Angelina's Baby, Brokeback in Prison
May 2006 Movie News
Ms. Ambassador, Not Interrupted: Angelina Jolie (pictured left with Colin Powell) is planning on having her baby in the African country of Namibia. The actor and ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has previously donated her time and energy to those less fortunate than herself in a number of African countries, including Namibia. Apparently she likes the place so much she wishes to have her baby (by fellow actor Brad Pitt) there.
Of course that government is more than happy to have such favorable PR. The governor of the Walvis Bay area, Samuel Sheefeni Nuuyoma, stated (no doubt with a pleased smile) among other things that she chose the country "because she loves Namibia."
The two were inevitably trailed by newsfolk, but security was tight, probably tighter than many heads of state have around the world. By many accounts the Walvis Bay area is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Brokeback Breakout: Okay, so no actual breakouts were reported, but one wonders at the thinking behind this decision. Dark humor indeed! Apparently a correctional officer for the Massachusetts Dept. of Corrections broadcast the movie Brokeback Mountain to inmates of the largest facility of the state last month. A PR official quickly made the PC comment that "the action was not related to the plot" (the gay relationship) "but the graphic nature of sexually explicit scenes" One wonders what the inmates thought of the whole thing, but they don't have expert PR agencies working for them, so their reaction remains unknown.
A Sci-Fi Great Dies: Richard Fleischer, director of such classics as Soylent Green, Fantastic Voyage, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea passed away late April in Los Angeles. Starting in the mid 1940s, he worked with many of the most influential stars and worked on the most popular movies of the eras. The Terminator himself, the governor of California, said in a statement: "He was a man of great talent and an extraordinary director who leaves behind a legacy of amazing films."
Lovely Keys: One of my favorite musicians is moving into acting. Alicia Keys will appear in The Nanny Diaries, an adaptation of the popular book written by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Keys will portray the best friend of fellow actor Scarlett Johansson's character. While this film may be a drama, Keys is also playing an assassin in another upcoming film, Smoking Aces.
Coming Attractions for... Coming Attractions?: How the heck do you create the trailer for this one? It's all trailer! Okay, maybe not quite, but close enough. The documentary and educational film chronicles the history of making the movie trailer, although ironically it cannot be played in your local theater for legal reasons. It can't even be shown on the silver screen's nemesis, the TV. It was shown in late April at UCLA's James Bridges Theater, dovetailed with the maker of the film's donation to the UCLA School of Theater.
