Kansas.com: Entertainment

Cher, Julie Andrews get tabs' attention

LAUREN COHEN — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

What made the cover

• "Bush marriage in ruins: Laura's $20M divorce deal!" (National Examiner)

• "Who's really pregnant?" (In Touch)

He might want to reconsider this

• "Tony (Romo) follows in Jessica's (Simpson) footsteps" (In Touch)

Movie Maniac: Ledger Oscar buzz adds hype to hype

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Random movie thoughts: • Holy marketing, Batman! -- The buzz about the late Heath Ledger's chances of getting an Oscar nod for his turn as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" seems a bit premature. Nothing against Ledger -- his passing was tragic, I thought he was a good actor, and the performance may rightfully deserve praise -- but let's not add hype onto hype, OK? And, really, does "Dark Knight" need the extra press? Still, I'm rabidly anticipating the film's July 18 opening. I might even wear my Batman underwear. Just kidding! Really, I don't have any.

• Robot romance -- Who would have thought that the most romantic movie of the year would be one with animated robots? Not only is Disney/Pixar's "WALL-E" a breathtaking technological achievement, it's also a tender, touching story. We root for the lonely, naive WALL-E and duty-driven Eve throughout the film, and we get completely swept up in their romance. Listen up, Hollywood: If these guys can make us care this much about animated characters, surely you can do the same with actual humans. Or at least try.

• High expectations -- Movies with marijuana have made a comeback this summer, with mixed results. We've already had the short-lived "Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," which attracted, like, five people -- and they were just there for the munchies. Still to come, though, with much promise, are the Sundance darling "The Wackness," with Ben Kingsley as a pot-smoking psychiatrist, and the reportedly hilarious "Pineapple Express," with Seth Rogen and James Franco. We haven't seen this much weed on screen since Cheech and Chong's heydays. I mean high days.

• Kansas film scene thrives -- Lawrence is quickly becoming the Austin of Kansas. Several film projects are coming out of the filmmaking community there. Jeremy Osbern's musical "Air," which recently screened in Wichita, is still on a theatrical run, and now "Bunker Hill," directed by Sundance alum Kevin Willmott ("C.S.A.: Confederate States of America"), just screened in Washington, D.C., and kicks off a festival run Aug. 9 at the Santa Fe Film Festival. A Wichita screening is in the works. Willmott's "The Only Good Indian," which filmed scenes at Cowtown last summer, is in post-production.

McConaughey welcomes baby boy

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Matthew McConaughey's longtime model girlfriend, Camila Alves, has given birth to the couple's first child, a 7-pound, 4-ounce boy, according to OK! magazine.

Alves, 24, gave birth Monday night in California, according to the report.

The 38-year-old actor announced that Alves was pregnant in a posting on his Web site in January.

"Camila and I were side by side the entire time," McConaughey told the magazine. "We are both tired and elated, and are so happy to have created the greatest miracle in the world -- having a child and making a family."

"Now comes the greatest adventure -- raising one, together."

A baby girl for Kidman, Urban

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Nicole Kidman gave birth Monday to a baby girl named Sunday.

In a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press, Paul Freundlich, a publicist for her husband, Keith Urban, said: "Nicole and Keith Urban are delighted to announce that Nicole Kidman gave birth to a baby girl on Monday morning, July 7, 2008, in the United States. Sunday Rose Kidman Urban weighed 6 pounds, 7 ½ ounces. Husband Keith was by Nicole's side, and mother and baby are very well."

Urban posted a message on his Web site that said: "Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today."

The baby is the first for Kidman and Urban, who married in June 2006. She has two children, Isabella and Connor, from her marriage to Tom Cruise. Kidman recently told Vanity Fair that she had a miscarriage early on in her relationship with Cruise, leading them to adopt.

Cruise filed for divorce in February 2001 after 10 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized later that year.

NEW DVDS

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Look for these new DVD titles in video stores and rental shops beginning today.

The Ruins (R) ** ½(1 hr 37 min) _ Thriller about a group of friends on vacation in Mexico who embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, only to discover evil supernatural forces.

Stop-Loss (R) ***(2 hrs 5 min) _ Drama from director Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don't Cry") about a decorated war hero (Ryan Phillippe) and his best friend (Channing Tatum) as they return to their small Texas hometown following a tour of duty in Iraq, and have trouble resuming the lives they left behind.

Superhero Movie (PG-13) (1 hr 25 min) _ A send-up of superhero films, from "Batman Begins" to "Fantastic Four."

Sleepwalking (R) *** ½ (1 hr 41 min) _ A moving drama about the deep familial bond that develops between a 30-year-old man and his young niece after the girl's mother suddenly leaves town.

Perlman proud to wear mask of 'Hellboy'

RICK BENTLEY — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Ron Perlman has a face made for makeup. But he's OK with that.

He says some of the most comfortable roles of his career have been when he wore lots of makeup. That includes parts from the mane man Vincent in the TV series "Beauty and the Beast" to his title character in "Hellboy."

"I was more comfortable behind the mask than naked like this," Perlman says during an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel. He is spending the day talking about his new film "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," which opens Friday. "The makeup made be freer because it was no longer me. It was a transformed version of me. It made acting more possible."

Perlman, like so many actors, had a lot of insecurities when he started acting. He considers himself lucky to have landed early acting jobs in "Quest for Fire," "The Name of the Rose" and "Beauty and the Beast" where he could hide behind the mask of makeup.

"These days I am comfortable in my own skin. I don't need the mask as much as I used to. I just consider myself to be a working stiff who has just had a lot of great opportunities. I just take every job as it comes. If it happens to require me being transformed into a rather grotesque or abstract or obscure creation, then so be it."

Pop stars find greenerpastures in country

MARIO TARRADELL — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:42 CDT

Country and pop. Pop and country. For years the musical genres have borrowed from each other as well as invaded each other's territories. That's even more present now with former pop stars Jewel and Jessica Simpson recently making their switches to country. So let's take a look at some of the artists who began with pop, or dabbled in it simultaneously, before making the complete leap to country.

Jewel

Some of her pop-folk proved engaging, particularly 1996's "You Were Meant for Me" and 2001's "Standing Still." But the Utah-born, Alaska-reared Jewel Kilcher hasn't a clue about real country music, judging by her paltry Nashville debut CD, "Perfectly Clear." Her wispy diary musings about love have no business in a honky-tonk. Despite this, she's a judge on NBC's reality TV show, "Nashville Star." Go figure.

Jessica Simpson

The pop diva and tabloid queen has announced she's moving over to country for good. Well, hmm, the jury hasn't yet decided whether this is an artistically sound decision. Her debut CD isn't due until Sept. 9. But what do you know? Her first single, "Come on Over," has personality and punch. A shocker.

Winehouse shows smoking's early risks

JEANNINE STEIN — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:42 CDT

English singer Amy Winehouse is no stranger to tabloid headlines -- routinely grabbing attention for alleged drug use, brushes with the law, bizarre onstage behavior and curious fashion choices.

Yet a recent disclosure that the 24-year-old has "signs of emphysema," according to her U.S. publicist, Tracey Miller, shocked many.

Though copious photos show the beehived songstress with a cigarette dangling from her lips, it seemed stunning to learn that someone that age could suffer from a disease usually associated with two-pack-a-day 65-year-olds.

But Winehouse is not an anomaly.

Health experts say that young adult smokers are no strangers to mild emphysema, a shortness of breath caused by damage to the lung's small air sacs.

Picturing 'American Ruins'

JOANNA MIX — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:59 CDT

Arthur Drooker's photographs are not only evocative of another time and place, but they also appear otherworldly because of the techniques used to capture them.

In an exhibit titled "American Ruins," Drooker's photographs are on display through Sept. 7 at the Wichita Art Museum.

Drooker, based in Los Angeles, makes his living writing and directing television documentaries for the History Channel but has pursued a passion for photography since his father gave him a camera at the age of 14.

"American Ruins" captures architecturally and historically significant ruins within the United States.

"People don't often think about there being ruins in our country because we are so young," Drooker said during an interview while in Wichita for the opening of his exhibit. "But some of the ruins that I have photographed date as far back as 300 A.D."

'Bon Voyage' to Friends jazz band

CHRIS SHULL — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

The jazz band from Friends University is going to Europe.

The 20-student band and its director, Lisa Hittle, will play at three jazz festivals in Italy and France during a 10-day tour that begins Saturday.

The band, Friends University Jazz Ensemble I, will play a "Bon Voyage" concert Thursday at Friends University. The performance will feature special guest stars and a silent auction to help raise funds for the trip.

"We're trying to program a pretty wide variety of jazz styles," Hittle said of the tour music. "But I'm intentionally trying to represent Kansas and Wichita by what we play."

Song lists -- which will vary at each of six European performances -- will include big band tunes by Count Basie (whose band formed in Kansas City, Mo., in the 1930s) and selections by Stan Kenton, who was born in Wichita and whose innovative sounds were the rage in the 1950s and '60s.

Veteran actress Garr back on her feet, back on the screen

SUSAN KING — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

When rumors started circulating in the late 1990s that she had multiple sclerosis, actress Teri Garr discovered a lot of Hollywood was afraid to even meet with her about potential acting gigs.

Although she managed to keep working, interviews went from rare to nonexistent for the popular comedic actress who was Oscar-nominated for "Tootsie."

"When you hear the word 'disabled,' people immediately think about people who can't walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted," Garr said in a recent interview. "Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can't find joy in life and are bitter."

Garr, 63, is anything but depressed and bitter these days despite the fact she's had the chronic and often debilitating disease involving the central nervous system for the last 25 years -- it was officially diagnosed in 1999 -- and suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm in December 2006. She's in several new movies, including "Expired," which opened last month.

"What's next?" she said, with her trademark laugh that has endeared her to audiences.

Ledger's performance as Joker has Oscar shot

DAVID GERMAIN — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Heath Ledger's performance in the Batman tale "The Dark Knight" is so remarkable that next Jan. 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination.

"I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award," said Christian Bale, who reprises his "Batman Begins" role as the tormented crime fighter.

Superhero flicks usually are not the stuff Oscar dreams are made of. Yet Ledger delivered so far beyond anyone's expectations that he could end up as the second performer to win Hollywood's top honor after his death.

"He may be the first actor since Peter Finch. He may even win the damn thing," said Gary Oldman, who co-stars as noble cop Jim Gordon in "The Dark Knight," which hits theaters July 18.

Finch is the only person to win posthumously, earning the best-actor prize for 1976's "Network" two months after he died.

Image as a bluffer can pay off

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Gus Hansen has a reputation as someone who will play any two cards. He knows it and has milked that image to win four World Poker Tour titles. He bets fearlessly at a lot of pots with nothing, which gets him a lot of action. It's a style that can pay off when he actually has something big, as with this hand from the World Poker Tour's $15,000-buy-in Doyle Brunson World Poker Classic at Las Vegas' Bellagio in 2007.

With blinds at $1,500-$3,000 plus a $400 ante, Hansen drew K-8 of clubs in the big blind.

"An older gentleman that I played the day before who gave me the impression that he played tight but was playing a lot of hands raised to $10,600 in middle position," Hansen said. "I'm in the big blind and have K-8 suited, a reasonable hand. I decided to take a flop (getting about 3-1 on his money by calling the extra $7,600)."

The flop came K-J-9, two hearts.

"It's not my dream flop, but I have top pair," said Hansen, who won the main event at the 2007 Aussie Millions. "I check, and he bets $12,000, which is a smallish bet (at a pot worth more than $26,000). I felt it was a weak bet, but I wasn't going to go crazy, so I decided to just call and see what developed."

Click and Click taking act to TV

KINNEY LITTLEFIELD — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Tom and Ray Magliozzi, aka Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers of NPR's "Car Talk" fame, are just two low-ego lugs. That's why -- familiar self-deprecating shtick aside -- the boys' ambivalence about their new public television series rings seriously true.

"I hope that people look at it mercifully," says the younger, stockier, talkier Ray (Clack) about "As the Wrench Turns," a half-hour series that wraps social and environmental messages inside an animated sitcom.

Premiering at 7 p.m. Wednesday on PBS, the show follows Click and Clack's exploits co-hosting a nationally syndicated radio show and running a car repair shop that mirrors their real-life Good News Garage in Cambridge, Mass. The show will air in two-episode blocks for five weeks.

But will the humor of "As the Wrench Turns" compare to what we've come to expect from Tom and Ray's hugely popular radio franchise -- the most listened-to entertainment program on NPR?

"It's lame enough that people will laugh at some of the lame stuff," Rays says in between bites of lunch on the patio of radio station WBUR-FM in Boston, where the Magliozzis tape "Car Talk." "There will be some chuckles and wry smiles," he says as brother Tom (Click) looks on, cigar-smoking and chortling gently.

CBS's 'Greatest AmericanDog' will have 12 competing

KATHY BLUMENSTOCK — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Without the help of choreographers or voice coaches, Leroy, Andrew and 10 other contestants have been preparing for stardom on a new reality show. They're intensely training by running, jumping, fetching and just looking adorable.

The doggy dozen includes two dogs from Virginia. They're all vying for the title of "Greatest American Dog," CBS's new unscripted series hosted by pet expert-zoologist Jarod Miller. With weekly challenges and a three-judge panel, the program offers a grand prize of $250,000 for the winning dog-and-human team.

"Leroy has been getting ready for a show like this since he was a baby," said Fairfax, Va., resident Teresa Hanula, a former high school Latin teacher whose border collie is poised for his close-up. Leroy, a 5-year-old with mismatched ears, is "obsessed with Frisbee and loves swimming," Hanula said.

To prep Leroy for life on camera, she said, she once held a puppy shower "with people, pinatas, kids, music and noise, everything he would find remotely distracting. And he loved it. He knows when it's showtime."

Hanula said she's anxious about being on the program: "I feel it's a big opportunity, and if we mess something up, it will be me being nervous or putting too much pressure on him."

Gladys Knight performs to small but loyal audience

DENISE NEIL — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:24 CDT

A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered for a Fourth of July eve concert by seven-time Grammy winner Gladys Knight - sans The Pips.

Thursday night's show attracted around 1,000 fans, who took advantage of the extra space inside the Kansas Coliseum to dance in the aisles.

"She could be up there for hours and I'd be fine," said fan Patrice Poole, who had a seat on the front row.

Knight took the stage late - around 9:30 p.m. Dressed in a silky magenta pantsuit and sparkly pink shawl, she belted and bantered with the crowd until 11 p.m., when the 64-year-old singer delivered the song they'd been waiting for - "Midnight Train to Georgia."

Her set included hits that span a 46-year career, including 1969's "The Nitty Gritty," 1973's "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye," and 1987's "Love Overboard."

Exploring 'American Ruins'

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Take a break from exploding fireworks and steamy heat this weekend with a visit to the Wichita Art Museum to see a new exhibit called "American Ruins." Here are more details:

1) The exhibit consists of sepia-toned black and white photographs by Los Angeles artist and filmmaker Arthur Drooker. His photos capture architecturally and historically significant ruins within the United States.

2) The exhibit is divided into four geographical categories: East, South, Southwest and California and Hawaii. Subjects range from Gilded Age gothic revival structures, to skeletal columns of once-grand Southern plantations, to ruins of dwellings belonging to the Puebloan peoples of the Southwest.

3) The photos were shot using a method called infrared, which creates dramatic highlights and enhances details that convey the ruins' age and character. It gives the images a haunting, almost ethereal atmosphere.

4) Drooker says he researched and planned for each photograph meticulously, including spending several days at each locale to become familiar with the ruins and to study lighting before deciding on a composition.

Hot diggity dog

DENISE NEIL — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Hot dogs are among the most American of foods -- right up there with apple pie. And although they're more a staple of backyard barbecues than restaurant menus, several Wichita eateries are doing creative things with dogs.

In honor of the Fourth of July, we offer this list of restaurants that serve that delicious, nitrite-filled, pre-processed foodstuff that Americans crave.

• Freddy's Frozen Custard, 8621 W. 21st St.; 310 N. Rock Road and 1525 E. 13th St.: Freddy's offers its hot dogs grilled and served plain, with chili or Chicago style, meaning it's topped with mustard, relish, onion, celery salt, pickles and mild jalapeno peppers known as sport peppers. During July, Freddy's is offering foot-long dogs as well. The restaurant uses Vienna all-beef hot dogs.

• Dog-N-Shake, with seven Wichita locations: It has "dog" in the name, so how can you go wrong? A home-owned Wichita fast-food joint, Dog-N-Shake sells a variety of dogs cheap, all served on a toasted bun with mustard, relish and onions. Kraut dogs, chili cheese dogs, spicy Polish sausage dogs and corn dogs are also available.

• Nu-Way Cafe, with five Wichita locations: They're known for their crumbly-is-good sandwiches. But NuWay also sells several types of hot dogs, including chili cheese dogs and corn dogs.

'BIG RIVER'

BOB CURTRIGHT — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Roger Miller's "Big River," the 1985 Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of Mark Twain's classic "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," is a perfect show for the July 4th season because it celebrates the indomitable American spirit of adventure and personal freedom -- warts and all.

It's a big, sprawling, corny, funny, touching, riveting -- and thought-provoking -- tale that, in this revival directed by Mark Madama for Music Theatre of Wichita, becomes an irresistible hoedown (choreographed by Wichita native Shina Ann Morris) that sweeps up the audience.

The music from Miller ranges from country ballad to gospel lament to pull-out-the-stops comic romp. The Music Theatre orchestra under Thomas Wesley Douglas incorporated instruments and sounds not usually associated with Broadway, from guitar to harmonica to Jew's harp, with the violin going down-home as a fiddle.

Madama's cast was in universally great voice opening night, particularly Andy Mientus as mischievous Huck Finn and Nikkieli DeMone as runaway slave Jim, who team up for a raft adventure down the mighty Mississippi.

Mientus, a junior at the University of Michigan, has a solid Broadway voice that was channeled to be credible as the rough-hewn Huck. He wasn't too polished or too slick for the role although his musicality was never in doubt, particularly in "I, Huckleberry, Me," his anthem to independence, and "Leavin's Not the Only Way to Go," about his first broken heart.

Wrong direction

STEVE PERSALL — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Some filmmakers have creative flames that burn eternally: directors like Hitchcock, Scorsese, Spielberg and Eastwood. Other careers blast off like rockets before sputtering on fluky fumes.

Whether they hit early with an artistic gem, a box office smash or films that manage to be both, Hollywood history is dotted with directors whose later efforts don't measure up to that first big bang.

Larry and Andy Wachowski took a steep fall from "The Matrix" to "Speed Racer," with only "V for Vendetta" slowing the descent. Elaine May was Hollywood's leading female director after "A New Leaf" and "The Heartbreak Kid," until the reviled "Ishtar" ended her directing dreams.

Jim Sharman turned "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" into a cult phenomenon. Then his quasi-sequel "Shock Treatment" flopped, banishing him to Australian stage work. The esteemed actor Charles Laughton crafted 1954's classic "The Night of the Hunter," and never directed again.

But our list includes five shooting stars (including a team) who rose even faster and crashed even more spectacularly. Our inspiration: the once-promising M. Night Shyamalan and his current cinematic awfulness, "The Happening."