I’m sort of hot and cold on Hilary Swank. There’s no doubt that she’s a great actress – she’s won two Oscars, after all (for “Million Dollar Baby” and “Boys Don’t Cry”). But there’s something about her that’s just a little annoying. I almost hesitate to say it, but she seemed to be over-acting in her portrayal of Amelia Earhart. I just wanted her to snap out of it and be a real person on the screen – not a caricature of a historical figure. There, I’ve said it.

Most of us know the story of Amelia Earhart, the legendary pilot who brought flying into the realm of women, and who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937, while attempting to fly around the world with her navigator, Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston). They were supposed to re-fuel on Howland Island, a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but while trying to make radio contact with a ship, their connection was lost and they were never seen again.

More after the jump…

That was the best scene of the movie, because you really get the whole impact of that lost radio contact – both Amelia and Fred realize that this is the end for them. We don’t actually see them fly into the ocean, but you know it happens.

Prior to this fateful flight, Amelia fell in love with and married publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere), who helped her create the hype over “Lady Lindy,” as well as an advertising campaign (selling an “Amelia Earhart” luggage and clothing line, among others) and lecture circuit to help fund her flying. She wasn’t happy with it, but she knew it was necessary to keep her in the skies. She loved the freedom of flying.

But Earhart also had an affair – with fellow pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) whose son Gore Vidal grew up to be an icon himself.

The film includes shots here and there of archival footage of the real Amelia Earhart, and with her thin frame and tousled hair, Swank closely resembles the famed aviatrix. I have no idea what the real Earhart sounded like, but both my 12-year-old daughter and I were ultra-annoyed with how Swank talked – like she had cotton in her mouth. I don’t know – maybe that’s how the real woman sounded. The film also portrays her as a women with a gentle soul and the heart of a poet. I hope that’s how she was in real life, because it adds to her mystique.

“Amelia” isn’t a bad movie, and it’s clear that Earhart helped women make great strides in not only aviation, but other areas of their lives, too. The movie is also visually stunning, with sweeping views of land across the globe, as seen from the cockpit of an airplane.

Still, the movie leaves something to be desired and will most likely appeal to people who are interested in aviation or the life of Earhart. At the very least, it will make you want to search further to find out more about her.

Images: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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The studio specializes in offbeat films like “Juno,”  “The Darjeeling Limited,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “The Wrestler,” and it’s heartening to think that Fox Searchlight films have been nominated for at least five Oscars in each of the past three years, including a best picture nom for all of them.

I say heartening because I always appreciate when the less mainstream films – the quirkier, more character driven films — earn audience kudos. It means that we really do want thinking-person films that are rich in story and overall production, rather than the slam-it-out commercial movies that populate theaters in droves.

But will Fox Searchlight take that journey up to the awards podium this year? As Zeitchik suggests, the studio has a good shot at picking up awards for writing and acting for “(500) Days of Summer,” the offbeat romantic comedy about a woman (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her. It’s just the sort of film people love (watch the trailer here).

More after the jump, including the “Amelia” trailer…

Another Fox Searchlight film garnering buzz is “Amelia,” the Mira Nair directed biopic about legendary pilot Amelia Earhart starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor. Sure, they’ve all had some stinker films, but they also have nine Golden Globe and Oscar noms between them.

It’ll be interesting to see how Fox Searchlight shakes out this year during awards season. Take a look at the “Amelia” trailer. It really does look like a gorgeous film.

Image: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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Executive producer Tyler Perry decided to open up about his own personal demons in a letter on his Web site.

“I’m tired of holding this in," he wrote. “I don’t know what to do with it anymore, so I’ve decided to give some of it away.”

“Precious” tells the story of a teenage girl who endures molestation and physical abuse. “I watched all the things that Precious, a 16-year-old girl in the film, went through. I watched her mother be unusually cruel to her, and I realized at that moment that a large part of my childhood had just played out before my eyes,” wrote Perry.

The letter reveals some of Perry’s painful memories as a child, including the beatings his mother endured from his father, and an incident of molestation to Perry himself. “I got a call not long ago from a friend. He told me that a man that I knew from church when I was a kid had died and … his family was trying to reach out to me to see if I would pay for his funeral. I quickly said no, but I wish I would have said yes. There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I wish I would have dug the grave myself.”

More after the jump…

He also talks about the time his mother tried to leave his abusive father, loading him and his two sisters in an old Cadillac and heading to California.

“When he realized she was gone, he called the police and reported the car stolen, as it was in his name,” wrote Perry. “My mother was arrested, and my two sisters and I were put in the cell with her. He and my uncle drove from Louisiana to California to get us. We spent several days in jail waiting for him. He bailed her out and couldn’t wait to get her into the car. He got into the back seat with us and beat her black and blue from California to Louisiana, as me and my sisters watched. Even though I was only two or three, I know that this had to have some effect on me.”

I’ve been a big fan of Tyler Perry’s immense success in Hollywood, and now more than ever. He’s released six feature films in three years, writing all of them and starring in four. Five of those films have collectively grossed upwards of $250 million worldwide. Both Perry and Oprah Winfrey, another producer on the film, are donating all of the proceeds to charity.

Both of these people didn’t grow up in the best circumstances, but the fact that they’ve made such positive changes in their lives – and helped others make changes in their lives – is amazing.

“Precious” New York premiere pictures

“Precious” Trailer

“Precious” Cannes premiere pictures

Images: INF; Lionsgate

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It tells the story of an overweight, illiterate teen (Gabourey Sidibe) in Harlem who’s pregnant with her second child. But when she’s invited to enroll in an alternative school, things might start turning around for her. Check out the photos below, and also the red carpet premiere at Cannes last spring.

Mariah Carey (I could make some snarky comment here, but I won’t)

Lenny Kravitz

Mary J. Blige

Sapphire

Sherri Shepherd

Zoe Kravitz

Angelic Zambrana

Gabourey Sidibe

Gayle King

Grace Hightower and Robert De Niro

Image: INF

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On the other hand, the other actor in the running, Rupert Grint of “Harry Potter” fame, actually looks more like the prince. Who would YOU like to see in the role?

Source: Transworld News

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Filmmaker Brett Ratner has announced his plans to make a documentary about Polanski, possibly a sequel to Marina Zenovich’s 2008 doc, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.”

Ratner is in the “forgive and forget” camp (which I don’t agree with, by the way). He has said that Polanski has been “forgiven” for having unlawful sex with 13-year-old Samantha Geimer in 1977: "The family has forgiven him. The victim has forgiven him. The rest of the world has forgiven him. The LA judicial system is corrupt. It’s horrible." 

No, Brett, what’s horrible is Polanski drugging up a 13-year-old girl and raping her. That’s what’s horrible, and it shouldn’t be glorified or drawn attention to in any way, shape or form.

I don’t care how many years have passed; it’s still a horrific act.

Thoughts on this?

Image: INF

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Fox Searchlight is working on a movie deal about the legendary rockers, based on the upcoming memoir by Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh and longtime Ramones biographer Legs McNeil.

There’s a lot of rights issues to be worked out, but we’ll have a little faith that the project will move swimmingly towards theaters. Sure, they may have only known three chords, but they played the heck out of those chords, and these guys were undoubtedly the beginnings of punk rock.

Check out “End of the Century” for more on this groundbreaking band. And you don’t have to be sedated either!

Image: Amazon.com

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His book, “The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez,” has just been optioned by Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell and his producing partner (and brother-in-law) Nick Karaylannis.

Mickey Rourke, who attended Carlo’s book party last week at the Greenwich Hotel, will play the main character, and Carlo has said he’d like Hartnett for the other lead character.

Carlo was diagnosed with ALS in 2004, but has written two books since then, including “The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath.”

Sounds like an interesting project, especially with Rourke and Hartnett in the lead roles. The two worked together on 2005’s “Sin City.”

Image: INF; Source: Showbiz411

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Director Steven Soderbergh’s film, a true story based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald, follows an agri-business corporation accused of price fixing. The star witness is vice president turned informant Mark Whitacre (Damon). Scott Bakula and Patton Oswalt also star in this film, scheduled for a Sept. 18, 2009 release.

Damon has found a nice niche with these sorts of intrigue / conspiracy / political movies, and I’m looking forward to seeing this one.

Image: splashnewsonline.com

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Image: Zuma Press

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