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Tribeca Review: Tennessee

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:36:06 -0700

Here's the good thing I can say about Tennessee: The effort behind the film is commendable. "A" for effort. "D" for most everything else. And you know, I wasn't altogether convinced that it would be a terrible movie simply because Mariah Carey was in it. I wanted to give Tennessee the benefit of the doubt, so I did, but now I just want those 95 minutes of my life back.

On paper, maybe a touching drama about road trips and brotherly love looked like cinematic gold. And some of the shots of bronzey Southwest sunsets are quite striking. But that's where the "pros" of this movie end. You know how sometimes a series of slow and quiet scenes can be evocative, tense and rich? Not so much here. In this case it just makes for an incredibly flat, boring film. The story comes out lackluster and cliché, and none of it is helped by Mariah Carey's mumbling, careless shrug of a performance. It’s not even worth it to go into the details of the plot, really, but still, read more.

Two brothers in New Mexico, one abusive dad in Tennessee. When one brother learns he has leukemia, the two men set off to find their dad, hoping for a match for a bone marrow transplant. The car breaks down, a sad waitress/aspiring singer quickly decides to leave her abusive husband and drives the brothers as far as Nashville. From there, some absurd, melodramatic "twists" take place before the inevitable ending.

At one point I wrote "Crossroads" in my notes because parts of this film strongly reminded me of that road trip thing Britney Spears did in 2002. Tennessee is certainly just as frustrating and just as cringe-inducing (really, there's a singer-songwriter competition with a first-place prize of exactly the amount of money they need?! I wonder what's going to happen!). But the worst thing of all is that Tennessee is also trying so hard to be poignant, it ends up being simply pitiable.

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Live From the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:30:42 -0700

I'm here! 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, New York, New York. And it's like the cloudy, rainy chilliness arrived just in time to make all of us moviegoers feel justified about sitting in darkened theaters all day. Which is precisely what I've been doing, awesomely. So far, I've caught six movies and attended the red carpet event for Tennessee. Here are some of my thoughts so far:

Nothing says drizzly Sunday mornin' like a movie about socialite incest and murder. Savage Grace is heavy on the savage, not so much with the grace. Julianne Moore is phenomenal, but this horrifyingly tragic story is difficult to watch and harder to enjoy.
I came thisclose to a petite man approximately my size before realizing it was Ben Kingsley, but by the time I doubled back toward him, he was being swept away by his people. After seeing his surprisingly hilarious performance in The Wackness, I have this intense urge to pick that guy's brain.

Kristen and Taylor Get Close and Regal in Tennessee

PopSugarUK — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:03:50 -0800

After all the glamour of New Moon's Los Angeles premiere and after party on Monday night, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner left Robert Pattinson behind and cuddled up at the film's Regal Benefit screening in Knoxville, Tennessee yesterday. The trio will be appearing on several US TV shows around the release of the film this Friday, including Jimmy Kimmel's show, and I'm sure they'll be glad of a rest once the movie is finally out! They won't be able to relax for too long though, as they all have exciting projects coming up.

To see lots more pictures of Kristen and Taylor, just read more.

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Nicole Wants to Raise a Good Little Country Girl

PopSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:00:28 -0800

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman went to an Australia screening in NYC yesterday after Hugh stopped by the CNN Heroes event the night before. Nicole's been making the rounds with the Sexiest Man Alive as they promote their new movie, but she still loves talking about her new life in Tennessee and baby Sunday. Nicole said:

On Sunday being born in the South: "I'm glad that she is able to say she's born and bred in Nashville and Tennessee. That is really lovely. I think it's very appropriate, considering her daddy. [...] For him to be able to say his baby girl was born here, I think is very special. I hope she has a Southern accent."
On Tennessee: "We never get bothered, and the people are incredibly friendly and easygoing. It really has been a perfect match for me. I don't want to go on too much about it to the rest of the world because then more people will come here. It's a secret. Keith keeps saying, 'Shush, shush, keep this a secret,' because it's so beautiful."

Nicole said her other children are "city kids," but it seems like she's fitting in perfectly to life in the South with Keith and her little Keith-ette.

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Nicole's Revealing (But Not in That Way) Vogue Interview

PopSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:30:16 -0700

We already knew that Nicole Kidman would be Vogue's July cover girl, and she looks wistful, gorgeous and stylish in the Annie Leibovitz photo shoot. Just as expected, her baby bump is barely showing, but you can see how Nicole has been influenced by her pregnancy in the article. She speaks up about being a mom-to-be, her relationship with Keith, and filming Australia in the emotional interview. Here are highlights:

On the new baby: "When I first saw the baby on the ultrasound, I started crying. I didn't think I'd get to experience that in my lifetime. I like the unpredictable nature of it. To feel life growing with you is something very, very special, and I'm going to embrace that completely. I don't believe in flittering around the edges of things. You're either going to walk through life and experience it fully or you're going to be a voyeur. And I'm not a voyeur."
On finding Keith after her marriage to Tom: "Keith and I, we're more like, 'Hey' [she shrugs and smiles]. We just gently, gently sort of fell into each other. We were just two lonely people who went, 'Ah, there you are.' I'm so committed to this relationship, and so is he. I don't have addiction problems, but love is a very powerful force in my life. It's my fatal flaw and my virtue."
On living in Tennessee: "I've been in Tennessee, just sitting. We have a farm there, and I have an organic vegetable garden. This is a path I'd not taken before. My mum's always gardened. My sister gardens. And I've now conformed to the Kidman women's hobby of gardening. And it is just a hobby. I'm not feeding the troops. There's a softness to the Tennessee landscape that I just love. It's very beautiful out there. We have deer and wild turkeys."

To see more photos of Nicole's shoot and hear what she has to say about the fake pregnancy rumors, and filming Australia just read more.

On the rumors that she's not really pregnant: "Just look at how I'm sitting here with my legs apart" [her knees splay out at a 45-degree angle], "This is the way you have to sit when you're pregnant."
On filming Australia: "It's the roughest thing I ever had to go through. The heat is debilitating. I was sitting on a horse once and I remember thinking, Gosh, this is what it feels like before you faint-and then I fainted. There was another time we flew in by helicopter to the Salt Flats-it was like a moonscape, there was just nothing there-and we got caught in a dust storm so bad we couldn't even see. Everybody lived out there for five days in these little silver tents. It was great. That's the adventure. That's why you make movies. It's the equivalent of The African Queen, where they were out in the wilderness and Katharine Hepburn was washing her hair with a bucket. We all want that experience."
On being pregnant: "My sister has had four kids, and she says that when you're pregnant you draw people to you who are genuinely happy. She's right. It taps into that thing in human nature that is universal and collective and beautiful. You can fight life. You can wriggle and squirm and say, 'This isn't right.' But I'm glad I've learned to let things flow. I'm now so much more capable of receiving love and giving it in a far different way. So to be given the blessing of a child at this stage of my life…you just say, 'Wow, this was meant to be.' "

Nicole sounds peacefully delighted about her new little one, and it is great to see her so happy and in love. We're looking forward to the new Urban-Kidman addition to the family and it looks like you all are just as excited.

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Will Josh Jump From The West End to Broadway?

PopSugarUK — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:00:00 -0800

Josh Hartnett had a night out in London yesterday, partying it up at the Groucho Club in Soho. He's still living in the capital for his part in Rain Man, and seems to be getting quite the reputation as a theatre actor. It seems Broadway might be the next stop for handsome Josh, as he's being chased to play a part in a production of Tennessee Williams' unfinished play In Masks Outrageous And Austere which will be directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The dream cast includes Josh, Cybill Shepherd, Macaulay Culkin and Juliette Binoche, and the hope is to turn it into a movie eventually. I'm sure New Yorkers would love to see Josh up close and personal on the Broadway stage just as much as we're enjoying having him on the London stage!

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Bibles in Class? Not Just for Sunday School Anymore

CitizenSugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0700

The separation of church and state is a little less distinct at Hamilton County Schools in Tennessee. Funding from a special grant program means that students can elect to study Bible History in public schools.

While religion classes aren't uncommon in universities, topics of faith are muted in lower grades of public schools. For almost 90 years the program "Bible in the Schools" has provided up to $1,000,000 a year to cover Bible History courses.

One sophomore says, "It's not really based on religion. It's history, Bible history you're learning the history, it's just like another history class."

If learning the Bible is just another history class, Ben Stein's new movie might just count as science class?

Stein's movie Expelled hits screens today. We took a peek at the role of teaching evolution in education a while back, but now the Scientific American has an article that outlines "Six Things in Expelled That Ben Stein Doesn't Want You to Know...about intelligent design and evolution." I can't wait to see the movie, and this is the perfect companion read before you buy that tub of popcorn.

Privately funded Bible study in public schools? Is studying the Bible like learning history? Did you take a peek at the things Ben Stein doesn't want you to know?

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Ashley Olsen Steps Out With Her Man

Molly — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:25 -0700

After celebrating her 22nd birthday weekend down in Tennessee at Bonnarroo with Mary-Kate, Ashley Olsen was back in New York last night finally spotted with her boyfriend. The pint-sized mogul and the guy she's been rumored to be seeing for a while, Justin Bartha (from the National Treasure movies), arrived at a screening of Trumbo in Tribeca together, but still walked the red carpet separately not ready to really show off just yet. Hopefully there's nothing to the rumors about his temper because Ashley seems so happy with her new man. At least he doesn't have to worry about buying her expensive jewelry, since she can just design it herself.

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Sugar Shout Out: Win a Box of Eco-Friendly Dog Toys!

PopSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:07:07 -0700

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Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Are Engaged?!

Molly — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:30:00 -0700

Update: Mariah and Nick may have eloped! Click here for the full story.

I guess the rumors are true? Well, there's yet to be confirmation from either half of the couple, but according to Access Hollywood and a source close to the couple, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are indeed engaged to be married. The whispers started when Mariah was seen flashing this ridiculous ring at the Tribeca premiere of her movie Tennessee.

Seems pretty sudden considering Nick just split from his ex fiance Selita Ebanks in October, but hey the diva gets what she wants. So what do you think, are they really engaged? Are you surprised? And how fabulous will her dress be?

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