BuzzSugar

What Do You Think About the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:17:17 -0700

Toni Collette is taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The United States of Tara! She beat Tina Fey, Mary-Louise Parker, Christina Applegate, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Sarah Silverman.

This one totally shocked me, but Collette is pretty great on The United States of Tara. What do you think about this win? Can you believe Tina didn't take home the gold?

Vote on all my Emmy Awards polls here!

Five Essential Things to Know About United States of Tara

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:30:00 -0800

United States of Tara is one of the most unusual shows to hit TV in a while - even for Showtime, home of drug-dealing moms and sympathetic serial killers. First imagined by Steven Spielberg, created by Diablo Cody, and brought to life by a cast led by Toni Collette and John Corbett, the show centers on a suburban housewife named Tara who is living with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which causes alternate personalities to emerge when she's under stress. The show premieres on Sunday, and today, the cast and producers stopped by TCA. Here are some of the essential things to know - and be sure to check out some great pics of the stars over on Pop:

It was important for Tara to be open about her condition. Cody said she's seen mental illness be destigmatized over the years, so it made sense for Tara's family not to keep her illness locked away. "Obviously there are some people who are frightened or curious," she said. "There are some people who are intrigued" - and that seemed like an appropriate, modern reaction.
Deep down, the show's about acceptance. Nobody ever says outright that Collette's character is mentally ill, or that Tara's son is gay, or that her daughter is a jerk, said Brie Larson, who plays teenage daughter Kate. "There's no labels on this show, and I think that's the most interesting part."
But not everyone's OK with Tara's personalities. One of the most tense relationships on the show is between Tara and her younger sister, Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt). "Charmaine always thought that Tara got more attention," Cody said. "She's always been resentful of that." Charmaine has an occasional flirtation with Max (Corbett), Tara's husband, but Cody said it's nothing with an actual romantic spark at this point - it's just a way for her to get someone to pay attention to her for once.

To see the final two essentials, just read more.

The show doesn't fit into any box. "It was just so delicious to read and so unusual, and it was a complete dream for an actor to play so many parts," said Collette of reading the script for the first time. "It is incredibly funny, but it also is incredibly moving and incredibly real."
We might not have met all of the "alters." The show's official photo shows four personalities - Tara, Buck, T, and Alice - but "you will see new ones emerge," said producer Darryl Frank. The origin of the personalities, which have been created within Tara at different points in her life, also will be explored as the season goes on.

Photo courtesy of Showtime

Watch The United States of Tara - Right Here!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:30:07 -0800

One of my dozen reasons to watch TV this month, Showtime's The United States of Tara sounds like a fascinating series. From Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starring Toni Collette, the show is a half-hour comedy about a subject that's not often fodder for yuks: multiple personalities.

Collette stars as a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which causes her to experience life as a number of different people: Tara, the suburban housewife and mother; T, a flirtatious teenager; Buck, a gun-toting man; and Alice, a perfect '50s-style homemaker. This wreaks havoc - but, apparently, hilarious havoc - on Tara's husband (John Corbett) and their teenage children.

The series premieres Sunday, Jan. 18, at 10 p.m. - but there's no need to wait. Showtime's slipped me a copy of the first episode, and you can check it out right here on Buzz if you read more.

Photo courtesy of Showtime

First Look: Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara

BuzzSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:30:14 -0700

Showtime's got several intriguing new shows on its roster, and recently, the network released first glimpses of two of them: The United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie, both of which have intriguing actresses in the lead roles.

The United States of Tara, which premieres in January, stars Toni Collette as a woman with multiple-personality disorder. The clip has some scenes from the show, and in between those, the stars (and writer Diablo Cody) talk about how the project came together out of an idea from Steven Spielberg.

Nurse Jackie, which stars Edie Falco as a nurse walking the line between saint and sinner, doesn't have a premiere date yet, but I've been curious about it ever since I saw a haunting trailer for it back at TCA. Unfortunately, this clip doesn't have quite the drama of that trailer, but it's still nice just to get an idea of what the show will look like.

Do you have your eye on either show? You can watch the trailers if you read more.

Photos courtesy of Showtime

Towelhead: Sad, Disturbing, Just Like the Book

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:30:33 -0700

There's been some controversy and outrage surrounding Alan Ball's adaptation of Alicia Erian's novel Towelhead, which I might understand more if I hadn’t read the original work. People are calling the film "abhorrent," "ethically reprehensible and irresponsible," and "gratuitously offensive." And yet, this isn't really Ball’s fault. His adaptation is completely faithful to the novel - I don’t think there’s even one line of dialogue or one bit of action that isn’t in the book - so why wasn't there this reaction to the novel?

The story is shocking and disturbing. It’s a coming-of-age tale focusing on a young woman (Jasira, played poignantly by Summer Bishil in the film) who is half-Lebanese and half-white, living in a largely white Texas community with a strict father and a leery older male neighbor. Everything Jasira does (from using tampons to dating a black boy) seems to anger her father and disappoint her mother (played by Maria Bello). So, Jasira confuses the attention she gets from her leery neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) with a kind of true affection, which he easily exploits. Jasira's young sense of self and her burgeoning understanding of sexuality get all mixed up with abuse and humiliation and - occasionally - pleasure. This is just the tip-top of the iceberg, so read more.

There are things that will make a person’s stomach turn in this story, but there’s also truth, humor and redemption. The book is told from Jasira’s childlike point of view, offering readers an agonizing glimpse into her naivete as well as her innocent hopefulness. Lacking this insight (as the film version provides little, if any such glimpse into Jasira’s interior world), and perhaps because book-to-film adaptations often must include only the “big” plot points, the complexities of Jasira’s experiences are lost and all we see is a disturbing 2-dimensional story about a girl in an unfortunate situation.

In some ways I can understand the reactions some people have with the movie; with no real insight into Jasira’s inner landscape, it appears to be shocking for the sake of shock. But Alan Ball has never been one to avoid the ugly, sinister aspects of the human experience. In American Beauty, which he wrote, he obviously touches on some unpleasant and taboo topics, and perhaps one of the problems with Towelhead is that he actually goes there.

Frustratingly, some people are focusing on one scene in which Jasira discovers a used tampon, and holds it up for Jasira - and us - to see. Apparently this is too disgusting for some viewers to which Ball had a superb retort: "We can make movies like There's Something About Mary, using semen as hair gel, and it's a huge hit - but to show a bloody tampon is considered shocking. I think that says a lot about our culture's attitude towards women and towards female sexuality." My thoughts exactly. The horror and repulsion with which menstruation is so often treated is repulsive in itself. As Ball points out, "We all have mothers and we're all are here because of the way that female sexuality works." We just don't want to acknowledge it, apparently.

Obviously, this story is provocative, but maybe we should be provoked. Having read the book, I wasn’t shocked by anything in the film because none of it was a surprise, though I definitely sat there anticipating with dread the more upsetting scenes. I appreciate what Ball (and the excellent cast) has done with the movie – it must have been a challenge, to say the least. But between the two mediums, in this case, it would probably be wiser (and more interesting) to read the book.

Photos courtesy of Warner Independent Pictures

Buzz News Roundup, 6/4

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:32:44 -0700

Leelee Sobieski is the lucky actress who will play Dillinger's girlfriend in Public Enemies, writes Variety. Dillinger, mind you, is being played by Johnny Depp.
Actor, filmmaker and one-time husband to Audrey Hepburn Mel Ferrer has died at age 90, Zap2It reports.
Variety has the news that Bruce Willis will star in a film adaptation of the video game Kane and Lynch: Dead Men.
Showtime has picked up Diablo Cody's TV show, The United States of Tara starring Toni Collette, writes TV Week.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Scarface director Brian De Palma will spearhead a film about the Boston Stranglers.
Billboard has some details on the new Calexico album, which hits stores in September.
Andre Braugher has been cast in Ray Romano's TNT pilot about 40-something men, writes Zap2it.
According to ComingSoon, Ed Helms has landed himself two new movie roles - one in the Night at the Museum sequel, and another in the indie comedy Manure.
Pushing Daisies has topped an AOL poll of the best new TV series of 2007-08, writes Reuters; Gossip Girl was second.

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Movie Preview: Towelhead

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:31:05 -0700

Towelhead (which also goes by the title Nothing Is Private) was one of the movies on my to-see list at Sundance that kept getting edged down by other movies, partially because of other priorities, though I also worried that it would be really disturbing. Now the film, based on the novel by Alicia Erian, has a theatrical release date of August 8 and a trailer that has only made me more uneasy about watching the movie - though also more curious, too.

The story is of the coming-of-age variety, though this one features a 13-year-old girl (Summer Bishil) whose Caucasian mother (Maria Bello) sends her to live with her Lebanese father (Peter Macdissi) in a small suburban town. She begins to explore her awakening sexuality, spending time with a boy from school (Eugene Jones III) and befriending a neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) whose intentions are far from pure. Her home life with a strict and sometimes abusive father only further drives her curiosity about her identity, her sexuality, her place in the world.

Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, tries his hand at directing with the movie, and it seems to bear his signature marks of examining the darkest corners of the human soul while offering glimmers of humor and redemption. I'm both interested in and slightly afraid of this film. To check out the trailer, read more.

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Three Funny Ladies Get Great Comedic Roles

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:30:01 -0700

I love news days like today. Three actresses I love and admire have nabbed roles in promising comedies. Check it out:

Leslie Mann - Everyone's favorite hysterical wife from Knocked Up is signed on to play another spouse, this time married to Jim Carrey in the black comedy I Love You, Phillip Morris. According to Hollywood Reporter, "The story follows a married father (Carrey) who is sent to prison and falls in love with a cellmate named Phillip Morris. His love leads him to make several escape attempts."
Toni Collette will be joining the untitled Sam Mendes "relationship comedy" that already stars Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski. The HR description makes me smirk: "Collette will play a college professor and close family friend of a couple (Krasinski and Rudolph) canvasing the country to find the best place to raise their unborn child. She's convinced that their kid will end up dysfunctional no matter where it's raised." Yet another funny lady, Cheryl Hines, will also star in this one.
Candice Bergen will probably effortlessly slip into the role of "Marion St. Claire, the queen of all wedding planners" in the wedding comedy Bride Wars which stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. According to Variety, "Story revolves around best friends (Hudson and Hathaway) who are pitted against each other when their wedding dates clash. They compete for venues, services and guests."

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 10/19

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:30:19 -0700

According to Reuters, there will be a remake of The Birds, with Naomi Watts rumored to star. FYI: The original Hitchcock version will air on AMC this weekend!
Variety reports that the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie will open in May 2009.
Toni Collette will star in The United States of Tara, a Showtime comedy pilot about a woman with multiple-personality disorder from Steven Spielberg and Juno writer Diablo Cody, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
Ugly Betty will be getting a visit from Betty White, and The Futon Critic has all the details on her appearance.
ComingSoon reports that Woody Allen's Barcelona project has a title: icky Cristina Barcelona.
Billboard has the news that Radiohead will hit the road for a tour in 2008.
The Hold Steady, Bruce Springsteen, and KT Tunstall are among the artists with songs on a new Hard Rock charity compilation, Pitchfork reports.
Stephen Colbert's run for president might violate election laws, writes The Politico.
The AP has news that Roger Ebert will be honored at the Gotham Awards for "championing independent cinema."

Source

Evening: Time to Sleep

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:51:26 -0700

I went into Evening really wanting - nay, expecting - to love it. Look at the cast of respected actresses in this film: Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Toni Collette... the list continues. I hunkered down in the theater, equipped with tissues, readying myself for some heartwarmth and perhaps a cathartic sob or two. What happened instead? I nearly fell asleep.

The story follows the dying Ann (Redgrave), who is beginning to lose her grasp on the difference between past and present. She mentally relives a period of her life that she never shared with her adult daughters Nina (Collette) and Constance (Natasha Richardson) - the time she fell in love with the same man (Patrick Wilson) her best friend Lila (Mamie Gummer/Meryl Streep) also loved. Some other stuff happens that's of consequence though we're not allowed to concentrate on it for long because the daughters' stories are also roped into Ann's story. It sort of has that Beaches friendship 'n death thing going on, but there's so much other clutter involved that it's ultimately unsatisfying. There's more to say, though, so read more

Swathed in the dusky colors of evening-time and employing adorable period costumes, the look and feel of the movie is luscious and pleasant. Some of the performances are excellent, especially given the sloppy script. Toni Collette, in particular, is a breath of fresh air every time she's onscreen, as usual. Vanessa Redgrave is given little to work with, and by midway through the film I had her pattern down: Lie in bed, babble incoherently about things we don't yet understand, drift off to sleep murmuring to self, repeat. Ann's story told in flashbacks with Danes playing the young Ann would have been quite interesting Danes played Ann with any shred of personality at all. Thus, I come to the greatest problem with this movie: Claire Danes.

As I've mentioned before, I actually like Claire Danes. I enjoyed her part in The Hours, found her pleasant to watch in Shopgirl, and of course she'll always have a special place in my heart as Angela Chase. So watching her fail in this film was disappointing. For a movie almost entirely about her character she doesn't manage to keep the audience's attention for more than a minute or so. Most of all, there is a massive disconnect between Vanessa Redgrave's characterization and Danes' lack thereof - not once did I believe the two women to be playing the same character. The resultant feeling is one of muddy confusion and irritation.

Everyone else is more intriguing to watch than Danes, and I was particularly mesmerized by the character of Lila. Lila in general seems more complex than Ann, but Mamie Gummer's performance as the young Lila is also more interesting than Danes'. And then there is Meryl Streep as the adult Lila, whose screen time is quite brief, but for the few minutes she's there she far outshines anything else in the movie. One gets the feeling watching Streep that she has all the world's wisdom in her possession, and is doling it out in tiny increments. I was left desperately craving more Streep, as she was the only truly great thing about the film. But alas, I only got more of Danes until, to my relief, the movie ended.

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