BuzzSugar

Movie Preview: Phoebe in Wonderland

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:30:57 -0700

One of my saddest moments at Sundance this year was not being able to get into a screening of Phoebe in Wonderland, which looks like a darkly whimsical, adorably bizarre film all about the incredible imagination of a little girl. The girl at the heart of it is Phoebe (played by Elle Fanning), who is talented, gifted, and obsessed with a powerful fantasy life. She has trouble with her rule-filled world, and finds relief and inspiration in her quirky teacher (Patricia Clarkson). Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman play Phoebe's frustrated parents.

We already got a tiny taste of the movie, which opens in limited release Sept. 12, and this new trailer for it makes me a little weepy (perhaps it's the use of both "Everybody Hurts" by REM and "Imagine"). To see it for yourself, read more.

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Buzz Interview: Talking Wine With the Cast of Bottle Shock

BuzzSugar — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:00:14 -0700

I had the good fortune to attend the red carpet premiere of Bottle Shock at the Napa Valley winery where the movie's true story takes place (I know, it's a tough job but someone has to do it). Before they screened the movie, which is about the emergence of Napa as a legitimate winemaking region, I got the chance to chat with some of the movie's stars.

First up, the venerable Alan Rickman with whom I'm slightly obsessed. Surely you know who he is, but have you ever perused the man's IMDB page? It's stunning. He has worked with everyone in everything from the Harry Potter movies to Kevin Smith's Dogma. When I met Alan, I found him to be. . . kind of sassy actually. But in a British way.

I also chatted with Bill Pullman who plays a grumpy guy in Bottle Shock. It's some great acting on his part because he is warm and generous in person, and was as excited as anyone else to be in gorgeous Napa Valley.

To see what I discussed with these two veteran actors of the silver screen, read more.

Buzz: When you were introduced to your character, did you think of him as a wine snob?
Alan Rickman: You can't judge any characters that you play - so to say the word "snob" is to judge him. I simply think he believes he knows what it is he's talking about.

Buzz: When your character arrives in Napa the winemakers are pretty skeptical of him. Do you think he was expecting that?
Alan Rickman: Well, you know the English go where no man dares tread, creating empires and such. . . hack their way into other peoples' lives whether they want them there or not.

Buzz: Did you know much about wine before working on this movie? Did they put you in a wine boot camp or anything?
Alan Rickman: No, but I think I've been in a wine boot camp for the last 25 years.

Buzz: Your character wants so badly to make good wine so that he doesn't have to go back to his nine-to-five job in the city. It kind of reminded me of someone wanting to make it as an actor - did you relate to him in that way?
Bill Pullman: I remember when I was in New York starting out, I got my first paying gig at a regional theater and came back and had to work at a bank. I handed coasters to people that started new accounts. I remember feeling like, "Oh man, I don’t know if I can come back to this." The management determined I had potential! That was just the first week I felt like that, though. I realized there’s another role, so I can hand out these coasters. But yeah when Jim puts on the suit and tie, sucking up to people, it's painful isn't it? It's different, you know, when you're alone out in the field, you don’t have that pettiness.

Buzz: Do you prefer the country yourself?
Bill Pullman: My brother and I have a ranch in Montana. I’m there quite a bit. I was there this past week with the lightning all around, I was alone trying to fix a sprinkler head and I was covered in water, and the lightning was all around and I thought, "I could go this way! It would be good to go this way!" It’s beautiful, it’s wet. . .you know?

Buzz: You don't seem at all as cranky as your character Jim!
Bill Pullman: Two of my kids will see the movie; I, too, have this idea that I have to carry everything to make it happen. I can’t really rely on weak people around me, so I'm not going to be touchy-feely for you - I sometimes have had that as a dad. I can’t wait to have them see this movie because they’ll say, "That is scary! You owned up to that, Dad!"

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Bottle Shock: Intriguing Story Muddled by a Fruity Aftertaste

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:00:11 -0700

I live near Napa Valley and I enjoy wine a great deal, so when I first heard about a new little movie called Bottle Shock all about the historical legitimization of California wine, I was intrigued. I may have taken for granted the fact that Napa hasn't always been a world-renowned winemaking region, and that at one point it was viewed as nothing more than a bunch of back-water country hicks noodling around with grapes. Which is why I was disappointed to not love this sincere attempt to bring this story to life on the screen. I had such high hopes, but in the end the movie spends too much time on other stuff and not enough on the part that's the most interesting.

Invariably, this tale of Napa's beginnings will be compared to another indie film about California wine, Sideways, and though the subject matter may be similar, it's not an accurate pairing. Where Sideways uses wine country as a setting in which to explore the lives of four intriguing characters, Bottle Shock is a saccharine mix of slapstick comedy, melodrama, and sweeping shots of California's golden hills. This director practically fetishizes the beauty of the state's coast, and at times the movie feels more like a tourist ad than anything else. I wish the filmmakers had relied on the interesting true story for a dramatic arc rather than tossing in several tedious subplots, including an emotionally weightless father-son drama and a mind-numbing love triangle. To see why, read more.

In 1976 a British wine shop owner named Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) and his American neighbor Maurine (played wonderfully by Dennis Farina) come up with the idea of a blind tasting that would pit France's best winemakers against the renegades in America, intending to prove that great wine could only be made in France. Surrier travels to California and makes his way from one roadside tasting to another, carefully noting which regions are best. At the same time, Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) and his free-spirited, slacker son Bo (Chris Pine) are attempting to create a perfect chardonnay at their winery, Chateau Montelena. Bo sees Surrier's arrival as a chance to prove to his dad that he can make something happen for the winery. Meanwhile one of the Barrett's employees, Gustavo Brambila (Freddy Rodríguez), is making his own wine on the side and frequently butts heads with Jim.

Oh, and then a blond bombshell "intern" shows up at the Chateau and proceeds to befriend and bed both young men amidst winery duties, which include wearing sexy outfits and hosing off a barrel while the water runs down her body, not unlike a Playboy fantasy, while the dirty old men of the winery gawk.

There's a lot of time spent on these characters but it all falls flat because tonally their stories don't jive with what's going on over in Alan Rickman's movie. While they run around an Anthropology catalogue, delivering dramatic monologues about feeling wine in your blood, Alan's tasting Kentucky Friend Chicken for the first time and it's hysterical. Eventually we get to the climax of the film - the industry-changing wine tasting in France - but by that time I was pretty much over it and couldn't care less about the fate of these people.

The sad thing about this movie is that it's well-intentioned and wants to do justice to the stories of these real-life people. The saving grace, predictably, is Alan Rickman and there isn't a single scene he's in that doesn't sparkle with wry humor and simple elegance. But alas, his scenes are too few, and when they end we're swept away via endless aerial shots of vineyards to the dopey plotlines of the other characters.

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Movie Preview: Bottle Shock

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:30:13 -0700

Did you like Sideways, a quirky indie movie about wine (and relationships)? Then you might dig Bottle Shock, another indie movie about wine, this time with an emphasis on the history of American winemaking. It may sound like a snoozefest to some of you, but the trailer makes it look incredibly interesting. The film premiered at this year's Sundance and I was sorry to miss the screenings while I was there.

The movie focuses on the mid-1970s when French wine makers were starting to sit up and pay attention to what was going on in California vineyards. Alan Rickman stars as a wine snob from across the pond who comes over to find out what these California "hicks" are up to with their so-called wine. The supporting cast includes Bill Pullman, Dennis Farina, Chris Pine, Eliza Dushku and Freddy Rodriguez, among others. It looks funny and interesting, and opens in limited release August 8. To check out the trailer, read more.

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