sofia22
Jan 4th, 2006, 11:29 AM
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Jan 4, 2006
Though Ryan Reynolds had his doubts about working with Alicia Keys in Joe Carnahan's recently wrapped "Smokin' Aces," he says the singer has much stronger film chops than he expected.
"Going in you're thinking, 'Oh, God, this is going to be tough.
Am I going to have to slow down so they can keep up?' But that wasn't the case at all," he lets us know. "I'm surprised she hasn't done a movie before because she's so natural.
She's going to blow everybody away."
The action comedy, which also includes Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Jeremy Piven, is "about a mafia Vegas showman kind of guy who ends up in Tahoe and is about to become a witness in a federal case against the mob," explains Reynolds.
"I'm the FBI agent with Ray Liotta, who's assigned to go get him and bring him back alive, but at the same time, there are eight different assassins that are all converging on the same hotel suite in Tahoe."
THE VIDEOLAND VIEW:
Emmy-winning "Monk" star/exec producer Tony Shalhoub reports his obsessive/compulsive detective's issues will be put sorely to the test in the new season of the hit USA Network comedy debuting Jan. 13. "We have a lot of nice surprises for the viewers," he says. "In one episode, Mr. Monk gets jury duty and has to be stuck in a room with 11 other people, and he's not too happy with having to work with partners. One of my favorites is when Mr. Monk gets hit on the head and gets amnesia. Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne") is fantastic in it. She plays this odd character who lives in a small town that figures out Monk is disoriented and tells him he's her husband. Because he has amnesia it's like he's meeting himself for the first time. He doesn't know why he has an affinity for uncovering things."
Shalhoub adds that the new season also includes other special guest stars besides Metcalf. In a homage to the classic 1976 Dustin Hoffman/Laurence Olivier starrer, "Marathon Man," he says, "Jon Favreau plays a dentist, and Monk is terrified of dentists because he had a very traumatic experience as a boy. And Malcolm McDowell plays a successful fashion designer in the episode 'Mr. Monk Goes to a Fashion Show.'"
THE INSIDE TRACK:
Def Leppard is taking a much-deserved break before embarking on another round of touring and album promotion. The band kept up a breakneck pace of concerts, awards shows and promotional appearances from May into December last year with its hit "Rock of Ages" album and DVD collection -- then went right into piecing together their forthcoming "Yeah!" album of covers, due in April, and laying plans for more touring this year.
"We all live all over the world, so a lot of these things have to be done while we're in the same city, at the same hotel," explains lead singer Joe Elliott, who resides in Dublin. "It's been crazy, but that's exactly how you expect it to be." He notes that he and his band mates have learned how to pace themselves -- a do-or-die matter, particularly since "we do a very athletic show and very athletic vocal performance, and it's physically demanding beyond belief. We did Mexico City shows, and it was really hard a mile above sea level. You're sucking in too hard … I do not want to sound like Mr. Grumpy when I say things -- just be realistic and honest. It is what it is, you know? It's at the end of the tour when you really feel the pain."
THE BIG SCREEN SCENE:
Pam Grier expects to be playing a female assassin -- with a difference -- in the indie film "The Breaks," set to roll in Miami this spring. "She's hired by an evangelist, a very religious man, to kill someone," explains the actress, who has the new season of Showtime's "The L Word" ready to launch Sunday (1/8). "She's not a typical 'La Femme Nikita,' gun-strapped-in-her-Prada-bag character. She's very benign-looking -- and quite thrilling." Before that, Grier has the big screen "Sweet Man" to film "with Mr. Malcolm McDowell, of whom I am a big fan. I play a cafe owner and waitress out in a desert area, and his character comes into my cafe seeking refuge."
(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)
The Beck/Smith syndicated newspaper column includes exclusive in-depth, behind-the-scenes reports on the stars, on the business of television and movie-making, and on the recording, publishing and media beats.
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_27262452.shtml
:love: :) :laugh: :music: :sunny: :love: :music: :) :laugh: :sunny:
Jan 4, 2006
Though Ryan Reynolds had his doubts about working with Alicia Keys in Joe Carnahan's recently wrapped "Smokin' Aces," he says the singer has much stronger film chops than he expected.
"Going in you're thinking, 'Oh, God, this is going to be tough.
Am I going to have to slow down so they can keep up?' But that wasn't the case at all," he lets us know. "I'm surprised she hasn't done a movie before because she's so natural.
She's going to blow everybody away."
The action comedy, which also includes Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Jeremy Piven, is "about a mafia Vegas showman kind of guy who ends up in Tahoe and is about to become a witness in a federal case against the mob," explains Reynolds.
"I'm the FBI agent with Ray Liotta, who's assigned to go get him and bring him back alive, but at the same time, there are eight different assassins that are all converging on the same hotel suite in Tahoe."
THE VIDEOLAND VIEW:
Emmy-winning "Monk" star/exec producer Tony Shalhoub reports his obsessive/compulsive detective's issues will be put sorely to the test in the new season of the hit USA Network comedy debuting Jan. 13. "We have a lot of nice surprises for the viewers," he says. "In one episode, Mr. Monk gets jury duty and has to be stuck in a room with 11 other people, and he's not too happy with having to work with partners. One of my favorites is when Mr. Monk gets hit on the head and gets amnesia. Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne") is fantastic in it. She plays this odd character who lives in a small town that figures out Monk is disoriented and tells him he's her husband. Because he has amnesia it's like he's meeting himself for the first time. He doesn't know why he has an affinity for uncovering things."
Shalhoub adds that the new season also includes other special guest stars besides Metcalf. In a homage to the classic 1976 Dustin Hoffman/Laurence Olivier starrer, "Marathon Man," he says, "Jon Favreau plays a dentist, and Monk is terrified of dentists because he had a very traumatic experience as a boy. And Malcolm McDowell plays a successful fashion designer in the episode 'Mr. Monk Goes to a Fashion Show.'"
THE INSIDE TRACK:
Def Leppard is taking a much-deserved break before embarking on another round of touring and album promotion. The band kept up a breakneck pace of concerts, awards shows and promotional appearances from May into December last year with its hit "Rock of Ages" album and DVD collection -- then went right into piecing together their forthcoming "Yeah!" album of covers, due in April, and laying plans for more touring this year.
"We all live all over the world, so a lot of these things have to be done while we're in the same city, at the same hotel," explains lead singer Joe Elliott, who resides in Dublin. "It's been crazy, but that's exactly how you expect it to be." He notes that he and his band mates have learned how to pace themselves -- a do-or-die matter, particularly since "we do a very athletic show and very athletic vocal performance, and it's physically demanding beyond belief. We did Mexico City shows, and it was really hard a mile above sea level. You're sucking in too hard … I do not want to sound like Mr. Grumpy when I say things -- just be realistic and honest. It is what it is, you know? It's at the end of the tour when you really feel the pain."
THE BIG SCREEN SCENE:
Pam Grier expects to be playing a female assassin -- with a difference -- in the indie film "The Breaks," set to roll in Miami this spring. "She's hired by an evangelist, a very religious man, to kill someone," explains the actress, who has the new season of Showtime's "The L Word" ready to launch Sunday (1/8). "She's not a typical 'La Femme Nikita,' gun-strapped-in-her-Prada-bag character. She's very benign-looking -- and quite thrilling." Before that, Grier has the big screen "Sweet Man" to film "with Mr. Malcolm McDowell, of whom I am a big fan. I play a cafe owner and waitress out in a desert area, and his character comes into my cafe seeking refuge."
(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)
The Beck/Smith syndicated newspaper column includes exclusive in-depth, behind-the-scenes reports on the stars, on the business of television and movie-making, and on the recording, publishing and media beats.
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_27262452.shtml
:love: :) :laugh: :music: :sunny: :love: :music: :) :laugh: :sunny: