Reel Thoughts Interview: Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb!

Kristen Stewart trades Bella’s problems with vampires and werewolves in the Twilight movies for a ride on the wild side as Joan Jett in The Runaways. The movie, which also stars Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon, is about the girl group The Runaways that formed in 1975 and launched the careers of Jett, Cherie Curry and Lita Ford with hits like “Cherry Bomb”.

I recently spoke with The Runaways co-producer David Grace, who has worked on films like American Gun and the lesbian fave What’s Cooking? He was also executive producer on the television show Even Stevens, which launched Shia LeBeouf’s career.

NC: Kristin Stewart's career is on fire. How did her involvement help or hinder the production? How do you feel about her performance as Joan Jett?
DG: Kristen's involvement was a real help to the picture, getting someone of her caliber to play Joan Jett made the project go, and she's amazing in the role. She and Joan spent a lot of time together and I think it really shaped her performance. She really became Joan.

NC: What about Dakota Fanning? How do you feel about her work in The Runaways?
DG: I've worked with a lot of great young actors in my career, but Dakota's in another league. She has such amazing instincts as an actress, she is really remarkable. I think one of the things that makes this movie special is the fact that we have teenagers playing these roles. The Runaways were so young when the band formed, and I think having people who are the same age as they were when it happened makes the story much more powerful. I don't think it would be the same if there were 23-year-olds playing these parts.

NC: As a producer, what kind of thought goes into choosing your projects? What film or films are you most proud of having done?
DG: The most important thing to me is the story, because a film is only as good as the story it tells. That is what drew me to The Runaways. It's amazing what these girls went through as teenagers. The Runaways is certainly one of the movies I'm most proud of, along with What's Cooking? and a little movie called Keith.

NC: What was it like premiering The Runaways at Sundance?
DG: There is nothing like being at Sundance with a movie that has that much buzz going.

NC: What is your favorite thing about The Runaways?
DG: It really has the feel of the period down, it looks great and I think the three leads, Kristen, Dakota and Michael Shannon, are all amazing. I think those performances are what stands out the most for me.

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts: Bitch Please

Great exploitation movies straddle the line between tawdry and hilarious, and the new film Bitch Slap (now on DVD) works hard to capture the tarnished magic of such classics as Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill! and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Thanks to a pitch-black sense of humor, truly gorgeous women and a wild backwards/forwards storyline, Bitch Slap is a raucous good time. And yes, it’s just as crass, offensive and sexed-up as it can be, but the fun Behind-the-Scenes documentary helps put the filmmakers’ goals in perspective.

Trixie (Julia Voth), Hel (Erin Cummings) and Camero (America Olivo) are ass-kicking lesbian hellcats who hatch a plan to steal a stash of jewels from a gangster. Shockingly, things do not go as planned. Of course, the fact that no one is who they seem to be has something to do with that. Writer/director Rick Jacobson shot in front of green screens for a majority of the film, which gives the film the requisite cheesy look. Jacobson and co-writer Eric Gruendemann worked on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, so it’s a welcome surprise to see Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, Renee O’Connor and Lucy Lawless in the cast. Lawless and O’Connor in particular are hysterical as a pair of repressed nuns. Like the Grindhouse films, Bitch Slap is full of over-the-top violence and sex (but no nudity) that might put off more sensitive viewers.

All three lead actresses manage to embrace the ludicrous situations and purposely cheesy dialogue. Campiness isn’t always easy for actresses (drag queens are much better equipped to handle it), but Olivo (wife of Christian Campbell from Trick), in the Tura Satana role, imbues Camero with a Gina Gershon earthiness, while matching the Showgirls star’s work in Bound. Cummings (Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Dante’s Cove), done up in sexy businesswoman drag, really captures Hel’s multiple personas. Voth, as the resident sex kitten, comes across like a sweeter Megan Fox.

Not everyone will be up for a Bitch Slap, but if you like Tarantino, kitschy dialogue and crazy over-the-top plots, not to mention a showgirl parachuting onto the Vegas Strip, do as the DVD cover instructs and assume the position.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts: Ghost Busted

Roman Polanski has crafted a suspenseful thriller with The Ghost Writer, even if the mystery at its heart is somewhat inert. Based on a novel by Robert Harris, the film benefits from recent revelations about Britain’s involvement with CIA terrorist interrogations.

Ewan McGregor plays a professional ghostwriter (never named) who is hired to finish the autobiography of a Tony Blair-like former prime minister. Already over his head, the ghostwriter has no idea how much worse the job will get. Britain’s former golden boy, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan, in a richly layered performance), is being investigated for “war crimes,” after allegedly having permitted British citizens to be tortured by the CIA. Oh, and the previous ghostwriter was found washed up on the shore after supposedly committing suicide.

The prime minister’s compound on Martha’s Vineyard is a hotbed of intrigue, from a manuscript kept under lock and key, an overly attentive assistant (played by Kim Cattrall) and Lang’s unhappy wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams from The Sixth Sense). It doesn’t take McGregor's character long to uncover conspiracies everywhere. Outside the gates, protesters demand Lang’s head on a platter, while inside, “the ghost” wonders if he’s about to lose his head for uncovering too many secrets. He’s unable to stop digging, though, leading to some cool plot twists and a bang-up ending.

Polanski infuses the film with politics and Alexandre Desplat fills the film with a rich Bernard Hermann-like score that plays up its resemblance to Hitchcock’s best thrillers. You can’t help but notice the parallels between the exiled Lang and the exiled Polanski, both men unrepentant about the crimes they committed. Sadness and fury hang over Lang, and you wonder whether the same hang over Polanski as well.

The cast, including Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton and Eli Wallach, are all great, although casting Cattrall seems odd among all the real Brits (and her accent is just short of working). Williams, McGregor and Brosnan rule the film, and their scenes are riveting.

Strangely, the mystery of “what Lang knew when” regarding Iraqi War detainees left me cold; maybe the fact that Bush, Cheney and company were so much worse makes Lang’s actions seem too tame to care about. Nevertheless, Polanski’s film looks amazing, and it’s hard to believe that it was filmed in Germany rather than in Cape Cod and London. It’s a thriller for adults that almost works.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts: Baby This Time

Imagine if a lesbian couple could, with the help of science, create a baby on their own, without the aid of male sperm. Alison Reid creates just such a scenario in her first film, The Baby Formula, a funny, often moving look at gay parenting and relationships available on DVD today.

Athena (Angela Vint) and Lilith (Megan Fahlenbach) submit to an experimental procedure that impregnates Angela with an artificial sperm derived from Lilith's stem cells. It’s all recorded by a “documentary” crew led by director Reid herself.

The couple struggles with all sorts of issues, including Lilith secretly getting the lab to impregnate her as well, before the real fun starts.

Then, they tell their parents.

Athena’s mother Wanda (Rosemary Dunsmore, in a fabulous performance), a seemingly closed-minded Christian, can barely tolerate that her daughter is gay, much less trying to “take Immaculate Conception away from our Lord.” Her father is more accepting, although he’s holding something back.

Lilith’s two dads (“Those horrible people,” as Wanda calls them) are more supportive, although Lilith is angry that their sobriety seems fleeting. Jessica Booker, as Grandma Kate, is a complete hoot in what you could call “the Betty White role.”

Vint and Fahlenbach have a marvelous chemistry, and they both were really pregnant during filming. The mockumentary structure serves the story well, and you will be surprised by the emotional places The Baby Formula goes. It’s a labor of love for director Reid.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts Interview: Take a Trip Down Avenue Q

It’s been a long road to Avenue Q. The wildly hilarious musical that proudly features puppet nudity, and which beat out Wicked to win the 2004 Tony Award, bypassed the Southwest in favor of an exclusive booking at Las Vegas' then-new Wynn Casino. Sadly, Vegas didn’t take kindly to a show that lovingly sends up Sesame Street while imparting some of the smartest satire of any Broadway musical in years.  The Sin City Avenue Q closed to make room for Monty Python’s Spamalot (which also closed fairly quickly). Fast forward half a decade later, and ASU Gammage will finally play host to the musical that teaches us that “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”, “The Internet Is For Porn” and that “You Can Be Loud As The Hell You Want When You’re Making Love.”

Set on a decidedly downscale street far from Manhattan’s trendier Avenues A, B and C, Avenue Q is home to a lovable bunch of people and puppets who are all struggling with what to do with their lives. Brian is an unemployed comic, while his wife Christmas Eve is a therapist in need of patients. Kate Monster is a fuzzy girl with a big heart but no boyfriend, who wants to open a school for monster children. Residing upstairs is Trekkie Monster, a big scary-looking guy who lives for the aforementioned internet porn. Rod and Nicky are suspiciously like Bert and Ernie, if Bert was an uptight Republican whom everyone assumes is gay and Ernie was a sloppy slacker. Then there’s the building super — that can’t be TV’s Gary Coleman, star of Diff’rent Strokes, can it? While most everyone on Avenue Q thinks “It Sucks To Be Me,” it definitely won’t suck to be you if you get your tickets now. You will laugh your puppet or human head off.

I spoke with Tim Kornblum, who plays the long-suffering Brian, a terrible stand-up comedian with a demanding wife. In real life, Kornblum is an out gay man who’s excited to have landed his first professional gig, never mind it being on a national tour of a hot Broadway show. He started in September and didn’t find it strange at all to interact with the talented puppeteers who act in full view of the audience. “He’s got the brain of a seven year old kid,” Kornblum laughed. “He’s always fascinated by just the most banal things. But he’s got a great relationship with his wife.”

Kornblum is a lifelong New Jersey native, so he’s loving seeing the whole country on tour. It makes it challenging that his boyfriend Kyle is in school in Philadelphia as a dance major, but the couple makes it work.

Kornblum was in high school when he first saw Avenue Q, and he instantly fell in love and wanted to be part of it. He had to convince his family about his choice of professions, but getting the job clinched that. “For the most part, the audiences are phenomenal, but we definitely go to some of those more conservative towns where they aren’t so keen on the show. But then it’s our job to open them up and convince them that we’re not actually bad people up on the stage,” he laughed. He explains that Christmas Eve and Brian get along so well, because he needs someone to take care of and she, without any patients, needs someone to take care of. “They’re perfect for each other,” he quipped. “Their relationship has grown and changed since we started.”

“There is a character who’s a closeted homosexual, and the entire show charts his journey, so for anyone who’s experiencing it themselves or knows someone who’s going through that, Avenue Q is a more comedic way to look at a very serious issue,” Kornblum explained. “I think it makes certain things easier to take. Personally, as soon as I saw the show, I bought the poster of Rod that says, “I am not a closeted homo. Whatever.” The whole show is based on love, and that’s something that a lot of relationships these days are lacking.”

He also revealed what replaced the lyric “George Bush!” in the rousing final number, “Only For Now”. At first, it was “Swine Flu”, he explained, “until people started dying.” Then, for a while, it was “Fox News!” Now, the ultimate and most hated thing that the audience is reassured is “only for now” is … “Glenn Beck!” Now, that’s a hopeful message!

Neil also had a chance to speak with one of Tim's co-stars:

There’s something about Rod. Avenue Q’s resident fussy Republican is definitely keeping something secret and he just won’t come out … and say what it is. As his roommate Nicky sings to him, “If you were gay, that’d be okay,” but Rod is not receptive, to say the least. I gently tried to coax more information from the purse-lipped puppet, but even Rod’s portrayer, Brent Michael DiRoma, couldn’t get much more out of him.

NC: Where are you from? Do you have any brothers or sisters? What was your family like? Conservative? Liberal?
Rod: I am a proud Floridian. I'm an only child. My family is full of strict Republicans and we're very conservative.

NC: So, what’s the best and worst thing about living on Avenue Q?
Rod: I'd have to say the best thing about living on Avenue Q is that we all feel free to burst into song whenever normal conversation doesn't quite do the job. My not so favorite thing on Avenue Q is the constant amount of rats.

NC: Where would you move if you could?
Rod: Oh, I don't think I could ever move away from Avenue Q, but if I had to choose one place, it would be Japan. I love the culture and I'm currently learning to speak the language!

NC: Tell me something about your friends or roommate that people would never guess.
Rod: Believe it or not, Nicky my roommate has a severe crush on Hannah Montana. I caught him singing along while I was playing "Party in the USA"!

NC: What is something that would surprise people about you?
Rod: Uhm, I don't think anything about me would surprise anyone. Nope ...

Avenue Q opens tonight at ASU Gammage in Tempe and continues through March 14.  For future dates and locations of Avenue Q, visit the national tour's official website.

Interviews by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts: Oscar Love (and Hate)

When the curtain rises on the Oscars tonight, there won’t be much notice of Tom Ford’s gorgeous drama, A Single Man. The story of a gay man dealing with the death of his partner didn’t get much Oscar love. Except for Colin Firth’s Best Actor nomination, the movie was ignored.  Just as Brokeback Mountain lost Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Acting honors to lesser challengers in 2006, this year, the LGBT community is again reminded that being “too gay” is the kiss of death as far as Oscar is concerned.

Still, there is a lot to love about Oscars this year ... and a lot to hate:

Best Pictures:
Love It: Ten Best Pictures are nominated, including Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (directed by out director Lee Daniels), Inglourious Basterds, Up and District 9.
Hate It: Ten Best Pictures nominated include Avatar and The Blind Side, but not A Single Man or Julie & Julia.

Acting Nominations:
Love It: In a year that really wasn’t so great, great performances still happened, and Oscar noticed with nominations for Firth, Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), Mo’Nique (Precious), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Helen Mirren (The Last Station) and newcomer Carey Mulligan (An Education).
Hate It: No nominations for Julianne Moore (A Single Man), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) or Irving Thalberg Memorial Award for Mariah Carey’s Precious mustache.

Oscar Music:
Love It: There’s a nice mix of Best Song nominees, thanks to Crazy Heart, The Princess and the Frog, Nine and some French movie no one has ever heard of.
Hate It: But we won't hear the songs. Producer Adam Shankman (Hairspray) has cut the live performances from the Oscars telecast. Come on! It’s not like Snow White was going to do a reprise with Rob Lowe.

Oscar Party Food:
Love It: There are great Oscar food inspirations this year! District 9 Prawns (or ... canned cat food?), Crazy (Artichoke) Hearts, a Coralime Jell-O Mold, Inglourious Strudel (don't forget the cream!), Hot Cocoa Before Chanel, Precious Pigs Feet (ew), etc. And if you're lazy, just get Taco Bell à la The Blind Side.
Hate It: Avatar’s inclusion means lots of blue food, except there are no really blue foods ... perhaps Blueberry Avatarts? Na'vi Blue Curacao Martinis will mean lots of hangovers the morning after.

First Nominations:
Love It: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) and Christopher Plummer (The Last Station) got their first nominations ... finally!
Hate It: Director Tom Ford and his brilliant art director Dan Bishop did not get nominated for A Single Man. If that movie wasn’t a brilliant bit of art direction, what was it?

Now, on to the part I love ... Picking the Oscars!:

Best Actor:
Who Should Win: Colin Firth gave a heart-breaking performance as George Falconer, an outwardly closeted man whose life partner is killed, and who wishes to join him in A Single Man. George Clooney is great in Up in the Air, and so is the man who will win, but it’s really hard to pull off the quiet intensity that Firth masters.
Who Will Win: Jeff Bridges, as a washed up but still pretty talented country singer in Crazy Heart. Bridges lives and breathes his role, and he’s considered “owed” the award.

Best Actress:
Who Should Win: Meryl, Meryl, Meryl! Saying it enough won’t make it happen. Her Julia Child in Julie & Julia was as light as a perfect soufflé, yet as earthy and grounded in real human emotions as a hearty stew. Streep makes it all look too easy, but she is never less than brilliant.
Who Will Win: Sandy, Sandy, Sandy! If any year belongs to Sandra Bullock, it’s this year. Hollywood loves a success story, and with her tart and funny performance in The Proposal and her immensely warm and lovable role in The Blind Side, she’s as unstoppable as Big Mike!

Best Supporting Actor:
Who Should and Will Win: This one’s easy. Remember a certain unknown actor who electrified people as a cold and murderous Nazi in Schindler’s List? Ralph Fiennes became a star and got his first Oscar nomination (and should have won over The Fugitive's Tommy Lee Jones). Christoph Waltz is a different man playing a different Nazi “Jew Hunter” in Inglourious Basterds, but he is no less thrilling to watch. He should win. He will win.

Best Supporting Actress:
Who Should and Will Win: If Waltz’s character was a hate-filled black woman living in the slums of New York, taking her wrath out on her obese daughter and grandchildren rather than helpless Jews, he still wouldn’t be all of the marvelous, horrifying, pitiful and raw things that Mo’Nique is in Precious. The actress is getting a lot of flack for not seeming grateful enough for Oscar’s love, but honey, that performance stands on its own (as Mo’Nique herself might say).

Best Picture:
What Should Win: Jason Reitman is an amazingly smart and talented director, able to create seemingly flippant films with surprising heart and soul. Up in the Air is his best work yet. In terms of achieving all that it attempted, it deserves the title of Best Picture.

What Will Win: The front-runners are The Hurt Locker and Avatar. I wouldn’t be hurt by a Locker upset, even though the film isn’t much more than one tense bomb-diffusing scene after another. But it does capture the hell of being in the Iraq War. Avatar however, is the big blue monster that can’t be stopped. It will win, and somewhere cinematic angels will weep.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be presented live on ABC tonight.  Movie Dearest will chime in after the show with a quick round up of the winners, and we'll offer our full "Oscar Post Mortem" tomorrow.

By Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Inglourious Basterds illustration by Morning Breath for Upper Playground. All other illustrations by Tavis Coburn for the BAFTA Awards.