Knight Time: Papal bad, pagan good. That’s one of the messages of the latest version of “King Arthur.” As everyone knows by now, the film takes out the many magical myths that surround the “classic” version (wizards, the Lady of the Lake, Morgana Le Faye), and offers up what may have been the actual roots of the legend. It’s tribal and the Merlin of this story is a shaman.
The film is loaded with beautiful, sexy men (Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffud, Hugh Dancy, Joel Edgerton, and more), and it’s very heavy on the action/battle sequences, much like “The Two Towers.” While it begins with a very young Briton Lancelot being taken away from his family for a 15-year commitment to the Romans, there’s not a lot of back story or development of character and relationships. That said, the film still manages to engage and create an empathy for the lead characters – here, Arthur (Owen), Lancelot (Gruffud) and Guinevere (Keira Knightly, looking stunning, and carrying the weight of pretty much all the estrogen in the film).
Stellan Skarsgård plays a particularly low-key and immoral Saxon leader. The Saxons and their marching hoardes are single-minded and determined, and reliant on their large numbers in battles.
The film’s mostly successful because in addition to relentless, effective scenes of war (and managing to omit excessive gore), the acting is subtle and emotional. When Arthur is desperate, caught between his beliefs in the Roman God and the land of his mother, the audience can feel his pain, understand his dilemma. And there is also a very believable friendship between Arthur and his men. Dane Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Knight Tristan, is an appealing actor to keep an eye on.
Who’s Wearing What: Melissa Rivers will wear dress by Elsie Katz Couture to tomorrow night's Victor Sports Awards held at the Hilton in Las Vegas. She’ll wear an iridescent green taffeta dress, featuring pink flowers at the bust and a tulle hem.
Lug an Ugg: Neiman Marcus is giving away (in a contest, of course) the likely to be much sought after Ugg purse. Check out www.neimanmarcus.com.
Not So Mousy “Librarian” : Kyle MacLachlan (Sex and the City, Twin Peaks), Sonya Walger (Coupling, The Mind of the Married Man), Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck, Steel Magnolias), Kelly Hu (X2, The Scorpion King) and David Dayan Fisher (Jerry Bruckheimer's National Treasure), as well as Bob Newhart (Elf, The Bob Newhart Show) and Jane Curtin (Our Town, 3rd Rock from the Sun), have signed on to join Noah Wyle (ER, Pirates of Silicon Valley) in Turner Network Television (TNT)'s dramatic action-adventure original film “The Librarian,” it was announced today by Michael Wright, senior vice president of original programming for TNT. In addition, Peter Winther (The Tag) has signed to direct the project set to premiere on TNT in Fourth Quarter 2004. Production is currently underway in Mexico City.
THE LIBARIAN is being executive produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, The Patriot) under his Electric Entertainment banner and produced by Phil Goldfarb (Monk, Roswell). The script is by David Titcher (Around the World in 80 Days) who also serves as co-producer. Marc Roskin and Kearie Peak (both executives at Electric Entertainment) have co-producing duties on the film, as well.
In THE LIBRARIAN, Wyle plays Flynn Carsen, a man charged with protecting the repository of humanity's greatest secrets, all hidden beneath the monolithic New York Public Library. The story opens as a villainous group known as the Serpent Brotherhood steals one of three pieces of the Spear of Destiny, an ancient holy relic. If the three pieces are put back together again, it will give the person wielding the spear world domination. It is then a race against time as Carsen tries to track down the other two pieces before the Serpent Brotherhood can get their hands on them. Helping him in his dangerous quest is Nicole Noone (Wagner). Dukakis plays the role of Carsen's mother, Margie, while MacLachlan plays Carsen's predecessor, Edward Wilde. Hu and Fisher are key members of the Serpent Brotherhood determined to thwart Carsen's efforts to retrieve the Spear of Destiny. Newhart plays Judson, head of the Library, while Curtin plays Charlene, who is in charge of the Library staff.
MacLachlan is well known to television viewers for his roles in such popular TV series as Sex and the City and David Lynch's Twin Peaks. He previously worked with Lynch when he played the lead roles in the director's Dune and Blue Velvet. MacLachlan's extensive list of feature film credits includes The Doors, Rich in Love, The Trial, The Flintstones, Hamlet and Timecode. His television films include Against the Wall, and Roswell. MacLachlan will soon be seen in the feature Touch of Pink, set for release by Sony Pictures Classics, playing legendary actor Cary Grant.
Walger was featured in several British television series, including The Vice, Goodnight Sweetheart and Dangerfield, before landing starring roles in the television movies Noah's Ark and All the King's Men and the miniseries Heat of the Sun. She then starred in the series The Mind of the Married Man and Coupling. Walger's feature film credits include Eisenstein, the Search fo John Gissing and 40.
During a career that spans more than 40 years, Dukakis has worked as an actress, director, producer, teacher and activist. She received an Academy Awardâ for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the Norman Jewison film Moonstruck. Since then, she has starred in such hit films as Steel Magnolias, Working Girl, Look Who's Talking, Mighty Aphrodite and Mr. Holland's Opus. Dukakis' many television credits include all three Tales of the City miniseries, as well as the television movies The Pentagon Wars, Last of the Blonde Bombshells, A Match Made in Heaven, The Comfort Zone and the critically acclaimed miniseries Sinatra.
Hu has appeared in several feature films, most recently playing Lady Deathstrike in X2, the blockbuster sequel to X-Men. Her other credits include The Scorpion King, Strange Days, Surf Ninjas and The Doors. Hu has also been featured in the series Boomtown, Threat Matrix, Nash Bridges and Martial Law. Next up is the feature thriller The Underclassman.
Fisher has been featured on the television series Robbery Homicide Division, as well as in such feature films as The Last Post, The Diplomat and America Brown. He recently completed shooting National Treasure, starring Nicholas Cage.
Newhart is an Emmy-nominated performer who has made a name for himself with his deadpan comic style, on display in his successful television series The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. Newhart's extensive film credits include Catch-22, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Cold Turkey, Little Miss Marker, In & Out, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde and most recently the blockbuster comedy Elf. Last year, he earned critical acclaim for his guest role on ER. Newhart's 1960 comedy album The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a #1 hit album.
Curtin began her career in 1974 when she auditioned for and landed a position in the first Saturday Night Live cast. After five years on that show, she went on to star with Susan Saint James in the hit comedy Kate & Allie, then with John Lithgow in the series 3rd Rock from the Sun. Curtin's feature film credits include How To Beat the High Co$t of Living, Antz and Coneheads, in which she reprised on of her most popular Saturday Night Live characters. She has also starred in such television movies as Divorce Wars: A Love Story, Maybe Baby, Common Ground, Tad and last year's critically acclaimed Our Town, with Paul Newman. She has just completed filming two feature films, Piggy Bank Blues and Lobster Farm.
As a producer, Winther has ushered such popular movies as Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot and Eight-Legged Freaks to the screen. He got his first shot in the director's chair serving as second unit director on The Patriot. He then directed the short film The Tag, with Djimon Hounsou.
Storm’s A Comin’: MALIBU STORM WINS JANIS IAN¹S SEAL OF APPROVAL FOR COVER “SOME PEOPLE’S LIVES”
L.A.-based country trio Malibu Storm has made a new fan in singer-songwriter Janis Ian. The band recorded a cover of Ian¹s “Some People’s Lives” for their self-titled Rounder Records debut album, and the early review from the legendary songwriter is a four-star rave.
“I think they did a lovely, delicate job on a song I’ve always been immensely proud of,” said Ian. “It takes a lot of courage to sing a song this simple, and not overdo it.”
Ian¹s tune isn¹t the only cover drawing attention to Malibu Storm. Their debut single “Photograph,” a cover of the 1983 Def Leppard classic, hit #10 on the Billboard Country Singles Sales chart in its first week of release.
Award winning Ian began her career in 1966 with the performance of her original composition “Society’s Child,” a controversial song about interracial love. She has gone on to write and record more than 18 solo studio albums including the #1 “Between the Lines” which contained the Grammy Award winning single “At Seventeen,” as well as write the hit pop single “Jesse” for Roberta Flack. In recent news, Janis has taken on writing short science fiction stories and editing an anthology of short stories by other authors based on her lyrics. She is currently performing her music on a world-wide tour.
Comprised of twin sisters Dana and Lauren and brother Michael, the members of Malibu Storm began performing while still in their teens. Their remarkable musicianship has drawn the support of no less than the legendary Ralph Stanley. Their new self-titled country music Rounder cd was produced by Mark Bright (Rascal Flatts, Jo Dee Messina). The group is currently in the midst of a national radio tour in support of the new album, due August 10.
Talking Car: KNIGHT RIDER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON Street Date: August 3rd, 2004 Price: $59.98 SRP
Series Synopsis: David Hasselhoff and his supercar K.I.T.T. throttle crime in every high-octane episode from the first season of Knight Rider, available on DVD.
The series follows the adventures of Michael Knight, a detective thought to be dead, who’s been given a new face and identity. His assignment: to fight crime with the help of an artificially intelligent, talking car named K.I.T.T., a high-speed, futuristic weapon outfitted with high-tech gadgets and a personality of its own. Driven by justice, they set out to take down criminals who operate above the law in this 22-episode DVD set.
Bonus Material: As a special bonus, this 4-disc set includes the television movie Knight Rider 2000 plus three featurettes: “Knight Moves,” “Knight Sounds” and “Knight Rider: Under the Hood” with interviews with David Hasselhoff and Glen Larson; “Knight of the Phoenix” commentary with David Hasselhoff and Glen Larson; Stills Gallery; Blueprints Gallery and a K.I.T.T Owner’s Manual.
Number of Discs: 4
Run Time: Disc 1 (6 Hours 28 Minutes), Disc 2 (6 Hours 29 Minutes), Disc 3 (4 Hours 52 Minutes), Disc 4 (approx. 2 hours)
Picture: Full Frame (1.33:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
