Published on Saturday, September 6, 2008 - 2:59am Moriarty Knows What Happened WHILE SHE WAS OUT! Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here. Kim Basinger fascinates me. I can’t, for the life of me, understand how she ended up as an actress. She’s a beautiful woman, certainly, and in her youth, she was breathtaking. But there are very few people I’ve ever seen working as actors who seem as genuinely uncomfortable in front of a camera as she always has. There are moments in her career when it looks like she was seconds away from running off the set and never returning. The best work she’s done has been when directors figured out how to tap that and make it part of what she was doing onscreen, like in her rightfully-rewarded performance in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.  I’m guessing Susan Montford is a fan of Basinger’s work, because she’s given her perhaps the most tailor-made role she’s ever played, and as a result, Basinger does truly exceptional work in this intimate thriller that marks a promising debut for Montford as a writer/director. That crazy-shaky-panicky thing that seems to be inherent to Basinger as a person is perfect for the role she plays here, and it actually adds to the tension. Basinger plays a mousy suburban soccer mom whose husband (Craig Sheffer) is an abusive blowhard who has absolutely no problem smacking her around in front of the kids. The opening act of the film takes its time, a very slow fuse that works well at keeping you on-edge, wondering where everything is heading. It’s Christmas Eve, and Basinger is forced to run to the mall for some last-minute shopping. Montford keeps things very quiet, very low-key during this sequence, never tipping her hand. The only indication of what’s coming is some trouble finding a parking space and a note she leaves on someone’s window. That single action, seemingly innocuous, quickly spirals into a life-or-death struggle that leads Basinger into the deep woods, armed only with a toolbox and her wits, and the way it unfolds is horrible because it all makes a sick sort of sense. People escalate these random encounters from disagreement to violence all the time, and for the most ridiculous reasons. It seems like some people just look for the excuse, always ready to explode when the opportunity presents itself. And in this case, Basinger’s the one who steps into the path of this human hurricane, played by a suitably-seedy Lukas Haas. He seems to be drawn to the margins with the characters he’s playing as an adult, and I thought his work in Rian Johnson’s BRICK was particularly strong. This reminds me of that performance. He’s never given a huge backstory. He’s never fully explained. He’s just a miserable, rotten piece of shit who sees in Basinger something that he wants to hurt. Maybe he’s drawn to the same thing Sheffer’s character is. Maybe Basinger’s character is one of those people who gives off a pheromone that draws abusive fuckheads to her. Thing is, when the film begins, she’s had years of dealing with Sheffer, and we see that she’s already very close to the breaking point with him at home. When Haas targets her, it seems to be the one extra bit of pressure, the final straw that pushes her over the edge, and she responds in a way Haas never would have predicted. He’s got a group of guys with him when the evening starts, but little by little, they fall away until the film becomes a simple battle of the wills between two people equally determined that they will walk out of the forest alive.  Montford and her cinematographer Steve Gainer (WASSUP ROCKERS, A DIRTY SHAME, MYSTERIOUS SKIN, PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, BULLY) have created a very simple visual style for the movie, largely handheld, and when it’s supposed to be dark, it is genuinely freakin’ dark. Much of this film takes place in shadow or small pools of light, and it’s harrowing. I can’t imagine this film cost very much, and the intimacy of it is a strength. There’s a big Hollywood way to have made this movie, and I have a feeling it would have bugged the living shit out of me, like a FATAL ATTRACTION, all glossy and sick and morally hollow. But Montford avoids the easy trap of making this a feminist manifesto a la Jodie Foster’s THE BRAVE ONE, and she dispenses with any excessive moral angst or worried hand-wringing, too. This is a survival story, pure and simple, and by making these characters so direct, so archetypical, it makes it easier for an audience to see themselves in what’s happening onscreen. There are a dozen ways this could have stumbled, but I think Montford shows admirable restraint here. There are a few shocking moments of violence or gore, but that’s not the point of it, and there’s one queasy moment where Kim’s sexuality becomes a weapon, but it’s played just right, and not as exploitation, and not for cheap effect.  I’m not going to oversell this one to you. Like OUTLANDER, another small film I saw recently which I liked a lot, part of what made this so enjoyable was the fact that I walked into it with no expectations at all. It’s a small film, and producers Guillermo Del Toro and Don Murphy deserve credit for throwing their weight behind a film like this which was never designed to be a giant blockbuster. To me, that’s the measure of someone’s worth in this town once they achieve a certain degree of success: will you use that box-office muscle to help kickstart careers, and will you still help small personal films get made, or do you just end up chasing the next $100 million hit your whole life? In Murphy’s case, I’m sure he believes fully in Montford as a filmmaker. She’s not only his co-producer and business partner, but she’s also his wife. But don’t make the mistake of dismissing this as a vanity project; it’s anything but. In adapting Edward Bryant’s short story, she’s proven herself with story, mood, tension, and character, and I’m now genuinely looking forward to whatever she makes next. Anchor Bay’s going to release the film theatrically this December, and then I’m sure it’ll get a big push on video next year. For Basinger’s work alone, I’d say it’s worth it, but if you’re a fan of films where a character is pushed to the breaking point, or a fan of well-crafted thrillers, then make sure you keep your eyes peeled for WHILE SHE WAS OUT. I’ve got a bunch of reviews to put up this weekend, and at some point, I’ll have another Movie Journal to put up. I need to keep track of when certain films premiere at Toronto so I can get my reviews posted in a timely manner. It’s been a great couple of weeks as the fall movie season has gotten started, and I look forward to talking about all of them with you ASAP.
	Bottom Line: The burning is mostly on the plain, not in this labyrinthine story By Deborah Young Aug 30, 2008 Exploring the tangled emotional threads that link, and at times strangle, Mexico and the U.S. through a complex cast of characters matched by an equally complicated storyline, "The Burning Plain" is an ambitious, visually handsome production which fails to ignite. The star power of Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger may attract initial business for the directing bow of Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter who accompanied Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu to fame on "Amores Perros," "Babel" and “"21 Grams" before their artistic break-up. But the two actresses' sensitive performances don’t make the emotional connection to audiences that the story yearns for. This is a film that makes viewers work hard to understand what's going on -- so hard, in fact, that there’s little time to get emotionally involved with the characters or their woes. In brief, two parallel stories run side by side: one, shot in rain-soaked coastal Oregon, follows the joyless sex life of Sylvia (Theron), the manager of a sophisticated eatery on a cliff, who is on the run from something in her past; the other, which takes place 12 years earlier in the Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico, has two families trying to deal with the tragic deaths of Nick, a married Mexican-American man (Joaquim De Almeida) and Gina, a married mother of four (Basinger), when the camper where they are committing adultery explodes from a gas leak. Particularly traumatized by their gruesome deaths (their charred bodies have to be cut apart) are two of their teenage kids, Nick's son Santiago (J.D. Pardo) and Gina's daughter Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence.) Much against their families' wishes, they become intimate as they try to work through the tragedy. The connection between the New Mexico story and Sylvia's alienated bed-hopping becomes clear, for those who haven't guessed, in the second part of the film, after another terrible tragedy strikes: a young Mexican-American girl witnesses her father's crop-dusting plane crash in the field in front of their house, and is taken off by dad’s buddy Carlos (José Maria Yazpik) to find other relatives. It does all make sense in the end, especially since the connecting scenes are underlined in black magic marker to be sure no one misses the point. But by then the film is over, and viewers are left waiting for a little emotional catharsis of their own. Among Arriaga's strong points is his exceptional feel for placing characters in a landscape that is at once physical and symbolic -- Sylvia’s Wuthering Heights cliff and the endless red sorghum fields of the American Southwest are marvelously expressive. His script likewise has a unique feeling for America’s multi-ethnic core, with its crisscrossing of tensions and attractions. Hunting for memorable moments, there is the tender relationship between the emotionally and physically scarred Gina and her sensitive lover Nick, with Basinger netting sympathy despite looking over-elegant for the part. Theron, who shares executive producer credit, plays Sylvia as edgy and haunted; sleek as a fashion model in an opening nude scene, she looks the part but lacks the key scene to explode on screen. Standing out of a strong supporting cast is young Jennifer Lawrence in a role that doesn’t go unnoticed. Production company: 2929 Productions in association with Costa Films. Cast: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Joaquim De Almeida, John Corbett, Jose Maria Yazpik, J.D. Pardo, Jennifer Lawrence, Jose Gallaro, Brett Cullen, Danny Pino. Director: Guillermo Arriaga. Screenwriter: Guillermo Arriaga. Executive producers: Charlize Theron, Alisa Tager, Ray Angelic, Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Marc Butan. Producers: Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald. Directors of photography: Robert Elswit, John Toll. Production designer: Dan Leigh. Music: Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Hans Zimmer. Costumes: Cindy Evans. Editor: Craig Wood. Sales Agent: 2929 Intl., Los Angeles. 106 minutes.
	IFF Review: The Burning Plain by Kim Voynar Sep 9th 2008 // 10:03AM Filed under: Drama, Independent, Magnolia, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports, Toronto International Film Festival Award-winning screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga uses a convoluted narrative structure to tell a tale of love, betrayal and regret in The Burning Plain, his directorial debut. Arriaga opens the film with a shot of an old trailer in the middle of the desert burning to the ground, and he then proceeds to bounce around among several seemingly disparate characters, Babel-style, before finally bringing it all together in the film's final act. The film stars Charlize Theron as Sylvia, a composed-but-icy manager of a fancy Portland, Oregon-area restaurant who spends her spare time having empty, emotionless sex with a wide array of men. Arriaga takes us back and forth from gray, rainy Portland, where Sylvia lives, to the New Mexico desert; early on we learn that the burning trailer, when it exploded into flames, was occupied by Gina (Kim Basinger), a white married housewife with four kids, and Nick (Joaquim De Almeida), a Mexican-American man, also married with kids. Gina's daughter Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence) and Nick's son Santiago (J.D. Pardo) are drawn together as they struggle to deal with their parents' infidelity and death, much to the consternation of their respective families. Also tossed into the mix are a crop-duster pilot, his best friend, and his young daughter, whose lives are thrown into disarray when the pilot's plane crashes. There's not much more I can tell you about the plot without giving away the fulcrum around which the storyline revolves, but I can tell you how the film works (and doesn't work) overall. Arriaga, like a gifted storyteller spinning yarns around a campfire, likes to slowly unravel his stories and leave it to the viewer to survey the pieces and see how they all fit together. Whether you view this method of storytelling as fascinatingly complex or annoyingly contrived depends, I suppose, largely on what you expect from a film, and whether you believe films that don't adhere to a more traditional narrative structure are merely conceits of the author, rather than experiments in translating the art of storytelling into a cinematic media. A friend with whom I saw The Burning Plain said after the film that the way he judges a film like this: If you took the non-linear storyline and put it into a linear model, would it still be as interesting? That's one way to look at it, but another way to look at it is this: Does the convolution of the storyline into a non-linear format improve the story? Does it make it more intriguing? Does it serve the purpose of drawing you into the story in a way that the same events in a linear format would not? The answer to those questions for The Burning Plain is yes ... and no. Arriaga wrote the scripts for critically acclaimed films directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel) and Tommy Lee Jones (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada); he's an excellent storyteller, but where he gets into a bit of trouble as a first-time director is that he gets so wrapped up in telling the story that he somewhat detracts from conveying that story in a visual medium. The pacing of the first half is tediously slow, and while this was probably a deliberate decision on Arriaga's part, it does have the effect of dragging the film quite a bit at the beginning, to the extent that a lot of viewers may not stick with it to see the payoff. The film would clearly benefit from some tighter editing in its first act. Arriaga takes his time getting around to revealing character arcs and motivations as well. It's pretty much like that through the first two-thirds of the film: you're sitting there puzzling, "Why this? Why that?" and while things do pay off in the end, it's just distracting to be trying to sort all that out while also absorbing what's going on in front of you. I almost want to see the film again, now that I know how it ends, because I think I'd likely appreciate watching the film more for knowing how it plays out. The film benefits greatly from a couple of particularly solid performances by Theron and Basinger. Basinger's both tragic and infuriating as the wife shutting out her family while having a passionate affair, but we don't know why or how Nick and Gina meet or why they're drawn into a love affair that leads to such catastrophic consequences. Perhaps Arriaga intended it that way, but without that knowledge, the affair has the feel of a being nothing more than a vehicle for getting the story going and, hence, contributes to the structure feeling somewhat contrived. Theron's performance is rock-solid, and the motivations for why her character acts in particular ways do, at least, end up being clear by the end. She brings a remote, minimalist style to portraying Sylvia that reminded me in some respects of Kristin Scott Thomas' performance in I've Loved You So Long, another film playing here at Toronto. Both actresses play women who have been deeply scarred by some sort of trauma, and while Thomas is getting the Oscar buzz (and deservedly so), Theron's performance here is just as carefully understated and haunting. I do have to give kudos to Arriaga for not loading his script with clunky exposition; although there are issues with the pacing and structure of the film, he does more showing than telling, and with this particular story that's not an easy task. Arriaga is a talented screenwriter, and with his debut effort he shows promise as a director as well. This time around, he was learning on the job; he'll grow and refine his strengths, learn from his missteps, and keep writing and directing. The Burning Plain is good, not great, but it's worth watching to see the growth of this fine writer as he makes the shift into directing. You can see, watching this film, the potentially great filmmaker he has the talent to become.
	ALEC CAN'T STOP BASHING KIMAugust 31, 2008 -- ALEC Baldwin has been divorced from Oscar-winner Kim Basinger for six years now, but the "30 Rock" star still bristles on the subject of his blond ex-wife. "Think I'm walking stiffly?" he asks journalist Ian Parker in this week's New Yorker. "Yeah, there's a 120-pound actress on my back." Baldwin accuses Basinger of trying to destroy his relationship with their daughter, Ireland, 12, with whom they share joint custody after a bitter battle. "Parental alienation is about people who narcissistically project their whole reality onto a child: 'I don't need you, so the child doesn't need you,' " he says. "The goal of the alienating parent is to kill contiguous time. People need reliability. They need regularity. And I've been the victim of a campaign to kill all that. You wind up being more an uncle than a father." Baldwin says that after he and Basinger separated, she inexplicably feared for her life. As they looked for a house for him to rent and toured one on a sheer cliff, "[I said,] 'You've got to come over here and look at this!' She said, 'No, no, come back, we've got to go. We're late.' And then I thought, 'She thinks I'm going to throw her off this cliff!' " Basinger refused to be interviewed. Baldwin, 50, says he's "entering that Clinton phase" where young women tell him, "In spite of the fact that you don't look like a young leading man anymore, I'd quite like to throw you down on this blanket right now." The New Yorker also reveals Baldwin once wrote a screenplay for himself and his brothers, Daniel, Billy and Stephen. Billy, star of "Dirty Sexy Money," recalls: "Basically it was: Daniel's the outlaw; I'm the riverboat gambler who gets all the [bleep], the shallow good-looking sap; Stephen's the village idiot; and he's the [bleep]ing hero! He's the one who saves the day at the end, he's the Clint Eastwood . . . That's the movie he wanted to make about his brothers."
	Baldwin 'dreamed' of friendly reconciliation with Basinger Last Update: 9/22 9:37 pm Alec Baldwin, May 2008. (Bryan Bedder, Getty Images) Actor Alec Baldwin has given up a long-held hope of reconciling a friendship with ex-wife Kim Basinger, after enduring a bitter long-running custody battle over their daughter. Baldwin launched a scathing attack on the actress earlier this month, accusing her of alienating him from 12-year-old Ireland. But the 30 Rock star admits in his new book entitled A Promise To Ourselves he long held hopes of having a civil relationship with his ex-wife, despite their raging court battles. He says, "In the book I say I had that - the reconciliation dreams. I can honestly say to you, there are few waking dreams I've had that I woke up as intoxicated as I was by those dreams - that all of this was behind us." The Hollywood couple divorced after nine years of marriage in 2002.
	Kim Basinger Trembles as Adulterer in `Burning Plain': Review Review by Farah Nayeri Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Kim Basinger, who was Mickey Rourke's sassy girlfriend in ``Nine 1/2 Weeks,'' plays a weary mother of four, stealing moments of passion, in ``The Burning Plain.'' Basinger, 54, is Gina, a breast-cancer survivor who escapes a life of child rearing and supermarket runs by having an affair with a married Mexican. She is happy about the lover, and remorseful about the children. Gina's story is one of four interwoven tales constructed by writer and first-time director Guillermo Arriaga, best known for scripting three movies helmed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu: ``Amores Perros,'' ``21 Grams'' and ``Babel.'' ``Burning Plain,'' screened at the Venice Film Festival, is a highly convincing directorial debut. Arriaga's gripping plot combines with strong performances by actresses from three generations: Basinger, Charlize Theron, and Jennifer Lawrence, who just turned 18. The movie starts with a bizarre double death. The scorched bodies of an adulterous couple, burned alive as they fornicated in a desert trailer, are found. Their families are told, and they are buried in separate rituals. The dead woman's next of kin curse the dead man, blaming him for the turn of events. Yet her teenage daughter and his teenage son, haunted by their parents' passing, grow close. The friendship soon turns into something else; Lawrence plays the daughter with unusual intensity. We also meet Sylvia (Theron), an attractive restaurant supervisor who fights invisible demons. She walks to the edge of a cliff and peers at the crashing waves beneath, entertaining what appear to be suicidal thoughts, then cuts herself with a sharp-edged rock. Sylvia is a man magnet, joylessly bedding a succession of males. Her regular lover is a married chef who works in the same restaurant. She also gives herself to a rich and handsome client with dark hair and a black Mercedes. The final component concerns a little girl named Maria whose father, a pilot, flies crop dusters across Mexican fields. She has no mother to look after her and accompanies him to his workplace, until one day she sees his plane crash and her father emerge with serious injuries. Outlining more of the story would spoil the intricacy of the plot. As in the three films shot by Inarritu, Arriaga presents separate subplots whose protagonists overlap. What makes ``Burning Plain'' different from ``21 Grams'' is that the encounters, here, are not random: These people have deep-rooted connections. The strands in the narrative tie together much less fortuitously than those of ``Babel.'' Arriaga could not have pulled it off without the cast at his disposal. Basinger is outstanding as Gina, the quiet suburban wife weighed down by motherly duties, who lives for the fleeting moments spent cheating on her husband. Her pain is written on her face. At various points, as when she finally lets the lover see her scarred chest, her entire body trembles. Basinger will probably take home a trophy for this part. Terrible Secrets Theron's acting is powerful, too. She brings uncommon depth to the role of damaged Sylvia, whose terrible secrets are slowly unspun, forming the core of the story. Theron appeared at a press conference after the Aug. 29 screening, wearing a sleeveless fuchsia dress, blond hair tumbling across her face. She attracted men as readily as her character; hordes of camera-wielding journalists lined up to snap her. One zealous Brazilian reporter stood up, invited her out on a date, and asked which side of the bed she slept on. ``The side that you're not on,'' she replied. Arriaga, who turned 50 this year, said earlier the actresses' talents gave him protection. ``They made my job so easy,'' he said. The combination of his storytelling and their acting should give the film box-office traction. Rating: ***. (Farah Nayeri is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)
	ITALIAN BOX OFFICE FOR THE BURNING PLAIN.

Italy Box Office November 21–23, 2008
(US $1 = 0.7949 Euro)
TW LW Movie Studio Weekend Gross Change Theaters Change / Avg. Gross-to-Date Week Production
Country
1 N Twilight (2008) Eagle $4,968,259 - 551 - $9,017 $4,968,259 1 Unknown
2 1 La Fidanzata di papà Medusa $1,964,007 -39.1% 491 -34 $4,000 $6,088,892 2 Unknown
3 N Body of Lies WB $1,638,927 - 357 - $4,591 $1,638,927 1 USA
4 3 Changeling UPI $1,158,226 -28.2% 294 -5 $3,940 $3,454,957 2 Unknown
5 2 Quantum of Solace Sony $747,694 -61.2% 296 -160 $2,526 $8,202,044 3 UK, USA
6 4 High School Musical 3: Seinor Year Disney $433,950 -65.2% 266 -147 $1,631 $11,263,533 4 USA
7 5 El Orfanato (The Orphanage) Lucky Red $418,332 -43.3% 185 -16 $2,261 $1,473,387 2 Mexico, Spain
8 N I Galantuomini 01 Dist. $243,743 - 91 - $2,678 $247,844 1 Unknown
9 10 Si può fare WB $225,888 -10.6% 93 -5 $2,429 $1,406,431 4 Unknown
10 8 Wall-E Disney $220,702 -40.9% 130 -60 $1,698 $10,742,546 6 USA
11 7 Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis Medusa $183,122 -56.1% 85 -116 $2,154 $3,394,943 4 France
12 6 Awake Eagle $161,784 -63.0% 105 -34 $1,541 $791,985 2 USA
13 9 The Burning Plain Medusa $106,456 -71.3% 72 -132 $1,479 $1,516,168 3 Unknown

	Primo sequel della storia di 007, Quantum of Solace segue giustamente il capitolo che l’aveva preceduto, Casino Royale, incassando praticamente la stessa cifra. 100,000 euro separano i due film, a favore del film di Martin Campbell, con Marc Forster che si è dovuto accontentare di un secondo posto e di 3 milioni di euro e qualche spicciolo, come indovinato solo dal 13% di voi al FantaboxOffice della settimana. 461.448 italiani sono andati a vedere il nuovo Bond in sala, con 579 di questi che sono venuti ad esprimere il proprio parere proprio qui su Cineblog! Solo in 198 si sono ritenuti ‘estremamente soddisfatti’, promuovendo il film, con 285 voti che hanno certificato la sconfitta nei confronti di Casino Royale. A questo punto bisognerà vedere quanto potrà influire il passaparola sul film. Nel caso di Casino Royale influì in maniera positiva, qui come si comporterà? Dietro Bond ecco che troviamo la vera sorpresa del weekend, High School Musical 3! Dopo l’esordio stupefacente del weekend scorso, il musical della Disney tiene clamorosamente, perdendo pochissimo, in proporzioni agli incassi record del fine settimana scorso, arrivando ai 7 milioni di euro. Un risultato pazzesco, raggiunto in appena 10 giorni, con il traguardo dei 10 milioni di euro ormai ad un passo. Finiti gli incassi milionari restano gli spiccioli per tutti gli altri. Inizia ad avere il fiato corto il magnifico Wall-E, autentica delusione al botteghino italiano, con poco meno di 8 milioni di euro incassati, supera il tetto degli 8 milioni Mamma Mia!, mentre arriva ai 3 milioni e mezzo di euro Tropic Thunder. Buonissimo Woody Allen, che supera di slancio i 5 milioni di euro, mentre Giù al Nord si avvicina ai 2 milioni di euro, come Pride and Glory. Interessante l’esordio di The Burning Plain, con 531,000 euro incassati, mentre è disastroso quello del pessimo Un gioco da Ragazze. Anche con il divieto ai minori trasformato in divieto ai 14 enni, il film dell’esordiente Matteo Rovere esce con le ossa rotte dal suo primo weekend di programmazione. 250.732 euro, con 173 sale a disposizione, certificano una brutta pagina di cinema italiano. Dopo il flop di Albakiara è arrivato anche quello di Un gioco da Ragazze. Ci auguriamo che i produttori nostrani si segnino il tutto ed evitino prodotti simili in futuro, a meno di clamorose manie di autolesionismo.
	Anchor Bay snags 'Out' rights Kim Basinger suspense thriller hits theaters Dec. 12 By Borys Kit Nov 7, 2008, 12:00 AM ET Anchor Bay Entertainment has picked up the Kim Basinger suspense thriller "While She Was Out" for distribution. The film will be released theatrically Dec. 12, with a national DVD release in 2009. Susan Montford wrote and directed the movie, which was produced by Don Murphy and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. In the film set around the holidays, Basinger stars as a suburban housewife mercilessly stalked by a group of young thugs led by a manipulative psychopath (Lukas Haas). She fights for her life armed with only a toolbox. This year, Anchor Bay has released in theaters "Surfer, Dude" with Matthew McConaughey, "The Grand" with Woody Harrelson and "Sex and Death 101" with Simon Baker. "Anchor Bay has been quite aggressive this past year in our search for talent-driven films," Anchor Bay president Bill Clark said. " 'While She Was Out' is exactly the type of film we want to distribute." The company and producer also hope that the counterprogramming to the standard December fare will attract audiences. Said Murphy, "(Anchor Bay's) expertise will bust through the film glut that is out there and help push this film about the 'worst Christmas Eve ever.' " Anchor Bay snags 'Out' rights Kim Basinger suspense thriller hits theaters Dec. 12 By Borys Kit Nov 7, 2008, 12:00 AM ET Anchor Bay Entertainment has picked up the Kim Basinger suspense thriller "While She Was Out" for distribution. The film will be released theatrically Dec. 12, with a national DVD release in 2009. Susan Montford wrote and directed the movie, which was produced by Don Murphy and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. In the film set around the holidays, Basinger stars as a suburban housewife mercilessly stalked by a group of young thugs led by a manipulative psychopath (Lukas Haas). She fights for her life armed with only a toolbox. This year, Anchor Bay has released in theaters "Surfer, Dude" with Matthew McConaughey, "The Grand" with Woody Harrelson and "Sex and Death 101" with Simon Baker. "Anchor Bay has been quite aggressive this past year in our search for talent-driven films," Anchor Bay president Bill Clark said. " 'While She Was Out' is exactly the type of film we want to distribute." The company and producer also hope that the counterprogramming to the standard December fare will attract audiences. Said Murphy, "(Anchor Bay's) expertise will bust through the film glut that is out there and help push this film about the 'worst Christmas Eve ever.' "
	Greece Box Office September 18–21, 2008 (US $11.35 = Average Ticket Price) TW LW Movie Studio Weekend Gross Change Screens Change / Avg. Gross-to-Date Week Production Country 1 N Hancock Aud. Vis. $759,249 - 128 - $5,932 $759,249 1 USA 2 N Wall-E Aud. Vis. $458,117 - 125 - $3,665 $458,117 1 USA 3 1 Righteous Kill Odeon $318,381 -35.7% 46 -7 $6,921 $995,482 2 USA 4 2 Kung Fu Panda UIP $263,475 -23.9% 72 -3 $3,659 $1,268,360 3 USA 5 3 You Don't Mess with the Zohan Aud. Vis. $140,863 -42.1% 29 -27 $4,857 $1,125,647 3 USA 6 4 Wanted UIP $71,037 -61.6% 38 -21 $1,869 $2,010,342 4 Germany, USA 7 5 Hellboy II: The Golden Army UIP $60,155 -63.6% 29 -3 $2,074 $274,552 2 Germany, USA 8 6 My Mom's New Boyfriend (a.k.a. Homeland Security) Roadshow $42,803 -66.5% 23 -18 $1,861 $212,154 2 Germany, USA 9 15 Brideshead Revisited Odeon $34,161 +193.4% 10 +6 $3,416 $50,091 1 Unknown 10 12 The Strangers Odeon $21,086 -11.7% 14 -2 $1,506 $406,122 5 USA 11 N While She Was Out Hollywood $14,891 - 5 - $2,978 $14,891 1 Unknown
	I soliti italiani. Non fa in tempo ad arrivare un cinepanettone che in 401.542 si accalcano in sala per vederlo. Parliamo de La fidanzata di Papà, nuova ‘fatica’ di Massimo Boldi, capace d’incassare 2 milioni e 600,000 euro e di battere James Bond nel confronto diretto. Volendo vedere il bicchiere mezzo pieno o mezzo vuoto, il Boldi nazionale ha perso per strada 70,000 italiani e mezzo milione di euro rispetto all’esordio dello scorso anno con Matriomio alle Bahamas. Della serie ‘attacchiamoci a qualcosa’, visto che la tristezza in questi casi ci prende e non ci lascia più! Dietro Boldi scivola ovviamente al 2° posto Quantum of Solace. La pellicola con Daniel Craig super protagonista aggancia i 5 milioni e mezzo di euro, perdendo parecchio al suo secondo weekend di programmazione. Il passaparola probabilmente sta stroncando 007, che difficilmente riuscirà a portarsi a casa più di 8 milioni di euro. Interessate invece l’esordio dell’ottimo Changeling di Clint Eastwood, con 1 milione e 280,000 euro incassati in appena 3 giorni. Una conferma per il Clint, decisamente amato in Italia, con 201,000 connazionali corsi in sala per vedere il suo ultimo discusso lavoro. E’ buonissimo anche l’esordio dell’affascinante The Orphanage, con quasi 600,000 euro incassati e ben 88,000 italiani, tra i quali il sottoscritto, felici di aver pagato un ingresso per vedere un “horror” anomalo e ottimamente diretto. Si conferma un autentico successo anche nel nostro paese Giù al Nord, che aggancia i 2 milioni e mezzo di euro, mentre supera gli 8 milioni di euro High School Musical 3, autentico fenomeno ormai di livello mondiale. Buono The Burning Plain, che tocca il milioncino di euro, così come l’esordio di Awake, con quasi 350,000 euro portati a casa. Ma venerdì sarà l’ora del film fenomeno di questo novembre… domani ve lo recensiremo in anteprima, mentre lunedì prossimo potremo sapere quanto sarà riuscito ad incassare. Di chi parliamo? Ma di Twilight, ovvio!
	Kim joins young stars of vampire romance at film's US premiere 18 NOVEMBER 2008 It's been dubbed a supernatural Romeo And Juliet for the 21st century, and this week big-screen vampire romance Twilight launched in Hollywood. Among the stars attending the premiere was Kim Basinger, who joined the film's young cast accompanied by her daughter Ireland. Based on the book series of the same name, the movie follows the star-crossed love story between kind-hearted high-school girl Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, a mysterious and handsome vampire. The actors who portray them, Harry Potter star Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, were both present at the special screening, alongside their Canadian co-star Rachelle Lefevre. Montreal-born Rachelle, who has appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Boston Legal this year, has said she used an unusual method to prepare for her role as a vampire – watching videos of lions on the internet. "I wanted to figure out a way to separate myself from normal human movements," explains the 29-year-old. "I wanted to be graceful… I didn't want to feel like a fool doing all these vampire movements."
	Hong Kong boxoffice gets 'Connected' Benny Chan's 'Cellular' remake opens big By Karen Chu Sept 26, 2008, 09:55 AM ET HONG KONG -- "Connected," Hong Kong director Benny Chan's adaptation of the 2004 Kim Basinger vehicle "Cellular," topped local boxoffice charts as it opened Thursday, earning HK$550,000 ($70,000). The first official Hong Kong remake of a Hollywood movie, "Connected" was produced by Emperor Motion Pictures and stars Louis Koo ("Protege"). The Hong Kong Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Assn. said that second-place film "20th Century Boys" from Japan earned $48,000 while Shia LaBeouf starrer "Eagle Eye" earned $46,000.
	Susan Montford interview Simon Brew She produced Shoot ‘Em Up. She’s working on Tripods. And Guillermo del Toro has produced her new film. Meet Susan Montford… Susan Montford is a Scottish film director/producer, whose new film – While She Was Out – is released imminently on DVD. Starring Kim Basinger and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, the film’s been garnering good reviews, too. Here, she tells us about it, and her plans for Tripods, and possibly Shoot ‘Em Up 2… How did While She Was Out come about? Were you a fan of the short story? When I first moved to Los Angles from Scotland it was to direct an elaborate film about the Manson Girls with Vincent Gallo. It fell apart during 9/11 for various reasons and I was heartbroken. I then spent several years trying to put it back together, wrote a bunch of scripts and put a bunch of projects in to development – all very ambitious and quite complex projects for a gal from Glasgow. I then realised that the only way I was going to get to actually direct was if I wrote something that I could make for any amount of money from $500,000 to 20 million and shoot it anywhere in the world. While I was thinking about this I came across the short story and realised it was perfect. It had all the potential to be turned into a straightforward, hardcore survival tale with no complex –expensive! - subplots. Many of the reviews have cited Kim Basinger's performance in the film. How did she come to get involved? She seems to be quite selective in her film projects right now. Kim was on a very, very short list of actors I loved for the part. I’m a huge fan of her work especially from LA Confidential, Eight Mile and Door in The Floor. I think she is extraordinarily fragile and yet somehow invincible as an actor. CAA called me one day and asked if I’d like to meet with her and I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I stayed up three nights straight imagining every possible question she could ask me. When we met it was uncanny how right there and then she was already in character and my Della. Funnily enough she didn’t ask too many questions. After she committed I reworked the boy’s dialogue in the script to be American slang. I had deliberately kept their dialogue neutral previously so I could shoot the film anywhere. You made some conscious decisions about how you were going to shoot the film. What was your thinking there, and are you happy with the end result? I wanted the forest to look real and really very dark so I got my wish. Steve Gainer my Cinematographer - he shot Bully, one of my favourite films - used balloons to light the trees from above and then we colour timed everything to be even darker. I also had this Hedi Slimane book of photographs I liked which we used as a reference where the faces are all lit in slithers with the rest in shades of darkness. When we were deep in the forest, sometimes the conditions were so extreme - 29 nights outside in the freezing cold of a Vancouver winter with storms where trees fell down all around us, constant rain, mud slides, some snow, the DP, AD and myself all got hypothermia - that I had to favour performance over visuals. Fortunately the story allowed for that to happen and I think the extreme weather - especially the rains - made for an atmospheric movie. Was it an easy film - if there's ever an easy film! - to get made? And do you find on smaller films that you then have to devote the same time again to promoting it? The film felt charmed when I first put it together – especially considering the problem projects of the past. It was quite a bit tougher to complete post as we had run out of money. Fortunately I had made some really good relationships during Shoot ‘Em Up and was able to ask favours of many lovely talented people. What was Guillermo del Toro's involvement? How did it affect you on a day to day basis? Guillermo gave me some great advice before I started shooting on how to work with the actors. He then watched all the dailies even although he was making Hellboy 2 at the time. This amazed me – what energy and passion he has as a filmmaker - it takes your breath away. It was a great comfort to have him as Executive Producer. I was also blessed to have Lee Tamahori as my secret Godfather. He gave me a lot of great advice about going into the woods, having been there himself a few times….! What kind of genres of film interest you, and do you have a dream project that you'd like to tackle? I love action, noir and horror. If it’s a good story with something slightly twisted about it. I’m interested. I have a totally far-fetched fantasy of being the first woman to ever direct a James Bond film. Probably the only thing that qualifies me is the fact I’m British..! How is The Tripods coming along? We just got the script in from Alex Proyas and Stuart Hazeldine and it is fantastic! And finally, can you please get a sequel to Shoot Em Up going? I wish…I love that movie…We won’t stop until we make it happen… Susan Montford, thank you very much! While She Was Out is out now.
	The Burning Plain (Conferenza stampa) mardi 11 novembre 2008 di Nicola Cordone Il 6 novembre 2008 ha avuto luogo nella lussuosa cornice dell’Hotel Eden di Roma la breve conferenza stampa del film The Burning Plain, diretto dal regista Guillermo Arriaga, sceneggiatore di Babel e 21Grammi. L’autore ha risposto con modestia ed affabilità alle poche domande che gli sono state rivolte. Il film a Venezia non è stato capito. E’rimasto deluso dall’esperienza veneziana ? Quanto contano per lei il giudizio del pubblico e quello della critica ? Il solo fatto di stare a Venezia è stato come vincere un premio : mi ha molto commosso la reazione del pubblico. Le candidature ed i premi sono importanti, ma conta decisamente di più la reazione del pubblico. Qual è il valore aggiunto che dà uno sceneggiatore al regista ? Lo sceneggiatore può essere un ottimo amico e consigliere del regista. Quando scrivevo la sceneggiatura avevo già in mente il film, ma nel casting mi sono orientato in base alla profondità dello sguardo ; nel film nulla doveva distrarre l’attenzione dagli attori, quindi la presenza della macchina da presa non doveva essere ingombrante. Vorrei un giudizio sull’elezione di Obama. Ero in Virginia il giorno dell’elezione. Obama è un’icona, e credo che incarni il meglio degli Stati Uniti d’America. Qual è la sua opinione sulle frontiere ? The Burning plain è il mio secondo film sulle frontiere, il primo è Le tre sepolture : le frontiere stanno cambiando e spero che questo film rappresenti una piccola speranza in questo mondo che cambia giorno dopo giorno. Io appartengo a quella categoria di narratori a cui piace che in un film succedano delle cose. Provengo dalla tradizione shakesperiana e da quella di Faulkner. Perché in Messico c’è una generazione di registi così vivace e forte ? Il Messico ha una cultura molto profonda e complessa, ma non è mai stata rispecchiata nel cinema perché mancava la fiducia. Quando Amores Perros è uscito nelle sale ha avuto successo perché parlava di storie intime, ed il pubblico lo ha capito. Un giudizio sulla scrittura del cinema americano di questi anni. Stiamo perdendo la capacità di avere una comprensione interna del mondo perché ci stiamo alienando sempre più, allontanandoci dalla natura. La forma ha prevaricato la sostanza : questo è il problema della scrittura nel mondo. C’è una grande carenza di buone sceneggiature negli USA, ma non solo lì. Sono cresciuto con molte differenti cinematografie, tra le quali, soprattutto, il neorealismo italiano. Qual è la sua idea di confine ? Mi piacciono i paesaggi che sono al confine di qualcosa. Anche il mare è un confine. Mi piace molto il confine metaforico tra la vita e la morte perché parlare di confini fisici significa sempre parlare di confini metaforici.
	DVD - L.A. Confidential (Two-Disc Special Edition) "L.A. Confidential" is "tough, gorgeous and vastly entertaining" (James Maslin, The New York Times) and won 1997 Academy Awards(R) for Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson). Three cops, a call girl, a mysterious millionaire, a tabloid journalist fuel a labyrinthine plot rife with mystery, ambition, romance and humor. DVD information Release Date (USA): 2008-09-23 Rating (USA): R Release Date (UK): - Rating (UK) : NA Director: Curtis Hanson Producer: - Studio: Warner Home Video Writer/s: James Ellroy (novel 'L.A. Confidential'), Brian Helgeland (screenplay), Curtis Hanson (screenplay) Cast Kevin Spacey Russell Crowe Guy Pearce James Cromwell Kim Basinger DVD Features Disc 1: Commentary by Andrew Sarris, James Ellroy, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Ruth Myers, David Stathairn, Kim Basinger, Brian Helgeland, Jeannine Oppewall, Dante Spinotti and Danny DeVito [In this multi-voice audio commentary, the cast and crew of L.A. Confidential, aided by legendary film critic Sarris, discuss the making of this modern classic.] Music Only Track Trailers and TV Spots – Showest; Nite Owl Action; Hollywood; Theatrical Trailer; Soundtrack Promo Disc 2: Whatever You Desire: Making L.A. Confidential [In all-new interviews, director/screenwriter/producer Curtis Hanson and his cast and crew discuss the arduous but rewarding process of creating a modern classic.] Sunlight and Shadow: The Visual Style of L.A. Confidential [Hanson and his behind-the-scenes collaborators reveal the secrets of bringing 1950s Los Angeles to life in unforgettable style.] A True Ensemble: The Cast of L.A. Confidential [Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, David Strathairn and James Cromwell join Hanson and others in this free-wheeling look at the incomparable ensemble cast of L.A. Confidential.] L.A. Confidential: From Book to Screen [Hanson and screenwriter/co-producer Brian Helgeland recount the challenges in bringing James Ellroy’s sprawling novel to the silver screen in all its bloody, beautiful glory.] Off the Record Photo Pitch The L.A. of L.A Confidential: Hollywood Center Motel; Formosa Café; Sid Hudgen's Office; Victory Motel; Bidwell's Office; Nick's Liquor; Lynn Bracken's House; Frolic's Room; Pierce Patchett's House; Movie Premiere Pot Bust; Mrs. Leffert's House; Nite Owl Café; Navarette's Hole-up; Fitch House; City Hall L.A. Confidential [2000 TV Pilot]