Kuklinski in 'The Iceman' bc-profile-shannon(sh) | By: COLIN COVERT | Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Film (EF), People & Celebrities (EP) May 17, 2013 3:05 PM By COLIN COVERT Michael Shannon has quietly become one of the most interesting and original actors of his era. Climbing a ladder of indie gems, he's established himself as the natural heir to Christopher Walken, but with a jolt of broad-shouldered menace. He can take your head off in roles as diverse as Ashley Judd's deranged lover in "Bug" or glam-rock enfant terrible Kim Fowley in "The Runaways." The trade paper Hollywood Reporter says there is "possibly no more mesmerizing American actor." Now, 20 years into his career, he's about to go nova. He stars as Golemlike mafia killer Richard Kuklinski in "The Iceman." He's about to appear as snarling General Zod in "Man of Steel." And he's all over the Internet with his hilarious interpretation of a sorority girl's email rant. In a recent phone conversation, Shannon said the key to playing lost souls is uncovering their humanity. "That's my job," he said. "Their spirits are kind of under rocks. It's my job to try and illuminate them. ...
Film: Michael Shannon is a chilling killer in 'The Iceman' bc-theiceman-film(sh) | By: COLIN COVERT | Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Film (EF) May 17, 2013 12:25 PM By COLIN COVERT "The Iceman," directed and co-written by Ariel Vromen, is a cold, calculating, viscerally effective portrait of a contract killer. It's as if one of the sideline characters from "Goodfellas" or "The Godfather" starred in his own spinoff. Michael Shannon gives a chillingly convincing performance as Richard Kuklinski, a real-life mafia assassin. The initial get-to-know-you scene with Kuklinski shows him on a first date in a Jersey City diner. He's the strong, silent type, but his trick of hanging a spoon on his nose gets a laugh from Debbie (Winona Ryder). She accepts his claim that he dubs Disney cartoons for a living, though his voice is a flat cement-mixer rumble. A minute later we see him in the alley with a guy who made a rude remark, slitting his throat with unnerving, efficient nonchalance. Debbie, none the wiser, marries her doting "Richie." From 1964 to 1986, he shot, knifed, strangled, poisoned and dismembered more than 100 people, giving his wife and two ...
Family Glance: 'Star Trek Into Darkness,' 'The Great Gatsy,' 'Iron Man 3' and more bc-familyglance-film(sh) | Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Film (EF) May 16, 2013 5:13 PM A guide to movies from a family perspective: "Star Trek Into Darkness" -- Rated: PG-13. -- Suitable for: Teens and older. -- What you should know: This is the second "Star Trek" movie from J.J. Abrams, with a new cast that features Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Benedict Cumberbatch. The movie is available in 2-D, 3-D and Imax, and will lose little in 2-D (the conventional, less expensive format). -- Language: At least a dozen mild four-letter words and a few other crude or offensive terms. -- Sexual situations and nudity: A man is shown in bed with a couple of alien women. A woman strips to her underwear to change clothing. A few kisses are exchanged. -- Violence/scary situations: Pretty much from beginning to end, with a fiery volcano, images of a gravely ill child, a deadly bombing and other attacks or confrontations that leave many injured or dead, gunfire, chases, people sucked out of a hole punched in an airborne vessel, the crushing of someone's ...
Profile: 'Star Trek Into Darkness' just one of Zachary Quinto's enterprises these days bc-profile-quinto(sh) | By: BARBARA VANCHERI | Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Film (EF), People & Celebrities (EP) May 16, 2013 4:40 PM By BARBARA VANCHERI At one point during "Star Trek Into Darkness," Capt. James T. Kirk fumes, "Sometimes, I just want to rip the bangs off his head." But Kirk doesn't do that, which is a good thing considering the amount of time consumed by the workday ritual of transforming Zachary Quinto into Spock, the half-Vulcan, half-human with a high-maintenance look. By the time the movie finished shooting, makeup artists had shaved a whopping 30 minutes from their application of the signature swooping ears, angled eyebrows and other facial flourishes. Not a big deal? It started as 3 hours and 15 minutes -- plus another 30 minutes in hair -- so even an extra half-hour can be a luxury when you have to report to the set 2-1/2 to three hours ahead of everyone else who may be arriving at 6 a.m. Some days, Quinto would sleep. Others, he would go over the day's work, read scripts, do crossword puzzles or attend to business with his acting career or Before the Door Pictures, a media production ...
Profile: Chris Pine takes helm again as Capt. Kirk in 'Star Trek Into Darkness' bc-profile-pine(sh) | By: COLIN COVERT | Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Film (EF), People & Celebrities (EP) May 16, 2013 3:35 PM By COLIN COVERT In his second voyage as "Star Trek's" Capt. James T. Kirk, Chris Pine is more at ease in the iconic role. Pine was just 28 when he starred in 2009's hit "Star Trek" reboot (William Shatner was 35 when the TV series began). In "Star Trek Into Darkness," Pine's Kirk is still in many ways a raw cadet rather than a seasoned Starfleet commander. He emphasizes the character's likability, impetuous temper and awareness of his shortcomings -- although he's still a pro with the ladies. Speaking by phone from London, the actor said those limitations and flaws are precisely what he enjoys about Kirk. "I like it that he's not a caped crusader. He doesn't know how to fly or any of the other fun tricks that those Marvel guys get to do. But he gets to battle his own demons, like all of us do. It's fun to define a character that at first one might assume will remain the brash, cocky upstart, but is very soon face to face with doubt, vulnerability, fallibility." In one atypical ...
* Books: Jennifer Armstrong talks about writing 'Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted' * bc- mtmshow-books(sh) | By: * NEAL JUSTIN | Source: * Minneapolis Star Tribune | * , Books (EB), Television (ET), People & Celebrities (EP) May 16, 2013 12:31 PM * By NEAL JUSTIN * * If you've ever thrown your cap in the air after buying the perfect pair of shoes, confessed to hating spunk or come down with a bad case of the giggles during a funeral, you'll want to pick up "Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted," an inside look at a classic TV show that just happened to be based in Minneapolis. Author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong talked to us by phone recently about her obsession with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and how the sitcom still resonates today. Q: What inspired you to commit so much time to this show? A: I was a writer at Entertainment Weekly, mostly writing about television and women's issues. It was during the great rise of Tina Fey, and she and several other women in comedy, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, all talked about being inspired by that show. Once I started looking into it, I discovered Treva Silverman, one of the show's early female writers, and kept hearing these fabulous stories that have never been told before. Q: Why do ...
Owen-TV: On the set with the 'Nashville' stars bc-owen-tv15(sh) | By: ROB OWEN | Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Television (ET), People & Celebrities (EP) May 15, 2013 4:05 PM By ROB OWEN At a small house that's used as the home of Deacon Claybourne on ABC's "Nashville," actor Charles "Chip" Esten rehearses a fight scene that also involves co-stars Robert Ray Wisdom (aka Coleman Carlisle) and Sam Palladio (aka Gunnar Scott). The scene they choreograph with a stunt coordinator and key second assistant director will be filmed the next day for the "Nashville" season finale (10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 22). Esten wears kneepads over his jeans to protect his knees when he falls, but he comes too close to the edge of a stone coffee table for Wisdom, who exclaims, "Watch that!" It's an intense scene with fists and objects thrown -- a beanbag in rehearsal, but likely something that will cause a loud crash when the cameras roll. (The home belongs to an individual who rents it for use in "Nashville" and the show's set decorator, Ruby Guidara, fills the home with items from a prop house to make it Deacon's, including antlers hung on the dining-room wall.) So why ...
Corner: Meet animal-fantasy writer Erin Hunter -- or, at least, one of them bc-corner-books15(sh) | By: KAREN MACPHERSON | Source: Scripps Howard News Service | Books (EB), People & Celebrities (EP) May 15, 2013 3:30 PM By KAREN MACPHERSON If you know a young reader who loves animal-fantasy novels, then you likely know the name of Erin Hunter. Hunter is the author of dozens of best-selling novels that immerse readers in the world of feral cats (the "Warriors" series) and a quartet of bears (the "Seekers" series). The books, aimed at ages 7-12, have sold more than 15 million copies and have inspired a worldwide following of devoted young fans. Now, there's a new series called "Survivors," which follows the adventures of a group of dogs who are forced to depend on each other when all of their humans flee after "the Big Growl" -- an earthquake. So far, HarperCollins has published two books in the "Survivors" series -- "The Empty City" ($16.99 hardcover, $7.99 paperback) and "A Hidden Enemy" ($16.99 hardcover) -- and more will appear in the fall. The new series is already a hit. It debuted at No. 4 on The New York Times best-seller's list of children's series, and Kirkus, a highly respected ...
Film: 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' delivers smart action bc-startrek-film(sh) | By: SEAN P. MEANS | Source: Salt Lake Tribune | Film (EF) May 15, 2013 12:50 PM By SEAN P. MEANS The first rule of "Star Trek: Into Darkness" is that you do not talk about "Star Trek: Into Darkness." There is so much cool stuff in director J.J. Abrams' second film based on Gene Roddenberry's beloved science-fiction series, and information that should not be divulged, that a moviegoer should go in cold, if such a thing were possible in the age of Internet spoilers. So the next two paragraphs are as much synopsis as you're getting from me. The movie begins with Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) getting in trouble with Starfleet for violating the Prime Directive, the United Federation of Planets' top rule against interfering with a primitive culture. (It's a rule William Shatner's Kirk violated in roughly half of the episodes in the original 1966-69 TV series.) But Kirk is let off the hook because Starfleet has bigger problems: a rogue agent, named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), is attacking Federation facilities on Earth. Adm. Markus (Peter Weller) ...
Profile: An appointment with Travis Stork of 'The Doctors' bc-profile-stork(sh) | By: PATRICIA SHERIDAN | Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Health and Fitness (AH), Television (ET), People & Celebrities (EP) May 14, 2013 4:55 PM By PATRICIA SHERIDAN His first experience in the public eye was during season eight of "The Bachelor," where he looked for love on reality TV. But Dr. Travis Stork didn't end up finding his true love there. An emergency-room doctor in his off-screen life, it wasn't long before the 41-year-old was noticed for more than his good looks and engaging personality. In 2008, he became the host of the syndicated daytime show "The Doctors" with a panel of three other doctors who discuss all sorts of health issues. (Check local listings.) Last June, he married fellow physician Charlotte Brown. Excerpts from an interview: Q: What got you interested in medicine? Were either of your parents doctors? A: No, no, my parents were farmers from the Midwest. I'm the first doctor in my family, and it really came about from having a desire to do something that mattered. It took me a few years out of college before I realized I wanted to be a doctor. I actually went back to take my science classes so I ...
Video: New DVD set sparkles with vintage Liberace bc-video-film14(sh) | By: MARK WYCKOFF | Source: Scripps Howard News Service | Film (EF) May 14, 2013 4:05 PM By MARK WYCKOFF How would you like your Liberace? If you feel like exploring the seamier corners of the late pianist's life, wait until May 26 when HBO airs the movie "Behind the Candelabra." Michael Douglas stars as the flamboyant musician and Matt Damon plays his lover. If you prefer a happier trip back in time, pick up "Liberace: The Ultimate Entertainer" (Timeless Media Group; $15). The two-DVD set features clips from "The Liberace Show," a variety series the performer filmed in 1969 for Britain's ATV Network. Liberace gives off a glittering glow as his fingers dance across the keys in the joyous musical numbers. And his boyish charm shines in campy skits featuring such guests as Eva Gabor, Minnie Pearl, George Gobel, Phyllis Diller and Jack Benny (who brings his violin). There are cool extras, too, including home movies filmed by his brother, George, and a look at "Liberace's Wild Wardrobe," which takes viewers inside the musician's jam-packed closet. Also included is a ...
Gatsby quiz: You don't know Fitz -- or do you? bc-gatsby-fitzquiz(sh) | By: BILL WARD | Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Film (EF), Books (EB) May 10, 2013 2:25 PM By BILL WARD See how much, or how little, you know about author F. Scott Fitzgerald with this quiz: 1. Fitzgerald was named after which famous relative of his father's? a. Sir Walter Scott b. Edmund Fitzgerald c. Francis Scott Key d. Scott Joplin 2. His father's St. Paul business failed. He was manufacturing: a. Adirondack furniture b. Wicker furniture c. Widgets d. Bicycles 3. Fitzgerald published his first piece in the St. Paul Academy literary magazine when he was 13. It was: a. An editorial railing against the temperance movement b. A poem c. A detective story d. A review of a school play 4. In 1913 at Princeton, Fitzgerald tried out for: a. The debate team b. The theater club c. The glee club d. The football team 5. In a 1920 letter, Fitzgerald wrote that his "current idol" was: a. H.L. Mencken b. P.G. Wodehouse c. e.e. cummings d. Babe Ruth 6. Ernest Hemingway thought Fitzgerald was: ...
'Gatsby' success proves F. Scott Fitzgerald's characters are timeless bc-gatsby-fitz(sh) | By: BILL WARD | Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Film (EF), Books (EB) May 10, 2013 2:25 PM By BILL WARD Few, if any, American authors have come to be so closely associated with an era like F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Roaring Twenties. Funny thing is, despite being that link to a bygone period, Fitzgerald and his work are proving timeless. With the fourth film adaptation of "The Great Gatsby," Fitzgerald has come, well, roaring back into our consciousness -- if he ever actually left. Plaques still mark two of his childhood homes in St. Paul, Minn., nighttime hotspots in the Twin Cities often resemble a scene out of Fitzgerald's flapper-happy, party-hardy heyday, and "Gatsby" remains a high school staple; it is among the novels listed for 11th-graders in the Common Core State Standards adopted by 46 states. That makes sense, according to Fitzgerald chronicler Patrick Coleman. "I was once told by an English teacher that this is the quintessential book to give high school kids," said Coleman, acquisitions librarian at the Minnesota Historical Society, "because ...
'Redwood Highway' is a coming-of-aged drama bc-redwood-film(sh) | By: CRAIG SAILOR | Source: Tacoma News Tribune | Film (EF) May 10, 2013 1:40 PM By CRAIG SAILOR "Redwood Highway" could be labeled a coming-of-age film but for one small disqualifier: Its protagonist is a 75-year-old woman. Call it instead a coming-of-the-aged drama. Veteran actress Shirley Knight plays Marie, a woman living in a retirement community in Southern Oregon. Estranged from her family and dissatisfied with her life, she sets out on an 80-mile foot journey to the Pacific Ocean along the Redwood Highway. Knight is a Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe winner and was twice nominated for an Academy Award. She starred in last year's "Our Idiot Brother" and will appear in next year's Stephen King adaptation "Mercy." "It's a journey movie," said Ashland, Ore.-based director Gary Lundgren of "Redwood Highway." "She does come of age. She deals with a few things in her past and that allows her to face conflict she's under. She hasn't seen the ocean in 45 years, and we answer why in the movie." The character is fictional but was inspired by several ...
Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele sensation,stars in documentary bc-ukulele-star(sh) | By: SCOTT D. PIERCE | Source: Salt Lake Tribune | Television (ET), People & Celebrities (EP) May 10, 2013 1:20 PM By SCOTT D. PIERCE If you have a hard time believing that a ukulele player can be a rock star, then you've never heard of Jake Shimabukuro. He was one of the original YouTube sensations. A video of him performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in New York's Central Park, uploaded in 2006, was viewed millions of times. "At the time, I didn't even know what YouTube was," he says in the PBS documentary "Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings," which began running Friday (check local listings; will repeat). If you're thinking of Don Ho and "Tiny Bubbles," think again. Shimabukuro's talent is impressive. The 36-year-old has been playing since his mother gave him his first ukulele at age 4. "It was like I was holding a newborn baby for the first time," Shimabukuro said. "She told me where to put my fingers, and I strummed the four strings and fell in love with the sound. And I just couldn't put it down." He has done what no other ukulele player has done before: become a ...
Family-film: 'Great Gatsy,' 'Iron Man 3' and more bc-film-familyglance(sh) | Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Film (EF) May 10, 2013 12:05 PM A guide to movies from a family perspective: "The Great Gatsby" Rated: PG-13. Suitable for: Teens and above. What you should know: Baz Luhrmann, whose movies include "Moulin Rouge," directed this big-screen version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. It's available in 3-D (which may prove overwhelming or simply unnecessary for some moviegoers) and less expensive, conventional 2-D. Language: A couple of uses of profanity and a handful of mild four-letter words along with a couple of ethnic or racial insults. Sexual situations and nudity: Kissing, plus sounds of sex from a nearby room. A couple of extramarital affairs are key to the story. Violence/scary situations: Someone is struck and killed by a car. A man is shot to death and shown in a casket, and another commits suicide off screen. A man slaps a woman and men nearly come to blows. In addition to reckless driving, there are references or brief flashbacks ...
New Broadway plays are all about the movies bc-broadway-movies(sh) | By: SHARON EBERSON | Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Film (EF) May 8, 2013 12:25 PM By SHARON EBERSON Broadway is all about the movies these days. In three days you can see a contemporary comedy and a period drama that bash Hollywood -- one with a few well-placed jabs, the other with a battering ram -- and a musical that transforms a little British film into a splashy showpiece. -- The musical: "Kinky Boots" Girls just wanna have fun, and so do guys in girls' shows. Songwriter Cyndi Lauper, who had a hit with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," has found success in her first foray into Broadway, "Kinky Boots," based on the charming 2005 movie. With a book by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Mitchell as director/choreographer, the musical earned a season-leading 13 Tony Award nominations -- including best actor in a musical for Billy Porter as drag queen Lola and for his co-star, Stark Sands, as Charlie Price, owner of a failing shoe factory. When Lola and Charlie team up to save jobs and meet a market need, the factory must go from classic men's oxfords to stiletto-heeled ...
Will 'Great Gatsy' finally get great film treatment? bc-gatsbyhopes-film(sh) | By: RAFER GUZMAN | Source: Newsday | Film (EF) May 7, 2013 4:30 PM By RAFER GUZMAN Will the fourth time be a charm for "The Great Gatsby"? Every few decades, Hollywood is entranced anew by F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of high living and low morals in the Jazz Age. The story of the love between self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby and flighty aristocrat Daisy Buchanan has been filmed in 1926, 1949 and, most notoriously, in 1974 with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Often, though, it's the filmmakers who learn the novel's cruel lessons, spending time and money on a labor of love that ultimately exceeds their grasp. Somebody once said you can't repeat the past, but on Friday "The Great Gatsby" arrives again in theaters with some of the hottest stars of the age. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the title role, Carey Mulligan is his elusive Daisy and Tobey Maguire portrays narrator Nick Carraway. Rounding out the cast are Joel Edgerton ("Warrior") as Daisy's husband, Tom, and Isla Fisher ("Wedding Crashers") as his working-class plaything, Myrtle Wilson. The ...
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