1 giugno: Un po' di news!

	E' finalmente disponibile il trailer del film CELLULAR (in uscita negli USA il 17.09.2004). Potete visionarlo su http://www.cellularthemovie.com
	E' disponibile anche in Germania il DVD di PEOPLE I KNOW. Il film è uscito col titolo IM INNEREN KREIS. Negli USA il DVD sarà disponibile dal 20 luglio 2004.
	Splendida Kim - Il film è già stato classificato come sconsigliato ai minori, si tratta di The door in the floor di cui è prevista l'uscita negli Stati Uniti per giugno 2004. Tra gli interpreti , l'affascinante Jeff Bridges e l'eternamente bella Kim Basinger. L'attrice interpreterà un altro ruolo controverso, sulla scia di quello della madre di 8th Mile, apparirà completamente nuda e, nella finzione cinematografica, farà sesso con un ragazzo molto più giovane di lei. Il film è diretto da Tod Williams ed è tratto da un romanzo di John Irving il cui titolo originale è Widow for one year. Jeff e Kim saranno i coniugi Ted e Marion Cole. La vicenda dell'assegnazione dei due ruoli è stata lunga e tormentata. Dal 2001 si erano proposti vari attori tra cui Julianne Moore, Laura Linney e Bill Murray. Alla fine però Kim ha accettato e soprattutto è stata considerata credibile per la parte e dotata di un notevole phisique du role. Lo stesso regista ha dichiarato: "Kim è bellissima. Ha compiuto 50 anni ma ha il corpo e le movenze di una venticinquenne. E' perfetta". Le forme statuarie della Basinger si prestano, per una sorta di opposizione estetica, ad atmosfere thrilling ma, dopo questo film, è già in preparazione un ruolo brillante per la bella e brava Kim. Sarà fra i protagonisti di una commedia di Joel Zwick, regista di Il mio grosso grasso matrimonio greco, che si intitolerà Elvis has left the building. La produzione ha garantito che la bellezza della cinquantenne Kim sarà scioccante.
	In onda su SUNDANCE CHANNEL da oggi - "Anatomy of a Scene: Door in the Floor" -- A peek inside Tod Williams' (The Adventures of Sebastian Cole) new drama, adapted from John Irving's novel A Widow for One Year. Set in 1958, the film stars Jeff Bridges as children's book author Ted Cole, whose once-solid marriage to the beautiful Marion (Kim Basinger) has gone off the rails since a freak accident killed their teenage sons. Co-starring Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers and Bijou Phillips, Door in the Floor opens on June 23rd. "Anatomy of a Scene: Door in the Floor" premieres on June 1st at 9:00pm and also airs on the 4th at 1:30pm and 11:30pm, the 5th at 12:30pm and 10:40pm, the 6th at 10:30am and 7:30pm, and the 7th at 8:30pm.

10 giugno: Un po' di news!

Dal 15 giugno sarà disponibile in DVD il documentario "RITA" (58 min.). Kim Basinger (voice) - Nicole Kidman - Yasmin Aga Khan - Ann Miller - Tab Hunter - Anthony Franciosa - Juanita Moore - Eli Wallach - Director: Elaina Archer. Genre: Documentary. Synopsis: A dored by millions all over the world, Rita Hayworth was an incredibly beautiful and gifted actress and dancer. One of Hollywood's most famous film stars, she became known as the "Love Goddess" after her memorable role in Gilda (1946), the movie that forever immortalized her on the silver screen. This first-rate femme fatale was brash and openly sexual on camera, but charming and sincere - shy even - off the set. By continually reinventing herself and transforming her screen image, Rita remained in the spotlight with a career that spanned over four decades. Using personal home movies and never-before-seen footage, Rita thoroughly chronicles Hayworth's public triumphs and private struggles. And behind-the-scenes glimpses into her personal life reveal her tumultuous marriages to high-profile men Orson Welles and Prince Aly Aga Khan, among others. Narrated by Kim Basinger, this touching and captivating documentary includes interviews with Nicole Kidman, Hayworth's daughter Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, close friend Ann Miller; co-stars Tab Hunter, Anthony Franciosa, Juanita Moore, Eli Wallach and Marc Platt; directors Vincent Sherman, George Sidney and Delbert Mann; and more. Rare outtakes, color camera tests and behind-the-scenes footage spanning Rita's entire career including her earliest appearance dancing on film; Rita's voice narrating excerpts of the program her own story in her own words. Never-before-seen home movies from her family's private collection. Over 300 photographs - many rare or never-before-seen.

L'uscita americana di THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR è slittata al 14 luglio 2004.

16 giugno: Un po' di news!

	The parties started early for the upcoming Focus Features release "The Door in the Floor," directed and written for the screen by Tod Williams. The film will hit theaters on June 23, but there was a party for the film last week at New York's hip Maritime Hotel, attended by Williams and his fiancee Gretchen Mol, producers This is That and Revere Pictures, the Cinetic Crowd, Focus' David Linde and many more. The film is adapted from John Irving's "A Widow for One Year," and it stars Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, and Bijou Phillips.
	Release date for THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR - As part of a wave of movies apparently avoiding getting in the way of the June 25th release of Michael Moore's latest film, Focus has bumped the release back a few weeks until July 14th.
	Maui Film Festival To Kick Off Wednesday With 40+ Features - The fifth-annual Maui Film Festival rolls into Wailea, Hawaii this week with an outdoor screening of Universal Pictures' family film "Two Brothers" at the Tommy Bahama Celestial Cinema. A performance by contemporary Hawaiian musicians Barry Flanagan and Eric Gilliom from the band HAPA will precede the screening. More than 40 full length films from 12 countries were chosen for this year's five-day festival. Film highlights include: the French comedy "Love Me if You Dare"; Tod Williamson's "The Door in the Floor" starring Kim Basinger; and the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema audience award winner "Seducing Doctor Lewis." Scottie Gissel's film about a young married couple dealing with the husband's recent paralyzation, "June & Orlando," will have its world premiere Friday at the McCoy Theater. Other films include festival circuit regulars "Garden State," "Maria Full of Grace," and "Control Room." Featured docs include Louis Schwartzberg's "America's Heart and Soul" and the surfing film "The Ride," which will be screened at the rooftop Maui Digital Skydome. In addition to these films, a short film showcase during the festival will screen 15 shorts. The late-night silent film Charlie Chaplin celebration, accompanied live by Maui keyboardist Les Adam, will be held at the outdoor SandDance Theater on Wailea Beach on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 10 p.m. This year, the annual event will feature Chaplin's films "The Cure," "The Rink," and "The Tramp," among others. The bash is free to festival goers and the general public. Several panels will be held during the week with themes ranging from "NASA: Shooting for the Stars with Digital Technology" to "Xtreme Filmmaking." Other special attractions include the first annual Cosmic Comedy Club event and a sand sculpture contest on Father's Day on Wailea Beach. In tribute presentations held throughout the week, the festival will honor actress Angela Bassett, comedian Bill Maher, actor Woody Harrelson, and producer Ted Hope. The closing night party on June 20, during which the Spirit of Aloha Audience Awards will be presented, will have music provided by the local Maui band Dr. Nat and Rio Ritmo. [For more information, please visit: http://www.mauifilmfestival.com/.]
	Movie: The Door in the Floor - Bringing Literature to the Screen - John Irving and Tod Williams Author and Film Director "The Door in the Floor" stars Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, and is based on John Irving's novel, "A Widow for One Year."  In the film, Bridges and Basinger play a husband and wife who grieve the loss of their sons in different ways, each harboring secrets from the other. Best-selling author John Irving and film director Tod Williams was online Monday, June 14 at 12:15 p.m. ET, to discuss the process of bringing literature to the big screen. Irving is the author of numerous novels, several of which have been adapted into films. They include: "The World According to Garp," "The Cider House Rules" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany." He also wrote "My Movie Business," a memoir about the process of adapting "Cider House" for Hollywood. Williams wrote the screenplay for "Door in the Floor" in addition to directing the film. He previously directed the independent feature, "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole." "The Door in the Floor" opens nationwide on July 14. Washington, D.C.: Mr. Williams, how closely did you work with Mr. Irving (himself, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter for best adapted screenplay) on the adaptation of his novel. As the screenwriter and the director, I imagine that at some point, you had to make it your own. What was that experience like? Thanks.  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: As a huge fan of John's and a younger writer, I couldn't resist the opportunity of consulting him in the casting process, the adaptation and in the editing room. In terms of making it my own, I think as a filmmaker you're reacting to 2,500 questions a day so you can't have all the right answers, you have to answer them based on instinct. I never thought to make it my own. I always wanted to make the film its own entity.  JI: I really enjoyed this collaboration these four years because I liked his idea from the beginning and I think that the script just got better and better with every draft. I really liked the editing part of the process and I feel that part of making a film is a lot more like writing a novel than writing a screenplay is. When you're in the post-production part of the film it's a lot like writing a novel rather than a screeenplay. I've liked this collaboration so much that I hope that we can work together again.  _______________________  Fairfax, Va.: The book has many transgressions and twists and turns that couldn't possibly be followed in a film. What story line/theme did you choose to concentrate on in the movie?  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: For people who don't know, the film only deals with the first 183 pages of a 700+ page novel. So we're only dealing with essentially the section in the book called Summer 1958. One of the good things about this approach is that if people want to know what happens to these people for the next 30 years, they can read about them in the book.  JI: It's very appealing to a novelist to see such a faithful transcription of the beginning of a novel because it leaves the rest of the novel for readers to discover. It also means that for the moviegoers who've read A Widow for One Year, they won't be disappointed because the film is so faithful and it stops at a natural place of closure. It's a novel like a play in three acts. You couldn't do with every novel. You couldn't with any other novel of mine. But in this one there are three distinct acts.  _______________________  Wexford, Pa.: Since both of you have written screenplays, how easy (or difficult) is it for you to cut scenes during rewrites? And have you ever cut scenes that you absolutely loved writing but were forced to excise because they seemed superfluous in the end?  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: In all of writing you end of cutting out things that you love and things that could take you in all kinds of directions. A one-hour or two-hour form of film is particularly strict. My editor kept a collection of scenes that I loved that were cut. But they won't appear on the DVD. I think the movie's finished. If you kill your babies, you have to let them remain dead.  JI: In my case, I remember losing one of my favorite scene from The Cider House Rules because it was a longer scene than the scenes that surrounded it and we couldn't make the scenes shorter. It was the kind of scene that you had to do all of it or none of it. Everyone agreed that we had to lose it because it was disproportionate in length but at the same time you regret it because of the work that went into it. But you never have extra time in a film. You always feel that you have to lose something. You're always looking for another thing that you can lose.  _______________________  Harrisburg, Pa.: Frequently the most intriguing or exciting parts of novels happen inside a character's head. How can you translate those inner thoughts or epiphanic moments to the screen?  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: You have to accept that you can't be as specific but you gain so much by seeing a real human actor feeling these things in front of your eyes.  JI: The actor does make the difference because so many times in a novel you need to describe and describe and describe how someone looks. You have to say what he's feeling; you have to show how he feels by what he says -- give him dialogue. If an actor's good enough in a film, you can lose the dialogue and just see the actor reacting and that reaction goes a long way to compensate for what you can't do from a novel.  _______________________  Washington, D.C.: What do you think of the casting?  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: Casting is the most important thing probably a director does. If you cast wrong, you're going to use every other ounce of energy you have trying to remedy that mistake. But if you cast right, you're gonna find out much more about the material and the possibilities than you saw before. If you cast right, on some level, you almost can't go wrong. In this case, Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger and John Foster were so completely living out these characters that they allowed us to cut out even more scenes and more dialogue and maybe to be more subtle and more layered.  JI: Maybe the best example of that in The Door in the Floor is a scene that Tod wrote that isn't in the book where Marion is leaving her husband and her daughter and the audience knows it but the husband doesn't know it and we watched them have this wordless goodbye. No dialogue. And it's a situation where the Kim Basinger character knows what's happening and the Jeff Bridges character doesn't know yet, but in this small scene you see that he knows that there's something he doesn't know. He recognizes that something's wrong. It was a scene when I first read it on the page that made me anxious. I wondered if it would be clear, but when you see it, because of how good Jeff and Kim are, it's perfect.  _______________________  Washington, D.C.: Was the name change precipitated in any way by the possibility of making parts two and three into films?  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: Not at all.  There's no widow in the section that we're covering.  JI: At the end of the film the character who will be a widow is only four years old, so we had to come up with a more suitable title.  TW: And when we started thinking about that, that led us to the title that we have which then became increasingly important and for me, as a director, the key to the entire film.  We all had so much fun making the movie that we fantasized in doing a sequel in 30 years but at this point there's no intention in doing one.  _______________________  Herndon, Va.: Obviously you didn't get too hung up on matching appearances since Marion is a dark brunette in the book and Basinger is on the blonde side. I wonder, especially for Mr. Irving, if it is strange to see his character looking significantly different on the screen than he'd imagined her when writing the book?  John Irving and Tod Williams: JI: No, because Marion's beauty in the novel is largely seen through Eddie's (John Foster) eyes. Marion's beauty has an effect in the film which is the same as in the novel. And she is also described in the novel as someone who was more beautiful -- not because she's older now but because she's lost two of her children and the damage of that is also part of the way she looks. And Kim looked just that way -- like a beautiful woman who's lost something unspeakable.  _______________________  Philadelphia, Pa.: The use of voice over is criticized but it is often used when adapting novels to the screen. Can you talk about how you work with voice over?  John Irving and Tod Williams: JI: Well there is no voice/over in this film but I think I know why voice over is so frequently criticized. It's not because it's a bad device. In films, when the voice over was a part of the screenplay, a part of the original idea for the film, it can be beautiful and it's an excellent fast-forwarding device. The reason it draws criticism is that it's often used in an eleventh hour gesture desperate to bail out a bad film. In other words, the movie was bad before the voice over but it was also unclear. Voice over is a device that is frequently brought in to fix a bad movie and you can't fix a bad movie but don't blame the voice over.  _______________________  Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: Mr. Irving, you've had a few of your books turned into films. Do you view your books cinematically while you are writing them now? Like, I won't put this part in because it wouldn't work well on screen? Also, how many of your books have you sold the film rights to that have never been made into a movie?  John Irving and Tod Williams: JI: I've written 10 novels. Only four of them ever interested me as films to the degree that I wanted to write the screenplay. I never think about the movie that might or might not be while writing a novel. I only think about the novel. In the case of only two of my books, Setting Free the Bears and The Fourth Hand, have I sold the film rights and not yet seen the film go into production. Setting Free the Bears will never be made. The Fourth Hand will be -- it just hasn't been made yet. Another adaptation of The Son of the Circus is written as a screenplay but I have not yet sold the rights, therefore I still own everything about it -- book and screenplay.  _______________________  Chicago, Ill.: How difficult is it for a new author or screenwriter to have their works considered by filmmakers in Hollywood? What recommendations would you give to such an author or screenwriter?  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: I was always annoyed when my father told me that hard work and persistence was the only way to get ahead and I was even more annoyed when it turned out that he was right. You just have to keep trying if that's what you want to do. But it's not easy.  _______________________  Arlington, Va.: I'm concerned about the message the trailer sends that 50-year-old women can prey upon underage boys, if they're upset enough. It's not OK and your film shouldn't imply it is.  John Irving and Tod Williams: TW: See the film before you make a judgment.  _______________________  Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pleasure to be chatting to you both! Mr. Irving, your book is from the wife's point of view, whilst the trailers for the film appear to concentrate on the husband. Was the p.o.v. changed for the film? Also, the most successful adaptation of one of your novels was when you scripted "Cider House Rules." The others, frankly, have been disappointing, with "Simon Birch" spectacularly bad, in my opinion. As a dare-to-dream screenwriter myself, I'd like to know how closely did you work with Mr. Williams in adapting this book? Was it from FADE IN: or did he hand you a completed draft and you suggested changes, if any? Mr. Williams, I'm eagerly looking forward to this film. Thank you for giving Ms. Basinger a good, juicy role. Despite her Oscar, I think she's a vastly underrated actress and deserves many more accolades than she gets.  John Irving and Tod Williams: JI: I wouldn't be doing publicity for this film if I didn't love it.  _______________________  North Carolina: Hi Mr. Irving, I am a big fan. Owen Meany is my favorite of your books. I wish it had been a thousand pages longer!  -- SPOILER ALERT! Do not read the rest of this question if you haven't read a Widow for One Year.--  I recently finished reading A Widow for One Year and was surprised that Ruth wasn't more traumatized by some of her experiences (the rape, her father's death, Rooie's death). I would think that these experiences would have an impact on a person's sense of self and security. Does the screenplay explore this more deeply? At the very least, I think Ruth would need some serious therapy!  John Irving and Tod Williams: JI: Ruth is a writer. Writing is therapy. She becomes a writer. If you write for eight hours a day it would be extraneous to talk to a therapist too. The film begins and ends with Ruth as a four year old girl .. the summer her mother leaves her and her father and it's about why.

17 giugno: Basinger Better Than Ever - Stunning Kim Basinger is back on the big screen and looking better than ever at age 50. And when we sat down with Kim to talk about her latest film, "The Door in the Floor," Basinger joked about how she manages to stay wrinkle free: "I never laugh, and I never cry." Basinger apparently saved all her emotion for her role opposite Jeff Bridges in the dark tale about a good marriage gone bad, based on the best seller "A Widow for One Year." "The offer to do the movie came at a time in my life when I just understood her," Basinger said of her character in the film. "I understood this part very well." After her own marriage to Alec Baldwin ended, Kim publicly endured a custody battle over their daughter, Ireland. But the notoriously-shy Oscar winner said she’s now in a much better place. "Forgiveness is a real good word," she insisted. "Forgiveness of anybody who's ever hurt you, anything that's ever happened in your life that you keep inside; if you really make it a real goal to get it out of you, you have no idea the freedom and the light it will bring to your life." And although Basinger claims living constantly in the spotlight is at times "mortifying" and "horrifying," she realizes that it has only made her stronger. "I won't say you ever become comfortable with it," Basinger admitted. "There is something that has happened to me and, because I'm such a shy person, having to live it out loud in front of everyone has made me a stronger woman, so much stronger, that it's been a gift to me in a way." And the gifted actress is radiant in her return to the silver screen in "The Door in the Floor," opening June 23rd.

18 giugno: KIM BASINGER: I'M READY TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN EVEN by Hollywood's excessive standards, it is one of the most vicious splits on record. As Kim Basinger fought Alec Baldwin for custody of their daughter, she was branded a "black-widow" and a "nutcase", while he was accused of being a domineering wife-beater. Today, two years after they divorced, the 50-year-old actress still refuses to refer to her ex-husband by name. But she says she is now ready to start looking for a new man. "I don't have a man in my life at this time but who knows?" she smiles. "Love would be wonderful, somewhere down the road. "I still believe in the union of marriage. It's wonderful and I just hope that the partnership is unconditional and trustworthy, and full of humour and grace." They are four words which cannot be used to describe her eight-year marriage to Baldwin, 46. The pair first met in 1988, while filming the sci-fi comedy My Stepmother Is An Alien. But they did not get together until 1991, while co-starring in The Marrying Man. They wed two years later but it was a stormy union from the start with friends saying that when they weren't kissing and cuddling, the couple were throwing chairs at one another in screaming matches. Even so, they stayed together until January 2001. Insiders say they would have split earlier had it not been for their eight-year-old daughter, Ireland. Today, now the dust has settled, Kim says it hasn't been easy to forgive Baldwin. "Forgiveness is a hard thing to practise when the person keeps repeatedly doing what he's doing - sometimes you want to go out and kill somebody. "You go through a great deal of pain and angst and everything. I'm a Christian, so I even pray for my enemies. "My experience has been that if you let go of all that pain it will make a tremendous difference in your life because there's so much more to hang on to than resentment. "Hatred is the worst kind of cancer. If someone has hurt you and you keep it inside, it eventually shows up on your face. I truly believe that what you keep pent up inside of you is the way you look." Kim says she manages to get by thanks to God and a sense of humour. "Everybody has their hurdles and their ups and downs but I think if I had not kept my sense of humour and my faith I don't know where I'd be." Kim has an endearing ability to see the funny side of things - a quality she has desperately needed in the past two years. Although her split with Baldwin was amicable at first, things soon turned nasty. It began when a newspaper article claimed Baldwin had drunkenly beaten his wife. Others soon waded into the battle, with Baldwin's brother, Billy, branding Kim a "black-widow spider" and a "nutcase". Model-agency founder Eileen Ford, who Kim regards as a second mother, hit back, saying Baldwin "dragged her down for years with his jealousy". She added: "Their marriage prevented her making the most of her talent. She was such a sweet girl - marrying Baldwin was a mistake." In a court appearance in January to discuss custody of Ireland, Kim and Baldwin refused even to look at each other. Today, she and her daughter live in a modest home in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles while Baldwin spends most of his time in New York. Despite her antipathy for her ex-husband, who has joint custody of Ireland, she encourages her daughter to maintain a relationship with him. "Any child should get to know the truth about her parents. They should discover it on their own, without having the other parent tell them anything." While she refuses to refer to Baldwin by name, it is clear she has him in mind when she expounds on marriage, divorce and family. "It's a tragedy that there are so many divorces and messed-up family relationships, and that adults who call themselves adults put their emotional illnesses on their children. "It's not easy being a child in this world and every child - and I don't care how dysfunctional the family is - has to have one strong family member. "You brought that child into the world, so it is your responsibility. Whether you're lucky enough to have a partner who shares your views or whether you're alone, it's your job to help that child come out of this as physically, emotionally and mentally healthy as possible. "My role as a mother is the most important thing in my life. I'm responsible for another human being. I'm a single mum who cooks, takes her to school every day etc etc. I love what I do between 'action' and 'cut' but Ireland comes first. "I don't think enough adults look beyond the sexual act and take responsibility for what it is they have got themselves into." KIM reveals that motherhood has taught her that there are a lot of people who should never have had children. "It's about sacrifice, dedication and commitment in the truest, rawest sense. It has been the greatest thing I will ever do - and the greatest joy I will ever know in my life was giving birth to this little girl. "There are so many things she has taught me and so many things I never thought in a million years I would become or accomplish - and it's all because of her." Yet now that Pearl Harbor star Baldwin is out of her life, Kim says she is looking for a new man - and doesn't rule out marrying again. And, unlike her ex - described by her in divorce papers as foul-mouthed and menacing - Kim's next partner must be trustworthy and loving. Her unshakeable belief in marriage stems from her upbringing - her parents separated in 1980 but never divorced. Yet Kim's life has been as packed full of extraordinary events as one of her movies. Painfully shy as a youngster growing up on a farm in Georgia, Kim came out of her shell through ballet lessons and, at 17, moved to New York to begin modelling. After five years as a cover girl, she landed TV guest spots on Starsky And Hutch and Charlie's Angels. In 1980 married Ron Snyder-Britton, although the couple divorced in 1988. Kim made her big-screen debut in 1981 in Hard Country, with Jan-Michael Vincent, and two years later co-starred with Burt Reynolds in The Man Who Loved Women. That same year, she caused a stir by appearing naked in Playboy and in 1984 she was appearing alongside Robert Redford in The Natural. She went on to play the voluptuous Vicki Vale in Batman and then made a string of so-so films including the steamy 91/2 Weeks. In 1993, she was forced to declare bankruptcy after a legal wrangle over a contract to appear in the controversial film Boxing Helena. She was forced to sell her £14m interest in the town of Braselton, Georgia, which she had brought with a group of investors in 1989, although the breach of contract verdict was later overturned. Her career, which peaked when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for LA Confidential in 1997, then went into a downward slide until 2002, when she played Eminem's troubled mother in 8 Mile. While Kim now devotes much of her time to motherhood and animal charities - she and her daughter have 21 pets - she is once again lining up film roles. She recently finished co-starring with Jeff Bridges in an emotional film about family relationships, The Door In The Floor - from a John Irving book - which includes some graphic sex scenes. Kim, who is recovering from back surgery, says she had to think carefully before taking the role. "I wasn't sure whether I could physically do what I needed to do but I thought it was beautifully written. "If I'd believed it was just gratuitous I wouldn't have done it, although I don't think I can see myself going out with a teenager as happened in the film." She laughs. "Still, love comes in strange packages." Nudity has never bothered Kim and she can now look back and laugh at the comments made when she posed for Playboy. "Some very prudish people asked: 'What are you going to tell your children?' "I thought that might be in 50 years time and that I might not even have any children. "As it was, I told Ireland last year and I loved explaining to her what I did, why I did it and how we all make choices and mistakes. "I take full responsibility and have no regrets but, hopefully, she'll learn from my errors."

19 giugno: Alec Baldwin's Legally Allocated Time With Daughter - Hollywood hunk Alec Baldwin will lose his rights to visit daughter Ireland if he ignores his ex-wife, Kim Basinger's detailed custody deal. The Cooler actor, 46, has been handed a strict timetable dictating when he can see his child and the number of minutes he can spend on phone calls to her - he is also ordered to have "personal female assistance" on standby when the eight-year-old visits. Oscar-winning Basinger, 50, was given primary custody by a Los Angeles judge - who says Baldwin can spend the first and third weekends of the month with Ireland. The couple have also agreed not to put each other down in front of their daughter and to communicate by phone or fax to avoid more arguments - as part of the legal arrangement. Basinger and Baldwin met on the set of The Marrying Man in 1991 and divorced in 2002. 

20 giugno: WHEN IS A DOOR NOT A DOOR? When novelist and New Hampshire resident John Irving and writer/director Tod Williams talk about their collaboration on "The Door in the Floor," which screens at the Nantucket Film Festival today, it's one seamless conversation. No wonder the movie went together as well as it did. "I bought the book as a fan, as a reader, and read the first section -- more or less -- in one piece. Then I wrote a letter to John asking him if that could be made into a movie," said Williams. "It was a good letter," Irving said. The movie, starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, opens in theaters July 14. It's based on part of Irving's novel "A Widow for One Year." Irving said the film is one of the two best film adaptations of his works -- the other being "The Cider House Rules" -- "and I say that without argument."

21 giugno: Basinger and Baldwin ordered to attend counselling - Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger have been told to undergo counselling to settle a bitter custody battle over their daughter. A Los Angeles judge ordered them to take 'parent-centredness' counselling because of the strain on eight-year-old daughter Ireland's upbringing. The order was made by a judge who settled exactly when, where and for how long they can be with the child. He also set out strict rules for the pair to e-mail and fax each other so they avoid talking to each other. It was decided that Ireland would stay with her mother most of the time but Alec could see her on the first and third weekends of the month, plus some Mondays. Ireland will alternate between her parents on her birthdays and there is a complex arrangement for sharing Christmas and New Year evenly between them. 

22 giugno: Basinger and Baldwin Settle Custody Suit - Divorced stars Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger have reached a settlement in their bitter custody dispute over their eight-year-old daughter, Ireland. Baldwin and Basinger broke up two years ago and have been battling over Ireland ever since. Baldwin usually bolted from court after recent appearances, rushing back to New York where he lives, while Basinger never spoke to the media. But their final agreement, obtained by "CJ," speaks volumes. It's filled with cross-outs and last minute revisions -- reflecting what some insiders called a "poisonous" atmosphere surrounding the negotiations. According to the agreement, Basinger will spend the most time with Ireland, who will stay with her mother on the West Coast. Meanwhile, Baldwin agrees to set up a residence in Los Angeles in order to be with Ireland on the weekends. He also agrees to have a female "child care assistant" present whenever Ireland stays over. The 13-page settlement document takes into account Ireland's every birthday, every holiday, every school event, and every vacation. When Baldwin takes Ireland to school, Basinger can call her on her cell phone, but must "keep a record" of those calls. If Ireland gets invited to a birthday party, either parent must notify the other even before their little girl knows. Based on these details, and the reported bitterness of the custody negotiations, it's not surprising that Basinger and Baldwin have agreed to go to parent centeredness counseling.

23 giugno: KIM, ALEC AND THEIR TIMESHARE DAUGHTER - Custody battle is ended by judge. A COURT has turned Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger's child into a timeshare daughter after a bitter custody battle. A Los Angeles judge has laid out the painstaking details of the contact the Hollywood stars will have with eight-year-old Ireland. His precise ruling describes which holidays, birthdays and weekends they are each entitled to and even how long they can spend on the phone to her. In addition, both Baldwin, 46, and Basinger, 50, are to undergo counselling and Ireland is to received therapy to deal with her dysfunctional family atmosphere. The couple's divorce and custody battle has been one of the most bitter and long-running in Hollywood history. Basinger, who won a best supporting actress Oscar in 1997 for her role in LA Confidential, filed for divorce in 2002, after nine years of marriage. After a long custody battle, the ruling leaves no room for doubt in who sees their daughter when. Baldwin has been given permission to spend the first and third weekends of each month with her, picking her up from school or summer camp on a Friday evening and dropping her back at school or camp on Monday mornings. But Judge Roy Paul has told the actor, who starred in The Hunt For Red October, he is not allowed to take Ireland out of California during those weekends. The bickering pair have been told to choose which summer holiday dates they want with Ireland before March 1 each year, with Basinger getting first pick in even numbered years and Baldwin going first in odd numbered years. And the Christmas holidays have been split down the middle. One year Basinger sees Ireland on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the next year she gets her on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The judge has also ordered that Baldwin can get two long weekends a year with his daughter. But he must provide Basinger with 30 days' written notice . Judge Paul has even told the pair when and for how long they can call Ireland when she is with the other parent on a trip. The ruling states: 'The petitioner (Basinger) shall be entitled to speak telephonically to the minor child on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8am to 8.30am for a maximum of 10 minutes from the petitioner's car phone on the way to school or camp.' The couple only communicate by fax or email. But Basinger has to set up a phone line in her home just for Baldwin's use in case of emergency. Dear Kim and Alec I DON'T know if the pair of you have ever heard of a guy called Solomon. If you haven't, you should look him up in the Old T estament 1st Kings, Chapter 3.Y ou might find it instructive. These two women came to Solomon with a child, both alleging it was theirs. They asked the king to decide which of them should keep the babe and he, being a smart cookie, told them just to cut it in two. One of the mothers immediately withdrew her claim and Solomon awarded her the child. She had proved she was the real mother as she didn't want the baby harmed. Now I am not suggesting you two physically want little Ireland sliced in two but emotionally that is exactly what this sterile judgment has done. She's being treated as property. Something which can be neatly packaged off in pieces. Parents who are no longer together should work out sensible access rights to their kids. Children need both their parents. I would be the last to say otherwise. But arrangements have to have some degree of flexibility. Sticking to something which is so regimented that it lays down to the last second not only how much time Ireland spends with each of her parents but precisely the length of her phone calls is much too rigid. There has to be some give and take because there will be times when it makes more sense for Ireland to stay with her mum while there will be yet others when she may prefer to remain with her dad. So who's going to drag her kicking and screaming from one house to the other? Will it be your lawyers or your lackeys? I note you two apparently loathe each other so much that you can only communicate via fax or email. Do you really think Ireland will be unaffected? Knowing her parents can't be trusted to exchange a civilised word is hardly going to help keep her happy is it? No wonder the poor kiddie has to have therapy . God knows what she'll be like at 18. Meanwhile you're going to undergo counselling. Me? I'd just bang your heads together and keep on banging until some sense was knocked into a selfish couple whose hatred for each other appears greater than their love for their child.

24 giugno: Kim Basinger is looking for love, one more time! After a messy divorce and an even messier fight for the custody of her daughter, Kim Basinger is now looking for a new man in her life. "I don't have a man in my life at this time but who knows? Love would be wonderful, somewhere down the road," the 50-year-old actress said in an interview to The Mirror.Kim reiterated her faith in the institution of marriage and said, "I still believe in the union of marriage." "It's wonderful and I just hope that the partnership is unconditional and trustworthy, and full of humour and grace," she added. Without taking his name Kim said she had forgiven her ex husband Baldwin for everything. She said, "Forgiveness is a hard thing to practice when the person keeps repeatedly doing what he's doing, sometimes you want to go out and kill somebody." "You go through a great deal of pain and angst and everything. I'm a Christian, so I even pray for my enemies," she concluded.

25 giugno: Il film SOGNANDO L'AFRICA, trasmesso lunedì 21 giugno alle 21.00 su Canale 5 ha ottenuto un ascolto pari a 3.510.000 telespettatori (share: 15,24%).

26 giugno: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER review for THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR - The Door in the Floor. By Michael Rechtshaffen. Bottom line: Bridges, Basinger and filmmaker Williams do poetic justice to a challenging Irving novel. (Opens July 14). Adapting John Irving novels to the screen is a tricky bit of business. When the elements come together successfully, the results can take the generally pleasing forms of "The World According to Garp" and "The Cider House Rules" (for which Irving himself handled screenplay honors). When they don't, you're stuck with the lumpy "Hotel New Hampshire" or the treacly "Simon Birch," which was loosely based on Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany." Breaking the tie, "The Door in the Floor" -- taking its cue from the first part of Irving's "A Widow for One Year" -- falls satisfyingly into the plus category. A tragicomic rumination on life and death and love and sex (but not necessarily in that order), the production is graced by bold performances, lyrical visuals and, most notably, Irving's own words, which have made the transition quite intact thanks to a faithful but still filmic adaptation by writer-director Tod Williams. With its tragic emotional underpinnings and complex characters, the Focus Features release would have seemed more at home in the fall release schedule rather than taking on potential blockbusters like "I, Robot" and "King Arthur," but the counterprogramming gambit could work in the picture's favor, giving it a neat jump on all those upcoming awards hopefuls. As with the earlier section of Irving's 576-page novel, "Door" chronicles a fateful summer in the splintering lives of an East Hampton couple still struggling to cope with the tragic deaths of their two sons. While free-spirited Ted Cole (a terrific Jeff Bridges), a successful children's author and illustrator, has seemingly moved on from the mourning process by indulging his weakness for infidelity, his wife, Marion (Kim Basinger), remains in a troubling state of withdrawal. The pallor over their seaside household has forced their 4-year-old daughter, Ruth (Elle Fanning, Dakota's equally capable little sister), to grow up fast.  But a coastal disturbance soon arrives in the form of Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster), a young man who's ostensibly hired on as Ted's intern but quickly develops a major crush on Marion. Much to his surprise, his feverish sexual yearning is reciprocated, though their steamy affair doesn't exactly lead to a tidy emotional recovery for the damaged family unit. Williams, who made his feature debut with "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole" and is working on a remake of "To Have and Have Not" for Benicio Del Toro, does a careful job of extracting and reshaping the Irving material, never shying away from the book's more overtly sexual elements, without detracting from the film's own separate identity. Key to that success is a strong ensemble playing flawed characters that essentially dare the audience to like them.  The fundamentally likable Bridges gamely pushes all that goodwill to the far edge as the unorthodox Ted, logging one of his best performances in the process.  Basinger, meanwhile, who shared the screen with Bridges in Robert Benton's "Nadine," really immerses herself into her character's complex layers with similarly impressive results. Also doing gutsy work is Mimi Rogers, who has been given very little to hide behind as the needy, hot-blooded object of Bridges' daytime affections. Behind the camera, cinematographer Terry Stacey ("American Splendor") is responsible for some truly lovely compositions, movingly underscored by Marcelo Zarvos' eloquent music.

27 giugno: Jeff Bridges Gets Good Ink in Variety Review - Bridges, among the most underrated actors currently working in Hollywood (who, is not only The Dude "the rug really tied the room together, man," but has also given one great perf after another and is continually snubbed by the Academy) is getting some good early press as Variety's David Rooney reports - Basinger is praised as well: Looking weathered and careworn yet still handsome and effortlessly charming as befits his character, Bridges does his best work in years. Seemingly self-effacing yet self-absorbed and full of the sense of entitlement common to creative artists, Ted is a feckless man on many levels yet never entirely unsympathetic thanks to the actor's richly humanizing performance. Stripped of vanity -- and of clothing in several scenes -- Bridges is unafraid to embrace the character's flaws. Playing a woman whose beauty and grace seem irreconcilably at odds with her deep sorrow and almost catatonic hollowness, Basinger manages to be moving without obvious shows of emotion. She deftly walks a fine line in Marion's affair with Eddie, which could easily have teetered into crude awkwardness.

28 giugno: Laid-Back Jeff Bridges, Going Where the Spirit Takes Him - Jeff Bridges is changing his clothes in the green room of the "Tavis Smiley Show." He is shedding his casual Santa Barbara persona — white Mexican shirt, gray linen slacks and loafers — for a leading man look: elegant black shirt, gray suit and suede shoes. He is in Hollywood to promote "The Door in the Floor," Tod Williams's $7 million film adaptation of the 1998 John Irving novel, "A Widow for One Year," co-starring Kim Basinger. He plays a children's book author, a blond, bearded, charismatic, womanizing narcissist whose estranged wife is still grief-stricken after the death of their two sons in a car accident. Early reviews of the film, which opens on July 14, positioned as relief for audiences sated by big action films, suggest it is the best role the actor has had in years. There is even some Oscar buzz about Mr. Bridges, 54, who has had three nominations for supporting roles and one for best actor in 1984 for "Starman." This week he will finish filming "The Moguls" an $8 million indie gamble he calls "a sweet Frank Capra-does-porn story." Leaving his beat-up brown leather briefcase behind in the green room, Mr. Bridges pops up on the television monitor. The actor adopts his familiar, affably goofy public persona with Mr. Smiley. But he takes care that the talk show host shows off to best advantage several panoramic black-and-white photographs from "Pictures by Jeff Bridges," a 2003 collection of photographs he has taken over the years on film sets and on location. Though Mr. Bridges cultivates a laid-back manner and likes to fly under the radar of superstardom, he takes all of his art — acting, painting or playing guitar — quite seriously. Later, in an interview, it becomes apparent that he wants people to underestimate him so that he is free to go where the spirit takes him, guided less by big paydays or commercial prospects than by his own impulses and taste, which lean toward the offbeat. It helps that he has had more flops than hits. He has played leading men ("King Kong" 1975), villains ("Jagged Edge" 1985) and in the Coen brothers' 1998 cult comedy, "The Big Lebowski," a pot-addled slacker known as the Dude. He played the portly racehorse owner Charles Howard in last year's "Seabiscuit," which won a best picture nomination. He has slimmed down considerably since then and shows off his new form in "The Door in the Floor," prancing around in the nude, scenes that Mr. Bridges plays with unabashed relish.He said, "I've gone out of my way to not take baggage with me from film to film," to avoid the kind of type-casting that plagued his father, Lloyd Bridges, first with the television series "Sea Hunt" in the late 1950's and early 60's, then the 1980 disaster film spoof, "Airplane." "I keep mixing characters," he continued. "I go from the Dude to the president of the United States. That way I get different scripts, and keep it more fun. I'm not locked into playing one guy." He made his screen debut in 1951 at four months, co-starring with his mother Dorothy and brother Beau in "The Company She Keeps," and 20 years later had his break-out role in "The Last Picture Show." Mr. Bridges is close to his mother, who is now 85. She reads all his scripts and approved of "The Door in the Floor," though she prefers him to play presidents (he won a supporting actor Oscar nomination for playing one in "The Contender" in 2000) and doctors ("K-Pax"). "She didn't like the Dude," he admitted. The Dude wasn't a stretch for Mr. Bridges, who has been open about past marijuana use. "The Dude has a serious laid-back streak," Mr. Bridges said. "I'm always busy, but I'm lazy as well. I wish I were more disciplined.  "I used to kinda worry about it being distracting to have so many interests," he continued. "But I find that when I start to engage creatively, all my creative juices get stirred up and start to excite each other. And I end up making a drawing or playing music in the middle of studying for a scene." Mr. Williams, the writer-director of "The Door in the Floor," likens his star to a creative child who has never had to face the embittering grind of reality. "From Day 1 I don't think the guy ever tried to get work," he said. "In a creative sense he is pure and undamaged." "The Door in the Floor" is based on the first 188 pages of Mr. Irving's 592-page novel (the title comes from one of the spooky children's stories written by Cole, Mr. Bridges' character). Mr. Bridges himself provided the pen and ink book illustrations. He also tried to produce for the movie the life drawings created by Cole, who seduces women by having them pose nude. But the actor gave up after lining a location house's empty ballroom floors and walls with explicit pictures he deemed unworthy. With "The Door in the Floor," Mr. Bridges took a gamble on the second-time director Mr. Williams on the basis of his script, though he wasn't in love with "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole," Mr. Williams's first effort, which cost a mere $350,000. It helped that Mr. Williams had persuaded John Irving to sell him the rights to "A Widow for One Year" for a dollar. (Mr. Irving wanted to stay involved in the film; he says he is happy with the final results.) After Bill Murray failed to commit to the project, Mr. Williams insisted on Mr. Bridges for the lead. "Ted Cole is a complicated character," the director said. "He's selfish, creative, super-smart. And there is heavy stuff going on. And we sprinkle comedy throughout, overt or subtle. These are all things Jeff can do." The chairman of Paramount, Sherry Lansing, said: "He's always been an extraordinarily gifted actor. He's just a generous soul." But even having the veteran actor on board did not guarantee financing. "This is the kind of performance-driven film that distributors are afraid to make," the New York-based independent producer Ted Hope ("American Splendor," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") said in a telephone interview. "They love it when it is perfect. People think the world of Jeff as an actor. But not, `This is what makes the financing go.' " But only after Mr. Bridges agreed to star did the filmmakers land Ms. Basinger to play his wife, who embarks on a summerlong affair with his intern. (She had starred opposite Mr. Bridges in 1987's "Nadine.") After four years Mr. Hope was finally able to scrape together financing from equity investors, foreign presales and a domestic distribution deal with his old partner James Schamus at Focus Features, a division of Universal. "Both Jeff and Kim made this movie happen," he said. Last month, Mrs. Bridges let her son borrow her Malibu beach house so the "moguls" ensemble (including Tim Blake Nelson, Ted Danson, Joe Pantoliano and William Fichtner) could bond before beginning filming the next weekunder the direction of the neophyte writer-director Michael Traeger. "It's a bizarre tale, pretty politically incorrect," Mr. Bridges said, as his driver ferried him west along Sunset Boulevard to a rehearsal with the director and the actress Jeanne Tripplehorn, who plays his wife. "A small-town guy having a midlife crisis gets the whole town together to make a porn film. I hadn't seen something like this." He has learned how to pick and choose his collaborators. "I've had great luck with first-time directors," said Mr. Bridges, who has bet on rookies like Robert Benton ("Bad Company"), Michael Cimino ("Thunderbolt and Lightfoot"), Steve Kloves ("The Fabulous Baker Boys") and Rod Lurie ("The Contender") over the years. "There's a certain power to naïveté. You don't know what can be done and can't be done. You just go for it. If a first-time guy is open to listening to all these experts he's going to surround himself with, you can come up with some really great, fresh stuff." His own resistance to directing? "Laziness," he said. "I know it's a tough job, it takes years out of your life."

29 giugno: Basinger beats out Madonna for 'Door' role  - Two words Madonna never heard from director Tod Williams: You're hired! The man behind the camera for the upcoming film "The Door in the Floor" met with Madonna and "just about every other actress in the world over 40," he says, for the coveted role of an older woman who seduces her teenage summer helper. "Madonna really wanted to do the part," Williams said. "I wasn't really even considering her, but I called her in because I just wanted to meet Madonna." So how was it? "It was a strange meeting," he says. "She asked me about techniques, how all the shots would happen in the movie." Williams met withother A-listers, each of whom had their own problems with a role that includes seducing a teen, lots and lots of nudity and passionate lovemaking scenes. "I very seriously considered Kristin Scott Thomas," says Williams. "But she wouldn't even stand on the beach in a bathing suit in this film, let alone get naked." He thought about Frances McDormand. "She really knows what the heck she's doing, but I wasn't sure about casting her. The part calls for someone who is stunningly beautiful." What about Susan Sarandon? "She's just so sexual to me," Williams says. "She owns her sexuality. She's connected to herself in that way. This character -- a mother grieving the loss of her child who has this affair -- isn't so sure of herself." Sigourney Weaver was dubbed "interesting" by Williams. So was a Chicago legend. "Joan Allen is a great, great actress," Williams says. "But she didn't seem right." He liked Michelle Pfeiffer and Robin Wright Penn. "Both loved the script, but they were uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping with a young man." Not so for Kim Basinger, who eventually got the coveted role and now is enjoying early Oscar buzz. "She was fearless during the nude scenes," says Williams. "Yes, she was scared of the darkness of this role, but because it scared her, she did it." Cindy Pearlman 

30 giugno: Film Review: the Door in the Floor -  Williams, who made his feature debut with "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole" and is working on a remake of "To Have and Have Not" for Benicio Del Toro, does a careful job of extracting and reshaping the Irving material, never shying away from the book's more overtly sexual elements, without detracting from the film's own separate identity. Key to that success is a strong ensemble playing flawed characters that essentially dare the audience to like them. The fundamentally likable Bridges gamely pushes all that goodwill to the far edge as the unorthodox Ted, logging one of his best performances in the process. Basinger, meanwhile, who shared the screen with Bridges in Robert Benton's "Nadine," really immerses herself into her character's complex layers with similarly impressive results. Also doing gutsy work is Mimi Rogers, who has been given very little to hide behind as the needy, hot-blooded object of Bridges' daytime affections. Behind the camera, cinematographer Terry Stacey ("American Splendor") is responsible for some truly lovely compositions, movingly underscored by Marcelo Zarvos' eloquent music. Focus Features and Revere Pictures present a This Is That production. Cast: Ted Cole: Jeff Bridges; Marion Cole: Kim Basinger; Eddie O'Hare: Jon Foster; Eleanor Vaughn: Mimi Rogers; Ruth Cole: Elle Fanning; Alice: Bijou Phillips; Eduardo Gomez: Louis Arcella. Director-screenwriter: Tod Williams; Based on the novel "A Widow for One Year" by: John Irving; Producers: Ted Hope, Anne Carey, Michael Corrente; Executive producers: Roger Marino, Amy J. Kaufman; Director of photography: Terry Stacey; Production designer: Therese DePrez; Editor: Affonso Goncalves; Costume designer: Eric Daman; Music: Marcelo Zarvos.