Brad & Angelina Choose A Godmother and more[Entertainment Week]
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Gwen Stefani dressed like Bam-Bam for the Grammys, Janet Jackson has an excuse to be fat and more. Kerry Rickard writes.  It's Brangelina Watch, day 154. Here's a question: Who do you figure will be the soon-to-be Brangelina progeny’s godparent? Do you think it could be George Clooney, Brad’s best friend? Or Angelina’s first ex-husband, “Hackers” co-star Johnny Lee Miller? Or some near and dear relative, who could lend the child moral guidance without the Hollywood foofurrah?Apparently, none of these eligible contenders has the same “guardianship” appeal for Angie as Jenny Shimizu, her lesbian lover from way back in 1993 when AJ was filming “Foxfire” and we all wanted her – (after all, she made self-tattooing sexy.) How do you explain this one to the kid? But enough about frivolous gossip (until we talk about music, that is.) Let’s talk about war movies. There are three ways a director can treat the topic of war: 1. with patriotic pride, as in “Blackhawk Down” and “The Patriot;” 2. with a sad-ironic “what a waste” shake of the head, as in “Full Metal Jacket” or “Saving Private Ryan;” 3. with a “stick it to the Man, the Government’s messing with you” Michael Moore-type approach. Yet none of these classifications tells the whole story. What are we missing? We’re missing the enemy’s side of things. And here’s where we, in North America, have to change perspective. Turkey has just released Valley of the Wolves Iraq, an action-hero genre that is not dissimilar in style (although not in nationalities) to True Lies. The main protagonist, who has been likened to Rambo, is a Turkish Intelligence officer who trails evil-doing American soldiers to Iraq in order to avenge his dishonored comrades. According to TIME Europe Magazine, the film depicts (I kid you not), “U.S. soldiers in Iraq as they raid a wedding, machine-gun the guests, and take survivors to a prison where a Jewish doctor removes their organs for rich people in the West.” Wow. At first, I was feeling a little bit angry and defensive about this release – how antagonistic can you get? But as I thought about it, I suppose it’s no different from the way we reduce unrepresentative members of the Middle Eastern world to “Islamic fundamentalists,” power-hungry, psychotic and ungrounded Master Criminals – witness once again, True Lies, Behind Enemy Lines, and Blackhawk Down. The film will soon be released in the U.S., and it will be interesting to see what kind of acclaim and/or vitriol it produces in the West. Regardless, I believe that Billy Zane, who did himself no favors by appearing in this year’s completely unnoticed BloodRayne, has screwed himself out of a career by playing a renegade American officer in Valley of the Wolves Iraq. I think that, thought-provoking though the film may prove to be, the American public will not easily forgive intransigence. Television Ever wonder what happened to Xena after she died and sailed off on that big boat with Gabrielle? Apparently, she went into space. Lucy Lawless has been signed on as a regular on the highly-acclaimed sci-fi series “Battlestar Galactica,” starting this week. The former Warrior Princess has appeared in a few episodes as a journalist, although Galactica-fanatics are speculating on whether or not she’ll turn out to be an evil Cylon alongside Tricia Helfer, the new host of “America’s Top Model.” Lawless reportedly loved the show so much, she begged to be allowed to stay on as a recurring character. And small wonder – in its 2-season stint, the remake of the 1970s space classic has garnered praise for its cutting-edge, documentary-style cinematography and its gritty acting. Also for its edgy script, which largely gets its appeal due to the fact that Galactica screenwriters leave script-writing until the last possible second in order to accumulate and integrate current issues around the globe into the plotlines. There have been episodes on the torture of prisoners, the disciplining of soldiers, genetic manipulation, stem cell research, abortion, post-traumatic stress syndrome and the far-reaching consequences of martial law. Look for Lucy Lawless going au naturel – that is to say, with her real New Zealander accent. Possibly not her real hair color, though. |
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